Features

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Bill to make medical insurers cover trans healthcare advances in Hawaii with near-unanimous vote

The Hawaiian House has approved legislation requiring insurers to cover gender-affirming treatments for trans people previously deemed cosmetic. House Bill 2405 (HB 2405) passed through the Democratic-controlled House on Tuesday (8 March), with only two representatives voting against the proposed legislation. It now moves to the Senate. The bill would prohibit health insurers, health maintenance organisations and societies from excluding medically necessary gender-affirming treatments, which were previously deemed “cosmetic services”. However it will not come into effect until 2060. This would include gender-affirming facial surgeries, hair electrolysis, mastectomies, breast reductions, breast implants and voice surgeries as well as therapies. HB 2405 acknowledges […]

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Lambda Legal sues Oklahoma over transgender birth certificate policy

Lambda Legal joined by Tulsa attorney Karen Keith Wilkens filed a lawsuit challenging Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt’s executive order prohibiting transgender people born in Oklahoma from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates to match their gender identity. The suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, states that On November 8, 2021, Governor Stitt issued an executive order that reversed the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH)’s prior practice of allowing transgender people to correct their birth certificates to match their gender identity. Previously, transgender people could correct their birth certificates by presenting a court order to […]

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Woman who fled to the US in search of a better life is sixth trans person killed in US in 2022

A woman who fled Honduras to Texas in search of a better life has become the sixth trans person killed in the US in 2022. Paloma Vázquez, a spirited activist who sought refuge from transphobic violence, herself became the latest victim of what experts have described as an “epidemic of violence”. The 29-year-old with big dreams of a life without fear was shot to death in her southwest Houston Apartment on Dunlap and Clarewood street on 26 February. According to the Houston Police Department, the door to the property was unlocked with no signs of forced entry when officers arrived […]

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Conversion therapy app ‘suitable for all ages’ available on Google Play Store

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Malaysia’s government has launched a conversion therapy app to help LGBT+ people “return to nature” – and it’s being platformed by Google. The app, Hijrah Diri Homoseksualiti, was released by Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM), and is currently available from the GooglePlay Store. According to its description on Google’s app store, it includes “suggestions, ideas, explanations and interpretations” to help users “overcome the problem of homosexuality”. The app also contains an e-book by an “ex-gay” Muslim man, in which he describes how he “is confronted with some of the things that provoke him to commit this sin, and how to […]

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Google, Meta, Apple and more unite against Texas governor’s cruel attack on trans kids

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More than 60 companies, including Apple, Google and Ikea, are calling on Texas governor Greg Abbott to drop his “discriminatory” order for parents of trans kids to be investigated for child abuse. In an advert in the Dallas Morning News, the businesses demanded Abbott “abandon efforts to write discrimination into law and policy”. Meta, Johnson & Johnson, Ikea, PayPal, Capital One, Electronic Arts and many more firms all signed the ad, which ran in the paper on Friday (11 March). “The recent attempt to criminalise a parent for helping their transgender child access medically necessary, age-appropriate healthcare in the state of Texas […]

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Disney Announces Pause on All Political Giving in Florida

CEO Bob Chapek announced that Disney was suspending its political donations in Florida due to the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and he apologized for the company’s previous silence on the issue.   In reaction to the announcement, Sonja Spoo, director of Reproductive Rights campaigns at UltraViolet, a leading gender justice organization, issued the following statement: “It is long past time that Disney paused its political contributions to radical right-wing politicians pushing a vicious anti-LGBTQ and anti-woman agenda so contrary to the company’s stated values. But simply pausing donations to all politicians instead of the ones pushing this radical agenda – embodied by […]

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Disney thinks it’s off the hook on ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill because it tells ‘diverse stories’

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Disney CEO Bob Chapek has faced stiff criticism from staff for refusing to condemn Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. In an internal memo, Chapek expressed his “unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community” but refused to publicly oppose the bill, which would block discussion of LGBT+ identities in school. Following weeks of criticism from Disney staff, writers and fans, Chapek argued that “diverse stories” are more impactful than a company statement against the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, SB 1834, also known as the Parental Rights in Education bill. “As we have seen time and again, corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds,” […]

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Utah governor Spencer Cox promises to veto ‘insidious’ trans sports ban

Governor Spencer Cox has promised to veto a trans sports ban that was passed through in the last hours of the Utah legislative session.  State lawmakers debated and passed House Bill 11 (HB 11) on Friday (4 March) night, just before the end of the Utah Legislature’s 2022 general session. The proposed legislation would prohibit trans girls who want to compete in school sports teams corresponding with their gender identity.  After an hour of debate, the Senate passed the bill with a 16-13 vote, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The House approved the legislation a few minutes later with a 46-29 vote, and several […]

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Majority of teachers have trans pupils and are ‘crying out’ for help to support them, UK study finds

The majority of teachers have a trans pupil in their class, with many saying they would like more help with how to support them, a new study has found. Research by LGBT+ young people’s charity Just Like Us found that 55 per cent of teachers in England have at least one pupil who has come out as transgender, and 78 per cent say they would like more resources supporting them. The study, which surveyed 6,394 teachers across England, also said that 87 per cent of secondary school teachers have had at least one trans student. “Trans young people across the country are in […]

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April is Bisexual+ Health Awareness Month

The Bisexual Resource Center (BRC), America’s oldest national bisexual organization, will celebrate the 9th annual Bisexual+ Health Awareness Month (#BiHealthMonth) social media campaign throughout March 2022. Learn more about #BiHealthMonth at https://bihealthmonth.org/.  #BiHealthMonth, founded and led annually by the BRC, raises awareness about the bisexual+ (bi, pansexual, fluid, queer, etc.) community’s social, economic and health disparities; advocates for resources; and inspires actions to improve bi+ people’s well-being. This year’s #BiHealthMonth theme is “Connection.” This theme has been chosen to highlight the importance of connecting bisexual+ people to each other, to supportive communities and to health care resources that are affirming […]

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