DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 49 

YOU GET A PASS, AND YOU GET A PASS, AND YOU GET A PASS…: Mayor Zohran Mamdani is conceding the way City Hall doles out press passes is “not” good policy – after a trio of Luigi Mangione admirers celebrated the alleged murder of a health care CEO while flaunting newly minted press passes.

“Those three individuals should not have received press passes,” the mayor told reporters today, referencing the three Mangione supporters, who call themselves the Mangionistas.

The Mangionistas told reporters Monday outside a Manhattan courthouse that the children of slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson are “better off without their Dad” and that they “don’t give a flying fuck he died.”

They also posed for pictures with their press passes in hand — an image that landed on the cover of The New York Post this morning, with the tabloid squarely blaming City Hall for the fiasco.

Mamdani is now distancing himself from the city’s press pass policy — saying his administration will review its media credential application process, a job previously handled by the NYPD. That changed after 2020 protests in response to George Floyd’s murder prompted questions about whether the city’s police should control journalists’ access.

The internal review from Mamdani comes as he has sought to publicly ease tensions with business leaders after the mayor filmed a “Tax the Rich” video outside the pied-à-terre of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin that inflamed the hedge fund titan and other business leaders.

In public remarks, Griffin criticized Mamdani’s decision to use his personal address to promote his soak-the-rich policies and even referenced Thompson’s murder last year, which occurred only a few blocks away from the pied-à-terre in question. He also said he is excited to move much of his company’s operations to Miami.

Since then, Mamdani has seemingly been in rich-biz-exec damage control mode, publicly praising Griffin and reportedly reaching out via intermediaries to try and schedule a meeting. Mamdani also set up one-on-one sit-downs with other CEOs, including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon on Monday. He also met with Blackstone president Jonathan Gray last week.

The Mangionista press pass debacle certainly doesn’t stand to help his tension-easing efforts.

City Hall refused to answer a question from Playbook about when their passes were awarded, though The Post declared the three Mangione fans were awarded the credentials under Mamdani. A reporter for The Guardian, Victoria Bekiempis, posted the result of a records request she made which indicated dozens of individuals have obtained press passes in connection with the Mangione trial, with about half granted before Mamdani took over as mayor.

“There is a good-natured debate to be had about where a press pass should extend and where it shouldn’t. However, the three people that we are talking about don’t fall within that debate,” Mamdani also said today. “I, as the mayor, should not be deciding who is considered a journalist worthy of a pass and who is not. However, what we should have is a process that people can trust.”

As mayor, Mamdani has embraced “new media” influencers and content creators, even holding press events exclusively for them. Journalists from Room 9 — the City Hall press room — also say they’ve lodged complaints to Mamdani’s press office about the lax availability of city press credentials.

For instance, Raul Rivera, a man who allegedly bit a Mamdani campaign volunteer at a rally before his election, still held onto his press pass after his arrest, according to eyewitnesses who saw it around his neck at press conferences outside City Hall, where he is a frequent disruptor and provocateur. Other independent news gatherers, like the man behind the far-right “Viral News NYC,” were incensed about the Mangionista’s getting credentialed.

“I remember when I first got my press pass,” wrote the account, which internet sleuths have identified as written by Oren Levy. “I was proud that I was able to get one. Now it’s just another piece of plastic with no real meaning behind it because every jerk off and their mother has one.” — Jason Beeferman

From the Capitol

ALMOST THERE: Voting on the seven-week late state budget may begin next Tuesday.

Assembly Democrats were told during a closed-door conference today that votes are being eyed for early next week as top lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul try to finish up the $268 billion tax-and-spend plan.

“Next week is looking more promising,” Assemblymember Michaelle Solages said.

Read more from POLITICO Pro’s Nick Reisman and Bill Mahoney. 

NO IMPACT: The deal between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and five unions to end a three-day Long Island Rail Road strike won’t affect the yet-to-be-completed state budget’s bottomline, state Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jeremy Cooney said.

On Monday night, Hochul announced the agreement ending the strike for the commuter rail service that connects New York City to a vital, vote-rich suburban bellwether.

Standing beside the governor, MTA CEO Janno Lieber said they were able to reach a deal that was structured in a way that doesn’t prompt new fare increases or tax hikes.

The unions have been working without a contract for three years. Salary increases for those years — 3 percent, 3 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively — will be paid retroactively, but the sticking point was how to handle a fourth year that begins next month. NY1 reported the salary increase would be 4.5 percent with a $3,000 lump sum and that the contract year would be extended by six weeks. — Nick Reisman and Ry Rivard

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

BLAKEMAN’S DESANTIS BASH: The New York GOP is hosting a fundraiser with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tonight as their gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman hopes to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The New York Republican State Committee’s annual gala, set to take place at 7 p.m. at The Plaza Hotel, will feature remarks from the Florida governor as he makes an uphill push for Blakeman and others to turn New York red.

The event will occur at the same time as the Legislative Correspondents Association’s annual “LCA Show” in Albany, where the city’s press corps spoofs the New York politicians they cover with an original musical in a longstanding tradition. Hochul and Blakeman were originally scheduled to deliver the show’s “rebuttals,” where the electeds who are the targets of the jokes get the chance to give comedic retorts in front of the live audience, but Blakeman canceled his appearance. He will send a video instead.

“We regret the conflict with the LCA show, which was unavoidable,” the state GOP said in a press advisory.

Other GOP candidates like attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy and comptroller hopeful Joseph Hernandez will also deliver remarks.

The swanky gala is taking place as another big name in the GOP — President Donald Trump — is flying to New York this week to hold an event with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the Hudson Valley on Friday.

Despite the show of support for New York candidates from some of the Republican Party’s biggest names, not all is kumbaya between national and local leaders. Just weeks ago, Trump broke from state GOP Chair Ed Cox with his endorsement in the race to replace Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik. — Jason Beeferman

TERMINAL TURMOIL: The path forward for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal is turning into a point of contention in the heated primary between Rep. Dan Goldman and former City Comptroller Brad Lander.

The initiative to revamp the Red Hook terminal — led in part by Goldman — has been a delicate process. A task force approved the proposal last September after five delayed votes due to holdouts from Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Council Member Shahana Hanif, who eventually came around. The project is still years away from construction.

But at a forum hosted this morning by Abundance New York and NYC New Liberals, Lander said he thinks “a little more time is needed to refine that plan” — a sentiment he’s recently shared publicly. But privately, Lander reportedly “lobbied holdout members of a city task force last year to line up support” for the plan, according to Crain’s. When asked if he changed his position on the terminal, Lander replied that he “didn’t take a public position at the time that the plan was adopted,” later adding that he had “doubts about the plan at the time.”

Lander noted that people questioned the nature of port operations at the harbor and transportation in the area.

“With a new administration, with some doubts about it, it is worth a few more months,” Lander said during the forum. “I will be a champion to get it done, and you know I will be, because you’ve seen me on every single project, every single hard choice, being on the side of spending some time building consensus, and then moving forward productively.”

Goldman appeared on stage after Lander, who said he didn’t want a debate because he didn’t think “one minute sniping back and forth” would be as productive as the moderator Ben Max “asking thoughtful questions that push each of us.” The incumbent wanted seven debates; Lander committed to two.

Goldman agreed the plan “certainly needs some work in terms of the transit and infrastructure, and making sure that the space can support what is proposed,” but he was quick to fire back. He accused his challenger of “flip-flopping” on his support for the project and drew a contrast with Lander’s Gowanus rezoning. The incumbent said that rezoning “was done well” — but that he also hears from Gowanus residents now priced out of the neighborhood — a dynamic he doesn’t want to see unfold with the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

“The concerns that you hear about, ‘Oh we need a few more months, the process,’ that is NIMBYism — that is how things don’t get done,” he said. “We went through an exhaustive process that considered all of these things.”

Goldman also mused that there’s “some surprise” that Trump hasn’t “tried to stop” the project. “I think it’s obviously because he’s afraid of me,” he joked. — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— FOLLOW THE BLUE BRICK ROAD?: New York Democrats see a potential opening in Rep. Elise Stefanik’s deep red district. (Gothamist)

— ‘HATEFUL ACT’: The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an incident where a Muslim man was hit with an egg outside a Brooklyn mosque. (New York Daily News)

— LOOK MA, NO HANDS: State Sen. Patricia Fahy introduced a bill that would bring self-driving cars to Albany. (Times Union)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

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Rosamund Pike is giving Saltburn co-star Jacob Elordi her seal of approval amid rumours that he’s in contention to play James Bond.

During a new interview with GQ Hype, the British actor was asked what she thought of the rumours that emerged last year indicating that Jacob was “at the top of” producers’ wish lists for the role of 007.

While the piece indicated Rosamund had “no preference for the next 007”, she did praise Jacob – who played her on-screen son in Saltburn – as a “fantastic” actor.

“He certainly looks like a great Bond,” she added. “I mean, why not?”

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James Bond, of course, is a world Rosamund knows well.

The Oscar nominee previously shared the screen with Pierce Brosnan in 2002’s Die Another Day, which marked the Thursday Murder Club star’s last outing as 007.

She told GQ Hype that she’s not watched the film since it came out, remarking: “I know I’ll think, ’Oh, if only I could do that now, I would know exactly how to do that part’.”

Commenting on the film’s divisive special effects, she recalled: “It was the beginning of CGI. But it was kind of ridiculed, wasn’t it?”

Last week, Amazon MGM Studios – who officially took over at the helm of the James Bond franchise in 2025 – revealed that casting was only just beginning for the next 007.

“The search for the next James Bond is underway. While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right,” a studio representative said.

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Over the weekend, Variety reported that Tom – who was previously nominated for a Tony and won an Olivier for his work in Sunset Boulevard, and has also appeared in the TV series You and the George Clooney movie Jay Kelly – had auditioned for the iconic spy role.

Denis Villeneuve will direct the long-awaited 26th Bond movie, for which Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the script.

Read Rosamund Pike’s full interview in GQ Hype here.

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The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) continues to press the Starmer government to release the entirety of the Peter Mandelson files.

The top security body asked an urgent question in the House of Commons to try and get access to the documents.

The row became public on 15 May when the Canary reported:

The top UK intelligence scrutiny body has warned that critical files on disgraced Labour politician Peter Mandelson are being withheld. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said key documents related to the case had not been made available by Keir Starmer’s government.

Keir Starmer is under pressure over alleged irregularities in vetting the appointment of Mandelson — an arch-Blairite and long-time friend of paedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein — as UK ambassador to the US.

Mandelson is under investigation for misconduct in public office

Times journalist, Steve Swinford, called the step from the ISC “extraordinary” in an X post.

The ISC laid out serious concerns about the way the government has been conducting itself on Friday, effectively accusing it of censorship and putting national security at risk

It hasn’t had a response – so is going directly to the Commons to try to force the government’s hand. Jeremy Wright, the former AG, is expected to lead on the debate for the ISC when/ if it is granted.

The Intelligence and Security Committee is taking the extraordinary step of tabling a UQ in the Commons today amid concerns over redactions to the Lord Mandelson files

The ISC laid out serious concerns about the way the government has been conducting itself on Friday,…

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— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 19, 2026

Swinford also presented what he said were the main ISC objections to government failure to produce the Mandelson documents:

• The ISC says that it is applying the ‘personal information’ criteria ‘far too broadly’ and without any scrutiny. ‘We note that no body has been commissioned to review these redactions and assure Parliament they are within the spirit of the Humble Address’

• It also accuses the Cabinet Office of withholding documents, including Mandelson’s vetting file. While the ISC does not wish to see the vetting file – indeed it privately accepts that doing so would undermine the vetting system – it says the Government needs to return to Parliament and seek its agreement for withholding documents

• The ISC says that the level of government business conducted on WhatsApp is ‘extraordinary’. ‘Lengthy Whatsapp conversations between senior officials and ministers appear now to be the format by which Government policy is formulated’

• It says government departments – the FCDO in particular – are failing to keep proper records – agendas, minutes and records of conversations. ‘This is unacceptable in government’

• Sensitive exchanges are being conducted on ‘lower level’ security systems, putting the UK’s national security at risk. The ISC says it is ‘appalling’

Running down the clock

The ISC has since been told that the Mandelson files will not be released for at least a month.

The BBC reported:

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, said the papers would be released after Parliament’s upcoming recess to give MPs “sufficient time to review the material”.

Jones gave the update in the House of Commons after the committee of MPs reviewing the documents said some files were being withheld and redacted on new grounds.

Jones has denied allegations of a cover up.

In February, MPs voted that all files should be released.

The government initially opposed the motion, arguing that it did not want to publish material that could damage national security or diplomatic relations.

The government later agreed to the release but has not been in a rush to follow through. A first batch was released in March. The current disagreement is over a second batch of files.

ISC head, Lord Beamish, told the BBC:

The government still needed to explain why certain information connected to the security vetting of Lord Mandelson could not be published.

Starmer is on the ropes over Mandelson and recent election results, and is under threat by power-hungry rivals in his own party. It seems like a matter of time before the right wing influence operation to seize control of the dying party unravels — and hopefully the entire neo-Blairite project with it.

Featured image via Jon Rowley/ Getty Images

By Joe Glenton

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Kids can suffer tummy ache for a whole host of reasons – from anxiety, to stomach bugs, to urinary tract infections (UTIs) and constipation.

But one underlying reason which always requires medical investigation is appendicitis, which is where the appendix, which forms part of the bowel, becomes swollen and infected.

If left untreated, it can burst, which can be very painful and life-threatening.

Appearing in a segment on This Morning, Dr Ana Alcock, a paediatric emergency medicine consultant, spoke of the “really worrying [appendicitis] sign” which would require a trip to A&E.

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She said: “So, it’s normally part of three things: they normally have fever, they vomit, and they have tummy pain – and it’s often tummy pain that starts around the belly button and then moves down onto that right lower side.”

Rani Nurlaela Desandi via Getty Images

Typically this movement of pain happens over 24-48 hours. The pain “doesn’t move around, it’s not soft; it’s constant and it’s really painful”, said the expert.

If children have appendicitis, they won’t be able to jump, hop or twist as it will be too painful.

“They just want to lie still and not be touched,” she added. “So if you’re not sure whether to worry, get them to do a hop, or a jump, or a cough, because it just jiggles thing inside.”

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Per the NHS, appendicitis can also cause symptoms such as constipation, diarrhoea, feeling nauseous, loss of appetite, or peeing more than usual.

If the appendix bursts, the pain may get better for a short time before returning at extremely severe levels and spreading to the rest of the abdomen. This is a medical emergency.

If a child’s stomach pain is gradually getting worse, doesn’t go away, or moves to the lower right side of their stomach, call NHS 111.

If they have severe pain in their stomach, become confused, have blotchy or paler than usual skin, or experience difficulty breathing, call 999 or go straight to A&E.

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According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), appendicitis is one of the most common causes of acute abdominal pain in children and adults.

Around 50,000 appendicectomies (urgent surgery to remove an inflamed appendix) are performed each year in the UK.

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Next stop on President Donald Trump’s revenge tour: Kentucky.

On the heels of ousting several Indiana state lawmakers early this month and Sen. Bill Cassidy just days ago, the White House is well-positioned to remove rebellious Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s GOP primary on Tuesday.

It’s one of the final checkpoints in Trump’s monthlong effort to punish Republicans for bucking him. And the list of Massie’s sins is long, from his opposition to the president’s signature tax-and-spending plan to his forceful stands against the war in Iran and successfully pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

“Trump is coming in as the leader of the party and he has every right to flex his muscle,” said Shane Noem, who is neutral in the race as the chair of the Kenton County Republican Party in Massie’s district. “The question remains: Will the ‘Average Joe’ Republican lean into the party, or will they lean into an outsider who’s been in the party for 14 years?”

The Kentucky libertarian’s fate is the biggest in a slate of tests Tuesday of Trump’s grip on the GOP. In Georgia, the Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate seems likely to advance to a runoff, while Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — who refused to accept the president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results — is polling in third place. In Alabama, Trump’s endorsement of Rep. Barry Moore in the GOP Senate primary helped boost him to front-runner status.

The president’s endorsement has proven to be decisive in GOP primaries and a mobilizing force for his base. A POLITICO poll, conducted by Public First from May 9 to 11, found that nearly half of voters who plan to vote Republican in the midterms would choose a candidate officially endorsed by the president, compared with a candidate Trump hasn’t endorsed but isn’t opposed to (28 percent), or a candidate he’s actively trying to block (9 percent).

Trump and his allies have had some major recent successes in taking out the president’s foes. They spent more than $9 million to pick off five state lawmakers who opposed his redistricting push in Indiana. In Louisiana, Trump lent the influence of his social media account to boost Rep. Julia Letlow early on in the race and State Treasurer John Fleming in the final hours.

But no one has drawn the ire of Trump and his team quite like Massie. The president’s endorsement of former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein united local forces and various factions of the GOP in trying to sink the iconoclastic Kentucky conservative with a libertarian lean. Spending in the race has topped $32 million, making it the most expensive House primary in history, per tracking firm AdImpact. Trump’s political operation and pro-Israel groups who’ve long opposed the incumbent have unleashed more than $16 million against him. Trump rallied with Gallrein in March, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promoted him at an event in the district on Monday.

Polling shows a tightening race down the home stretch after Massie led earlier on, with one survey showing Massie leading Gallrein by just over 1 percentage point and two others showing him trailing by 7 and 8 points, respectively.

Trump’s allies are growing bullish after his romps through other red states: “Got another one coming Tuesday,” Chris LaCivita, Trump’s former campaign manager who is running the anti-Massie super PAC MAGA KY, recently posted on X. in response to a meme of the president knocking out Cassidy with a golf ball.

Asked for comment, the White House pointed to Trump’s recent Truth Social post praising Gallrein as a “WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN” and calling Massie “a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly.”

Massie is a tougher target than some of Trump’s other foes. His libertarian-conservative politics mirror those of his northern Kentucky district where many voters cheer his contrarian stances as principled stands. He has allies in some of the America First movement’s loudest voices, like Tucker Carlson, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who rallied with Massie over the weekend — and even drew a threat of a primary challenge from Trump over that decision, though the filing period has closed.

Massie is not only clear-eyed about the threat he faces, but leaning into the challenge. He has projected confidence down the home stretch, even as Trump’s foes continue to fall.

“I’m glad he’s in with both feet,” Massie told POLITICO on Friday as he left the Capitol for the campaign trail. “This will be his biggest loss ever as far as endorsements go.”

After felling Cassidy, Trump took to Truth Social to label Massie the“worst Republican Congressman in History.” Massie responded on ABC that he was leading and his foes were “desperate.”

In a race that revolves around Trump, Massie has been trying to make the case to voters that they can back him and back the president. He’s attempted to thread the needle on his dissent by arguing he’s with the president “nearly all of the time.” The times when he’s not — the Epstein files, spending, foreign interventions — he says, are because the administration has shifted on its core values, not him.

“Massie’s sitting to the right of Trump and Trump’s never really tried to take out somebody who’s to the right of him before,” said Tres Watson, a Kentucky-based GOP strategist who is not working for either campaign.

Massie’s opposition to Trump’s interventions in Iran and longstanding opposition to U.S. aid to Israel have turned the race into a tussle over the definition of “America First” and the base’s adherence to it as some Republicans, particularly younger ones, splinter over the wars in the Middle East.

“This is a congressional race, but it’s also somewhat of a national movement, and it would be bad for Republicans’ prospects in the midterms if I lose,” Massie said. “Not just because they’ve wasted $10 million of Republican mega donor money on a seat that’s going to be red anyway. It’s going to be because those people will be like ‘why am I even voting Republican?’ … they’ll stay home.”

A win on Tuesday, Massie said, gives him “antibodies” against the president and his political machine. In proving it is possible to withstand Trump’s wrath, it could provide a model for other Republicans who break with the president, though vanishingly few remain in Congress.

A Massie defeat — especially on the heels of Cassidy’s Louisiana loss — would signal a larger reality facing the GOP: There’s little room within the party anymore for politicians who disagree with Trump, even as he enters the back half of his presidency.

“There used to be room for effective, mild-mannered wonkish types because they got stuff done and industry and voters appreciated it,” said one Republican strategist working on the Alabama Senate race on behalf of a Moore opponent, granted anonymity to speak freely without fear of retribution. “Now it’s just different.”

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A powerful new feature film aims to expose the sinister way ‘trans panic’ has been used across the US as a legal defence to justify the murder of transgender people.

Highlighting the long history of activism, resistance and solidarity within the trans community, the film, Trans Panic, follows two trans elders who fought back against deadly stigma and helped organise the first Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Nancy Nangeroni and Gordene Mackenzie played a vital role in securing long-overdue rights for trans people. This achievement came after a wave of hate crimes saw attackers — and murderers — receive lighter sentences by claiming ‘trans panic’ somehow excused or diminished their violent intent.

Now, as Trump fuels renewed hostility towards trans people, they are speaking out once again to remind the public that hate-fuelled violence can never be framed as “self-defence”. Horrifyingly, this defence continues to be available in most US jurisdictions.

But to help ensure this horrific chapter of history is neither forgotten nor repeated, they need public support to raise £15,000 to turn the project into a full feature film.

Trans Panic hopes to inspire generations of activists

Originally, the filmmakers planned to create a short film about the experiences of these two principled and inspiring trans elders. But after a successful fundraising campaign, they have now set their sights on turning it into a full feature film, giving this harrowing yet hopeful story the depth it deserves.

The film explores the painful experiences faced not only by partners Nancy and Gordene, but by the wider trans community, in the hope it can inspire a new generation of activism and stop history from repeating itself. As has happened time and time again, reactionary forces are already trying to roll back hard-won rights, leaving an already embattled community vulnerable to renewed hostility and violence.

Importantly, the film also challenges the false idea that trans rights are somehow new or “woke”. In reality, trans people have fought for dignity, safety and recognition for generations. Their struggle forms part of a much longer history of civil rights movements fighting for freedom and bodily autonomy.

It also reminds us never to take rights for granted. The far right actively works to erode the freedoms of LGBTQ+ people wherever it can, which means people must constantly defend those rights. Feminists should take notice too: attacks on bodily autonomy never stop with one group.

When reactionary movements target reproductive rights, trans rights, or queer rights, they attack the broader principle that people deserve control over their own bodies and lives.

We all deserve autonomy. None of us are truly free until all of us are free from that sinister oppression.

‘Trans panic’ as a legal defence

On their Kickstarter campaign, director Hester Morris spoke of the history which inspired this feature film.

She explained:

The term ‘Trans Panic’ is a legal defence that has been used all over the US to justify the brutal murders of many transgender people over the decades.

The idea is that perpetrators claim to be in such a state of shock after discovering their victims are transgender that their motivation towards extreme violence is somehow akin to self defence.

This legal argument meant that many people received minimal sentences for what were blatantly hate-filled killings.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the media and wider society failed to show outrage or even compassion for these victims.

As I’m sure many will agree, this sentiment is coming back with a vengeance across the West as the trans community face bigoted, derogatory attacks through the duplicitous veil of ‘women’s safety’. In reality, history proves that the rights of both groups are very much intertwined and face the same threats in our societies.

The film will consider the world-changing activism of the 90s, which fought back against the stigma endangering their lives, whilst seeking justice for their trans siblings.

The far right is actively eroding hard-fought civil rights

Speaking from their home in New Mexico, Nancy and Gordene recount “their story of love and struggle”. Sharing their memories and rarely seen archival footage, this film makes clear how the personal and political intersect.

Like protests for civil rights and freedoms today, the 90s saw TV appearances, street protests and legal battles to give rise to “the world’s first movement towards respect and rights for gender non-conforming people”.

Whilst many are aware of this day of remembrance, not many are aware of the personal stories behind it and the very people that had an instructive role in making it happen. An ignorance that this film seeks to redress as it refuses to allow trans people to live in that same horrifying fear for their own safety.

Battles for civil rights have always intersected across race, gender and sexuality, and they defined this era of history.

How can you continue this tradition of solidarity?

The film’s creators wish to revive this “fundamental moment in trans history” through documenting these activists’ achievements to help inspire more activism today. With history clearly in the throes of repeating itself, trans and queer people need strong allies.

On the Kickstarter campaign, they write:

We hope that the work of Nancy, Gordene and many others will provide guidance and inspiration for those brave enough to fight back against the transphobic, homophobic, racist regimes, growing in strength all over the world – but we need your help.

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A post shared by Trans Panic (@transpanicdoc)

We at the Canary hope our readers get behind this fundraising campaign and share it with their friends and family. History shows that when the establishment and far right target one marginalised group, others are never far behind.

That is why civil rights movements so often stand together and intersect with one another because when they come for one community, they eventually come for us all.

Featured image via Trans Panic Kickstarter

By Maddison Wheeldon

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