A bill moving through the Hawaii Legislature would provide more inclusive training for students and teachers to cull some of the stigmas around the LGBTQ community, KHON2.com reported. The proposal calls for teaching high school students positive and accurate representations of the LGBTQ community and other gender identities—but some lawmakers are concerned about overreach and the lack of an opt-out option. State Rep. Val Okimoto—a parent herself—voted against the bill, citing her experience as a teacher and the importance of parents being involved in education; however, state Rep. Jeanne Kapela voted in support of the bill and said it is a student-driven idea.
A controversial Florida House bill that would restrict school instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation—a "Don't Say Gay" measure—advanced with changes, CBS Miami noted. The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-7 along party lines to approve the proposal (HB 1557), putting the bill in a position to be considered by the full House. A part of the measure that seeks to curtail instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation has upset LGBTQ-rights groups and drew dozens of opponents who testified against the bill.
Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit that plans and produces New York City's official LGBTQIA+ Pride events, revealed a new brand identity for NYC Pride to the world, a press release noted. The statement added "the refresh reinforces NYC Pride's commitment to inclusivity and its heritage of uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community, while setting a foundation for growth as it works towards a future without discrimination." The logo was created as a pro bono project by the creative consultancy Lippincott (a firm perhaps best known for creating the modern Starbucks siren), Fast Company noted. At first glance, the new logo is a gradient rainbow flag made up of the letters NYC. However, when it's animated, that gradient breaks its rainbow, shimmering to reveal all of the other pride flags. Currently, those additional flags include intersex, asexual, trans, pansexual, bisexual, lesbian, non-binary, gay and polyamorous banners—but it could accommodate more.
Pride Houston, the organization that puts together Space City's LGBTQ celebration each summer, announced this year's event will be held in downtown Houston outside of City Hall on June 25, OutSmart Magazine noted. Last year's event was held as a block party in the Montrose gayborhood with a capacity limit of 5,000 attendees (because of COVID protocols). The event had previously occurred as a festival and parade in front of City Hall and drew crowds of more than 500,000 people.
Several LGBTQ leaders in the East Bay are planning a new PrideFest in Oakland this September, according to the Bay Area Reporter. Oakland Pride had held a festival and parade for years until the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020; that year, Oakland Pride held a virtual event. Last year, organizers initially eyed an in-person festival but then held only a small virtual event.
Also, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Capital Pride Celebration—including the parade and festival —will return for its 47th anniversary in D.C., WTOP News noted. The Capital Pride Alliance (CPA), the LGBTQ+ advocacy group and D.C.-based nonprofit, said this year's celebration will take place June 3-12 during LGBTQ+ Pride Month. "After two years without a Parade and Festival, our community is yearning for a sense of celebration, unity, and, quite simply, normalcy," CPA Executive Director Ryan Bos said in a news release.
Amy Leigh Garbati, a 67-year-old retired chief engineer and LGBTQ activist, was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Tamarac, Florida, according to Tamarac Talk. Garbati was remembered recently "for her tireless efforts for trans rights and many other LGBTQ issues" as a former board member of SC Equality and former chair of the SC Equality TransAction committee, South Carolina's largest LGBTQ organization.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Fairness Campaign condemned the Kentucky state Senate for advancing a bill to ban transgender youth from playing sports consistent with their gender identity, per a press release. HRC State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley said, in part, "Legislators have failed to provide examples of any problem in Kentucky related to trans kids playing sports alongside their peers—the only justification for this bill is discrimination against kids who are different."
In Delaware, the gay owners of a Rehoboth Beach guest house and the LGBTQ group CAMP Rehoboth praised the Rehoboth Beach Police Department for quickly arresting a male suspect one day after he allegedly removed an LGBTQ rainbow Pride flag hanging from the porch of the guest house and stepping on it before burying it in snow, The Washington Blade reported. But in a joint statement released Feb. 4, the Rehoboth Guest House and David Mariner, executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, expressed concern that Rehoboth police did not classify the Feb. 1 rainbow-flag incident as a hate crime. A police press release stated, "Jordan Reed, 23, of Rehoboth, Del., was arrested Wednesday afternoon [Feb. 2] following an investigation by police into two separate incidents of trespassing and criminal mischief."
The University of Michigan has its first LGBTQ Task Force, MLive.com noted. Junior De Martinez-Mijangos and fellow College of Literature, Science and Arts student government representatives approved the organization. One thing that inspired Martinez-Mijangos and his peers was a 2017 Federal Bureau of Investigation data that showed the University of Michigan's campus had the second-most hate crimes in the country. Another was the absence of a student-run task force in the past to respond to issues like these from a student perspective first. While the Spectrum Center, founded by late activist Jim Toy, provides LGBTQ students support, the students sought more student representation.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams hired a pastor with a history of homophobic statements to lead a faith-based office and he is still not ruling out the possibility of appointing Fernando Cabrera, an anti-LGBTQ former councilmember, to serve in the administration, Gay City News reported. Politico reported Feb. 3 that Adams was initially aiming to hire Cabrera to run the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health, but that fell through following widespread outrage from the LGBTQ community. However, Adams held a meeting with state lawmakers on Feb. 14, during which he revealed that Cabrera might instead be hired in a "faith-based" role, according to the New York Daily News.
Also in NYC, accomplished LGBTQ attorney Verley Brown announced his candidacy to succeed incumbent Judge Nora Anderson on the Manhattan Surrogate Court, PoliticsNY.com noted. (Anderson cannot run for re-election this year, as she has reached the 70-year-old age restriction.) The Surrogate Court hears cases involving the affairs of decedents, including the probate of wills and those who die without wills, trusts, estates, guardianships and related real estate matters; it also handles adoptions. Manhattan has two surrogate judges: Anderson and Rita Mella.
The non-profit arts and culture organization INTERFORM plans to set the stage in northwest Arkansas for a fashion week that uses clothing as a vehicle for social change, per a press release. This year's talent and performances will highlight transgender individuals and organizations as valued members of the community by highlighting the efforts of two local organizations: The Transition Closet and the Transgender Equality Network. NWA Fashion Week will take place March 10-12 at the Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas; the opening show will feature 17 models who are transgender, intersex and non-binary.
Houston-based LGBTQ artist Jumper Maybach has partnered with the Trevor Project and will be donating 10% of sales from items sold through his website for February, a press release noted. The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for young LGBTQ people. See JumperMaybach.com .
The families of five children and four adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have reached a $73-million settlement with the now-bankrupt gun manufacturer Remington and its four insurers, CNN reported. The settlement comes more than seven years after the families filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Remington, the manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre that left 20 children and six adults dead in Newtown, Connecticut.
Trans University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas made an impact at the Ivy League Championships, winning the 500-yard freestyle and setting a pool record, Outsports noted. Teammate Catherine Buroker was second, and defending event champion Ellie Marquardt from Princeton was third. Thomas became the first transgender student-athlete to win an individual conference title and only the second to do so in NCAA Division I competition (following Montana track-and-field athlete June Eastwood in 2020).
New York Attorney General Letitia James won a major victory in her office's ongoing civil investigation into Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization's financial dealings, a press release noted. Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York County State Supreme Court ruled that Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump must all appear for sworn testimony; also, former President Trump must produce additional documents in compliance with subpoenas from the office of the attorney general.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting, The Detroit News noted. A judge had already declared that if the jury sided with Palin, he would set aside its verdict on the grounds that she hadn't proven the paper acted maliciously—something required in libel suits involving public figures.
Black Lives Matter was suspended from Amazon's charity program, AmazonSmile, over its failure to disclose what happened to the tens of millions of dollars in donations it received following racial-justice protests in 2020, RT.com reported. Co-founder Patrisse Cullors has claimed that the enormous amounts of money raised by the organization was not solicited and instead came automatically from "white guilt" over racial inequity. Investigators, however, are currently trying to find out what happened to the money.
Nearly 1,500 New York City municipal workers have been fired over their refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, ABC News reported. That number represents less than 1% of the city's workforce, but it appears to be the country's largest workforce reduction linked to COVID vaccines. Under a mandate set by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, city employees on leave without pay and those who were newly hired had been told they had until Friday, Feb. 11., to show proof of vaccination or they would face termination.
A woman who works as a professional escort claimed Brad Namdar, a GOP congressional candidate and anti-human trafficking advocate, solicited sex from her on two occasions last spring, The Dallas Morning News reported. The News also uncovered allegations through school records that Namdar inappropriately touched a student when he was a teacher and coach at a Dallas high school. Child Protective Services was notified about the alleged incident, but local law enforcement officials said they have no records of such a report. Namdar, 33, denied all of the allegations.
