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The Bulletin: All the LGBTQ+ News You Need From the Week of 4/03/22
Hello again! Welcome to this week's edition of "The Bulletin" a new weekly digest of top stories selected by The Advocate's staff. Today's issue was curated by me, Alex Cooper. I'm the digital director of Advocate.com, and I manage the content on the website. This week we've added something new to "The Bulletin" -- but I'll get to that in a second.
In this week's bulletin, you'll find that state's across the U.S. are continuing to pass anti-trans legislation that advocates continue to condemn. In a first of its kind in the country, a bill in Alabama became law that criminalizes gender-affirming care. Medical professionals who provide such care could face up to 10 years in prison, according to the law signed Friday by Alabama Gov. Kate Ivey. The GOP governor also signed the state's version of Florida's "don't say gay" bill.
In a viral clip, Florida student activist Will Larkins schooled some folks in a presentation on Stonewall. The nonbinary student already led their school's walkout over the "don't say gay" law and wrote a New York Times op-ed about the effects of the legislation on students. Now, their lesson on Stonewall might get them in trouble.
We also have Rachel Maddow making her return this week. I'm sure she's ready to take a deep dive into these anti-LGBTQ+ laws being passed. Just like Randy Rainbow is probably already figuring out his next parody video after this week's going after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
And that something new? We've decided to add into "The Bulletin" some reporting from our colleagues at other queer outlets. You'll find a few pieces this week that we think are important to note.
As always, thank you for reading!
Fla. Teen Says They’re Being Investigated for Stonewall Lesson
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the "don't say gay" bill into law in March (although a federal lawsuit has been filed challenging its constitutionality), barring discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3 and requiring "age-appropriate" discussion after that while not defining what that actually constitutes.
Many see the law -- formally known as the Parental Rights in Education law -- as dangerous and harmful, especially for LGBTQ+ kids, as Will Larkins, a gay nonbinary high school junior and activist in Winter Park, Fla., explained in their guest op-ed for the New York Times titled "Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Will Hurt Teens Like Me."
Larkins is also doing some education of their own. In a video posted to Twitter on April 3, Larkins shared that they had given a presentation to their U.S. history class about queer history. "LGBTQ American history is not taught in Florida's public schools, so I took it upon myself to explain the events of the Stonewall Uprising to my 4th period US history class," wrote Larkins.
The video of the presentation has been seen more than 455,000 times.
The teen wrote later in the week that they had been investigated for the presentation and was supposed to meet with the principal over it.
Read more about Larkins' Stonewall lesson and activism here.
Alabama GOP Gov. Signs Bill Making Gender-Affirming Care a Felony
The governor of Alabama signed two anti-trans bills into law on Friday, including one that criminalizes providing gender-affirming care to trans youth.
LGBTQ+ rights groups have called the anti-gender-affirming care law the first of its kind in the country. It makes providing such care a felony and punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. It prohibits doctors from prescribing hormone treatment to trans youth and bans gender-affirming surgery on minors -- though such surgeries are mostly unheard of. The law forces schools to tell a student's parents or guardians if a student's gender identity is different from that assigned at birth.
The other bill signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, forces students to go to the restroom that matches their gender assigned at birth and is on their birth certificates. That bill also contains a version of "don't say gay," which prohibits classroom discussion on sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary school.
Read more about the state's anti-trans legislation here.
UK Announces Cancellation of LGBTQ+ Rights Summit
The U.K. announced on Wednesday that a planned global conference to promote LGBTQ+ rights had been canceled after a dispute broke out over conversion therapy for trans people.
A ban on conversion therapy for LGB people in England and Wales would not cover trans people, the British government decided.
In response to the proposed ban only applying to conversion therapy of lesbian, gay, or bisexual people, several organizations announced boycotts of the event.
More on the story can be read at Reuters.
Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed to SCOTUS Despite GOP Smear Attempts
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been confirmed as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, with three Republicans breaking with their party, which largely opposed her.
The Senate confirmed her Thursday by a vote of 53-47, with three Republicans joining all Democrats and independents to confirm her as the first Black woman to sit on the nation's highest court. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah were the Republicans. She will be sworn in this summer, after Justice Stephen Breyer retires. She is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and has been a public defender and vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
"We are thrilled to join in the celebration today of the historic and bipartisan confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court," Imani Rupert-Gordon, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in a press release. "As a leading civil rights organization that works through the courts to seek equity and justice for LGBTQ people, we are acutely aware of how important it is to have a judiciary that reflects the diversity of this country."
Read more on her historic confirmation here.
Rachel Maddow Set to Return From Hiatus, But for How Long?
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow will return to her hit eponymous show on Monday, April 11 after a months-long hiatus.
Maddow has been away from her 9 p.m. time slot since February 4. She did return for a few nights to cover the Russian invasion of Ukraine and President Joe Biden's State of Union speech.
Read more about her hiatus and return here.
Palm Springs Mayor Disputes Universal Basic Income Claims for Trans & Nonbinary Residents
The city of Palm Springs, Calif., last month allocated $200,000 to help fund the application process for a pilot program that hopes to provide a universal basic income (UBI) to trans and nonbinary residents, but on Wednesday Mayor Lisa Middleton emphatically denied the city is serving as a funding mechanism for the program or the individuals who would eventually receive the funds.
"It is not what the headlines are reporting," Middleton told Ryan A. Mitchell in an exclusive interview on the Let's Go There w/ Shira & Ryan podcast on Audacy's Channel Q, a portion of which was posted to social media. "The headlines are wrong. And forgive me for saying that loudly, but it needs to be said the headlines have got it wrong."
Mitchell was referring to news reports claiming the city had allocated $200,000 to provide UBI to trans and nonbinary residents of the city. In fact, the city only agreed to help fund the application process for funding for the program from the state government of California.
Read the details about the program here.
Conservative Mocked Online for Saying People Should Visit Dollywood Instead of Disney World
A writer for the far-right website The Federalist has been the target of jokes on social media after she told people to head to Dollywood instead of Disney World because of Disney's statement opposing Florida's "don't say gay" law.
"Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California have long been on our 'over my dead body' list, and with Dollywood as an option they will most certainly stay there," Joy Pullman wrote in a column. "It's not just the recent visibility of the longstanding fact that Disney's post-Walt corporate leadership works to undermine sexual wholeness, but also about the greedy commercialization of the Disney brand."
As LGBTQ Nation points out, "Disney isn't the only theme park operator that supports LGBTQ people. Dolly Parton herself is a longtime ally."
Read here about what people had to say about the columnist's mistake online.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Democrats 'The Party of Pedophiles'
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, known for her anti-LGBTQ+ comments and embrace of conspiracy theories, claimed this week that some of her fellow Republicans and the entire Democratic Party support pedophiles.
Greene's comments echo a conspiracy theory from anonymous internet user QAnon that Democrats and other high-ranking government officials are members of a pedophilia ring. She has promoted some QAnon theories but has tried to distance herself from them since being elected to Congress in 2020.
Read more about Greene's comments here.
Black Trans Woman Kesha Webster Found Dead in Jackson, Miss.
Kenyatta "Kesha" Webster, a 24-year-old Black trans woman, was found dead in Jackson, Miss., March 26.
Webster's death marks at least the ninth violent death of a trans or gender-nonconforming person this year. That number is probably higher. Many trans and gender-nonconforming deaths go unreported or are misreported by media outlets. In the case of Webster, several outlets have misgendered her.
Read more about her death here.
Texas Teacher Faces Termination Over Fighting for LGBTQ+ Students
A faculty sponsor at MacArthur High School in Irving, Tex., is facing the termination of her contract after supporting queer students.
"LGBTQ students and teachers in the district said they've already been on edge because of the pressure schools across Texas and beyond are facing from politicians, parents and activists to remove books with LGBTQ themes. They're also deeply worried about a state order calling for child abuse investigations into the families of transgender children, which was temporarily blocked by a judge," NBC Out reports.
Rachel Stonecipher, an advisor to the school's Gay-Straight Alliance, has been on administrative leave for months. She was informed last month that the school district is planning to end her contract.
She says she was removed because she advocated for LGBTQ+ students and encouraged her journalism students to investigate a situation in August around rainbow stickers being removed.
Read more about the school's reaction to the rainbow stickers and the students' responses at NBC Out.
Qatar Could Confiscate Rainbow Flags to 'Protect' Fans From Violence
At the World Cup in Qatar later this year, rainbow flags might be taken from fans to protect them from possible violence over promoting LGBTQ+ rights, a Qatari official told The Associated Press.
Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari (pictured above) told the news wire that LGBTQ+ couples would still be welcomed in the conservative Gulf country during the November 21-December 18 global soccer tournament even while same-sex sexual activity is criminalized.
However, in the interview with the AP, Al Ansari voiced opposition to displays of support for LGBTQ+ rights at the FIFA games. The news wire reports that organizers had said the flag would be tolerated in the cup's stadiums.
Read more about the official's comments here.
Watch Randy Rainbow’s New ‘Gay!’ Tune Which Is Ron DeSantis’ Nightmare
Randy Rainbow's latest video says something newly forbidden in the state of Florida, thanks to the signing of the "don't say gay" bill, and it's that he's "Gaaaay!"
The musical satirist's latest video, "Gay!", opens with him "interviewing" Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. "We are back and I'm joined now by Ron DeSantis, governor of the great state of -- wait which is the one that shaped like a big *beep*?" he begins.
Watch the video here.
