March 9, 2023

Iowa Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Minors Heads to Gov Reynolds' desk

"Republicans sent a ban on gender-affirming care for minors to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk Wednesday, less than two weeks after the measure was first brought up as a possibility. Senate File 538 cleared the House on a 57-39 vote after passing the Senate Tuesday night. The measure will prohibit transgender minors from obtaining gender-related medical care such as puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy or any surgical interventions. People seeking these treatments for purposes outside of transitioning would still able to receive the care."

https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/03/08/ban-on-gender-affirming-care-for-transgender-minors-heads-to-reynolds-desk/

Governor Reynolds called for the bill two weeks ago and has indicated she will sign it. Iowa will become the latest state in which Republicans have decided to target trans teens by banning doctor approved and managed healthcare (but allowing the same procedures for cis teens).

Arkansas
Alabama
Florida
Iowa
Mississippi
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah

March 8, 2023

The Tennessee House Just Passed a Bill Completely Gutting Marriage Equality (of any sort)

It's been passed to the state Senate. But that it made it this far...

"The bill could allow county clerks to deny marriage licenses to same-sex, interfaith, or interracial couples in Tennessee. The Tennessee House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow people to refuse to perform a marriage if they disagree with it.

According to the bill, which passed Monday night, “a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.”

https://newrepublic.com/post/171025/tennessee-house-bill-gutting-marriage-equality

Didn't U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning already decide that a court clerk named Kim Davis couldn't deny marriage licenses based on her personal opinion of the couple? [1]

And sure, this ignores that last December, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, but the new law in Tennessee takes advantage of religiously affiliated organizations’ long refusal to issue licenses for same-sex marriages. Is this the case or type of case that will give the conservative US Supreme Court exactly what they were asking for in Thomas's dissent in Dobbs, regarding also overturning marriage equality? [2]

[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/03/19/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-violated-rights-judge/7104110001/
[2] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256

March 8, 2023

The many faces of MO Gov Mike Parson on restricting body autonomy:

"Missouri has become the first state in the nation to effectively end abortions. In response to today's SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, I have signed a proclamation activating the "Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act," ending elective abortions in the State."

(his Twitter, 8:17 AM · Jun 24, 2022)

---

And then, a month later in response to reporters' questions regarding the vagueness of the bill he signed:

“I don’t know if there’s ever going to be a clear-cut answer how to do that,” said Parson. “But, one thing I do know, it’s not for bureaucrats and attorneys to make that decision.”

He said doctors must have a seat at the table when those decisions are being made. The governor also said the issue is “complicated” -- too complicated for a special session."

[Parson's] Department of Health and Senior Services says while the department regulates abortion facilities to ensure patient safety, the enforcement of the criminal provision are up to prosecutors and Missouri Attorney General’s office.

https://www.kctv5.com/2022/07/14/doctors-need-seat-that-table-governor-parson-weighs-abortion-law-confusion/

---
Then today:

“We regulate when a kid can drive a car, when they can smoke, when they can drink, and (now) all of a sudden we want to say they can have some sort of life changing experience that affects them for the rest of their life — and they don’t get a second chance on that.”
https://newstalkkzrg.com/2023/03/08/mo-gov-parson-on-transgender-children/

---

Does he truly believe that forcing a teenager - or someone even younger - to complete a pregnancy, or not giving them a choice as to whether a pregnancy gets started (and then forcing them to complete it) won't be a "life changing experience"? Also, an abortion is exactly a "second chance" to live the life of a teenager instead of a parent who is not ready, in so many ways.

Likewise, NOT allowing trans teen health care decisions to be made between a teen, their parents and doctor or medical team is a "life changing experience that affect them for the rest of their life", in a negative way, and they don't get a second chance at puberty.

I'm so frustrated with Republicans simply spinning reality to fit whatever their political and social need is in the moment. And their base happily not only accepting it, but rewarding them for it. Along with anyone who makes money off of that dynamic along the way (looking at you, right wing media, religious leaders, pundits/authors/public figures, and so on...).

March 7, 2023

Not even California is completely safe for LGBTQ kids...

"A drag show organized by Placer County’s only peer support group for LGBTQ+ youth was canceled last week, the latest in a series of actions that have marginalized and stigmatized queer and transgender people in the conservative county north of Sacramento. The Roseville Joint Union High School District originally granted permission to use district facilities for the drag show, but district leaders ultimately bowed to community pressure from conservative and religious groups. The drag show was set to take place on March 31 at Roseville High School until the district pulled the plug on it. District officials claim that it wasn’t political pressure that caused them to change their minds. They say drag show organizers misrepresented key details of the event and that once district officials learned more about plans for the show, they determined it would violate district policies."

“Once clarified as a drag show event involving minor students, an administrative review determined the event did not comply with Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 1330, resulting in revocation of the Civic Permit,” said RJUHSD Superintendent John Becker. “Our district did not make this decision due to homophobic or intolerant views.”

RJUHSD School Board President Pete Constant said the district took issue with “this type of show” featuring “minor students with an adult, cash-tipping audience.” Ultimately, the drag show was “not appropriate on our school grounds,” he said. “Our district’s response would have been the same if this was a burlesque show or a Chippendale (or Magic Mike) style show featuring heterosexual performers and audience,” Constant said via email.

Original URL, paywalled: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article272818555.html

Archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20230307154821/https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article272818555.html

Placer County is north of Sacramento, California. Except for the coast and Trinity county between them, the north state is sparsely populated and solidly Republican. The North Coast is solidly Democratic but still sparsely populated. Trinity turned purple in 2020.

The city of Roseville where the school district is located is at the northwest corner of the Sacramento metro area. Roseville is the northernmost city in the state with a hospital that is not religiously affiliated and thus is willing to provide trans health care. Going North from Roseville, the only bubble of blue is Chico State. Shasta County has become as extreme as any in Texas or Florida county, within the bounds of California laws. Our red counties also have a penchant for disregarding state laws they don't like.

This story likely won't get much press because most right wing events in the north state don't. And the Sac Bee decided to paywall after it was bought in late 2020 by Chatham Asset Management, a hedge fund.

March 6, 2023

1 in 4 parents lied about child's COVID infection status

"About a quarter of parents have lied to others about their child’s COVID-19 positivity status, according to a study published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. The national, online, noprobability survey in December 2021 asked parents if they had ever engaged in seven types of misrepresentation and nonadherence behaviors regarding COVID-19 public health measures for their children: Yes, they'd been dishonest about their child’s health or vaccination status, roughly 1 in 4 told the researchers. And 1 in 5 allowed their child to break quarantine rules at the height of the pandemic.

The findings were based on the responses of 580 parents of children under 18 surveyed in late 2021, when cases were surging and schools switched to remote learning. About 10% of the adults said they lied about their child’s vaccination status, 20% avoided getting their child tested when they thought they were infected, and another 10% lied about their child’s age to get them vaccinated. Researchers were from Middlesex Community College in Connecticut, the medical schools at University of Utah, University of Colorado and University of Iowa, the Veterans Affairs Denver Center for Information and other academic institutions."
https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/covid-coronavirus-pandemic-california-17821551.php

Link to published paper pdf (open acess): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2802004

March 4, 2023

Florida courts could take 'emergency' custody of kids with trans parents or siblings

— even if they live in another state, if Florida Senate Bill 254 passes. Thanks to Michael Knowles at CPAC saying out loud that we should simply be "eradicated" to protect society, this one slipped under the radar for most news outlets.

"Senate Bill 254, introduced Friday by State Senator Clay Yarborough, would grant the court authority to take emergency custody of kids under the same statute that protects them from domestic violence and abuse.

The state could take temporary custody of children if "it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child" is "at risk of or is being subjected to the provision of sex reassignment prescriptions or procedures," according to the proposed bill text.

The proposed bill defines sex reassignment prescriptions or procedures as hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries or procedures that "affirm a person's perception of his or her sex if that perception is inconsistent with the person's sex" at birth.

The court would also be granted "jurisdiction to vacate, stay, or modify a child custody determination of a court of another state to protect the child from the risk of being subjected to the provision of sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures," according to the proposed bill text. "The court must vacate, stay, or modify the child custody determination to the extent necessary to protect the child from the provision of such prescriptions or procedures.""

https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-anti-trans-bill-court-custody-kids-gender-affirming-care-2023-3

Please listen to trans people when we tell you the GOP is waging genocide against us. And that every one of these actions by the GOP are "important". It's getting worse week by week. And even if this specific bill doesn't pass this session in Florida, if there's not sufficient public outrage it will eventually become law somewhere. This bill in Florida is the direct result of Texas instructing CPS to investigate trans families, even though that didn't go anywhere (yet) in that state.

Look back at 2016 when the first "bathroom bill" was floated in a Republican state (N. Carolina's HB2). Now in 2023 red states are simply adding that provision into other bills that get signed. They're continually pushing the edge of the envelope as to what people will tolerate so long as it's not their family being attacked.

This is what the early stages of genocide look like. Please help us. Step out of your comfort zone if and when you can. It could make a difference.

February 17, 2023

Email from the CA DMV regarding electric vehicles

I received an email today from the California Department of Motor Vehicles announcing that in 2021-2022, autonomous vehicles drove 5.7 million miles in the State!

Sounds pretty positive, doesn't it?

But when I clicked on the link to the .CSV, it turns out there were over 8,300 "disengagements". That means once every 686 miles - regardless of where or when, so long as they were on public roads, a human had to take over or the self-driving system shut itself down because it couldn't handle the situation.

February 15, 2023

Arkansas lawmaker, at a hearing, asks transgender woman if she has a penis

Source: NBC News

"An Arkansas lawmaker shocked onlookers this week when he asked a transgender health care professional about her genitals at a hearing on a bill that would prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.

Gwendolyn Herzig, a pharmacist who is a trans woman, was testifying Monday in support of the treatment for minors during a state Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

“You said that you’re a trans woman?” Republican state Sen. Matt McKee asked Herzig. “Do you have a penis?”

The audience erupted, with some audibly gasping and at least one person shouting, "Disgraceful."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/arkansas-lawmaker-hearing-asks-transgender-woman-penis-rcna70787

---

This is the sort of harassment most trans women get while on the job at some point. I was not expecting it to happen in a session of a state Legislature.

In the video the chair of the hearing can be heard to tell the audience to be quiet or they'll be ejected from the hearing. He says nothing to chastise or censure state Senator Matt McKee.

This is the sort of incident that if not widely condemned, opens floodgates; watch for more and more Republicans to start publicly, openly and proudly sexually harassing trans women.

Canaries in a coal mine.

February 15, 2023

New York Times Writers Call Out the Paper's Anti-Trans Onslaught

On Wednesday morning, a group of almost 200 journalists and writers released an open letter addressed to the New York Times, sharing their "serious concerns about editorial bias in the newspaper’s reporting on transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people" and criticizing how the Times has "follow[ed] the lead of far-right hate groups in presenting gender diversity as a new controversy warranting new, punitive legislation."

The open letter, whose signees include regular contributors to the Times and prominent writers and journalists like Ed Yong, Lucy Sante, Roxane Gay, and Rebecca Solnit, comes at a time when far-right extremist groups and their analogues in state legislatures are ramping up their attacks on trans young people; just yesterday, South Dakota became the sixth state to ban or restrict gender-affirming care for youth, efforts that one conservative activist recently acknowledged was merely the first step toward their goal of banning transition care altogether.

https://hellgatenyc.com/new-york-times-writers-call-out-the-papers-anti-trans-onslaught

February 14, 2023

Finally, a media outlet says the quiet part out loud about tech layoffs

Rising interest rates and other macroeconomic factors are forcing the world's biggest tech companies to rethink their approach of continually funding "moonshot" projects with uncertain returns. Instead, they're doubling down on proven projects, or those they view as surer short-term bets. And they're trimming jobs in part to please investors.

Note that last sentence. Interest rates are up, sales are down. Companies are still making a profit but not enough for their investors so they figure they'll just slash headcount. It has very little to do with actually running the company in order to *do* or *make* anything.

https://www.axios.com/2023/02/13/tech-layoffs-innovation