Tag Archives: LGBTQ Youth

User Mag reports: For months, Meta has been restricting content with LGBTQ-related hashtags from search and discovery under its “sensitive content” policy aimed at restricting “sexually suggestive content.” Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags including #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, #queer, #nonbinary, #pansexual and dozens of others were hidden for any users who had their sensitive content filter turned on. Teenagers have the …

Sacramento’s PBS affiliate reports: Amid a flurry of recent school board policies aimed at the rights of transgender students, California passed a new law in July that prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ. The new law, AB 1955, came in response to a handful of school boards adopting policies that require teachers …

NBC News reports: Like many who took up new hobbies during the pandemic, Austin Rivers found comfort in knitting. But his craft took on a larger meaning when he realized his scarves and hats could also support his New York City queer community. He was particularly eager to help homeless LGBTQ youths, who comprise up to 40% of the country’s …

Cleveland’s ABC affiliate reports: Ohio advocates are warning against a bill that would require schools to notify parents if the child identifies as LGBTQ+ as well as allow parents to opt out of so-called “sexuality” content. The GOP denies it is homophobic, saying it’s just a way for parents to stay informed. During the last expected week of lame duck …

NBC News reports: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed a law Monday prohibiting public schools and libraries from banning books and protecting librarians who obey state law. Murphy’s signing of the Freedom to Read Act comes amid an ongoing push by conservative lawmakers and activists across the country to challenge books they consider inappropriate for minors, particularly those …

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court appeared deeply divided along ideological lines Wednesday in a historic case involving gender transition care for transgender minors, with key conservative justices expressing concern about courts intervening in an evolving nationwide debate over access to treatments for young people. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh repeatedly suggested that …

NBC News reports: The conservative-majority Supreme Court on Wednesday dives into the culture war issue of transgender rights as it weighs whether states can restrict gender transition care for minors. President-elect Donald Trump and his allies repeatedly pushed an anti-transgender rights message during the recently concluded election. Among other things, he has pledged to restrict access to gender-affirming health care …

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday over whether a Tennessee law denying some kinds of medical care to transgender youth runs afoul of the Constitution. Twenty-three other states have similar laws. The court’s decision, expected by June, will almost certainly yield a major statement on transgender rights against the backdrop of a fierce …

Carl Siciliano, the founder of New York City’s Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBTQ youth, sends us a memory of their first Thanksgiving: In 1994, I became the director of SafeSpace, a Times Square daytime drop-in program for homeless teens. At that time there was no safe shelter for LGBT youths in NYC, and most lived brutally dangerous lives out …

Michigan Live reports: Books with sexually explicit or LGBTQ content would largely be protected from being pulled off public library shelves under new legislation proposed by Michigan Democrats. The two bills introduced Nov. 7 would require public libraries to adopt uniform policies outlining unacceptable reasons for residents to request a book be removed from the shelves. School and university libraries …

Little Rock’s Fox affiliate reports: Crawford County is facing ongoing lawsuits over removing LGBTQ books from children’s library sections, costing taxpayers nearly $500,000 in legal defense. The dispute could result in an additional $118,000 in legal fees, potentially affecting the library system’s budget. Van Buren resident Dr. Jeff Hamby and Rudy resident John Riordan led the charge, calling for the …

Seattle’s ABC affiliate reports: A 38-year-old Bremerton man was arrested Monday in connection with an alleged assault involving two boys, including his biological son, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. Joseph Sweeney faces multiple charges, including second-degree assault and a hate crime. The arrest followed allegations that Sweeney assaulted the two boys on October 20. According to the court documents, …

From the York Dispatch editorial board: At the risk of stating the obvious, South Western’s elected school board is making some strange decisions. For the last two years, they’ve fixated on which bathrooms LGBTQ+ kids use. After a low-turnout school board election in which several far-right members joined their ranks, they hired a Christian law firm, decided to begin banning …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the federal government over its requirement that states provide LGBTQ+ affirming placement for foster care youth. “The Biden Administration is attempting to hold the Texas foster care system hostage to force unscientific, fringe beliefs about gender upon the entire country,” Paxton said in the lawsuit. Under the federal rule, …

The Illuminator reports: Just a day after a federal judge struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, a federal appeals court granted the states’ request for an administrative injunction Wednesday — temporarily blocking the updated regulations from taking effect in those Southern states. The …

NBC News reports: A federal judge in Alabama on Tuesday refused to block the Biden administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in four Republican-led states, breaking with six other judges who have said the rules are invalid. U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon in Birmingham in a 122-page ruling, rejected various arguments that the four states led by …

The United Press reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation making California the first U.S. state to prohibit schools from outing students to their parents. The Democratic governor signed Assembly Bill 1955, better known as the SAFETY Act, Monday, according to a statement from his office, after the legislation passed through the state’s Congress last month. Under the bill, California …

Reuters reports: Two conservative federal judges in Texas have blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students, preventing the rule from taking effect in the Republican-led state and a school district represented by a Christian legal rights group. Thursday’s rulings by U.S. District Judges Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo and Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth followed …

Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate reports: A Western Pennsylvania man is accused of murdering and dismembering a transgender teenager. DaShawn Watkins, 29, is facing murder charges in connection with the death of 14-year-old Pauly Likens. On June 25, the Sharon Police Department received a report that Likens had been missing since June 22, a news release from the Mercer County Coroner states. …

The Associated Press reports: Enforcement of a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students has been blocked in four states and a patchwork of places elsewhere by a federal judge in Kansas. U.S. District Judge John Broomes’ decision was the third against the rule from a federal judge in less than three weeks but more sweeping than the others. …