Category: Courts / Laws / legal

Right-wingers Hit A NEW LEVEL of Crazy Over Children’s Book About Penguins

Read more HERE: https://www.thedailybeast.com/and-tan…

“A Florida school district voted this week to ban a book on penguins—yes, penguins—from its libraries, claiming the book’s “sexual innuendo” was inappropriate for elementary students.

In a 3-2 vote on Monday, the Escambia County School Board, near Pensacola, deemed And Tango Makes Three unsuitable for students, overriding the recommendation of a district-mandated review committee made up of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members.

“The fascination is still on that it’s two male penguins raising a chick,” board member David Williams said ahead of the vote. “So, I’ll be voting to remove the book from our libraries.”

Tennessee Nears Criminalizing Public Drag Shows

Tennessee Nears Criminalizing Public Drag Shows

Public dress codes separated due to gender assigned at birth. Soon don’t you women dare wear pants, men make sure you have your beard and regulation hat when you leave the house.    This is the US Taliban.  No miniskirts you women, be respectful with skirts at knee length and dresses covering your ankles.   Plus as JMG says let’s protect kids by making dress up illegal but allow teenagers to carry guns.  The republicans are a minority party that has to gerrymander and suppress the right to vote to insure they stay in power, but they rule like they have a landslide majority.  I really think this comes down to a religious motive.   Men shall not dress as women, women shall not dress as men or men might start sleeping sexy with men dressed as women.   Oh no!   Hugs

The Tennessean reports:

Tennessee House Republicans on Thursday moved to prohibit “adult-oriented” entertainment from public property and restrict it to age-restricted venues in legislation filed after a flurry of controversies over drag shows across the state.

The bill classifies “male and female impersonators” as adult cabaret performers and bans “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors,” as defined in Tennessee’s obscenity law.

Bill sponsor Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, filed the legislation after he fought a public Pride drag show in Jackson, Tennessee. Todd at the time called the drag show “child abuse,” though he said he wasn’t aware of the actual content the show would contain.

Memphis’s Fox affiliate reports:

House Bill 9 and Senate Bill 3 would ban those performances from public property or in a location where they could be viewed by minors. The bill addresses performances like “topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest.”

The bill passed as amended with 74 in favor and 19 against. News Channel 11 reached out to the office of Governor Bill Lee regarding the bill. A spokesperson for Lee said he intended to sign it when it came to his desk.

The bill now returns to the state senate for a procedural concurrence vote before heading to the governor’s desk, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

Rep. Chris Todd first appeared on JMG in April 2022 when he authored a successful bill allowing 18 year-olds to carry handguns. Because he so wants to protect young people. Last year he forced a local Pride organization to cancel drag performances in a public park.

Darreth2 hours ago

This is step one. Once they get away with this they will go to the next steps. Eventually, being publicly or openly gay will be a reason for being arrested.

TallyDink  Darreth2 hours ago

Followed by being suspected of being gay becoming legal cause for arrest.

AyJayDee2  Stuart Wyman-Cahall2 hours ago

I still frequently see comments that try to hit back at these things using logic or accusations of hypocrisy. And I’ll keep saying: These bigots don’t give a shit that their laws make no sense or are hypocritical. They just want to lock us up and kill us.

Stuart Wyman-Cahall  AyJayDee2 2 hours ago

Thank you! I’m 67 years old at went to school at a time when we learned about how this encroachment begins. We’re in for some hard times. And I’m not being Chicken Little about this. Trump’s Supreme Court has already been unleashing their terror on women.

 

Mike C2 hours ago edited

The only solution is civil disobedience and acts of malicious compliance. Defy the law, stage your performance and let the cops pull you out in handcuffs. This isn’t 1962, there’s camera everywhere. Let America see.

And maliciously comply. Put together your drag bunch, market it as a drag brunches but have a group of of cis women do the performance in modern drag style costumes and makeup. Confuse the shit out law enforcement when they come to make the arrest.

WaveMotionGum  Mike Can hour ago

It’s also not 1962 in that there’s an entire media industry created by the right that exists just to deny sympathy when the police start cracking skulls.

Chicago joe  Mike C2 hours ago edited

Also most evangelical christmas and Easter shows feature men in dresses. Report that shit to the cops, organize call trees and place hundreds of calls for each performance.

Also add Jesus, a man clearly in drag, to each drag show…doesn’t have to be reverent, just have Jesus. He could serve wine.

Chris Baker  Mike C2 hours ago

Yes, I have been saying that for a while. Get some straight ally women to dress up in drag-style and host a drag brunch. Confuse and frustrate the police.

Also, the law says “…male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest”. I can’t think of anything less prurient than someone dressed in a full-length gown reading to kids.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take some arrests and lawsuits to get this shit over with. But we know that drag queens have some of the biggest balls out there to do it.

AyJayDee2  Mike C2 hours ago

Or do like in the old days when drag queens would wear a tag reading “I’m a boy” so they couldn’t be accused of being female impersonators.

Tim 🇺🇦2 hours ago edited

“The bill classifies “male and female impersonators” as adult cabaret performers adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors,”

I’d like to see ONE long term, peer-reviewed study that proves this.

Sister_Bertrille  Tim 🇺🇦2 hours ago edited

How is it “adult-oriented” if it’s just a man in women’s clothes reading an age-appropriate book to children? Where’s the “adult” part?

another_steve  Tim 🇺🇦2 hours ago

Please, these bills have nothing to do with “protecting minors.” Just like anti-abortion bills have nothing to do with “protecting the unborn.” These bills are all rooted in the desire to suppress female sexuality.

To the MAGAts, drag queens are a form of “female liberation.” The right to express, the joy of expressing, “female-ness.”

To those same morons, abortion rights threaten the right of men to control female bodies. The right to suppress female bodily autonomy.

Dark Qiviut  Tim 🇺🇦2 hours ago edited

These morons can’t define the word “woke.” Bet their “research” is from some OAN crackpot loon.

Anastasia Beaverhousen2 hours ago

Interesting that “Mrs. Doubtfire” the musical is coming to TPAC (Tennessee Performing Arts Center) in Nashville this coming season. I hope that the whole season gets pulled.

TnCTampa 2 hours ago

The coup d’ etat continues unabated. Get ready because if you live in a red state this and so much more is coming to you. Soon the bills to not recognize same sex marriage will start coming out. Pride marches will be banned. Then people will see why cops had no business being in those parades because now those same cops gonna be splitting your skull if you get out of line

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Elsewhere1010 3 hours ago

Here in Sf, over 80 years ago, the police were arresting “female impersonators” at the Black Cat nightclub.

They suffered through police raids and subsequently were jailed. Sadly, history repeats. Get ready for the fight.

The_Wretched3 hours ago

Next up, no dancing.

Didn’t we learn the lesson in Dirty Dancing (1987) that going after basic human expression is cringe and harmful?

fuzzybits 3 hours ago

Don’t see him and all his cronies going after the child pageants.

Barry William Teske 3 hours ago edited

So.
What about all those women with ridiculous boob enhancements?

That is drag.

What about all those old men in a straight…bar, who covered up the grey for a Saturday night?

That is drag.

I can go on.
So.
Lawmakers.
Please get the point.

 

 

 

DeSantis administration requires events at the Capitol ‘align’ with its mission

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/22/desantis-events-florida-capitol-00083989

In plain language you must get permission from one of DerSantis appointed people to address an issue at the capital to influence state legislators and you must be in support of the polices DerSantis wants.  No counter information or protest allowed.   No right to protest against the governor in Florida.   You will support the dictator wannabe who courts Nazis and governs like a king and Florida is his kingdom.  He attacks anyone who dares question him, only does interviews with friendly media who agree with him.   He insults and debases any report who dares to ask him a question he doesn’t like, and he tries to get people fired who do annoy the king.   Plus he uses the power of the state to push disinformation that gives him a political gain at the expense of the safety and wellbeing of the people.   You will support the governor / republicans / maga or else! Hugs

The Department of Management Services, which oversees state facilities, over the past few months has changed rules for groups or individuals who want to reserve space inside the Capitol.

People walk past the Florida State Capitol Building.
 

The Capitol is a common location for demonstrations, especially during the state’s two-month legislative session that begins in March, and the rules will affect events inside the entire building. | Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo

By MATT DIXON

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The DeSantis administration now requires events held at the Florida state Capitol to “align” with its mission, a recent change that is sparking concerns that the governor’s office is trying to censor events it doesn’t like.

The Department of Management Services, the administration department that oversees state facilities, over the past few months has changed rules for groups or individuals who want to reserve space inside the Capitol. The changes require organizations seeking to reserve areas to make their requests through specific administration officials or legislative leaders and require they line up with the mission of the state.

“One material change to the Rule is that events must align with state agency missions and applications must come from an agency sponsor,” read the Department of Management Services letter, copies of which were provided to POLITICO by multiple groups trying to plan events at the Capitol. “Once a sponsorship has been obtained, the state agency shall submit the required application to DMS on behalf of the requestor.”

 
 

The management services agency has started sending letters to organizations that have long-requested space inside the Capitol for events during the annual legislative session informing them of the changes. The Capitol overall is a common location for demonstrations, especially during the state’s two-month legislative session that begins in March, and the rules will affect events inside the entire building.

This year’s session is expected to be packed with Gov. Ron DeSantis-championed bills that will stoke controversy and outrage ahead of his likely presidential bid.

A DMS spokesperson did not answer specific questions about the new rule, saying in a statement that they are “plainly written and straightforward.”

The new rules specify that organizations must make their requests through DeSantis administration agency heads, the House speaker or any member of the Senate. The chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court can also ask on their behalf.

The DMS letters caught by surprise several groups that have for years requested space in the Capitol to host education events for their particular mission. There are dozens of annual events during the legislative session that include state universities having advocacy days, or specific advocacy groups holding informational and educational days in the Capitol during session to increase awareness of their issues of concern. Most events are uncontroversial and not tied to protesting specific issues being considered, or any specific piece of legislation.

 
 

“It seems counterintuitive to our rights that you have to ask an agency to ask on your behalf to use space at the Capitol to simply educate the Legislature,” said a lobbyist who for years has planned Capitol events for clients. “And only if your mission lines up with the agencies’ mission is having space for displays on DMS property potentially allowed.”

“Does this rule really protect the constitutional right to assembly, and the right to petition the governor for a redress of grievances,” added the person, who was granted anonymity because they were concerned about retribution for speaking against the new DeSantis administration policy.

The changes have created concern that any event deemed not in line with a DeSantis administration “mission” could be denied space, a situation that some fear would affect demonstrators who protest controversial pieces of legislation, a common hallmark of Florida’s legislative process.

Each year, protesters have filled the Capitol rotunda, generally in opposition to Republican legislative priorities because that party is in the majority, though recently anti-abortion protesters filled the Capitol to urge the GOP-dominated Legislature to pass legislation that would lessen the period of time a woman can have an abortion from the recently passed 15-week ban.

“It is absolutely absurd and against our First Amendment right,” said state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando). “It does not surprise that as GOP bans abortions, attacks LGBTQ+ rights, bans books and passes corporate tax breaks that they want to suppress freedom of speech and First Amendment rights.”

The rule changes also define “demonstration activity,” which covers things like “demonstrating, parading, picketing, speech making, holding of vigils, sit-ins, or other similar activities conducted for the purpose of demonstrating approval or disapproval of government policies … expressing a view on public issues, or bringing into public notice any issue or other matter.”

Those activities would be less regulated and still allowed outside the Capitol complex. But the new rules include language that allows DMS to request organizers “reduce in size and scope” their event.

Over the last few days there were many news stories I wanted to share. Here are a few I saved open to share.

Tuberville To Block Pentagon Nominees Over Abortion
WI Town’s Publicly-Funded Paper Runs Anti-LGBTQ Ads
LGBTQ+ children in the community have been attacked and are now afraid to go to school or be around other kids. Attacks against adults have risen. But the preacher pushing the hate says it is not a bad thing, he is just telling the truth that "accused the LGBTQ community of "grooming children" and acting in "perverted" sexual behavior."  The article linked paints the community now split as some follow local pastor Ronald Gay in oppressing the targets of his hate and the rest trying to be allies to a frightened group under attack. What a godly leader of the people he is. Hugs
Anti-AP DeSantis Was AP Student Of The Year, Praised AP Courses As “A Gateway To Success In Life” In 2020
IL Governor Condemns Visit By “Hateful” DeSantis
Man Tries To Bring Loaded Assault Rifle Onto Flight
TSA Agents Intercepted Record 6542 Handguns In 2022
Louisiana AG To Keep Satan From Sitting In Libraries
PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Jeff Landry blocks flood damage funding for New Orleans over the city’s position on abortion rights. Landry advises parents on how to evade COVID protocols instituted by public schools. Landry wins court battle to block workplace protections for LGBTQ state employees. The Louisiana Supreme Court upholds Landry’s win against LGBTQ state employees. Hate group leader Tony Perkins praises “courageous” Landry for his attacks on LGBTQ protections. State Rep. Jeff Landry tries to end LGBTQ studies minor at his alma mater, the University of Lafayette.

And in the above we see the move by the rabid right, by the maga, by the majority of republican office holders to move the country from democracy and freedom from religion enforced in laws to instead install a theocracy where their brand of Christianity is forced on the people regardless of their religious views.   This is no longer a minority in the minority party, these people have worked hard and spent an untold amount of money to get their religious believers in to places of power to enforce their religious doctrines as the US Taliban.    Hugs

Florida Christian College Professor Faces Termination For “Indoctrinating” Students On Racial Justice [Video]
From the linked article: “I see this at the very least as a threat to my academic freedom. PBA is a Christian university. It has a deserved reputation as a politically conservative university. I could somewhat understand if the university had requested a meeting to review my material. I say ‘somewhat’ because, as a full professor with over 20 years of experience at the university, one would think they would trust me,” he wrote. “Indeed, the university has shown me little respect throughout this ordeal. But instead, without giving me due process, they brought their concern over my racial-justice unit with a threat of termination. I also believe that things like this do not happen in a vacuum. There is a reason why PBA is threatening me now rather than five years ago or 10 years ago. PBA is conforming to a toxic political culture, and they are playing a role that is a part of that culture’s script: a role that says, ‘We do not like to have uncomfortable conversations about race.’ There is no place for a role like that at an institution that calls itself a university, let alone a Christian university.”
Notice what the Christian teacher is saying. In 20 years of teaching of the racism and need for racial justice in the US he is facing loss of his job because of the stance of the governor DeathSantis who claims that teaching the truth of US racist history and the ongoing injustice minorities face is illegal ideology. It doesn’t fit his white nationalist views and his attempt to install a regressive 1950s white automatic rule / superiority back into society via the schools. It is true that people that get an advanced education often get their eyes open to the bigotry and narrow mindedness of the limited education they received which causes them to move to a more tolerant and open view of reality / society. Hugs

Gustav2  Joe in NM3 hours ago edited
It is an attempt to control all education in the US. From cradle to college.
There has been complaining in all the churches about how the kids don’t come back to church after college. It didn’t matter before because few conservative RCC and Protestant White Fundies went to college, now both have made it to the suburbs, college is expected.
With few marriages preformed in church (only 20%), the churches have lost another connection with the next generation and they are less likely to return with their own children.
The push for only religious marriages are real marriages and the restructuring of education have one thing in common. The steady decline in church membership. Even the largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, is not replacing the Olds that are dying off with Youngs.
Indiana House Advances “Don’t Say Gay” Bill [VIDEO]
Too bad it is against a teachers morals to be nice and use a name or pronoun that a person asks them. I don’t see how it is a moral dilemma or even a religious one. If Robert wishes to be called Bobbie the religious teacher is happy with it, but what if Robert wishes to be called Bohdana or Bonita or Bona which are all girls names in different languages. I just learned that in German the name Boby is a girl’s name. In the US the name Bobby is both male and female as all names should be. If the teacher doesn’t know a names gender association and they use it without malice are they committing a sin? I don’t get this fake outrage at something that is just being nice and respectful. Hugs
Shapiro Host: I’d Rather Die Than Have A Trans Child
Pride Flag Torched Outside Manhattan Restaurant
MTG Lays Out Her Plan To Dissolve US: For Red States, Public School Prayers, Ban Everything Gay, No Dildos
MTG: After The “National Divorce” Democrats Who Move To Red States Will Not Be Able To Vote For Five Years
Utah Gov Blasts MTG’s “Evil” Call For “National Divorce”

Florida County Bans Book On “Indoctrinating Penguins”

Florida County Bans Book On “Indoctrinating Penguins”

Again it is not about sex, pornography, or protecting children from sexualization.   It is about denying same sex couples, gay people / kids, or that people can have a gender different for their assigned sex from public and society.   It is about erasing an entire group of people from society.    One of the ways the LGBTQ+ gained acceptance was people knew others that were LGBTQ+.   They were family members, they were school peers, they were their friends / doctors / auto mechanics / and so much more that people realized they were not the monsters the haters claimed.   There was no sex in the book about penguins but it gave the impression that same sex couples were OK, it gave kids the idea that same sex couples could be parents, all things that the Christian right maga cannot tolerate.   They won’t allow society to progress past the 1950s as they are not comfortable with people living their lives in freedom or happiness because they demand to force people to live as makes the haters / Christian right live their lives.   Also the military is not happy with these red state hate rules against the gays and trans people along with abortion bans.    It interferes with military readiness as there are many same sex couples, gay people, trans people, trans / gay dependents, and females who want the right to control their own reproductive health.  The military is under attack from the right because they give three weeks no questions asked leave for pregnant people needing to leave state for an abortion.   I wouldn’t recommend a red state try to interfere with the travel of a military person.  The military is going to cut back facilites and tranning in these red states.    Hugs

Pensacola’s NBC affiliate reports:

The Escambia County school board voted Monday night to remove three challenged books from school libraries. The removed books below all contain LGBTQ+ characters. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” is a novel about a boy growing up Black and queer in America. It was available in all high schools.

“And Tango Makes Three” is a real story about two male penguins who raised a chick together at the Central Park zoo. “When Aidan Became A Brother” is a children’s picture book about a transgender boy becoming a big brother.

Dozens of people addressed the board Monday night both in support and against keeping these books in schools. “I am currently embarrassed to be an Escambia County student tonight,” one high school student said.

Read the full article.

Escambia County borders Alabama and is home to Pensacola and a major military aviation training facility.

Paula 4 hours ago edited

They won’t stop until all of us are dead.

DaddyRay  Paula4 hours ago

I won’t stop fighting back until I am dead

Paula  DaddyRay3 hours ago

I agree. I am old, fat, and have some physical issues now. I am not as spry as I used to be but, I can still shoot and fight if I have to.
Sto-vo-kor awaits.

another_steve  DaddyRay4 hours ago

For a pansy I’m remarkably good with a knife.

They come for me or my husband, I stab them in the neck.

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad  Paula4 hours ago

And the Log Cabin Republicans will offer to come up with a fabulous color scheme for the boxcars.

Guestfornow  SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad 3 hours ago

In Wisconsin, in leading up to the 2004 anti gay marriage amendment, during debates, Julian appalling said: “I think we have been very good to the gays. We let them live where they want to.” The reply in newspapers and online was: “Think of the money you save in barbed wire.”

There are a good many on the right and Christianity who want us in camps and dead.

Ever notice how if someone on the left says something, the press asks every democrat if they agree. Republicans framed the left with Vietnam war protestors and the press helped associate all democrats. Ever notice the press never asks the right if they agree with things like putting us in camps?

April Smith  Paula3 hours ago edited

As far as Trans kids (and if they get their way here in Oklahoma up to the age of 26) they would rather force them to live in misery and despair and hopefully do themselves in.

Problem solved.

Nic Peterson  Paula4 hours ago

Our visibility is poison. Shit like this tells me they are hungry. Feeding time!

HZ814 hours ago

OMG, they are making a difference. No one in Florida will ever want to queer-out on some no-no zones with these books banned.

Just die already, FL GOP. You love Jesus so much, go see him already.

zhera 4 hours ago

Imagine being scared of a book about penguins.

DaddyRay  zhera4 hours ago

If a book about two male penguins raising a young one can influence someones sexuality then they certainly are questioning their own sexuality and should seek therapy

zhera  DaddyRay4 hours ago

They don’t want kids to realize that a life as gay can be a good life. “Get back in that closet!”

April Smith 4 hours ago edited

I wonder what percentage of these book bigots actually read these books.

1%?

Ščŏŧŧ Ċ – 🇺🇦 🕊  April Smith4 hours ago

Books just give you ideas, and make you think, and who knows where that could end up?
Best to just avoid them, I say.

biki  DevilDog2 hours ago

I know several men who are proud of the fact they don’t read anything. If it’s longer than a sentence or two they are done with it. According to them, its not “manly” to read…….

(my adoptive father felt this way.   His ability to read was very limited and he felt boys and men should play hard outside and work hard, then watch sports.  Reading was left only for the stats on the sports page.  The issue was a cause of much misery for me growing up. Hugs, Scottie)

****************************************************

S_E_P4 hours ago

Banning books about LGBTQ doesnt make those people disappear AND it doesnt make those thoughts disappear.

Ninja0980  S_E_P4 hours ago

It just makes the people feeling those thoughts feel alone.

S_E_P  Ninja09804 hours ago

Which is what the fascists want in the first place

Todd20036  S_E_P3 hours ago

Or they think being LBGT is a choice so if you never show them we exist they’ll never get any ideas

*****************************************************

 

Gustav24 hours ago edited

“Most of the challenges coming from one specific teacher.”

Yep, that’s how democracies work.

another_steve 4 hours ago

Florida is Ground Zero today for the theofascists’ attempted takeover of America.

(What are all good Floridians and other good Americans going to do about it?)

TnCTampa  another_steve4 hours ago

What can we do… we can protest, we can march, we can sign petitions, we can elect democrats but the red states are not going to stop and as long as they frame it being about parental rights the SCOTUS is going to give them everything they want.

People are going to have to lose a lot before they pay attention and start voting in numbers to make a real difference. 80 million could not be bothered to even show up in 2020

Barry William Teske  TnCTampa 4 hours ago edited

It is not about parental rights.
It is all about stealing power
and controlling what the people see, hear and think.

FULL STOP

 

 

After passionate opposition, Ky. lawmakers advance anti-trans pronouns legislation

https://www.lpm.org/news/2023-02-16/after-passionate-opposition-ky-lawmakers-advance-anti-trans-pronouns-legislation

The facts don’t matter to republicans if it interferes with their hate and bigotry.   If saving lives and protecting kids was really what the republicans wanted to do they wouldn’t be passing bills that can increase suicide and make depression worse.   See they claim to be protecting kids but then when told this will harm trans kids and make them targets they claim they are protecting adult teachers to follow their own beliefs.   Yet we don’t let teachers follow their personal beliefs in other areas of schooling so why are pronouns different matter?  What is so hard or harmful about being respectful to someone even if they are young.   We call kids by their nick names if they wish it, why is calling them a name they prefer an issue?   Because the republicans want to force everyone to march in lock step to their restricted view of what people should be and do.  Tradition they claim, it has always been this way and it shouldn’t ever change.    Because it was that way when they were in charge and felt comfortable with the world, so it must always be done that way.   This is what it comes down to: ““Your vote ‘yes’ on this bill means one of two things: Either you believe that trans children do not exist, or you believe that trans children do not deserve to exist,” Berg said.”  These people don’t beleive trans kids deserve to exist, they also don’t believe gay kids should be allowed to exist nor anyone one who doesn’t fit the heterosexual traditional mode.   Next will be those other religions that they will try to get rid of as they don’t believe they should exist either, jsut good old traditional Christianity.    Scare times when in 25 states the republicans are just using the idea they don’t like change from the past to outlaw groups of people, even though science says they are born the way they feel both in sexual orientation and gender identity.   If science stands in the way just get rid of the science, right?    Hugs

 

A woman behind a microphone speaking with her fist raised.
Screenshot
 
Democratic Sen. Karen Berg urged her GOP colleagues not to pass a measure that would allow teachers to misgender students.
 

This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by phone at 988, or online at https://988lifeline.org/

You can also contact the Trevor Project, which provides free, confidential counselors who specialize in helping LGBTQ youth.

Despite impassioned pleas from a grieving fellow lawmaker, the Kentucky Senate passed a bill that would codify the right of school staff to misgender trans and nonbinary students.

Senate Bill 150 prohibits schools from requiring staff and students to refer to students by their “preferred” pronouns, if those pronouns don’t match the gender on their birth certificate.

Dubbed a “parents’ rights” measure by its sponsor Republican Sen. Max Wise, the bill also requires schools to give families two weeks notice before any lesson on human sexuality. In addition, it would also allow parents to inspect the curriculum and withdraw their child from the lesson — rights that already exist under state and federal law. Finally, the measure requires schools to give parents specific notifications about any mental health or physical health services that touch on human sexuality, contraception and family planning.

Wise said the pronouns provision protects teachers’ First Amendment rights.

“The terms ‘he’ and ‘she’ communicate fixed facts about a person, and teachers should not be forced to violate their consciences regarding what they know to be true or not true,” Wise said on the Senate floor.

Sen. Karen Berg, a Democrat, rose quickly to oppose the measure.

“Your vote ‘yes’ on this bill means one of two things: Either you believe that trans children do not exist, or you believe that trans children do not deserve to exist,” Berg said.

Berg pointed to research that LGBTQ advocates and medical experts have provided to lawmakers, showing that misgendering trans and nonbinary children is linked to mental health issues like depression, anxiety and suicide.

Berg’s son Henry Berg-Brousseau was trans and died by suicide in December, at age 24.

“I am no longer speaking for my child. You know my child is dead,” Berg said haltingly. “So I am speaking for every mother and father who has held my hand with tears running down their face saying, ‘What do we do?’”

Despite Berg’s pleas, the GOP-led body passed the measure 29-6 in a party-line vote.

Sen. Stephen Meredith, the sole Republican to vote “no” on the measure in committee earlier in the day, was not present for the floor vote.

 

Yet not one drag queen or trans person.

Matt Walsh Embarrasses Himself at Hearing in Tennessee

A balanced and well rounded report on rabid anti-trans Walsh getting called out at a hearing on creating laws on regulating trans kids healthcare.    The hosts are fair in their reporting not giving a sensationalized view of the situation.   But I give credit to the Tenn democrats that came armed with facts to shoot down Matt Walsh’s bigotry.   If anyone wonders at the religion category for these anti trans videos is most anti-gay / trans stuff has roots in religious bigotry.   Plus Welsh is a theocrat wanting to install religious rule in the US.   Hugs

Wyoming GOP Opposes Bill To Ban Child Marriage

Wyoming GOP Opposes Bill To Ban Child Marriage

But reading a book or seeing a movie with an LGBTQ+ character or seeing a commercial with a same sex couple will sexualize kids.   It is grooming them for sex if their teacher is in a same sex marriage but not in a straight marriage.  WTF!   It never was about protecting kids from sex, it is about attacking those who are not straight cis as predators that need to be removed from society.   It is about marking the LGBTQ+ as wrong, bad, evil, and harmful to children.  But as you can see about the idea of old men to have sex with little kids and marry them is a religious and parental rights that is good to the republicans.   Hugs

 

Newsweek reports:

The Wyoming Republican Party is seeking to kill a bill working its way through the state Legislature proposing to raise the state’s legal marriage age to 16, arguing that putting “arbitrary” limits on child marriage interferes with parental rights and religious liberty.

The bill—which already passed the Republican-controlled Wyoming House of Representatives on a 36-25 vote late last month—proposes banning state residents from marrying anyone under the age of 16, while requiring anyone under the age of 18 seeking to get married to receive written consent from their parents under the eye of a competent witness.

Currently, Wyoming is one of just eight states in the country—including California, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia—without a minimum age requirement for marriage.

Read the full article. Wyoming GOP chair Frank Eathorne [photo] attended the Capitol Riot and is a member of the Oath Keepers. Eathorne was endorsed by Trump after he spearheaded the campaign to unseat Liz Cheney.

 

J.Martindale5 hours ago edited

Seems to me “parental rights and religious freedom” are getting a little out of hand.

Buford   J.Martindale3 hours ago

Basically, those parents have the right to tell others how to raise their children.

HandyBear 11 minutes ago

Let’s not forget about them drag queens and men who insist on using women’s bathrooms and participate in women’s sports. As long as we can Fuck a 13 yo.

Skeptical_Inquirer 19 minutes ago

I have a firm belief that these creepy motherfuckers want to marry young because they are also obsessed with getting a virgin who doesn’t know that all the painful, degrading things being demanded of her are things she has a right to say no to.

Joann Prinzivalli 2 hours ago

Cis-Het Republican Pedophile Groomers in Wyoming oppose bill that would raise the minimum marriage age to 16 – citing “parental rights.”

This news actually underscores just how pernicious and anti-child, this so-called “parents rights” movement in the fascist GQP, is. It is more widely known for supporting bullying, denial of medical care, and imposition of genocidal laws against trans children and adults, as well as against all LGBTQ+ people, and forcing schools to teach only whitewashed history.

jkarov 2 hours ago
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Christopher 5 hours ago

But Drag Queens are the problem?!

These fuckers want to marry their victims in order to continue to abuse them well into the future.

Tell me again how we’re the groomers.

What a bunch of sick fucks!

Joseph Miceli   Christopher2 hours ago

They need to change their name to the “Pederastic Party.” Kind of rolls off the tongue doesn’t it?

Statistics Palin  Joseph Miceli 21 minutes ago

Fer shame! Don’t you know the correct way of pronouncing “heterosexual pederasty” is “holy matrimony”?

olandp   Christopher4 hours ago

Evidently they don’t realize their child brides will grow up. I guess the consolation is that by the time their “wife” gets too old, there will be children to abuse.

Mark 5 hours ago

Of course – the bill is presented and supported by a bunch of old white coots who haven’t had a full erection in years. Yet somehow they think allowing men to bang rape a 12yo will restore their vitality.

Hey buddy! Go fuck yourself a sheep! You can get ’em real young!

Fucking freaks.

Jay Silversmith5 hours ago

Religious liberty? A bunch of old, wrinkled fuks want to rape young girls? Isn’t that what they have now? Some religion.

TexasBoy 5 hours ago

I’m surprised the national legal minimum age isn’t 18, so the people getting married can give informed legal consent, as is required on all other contracts.

Friday5 hours ago edited

Christian groomers lie and project and get power in Republican-run states.

Claim people can’t be LGBT before age 25 regardless of parental issues, demand to be able to trade children like breeding stock, though.

weshlovrcm5 hours ago

Why are the QAnon far-right fascists so hell-bent on grooming and sexualizing children?

DmR 5 hours ago

**RAISE** the minimum age to 16???????

Teenybops have no business starting families at that age! They need to finish high school, at minimum!

(Yes, I know, forcing my own values on others!)

Beagle🌻   DmRan hour ago

I agree. But compared to current law, which apparently allows toddlers to marry if the parents want them to, it’s a big step in a good direction.

Makoto 5 hours ago

So to recap:
Kids can carry guns
Kids can’t handle hearing drag queens reading to them
Kids can’t handle books
Kids can be maneuvered into marriage
Kids can’t get abortions
Circumcision doesn’t count as genital mutilation
Don’t teach about slavery or other struggles marginalized groups continue to encounter

Snownova 5 hours ago

But god forbid a man takes his child bride to a drag queen story hour before deflowering her, now that would just be sick in the eyes of the GOP.

Ritorna Vincitor 42 minutes ago

While we’re touting “religious liberty” as if it is an absolute virtue unto itself, let’s not forget that religious liberty used to include things like burning people to death.

 

 

 

Bans on books and LGBTQ topics: What’s in Gov. Reynolds’ new education bill

https://www.kcci.com/article/bans-on-books-and-lgbtq-topics-whats-in-gov-reynolds-new-education-bill/42819425

Despite how the republicans like to frame these bills it is about removing the LGBTQ+ representation from schools and society.   It is not about protecting kids against sexualization because in Wyoming GOP Opposes Bill To Ban Child Marriage in a state with no limits to how young kids can get married; the republicans refuse to limit that to 16 and above.   They say it goes against religious liberties.   Yes I guess the right to marry and have sex with 10 or 12 year olds is not sexualizing them but don’t let a drag queen read to them or them know that their teacher is in a same sex marriage because they will rush to be gay?   Plus the way these bills are written shows the target is anything not straight heterosexual 1950s norm.  Schools would not be able to provide any program, curriculum, material, test, survey, questionnaire, activity, announcement, promotion, or instruction of any kind relating to gender identity or sexual activity in grades K-3.  That would require no use of Mr. or Mrs. / Miss.  It would require no use of the word boy or girl.  It would require no mention of either boy / girl dating as well as stopping any same sex dating in school.  Teachers wouldn’t be able to announce they are pregnant and might even have to hide it or be removed as that happens only to females and is caused by sexual activity.   Really it would mean getting rid of separate boy / girl gendered bathrooms as the bills are written.   No gender roles can be discussed such as who can play on which teams as that is related to gender.  Also no girls or boys only clothing as that is gender promotion / instruction.    But all that is ignored with a wink and a nod because everyone understands these are targeted to stop acceptance of gay and trans or other LGBTQ+ kids / people.  It is to stop kids who are different from seeing themselves in books or movies, making it seem they are wrong, evil, sick, or just not to be tolerated in the US society.  It is to promote hetero straight society and remove those who don’t fit that mold.   It is to roll back all the advancements in society.   These same people will target blacks and native people next to be removed.  Also what is social-emotional learning.  That is anti-bullying and programs to promote tolerance of those that are different.   It is about being kind and civil to others.   That is what these republican maga haters are desperate to prevent.  They don’t want kids taught to be nice to others, but they want their kids to be allowed even encouraged to attack and target those who are different from them.   They don’t want non-straight kids to feel safe, they want them scared and in hiding.   I am tired of the attacks, and the clear assault on the rights of people to just be who they really are that harms no one.   Just as straight people are born straight so are gay kids / trans kids.  But these republicans insist that everyone be just like them and that only they have rights.     We must fight to stop what the right is doing to harm the kids and people in our country.   One republican Governor said on the news that there seems to be more trans people now and he did not understand that, maybe kids were being pushed into it.  But that has been debunked.   Has he thought that kids who were not being targeted for how they felt about themselves felt free to express it?  These republicans don’t want information they want to run on feelings, impressions, and misinformation that reenforce their feelings that it is not a true thing.    One republican on the panel said that rather than letting kids change their hair and go by a different name that they should be forced into mental health treatments.  Hugs

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds proposes a wide range of changes for schools including restrictions on LGBTQ topics, new history class requirements and a process to restrict access to certain books.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds unveiled a sweeping education bill Thursday that would set new standards for what students can and can’t learn. It also establishes more control for parents over their children’s education. Here’s what’s in the bill:

Restrictions on topics involving gender identity and sexual orientation

 

The bill would ban any instruction related to gender identity and sexual activity in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools and innovation zone schools in grades K-3.

Schools would not be able to provide any program, curriculum, material, test, survey, questionnaire, activity, announcement, promotion, or instruction of any kind relating to gender identity or sexual activity in grades K-3.

Schools would be required to tell parents any information their child shares with a teacher or staff member about their gender identity if what the student expresses is different from the “biological sex” listed on their birth certificate.

The bill does provide an exception if a school district believes that notifying the parent or guardian would lead to a case of child abuse. In that instance, the school district does not need to notify the parent but would be required to immediately report the safety concerns to the department of health and human services. The department would then determine whether the child is in need of assistance.

Parents would have to give schools written permission for teachers or any school employee to use a nickname or pronoun that does not match the biological sex listed on their child’s birth certificate.

Removing books from schools

The bill would require each school district to publish online all materials used in all classes throughout the district, all employees in direct contact with students, all books available in classrooms and school libraries, and a detailed process for parents to request any material be removed.

Districts would be required to update that information two times a semester or at the start of each trimester.

Any book removed from a school would be put on a statewide “removal list” maintained by the Iowa Department of Education. The “comprehensive removal list” would be available online, updated every month and sortable by the book’s title, author and the school districts that have removed the book from school libraries, classrooms or any areas on school property.

A school district must receive written parental permission before allowing a student to check out or access any book that is on the statewide removal list.

Establishes ‘parental rights’

The bill establishes that “a parent or guardian bears the ultimate responsibility, and has the constitutionally protected right, to make decisions affecting the parent’s or guardian’s minor child, including decisions related to the minor child’s medical care, moral upbringing, religious upbringing, residence, education, and extracurricular activities.”

Schools would be required to receive parental permission for students to attend any activity or instruction provided by a guest lecturer or outside presenter or any activity or instruction that involves obscene or sexually explicit material.

If school districts break that rule, they could face fines of up to $5,000.

Changes to the social studies curriculum

The bill would require all Iowa high school students to take a U.S. citizenship test, and schools would be required to provide the results to the Department of Education.

High school students would need to answer at least 70% of the questions to graduate. Students can continue to retake the citizenship test until they earn a passing grade.

Removing HPV from health curriculum

The bill would remove the current requirement that Iowa schools teach seventh-grade through 12th-grade students instruction related to human papillomavirus and the availability of a vaccine to prevent HPV.

Restrictions on social-emotional learning

Schools would be required to receive written parent permission in order for a student to take any survey or test that evaluates mental, emotional, or physical health that is not required by state or federal law.

Teachers would have to give parents written notice at least seven days before any test or survey that evaluates their child’s mental, emotional, or physical health.