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Maulik Pancholy at a local middle school’s anti-bullying assembly due to concerns over his “lifestyle.”The Cumberland Valley School District school board voted unanimously to cancel the gay actor’s scheduled May 22 appearance at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, a town of 9,000 people in the state’s center, just 10 miles outside Harrisburg.Pancholy, who played Jonathan on the hit TV show 30 Rock, Sanjay in Weeds, and voiced the character of Baljeet for Disney’s Phineas & Ferb, is also an author of novels for young adults, including The Best at It, the story of a gay Indian-American boy and his experience dealing with bullying in a small Midwestern town, and Nikhil Out Loud, about a group of eighth-grade theater kids rising up against homophobia in their community.The conservative school board balked at the idea that Pancholy might address the middle schoolers and bring up topics like homosexuality or politically-tinged issues, which could violate a district policy prohibiting “political” events.“He labels himself as an activist who is proud of his lifestyle, and I don’t think that should be imposed on our students,” School Board Member Bud Shaffner said at an evening meeting on April 15.Kelly Potteiger, a newly-elected board member who is also a member of the right-wing, anti-LGBTQ group Moms for Liberty, fretted that Pancholy might mention his books, which deal with anti-LGBTQ bullying themes, or his own experience with bullying, potentially even advocating for ideas like “empathy and inclusion” — which right-wingers typically deem as contrary to conservative values.“[I]t’s not discriminating against his lifestyle, that’s his choice, but it’s him speaking about it,” Potteiger sad.

temporary injunction blocking Paxton’s office from demanding the information, writing that “immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to PFLAG and its members” if Paxton’s office is able to obtain information about the group’s members, which number close to 600 in Texas alone. Under the terms of the restraining order, Paxton’s office may not attempt to stop PFLAG from operating for refusing to hand over documents and identifying information about its members, especially those who may have reached out to the national pro-LGBTQ advocacy group to determine how to seek gender-affirming care out of state.Paxton’s office may also not demand information from PFLAG revealing the identities of its members, officers, employees, lawyers, volunteers, or donors.Paxton’s office claimed their demand for PFLAG documents, issued in early February, was part of an effort to investigate whether medical providers were violating Texas’s law banning them from prescribing gender-affirming treatments like puberty blockers and hormones to minors.PFLAG filed a lawsuit last month asking for a temporary restraining order and relief to protect the identities and privacy of its members.

The Telegraph, Thomas — the former University of Pennsylvania swimmer who won the 500-yard freestyle race in the 2022 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships — has petitioned the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland to overturn rules prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in world championship events, and at the Olympics, based on their gender identity.Thomas’s victory in the 500-yard freestyle sparked a backlash against transgender athletes in the United States, prompting FINA, the predecessor to World Aquatics, to adopt rules prohibiting transgender females from competing in women’s events if they have undergone “male puberty.”Only those athletes who have never developed secondary sex characteristics, or those who started puberty blockers prior to age 12, are exempt from the ban.World Aquatics has justified the restrictions on transgender participation, saying it based its recommendations on a scientific policy document that concluded that transgender women swimmers retain significant physical advantages over cisgender women, including increased muscle mass and lung size, even when they suppress their testosterone levels. Along with its adoption of the transgender athlete ban, World Aquatics sought to create an “open” category that would be open to individuals, regardless of gender, in which transgender athletes could compete.The category’s first races were scheduled to be held at the World Cup in Berlin last October.

The Associated Press.“When I’m analyzing the governor’s motivation, what should I make of these statements?” Hinkle asked. “This seems to be more than just hyperbole.”The restrictions on gender-affirming care were first enacted in March after the Florida Board of Medicine and Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine — at the urging of DeSantis, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, and the state Department of Health — approved rules to limit the accessibility of hormonal and surgical interventions.

The Associated Press.“When I’m analyzing the governor’s motivation, what should I make of these statements?” Hinkle asked. “This seems to be more than just hyperbole.”The restrictions on gender-affirming care were first enacted in March after the Florida Board of Medicine and Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine — at the urging of DeSantis, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, and the state Department of Health — approved rules to limit the accessibility of hormonal and surgical interventions.

Associated Press, he did leave open the option of issuing a stay if petitions to appellate courts are granted. Groups of transgender youth and their parents have asked the U.S.

exceptions for intersex children or children with hormonal deficiencies, who would still be allowed to receive the exact same therapies that are prohibited for transgender children.Critics of such provisions say it exposes the hypocrisy of bills restricting gender-affirming care, in that only children identifying as transgender are targeted, while intersex children are instead “forced” to conform to a certain binary gender presentation for the comfort of larger society.Additionally, intersex children are often subjected to surgical interventions when they are just days old — which not only eliminates a patient’s ability to consent, but may increase a minor’s gender dysphoria if doctors and parents choose a gender presentation that does not match their gender identity.The ban on gender-affirming care was passed by Republicans in October, along with two other bills targeting transgender participation in high school and collegiate sports. At the time, Evers threatened to veto any measure targeting the LGBTQ community, as reported by AM news radio outlet WTMJ.“This type of legislation, and the rhetoric beget by pursuing it, harms LGBTQ people and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ hate and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites,” Evers wrote in his veto message.

ruled in favor of the state, finding that Tingley’s free speech rights were not violated.But on December 11, three justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh — said they would have heard Tingley’s appeal. “There is a fierce public debate over how best to help minors with gender dysphoria,” Thomas wrote in his dissent.

News Nation, host of the evening.DeSantis claimed Haley supports “gender mutilation of minors” and does not support government intervention to stop these treatments.Haley responded that she had actually criticized Florida’s original “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, for only going as high as third grade.She said it should be expanded to all grades. DeSantis pointed out that the expansion was a different piece of legislation, which was passed earlier this year. “We’re talking about sex change operations on minors,” countered DeSantis.

WTVJ. Temporary athletic coach Alex Burgess was told his services were on pause while the investigation proceeded.

HB 599 has been dubbed as a “Don’t Say Gay” bill for government and private work environments.Under the bill, state and local government employers and contractors — which the bill defines as any “individual, partnership, corporation, or business entity” that “enters or attempts to enter into a contract for services” with any state, county, municipality, or special tax district in Florida — would be barred from using pronouns and honorific titles that do not match their assigned sex at birth, which is described as “an immutable biological trait.”As noted by transgender journalist Erin Reed, due to the bill’s wide-ranging definition of “contractors,” the prohibition would apply to private businesses, stadiums, convention centers, hospitals, insurance agencies, and any other entities that contract with local jurisdictions.“Florida Republicans just filed legislation that would essentially ban gender pronouns in PRIVATE businesses and prohibit trainings about pronouns in nonprofits too,” wrote State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) on the social media platform X.

CBC.The mural, commissioned by the NOCO Mural Project in collaboration with the LGBTQ group North Country Pride using funds from a United Way program, went up in late summer on a brick wall outside local Chinese restaurant Jing Fong.According to a post on NOCO Mural Project’s Instagram page, one of the paintings, which depicts dandelions growing out of an open book, is intended to be a commentary on the current political climate, in which books and access to gender-affirming care are being banned.Another painting, showing a white bearded iris over a rainbow color wheel is meant to be a nod to the Greek goddess of rainbows, the Pride flag, and queer artist Hilma af Klint.The third painting shows two white birch trees, New Hampshire’s state tree, and is titled “We Belong.”Gendreau brought up her objections to the mural at an August 28 Select Board meeting, noting that the mural is on private property.“I really think we need to be very careful about what kind of artwork goes up,” she said. “This last artwork that went up on the side of the Jing Fong building.

letter demanding that the NCAA ban transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports.The letter’s signatories are Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.All except Lombardo — who is saddled with a Democratic-led state legislature — represent states that have passed laws banning transgender participation on female-designated sports teams.The governors decry the NCAA’s current policy on transgender athletes, which allows the individual national governing body of each sport to determine criteria for eligibility.Some of those sporting bodies, including track and field and swimming, have barred transgender competitors from female events.Both bodies have also suggested holding a third “open” category in which transgender swimmers could compete at the elite or post-collegiate levels.“The NCAA has the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes can thrive without the concern of inequities,” the letter reads. “We trust that you also want to guarantee just such an environment.

previously ruled that an Oregon school district was within its rights and did not violate federal law when it allowed a transgender student to use gender-affirming restroom and locker room facilities.The 9th Circuit also previously blocked an Idaho law barring transgender athletes from competing on female-designated sports teams on the grounds that the policy may violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.Three similar laws, from West Virginia, Arizona, and Utah, have also been temporarily blocked from being enforced by court orders.

The New York Times, Johnson, whom the newspaper called “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections,” crafted arguments alleging that certain states’ changes to voting procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic were unconstitutional. Therefore, he argued, the election results from those states should have been invalidated.On Tuesday night, after being nominated, a reporter tried to ask Johnson about his role in pushing to decertify the results of the 2020 election, only to be shouted down by members of the GOP caucus, who told the reporter to “shut up.”Johnson grinned slyly, shaking his head and refusing to answer.Politically, Johnson is a tried-and-true conservative, earning a lifetime rating of 92% from the American Conservative Union and 90% from Heritage Action.He has voted against a host of bipartisan bills, including a measure to establish a January 6 independent commission, and some of the Biden administration’s chief legislative accomplishments, including a national infrastructure funding bill, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act.Earlier this year, Johnson voted in favor of raising the debt limit, but voted against a bill to avoid a government shutdown in early October.He has previously indicated, in a letter to colleagues shared to social media by U.S.

sued the state in 2021, alleging she had been discriminated against based on her gender identity, and had suffered “ongoing harassment” by staff and fellow prisoners at both the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem and at the Two Rivers Correctional Facility in Umatilla, due to her gender presentation. Zombie has claimed that the state Department of Corrections did not take significant action to stop the harassment and harm to which she was subjected.

News 5 Cleveland.This has raised questions about whether such a provision relies too heavily on gender stereotypes about clothing and behavior that could also impact non-LGBTQ students. The policy prohibits students from transitioning genders or using gender-affirming pronouns, bars same-sex couples at school events, and prohibits students from “advocat[ing] or celebrat[ing]” the LGBTQ community, including displays of the Pride flag or rainbows.A student’s biological sex will determine bathroom usage and membership on single-sex school-sponsored sports teams, although girls may join boys’ teams “when deemed appropriate.” Parents will also be notified if their child is believed to be gender-nonconforming.The new policy has been criticized by some who have claimed it appears to conflict with more welcoming remarks by Pope Francis regarding the inclusion of members of the LGBTQ community within the Church.The diocese has defended the policy as a request from church and school leaders, emphasizing the importance of training and education youth in Church teaching — even as it continues to claim that “each and every person is welcome and invited to be a part of the Church,” according to The Hill.DignityUSA, a group for LGBTQ Catholics and their families, and the organization’s Northeast Ohio chapter, have said the diocese’s policy appears to “betray the essence of Catholicism.”“The policies that our bishop has recently released send a clear message that welcome in our schools and churches is conditional,” Susan Russell, the President of Dignity Northeast Ohio, said in a statement.

Texas Tribune.The law was challenged by a group of plaintiffs, including five families with transgender children, three doctors specializing in transgender care, a national LGBTQ advocacy organization, and an organization for LGBTQ health professionals. The plaintiffs argued that the ban on gender-affirming care discriminates against transgender youth, infringes on parents’ right to make medical decisions they believe are in their children’s best interests, and violates doctors’ freedom to practice medicine.In her ruling, Cantú Hexsel agreed with the plaintiffs, finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in proving the law “interferes with Texas families’ private decisions and strips Texas parents … of the right to seek, direct, and provide medical care for their children.”“The evidence before the Court does not support the conclusion the Act protects the health or wellbeing of minors,” Cantú Hexsel wrote.

A Mississippi library has banned the Heartstopper graphic novel series from its young adult section after angry parents, objecting to the depiction of same-sex relationships, claimed the books were “pornographic.”Alice Osman’s graphic novels tell the story of two teenage boys who fall in love. They do not contain explicit sexual content, but do feature same-sex kissing and hand-holding.

order issued Sunday, U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty, of the Northern District of Georgia, said the law’s provision prohibiting medical professionals from prescribing hormone therapy for such patients was “substantially likely to violate the Equal Protection Clause,” reports CNN.Under the law, which went into effect on July 1, medical providers are prohibited from recommending gender-affirming care to any minor, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or gender confirmation surgery — the latter of which is rarely performed on minors.

Associated Press.The new law, which prohibits access to hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs, and gender confirmation surgery although minors who had begun treatment prior to Aug. 1 may continue receiving puberty blockers or hormones if their doctors deem it medically necessary and their parents consent.

Idaho’s law is similar to laws in at least eight other states that have passed laws in recent years barring transgender students from using school facilities matching their gender identity — although it does not go as far as laws in North Dakota and Florida that go beyond schools to prohibit transgender people from accessing gender-affirming restrooms in some or all government buildingsHowever, Idaho’s law does contain what critics have called a “bounty” — in which cisgender students and their parents may sue schools for up to $5,000 if they find a transgender student using facilities that do not match that student’s assigned sex at birth. As a result, the plaintiffs have claimed, the law encourages people to seek out and harass transgender students in the hope of finding them violating the law in exchange for a monetary award.Under the now-blocked law, schools would have been required to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for transgender students unwilling or unable to use restrooms matching their assigned sex at birth.

ban prohibiting transgender girls and women from competing on female-designated sports teams.As a result, the student, Becky Pepper-Jackson, will be allowed to continue competing with her friends as a member of the girls’ cross country and track teams.Lawyers for the now-13-year-old girl say she’s been welcomed by teammates and coaches, and is currently on puberty blockers to prevent her from gaining a competitive physical advantage over other runners. Whether she will be able to continue doing so, or whether she’ll be able to receive hormone therapy as she grows older, will depend on whether she complies with an exception for youth with “severe gender dysphoria” in West Virginia’s ban on gender-affirming treatments for minors.Last Friday, the Richmond-based 4th U.S.

The law, SB 49, which is scheduled to take effect on August 28, prohibits health care providers in Missouri from prescribing puberty blockers, hormones, or gender confirmation surgery — the latter of which rarely is prescribed for those under 18 — to minors suffering from gender dysphoria.The law contains an exception for those who have already begun gender-affirming care that will allow them to continue receiving it if their doctors believe that stopping treatment would do more harm.The law also prohibits Medicaid from covering the cost of any transition-related treatments or procedures, regardless of the age of the patient — meaning low-income transgender adults are effectively barred from accessing gender-affirming care, and prohibits incarcerated individuals from obtaining gender confirmation surgery.The lawsuit argues that the ban is unconstitutional, violating the rights of transgender youth by discriminating against them on the basis of both sex and gender identity, and violating parents’ fundamental right to make decisions they believe to be in the best interest of their children.The lawsuit also claims that, unless the court issues an injunction to block Missouri from enforcing the law, all the plaintiffs will be irreparably harmed. By banning the transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care, the state is likely to exacerbate the youths’ feelings of anxiety and gender dysphoria, as well as lead to potential mental health issues.

tweeting about her feelings over the song ban before speaking with her supervisors and bringing negative attention to the school district after her tweets went viral.“Ms. Tempel deliberately brought negative attention to the school district because she disagreed with the decision as opposed to following protocol and procedure and I believe that behavior is intolerable,” said Waukesha School District Superintendent James Sebert, who previously recommended in May that the Board of Education terminate Tempel.Tempel’s tweets criticized the school district for banning her students from singing “Rainbowland” at their school concert.While there are no explicitly gay or LGBTQ-related lyrics in the song, the lyrics speak of a world where everyone is accepted for who they are.

Associated Press.The push for the amendment appears to be motivated by the idea that the conservative U.S. Supreme Court may one day reverse its own precedent and overturn its previous decisions allowing marriage equality, meaning any state bans still on the books would immediately become enforceable.While Democrats have long vilified the voter-approved ban, they could have moved sooner to repeal it at any point within the past decade.However, the Supreme Court’s recent lurch rightward on several social issues — following the confirmation of three conservative justices nominated by former President Donald Trump — appears to have led some on the political Left to take a more proactive approach by repealing the ban outright rather than relying on court decisions.“What we are doing today is joyous,” Sen.

law, which was approved by the Republican-dominated legislature and signed by Gov. Bill Lee earlier this year.A federal judge subsequently issued an injunction blocking the state from taking any adverse action against doctors who recommend non-surgical gender-affirming treatments, on the grounds that the plaintiffs in the case were likely to succeed in proving their claim that the law is unconstitutional and should be overturned.The plaintiffs have argued that the Tennessee law runs counter to federal laws prohibiting discrimination in health care and violates both the rights of trans minors and the rights of their parents to make whatever medical decisions they believe to be in their children’s best interests.But in a July 8 decision, the 6th U.S.

WABE that the attorney general will do his job, which includes defending any law passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor, including the ban on gender-affirming care. At least 20 other states with Republican-dominated legislatures, in addition to Georgia, have passed laws restricting gender-affirming care. But several of those laws have been blocked by the courts.

Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep.

ESPN and the Associated Press.Among the players refusing to don Pride memorabilia were then-Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer, and Florida Panther players Eric and Marc Staal, who cited their religious beliefs. Three Russian players — Ilya Lyubushkin of the Buffalo Sabres, Denis Gurianov of the Montreal Canadiens, and Andrei Kuzmenko of the Vancouver Canucks — cited a Russian anti-gay “propaganda” law that prosecutes individuals for having engaged in activities or made statements perceived to “promote” LGBTQ rights or treating homosexuality as a normal occurrence.Additionally, the Chicago Blackhawks team did not wear their Pride-themed warmup sweaters in March because of security concerns over that same Russian law. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers also reversed course on wearing Pride-themed warmup gear.Bettman noted that teams will continue to host specialty nights such as Pride Night, Black History Night, Military Appreciation Night, and Hockey Fights Cancer Nights.

rule prohibiting Medicaid from covering the cost of gender-affirming medical treatments that assist a transgender-identifying person in transitioning.The rule, approved last August by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, applies to treatments sought out by both minors and adults, declaring that transition-related treatments do not “meet the definition of medical necessity” to qualify for coverage under Medicaid.The rule was passed as Florida officials have sought to crack down on all forms of LGBTQ visibility, including passing a law blocking transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming treatments.Under the administration of Republican Gov.

sued to block the law, arguing that it violated transgender people’s right to equal protection, parents’ rights to make appropriate medical decisions for their children and doctors’ free speech rights. They also asked for an injunction to block Arkansas officials from attempting to enforce the ban on transition-related care.In an 80-page ruling, U.S.

signed a similar law into effect last month.The ban on transgender athletes builds upon an existing ban for athletes in grades K-12 that requires school-aged children to compete in sports based on their assigned sex at birth.The collegiate bill, dubbed the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” imposes similar restrictions, requiring athletes to compete based on their “biological sex,” defined as the gender listed on the college student’s original birth certificate. It also allows cisgender athletes who believe they’ve been disadvantaged by competing against transgender individuals to sue for damages . Under the bill, which takes effect in September, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which oversees post-secondary education in the state, will draft and adopt rules for athlete eligibility to ensure the law is enforced while also ensuring that state and federal laws regarding the confidentiality of student health and medical information are not violated.Sitting in front of a sign reading “A Win for Women Athletes during a bill-signing ceremony, Abbott hailed the bill’s passage as a victory for female athletes while repeatedly misgendering transgender females as “men,” according to The Hill.“The Save Women’s Sports Act protects young women at Texas colleges and universities by prohibiting men from competing on a team or as an individual against them in college sports,” Abbott said.

only state in the Deep South that does not expressly prohibit doctors from recommending gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth.Louisiana’s bill failed in a vote in the state Senate Health and Welfare Committee when Sen. Fred Mills (R-New Iberia), the committee chairman and a pharmacist by trade, voted to defer the bill rather than pass it out of committee.Mills said his decision was heavily influenced by a 2022 Louisiana Health Department study on gender-affirming health care, which found that no gender-affirming surgical procedures had been performed on any minors enrolled in Medicaid in the state between 2017 and 2021.Instances in which medications, such as hormones or puberty blockers, were prescribed to transgender minors were also exceedingly rare, according to the report.Mills said he trusts physicians more than legislators to make medical decisions in a patient’s best interests.“I always in my heart of hearts have believed that a [medical] decision should be made by a patient and a physician,” he said, according to The Hill.Had it passed, the bill would have barred healthcare professionals from prescribing gender-affirming treatments to minors, or referring minor patients to places where they could obtain such treatments.

a lawsuit brought by three families of transgender minors.In the complaint, the Justice Department argues that the law prohibiting access to gender-affirming care discriminates against transgender individuals under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.As such, the complaint asks the court to issue an order blocking the law from going into effect on July 1.Under the bill, SB 1, which easily passed on a largely party-line vote in the Republican-dominated state legislature, healthcare providers are prohibited from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgical interventions to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria.Those who do, as well as the parents of any minors who allow their children to receive such treatments, can be sued for up to 30 years afterwards if the patient later experiences “regret,” and medical providers can potentially lose their license to practice.In its complaint, the Justice Department argues that the law’s blanket ban on all types of medical interventions to treat gender dysphoria prohibits patients from receiving the most up-to-date, scientifically accurate, and best-recommended treatments, and forces doctors to decide between keeping their licenses or providing the best available care to their patients.The complaint also notes that the blanket ban discriminates against transgender people on the basis of both sex and transgender identity, denying them certain types of treatments, such as hormone therapy, that would otherwise be offered to cisgender individuals experiencing various ailments or conditions where hormonal interventions might be a recommended course of treatment.“SB 1 violates the constitutional rights of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable citizens,” U.S.

signed into law in 2021.However, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying they would have granted Morrisey’s request.A federal judge previously blocked the law from taking effect while a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ban proceeds.The plaintiff in the case, 12-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, is a transgender girl who tried to join her middle school girls’ cross-country team, but was informed that she would be barred from the team due to the law prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in female-designated sports.Pepper-Jackson sued state officials, her local school board, the West Virginia Board of Education, and the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission, arguing that the law is unconstitutional and discriminatory.In July 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin, of the Southern District of West Virginia, issued an injunction blocking the law from taking effect on the grounds that Pepper-Jackson was likely to prevail in her claim that the law is discriminatory.Six months later, Goodwin rejected Pepper-Jackson’s claim that the law violates Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination, finding the ban constitutional and asserting that the state had a legitimate interest in ensuring cisgender female athletes are not disadvantaged by having to compete against athletes assigned male at birth.