#arkansas trans bill

[rapeculturerealities]

Arkansas Senate OKs bathroom bill that critics call extreme | AP News

A bill that would criminalize transgender people using restrooms that match their gender identity won initial approval in the Arkansas Legislature on Tuesday, introducing a restriction critics said would be the most extreme in the country.

The bill approved by the majority-Republican Senate on a 19-7 vote would allow someone to be charged with misdemeanor sexual indecency with a child if they use a public restroom or changing room of the opposite sex when a minor is present. The bill now heads to the majority-GOP House.

The legislation goes even further than a North Carolina bathroom law that was enacted in 2016 and later repealed following widespread boycotts and protests. That law did not include any criminal penalties.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Psychiatrist Meng-Chuan Lai has observed the recent rollout of laws restricting gender-affirming medical care in the United States with concern, he says. Some legislators have justified these bills, at least in part, by pointing to his work: In 2020, Lai co-authored a study that found transgender and other gender-diverse people are three to six times as likely to be autistic as cisgender people are. Lawyer Tom Rawlings, for example, says he read about Lai’s findings in Spectrum. Last spring, Rawlings helped draft Georgia’s Senate Bill 140, which passed in March and cites the overlap between autism and transness as one reason to ban gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy and surgery for minors. An Arkansas law that also passed in March similarly points to an autism diagnosis as grounds to withhold gender-affirming care from minors. And an “emergency rule” issued by Missouri’s attorney general in April — but terminated in May — would have mandated autism screening for anyone seeking gender-affirming care, including adults. Such policies are driven more by personal ideology than by anything his research suggests, says Lai, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto in Canada and a clinician at Toronto’s Center for Addiction and Mental Health. Researchers have known about the link for more than a decade. By one 2022 estimate, about 11 percent of trans people also have an autism diagnosis. “That research is real. We don’t dispute it,” says R. Larkin Taylor-Parker, legal director at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “It’s been going on for years, and it’s been replicated in multiple studies.” What’s new, they say, is that politicians are misusing the link to argue that “autistic people are incapable of making decisions about our own care.” That misuse has some scientists trying to figure out if — and how — they should push back. Anna van der Miesen, a postdoctoral researcher at the VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands who has researched the link between autism and transness, says that if your research data are used to pass laws, and “the actual study had nothing to do with the laws at all,” then it’s time to speak up. “We have a responsibility to communicate what the data says, and what it does not say, to the general public — and also to policymakers,” she says.

[is-as-always]

Help a trans woman and her family flee the state

Cash app: $KaleenaHanselman

PayPal: @kaleena1394

I don’t think this will get very far as I don’t really have any followers, but I need help and I thought I might as well try. I am a cis woman married to a transgender woman and we have a two year old daughter. We currently live in Arkansas and things are getting much worse. We recently had to go through most of our savings because I am a stay at home mom and my wife lost her job due to seeking gender affirming care. Arkansas is an at will employment state, so we don’t really have any legal recourse there. We are currently both looking for more work, but I am afraid that by the time we have enough saved, it will be too late. There are a few states we can not even set foot in for fear of persecution or the forced removal of our daughter. Our state is rapidly approaching that list. Only 3 states in the US currently offer protection for trans individuals. We are hoping to scrounge up enough to move there and live off of for a while until we can find employment. Or even possibly flee overseas if we have to. Federal bills have been introduced that paint a bleak picture for the future. I know times are tough and a lot of people are in the same boat as us. I don’t want anyone to feel pressured, but really any little bit helps. This is a very scary time. If you’ve read this far, thank you so much for your time and attention. If you can’t donate, please share so this gets a wider audience as I don’t have many followers. Please be careful and stay safe. ❤️

Cash app: $KaleenaHanselman

PayPal: @kaleena1394

[crossdreamers]

Powerful Speech Halts Bathroom Ban In Arkansas: "Most Extreme Anti-trans Law In America" Gets Pulled

Erin Reed made us aware of  Senator Tucker's amazing floor speech that results in Arkansas' bathroom ban getting pulled back into committee. He convinced the senate that is 80% Republican to retreat with words alone.

The American Republican Party’s descent into total spiritual darkness seems to be never-ending. However, a recent law proposal in Arkansas went so far that even the Republican law makers could not go along with it.

Erin writes:

The bill before the Arkansas Senate was Senate Bill 270, sponsored by Senator John Payton (R). This bill amounts to a full adult bathroom ban. It states that a transgender person cannot be in a bathroom at the same time as a person under 18 years old. 

Trans people violating this law would be guilty of “sexual indecency with a child,” a law that includes depraved things like soliciting someone under 14 for sex or propositioning a child to display their genitalia in a sexual fashion. It would make transgender people who use bathrooms of their gender identity sex criminals. 

The bill would have severe consequences. It would ban transgender people from bathrooms in many circumstances. It would force transgender people to leave if a minor enters, even if they are in the middle of using the bathroom in a stall. It would create an environment conducive to violence against the trans community. 

The law proposal was not grounded in real threats against kids. Its only purpose was to stigmatize trans people to such extent that they can no longer live their lives as regular people. The goal of these laws are to erase trans people from society and force them back into hiding. If this isn’t evil, what is?

Read Erin’s post here.

Do watch the video below. It is worth your time.

[politijohn]

Anti-Trans Legislation: Feb 25-Mar 3 in Review

The following bills were introduced:

Two schooling bills, Florida S1320 and H1223, were pre-filed.

Georgia HB653, an under-18 healthcare ban, was introduced. 

Iowa HSB208, a school-based bathroom bill, was introduced and passed in its subcommittee. 

Iowa HB482, a school-based bathroom bill, was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Iowa HSB214, an under-18 healthcare ban, was introduced and had a House subcommittee hearing.

Iowa SSB1197, an under-18 healthcare ban, was introduced and had a subcommittee meeting.

Iowa HJR8 was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. This is a joint resolution attacking marriage.

Iowa HSB222, a schooling/parental rights bill, was introduced and referred to the House Education Committee yesterday.

Maine LD930, a sports ban bill that specifically targets trans girls, was introduced and referred to the Joint Judiciary Committee.

Missouri HB1332, a tax bill that would punish institutions for providing gender-affirming healthcare, was introduced and read.

Missouri HB1364, a drag ban bill, was introduced and read for a second time.

Ohio HB68, a "SAFE" act, was introduced and referred to the House Public Health Policy Committee.

Texas HB2862 and HB3147 were filed. These prison bills would prohibit incarcerated trans and gender diverse folks from being housed in facilities consistent with their gender identity.

The following bills progressed:

Bathroom bills: (A bathroom bill denies access to public restrooms by gender or trans identity. They increase danger without making anyone any safer and have even prompted attacks on cis and trans people alike. Many national health and anti-sexual assault organizations oppose these bills.)

Arizona SB1040, a school-based bathroom bill, passed in the Senate and crossed over to the House.

Arkansas SB270, which would make it “criminal indecency with a child” for trans folks to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, was re-referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Idaho SB1100, a school-based bathroom bill, had a second reading and was filed for a third reading.

Idaho S1016, which already passed in the Senate, had its first reading in the House and was scheduled for a second reading.

Iowa SF335, a school-based bathroom bill, passed committee and renumbered as SF482.

Heathcare bills: (Healthcare bills go against professional and scientific consensus that gender-affirming care saves lives. Denying access will cause harm. Providers are faced with criminal charges, parents are threatened with child abuse charges, and intersex children are typically exempted.)

Florida S0952, the “Reverse Woke Act,” was referred to the Senate Health Policy Committee.

Georgia SB140, an under-18 healthcare ban, had a second reading.

Indiana SB0480, an under-18 healthcare ban, passed in the Senate and crossed over to the House.

Kansas SB233, which already passed in the Senate, was referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee. This is also an under-18 healthcare ban.

Nebraska LB574, again an under-18 healthcare ban, was placed on general file, meaning it is now on the floor. 

Oklahoma SB129 passed in committee and will head to the Senate floor. A reminder that this bill had an emergency added, so it would immediately go into effect if it passes.

Texas HB776, an abortion and under-18 healthcare ban, was referred to the House Public Health Committee. 

Utah HB0132 returned to committee yesterday after it failed in committee in January. This is also an under-18 bill.

Public performance bills: (also known as "drag bans" restrict access for folks who are gender non-conforming in any way. They loosely define "drag" as any public performance with an “opposite gender expression,” as sexual in nature, and inappropriate for children. This also pushes trans individuals out of public spaces.)

Arizona SB1698 passed in committee and is headed to the Senate.

Arkansas SB43 was signed by the Governor. This is the drag ban bill that was largely amended to only cover public nudity.

Montana HB359, which already passed in the House, had its first reading in the Senate.

Oklahoma SB503, an obscenity bill, passed in committee.

South Dakota HB1116 an "obscenity bill" that prohibits "lewd or lascivious content," which already passed in the House, passed in committee.

Tennessee SB0841 had its action deferred until 3/14.

Texas HB708 was referred to the House State Affairs Committee.

Schooling bills: (Schooling, or so called “parental rights” bills force schools to misgender or deadname students, ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, and make schools alert parents if they suspect a child is trans. They remove life-saving affirmation and support for trans youth.)

Arizona SB1001 passed in the Senate and was transmitted to the House.

Arkansas SB294 is headed to its final vote in the House.

Florida H1069 was sent to another education subcommittee in the House.

Indiana HB1608 passed in the House and crossed over to the Senate where its first reading is scheduled for Monday.

Iowa HSB222 passed in its subcommittee.

Missouri HB1258 had a second reading.

Oklahoma SB503 passed in committee this morning and is headed to the Senate floor.

Tennessee HB1269 was referred to the House Finance, Ways, & Means Committee.

Utah SB0283, an anti-DEI bill for higher education, passed in its Senate Revenue and Taxation Hearing and is now headed to its second committee.

Sex designation bills: (Sex designation bills make it harder for trans folks to have IDs, such as birth certificates, that match their gender identity. They can force a male or female designation based upon sex assigned at birth. Some ban a non-binary “X” marker or require surgery to qualify for ID updates.)

Montana SB458,passed in committee and will head to the Senate floor.

Tennessee SB1440 passed in committee and will head to the Senate floor.

Sports ban bills: (Most sports bills force schools to designate teams by sex assigned at birth. They are often one-sided and ban trans girls from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity. Some egregious bills even force invasive genital examinations on student athletes.)

Arkansas HB1156 was re-referred to the Senate Education Committee. 

Florida H0999 was sent to another education subcommittee. 

Wyoming SF0133, which already passed in the House, passed in the Senate and will now head to the Governor for signature.

Other anti-trans bills:

Kentucky HB470 passed in committee. This bill defies our categorization system; it's a healthcare bill, but also functions as a bathroom, sports, name change, and a sex designation bill; it packages anything attacking trans youth. A live-tweet of the hearing is here, as can the many Kentucky residents who testified against it.

West Virginia HB3042, a “religious freedom” bill, passed in the Senate and is headed to the Governor for signature. 

Texas SB559, a “religious freedom” bill, passed in committee and will head to the Senate floor.

[hellhunde]

PRIDE COMMISSIONS 🏳️‍🌈

I'm a Trans Gay Guy living in Arkansas and I've had a stroke of bad luck. My hours at my job are going to be cut for all of June, and my car just had a repair bill that's $500+. I would like to not take such a big hit to my bank account for Pride Month, so I'm opening Commissions!

PRICES:

No Slots, I'll be taking as many as I can

Human, Anthro, Feral, etc is a-okay!

Flag doesn't have to be a literal flag, can also be a piece of clothing, and object, etc. Also Any flag is accepted

All Commissions will be finished before the end of june.

If interested, please DM me here or on my Twitter (@hellhunde as well)

More Examples from last Year Under the Cut

[babyarty]

An incomplete list of Trans and gender nonconforming people murdered for existing in the 2020s

Here is the complete list of Trans people murdered in 2023, compiled by Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide (TvT).

2020 – Özge Bilir, aged 25, was a Dutch trans woman of Turkish descent living in Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht. She was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend.

2020 – Alexa Luciano Ruiz was fatally shot in Puerto Rico on 24 February, after an incident in a local restroom. Ms. Luciano was killed while the assailant men laughed.

2020 – Michelle Michellyn Ramos Vargas, a 33-year-old trans woman, was found dead on an isolated road after being shot multiple times on 30 September in San Germán, Puerto Rico. She worked as a bartender and was studying to become a nurse.

2020 – Selena Reyes-Hernandez, 37, was fatally shot in Chicago, Illinois, on 31 May by a man she went home with, after telling him that she was transgender.

2020 – Brayla Stone, 17, was murdered in Arkansas in June 2020 by a man seeking to conceal his sexual relationship with her. The killer pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

2020 – Valera, a 46-year-old man, a janitor, was raped and killed on 10 February in Chelyabinsk, Russia, by his dorm roommates after they learned he was a transgender man.

2021 – Ebeng Mayor, a trans man from Batasan Hills, Philippines, was found raped, mutilated, and killed on 20 May 2021, after being missing for three days.

2022 – Briza Garces Florez, a 40-year-old Colombian trans sex worker from the Netherlands, was stabbed to death by her 32-year-old boyfriend.

2022 – Doski Azad, a 23-year-old Kurdish transgender woman, was murdered by her brother for being transgender.

2022 – Ariyanna Mitchell, a 17-year-old Black trans girl from Virginia, was shot and killed by 19-year-old Jimmy LeShawn Williams with an assault rifle, after he asked her if she was transgender, and she replied, "yes".

2022 - Cherry Bush, a homeless 48-year-old trans woman, was shot to death in Los Angeles.

2023 - Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death in Culcheth Linear Park on 11 February 2023.

2024 - Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old non-binary American student died one day after being assaulted in the girls' restroom.

(This is Nex)

Their friends and mother say that they experienced bullying for more than a year, because of their gender identity, before the assault. The bullying got progressively worse after a bill was passed in Oklahoma to prohibit the use of non-binary gender markers on birth certificates. Public school students are legally required to use restrooms only according to the gender on their birth certificate.

Nex was assaulted in the restroom by three girls and beaten unconscious. Sue Benedict, Nex's mother, was called to school and she found Nex with bruises on their face and scratches on the back of their head. She was informed that they had been suspended for two weeks. Sue took them to a nearby hospital and called the Oklahoma police department.

Nex told the officer how they had heard the girls making comments about their group and how they had poured water on the girls which then led to the altercation. They then said that had been attacked and had blacked out on the floor. The officer told Sue that this could be considered "mutual" and if they were to press charges, Nex would be open to those same charges. She declined at the time. Nex were later discharged and reportedly went to bed with a sore head.

(Nex with their cat)

The following day, on February 8, as they were preparing to travel with their mother for an appointment, Nex collapsed in the family's living room. Sue Benedict called 911, saying that Nex’s eyes had rolled back and they were struggling to breathe. Nex had stopped breathing by the time EMTs arrived. Nex was declared dead at the hospital that evening.

This is, by no means, a complete list. It does not even include a fraction of the murders of gender queer people in the 2020s, let alone the suicides, rapes, assaults, attempted murders, etc. It does not include the crimes against the rest of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Thank you for reading the whole thing.

[cheetochip]

I’ve been so embarrassed to post this, but honestly I’m too fixated on both it and GF rn

This AU is literally just the events of Gravity Falls with OC-inserts (There’s change tho I promise)

SO. Without further ado, introducing: Falling River AU

What is “Falling River?” This universe essentially takes place within the universe of Gravity Falls, although it’s years before Weirdmageddon and the Mystery Shack altogether. In fact it doesn’t even take place in Oregon.

In 1974 within the small town of Falling River, Arkansas (Population of 101) Beverly Cliffs visited his close family for the Fall season, the town is infamously known for strange activity including people just disappearing altogether. But, Falling River is a very religious town. His uncle, Orion, is the priest of the church down Main Street. He’s mostly excited to spend time with his cousin Dahlia and meets others along the way. He himself is an Atheist and doesn’t believe all the things happening until he actually sees it for himself. He meets friends, foes, and makes reconnections as he tries to piece together the history of this town. Luckily his family has his back.

-

Now I’ve left a lot of things out, and most of it is on purpose-

Why the 70’s? Personally the more vintage tone is a nice contrast to modern day media.

How is this related to Gravity Falls? Well, I’ll get to that in a moment.

To clarify about Bev himself, he’s trans, but was closeted through the first half of this AU (Age 14) But in the future he finally goes by the name Benjamin in 1981 (Age 21)

-

You may have seen on an earlier post about an OC of mine, Ritch- Basically I created all of this just because back then, Ritch’s voiceclaim was Bill Cipher and I found it funny that they looked so similar anndddd boom: Here we are!

But who the hell is Ritch? This guy:

To how this relates to GF is because Ritch knows of Bill Cipher, and Bill knows of him. But they just haven’t crossed paths.

Because Bill was from the 2nd Dimension, Ritch is from the 3rd

-

I would also love to clarify that I myself am not religious so there are EXTREME out of proportion and inaccuracies all over the board. I mean, Ritch is literally a demon disguised as an angel that just doesn’t happen.

-

Anyway, the reason why Ritch is such a threat, is due to his origins- He came out of nowhere, and was titled as a being of tranquility and peace, but he’s nothing close to that. No one has ever summoned him until one person: Orion. After leading him to believe that he could give him the peace he’s always wanted, Ritch tries to snuff him out and reveals his true nature.

What makes Ritch different from Bill is morally, Bill wants to make a world where there are no restrictions, rebuilt for his own entertainment and for no one to get in his way of that (From what we know- Not TBOB compliant)

When it comes to Ritch, while he’s playfully and snarky he is way more sinister in what he does. Turns people against one another, leading them into insanity, considers himself above anyone and everyone, rather than toying with people he tries to wipe them out as FAST as he can.

The only reason he hasn’t destroyed the dimension is due to the fact that a select few within Falling River placed a curse on him, sealing him away until the present time. Bill may have anger issues, but it takes even less to irritate Ritch, not as humorous either.

-

Oooookay that’s enough of me yapping, I have WAYYY more info and art but if anyone is actually curious just lmk

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), who has repeatedly pledged to “protect kids” with anti-LGBTQ+ laws, appointed a man to a top state prison post even though he had previously been fired from a local police force for receiving oral sex from a teen girl in a post office parking lot.

Jamol Jones, who Sanders appointed as chairman to the Arkansas Post-Prison Transfer Board in January, resigned last Friday after news agencies reported that the Benton Police Department fired him after he admitted to an internal affairs investigator that he had sexual relations as an adult with a 17-year-old girl, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

The age of consent in Arkansas is 16. A ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors that Sanders signed last year includes everyone younger than 18.

A November 1, 2018 letter from Benton Police Chief Scotty L. Hodges revealed that he placed Jones on administrative leave with pay “until further notice” for lying to an internal affairs investigator about his sexual relationship with the teen. Jones said he lied because he was embarrassed and scared. An investigation found that Jones’s initial job application to join the police force “did not provide or submit certain key information” about the relationship with the minor.

Jones said he and the girl “had talked at the gym” and that “she had identified herself as an 18-year-old” before performing oral sex on him in the Benton Post Office parking lot. Though he denied knowing her actual age, the Benton Police internal affairs investigator wrote in his official report, “There was indication he knew her age and continued the relationship, even telling her that the relationship could not be found out.”

Jones admitted to wanting to keep the relationship secret. He also admitted to never asking to see the girl’s ID, even though he had been formerly trained as a police officer to confirm people’s ages by doing so. The girl’s mother said she suspected that her daughter might have lied about her age to attract male attention, and the mother added that she didn’t want Jones to go to jail over the sexual relationship with her daughter.

Nevertheless, the lie and relationship violated the department’s ethics policy and state law. Though the Saline County prosecuting attorney’s office didn’t file charges against Jones, Hodges fired Jones three weeks later.

When Sanders appointed Jones in January, she said in a statement, “His prior law enforcement experience makes him a clear choice to take on this important role, and I look forward to working together as we empower Arkansans with a safer, stronger state.”

He was meant to serve for seven years as the board’s “chief executive, administrative, budgetary, and fiscal officer” while earning an annual salary of over $95,380. The board he resigned from oversees parole, alternative sentencing programs, and expunging criminal records for eligible offenders.

State Sen. Kim Hammer (R) said that he and other senators “had no knowledge of [Jones’s] actions” before the Senate voted to confirm his appointment to the position, noting, “I was given no indication from the Governor’s office, who vets the application, that there was an issue.”

Sanders’s office didn’t respond to a media request asking if she knew of Jones’ firing from the police force before she appointed him or how her office vets potential political appointees. Her appointment of him seems at odds with her pledge to “protect kids” by passing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

In March, Sanders also signed a “Don’t Say Gay” law, banning classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation before fifth grade, as well as another bill allowing anyone who received gender-affirming care as a minor to sue their doctor up to 15 years after they turn 18 — though a court blocked it. In February, she signed a bill reclassifying drag performances as adult-oriented entertainment.

“The Governor has said she will sign laws that focus on protecting and educating our kids, not indoctrinating them and believes our schools are no place for the radical left’s woke agenda,” a Sanders spokesperson said in a statement when she signed the gender-affirming care ban.

Last November, Sanders appointed an anti-LGBTQ+ Christian nationalist to oversee state libraries. In October, Sanders issued an executive order banning “woke,” gender-inclusive language in government communications.

[transhoming-project]

Save Trans Lives

The "TransHoming Project" aims to build Tiny Home communities and RV Parks for Minorities fleeing red states. These homes could either serve as temporary lodging or permanent residence.

These communities would be established in sanctuary states such as:

New Jersey

New York

Oregon

Illinois

California

Any other state that is safe for LGBTQ+ individuals, Women, Children, and People Of Color.

The end goal is to have large-scale communities with little-to-no cost for the inhabitants, and a self-sustaining model for water, food, and electricity.

If the United States will not protect us, we will make our own sanctuary.

Why is this project needed?

As of April 7th, 2023, there have been over 450 anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in the United States. These bills range anywhere from Banning transgender healthcare for youth (Idaho HB 71) and prohibiting Health Insurance from covering ANY Gender affirming care (Florida HB 1421), to Charging anyone who uses the “incorrect” bathroom with sexual assault (Arkansas SB 270).

To find more information, visit the ACLU’s website.

With these bills in the works, the safety of LGBTQ+ persons, their health providers, and their children are at risk. It is imperative that we start relocating to blue sanctuary states before these bills become law.

With our project, we will ensure that those who cannot afford to quickly relocate on their own can seek proper shelter through us.

How can I help?

Share Our Cause!

Spread the message to your friends and family! The more visibility this project gets, the faster it will succeed!

Subscribe to our social medias:

Youtube

Instagram

Discord

Tiktok

LinkTree

Help Financially

Each sale on our website goes into funding the project, or you can donate directly to the cause by subscribing to our website.

Updates On funding will be posted weekly on our social media.

Offer a Skill/Service

We are in need of:

(Illinois Residents Only)

Realtors

Construction Workers

Architects

Electricians

(Remote)

Artists

Advertisers (with prior successful results)

Lawyers

If you have any of the skills listed above, contact us! We are willing to pay for expertise.

[transformationsproject]

Today's Legislative Updates 03/16/23

Trans rights are still under attack in the United States. Please visit our website linked below to learn about your state and contact your reps. Here's a thread of today's updates:

A bathroom bill denies access to public restrooms by gender or trans identity.

They increase danger without making anyone any safer and have even prompted attacks on cis and trans people alike. Many national health and anti-sexual assault organizations oppose these bills.

Idaho S1100 passed committee yesterday and was sent to the House floor for a final vote.

Idaho S1016 was sent to the Senate floor for a final vote yesterday.

Arkansas HB1156 passed yesterday and is being sent to the Governor.

Healthcare bills go against professional and scientific consensus that gender affirming care saves lives. Denying access will cause harm.

Providers are faced with criminal charges, parents are threatened with child abuse charges, and intersex children are typically exempted.

New Hampshire HB619 and HB368 were retained in committee yesterday and may now be dead.

Georgia SB140 passed this morning and is going to the Governor.

Schooling / Parental Rights bills force schools to misgender or deadname students, ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, and make schools alert parents if they suspect a child is trans.

They remove life-saving affirmation and support for trans youth.

Iowa HF348 was sent to the Senate Education Subcommittee yesterday.

Arkansas HB1468 had its 3rd house reading yesterday.

Florida H1069 and H0999 were both sent to the House Education & Employment Committee yesterday.

In other bills that either fit multiple categories or stand on their own, we have:

Florida S0486 was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal & Civil Justice yesterday.

Florida S0254 was sent to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee yesterday.

Texas HB3213 was sent to the House Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee yesterday.

Texas SB559 passed the Senate today and was sent to the House.

We also have good news to share!

These are either updates on positive bills which protect and affirm trans individuals or updates on anti-trans bills that have failed.

New Hampshire HB619 and HB368 were retained in committee yesterday and may now be dead.

Tennessee bills are all deferred or placed behind budget, a clear win!

It's not too late to stop these and other hateful anti-trans bills from passing into law. YOU can go to http://transformationsproject.org/ to learn more and contact your representatives!

[acquariusgb]

Billary fic drabble advent calendar: Day 11

Day 11: Love Letters

Bill and Hillary were sitting in the back of the car. They had just left the church where they had attended the tribute to Rosalynn Carter. 

President Biden had left with Air force one and they decided to stay a bit more in Georgia with the Carter family and then leave in an evening flight. 

Bill was absentmindedly playing with her fingers as she had finally let him hold hands in the privacy of the car. Hillary was looking out of the window lost in thoughts. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asked her quietly.

Hillary slightly shook her head, getting out of her trans. “Nothing and everything” she vaguely answered. 

There was a lot to think about. The Carters had been in their lives in a way or another for over 50 years. It was strange now to think that she was the furthest First Lady still living. Laura Bush was her same age and next in line, but now she and Bill will be first in all the ceremonies. If she had become president, where would they have put her after her term? As Bill's First Lady or a former president? She chuckled thinking at the logistic and diplomatic problem they would have caused as a precedent.

“What?” He asked surprised, but with a smile. The wonders of his wife's mind.

“Nothing” she shook her head, still smiling. She would tell him later. “How about that letter Amy read?” She changed the subject. “It was really touching.”

“Yeah. They really had a great love story.”

She hummed. “And Jim had a great way with words.”

“Hey, I used to write you letters when we were dating.” 

The first time he sent her a letter was during the couple weeks he had spent in Connecticut to help with the McGovern’s campaign while Hillary was still in California waiting for him, the first summer they spent together. Even though they would soon be reunited, he sent a letter telling her how much he missed her.

Then he wrote to her in the summer of 1972 while she was in Washington working for Marian Wright Edelrman and he had a full-time job for the McGovern’s campaign and so they had to spend time apart again. And then again in the summer of 1973 as they took separate roads after Yale. Even after she moved to Arkansas, but they had to live in different houses because of the optics of living together while not being married, Bill would leave her some love letters in her locker or inside books while they were both professors at university. 

She playfully rolled her eyes. “Yes, your letters were romantic too. And I kept all of them. ” She paused. “Some were also… how can I put it?... Suggestive?”

Bill chuckled. He remembered those ones. “I hope you have those hidden well so that they can be found only when we’re long dead.”

She laughed too. She could always count on him to cheer her up. 

They both started reminiscing about the past. Inevitably, after they got married, the letters stopped showing up. Yes, he would leave notes or messages, but nothing compared to a classic love letter.

Then, one day, out of the blue, her assistant brought her the mail. 

“There’s a special letter in there, Madam.” She gave her a knowing smile. 

Hillary frowned, curiously. “Okay… thanks…” She immediately started sorting out the mail until she saw a familiar handwriting. She opened the letter and smiled as she read the first words.

To my dearest Hi’ri,

words could never express how much I love you and longer to be with you…

[cock-holliday]

“No matter how many anti-trans bills Arkansas adopts, the lawmakers can’t stop her from enjoying the tranquility of life inside Tilifi and sharing that with others. ‘They’re not here at my door,’ she says. ‘And if they come knocking, I’ll be ready.’ On the wall in her living room is a painted portrait featuring her ‘I’m still fucking HERE’ mantra, now a rallying cry for so many Black trans women who aspire to defy expectations and live long, full lives like Miss Major.”

[mariacallous]

Utah became the latest state to regulate bathroom access for transgender people after Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law Tuesday that requires people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools and government-owned buildings that match their sex assigned at birth.

Under the legislation, transgender people can defend themselves against complaints by proving they had gender-affirming surgery and changed the sex on their birth certificate. Opponents noted not all states allow people to change their birth certificates and that many trans people don’t want to have surgery.

The legislation also requires schools to create “privacy plans” for trans students and others who may not be comfortable using group bathrooms, for instance by allowing them to use a faculty bathroom — something opponents say may “out” transgender children.

“We want public facilities that are safe and accommodating for everyone and this bill increases privacy protections for all,” Cox said in a statement Tuesday night.

At least 10 other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee — have passed laws that seek to regulate which bathrooms trans people can use, and nine states regulate the bathrooms that trans students can use at school. West Virginia’s Legislature is considering a transgender bathroom bill for students this year.

The Utah bill requires any new government buildings to include single-occupant bathrooms and asks that the state consider adding more of the bathrooms to increase privacy protections in existing government buildings. It did not provide any funding for such upgrades.

The sponsor, Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland, said she was trying to make it illegal for a naked man to be in a bathroom with an 8-year-old girl. She said that situation happened at a public facility in Salt Lake County and that officials said they couldn’t do anything about it because the man said he was trans.

Opponents argued the legislation should target the behavior and not transgender residents and visitors.

“This bill perpetuates discrimination, needlessly imposes barriers to the everyday needs of people in Utah, and risks harmful and discriminatory enforcement against transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah said Tuesday in a letter urging the governor to veto the legislation.

“All it does is invite scrutiny of people who are transgender or perceived to be transgender when they are lawfully going about their lives,” the letter said.

Anyone who uses a changing room or locker room that does not match their sex assigned at birth could be charged with trespassing if “the individual enters or remains in the changing room under circumstances which a reasonable person would expect to likely cause affront or alarm to, on, or in the presence of another individual,” under the legislation.

Those who violate the law could also be charged with loitering, lewdness or voyeurism, depending on their behavior.

Opponents said the law would still legally require a trans man who was taking testosterone and who may have grown facial hair to use women’s bathrooms and locker rooms.

“Nobody I know cares if a transgender woman comes into their bathroom, uses it for its intended purpose and walks out,” Birkeland said. “That is not what this bill is about.”

The bill passed easily in the Republican-controlled House and Senate on Jan. 26 after a conference committee amended it to clarify that public school students cannot be charged criminally for using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Equality Utah, a nonprofit organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, advocated for the amendment but still opposed the bill.

No lawmakers or members of the public spoke against the part of the bill that allows the state to enforce some federal Title IX provisions that require equal opportunities for male and female athletes in schools, along with equal facilities and equal access to preferred playing and practice times.

[beardedmrbean]

NEW YORK -- Target is removing some items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work," Target said in a statement Tuesday. ”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior."

Target said that customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.

Target declined to specify Wednesday which items it was removing but among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company that designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories, have also created backlash.

The Pride merchandise has been on sale since early May. Pride month is held in June.

Target confirmed that it has moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern stores after confrontations and backlash from shoppers in those areas.

Target's response to confrontations in its stores is taking place as state legislatures introduce a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ+ individuals.

There are close to 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have gone before state legislatures since the start of this year, an unprecedented number, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Those efforts focus on health, particularly gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, and education. State legislatures are pushing to prevent discussions in school regarding sexuality and gender identity.

At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, though judges have temporarily blocked their enforcement in some, including Arkansas. An Associated Press analysis found that often those bills sprang not from grassroots or constituent demand, but from the pens of a handful of conservative interest groups.

Target’s Pride month collection has also been the subject of several misleading videos in recent weeks, with social media users falsely claiming the retailer is selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits designed for kids or in kids’ sizes.

The moves come as beer brand Bud Light is still grappling with a backlash from customers angered by its attempt to broaden its customer base by partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light's parent company said it will triple its marketing spending in the U.S. this summer as it tries to restore sales it lost after the brand partnered with the transgender influencer.

Target and other retailers including Walmart and H&M have been expanding their LGBTQ+ displays to celebrate Pride month for roughly a decade. This year transgender issues — including gender-affirming health care and participation in sports — have been a divisive topic in state legislatures and the backlash has turned hostile.