Trans News Friday: Portland Fire Fans Show Up
When a rally backing Sophie Cunningham's anti-trans comments set up outside the Moda Center last Friday, Portland showed up for trans people. Federal workers sued to get their trans health coverage back, and Britain's new rules for single-sex services took effect with a legal challenge right behind them. Here's the week.
Portland Fire Fans Show Up for Trans People as Sophie Cunningham Comes to Town
The Moda Center in Portland, where the Fire hosted the Fever on July 31. Photo: Michael Barera via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham came into the July 31 game against the Portland Fire after doubling down on comments she made to ESPN in July, including a reference to "biological men" in women's sports. Before tipoff, demonstrators supporting her views rallied outside the Moda Center, and counterprotesters turned out to back trans athletes, KGW reports. Inside, some fans booed Cunningham when she took the court.
Fire fans had asked the team to take a stand. "Portland is a safe haven to a ton of queer and trans individuals and there is absolutely no room for transphobia in the Fire Pit," one fan, Braeden, told the Portland Mercury before the game. As of game day the team hadn't put out a statement, but its Instagram encouraged fans to wear all black. Season ticket holder Mack Vohs sold their seats and joined the rally for trans people instead. And Fire coach Alex Sarama said, "When I think about Portland and what it means to live here, it's inclusivity, it's respect."
The Fever won, 112 to 98. The scoreboard isn't the story. A city's welcome isn't a slogan on a banner. It's who shows up when the hate rolls into town, and Portland showed up.
Federal Workers Sue to Get Their Trans Health Coverage Back
The Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Office of Personnel Management. Photo: Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Five federal employees filed a proposed class action against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on Monday, August 3, Government Executive reports. Since January, OPM has told insurers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs to stop covering most gender-affirming care. The plaintiffs, four trans or nonbinary employees and one parent of a trans daughter, say they're facing medical bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.
The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues the exclusion is sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It compares cutting off care to "denying continuing insulin treatment for someone with diabetes." The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and former Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris represent the workers, and attorneys estimate nearly 40,000 federal employees, retirees, and dependents could be affected.
"We draw the line at blatant discrimination to deny healthcare to our nation's dedicated civil servants," Harris said. OPM didn't respond to Government Executive's request for comment. This is a federal agency deciding whose health care counts, and it reaches postal workers and federal employees right here in Oregon.
Read the full story at Government Executive →
Britain’s Anti-Trans Services Code Takes Effect, and a Legal Challenge Begins
The Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London. Photo: Robert Lamb via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
On August 5, the Equality and Human Rights Commission's new code of practice for services took effect in Britain. Good Law Project says the code tells providers that a service open to both cis and trans women must also be open to cis men, or it's "very likely" to be discriminatory. That reaches gendered toilets, and even women's pottery classes and gardening clubs.
Good Law Project is backing a challenge on behalf of a trans person and a trans-inclusive organization. The law firm Leigh Day sent a pre-action letter to the commission and the government, the first step toward court. "We think it's unlawful, and completely against human rights. So this challenge is absolutely essential," said Jess O'Thomson, Good Law Project's trans rights lead.
If you've been eyeing the UK as a place to land, pay attention. TransActual and other trans-led groups said the UK Supreme Court's 2025 ruling on the Equality Act "has turned the clock back nearly 30 years on legal protections for trans people." Countries can move fast in either direction. Do your homework before you pack.
Read the full story at Good Law Project →
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More This Week
The New York Times went inside the closed-door separation boards the Pentagon is using to push out trans service members. Army Reserve lawyer Priya Rashid told the Times she's lost 27 of 28 cases and called the hearings a "public humiliation ritual" (The Advocate). A new review in JAMA Pediatrics pooled 10 studies covering 751 trans adolescents and found bone density scores slipped behind peers during puberty blockers, then bone density rose once hormones began, with partial catch-up. The authors' bottom line, "Timely GAHT initiation is recommended," means don't drag out the wait for gender-affirming hormones (JAMA Pediatrics). And in Washington, a November ballot measure, IL26-638, would make girls who play school sports, starting in kindergarten, verify their sex through genetic screening, a testosterone test, or an exam of their reproductive anatomy. The state's athletic association counts about ten trans athletes among more than 200,000 middle and high school players (The Cut).
Across the Atlantic, the High Court in London on July 31 rejected a legal challenge to the NHS puberty blocker trial, finding the trial was "commissioned by NHS England with conspicuous care." And some joy to close out the week: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed August 2026 Transgender and Non-Binary Pride and History Month, honoring the community's "positive contributions to society" and the families who stand by their trans and nonbinary kids.
What This Means for Portland
Keep showing up. Go to a Fire game, cheer loud, and help make the Fire Pit a place trans fans can relax. If agitators come looking for a fight, don't hand them the clip they want. Stick with your people and get everyone home safe.
If you're a federal or postal worker in Oregon and your plan has denied gender-affirming care, keep every denial letter and explanation of benefits, file your plan's appeal, and write down dates and costs. That paper trail matters. If your income has dropped, check whether you qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, which still covers gender-affirming care under state law. Call OHP Client Services at 1-800-273-0557.
Got people in Vancouver or anywhere across the river? Make sure they're registered and know what IL26-638 would do before ballots go out this fall. And if you're thinking about leaving the country, talk to someone who's tracking the rules before you commit. Britain just showed how fast they change.
What This Means for Our Work
When federal coverage disappears and places people were counting on start closing doors, more trans people look to Portland. TRFAN, our emergency relocation program, helps them get here. Safe Haven Home Share connects them with housing alongside people who've got their back. Our Peer Support Services team helps people work through coverage denials, appeals, and finding care, alongside partners like Dian’s Well, Folktime, and The Peer Company. And Trans Town PDX is a reminder that this city's trans community is a lot bigger, and a lot more joyful, than any rally outside an arena.
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