Anya Crittenton

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‘Bruce Jenner is Still a Man,’ Reads Transphobic California Church Sign

A church in Weed, California put up a sign with homophobic and transphobic sentiments recently. Residents, however, did not take kindly to it. Trinity Bible Presbyterian Church’s sign reads: ‘Bruce Jenner is still a man. Homosexuality is still a sin. The culture may change, the Bible does not.’ According to local CBS news station KTVL, who first reported the story, residents of Weed said the sign has been up since the start of the new year. Community members gathered for the Shastina Love Rally over the weekend and protested the sign. ‘Just a community effort to show that we actually care […]

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Trump Administration May End Disciplinary Protections for Minority Students

According to the New York Times, obtained documents reveal the Trump administration is planning to roll back another set of Obama-era policies. This time, they’re targeting protections for minority students in schools across the country. Under the leadership of Barack Obama in 2014, the White House implemented policies aimed at making sure minority students did not face disproportionate disciplinary actions. Trump and his Education Department, led by Betsy DeVos, however, argue the policies ‘eased up on punishment and contributed to rising violence in the nation’s schools’. This development reportedly stems from this year’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School […]

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FBI Releases Video of Young Man Planning Terrorist Attacks in San Francisco

The FBI recently released an undercover video showing a young man discussing potential terrorist attacks in the San Francisco bay area. 23-year-old Amer Alhaggagi pleaded guilty in July to ‘attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group’. Both Alhaggagi’s family and his defense lawyers are seeking leniency from Judge Charles Breyer. Alhaggagi faces anywhere from up to 47 years in prison to only six or seven. An undercover FBI agent captured the footage of Alhaggagi more than two years ago. It’s now available to the public for the first time after the FBI released it to KQED. ‘Alarmed at the detail, sophistication […]

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Trump Signs Law Giving Billions to HIV Research and Treatment

  On Tuesday (11 December), he signed the PEPFAR Extension Act of 2018. This program provides billions in funding and research for HIV prevention and treatment. Created in 2003, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the largest global health program targeted at one specific disease. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama previously renewed it in 2008 and 2013, respectively. This new bill extends the program and its funding until 2023. Trump’s previous budget proposal for 2019 suggested cutting hundreds of millions from PEPFAR. According to reports, these cuts could have led to 300,000 AIDS-related deaths and 1.75 million […]

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Gay Man’s Anti-gay Comments Delay US House of Representatives Hearing

A committee in the United States House of Representatives has delayed a hearing on the national minimum wage after discovering anti-gay and sexist remarks a witness wrote 16 years ago. Joseph Sabia, San Diego State University economist, was supposed to testify today for the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. When they unearthed comments from 2002 on his blog, No Shades of Gray, however, they decided to postpone. Several posts with these comments are archived online. In in August 2002 post, he compared taxing the fast food industry for its bad health outcomes to taxing homosexual activity. ‘When two random men get together […]

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Gay Man Sues California Highway Patrol for Two Decades of Abuse and Harassment

Jay Brome, the former CHP officer | Photo: Video/Sacramento Bee 11 December 2018    0:49 GMT A gay man is suing the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for decades of abuse, harassment, and discrimination while on the job. Jay Brome dreamt of working for the CHP, a law enforcement agency in the Golden State with jurisdiction of all of California’s highways. He spent two years working on getting into the academy. When he finally did, he ended up patrolling the Contra Costa County in 2008, but not without costs to himself, his reputation, and his dignity. Attorney Gay Grunfeld filed a 55-page brief […]

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Facebook’s New Rules Ban Users from Stating their Sexuality

Facebook released a new set of community guidelines this week centered around ‘sexual solicitation’. The guidelines specifically harm LGBTI users, by disallowing them from discussing their identities. In justifying the new community guidelines, Facebook wrote in its policy rationale that the discussion of drawing ‘attention to sexual violence and exploitation’ is important, but it wants to ‘draw the line’ at content encouraging or coordinating ‘sexual encounters between adults’. The rationale for the new rules | Photo: Facebook The community guidelines then go on to detail what kind of content users are no longer allowed to post. Some of this banned […]

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Trump Administration Suddenly Threatens Funding for HIV Research

Due to work and influence from pro-life and conservative figures, the Trump administrationhas created uncertainty around the future of HIV research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a contract with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). The school’s work relies on using fetal tissue for research into diseases like AIDS and Parkinson’s. Now, however, the future of this research is uncertain due to pro-life advocates against research using fetal tissue. According to the Washington Post, the contract between NIH and UCSF typically follows a year renewal with $2 million in funding. The researcher who runs the UCSF lab, […]

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Students Allowed to Enroll as Non-binary in DC Public Schools

With a new policy rolling out, public schools in Washington, DC, are slated to become some of the first in the United States to allow students to enroll as non-binary. According to a report from the Washington Post, starting next school year, families can select non-binary for students on forms, rather than simply male or female. The DC public school system confirmed the news with a tweet. Interim chancellor Amanda Alexander of the school system said in a statement: ‘We value the whole child at [D.C. Public Schools], and have worked diligently to ensure our schools are safe and inclusive […]

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Court Strikes Down Guyana Law Banning Trans People Dressing According to Their Gender

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled against a law in Guyana banning men and women from going into public places ‘dressed in clothing of the opposite sex for an “improper purpose”‘. In their ruling, the CCJ deemed the law unconstitutional. The law, part of the Section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, was enacted in 1893. Guyana, a country located in the north of South America, developed the law as part of their post-emancipation vagrancy laws. In February 2009, authorities arrested four transgender individuals: Quincy McEwan, Seon Clarke, Joseph Fraser, and Seyon Persaud. Per the report from the CCJ, […]

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