Tribute to Greg Gordon Part 2 | This Way Out Radio Episode #1985

This Way Out’s founding Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon is honored in “In Memoriam Part 2,” continuing a legacy that helped shape international LGBTQ radio. This tribute features voices from across his life and work, reflecting on his impact as a journalist, historian, and community storyteller (Part 2 of 2, produced by Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeShazor).

And in NewsWrap: India swears in its first openly queer Member of Parliament amid ongoing trans rights rollbacks, Belarus criminalizes LGBTQ “propaganda,” U.K. veterans seek justice over historic service bans, U.S. schools face new challenges to transgender protections, Los Angeles schools come under federal scrutiny in a trans student case, a judge condemns conversion therapy, and the queer blues legacy of Ma Rainey is celebrated—plus more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Sarah Montague (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor).

All this on the April 13, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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Newswrap

Program #1985            Distributed 04/13/26

And in NewsWrap: India celebrates a historic first as Menaka Guruswamy becomes the country’s first openly queer Member of Parliament, Belarus criminalizes so-called “LGBTQ propaganda” as activists warn of escalating state repression, U.K. veterans sue for long-delayed justice over the military’s past ban on queer service members, the U.S. Department of Education withdraws key protections for transgender students while advocates push back nationwide, a federal investigation targets a California school district over policies protecting trans youth, and a viral courtroom confrontation draws renewed attention to the harms of conversion, and more international news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Sara Montague (News Writer/Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor).

[AUDIO: Guruswamy] “I, Dr. Menaka Guruswamy…do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India.”

Good news out of India. Menaka Guruswamy made history by becoming the country’s first openly-queer Member of Parliament.

Doctor Guruswamy, a constitutional law expert and a long-time advocate of queer and transgender rights, championed the landmark Supreme Court case that enshrined fundamental transgender rights in the nation’s constitution. 

But last month, President Droupadi Murmu signed a bill to roll back that legislation, causing protests across the country. 

[AUDIO: Protests in India]

Guruswamy was officially sworn in on April 6th. Her appointment is a beacon of hope for future legislation protecting queer and transgender citizens. She expressed her gratitude in a press conference after her appointment. 

[AUDIO: Guruswamy] “As you all know, the values of equality, non-discrimination, and the dignity of each citizen is what our constitution…speaks about. And it will be my endeavor to uphold those values every single day.”

It is now illegal to promote queer causes in Belarus. The Belarusian Parliament passed a bill that criminalizes people for quote “spreading LGBTQ propaganda." 

This mirrors policies in neighboring Russia and a growing movement of anti-LGBTQ legislation globally. 

The nation decriminalized homosexuality in nineteen-ninety four, after the fall of the Soviet Empire, but the new legislation bans the promotion of "non-traditional relationships," "gender change," and "refusal to have children”, echoing global concerns about low fertility rates and aging demographics. 

The punishments include fines, community labor, or up to fifteen days in jail. 

Activists have reported raids of private gatherings where “LGBTQ promotion" is suspected. 

TG House Belarus, a trans rights advocacy group, launched a petition urging President Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for over three decades, not to sign the bill, saying “the draconian law deliberately groups LGBT people alongside pedophiles" and its passage will legalize state-sanctioned violence against queer people. 

Despite the petition garnering over over 50,00  signatures, the president approved the legislation on April 2nd. 

Two military veterans in the UK are suing the Ministry of Defense over delays in compensation tied to the military’s past ban on LGBTQ service members. 

The 1955 Army Act banned openly queer people from serving. Thousands of service members were discharged, often losing pensions, medals, and career opportunities because of their sexual orientation.

The plaintiffs, Steven Stewart and Mark Shephard, say they were pressured to resign from the military for being queer in nineteen ninety five and nineteen ninety nine, respectively. The BBC reported the pair was denied full compensation as they were not formally discharged, despite feeling compelled to leave by “way of an ultimatum”.

The ban was lifted in the year 2000, after a European Court of Human Rights ruled it was a privacy violation. 

In 2023, the UK government officially apologized for the ban, and a year later, launched the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme to financially compensate veterans who were forced out of the military due to their sexuality.

The government says it is working to review claims, but critics argue the current process is too slow and leaves many veterans still waiting for justice decades later.

The US Department of Education says it is no longer required to uphold certain protections for transgender students, ending agreements with several school districts and one college.

Under the Biden and Obama administrations, the department interpreted Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in education, to include transgender students.

The Department negotiated these protective measures with school districts in California, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington, along with Taft College in Central Valley, California. 

The Associated Press reported that the decision removes the federal obligations for schools to keep up with sensitivity training on “abiding by a student’s preferred name and pronouns” and “allowing students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.”

This move is one in a series of legislative attacks from the White House on transgender youth. Last week, we spoke about the Trump Administration’s counter lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Education for its trans-inclusive athletic programs. 

On April Ninth, the National Women’s Law Center, along with 60 other advocacy and human rights organizations, released the Foundational Values for Higher Education Equity Compact, calling on colleges and universities across the country to “ publicly reaffirm their commitment to equity, inclusion, student success, and academic freedom.”

Shiwali Patel, the Senior Director of Education Justice at the National Women’s Law Center, told us the Trump Administration’s deliberate misinterpretation of Title VI and Title IX makes the most vulnerable students targets of discrimination.  

[AUDIO: Patel] “It is deeply upsetting and flawed. And it is anti-democratic. It's anti-civil rights…First, they say, well, they want to relieve schools of burdensome enforcement. And then, when it comes to addressing protections for trans kids, they wrongly claim, well, they're trying to protect cis women and girls. And that couldn't be further from the truth.”

Patel added that the resources in the compact are meant to help students, parents, and allies make sense of the changing polices and legal battles taking place, but also guide them in efforts to resist.

[AUDIO: Patel] “The one thing that I've been so grateful for that gives me a lot of hope is the organizing I'm seeing on the ground from students, from faculty, from alumni, you know, that people have loudly been saying that this is not okay and they're demanding their rights to be protected. There have been some institutions that have courageously and rightfully fought back. And my hope is that this will push more to do the same.”

According to the Movement Advancement Project, 29 states have policies prohibiting transgender students from participating in sports, and 21 have restrictions on restroom use. You can access the Pro-Equity Compact at NAACPLDF.org.

The US Department of Justice is investigating the Los Angeles Unified School District in response to parents who claim the district is responsible for their trans child’s death.

The parents allege their child began to transition socially and experienced isolation, leading them to take their own life. The lawsuit says the school connected the child with a therapist, but did not inform the parents of their child’s transition or counseling, denying them the opportunity to intervene. Their child died in 2024, two years after graduating from Palisades Charter High School.

In 2019, the LA school district adopted a policy to protect transgender students who may not have support at home. It advises school officials to allow students to choose their own pronouns and restrooms. 

Governor Gavin Newsom later enacted the SAFETY Act, which blocks so-called “parental notification” policies that would require teachers to tell parents if a student asks to use different pronouns than the gender they were assigned at birth.

It also protects teachers and school staff who choose not to out LGBTQ students to their families.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, told the New York Times the Trump Administration “will not tolerate policies that deny parents’ fundamental rights.”

Currently, 15 states have some form of forced-outing law.

A viral courtroom moment is sparking new conversations about the harms of conversion therapy. 

On a recent episode of Equal Justice, a T-V court show, Judge Eboni K. Williams dismissed a case brought by a Tennessee father who tried to sue his own son for $6,000— the cost of sending him to conversion therapy.

The son testified he only agreed to attend out of fear of being kicked out, and described the program as abusive and dehumanizing.

[AUDIO: Equal Justice] “The majority of the day, they are verbally harassing you. They were calling you names. I remember on the first day the director, Matthew, who my dad chocked up to be a great guy, said I was cursed, said that I was going to hell, and called all of us there uh monsters, and said that we needed to fix ourselves.”

In a moment that’s now gone viral, Williams condemned the father’s actions, calling the treatment cruel and manipulative, and affirming the young man’s worth.

[AUDIO: Equal Justice] “Young man, you are not cursed. You are as loved and as worthy, Michael, as your father, your mother, and everyone else who gets the privilege to reside on this earth, young man.”

She ultimately threw out the case, saying every child deserves a home where they are safe, accepted, and loved unconditionally.