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
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.
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 pointedto researchthat 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.
“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.
Representative Maxwell Frost cut right to the core of Republican lies about “open border” immigration policy. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks. Watch TYT LIVE on weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live
“Freshman Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) used his time during the House Oversight Committee’s hearing on border security Tuesday to ask top border officials whether or not they did in fact change their policies and enforcement tactics when President Joe Biden took office.
Both Chief Border Patrol Agents John Modlin and Gloria Chavez, witnesses called before the GOP-led committee, gladly told Frost that, in fact, their approach to securing the border did not change between presidents Trump and Biden.
Forst’s line of questioning was aimed at rebuking critics’ claims that the southern border is “open.”
Right-wing pundits couldn’t wait to label citizens of Oklahoma who were excising their 1st amendment rights as a “mob”. Jayar Jackson, Ramesh Srinivasan, and AB Burns Tucker discuss on The Young Turks. Watch TYT LIVE on weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live
“Hundreds of supporters of transgender people gathered at Oklahoma’s capitol this week to protest a slate of proposed legislation that would bar certain gender-affirming medical care for trans minors and young adults in the state.
Though local reports describe the protest as peaceful, some right-wing media personalities have been comparing it to the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The protestors gathered Monday on the fourth floor of the Capitol in Oklahoma City outside of the House chamber about an hour before Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, delivered his State of the State address, according to NBC affiliate KFOR.”
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
Politicians and media outlets are courting anti-trans talking points – and it’s trans kids who are feeling the effects. (Getty)
When Laura’s daughter Jessica came out as trans, aged 13, she felt “total shock” – but believed every word she said.
“We believed and accepted our daughter from the beginning, even though we were processing a lot as parents,” Laura tells PinkNews. Jessica had been suffering from severe depression and anxiety.
“I sprung into action and just started reading all I could about the transgender experience. I called the paediatrician, I researched gender clinics, and we got on a waitlist for an appointment.
“There was just such a sense of urgency because we feared for her life.”
One of the first articles Laura stumbled across was one in The Atlantic – a controversial piece titled “When Children Say They’re Trans”, by Jesse Singal, which focused on the stories of detransitioners and suggested some young trans men are actually just struggling with the fact “society makes it difficult to be a girl”.
“That article really messed with my head, as the parent of a newly out trans teen searching for help,” Laura says.
“I read that article, by a publication I thought was very legitimate, and thought, ‘That does not sound right to me. What he’s saying goes against what my child has told me and it doesn’t ring true.’
“I had to wade through a lot of articles online that were literally trying to get me to question my child and it made an already really challenging time even more so.”
It’s a terrifying climate for a mother like Laura. She wasn’t aware of just how bad things were for the trans community until she started reading everything she could to inform her response to Jessica.
In the United States – and across much of the world – politicians are using trans lives to distract from their own failures. Many media outlets have shown they’re only too happy to aid lawmakers in their efforts to drum up a moral panic.
While some states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, major news outlets like The New York Timeshave published articles questioning whether kids should be able to access healthcare that’s widely seen as vital by experts.
Anti-trans media coverage pushes parents to ‘question’ their trans kids
Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of the most vocal anti-trans politicians in the United States. (Drew Angerer/Getty)
Laura kept digging and eventually she found the gender-affirming resources she needed, but she also discovered her own state was considering its own anti-trans bills, including one which would ban gender-affirming care for minors.
“All of this while my child was just starting care that was saving her life,” she says.
That revelation pushed Laura to become her daughter’s fiercest advocate – but it also inspired her to start fighting for trans rights across the board.
“It is hard enough for all of us existing in this climate, but for so many parents like me and for trans people everywhere, it feels like we are yelling into the void, imploring everyone we can to see what’s happening, to speak out, to act up, to help us.”
Trans teens shouldn’t have to fight for their right to exist
One of the most difficult days in Laura’s life as a parent came when she had to explain to Jessica that legislators were doing their best to stop her from accessing the care she needed.
“No one should have to explain to their child why a group of people wants them gone. But so many parents are in this exact position in this country right now, whether they are fighting for their trans kids, for their loved ones to be able to access abortions, for their children to not be shot by police.
A young activist joins in a protest supporting trans people. (Getty/Romy Arroyo Fernandez)
“What kind of person, what kind of country, stands by and allows a group of people to be attacked and demonised in this way?”
Laura just wants her daughter to be allowed to live her life like any other young person and not have to think about how her life can be destroyed by a politician’s whims.
“My daughter is like every other teen her age. She doesn’t want to have to fight for her right to live – she just wants to live and be free.”
The impact anti-trans debates are having on kids isn’t just anecdotal. According to The Trevor Project, an organisation that works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, “ugly rhetoric” is causing harm.
“When you see your elected officials, neighbours, and even family members debate your very existence, those feelings of stigma and rejection can be very harmful to a young person’s sense of self,” says Kasey Suffredini, vice president of advocacy and government affairs with The Trevor Project.
“Experiences of rejection and trauma in adolescence can have long-lasting effects on a young person’s health and wellness. Adults, especially those in positions of power, should strongly consider the weight of their words and actions.”
It’s a tough time out there for trans kids, but Suffredini has some simple advice for adults who are wondering how they can help: try letting them know that you support them and that you’ll defend their right to be themselves.
“It can be tough for LGBTQ youth to always bear the burden of educating others about what it means to be LGBTQ.”
Laura and Jessica’s names have been changed to protect their identities.
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
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.
Wyoming Republicans are now fighting to kill a bill that would ban marrying children under the age of 16.
Last year Tennessee Republicans tried to get rid of all age limits on marriage entirely until public backlash forced them to back down. https://t.co/69O6KNhAoU
Wyoming #GOP chair was on restricted grounds during Jan. 6 riot, report says. And of course his ethics arequestionable, based upon his past. Shocker. https://t.co/85KnvEewor via @cstribune
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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 Marriagein 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.
Screenshot
Scottie's Playtime 