Happy June, happy Pride month, and welcome back to TBB’s newsletter! As a heads up, this issue is going to have a more serious section, because Pride is a serious subject for us.

To start, here’s what happened in May before we move onto June and the MotM:

1. Livestreams are currently on hold due to some computer issues we’ve been having. Hopefully those will be resolved soon. Until then, streaming has been paused.

2. I’ve been brainstorming ways to update our booth display, and I’m expecting a few things for that in the mail that I’m quite excited about! If you pop into any of our in-person shows in the next few months, you may get to see the evolution as it goes.

3. Instead of an employee update, we have an “In Memoriam,” because my brother’s cat Avery has ✨ perished ✨ :’> For those interested, the memorial video can be viewed here.

Which brings us to June:

Now, because it is Pride month, I’m going to get on my soapbox for a long minute. You can skip this, but I hope you read it if you can.

The ACLU is currently monitoring over 500 anti-LGBT+ bills across the United States in 2026, many of which target our trans siblings in particular. Among them are bills focused on bathroom segregation and disenfranchising ID policies (KS SB244), bills that forcibly out people (ID H0822), and bills that restrict medical access (TN SB1664), despite documented mental health outcomes for LGBT+ individuals tied to medical access. Not only that, but since 2025, the current administration has removed access to hundreds of historical and educational pages about queer history and individuals. Just last month, the White House labeled groups with “pro-transgender ideology” as terrorist threats.

The USA’s current administration is making plain its goal to expel queer existence from public life, but systemic violence against us is hardly new.

In 1982, three years after the Stonewall Riots, White House Press Secretary Larry Speakes cracked jokes when asked if President Reagan was aware that the CDC had declared AIDs as an epidemic. Reagan himself didn’t publicly acknowledge the crisis until 1985 (after proposing a $10 million cut to federal AIDs research funding.) By the end of his second term in 1989, the epidemic’s estimated death toll was over 60,000.

When Pride comes around every year, the weight of it falls on me: everything that’s brought us here, the violence, the negligence, the disdain, but most of all, the endurance. We’ve endured through decades. Centuries. No amount of political violence or social hostility will ever stamp us out for good. Sometimes we’ll be loud, and sometimes it’s safer to be quiet, but we’re never gone.

In the face of hatred and scapegoating, Pride is the moment to reflect on our losses and revel in our victories together. To my queer siblings, let’s do what we can to carry each other forward with every step. To our valued allies, I ask you to fight with us for a brighter future.

*steps off my soapbox* Thank you for your attention during this broadcast. We will now return to our regularly scheduled self-promotions.

Regarding the MotM, June will NOT have a featured model. Instead, figurines in our Pride section are 15% off for the duration of the month.

I still haven’t gotten around to finishing the second half of the Pride drop I had planned, because… idk - Stress, ailing pets, and social obligations? - but we have a good selection of rabbits, mice, cats, and more to choose from.

Also, I have over 20 Tiny Cats that will be ready to find new homes later this month. You’ll receive an restock email when “adoptions” open up.

We’ll also be vending at the Tumbleroot Brewery in Santa Fe, NM from 2-6 on June 7th. This is our only scheduled show for the month, so if you’d like to see us in person, this will be your chance. We hope to see you there!

Finally, happy birthday to Char’s big sister Rika, and my Aunt Gina, who has always encouraged our artistic exploits!

Thanks for reading, stay safe, and we’ll catch you next time!

- Chet (and Char, who says hello!)