Anti-LGBTQ hate surged onlinefollowing the passage of a Florida law thatlimits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, a new report found.
This particular surge involves rhetoric implying that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are “grooming” childrenand includes such slurs as “groomer,” “pedophile” and “predator” in relation to the LGBTQ community.
The month after the Florida Senate passed the Parental Rights in Education bill, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, on March 8, tweets mentioning the LGBTQ community alongside these slurs increased 406%, according to the report, which was conducted by the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The law, which took effect July 1, bans instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
To evaluate the increase in rhetoric related to “grooming”, researchers collected a sample of 989,547 tweets that were posted between Jan. 1 and July 27 and that mentioned the LGBTQ community alongside words including “groomer” and “pedophile.” They found that an average of 6,607 tweets a day used such rhetoric in the month after the bill passed, a significant increase from 1,307 tweets the month before.
On March 28, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the bill into law, there was also a marked increase in the use of the “#OKGroomer” hashtag, which the report said was often used as a derogatory response to tweets from LGBTQ educators, organizations and health care providers, among others. On the day after DeSantis signed the bill, “OK groomer” tweets peaked with 9,219 total, or about one every nine seconds, the report found.
“Grooming” rhetoric was spread by a “small group of radical extremists as part of a coordinated and concerted effort to attack LGBTQ+ kids to rile up extreme members of their base,” the report said.
Tweets from just 10 people — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ press secretary — were viewed an estimated 48 million times and were “responsible for driving” the “grooming” narrative, researchers found.
“We’re in the middle of a growing wave of hate and demonization targeting LGBTQ+ people — often distributed digitally by opportunistic politicians and so-called ‘influencers’ for personal gain,” Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said in a statement, according to a press release. “Online hate and lies reflect and reinforce offline violence and hate. The normalization of anti-LGBTQ+ narratives in digital spaces puts LGBTQ+ people in danger.”
In an emailed statement, Pushaw stressed that Florida’s new law affects those in “kindergarten through third grade.” However, critics of the law argue the language can be applied to those beyond grade 3.
“By definition, then, opponents of the law support adults talking to young children about sex and gender behind their parents’ backs. If you know a politically correct word for such behavior, I’ll gladly use it instead,” she said. “There are groomers of all sexual orientations and gender identities. My tweets did not mention LGBTQ people at all. Florida’s parental rights law likewise does not single out any identity or orientation.”
Pushaw added, “The only side playing into the hands of bigots, are the progressive activists who pretend that ‘grooming’ is somehow unique to the ‘LGBTQ community.’ It is not, and I do not understand why the Human Rights Campaign would want the public to think otherwise.”
A spokesperson for Greene did not answer questions about the report’s findings but encouraged NBC News to “be objective” and shared several links to the congresswoman’s Twitter posts and articles from the conservative news site Washington Examiner.
Boebert did not immediately return a request for comment.
Ahmed said Facebook and Twitter claim in their rules that they prohibit the use of “grooming” rhetoric to target LGBTQ people, but the report found that the platforms don’t always enforce those rules.
Researchers used Twitter’s “Report an issue” feature to report the 100 most-viewed tweets that used “grooming” rhetoric after July 21, when Twitter told the Daily Dot that calling transgender people “groomers” violates its policy against hateful conduct.
Twitter didn’t act on 99% of the 100 tweets, the report found.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Twitter confirmed that use of the term “groomer” is prohibited under the site’s policy when it is used as a descriptor “in the context of gender identity.” The spokesperson said Twitter remains committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred or intolerance.
Researchers identified a similar problem on Facebook, whose parent company, Meta, also told the Daily Dot that calling LGBTQ people “groomers” violates existing policy.
Researchers identified 59 paid ads on Facebook and Instagram that promote the narrative that the LGBTQ community and its allies are “grooming” children. After researchers reported them, Meta removed only one of the ads and has continued to accept and run other similar ads since, the report said.
The report also found that Meta profited off the ads. According to statistics from Meta’s Ad Library, the company accepted up to $24,987 in payment for the 59 ads, which received more than 2.1 million impressions, the report said.
“The clear message from social media giants is that they are willing to turn a blind eye,” Ahmed said. “LGTBQ+ rights have been transformed after decades of hard-won progress, but progress is fragile unless you continue to defend it.”
A Meta spokesperson said in an email, “We reviewed the ads flagged in the report and have taken action on any content that violates our policies.”
Joni Madison, interim president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that the rise of online vitriol “doesn’t just have political implications — there are deadly, real world consequences as violent rhetoric leads to stigma, radicalization, and ultimately violence.”
The report provides recommendations to Facebook and Twitter, including that they hire, train and support moderators to remove hate and enforce their community standards, act on hashtags that fuel anti-LGBTQ hate, and be liable for harm when they fail to enforce their community standards.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order Tuesday to ban conversion therapy, a discredited form of therapy that seeks to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, for minors.
The executive order directs state agencies to discourage conversion therapy for people of all ages, and to instead promote evidence-based practices for supporting LGBTQ people. The order also directs the Department of Human Services, among other agencies, to ensure that state funds are not being used to provide or reimburse for conversion therapy.
“Conversion therapy is a traumatic practice based on junk science that actively harms the people it supposedly seeks to treat,” Wolf, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This discriminatory practice is widely rejected by medical and scientific professionals and has been proven to lead to worse mental health outcomes for LGBTQIA+ youth subjected to it. This is about keeping our children safe from bullying and extreme practices that harm them.”
Survivors of conversion therapy have said that it can include talk therapy and being urged to take on traditional gender roles. A 2020 United Nations report found that it can also include more extreme practices such as aversion therapy, which can involve administering electric shock or medication to induce nausea while exposing the patient to same-sex erotic images.
The executive order makes Pennsylvania the 26th state to at least partially bar the practice for minors, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank. Twenty other states and Washington, D.C., completely ban the practice, while five states partially ban conversion therapy for minors. A federal court has barred three states — Alabama, Georgia and Florida — from enforcing conversion therapy bans. The remaining 21 states have no law or policy on conversion therapy.
Mathew Shurka, a conversion therapy survivor and co-founder of Born Perfect, a national campaign to end conversion therapy, said Wolf is “taking a critical step to protect LGBTQ minors” in Pennsylvania.
“LGBTQ kids and their families are targeted by so-called therapists causing lifelong harm,” Shurka said in a statement. “This executive order demonstrates that our political offices have the power to protect our youth and it is their responsibility to do so.”
The governor’s executive order cited research that has found conversion therapy contributes to negative mental health outcomes among LGBTQ youth.
A national survey published in March by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, found that 13% of all LGBTQ respondents ages 13-24 reported being subjected to conversion therapy, and 83% of those reported being subjected to it before they turned 18. The number was higher for transgender and nonbinary young people, 18% of whom reported being subjected to conversion therapy.
A 2020 peer-reviewed study published by The Trevor Project in the American Journal of Public Health found that LGBTQ youth who experienced conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide than youth who had not experienced it, and more than 2.5 times as likely to report multiple suicide attempts in the past year.
“Taxpayers’ dollars must never again be spent on the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion ‘therapy’ — which has been consistently associated with increased suicide risk and an estimated $9.23 billion economic burden in the U.S.,” Troy Stevenson, senior campaign manager for advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project, said in a statement citing the research the group published in March.
He added, “We urge the state legislature to pass comprehensive state-wide protections and for governors across the nation to follow the Keystone State’s lead in ending this abusive practice.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Mariah Hanson has always loved throwing parties to create a feel-good environment that was easy for people to meet new friends, celebrate their lives and go home with a few extra awesome memories. Under the Club Skirts Marquis, Mariah created the world famous Dinah Shore Weekend in 1991 with just that intention in mind – to create an exciting, community building, life affirming, unimaginably stellar experience for her customers.
She choose the world-renowned Palm Springs Modern Art Museum to host her first Dinah. Mariah knew an event inside this spectacular museum, surrounded by priceless artwork, was just the kind of statement she was trying to make – that our community is worth the very best and she was going to offer it. Mariah’s first Dinah was sold out, packing every room of the museum, where partygoers drank martini’s while surrounded by tens of millions of dollars worth of art.
Mariah wanted Dinah goers to feel safe, and inclusive, so she booked entire hotels so that they were 100% The Dinah occupied, brought in national sponsors, popular national recording artists, and kept all events in walking distance to create our very own world within a world. These simple but daring concepts, creating an empowering lesbian world within the city, catapulted the Dinah to international fame. Today, The Dinah is considered the largest lesbian/queer women event in the world.
The Dinah 2022 happens September 21 – 25 with the new Margaritaville Palm Springs serving as host hotel and the location of most of the parties. The overflow Hotel, The Doubletree, is booking now. Go to: www.thedinah.com to see the full schedule and purchase ticket.
Gary Carnivele: What is the history of The Dinah (formerly The Dinah Shore Weekend), which you started in 1991 and how it’s evolved over the years?
Mariah Hanson: I think it’s evolved a lot. I started it when I was thirty-ish and I really had no idea what I was getting into and I thought I’m going to try this. I booked the Palm Springs Museum, which was the state-o- the-art modern art museum. I figured out if you were a corporate member of the museum, you could, for $2500, host a cocktail reception in the art museum. Afterwards the board changed the guidelines to make sure that I could never host another event there. I’m 31 years older and I had the coolest job in the world. I got to drink for free. Now, that I’m older I realized that I need to do something substantial with it. At this stage, The Dinah really reflects my own personal journey which and reflects mine. My desire and commitment to create not only an open platform for LGBTQI+ but an inspiring place that tells stories. One that really speaks to women empowerment in every aspect. Attendees are noticing that the artist I booked prove there are no glass ceiling other than the ones we imagine. At the end of the weekend, people really get the up-lifting vibe that we all have. I feel like people leave the event feeling incredible and I just got an experience all to myself. And that was by design.
GC: What do you have in store for your attendees this year?
MH: it’s a really, special year. The 31st anniversary and so proud of the fact that we have produced a music festival event. People are so ready to get out and enjoy themselves and they belong to this community. We have been denied for 2 years and so I feel like people are really bringing it. There’s also issues that have come to the forefront that we know we won’t necessarily be too we will bet you it’s not but is there and so turn on slot right now that is so in our faces. I think it’s always been there with a certain function of our society and the state but this anti-misogynist, anti-women platform that the far right puts forward where women should be seen and not heard is so mind-boggling to me. It really came to the surface during the Trump administration. He is – in my opinion – very hateful individual and he really helped a lot of the hate come to the surface. He and the GOP stacked the Supreme Court who overturned a woman’s right to reproductive rights. Justice Thomas intimated that he’s going after marriage equality next. What are we do about that? I think when people come together with a kind of commonality we can fight oppression. It’s also a wonderful option to see how powerful we are when we collectively say no more answer
GC: Do you think there will be a political element at The Dinah?
MH: How can you not be political right now as a woman or a member of the queer community. it’s a scary time for all of us but I think it’s especially scary for women, women of color, women od lower social economic status. It’s a really frightening and we must stand up, be strong and say ‘no.’ We’ve done it before and we’re going to do it again. I think that that this time around we have so many more male supporters because we need you! It’s one thing for us to be doing this but we need our male allies more than ever. It’s an awesome opportunity for men to really show up and stand up and I know that they will because those hateful voices that we’re hearing are in the minority and that’s what we should remember.
We all need to stand up, speak up and vote in. The voting blocks that really can swing votes in a national election are all across the Midwestern states. We’re hoping to galvanize younger people, we didn’t the year before. We have been experiencing a certain kind of circumvention of our democracy one where it’s state governments versus the federal government. This is a test about how you can run a country our founding fathers never imagined. Because of technology it’s easier than ever to destroy what is a democratic institution. Trump was very close to becoming a dictator just like all the horrible people he admires so much.
GC: Let’s get back to The Dinah. Tell us about the schedule.
It’s jubilant pool parties and exciting evening events. The Dinah schedule is always very consistent. We start on Wednesday with The Official Dinah Pre- Party to which we’re inviting w the locals who we really appreciate. This year, that happens at Chill Bar, 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. World-class DJ’s, dancing poolside, and cocktails.
It’s the first time we’ve done it in the morning so we’re starting out wild and crazy right from the get-go.
Thursday is our opening party that’s happening at AsiaSF Palm Springs, which is a beautiful location. At midnight there will be a performance by the winner of our ‘Emerging Artist Contest.’
Friday kicks off at Noon with ‘The G(irl) Spot” a pool party, hosted by “The Real L Word’s’ Rose Garcia. DJ’s will provide great music.
Friday night we are at the ballroom at Margaritaville, our host hotel, for ‘The Black and White Ball,’ where Taylor Dayne will perform. Taylor gave me this great deal so that she can bring her band and not just sing to a track. I really appreciate it and Taylor is very supportive of our community. Also, Canada hip-hop artist Haviah Mighty, who is a really a powerful force.
Saturday is our big ‘The L Word Pool Party,’ which includes a ‘Celebrity Meet and Greet.’ ‘Battle of the DJs,’ and a vendor fair. IV4 and Cassidy King will perform. This all happens at Margaritaville Resort 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday night we have ‘The Hollywood Party,’ in the Grand Ballroom at the resort. There will be fabulous 11 p.m. performance by Fletcher, an up-and-coming artist who about to bust out into stardom as a recording artist. She’s amazing and I’m so excited we were able to book her.
‘The Sunday Funday Pool Party’ happens at the resort 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. The will be fun games, exciting contests, and daring antics where you can win The Dinah 2023 tickets. Rubber Duck Dive, Best Dyke-ini, Guzzling a Beer Contest are all fun crowd-pleasers.
The Dinah 2022 ends with ‘The Dinah Official Closing Party’ 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. where the nation’s hottest DJs will spin and the winner or our ‘Emerging Artist’ will entertain us with an encore, midnight performance.
GC: Tell us more about the performing artists and how you go about booking them?
Cassidy King is our sleeper hit. I think she’s someone that we’ll all come to know sooner rather than later. She’s so amazing. She’s doing videos that she directs herself that portray our narrative, our stories. She’s all about queer romance, queer friendship, break ups. The videos are interesting because we are normalized in them. Just as we are now in the music industry. Sunday night I love our lineup mostly because for the first time ever it is all queer. And that really speaks to how queer people are willing to be out and front runners now in the music industry. We are breaking so many barriers and changing minds. It’s wonderful because I will tell you it was very hard to book queer acts throughout my career. I would approach big names, that we knew were queer, but they would decline because they didn’t want to be identified with a big, queer event like The Dinah. Her people or her record label would be squeamish. Thankfully, that has changed over these 31 years.
GC: Talk about the host hotel the Margaritaville
MH: Margaritaville, formally the Riviera, has been one of my favorite hotels in Palm Springs, just iconoclastic. Margaritaville changed the decor but has maintained all those beautiful bones. It’s an incredible 5-star hotel with two big, beautiful pools, this fantastic Grand Ballroom, and an inside garden – it’s just very upscale. Now it’s got a more of a Margaritaville theme but it’s still a great hotel with 400 remodeled rooms.
GC: Who attends The Dinah?
MH: Women of all ages really, but it does trend younger. The Dinah is a music festival and so we book performers and our DJs spin music for all ages. It’s also a right of passage and a bucket list item for the queer community. Go to The Dinah at least once in your life. What I love about older women attending is that they get to see how free society has become and how many inroads we’ve made. We can finally get to the point where we could be at 5-star hotel, which is completely booked. The Dinah is considered a legacy event in Palm Springs it’s the cities top 10 events. The whole city welcoming The Dinah’s attendees illustrates who important it is to their community. It’s important that we showcase how much work we’ve done to gain our civil rights because this wasn’t the case 31 years ago. I think queer women love to see how much freedom there is today. Now I can send mailing advertisements in The Dinah envelopes because so many people are out even in small towns across the states. IN the early days some women would chastise me: I can’t believe you didn’t put this in a plain envelope. My mailman now knows that I’m gay. It was heartbreaking. We’ve come a long way baby so h
GC: How many how many women do you expect to attend The Dinah 2022?
MH: I’d say this year we will have 7,000 – 10,000. I think it’s going to be a big year. A lot of local women come but the majority like 95% of the people coming out of all over, many from California but 50% from out of the state. We get a small percentage from out of the country.
GC: I would imagine COVID-19 has really impacted The Dinah.
Last year, I had to cancel it and then I dealt with the nightmare of having to refund as much as I could. My customers were very understanding – kind and patient. I was able to transfer 600 of ticket buyers to this year. The year before, we had zero transmission. I wanted everyone to understand that we need to show the world that we are conscientious and we care about each other. We’re asking people to test themselves before the event breakthrough cases vaccine is no guarantee that you’re Covid-free. We don’t want to be spreading it and we don’t want anyone else to get sick. The tests are 70% accurate and The Dinah needs to follow city, state, and CDC guidelines. We are asking people to please get tested.
GC: Talk about the people that work with you to produce a really amazing event.
There are many amazing women working with me the last couple months. I have about 40 people in Palm Springs that are familiar with the city, its vendors and services. Light and sound is another group of 30 hard-working people. Very mom-and-pop. We love it because we get to do it our way without the bureaucracy of a corporation. There’s a real leaning into what is needed at the time, where is our community is at the time, so we speak every year to what we think needs to be said. I think it’s really important for messaging to lead the way and so we like to do that every year and help inspire people to live bigger and brighter and better lives. And that includes everyone, that includes trans, non-binary, queer, lesbian. I’ve worked with transfolk who really helped me understand that some people are born in the wrong bodies and want to be authentically who they are. I have been very pro-trans in my career. I don’t believe in separatism. I don’t believe in keeping our world so small that people don’t fit in. I think that everybody needs to be invited to the table so when we are producing The Dinah we keep that in mind. You can’t just say: I’m inviting everyone. I want everyone to feel safe at The Dinah. We keep those things in mind because they are important, critical. I’m proud of the fact that we have in that messaging. There are too many people in our community who don’t live in really inclusive parts of our country. We want The Dinah to be the place where we invite you to just come on in let all your isms, all your differences, and all your fears melt away. This is a world where I can live for five days out loud, together being the beautiful people that we are and experience really cool, powerful people. We were together for five days and got to meet people from different backgrounds, from different ways of identifying. We all got along, we enjoyed each other. We found all these commonalities to take that home with us.
GC: Have you ever thought about doing a similar event here in Sonoma County?
MH: Yes, I have. I love what Gary Saperstein is doing with Gay Wine Weekend and I think there’s room for a women’s event. There’s not a lot of convention space here but I think the Renaissance is probably your best bet. We’ve been talking about it recently because this is the first time that I have been here permanently. I bought my grandfather’s house here in Sonoma in 1999 where my mother lived for her final years. I finally came back and feel settled. It’s an opportunity for me to really start thinking seriously about producing a Dinah event here where everyone is invited. Personally think we should always feel comfortable bringing our best guy friends.
GC: How can folks find out more about The Dinah 2022 and purchase tickets
MH: The website in thedinah.com and it is the best way to see the complete schedule and purchase tickets. Although I will say that our social media platforms are also a lot of fun.
GC: Thank you for taking the time to tell us all about The Dinah 2022. Best wishes for a successful event. We’ll wait to hear from you about the exciting event you’ll produce here.
MH: Thank you Gary and we hope to see all your readers at The Dinah.
Anti-LGBTQ+ violence in the UK is rising at a record-breaking rate, alarming police figures have shown.
Reports of homophobic hate crimes more than doubled in five years, shooting from 10,003 in 2016-17 to 26,824 in 2021-22. In the past year the figure soared by 32 per cent – the biggest yearly rise since record-keeping began.
Transphobic hate crimes similarly swelled by 240 per cent, from 1,292 reports in 2016-17 to 4,399 five years later, in what is also believed to be the largest increase ever seen by the authorities.
Across the UK’s 45 territorial police forces, just five reported a decrease in reports of homophobic hate crimes compared to the previous reporting year, VICE World Newsreported.
All others recorded dizzying increases, with Merseyside Police reporting the highest rise from 64 in 2014-15 to 1,618 between 2021 and 2022.
London has emerged as the epicentre of hate crimes based on sexual orientation. The Metropolitan Police Service tallied 3,794 homophobic hate crimes in 2021-22, an increase of 28 per cent from the previous year.
Derbyshire, Humberside, Northamptonshire, South Yorkshire and Suffolk were the only regions that saw hate crimes dip compared to the previous year. But the stats are still higher than five years ago.
England’s capital saw 434 transphobic hate crimes in the past year – once again the highest number recorded by any police force. Manchester followed with 320 hate crimes fuelled by hatred for a person’s gender identity.
“In recent years, we’ve seen a disproportionate rise in official hate crime figures in the UK, but we know we’re still not seeing the full picture,” Leni Morris, the CEO of LGBTQ+ anti-abuse charity Galop, told PinkNews.
Morris added: “This year, in particular, we’ve seen a significant rise in hate crime experienced by the LGBT+ community. The narrative around monkeypox and continuing transphobia in the media contribute to a hostile environment for LGBT+ people.
“These things also make our community more visible in the eyes of the public – and when we are more visible, this often leads to a rise in attacks.”
Yet as alarming as the police figures are, Morris said they actually understate the problem. Galop’s 2021 Hate Crime report showed that only one in eight queer victims of hate crime reported what had happened to them.
Only 14 per cent of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes are resolved by the police, the investigative journalism unit Liberty Investigates found.
The police need to do more to protect LGBTQ+ Brits, said Nancy Kelley, the CEO of Stonewall. “As a society, we all need to do more to combat anti-LGBTQ+ violence and call out abuse, harassment and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment wherever we see it, but we also need a greater commitment from the police to take decisive action to follow up and prosecute these offences.
“Hate crime has real and lasting impacts on victims and survivors, and it is important to remember that each of these reports represents a real person,” Morris added.
“There’s still significant work to be done to improve the response to anti-LGBT+ abuse and ensure that LGBT+ victims are given the same level of support as everyone else.”
A school librarian in Louisiana is suing two conservative activists for defamation after they falsely accused her of putting “pornographic” material in local libraries.
“I’ve had enough for everybody,” Amanda Jones, a librarian at a middle school in Denham Springs, Louisiana and president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians, told NBC News. “Nobody stands up to these people. They just say what they want and there are no repercussions and they ruin people’s reputations and there’s no consequences.”
Jones’s suit, filed last week, argues that Facebook pages run by Michael Lunsford and Ryan Thames falsely labeled her a pedophile after she spoke against censorship at a July 19 Livingston Parish Library Board of Control meeting. She has also filed criminal complaints with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office against Lunsford and Thames.
During public comment at the July 19 board meeting, Jones voiced her concern that a motion under consideration to evaluate the content of certain sex education books available at the public library would lead to the banning of books containing LGBTQ content.
“‘While book challenges are often done with the best intentions, and in the name of age appropriateness, they often target marginalized communities such as BIPOC and the LBGTQ community,” Jones said at the meeting according to the lawsuit.
“The citizens of our parish consist of taxpayers who are white, Black, brown, gay, straight, Christian, non-Christian, people from all backgrounds and walks of life, and no one portion of the community should dictate what the rest of the citizens have access to. Just because you don’t want to read it or see it, it doesn’t give you the right to deny others or demand its relocation.”
“If we remove or relocate books with LBGTQ or sexual health content, what message is that sending to our community members? Why is your belief system any more important than others’?”
Lunsford, who runs conservative group Citizens for a New Louisiana, attended the meeting and spoke in favor of restricting books with sexual content. In the weeks following the meeting, Citizens for a New Louisiana’s Facebook page posted numerous posts about Jones.
“Why is she fighting so hard to keep sexually erotic and pornographic materials in the kid’s section?” one post, which featured Jones’s picture, read.
Thames’s “Bayou State of Mind” Facebook page also posted a meme depicting Jones and accused her of “advocating teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds.”
Jones said she has not left her house in two weeks due to comments on some posts encouraging violence against her. At the same time, she has raised $20,000 to fund her lawsuit against Lunsford and Thames via a GoFundMe campaign.
“If this takes four or five years, I’m going to fight these people on this,” she said. “Even if I lose, I could say I stood up to them.”
It’s back-to-school time! Did you know that Sonoma County Library has educational resources for everyone, no matter your age? Whether you’re a parent of a school-age child or a student yourself, we’ve got you covered. See below to find out how the library can support you during the school year—and beyond! All you need is your library card.
For Kids
Immerse yourself in science. Dive into environmental issues and discover how things work with our science databases. From hundreds of 3D interactive models to in-depth research on scientific topics, there is a whole world of digital science to explore.
Explore the globe. CultureGramsprovides country reports on daily life and culture, including the background, customs, and lifestyles of the world’s people.
Get your read on. Turn the page with Bookflix, a resource that pairs classic picture books with a related nonfiction eBook, puzzles, and games for preschoolers through third grade.
Check out more kids’ back-to-school resources here.
For Adults
Jumpstart your future. Earn your high school diploma—for free!—with Career Online High School. Featuring a flexible timeframe and an online classroom environment, students can complete coursework according to their own schedules.
Learn at your library. The Sonoma County Library Adult Literacy Program provides one-on-one tutoring for adults who want to improve their English language and reading and writing skills. Call 707-544-2622 for more information.
Prepare for success. Build your resume, take practice tests, and sharpen your skills with LearningExpress Library. Including reading, writing, math, and basic tutorials, this resource equips adult learners with the tools they need to succeed.
Check out more adults’ back-to-school resources here.Get ReadyThank you for being a member of the Sonoma County Library community. Visit us online or in person at one of our branches. Be sure to check out open jobs at Sonoma County Library here. Questions? Please call your local library branch or click here to send us a message. Recursos de regreso a la escuela para todas las edades ¡Es hora de volver a la escuela! ¿Sabía que la Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma tiene recursos educativos para todos, sin importar su edad? Aunque sea usted un padre de un niño en edad escolar o si usted es un estudiante, lo tenemos cubierto. Echa un vistazo a la siguiente selección de recursos para el año escolar, ¡y más allá! Todo lo que necesita es su tarjeta de la biblioteca.
Para niños
Sumérjase en la ciencia. Sumérgete en temas ambientales y descubre cómo funcionan las cosas con nuestras bases de datos científicas. Desde cientos de modelos interactivos en 3D hasta investigaciones en profundidad sobre temas científicos, hay todo un mundo de ciencia digital que explorar.
Explora el mundo. CultureGramsproporciona informes de países sobre la vida cotidiana y la cultura, incluidos los antecedentes, las costumbres y los estilos de vida de las personas del mundo.
Sigue leyendo. Pase la página con Bookflix, un recurso que combina libros ilustrados clásicos con un libro electrónico de no ficción relacionado, rompecabezas y juegos para niños en edad preescolar hasta tercer grado.
Echa un vistazo a más recursos de regreso a la escuela de los niños aquí.
Para adultos
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Janani Ramachandran, 30, says she’s always lived at the intersection of two isolations.
As an openly gay South Asian woman growing up post-9/11, she felt that few people could understand her specific experience — and that representation was nonexistent.
“I think it definitely is difficult for LGBTQ South Asians to feel their full selves in different spaces,” she told NBC Asian America. “I can feel uncomfortable in predominantly LGBTQ spaces, because I see very few people that look like me. In predominantly South Asian spaces, I also sometimes feel uncomfortable in not being reflected.”
Running for Oakland City Council this year, Ramachandran hopes to change that. If she’s successful, she’ll be the city’s first South Asian councilmember and the only LGBTQ woman councilmember in the state.
Her run is reflective of what experts say is a demographic shift in the country’s politics. Since 2018, the number of LGBTQ Asians running for office has more than doubled. This year, that group is bigger than ever.
“We’re navigating a very challenging last couple of years with anti-Asian hate combined with anti-LGBTQ hate,” said Albert Fujii, press secretary of Victory Fund, an organization that supports LGBTQ people in politics. “It really says something about these candidates that they’re willing to be very visible.”
Two years into the Stop Asian Hate movement, Fujii says the changing climate for Asians has caused a dramatic increase in community members getting political.
“I think that for so many folks who are interested in public service, sometimes it takes an event or a rough couple of years to be the catalyst for getting to that moment where enough is enough,” he said.
In 2018, only 20 candidates nationwide identified as both Asian and LGBTQ. In 2020, that number only marginally increased, with 23 Asian LGBTQ names on the ballot. This year, there are 41, according to Victory Fund.
“Obviously, we have a long way to go in terms of addressing that representation gap,” Fujii said. “But we’ve come a long way.”
Sam Park, 36, a Korean American and the first openly gay man ever elected to Georgia’s state Legislature, says being the only Asian person at his Atlanta elementary school was surprisingly good practice.
“I was terrified of running as an openly gay candidate, especially with my experience of growing up as a gay Asian in the South,” said Park, who is a Democrat and was elected in 2016. “As a son of immigrants who came from humble beginnings, politics seemed inaccessible.”
He watched laws pass over the years codifying discrimination in Georgia and demonizing the LGBTQ community. Even in his own home, he said, he battled layers of conservatism.
“One was just being in the South and being in a conservative culture,” he said. “That was reinforced by growing up in a Korean house, which leans more conservative. … And then, I grew up a Southern Baptist. So I heard growing up that if you’re gay you’re an abomination. You go to hell.”
He spent his youth and early 20s reconciling being Korean American and being gay, he said, and as a community leader, both now feed seamlessly into his work. Much of his time in office is spent combating anti-Asian hate, whether that be granular incidents of violence or organized rhetoric from political machines.
“The blatant xenophobia and racism that we’ve seen from Trump and Republicans in trying to scapegoat Asian Americans for the worst public health crisis in this country’s history,” he said. “I think it’s really made us [Asian Americans] understand why political participation is so important.”
Running for reelection, he sees an entirely different landscape for Asian representation than when he first started.
“When it comes to Asian American political power and participation, we’ve seen a marked increase over the past five to six years, but really highlighted during the 2020 election,” he said. “In 2016, I was the only Asian American serving in the state Legislature. Now, I think there’s five or six, and each of them have made history in their own right.”
Having lived in both the U.S. and India, Ramachandran says she can draw parallels.
“Bangalore shows a lot of the same problems that Oakland does when it comes to gentrification, affordable housing, pollution, infrastructure and, of course, corruption,” she said.
She’s grown up watching her mom fear dealing with police, and she’s experienced firsthand the misogyny that comes with trying to succeed as a woman. When she ran for the California state Assembly last year, she recalls many people in her life urging her not to.
But her campaign was more successful than she could have imagined, she said. After making it to the runoff, she ultimately lost to Mia Bonta.
The race ahead feels distinct, she said. There’s a potential for it to culminate in many “firsts” for her, but overall, Ramachandran says it represents a much broader cultural shift in who gets to run for office.
“I remember so clearly everyone telling me not to do it just over a year ago,” she said. “I want to show people that this is changing. Voters are ready for things that are new. And if we’re going to say we support LGBTQ leadership, API, women leadership, our own communities have to step up.”
Leigh Finke has won Tuesday’s Democratic primary election for Minnesota’s state House district 66A. The journalist, advocate, and filmmaker will now advance to November’s general election, where she will face off against Republican nominee Trace Johnson.
A win in November would make Finke the first out transgender state legislator ever elected in Minnesota.
On Tuesday morning, Finke posted a photo of herself and her team on Twitter, along with a simple celebratory message: “We did it. We won.”
Endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund, Finke was named one of the organization’s “Spotlight Candidates.”
“From safeguarding abortion rights to addressing economic inequality to expanding protections for trans people, Leigh has a persuasive and critically important agenda that voters are clearly enthusiastic about,” Victory Fund president and CEO Mayor Annise Parker said in a statement Tuesday. “We are confident Leigh’s win tonight is a clear sign to our community—and LGBTQ kids in particular—that hate will not triumph. Leaders like Leigh prove over and over again that our community is strong, united and ready to lead our nation into a kinder and more accepting future. Backing down has never been in our DNA, especially when our freedoms are on the ballot.”
Last year, Finke spoke at a rally for former Hastings, Minnesota, school board chair Kelsey Waits, who faced harassment after her daughter Kit was outed as transgender.
“Kit’s trans identity was turned against their mother,” Finke said. “This is a despicable, vile act that must be condemned.”
“Take a look around,” she said. “This is what happens when trans kids are attacked. We show up. We show up and that’s not going to stop.”
Becca Balint, Vermont’s state Senate president, has won the Democratic nomination for the state’s at-large congressional seat, NBC News projects.
The victory makes her likely to become the first woman to represent the heavily Democratic state in Congress. Vermont is the only state that has never had a female member of its congressional delegation.
Balint, a state senator since 2014 who rose to Senate president two years ago, would also be the first openly gay lawmaker to represent the state on Capitol Hill should she win in November.
Balint, 54, a progressive Democrat backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the Vermont icons Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, defeated Lt. Gov. Molly Gray.
The more centrist Gray had the backing of fellow Democrats like former Vermont Govs. Madeline Kunin and Howard Dean, while retiring Sen. Pat Leahy had donated $5,000 to her campaign.
Leahy’s retirement announcement set the race for the House seat in motion. Democratic Rep. Peter Welch is running for the seat he is vacating.
Leahy, a Democrat, was elected to the Senate in 1974. Sanders, an independent and a former at-large representative, was elected to the Senate in 2006, the same year Welch was elected to the House.
The state has only three representatives in Congress — its two senators and an at-large House member.
“Though I do view Mr. Straka’s criminal conduct as very serious, it’s been mitigated somewhat by his early plea and by his willingness to assist the government by providing complete and truthful information,” District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich said in January.
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At the time, the 43-year-old had said he felt “deeply sorry and shameful” for his actions.
But in the weeks since records detailing his cooperation with federal investigators were inadvertently unsealed and reported in the media, Straka has been downplaying his cooperation and contradicting some of what he told investigators.
“To me, making the choice to sit down and answer questions was a no-brainer – nobody I know committed any crimes and I have no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing from anybody,” he wrote in an open letter. “There is NOTHING WRONG with talking to the DOJ and telling them your friends are innocent.”
The court records showed that Straka provided valuable information that could help prosecute over a dozen other rioters, including anti-vaccine advocate Simone Gold. Prosecutors said that Straka gave them voicemail messages that she left him that were “valuable in the government’s prosecution.”
On social media, though, Straka mentioned Gold as someone he “barely knew” so he couldn’t have helped prosecutors in her case.
“One of the names of the list was Simone Gold (now a friend of mine), and Simone was arrested and charged BEFORE I was. At the time of January 6th we barely knew each other,” he wrote in his Gettr open letter.
Straka had previously posted about his plea deal on Twitter. “I’ve been asked, ‘Why would you take a plea deal?’ Many who know me well feel certain I didn’t do things I was accused of,” he wrote on March 8.
In his plea, Straka admitted to encouraging the January 6 mob to take a police officer’s riot shield. But in March, he posted that “I signed a plea deal, written by the government, that says I did that,” adding that it was “completely contrary to who I am and what I would do in any given situation.”
“Do you believe that every person who takes a plea deal did the things they’re accused of?” Straka posted on May 3. He was sentences to two months in jail as part of the plea agreement.
“It’s been brought to my attention that Mr. Straka has been making questionable comments about the truth of his plea and the nature of his cooperation,” Friedrich said at a hearing earlier this week. “I want to know, should I be expecting a motion to withdraw his plea? Because I would gladly hold a hearing.”
“It makes me question every statement he made to me at the time of sentencing. Every single one. He’s losing more credibility by the moment,” she said of Straka’s comments. “What he needs to appreciate is he is potentially incriminating himself.”
“He faces exposure for making false statements to federal law enforcement officers,” Friedrich told Straka’s lawyer. “So I suggest you advise him to show the discretion that he did not show before January 6.”
Straka gained notoriety for creating the #WalkAway movement that encouraged groups that usually vote for Democrats – like LGBTQ people – to “walk away” from the Democratic Party and vote for Republicans. He was not only present at the Capitol on January 6, but he spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally the day before, encouraged thousands of people on social media to continue storming the Capitol the day of, and proudly bragged about it after.
On January 6, Straka was present near the Capitol the day of and wrote on Twitter to his half a million followers that day, “Patriots at the Capitol – HOLD. THE. LINE!!!!” while rioters were breaking into and roaming inside the building. Still, he maintains he did not enter the Capitol building.
Multiple people also caught Straka on video – which the FBI obtained after videos were posted to YouTube – that allegedly showed him outside the Capitol, shouting “We’re going in!” and “Go! Go!”
Another video allegedly showed shows Straka urging other rioters to attack a Capitol Police officer and rip away his protective gear. According to charging documents, Straka shouted: “Take it away from him.” Other people in the crowd then yelled, “Take the shield!”