Maggie Baska

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2021 becomes worst year for anti-LGBT+ legislation in US history

More anti-LGBT+ legislation has been enacted in the US this year than any other year in history, marking a sad milestone for LGBT+ Americans. With the enactment of two anti-LGBT+ laws over the weekend, Montana officially broke the record for the most anti-LGBT+ legislation enacted in a calendar year in the US. So far this year, 17 anti-LGBT+ bills have passed into law, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The previous record, 15, was set in 2015. HRC also warned that an additional 11 anti-LGBT+ bills are sitting on governors’ desks waiting to be signed into law or vetoed while dozens more are moving […]

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Vermont becomes 13th state to officially ban gay and trans panic defenses

Vermont has banned gay and trans panic defences, marking a major victory for the state’s LGBT+ community. Republican governor Phil Scott signed H 128 into law on Wednesday (5 May) after the state legislature nearly unanimously passed it earlier this year. The legislation prohibits the usage of a victim’s gender identity or sexual orientation as a justification for the criminal actions of a defendant. The decades-old legal strategy, commonly known as the LGBT+ “panic defence”, asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for another person’s violent reaction, including murder. It can also be […]

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LA governor vows to veto bills discriminating against trans kids

Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards has promised to veto any “unnecessary” and “discriminatory” legislation targeting “fragile” trans youth that winds up on his desk. The Democrat said in a press conference on Monday (19 April) he would oppose bills seeking to ban trans youth in sports, as well as a proposal that would make it illegal for trans minors to access vital gender-affirming medical treatment. Edwards called both measures “unnecessary and discriminatory”, adding that he’s “hopeful” the state’s legislature “will not seek to advance those bills”. “I am really concerned about emotionally fragile people and the idea that the weight of the […]

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AZ bill that would let parents stop kids from learning about queer people

Arizona Republicans have passed an anti-LGBT+ bill that would allow parents to stop their kids from learning about queer people. SB 1456 would require the “school governing board to develop procedures by which parents will be notified in advance, and given the opportunity to opt their children into, any instruction regarding sexuality, gender identity or gender expression”. The bill would also prohibit schools from providing sex-ed classes which include information about AIDS and HIV without parent’s permission. The new legislation comes just two years after Arizona state lawmakers overturned a different law that prevented LGBT+ students from receiving medically accurate information in classes at school. The law, […]

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One in six homeless LGBT+ youth have been sexually abused by family members, report finds

LGBT+ youth are being forced into homelessness after sexual abuse from family members, a shocking report confirms, with many having casual sex to keep a roof over their head while homeless. Almost a fifth (17 per cent) of LGBT+ young people surveyed by LGBT+ youth homelessness charity akt said they felt like they had to have casual sex to find somewhere to stay while they were homeless. A similar number (16 per cent) said they engaged in sex work as a direct result of being made homeless. The charity asked 161 LGBTQ+ young people about their experiences of homelessness in the last five years […]

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White House isn’t ruling out legal action against cruel anti-trans bills

The White House is not ruling out any legal action being taken in the future against states in which lawmakers are pushing anti-trans laws, including banning transgender athletes from female sports teams. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday (8 April) that president Joe Bidenwould continue to advocate for LGBT+ rights amid the flurry of new state laws against trans youth. But she stopped short of committing to any legal action against them. Chris Johnson, the White House correspondent for the Washington Blade, asked Psaki if Biden would “reach out to the attorney general” to begin legal action against states which enacted anti-trans bills. He […]

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Queer Black lawmaker won’t be charged after arrest for knocking on governor’s door

Georgia lawmaker Park Cannon has vowed to continue knocking on the “doors of injustice” after it was confirmed she will not be prosecuted for knocking on the governor’s door. Cannon, an out, Black state representative, was arrested and forcibly removed from Georgia’s state capitol building  for knocking on governor Brian Kemp’s door as he signed a voting bill that has been condemned as racist. She was subsequently charged with obstruction of law enforcement and disrupting the general assembly. Two weeks after her arrest, Fani Willis, district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, said the office will not file charges against Cannon, telling the Atlanta […]

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North Carolina Republicans want to force teachers to out gender non-conforming children to parents

Three North Carolina Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would force teachers to out any trans or gender non-conforming child to their parents. Senate Bill 514 would make it illegal for any “government agents” to not “immediately” inform the parents or legal guardians of any child or young adult if that “minor under its care or supervision has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria, gender nonconformity, or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor’s sex”. This would compel any state employee, teacher, volunteer or contractor of a school district in North Carolina to out trans students […]

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TN bill seeking to ban books ‘normalizing or supporting’ LGBT+ people inches closer to reality

A bill that would ban books that promote “LGBT issues and lifestyles” in public schools in Tennessee is inching closer to becoming law. HB 800 would prohibit public schools in Tennessee from using books or teaching materials that “promote, normalise, support or address controversial issues” – like LGBT+ issues or lifestyles or gender identity – are “inappropriate”. The bill said the promotion of “LGBT issues and lifestyles” should face the same restrictions “placed on the teaching of religion in public schools”. It added that educational materials that promote LGBT+ issues and lifestyles in public schools offends a “significant portion of students’ […]

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South Dakota governor signs chilling order banning trans girls from playing sports

Republican governor Kristi Noem has issued two executive orders to prohibit trans girls from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams in South Dakota. Noem partially vetoed HB 1217 – also known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports bill – which would ban trans women athletes from playing in sports teams that align with their gender identity. The move shocked her conservative supporters as Noem had been a staunch supporter of the bill. During an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Noem explained that she rejected the bill in its current form over fear that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) would seek punitive action […]

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