Tag: anti-transgender

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News Round-Up: April 21, 2021

Antonio aka 'Fitness Papi'

Antonio aka 'Fitness Papi'
Antonio aka FitnessPapi (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: Antonio, aka FitnessPapi (above), is IM’s ‘InstaHottie of the week’ – and for good reason. Follow him on Instagram here. • The Advocate: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat in a state with a GOP-controlled legislature, has quietly implied she may veto an anti-transgender bill that would bar trans girls and women from competing on female sports teams at the state’s public schools, colleges, and universities. • Gr8erDays: Tony Danza (Taxi, Who’s The Boss?) turns 70 today. The forever hunk never stops working it seems from his TV shows to Broadway (The Producers, Honeymoon in Vegas) to hosting gigs. Happy happy, Tony D! https://www.instagram.com/p/CN6H1rFh4rE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link • NewNowNext: Australian superstar Kylie Minogue, along with her equally fabulous sister Dannii Minogue, have been ‘RuVealed’ as guest judges for the inaugural season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. • Democracy Docket: The Arizona House has approved a new bill that would purge over 100,000 voters from the state’s Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL). SB 1485 would remove voters who don’t vote in two consecutive primary and general elections from the list. • Omaha.com: Conservative radio personality Chris Baker was fired Wednesday after posting an offensive tweet about the Derek Chauvin verdict. In a statement, iHeartRadio called the tweet “completely inappropriate and unacceptable.” Baker blamed the ‘mistake’ on being “a fat-fingered boomer on Twitter.”

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North Dakota Lawmakers Ban Transgender Students From Sports

Highway sign reading North Dakota

Highway sign reading North Dakota North Dakota’s state legislature passed a bill today prohibiting transgender students from participating in a school-sponsored athletic team. The bill passed 69 to 25 and now goes to Gov. Doug Burgum’s desk. Bills banning transgender students from sports participation are now awaiting vetoes or signatures from governors of North Dakota, Montana, Kansas and West Virginia.

Three previous states, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, have signed bills into law, and South Dakota’s governor issued executive orders after expressing concerns about the legality of the state’s ban. Lawmakers across the country have acknowledged they could not cite an instance of trans participation being an issue in their states. North Dakota has had a policy regulating trans participation for the last five and a half years. GLAAD released a guide for journalists covering the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills nationwide. Statement from Serena Sonoma, GLAAD’s Communications Coordinator and Regional Media Lead, U.S. South:

“Transgender young people just want to be safe, belong, and live free of discrimination, including from some in their own government. There is no evidence that including trans kids harms anyone.

“This bill and similar measures across dozens of states are unnecessary and harmful to all young people. Lawmakers must stop targeting the most vulnerable in their states. They are sending a terrible message that hurts all kids and threatens their states’ economies. Gov. Burgum must veto this damaging bill.”

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News Round-Up: April 7, 2021

Our pup Brody on the lookout

Our pup Brody on the lookout
Brody on the lookout
Some news items you might have missed: • Brody Watch: Just to let you know – we are soooooooo safe thanks to our fearless pup (above). Brody has no fear it seems other than not getting enough attention 🙂 • NBC News: Lawmakers in North Carolina have introduced a bill that would prevent doctors from providing gender confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery for anyone under 21. Senate Bill 514 would also compel state employees to notify parents if their child displays “gender nonconformity” or expresses a desire to be treated in a way other than the gender they were assigned at birth. • USA Today: First lady Jill Biden, the military mom in the White House, is working with Joining Forces which helps military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors get the support they need. After weeks of listening sessions with military families, Biden said her priorities will focus on employment and entrepreneurship, military child education and health and well-being. https://www.instagram.com/p/CNX0x2rplAZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link • Daily Beacon: A Tennessee lawmaker has proposed a bill that would prohibit the use of any materials in schools that, in the language of the bill, “promote, normalize, support or address lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender (LGBT) issues or lifestyles.” Opponents say erasing LGBTQ people from history books would send the message to queer kids that they arent’ “normal.” • CNN: At least one of the Capitol riot defendants has flipped against the Proud Boys, agreeing to provide information that could allow the Justice Department to bring a more severe charge against the group’s leadership. The development is the first indication that people charged in the insurrection are cooperating against the pro-Trump extremist group. • Instagram: Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman is the first-ever poet to grace the cover of Vogue Magazine – and when I say ‘grace’….I mean GRACE. #gorgeous https://www.instagram.com/p/CNX1HJRFrgY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Arkansas Legislature Overrides Governor To Enact Anti-Transgender Law

Voters in Kansas overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to strip women of their right to an abortion in the conservative state

The state flag of Arkansas The Arkansas state legislature voted Tuesday to override Governor Asa Hutchinson’s veto on a bill that would ban gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender minors in the state. The Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act prohibits physicians from providing gender-affirming health care to anyone under 18-years-old including puberty blockers, hormones, and transition-related surgeries (which doctors don’t do anyway). Less than 24 hours after Hutchinson’s veto was announced, the state Senate voted 25-8 and the state House voted 71-24 in favor of overriding the governor’s action. In Arkansas, a simple majority is all that’s required to bypass a governor’s veto. This is the only override by the legislature this year. In doing so, Arkansas becomes the first state to prohibit physicians from providing gender-affirming treatment for trans people under age 18. “If (the bill) becomes law, then we are creating new standards of legislative interference with physicians and parents as they deal with some of the most complex and sensitive matters involving young people,” Hutchinson said at a news conference. I still believe Hutchinson’s veto was a CYA move so he could emerge unscathed from the hateful bill. In light of the legislature’s actions, LGBTQ advocates are promising a legal fight. “Attempting to block trans youth from the care they need simply because of who they are is not only wrong, it’s also illegal, and we will be filing a lawsuit to challenge this law in court,” said Holly Dickson of the ACLU of Arkansas. “We are hearing from concerned families all over the state who are afraid about the impact of this bill and others like it.” “We are committed to doing all we can to support these families and ensure they know how to continue to fight for their rights and get the care and resources they need,” added Dickson.

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News Round-Up: June 10, 2020

Paulo Batista (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy transgender bodybuilder Paulo Batista (above) is literally pumped to be back in the gym: “One of my first days back to a gym in a while! It felt great to get a real pump and sweat in!” • Buzzfeed News: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling doubled down on her recent anti-transgender comments, releasing an extensive statement about her fears of “current trans activism,” which recycles dangerous anti-trans stereotypes and cliches. #DeeplyDisappointing • People: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper opens up about being a dad to adorable baby Wyatt. “This is a dream come true,” the veteran journalist says of parenthood. • Pride Month TV: The acclaimed documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, celebrates one of the icons of the gay rights movement, and the self-described “street queen” of NY’s gay ghetto in the 1960s. When Johnson’s body was found in the Hudson River in 1992, police called it a suicide and didn’t investigate. David France’s film seeks to uncover the truth of her death while celebrating her legacy. Streaming now on Netflix.

• The Hill: The final testing stage for a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna is set to begin in July. John Mascola, the director of the vaccine research center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Wall Street Journal the trials will involve about 30,000 people at more than 50 sites, which will mostly be within the U.S. • Washington Post: Last week, the hashtag #LadyGraham exploded on social media in response to allegations made on Twitter by gay adult-film star Sean Harding against Sen. Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina. The hashtag purportedly refers to Graham’s nickname among male sex workers. What followed has been a mixed bag of political commentary, wanton speculation and downright trolling. • Politico: The Trump administration is preparing to open the door to oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast — but will wait until after the November election to avoid blowback in a swing state whose waters both parties have long considered sacrosanct, according to four people familiar with the plan. • Out Music: Acclaimed out singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright drops his latest music video, “You Ain’t Big,” from his upcoming album Unfollow the Rules. “I originally wrote the song “You Ain’t Big” about the strange fact that in the music business worldwide until recently (our estimation has fallen considerably) no matter how well you’ve done anywhere else, if you couldn’t make it in the heartland of the US you weren’t really considered a true star,” shares Wainwright. “Think Little Richard, Elvis, the Beatles, and Julio Iglesias.” “Its vintage sound harkens back to the classical American country music sound of the 40s and 50s and with the help of opposing images in the video of how different life was for white people compared to black people in the 1950’s, as it has sadly remained,” adds the two-time Juno Award winner. “I think it rings appropriate for this time and professes a certain truth.”

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Supreme Court Allows Trump Anti-Transgender Military Ban To Go Into Effect

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down orders that allow Donald Trump’s ban of transgender military service members to go into effect immediately while appeals work their way through the lower courts, according to The New York Times.
Transgender Air Force Staff Sgt. Logan Ireland

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down orders that allow Donald Trump’s ban of transgender military service members to go into effect immediately while appeals work their way through the lower courts, according to The New York Times. The high court issued a brief, unsigned order this morning saying SCOTUS had lifted the injunctions that, until now, blocked the anti-trans policy. The vote was 5-4 with Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagen dissenting. This morning’s orders stay the injunctions initially issued by Federal District Court judges in Washington State (Trump v. Karnoski) and California (Trump v Stockman), both in the Ninth Circuit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had previously vacated a third injunction on January 4.

For the time being, current trans soldiers will not be booted out immediately. The policy, as tweaked by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, allows transgender service members who are already serving openly to continue to do so and to receive transition-related care. In July of 2017, President Trump surprised American military leaders and the world when he announced his plan to ban trans military service members after “consultation with my Generals and military experts” due to the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of transgender service members. At the time of Trump’s announcement, Staff Sgt. Logan Ireland (pictured above) told Air Force News, “I would like to see them try to kick me out of my military.” “You are not going to deny me my right to serve my country when I am fully qualified and able and willing to give my life,” he added. The American Medical Association (AMA) issued a statement saying there is ‘no medically valid reason’ for banning transgender people from serving in the United States military, but all four service chiefs (Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force) have testified they’ve seen no negative effects from transgender military personnel serving the country they love. According to a 2016 RAND Corporation study, there are an estimated 1,320 to 6,630 transgender individuals out of the 1.3 million service members on active duty. From The New York Times: The policy, announced on Twitter by President Trump and refined by the defense secretary at the time, Jim Mattis, generally prohibits people identifying with a gender different from their biological sex from military service. It makes exceptions for several hundred transgender people already serving openly and for those willing to serve “in their biological sex.”