Tribute to Greg Gordon (Pt. 1) | This Way Out Radio Episode #1984

This Way Out’s founding Coordinating Producer leaves a legacy of historic LGBTQ audio that begins more than a decade before the only internationally syndicated queer radio show debuted. This memorial tribute features his exclusive 1979 interview with San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and “Diminished Capacity,” his documentary on the aftermath of Milk’s assassination, and coverage of the first LGBTQ March on Washington (Part 1 of 2, produced by Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeShazor).

And in NewsWrap: the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, rebellious protests in India on International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) after the president signs a law that erases trans rights, the Trump White House denounces the Biden administration’s support of TDOV, New South Wales is still waiting for the release of the Sackar Report on hate crimes, queer Kenyan activists are launching a voter registration campaign, a trio of trans athletes win third place in the Oceanside, California Ironman race, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and John Dyer V (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor).

All this on the April 6, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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Complete Program Summary

for the week of April 6, 2026

Tribute to Greg Gordon (Pt. 1)

In “NewsWrap” [full transcript below]: the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a Colorado ban on conversion therapy for minors, India rolls back legal recognition for transgender people sparking protests on Trans Day of Visibility, the White House escalates anti-trans policies while clashes with states intensify, and a team of trans athletes takes a major win at in at one of the toughest competitions in the world, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Ava Davis (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor).

Promo: For listener support, write info@thiswayout.org or see thiswayout.org/donate 

Feature: This Way Out’s founding Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon leaves a legacy of historic LGBTQ audio that begins more than a decade before the only internationally syndicated queer radio show debuted. This memorial tribute features his exclusive 1979 interview with San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Diminished Capacity, his documentary on the aftermath of Milk’s assassination, as well as coverage of the first LGBTQ March on Washington (including a Clive Barker ID) (Part 1 of 2, produced by Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeShazor).

NewsWrap

from This Way Out

for the week ending 4 April 2026

Program #1984 distributed 6 April 2026

Reported by John Dyer V and Ava Davis

written by Ebony Joseph and Lucia Chappelle

produced by Brian DeShazor

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Colorado law banning so-called conversion therapy for minors, opening the door to dismantling similar bans nationwide. Colorado was one of 23 states with laws prohibiting health practitioners from engaging in the debunked methods to change a young person’s gender identity and/or sexual orientation. 

The case was brought to federal courts by Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor who argued the ban infringed on free speech and her right to talk with patients about her beliefs on what she calls “biological sex.” The court agreed, sending the case back to a lower court for further review. Out of nine judges, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter, arguing that conversion therapy causes lasting psychological harm. 

Chiles was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a notoriously anti-LBGTQ conservative Christian legal group. In their words, the ruling allows clinicians to “confirm biological reality.” Chiles reacted to the news in an interview with Fox and Friends.

[AUDIO: Chiles] “I am elated by the ruling, and I am very excited for the kids and their families who have been simply seeking options and counseling and now will get to do so.” 

Kristen Waggoner, President and CEO of ADF, says the ruling supports science. 

[AUDIO: Waggoner] “The science tells us, actually, that 90% of kids that are allowed to grow through puberty, they’ll be just fine.”

But Josh Rovenger, the Legal Director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, says that simply is not true. 

[AUDIO: Rovenger] “Every major US medical association confirms that conversion therapy is harmful and ineffective. Studies show it increases the risk of suicidality, depression, and anxiety.”

 Almost seven hundred thousand adults in the U.S. have received conversion therapy at some point in their lives, according to the Williams Institute, an independent think tank researching gender identity and policy. Survivors are eighty-eight percent more likely to attempt suicide than those who have not been subjected to the discredited treatment. 

Rovenger says that while this ruling is a disappointment, all hope isn’t lost.

[AUDIO: Rovenger] “It does not mean that conversion therapists are free from consequences. Conversion therapists who harm patients can still face legal consequences under medical malpractice laws. This is a setback but not an ending.”

[AUDIO: Protests in India]

March 31st is International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day meant for trans joy and radical acceptance. But in India, the celebration of the contributions of transgender people was marked with rebellious protests as crowds rebelled against the nation’s regressive reform on trans rights.  Despite appeals, President Droupadi Murmu approved the bill for ascent on March 30th. 

Ironically called the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights, it essentially undoes a 2014 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the fundamental rights of the country’s nearly 400,000 transgender citizens under the Constitution. Human Rights Watch said the bill would put transgender people at risk and criminalize their existence by introducing legal punishments for “coercing or alluring” people to be transgender. It would also require medical screenings before a transgender person can receive gender-affirming care and legal recognition. 

Protestors told Telegraph India that this legislation was passed because people in power don’t understand the transgender community. 

[AUDIO: Protester] “There are very few medical professionals in this country who understand and recognize trans-affirmative healthcare.”

Amnesty International India Chair Aakar Patel called the policy “a fundamental shift in how the state views transgender people” that sets a dangerous precedent. 

Still, protestors and activists are not losing faith and plan to keep fighting. 

[AUDIO: Protester] “Even if the government is against us, we can form our own safe spaces, our own spaces of support…as long as we have each other, and we can find each other…I think we can stand strong.” 

The White House observed Transgender Day of Visibility by denouncing former President Joe Biden’s presidential proclamation recognizing the day in 2024. The press release mocked the observance, saying “the era of government-sanctioned delusion is over,” and that official policy that only recognizes, quote, “two immutable sexes: male and female.”

Many states are challenging the Trump Administration’s gender policies, and the Administration is slapping back with countersuits. The latest being against Minnesota’s Department of Education and High School League. The claim is that the state is violating federal law with its trans-inclusive student athlete policies. This comes just one week after the International Olympic Committee officially banned transgender and intersex athletes from competing in Women’s Events.

[AUDIO: No King’s Day Protest in North Carolina]

A few days later, on March 28th, millions marched worldwide for No Kings Day, a demonstration opposing Trump’s authoritarian policies. Minnesota Democratic attorney general Keith Ellison described the federal complaint as a “sad attempt to get attention over something that’s already been in litigation for months.” You see, the state of Minnesota actually filed its lawsuit first, nearly a year ago. In a video released on April second, Ellison reflected on the protest, encouraging people to stay civically engaged. 

[AUDIO: Ellison] “We showed that people will get out of their comfort zone…and will exercise their First Amendment right to say no to Trumpism. That is tremendous.”  

While the ongoing lawsuits continue to pile up, it seems the mood across the country doesn’t match what’s coming out of Washington. 

A survey funded by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation reveals that over eighty percent of U.S. adults believe that “transgender people should have the same rights and protection as everyone else” and “should be able to access the health care they need.”

Australians in New South Wales are awaiting the imminent release of a report on legal protections against hate crimes. Last year, the government appointed retired Supreme Court Justice John Sackar (SAK-ehr) to lead the initiative after an uptick in hate speech and attacks, particularly targeting queer people. 

The April 1st deadline to release the Sackar Review has come and gone with no report​​ or update about the delay in sight. 

Legislative Councilmember John Ruddick delivered a speech imploring the report’s release. 

[AUDIO: Ruddick] “Delaying such an important report is not the norm for this Parliament, and one must question why. Secrecy breeds suspicion.” 

Advocates have long warned that delays in responding to the Sackar inquiry risk prolonging a lack of accountability for decades of anti-LGBTQ violence.

Advocacy groups in Kenya are launching a new campaign to get the LGBTQ community registered to vote. 

Organizations like INEND, the Initiative for Equality and Non‑Discrimination, and Galck Plus are partnering with Gen Z activists for the “Queer the Ballot” movement.

The groups say that despite facing homophobia, violence, and legal barriers in daily life, queer Kenyans should use the ballot box to demand leaders who respect their rights.

Biubwa Marylize, a non-binary activist, expressed how important visibility is in changing discriminatory laws. 

[AUDIO: Marylize] “We need systems that allow queer people to show up in whatever way and still be able to exist.”

The general election is a year away. However next month, Kenya’s Court of Appeal will hear a case challenging the criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships in the nation’s Penal Code. 

Finally, congratulations are in order for a team of transgender athletes celebrating a major win at one of the toughest races in the world. Champion trans swimmer Schuyler Bailar, deaf nonbinary cyclist Chella Man, and trans nonbinary marathoner Cal Calamia won third place in the Oceanside, California, Ironman, competing as Team Ironmasc. 

An Ironman is an extreme endurance race combining swimming, cycling, and running, often covering more than 70 miles in a single event. Calamia told Out Magazine that, “We’re just excited to keep inspiring people and providing a counterweight to the other conversations about trans athletes.”