OutWords V1, Issue 2
Welcome to OutWords!
We are growing our reach with our second edition of OutWords, the new North Dakota statewide monthly e-publication for LGBTQ+ North Dakotans. Our goal is to make queer fam and allies aware of events and offer original content and opinions about what is going on in our state. We also want to curate and share Q-news and views that catch our eye from around the nation and world that you need to know about or may have missed as you go about your busy lives.
But we need your help! What do you want to see each month? What do you have going on in your community that you want to get the word out about? Would you like to help create content? Please let us know. AND share this with others so they can sign up, and we can grow OutWords into a valued resource for Queer North Dakota!
Tell others about OutWords and encourage them to subscribe. Share the sign-up link on your social media. Forward this message to others. Help grow the connection of staying informed and building community!
News & Features
Idaho House Passes Trans Bathroom Ban With 5 Year Prison Sentence
The bill is one of the harshest bills criminalizing trans people in the nation, and it will now move to the Senate.
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/idaho-house-passes-trans-bathroom
Heated Rivalry's success may reignite LGBTQ+ publishing
The popularity of the gay romance has sparked new hope for queer book publishing, which has grappled with book bans in recent years.
https://www.advocate.com/news/culture/heated-rivalry-reignites-queer-publishing
Tennessee librarian risks job after refusing to move LGBTQ+ children’s books
Luanne James, director of the Rutherford County Library System, had garnered national support after refusing to move more than 190 LGBTQ+-themed books out of youth sections.
Opinions & Columns
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is running a conversion therapy program. We must not let it stand.
Opinion: The Trump administration is imposing unnecessary cruelty on incarcerated transgender people who have nowhere to go, writes NCLR legal director Shannon Minter.
https://www.advocate.com/opinion/bop-transgender-conversion-therapy
Events & Announcements
No Kings Three: March 28th Nationwide Protest
In America, we have No Kings.
We are showing up together again on March 28.
When our families are under attack and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence. America does not belong to strongmen, greedy billionaires, or those who rule through fear. It belongs to us, the people.
Find your local event:
https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/
Fargo/Moorhead
Centennial Boulevard & North University Drive
Fargo, ND 58102
1–3 pm
Grand Forks
Town Square Grand Forks
1 S 3rd St
Grand Forks, ND 58201
12-1:30 pm
Bismarck
ND State Capitol
600 E Boulevard Ave
Bismarck, ND 58501
1-4 pm
Minot
Town & Country Shopping Center
831 S Broadway
Minot, ND 58701
4-5 pm
Trans Day of Visibility Gala
Sponsored by The Pride Collective and Community Center, Parachigo, Gender Justice, Tell Well
Free meal, entertainment, and guest speaker author Ellie Krug
Fargo, ND, Tell Well 4-8:30 pm
Trans Day of Visibility Open Mic
Pride Collective and Community Center
Fargo, ND 7:00 pm
Translifeline Twitch Visibility Streamathon
March 25th through March 31st
Annual Raise The Trans Flag with Faye Seidler
March 31st, 9:00 pm via Facebook and YouTube
Share videos of yourself, hobbies, professiona, and what gives you joy for the online event. Email Fayeseidler@gmail.com
Calls to Action
Trans Day of Visibility: Take action in your community.
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2026, is National Trans Day of Visibility, a day set aside each year to raise awareness about transgender people. It is a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of trans people while also drawing attention to the disproportionate levels of poverty, discrimination, and violence the community faces compared to cisgender (non-transgender) people.
OutWords needs YourWords!
This new endeavor for connecting and creating community by informing queer North Dakota is a new and growing effort. That effort needs you. If you’d like to help create original content by being a regular or occasional writer, contributor, or volunteer, please let us know! Contact forward701network@gmail.com and let us know how you can offer some skill, talent, and time.
In Case You Missed It
Kansas revokes 1,700 driver's licenses — for being transgender
Some 1,700 Kansans had their driver’s licenses invalidated last month. It wasn’t for racking up speeding tickets or a DUI charge, but because they are transgender.
Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed. The law also invalidated birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers.
Kansas revokes 1,700 driver's licenses—for being transgender