LGBT+ News and Discussions

[firestar464]

Tennessee lawmakers OK bill penalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA1nFVNT

They are ACTIVELY trying to torture these children.

[firestar464]

Alabama lawmakers advance bill that could lead to prosecution of librarians

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA1nILr3

Huh, so I could have a librarian prosecuted for refusing to remove the Bible from the shelf. WTF?

[Time_Traveller]

Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships in new law
.

4 hours ago

Iraq's parliament has passed a bill criminalising same-sex relationships with jail terms of between 10 and 15 years.

Transgender people could also be sent to prison for between one and three years under the new law.

Supporters of the changes say they will help to uphold religious values in the country.

Rights groups say they are a further black mark on Iraq's record of violations against LGBT people.

Those who promote homosexuality or prostitution, doctors who perform gender reassignment surgery, men who "intentionally" act like women and those who engage in "wife swapping" will also face prison terms under the new legislation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68914551

[weatheriscool]

Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships in new law
.

4 hours ago

Iraq's parliament has passed a bill criminalising same-sex relationships with jail terms of between 10 and 15 years.

Transgender people could also be sent to prison for between one and three years under the new law.

Supporters of the changes say they will help to uphold religious values in the country.

Rights groups say they are a further black mark on Iraq's record of violations against LGBT people.

Those who promote homosexuality or prostitution, doctors who perform gender reassignment surgery, men who "intentionally" act like women and those who engage in "wife swapping" will also face prison terms under the new legislation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68914551

Religion is fucking dumb

[firestar464]

Arkansas' elimination of 'X' for sex on driver's licenses spurs lawsuit

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/ar ... r-AA1nWSYF

It's just so cringe how Arkansas was like "this is an emergency"

WTF

[weatheriscool]

United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy

Source: AP

Updated 10:01 AM EDT, May 1, 2024

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers.

Delegates voted 692-51 at their General Conference — the first such legislative gathering in five years. That overwhelming margin contrasts sharply with the decades of controversy around the issue. Past General Conferences of the United Methodist Church had steadily reinforced the ban and related penalties amid debate and protests, but many of the conservatives who had previously upheld the ban have left the denomination in recent years, and this General Conference has moved in a solidly progressive direction.

Applause broke out in parts of the convention hall Wednesday after the vote. A group of observers from LGBTQ advocacy groups embraced, some in tears. “Thanks be to God,” said one. The change doesn’t mandate or even explicitly affirm LGBTQ clergy, but it means the church no longer forbids them.

It’s possible that the change will mainly apply to U.S. churches, since United Methodist bodies in other countries, such as in Africa, have the right to impose the rules for their own regions. The measure takes effect immediately upon the conclusion of General Conference, scheduled for Friday. The consensus was so overwhelmingly that it was rolled into a “consent calendar,” a package of normally non-controversial measures that are bundled into a single vote to save time.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/united-metho ... d8895534fa

[caltrek]

United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy

Source: AP

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/united-metho ... d8895534fa

Stories directly citing the AP suffer the disadvantage that the links are often disabled over time. There was also an article on this by Mother Jones that had more background and may prove more available over time:

United Methodist Church Repeals Ban on LGBTQ Clergy
by Sophie Hayssen
May 1, 2024

Conclusion:

(Mother Jones) ...Between 2019 and 2023, one-quarter of US Methodist denominations disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church. As the progressive arm of the church gained strength, many conservative parishes disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church, clearing the path for progressives to reverse anti-LGBTQ bans with overwhelming support.

Still, the fight for parity is not over. Wednesday’s repeal does not mandate that all parishes accept queer clergy. It would also apply only to Methodist churches in the US, since parishes from other countries control their own governance. Yet even this measured win sparked an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd. Advocates embraced and applauded teary-eyed, according to the Associated Press, and celebrations rang out outside the convention center.

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, author of Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity, wrote in a NBC News op-ed that these changes should mark a shift in the cultural understanding of queerness in religion. “We can put to rest the idea that religion and LGBTQ rights are inherently in conflict,” he wrote. “Just as positive views on LGBTQ rights have trended upward, so, too, have Christian groups evolved their theological understandings of human sexuality and gender identity.”

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... -clergy/

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

WHY NO MARRIAGE RIGHTS?

EDIT: Apparently it was because of the parliament being unsupportive. Ugh

[weatheriscool]

Arkansas governor says state won't comply with new federal rules on treatment of trans students

Source: AP

Updated 7:25 PM EDT, May 2, 2024

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared Thursday that the state won’t comply with a federal regulation that seeks to protect the rights of transgender students in the nation’s schools, joining other Republican-led states that are defying the new rules.

Sanders signed an executive order stating that Arkansas schools will continue to enforce restrictions on which bathrooms and pronouns transgender students can use, laws that could be invalidated by the new regulations on how to enforce Title IX. “My message to Joe Biden and the federal government is we will not comply,” Sanders said at a news conference at the state Capitol.

The regulation finalized last month seeks to clarify Title IX, a landmark 1972 sex discrimination law originally passed to address women’s rights and applied to schools and colleges receiving federal money. The regulations spell out that Title IX bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, too. Sanders called those changes a complete reinterpretation of the law.

Sanders’ order follows similar moves by several other states, including Texas and Oklahoma, that have told schools to not comply with the new regulation. Lawsuits also have been filed in federal courts in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Kentucky challenging the rule. The multiple challenges give the states a better chance that one of them will put the rule on hold nationally.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-tit ... 790be3d2ef