Clik here to view.
In Texas, the Keller ISD school board of trustees unanimously approved 13 school policy changes during a meeting, per WFAA. Among the policy changes is a revision that would require teachers to use pronouns consistent with the biological sex listed on a student’s birth certificate; also, students must receive parental permission to participate in gender-specific activities. The ACLU of Texas sent a legal letter of concern to Keller ISD, urging the district not to pass the policies that would “harm LGBTQIA+ students.” Keller responded in a statement, “We have received that letter from the ACLU. As for the policy revisions on this evening’s agenda, those are focused on the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of their children.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) expanded its restrictions on transgender members with policy updates, including barring them from working with children or even being teachers, CNN reported. The clarified policies regarding the church’s trans members include barring people “who pursue surgical, medical, or social transition away from their biological sex at birth” from filling gender-specific roles within the church, serving as teachers, or working with children or youth, according to its guidance for local leaders. In addition, trans people will not be allowed under the new policy to attend overnight activities open to both men and women. They would be able to attend gender-specific overnight activities, such as camps for women, but only with people whose sex is the same as their sex at birth.
Clik here to view.
Social-media users are raising awareness about abrosexuality, according to Unilad. Reddit, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram have seen people questioning what abrosexuality is and how it works. Healthline defines an abrosexual as “someone who … finds that their sexual attraction shifts often: they might identify with the term ‘gay,’ and later feel attracted to people of all genders, and then feel little to no sexual attraction at all.” Even though it’s been discussed recently, RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage posted the flag for abrosexuality—which sports the colors dark green, light green, white, light pink and dark pink—on her Instagram in 2021.
The National Black Justice Collective issued a statement mourning the loss of 34-year-old Black transgender woman Vanity Williams, who was shot and killed in Houston on Aug. 3. “I am devastated to hear about the death of Vanity,” said Director of Public Policy and Programs Victoria Kirby York. “This is the third recorded death of a trans person in Texas this year, and according to HRC, the 37th murder since 2013. The amount of hate-fueled murders facing the Black transgender community in Texas is a concerning trend, especially when paired with the continued introduction of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the state.” The Advocate noted that Tristian Sanders, 26, a man who police say was known to Williams, was arrested a week after her death and was charged with murder. The outlet also noted that Williams was an Air Force veteran who had recently started nursing school.
Ford Motor Co. told employees it will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC’s) Corporate Equality Index and “best places to work” surveys, and would not use quotas for minority dealerships and suppliers, according to USA Today. “We are mindful that our employees and customers hold a wide range of beliefs,” Ford CEO Jim Farley wrote in an internal email shared with USA Today by conservative activist Robby Starbuck, whose anti-DEI campaign has gained momentum. “The external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve.” HRC President Kelley Robinson (one of the grand marshal’s in this weekend’s Global Black Pride in Atlanta) said the organization “could not be more disappointed to see Ford Motor Co. shirking its responsibility to its employees, consumers, and shareholders.”
New Jersey recently became the first state to have certified LGBTQ+-owned businesses, according to News 12. According to state officials, New Jersey is now the first state in the nation to have a state-backed certification for LGBTQ+-owned businesses. The certification is something organization leaders with the New Jersey Pride Chamber of Commerce have been working toward for more than six years. There was an executive order prior to it becoming law. The proposed law became a reality on May 2, with the measure garnering bipartisan support.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker, of Texas, temporarily blocked the Biden administration from granting legal status to unauthorized immigrants married to U.S. citizens, granting a request from 16 Republican-led states that challenged the new policy, Yahoo! News reported. The decision essentially halts a large immigration program that opened to an estimated half a million immigrants living in the States without legal status. Importantly, the program unlocks a streamlined pathway to permanent residency and, after several years, U.S. citizenship, for eligible immigrants.
In the wake of anti-LGBTQ+ messages he’s posted, Colorado Republicans made a move to oust their state party chair, Dave Williams, The Hill noted. The messages included one claiming that “godless groomers in our society want to attack what is decent, holy, and righteous” during the month of June, also known as Pride Month. However, the state GOP also posted on the social platform X, “Burn all the #pride flags this June.” Williams has also angered Republicans in the state for using state party resources to promote his congressional candidacy in the 5th Congressional District; he lost the GOP primary to Jeff Crank in June.
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists will be gathering for its annual convention on Sept. 5-8 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, Press Pass Q noted. The forums will feature discussions about politics and entertainment. One high-profile panel—“NBCU Academy Presents: Depicting Modern Mental Health and Queer Stories in NBC’s ‘Brilliant Minds’” with star Zachary Quinto and creator Michael Grassi—is scheduled for Sept. 5. Some of the other forums include “The Road to the Election: The Political Beat in 2024,” “Responsible Reporting on Transgender Communities,” “Nailing the Celebrity Interview” and “Intersectionality and Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion in Music and Entertainment.” Some of this year’s speakers include Trans Journalists Association Executive Director and Chalkbeat reporter K Petrin, NBC Out Editorial Director Brooke Sopelsa, Bay Area Reporter Publisher Michael Yamashita, GLAAD Director of Rapid Response and Campaigns Angela Dallara and The E.W. Scripps Company Senior Director Marcus Riley.
On a segment with the title “Amplifying Ugliness,” CNN host Anderson Cooper criticized Donald Trump for spreading QAnon-linked slogans along with sharing a “crude, sexist and misogynistic” remark next to a photo of Vice President Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, according to HuffPost. The host refused to read the “demeaning” comment on his program while adding, “Now remember, again, this is the Republican candidate for president and the 45th president of the United States talking about two women who, no matter what you think of their politics, are two of the most accomplished women in American political history.” Cooper then went to a series of Trump’s “nasty” comments about women.
In D.C., Michael Haresign—elected in January as president of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, one of the area’s largest local LGBTQ political groups—announced that he has resigned from the post due to an increase in time needed for his regular job that prevents him from devoting the time needed for the organization, according to The Washington Blade. “Circumstances beyond my control have made it impossible to devote the time or energy that the role, club, and community are owed, and for that I am very sorry,” Haresign emailed the group’s members. “I recognize that this role and this club are more important than ever this year in this election.” Haresign’s email message noted that under the organization’s bylaws, Vice President for Legislative and Political Affairs Elizabeth Mitchell takes on the role as president for the remainder of his term that ends in January.
Elizabeth Schedl resigned from Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop’s LGBTQ+ Task Force, citing concerns over an aide’s refusal to denounce anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, Out in Jersey noted. The decision comes after it was revealed that now-former Fulop aide Jonathan Gomez-Noriega financially supported his sister Valentina Gomez, a Missouri Secretary of State candidate known for her inflammatory anti-LGBTQ+ views. (Fulop fired Gomez-Noriega, who had issued a statement affirming that “different beliefs shouldn’t divide us” and that he does not support hateful remarks directed towards the LGBTQ community.)
Among those who spoke at the Democratic National Convention was openly gay Congressman Robert Garcia, of California, The Advocate noted. Among other things, he spoke passionately about his immigrant story and spotlighted the successes of the Biden-Harris administration in responding to the COVID pandemic. Garcia also reflected on a personal call he received from Vice President Kamala Harris after his parents passed away, saying that Harris, who also lost her mother, offered words of comfort and solidarity.
In Tallahassee, Florida, more than 80 local community members showed up at Common Ground Books, a local LGBTQ+-friendly bookstore, to support its “Drag Story Hour” event that was threatened with protest by the religious organization, America Needs Fatima, Fight Back! News noted. America Needs Fatima emailed, “We must peacefully and legally say NO to the homosexual plan to expose young children to indecency, impurity, and unnatural vice.” Drag Story Hour is a monthly event held at Common Ground in which a local drag artist reads storybooks to children; attendees held signs such as “Trans rights are human rights” and “Love is love.”
Clik here to view.
A new lawsuit against the Florida House of Representatives includes allegations that Republican state Rep. Fabian Basabe committed sexual battery on a young man in his 20s, The Advocate noted. The Florida House cleared Basabe, who represents Miami Beach, of sexual harassment allegations by former staffers Nicolas Frevola and Jacob Cutbirth, who both identify as straight. However, both accusers remain in litigation, and have now filed suit against the chamber of the legislature. The suit details many accusations already made publicly, but it also levels new accusations that Frevola witnessed Basabe make advances on a friend at his home. Basabe has denied all the allegations in the lawsuit.
Atlanta authorities investigated an act of vandalism that damaged property belonging to vendors at the Global Village at Global Black Pride, The Georgia Voice reported. Officials say the vandalism happened at the Starling Atlanta Midtown, the host hotel of Global Black Pride, on Aug. 27. According to investigators, an intoxicated hotel guest caused the damage at the banquet hall where the Global Black Pride Village was held; displays were thrown to the ground, tables were overturned and the vandals defecated on a Pride flag. In a statement to FOX 5, the organizers of Global Black Pride described the vandalism as a “hateful attack.”
The first day of testimony in the trial of a man accused of killing transgender woman Ashia Davis in Highland Park, Michigan, ended abruptly when the defendant fell asleep, according to CBS News. Carlos Scotland fell asleep as the lead investigator recounted the inconsistencies during his interrogation of the 18-year-old charged with Davis’ June 2023 murder at the Woodward Inn. Scotland’s attorney told Chief Judge Brigette Officer Holley that another inmate supposedly slipped Scotland three pills before coming to court.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard officially endorsed Donald Trump, the BBC noted. Trump welcomed Gabbard—who ran for president in 2020—to a stage in Detroit, in the key swing state of Michigan. Gabbard quit the Democratic Party in 2022, complaining of its “wokeness”; she has since become a regular and outspoken guest on Fox News. Meanwhile, more than 200 Republicans who served under previous presidents and party leaders are backing Kamala Harris. In an open letter, former staffers for George HW Bush and George W Bush as well as for U.S. Sens. John McCain and Mitt Romney said another Trump administration would endanger U.S. democracy.
A day after Ann Coulter faced a backlash for mocking Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz‘s son Gus, conservative radio host Jay Weber was criticized for his own remarks about the 17-year-old, who has ADHD, an anxiety disorder and a non-verbal learning disorder, per Deadline. “Sorry, but this is embarrassing for both father and son,” Weber, a host at Milwaukee talk station 1130 WISN, posted on X. “If the Walzs [sic] represent today’s American man, this country is screwed; ‘Meet my son, Gus. He’s a blubbering bitch boy. His mother and I are very proud.’” Weber has since apologized; he and Coulter have since deleted their posts.
D.C. metro area gym chain VIDA Fitness, which has many gay patrons, is removing security cameras it had planned to activate at two locations following a “strong and emotional blowback” from community members, Metro Weekly reported. Locker thefts—which have only become a problem in men’s locker rooms—have increased at VIDA’s U Street and Logan Circle locations, according to owner David von Storch. Von Storch initially defended the idea of having the cameras installed, saying that their presence could deter would-be thieves from attempting burglaries; additionally, they would have helped the Metropolitan Police Department in investigating any reported thefts.
The post NATIONAL Texas school policy, Mormons, abrosexuality, trans woman’s death appeared first on Windy City Times.