by Joe Siegel

SGN, also known as Seattle Gay News, has decided to place an increased focus on trans coverage in the wake of attacks from the Trump administration.

“The recent death of Charlie Kirk has unfortunately become another flashpoint in the discourse around Transgender rights,” wrote Madison Jones, SGN’s managing editor, in a September 25, 2025, editorial, “despite Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter, being a cisgender man, with no evidence to suggest he was politically affiliated with leftist or Transgender causes, despite numerous inaccurate reports by major media outlets and conservative politicians. … Historically, Transgender people have not been given much of a platform to share their stories with the public. This makes it easier to create a bogeyman to scare voters who have never had the chance to meet real, everyday Trans people and hear about their lives directly.”

Jones also noted that SGN’s staff includes many trans and nonbinary people, including owner and publisher Renee Raketty as well as Jones herself. The cover of SGN’s October 2025 issue also includes the headline, “Seattle Gay News: Unapologetically transgender owned and led.”

“Our editorial decision to highlight more transgender stories/perspectives is very much intentional, as the rebuke and repeal of transgender (and other LGBTQ+) civil rights protections has been a major platform for the second Trump administration and GOP.”

Jones said the response from readers has been favorable.

“I think there is certainly a strong demand within the Seattle LGBTQ+ community and surrounding areas for news reporting on transgender issues. For example, our articles on Nikki Armstrong and Indigo Greene were some of the most frequented on our social media and website in the last two months.” (Armstrong, a 39-year-old transgender woman, was the victim of a violent assault in Renton, Wash. Greene was reportedly found by her fiancée in their Seattle home following her apparent suicide.)

“I think the SGN has a major role to play in picking up these stories that otherwise go underreported by other local outlets, and of course combating misinformed narratives about transgender people nationally,” said Jones, who encourages other LGBTQ media outlets to bring a greater focus to trans issues and opinions.

In fact, earlier this year, Collin Kelley, editor of Atlanta-based Georgia Voice, made this point clearly in an April 2025 editorial headlined, “Supporting the trans community is more vital now than ever.” And OutSFL, based in Wilton Manors, Fla., announced an op-ed series in order to “elevate trans voices.”

Added Jones, “There are a lot of conversations, judgments, and policy decisions being made across the US right now about the transgender community without our perspectives being taken into account. More than ever, we need our LGBTQ+ institutions to be educating and speaking out to the public on this. And I believe it is imperative that we not shy away from platforming and emphasizing transgender voices as LGBTQ+ media, because bigotry and queer phobia all comes from the same root, and if we give in, it will not stop at just trans people.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 27
Issue 10