LGBT+ News and Discussions

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College Board says it won't alter AP courses to comply with Florida's laws
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/ ... idas-laws/

The College Board released a letter Thursday putting its foot down on further demands from Florida to change any of its Advanced Placement (AP) classes, the latest development in the ongoing feud between the company and the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

“[College Board] will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics,” the company told the Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation.
“Doing so would break the fundamental promise of AP: colleges wouldn’t broadly accept that course for credit and that course wouldn’t prepare students for careers in the discipline,” it added.

The College Board says the Florida office recently asked it to modify any courses that conflict with the new Florida rule restricting teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom through 12th grade.

In a May 19 letter to College Board, Florida demanded the company do an audit of its courses and relay which ones would need to be modified to comply with the new rule by June 16.

[weatheriscool]

Judge issues partial injunction on transgender health care ban
By: Whitney Downard - June 16, 2023 4:38 pm

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday afternoon mostly blocking a ban on gender-affirming care for Hoosier youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Without action, the law would have taken effect July 1.

The ruling bars the state from enforcing a prohibition on medical interventions used in transgender health care, such as puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapies. However, U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon upheld the ban on surgical procedures, which previous Statehouse testimony and court filings indicated weren’t occurring on minors in Indiana.

Hanlon, who serves in the Southern District, was nominated by former President Donald Trump.

The injunction applies to all Hoosier children, not just the four transgender youth involved in the lawsuit. More than 900 youth have sought gender-affirming services at the Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, many of whom received puberty blockers or hormonal therapies.

https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/202 ... -care-ban/

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[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

Judge strikes down Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors
https://apnews.com/article/politics-ark ... ce=Twitter
By ANDREW DeMILLOJune 20, 2023 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions.

U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18.

Arkansas’ law, which Moody temporarily blocked in 2021, also would have prohibited doctors from referring patients elsewhere for such care. At least 19 other states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors following Arkansas’ law, and nearly all of them have been challenged in court.

In his order, Moody ruled that the prohibition violated the due process and equal protection rights of transgender youth and families. He said the law also violated the First Amendment rights of medical providers by prohibiting them from referring minor patients elsewhere for the care.

[lechwall]

Never seen someone so triggered what a snowflake

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Florida medical board approves emergency rule that allows continuing trans care for children and adults
Physicians will be able to renew orders for puberty blockers and hormone therapy so long as no changes are made to prescriptions
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/flor ... s-34462471
By Chloe Greenberg and The News Service of Florida on Wed, Jun 21, 2023 at 11:44 am

The Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine on Tuesday approved an emergency rule that will allow transgender children and adults to continue obtaining gender-affirming treatments under certain conditions.

Physicians will be able to renew orders for puberty blockers and hormone therapy so long as no changes are made to the prescriptions.

The state Board of Medicine on June 8 also approved the rule, which will allow continuation of treatment while the medical boards draft other regulations to carry out a new law that makes it harder for trans adults and children to obtain gender-affirming care.

The law, championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, prohibits doctors from ordering treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children but includes an exception for children already using the treatments.

The law also imposes new restrictions on adults seeking gender-affirming care by requiring that such treatment be ordered by physicians, not nurse practitioners.

Medical experts providing gender-affirming care to trans adults estimate that at least 80 percent of prescriptions for treatment such as estrogen and testosterone are ordered by advanced practice registered nurses, not doctors.

[weatheriscool]

Oregon House passes controversial reproductive rights, ghost gun bills that sparked Senate GOP-led walkout
https://katu.com/news/politics/oregon-h ... ed-walkout
by Christina Giardinelli and KATU StaffWed, June 21st 2023, 3:39 PM PDT
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SALEM, Ore. — The two controversial bills that helped spur Oregon's longest walkout in history have now passed the House and Senate.

House Bill 2002 would expand the right to abortion and gender-affirming care, and House Bill 2005 looks to ban ghost guns. The bills now head to Governor Tina Kotek for her signature.
It still requires insurance companies to cover gender-affirming care, and also still has protections for providers of abortion.

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The abortion and gender-affirming care bill that nearly torpedoed the Oregon legislative session is headed to Gov. Tina Kotek after a final intense debate on the House floor.

An amended version of House Bill 2002 passed the House on a 35-12 vote Wednesday, with nearly a dozen Republicans opting to stay away from the Capitol to protest the measure. Senate Republicans spent six weeks blocking a Senate vote on the measure before returning to the chamber late last week after extracting concessions from Democrats.

The measure, which Kotek is expected to sign, will protect providers who perform abortions or gender-affirming care from prosecution or civil liability as other states restrict or ban such care. It also would strengthen requirements that health insurers cover reproductive health care and gender-affirming care, including treatments like facial feminization surgery and electrolysis that are now treated as cosmetic procedures.

The measure is the product of a state work group formed last summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the national right to abortion. Work group member and Portland Democratic Rep. Travis Nelson said in a statement to the Capital Chronicle that Democrats committed to defend and safeguard the rights Oregonians had before that decision.

“I’m proud to say we fulfilled that commitment and also made sure Oregon is a welcoming and safe state for LGBTQ+ communities by expanding access to lifesaving gender-affirming care,” Nelson said.

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/202 ... lkout.html

[wjfox]

Kenya plots vile anti-homosexuality law to ‘kick LGBT people out of the country completely’

Jun 23

Kenya is among a number of African states reportedly looking to introduce sweeping anti-homosexuality laws, with politician Mohamed Ali saying he wanted to “kick LGBT people out of Kenya completely”.

The draft law, which would punish gay sex with prison or even, in some cases, death, comes just weeks after Uganda passed one of the strictest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world, which has been described by activists as “vile” and “deadly”.

According to a draft of the Kenyan “family protection bill”, which two lawmakers have backed in parliament, gay sex could be punished by at least 10 years in jail, while “aggravated homosexuality” – which includes gay sex with a minor or disabled person, or when a terminal diseased is passed on sexually – would bring the death penalty, Reuters reported.

New crimes also appear in Kenya’s proposed law, including “promoting” homosexuality, and allowing gay sex on your property, which carries a prison term of at least five years.

The bill is currently being vetted by a parliamentary committee, who may then refer it to the full chamber for a vote.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/23/ ... ws-uganda/