Community among queer folks is incredibly important, especially for young people who may not have grown up seeing positive representations of happy queer people.
The rainbow cast across the machzorim — that’s what this story is about. On Sept. 16, 2022, Yeshiva University banned the only student-run LGBT club on its campus. This is not their first fight. YU’s queer students have been struggling for an officially sanctioned place to belong for over a decade.
Abbott, Paxton and other supporters of anti-LGBTQ policies pose their efforts as pleas to protect children from “abuse.” In reality, preventing children from gaining access to gender-affirming experiences that improve their quality of life would be truly abusive.