Janna Masia Barkin is the proud mother of a transgender son.  She is also a published author, a professional speaker, a coach and counselor for transgender families and individuals, and a passionate advocate for transgender youth rights.  Janna's book, "…

Dustin Parker, a 25-year-old transgender man, was fatally shot on the job while driving for Rover Taxi in McAlester, Oklahoma early on New Year’s Day. Parker is the first violent death of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2020…

I will always remember the date. It was October 8th, 2008 and I remember my parents waking me up, telling me that they loved me, and that I was going to a boarding school. Being a…

Intimate Partner Violence - From “Protector” to “Unprotected" 

It was 2010… a frigid day in mid-January. After a long shift, I finally reached my driveway. As I pull in I see “her” car, a purple Monte Carlo. When I say…

LGBTQ people are people whom God loves. They are people that Jesus the Christ died to save. I am a morally conservative Christian who recognizes that I live in a changing culture. It would be wrong to try to legislate…

I have coworkers, close friends, relatives, patients, and a child that identifies with the LGBTQ community. I am a mother of a transgender person and as a pediatric pharmacist I take care of this population as well. This is a…

The City of West Hollywood strongly rejects the Trump administration’s proposed rule to amend Section 1557 of the Health Care Rights Law, a part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that, as currently written, offers protections to transgender people in…

The proposed changes to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act will negatively affect the communities the law is meant to protect, including the LGBTQ community. I oppose this proposed rule because I was a recipient of gender-affirming surgery, thanks…

In 2013, my wife was working as an attorney in a solo practice. I had recently come out as transgender and as a result, lost my job. We needed health insurance but neither of us could get approved. We had…

Story credit to Wanda Martinez-Johncox and I'm From Driftwood

At the age of 13, Wanda was watching the Miss Universe pageant on her family's black and white television in Puerto Rico.  When Miss Puerto Rico won the crown, Wanda wrote…

March is Women's History Month.  It serves to commemorate and encourage the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.  CAN will be featuring strong women who act as advocates and educators within the LGBTQ…

Ami and Val of Zionsville, PA are adoptive moms to three beautiful kids who came out of the foster system as older children. They have been featured twice in the Huffington Post Gay Voices "Let Love Define Family" series:

February…