Rights--parents, schools, vaxx, choice, transgender

Texas AG Ken Paxton once joined this family of a trans kid for dinner. They now feel under attack
Kate Sosin | Feb 25, 2022

...On Feb. 18, (TX AG Ken Paxton, who this year faces a tough reelection, issued a legal interpretation that labels certain types of gender-affirming care for trans kids child abuse. He was backed up by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday. It’s unclear what these moves mean, and experts on trans issues say that no laws in Texas or other states have characterized such medical care as abuse. While it seems unlikely that transgender children will be removed from their parents, parents do worry the move sends a clear message that trans kids are unwelcome in Texas...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/texas-ag-ken-paxton-once-joined-this-family-...
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‘I don’t know where it’s safe’: Family of trans child who dined with Ken Paxton is facing child abuse investigation
The Dallas-area family says it is under investigation by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and at risk of losing their kids.
Kate Sosin | March 8, 2022

...The state had opened investigations into at least five other families, according to (parent). A Texas state judge issued a restraining blocking the state from investigating at least two families on March 2. The court is slated to consider a wider injunction against the policy on March 11.

On March 2, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a statement that denying gender-affirming care to trans youth is illegal and the federal government would enforce transgender protections in Texas.

...(TX AG Ken) Paxton has argued that such care violates Texas law because it will lead to the premature sterilization of young people before they are able to consent. However, for most trans children, gender-affirming care means mental health services or reversible blockers that pause puberty in kids with gender dysphoria until they are old enough to decide if they want to medically transition. Some older trans teens could access hormones or surgery if doctors and mental health providers find it medically necessary.

Texas’ scrutiny of transgender kids comes as states across the nation are passing anti-trans legislation...Arkansas has also passed a bill preventing youth from accessing gender-affirming medical care...

https://19thnews.org/2022/03/texas-briggle-family-trans-child-investigation-ken-...

Wow--puberty blockers are reversible. They preserve a kid's options until they are old enough to decide on gender. I think the same drugs are used in adults for some prostate cancers and uterine fibroids--so I suspect there must be other uses than gender to use on minors? I THINK they may be used to allow extremely short kids more time to grow? Wow.

Alabama passes bill making some transgender healthcare a felony
Maria Caspani | April 8, 2022

...The bill* would make it a felony punishable with up to 10 years in prison to provide medical care including hormone treatment, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery to minors...

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/alabama-lawmakers-pass-bill-criminalizi...
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http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/ALISON/SearchableInstruments/2022RS/Prin...

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum have vetoed sports-participation ban. https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2022/04/republican-governors-anti-trans-bi...
Overruled in Utah.

Utah bans transgender athletes in girls sports despite veto
By SAM METZ and LINDSAY WHITEHURST | March 25, 2022

...With the override of Cox’s veto, a dozen states have some sort of ban on transgender kids in school sports. Utah’s law takes effect July 1.

...Utah has only one transgender girl playing in K-12 sports who would be affected by the ban. There have been no allegations of any of the four transgender youth athletes in Utah having competitive advantages.

...Lawmakers anticipate court challenges similar to blocked bans in Idaho and West Virginia, where athletes have said the policies violate their civil rights. They’ve argued the bans violate their privacy rights, due to tests required if an athlete’s gender is challenged. The ACLU of Utah said on Friday that a lawsuit was inevitable.

Utah’s policy would revert to the commission if courts halt the ban...

https://apnews.com/article/utah-transgender-sports-ban-3ffc9205bfbeb05ae3a724259...

R senators who recently asked USSC nominee "what is a woman?" should listen to 60 min TED hour:
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852217439/molly-webster-is-our-definition-of-sex-...

The Brooklyn Public Library has announced that any teenager in America is now eligible for a Brooklyn Public Library card.

Teens can sign out ebooks + audiobooks from wherever they live.

The move is designed to combat censorship, with some titles listed as "always available."
Photo ( https://twitter.com/Goodable/status/1517501424610992129/photo/1 )

- Goodable @Goodable | 9:51 AM · Apr 22, 2022
Good news when you need it the most.

Laurence Tribe (Harvard Law) tribelaw | 1:16 PM · Apr 23, 2022
Under Powell v. Texas (1968), the 8th Amendment would prevent making involuntary homelessness a crime.

Quote Tweet
BarbNash4SC124 @Nash4SC124 · Apr 22
Get ready for the next round of hate based legislation.
A bill is going to the Tennessee governor's desk that would make homelessness a felony punishable by 6 years of imprisonment and a $3,000 fine.
How does that solve anything?
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Tennessee lawmakers pass a bill that could target people experiencing homelessness
Samantha Max | April 22, 2022

... the measure* would make it a misdemeanor to camp on an interstate exit or under a bridge. It would be a Class E felony to camp on public property between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. — that means up to six years in prison and a $3,000 fine.

“A felony is a very, very serious offense,” said India Pungarcher with the advocacy group Open Table Nashville.

People convicted of felonies in Tennessee face more than the possibility of fines or prison time. They also lose the right to vote and must jump through hoops to get that right restored. Having a felony on your record also makes it harder to secure a job or housing — which means the legislation could send people right back to an encampment...

https://wpln.org/post/tennessee-lawmakers-pass-a-bill-that-could-target-people-e...

* https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Amend/SA0892.pdf

DeSantis revokes Disney's special status after ‘Don’t Say Gay’ opposition
Andrew Atterbury | 04/22/2022

...Aside from the “Don’t Say Gay” criticisms, DeSantis said Friday that he is also against recent statements by Disney executives discussing efforts to include more diverse characters in their content...

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/22/desantis-disney-special-status-dont-say...

Florida man asks schools to ban Bible following the state's efforts to remove books
Matthew S. Schwartz | April 26, 2022

A Florida activist known for his tongue-in-cheek petitions to local government agencies has asked school districts in Florida to ban the Bible.

In petitions sent to public school superintendents across the state, Chaz Stevens asked the districts to "immediately remove the Bible from the classroom, library, and any instructional material...Additionally, I also seek the banishment of any book that references the Bible...SMy objection to the Bible being in your public schools is based on the following seven points, offered for your learned consideration..."

Stevens proceeded to question whether the Bible is age-appropriate, pointing to its "casual" references to murder, adultery, sexual immorality, and fornication. "Do we really want to teach our youth about drunken orgies?"

He also took issue with the many Biblical references to rape, bestiality, cannibalism and infanticide. "In the end, if Jimmy and Susie are curious about any of the above, they can do what everyone else does – get a room at the Motel Six and grab the Gideons," he wrote.

The 57-year-old Deerfield Beach man says his ire was stoked after Florida lawmakers decided this month to ban 54 math books that were claimed to have incorporated topics such as critical race theory. "I love the algebras," says Stevens, who studied applied mathematics in college. "And those Tally (Tallahassee) loons just banned a bunch of arithmetic books?"

Stevens sent the petitions as a way to point out the hypocrisy, he said. "If you want to teach morality and ethics, do you really want to turn to a book that wants you to dash babies against rocks?" he told NPR, pointing to Psalm 137:9.

Stevens, who doesn't have any children attending Florida public schools, says he hasn't heard back from any of the school districts yet. But his group is tracking when the emailed petitions are opened. As of late Monday, the Pasco County School District had shared the email internally 35 times, he said — and Duval County reached out to the state capital for guidance...

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/26/1094740651/florida-man-asks-schools-to-ban-the-bi...

Poor kids (in Alabama) whose parents may not welcome news that they think they are transgender--kids can't confide in school counsellors or teachers. But at least, for now, they can use meds to delay puberty.

Transgender medication law in Alabama blocked by judge
A federal judge has blocked part of a law that makes it a felony to give gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to minors
Edward Helmore | 14 May 2022

...The ruling maintains Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming surgeries for transgender minors – which are not performed on minors in the state – as well as a provision that requires counselors and other school officials to tell parents if a minor discloses that they think they are transgender...

US district judge Liles Burke issued a preliminary injunction to stop the state from enforcing the medication ban, which took effect on 8 May, while a lawsuit against the bill goes forward.

...Educators and school nurses are not allowed to withhold – or “encourage or coerce” students to withhold – from their parents “the fact that the minor’s perception of his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor’s sex”, Burke wrote in his opinion.

...The judge also ruled that Alabama had produced no credible evidence to show that transitioning medications are “experimental” while, “the uncontradicted record evidence is that at least 22 major medical associations in the United States endorse transitioning medications as well-established, evidence-based treatments for gender dysphoria in minors.”

Burke added that “enjoining the act upholds and reaffirms the ‘enduring American tradition’ that parents – not the states or federal courts – play the primary role in nurturing and caring for their children”.

...Alabama’s law banning child gender transition has received support from 15 states, including Texas where the attorney general, Ken Paxton, issued a statement on Wednesday saying he would “support any law in any state that protects vulnerable children from the sexual predations of the left”.

In Arkansas, a judge blocked a similar law before it took effect. ...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/14/transgender-medication-law-alaba...

>10 mamzel: John Oliver was very vocal on this topic last Sunday.

Oliver added, “To trans children in Alabama right now… you are important. Your lives are important. I cannot imagine trying to build self-esteem in childhood as your own government attempts to undermine your very existence, but you should know: You are profoundly valuable and you are irreplaceable.”

“As for Kay Ivey,” he concluded, “what the f**k is wrong with you? … To put this in terms you will definitely understand: ‘Summer’s hot, ocean’s big, and the people of Alabama definitely deserve a lot better than you.’”

(*s added by me)
Kay Ivey is the governor of Alabama.
You can see his show on HBO (and probably YouTube).

https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2022/5/16/john-oliver-blasts-garbage-lady-k...

Teachers are in short supply. Wonder if states that follow FL's lead will have an especially hard time keeping classrooms staffed?

This Florida teacher married a woman. Now she’s not a teacher anymore.
Hannah Natanson | May 19, 2022

...The Parental Rights in Education bill passed the Florida House and Senate in March, despite strong opposition from LGBTQ activists and the political left, including President Biden’s statement that the bill was “hateful.” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed it into law March 28, vowing as he did so that children in his state would “get an education, not an indoctrination.”

The new law was both broad and vague, outlawing “classroom instruction … on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3” and stipulating these lessons must be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” for all older students. But it was specific when it came to punishment: Parents could sue school districts for violating the law. It would inspire a wave of copycat legislation — Alabama’s governor signed a near-identical measure into law in April, and similar bills are pending in at least 19 other states.

...Although Florida’s law does not take effect until July 1, LGBTQ teachers in Florida felt its impact immediately. In Orlando, a sixth-grade science teacher decided to resign this spring after parents wrote a letter complaining that he had acknowledged his same-sex marriage at school. In Cape Coral, a middle-school art teacher lost her job after admitting her own pansexuality to students...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/05/19/gay-florida-teacher-desantis...

>11Florida's getting rid of books. They're getting rid of teachers. Why have school at all?

>12 mamzel: Where else are Florida kids supposed to pick up infections during disease outbreaks?

... other than church.

Reading Rainbow host Levar Burton: "Read the books they're banning. That's where the good stuff is"

.@levarburton is right

0:46 ( https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1535255672178221058 )
From The View

- Molly Jong-Fast @MollyJongFast | 9:40 AM · Jun 10, 2022

Part of why DeSantis is so popular in Florida is because his entire shtick is about owning the libs. Anything to feed his base and his base is big there. But really it's not policy about what can make the lives of your average Floridians better. He doesn't care about that. If his covid policies happen to kill more people than necessary so be it. He'll hide the numbers and crow how his policies are the best. He expects to be re-elected if not a front runner for POTUS. It's all about ambition and calculation. That retirement crowd for one though is not that worried about what's good for others. They're in the second half as it is and most all of them if they can afford to move there have some means anyway.

Andy Kim (US Rep) @AndyKimNJ | 10:49 AM · Jul 1, 2022:
Wisconsin school board rejected book about Japanese American internment. They “felt that we needed the perspective of the American government and why Japanese internment happened.”

Let me present this photo of national memorial for internment camps in DC as the gov perspective
Photo "Here we admit a wrong" (https://twitter.com/AndyKimNJ/status/1542883137788805120/photo/1)

Quote Tweet
NBC Asian America @NBCAsianAmerica · 20h
Wisconsin school board members dismissed a book on Japanese American incarceration during World War II because it created an “unbalanced” account of history, outraged parents say.
https://trib.al/fd3PtU6

The People He Needs to Be Hurting
Understanding Ron DeSantis’s crusade against transgender care.
Alberto Cairo | October 24, 2022

...Restricting gender-affirming care would take a broad brush to a complex reality. It would ignore differences between patients. And it would also deprive families of autonomy. I work at the intersection of data and scientific literacy, and I don’t want someone as politically motivated as Joseph Ladapo to dictate what healthcare my family—or any other family—can or cannot access. I’d prefer to rely on actual standards and let families decide for themselves.

This is, after all, what “parents’ rights” is all about...

...What’s happening in Florida has nothing to do with science; it’s all about fueling political polarization. Ron DeSantis is a man of theoconservative and authoritarian inclinations, as his rhetoric and actions suggest, and he has presidential ambitions. He’s also a keen observer of what his most ardent supporters want, such as the desire to attack those whose existence they find offensive while claiming that they do it for our own good.

Those who support DeSantis’s crusade against families with trans kids should beware. History teaches that when you choose leaders to hurt people you hate, they eventually end up hurting the people you love, too.

https://www.thebulwark.com/the-people-he-needs-to-be-hurting/

Utah Outlaws Hormone Therapies and Gender Surgeries for Minors
Jeremy Frankel | Sunday, 29 January 2023

...The bill was contested within the Utah Legislature, where Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher argued that the bill would outlaw treatments that could save the lives of transgender youth and cited a study* by the American Academy of Pediatrics on transgender suicide rates, saying, "We might not understand gender-affirming health care, we might not like it, but every credible medical organization on the planet says that that is the safest, best, and most appropriate care to save those lives."...

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/utah-gendersurgeries-hormonetherapies/2023/01/...

* Russell B. Toomey et al. 2018. Transgender Adolescent Suicide Behavior. Pediatrics (1 Oct 2018) 142 (4): e20174218. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-4218 https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/4/e20174218/76767/Transgende...

Abstract
...RESULTS:
Nearly 14% of adolescents reported a previous suicide attempt; disparities by gender identity in suicide attempts were found. Female to male adolescents reported the highest rate of attempted suicide (50.8%), followed by adolescents who identified as not exclusively male or female (41.8%), male to female adolescents (29.9%), questioning adolescents (27.9%), female adolescents (17.6%), and male adolescents (9.8%). Identifying as nonheterosexual exacerbated the risk for all adolescents except for those who did not exclusively identify as male or female (ie, nonbinary). For transgender adolescents, no other sociodemographic characteristic was associated with suicide attempts.

...Emerging research reveals that transgender individuals (those whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth) report suicide behaviors (ie, plans for suicide attempts or past attempts) at a higher rate than their cisgender peers (those whose gender identity aligns with their sex assigned at birth)... Data from the 2015 United States Youth Risk Behavior Survey reveal that 8.6% of adolescents report attempting suicide in the past year, and 14.6% report having made a plan to attempt suicide... Comparatively, studies have revealed that nearly 25% to 30% of transgender adolescents report attempting suicide during their lifetimes... Furthermore, findings from the 2008 National Transgender Discrimination Study revealed that 45% of 18- to 24-year-old transgender people had attempted suicide in their lifetimes... Other studies revealed that 28% to 52% of transgender people have attempted suicide... It is important to document this disparity between cisgender and transgender individuals; yet, data often mask the variable experiences of the multitude of gender identities that fall within the transgender umbrella (ie, male to female, female to male, and not exclusively male or female)...

The need to examine variability within transgender populations in health behaviors is widely recognized but rarely accomplished because of small sample sizes, imprecision, and inaccuracies in how gender is captured in survey research... That said, existing research hints at the variation that exists within transgender identity groups. For example, community-based studies have revealed that female to different gender and female to male adolescents report higher rates of suicide ideation (ie, 73.9% and 62.5%, respectively) and previous suicide attempts (46.4% and 18.4%, respectively) compared with all other groups,... whereas researchers in other studies find no differences... Similarly, studies of transgender adults reveal that transgender men (ie, female to male) report higher levels of suicide behavior compared with transgender women (ie, male to female)... The sampling strategies used in these studies often limit analyses or generalizable conclusions about subpopulations’ relative levels of risk. Notably, 1 retrospective study of electronic health records... revealed that there are no differences in suicide ideation or attempts between male to female (32.4% and 20.3%, respectively) and female to male (30.2% and 15.1%, respectively) transgender late adolescents and young adults. This sample was, however, limited to individuals who obtained care at a single, urban community health center,... limiting the generalizability of results....

Two states (so far) W. Virginia and So. Dakota pass ban on "gender transitions" for minors....JMJ....

>19 brone: FFS. This legislation degrades healthcare for adults in addition to adolescents.

The attacks Republican-controlled government on families and individual's lives is a major threat. All for greed and hate, apparently.

>20 aspirit: Who needs rights, when you get to pwn the libs?

Andrew Wortman @AmoneyResists | 4:00 PM · Apr 21, 2023
HE/HIM. Democratic Activist. Gay AF...

Florida just passed a bill that allows the state to remove trans kids from their parents’ custody if they are “subjected to” gender-affirming care. No one should travel to FL until it’s despotic governor is removed from office. And if you live there, get out while you still can.
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Florida Republicans Pass Bill Allowing Trans Kids to Be Removed From Their Families
This is just the latest anti-trans bill passed in the state, but it’s among the most dangerous.
Torri Otten | 19 April 2023

..."The measure passed by a vote of 82–31. A previous version of the bill passed the Senate earlier this month by a vote of 27–12, and the amended version now goes back to the other chamber for a final vote. Governor Ron DeSantis has previously expressed support for the bill and will likely sign it into law if it passes.

If it becomes law, the bill will allow the state to take custody of a child if they have been “subjected to or are threatened with being subjected to” gender-affirming care, which includes puberty blockers* and hormone replacement therapy. Florida courts could modify custody agreements from a different state if the minor is likely to receive gender-affirming care in that second state. The text refers to gender-affirming care as “sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures” and qualifies this care as a form of “physical harm.”...

https://newrepublic.com/post/172063/florida-house-bill-allowing-trans-kids-remov...
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* Leuprorelin, also known as leuprolide, is a manufactured version of a hormone used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, as part of transgender hormone therapy, for early puberty, or to perform chemical castration of violent sex offenders. (Wikipedia)

Heck, we all know people who have been prescribed this drug! {I are one.} I think it's also prescribed to allow extremely short kids a little more growth before puberty?

>22 margd: Do they think parents eagerly pursue transgender care? No! They seek it out when it’s abundantly clear that the child needs it.

>23 2wonderY: Some Rs, esp in FL, think in top-down, paternalistic, simplistic terms, that's for sure! Can you imagine adding loss-of-family to everything else those kids are going through?? (Although, might be a favor to remove child from a hostile family...) Esp since the only care that is typically offered to minors is a little time and a little flexibility to explore and consider. All reversible if that is the child's decision when he/she reaches age in which they can make their own decision.

Parents opt out of PragerU materials in Florida:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv99J11gtOK/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==