Senate ems wei h includin same se marria e bill in bud et sto a
Senate Democrats upon return from August recess are weighing whether to include a provision seeking to codify same-sex marriage into law as part of a measure that would temporarily continue funding the government as lawmakers hammer out the budget for the upcoming year.
Something senior Senate Democrats have been considering in recent days is possibly adding marriage equality to the continuing resolution, a Capitol Hill source with knowledge of the talks told the Washington Blade on Tuesday morning. The news was first reported by Jake Sherman of PunchBowl News.
Supporters of the Respect for Marriage Act, which seeks to codify same-sex marriage into law amid fears the U.S. Supreme Court may rescind it after its decision overturning Roe v. Wade, have said they’ve been working on securing 10 Republican votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. The House approved the legislation in July. Four Republicans have signaled they would support the bill, at least in some capacity Susan Collins (Maine), Rob
Senate emocrats are wei hin the inclusion of a marria e bill in a bud et sto a (Blade le hoto by ichael ey)
Portman (Ohio), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.). Johnson, however, has changed his tune recently and said
*,%*2.,/2.,#%0(+%+.)"-"(1&%*''(22(/*#"(,&%"&%,.'.&4 sary.
Whether or not the marriage bill is included in the continuing resolution, the measure would still require 60 votes. The approach in the stopgap budget, however, would enable speedier movement with limited time remaining on the legislative schedule.
Some internal pushback has emerged on the idea to include same-sex marriage in the continuing resolution A Senate Democratic aide familiar with the Respect for Marriage Act told the Blade supporters are still working on obtaining 60 votes for a standalone bill and a provision in the budget stopgap would be a “last resort.”
“I think conventional wisdom would say if all things fall apart, maybe that’s our route for some must pass bill,” the aide said. “But as of now, the coalition that is supporting the bill is still working with colleagues to find the 10 Republican votes, and we’re confident we’ll be able to.”
mho hosts roundtable with L B students
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gentleman Douglas Emhoff met virtually with LGBTQ high school students last week in a year marked by a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation in state legislatures, including the “Don’t Say Gay” measure signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Emhoff hosted the roundtable with the LGBTQ students to hear “about their back-to-school experience,” and measures advanced by state legislatures were a key component of the conversation, according to a readout of the talk the White House issued on Friday.
“During the meeting, the students shared how legisla-
#"(,%",%&#*#.&%#$*#%#*+-.#&%*,/%/"&'+"2",*#.&%*-*",&#%#$.% LGBTQI community has impacted them and their peers,” the readout says. “They referenced Florida’s Don’t Say Gay’ bill and the need to defend and protect LGBTQI rights.”
The Biden administration’s work in supporting LGBTQ youth was among the efforts Emhoff highlighted during the virtual meeting, the White House readout says, as well as efforts intended to “encourage civic participation among young people and expressed his commitment for ensuring that every young person feels safe and loved for who they are.”
Second entleman 2(345-%&.+"(** met irtually with L B hi h school students after a wa e of anti L B le islation (Blade le hoto by Lou Chibarro)
Federal court u holds ashin ton ban on con ersion thera y
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed that Washington state’s law protecting minors from conversion therapy is constitutional and may be enforced.
In its ruling the ninth circuit wrote “In relying on the body of evidence before it as well as the medical recommendations of expert organizations, the Washington Legislature rationally acted by amending its regulatory scheme for licensed health care providers to add performing conversion therapy on a patient under age eighteen’ to the list of unprofessional conduct for the health professions.”
Washington prohibited licensed mental health professionals from subjecting minors to conversion therapy in 2018, as more than 20 other states have also done.
In a lawsuit filed last year in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington, a family therapist is claiming that a law banning the practice of applying conversion therapy techniques on minors and signed by Democratic Governor Jay Inslee in 2018 is a violation of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Brian Tingley, who is represented by the Scottsdale,
Arizona-based anti-LGBTQ Alliance Defending Freedom, (ADF), identifies himself as a “Christian licensed marriage and family therapist” and alleges in the court filings that the provided definition of “conversion therapy” is “vague, content-biased, and biased against one perspective or point of view.”
Represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Equal Rights Washington intervened in the case to help the Washington Attorney General defend the law.
“We are thrilled by today’s decision, which ensures that Washington’s lifesaving law can continue to be enforced and that LGBTQ children in Washington will not be subjected to these discredited practices, which have been rejected as unsafe by every major medical organization in this country,” said Shannon Minter, NCLR legal director. Minter argued on behalf of intervenor Equal Rights Washington before the federal district court in Tacoma last year.
In September 2021, a federal district court rejected Tingley’s challenge and upheld Washington’s law. The court
relied on Pickup v. Brown, a 201 decision in which the Ninth Circuit rejected a similar challenge to a virtually identical California law. The court rejected Tingley’s argument that the U.S. Supreme Court had implicitly overruled Pickup in its 2018 decision in National Institute of Family Life Advocates v. Becerra, which struck down California laws regulating pregnancy clinics.
In the decision, the Ninth Circuit held that its prior ruling in Pickup is correct and that laws barring conversion therapy regulate professional conduct, not speech. The '(1+#%$.)/%#$*#%#$.%!*&$",-#(,%).-"&)*#1+.%5*'#./%+*#"(,*)4 ly when it decided to protect the physical and psychological well-being of its minors by preventing state-licensed health care providers from practicing conversion therapy on them.” The Ninth Circuit noted that Washington legislators also “relied on the fact that e very major medical and mental health organization’ has uniformly rejected aversive and non-aversive conversion therapy as unsafe and inefficacious.” *#(+&%,-**&#./(#,%
01
For the second year in a row, the Back to School Pride Night, hosted by the RaYnbow Collective, a Provo-based nonprofit organization with the mission of creating and identifying safe spaces for LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff at Brigham Young University was held iwanis Park.
This year, however, a group of around 100 protestors gathered shouting homophobic epithets, holding up anti-LGBTQ signs, many quoting the Book of Mormon at the LGBTQ attendees. The protestors according to the Salt Lake Tribune were blocked by a group of angels’ who stood hand in hand, forming a shield between the 100 people rallying in front of them and the LGBTQ students, alumni and friends from BYU who gathered off campus to find and show support for each other Saturday night.
The angel’s wings, made of white sheets draped over PVC pipe that extended 3 feet above their shoulders, blocked most of the posters at the “Back to School Pride Night” many who were shouting “pedophile” and “groomer” the Tribune noted adding “You’re going against God,” one man spat. Another told them to “stop protecting the homos” at Brigham Young University.
The RaYnbow Collective told local Provo newspaper, the Daily Herald, prior to the Saturday event that its goal for this particular event was to connect LGBTQ friendly businesses, students, and community members. The event drew attention last week when BYU, after originally agreeing to hand out
pamphlets containing LGBTQ resources to incoming freshman, opted instead to trash the pamphlets.
“It’s really inclusive, so we encourage Provo community members to come join, anyone who is queer is welcome, anyone who has family members who are queer, or if anyone’s just curious to come check it out,” said Maddison Tenney, founder and executive director of the RaYnbow Collective. “We worked really hard to make sure it’s safe with Provo police, and that it’s really family friendly.”
Back to School Pride Night also featured a family-friendly drag show with performances from 12 drag queens. According to Tenney, the stage names of the performers, as well as the show’s music, have been adjusted to make this event appropriate for all ages.
In the past year, countless protests against similar “family-friendly drag shows” have touched off elements of far-right groups opposed to LGBTQ equality and people, most of which have been spurred on by the infamous Libs of TikTok account targeting the LGBTQ community.
The Tribune reported that Provo Police which provided a buffer zone during the event had warned Tenney prior to the back-to-school gathering there was going to be pushback.
That’s when she told the Tribune her group decided to use angel costumes a strategy famously used by the friends of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1999, when the two men accused of killing him went on trial. Shep-
ard, 21, was beaten, tortured and left hanging from a wooden prairie fence in October 1998 after being attacked for his being gay. Shepard died six days later.
The offices of U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) experienced a hate-filled rant this week telephoned in by an unknown person claiming to be “gay” but using descriptive obscene language long associated with homophobic far right elements and online trolls.
In a tweet released by the Congressman on Tuesday, Swalwell describes the threat that was forwarded to him by his district office. In the accompanying tweeted photo of the incident report, the caller declares that he is a “gay” man who “doesn’t take it up the ass but gives it” and dropped the homophobic epithet fags’ along with peppering the call with F-bombs.
The caller also issued death threats claiming to be in possession of an AR-1 assault rifle and claiming he would travel to the district office to make good on his threats to kill the Congressman.
The Angel Action Wings Project blocked signs held by members of the Westboro Baptist Church led by Fred Phelps who protested outside the Albany County courtroom in Laramie, Wyoming with signs that said “God hates fags.”
Several groups have since replicated the display, including at the funerals for the victims of the Orlando, Florida mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in 2016.
“Religion has been weaponized against the queer community for a long time,” Tenney told the Tribune Saturday. “But that needs to end. I believe there’s nothing more divine than who I am as a queer child of God.”
A spokesperson for the Congressman said that the United States Capitol Police, who are statutorily required to provide security for Congressional members and staffers, was notified.
Rep. Swalwell has been a leading voice for progressive causes in the House, taking stands on gun control, LGBTQ rights equality and most recently on women’s reproductive rights and access to abortion, all deeply offensive to many in far right circles, particularly those labeled MAGA Republicans’ by President Joe Biden.
Swalwell is an influential Democratic member of three powerful congressional committees House Committee on the Judiciary, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Committee on Homeland Security.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has signed a contract with AmerisourceBergen to hasten and expand the distribution of monkeypox vaccines and treatments.
The industry partnership will facilitate the direct shipments of JYNNEOS, the monkeypox virus (MPV) vaccine, as well as TPO , an antiviral treatment, to more U.S. locations, HHS wrote in a press release Tuesday announcing the agreement.
Previously, the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) was shipping both products to five locations per jurisdiction, but HHS expects that number to increase over the next few weeks, in weekly quantities of up to 2, 00 vaccines and up to 2, 00
TPO courses.
In the press release, leaders of the government’s MPV response effort said the contract with AmerisourceBergen is an important step towards ending the outbreak.
“Responding to the monkeypox outbreak requires close collaboration between the federal government, states, tribes, and localities,” said HHS Secretary avier Becerra. “With today’s action, we ensure our local partners receive these critical tools more easily and quickly.”
“We’ve heard from state and local leaders about the importance of ensuring vaccines are distributed to more places, which is exactly what this contract will do,” said White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator Bob Fenton.
HHS’s contract with AmerisourceBergen follows other
agreements between the government and industry partners including Bavarian Nordic, the manufacturer of JYNNEOS, and Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing, a pharmaceutical contract manufacturer, all designed to speed and expand the distribution of MPV vaccines.
AmerisourceBergen, one of the “big three” American drug wholesale corporations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
JYNNEOS and TPO shipments will continue to be provided for free, according to the HHS press release, which reports that more than 800,000 vials of JYNNEOS and more than 3 ,000 courses of TPO have been shipped as of September 2.
$%&%'(')%&*+,-&.)/(%&',&$0(1(-(&(+)&2,3%45)+436&,+&7(8)&+)2)3'09&:(%%)5&-)(%;+)%& criminalizing parents and providers for providing gender affirming healthcare for trans youth, California is set to welcome them and their families with open arms.
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$&5+(6&O;))3&%',+9&7,;+&)8)3'&('&'7)&>,,F%& Inc. store in suburban San Jose was disrupted '74%&:(%'&B))F&,+6(34X)+%&%(45=&Y3&(&%'(')-)3'& to NBC Bay Area, Campbell police confirmed '7('&'7)9&+)%:,35)5&',&'7)&H)53)%5(9&4324L 5)3'&1;'&(55)5&'7)&:+,')%'&B(%&43&(&:;1042& %:(2)&(35&3,&0(B%&B)+)&1+,F)3=
A spokesperson for Books Inc. told NBC Bay Area that in the days leading up to the event, that the store staff had received sev)+(0&:7,3)&2(00%&(6(43%'&'7)&5+(6&O;))3&%',+9& 7,;+&)8)3'=&.7)&%',+)&(55)5&%(45&'7)9&-(5)& %;+)&',&2,3'(2'&:,042)&1)*,+)&(35&5;+436&'7)& )8)3'= .7)&)8)3'G&B7427&B(%&54%+;:')5&19&(&6+,;:& ,*&:+,')%')+%&;%436&'+(3%:7,142&(35&7,L -,:7,142&7(')&%:))27&B(%&7,%')5&19&.,+4&.4(G& a drag queen story time reader. Tia told NBC Bay Area that one particular anti-LGBTQ protestor “ He was saying like some really transphobic stuff. Like he was calling -)&(&Z'+(3%8)%'4')E&(35&Y&%7,;053E'&1)&0)'&(+,;35&'7)&27405+)3G&(35&'7)&:(+)3'%& should be ashamed of themselves.”
11th State Senate District, which includes San Francisco. .7)&1400&B400&:+,845)&+)*;6)&*,+&'+(3%&9,;'7&(35&'7)4+&*(-404)%G&:+,')2'436&:(+)3'%&*+,-& :+,%)2;'4,3&*,+&%;::,+'436&(35&*(2404'('436&'7)4+&F45%E&(22)%%&',&-)542(009&(::+,8)5&7)(0'7L 2(+)&M&(2'4,3%&*,+&B7427&'7)9&-(9&1)&:+,%)2;')5&43&$0(1(-(G&*,+&)/(-:0)G&,3&*)0,39& charges carrying prison terms of up to 10 years.
Specifically, S.B. 10 prohibits law enforcement in California from cooperating with outof-state agencies regarding the provision of lawful gender-affirming health treatments in #(04*,+34(&',&'+(3%&27405+)3G&B7)'7)+&19&2,-:09436&B4'7&%;1:,)3(%&%))F436&43*,+-('4,3&,3& such or participating in arrests or extraditions over such.
H4)3)+E%&0)64%0('4,3&B(%&2,L%:,3%,+)5&19&2,L%:,3%,+)5&19&NO;(04'9&#(04*,+34(G&P0(33)5& P(+)3'7,,5G&.+(3%Q(-409&<;::,+'&<)+842)%&(35&!4);')3(3'&C,8)+3,+&N0)34&R,;3(0(F4%=&$2L 2,+5436&',&'7)&:+)%%&+)0)(%)G&%4-40(+&S'+(3%&+)*;6)T&%'(')&1400%&7(8)&1))3&43'+,5;2)5&43&?U& other states.
V)(3B740)G&)(+04)+&'74%&-,3'7&)/'+)-)&+467'LB436&#,36+)%%B,-(3&V(+W,+4)&.(90,+& Greene introduced a nationwide ban on gender affirming health treatments for trans minors, which would be punishable as a felony.
.7)&%'(')&,*&.)/(%G&-)(3B740)&M&7(8436&:(%%)5&(&-)(%;+)&0(1)0436&(%&S27405&(1;%)T&'7)& provision of gender affirming care for trans kids and allowing for the investigations of par)3'%&*,+&*(2404'('436&%;27&M&4%&(::)(0436&(&')-:,+(+9&+)%'+(43436&,+5)+&*+,-&(&.)/(%&W;56)& halting its enforcement.
“I do find that there is sufficient reason to believe that the plaintiffs will suffer immediate (35&4++):(+(10)&43W;+9&4*&'7)&2,--4%%4,3)+&(35&'7)&IJ):(+'-)3'&,*&Q(-409&(35&P+,')2'48)& <)+842)%K&(+)&(00,B)5&',&2,3'43;)&',&4-:0)-)3'&(35&)3*,+2)&'74%&3)B&J):(+'-)3'&+;0)&'7('& equates gender affirming care with child abuse,” wrote Judge Jan Soifer of the 3 th Civil J4%'+42'&#,;+'=
Earlier this month, a group of parents of trans children joined the parties filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit not to reinstate Alabama’s law, which was struck down by Judge Liles Burke of the U.S. Federal District Court for the D,+'7)+3&J4%'+42'&,*&$0(1(-(=
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SYE-&+)(009&:+,;5&,*&3,'&,309&,;+&C(9&(35& Queer community, but our allies and the par)3'%&'7('&1+,;67'&'7)4+&27405+)3&(35&-(5)& %;+)&'7)4+&27405+)3&F3)B&3,'7436&1;'&'7)&0,8)& (35&'7)&0467'&'7('&B)&B)+)&'7)+)G&',&1)&'7)+)& *,+&'7)-GT&%(45&.,+4&.4(= >,'7&.,+4&.4(&(35&<4042,3&[(00)9&P+45)&B)+)& -(5)&(B(+)&,*&:,%%410)&:+,')%')+%G&%,&'7)9& called on their LGBTQ community members ',&2,-)&,;'&(35&-(F)&%;+)&4'&5453E'&)%2(0(')& (%&4'&7(%&43&+)2)3'&43245)3'%=
SY'&')00%&;%&'7('&B)&7(8)&(&0,'&-,+)&B,+F&',& 5,G&Y&'743F&)8)3&43&(&:+,6+)%%48)&%'(')&%;27& (%&#(04*,+34(G&'7)+)&4%&%'400&;35)+043)5&146,'+9G& '7)+)E%&;35)+043)5&7(')G&'7)+)E%&;35)+043)5& %')+),'9:436&(35&463,+(32)GT&<4042,3&[(00)9& Pride CEO Nicole Altamirano told NBC Bay $+)(=
N8)3&'7,;67&'7)&:+,')%')+%&2,3'43;)5&'7)4+& disruptions outside, Tori Tia said she kept reading, something she said she 2,;053E'&7(8)&5,3)&B4'7,;'&(00&,*&'7)&%;::,+'&%7)&+)2)48)5= 0%)12,3+4+'56+
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(Photo courtesy Silicon alley Pride)
)*+,-./012/-340.1536-07-.,82930++*:+;-73<*+705318013(2=3 #.:,,3>0,3-6-;1-738-073*?318-390.1530+73>2663@-;*A-318-3BCDE,3 +->39.2A-3A2+2,1-.F3.-960;2+G38-.3?-66*>3#*.5F3H*.2,3I*8+,*+F3 >8*30++*:+;-7382,3.-,2G+012*+3182,390,13I:653?*66*>2+G303,6->3 *?3,;0+706,30+73.-,2G+012*+,3?.*A382,3G*/-.+A-+1C !+38-.30;;-910+;-3,9--;8318-3#*.536-07-.396-7G-731*3JG*/K -.+30,303)*+,-./012/-E3@537-62/-.2+G303J@*673960+31*3;:1310L-,3 0+73G.*>3*:.3-;*+*A5CE3#.:,,3>2663*;;:953MN3O*>+2+G3P1C30,3 the U. . grapples with looming cost-of-living crisis, rising inflation and soaring energy bills. H.2102+Q,3(RH#S307/*;0;53G.*:9,3G.--1-7318-3+->,3>2183 A2L-73.-0;12*+,3.0+G2+G3?.*A3"0+;53D-66-5F318-3;802.3*?3P1*+-K >0663,052+G3J182,32,30312A-3?*.36-07-.,829F30+73>-38*9-318013 *:.3+->39.2A-3A2+2,1-.3>2663,10+73:93?*.303>*.6732+3>82;830663 LGBTQ people can live our lives to the full.” T*>-/-.F318-3P1*+->0663;802.306,*3:.G-7318-32+;*A2+G39.2A-3 A2+,1-.31*3J@:2673@.27G-,3>218318-3(RH#SU3;*AA:+215E3@537-K 62/-.2+G3*+38-.39.*A2,-,31*3@0+3;*+/-.,2*+318-.09532+318-3BCDC '18-.3G.*:9,32+;6:72+G3R-+7-.-73!+1-662G-+;-3>-.-3060.A-73 by Truss being elevated to the post. Pink News U reported that Truss takes office after a leadership race “marred by 1.0+,98*@20FE30;;*.72+G31*3)6-*3<07-6-2+-F3;*AA:+2;012*+,3 officer for Gendered Intelligence.
Madeleine told Pink News U that Truss as minister for women and equalities oversaw an office “that often worked 1*3,:99*.131.0+,39-*96-30+73,8-3/*;06653;*AA211-731*3@0++2+G3 ;*+/-.,2*+318-.095CE
Pink News also noted that Truss was reportedly blindsided @53I*8+,*+Q,37-;2,2*+31*39.-,,308-073>2183031.0+,G-+7-.K-LK ;6:,2*+0.53@0+C
Madeleine said it’s time for Truss to “show that she can keep 8-.39.*A2,-,3@539.-,,2+G308-073>218318-3@0+FE31*39:130+3-+73 1*3J9*6212;0639*2+1K,;*.2+GE30+731*3077.-,,32,,:-,318013A011-.F3 including the cost-of-living crisis, fuel poverty and climate change.
J#8-3G*/-.+A-+1380,30+3*99*.1:+21531*3,1*9318-3;0A902G+3 *?372,;.2A2+012*+30+73801.-731*>0.7,31.0+,39-*96-31801380,36-73 to international condemnation and skyrocketing hate crime. (-1Q,3+*13>0,1-321FE3,8-3077-7C
#.0+,3H.21*+,380/-3@--+3:+7-.3,2-G-3?*.318-390,1318.--3 years with transphobic attacks launched by various anti-trans ,9-;20632+1-.-,13G.*:9,30,3>-6630,3;*:.130;12*+,31801380,3A07-3 trans healthcare difficult to receive in the U. .
#82,390,13I:+-31.0+,98*@2;39*62;2-,3>-.-3-+7*.,-73@53I*8+K ,*+C
During a break in-between sessions during the first summit A--12+G3*?318-3)*AA*+>-06183+012*+,3,2+;-318-3;*.*+0/2.:,3 pandemic in the Rwandan capital in June, Johnson was asked by a reporter about the FINA ban on trans women athletes. #8-39.2A-3A2+,1-.Q,3.-,9*+,-3>0,31801318-.-3>-.-3J90.12;:K 60.39.*@6-A,E30.*:+73J2,,:-,3*?3G-+7-.CE
Johnson told reporters, “Look it’s very, very important that 0,303,*;2-153>-3,8*:673@-30,3:+7-.,10+72+G3*?3-/-.5@*753-6,-3 0,39*,,2@6-C3!Q/-306>05,3,1**73?*.31801C3V8-+3213;*A-,31*F3>8-+3 5*:3,10.131*3A*/-3?.*A32,,:-,3*?3,-L:0621531*32,,:-,3*?3G-+7-.F3 5*:3,10.131*3.02,-390.12;:60.39.*@6-A,FE38-3,027C
In a follow-up question the prime minster was also asked >8-18-.3>*A-+3;0+3@-3@*.+3>2183039-+2,F38-3.-962-7W3J"*13 >218*:13@-2+G303A0+CE
Additionally there has been a sharp uptick in violence 0G02+,1318-3BCDCQ,3(RH#S3;*AA:+215C #82,390,13I0+:0.5F303.-9*.13.-6-0,-73@53R06*93?*:+7318013 18013M32+3X3(RH#S3.-,9*+7-+1,31*303,-L:063/2*6-+;-3,:./-53-LK 9-.2-+;-73,-L:0630,,0:6132+1-+7-731*3;*+/-.13*.39:+2,8318-A3 ?*.318-2.327-+1215C
Galop asked 93 LGBTQ survivors of sexual assault “At any 0G-F380/-35*:3-L9-.2-+;-73,-L:063/2*6-+;-3180135*:3@-62-/-73 >0,32+1-+7-731*3;*+/-.135*:31*38-1-.*,-L:062153*.35*:.30,K ,2G+-73G-+7-.3013@2.18F3*.31*39:+2,835*:3?*.35*:.3G-+7-.3*.3 sexual identity ,” and almost 1 in (2 percent) reported back 1801318-53807C
V826-3,-./2+G30,318-3BCDC3A2+2,1-.3?*.3>*A-+30+73-Y:062K ties Truss did away with reforms to the Gender Recognition Act which critics charge has severely limited trans youth to be 0@6-31*3.-;-2/-39.*9-.38-0618;0.-C
A spokesperson for trans youth group Mermaids told Pink News that the Tory government must urgently “reframe trans 8-0618;0.-30,3039:@62;38-061832,,:-FE3>218318-3,5,1-A32+3J72.-3
need of funding, specialist resources and expertise.” It added the government cannot “pick and choose” which A-A@-.,3*?318-3(RH#S3;*AA:+21530.-39.*1-;1-73@536-G2,60K tion banning conversion practices.
J#.0+,39-*96-37-,-./-318-3?.--7*A31*3@-3*:.,-6/-,30,3A:;83 as the next person,” the charity said.
'18-.382G839.2*.212-,3?*.318-3(RH#S307/*;0;53G.*:9,30.-3 -+72+G3+->3;0,-,3*?3T!Z3@5318-3-+73*?318-37-;07-30+7307K dressing the monkeypox outbreak of which there were as of Aug. 26, 3,389 confirmed and highly probable cases of monkeypox in the U. . 3,239 of those are in England itself.
)-.23PA218F318-38-073*?39*62;53?*.318-3#-..-+;-3T2GG2+,3#.:,1F3 called on Truss to appoint a “monkeypox tsar” to oversee the “response and finally show the leadership in tackling the outbreak that the government response to date has been desperately lacking.”
#.:,,3>26631.0/-631*318-3S:--+3$62=0@-18Q,3,:AA-.3.-,27-+;-3 in Balmoral, Scotland, on Tuesday to be officially appointed prime minster by Her Majesty and asked to form a governA-+1C
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18-2.30;12/2,AFE3,0273!.0+3T:A0+3%2G81,C3J#82,3;602A3>0,3;*+K firmed in reports aired on IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) and other official media that cited promoting homo,-L:06215Q30,3*+-3*?318-3.-0,*+,3?*.318-31>*30;12/2,1,Q30..-,1,CE !.0+3T:A0+3%2G81,3,0273P-72G8230+73)**@70.36-0.+-7318-3 ;*:.13,-+1-+;-7318-A31*37-0183*+3P-91C3MC
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Manyhavelikenedmonkeypox(orMPX)totheHIVandAIDSepidemicbecauseof thedisproportionatenumberofmenwhohavesexwithmencontractingthevirus. Theconnectionhasalsoraisedalarmoverhistorypotentiallyrepeatingitselfwith thestigma,shameandracismmenofcolormayfaceasMPXcontinues.Itmayhave contributedtohigherratesofinfectionandtransmissionamongmenofcolor.
MuchoshancomparadolavirueladelmonooMPXconlaepidemiadeVIHySIDA debidoalnúmerodesproporcionadadehombresquetienenrelacionessexualescon hombresquecontraenelvirus.Laconexióntambiénhahechosaltarlaalarmasobre laposibilidaddequelahistoriaserepitaconelestigma,lavergüenzayelracismo quepuedensufrirloshombresdecolormientrasMPXsigaexistiendo.Puedehaber contribuidoatasasmásaltasdeinfecciónytransmisiónentrehombresdec olor.
Paramásinformaciónvisitehttp://www.losangelesblade.com/townhall
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B;3&=3<15=':1)%-&'==&5?)%5)*39&(,&:;3&%':1)%O5&='*<35:&5:':3A wide LGBTQ civil rights organization, Equality California, would help advance transgender equality and health, protect 91/3*53&!.CB]_&@'61=135-&5'@3<7'*9&*3?*)978:1/3&@*339)6&'%9& ensure public documents reflect the identities of transgender '%9&%)%(1%'*,&#'=1@)*%1'%50
Earlier this year, Newsom signed AB 1666 (Bauer- ahan), 4;18;&?*):38:5&?3)?=3&533>1%<&'()*:1)%&8'*3&1%&#'=1@)*%1'-&'%9& HC&`EF&K^13%3*M-&4;18;&*3?3'=39&:;3&5:':3O5&9158*161%':)*,&=)1A tering law and helped prevent police profiling and harassment )@&:*'%5&?3)?=3&'%9&4)63%&)@&8)=)*0
Equality California also led a successful push to secure key @7%91%<&:)&16?*)/3&58;))=&8=16':3&@)*&!.CB]_&5:793%:5&'%9& 4)*>39&:)&()=5:3*&5:':3&'%9&8)7%:,&;3'=:;&'<3%8135O&*35?)%53& to the MPV (monkeypox virus) health crisis requests championed by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) and H3%':)*&H8)::&^13%3*&K+AH'%&G*'%8158)M-&*35?38:1/3=,0 Q^;1=3&@'*&*1<;:&?)=1:181'%5&1%&B3Y'5&'%9&G=)*19'&43*3&'::'8>1%<& trans kids and criminalizing abortion, California’s pro-equality !3<15=':7*3&;'5&(33%&;'*9&':&4)*>&'9/'%81%<&@7==-&=1/39&!.CB]_& equality and protecting reproductive freedom,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang. “From improving ;3'=:;8'*3&@)*&:;3&:*'%5&8)667%1:,&'%9&3%57*1%<&?7(=18&*3A cords reflect LGBTQ people’s identities to providing refuge to :*'%5&>195&'%9&:;31*&@'61=135&'%9&?3)?=3&533>1%<&'()*:1)%&8'*3-& 43&'%9&)7*&=3<15=':1/3&?'*:%3*5&;'/3&53%:&'%&1%8*391(=3&?'8>A age of pro-equality legislation to Governor Newsom’s desk. We =))>&@)*4'*9&:)&:;3&<)/3*%)*&51<%1%<&:;353&(1==5&'%9&53%91%<& '&8=3'*&6355'<3&:)&!.CB]_&?3)?=3&3/3*,4;3*3&:;':&#'=1@)*%1'&
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This legislation will require Community College Districts to implement processes by which students, staff, and faculty can declare and use an affirmed name and or gender on academic *38)*950
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AB 2 36 (Bauer- ahan) Death Certificates
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e ublicans are htin amon themsel es ee it oin
Our democracy will die if Trump wins another term
Republicans are fighting among themselves and if they keep doing it for another two months Democrats could actually win the mid-term elections.
A recent op-ed like the one Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wrote attacking Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- y.), even if not mentioning his name, is a prime example. Scott wrote. “many of the very people responsible for losing the Senate last cycle are now trying to stop us from winning the majority this time by trash-talking our Republican candidates.” He went on, “It’s an amazing act of cowardice, and ultimately, it’s treasonous to the conservative cause.”
This isn’t the first time Scott, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and McConnell have clashed. In February, Scott released his 11-point plan to rescue America. Scott said it is “what the party plans to do if it retakes control of the Senate.” The plan “calls to raise taxes on millions of poor families and other right-wing priorities. Calls to sunset civil rights laws, eliminate the Education Department, declare that there are only two genders, and build former President Donald Trump’s border wall.” McConnell clearly doesn’t think raising taxes on the poor is the way to get Republicans elected, even if he agrees with some of the other points.
This is the kind of public fight Democrats usually have, though I hope not this time around. There is a clear indication Democrats can win additional Senate seats. They are up in Pennsylvania, an open seat, with the retirement of Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, where John Fetterman is leading Dr. Oz. In Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes is leading Sen. Ron Johnson (R). Then there is the open seat in Ohio, with Republican Sen. Ron Portman retiring, where Tim Ryan is slightly ahead of JD Vance. In Florida, Val Demings is within reach of Republican Marco Rubio. Now everything has to fall right for Democrats to win, but if women and young people come out as they did in ansas to vote to keep the right to an abortion in their constitution, and as they have in the five special elections for a member of Congress since the Supreme Court knocked down Roe V. Wade, then Democrats can prevail. There is some chatter over whether President Biden should have called out Trump and his MAGA Republican cult’ in his
speech in Philadelphia. Some compared it to Hillary Clinton’s speech when she used the term deplorables.’ I think President Biden made it clear where he stood when he said he was not referring to all Republicans, saying he liked working with many Republicans and has done so for some of the legislative victories he had. He was very specific when he called out Trump and his MAGA cult for being against the Constitution and a threat to our democracy. He is right, they are. It appears about 30 percent or so of the Republican Party is part of Trump’s cult. Not enough for Trump to win the presidency but without their support most normal’ Republican candidates would lose, which is why they all cater to Trump and his followers. The MAGA cult blindly believes all the lies Trump spouts. They called for Hillary to be imprisoned for her mishandling of a few low-level classified emails, never proven, and now support Trump despite his outrageous handling of huge amounts of much more top-secret information. Their hypocrisy is mind-boggling.
Democrats must stand up and speak truth and Biden has done just that. If Trump and his MAGA followers ever control the government again our democracy will die.
Again, Democrats have a real chance to increase their numbers in the Senate and even a potential, with hard work, to keep the House of Representatives. Enough to dream about what could be in the next reconciliation bill if that happens. If we don’t need to be concerned with Sen. yrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) who “single-handedly thwarted her party’s longtime goal of raising taxes on wealthy investors, (having) received nearly 1 million over the past year from private equity professionals, hedge fund managers and venture capitalists whose taxes would have increased under the plan. Sinema forced a series of changes to her party’s 0 billion election-year spending package, eliminating a proposed carried interest’ tax increase on private equity earnings while securing a 3 billion exemption that will spare much of the industry from a separate tax increase other huge corporations now have to pay.”
There is so much more to do to ensure equality for all. Democrats can do it by working hard and sticking together for the next couple of months.
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Written by Martyna Majok Directed by Zi Alikhan
Students at forefront of standing up for LGBTQ-inclusive education
The queerness of Gen is being used as a wedge issue to promote school privatization. Nebraska is one of only five states to resist charter schools and is consistently one of the highest ranked states for public education. But homophobia and transphobia run rampant here, and the effort to use prejudice to attack public schools is growing.
For those who aren’t actively interested in educational policy and practice, a bit of background charter schools, voucher programs, and other measures toward privatization are adored by politicians on both sides of the aisle, as they are funded by liberal and conservative billionaires.
Generally, proponents of charter schools say that schools will perform better with the competition that the free market creates. In many ways, this is directly at odds with the ideal of education for all, because “markets exist to create inequalities –they thrive by creating winners and losers.”
Charter school opponents point specifically to enrollment inequalities charters are typically given the same per-pupil funding as the state provides to public schools, but they tend to enroll fewer students in special education and others whose needs account for a larger share of that funding. Opponents also point to myriad examples of lack of oversight, falsified enrollment records, and subsequent embezzlement of taxpayer money.
The push for charters in Nebraska comes from wealthy conservatives, as well as religious groups that are looking for taxpayer money to fund their tax-exempt organizations. Pete Ricketts started pushing for school privatization even before becoming governor he and Mike Groene funded and founded the Platte Institute in 200 , which was labeled a “stink tank” by watchdog groups.
The Platte Institute claims to be a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, but is involved in lobbying state legislators for school privatization (despite regulations on the political activity of nonprofits), and is connected to the State Policy Network, ALEC, and the och brothers. Even though out-of-state rightwing special interests drive the Platte Institute and there is ample evidence of Nebraskans’ support for their public schools, some local media have bought into Ricketts’s propaganda for charters.
Our mainstream media also has a habit of casually reporting on extremist groups without questioning their actions Protect Nebraska Children (a fake-grassroots organization that has ties to hate group Family Watch International) has a new political action committee to put more anti-public school extremists, like irk Penner, onto public school boards. They are, of course, also aided by funding from the Ricketts family.
Protect Nebraska Children has routinely shown a film which claims that “children’s natural’ aversion’ to sex will prevent abuse” to argue against consent being taught in sex education classes. They also oppose anything to do with LGBTQ identities being acknowledged in schools, and were integral to spreading the false rumor that “furries” were taking over public schools. And they are in good company in Nebraska. At the end of
August, the archdiocese of Omaha released a new anti-LGBTQ policy for all Catholic schools, requiring “staff to act toward a person according to their biological sex at birth,” and including gendered rules for how students are allowed to “act, dress, and use bathrooms.” Students will also not be allowed to “promote, advocate, or endorse a view contrary to the Catholic Church’s teachings, including on human sexuality” on social media.
The archdiocese claims that this decision is “in part, so that parents can make a decision on whether or not to keep their kids in Catholic schools.” But parents’ decision-making for their queer students is complicated, as anti-LGBTQ policy isn’t confined to just private religious schools.
Grand Island Public Schools just made national news for shutting down their school newspaper and ending their journalism program after students published writing addressing LGBTQ issues, using their adopted names, rather than their dead names. Administration at Northwest High School in Grand Island offered no formal explanation for their decision, but the Grand Island Independent, which had printed the school newspaper, received an email at the end of May explaining that “the program was cut because the school board and superintendent are unhappy with the last issue’s editorial content.”
These stories are part of a larger national trend in which adults seek to harm the educational rights of LGBTQ students in the name of “parental rights” in public schools (these same adults are also vocal opponents of Critical Race Theory, which is a legal framework that is not taught in -12 schools, but has become a catch-all term for accurate teaching of history).
There are occasional glimmers of hope for student rights in Nebraska, such as the statement from earney Public Schools about their school libraries after attacks from conservative extremists.
Recently, the Nebraska GOP put out a tweet, claiming that pornography is in school libraries after hunting for an example of young adult literature that included sexual topics. They shared a page from the graphic novel GenderQueer, in which the narrator describes the awkwardness of a first sexual encounter, compared to the fantasy they had in their mind. The irony of the NEGOP publicly sharing something they consider to be pornography is not lost on us, but that is not the issue at hand.
Rather, schools are being attacked for potentially housing a graphic novel in their libraries, which is not taught as part of curriculum and which contains information for LGBTQ students that may otherwise not be accessible. earney pushed back on the validity of these accusations, saying, “( PS) serves a number of students in the LGBTQ community . . . These books can provide a context by which some student readers can identify with someone . . . who has had similar struggles.” They also defend their media specialists and remind families that they have a unique policy in which parents can request that they must give consent before their child is allowed to check out a book.
Nebraska schools as a whole allow parents to opt students
out of sex education classes and other educational information they might find “controversial.” But for local hate groups, like the Nebraska Family Alliance, this isn’t enough. They are set on limiting all students’ access to information. It is clear that both private and public schools in Nebraska are ready and willing to discriminate against groups of students, especially under pressure from school boards, parents, and “astroturf” organizations.
This discrimination seems likely to grow with the introduction of voucher programs or charters in Nebraska. Earlier this year, a bill to create tax credits for donations to private school scholarship funds was introduced in the Nebraska Legislature. Senator Megan Hunt sponsored an amendment to the bill “prohibiting scholarship funds from going to private schools that discriminated on the basis of race, gender, sexual identity, or disability.” The amendment failed with support from only 1 of our 9 senators. The bill, thankfully, did not pass, but would have resulted in a tax break 1 . times larger than for donations to public schools, churches, or other charitable organizations. Our legislators are open to tax breaks for the wealthy, lower funding for public schools, and the freedom to discriminate against students in the name of “school choice.”
Nationally, nearly 1 in 6 young people identifies as LGBTQ, and those numbers appear to be growing. Currently, 90% of students in Nebraska attend public schools, and the climate for these students has been largely hostile. GLSEN’s 2019 report on school climate for LGBTQ students in Nebraska shows that 96% of students have heard “gay” used in a negative way. Only 20% of students who reported harassment said that it resulted in adequate staff intervention. 80% of trans students were unable to use a bathroom aligned with their gender.
But the report is not fully negative about one-third of LGBTQ students said that their school administration was “somewhat or very supportive of LGBTQ students.” 96% were able to identify at least one supportive staff member, and 62% could identify six or more supportive staff members.
All this is to say that public schools should be scrutinized for the ways we fail students, but our commitment – unlike charters – is to serve all students, and for some LGBTQ students, school is a safer place than home. LGBTQ students are, on average, 1.3 times more likely to report parental physical abuse, and LGBTQ teens who experience parental rejection are 8. times more likely to report having attempted suicide.
Our queer teens are in danger and public schools need to take responsibility. Parental support is vital, but this is not coming from groups arguing for more “parental rights” in the name of exclusionary practices. As a teacher, I do view parents as allies in their child’s education, and I value the concept of parents as a child’s first educator. But in education, parents’ rights do not usurp students’ rights.
A teacher’s job is to serve their students, first and foremost. Currently, students are at the forefront of standing up for LGBTQ-inclusive education, and they need the adults in public schools on their side.
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Later, Michael would often flaunt his queerness in public. “He would be giving an interview, and enny Goss, his longtime partner would be off camera and say to him, I’m ),0-)#-,A4#<$*%0-)E#$-<#'(#A,F%<#+$34#M!'4#+((#3,F#$&#',:(4#8F&#&'(#>(&&%(#,-4E#$-<#J%,A# '0:#$#>0++?E#@(#A$-&(<#&,#+',A#&'$�&#A$+#LF+&#%0>(#J(0-)#+&*$0)'&4#LF+&#%0>(#J(0-)#:$**0(<?9 K'(#$**(+&4#0-&(-&0,-$%#,*#-,&4#:$3#'$=(#%0J(*$&(<#'0:#"*,:#&'(#2%,+(&#,-2(#$-<#",*#$%%4# JF�&#$%+,#&$*-0+'(<#'0:#0-#&'(#(3(+#,"#:$-3#,"#'0+#Y.DKa#"$-+?#5@(#<0<#$#'F)(#$:,F-&# ,"#),,<#J3#8*,L(2&0-)#$#8,+0&0=(#0:$)(49#+$3+#C$80(*1D(%%4#5JF&#&'(-#'(#2,:8%02$&(<#0&#A0&'# <("(-<0-)#2*F0+0-)#$-<#-,&#J(0-)#:,-,)$:,F+?#@(#-(=(*#),&#&,#$#+0:8%(#8,+0&0,-#,-#$%%# that, did he ”
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Reflecting now, Napier-Bell believes that Michael’s star has “gotten bigger” since his <($&'4#+,:(&'0-)#'(#+$3+#0+#5*$*(#",*#$-3#:F+02$%#$*&0+&49#0-#%$*)(#8$*&#J(2$F+(#,"#&'(#0--(*# conflicts that haunted his life and found expression in his songs.
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