National
Aaron Schock comes out as gay
Aaron Schock, the former Republican congressman who was long suspected of being gay, came out in an Instagram post on Thursday.
“The fact that I am gay is just one of those things in life in need of explicit affirmation, to remove any doubt and to finally validate who I am as a person,” Schock said. “In many ways, I regret the time wasted in not having done so sooner.”
Schock, who served in Congress from 2009 to 2015, has been dogged by gay rumors for some time. The congressman resigned from Congress amid scandal involving his use of campaign and funds and was later indicated in connection with the imbroglio, but all charges against him were dropped last year.
As an Illnois Republican, Schock built an anti-LGBTQ voting record. Among his votes in Congress were against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and hate crimes protections for LGBTQ people as well as affirmation of the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.
Under questioning from reporters in a video that later became a meme, Schock infamously replied when asked why he hadn’t come out in favor of same-sex marriage, “I just haven’t.”
Throughout his time in Congress, Schock denied he was gay (as did his father). On the floor of the Republican National Convention in 2012, Schock burst out at journalist Michelangelo Signorile it was “inappropriate and ridiculous” to ask the lawmaker about his sexual orientation and the inquiry was not “worthy of response.”
After his time Congress, photos allegedly of Schock at Coachella suggesting he was gay emerged on social media. A video also emerged of Schock in Mexico inserting paper money into the thong of a male dancer.
As any doubt begin to fade away over Schock’s sexual orientation, many LGBTQ people were angry with him for engaging in freedoms won by LGBTQ activists without having apologized for his anti-gay voting record.
In his coming out post, Schock appears to justify his anti-LGBTQ past as a congressman by reducing LGBTQ rights to marriage equality, saying Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama once opposed it.
“That fact doesn’t make my position any less wrong, but it’s sometimes easy to forget that it was leaders of both parties who for so long wrongly understood what it was to defend the right to marry,” Schock said.
Schock in his Instagram post affirms if he were in Congress today he’d “support LGBTQ rights,” but doesn’t seem to drop his affiliation with the Republican Party.
“I realize some of my political positions run very much counter to the mainstream of the LGBTQ movement, and I respect them for those differences,” Schock said. “I hope people will allow for me the same.”
Schock was seen attending a fundraiser with President Trump in Beverly Hills two weeks ago, a Republican source familiar with the event tells me.
A look at the social media posts of LGBTQ advocates demonstrates a lack of enthusiasm over Schock for coming out.
things Aaron Schock should apologize for:
-his anti-LGBTQ voting record in Congress -decorating his congressional office in the theme of Downton Abbey ā Nick Morrow (@NRMorrow) March 5, 2020
The privilege some cis white gay men have…He totally Ken Mehlmanāed this.
I would like for @aaronschock to fight the anti-LGBTQ Trump admin. But I highly doubt he would do that. ??? ā Drew Anderson (@AndersonDrew) March 5, 2020
U.S. Federal Courts
Federal judge: Teachers can challenge Tennessee instruction law
“Iām thrilled the judge listened to our concerns as educators & seemed to understand that this law puts teachers in an impossible position”
ByĀ Marta AldrichĀ | NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee teachers can move forward with their lawsuit challenging a 3-year-old state law restricting what they can teach about race, gender, and bias.
U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger denied the stateās motion to dismiss the case.
The Nashville judge also sided with educators over questions of whether they have legal grounds to sue the state, plus whether the federal court is the appropriate jurisdiction to take up complaints about the 2021 state law.
And in a 50-page memorandum to explain her single-page order, Trauger was frequently critical of the statute, which restricts teachers from discussing 14 concepts that the Republican-controlled legislature deemed cynical or divisive. She also cited shortcomings of related rules, developed by the state education department, to outline the processes for filing and investigating complaints, appealing decisions, and levying punishment that could strip teachers of their licenses and school districts of state funding.
āThe Act simply invites a vast array of potentially dissatisfied individuals to lodge complaints based on their understanding of those concepts and then calls on the Commissioner [of Education], as a sort of state philosopher, to think deeply about what equality, impartiality, and other abstract concepts really mean and enforce the Act accordingly,ā Trauger wrote in her May 2 memorandum.
“Iām thrilled that the judge listened to our concerns as educators and seemed to understand that this law puts teachers in an impossible position,”ā Kathryn Vaughn, Tipton County teacher
Meanwhile, educators are at the mercy of the personal biases of authorities, which is āexactly what the doctrine of unconstitutional vagueness is intended to guard against,ā she said.
The so-called prohibited concepts law was among the first of its kind in the nation that passed amid a conservative backlash to the racial-justice movement and protests prompted by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Among its prohibitions are classroom discussions about whether āan individual, by virtue of the individualās race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.ā
The lawās defenders note that it permits an āimpartial discussion of controversial aspects of history,ā or as Rep. John Ragan, the House sponsor, described it: āfacts-basedā instruction.
But teachers say they donāt know how to be impartial when teaching about the theories of racial superiority that led to slavery and Jim Crow laws. The resulting confusion has influenced the small but pivotal decisions they make every day about how to prepare for a lesson, what materials to use, and how to answer a studentās question, ultimately stifling classroom discussion, many critics of the law assert.
Last July, lawyers for five public school educators and the Tennessee Education Association, the stateās largest teacher organization, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Nashville.
The suit says the language of the law is unconstitutionally vague and that the stateās enforcement plan is subjective. The complaint also says the statute interferes with instruction on difficult but important topics included in state-approved academic standards, which dictate other decisions around curriculum and testing.
Trauger, who taught school for three years before entering law school, suggested that the ambiguity could lead to a lack of due process for educators under the U.S. Constitutionās 14th Amendment.
āThat does not mean that a law has to be wise or perfect or crystal clear, but it must mean something concrete and specific that a well-informed person can understand by reading its text,ā she wrote in her memorandum.
Kathryn Vaughn, a Tipton County teacher who is among the plaintiffs, called the judgeās decision an important early step in the legal challenge.
āIām thrilled that the judge listened to our concerns as educators and seemed to understand that this law puts teachers in an impossible position,ā she told Chalkbeat on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the state attorney generalās office, which filed a motion for dismissal last September, declined to comment on the new development.
The judge set a June 17 scheduling meeting with attorneys in the case to discuss how to manage the litigation going forward.
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Marta Aldrich is Senior Statehouse Correspondent for Chalkbeat Tennessee.
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennesseeās free daily newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
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The preceding articleĀ was previously publishedĀ by the Tennessee LookoutĀ and is republished with permission.
Now more than ever, tough and fair journalism is important. The Tennessee Lookout is your watchdog, telling the stories of politics and policy that affect the people of the Volunteer State.
Weāre part ofĀ States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Louisiana
Unconstitutional definition of marriage to remain in Louisiana law
Many lawmakers support keeping anti-LGBTQ+ trigger law on the books, a federal court said banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional
ByĀ Piper Hutchinson | BATON ROUGE, La. – Republican lawmakers plan to leave in a section of the Louisiana constitution that defines marriage as between one man and one woman during a potential constitutional rewrite despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.Ā
Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, the lawmaker carrying the legislation calling for a constitutional convention, said his conservative colleagues want to leave in the āDefense of Marriageā section just in case the landmark 2015 civil rights case Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, is overturned.
āIāve had requests to leave it in. I havenāt had any requests to remove it,ā Beaullieu said in an interview with the Illuminator. Beaullieu declined to name who requested to leave the unconstitutional section in, but said he received āmanyā requests to do so.
About 62% of Louisianians support same-sex marriage, according to a 2022 survey from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, which also found approximately half of Republicans nationwide support same-sex marriage.
Lawmakers are currently discussing Beaullieuās House Bill 800 that would assemble a constitutional convention, with 144 legislators and 27 delegates appointed by the governor meeting to make changes to the document.
Beaullieu has said the delegates would use the convention to move some portions of the constitution into statute, which would make it substantially easier for legislators to change them.
Neither Beaullieu or Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who is the driving force behind the convention, has been forthcoming about what they want to remove from the constitution, although they have promised to wall off public school funding protections and the homestead exemption property tax break in the constitution. While lawmakers have billed this as a limited convention to ārefreshā the constitution, delegates likely would have authority to change anything they wanted.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Article XII Section 15 of the 1973 constitution
Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall construe this constitution or any state law to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any member of a union other than the union of one man and one woman. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall recognize any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman.
The Louisiana State Law Institute, which is required by law to provide a report on unconstitutional and preempted state laws to the legislature every other year, has included this portion of the constitution in every report since 2016.
The Institute has recommended the legislature pass a constitutional amendment to the voters to change the definition as not a marriage between one man and one woman, but as between two natural persons.
While the legislature has declined to do this, it has instructed new printings of the constitution to include a note regarding the Obergefell decision below the section.
In Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court found that same-sex couples could not be deprived the right to marry under 14th Amendment protections. As a result of this ruling, same-sex couples now have a legal right to marry in every U.S. state.
After the Obergefell ruling, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its ruling in Robicheaux v. Caldwell, which in 2014 upheld Louisianaās ban on same-sex marriage. In the Robicheaux reversal order, the court explicitly stated that the portion of Louisianaās constitution banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
Article XII Section 15 was added to the constitution in 2004 after being approved by 78% of voters. The constitutional amendment was proposed by then state Rep. Steve Scalise, who is now the U.S. House majority leader.
Legislators have made several attempts to repeal this portion of the constitution, most recently in the current legislative session. House Bill 98 by Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, was shelved in its first committee hearing. The bill would have complied with the Louisiana Law Instituteās recommendation by defining marriage as āthe union of two persons.ā
Landry said she intends to bring up the proposal again if the constitutional convention happens.
The bill was sidelined at the request of House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, who argued the Legislature should avoid advancing bills that would put constitutional questions on the ballot in light of the potential constitutional convention.
Rep. Landry argued itās important to repeal that section of the constitution not just for symbolic reasons, but because many fear further legal attacks on same-sex marriage.
āYounger people donāt stay up at night thinking they want to leave here because the Constitution is too long, but they do think about and they do leave because of issues like same sex, marriage, abortion, reproductive issues,ā she said.
Beaullieuās bill, which calls for a constitutional convention this summer, has received approval from the House of Representatives but has not yet been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
If a convention was held ā which is still uncertain due to skepticism from senators ā it would take place in three stages: An organizational session to select convention leaders could take place as soon as May 30. Convention committees would then meet in June and July to discuss potential constitutional changes, and wrap up their work by Aug. 1, when the full convention would then meet until Aug. 15. The finished product would then be on a ballot for voter approval at the same time of the presidential election in November.
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Piper Hutchinson is a reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator. She has covered the Legislature and state government extensively for the LSU Manship News Service and The Reveille, where she was named editor in chief for summer 2022.
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The preceding articleĀ was previously publishedĀ by the Louisiana Illuminator and is republished with permission.
The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization with a mission to cast light on how decisions in Baton Rouge are made and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians. Our in-depth investigations and news stories, news briefs and commentary help residents make sense of how state policies help or hurt them and their neighbors statewide.
Weāre part ofĀ States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Pennsylvania
Penn. trooper who arrested LGBTQ+ leader, no longer employed
The trooper had been placed on restricted duty following the incident and was not onĀ patrol during the investigation of the incident
PHILADELPHIA, Penn. ā The Pennsylvania State Police who executed a violent traffic stop on the morning of March 2, arresting Celena Morrison-McLean, executive director of Philadelphia Mayorās Office of LGBT Affairs, and her husband Darius McLean on a Philadelphia expressway, is no longer employed by the State Police.
In a statement to multiple media outlets, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Lt. Adam Reed said that the trooper, whose name has not been released, is no longer employed although Reed did not specify if the trooper resigned or was terminated by the agency.
According to Reed the trooper had been placed on restricted duty following the incident and was not onĀ patrol during the investigation of the incident.
Appearing before reporters in a press conference on March 9, theĀ executive director of Philadelphia Mayorās Office of LGBT Affairs accused the State Police trooper who executed a violent traffic stop last weekend involving her and her husband of racial profiling.
The couple alongside with their attorneys, said theyāre considering a lawsuit following a violent incident in a traffic stop last weekend during which the couple alleges the state trooper unjustly pulled her over and arrested her and her husband because theyāre Black.Ā
āDarius and I did nothing wrong and did not deserve to be treated the way we were treated during the arrest,ā Morrison-McLean said. āAt a minimum, the Pennsylvania State Police owe Darius and I an apology that is equally as public as the way they disregarded our rights on Interstate 76.ā
In a police report, the trooper said McLean became verbally combative toward him, but the coupleās attorney, Kevin Mincey, said the trooper was the aggressor, claiming he pulled out his service weapon and forced McLean out of the car.
Mobile phone video of what followed went viral on social media. Morrison-McLean can be heard in the background screaming for her husband as the trooper cuffed him, who was on the ground at this point. She told the trooper that she worked āfor the mayorā, to which he responded: āShut the fuck up.ā
āDarius had his hands up, window down and his hazards on,ā Mincey said. āHe explained, āI stopped because you pulled over my wife.’ā
Pennsylvania State Police alleged McLean refused multiple lawful orders from the trooper, who then arrested him. āThereās no resistance by Celena,ā Mincey said. āNo resistance by Darius.ā
Morrison-McLean told the reporters gathered for the press conference: āIāve never felt more helpless than in those moments.Ā Itās disheartening that, as Black individuals, we are all too familiar with the use of the phrase, āStop resisting,ā as a green light for excessive force by law enforcement.ā
The Pennsylvania State Police spokesman also said that the agency will not have further comment on this incident.
Minnesota
Minnesota lawmakers restore anti-trans religious exemption
Exemption allows religious groups to discriminate based on gender identity. DFL changes course on issue that prompted heated, angry debates
ByĀ Deena Winter | ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Legislature voted Tuesday to restore an exemption in state law protecting religious organizations and schools against claims of gender identity-based discrimination.
Last year, lawmakers modernized definitions in the Minnesota Human Rights Act prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. But no corresponding religious exemption was added for gender identity, so current law allows a church to discriminate against a gay applicant but not a trans applicant.
Some Republican lawmakers assumed it was an oversight, and introduced bills and amendments restoring the exemption, but earlier in the session, the majority Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party largely ignored their pleas, leading to passionate, angry debates in committee hearings.
Numerous religious groups pushed for what they said was religious freedom protected by the state and federal constitutions, arguing they should be able to employ people who adhere to their religious beliefs without the threat of civil rights litigation.
Republicans mobilized, calling it an āunprecedented attackā on religious autonomy.
But Tuesday, the Senate unanimously approved a bill (HF4021/SF4292) reinstating the religious exemption.
True North Legal, which represents religious groups, had already threatened litigation, noting the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the government cannot control religious schoolsā hiring decisions.
Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, released a statement saying the vote was the result of weeks of negotiations.
āPassing this amendment and the bill today secures in law the right we all have under the Constitution,ā Limmer said.
The House followed suit later Tuesday, and now the bill heads to Gov. Tim Walzās desk.
It was a stunning turnabout from the DFL reaction earlier this session.
When Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, suggested in a late February committee hearing that the DFL inadvertently forgot to include the religious exemption last session, committee chair Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, corrected him, saying, āIt was not an oversight.ā
Rep. Brion Curran, DFL-White Bear Lake, was visibly upset by religious leadersā testimony in support of the exemption, calling it ādisgusting,ā āinfuriating,ā ādisrespectfulā and a direct attack on trans and non-binary people.
āI am appalled that we are having this discussion,ā Curran said. āWhereās the dignity in not recognizing our fellow neighbors?ā
Minnesotaās first out trans lawmaker, Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, said during the hearing that the state took big steps toward protecting peopleās rights last year ā opening its doors as a refuge for transgender people ā and said lawmakers werenāt about to allow discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
Niska released a statement saying itās not the language he originally proposed, but achieves his goal of retaining a broad statutory exemption for both sexual orientation and gender.
āBoth sides had to be flexible in working to resolve this issue and I think the finished product respects all Minnesotans,ā Niska said. āIt protects institutional autonomy and the rights of association for people of faith.ā
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Deena Winter has covered local and state government in four states over the past three decades, with stints at the Bismarck Tribune in North Dakota, as a correspondent for the Denver Post, city hall reporter in Lincoln, Nebraska, and regional editor for Southwest News in the western Minneapolis suburbs.
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The preceding articleĀ was previously publishedĀ by the Minnesota Reformer and is republished with permission.
The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets canāt or wonāt tell. Weāre in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to ā and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But weāre also on the streets, at the bars and parks, on farms and in warehouses, telling you stories of the people being affected by the actions of government and big business. And weāre free. No ads. No paywall.
Weāre part ofĀ States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Indiana
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita wades into pronoun battle
Indianaās Civil Rights Act doesnāt include sexual orientation or gender identity as protected classes, the attorney generalās office said
ByĀ Whitney DownardĀ | INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In a politically charged and, at times, inflammatory Facebook event, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita waded into a recent discussion on pronouns in the workplace.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that repeatedly misgendering an employee or denying them access to a bathroom consistent with their gender identity amounts to workplace harassment.
Rokita issued a ruling of his own Wednesday, saying that āneither state nor federal law requires a coworker to use the preferred pronouns and names of fellow employees.ā
But the office cautioned businesses that even if misgendering someone isnāt a recognized form of discrimination, they could still amount to a āhostile work environment claim.ā
āThere are no examples in case law where the (mis)use of an employeeās pronouns alone has been held to have created a hostile work environment pursuant to Title VII. However, many of these cases at least imply that repeated use of non-preferred pronouns and names could result in such an outcome, if the conduct is āsevere or pervasive enough,’ā the ruling said.
In the 20-minute Facebook live event, the latest in a series of videos from the office, Rokita denounced the move as part of āa new push by America haters to force the rest of us to embrace the radical gender ideology that they want.ā
Rokita went on to describe the participation of transwomen in sports as āan invasionā and called ongoing support for gender diversity ātrans-sanity.ā
āMost Hoosiers agree that we all should extend love and compassion toward individuals dealing with gender dysphoria. After all, it is a problem. And it should be treated. But it doesnāt need to be affirmed, nor should it,ā Rokita said. āTreating these individuals with respect, however, does not require us by law to deny basic truths like the fact that there are only two sexes and an individual is one of them.ā
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are intersex, a recognized third sex among scientists. Indianaās Civil Rights Act doesnāt include sexual orientation or gender identity as protected classes, the attorney generalās office said.
Rokita said the opinion came from a question submitted by Indiana Rep. Mike Speedy, who is running in the 6th Congressional District GOP primary.
āI donāt believe this opinion, in any way, infringes on anyoneās right to be who they think they are. What it does is it protects employers and employees from that ideology from being imposed upon them in a workplace environment. And thatās fair to everyone,ā Speedy said.
Rokita said the announcement wasnāt intended to be political, though it comes on the eve of the primary. He said Speedyās request came in months ago but it took time to compile the ruling.
The Indiana Democratic Party accused Rokita of using taxpayer dollars for political purposes.
āRokita owes Hoosiers an apology for this obvious political stunt. Whether itās attacking medical professionals like Dr. Caitlin Bernard or using his office for political games, Rokitaās tenure has been an embarrassment to Indiana. Hoosiers can replace him with a Democratic Attorney General who will respect womenās rights, and focus on protecting taxpayers,ā the party said in a statement.
Rokita will likely be on the ballot in November. Party nominees for attorney general are selected through a convention process in Indiana.
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A native of upstate New York, Whitney previously covered statehouse politics for CNHIās nine Indiana papers, focusing on long-term healthcare facilities and local government. Prior to her foray into Indiana politics, she worked as a general assignment reporter for The Meridian Star in Meridian, Mississippi. Whitney is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University (#GoBonnies!), a community theater enthusiast and cat mom.
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The preceding articleĀ was previously publishedĀ by the Indiana Capital Chronicle and is republished with permission.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.
Weāre part ofĀ States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
National
Target limits Pride Month collection sales to certain stores, online
In May of last year the retailer was forced to remove its LGBTQ merchandise after attacks on employees & emailed threats
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Minneapolis-based retail giant Target has announced that it has scaled back availability of its LGBTQ+ Pride Month collection to select stores and online sales. In May of last year the retailer was forced to remove its LGBTQ+ merchandise after attacks on employees and emailed threats including bomb threats.
In a media statement to the Blade deflecting on specifics regarding the company’s decision to only offer its Pride collection to only about roughly half of its nearly 2,000 stores nationwide, a spokesperson for Target said:
“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month. Beyond our own teams, we will have a presence at local Pride events in Minneapolis and around the country, and we continue to support a number of LGBTQIA+ organizations. Additionally, we will offer a collection of products for Pride, including adult apparel, home products, food and beverage, which has been curated based on guest insights and consumer research. These items, starting at $3, will be available in select stores and on Target.com.”
In an emailed statement reacting to the news Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said:
āPride merchandise means something. LGBTQ+ people are in every zip code in this country, and we arenāt going anywhere. With LGBTQ+ people making up 30% of Gen Z, companies need to understand that community members and allies want businesses that express full-hearted support for the community. That includes visible displays of allyship.
āTargetās decision is disappointing and alienates LGBTQ+ individuals and allies at the risk of not only their bottom line but also their values.ā
In May 2023, police departments in Utah, Ohio, and Pennsylvania aided by assistance from agents from Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Offices in Ohio and Utah investigated threats, Ā including a bomb threat to multiple Utah locations, made by email to local media referencing theĀ retail chain Targetās LGBTQ merchandise collections celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
At the time last May, Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda released a statement from the company:
āFor more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month. Since introducing this yearās collection, weāve experienced threats impacting our team membersāĀ sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.ā
Arizona
LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws have public support: Arizona none?
More than 20 years of attempts to get protections in place have failed as queer lives become more politicized
ByĀ Juliette Rihl/LOOKOUTĀ | PHOENIX, Ariz. – Twenty-two states have comprehensive LGBTQ+ civil rights laws on the books. Arizona, though, is not one of them.
The fight to pass an anti-discrimination bill is now more than twenty years old here. Since at least 2002, Arizona lawmakersāmostly Democrats, but also some Republicansāhave repeatedly introduced bills that would include sexual orientation and gender identity among the stateās protected classes, such as race, sex, and religion. And although those bills varied in scope, they would have generally protected LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations.
But none of those bills went anywhere.
Instead, protection within the state is enforced by local municipalities; only 11 Arizona cities have ordinances that indicate being LGBTQ+ as a protected class.
Civil rights advocates say a comprehensive statewide anti-discrimination law is necessary. The urban cities that provide protections only account for half of the stateās general population, and research shows LGBTQ+ adultsāespecially in rural areasāare more likely to experience unemployment or homelessness compared to others.
And though there isĀ competing dataĀ on whether or not nondiscrimination billsĀ actually do what they intend, advocates say that itās better to have something than nothing.
ONCE BIPARTISAN, NOW ONE-SIDED
Employment protections for LGBTQ+ people exist at the federal level, but if the Supreme Court were to roll back those protections it could leave queer people vulnerable, similar to when states saw local abortion laws triggered after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Darrell Hill, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, expressed the importance of a statewide law to avoid that, and protect people from experiencing homelessness or joblessness: āThese are very serious consequences of discrimination,ā he said.
There was a time when anti-discrimination bills did seem like they could have been a reality with Republican support.
In 2002, when Republicans held a supermajority in the House, six of them signed onto a nondiscrimination House bill with Democrats. However, the bill was never brought up for a vote and died in committee.
That support has since dwindled significantly. Between 2018 and 2022, bills that would have provided protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations had at least one member of each party backing them.
And over the past two years, amid an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the Arizona legislature, Republican support for a bill to protect queer people from discrimination has gone from slim to nonexistent. Even openly gay Republican lawmaker, state Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix), did not support any of the three bills introduced by Democrats the last two sessions.
And attempts to make the legislation bipartisan have been stymied, said state Rep. Oscar De Los Santos (D-Phoenix) who also is the co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus. He said he reached out to Gress to try to gain support for HB2625, an anti-discrimination bill introduced this past session. Gress did not respond, he told LOOKOUT.
De Los Santos said Republicans who would otherwise support the legislation might be afraid to go against their party. He noted that Republican leadership recently removed Gress from the House Appropriations Committee in April after voting alongside Democrats to repeal the stateās near-total abortion ban.
Gress did not respond to multiple requests for comment fromĀ LOOKOUT.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
Seventy-seven percent of Arizonans favor laws protecting LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, according to a 2022 survey by the nonprofit public opinion research institute PRRI.
So why hasnāt something happened?
āAs a matter of reality itās going to take us to flip the legislature,ā De Los Santos said.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle agree, especially as Republicans aligned with the stateās āFreedom Caucusā wield more power and move farther to the right on social issues, such as limiting transgender health care or criminalizing drag in public areas.
State Sen. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) who is associated with the stateās Freedom Caucus, said he and his colleagues disagree with a bill to provide protections for LGBTQ+ Arizonans. He was the only Republican to respond to LOOKOUTās request for comment.
āI donāt think it would be good public policy, in that it would take away some peopleās freedom of association, and it would generate lawsuits, and it would step on some peopleās religious principles,ā he said. A bill that did give religious exemptions was introduced last session, but Kavanagh still didnāt support it.
Kavanagh was the first lawmaker in the nation to propose a bathroom ban for trans students, and was the sponsor of multiple anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year, including one that would āoutā queer kids to parents. Most of his bills passed the legislature but were vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat.
Rep. Analise Ortiz (D-Phoenix), and State Rep. Lorena Austin (D-Mesa), both members of the LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus, agreed that Democratic control is necessary to getting the legislation passed: āRepublicans have repeatedly shown their complete refusal to pass even the most low-level bills that would support the LGBTQ+ community,ā Ortiz said.
This article wasĀ originally publishedĀ byĀ LOOKOUT, a nonprofit queer-focused news organization covering Arizonaās LGBTQ+ communities.
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Juliette Rihl is a freelance journalist for LOOKOUT focused on equity issues. She was named Pennsylvaniaās emerging reporter of the year in 2021.
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The preceding article was previously published by the Arizona Mirror and is republished with permission.
Amplifying the voices of Arizonans whose stories are unheard; shining a light on the relationships between people, power and policy; and holding public officials to account.
Arizona Mirror is part ofĀ States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Wisconsin
Milwaukee LGBT Community Center asking for community’s help
The community center is attempting to raise $25K When it achieves that goal, the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation will match the funding
MILWAUKEE, Wis. ā The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center is working to keep its doors and services open for hundreds of people with a funding campaign. The financial outlook currently is dire as the center has a May 31 deadline to raise the required funds so that the Leonard-Litz Foundation will match it.
The community center is attempting to raise $25,000. When it achieves that goal, the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation will match the funding for a total campaign of $50,000.
In an interview with ABC News affiliate WISN 12 News in Milwaukee, Ricardo Galaviz, the center’s associate director said keeping the center’s doors open is not only his goal, but also a full circle moment for him.
“Everyone was telling me, like being gay is going to hinder you,” Galaviz told WISN 12 News journalist Diana Gutierrez.Ā Ā “You’re never going to be successful because of who you are,” he added.
WISN 12 reported that at 16, Galaviz found support at Project U, a youth program at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. “At the time, my family was not accepting,” he said.
Years later he’s the associate director of the same center that saved him.
“Not only was I able to find people like me, but I was also able to see people who are like me in positions of success,” Galaviz said. He stressed that currently, the center is in need of some saving, too. “The sustainability of the center is what we’re trying to lock down right now,” he said.
In a Facebook post the center noted: “Free activities like yoga classes, potlucks, teen nights, crafternoons, discussion groups, book clubs, and so many more would not be possible without the generosity of our members and donors.”
According to the website of the Leonard-Litz LBGTQ+ Foundation, its mission is toĀ “fund organizations which advance the interests and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community.” The foundation gives grants to local LGBTQ+ organizations, usually focusing most on the U.S. Northeast.
WISN 12 reported the fundraising plan is meant to bring the organization, located at Dr. M.L.K. Jr. Drive and Court Street, back to its full operating status. The organization’s new Interim Executive Director Ritchie T. Martin Jr. and the board of directors created this plan and partnership.
āWe are extremely grateful to the Leonard-Litz Foundation for providing us with a grant to keep our doors open and a further matching grant,ā said Martin Jr. āNow we look to our donors and community to help us in this next step of getting the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center to a stronger future.ā
“From the people that were utilizing services prior to the pandemic. Compared to now, the numbers have multiplied quite quickly,” Galaviz told WISN 12. “We understand the importance of self-care, of taking care of ourselves, not just health wise, physical health, but also emotional and mental health. So, we’re seeing a lot of those services be the ones that people are looking for.”
He stressed it’s important to keep this center running. And although this might be a tough time, he wants to highlight the positives.
“There’s a lot of things that are happening socially, politically to this community. But there’s also a lot of things to celebrate here in Milwaukee. The great things that the center is doing, the great things that we’re able to provide the community,” Galaviz said. “I want people to know too that this is a thriving community. It’s not just a community that’s, you know, in crisis mode. We are in crisis mode. But as history has taught us, we have to come together. We’re all we have, but we’re also all we need.”
Editor’s note: If you’d like to help Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, donate here: https://secure.everyaction.com/kMZxWag-eU6XMa3ufB7wlA2
South Carolina
SC governor to sign bill banning HRT for trans youth into law
Treatments for youth already taking the drugs can be gradually taken off them through Jan. 31 of 2025 according to the new law as enacted
ByĀ Skylar Laird | COLUMBIA, S.C. ā A bill banning transitioning medications and surgeries for transgender children is set to become law after the House agreed Thursday to accept the Senateās changes.
Gov. Henry McMaster plans to sign the bill into law, a spokesman confirmed shortly after the House voted 67-26 along party lines to send it to his desk.
āI think this is a good idea to keep our young people safe and healthy,ā McMaster told reporters in January. āIf they want to make those decisions later when theyāre adults, then thatās a different story, but we must protect our young people from irreversible decisions.ā
The bill would ban doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or gender-transitioning hormone therapy to transgender youth under the age of 18. Doctors or other health care providers who violate the ban would risk losing their license. A complaint would have to be filed with the providerās licensing board within three years of the treatment.
Also disallowed are gender-transition surgeries, though both sides agree no doctors are performing such surgeries on minors in South Carolina. If they ever do, theyād risk being convicted of a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The Senate added a provision requiring school administrators to notify studentsā parents when children ask to change their pronouns or say theyāre a different gender. The House accepted that without debate.
South Carolina will join two dozen other states with similar bans, though some are blocked by court challenges.
Supporters of the bill have touted it as protecting children from what they say can be dangerous and irreversible surgeries and treatments. House Republicans listed the measure among their top priorities for the year, and the House passed it within the first week of session.
Opponents have said the bill will throw families into disarray and put transgender children at a higher risk of suicide. Democrats in both chambers also argued the state shouldnāt come in the middle of medical decisions that should be between a family and their doctor.
The bill will take effect with McMasterās signature.
However, it allows a phase-out for youth already in treatment.
Any minor taking puberty-blocking drugs or so-called ācross-sexā hormones under a doctorās care before Aug. 1 can be gradually taken off them. All prescriptions must cease by Jan. 31, 2025.
Families of transgender children whose access will end can apply to get the treatment in a different state through the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project, the Campaign for Southern Equality announced Thursday. That can include up to $500 to cover travel and other expenses, according to the nonprofit.
āNo one should be forced to leave their home state to access the care that they need and deserve,ā Raymond Velazquez, executive director of partner organization Uplift Outreach Center, said in a statement. āThrough this program, we will ensure that families and young people understand that they have options ā and that support is available to help them.ā
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Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courierās Columbia bureau.
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The preceding article was previously published by the South Carolina Daily Gazette and is republished with permission.
The South Carolina Daily Gazette is a nonprofit news site providing nonpartisan reporting and thoughtful commentary. We strive to shine a light on state government and how political decisions affect people across the Palmetto State. We do that with coverage thatās free to both readers and other news outlets.
Weāre part ofĀ States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Louisiana
Uncertainty as Louisiana sues feds over new Title IX rules
Louisiana ā along with Mississippi, Montana and Idaho ā filedĀ suitĀ against the federal government over newly issued rules under Title IX
ByĀ Minh Ha, Verite | NEW ORLEANS, La. – Transgender public school students are caught in the middle of a legal battle between the state of Louisiana and the federal government, and schools have no clear answers on how to proceed.
Last week, Gov. Jeff Landry announced that Louisiana ā along with Mississippi, Montana and Idaho ā filedĀ suitĀ against the federal government over newly issued rules under Title IX, a 1972 law prohibiting gender discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding, including public K-12 schools in the state.
The new guidelines, released by the U.S. Department of Education last month,Ā expandĀ the definition of prohibited sex discrimination to apply to āsex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.ā Failing to comply risks losing billions of dollars in federal funding that goes to schools around the state.
The lawsuit focuses on the requirements around gender identity. The state argues that the rule is an overreach of Title IX authority. The law, the state argues, was intended to prohibit discrimination based on biological sex alone.
āThe consequences will be shocking and severe,ā lawyers for the states, among them Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, wrote in the April 29 complaint. āBoys and girls will be forced to share bathrooms, locker rooms, and perhaps even lodging on overnight field trips with members of the opposite sex. Adding insult to injury, they will be forced to use āpreferred pronounsā or else face punishment, which raises distinct Free Speech and Free Exercise problems.ā
The rules, set to take effect Aug. 1, have faced backlash from other Louisiana state leaders, who have called the move an attack on womenās rights. In aĀ letterĀ sent out to school leaders April 22, state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said that the changes could contradictĀ state lawĀ and urged schools not to follow the federal guidelines.
āThe Title IX rule changes recklessly endanger students and seek to dismantle equal opportunities for females,ā Brumley said in the letter.
Late last week, 17 parish school boards ā including Bossier, Caddo and St. Tammany parishes, among the largest districts in the state āĀ joined the stateĀ in its lawsuit against the Biden administration.
The revisions come during a time when Louisiana lawmakers are making a concerted effort to erode LGBTQ+ rights, with bills under consideration that would prohibit school employees from addressing students by their preferred pronouns, outlaw the discussion of sexual orientation in schools andĀ segregateĀ bathrooms and locker rooms based on sex assigned at birth.
Louisiana has about 4,000 students in the 13-17 age group identifying as trans, according to a 2022Ā report. In New Orleans, the largest and most politically left-leaning city in the state, school district leaders have not taken a stance on the issue.
Orleans Parish School Board President Katherine Baudouin declined to comment, citing a lack of information, while a spokesperson for the NOLA Public Schools district said these ācomplex issues are being reviewed.ā
The school board previously took a stand on a related issue. In 2022, the boardĀ adopted a resolutionĀ denouncing anti-trans legislation moving through the state Legislature.
The Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools, which 14 charter schools are a member of, said it is reviewing statements by federal and state authorities regarding the new Title IX requirements.Ā Member schools, which include The Willow School and Warren Easton High School, all currently have similar non-discrimination policies with wording in compliance with the requirements of their respective public authorizers, like the NOLA Public Schools district, Jefferson Parish School Board and the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
āIt is our policy to refrain from commenting on current or imminent litigation,ā a spokesperson for the collaborative said in an email toĀ Verite News. āWe will continue to monitor this situation as we prepare for next school year.ā
āIt is heart-wrenching to watch us dieā
Lux Matt, a sophomore at New Harmony High School in New Orleans who identifies as trans and nonbinary, is still mourning the death of Nex Benedict, a trans high schooler whoĀ diedĀ after being bullied at school in Oklahoma earlier this year. Medical examiners have ruled the death a suicide.
Matt was in the process of receiving gender-affirming care when a statewideĀ banĀ on gender-affirming care for minors took effect in January.
āPeople underestimate how much this affects us,ā Matt said. āWe grieve every single trans person that is murdered, whether they are 45 years old or 15. It is heart-wrenching to watch us die.ā
Surveys haveĀ consistently shownĀ that LGBTQ+ youth have high rates of suicidal thoughts, with transgender youth at particularly high risk. A 2019 Centers for Disease Control and PreventionĀ surveyĀ also shows that trans and queer high schoolers were almost twice as likely to face bullying compared to their straight peers. In Louisiana, LGBTQ+ studentsĀ reportedĀ in 2019 hearing anti-LGBTQ remarks regularly in school.
Matt said respecting trans kidsā names and pronouns at school helps prevent suicides. Since late 2021, they have been advocating for their and other queer and trans youthsā rights through advocacy work viaĀ Trans Queer Youth NOLA.
Matt said they have been in conversations with school leaders to keep their school safe and inclusive. For example, the school might work to allow students to use nicknames in school even if the state passesĀ House Bill 121.
The bill, which passed the state House last month and is now in the Senate, would require school employees to refer to students by the names listed on their birth certificates (known as ādeadnamingā) and pronouns that align with the gender they were assigned at birth, regardless of their gender identities, unless their parents give permission to do otherwise.
The school also doesnāt have a dress code or uniform, which Matt said allows trans students to express themselves freely.
English teacher Rebecca Cavalier sponsors the gay-straight alliance at Benjamin Franklin, which she said is one of few organizations of its kind in the city. Cavalier said Ben Franklin is committed to making sure LGBTQ+ students have a safe space on campus.
āUnfortunately, schools have become these political war zones where people from the right want to control whatās going on in the classroom,ā she said. āIt does create a feeling of fear, and I think thatās whatās going to do the most damage. Even teachers who are allies are going to take out queer representation in their libraries because theyāre afraid.ā
This year, her team has carried out protests, organized email campaigns to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and even put on aĀ playĀ about growing up queer in Louisiana at the state capitol, she said. With support from local advocacy groups, the school also built a queer library and a gender-affirming clothing closet at the school, she added.
āMy administration probably wonāt want to fully break the law, but weāll do whatever we can to make kids feel safe,ā she said. āBut I donāt think thatās going to happen at other schools, which is sad. Kids are gonna feel very isolated.ā
Cavalier said sheās worried the club might be seen as running afoul of yet another proposed state law next year.Ā House Bill 122, which passed the State House last month and is awaiting debate in the Senate, would prohibit the discussion of sexual orientation in public schools, including during extracurricular activities.
But Cavalier said the group plans to hold meetings outside of school and partner with theĀ Pride CenterĀ and other groups to avoid breaking the law. The gay-straight alliance is also putting together a working group to find loopholes in the law, Cavalier said.
āItās hard to keep fighting because it just felt so hopeless this year, but we canāt make it easy for them,ā she said.
A chilling effect
AāNiya Robinson, an advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Louisiana, said conflicting messages regarding Title IX from the federal and state levels had caused confusion among students, parents and educators statewide.
āThere are a lot of different layers: thereās local law, there state law, thereās federal law,ā she said. āThere are folks who are knowingly injecting more confusion by filing baseless lawsuits ā it really creates this chilling effect. I can easily see situations where teachers and students may be afraid to exercise their rights because they donāt exactly know whatās outlawed and whatās not.ā
The ban on gender-affirming care that took effect this year forced New Orleans Center for Creative Arts sophomore Nicholas Lavender and his family toĀ visitĀ Rhode Island in March to access gender-affirming care. His parents, Beth Rosch and Will Lavender, said the family will return in August to take care of his medical needs.
āIām grateful that this expansion has happened at the federal level because itās keeping up with our continuing understanding and knowledge of what sexual identity is,ā Rosch said, adding that she was frustrated with the state Legislature. āItās an integral part of a person. Itās not a costume you put on to get into the other genderās locker room.ā
Will Lavender said he hopes school administrators will be vocal and take a stance to protect trans kids as the lawsuit progresses.
Rosch said itās important for schools and teachers to provide all students with an inclusive and supportive learning environment.
āChildren spend the majority of their waking hours at school, and thatās an enormous part of their social experience,ā she said. āJust the cultural damage of these poor kids and adults [by] being told, āYouāre not, youāre not real, youāre not true, youāre not a regular human being, youāre flawed, youāre imagining your own identityā ā thatās incredible psychological damage.ā
Will Lavender said the attacks on queer and trans rights from the Statehouse have made the family feel unwelcome in Louisiana. But he hopes the NOLA Public Schools district would protect queer and trans students.
āAll trans kids just want to be their normal, regular selves,ā he said. āI would like to have faith that [the NOLA Public Schools district] will do the right thing, and hopefully not be afraid to get [its] hands dirty to support the kids of our city, all of them.ā
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Minh (Nate) Ha is a recent magna cum laude graduate from American University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism. Originally from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Ha has spent the past four years in Washington, D.C. His reporting includes stories about how second-generation Vietnamese Americans fought to protect their community center in Virginia amidst redevelopment plans and the construction and delays of the Washington, D.C. metro.
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The preceding article was previously published by The Louisiana Illuminator and is republished with permission.
ThisĀ articleĀ first appeared onĀ Verite NewsĀ and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization with a mission to cast light on how decisions in Baton Rouge are made and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians. Our in-depth investigations and news stories, news briefs and commentary help residents make sense of how state policies help or hurt them and their neighbors statewide.
Weāre part ofĀ States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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