U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA, top middle snaps a picture as Rep. Laurie Schlegel, R-Jefferson, red dress hand up, is sworn in at the beginning of legislative House Chamber action Monday May 10, 2021, in Baton Rouge, La. Photo: Sponsor Rep. Julie Emerson, who sits on the board of trustees for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The Louisiana House approved Thursday night two anti-abortion bills that restricts access to abortions in preparation for the expected U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade after nearly half a century.
One bill criminalizes selling abortion pills through the mail. The second measure would immediately close all abortion clinics, criminalize most pregnancy termination actions, and send physicians who perform the procedures to prison.
Both bills – Senate Bill 342 and Senate Bill 388 – were passed overwhelmingly by a Louisiana House that rarely has voted against an anti-abortion measure over the years. The legislation now returns across Memorial Hall with requests that the Senate approve of wording added by the House. If both chambers agree before Monday’s adjournment, both bills head to Gov. John Bel Edwards to sign into law or veto.
Louisiana is one of 13 states with legal trigger that go into effect should the high court overturn Roe. A leaked draft opinion suggests that a majority of Supreme Court justices support returning the authority over abortions to individual states.
Senate Bill 342, which was approved 72-25, establishes how Louisiana will operate should that be case.
“It will prohibit abortion in the state of Louisiana,” said state Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, who was managing the Senate-passed measure sponsored by Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, on the House floor.
The measure coordinates and clarifies the 100 or so anti-abortion laws that have been passed during the past 49 years. About 29 definitions were regularized and wording was inserted into about two dozen laws that underscored the Legislature’s intention “to prohibit and restrict abortion.”
In addition to clarifying language, the measure now puts part of the anti-abortion law in the criminal code and levies penalties. But the woman who terminates her pregnancy would not face criminal charges.
A doctor, or anyone else, found guilty of performing an abortion would face prison for not less than one year nor more than 10 years and be fined not less than $10,000 nor more than $100,000. If the abortion is late term, with or without the woman’s consent, the sentences increase to a hard labor prison term of one to 15 years and a $20,000 to $200,000 fine.
Emerson submitted 15-pages of amendments – drafted by Jackson with the help of Louisiana Right to Life – to the seven-page bill. “This amendment is to make as clear as possible what is intended here,” Emerson said.
SB342 would allow abortions removing a fetus that has died in the womb; removing an ectopic pregnancy, in which the egg implants in one of the mother’s fallopian tubes; saving the life of the mother; removal of a fetus that isn’t viable outside the womb or is diagnosed with a chromosomal abnormality.
But there is no exception for rape or incest.
“We’re putting an 11-year-old in the position of having a baby,” said Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman, D-New Orleans.
Democratic Rep. Cedric Glover, D-Shreveport, attempted to add an exception for rape and incest, but was refused on a vote of 37 to 62.
Senate Bill 388 would clarify criminal penalties for distribution of abortion pills. The House approved that measure 72-24.
With the expected end of most surgical abortions in Louisiana, more women are likely to turn to the two-pill procedure that terminate their pregnancies.
The legislation is needed to address that loophole, said Rep. Laurie Schlegel, the Metairie Republican handling the measure on the House floor for state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell. “The purpose is to stop online, do it yourself abortions,” Schlegel said.
The two pills that can terminate pregnancies are mifepristone, which causes an embryo to detach from the uterine wall and is followed a day or two later with misoprostol that pushes the embryo out of the uterus.
Current law requires a prescription and that the pills are taken under a physician’s supervision. But the pills are legal, easy to find and obtain online. They can be mailed to the homes of anyone who buys them.
“How can the state of Louisiana regulate interstate commerce?” asked Rep. Mandie Landry, referring to trade over state lines, which the U.S. Constitution reserves for the federal government.
“I don’t know how they can stop it unless they’re waiting at the post office,” Landry added.
Schlegel said the sponsor of the measure had checked with prosecutors and was assured that SB388 was constitutional.
The proposal expands the definition for the crime of criminal abortion to include the delivering, dispensing, distributing, or providing a pregnant woman with an abortion-inducing drug when physician is not part of the process.
Distributors and vendors would face a prison term of five to 10 years and a fine of $10,000 to $75,000, or both. If the woman seeking an abortion is under the age of 18, the criminal penalty increases to imprisonment at hard labor for 15 to 50 years, a $15,000 to $100,000 fine, or both.
Here is Marge Greene saying the quiet part out loud again. Push a Christian national state, a theocracy. Religious freedom for white Christians only. Yes white, because you know these people are big time die hard racists. Hugs
“If Christian nationalism is something to be scared of, they’re lying to you. And they’re lying to you on purpose because that is exactly the temperature change that is happening in America today and they can’t control it. They can’t control it and that’s what terrifies them the most.
“You see, if we’re going to label it Christian nationalism, this movement will actually be the movement that stops the school shootings. This will be the movement that stops the crime in our streets.
“This will be the movement that stops the sexual immorality and teaches children and brings them up in traditional families and loving homes.
“This will be the movement that protects kids’ innocence and nurtures them into responsible adults that grow up to be successful moms and dads wanting to pursue a family of their own.
“This will be the movement that finally does something about our debt, because that’s something that all of us should be ashamed of. It should have never happened.
“This will be the movement that cares about broken and lost communities, communities that are always forgotten about. Christians should never forget about those people and we don’t.
“So while the media is going to lie about you and label it Christian nationalism and they’re probably going to call it domestic terrorism, I’m gonna tell you right now, they’re the liars.
“And if anybody is a domestic terrorist, it’s the radical left. They’re the domestic terrorists.
“We can even say the Democrats are domestic terrorists because they funded them and they burned down our cities’ streets and rioted in 2020.
“So if we’re going to put labels on people, we should put labels where they appropriately belong.
“Not on Christians and not on people who love their country and want to take care of it.” – Notorious adulteress and self-proclaimed Christian Marjorie Taylor Greene, on her daily live-streaming show.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says that Christian nationalism is nothing to fear because it's the only thing that can stop school shootings, crime, and sexual immorality, declaring that anyone who opposes it is a "domestic terrorist." pic.twitter.com/0WhcAfFeCT
“Sexual immorality” says the self-righteous hypocritical garbage person, who blatantly cheated on her husband with a fitness gym manager and polyamorous, tantric sex guru.https://t.co/FWEKmCPzak
Christofascist terrorist says the solution to Christofascist terrorism is more of the same, until their fringe minority rules everyone and shoots kids more.
Yesterday there was a mass shooting in a parking lot of a church. So why didn’t this diseased bitch’s Christian Nationalists stop that. Or their make-believe Jesus.
When I hear someone is a Christian nowadays I immediately think they are a fucking piece of stupid shit.
Any “Christian” movement is going to run into trouble when people from the many different Christian sects have to agree on what Christian principles and values are! Think about many Baptist sects there are now, and how many new splinter groups will there be in five years.
I once attended a ceremony where a friend was ordained as a deacon in a splinter group of the Anglican church in America. A Jewish friend leaned over during the ceremony and asked me to explain the difference between the group our friend (a retired Methodist minister) had joined and the Anglican church in England. I told her to think about how there were basically Orthodox Jews and Reformed Jews, and then there were a lot of Jews who were somewhere in between, depending on the issue of the day. She understood immediately.
Sure Marge. Christian Nationalism is sweeping the nation as the churches are emptying out, and the number of atheists/agnostics is at an all-time high.
But I’ll hand the cunt this: She and the other shitty people hiding behind Christianity are going a great job helping kill it off.
“We can even say the Democrats are domestic terrorists because they funded them and they burned down our cities’ streets and rioted in 2020.”
What Democrats did over George Floyd was trivial compared to Republicans attacking Congress to try and overthrow the government. Right wing terror attacks like Timothy McVeigh are common in the U.S. while left wing terror attacks are virtually unheard of.
Democrats love peace, Republicans like you are trying to start a war against liberals.
Dear MTG (ps) .. how do you reconcile “Christian Nationalism” with the First Amendment?
Original 13 Colonies / states:
MA: Puritan / Congregationalist CT: Congregationalist PA: Quaker MD: Catholic VA: Anglican (Episcopalian) ..let alone all sorts of other denominations .. and those funky early presidents who wrote letters to Jewish synagogues and signed treaties with mooslims that the United States was NOT a Christian nation …
On Thursday, Rep. Billy Long (R-MO), a candidate for Senate in Missouri and an avid promoter of election conspiracy theories, put forward a bizarre new plan on Twitter for how he will get former President Donald Trump reinstated to office.
Specifically, he said that he will get Vice President Kamala Harris to resign, have President Joe Biden appoint Trump as vice president in her place, and then have Biden himself resign, putting Trump first in line to ascend to the presidency.
He did not specify how any of the steps of this would work, including how he would get Harris or Biden to resign or how he would persuade Biden to choose Trump as his vice president.
Long, who worked as an auctioneer before being elected to Congress, has a history of controversial behavior. Earlier this week, he blamed mass shootings on women having abortion rights. He also issued a campaign ad that was removed from YouTube for promoting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen.
Eric Greitens 26% Vicky Hartzler 23% Eric Schmitt 19% Billy Long 9% Mark McCloskey 3% Dave Schatz 3% Undecided 17%@trafalgar_group ~ 1,065 LV ~ 5/16-5/18https://t.co/0H2RYNgCwn
“When he [Biden] suggests that more children are dying by gun than on-duty police officers, maybe one of the reasons for that is because — you know, I spot a couple of differentiators.
“One of them is that on-duty police officers carry guns, kids cannot carry guns nor should they, obviously.
“But, the point is that people who are protected tend not to get shot as often. Even in the most dangerous situations they tend not to get shot quite as often because they can protect themselves. So he’s making directly the case that he supposedly opposes.
“This, by the way, is the case that Democrats are consistently making, is the idea that even a lawful, law-abiding person who knows how to use his gun isn’t capable of stopping a bad guy with a gun – which, of course, is untrue.
“I’m unaware of any situation in which the threat of a good guy with a gun has not ended a situation with a bad guy with a gun. Do folks on the left just think that bad guys randomly give up their guns when they get bored or tired?
“That’s not how any of this works.” – Ben Shapiro, going on to claim that the “multiple guns” in his home make his own children safer.
Unintentional shootings happen to children of all ages. In homes with guns, the likelihood of accidental death by shooting is four times higher. In 2020, there were at least 369 unintended shootings by children in the United States. pic.twitter.com/qcdCthVxrr
— Sarpy/Cass Health (@SarpyCassHealth) May 31, 2022
They are so desperate to support the NRA & gun profits! My father, WW2 veteran, said “I saw too many guns in the “WAR”, I don’t need to see them here!”
Strawmanning. That’s all that is. Biden was quite clear in his speech last night and that speech outlined the view of most Democrats. Few are advocating for an all-out bad on all guns. So he’s just lying. We want a ban on AR-15s and similar weapons, better background checks. A waiting period might be nice (giving people a chance to cool off before committing acts of violence. And raising the age to 21 is a good idea. Those are all practical ideas that are popular with Americans. So of course right wingers don’t want to argue against those proposals, you know the ones that are actually in bills that are being considered. No. They want to rail against things that are not in any current bill and not being proposed by any prominent Democrat. This is just bullshit.
Please notice how iron fisted the state of Florida under the authoritarian do as I demand or be hurt governor DeathSantis is. This is the man who wants to be ruler of the US. He is in the mold of tRump. But here is a governor going against all known best medical advice based on science to make sure his base is not upset by threatening an organization that works to help disadvantaged kids. plus notice DeathSantis claims that everyone has had Covid by now anyway as if that somehow means we don’t need vaccines. Fact is that vaccines and boosters help you avoid Covid and minimize the severity of the virus you have if you do get it. DeathSantis is the Ultra bully thug that his base loves. is that what an advanced country should have for leaders? Hugs
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday during a press conference hailed the decision by the Special Olympics to reverse the vaccine mandate as a win for the thousands of athletes who are expected to compete in the games.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida’s ban on vaccine mandates in November as the Biden administration planned to roll out federal vaccine mandates that following month. | Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Special Olympics reversed its Covid-19 vaccine mandate for upcoming competitions in Orlando after Florida threatened event organizers with a $27.5 million fine over the requirement.
The Special Olympics issued a statement on Friday saying it will lift its mandate as directed by state officials on May 27 “based upon the Florida Department of Health’s interpretation of Florida law.”
This year’s Special Olympics USA Games are set to kick off Sunday and will wrap up on June 12. The event is expected to attract 4,000 athletes.
“[Special Olympics International] was unable to bring the event into compliance for the benefit of their delegates,” the letter says. “And reinstate all who were denied access based on proof of vaccination.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday during a press conference hailed the decision by the Special Olympics to reverse the vaccine mandate as a win for the thousands of athletes who are expected to compete in the games. He said the mandate marginalized those players, especially those who have some immunity after previously testing positive for the virus.
“What connection that has to competing, I don’t understand,” DeSantis said of Covid-19 vaccines. “We’ve never seen something wielded like this vaccine to try to marginalize disfavored people.”
“And a lot of these special Olympians have also had Covid by now,” DeSantis said. “Most people have had it by now.”
DeSantis signed Florida’s ban on vaccine mandates in November as the Biden administration planned to roll out federal vaccine mandates that following month. The new Florida law led the Florida Department of Health to issue a $3.5 million fine against Leon County after 14 county employees were fired for not complying with a vaccine mandate. The state Department of Health later forgave the $3.5 million fine.
Florida’s health department is overseen by state Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo, who said during Friday’s news conference that talks leading up to the reversal by the Special Olympics began six months ago. Ladapo has long been skeptical of the safety and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine. He said the vaccines mandated by the Special Olympics offer no protection at this point in the pandemic.
Ladapo’s zero-protection stance was a small shift from his previous take on vaccines, which is that they were one of many tools in the fight to spread Covid-19. But that protection also weakens over time, which is why the Special Olympics mandate would not be effective in stopping the virus, Ladapo claimed.
“Ethically, it doesn’t make sense,” Ladapo said. “It’s on the wrong side.”
He also said there needs to be more discussions about adverse reactions to the Covid vaccine.
“We don’t like to talk frankly about safety because it’s taboo,” Ladapo said. “But it is an honest conversation that needs to happen.”
Ladapo was one of more than 20 medical professionals who signed a memo in 2021 asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration not to give final approval to Covid-19 vaccines, which were developed as Covid infected 85 million people nationwide. The memo asks for the FDA to undergo years of testing on the safety of the vaccines before they are given final approval.
The vast majority of medical professionals and organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Mayo Clinic, advise the public to get the vaccine both to protect against the virus and to lessen serious symptoms of the virus.
Yet Matt Gaetz wants people to carry guns to voting places? This is what the US has become, a third world banana republic where supporters for one party threaten the other voters with violence if they try to vote. Don’t like who was elected, just go kill them. Are we Afghanistan? Any other war torn country? Time will tell if we are a democracy or not. Hugs
Via press release from the Capitol Police:
A Michigan man was arrested outside of the U.S. Capitol this morning after he was found with a fake badge, a BB gun, body armor, high capacity magazines and other ammunition.
Just before 5:00 am, a U.S. Capitol Police patrol officer started talking to a man who had parked his 2017 Dodge Charger near Peace Circle, on the West side of the Capitol.
The man was identified as 53 year old Jerome Felipe out of Flint, Michigan.
Felipe, who is a retired police officer out of New York, presented the USCP officers with a fake badge that had “Department of the INTERPOL” printed on it. Felipe also made a false statement that he was a criminal investigator with the agency.
Felipe gave officers permission to search his vehicle. The officers discovered a BB gun, two ballistic vests, several high capacity magazines, and other ammunition in the car. No real guns were found.
Investigators are still working to determine the reason Felipe was parked near the U.S. Capitol. Felipe is facing charges for Unlawful Possession of High Capacity Magazines and Unregistered Ammo.
The Republicans are going full bore into voter intimidation with getting their cult members to be the poll workers to challenge and block non-white voters and now they are trying to get armed white people to show up at black polling places to intimidate black voters. The Republican party has a history of doing this. Infact they were under a court order not to do this until just recently. The fact is the Republican party is not even trying to hide it anymore. They simply do not believe in or want democracy. They want one party rule with that party being them. They don’t want to listen to the voters, they want to rule. They are a minority that demands to be in charge over the majority. I am so frustrated over these people. It is open racism and bigotry. No advancements, only white men have rights, then it will be wealthy white men. Why the hell do you need to be armed to vote if not to scare other people. WTF is wrong with these people that they can not go anywhere with out a firearm? Sick racist … Hugs
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Thursday said he supports voters arming themselves when headed to the polls in an effort to protect against intimidation.
“I sort of like [Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas] Massie’s legislation that maybe everyone who’s a voter or on their way to vote ought to have the opportunity to carry a firearm to ensure that they’re not subject to any intimidation,” Gaetz said.
Gaetz’s comment came as the House Judiciary Committee was marking up a package of bills that seek to tighten gun regulations. Among the measures included is legislation that would prohibit straw purchases — when someone who cannot pass a background check purchases a firearm through a proxy buyer — and a bill that would raise the age requirement to purchase a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21 years old.
A Gaetz aide told The Hill that the congressman was referring to an amendment to the latter measure proposed Massie that seeks to create a carve-out from the age requirement for individuals registered for Selective Service, the system that tracks information on men ages 18 to 25 for national emergencies.
The amendment failed in a 24-20 vote.
Roughly a dozen states prohibit guns from being carried at polling sites, including California, Arizona, Florida and Georgia, according to the Los Angeles Times.
On the other hand, five key swing states — Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin — have not enacted bans on firearms at polling places, despite having the constitutional power to do so, according to a study pushed in September 2020 by Guns Down and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, two gun control organizations.
A number of states have passed voting bills in the aftermath of the 2020 race, including in Texas, where partisan poll watchers who can observe elections were given more authority. The bill in part prohibits election officials from turning down appointed poll watchers, making such a move a Class A misdemeanor.
Gaetz is a supporter of gun rights. Last week, in response to a tweet asking why civilians need AR-15-style rifles, the Florida Republican listed “target sport,” “Self defense” and “Hog hunting.”
The gun debate returned to national headlines last month after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two adults. Ten days before that, a gunman fatally shot 10 Black individuals in a racially motivated incident at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y.
"Maybe everyone who’s a voter or on their way to vote ought to have the opportunity to carry a firearm to ensure that they’re not subject to any intimidation," the congressman currently under investigation for sex trafficking said.#GunReformNowhttps://t.co/4LDImrBpDr
— Voter Action Project (@voteractionproj) June 3, 2022
I was a poll worker. I once was verbally and almost physically attacked by a random guy while informing him that the polling place was closing in 15 minutes, asking the voter if he wanted to vote. I am 6’8″ a solid 300 lbs with martial arts training and that took me aback.
Imagine if that son of a bitch was carrying a gun?
How about investigating him for gun trafficking as well.
States that don’t outlaw guns at the polls are looking for trouble. It should be blindingly obvious, but carrying firearms would be a form of electioneering and would be potentially intimidating to voters.
My God, what is with their extreme obsession with firearms? I’d like to see this guy show up to vote only to find a room full of black folks armed with AR-15s waiting to vote as well. He’d freak out and scream bloody murder on how black folks are trying to intimidate him.
When I voted in our primary last month, early voting is done at large sites like convention centers. The tiny Black woman running mine told me she had to get the sheriff in to run people off who were intimidating voters and giving them wrong information. Of course they were right wing nuts. They always are. She was small in stature, but big in nerve, and wasn’t about to be fucked with!
If you elect me, this month will be the last National Gay Pride month ever celebrated. We need to elect people into US congress that will stand up and say Homosexuality and Transgenderism are evil.
I will push to have the 2015 Obergefel vs Hodges ruling overturned which legalized same sex marriage. Two men and two women cannot come close to a unified man and woman married. I want to bring back DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) which safeguarded the institution of marriage.
Sexual Liberation is NOT western values. LGBQT+ movement is communist as they seek to destabilize our country with their divisive rhetoric and destroy families. Transgenderism and Pedophilia are now rampant in our society.
We have to ban it asap and safeguard our children against it. We have to get Transgenderism out of our schools. When I win this election everyone will know their gender again. The populace will know Men cannot get pregnant and can actively define a woman.
Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District is currently held by ten-term Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper, who announced his retirement in January after redistricting turned the district significantly more red, bringing an avalanche of over a dozen eager cultists.
Three of them, including far-right filmmaker Robby Starbuck and Trump-endorsed former Fox host Morgan Ortagus were recently disqualified over residency requirements.
Yesterday, Starbuck, who has been endorsed by Marjorie Taylor Greene and Madison Cawthorn, sued to be reinstated to the ballot.
In his Ballotpedia candidate questionnaire, Stewart Parks vows to “ban transgenderism and same-sex marriage,” and names the bible as his favorite book.
The only Democratic candidate on the ballot is freshman state Sen. Heidi Campbell. The primary is August 4th.
“Two men and two women cannot come close to a unified man and woman married.”
That’s utter nonsense. There are same sex couples who get along better, are more compatible and happier with each other than many heterosexual couples. The gender of the individuals in a couple is in no way determinative in how unified they are.
I hate to break it to Stewie but he has no control over Obergefell or Windsor/DOMA and no say over whether Pride is celebrated. Pride will be celebrated long after he’s gone, gay people will have sex and marry, trans people will transition, and there’s nothing this creepy Neanderthal can do about it.
“These people are evil.” This is why this lil’ twerp is running for public office, because the corporate world will not hire someone who openly refuses to work with other employees or clients because of their open bigotry.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration Thursday asked the state board regulating doctors to essentially ban transition-related care for transgender minors, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.
The state Health Department made the request hours after another state agency issued a 46-page report to justify banning Medicaid coverage for transgender people of any age who want puberty blockers, hormone therapies or gender-assignment surgery.
The two-pronged effort, which ensures DeSantis can act quickly and without the need for legislative approval, drew instant opposition from activists and medical professionals.
State surgeon general Joseph Ladapo asked the state board regulating doctors to essentially ban transition-related care for transgender minors.
Gender-affirming care is standard, accepted medical treatment and has been for years, endorsed by all the major medical organizations including the American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association.
Last month, the Florida Department of Health advised doctors to ignore federal guidance and stop assisting children and teens with gender transitions. Ending care and coverage for trans people in Florida would likely violate the Affordable Care Act’s discrimination protections.
Ladapo, you will recall, is affiliated with loony tune QAnon anti-vax leader Dr. Demon Semen.
EXCLUSIVE: Gov. DeSantis' admin. asks state medical board to ban transition-related care for minors and Medicaid recipients; the two-pronged effort ensures DeSantis can act quickly and without need for legislative approval. https://t.co/CFBQSt1Xht
DeSantis administration moves to bypass Florida’s legislature and in effect ban all transition-related care for transgender minors https://t.co/DKYXOGspuo
Truly horrific. Once the inappropriate hormones start acting on the body, there is no reversing it. The damage will be done. This is tantamount to torture for trans youth. It’s worse than being shot by an AR15, because it slowly robs you of your own body. Every day you look in the mirror and see a terrible transformation under way and there is no way short of death to stop it. So sometimes, death it is.
Florida is becoming like Nazi Germany in the 1930s. I find it difficult to believe that most of the residents are calmly sitting there while losing freedoms and rights to everything.
The Republican Party version of “freedom” is the Southern pre-Civil War version of freedom. Florida makes this clear. That is, it is freedom for white heterosexual men and enslavement of blacks, subjugation of women and driving homosexuals underground.
What these states like Florida are doing, as to their state’s trans population, is an attempt to create such a hostile and oppressive environment so as to cause that population and families, to flee the state for states with more civilized laws, if they can.
The KKK and segregation laws once created an environment in which those African-Americans who could manage to pull up their roots, migrated to states in the North, where they were ‘welcomed’ by racial restrictive covenants, sundown towns, redlining, and zoning of the redlined neighborhoods to allow pollution and toxic businesses in their areas – the “Great Migration.” See: https://www.archives.gov/re…
At least, for the trans people and families who are able to uproot and move, the more civilized states have laws that protect them.
If they weren’t so cheap about it, DeSantis, Abbott, Ivey, and all the others in states that are systematically doing this, would be offering one way bus tickets to the civilized states for their undesirable “subhuman” trans population. That would be better than herding us into reparative therapy camps to maximize the torture.
I’m amazed at how much DeSantis can get done to destroy people, while Biden, as PRESIDENT, has his hands tied. I’m not criticizing Biden or Dems, just the US system.
Withholding of health care is being used a weapon to oppress and control others – women of child-bearing age and transgender people. I wonder if Republicans will try to find a way to withhold health care, including emergency services, from undocumented immigrants. Who’s next?
..and notice how these states are doing all they can —without legislative approval — and yet complain LOUDLY! about “government overreach” in blue / purple states
They’re going after trans people because they’re an easy target – a community that is small, barely visible and mostly powerless. It’s a step toward coming after the rest of us.
This has two parts. The story from the HuffPost then some more information from Joe my God about the woman pushing it. Notice this is for all ages. And it doesn’t matter that there was already a policy in place that went by the science and test results, the new one is driven by anti-trans hate and basically religion. This legislator hates the LGBTQ+ and wants to outlaw them. I have three other stories to post on LGBTQ+ bigotry today including on GOP candidate that wants to ban the evil pride month. When are these people going to understand they cannot force all of us to live by their church rules? There god is not my god. But they sure will die trying to. Hugs
“I struggle to understand why we keep discussing bills focusing on children’s genitals,” said one Democratic legislator.
Ohio House Republicans passed a bill late Tuesday that bans all transgender students from playing high school and college sports, and requires genital exams in any disputes.
Representatives voted on House Bill 151 on the first day of Pride Month. The measure next goes to the Senate after lawmakers return from summer recess. If the bill becomes law, it would take precedence over all current policies by high school and college sports associations.
The existing association policies, which aim to protect medical privacy and stress inclusion, take into account testosterone levels or the length of time an athlete has been transitioning, Cleveland.com reported. The new bill calls for an outright ban on transgender athletes.
Under the measure, if a player’s sex is disputed, he or she will have to present a physician’s statement about “internal and external reproductive anatomy” and testosterone levels. Students would also have to show an analysis of genetic makeup.
During a hearing on the bill, Rep. Beth Liston, a Columbus-area Democrat and physician, called the amendment “state-sanctioned bullying.”
“This is truly bizarre medically and nonsensical, but looking at it practically, this bill means that if anyone decides to question a child’s true gender, that child must undergo a sensitive exam,” Liston said.
According to Equality Ohio and the Ohio High School Athletic Association, there is only one transgender athlete in the entire state who is participating in high school sports, per ABC affiliate News 5 TV.
“Being able to play on the girl’s team is absolutely amazing, it’s a total dream,” said Ember, a softball player and high school junior. “I feel at home and I can be myself. I don’t have to put on the mask or pretend to be someone else to enjoy the sport that I love.”
The Meidas Touch political action committee tweeted a copy of the bill Thursday, and critics were incensed:
Here’s the text. These provisions were reportedly slipped in just prior to its passage. https://t.co/iERv0n9fLv
So if anyone accuses someone of being trans, they have to undergo external and internal genital inspection, testosterone level testing, etc. what if everyone is accused of being trans?
i thought the GOP said its for less government intrusion in peoples lives.
— Moon Goddess Massage and Reiki (@Goddess_Moon) June 2, 2022
In PA, if a school doesn’t have a boys team for a specific sport, the boys can play on the girls team. Happened regularly when I coached girls volleyball. No one cared.
We need some perspective on this. This is kids we are talking about- some of which are already suffering trauma bc of bullying. This is inhumane
— TX Girl Ridin a Blue Wave🌊🌊🌊✝️🇺🇸🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@rojo2k) June 2, 2022
The Olympics got rid of visual gender identification years ago. This is hideous.
— ร๏ɭคг ฬคг๔єภ PATRIOT and LOVER OF DEMOCRACY (@TrumpTroll9000) June 2, 2022
The same Republican legislators who spent two years howling about how mask mandates and vaccines were invasive affronts to bodily autonomy just passed a law mandating genital checks of children based on someone's mom complaining at a track meet. https://t.co/dXpyql7nKL
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) June 2, 2022
Ohio House Republicans passed a bill late Tuesday that bans all transgender students from playing high school and college sports, and requires genital exams in any disputes.
Representatives voted on House Bill 151 on the first day of Pride Month. The measure next goes to the Senate after lawmakers return from summer recess. If the bill becomes law, it would take precedence over all current policies by high school and college sports associations.
According to Equality Ohio and the Ohio High School Athletic Association, there is only one transgender athlete in the entire state who is participating in high school sports.
Read the full article. The sponsor of the amendment, Rep. Jena Powell [photo], last appeared on JMG in November 2021 when she introduced a Texas-style ban on abortion that allows private citizens to sue anyone who performs or promotes the procedure.
Her anti-trans actions have earned her an appearance on hate group leader Tony Perkins’ podcast, where she was hailed as “courageous.”
Her first appearance here came in July last year when she sued to stop Ohio from promoting COVID vaccinations via a lottery contest.
Powell, who has appeared on clips for Liberty University’s far-right Falkirk Center and on multiple anti-vax webcasts, brandishes a shotgun in her campaign ads.
“I struggle to understand why we keep discussing bills focusing on children’s genitals,” said one Democratic legislator. https://t.co/Sqc94OPQi3
House Bill 151 originally had to do with giving teachers mentorship opportunities before Rep. Jena Powell, R-Arcanum, added an unrelated amendment that would stop transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. https://t.co/olA1h5KH8N
— Spectrum News 1 OH (@SpectrumNews1OH) June 2, 2022
Hmmm… But what if there are athletes that are trans that don’t IDENTIFY as trans? Perhaps we should strip ALL elementary and middle school and high school athletes naked in a room together and photograph and document their genitalia, just to make sure we have only penises competing against penises and only vaginas competing against vaginas…
Cuz that’s the point of this bill, isn’t it? To give a bunch a pedos a reason to ogle naked children?
Rep. Jena Powell seems obsessed with children’s genitalia. Doesn’t that make her a pedophile? Not that I’m saying she IS, but some people might think that… (With no apologies using using Trump’s “I don’t know personally but…” smear tactic.)
A little math: [I made the assumption that no one is having a fit over pre-teen trans athletes.] The CDC estimates that 1.8% of the high school population is trans, giving them 270,000 trans high school students in the US. Don’t know if it’s correct, but let’s assume they are evenly divided male and female, giving 135,000 MTF high schoolers. Human Rights campaign estimates 12% of transgender girls play sports, 16,200. Twenty four thousand high schools in the US, so each high school has approximately 2/3 of an MTF athlete. This just doesn’t seem like a burning issue, as might be suggested by the hysteria to pass laws limiting sports participation.
I think there’s a reasonable question to be asked about bone growth and addition of muscle mass, before transitioning M to F. But this is not how that question is going to be determined. And it’s not going to be answered, or even asked, by hysterical or simply publicity hungry lawmakers.
As long as there is a large bloc of voters who will tolerate any level of crazy in ‘their’ Republican candidate because the best Democrat is worse than the worst Republican….. And, transgender children are the most vulnerable. Of course they attack them, first.
