Category: Religion / Religious / Theocracy

Trans teens sue Montana for access to gender-affirming care

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/05/trans-teens-sue-montana-for-access-to-gender-affirming-care/

“Just living as a trans teenager is difficult enough, the last thing me and my peers need is to have our rights taken away.”

By Molly Sprayregen Saturday, May 13, 2023

: A supporter holds a sign that says "Support Trans Youth"

Photo: Shutterstock

Along with their parents and two health care providers, two trans teens are suing the state of Montana for its recent ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

The plaintiffs argue that the law, S.B. 99, violates the state constitution, which guarantees the right to equal protection, the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children, the right to dignity, and the right to seek healthcare.

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Zooey Zephyr hugs her colleagues as she returns to the Montana House floor

Her lawsuit to be allowed back in failed right as the legislative session ended. Some of her colleagues were happy to see her.

The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by the ACLU of Montana and Lambda Legal, also argues the unjust nature of the law because it bans gender-affirming care for trans youth but allows cisgender youth access to the same medical care for other reasons.

“The Act is so damaging to the health and well-being of transgender adolescents that some of these adolescents’ families with the resources to do so have taken steps to uproot their entire lives to move out of Montana in light of the Act,” the lawsuit states.

“For many more, however, that devastating option is not available, so these families and youth will have no choice but to remain and endure the harms that the Act inflicts.”

The litigants include 16-year-old trans girl Scarlet, along with her parents Jessica and Ewout van Garderen; 15-year-old trans boy Phoebe, along with his parents Molly and Paul Cross; Dr. Katy Mistretta of Bozeman Creek Family Health; and Dr. Juanita Hodax of Community Medical Center.

“I will never understand why my representatives are working to strip me of my rights and the rights of other transgender kids,” said Phoebe Cross in a statement. “Just living as a trans teenager is difficult enough, the last thing me and my peers need is to have our rights taken away. There were many things I hoped my elected officials would achieve, this regression in human rights is not one of those things. The blatant disrespect for my humanity and existence is deeply unsettling.”

Jessica van Garderen added, “It is mentally and physically painful to feel like you are trapped in the wrong body. Going through puberty for the wrong sex is like having your body betray you on a daily basis. The only treatment we have found to be effective and give our daughter hope again is hormone therapy. The difference we have experienced is night and day and there is no going back. Taking away this crucial medical care is inhumane and a violation of our rights. We will fight this law for our daughter and every other family whose rights are being trampled.”

The legislation was signed in April by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and will go into effect on October 1. The state became the center of national discourse after the anti-trans Republicans banned trans Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) from the state house floor for speaking out against the bill.

Zephyr accused Republicans of having “blood on your hands” for supporting the bill. They then voted to prevent her from entering the chamber after she raised an inactive microphone toward protestors in the state house gallery who chanted, “Let her speak!” The protestors were later arrested.

Zephyr was forced to vote remotely on bills while sitting on a bench outside the chamber in the state Capitol building. She also filed a lawsuit, but the judge declined to grant her relief from the Republicans’ censure order.

She would remain barred from the state house floor until the legislative session was adjourned. It has since ended, and she made a triumphant return.

Porter Sculpture Park in Montrose vandalized days before opening

https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2023/05/12/vandalism-incident-in-porter-sculpture-park-mccook-county-montrose-south-dakota/70209611007/

This is done by Christian Nationalists, not Christians.   I want to be as clear as I can that I no longer think of these religious zealots as Christians.  They are not religious for the moral teachings, they are not interested in living by a personal code to do the right thing towards others.  They are not interested in the truth or history of their religion.   No instead they simply want to gain power and then to use that power to force others to do as their church doctrines demand.  It is not about them living as their religion tells them to, it is about making others, the nonbelievers in their views, forcing those others to live as the Christian Nationalists believe / demand they must.  I want to be clear that I don’t blame people who use their religious faith as a guide to their own life for the acts of these US Taliban or wannabe moral police.  This is the same thing the Muslim Taliban did the first time they controlled Afghanistan when they destroyed very valuable old statues claiming they were offensive to their god.  The Christian Nationalist railed constantly against the Muslim countries ruled by their religious zealots / church leaders, yet they are trying to do the very same thing here in the US demanding their god / religion be in charge of the government and laws be enacted to make everyone live according to their church doctrines / rules.     Hugs

 

Oksana Kotkina
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
 
 
One of the spray-painted inscriptions
 

Porter Sculpture Park, listed by TIME Magazine as one of the top 50 American Roadside attractions in 2010, was vandalized Wednesday, May 10. It will now take up to several years to repair the damage, said the creator and operator of the park Wayne Porter.

His sister Audrey Porter said that when she got a call from her brother that Wednesday around noon, she immediately realized that something was wrong as usually it was her who was calling her brother and not the other way around.

“I call him, he doesn’t call me, he might text me about things, but he doesn’t [call],” said Porter.

That Wednesday morning, Porter went to check on his sculpture park, for the annual opening of the new season planned for May 15.

Porter was in the far northwest corner of the 18-acre park west of Sioux Falls when he noticed that someone had apparently visited the place before him this year. His sculpture group of the bull and its four guardians was vandalized.

The guardians are the skeleton sculptures with goat-like faces.
 

The guardians, which look like human-sized skeletons with protruding ribs and goat-like faces and horns stationed around the bull, were beheaded, and the heads were gone. The bull’s base was spray-painted with the messages “Satan is defeated,” and “Jesus is King.”

A few other sculptures, including the Irish monks and a sculpture depicting the artist’s brother, have also been vandalized. Porter said that it will take him more than a year’s worth of work to replace the pieces that were stolen if they cannot be recovered.

His sister noted that the worst part of it is that it all came up just before their opening for the new season. It usually takes them a few days and several adults to get the place running at the best circumstances, she said.

“There will be four strong adults working on it under the best of circumstances, and it’s a big job.”

Her brother said that in the past there had already been a few instances of vandalism in the park, but they were usually limited to minor issues, including spray-painting, but that did not bother him a lot because he could repaint pieces if needed.

“I don’t care about paint, I will just paint over,” said Porter. “It does happen occasionally.”

His sister said that from time to time they were getting a comment on their social media that referred to the bull sculpture as Moloch. Moloch is a deity mentioned in some religious texts as a deity whose worship was marked by the sacrifice of children by their own parents.

The Irish monks' sculptures were vandalized too.
 

Both Porter and his sister said they never heard the term before. Porter noted that when it first came about, he looked it up, and discovered that the deity had arms and legs, while his sculpture was clearly a bull.

His sister noted that she remembered that some of the visitors would come up to her and mention that they felt Satanic influence associated with the park sculptures, while at the same time they would also get visitors that would come up to her and say that her brother must be the world’s best Christian.

Porter said that while neither of that was true, she could assert that her brother was the kindest human being on the planet. It was the essence of art, Porter noted, to reveal what the spectators already carry around with them.

“Art is whatever people bring with them, and whatever they want to see — they see,” she said.

The sculptor himself said that his bull had a neo-Egyptian art influence about it. Porter, a graduate of South Dakota State University with a degree in political science and history, said he was fascinated with the ancient Egyptian empire. 

After graduating from the university, Porter used to run a sheep farm. Although not a professionally trained artist, Porter has been making sculptures since he was a child helping in his father’s blacksmith shop.

Both his historical background, as well as his rural experiences are now evident in his sculptures although they are so varied in styles that people think it might be several artists working on them. He said he is an outsider artist, who doesn’t know art words.

“I am all over the place,” said Porter.

During his time at the sheep farm, he continued to make sculptures whenever he had some spare time, and over the years he accumulated dozens of them.

“The sculptures added up over a long period of time,” said Porter.

Eventually, people started to want to come and see them, and when they did, they wanted to pay for what they saw even though Porter initially declined, and that was how the sculpture park gradually got going.

Potter said that his urge to make a bull sculpture came from his experiences of growing up in St. Lawrence, Hand County, with a population of less than 200 people. The surrounding area, he said, has always been known as a cattle region and home to famous rodeo riders, such as the Etbauer brothers.

The bull is surrounded by the guardians' figures.
 

The Porters noted that although the majority of their social media followers were supportive of them after the incident, they still got a few comments stating that “the vandalism was justified in the name of God.” But the family said they had no assumptions on who committed the act of violence.

“Most people are good people, but you have a slim sliver of crazies,” said Porter. “They are clearly violent.”

In addition to simply being art pieces, Porter’s sculptures are also part of his personality. He said that he himself pounded every square inch of them with a hammer. His sister said that her brother puts his whole life in his sculptures, and the recent attack hit hard on him.

“He puts his whole life into his sculptures,” said Porter. “He can’t even sell them, they become a part of who he is, and he keeps them.”

The Porters family asked anyone who might have tips on the whereabouts of the guardians’ heads to contact the McCook County Sheriff’s Office at 605-425-2761. The family announced a $1,000 reward for the return of the stolen heads.

Christians Vandalize “Satanic” Sculpture Park [VIDEO]

 

Uncle Mark a day ago

Now just imagine how enraged those same Christians would be if their sacred symbols, buildings or other erections were equally vandalized.

another_steve  liondon#traitor-ex-presidenta day ago

The fundamentalist christofascist right (a major player in today’s Republican Party) is the Christian equivalent of the Taliban.

Different gods, that’s all.

Octoberfurst a day ago

I would not have known that this had happened except for JMG posting it. But, believe me, if the reverse had happened and Satanists had vandalized a cross or some other Christian symbol this would be a major news story, especially on right–wing media. Hannity would talk about it for days! Every right-winger would be ranting about “Christian persecution in this country.” Tolerance is certainly not a Christian virtue.

Reality.Bites  Octoberfursta day ago

That’s mainly because Satanists don’t generally DO shit like that.

Being an asshole in the name of Christ is standard operating procedure.

PissChrist123  Reality.Bites18 hours ago

yeah, these relig kooks have been waiting in the wings for YEARS for the chance to become relevant,and then trump opens up the WH halls to them…(sigh)

Makoto  Octoberfursta day ago

Remember when a 10 Commandments monument in Oklahoma City was destroyed when a guy drove his car into it? They absolutely flipped out and were working on getting it replaced that day.

(Of course, the replacement was later removed because of that pesky rule about not singling out a religion for promotion by the gov’t, and they weren’t going to let anyone else put up a monument for their religion or lack thereof…)

What, me worry?  Octoberfursta day ago edited

It never was. They claim to follow Christ, but they have no idea what Christ was all about. They should read the Sermon on the Mount. It pretty much spells it out for them.

StarGmom  What, me worry?a day ago

They don’t need to read their bibles, they are told what to think.

Nic Peterson  Octoberfurst20 hours ago

They lost their fucking minds over this:

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*** Piss Christ » by ANDRES SERRANO  The American artist placed a crucifix with a figurine of Jesus in a jar of urine (his own) and blood. ***
 
Wintercata day ago

Fucking tax the churches. Christianity is the most destructive political and genocidal motivator of the past two thousand years. They can at least pay.

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Wintercata day ago

The next time a redcap invokes Jefferson, remind them that he wrote this.

It does me no harm for my neighbor to say that there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket not breaks my leg.

Paddycakes2001  Wintercat21 hours ago

Or this one.

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Florida teacher allegedly investigated for showing students film Strange World

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/13/florida-teacher-allegedly-investigated-for-showing-students-film-strange-world

This is an important article and I hope everyone takes a minute to read it.   Then think about what happened.   A teacher had permission slips to show Disney catalog of movies to her students, and every parent said yes they were OK with their children seeing the Disney movies.   Then this movie Strange World was show and one parent freaked out and filed a complaint against the teacher.   Think of it, again one maga right winger maybe highly religious parent gets to derail the public education of all students to push their rabid right wing agenda.   

So what was in the movie that could be that offensive, you ask?  I did ask that, so Ron and I bought the movie for 20 dollars off Amazon Prime.   Almost from the start, I saw what these MAGA right-winger republican types would hate.   The parents were a loving couple who loved to smooch and kiss as they made breakfast, all very clean and not sexual / porn, just mom and dad quick cute kisses.  So what is offensive about that to the maga?   Well if you have seen the trailer you know that the mom is black and the dad is white.   Which leads to the next maga issue.  

The son, Ethan Clade, is a mixed race drawn with darker skin tone openly gay boy who is accepted by his family and his friends.   In the opening get to meet the characters part of the movie, Ethan’s friends show up with some kind of game cards.  With them is a boy Ethan has a crush on and the movie plays out letting us know in a funny sweet way of Ethan being shy around the boy.  But the movie also makes it clear that the boy Ethan has a crush on likes Ethan as well along with all the friends being OK / happy with the boys being gay and liking each other.   That is when the dad interrupts them and does the dad meeting his son’s boyfriend stating to Ethan how he likes the boy, saying something like he can see why Ethan likes him.   I thought the movie was cute at this part, as most teenagers are embarrassed of their parents around their friends and to meet the one they have a crush on.   

Which leads us to the the last part I think the maga people get angry at.  Remember I have only gotten about a 1/4 of the way into the movie but in the movie the mother, who is black remember, is the outgoing adventurous one who manages to swoop in and save the flying ship.   Imagine the maga people going crazy that a black woman acts to save everyone while the white people cling to the ship trying to hang on.   Oh and also the women in the movie so far are more the adventurers and seeming more capable than the main white man character so far.  Another thing I guess makes maga right-winger upset, the movie destroys their gender role stereotypes.   

In all I like the movie so far.  It is inclusive in a way that real life is.  It is drawn and colored in bright vivid colors.  The dialog and action is fun to watch.  I have not watched a lot of movies in the last few years and I have not watched any animated ones.    But I am really enjoying this one.    But I can see why the republican right winger maga want to destroy Disney and take over what kinds of shows / movies they produce.   This movie is a very far place from the stereotypical gender role models and public social standards of the 1950s that the maga are desperate to return the country to.   Hugs

 

 

Purported investigation after screening of Disney animated movie comes amid governor Ron DeSantis’s attacks on educators

DeSantis at podium with sign reading freedom from indoctrination

DeSantis has claimed, without evidence, that there is ‘indoctrination in our schools’. Photograph: Daniel A Varela/AP

Florida education officials allegedly told a school teacher that she was under a misconduct investigation after, her friend claimed, she showed students the Disney animated film Strange World.

The purported investigation following this alleged showing of Strange World comes amid rightwing Republican governor Ron DeSantis’s attacks on educators that include book censorship and limitations on discussions of race and sex as he jockeys for his party’s presidential nomination with “anti-woke” talking points.

———————————————————————————
 
 
Two women and a man in separate portraits
‘The point is intimidation’: Florida teachers besieged by draconian laws
Read more  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/13/florida-teachers-woke-law-ron-desantis
———————————————————————————
 

“My friend showed Disney’s Strange World in a Florida classroom and one student reported it to their parents. Now she’s under investigation by the state,” Carl Zee tweeted on 11 May. “Florida is not safe for teachers, DO NOT MOVE HERE.”

The film involves a group of explorers who try saving a “mysterious land from losing its vital energy source”, per Variety. It also has a prominent gay character – a rarity in children’s animation.

Zee included a photo of a letter from the Florida department of education, stating that “following receipt of a receipt of a complaint, this office has determined an investigation is warranted into allegations that you engaged in inappropriate conduct”.

“If you have evidentiary witnesses or documents pertinent to the case, send them to this office no later than two weeks from receipt of this letter,” the alleged missive continues. CBR.com first reported on Zee’s Tweet.

The alleged letter does not state specific allegations against this teacher. The Florida department of education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In response to a Twitter user who said that teachers who break the law find themselves under investigation, Zee wrote: “She has signed permission from every parent in the classroom to show Disney & Dreamworks movies in class, even offering lines to specify specific movies parents didn’t want shown. Not one exception was written down, so no she didn’t break the law. Try again, doofus.”

News of the alleged investigation is in keeping with Florida teachers’ concerns that they are being stymied and intimidated by new legislation championed by DeSantis. He has claimed, without evidence, that there is “indoctrination in our schools” and allowed his press secretary to claim that teachers are “grooming” pupils.

A new Florida law has effectively resulted in book bans, with classrooms and libraries removing books over concerns they contain “inappropriate” content.

One high school English teacher in Palm Bay, Florida, told the Guardian that a librarian took away a third of the books in his classroom – among them a collection of Emily Dickinson’s poems, which was not on her list of green-lighted books.

DeSantis has also assailed Disney as a company after the entertainment titan pushed back against his “don’t say gay” legislation. He hit back at Disney by signing a bill that took away Disney’s status as a self-governing special district near Orlando.

Disney fought back against DeSantis, filing a federal lawsuit contending that he retaliated against the company for expressing its first amendment right to free speech. In the suit, Disney is asking to stop the governor’s attempted takeover of the special district.

Florida Teacher Investigated For Showing Disney Film

 

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Fancy That Bananacat 🍌🐈  Longpole18 hours ago

But the teacher wuz trying to turn his students into gays!!! 🙀

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unsavedheathen 21 hours ago

Tell the teacher to show the kids Song Of The South and all will be forgiven. It’s hard to find since Disney threw it in the vault and ate the key, but the DeSantis crowd will love him/her for it.

What, me worry?  thatotherjean19 hours ago

I’ll bet that teachers and medical professionals will also be leaving, as well as high school graduates who want a real college education. It’s a crime what republicans are doing.

Niblet58  Joe in NM20 hours ago

Yep, my daughter’s teacher friend from Florida already packed it in and moved away to a blue state where she gets paid a LOT more and has more freedom to teach. She is urging her fellow teachers stuck in that hell hole to get the fuck out now.

Joe in NM21 hours ago

There won’t be a teacher left in FL.

What, me worry?  Joe in NM19 hours ago

They’ve already got a plan in place to hire less-than-honorably-discharged ex-military and rogue cops to teach the kids. They will be armed at all times so the kids will be totally safe.

Darreth21 hours ago edited

So, there literally is a war against one of the most popular companies in the world right there in Florida. Evangelicals can literally destroy anything.

Tomcat  Darreth21 hours ago

Them Disney folk are witches, we gunna dunk them deep into the ocean to see if they die, it they die then maybe they not witches.

thatotherjean 21 hours ago

Investigating a teacher for showing a Disney film? Migrant workers are leaving your state in droves, which will affect construction projects, the gathering of crops, the hotel and hospitality sector of tourism, and God knows what else, and you’re still trying to stomp on Disney by going after a teacher for showing a film? Lord love a duck, just how stupid are you, Ron?

Len Ricci  thatotherjean17 hours ago

Don’t forget that the SEAWEED MONSTER has come to destroy their beaches and recreational tourism, but let’s focus on a fricken kids animated movie that might have a gay cartoon character in it.

Octoberfurst 20 hours ago

I find it so ironic that Republicans think that all this banning of everything is “freedom.”

Elagabalus21 hours ago

The party of “limited government” strikes again.

Et patati et patata 21 hours ago

So, signed a permission slip and still complaining? Dishonorable creep.

What, me worry?  Et patati et patata20 hours ago

One parent complained. ONE. So nobody gets to watch it. That sure sounds like cancel culture to me. I’ll bet the parent who complained didn’t even have any children in the school.

 

Busted: See GOP’s DeSantis shredded on TV over book bans, as writer claps back

Let’s talk about Missouri and a failed power play….

“Do You REALLY Think I’m Indoctrinating Students?”

A remarkable student comes forward at a school board meeting and shares the importance of lgbtq+ rights and transgender rights. The students shares the struggles the trans community faces in states like Missouri, North Carolina and Florida. The transgender community needs support now more than ever, especially in the young people like this student here.

Damn amazing!     I think this boy will go far in life, and it gives me hope for the future.   We need more young people like him.  Sadly the school board won’t listen to him or his supporters.   They have their idea that adults know so much more than kids do about their own body.   Why because their god tells them this in a book written 2,500 years ago amended and incorrectly translated over centuries, that this boy can not exist.   Their personal view of 1950s gender ideology and their political desires make this boy’s testimony something they scoff at and won’t hear.   Yet in a few years this boy and his friends will vote these people out of office if we still have a democracy.   And that terrifies these religious conservative bigots enough that they want to do way with democracy and allowing people to vote.     Hugs

Drag queen wore the names of school shooting victims to Texas house hearing. She was escorted out.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/05/drag-queen-wore-the-names-of-school-shooting-victims-to-texas-house-hearing-she-was-escorted-out/

This post is for those that mistakenly thought these anti-drag bills were about protecting kids from sexualized burlesque type shows.   The law is written very clearly to stop men from dressing like women and women from dressing like men in public.   That was the intent from the beginning of this anti-drag queens stuff, the republicans just had to frame it as protecting kids from sex to get the public to accept it.  Hugs

 It’s aimed at banning minors from “sexually oriented performance,” which the bill initially defined as a “male performer exhibiting as a female, or a female performer exhibiting as a male.” If the bill becomes law, drag performers could face a criminal misdemeanor charge if they perform in front of children or on public property, and venues that host drag performances could face penalties up to $10,000.

 

“This legislature has spent more time targeting queer people than gun violence.”
By  
Brigitte Bandit
Brigitte BanditPhoto: Screenshot/TikTok

A Texas drag performer was escorted out of a public hearing on one of the state’s anti-drag bills.

As NBC affiliate KXAN reports, the Texas House of Representatives State Affairs committee held a public hearing on Wednesday to discuss S.B. 12, which was passed by the state senate last month. It’s aimed at banning minors from “sexually oriented performance,” which the bill initially defined as a “male performer exhibiting as a female, or a female performer exhibiting as a male.” If the bill becomes law, drag performers could face a criminal misdemeanor charge if they perform in front of children or on public property, and venues that host drag performances could face penalties up to $10,000.

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Texas House votes unanimously to expel “anti-grooming” Republican after he groomed a teenager

He used to rail against drag queens performing in front of kids. Now one of his colleagues said he’s the “type of man who steals innocence.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, the committee was considering removing any mention of drag from S.B. 12.

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Austin drag performer Brigitte Bandit was one of nearly 400 people who signed up to testify, the overwhelming majority of them opposing the bill, according to KXAN. Bandit appeared before the committee in a dress bearing the names of the victims of the Uvalde and Allen mass shootings to argue that the real danger facing the state’s children is gun violence, not drag queens.

 

@brigittebandit

Replying to @Brett Cross looks like we made the same kind of exit. solidarity forever 💗

♬ original sound – brigitte bandit

“This legislature has spent more time targeting queer people than gun violence, even following yet another mass shooting in our state,” she tweeted on Wednesday.

After reportedly speaking 15 seconds over her allotted time, Bandit was escorted out of the hearing by security.

 
 

Constitutional Lawyers Mobilize Against Trans Care Bans Nationwide: 9 States Now Sued

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/constitutional-lawyers-mobilize-against

“It is mentally and physically painful to feel like you are trapped in the wrong body. Going through puberty for the wrong sex is like having your body betray you on a daily basis. The only treatment we have found to be effective and give our daughter hope again is hormone therapy. The difference we have experienced is night and day and there is no going back. Taking away this crucial medical care is inhumane and a violation of our rights. We will fight this law for our daughter and every other family whose rights are being trampled.”

 

While the wave of anti-trans legislation has been hard to witness, we are seeing the beginning of the fight back in the courts. Gender affirming care bans are challenged in 9 states now.

ERIN REED
MAY 9, 2023
 
 
 
States where gender affirming care bans are being challenged in court.
————————————————————————————
Please support my independent reporting and activism on transgender legislation by subscribing. You help me keep this going and keep people informed.

Amid a surge in anti-trans legislation in the US, attorneys prepared to mount a strong response. Their counterattack has finally arrived. In recent months, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Department of Justice, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Lambda Legal, and several other organizations have contested laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth in states nationwide. Success stories are emerging, as seen in Missouri, where a temporary restraining order has blocked the ban. With seven states facing lawsuits challenging such bans added in the last few months, the total number of states being sued over gender-affirming care prohibitions now stands at nine.

Many of these lawsuits are spearheaded by the ACLU, a prominent force in the fight against gender-affirming care bans. In seven out of nine states facing legal action, the ACLU serves as a primary organization representing the plaintiffs. Florida and Alabama stand as the exceptions, with Southern Legal Counsel, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the Justice Department, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights leading the challenges there. The NCLR and other organizations have also been active and serve as co-leads in states like Kentucky. The ACLU has played a significant role in opposing these discriminatory laws this year.

Earlier, the organization’s Deputy Director of Transgender Justice, Chase Strangio, delivered a powerful testimony against an anti-trans bill in Tennessee. In his testimony, he confidently asserted, “Tennessee will not be able to defend these laws.”

See his testimony here:

 

Please support my independent reporting and activism on transgender legislation by subscribing. You help me keep this going and keep people informed.

Shortly after the Tennessee bill was passed, the ACLU challenged it in court on behalf of a 15 year old transgender girl. In a press release from the ACLU, the girl, whose name is not shared, stated,

“I don’t even want to think about having to go back to the dark place I was in before I was able to come out and access the care that my doctors have prescribed for me. I want this law to be struck down so that I can continue to receive the care I need, in conversation with my parents and my doctors, and have the freedom to live my life and do the things I enjoy.”

The ACLU is attempting to ensure that the law meets that fate.

Today, Montana became the latest state to face a lawsuit over its gender-affirming care ban. Montana has emerged as a hotspot for some of the harshest anti-trans laws and actions this year. With a gender-affirming care ban, drag ban, prohibition of gender markers on driver’s licenses combined with a rigid definition of sex that excludes transgender individuals, and the expulsion of the state’s first trans woman representative from the House floor, Montana has become a focal point for legal observers. The lawsuit is supported by prominent organizations, including ACLU Montana, Lambda Legal, and Perkins Coie, who are all committed to combating anti-trans measures in the state.

Jessica van Garderen, mother of a trans daughter in Montana and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, was quoted in a joint statement:

“It is mentally and physically painful to feel like you are trapped in the wrong body. Going through puberty for the wrong sex is like having your body betray you on a daily basis. The only treatment we have found to be effective and give our daughter hope again is hormone therapy. The difference we have experienced is night and day and there is no going back. Taking away this crucial medical care is inhumane and a violation of our rights. We will fight this law for our daughter and every other family whose rights are being trampled.”

Earlier this year, Montana increased their budget by $2.6 million to account for court challenges to clearly unconstitutional legislation.

There is ample reason to believe these lawsuits will succeed. So far, legal challenges against gender-affirming care bans and anti-trans policies have been effective. Bolstered by the recent Supreme Court precedent in Bostock v. Clayton County, judges recognize that discrimination against transgender individuals constitutes sex discrimination and is prohibited under US law. Such policies also infringe on transgender people’s due process and equal protection rights.

In Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas, courts have enjoined gender-affirming care bans and child abuse enforcement measures. Recently in Missouri, a series of bans and restrictions targeting even adults were blocked, and this injunction will remain in place for at least two months while the case is under deliberation. It is clear that judges have shown little tolerance for anti-trans legislation.

States where lawsuits on gender affirming care bans have been filed include the following:

These lawsuits do not include several other categories of lawsuits where trans plaintiffs have also seen success, such as Tennessee’s drag ban, West Virginia’s sports ban, Utah’s Sports Ban, and Texas’ child abuse enforcements against trans kids, all of which have been blocked in court.

As the legislative season dies down, the narrative around transgender legislation is likely to slowly shift. Fewer laws will be passed targeting the community, although some states with legislative cycles that run throughout the year will continue to demand coverage. The focus will shift toward a massive, nationwide mobilization of constitutional lawyers dedicated to dismantling the anti-trans legislation that has proliferated this year. Considering their previous successes, news of victorious lawsuits should uplift the community during this phase. This period commences now.

 

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Missouri Republicans Refuse To Let Gay Man Speak Against Anti-Trans Bill, Silence Opposition

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/missouri-republicans-refuse-to-let

Republicans refuse to allow anyone to speak against what they want to do, even if that person is a fellow republican.   This is because they demand to rule the public, not to serve the public.  They demand power so they can use that power to force all others to follow their conservative religious dictates.  And this is happening all over the country, as we have seen.    Hugs

It happened again. Representative Chris Sander, a gay Republican, raised his hand to speak on a bill. Republicans instead chose to silence opposition and did not allow him to speak.

 

ERIN REED
MAY 10, 2023
 
 
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The Republican Party has repeatedly barred discussion on LGBTQ+ bills this year. Despite holding supermajorities in numerous instances, they have frequently silenced oppositional voices. Notably, in Oklahoma, GOP members censured Representative Mauree Turner, a Black, nonbinary representative. In Kentucky, an attempt was made to hold a hearing without any Democratic representatives. This was announced during a lunch break when microphones were turned off. A recent incident in Montana saw transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr ejected from the house floor and silenced simply for speaking to the harm these bills cause, preventing her from commenting on anti-trans bills. Today, in Missouri, the GOP restricted Democrats to 15 minutes of debate against a bill prohibiting gender-affirming care for trans youth. During the vote, gay Republican Rep. Chris Sander was denied the opportunity to speak against the bill despite signaling his intent, keeping his hand raised for the entirety of the vote.

The bill itself, SB49, bans gender affirming care for transgender youth. Though it grandfathers youth already receiving treatment in, there will be many trans youth on waitlists who will be entirely shut out. It also bans Medicaid coverage for transgender adults and surgery for transgender incarcerated individuals. All of these provisions are separate from the ongoing attempt by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s decision to limit most care for transgender adults, banning many of them from transitioning – that decision is currently blocked in court awaiting a final decision.

In a scene eerily familiar to many people who have paid attention to floor debates over anti-trans legislation, Missouri House Speaker, Rep. Dean Plocher, enacted a motion that restricted Democrats to a meager 15 minutes of total discourse on the bill. This appeared to be a calculated move to expedite the bill’s passage with minimal opposition. House Minority Leader, Representative Crystal Quade, used some of her time to denounce this tactic, arguing it silenced representatives’ speech and, in effect, muffled the voice of the citizenry they represent. This contention closely mirrors a recent incident in Montana involving Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who faced silencing and exile when the house speaker there denied her the right to speak.

That comparison would quickly grow stronger as a Republican, Representative Chris Sander, raised his own hand to speak. Local reporter Emily Manley reported that he was never called on despite continually keeping his hand raised. Because Republicans have a choice as to whether they acknowledge their own party member, they opted to not do so.

You can see Rep. Quade’s initial criticism of the GOP’s silencing tactics and Rep. Sander’s hand raised in this video:

 

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Trans Patients Being Dropped As Florida Law Bans “Up To 80%” Of Adult Gender Affirming Care

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trans-patients-being-dropped-as-florida

These bans on trans care started as don’t discuss gender at schools except straight gender role models to protect the children.  Then it moved to stopping kids from social transitioning to protect the children.  That moved to we have to protect the children from medical transitioning, including the use of reversible non-harmful puberty blockers.   That moved to preventing all trans people from transitioning, effectively removing them from society.   And they no longer claim it is to protect the children.    This was the goal from the start, ending trans people and reaffirming / enforcing 1950s stereotypical gender roles.  Who do you think they will try to remove next?   They went for drag queens / trans people as the most vulnerable targets.  But these same republicans have already labeled the rest of the LGBTQ+ as dangers to children, especially the gays and their rainbow flag.   They already got rid of the rainbow flag and any mention of being gay in schools, and removed all LGB media from school libraries.   Not even stories about kids with two mommies or same sex penguins raising a chick together.  How long until they try the Russian method of just outlawing any mention or action of being gay in public?   In Texas they again killed a bill to remove the anti-same sex laws off the books even though the SCOTUS made such laws illegal.   I feel like a Jew in Nazi Germany in the 1930s watching laws being made to outlaw me and people like me, telling everyone yet not seeing any real push back to the hate and bigotry.   Hugs

Most media coverage on the impact of SB254 in Florida has focused on the youth care prohibition. In reality, it threatens 80% of all trans adult care by banning nurse practitioners from providing it.

 

ERIN REED
MAY 11, 2023
 
 
 
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A new Florida law threatens to disrupt up to 80% of gender affirming care for transgender adults, yet this impact has been largely underreported. The legislation, SB254, has been passed and will go into effect when signed by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida. It has caught the eye of LGBTQ+ media primarily due to its impact on transgender youth as outlined in the bill’s provisions: it outright bans gender affirming care for this demographic, and may also introduce complexities in custody scenarios where parents disagree on affirmation.

While the majority of discourse around SB254 focuses on its repercussions for transgender youth, a provision that has received less attention within the bill is already spelling disaster for transgender adult care. The legislation bars all nurse practitioners from offering gender affirming care and imposes additional restrictions on informed consent care for transgender adults. Considering that nurse practitioners provide the majority of gender affirming care, this could drastically reduce the number of providers, lowering it to a level that is unsustainable for Florida’s transgender patient population.

In an exclusive conversation with Lana Dunn from SPEKTRUM Health, the clinic has indicated that it is getting a near constant influx of phone calls from patients whose appointments are being cancelled. Reasons for cancellation include that the care is too difficult to provide now given new liabilities introduced by this law and restrictions on perscribers. While SPEKTRUM is still providing care, Dunn indicates that they are in an uncomfortable limbo:

“We have thousands of patients at SPEKTRUM, all of whom are eagerly trying to get their appointments in before the law goes into effect and we simply have no way to keep up with the demand. Our team has been working feverishly throughout all of this to meet the demand,” Dunn says.

When asked about organizations that are ceasing care, she even indicated that once the law takes effect, SPEKTRUM may have to cease care: “Here at SPEKTRUM we are operating at the highest capacity possible until such a time as the law goes into effect at which point we will have no choice but to cease providing gender affirming care.”

The provisions causing trouble for organizations are seen here:

 
Section mandating care be provided by Physicians along with informed consent forms that may amount to medical disinformation.
 
Section giving the Board of Medicine authority to expand on informed consent requirements.

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These provisions taken together spell out requirements for providers of gender affirming care that will drastically lower its availability to transgender adults. SPEKTRUM has confirmed that at least 80% of all gender affirming care is provided by nurse practitioners in the state. This matches with data from my informed consent hormone therapy map – very few of the locations go to MDs/DOs. Planned Parenthood, which provides a huge amount of the care, primarily uses nurse practitioners to administer that care – all of my personal care has been handled by nurse practitioners, as seen from Planned Parenthood’s FAQ on gender affirming care:

Most gender-affirming hormone care is provided at PPSP by advanced practice providers (physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners) in our health centers or over telemedicine.

The alarming aspects of the new legislation are not limited to the provisions that prevent nurse practitioners from providing gender affirming care. The law also targets this care through various other channels. For example, one provision grants the board of medicine authority to adopt emergency rules for implementing the new law. The board has already demonstrated its willingness to overstep existing law by introducing rules – earlier this year, it imposed a ban on gender affirming care for transgender youth, despite lacking legislative instruction to do so. This ban is currently under judicial review.

In a similar vein, the attorney general of Missouri recently issued a series of burdensome guidelines that essentially obstruct gender affirming care for most transgender adults with a complex web of rules, making the care nearly impossible to legally provide. This decision, however, has recently been blocked in court for at least two months. The provision in Florida’s law, which grants rule-making authority to the board of medicine, could potentially be wielded in a similar manner to further restrict care.

The legislation also requires misinformation in informed consent forms that must be handed to and signed by every patient. Though the final version of the form is not available, earlier versions have statements erroneously claiming that the care does not conform to generally accepted medical practices. Over 29 major medical organizations maintain gender affirming care as the standard of care for trans people.

See the proposed form from 2022 when the issue was first discussed by the Florida Department of Health here, documented by Zinnia Jones:

 
Proposed informed consent form for trans adults from 2022.

It remains to be seen how medical organizations and transgender adults will react to the bill if it is signed into law. It is clear that at least some major medical organizations feel that the care is highly threatened, with many being forced to cease providing it. The impact of this legislation could rival and even surpass other states where restrictions are currently being fought over, such as in Missouri where several trans adults were pulled from care before the policy enacted there was blocked. When combined with a recent transgender bathroom ban, Florida is quickly emerging as the state most hostile to transgender people in the United States.

 

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