This post has taken me three days to do. I had all these open tabs that I finially got cleared. I have to even looked at todays news yet. But I think after I post this I will go to bed. Hugs
Trans people deserve better journalism How the anti-trans movement took over legacy media.
“As far as trans health care is concerned, however, the medical consensus is well-established: Nearly a dozen major medical associations, including the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics support and recommend gender-affirmative care.
“Yet the specific arguments about this care that make it into many mainstream media outlets result in stories that undermine the experts, stemming not from legitimate concerns but from a larger orchestrated push by the far right to mainstream transphobia.
“Journalists are failing at more than just reporting on the science. Mainstream publications like the Times increasingly follow the lead of anti-trans agitators, treating what should be understood as a fundamental human rights battle more like a semantic “debate,” fixating on terminology and labels and medical minutiae, instead of humanizing trans and nonbinary people and their experiences. In fact, this has become such a contentious pattern at the Times that this February, contributors and members of the Times’s staff posted an open letter protesting the paper’s escalating bias toward anti-trans talking points and pointing out many of these tactics.
Men have been performing in drag since at least Shakespeare’s time, and probably long before that. But the fact that someone criticizes this as being “sexual” tells us more about the person who claims that than it does about the person performing.
As proven at trial, between September 2016 and November 2016, Mackey conspired with other influential Twitter users and with members of private online groups to use social media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent messages that encouraged supporters of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to “vote” via text message or social media which, in reality, was legally invalid.
For example, on November 1, 2016, in or around the same time that Mackey was sending tweets suggesting the importance of limiting “black turnout,” the defendant tweeted an image depicting an African American woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign. The ad stated: “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925,” and “Vote for Hillary and be a part of history.”
The fine print at the bottom of the deceptive image stated: “Must be 18 or older to vote. One vote per person. Must be a legal citizen of the United States. Voting by text not available in Guam, Puerto Rico, Alaska or Hawaii. Paid for by Hillary For President 2016.”
Prosecution cross-examined Douglass Mackey and repeatedly showed him his Ricky Vaughn-era statements calling Black people gullible or low IQ.
He called women: “children with the right to vote.”
Dark, nauseating vibes in court.
Tucker Carson has made this man a cause célèbre.
— Michael Edison Hayden (@MichaelEHayden) March 23, 2023
The wide-ranging bill (HB 1069) also seeks to restrict the way teachers and students can use preferred pronouns in schools and bolsters a process for people to object to instructional materials and school-library books.
It also expands school board jurisdiction to classroom libraries. The bill would allow a parent who disagrees with a district’s ruling on a book challenge to appeal the state education commissioner to appoint a special magistrate to hear the dispute.
“This bill has given a ticket for racist, homophobic people — that this chamber does not support – to pull books that matter to our children,” said state Rep. Robin Bartleman (D-Weston).
And in about a month, they’ll expand it yet again to all grades and start looking for ways they can force their anti-LGBTQ pogrom on colleges and universities.
Incredible scene outside the Florida House chamber this afternoon as hundreds of LGBTQ students descend right as the Don’t Say Gay expansion bill passes.
When are we actually going to become a decent country? Think about all the nice things that other industrialized nations have and have had for decades: reasonable gun control, universal health care, paid maternity leave and the like, not to mention democracy that isn’t slipping into outright theocratic fascism.
When do we get to have those things? How fucking shitty and unlivable does America have to become before it finally hits rock bottom and starts to become a better country?
I’m just so fucking sick and tired of watching everything deteriorate and nothing ever fucking gets better, and anytime something does get better everyone knows deep down it’s only a matter of time before the Republicans demolish it. Meanwhile the world passed us by a long time ago when it comes to just basic human development.
I’m becoming increasingly convinced this country is headed toward fascism, civil war or both, and there’s really nothing we can do about it. The Democrats are too weak to stop it, and the media will just bothsides it.
I’m sorry to be pessimistic, but shit like this just completely drains whatever hope I have left.
“Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years….Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.” – President Truman, 1952
A powerful speech against anti-trans legislation from Kentucky State Rep. Pamela Stevenson (D-Louisville):
"First, you hated Black people. Then, you hated Jews. Now, you're hating everybody. So the question is when the only people left are you, will you hate yourself?" pic.twitter.com/9N5xHyAHpP
This is the first time that a state has put a law on the books that restricts its residents from interstate travel for abortion access. Idaho already has a near-total abortion ban in place. Neighboring Washington and Oregon allow minors to get an abortion without their parent’s consent.
Idaho’s HB 242 would imprison for up to five years any adult who accompanies a minor across out-of-state without a parent’s consent — an action that the bill calls “abortion trafficking.”
I heard last night on MSNBC that Obstetricians are leaving Idaho. Soon there will not be doctors to deliver babies in the state. It seems that doctors were not without alternatives in front of a maniacal state government.
Correct. Its happening in multiple states. First, blue states have a surge in demand so can offer higher pay. Second, treatment of legit miscarriages could cause an a doctor to be subject to police investigation or worse. The maternal death rate in red states (already higher than blue states) is going to skyrocket.
My daughter is an OBGYN in Georgia. She calls me and tells me terrifying and gory stories of things that happen on occasion, sometimes to young and perfectly healthy women, in the delivery room. Sometimes even the most skilled doctors have to hit the panic button and summon in a specialist because things can go terribly wrong in a fraction of a moment, even under the best of circumstances. Imagine now what will happen when the doctors have fled from the red states and there are not enough to go around to save the lives of these mothers and forced mothers to be? I get a chill when I think about it. What a terrifying time it is to be a girl/woman.
Frightening as hell. I image we will see an intra-country medical tourism where wealthy women will travel to blue states to spend there last few pregnant months near a hospital capable of delivering competent care.
It’s starts with “protecting the kids” to “we know what’s best for our women.” I’ve heard arguments that “the unborn are our state’s citizens, and we have the right to safeguard them.” How women and any men who love them aren’t outraged & unleashing hell upon their would-be captors stuns me to no end.
“Papers please. Please pee on this stick for us before you leave the state.”
Read the full article. Perhaps obviously, the bill is meant to allow Moms For Liberty fascists from anywhere in the state to run for school boards where they’d have a shot at winning. Last year Steele, a freshman rep, reported a net worth of over $440 million.
ICYMI #Florida’s GOP super majority is changing the way local communities elect their school boards: reducing school board term limits to 8 years, making those races partisan AND allowing people who don’t even live in your county to run for school board. https://t.co/pSgdj7bBvw
Seems the GQP are blood thirsty for children. “One statistic in particular stood out: one in 25 American five-year-olds today will not make it to their 40th birthday. No parent should ever have to bury their child, but in the US one set of parents from every kindergarten class most likely will.”
MO State Rep. Peter Merideth (D) on a just-passed GOP budget defunding libraries: "They actually took out all state aid for public libraries explicitly because librarians are suing over their First Amendment rights … We are starting to live in a dystopian future from 1984." pic.twitter.com/fej8ywxbCf
“And I mean, there’s things all throughout the week that I know is right to do. And sometimes, I don’t do them. And so we can nitpick what the Bible says is right and wrong, but I think just having that heart posture of wanting to serve God and do the right thing is so important.
Says the woman who attacks the gays and trans because her god hates that, but her underage son having sex outside of marriage and getting a girl pregnant is OK and hands off for some reason. WTF! Hugs
Exactly. Some portions of the Bible must be taken verbatim, and some require interpretation and context… but only Republicans can decide which and when, and that decision can vary dependent upon the situation as they see it at that particular time.
Situational Ethics, a philosophical system originally developed by Congregationalist pastor Charles Sheldon and Episcopalian priest Joseph Fletcher. In the hands of the GOP, it morphs from “How would Jesus love?” to “How can I excuse this?”
SB1993 author Sen. Mayes Middleton [photo] last appeared here for his bill to prosecute and disbar members of a law firm for “reimbursing travel costs of employees who leave Texas to murder their unborn children.”
Pretty wild: A bill in Texas would allow the SOS to overturn election results in Harris, Dallas, Bexar and other populous counties #SB1993https://t.co/xeM2uEdwqQ
Nope, not for Rethugs. First they turn a majority of voters into a minority of representation. Then they take away that minority representation altogether, creating one-party-only rule.
The demise of the US is accelerating. I can see this being illegal, but not really since so many lifetime judges are now IQ45 worshipers. Even if this were go to the SCOTUS it’s still up in the air. If it goes there and SCOTUS says TX has the right to decide an election and not the People then we will absolutely know for a fact that we are not a republic.
It’s long been the dream of “conservatives” to disfranchise Black voters. The polysyllabic racist, William F. Buckley, Jr., proposed legislation doing just that back in the 1950s, in areas where Black voters could influence the outcome of elections…because the “advanced race” just had to prevail.
He conceded that in order for the legislation to have the appearance of being Constitutional, some white voters might also be disfranchised. I don’t think he would shed too many tears over that if they were in heavily unionized areas.
Both women have alleged in interviews that the president compared them to Ivanka Trump.
Both below, courtesy of Anderson Cooper interviews with women.
Stormy Daniels : Yeah. He was like, “Wow, you — you are special. You remind me of my daughter.” You know — he was like, “You’re smart and beautiful, and a woman to be reckoned with, and I like you. I like you.”
McDougal: You know, he, he’s very proud of Ivanka, as he should be. I mean, she’s a brilliant woman. She’s beautiful. She’s — you know, that’s his daughter, and he should be proud of her. He said I was beautiful like her and, you know, you’re a smart girl. And there wasn’t a lot of comparing, but there was some, yes. I heard a lot about her. Yes.
The suit was brought by extremist anti-LGBTQ activist Steven Hotze [photo], who was recently ejected from a Texas Senate hearing after repeatedly calling transgender people “pedophiles.”
Hotze appeared on JMG in September 2022 when he explained how COVID vaccines are designed to connect people to the internet “so you can be mind-controlled by artificial intelligence.”
In April 2022, Hotze was charged with two felonies related to a bizarre 2020 “voter fraud search” incident.
Hotze appeared on JMG that year when he left a voice mail for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, telling him to “shoot to kill” Black Lives Matter activists.
You may recall that Steven Hotze has compared gays to “communist termites” eating away at America’s moral fabric. He is also fond of declaring that it’s now a hate crime to denounce homosexuality.
It was Hotze who bankrolled the successful campaign to repeal Houston’s “wicked, evil, Satanic” LGBT rights ordinance, during which he compared gays to rapists and murderers.
According to Hotze, same-sex marriage will result in children “practicing sodomy” in kindergarten.
In 2017, he appeared here when he “prophesied” that God will deliver “just retribution” to lawmakers who vote for LGBT rights.
When he’s not calling on God to kill politicians or for the governor to kill Black Lives Matter activists, Hotze sells “miracle” supplements because high cholesterol doesn’t really cause heart disease.
Hotze regularly quotes QAnon slogans.
Y’all want to know why conservative judges get shouted down at law schools? Because they’re literally looking for ways to justify exposing a disfavored group to a deadly virus and claiming it’s about administrative law formalism. They’re bigots in a robe.
O’Connor has widely been described as conservative. O’Connor has become a “go-to” favorite for conservative lawyers, as he tends to reliably rule against Democratic policies. Attorneys General in Texas appear to strategically file cases in O’Connor’s jurisdiction so that he will hear them.
More judge shopping by the Republicans. But you won’t hear Democrats even talk about this.
Nan pointed out in a comment that she felt the longer video had more information that should be shared. I have not listened to the longer video and right now I can’t due to the pain in my back and a large backlog of videos I want to watch, but I trust Nan and the other viewers that come here. If she says it is worth watching, then it really is. Hugs
Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper has joined the growing list of LGBTQ+ books banned in certain US schools. (Aliceoseman.com/Attitude Magazine)
Alice Oseman’s seminal graphic novel series Heartstopper has joined the growing list of LGBTQ+ books banned in certain parts of the US.
According to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, more than fifty books were banned in the Clay County school district in Florida last week (24 March), many of which are written by LGBTQ+ authors or discuss sexuality or gender identity.
The list of banned books includes the first three volumes of Oseman’s Heartstopper, as well as her 2016 novel Radio Silence, which features a number of queer characters.
Other books removed in the latest round of book bans in the district include LGBTQ+ young adult romance novel One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva, and comic A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns.
The Florida Freedom to Read Project shared that a total of 355 books have now been removed from the school district since July 2022.
Along with LGBTQ+ books, the bans are impacting Black authors and books about and racism and racial justice.
Remember that school district DeSantis spoke about freedom at yesterday (@oneclayschools)?
Well, they just added another 50+ books to their list of removed books that are out until they complete the challenge, review and appeal process. The total now is 355 since July 1, 2022. pic.twitter.com/JoZkCxYTts
— Florida Freedom to Read Project (@FLFreedomRead) March 24, 2023
Responding to the Heartstopperban, Alice Oseman decried the growing number of book bans as thinly-veiled homophobia.
“Racism, homophobia and transphobia are thriving under the guise of ‘concern for children’. This is not just a US issue either,” Oseman warned. “We’re seeing the exact same ‘concern’ here in the UK.”
She also shared a statement by the Florida Freedom to Read Project, with the quote: “Indoctrination happens when you remove access to ideas.”
Alice Oseman condemned “homophobia” under the guise of ‘concern for children’. (Instagram/@aliceoseman)
Rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment has led to a record number of individual book bans in the US, with one report indicating that 2,532 books were banned in the 2021/2022 school year.
More than half of those banned feature LGBTQ+ characters or discussions.
A separate report indicates that there were around 1,200 attempts to ban books in the US in 2022, more than double the record set in 2021.
Last week (22 March), a school district in New York received a bomb threat due to the simple fact that it stocks LGBTQ+ books. Meanwhile, staff at a library in Cork, Ireland, were called “paedophile slurs” because the library had LGBTQ+ literature on the shelves.
One of the most-banned books in the US is This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson, who recently hit out at the “organised attack” on LGBTQ+ literature.
Author Juno Dawson has addressed book bans in US, including of her work. (Credit: Getty Images)
“What we’re seeing now is a really organised attack on books because the far-right is out of ideas. What else can you attack but trans healthcare, drag queens, books,” Dawson said in an Instagram statement on 26 March.
“So I just want to say a huge thank you to all the librarians and educators who are defending freedom of speech and the right for young LGBTQ+ people to see themselves in books. Stand strong in full solidarity.”
Most adults said they oppose laws restricting drag shows or performances as Republicans in several states push to block the shows from being seen by children, according to a new poll.
The results of an NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll, released Wednesday, show 58 percent of respondents said theyoppose laws restricting the performances, while 39 percent said they support them. Democrats are the most likely to oppose such laws, with almost three-quarters of them saying they are opposed, but 57 percent of independents and 37 percent of Republicans also said they do not support them.
Tennessee became the first state in the country earlier this month to prohibit what the state law calls “adult cabaret performances” from happening within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks or places of worship. Republicans have introduced bills to restrict drag performances in more than a dozen other states.
Pollsters also found that a majority of respondents oppose laws that ban gender-affirming care for children under 18, with 54 percent saying they oppose it. That includes 68 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of independents and 35 percent of Republicans.
Still, the percentage of people who support these types of laws has increased in recent years, rising from 28 percent in April 2021 to 43 percent now.
The poll found a split in views among parents with children under 18 and those without. Almost 60 percent of parents who have children under 18 said they support laws banning gender-affirming care for youth, while about the same amount of those without children under 18 said the same.
The poll was conducted from March 20 to 23 among 1,327 U.S. adults. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points.
Remember Florida prevents the real history of racism / slavery to be taught in schools and in fact one school district just stopped showing a pg movie about Ruby Bridges a 6 year old black girl who needed bodyguardescorts to go to an all white school because a white parent felt it would hurt white kids feelings to know how racist white people were / are. But we can damn well make sure that monuments to the attempt to keep those racist days and slavery as a state right must be protected and displayed. What does that say to all the black people in the state of Florida? Remember the Confederacy went to war to over turn the legitimate government of the US and to break up the country. The Confederacy was an enemy government that attacked the US and there are people who want to put up statues and monuments to the traitors / enemy soliders. What country does that. The losers of the war are dictating the winners must celabrate the losing army / officials. Hugs https://scottiesplaytime.com/2023/03/28/shameful-ruby-bridges-film-banned-from-school-because-white-parents-feeling-some-kind-of-way/
‘No group, no individual, has the right to demolish history that belongs to all.’
A House committee approved a bill that could end efforts to move or “re-contextualize” confederate monuments and other markers of war.
Rep. Dean Black, a Jacksonville Republican who noted he was a “10th generation resident of Florida,” explained that “history belongs to all Floridians, indeed to all Americans,” in introducing his bill.
“If someone destroys historic monuments in one part of the state, all Floridians are diminished because of it,” Black contended.
Asked by Rep. Jervonte Edmonds why this bill was introduced, Black lamented that “mobs that would descend upon a community and tear down their monuments, statues, works of art” until the community is “compelled” to remove these edifices.
The bill would encompass historical depictions represented in the form of a “plaque, statue, marker, flag, banner, cenotaph, religious symbol, painting, seal, tombstone, structure name, or display constructed and located with the intent of being permanently displayed or perpetually maintained,” honoring military or public service, “past or present,” with no exceptions contemplated.
Black warned that if monuments were torn down, “people would walk in those parks and say that the things memorialized never happened.”
“They already do that with the Holocaust now,” Black contended. “And if we’re talking about the Civil War, that should never be forgotten. All of the stories should be told.”
Monuments could not be removed, and plaques and signs attempting to put those constructions in historical context would only be permissible “on the monument and memorial” if Secretary of State Cord Byrd signs off. And local governments “are expressly prohibited from removing those memorials from public view.”
According to a committee analysis of Senate companion legislation, this process “may incur workload costs” for the Department of State. But the sponsor thinks the price is worth it.
“It is their proper purview,” Black said.
Those who remove or damage monuments would pay treble the cost to restore and move them back, with “punitive damages” also possible.
“No group, no individual, has the right to demolish history that belongs to all,” Black contended.
Public entities owning the monuments, legal residents of the state, and “historical preservation” groups would stand for civil action under this bill.
“I want every Floridian to have the standing to defend the history that belongs to each and every one of them,” Black said.
The bill does allow for moving monuments “for construction, expansion, or alteration of publicly owned buildings, roads, streets, highways, or other transportation projects.” When such a movement happens, the structures must be “relocated to a site of similar prominence, honor, visibility, and access within the same county or municipality in which the monument or memorial was originally located.”
In support of the bill, Rep. Chuck Brannan of MacClenny likened monument removal to graverobbing.
“I may say something today somebody doesn’t like. Is somebody 100 years from now going to go dig my grave up and move me?”
The bill would take effect July 1, if signed.
Black’s bill is the House companion to SB 1096, filed last month by Sen. Jonathan Martin, a Republican from Fort Myers. That measure is also moving through committees.
Florida doesn't want you talking to 17- and 18-year olds about sex or teenage girls about their periods, but it will do everything to protect Confederate monuments.
"House panel advances bill protecting war monuments"
We must defend and learn from our history. This includes protecting historic monuments across the state of Florida. I’m proud to introduce this important bill in the Legislature and look forward to finally CANCELING “Cancel” Culture! https://t.co/RIO76E4E2h
Great news! House Bill 1607 — Protection of Historical Monuments & Memorials, has just passed its first subcommittee and is one step closer to becoming law. Thank you to my colleagues who believe, as I do, that our history belongs to all Floridians and must be preserved! pic.twitter.com/TZ8y5Fwbdi
“History belongs to all of us… And if my family’s history isn’t safe today, no one’s family history is safe tomorrow…”
Then stop banning history books that teach everyone’s history. Obviously POC’s history isn’t safe in Florida… Can’t say gay in Florida… “History belongs to” who, again?
He’s made sure that his great grandchildren won’t be able to read about “his family’s history” in history books that teach the oppression POC and Native Americans were put through by “his family’s history”… aka, HERITAGE!
Gov. DeSantis’ anti-LGBTQ+ crusade has left parents of queer and trans kids devastated. Many say they’re ready to move, yet many more say they’ll stay and fight back.
In early February, a massive carpool descended on Tallahassee, Florida’s capital. Dozens of middle and high schoolers had missed Geometry and English class for the occasion; parents had taken hard earned days off work to chaperone their children. However, this was no school sanctioned event. It was the final deliberation meeting of the Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine, which would determine whether the state would move forward with a ban on gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary youth.
Although the Boards had been discussing a potential ban for months, this was the first and only chance the public would have to voice their concerns about the rule. For the young people who had traveled to Tallahassee that day, the decision would have an immeasurable impact on their lives. School would have to wait.
For three hours in a poorly-lit auditorium in the state Department of Transportation office, trans and nonbinary young people described the feelings of liberation, wholeness, and freedom they had experienced after receiving the kinds of medically necessary, gender-affirming care that was now up for debate. They described missing months of school due to dysphoria, and the friendships and self-love that blossomed when they received treatment.
“Having my needs met in this way for the first time ever was the most beautiful experience I could have asked for,” said one teenager.
“Growing up in a religious and fairly conservative household, I didn’t have the opportunity to receive gender-affirming care until I was 18. Because of that, I attempted suicide three times,” said another. “Gender-affirming care saved my life.”
Behind those who testified, dozens of heads — young people, their parents, siblings, and teachers — nodded in recognition.
Despite their testimonies, and the decades-long support of such treatment by most every governing medical body, the Board voted to move forward with a ban on gender-affirming care for youth. Although they had previously claimed that the field needed more research before hormone replacement therapy and other treatments could be approved, the Board also paradoxically banned gender-affirming care for research purposes at public universities in Florida.
GIORGIO VIERA/Getty Images
Unlike other states that have banned gender-affirming care through their state houses, Florida’s ban went into effect exclusively through the state’s medical board, without the vote of any elected officials. This means advocates and organizers have not had a fair chance to lobby against it, and their only opportunity to appeal will be through a right-leaning Federal Court system. In fact, the Tampa Bay Times has reported that members of the Board of Medicine who were appointed by Gov. DeSantis have contributed over $80,000 to his campaigns and political action committee.
He “has figured out a way to subvert the democratic process, subvert the legislature, and utilize politically-appointed people who he can put into power at his will,” said Simone Chriss, Director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel.
Policies created by these officials have included the Board of Medicine’s decision to move forward with a ban on gender-affirming care for youth; the Board of Education’s ruling to limit trans people’s access to bathrooms; and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s rule that gender-affirming care can no longer be reimbursed with Medicaid. In each of these instances, DeSantis’ politicalappointees have reshaped LGBTQ+ lives in the state.
If “the Board of Medicine can establish new standards of care for any condition regardless of the consensus of the scientific and medical community nationwide, that’s a really scary precedent to set,” said Chriss. “I hope that the rest of the country is watching and is alarmed.”
In the year since DeSantis passedthe Parental Rights in Education Act, or “Don’t Say Gay,” as it has become known, he has used the idea of “parental rights” to reshape Florida in his political image. Since at least the 1960s, conservative Christian activists have used parental rights as a call to arms to assert their beliefs in schools, which activists on the right believe have been eroded by a progressive embrace of LGBTQ+ children and classroom lessons about systemic racism.
The seeds of Don’t Say Gay were planted at the height of the pandemic, when conversations about mask mandates, vaccines, and in-person schooling quickly transformed into culture war talking points. Two days after “Don’t Say Gay,” DeSantis passed the “Stop WOKE Act,” which “prohibits instruction on race relations or diversity that imply a person’s status as either privileged or oppressed.” Over the past year, these bills have had what activists, LGBTQ+ children, and parents describe as a “chilling effect,” creating an atmosphere of self-censorship and fear.
CHANDAN KHANNA/Getty Images
“Everything is a target now,” said Todd Delmay, an LGBTQ+ parent who has a child in public school and recently ran for state senate. That’s not due to what legislators explicitly wrote into the bill, he said; rather, “it’s what they haven’t.”
Indeed, “Don’t Say Gay” is only six short paragraphs. However, those paragraphs were seemingly crafted to create an environment of paranoia and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, primarily through a clause that empowers parents to sue school districts over any material, at any age, that they deem “inappropriate.”
Over the past year, parents say this has created an environment in which teachers are afraid to mention anything about gender or sexuality, even in casual conversations. “I served in the military, and they’ve essentially created a Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell environment for kids,” said Michael Rothgeb, an LGBTQ+ parent in the state.
This has included several school districts, including Miami Dade, removing their Safe and Inclusive Schools Guide, which offered comprehensive guidance on supporting LGBTQ+ students; the removal of pride flags in classrooms across the state; and the banning of books with LGBTQ+ subject matter, including one about two real-life gay penguins.
“All of the things we were most afraid would happen if this bill [Don’t Say Gay] was signed absolutely have,” said Maxx Fenning, founder of Prism Florida, a youth-led nonprofit that provides free sexual health education.
For many parents, this environment has forced them to consider leaving the state. “It’s a conversation that we have every week in our support group,” said NiX, a Florida parent who runs a group for the families of trans and nonbinary children. According to a recent survey conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA, more than half of 113 LGBTQ+ parents in Florida said they have considered moving because of Don’t Say Gay, and 20% had started taking the steps to do so.
Zeth Pugh is one of those parents. Last year, as it became clear that a ban on gender-affirming care would come into effect, Pugh realized she had to move in order to protect her 15-year-old son, who is trans. He had been hospitalized for suicidal ideation and depression, and was hoping to speak with a healthcare provider about his options for gender-affirming care. “We can’t even get that kind of consultation now. It’s devastating,” said Pugh, her voice filling up with tears. Although their house is almost packed and they have realtors in Florida and Oregon, where they hope to move, Pugh said that she has “a bag ready” to leave the state with her son at a moment’s notice.
Yet many parents are unable to uproot their lives due to economic or social factors. “There are constraints on people’s ability to [move], and it disproportionately impacts people who are low income,” said Dr. Abbie E. Goldberg, who conducted the UCLA survey. “The fact that they’re even having to look into options to change jobs or find a new home speaks to the fear right now,” she added.
Other LGBTQ+ parents say they see staying put as their responsibility. “When your freedoms are literally being taken away, you have to fight,” said Janelle Perez, who lives in Miami with her wife and two children. Her family fled to Florida from Cuba, and the efforts that they’ve made to build a life — a neighborhood full of siblings, devoted grandparents, supportive queer friends — are too immense to leave behind. “I’m not going to let these people push us out,” she said. “We want people to come here and organize and support us.”
This echoes a sentiment shared by many parents and youth organizers. They worry that if supportive adults leave the state, queer and trans children will be left to fend for themselves in an increasingly hostile political environment.
LGBTQ rights supporters protest against Florida Governor Ron Desantis. GIORGIO VIERA/Getty Images
“We’re trying to combat this idea that Florida is a lost cause,” said Fenning. “It’s the third most populous state in the country. There are so many queer people here. We can’t afford to divest from the state in a way that would harm millions of people.”
Fenning notes that if supportive allies move, disparities in access to healthcare, affirming spaces in schools, and sex education will only widen. Indeed, several school districts have already removed LGBTQ+ sex education from their curricula due to outside pressure, including in Miami-Dade and Sarasota Counties. In Jacksonville, JASMYN recently lost a 20-year-contract to support in-school Gay Straight Alliances after right-wing activists screenshotted an image from their social media accounts of a card game about sex-ed, which they sent to the school district with the false claim that JASMYN was preying on children. JASMYN, which has provided essential medical care across Jacksonville for decades, insisted that the game is only played with consenting adults.
These incidents illustrate increasing tension in the state surrounding LGBTQ+ life. At all grade levels, the political atmosphere created by DeSantis has led to fears that things like HIV tests, mental health resources, and in-school Gay Straight Alliances violate “Don’t Say Gay,” despite widespread evidence that community acceptance lowers rates of suicide and depression. “The fact that these [parents] are being coached by conservative leaders to do things that will result in poorer health and even the death of their own children,” says NiX, “is one of the most evil things I can conceive of.”
And more than half live in states where legislators have filed bans.
In light of these never-ending fires, such as the ban on gender-affirming care, classroom censorship, and harassment, many parents and activists are bracing themselves for a drawn-out fight. And, as DeSantis is widely expected to announce a presidential campaign, people outside of Florida may soon find themselves faced with identical policies. “There is no ‘safe’ anymore,” says NiX. “Only safer.”
Simone Chriss, of Southern Legal Counsel, says that she has to constantly remind herself that her work isn’t just about winning legal cases; it’s the fight itself that matters. In her view, this is the far right’s greatest fear: “kids who are comfortable with who they are, who aren’t afraid, who aren’t hiding, and who are going to hold the people in charge accountable.”
bell hooks once wrote that children are the most vulnerable members of our society, as they have no explicit rights, including the right to vote out the politicians who harm them. “When we love children,” she writes, “we acknowledge by our every action that they are not property, that they have rights — that we respect and uphold their rights.” Back in that room in Tallahassee, without the protection of doctors trained to help them, trans and nonbinary children were practicing the ultimate form of self-love: advocating for themselves, by any means necessary.
The little black girl was 6 years old when she lived it. Yet now white parents say that their kids older than she was are too young to learn how bad people of color including children were treated by white people. This is our history, the history of our country. This is one reason we need to keep repeating that black lives matter. The white supremacists do not want evil of the mistreatment of back people known but I wonder why. Is it so they can blame black people for their less economic situation today? Is it so they can repeat the same racist attacks? The reason to teach this is to show what we must not let happen again. Also I notice the same people that screamed “fuck your feelings” when trump was president are now showing a lot of feelings. Hugs
Candace McDuffie
·2 min read
U.S. Deputy Marshals escort 6-year-old Ruby Bridges from William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, in this November 1960, file photo.
Even though the Disney film “Ruby Bridges” has been shown during Black History Month in Florida’s Pinellas County for years, it was recently pulled because a parent was worried that it would teach white children about the racism that Black children faced.
Emily Conklin, whose child attends North Shore Elementary parent, refused to let the student see “Ruby Bridges” when it was shown earlier this month. Conklin believed that the movie was inappropriate for second graders.
She made a formal complaint on March 6, stating that the use of racial epithets and images of white folks who harassed Ruby as she walked into a school will allow white children to see the racist history of segregation.
School officials for Pinellas decided to ban the movie at the St. Petersburg school until a review committee can evaluate it. This is ultimately a result of Florida parents having more say in deciding what children can see and read in schools.
In an open letter, Ric Davis—who is president of Concerned Organization for Quality Education for Black Students—wrote: “Many from historically marginalized communities are asking whether this so-called integrated education system in Pinellas County can even serve the diverse community fairly and equitably.”
He continued: “The (Pinellas) district’s leadership appears to fear the potential consequences of not acting in the way they have on these two decisions. This approach to challenging times in education in our state raises serious questions about Superintendent (Kevin) Hendrick’s leadership.”
The demographics of enrollment in Pinellas district schools is 51% white, 20% Hispanic, 19% Black and 4% Asian, according to state records. The rest of the students enrolled are of Native American or Pacific Islander descent or are categorized as belonging to two or more races.
Conklin was one of two parents who refused to let their children watch the movie after the elementary school sent out permission slips, which included a link to a trailer two weeks before the movie before was shown to classes.
The cancellation of all showings of the PG-rated 1998 film "Ruby Bridges" at North Shore Elementary—following a factually inaccurate complaint by a lone parent who had not watched the whole movie—violated @my_pcs policy, reports @JuddLegumhttps://t.co/Mcvbkpb2uQ#BlackHistory
Ruby Bridges needed guards to walk her through a violent mob when she was 6 just so she could go to school, but apparently second graders in Florida are too young to learn about it. https://t.co/9j5dPDJcF9
After a White parent complained that a film about Ruby Bridges might cause White students to hate Black students, officials of North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg, Florida, has removed access to the film for all students.https://t.co/col0Rvi2s0
— The Black Wall Street Times (@TheBWSTimes) March 27, 2023
She made a formal complaint on March 6, stating that the use of racial epithets and images of white folks who harassed Ruby as she walked into a school will allow white children to see the racist history of segregation.
It’s Florida. The higher-ups (notice it wasn’t the teacher or the curriculum) are looking for excuses to cancel anything having to do with civil rights, and those parents gave them the excuse they needed.
So, how far does this go? Just sit around and let them white wash history? Are people going to get mad and put a stop to this? I really don’t know, it seems they are getting away with re-writing history to placate Conservatives.
Though the full human impact of the current legislative assault on trans existence can never be quantified, a new analysis from the Human Rights Campaign shows its magnitude. According to new statistics from the LGBTQ+ organization, more than one-fifth of trans youth live in states that have passed bans on gender-affirming care for minors.
On Wednesday, HRC released a new map outlining attacks on gender-affirming care by state alongside a new report with information pulled from the organization’s own legislative tracking. The report also drew from data compiled by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law showing that there are more than 300,000 trans youth aged 13-17 in the United States. The map also illustrates which states have already banned gender-affirming care for minors and which are currently considering laws or policies to do so.
According to the report, 22.9% of trans youth live in states that have passed bans on gender-affirming care for minors, a list that includes Arizona, Utah, Texas, South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. In three states — Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas — temporary court injunctions are currently blocking those bans. In addition to youth living in states that have already passed bans on gender-affirming care a further 27.5% of trans youth are at risk of losing access.
Combined, over half of trans youth (50.4%) live in states where they’ve already lost access to or are at risk of losing access to gender-affirming care, according to the HRC report. However, as ACLU communications strategist Gillian Branstetter pointed out on Twitter, this statistic accounts for every state that has a proposed ban, even though many of those bills will likely never pass into law. According to a separate report by HRC, 91% of the anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in 2022 failed to become law.
Few things: Most trans youth are already not accessing care. Just 0.2% of all youth 6-17 (in a generation where 2% identify as trans) accessed any GAC. Second, this count is including every state with a proposed bill, including MI, NJ, OR, WA, and others not likely to pass them https://t.co/WBoq4xQz70
However, that doesn’t change the fact that the mere introduction of these bills profoundly impacts LGBTQ+ people, especially trans people. Jay Brown, senior vice president of HRC, stated that Republican politicians “are spreading propaganda and creating more stigma, discrimination, and violence against transgender people just to rile up extreme members of their base.”
A January report by the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Trevor Project found that state-level anti-trans laws negatively affected the mental health of 86% of trans and nonbinary youth between ages 13 and 24.
“LGBTQ+ people are living in a state of emergency,” Brown said in a press release. “Today’s findings illustrate how the ongoing assault against transgender people is taking hold across the country and underscore how dire the situation is growing for our community by the day. These dangerous and discriminatory policies advocated by power-hungry politicians are void of any credible purpose.”
This is allowing a small minority group of religious / maga parents to dictate to the entire student body and all the other parents how things will be. The administrators / republicans don’t care that the majority of parents want the song in the event and have no issue if rainbows are displayedtalked about, only the Christian maga parents are important. This is about wiping gays / trans from society and removing all the social acceptance gained over the years. This is the same tactic used in the 1970s US and in the current Russia. It is entirely about pandering to a vocal hate minority. I am getting so tired of it. Hugs
Miley Cyrus’ ‘Rainbowland’ stirs Waukesha school concert controversy
A Waukesha teacher asked kids to sing a Miley Cyrus song, but administrators say it’s too controversial for elementary school.
WAUKESHA, Wis. – A Waukesha teacher asked kids to sing a Miley Cyrus song, but administrators say it’s too controversial for elementary school.
The song is called “Rainbowland.” It’s a duet between Cyrus and country star Dolly Parton. One parent told FOX6 News Thursday she believes the controversy is more about rainbows than the lyrics of the songs.
Sarah Schindler can’t wait for the spring concert at Heyer Elementary. Her daughter, Audrey, can barely contain her own excitement.
“She asked, ‘Are you going to be able to get off work and come to my concert?’ I said, ‘Yes! I will come to your concert,'” said Schindler.
It was a big letdown for Audrey when she came home Wednesday and told her mom one of her favorite songs got pulled from the show.
“She said, ‘We’re not allowed to sing those songs anymore,’” said Schindler.
Superintendent Jim Sebert confirmed that “Rainbowland” was dropped from the set list. He cited a specific school board policy, saying: “It was determined that ‘Rainbowland’ could be perceived as controversial.”
Heyer Elementary School
Lyrics include “wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise” and “where we’re free to be exactly who we are.” FOX6 pressed Sebert for a reason why the song was controversial. He said the district questioned “whether it was appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students” and because of quote “social or personal impacts” on them.
The school board defines a “controversial issue” as one that “may be the subject of intense public argument.”
“I think, for some reason, the district sees rainbows as a political symbol,” said Schindler.
Schindler believes recent school board decisions about LGBTQ issues could be a factor because of the rainbow’s association with gay rights. At the same time, the district features a rainbow on its 4K enrollment signs.
Sebert told FOX6 the Muppet song “Rainbow Connection” will be part of the Heyer Elementary concert.
FOX6 asked Schindler if Miley Cyrus is controversial in the eyes of the school board. She didn’t know, and said she’s now struggling to explain the decision to her daughter.
“To me, that is a message I want my child to feel,” said Schindler. “Seven-year-olds should be free to be themselves.”
Cyrus has previously said “Rainbowland” is inspired by her recording studio – painted in different colors. Parton has said it’s about “hope and positivity in dark times.”
Associated Press/John Amis
A Flourish chart
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