Molly Sprayregen

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Judge rules in favor of trans students after parents’ rights group sues for the right to misgender

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A federal judge has ruled on the side of trans rights after a conservative group tried to overturn an Ohio school district’s anti-bullying policy.  The national conservative group Parents Defending Education (PDE) tried to get a preliminary injunction passed on the Olentangy Local School District’s prohibition on misgendering trans students. The policy includes students, teachers, and parents and it applies to out-of-school hours and social media as well.  PDE’s lawsuit claimed the policy is unconstitutional because “they compel speech, discriminate based on content and viewpoint, and are unconstitutionally overbroad.”  U.S. District Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley disagreed, writing in his opinion that “ultimately, […]

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Kansas AG sues for the right to force trans people to use the wrong gender markers on IDs

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Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) has filed a lawsuit to force the state government to discriminate against trans people on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates.  The suit asks the court to demand the Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles comply with S.B. 180, a sweeping new anti-trans law that, among other things, bans trans people from updating the gender marker on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses.  This is Kobach’s latest move in an ongoing battle between himself and the state’s Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.  In April, Kelly vetoed S.B. 180, but the state’s Republican-led legislature overrode her veto […]

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Catholic “Pride Mass” canceled after protestors bombard bishop with “hateful” messages

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A Catholic “Pride Mass” at Duquesne University was canceled at the urging of the Pittsburgh diocese after being bombarded with messages from anti-LGBTQ+ protestors.  Planned by the organization Catholics for Change in our Church, the mass was meant to be promoted as a service held in solidarity with LGBTQ+ Catholics. But according to local news outlet WESA, all hell broke loose when a flyer referring to the event as a “Pride Mass” was obtained and published by the far-right Daily Signal. The flyer was reportedly put out by a parish member without approval from the organizers. Her rhetoric is getting more combative, saying trans women […]

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Out Sen. Tammy Baldwin says LGBTQ+ mental health data should be collected in federal surveys

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While speaking at the Politico Health Care Summit, out Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) expressed the need for the federal government to collect more data about LGBTQ+ people, especially when it comes to mental health.  Federally funded surveys, she said, rarely provide questions on LGBTQ+ identities.  “I think it’s so important people are counted. It’s hard to claim with great reliability how much greater risk gay and lesbian, bisexual, transgender children and adults are at risk for suicide. It is really important that we get that data because it helps us make our arguments for greater resources and greater services.”  As The Hill reports, Baldwin […]

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Missouri governor signs anti-trans sports bill & gender-affirming care ban on the same day

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Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed two anti-trans bills targeting kids into law on Wednesday, one banning gender-affirming care for trans youth and one banning trans women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams.  S.B. 49, the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act”, is set to take effect on August 28 and bans all gender-affirming treatments (including reversible puberty blockers) until August 2027. Any healthcare providers who violate the law risk losing their license. Some states that have passed gender-affirming care bans have required trans youth already receiving this care to wean themselves off their medications and detransition, but […]

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Maryland governor signs executive order protecting gender-affirming care

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As GOP-led states continue to ban medically necessary care for trans youth and some adults, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has signed an executive order protecting gender-affirming care. “In the state of Maryland, nobody should have to justify their own humanity,” Moore saidwhile signing the order at a Pride event. “This order is focused on ensuring Maryland is a safe place for gender-affirming care, especially as other states take misguided and hateful steps to make gender-affirming care cause for legal retribution. In Maryland, we are going to lead on this issue.” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said the order shows that “this administration is […]

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Florida teachers forced to explain they’re not teaching kids to be gay

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Members of a culture-warring Florida school district spent a contentious eight-and-a-half hours at a school board meeting expressing their exasperation with the divisiveness plaguing the schools. According to the Tampa Bay Times, topics at the meeting included book bans, LGBTQ+ rights, and the “overall direction of the … district and its closely divided board.” Many speakers (there were over 100) denounced the right-wing propaganda claiming teachers are indoctrinating children to be LGBTQ+.  “No one is teaching your kids to be gay!” said former math teacher Alyssa Marano, who recently resigned from the Hernando school district. “Sometimes, they just are gay. I have […]

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Iowa governor signs education bill filled with anti-LGBTQ+ policies

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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) has signed an education bill that includes several anti-LGBTQ+ policies.  S.F. 496 bans instruction on LGBTQ+ identities through sixth grade and requires schools to out trans youth to their parents. It also bans all books containing sex acts from school classrooms and libraries, which will undoubtedly lead to the banning of several LGBTQ+ books.  And despite the fact that Iowa has already banned gender-affirming care for trans youth, the bill explicitly establishes that parents and guardians have “the fundamental, constitutionally protected right, to make decisions affecting [their] child, including decisions related to the minor child’s medical care….”  The […]

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Namibia’s highest court recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other countries

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In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court of Namibia has ruled that the government is required to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other nations between citizens and foreign nationals.  In a 4-1 vote, the judges overturned a previous ruling from the country’s High Court that said these marriages could not be acknowledged.  The litigants spoke with LGBTQ Nation about their fight for equal rights. “This Court accordingly found that the approach of the Ministry to exclude spouses, including the appellants, in a validly concluded same-sex marriage… infringes both the interrelated rights to dignity and equality of the appellants,” stated […]

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These companies are working together to bring affirming clothing to as many trans youth as possible

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Jamie Alexander is the epitome of a supportive parent. Since his daughter Ruby came out as trans as a young child, he has done everything in his power to ensure she is loved and affirmed and can lead a happy life as her authentic self.  And that includes launching an entire company so that Ruby would have something to wear to the beach.  Tanius Posey said some negative comments have come from trans people who think he’s making them “look bad.”  Ruby had been having trouble finding a bikini that fit her well. For her own safety, her parents had […]

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