The responses were taken from the organization’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People which made the following open-ended request to respondents (who were between the ages of 13 and 24): “We would love for you to share a message of advice or encouragement to other young people in the LGBTQ community.”
“I walk around my city, and I see businesses that have gay pride flags and pride flags in their windows,” one gay man said.
One respondent wrote, “Finding a sense of community helps so much, whether it’s online or in person. Just find a place where you can ask questions and read about other people’s experiences.”
Another stressed the importance of envisioning a better future and doing what one can to cultivate community support now.
“Find your group and work towards where you wanna be in life and you’ll make it there,” one wrote, as other offered encouraging words like, “Keep pushing,” “Keep going for another day,” “Just keep going, please,” and “Please keep strong.”
Another urged resilience and perseverance. “Be yourself always,” they wrote. “You may lose connections along the way but trust, there’s someone out there who will love you.” Another respondent agreed, writing, “Just look for the people who love you no matter what.”
Others urged self-compassion and patience as young people figure out their identities. One such message said, “Don’t rush finding your identity. Take your time to explore, and don’t be afraid to take up labels if they feel right at the time.”
Some respondents suggested repeating self-affirmations like the following:
I love you.
I believe in you.
You got this.
You are so strong and you are deserving of love always.
“Wake up everyday, and tell yourself you love yourself — until, one day, you believe it,” one young person wrote.
Other respondents acknowledged the adversity faced by young LGBTQ+ people, whether in politics or unaccepting homes.
“[It’s] very easy to think that the entire world [despises] you for who you are when your home environment conveys that,” one wrote. “You might not feel safe and happy now,” another wrote, “but hopefully, there will come a day when you find your home.”
“Don’t let the people around you tell you that you can’t love who you want and feel what you want to feel,” one respondent wrote.
Another added, “I know things look down right now and it’s hard to see past the hate that’s being spread but it always helps to remember that most people don’t hate us and that there are tons of us out there that are willing to help.”
“We’ve always been here. And we always will be,” another wrote. “They cannot erase us.”
Other respondents advised doing things to lessen negativity.
“Ignore the Idiots and cut people off if [you] have too [sic]. Life is too short to care what people think about you and they don’t even have to live your life and experience the things you do.”
In the same vein, another respondent replied, “Don’t let the people around you tell you that you can’t love who you want and feel what you want to feel.”
“Peer support is associated with lower levels of emotional and behavioral distress among LGBTQ+ young people,” the Trevor Project wrote. “However, not all LGBTQ+ young people have consistent access to peer support, especially LGBTQ+ young people who hold multiple marginalized identities.”
As such “hearing words of encouragement and advice from fellow LGBTQ+ young people has never been more needed,” the group added.
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We in the US need to have the same hope and constant drive as the LGBTQ+ in Poland. See their government is anti-LGBTQ+ and the leader calls them “evil”. But they did not give up and kept working to change the hearts and minds of the people. And it is working. We need to do the same. Hugs.
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The proposed legislation still has a long way to go, but advocates are optimistic.
June 10, 2018: Warsaw’s LGBTQ pride equality march
Poland made a landmark move for LGBTQ+ rights after it banned hate speech against sexual orientation and gender in a new set of regulations.
Currently, the country’s laws prohibit hate speech on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity. “These provisions do not provide sufficient protection for all minority groups who are particularly vulnerable to discrimination, prejudice and violence,” the national justice ministry said.
After years of government persecution, the move was unprecedented.
“The new regulations aim to more fully implement the constitutional prohibition of discrimination and to meet international recommendations on standards of protection against hate speech and hate crimes,” the ministry added.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has previously criticized the country’s lack of hate crime protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk approved the new legislation. It now moves on to Parliament. If Parliament passes it, President Andrzej Duda will have the option to sign it into law or pass it. He has previously stated that he believes LGBTQ+ individuals are “evil.”
However, Duda’s final presidential term ends next year, and the ruling party hopes they can get someone to replace him in time to sign the legislation into law.
Bart Straszewski, an LGBTQ+ activist in Poland, told PinkNews, “I felt like a second-category citizen, and we were treated like second-category citizens. The government is telling you that you don’t deserve equal rights, that you are not creating families, and that you are an agent of the West trying to fight family values or tradition.
“The atmosphere was hostile. We felt that they didn’t want us here, but we still were here, we still were fighting for our country because we are part of it,” Straszewski added.
Poland previously has not been friendly to LGBTQ+ rights. During the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s time in power, the country became one of the most viciously anti-LGBTQ+ countries in Europe. Cities designated themselves “LGBT-free” zones and government-run media outlets regularly demonized and spread lies about the queer community. Gay reporters were fired from publications as part of the national purge.
However, advocates have been working tirelessly to grant protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. A TV anchor apologized this year for his past anti-LGBTQ+ statements and came out in support of the community. Activists also rejoiced when the Polish Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is not illegal, per Poland’s Constitution.
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They won’t get nearly the jabber that Liz Cheney’s and Bennie Thompson’s medals are getting, and all are good people. I emboldened a bit especially pertinent to this blog.
Biden Giving Liz Cheney A Fancy Medal Today, So That’ll Make Trump’s Butt Itch by Rebecca Schoenkopf
Every 2024 Presidential Citizens Medal winner is a better human than the bastard who’s about to be president again. Read on Substack
The first time Donald Trump was president, one of the ways he absolutely beclowned the office and rendered it meaningless was who he’d pick to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom and other similar honors.
Historically, such awards went to people who had done something important. Under Trump 1.0, it was more like “Here is the presidential medal of excellence in giving me money!” It went to Miriam Adelson, AKA one of Trump’s big bucks no whammies donors. (That’s the one where he got in trouble recently for saying Adelson’s award was better than Medal of Honor winners, AKA the military’s highest honor.)
Trump gave the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh, before that guy waddled off to hell. He gave it to Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan, for excellence in doing congressional coverups for Trump or something.
We are sure Trump 2.0 will make those recipients look like American patriots.
The Presidential Citizens Medal is the award just below the Medal of Freedom, and Trump didn’t seem to give much of a shit about it during his first term. He awarded it in 2019 to a 9/11 first responder, posthumously. But that appears to be it. The award is given to someone “who has performed exemplary deeds or services for his or her country or fellow citizens,” so you can see why it might not get Trump very excited.
President Joe Biden is big on giving it, though. In 2023, he gave it to people like Capitol Police officers Michael Fanone and Aquilino Gonell, who protected Congress during the terrorist attack Trump’s supporters committed on January 6, 2021. (He awarded it posthumously to former Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after he was assaulted by Trump supporters at the Capitol that day.) Also to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Georgia election workers Rudy Giuliani owes all his money to, for repeatedly lying about and defaming them.
In all, he gave it to 12 people who in various ways defended American democracy from Trump’s attacks in 2020.
Now, today, Biden is giving another set of 20 of these medals for 2024, and damn, they are just more people Donald Trump could never ever fucking be, not in a million years, not if he went to the Emerald City and grabbed the Wizard by the pussy and begged him for a soul, or for integrity, or decency, or goodness. (In this mental image Elon is in drag as Dorothy, obviously.)
Liz Cheney is getting one for her work on the House January 6 Select Committee, and all the ways she’s stood up to defend democracy the last couple years, so that’ll piss Trump the fuck off.
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who co-chaired the January 6 Committee with Cheney, will also receive the medal.
We are sure Trump will have some sort of hallucinatory conniption about how they deleted all the evidence that TOTALLY EXONERATES him, because once Trump gets an incorrect conspiracy theory mangled up inside that big ugly head of his, he never gets free of it.
On top of those types of folks, there’s Mary Bonauto, who argued Obergefell v. Hodges, AKA the marriage equality case, before the Supreme Court. Plus Evan Wolfson, perhaps the single most important activist over the decades of that fight.
You can check out the whole list here.On top of a number of former politicians like Bill Bradley and Chris Dodd, it’s full of people with bios that read like that of Diane Carlson Evans, who “founded the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation to ensure female service members received the recognition they deserve.” Plus civil rights leaders and more women’s rights leaders, and so on and so forth.
And this posthumous award, which seems to contain a pre-emptive rebuke for the incoming Hitler wannabe administration:
Mitsuye Endo Tsutsumi
In a shameful chapter in our Nation’s history, Mitsuye Endo was incarcerated alongside more than 120,000 Japanese Americans. Undaunted, she challenged the injustice and reached the Supreme Court. Her resolve allowed thousands of Japanese Americans to return home and rebuild their lives, reminding us that we are a Nation that stands for freedom for all.
The entire list is a rebuke of Trump, really. American heroes, all.
But yeah, the Liz Cheney part is the part that’s gonna stick up Trump’s ass and give him sideways bowel movements. Bet those sting REAL bad. (snip-comments on the page)
Please remember when you read what I write, I never went through Army basic. I was a former US Navy, so showed up at my first army post with no uniform. It freaked the low level E4 – E5s out, they were demanding I change into a uniform I did not have.
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Hi Ten Bears. I reblog this not only because it is impressive and the fact is a lot of it I couldn’t do at 20 and in the US Army. Just being honest. My job valued our technical skills not the physical aspect of military life. In the one live action three day drill with laser tag gear in the early 1980s where our people in our satellite compound were included we happily dressed up in face paint (mixed with face cream for easy removal) listened carefully, and that morning took up our assigned places. We quickly grew bored but diligently shot at any enemy we saw. We were proud defenders of our installation from the evil USSR.
Early in the afternoon our upper ranks pulled us in. Told us to clean up and there would be a meeting in the morning. Excited about the meeting we all gather in the morning looking for our gear, our faces and hands again well coated with face cream colored camo. We did not find our laser tag stuff, no vests, nothing to place on our M16s. Then the meeting started and we all felt shitty. We no longer would be part of the drill. The infantry base that was assigned to protect us would do so without our help. A lot of barely out of our teens boys clamored to know why, we had fun even if it was very boring.
Turns out that the reason they pulled us in the afternoon before was in our eagerness to protect our site and play soldier … which we all knew we were not. To be continued …
(side note during one of the yearly common task training we all had to pass one thing was to recognize which tank was from which enemy. I couldn’t do a single one. My answer was always the same. “I don’t know which country it is from but I am sure as hell not going to shoot at it with an M16 and piss the fucker off” I passed the test with 100%. Also during that testing was a requirement to open and correctly orient, sight the target, and then press the correct buttons to then fire a LAWS rocket.
When it was my turn I proudly took my 117 pounds up to the table, took the law dummy, stepped up to the mark and tried to pull it open which would slide the two halves into the fully opened locked position. I struggled for a few times until the training officer stopped me, took the training tool, turned it around to the proper direction showing me the markings. Ok I felt a bit foolish but determined now to ace the test. I yanked on both sides and nothing happened. I did it again. Then I tried doing it by jumping up in the air to use the momentum to help. It did not. After about three minutes and in frustration I put the thing between my legs to try to pull it open. At that point Sergeant Emory rushed to me and took the training tool, opened it up and positioned it on my shoulder. I sighted it like a pro and pressed the correct buttons plus trigger and registered a direct hit with the system. I passed. I was an Army soldier on the books.
One last note on that training. The old timers in the unit told us many tips like the face cream for the face paint, but the never addressed the placement of stuff on our waist belts. The shoulder belts did have special places for things, but the waist belt was not defined. I was so small that by the time I got everything I was to have on the belt, I had no place for the canteen … So I placed my full of water very regulation hard canteen right in front of my body. Yes follow the body line.
The drill required us to run and zigzag then when ordered drop and cover ourselves. I proudly started my run, hell one thing I had going for me was I was fast, I zigged, I zagged, and then the command was bellowed to drop and cover. Very much into the moment of playing army … Remember I never went through Army Basic Training … I dropped full on my belly … and nearly lost my mind and consciousness. Only the fact of my abusive past allowed me to roll desperately sideways, clawing desperately at a place some lower than my waist. For those that still can not picture what happened let me explain.
My canteen was hanging directly down in my front. Think of what is in the front of a boy / guy that landing on a hard object at a full run dive might be the resulting impact point. Yes my very sensitive testicles took the impact of my full 117 body weight fully on my regulation hard canteen. I couldn’t breathe, I rolled, I staggered to my knees, then fell again, then I struggled to me feet, staggered a few steps and collapsed into a fetal tight posture. I lost the world.
When I woke up I was in the hospital, I was told that Sergeant Emory had rushed to me and tried to open my posture and then realized what happened. I did not suffer any lasting effects except for some reason I never had to do common task testing again while in the unit. Every time they came up someone was needed to be at the site and somehow the schedule always had me pulling shift leader. But I always passed.)
Now to the reason we were pulled from and stopped from being part of the three day drill. As I said we took defensive positions inside our fenced in satellite site and even when bored we shot any enemy we could see. The problem was the first day the program did not introduce the enemy yet. The people we proudly lined up on with our tag system M16s were our very own defenders from the nearby infantry base.
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So that is why I admire Ten Bears and his program of personal health, exercise, and being ready for those that might attack him. My body long ago gave out with decaying bones, nerves fraying and shorting / dying, my spine doing 5 different ways of causing me pain and the lack of ability to keep standing when my legs go out under me suddenly, the broken bones of childhood refused to heal properly. I admit I admire him, I wish I could do the same. And on that point, one more last thing for a long post.
In the last year I went from not being able to walk 8 car lengths and back to and from our mailbox to now my daily walk I do most days is 2.08 miles. I bought a small hand weight system, the max is 11 pounds on one hand bar and there are two bars. The weights come in 1 pound units and can be placed together with the handle being 3 pounds. I started out using two 1 pound weights hooked together for arm and what my different shoulders can do with the torn / ripped apart muscles in my shoulders. I am now up to using the 3 pound handle for arm stuff, including triceps. I still can not use that weight on my shoulders and can not use any weight on my left shoulder that I need / have an MRI order for.
The entire point is I agree with Ten Bears. Things are going to get bad. We who are not on the maga side need to do all we can to protect ourselves. Those of us LGBTQ+ need to do all we can to protect ourselves and each other. Look the person that did that bombing was a native born Army vet, yet the right wing media including fox entertainment is still claiming it was an immigrant. They have long blamed the LGBT+ for all social ills, and the last three years attacked every drag queen story hours claiming they were saving kids. What will they do or manufacture now? Hugs
We are the wealthiest nation on Earth. There is no rational reason as to why we are not the healthiest nation on Earth
Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of serving as chair of the US Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions (Help). As I leave that position, let me reflect upon where I think our country should be going in healthcare, and the obstacles we face.
We are the wealthiest nation on Earth. There is no rational reason as to why we are not the healthiest nation on Earth. We should be leading the world in terms of life expectancy, disease prevention, low infant and maternal mortality, quality of life and human happiness. Sadly, study after study shows just the opposite. Despite spending almost twice as much per capita on healthcare, we trail most wealthy nations in all these areas.
If we’re going to reform our broken and dysfunctional healthcare system and “Make America healthy again”, this is some of what we must do.
Medicare for All
Healthcare is a human right. The function of a rational healthcare system is to guarantee quality healthcare to all, not huge profits for the insurance industry. The United States cannot continue to be the only wealthy nation that does not provide universal healthcare. It is not acceptable that, while spending almost 18% of our GDP on healthcare, millions of Americans delay going to the doctor and 60,000 Americans die each year because they can’t afford the care they need.
Lower the cost of prescription drugs
As Americans, we should not be paying, by far, the highest prices in the world for life-saving medications. It is absurd that while the pharmaceutical industry enjoys huge profits and benefits from US taxpayer research, one out of four Americans cannot afford to purchase the prescription drugs their doctors prescribe. We must cut prescription drug prices in half by making sure that we pay no more for medicine than the Europeans or Canadians.
Paid family and medical leave
Workers should not have to go to work when they are sick. Mothers and fathers should have ample time to stay home with their newborn babies. A parent should not get fired when they stay home with a sick child. We must guarantee at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to every worker in America.
Reform the food industry
Large food corporations should not make record-breaking profits making children addicted to processed foods, which make them overweight and prone to diabetes and other diseases. As a start, we must ban junk-food ads targeted to kids and put strong warning labels on products high in sugar, salt and saturated fat. Longer term, we can rebuild rural America with family farms that are producing healthy, nutritious food.
Raise the minimum wage to a living wage
Millions of workers should not have to worry about how they’ll pay the rent or buy food for their kids. Working-class Americans live far shorter lives than the rich because of the stress of trying to survive on a paycheck-to-paycheck existence. Stress kills. Stress makes us sick. We must raise the minimum wage to at least $17 an hour.
Lower the work week to 32 hours with no loss of pay
People will live longer and healthier lives if they can spend more time with family and friends and have the opportunity to enjoy their leisure time. Advancements in technology, automation and artificial intelligence must benefit workers, not just billionaires on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley.
Combat the epidemic of loneliness, isolation and mental illness
Too many Americans are struggling with intense anxiety and “diseases of despair” – alcoholism, drug addiction and even suicide. Not only do we need to greatly increase access to mental healthcare, we must rebuild our sense of community and create a culture in which we better enjoy and appreciate each other as human beings. We must also take a very hard look at the impact smartphones and social media are having on our mental and physical health.
Address the climate and environmental crisis
Every American is affected when the Earth’s temperature rises and the air we breathe is polluted. Climate crisis and extreme weather disturbances will cause more widespread suffering and disease, economic disruptions and population dislocation. Air pollution is a major risk factor for respiratory and heart disease, cancer and other health problems. The fossil-fuel industry cannot be allowed to continue making us sick, shortening our lives and destroying the planet.
Create a high-quality public education system
Life-long education is a human right and should be obtainable for all in a wealthy nation like ours. Health, life expectancy and economic wellbeing are often tied to educational attainment. Instead of spending $1tn a year on the military we should make certain that all Americans, from childcare to graduate school, are able to enjoy free, high-quality education and job training.
Let’s be clear. The way forward to creating a healthy society is not radical or complicated. Many of the components that I’ve outlined already exist, in one form or another, in numerous countries throughout the world.
Our real problem is not so much a healthcare crisis as it is a political and economic one. We need to end the unprecedented level of corporate greed we are experiencing. We need to create a government and economy that works for all and not just the wealthy and powerful few.
Bernie Sanders is a US senator, and chair of the health education labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont, and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress
This is good news and shows why so many are moving into California and out of places like Florida. Students should feel free from fear while learning. They also should feel free to be their authentic self in a supportive atmosphere. School is a time to learn about the world, other people, subjects, and about one’s self. And not all kids have safe supportive homes. Hugs.
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Miguel Gutierrez Jr.
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CalMatters
Supporters of transgender rights gathered at the Capitol during a press conference on March 17, 2022.
Amid a flurry of recent school board policies aimed at the rights of transgender students, California passed a new law in July that prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ.
“Teachers can still talk to their parents,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press conference on Monday in which he touted a new plan to improve career opportunities for adults. “What they can’t do is fire a teacher for not being a snitch. I don’t think teachers should be gender police.”
LGBTQ advocates said that “forced outing” policies, such as those adopted in Chino, Temecula and a dozen other districts, infringe on students’ privacy and could potentially harm students whose parents disapprove of their identity.
The state sued to stop Chino’s policy, and most districts either scrapped their policies, tweaked the language or put them on hold.
This act “could not be more timely or necessary, and LGBTQ+ students across California can breathe a sigh of relief,” Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, which advocates for LGBTQ rights, wrote. “LGBTQ+ youth can now have these important family conversations when they are ready and in ways that strengthen the relationship between parent and child, not as a result of extremist politicians intruding into the parent-child relationship.”
‘The battle continues’
Opponents of the new law said that parental notification policies actually strengthen ties between students and parents, and schools should not withhold information on such important matters. Even though a parental notification measure that would have applied to all schools failed to qualify for the ballot, opponents vowed to keep fighting.
“This (law) doesn’t clarify anything. And nothing prevents individual teachers from bringing the issue up with parents,” said Roseville school board member Jonathan Zachreson, an organizer of the failed ballot measure and whose district was among those that passed parental notification policies. “So the battle continues.”
The new law also requires the state Department of Education to update its LGBTQ resources and encourage school districts to offer counseling, support groups, clubs, anti-bullying policies and other measures to support LGBTQ students and their families. Schools would have to pay for those services with their existing funding.
“I don’t think teachers should be gender police.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom
LGBTQ young people are particularly vulnerable on school campuses. In a recent survey of 18,000 LGBTQ young people nationwide, nearly half said they had been bullied in the past year, and 10% said they had attempted suicide. Those whose schools supported LGBTQ rights were less likely to suffer from mental health challenges.
Even if the new law sparks a backlash in more conservative areas of the state, California was right to move forward with it, especially as some states push ahead with their own parental notification policies, said USC education professor Morgan Polikoff.
“Will everyone like this law? Certainly not. Will it lead to conflict? There is no doubt,” Polikoff said. “But I am hopeful this will be good for the queer kids in California’s schools and will point the way toward similar efforts in other states.”
CalMatters’ Adam Echelman contributed to this story.
So much of this story is upsetting. But one detail stood out to me, and it has not been stressed enough when police violence and false arrests. The man, Mr. Brock lost his job three days after the brutal assault and may have suffered severe financial distress. Police and prosecutors know that often just being charged can ruin a persons life. Hugs
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Joseph Benza III, main officer involved in incident with Emmett Brock, pleaded guilty in federal court last week
Multiple L.A. sheriff's deputies relieved of duty as feds probe beating of trans teacher https://t.co/JNQeqBKe9P
For many on the political left, 2024 was disappointing.
Even as inflation ebbed, Americans still struggled with housing costs and necessary expenses.The U.S. role in enabling Israel’s war in Gaza sparked protests in the streets and on college campuses. The far-right continued to target marginalized groups, most notably immigrants, transgender people and women. To top it off, the mid-summer excitement at Vice President Kamala Harris’ entry into the presidential race following President Joe Biden’s eleventh-hour exit petered out with the election of President-elect Donald Trump — again.
But even as the political landscape appeared to grow bleaker, Americans still fended off at least some of the efforts to encroach upon their rights. At times, they even helped pass policies that not only protected core freedoms but could genuinely improve quality of life.
As they reflected on 2024 and looked ahead to 2025, when the Trump administration’s ultraconservative agenda is poised to make their work harder, advocates behind wins in LGBTQ+, labor and reproductive rights shared with Salon how they successfully organized against legislative efforts to roll their rights back and planted hope for a better future.
Abortion rights enshrined in seven states
Ballot measures seeking to establish or protect abortion rights were on 10 states’ ballots this year as organizers fought to protect access and reverse bans enacted in the wake of the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. Seven of those states — Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York — would indeed pass measures to enshrine a right to abortion access in their respective constitutions.
Proposition 139 in Arizona provided a legal means to upend the state’s 15-week abortion restriction and established state constitutional rights to abortion access until viability and afterward if a healthcare professional deems it necessary for the pregnant person’s physical or mental health. The proposition also barred the state from penalizing any individual or entity “for aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising the individual’s right to abortion.”
Arizona for Abortion Access, a seven-group coalition of reproductive health, rights and justice organizations, including Reproductive Freedom for All and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, led the campaign supporting the proposed amendment, which took effect almost immediately on Nov. 25.
“The passing of Proposition 139 speaks to the broad support — across the entire state, across all political parties, and across voters of all different backgrounds — for reproductive freedom,” Erika Mach, Planned Parenthood Arizona’s chief external affairs officer, told Salon. “People want the freedom to make medical decisions with their doctor and family, without government involvement.”
To place a constitutional amendment on the state’s ballot, the coalition had to obtain signatures from 15% of registered voters in the state — just under 384,000 signatures — and file the petition by early July, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s website. (snip-MORE)
June 10, 2018: Warsaw’s LGBTQ pride equality march
Scottie's Playtime 