Standing Proud for LGBTIQ+ Rights at Home and Abroad
.png "Nathan with guest at the LGBTQI+ Rights House Party (Spring 2026)")
Nathan Madson, Managing Attorney, delivered these remarks at our Spring 2026 LGBTIQ+ Rights House Party.
While we have seen tremendous rollbacks on LGBTIQ+ rights both at home and abroad in the past several years, The Advocates has stepped up to the challenge of protecting the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and fighting to get rid of laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults. Since we were last together, we have worked with partners in 14 countries to bring LGBTIQ+ rights issues to the United Nations. Looking forward, we continue to fight for LGBTIQ+ rights and deepen our partnerships with LGBTIQ+ human rights defenders. For example, we are currently collaborating with a Syrian LGBTIQ+ organization, one of the only ones in the world, to ensure that LGBTIQ+ rights remain front and center during an upcoming review of Syria.
While The Advocates is proud to stand by our partners around the world, we must not forget that it was only in 2001 that Minnesota decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults and that it was only 2003 that the Supreme Court struck down the last remaining criminalizing statutes. So, as The Advocates and our global network of human rights defender partners attempt to change the laws in the last 63 countries that still criminalize this behavior, we have to remember that it wasn't long ago that we were in the same fight and the dignity of LGBTIQ+ Minnesotans were similarly on the line.
Fortunately, LGBTIQ+ Minnesotans have more protections than we did in 2001, but we know that the dignity of LGBTIQ+ Minnesotans continues to remain on the line. Transgender and gender-diverse Minnesotans applying for new passports will get an ID back that lists their sex assigned at birth, no matter what their Minnesota driver's license and amended birth certificate say. There has been a gutting of federal funds for Minnesota organizations working on LGBTIQ+ issues or providing services to LGBTIQ+ people under the guise of eliminating DEI. And we know that during the federal immigration enforcement surge that happened earlier this year that a federal official shot and killed a queer woman. We also know that any transgender individuals detained during this surge would have been housed in a jail based on their sex assigned at birth and denied access to their gender-affirming care.
Despite all of these very difficult and dehumanizing setbacks, The Advocates remains committed to standing proud with LGBTIQ+ people in fighting for their rights. We continue to report on violations of LGBTIQ+ people's rights abroad, focusing on where we can have the greatest impact. Tomorrow, I am heading to Jamaica to speak at Stronger Together Conference that will bring together LGBTIQ+ human rights defenders from North America and the Caribbean. I'll be training these defenders on how working with the UN can produce real change on the ground.
But we are also increasingly working on making sure LGBTIQ+ Minnesotans are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. We have written a report on violations of LGBTIQ+ people's human rights in the United States and, in September, will be returning to Geneva for an LGBTIQ+-focused week of advocacy on the U.S. and seven other countries. We are also working with local LGBTIQ+ leaders to ensure that LGBTIQ+ voices will be heard as part of the Minnesota Truth Council process. We want the world to know what happened to LGBTIQ+ Minnesotans during Operations Metro Surge and PARRIS.
Learn more about our work protecting the rights of LGBTIQ+ people around the world here.
