The alphabet soup just got a ladle lighter. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual groups across 18 countries have peeled themselves away from the ever-expanding LGBTQIA+ establishment, declaring independence under a new banner: LGB International.The reason? What began as a fight for same-sex rights has been consumed by a movement obsessed with gender ideology. The core distinction — the difference between sexual orientation and "gender identity" — has been blurred, even erased, by activists who treat disagreement as heresy.This isn’t merely an argument over acronyms. It’s about who gets to define what it means to be same-sex attracted, and whether those hard-won rights are protected — or diluted beyond recognition..EDITORIAL: ABC/Disney disgracefully hands Kimmel back the mic — day after Charlie Kirk was laid to rest.The alphabet that ate itselfThe LGBTQIA+ coalition once stood as a united front for people facing persecution and discrimination. But as the letters multiplied, the clarity of the cause diminished. LGB International says legacy organizations like ILGA and, here in Canada, EGALE, have turned their focus almost entirely to radical transgender activism.Frederick Schminke, chair of the new umbrella group, puts it plainly, “All the organizations that once represented gay people are now entirely devoted to gender identity ideology.” The irony is rich. Groups founded to defend sexual minorities now silence lesbians and gays who insist that sexual attraction is rooted in biology, not feelings about gender.One doesn’t need a PhD in sociology to see the problem. The assertion that a heterosexual man who identifies as a woman is a “lesbian,” entitled to access female-only spaces, makes a mockery of same-sex attraction. That’s not progress — it’s an erasure..Gender ideology versus sexual identityThe split exposes a simple but vital truth: gender ideology and sexual identity are two entirely separate things. Sexual orientation refers to whom one is attracted to, based on biological sex. Gender ideology, by contrast, is a belief system built around the idea that sex is irrelevant and self-declared gender is paramount.When these two are forced together, chaos follows. As Bev Jackson, co-founder of the UK’s LGB Alliance, notes, many young same-sex attracted people are being nudged toward identifying as transgender rather than accepting their sexuality. Instead of “you’re gay, and that’s okay,” they’re told, “you must be trans, so here’s puberty blockers and surgery.”Canadian affiliates echo this concern. LGB Alliance Canada points out that gender-affirming medical interventions are disproportionately promoted to same-sex attracted youth. As they put it, “Canadian organizations have pushed unproven gender-affirming care that disproportionately affects same-sex attracted youth.” That’s not liberation — it’s medicalization..HANNAFORD: Faith, forgiveness, and a gentle warning to our American friends .Reports have also raised questions about the evidence base for gender-affirming care in Canada. The defenders of the status quo insist that “inclusion” demands this conflation. But inclusion without definition is just confusion. And confusion is the last thing vulnerable young people need.A return to first principlesThe launch of LGB International is not the work of outliers shouting from the sidelines. Among its supporters are Renato Sabbadini, former head of ILGA, and Kurt Krickler, former co-chair of ILGA-Europe. These are not fringe figures. Their support underscores the fact that the alphabet soup is fracturing at its core..The new group says its mission will be what the old organizations abandoned: defending LGB rights in places where homosexuality is still illegal, or where same-sex partnerships remain unrecognized. At the same time, they will resist the erosion of sex-based categories in the West — categories that once made possible the very concept of gay rights.The critics will dismiss this as reactionary. But it is, in fact, restorative. It restores the idea that being lesbian, gay, or bisexual is about who you love, not what gender identity you claim. It restores the possibility of keeping same-sex spaces truly same-sex. And it restores room for dissent in a debate too often dominated by intimidation..SYRETT: America’s Socrates: Charlie Kirk and the silencing of truth.The way forwardThe rise of LGB International signals a new phase in the culture war: a civil war within the rainbow. The battleground is not merely semantics; it’s the future of same-sex rights. If every man who identifies as a lesbian must be accepted as one, then the category itself ceases to exist. That’s not inclusion — it’s elimination.The alphabet soup will continue to grow. But for those who believe that the fight for sexual orientation rights must remain distinct from the crusade for gender ideology, the choice is now clear. LGB International offers a way back to first principles.Sometimes, the most radical act is not adding another letter, but walking away from the pot altogether.
