Molly Sprayregen

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Trans man Tee Arnold shot to death outside Florida shopping mall

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A 36-year-old trans man named Tee Arnold died earlier this month after he was shot outside a shopping mall in Hallandale Beach, Florida in the middle of the night.  Hallandale Beach police Captain Aaron Smith does not believe the murder was a hate crime and says it was “an isolated incident” sparked by a disagreement between the victim and the suspect. He told Local 10 News the suspect is a woman who knew the victim.  Police transported Arnold – who also went by Lagend Billions – to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital after he was shot around 1:30 am on April 3. He died […]

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Michigan passes landmark law decriminalizing surrogacy & protecting LGBTQ+ parentage rights

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a law on Monday that adds crucial protections for LGBTQ+ couples using fertility treatments to build a family.  The Michigan Family Protection Act includes a series of provisions to protect families of all kinds. Most notably for the LGBTQ+ community, it changes “outdated state law to treat LGBTQ+ families equally and eliminate the need for them to go through a costly and invasive process to get documentation confirming their parental status,” as a press release from the governor’s office explains, adding that “Even if they move to a state that does not respect these basic rights, these […]

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Haters attacked an inclusive public library. So its director made the whole city a book sanctuary.

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Last June, the Hoboken Public Library in New Jersey hosted a Banned Books Read-A-Thon event in honor of Pride Month. Library director Jennie Pu described the event as “very simple” and “almost boring,” where participants merely read excerpts from books out loud.  But that didn’t stop the right-wing outrage machine from stirring up trouble. It started when Internet troll Chaya Raichik disparaged the event on her Libs of TikTok social media account, which has been known to inspire threats of violence against the facilities it targets. Raichik claimed the Read-A-Thon books “promote[d] kink and sex apps” and her followers proceeded to flood the library […]

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Activists to hold inclusive St. Patty’s parade to stick it to city event banning LGBTQ+ folks

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For decades, LGBTQ+ people have been explicitly banned from Staten Island’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, with organizers claiming the policy is justified based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. After endless battles to make the parade more inclusive, activists have taken a different approach this year and will host their own separate LGBTQ+-inclusive parade.  The inclusive event will take place on March 17th, about two weeks after the original parade.  Related: “We join the overwhelming majority of our neighbors in expressing our relief at the news that an inclusive St. Patricks’ Day parade will finally be held on […]

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LGBTQ+ parenting rights win in landmark court decision

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A landmark ruling by a Pennsylvania court could set crucial precedent for child custody decisions when LGBTQ+ couples separate or divorce.  Nicole Junior and Chanel Glover went through the entire IVF process together, splitting the massive costs to help Glover get pregnant, co-signing contracts, and establishing Junior as the intended co-parent, according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer. They had also been working on paperwork for Junior to obtain a second-parent adoption. Related: But the couple experienced trouble in their marriage when Glover was about halfway through the pregnancy. Once Junior moved out, Glover declared she wanted to be a single mom […]

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Gender-affirming care clinic burned down in horrific arson: “This is terrorism”

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Firefighters in Decatur, Georgia have determined that an October fire at a local gender-affirming care clinic was intentionally set in a move one activist has labeled “terrorism.”  The fire in the city’s historic Blair Building was “contained to one office and no injuries were reported,” according to a recent statement from the City of Decatur Fire Rescue Department.  The statement expressed that an investigation has determined the fire “to be incendiary in nature, indicating the fire was intentionally set.” No suspects have been identified.  The Blair building houses several medical providers, but a police report confirms that the target of […]

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Biden administration allocates $700,000 to sex-ed program for trans boys

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The Biden administration is dedicating approximately $700,000 to a sexual health program aimed at pregnancy prevention for transgender boys.  The Department of Health and Human Services has approved a grant to the Center for Innovative Public Health Research in California, which will spearhead a program focused on sex education and condom usage for trans boys. The grant summary explains that trans boys are “at risk for negative sexual health outcomes yet are effectively excluded from sexual health programs because gender-diverse youth do not experience the cisgender, heteronormative teen sexual education messaging available to them as salient or applicable.”  It also said trans […]

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President Joe Biden on his way to appointing a record number of LGBTQ+ judges

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With two recent judicial nominations by President Joe Biden, his administration could be on track to appointing a record number of LGBTQ+ federal judges.  On Wednesday, Biden nominated Judge Melissa Dubose for the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island. If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first LGBTQ+ judge and the first person of color to serve on that court.  Also awaiting confirmation is Nicole Berner, whom Biden has nominated for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Berner will also blaze a trail if confirmed, becoming the first out LGBTQ+ judge in the Fourth Circuit. The confirmation of both Berner and Dubose […]

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Trans youth & their families sue Louisiana over its trans health care ban

Five trans youth and their families have joined a group of LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations in suing the state of Louisiana over its gender-affirming care ban.  The ban took effect on January 1st after the state legislature overrode a veto by former Gov. John Bel Edwards (D).  H.B. 648 bans doctors and nurses from providing safe and medically necessary gender-affirming care like puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender youth. It prevents trans youth from receiving both gender-affirming medications and surgery (though surgery is almost never performed on trans youth). It would also punish doctors for providing this care by taking away their […]

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The nation’s first lesbian governor is fighting for LGBTQ+ veterans to receive coverage for IVF

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Out Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) has proposed legislation to grant LGBTQ+ military veterans coverage for in-vitro fertilization (IVF), something the federal Veterans Administration (VA) only allows for heterosexual couples.  Healey first introduced the legislation – dubbed the HERO Act – in November, and according to The Boston Business Journal a hearing on the proposal is set to be held this month before the Joint Committee on Veteran and Federal Affairs. Related: “Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and this transformative legislation marks an important step toward ensuring that Massachusetts supports them in return,” Healey said in a press release after introducing the legislation.  […]

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