Tag Archives: Louisiana

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: The Louisiana Senate gave final passage to two anti-LGBTQ+ bills Monday that target young transgender and queer students. House Bill 466 by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, prohibits discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools. House Bill 81 by Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, would prohibit school employees from using transgender students’ preferred names …

The Shreveport Times reports: The Rev. John Raymond of Slidell, an elected member of the Louisiana Republican Party governing board who is charged with four counts of criminal cruelty to juveniles, is running for a seat in the state House of Representatives. “I feel it’s important people who believe in conservative Christian principles hold positions to create laws to direct …

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: The Louisiana House passed a so-called Don’t Say Gay bill Tuesday that would prohibit teachers from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation, and it would protect only teachers and parents who hold conservative views of transgender rights. House Bill 466, sponsored by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, passed in a 67-28 vote. Similar to a bill the …

The Associated Press reports: Efforts to increase Louisiana’s minimum wage, which currently aligns with the federal rate of $7.25 an hour, were rejected in a Republican-controlled legislative committee Wednesday — a day after lawmakers advanced a bill that would double their own salaries. The failed bill would have gradually increased the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2024 …

Lafayette’s CBS affiliate reports: Former teacher Jacob De La Paz, who left his employ at St. Thomas More High School abruptly on Wednesday under a cloud of suspicion, has been arrested in Youngsville. Authorities have confirmed to KLFY that De La Paz, 33, was arrested at approximately 6 p.m. Thursday by agents from the Department of Homeland Security, assisted by …

The Associated Press reports: As several conservative states adopt legislation that prohibits school employees from teaching or discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, Louisiana advanced its own “Don’t Say Gay” bill Wednesday. The anti-LGBTQ+ measure was narrowly approved by a Republican-controlled House committee and heads to the full House, where an emotionally charged debate over the culture …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Louisiana Republican Party officials want state lawmakers to forbid the study of racism at colleges and universities, arguing in a resolution approved Saturday that classes examining “inglorious aspects” of United States history are too divisive. The resolution, passed by voice vote with no discernible dissent at the state party’s quarterly meeting in Baton Rouge, asks …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, a Republican who has overseen the state’s elections for five years, will not run for reelection, he said Tuesday, citing “pervasive lies” about Louisiana’s elections that have proliferated as part of a national effort to undermine election systems since President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss. The decision comes after Ardoin oversaw …

New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reports: A Chalmette pastor was arrested by State Police on Wednesday on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor over the course of three years. A State Police spokesperson told our partners at NOLA.com that Milton O. Martin III, 56, was booked with carnal knowledge of a juvenile and sexual battery. Martin was accused of having …

Via email from hate group leader Tony Perkins: “Porn disguised as education.” That’s how parents are describing the flood of graphic books dotting shelves across America’s libraries and schools. Thanks to wide-scale investigations in states like Florida, moms and dads are finally getting a full picture of the amount of filth available to their children. This is “an absolute battle …

From the Justice Department: Chance Seneca, 21, of Lafayette, Louisiana, was sentenced today to 45 years in federal prison for kidnapping and attempting to murder a gay man as part of a months-long scheme to kidnap and murder gay men. The court rested its sentence on many factors, including its determination that the defendant intentionally targeted the victim and other …

Vice News reports: A new law makes porn sites liable for content deemed “harmful to minors” if it doesn’t install age verification technology for anyone accessing them in Louisiana—and it’s already affecting how people in the state access Pornhub. When Motherboard tested the verification, Pornhub directed us to AllPassTrust, a third-party identity verification site, which connects to LAWallet, a digital …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former Catholic priest who pleaded guilty last month to a felony obscenity charge for performing sex acts with two professional dominatrices on the altar of a Pearl River church has been held in contempt of court for giving a television news interview. Travis Clark, 39, now must serve six months behind bars. Clark had …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Progressive policy advocate Davante Lewis defeated three-term Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere III on Saturday, handing the incumbent and utilities that backed him a stunning loss with the help of big money from environmental groups who want to shake up the commission. Lewis, 30, who lives in Baton Rouge and works for the left-leaning Louisiana …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: John Raymond, a Slidell pastor who was accused of taping the mouths of three students at the Christian school he oversaw and beating another child, has been formally charged with four counts of cruelty to juveniles by the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Raymond, who in addition to being pastor of New Horizon church in …

Baton Rouge’s CBS affiliate reports: A Baton Rouge mother has a week to make an unthinkable decision – carry her baby to term even though she says doctors tell her it will not survive or find another state where she can have an abortion. “It’s hard knowing that I’m carrying it to bury it,” said Nancy Davis, who is 13 …

The Hill reports: A librarian in Louisiana filed a lawsuit against two men and a conservative organization, alleging they defamed her when they attacked her for supporting the teaching of books involving the LGBTQ community. Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian and the president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians, alleged in the lawsuit that a “public campaign” against …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Two professional dominatrices accused of a sexual tryst with a priest on the altar of Pearl River Catholic church in 2020 have each pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of institutional vandalism and won’t serve jail time, according to court records. But Melissa Cheng and Mindy Dixon will have to come back to 22nd …

New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reports: Louisiana’s Bond Commission agreed to withhold a $39 million line of credit to the Sewerage & Water Board New Orleans due to the city’s defiance of the state’s abortion ban “trigger law.” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry [photo] said he would push for funding to be withheld to the city after the New Orleans City …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former youth program minister at First Baptist Church in Covington pleaded guilty in 22nd Judicial District Court on Monday to felony second-degree battery and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery, both stemming from the abuse of a girl who belonged to the church youth group in the early 2000s. Darrell Jay English, 50, could …