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At least 15 US states considering cruel Don’t Say Gay bills to stop LGBTQ+ school discussions

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Following in the footsteps of Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, more states in the US are seeking to restrict LGBTQ+ discussions in schools. In at least 15 states, new laws aiming to stifle LGBTQ+ discussions in school are being considered. Data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also found that some places are set to go even further than Florida with restrictions. A new bill in Oregon would stop any sort of discussion on sexual identity in schools from kindergarten to the third grade without parental consent.  An Iowa bill that recently passed through the state House would stop discussions about gender […]

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Republicans have taken away access to gender-affirming care from 22% of trans youth

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Almost 23% of trans youth in the United States have lost access to gender-affirming care.  A new report from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that of the 300,000 trans youth ages 13 through 17, there are 66,600 living in states that have passed bans on this lifesaving care. And 84,700 more trans youth (28.2%) live in states that are currently considering bans.  The state is the fourth to pass a law prohibiting trans students from using bathrooms that match their gender identity.  According to the Movement Advancement Project, there are currently eight states that fully ban gender-affirming care for minors, along […]

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World Athletics bans trans women from female events

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World Athletics will ban trans women who have been through puberty from female competitions. The governing body’s president, Sebastian Coe, said on Thursday afternoon (23 March) that “transgender athletes should not be competing in the female category”.  Coe stated at a press conference in Monaco that trans women who transitioned after puberty “will not be allowed to participate in women’s events” from 31 March – Transgender Day of Visibility.  Current rules allow trans women to compete if their testosterone level is sufficiently suppressed. However, Coe said: “Where the science is insufficient to justify maintaining testosterone suppression for transgender athletes, the council […]

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Disney To Defy DeSantis With Major LGBTQ Conference

The Miami Herald reports: The Walt Disney Company will host a major conference promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in the workplace in Central Florida this September, gathering executives and professionals from the world’s largest companies in a defiant display of the limits of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign against diversity training. Michael Chamberlain, chief marketing officer for Out & Equal, confirmed the conference would be held at The Walt Disney World Resort, Sept. 11-14. Dozens of iconic American companies — including Apple, McDonald’s, Uber, Walmart, Hilton, Amazon, Boeing, Cracker Barrel and John Deere — are sponsoring the Out & Equal […]

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Missouri attorney general bans gender-affirming care in “power grab”

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Missouri’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) has announced an “emergency regulation” that restricts gender-affirming medical care for transgender people in his state. Trans and civil rights advocates have criticized Bailey’s announcement for spreading misinformation and attempting a “power grab” while his state’s legislature considers a bill restricting gender-affirming care. Though Bailey’s announcement mentions “children,” it doesn’t list any age limits for his emergency regulations, meaning that it could apply to people of all ages. Republicans sneaked a last-minute amendment into a voting rights bill. One Democrat said the genital examinations would happen “over my dead body.” In a March 20 statement, […]

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Grindr joins major public health push to distribute free at-home HIV tests

The world’s most popular gay dating app, Grindr, is participating in a nationwide effort to distribute free at-home HIV testing kits to populations most affected by the virus.  “If you’ve got a way that you are testing, and it’s really working for you, then that’s great, and you should stick with that,” Jack Harrison-Quintana, director of the app’s social justice division, Grindr for Equality, told NBC News. “If you don’t, this is an additional way for you to get tested in a way that’s just about as easy as doing an at-home Covid test.”  Grindr, which reports 12 million monthly active […]

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Uganda passes a law making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ

Uganda’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ, handing authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence. More than 30 African countries, including Uganda, already ban same-sex relations. The new law appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), according to rights group Human Rights Watch. In addition to same-sex intercourse, the law bans promoting and abetting homosexuality as well as conspiracy to engage in homosexuality. Violations under the law draw severe penalties, including death for so-called aggravated homosexuality and […]

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Arkansas restricts school bathroom use by transgender people

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed a law prohibiting transgender people at public schools from using the restroom that matches their gender identity, the first of several states expected to enact such bans this year amid a flood of bills nationwide targeting the trans community. The bill signed by the Republican governor makes Arkansas the fourth state to place such restrictions at public schools, and it comes as bills in Idaho and Iowa also await their governor’s signature. And it might be followed by an even stricter Arkansas bill criminalizing transgender adults using public restrooms that match their gender identity. Arkansas’ law, which won’t […]

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Kentucky passes the ‘worst anti-trans bill’ in America

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Lawmakers in Kentucky have passed an expanded anti-trans bill which targets the rights of vulnerable young trans people in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky denounced the legislation as the “the worst anti-trans bill in the nation”.  On Thursday night (16 March), the state’s legislature passed the bill in a matter of hours, with approval from a committee and both the state House and Senate.  Senate Bill 150 seeks to ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth, requires doctors to detransition young trans people and prevents schools from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation with students of any […]

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Tennessee shuns federal HIV funds

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While the country remains in shock after Tennessee’s recent ban on public drag performances, another, more insidious attack on the LGBTQ+ community has been underway in the state. A coordinated effort by right-wing media and conservative lawmakers has decimated community-based programs addressing healthcare for LGBTQ+ people in Tennessee, including efforts to combat HIV. In January, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) announced his administration was rejecting $8.8 million in federal funds provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for HIV prevention and treatment. Left unsaid was the fact that some of those dollars had made their way to […]

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