Vermont’s largest school district, the Champlain Valley School District, has passed a set of policies that affirm transgender and nonbinary students’ identities. The policies require schools to let trans students access school facilities, play on sports teams, and use pronouns and names that match their gender identity without informing potentially unsupportive parents.
The policies, which closely follow the trans- and nonbinary-inclusive guidelines issued by the state Agency of Education in 2017, were developed using “feedback from principals, school counselors, and nurses, students, and parents, along with staff from the Vermont Department of Health and Outright Vermont,” the independent state publication Seven Days reported. The school board unanimously voted in favor of the policies, which underwent two rounds of legal review and will affect the district’s over 4,000 students.
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The three-page policy set allows trans students to determine how much information about their identities they want to share with others, including their parents. It also allows students to decide which names and pronouns they want teachers to use — and to retroactively change this information on past student records — without requiring a court order or legal name change.
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While students must be allowed to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities matching their gender identities, students who request increased privacy “will be provided with reasonable alternative arrangements,” such as a private area, a different changing schedule or a single-stall restroom, the aforementioned publication noted.
The district’s policies are more decisive in their wording than the state education agency’s. For example, while agency policies say trans students “should be” allowed to use bathrooms that match their gender identity, Champlain Valley School District’s says that trans students “must be permitted” to use them.
School board chair Angela Arsenault, who served on the committee that created the policies, said the policy could be challenged in court by transphobic and anti-LGBTQ+ groups like Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). ADF regularly files lawsuits against any expansion of LGBTQ+ civil rights.
“We really do feel that we’ve covered our bases on the legal front, and are confident that the policy would hold up to any legal challenge,” she said.
Dana Kaplan, executive director of LGBTQ+ youth advocacy organization Outright Vermont, praised the new policies, noting that many school districts across the nation have sought to restrict trans and nonbinary students’ rights.
“[This is] an exciting moment where a district is coming out and saying, in no uncertain terms, ‘We want all of our students to be safe,’” Kaplan said. “Having really clear guidance in this day and age, when rhetoric is flying around and [there’s a] concerted effort to squelch the rights of young people… is incredibly important. I hope other districts will follow suit.”
The Vermont chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics also praised the school district’s policies, noting “[Our state] is not immune to attacks on transgender and gender diverse Vermonters… When students feel safe to express their identities across the gender spectrum, they will be more prepared to learn and thrive in school.”
An estimated 4% of the state’s high school students identify as trans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
A New York law enforcement officer radicalized by a sect of sheriffs who believe they don’t have to obey state or federal law said he’s going to arrest teachers who affirm gender identity, as they are mandated to do by state law, newly surfaced video shows.
“This is what I plan on doing,” Carpinelli said. “If any parent goes to school, they find out that the administration is pushing this pedophile, this anti-gender crap…we’ll take a formal complaint from you.
“We’ll arrest that school teacher,” Carpinelli said. “We’ll arrest that superintendent.”
The Lewis County sheriff’s oath aligns with the beliefs of an organization whose reach has begun to spread across the nation.
The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is led by former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack, who believes a county sheriff represents the ultimate authority in his district and should not obey federal or state law or measure he deems unconstitutional, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Mack, who earned national fame by successfully challenging gun control law in the Supreme Court, has been able to win state approval for “trainings” in Montana and Texas, the ADL notes.
In Lewis County, Mack follower Carpinelli has become beloved, according to his Save New York interviewer.
“You are there for the people, I love it, everyone loves it,” said Charles deFrank. “Everyone here loves you. Everyone here loves Sheriff Carpanelli.”
Paul Smith’s College professor Joe Henderson fears his ideology, he told NCPR.
“It’s this kind of belief that you should be deferential to certain kinds of authority, and anybody who deviates from that authority needs to be punished,” said Henderson.
“To me, as a scholar who studies these things, it smacks of authoritarianism.”
Carpinelli is one of eight constitutional sheriffs in New York and among dozens nationwide, according to the report.
In his rant, Carpinelli also targets libraries that host Drag Story hours as part of an “anti-gender” movement that uses “mind control” on children.
“Be the people who have to stand up for our children,” Carpinelli urged viewers. “We have to do it.”
Carpinelli noted he can’t “haul’m to jail,” but he had a very specific game plan for parents who want to target teachers in his county.
“Let the media know afterwards,” he said. “I don’t have to, the parents can.”
New York in July passed legislation designating the state as a “safe haven” for trans children as “Don’t Say Gay” laws spread across conservative states nationwide.
In 2019, the state also amended its Human Rights Law to protect gender identity and expression at work, home, public spaces and schools.
And as Wesleyan government professor John Finn reportedly argued, the sheriff’s injection of religious beliefs into county law could have negative consequences for all residents of Lewis County.
“It means the local county sheriff is the ultimate bulwark against people messing around with God’s work,” Finn told NCPR. “It allows them to imagine themselves as the great defenders of God’s plan for America.
However, the song “Still 2 Genders,” criticized for its transphobic lyrics, continues to be available on the platform. Meanwhile, no changes have been made to Apple Music’s platform.
Earlier this month, The Advocatereported that the song was accessible on major music streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, despite its derogatory lyrics towards transgender individuals, including a slur to describe them. The situation caught the attention of GLAAD, which then took up the issue with Spotify’s trust and safety team.
In an updated statement provided to The Advocate, a spokesperson from GLAAD emphasized the importance of enforcing hate speech policies by companies.
“Companies have hate speech policies to protect all users from toxic content and especially from content that incites violence against marginalized people. When these policies are violated, it is important to see companies enforce them,” the statement read.
GLAAD’s statement highlighted the grave real-world implications of hateful rhetoric and imagery connecting it to a tragic incident.
“The terrible murder of Lauri Carlton, an ally who had hung a Pride flag outside her store, is connected to a suspect who had an image of a burning Pride flag pinned to his Twitter profile,” the statement added.
The spokesperson further noted, “Rhetoric, images, and targeting of LGBTQpeople encourages real-world harms. Companies and brands must continue to recognize their responsibility to people’s safety and public safety and immediately act to avoid facilitating anti-LGBTQ hate and violence.”
Spotify responded by removing the album cover and video imagery that included a burning Progress Pride flag GLAAD noted to The Advocate. Despite these steps, the song itself, carrying an anti-trans slur and dehumanizing transgender people as “demons,” remains live on Spotify’s platform.
Both Spotify and Apple Music have policies in place to moderate content on their platforms. Apple Music for Artists’ terms of service stipulates that all lyrics provided to the platform must be “correct, accurate, and do not contain hate speech.” On the other hand, Spotify’s Dangerous Content policy bars “content that incites violence or hatred towards a person or group of people based on race, religion, gender identity or expression.”
Despite these policies, Apple Music has yet to make any changes or respond to inquiries regarding the song’s availability on its platform.
In a prior response, GLAAD had stressed the digital sphere’s struggle with hate speech moderation, especially concerning anti-LGBTQ+ content, which extends beyond the realm of music streaming platforms. Their concern was not only about the derogatory lyrics but also the inconsistency in enforcing content policies by these platforms, which undermines the safety and inclusivity of all users.
As the scrutiny continues, both Spotify and Apple Music remain unresponsive to multiple inquiries from The Advocate regarding this issue. This scenario underscores a broader discussion concerning digital content moderation on streaming platforms, especially around anti-LGBTQ+ content.
An Acworth man who once had a leadership role at a popular Cobb County church has been arrested. Cobb Police have charged him with four counts of child molestation for his alleged encounters with a 15-year-old boy who attended the church.
Cobb Police have arrested the 32-year-old former Worship in Wonders former director of operations Marcus Turner.and charged him with four counts of child molestation with a 15-year-old male church member. Nelson is the former Director of Children’s Ministry for the growing church.
Former member April Nelson says she is flabbergasted by the arrest. Nelson says she and her husband left the church because they didn’t agree with what she claims was an anti-LGBTQ+ message that she says Turner and the pastors espoused.
A Marietta church put up a sign that appears to show support for LGBTQ+ communities, but they’re now under fire for what some are calling a bait and switch. The church actually says it wants to deliver people from homosexuality.
At first glance, the banner hanging on the front of Worship With Wonders church appears to celebrate people who identify as LGBTQ+. The words “proud to be delivered” are emblazoned over a rainbow flag on this church, which is located on Powder Springs Road.
The church would not speak with FOX 5. A spokesperson referred us instead to a statement on its website that reads “The Bible is clear that any sin separates us from God. Worship With Wonders church is committed to discipling those who are seeking freedom from a sinful lifestyle.”
The church posted the same message seen on its banner on multiple electronic billboards across the city.
Queer teens are twice as likely to experience binge eating disorders compared to their straight peers, a new study has found.
Binge-eating disorder (BED) is, according to the study, the most common type of eating disorder in the US, affecting up to 16.6 million Americans.
The disorder can act as a precursor for serious physical and mental health problems like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol, arthritis, depression, or anxiety, if not treated.
Based on data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, a large-scale 2020 study that recorded 10,000 adolescents aged 10-14, researchers were able to determine that teens from low-income households, teens of Native American descent, and teens who identify as queer were most likely to be associated with BED.
The study from the University of California at San Francisco points to stressors like bullying, discrimination, and internalised homophobia as the cause of heightened disordered eating and lowered self-esteem among gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens.
Lead study author Dr Jason Nagata writes: “Adolescents who identify as gay and bisexual face external and internal stressors, such as stigma, bullying, discrimination, and internalized homophobia, which all compound to an increased risk for disordered eating.
“This study found that adolescent males who identified as gay or bisexual had 12.5 times the odds of binge eating compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
“Similarly, adolescent girls who identified as lesbian or bisexual had twice the odds of binge eating and purging compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
“Given the emerging research that supports this association, future studies should explore the prevention, early identification, and management strategies of binge-eating behaviors for gay or bisexual adolescents.”
He continues: “Binge eating can result in psychological effects like depression and anxiety, and long-term physical health problems, including diabetes and heart disease.
“Given the higher risk of eating disorders in LGBTQ+ youth, it is important that health care providers foster a welcoming environment to youth of all sexual orientations and genders.”
The study also determined that, although disordered eating behaviours are often thought to primarily affect women and girls, data proves that male adolescents are more likely to display binge eating behaviours than their female counterparts.
“In male adults and adolescents, body dissatisfaction is often tied to a drive for muscularity and larger size as opposed to thinness,” the study reads.
“Over half of young men who report weight gain and bulking goals report eating more to achieve this goal, which leads to the consumption of larger volumes of food.”
It adds that men are more likely than their female counterparts to engage in “cheat meals” the practice of briefly indulging in prohibited foods before returning to a strict diet.
Cheat meals, the study says, are linked to over-eating, loss of control while eating, and binge-eating behaviours.
It determines: “The findings from our analysis further illustrate the prevalence of binge-eating behaviors in adolescent males and serve as a call for more studies focusing on eating disorders in this population, particularly on the relationship between muscularity-oriented eating goals and binge eating.”
Dr Nagata concluded that any teenagers experiencing eating disorder symptoms should immediately “seek professional help.”
“Eating disorders are best supported by an interdisciplinary team, including a mental health, medical, and nutrition provider.”
About 100,000 trans youth in America live in a state that took a basic quality of life element away this year. Some lost the ability to stay on a youth sports team while others lost access to essential health care, or countless teens lost the ability simply to use the restroom of their choice.
A new study by UCLA’s Williams Institute found roughly a third of transgenderteenagers in the U.S. between ages 13 to 17 had access to one or more of these rights compromised as a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws kicked into effect across numerous states.
“A record number of laws impacting transgender youth were introduced in state legislatures in 2023,” said lead author Christy Mallory, legal director at the Williams Institute. “While most of them did not pass, the ones that did significantly shifted the legal landscape for transgender youth.”
The study tracked several kinds of legislation specifically impacting trans youth, both laws limiting rights and those aimed at protecting youth from threats like conversion therapy.
But the scales definitely leaned against the ability of youth to live as their true selves.
At this point, 22 states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, with 19 of those implementing laws this year. That includes Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
An estimated 92,700 trans teenagers live in those states, according to the study. Notably, court orders prohibit the enforcement of those laws — at least for now. That preserves access to care for about 26,000 youth.
The study covers all sorts of bans, including blocking access to puberty blockers, hormones, and surgical care.
More states place limits on sports for trans youth. A total of 23 states now restrict participation in athletic activities based on gender assigned at birth rather than a child’s gender identity. That impacts 101,500 teens in total, about a third of the estimated 300,000 trans youth living in the U.S. Five states — Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota and Wyoming — implemented trans sports bans in 2023, touching the lives of 14,200 minors.
The year also saw a rapid expansion in bathroom bills, a once-anathema topic that led to boycotts in North Carolina as recently as 2016.
Segregation of school bathrooms under the guise of protecting students grew especially, with six states enacting new laws. An estimated 32,700 trans teens now live with restroom and changing room restrictions at schools, and of those, 23,600 live in states with newly implemented restrictions, including those in Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky and North Dakota.
The study brought some good news. As a wave of anti-trans laws rode into statute books in conservative states, more inclusive states passed gender-affirming care “shield” laws protecting doctors and parents who prescribe or seek access to medical care for youth in various ways. That means 146,700 trans youth, about half the total number in the country, now live with some level of protection. Of those, 88,000 live in states that in 2023 passed laws or saw governors implement protections by executive order. That describes 11 states — Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — as well as the District of Columbia.
Also, 27 states and D.C. now have bans in place prohibiting the use of conversion therapy, most of those with prohibitions in statute and another five with protections in place by administrative order. New protections were put in place in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Utah this year, bringing protections for an additional 21,800 trans youth.
The state of Georgia will start paying for gender-affirming health care for state employees, public school teachers and former employees covered by a state health insurance plan, settling another in a string of lawsuits against Georgia agencies aiming to force them to pay for gender-confirmation surgery and other procedures.
The plaintiffs moved to dismiss their case Thursday in Atlanta federal court, announcing they had reached a settlement with the State Health Benefit Plan.
The December lawsuit argued the insurance plan illegally discriminated by refusing to pay for gender-affirming care.
“There’s no justification, morally, medically, legally or in any other way for treating transgender healthcare as different and denying people access to it,” David Brown, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a phone interview Thursday.
The state Department of Community Health, which oversees the insurance plan, did not immediately respond Thursday to an email seeking comment.
The state will also pay a total of $365,000 to the plaintiffs and their lawyers as part of the settlement. Micha Rich, Benjamin Johnson and an anonymous state employee suing on behalf of her adult child all said they spent money out of their own pockets that should have been covered by insurance.
Starting July 1, Georgia legally barred new patients under the age of 18 from starting hormone therapy and banned most gender-affirming surgeries for transgender people under 18. That law, challenged in court but still in effect, lets doctors prescribe puberty-blocking medications and allows minors already receiving hormone therapy to continue.
But Brown said Thursday’s settlement requires the health plan to pay for care deemed medically necessary for spouses and dependents as well as employees. That means the health plan could be required to pay for care for minors outside the state even though it’s prohibited in Georgia.
“The plan can’t treat the care any differently from other care that’s not available in the state,” Brown said.
The lawsuit cited a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that treating someone differently because they are transgender or gay violates a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. The plaintiffs in that case included an employee of Georgia’s Clayton County.
Affected are two health plans paid for by the state but administered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare.
It’s the fourth in a line of lawsuits against Georgia agencies to force them to pay for gender-confirmation surgery and other procedures. State and local governments lost or settled the previous suits.
A jury last year ordered Houston County to pay $60,000 in damages to a sheriff’s deputy after a federal judge ruled her bosses illegally denied the deputy health coverage for gender-confirmation surgery. Houston County is appealing that judgment, and oral arguments are scheduled in November before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit settled Thursday included three transgender men. Micha Rich is a staff accountant at the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, and Benjamin Johnson is a media clerk with the Bibb County School District in Macon. The mother of the third man, identified only as John Doe, is a Division of Family and Children Services worker in Paulding County and covers the college student on her insurance.
All three were assigned female at birth but transitioned after therapy. All three appealed their denials for top surgery to reduce or remove breasts and won findings from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Georgia was discriminating against them.
“I am thrilled to know that none of my trans colleagues will ever have to go through what I did,” Rich said in a statement.
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.
This story discusses sexual assault.
Three additional men have come forward to say a therapist recommended and paid for by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints touched them inappropriately during counseling sessions related to struggles with their sexuality. The men’s statements follow allegations by three others, previously reported by The Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica, that clinical mental health counselor Scott Owen touched them sexually during therapy.
The three who most recently came forward said their counseling sessions were paid for with money donated by church members to help those in need. The church said it has no process in place to vet the therapists its church leaders recommend.
The disclosures follow an investigation by the news organizations this summer detailing allegations against Owen, who gave up his license as a mental health worker in 2018.
Austin Millet, one of the men who have spoken out in recent weeks, said he saw Owen in 2010 while attending Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. At that time, he was questioning if he was gay and struggling with how that fit in with the theology of his Latter-day Saint faith.
His bishop suggested he try therapy, Millet recalled, and said he wouldn’t need to worry about the cost — the church would pay the bill. He said the lay leader referred him to a local practice, Canyon Counseling. One of its co-owners, his bishop told him, was a specialist in helping gay LDS men be in romantic relationships with women. Owen was also a bishop during that time, according to the three men The Tribune/ProPublica spoke with for this story.
Millet said that when an employee at Canyon Counseling later called Millet, then 23, to set up an appointment, he was told payment was taken care of.
“It was kind of like, ‘Oh, don’t worry, we’re taking care of it behind the scenes,’” Millet remembered. “‘And your job is to just show up.’”
But Millet said his therapy sessions in Owen’s Provo office quickly turned physical and then sexual — with the therapist cuddling with him, kissing him and groping him.
Owen has not responded to allegations that he touched a number of clients inappropriately and did not answer detailed questions sent to him last week.
The Tribune/ProPublica report in August showed that Utah’s Division of Professional Licensing and LDS church officials had known about allegations of inappropriate touching involving Owen and were slow to act. Utah licensing officials say that, given the evidence they had, they believe they responded appropriately. The church said in response that it takes all matters of sexual misconduct seriously and “this case was no exception.” The church said it annotated Owen’s membership record in 2019 with a confidential marking intended to alert bishops that he was someone whose conduct has threatened the well-being of other people or the church.
In response to the more recent allegations, the church has said that it allows its church leaders to pay for therapy for its members, but added it could not say how much money, if any, bishops have paid to Owen specifically.
Sam Penrod, a spokesperson for the church, said it does not screen therapists that its leaders are paying. He said that Family Services, a nonprofit arm of the church, maintains a list of licensed professionals that bishops can refer to when recommending therapy. It does not individually vet those mental health workers, he added. That, he said, falls to individual church members.
“It is up to Church members who are referred to a therapist by a bishop or other referral to make their own decisions when it comes to using a licensed therapist,” Penrod wrote in an email.
Millet, now 36, said going to therapy with Owen was his bishop’s “firm counsel.” It was that same bishop who had given him the required ecclesiastical recommendation to attend BYU, and he feared that not following what his bishop said could impact his academic career. Losing his bishop’s endorsement meant he would not have been able to attend the church-owned university.
“Since he referred me to Scott, who was another bishop at the time, it seemed that this was required of me academically and religiously,” Millet said. “Trying to say no to either of them would have been overwhelming at that time in my life.”
Sexual touching in a therapy session is considered unethical by all major mental health professional organizations, and Utah licensers consider it “unprofessional conduct” that can lead to discipline. It’s also illegal in Utah.
State licensers stopped Owen from practicing in 2018 after investigating at least three complaints of inappropriate touching in a two-year period. Penrod has said that the LDS legal department also learned of alleged inappropriate conduct that same year. The August article from the Tribune/ProPublica revealed that one former patient had reported the alleged abuse to both his bishop and state licensers in 2016.
Since that article was published, other entities have responded: Police in Provo are investigating. Brigham Young University has reevaluated its relationship with Owen’s business. And Canyon Counseling cut ties with him before announcing in September that it was closing altogether.
But the church has not publicly reevaluated its own role in referring these men to a therapist they now say abused them.
“Bishop Pay”
According to the church handbook, bishops can pay for clothes, food or medical services for members who are in need. The money for this comes from member donations after monthly Fast Sundays, a prayer-filled day when members are encouraged to donate what money they would have spent on food and drink to help the poor and needy.
Church guidance tells bishops that this money, called “fast offerings,” should be used to pay for only essential items, like food, clothes or housing. It may also “be used to pay for personal services such as counseling, medical care, or vocational training.”
The handbook gives little guidance as to how a bishop should recommend a therapist or other medical professional or how to ensure a church member is receiving quality care. It says that when a church member is seeking counseling about “intimacy,” a bishop should refer them to “professionals who specialize in such counseling and whose beliefs and practices are consistent with Church doctrine.”
The term “bishop pay” is listed as an option for form of payment on several websites of Utah-based therapists, usually on the same page as insurance forms and other pay rate information. Several Utah-based therapy businesses require that anyone using this payment method also sign a confidentiality waiver allowing therapists to share patient information with the patient’s bishop.
When asked what privacy expectations a church member can expect when a bishop pays for their therapy, Penrod said church leaders may follow up with a therapist to ensure the member is keeping their appointments and “pursuing goals set by the therapist.”
“Otherwise,” he said, “it is Family Services policy that HIPAA principles are closely followed and the content of sessions including diagnostics, progress notes and observations are not shared with anyone, including bishops, without a release signed by the client.”
HIPAA is a federal law to protect people’s medical records from being shared by health care providers without a patient’s knowledge.
Owen is one of several Utah therapists who have received church funds for sessions who in recent weeks have been accused of abusive behavior.
One therapist was charged last month with aggravated child abuse after the children of her business partner in an online self-improvement program were found malnourished at the therapist’s home. Her niece said during a Mormon Stories podcast interview that she handled the billing for the practice and that many clients’ bills were paid by their local church leaders.
Another therapist is facing felony charges for allegedly physically abusing a client during counseling sessions. His life coaching and therapy website offers an option for billing to be sent to bishops. It also includes a form that requires patients whose treatment is paid for by the church to agree to waive their privacy rights and allow a therapist to share any health information with their bishop “without limitation.”
Neither of these mental health professionals have entered a plea to the charges against them.
Mark, who is being identified by his middle name to protect his privacy because not all of the experiences detailed here are known to people in his life, is another of the three former patients who came forward after publication of the earlier article. He told The Tribune and ProPublica about therapy sessions the church paid for where, he said, Owen held him.
Mark began to see Owen in 2008, he said, after his church leader suggested therapy. Mark had been in the middle of a disciplinary process with the church at that time after being unfaithful to his wife with a man.
At that time, many Latter-day Saint authorities taught that being gay was a choice, and the church opposed measures to allow same-sex couples to marry. The church has since said that sexuality is not a choice, but still does not allow its members to be married to someone of their same sex.
Mark, who is bisexual, had been disfellowshipped — now called “membership restricted” — which means that while he was encouraged to attend church, he was not allowed to take the sacrament, or Communion, enter a Latter-day Saint temple or give sermons. It is considered a step below the most severe action the church can take against its members, which is excommunication, now termed “membership withdrawal.”
Though he’s no longer a believing member, Mark said it was important to him at the time to follow the guidance of his faith leader and attend counseling with Owen in order to get back into good standing with the church.
“There’s definitely a bit of pressure there,” he said. “Like what if I say no? Is that going to make my bishop think that I’m not repentant?”
Mark remembers paying a portion of the therapy cost for the handful of sessions he had with Owen. His bishop, he said, picked up the rest of the bill.
Like other former patients who spoke to The Tribune, Mark recalled how Owen had told him that he had a “fear of intimacy” and suggested that they embrace as they sat on a couch in Owen’s office. Mark did not see Owen for long, relocating shortly after their therapy sessions started.
Millet, the then-BYU student, saw Owen a year later. He said his therapy sessions began similarly, and that Owen also said he was teaching Millet to be “intimate” without being sexual. He trusted Owen because he was a therapist and a church leader, and he remembers that at first the embraces felt powerful — and positive.
“I’m this vulnerable gay kid from BYU,” Millet recalled. “I was just craving this physical touch. And it was wonderful.”
But the touching, Millet said, gradually became more sexual, and he found the sessions confusing. Owen directed Millet to take his clothes off during many sessions, Millet remembers, while the therapist remained clothed. They would often kiss, he said, with Owen touching Millet’s thighs or his bottom.
Millet kept seeing Owen for a year and a half, he said, until the therapist ended their sessions when Millet became engaged to a woman.
“We Opened an Investigation”
Even after Owen surrendered his license in 2018 in response to several patient complaints to licensers of inappropriate touching, there was no criminal investigation, and he appears to have continued to play an active role in his business. A woman who worked at Canyon Counseling for about six months last year — and who asked that her name not be used because she works as a therapist and doesn’t want to be associated with the business — said that Owen led monthly training sessions with the young therapists who worked there and recalled that he taught them about “how to incorporate theology and religion into therapy.”
The woman, whose past employment with Canyon Counseling was verified by The Tribune, said Owen had told her that he no longer saw patients because Canyon Counseling’s “business was booming” and one of the owners needed to focus their work on handling that growth. Owen did not respond to questions asking about his role in the business after he surrendered his license.
Melanie Hall, a spokesperson for Utah’s licensing division, said a therapist who teaches isn’t required to be licensed if they are not also treating patients.
It was only after the publication of the Salt Lake Tribune/ProPublica investigation, however, that Owen’s role in the business changed dramatically. First, on Aug. 15, less than two weeks after the article appeared, Owen was removed from state business records as Canyon’s Counseling registered agent. Soon after, the practice noted on its website that Owen has “no ownership nor any other affiliation in any manner” with the business.
The business itself also faced repercussions. This summer, BYU’s Student Center — where four Canyon Counseling therapists worked — began reevaluating its relationship with the business “as it learned of concerns about one of the owners,” according to university spokesperson Carri Jenkins. She said that because Owen had never practiced there, the Student Health Center was previously unaware that he had surrendered his license.
Then, in late September, Canyon Counseling announced it was closing altogether. A therapist who worked there at that time, Shawn Edgington, has since reopened the business as Palisades Counseling.
Edgington said his business has “no ties” to Owen, adding that “any alleged abuse by Mr. Owen is completely unacceptable and not condoned in any manner by Palisades Counseling.”
“Palisades Counseling and its therapists, do NOT tolerate abuse of any kind,” he wrote in an email. “Any kind of abuse of women, children, or anyone is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any form by Palisades Counseling and its therapists.”
Neither the church nor Utah licensers would comment on whether they reported Owen to police. But Provo police officials said the first time they learned that a former therapist in their city had been accused of sexual abuse was after the news organizations published their investigation in August.
“We opened an investigation after we saw your initial report,” Provo’s Capt. Brian Taylor told a Tribune reporter, “and we have offered interviews to anyone who has something to say about their experience at Canyon Counseling, with Dr. Scott Owen. And we continue to do that.”
Taylor said the investigation is still open, and the Provo police are seeking to speak with other people with allegations of abuse involving Owen. He said they have been in contact with “more than one” alleged victim so far.
It’s the first time local police have looked into whether Owen’s purported therapy practices are illegal.
In Utah, with few exceptions, the state licensing division is not legally required to forward information to law enforcement. At least one state — Ohio — mandates that medical boards report felonies to the police. The Federation of State Medical Boards encouraged boards in a 2020 report to err on the side of reporting physicians to the police in cases of allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Best practices dictate that boards have a duty to report to law enforcement anytime they become aware of sexual misconduct or instances of criminal behavior,” the report recommended.
Hall, the spokesperson for Utah’s licensing division, said licensers do collaborate and report crimes to police agencies “often,” though she would not not explain under what circumstances they would do so.
D.C. police are investigating the unexplained death of a 30-year-old transgender woman, Skylar Harrison Reeves, whose partially naked body was found on a park bench in a secluded section of Marvin Gaye Park on Oct. 2.
A Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson told the Washington Blade detectives from the department’s natural death squad are investigating the case as detectives await a determination by the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the cause and manner of death, which could take up to 60 days or more.
“This case remains under investigation, and at this time there is no additional information to provide,” said police spokesperson Elizabeth Grannis.
But Rhonda Hailes, Skylar’s aunt, told the Blade that a homicide detective came to her house in Capitol Heights, Md., where Skylar was living, to inform her that her niece was found deceased in a D.C. park with her belongings missing and the dress she was wearing pulled up over her head, with her breasts exposed.
Hailes said the detective, whose last name she recalls is McWilliams, came to her home on Monday, Oct. 2, shortly after he said her niece’s body was found in a secluded section of Marvin Gaye Park.
The park, which a Blade reporter visited on Oct. 16, consists of a long, narrow wooded area with a creek running in the middle with trees and bushes, park benches, a nature trail, and fitness equipment located throughout the park.
According to Hailes, Det. McWilliams said police think Skylar may have died from a drug overdose, but he didn’t say how police came to that possible conclusion. Hailes said the detective’s graphic description of what he saw after park employees initially found the body and called police leads her to believe her niece did not die from a drug overdose, even though she may have occasionally used drugs.
“Her dress was up over her head off her body, her hand was over her genitals, her breasts were exposed,” Hailes said the detective told her. “I have a history with drugs myself,’ Hailes said. “I’m not bragging about it, but I’ve ODed myself,” she told the Blade, adding that the circumstances surrounding the body of her niece made it unlikely if not impossible that the cause of death was a drug overdose.
“How was she outside partially naked?” said Hailes. “How was she there with her dress over her head and her tits exposed and her hand over her genital area? That does not happen when you OD,” she said, adding that someone experiencing an overdose loses consciousness and could not take off their clothes.
“And the way my niece was found, it was a hate crime,” Hailes said, pointing to additional details she said the police detective told her. “Her purse, her phone, her credit cards, all of that stuff was gone.”
And, according to Hailes, the detective also told her investigators could not find any footprints from the tennis shoes Skylar was wearing on the muddy ground along the path leading to where she was found.
As if that were not enough, Hailes said Skylar, who was gainfully employed at the time of her death, never hung out at Marvin Gaye Park, which has a reputation of being a place where transgender sex workers sometimes congregate. She said she went to the park a short time after her niece’s death and showed photos of Skylar to the people who were hanging out in the park. None of them said they recognized Skylar as among those who hang out at Marvin Gaye Park.
“So how did she get there?” Hailes continued, saying she asked the detective if someone might have carried her niece into the park to the site where her body was found. She said the detective would only say the investigation was continuing.
“I’m not saying my niece is perfect,” Hailes said. “Nobody is. But I will stake my life and tell you I know my niece. My niece never hung out on Division Avenue,” which runs along the border of part of Marvin Gaye Park and is an area where trans sex workers sometimes congregate.
Under longstanding D.C. police protocol, homicide detectives are almost always called to the scene of an unexplained death. But the homicide detectives usually turn over the case to the natural death squad detectives, who continue the investigation until the medical examiner makes a determination of the cause and manner of death. If the medical examiner rules the death a homicide, then the homicide unit takes over the investigation.
“She has been shunned and persecuted all her life for being who she is,” Hailes said of her niece Skylar. “Yet my niece, she was a beautiful beacon of life. She could have been in the darkest room and shined it bright.”
Transgender activist Iya Dammons, who heads the recently opened D.C. Safe Haven, which provides services to the local trans community as well as to the LGBTQ community, said Safe Haven helped to organize a candlelight vigil in honor of Skylar on Oct. 9 at the entrance to Marvin Gaye Park at the intersection of Division Avenue and Foote Street, N.E.
Dammons noted that Skylar’s death is among many deaths of transgender women of color in the D.C. area in recent years, some of which are related to a drug overdose, but others involve anti-trans violence.
“And my thought here is there is an outcry that this is happening, and I don’t think D.C. is actually paying attention to the crisis,” Dammons said.
Like all possible crimes that have yet to be solved, D.C. police ask anyone who has information that may help in their investigation to contact police at 202-727-9099. An anonymous tip can also be sent by text message to the police TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.
Eighteen state attorneys general signed a brief asking a federal judge in Florida to allow states to ban gender-affirming care for transgender people from being covered under state Medicaid programs, using inflammatory language to explain why trans people shouldn’t have equal access to health care.
Last year, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) finalized a rule banning healthcare providers from billing the state’s Medicaid program for trans people’s gender-affirming care, a rule that covered puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and surgical procedures for adults. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program providing healthcare coverage for low-income people.
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Four trans people and their families sued in federal court for access to needed health care and U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle invalidated AHCA’s rule this past June with a scathing 54-page opinion. “Gender identity is real,” Hinkle wrote, accusing AHCA of making the rule “for political reasons.”
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“Pushing individuals away from their transgender identity is not a legitimate state interest,” Hinkle wrote.
Florida is appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Eighteen Republican attorneys general from other states signed a briefsupporting Florida, arguing that doctors are greedily pushing gender-affirming care on people to make money, including the doctors who work for national medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society, which all support access to gender-affirming care for transgender people. The brief’s point was that Judge Hinkle relied on the research of the medical organizations and heeded their opinions more than the odd doctors Florida was able to find to say that trans people don’t need gender-affirming care.
“Medical interest groups, composed of physicians self-interested in Medicaid coverage, are not neutral arbiters of ‘medical opinion,’” the Republicans wrote, accusing the organizations of stifling debate.
The argument is similar to one that AHCA made in the original case that Hinkle rejected, calling it “fanciful to believe that all the many medical associations who have endorsed gender-affirming care… have so readily sold their patients down the river.”
In June, Hinkle ruled that AHCA’s rule violates the federal Medicaid statute, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Affordable Care Act. He also ordered the state to cover gender-affirming care for transgender people on the state’s Medicaid program.
“I am extremely relieved,” said August Dekker, a 29-year-old transgender man and the lead plaintiff in the case. “Florida’s policy effectively denied me the treatment my doctors recommended,” he said. “Now access to that lifesaving, critical care can continue.”
Advocacy groups estimate that 9,000 transgender people in Florida use Medicaid to fund their treatments.
The states that signed the brief are Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.