Court: Arkansas can't ban treatment of transgender kids
Source: AP
By ANDREW DeMILLO
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday said Arkansas can’t enforce its ban on transgender children receiving gender-affirming medical care.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a judge’s ruling temporarily blocking the state from enforcing the 2021 law. A trial is scheduled for October before the same judge on whether to permanently block the law.
Arkansas was the first state to enact such a ban, which prohibits doctors from providing gender-confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18 years old, or from referring them to other providers for the treatment. There are no doctors who perform gender-affirming surgery on minors in the state.
“Because the minor’s sex at birth determines whether or not the minor can receive certain types of medical care under the law, Act 626 discriminates on the basis of sex,” the court’s ruling Thursday said.
One of the worlds best football players who is still young and is the football player with the highest market value in the world is dating a trans woman according to multiple news sources but it is worth noting football gossip can be akin to a male equivalent of celebrity gossip and should be looked at with some skepticism.
Whist it is not actually gay for a man to like someone that looks like a woman it will certainly make him perceived as LGBT by many and football has a history of treating gay players horribly.
Maybe him being one of the best players will help shift perceptions of LGBT although he is disliked by some due to his personality and decisions outside of dating.
Ozzie guy wrote: ↑Sun Sep 04, 2022 3:58 am
One of the worlds best football players who is still young and is the football player with the highest market value in the world is dating a trans woman according to multiple news sources but it is worth noting football gossip can be akin to a male equivalent of celebrity gossip and should be looked at with some skepticism.
Whist it is not actually gay for a man to like someone that looks like a woman it will certainly make him perceived as LGBT by many and football has a history of treating gay players horribly.
Maybe him being one of the best players will help shift perceptions of LGBT although he is disliked by some due to his personality and decisions outside of dating.
Wtf? Was not expecting that. Then again the French have been known for years to be eccentric.
Senate Republicans' Same-sex Marriage Poker Face by Andrew Solender
September 7, 2022
Introduction:
(Axios) Senators who are whipping Republican support for a bill to codify marriage equality are bullish on its chances of passing — but some supporters’ names may not be known until the vote occurs, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: With the House passing the bill in July and President Biden expected to sign it if it reaches his desk, the Senate stands as the primary hurdle.
State of play: Democrats need the votes of 10 Republicans in order to break a filibuster, but only a handful have come out publicly in support of the bill so far.
The intrigue: Don't expect to find out all the Republican senators supporting the legislation until the actual vote, a source close to the negotiations told Axios.
• "There are some who have given their support for the legislation privately," the source said. "You’re not going to see 10 Republicans announce their support for it before they actually vote."
• Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who has been championing the bill, told Axios: "I have certainly had conversations where Republicans have privately indicated to me that they will support it."
• “There are a couple that might be in that category,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), another one of the senators involved in the talks.
Supreme Court to Revisit LGBTQ Rights – this Time With a Wedding Website Designer, Not a Baker by Charles J. Russo
September 9, 2022
Introduction:
(The Conversation) A simmering, difficult, and timely question returns to the Supreme Court this fall: What happens when freedom of speech and civil rights collide?
The court took up similar questions four years ago in the famous “gay wedding cake” case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, about a baker who refused to provide services for a same-sex couple based on his religious beliefs. The justices ruled in his favor, but did so on narrow grounds, sidestepping the direct constitutional questions over freedom of religion and free speech.
Now, another case from Colorado about free speech and same-sex marriage has made its way to the court: 303 Creative v. Elenis. As a professor of law and education who pays particular attention to First Amendment issues, I see the case highlighting tension between two competing fundamental interests – interests that seem to clash routinely in 21st-century America.
On Aug. 30, 2022, for example, another similar case was decided, this time in Kentucky. A federal trial court ruled in favor of a Louisville wedding photographer who sued over the city’s “Fairness Ordinance,” which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. She argued that the law violated her religious beliefs and right to free speech, and the court agreed, explaining that “the government may not force singers or writers or photographers to articulate messages they don’t support.”
Freedom to speak – or stay silent
Graphic artist Lorie Smith is the founder and owner of a studio called 303 Creative. According to court documents, Smith is generally willing to serve LGBTQ clients. However, she intends to begin designing wedding websites and is unwilling to create them for same-sex couples, saying it would go against her Christian beliefs.
caltrek wrote: ↑Sun Sep 11, 2022 7:07 pm Supreme Court to Revisit LGBTQ Rights – this Time With a Wedding Website Designer, Not a Baker by Charles J. Russo
September 9, 2022
Introduction:
(The Conversation) A simmering, difficult, and timely question returns to the Supreme Court this fall: What happens when freedom of speech and civil rights collide?
The court took up similar questions four years ago in the famous “gay wedding cake” case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, about a baker who refused to provide services for a same-sex couple based on his religious beliefs. The justices ruled in his favor, but did so on narrow grounds, sidestepping the direct constitutional questions over freedom of religion and free speech.
Now, another case from Colorado about free speech and same-sex marriage has made its way to the court: 303 Creative v. Elenis. As a professor of law and education who pays particular attention to First Amendment issues, I see the case highlighting tension between two competing fundamental interests – interests that seem to clash routinely in 21st-century America.
On Aug. 30, 2022, for example, another similar case was decided, this time in Kentucky. A federal trial court ruled in favor of a Louisville wedding photographer who sued over the city’s “Fairness Ordinance,” which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. She argued that the law violated her religious beliefs and right to free speech, and the court agreed, explaining that “the government may not force singers or writers or photographers to articulate messages they don’t support.”
Freedom to speak – or stay silent
Graphic artist Lorie Smith is the founder and owner of a studio called 303 Creative. According to court documents, Smith is generally willing to serve LGBTQ clients. However, she intends to begin designing wedding websites and is unwilling to create them for same-sex couples, saying it would go against her Christian beliefs.
Ozzie guy wrote: ↑Sun Sep 04, 2022 3:58 am
One of the worlds best football players who is still young and is the football player with the highest market value in the world is dating a trans woman according to multiple news sources but it is worth noting football gossip can be akin to a male equivalent of celebrity gossip and should be looked at with some skepticism.
Whist it is not actually gay for a man to like someone that looks like a woman it will certainly make him perceived as LGBT by many and football has a history of treating gay players horribly.
Maybe him being one of the best players will help shift perceptions of LGBT although he is disliked by some due to his personality and decisions outside of dating.
Like I said above it should be up to the indivual to choose what they wish to do. More power to them
LGBTQ Students in Civil Rights Case Against Religious University Chalk Up Supreme Court Win by David Badash
September 15, 2022
Introduction:
(Alternet) In a 5-4 decision Wednesday evening the U.S. Supreme Court opted to not block a state court’s ruling ordering a faith-based private university to recognize an LGBTQ students’ organization, but the order is quite likely temporary.
Yeshiva University, which has four campuses in New York City, was ordered by a state court to recognize Y.U. Pride Alliance, citing New York State anti-discrimination law.
Over the weekend Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees the 2nd Circuit including courts in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, blocked the state court’s ruling in what some call an administrative order. She did not refer the case to the full Court.
Wednesday evening, Justice Sotomayor, along with Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson voted to allow the lower court’s ruling to go into effect. That ruling requires Yeshiva University to recognize the LGBTQ students’ organization.
Further extract:
But before LGBTQ and civil rights supporters start celebrating, Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern, agreeing with conservative writer David French, says, “Roberts and Kavanaugh will ultimately side with Yeshiva, but they refused to reward the school’s abuse of the shadow docket to hop over state courts.”
Gay men are more than twice as likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than heterosexual men when both populations engage in high-risk sexual activity, according to new research from the Digestive Health Research Institute at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH).
The study was published this month in the journal Gut.
"To our knowledge, this is the first large population-based study that demonstrates a higher prevalence of IBD in men who engage in high-risk same-sex sexual activity," said Emad Mansoor, study lead author and assistant professor at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and UH. "Our study is expected to open a new field of research into gastrointestinal inflammatory conditions."
Yeshiva University Pauses All Student Clubs Rather Than Recognize LGBTQ Alliance
SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 6:34PM
Students at Yeshiva University will have to find other extracurriculars for a while, after the school announced the pausing of all undergraduate club activities for students, according to student publication The Commentator. Think it’s to help studies? According to the student newspaper, the move is part of a larger strategy by school officials to avoid recognizing the campus’ official LGBTQ+ club.
On Wednesday, the U.S Supreme Court denied a request from Yeshiva University to stay a lower court order requiring the New York school to officially recognize YU Pride Alliance, an on-campus group supporting students in the LGBTQ+ community. As a Jewish university, Yeshiva has argued that the school’s reading of the Torah prohibits the club’s acceptance and is a protected position under freedom of religion.
Rather than abide by Wednesday’s rulings, all official student clubs at Yeshiva are on pause. Officials from the administration did not tell students when a decision would be reached, according to The Commentator.
“Considering the upcoming Chagim, the university will hold off on all undergraduate club activities while it immediately takes steps to follow the roadmap provided by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect YU’s religious freedom,” a university email shared by The Commentator reads.
Youngkin administration overhauls Virginia transgender student policies
BY: NATHANIEL CLINE AND SARAH VOGELSONG - SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 6:54 PM
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration quietly released a document]Friday overhauling Virginia’s policy on the treatment of transgender students, citing “parental rights.” ... The “Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” published by the Virginia Department of Education will direct local school boards to adopt a slate of new policies for the treatment of transgender students that represent a sharp reversal from the stance the state took under former Gov. Ralph Northam and a Democrat-dominated legislature.
While Friday’s guidance notes that “schools should attempt to accommodate students with distinctive needs, including any student with a persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs from his or her sex,” it also emphasizes what it describes as parents’ “fundamental rights.” ... The new policies require parental approval for any changes to students’ “names, nicknames, and/or pronouns,” direct schools to keep parents “informed about their children’s well-being,” specify that student participation in activities and athletics shall be based on sex and state that “students shall use bathrooms that correspond to his or her sex, except to the extent that federal law otherwise requires.”
“The First Amendment forbids government actors to require individuals to adhere to or adopt any particular ideological beliefs,” the new guidance reads. “Practices such as compelling others to use preferred pronouns is premised on the ideological belief that gender is a matter of personal choice or subjective experience, not sex. Many Virginians reject this belief.” ... Furthermore, the policy continues, “the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom and prohibits compelling others to affirm ideas that may be contrary to their personal religious beliefs.”
A 30-day public comment period on the policies is expected to open Sept. 26, after which they will go into effect. ... The new policies overturn guidance laid out by a Democrat-backed 2020 law that required school districts to uphold student privacy about their transgender status, use pronouns and names requested by students and allow students to use restrooms and locker rooms that aligned with their gender identity. ... The model policies developed as a result of the 2020 law got a mixed reception from school districts, many of which refused to formally adopt them.
100 Clergy Who are Samford Grads Urge President to Reverse Exclusionary Policy by Mark Wingfield
September 16, 2022
Introduction:
(Baptist News Global) More than 100 clergy who are alumni of Samford University have signed an open letter to university President Beck Taylor asking for a reversal of the school’s new policy to exclude from campus ministries churches that affirm same-sex marriage.
“We are clergy members of the Samford University family, trained, educated and prepared for ministry on the very campus where we may no longer be welcome,” the group wrote. “We ordained alumni now serve as pastors, chaplains, counselors, therapists and leaders of religious communities and organizations whose ministries would be banned from campus by the new interpretation of Samford’s policies for partnering organizations. Our belief in the far-reaching love of God is now perceived as a threat to the ideology of a select number of Samford administrators and staff.”
News of the university’s new policy came to light Sept. 12 when published by a Birmingham newspaper, although those affected learned about the change Aug. 31, when they were denied participation in a campus Church and Ministry Expo. Specifically excluded were Presbyterian Church (USA) and Episcopal Church ministries, who were told they would not be approved for participation because their denominations allow same-sex marriage. Both groups historically had been welcome on campus.
The implication was that any church or ministry group connected in any way to LGBTQ inclusion would meet the same fate, although exactly how far the action will reach is not known since the university has been silent on the matter. No formal statement, policy or trustee action has been put forward.
Enough is known, however, for the clergy alumni group to believe they, too, would not be welcome in ministry roles on the campus because of their personal beliefs or their congregations’ stances on LGBTQ inclusion.
Cuba approves same-sex marriage in unusual referndum
Source: AP
By CRISTIANA MESQUITA
HAVANA (AP) — Cubans have approved a sweeping “family law” code that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents, officials said Monday, though opposition in the national referendum was unusually strong on the Communist Party-governed island.
The measure — which contains more than 400 articles — was approved by 66.9% to 33.1%, the president of the National Electoral Council, Alina Balseiro Gutiérrez, told official news media, though returns from a few places remained to be counted.
The reforms had met unusually strong open resistance from the growing evangelical movement in Cuba — and many other Cubans — despite an extensive government campaign in favor of the measure, including thousands of informative meetings across the country and extensive media coverage backing it.
Cuban elections — in which no party other than the Communist is allowed — routinely produce victory margins of more than 90% — as did a referendum on a major constitutional reform in 2019.
Pakistan Launches Anti-harassment Hotline for Trans People September 30, 2022
Introduction:
ISLAMABAD (AP via Courthouse News) — Pakistan on Friday launched a hotline for transgender people in an effort to protect them from discrimination and harassment, a senior government official said.
Trans people in Pakistan are considered outcasts by many, especially in conservative areas in the country, where they are often sexually abused, assaulted and even murdered. They also hesitate to enroll in regular schools to avoid discrimination.
Salman Sufi, an adviser to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, said in a tweet that the much-awaited hotline for the protection of trans people from discrimination and harassment had been set up and was live.
The hotline is connected to top police officers and the Ministry of Human Rights, he said.
“We are glad that this so-called hotline has been set up for us," Almas Bobby, a spokesperson for transgender people in Pakistan, told The Associated Press by phone. Bobby said in most cases of harassment, trans people are either beaten, arrested or publicly harassed by police across the country.
Ron DeSantis’ Relentless War on Trans Kids Hits a New Low by Madison Pauly
October 4, 2022
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) When Emile Fox learned that the Florida Board of Medicine, the rule-making body for doctors in his state, was considering banning transgender medical care for youth, he thought about his own transition. Fox, a 27-year-old barista in Orlando, says he had suffered serious mental health problems throughout his teen years and into young adulthood. But once he came out as trans in his mid-20s, he experienced what he calls “that click.” Soon, under the supervision of a physician, he began a course of testosterone; when he heard his voice drop, he remembers thinking, “I didn’t realize I was missing.”
He often wondered how much anguish he might have saved had if he had transitioned at a younger age. But the proposed medical board rule would wipe out that option for Florida’s trans youth—and any doctors who helped them would risk losing their licenses. So in August, Fox traveled to Fort Lauderdale to plead with the board to preserve gender-affirming care for Florida’s teens. “I don’t think it’s the state of being transgender that causes mental illness—I believe it’s the general lack of support, social acceptance, and medical treatment,” Fox told the board, his voice tight with nerves, in a crowded conference room evenly divided between supporters and opponents. “Transgender people thrive and live healthier lives when they receive gender-affirming care. I’m proof of this.”
Further extract:
“It’s shocking that a state board of medicine would propose banning care for youth that is medically necessary and age appropriate, and is supported by every major medical association in the United States,” says Sarah Warbelow, legal director for Human Rights Campaign.
caltrek’s comment: Interesting. I did not realize that the “major medical” associations had come out so forcefully on this issue. Yet another example of the (usually) Republican hostility to science and basic human rights.
Federal judge rules Texas employers can discriminate against LGBT-'related conduct'
Source: Houston Chronicle
An LGBT Texan can be fired from a job because of the way they dress, their pronouns or the bathroom they use, a federal judge ruled.
The ruling stemmed from a suit Texas brought in September of last year, just months after the Biden administration issued guidance showing states how to comply with federal anti-discrimination protections. A federal judge in Tennessee had already stayed the directives in 20 other states as part of a separate court case.
In a 33-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said the Biden guidance incorrectly interpreted the 2020 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that workplace discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity is unconstitutional.....
Kacsmaryk also disagreed that gender dysphoria could qualify as a disability under federal anti-discrimination law.
That guidance issued over the summer by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission came out after Paxton issued an opinion this February finding that the care could constitute child abuse. Gov. Greg Abbott then directed the state’s child welfare agency to begin investigating parents of transgender children who received the care.
Human Rights Watch Condemns Qatar Over Arrests, Abuse of LGBTQ+ People Ahead of World Cup by Jenna McGuire
October 25, 2022
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) As Qatar prepares to host the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup, Human Rights Watch reported on Monday that Qatar Preventive Security Department forces have arrested LGBTQ+ people without cause and subjected them to deplorable treatment in detention.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed that "security forces arrested people in public places based solely on their gender expression," and documented multiple cases between 2019 and 2022—six that involved severe and repeated physical violence and five that involved sexual harassment.
"While Qatar prepares to host the World Cup, security forces are detaining and abusing LGBT people simply for who they are, apparently confident that the security force abuses will go unreported and unchecked," said Rasha Younes, LGBT rights researcher at HRW. "Qatari authorities need to end impunity for violence against LGBT people. The world is watching."
Six LGBTQ+ Qataris, including four transgender women, one bisexual woman, and one gay man, all told HRW they were detained in an underground prison, verbally harrassed, physically abused, forced to give confessions, and denied access to legal counsel, family, and medical care—and all were made to sign pledges that they would "cease immoral activity."
In all cases, individuals were detained without charge and never received record of their detention, which HRW says most likely constitutes unlawful arbitrary detention under international human rights law.
Judge Tosses Seattle Pacific University Suit Over Washington’s Anti-LGBT Hiring Probe by Alanna Madden
October 26, 2022
Introduction:
TACOMA, Wash. (Courthouse News) — Attorneys for Seattle Pacific University failed Wednesday to convince a federal judge it has standing to sue Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson for launching an investigation into the Christian school's hiring practices regarding LGBTQ individuals.
U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan dismissed Seattle Pacific’s lawsuit against Ferguson from the bench, citing a lack of redressability.
Seattle Pacific sued Ferguson this past July after Ferguson's office initiated an investigation into the school’s hiring practices after student and staff sit-ins and calls to remove the school's board of trustees, in response to a May 2022 vote to keep a school policy that prohibits staff from engaging in “same-sex sexual activity.”
The vote came after a period of upheaval at the university: A faculty applicant sued the school claiming sexual orientation discrimination, students and faculty called on the school to drop its positions on human sexuality — even taking a vote of no confidence in the board — and a working group of faculty, students and trustees recommended the changes that were ultimately rejected.
According to the university's complaint, all of this led a group of students to ask Ferguson to take legal action against the school and its board. Ferguson then sent a letter demanding "prompt production of voluminous and sensitive internal information on the university’s religious policies and their application to any and all faculty, staff, and administrators," the school said in its complaint.
US appeals court: Beauty pageant can bar trans contestants
Source: AP
By REBECCA BOONE
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal appellate court on Wednesday said a national beauty pageant has a First Amendment right to exclude a transgender woman from competing because including her could interfere with the message the pageant has said it wants to send about “what it means to be a woman.”
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Anita Green, who said the Miss United States of America pageant violated an Oregon state anti-discrimination law when it barred her from competing in 2019.
Green, who is transgender, has competed in several pageants including Miss Montana USA, Miss Earth and Ms. World Universal. She was living in Clackamas, Oregon and was preparing to compete in the Miss United States of America’s Miss Oregon pageant when she said the organization rejected her application because it did not consider her to be a “natural born female.”
Green sued, contending the organization was violating a state law that makes it illegal to deny public accommodations to people based on their sex or gender identity.
