As the House debated a Republican bill that would unleash a flood of racist, far right abuse on schools and children across the U.S., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) delivered a fiery speech on Thursday condemning Republicans for their clear embrace of fascism. The bill, which passed the House largely on party lines on Friday morning, would force schools to disclose their curriculum and… Source Source / Read More: AOC Slams GOP for Banning Children’s Book “Life of Rosa Parks” for Being “Woke”
anti-lgbtq
Nebraska Lawmaker Enters Third Week of Filibustering to Block Anti-Trans Bills
A Nebraska state lawmaker has filibustered every piece of legislation that has been brought up for consideration in the state’s unicameral legislature, fulfilling a vow she made three weeks ago to do so until Republicans agree to drop legislation seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth and abortion rights in the state. State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D) initially promised in late… Source Source / Read More: Nebraska Lawmaker Enters Third Week of Filibustering to Block Anti-Trans Bills
Neo-Nazis, Far Right Protesters Storm Drag Queen Story Hour in Ohio
Hundreds of far right protesters, including neo-Nazis and members of other white nationalist groups, stormed a drag queen story hour at a park in Wadsworth, Ohio, on Saturday. The all-ages show, dubbed the “Rock-n-Roll Humanist Drag Queen Story Hour,” was held at the city’s Memorial Park. The event was held to promote a Humanist children’s book, and concluded with a “short Rock-n-Roll drag… Source Source / Read More: Neo-Nazis, Far Right Protesters Storm Drag Queen Story Hour in Ohio
Arkansas Senate Passes “Most Extreme” Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill in the US
The Arkansas state Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would forbid transgender people in the state from using restrooms, locker rooms or other facilities that correspond with their gender. Senate Bill 270 would forbid trans people from using restrooms that don’t align with the sex they were assigned on their birth certificate. Under the bill, a trans woman who enters a woman’s restroom and… Source Source / Read More: Arkansas Senate Passes “Most Extreme” Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill in the US
Belarus: Trial against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski a ‘shameful pretense’ of justice
Reacting to the beginning of a court hearing in the politically motivated case against Ales Bialiatski, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and chair of the Viasna human rights group, and his colleagues Valiantsin Stefanovich, Uladzimir Labkovich and Dzmitry Salauyou, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The trial against Ales Bialiatski and […] The post Belarus: Trial against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski a ‘shameful pretense’ of justice appeared first on Amnesty International.
Texas AG Ken Paxton Asked Agency to Compile List of Trans Residents in the State
This past summer, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requested employees at the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to do a sweeping search of its database to provide him with names of individuals who, over the past two years, changed their gender on their driver’s licenses and other records. To some, the search appears to be a clear request to find out who in the state is a… Source Source / Read More: Texas AG Ken Paxton Asked Agency to Compile List of Trans Residents in the State
Judge Rules Employers Can Deny Coverage for HIV Drug For Religious Reasons
A conservative federal judge ruled on Wednesday that it is a violation of corporations’ and health insurance companies’ religious freedom for the government to mandate that health plans cover the life-saving HIV prevention drug PrEP, in a win for Christian right-wingers who brought the suit. President George W. Bush-nominated District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not show enough evidence to prove that “private, religious corporations” should have to cover PrEP under regulations implemented by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Christian plaintiffs, led by Republican private lawyer Jonathan Mitchell, brought the…
China: Long-delayed UN report must spur accountability for crimes against humanity in Xinjiang
Responding to the long-awaited release of the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights’ report on serious human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said: “This 46-page document lays bare the scale and severity of the human rights violations taking place in Xinjiang – which Amnesty […] The post China: Long-delayed UN report must spur accountability for crimes against humanity in Xinjiang appeared first on Amnesty International.
Court Upholds Block of Arkansas’s Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
A three-judge panel on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that was issued by a lower court last year, blocking a statewide ban of gender-affirming care in Arkansas. The ruling means that an injunction on the law will remain in place and that transgender children in the state can continue to receive gender-affirming care from their doctors. Such care generally includes therapy and, in some cases, the use of safe, reversible medication like puberty blockers — the prescription of which the state had attempted to criminalize. The law also banned the use of certain medications…
Oklahoma Teacher Disciplined for Sharing Access to Banned Books Has Quit
A high school English teacher in Oklahoma has resigned from her position after school officials placed her on administrative leave for sharing with her students a way to access books that the state banned educators from including in their lesson plans. Summer Boismier, who has taught in the state for the past nine years, began this year at Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, by greeting her students with a unique display — bookshelves covered in red construction paper that read, “books the state doesn’t want you to read.” The display was meant to respond to legislation, signed into law…
Marjorie Taylor Greene Proposes Bill to Ban Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Kids
Far right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) is planning to introduce legislation on Friday that would ban doctors and other medical professionals from providing certain gender-affirming care options to transgender children. Gender-affirming care can take many forms, including therapy and medication. Greene’s bill would restrict how doctors can treat trans children by making it a felony at the federal level to prescribe medication that blocks the effects of puberty in children. The bill would also make it illegal to give trans children surgeries that would permanently change their sex organs — despite the fact that such surgeries are typically only…
WI District Bars Teachers From Displaying Pride Flags & Using Pronouns in Emails
A superintendent in a Wisconsin school district recently announced a policy that allows the school board to restrict employees from expressing support for LGBTQ community members while at work. Superintendent Stephen Plum announced the reinterpretation of an existing policy during a school board meeting on July 26. The new interpretation forbids teachers and other administrative staff from expressing political or religious views at work, and bars actions like displaying Pride flags on their desks or wearing clothes with rainbows on them. School staff will also be barred from including their pronouns in their email signatures, Plum said in his announcement…