Trend – LGBTQ Attacks
‘I’m not real proud’: Kansas public library gets new lease by removing LGBTQ books for kids
ST. MARYS, Kansas — The public library in St. Marys has managed to hang onto its lease for one more year by removing all of the youth-oriented LGBTQ books from library shelves. Library director Judith Cremer said the decision was the result of her efforts to work with the city commission, which has been threatening […]
Oklahoma’s governor presses NCAA to change transgender student athlete participation policy
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s governor is pressing the nation’s top collegiate sports governing body to overhaul its transgender student athlete policies to “guarantee a fair environment” for female athletes. In a letter, Gov. Kevin Stitt and eight other Republican governors wrote that the NCAA has “the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes […]
Oklahoma providers, advocates worry as trans youth face gender care restrictions
OKLAHOMA CITY — Transgender youth who receive hormone medications as part of their gender-affirming care will have their access cut off next month. Advocates and providers are worried about what full implementation of a new state law that bans gender-affirming care for minors could mean for transgender youth who will soon be prohibited from accessing […]
Some of Oklahoma’s most vulnerable residents face stark shift in care as harmful law takes effect
Oftentimes when talking about attacks on Two Spirit, transgender, and gender nonconforming+ (2STGNC+) folks, people will lead with facts about disproportionately high suicidality or violence our community members face when trying to live as their authentic selves in societies where compulsory heteronormative, cisgenderism is still the norm. But research suggests that if you’re unfamiliar with […]
Oklahoma judge upholds Legislature’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge on Thursday upheld a state law banning gender-affirming care for minors, saying the measure does not discriminate against transgender children. Judge John Heil III declined to put on hold the new law that bans gender-transition surgeries and hormone treatments for minors following a lawsuit from five transgender youth and […]
First Amendment advocates fight growing number of U.S. book bans
WASHINGTON — One of Thomasina Brown’s favorite books is a memoir about a girl who deals with the grief of losing her father and struggles with her sexual identity. Brown, a 16-year-old student at Nixa High School in Nixa, Missouri, said in an interview that she felt a connection with the book, as she grieved […]
As Missouri providers halt transgender care for minors, some feel duped by legislative deal
Harry Castilow said his family did “all the things you’re supposed to do” when his teenage son Jay came out as transgender. Jay began his social transition in 2021 when he was 15, choosing his name and living as a teenage boy. He went to therapy throughout that first year and got appointments with a […]
Drag queen controversy puts Western Heights Public Schools in national spotlight
OKLAHOMA CITY — A small metro-area school district’s decision to hire a principal who performs as a drag queen has caused division in the community and garnered national attention. The controversy over Western Heights Public Schools’ recent hiring of Shane Murnan, who performs under the drag name “Shantel Mandalay,” drew a large crowd to the […]
Harm of anti-LGBTQ laws includes economic pain for communities, families
Roberto Che Espinoza had been thinking about leaving Tennessee after the 2024 election, but in June they noticed that the state attorney general was seeking medical records on gender-affirming medical care, which Espinoza, a nonbinary transgender man, said included their own records. “Being on any kind of list … I knew after the release of […]