The American Academy of Pediatrics again expressed its support for gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors, The Advocate reported. In an unanimous vote, the group's board of directors—representing 67,000 pediatricians—recommitted itself to its position in support of this medical care. As part of the board's decision, pediatricians will also receive supplementary documentation, such as clinical and technical data, and the board intends to accomplish an external examination of research on pediatric care.
Travis County District Court Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled that Texas women with complicated pregnancies are exempted from a state abortion ban, Reuters reported. Mangrum, in her ruling, sided with women and doctors who sued Texas over the abortion ban. Several women who said they were denied abortions despite substantial risks to their lives sued the state in March, in the first apparent case of pregnant women suing over curbs imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Abortion was banned with very limited exceptions in Texas.
More gay and bisexual men are now able to donate blood, as the Red Cross starts implementing a historic rule change approved by federal authorities earlier this year, Axios reported. The development helps close the chapter on the FDA's blood donor restrictions for men who have sex with men, which medical and LGBTQ+ organizations had criticized as discriminatory and antiquated. The restrictions were established during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s. According to NBC New York, all potential donors—regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender—will be screened with a new questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behavior, recent partners and other factors.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo will succeed the retired Fauci as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, per News Is Out, citing The Washington Blade. Marrazzo, an infectious disease specialist, is known as an HIV prevention expert and co-founded the Lesbian/Bisexual Women's Health Study. She will officially step into the position this fall.
Family members and friends gathered to mourn and celebrate the life of O'Shae "Sage" Sibley—the 28-year-old dancer who was fatally stabbed last month in Brooklyn in what authorities there have described as a homophobic attack, according to Metro Philadelphia. Sibley, a Philadelphia native, spent most of his life in the city before moving to New York to further his career as a dancer. Mourners lined up on Poplar Street to pay respects at the viewing, which included an open casket. The service featured scripture readings, a video tribute and a solo performance by Onederful Ancrum, of the Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco). Sibley was later buried at Fernwood Cemetery.
Also, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that a 17-year-old who was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of O'Shae Sibley is being charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime, per Gay City News. The teen's identity has not been revealed due to his age. "This entire community—and I'm talking particularly about the gay and queer communities across the country—feels particularly vulnerable at this moment in time," Gonzalez said. "Many laws [are] being passed in many states that seem to target the LGBTQ community and I think it's responsible for the increasing rhetoric of hate across the community."
In a complaint, workers at the LGBTQ+ dating company Grindr Inc., claimed the office is using a new return-to-office policy to punish employees who are trying to unionize, per Bloomberg Law. The company has recently restricted remote work and threatened workers with firing unless they live near or relocate to an in-person office, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) said in a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board. The CWA said the moves were in response to the union drive that workers announced on July 20. By unionizing, employees say they want to secure existing benefits, such as trans-inclusive health care, and win new protections like pay transparency and job security, Time noted.
Albert Weathers, a former minister in Michigan, pled guilty to the 2018 murder of Black transgender woman Kelly Stough, per The Advocate. Weathers will face eight years in prison for murder and another two years for the firearm charge. Weathers had initially claimed he shot Stough, who was also known as Keanna Mattel, in self-defense; however, prosecutors believed the killing was a dispute over money. Sources said Weathers was known to pay for sex with trans women, was aggressive with the women and had a reputation for not paying the sex workers he hired.
Unleashed LGBTQ—a first-of-its-kind conference and entertainment festival creating a space for brands, artists and LGBTQ+ professionals to connect—announced that Billy Eichner and Dyllon Burnside will be present for its first live and in-person Unleashed LGBTQ 2023 conference, taking place at Gilley's in Dallas on Sept. 22-24, a press release noted. Others slated to appear include Queer Eye co-host Antoni Porowski, Pink Media founder Matt Skallerud, Family Equality CEO Stacey Stevenson, actress India Moore, drag figure Shangela and actor Daniel Franzese, among others.
The New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women (or NOW-NYC) and Air Force veteran Ashley Sheffield filed lawsuits against the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs over restrictive fertility assistance policies, arguing they discriminate against single people and same-sex couples, Stars and Stripes noted. They are challenging the legality of limiting healthcare coverage for in vitro fertilization treatments to married couples who can use their own sperm and eggs and have a proven service-connected health issue that affects fertility. The Defense Department has been providing coverage for IVF treatments through the Tricare healthcare system, and Congress authorized the VA to follow suit in 2017; the suit claimed that both policies strictly limit eligibility.
In Ohio, U.S. District Judge Michael Newman allowed a school district's restroom policy allowing students to use their preferred gender identity may remain in place, ABC6 reported. In November 2022, a group of Muslim and Christian parents sued Bethel Local Schools after the Board of Education changed its restroom policy to accommodate transgender students, citing federal Title IX rules. However, Newman dismissed the plaintiff's parental-rights claims, saying, "Although parents have the right to make decisions about where to send their children to school, they do not have a constitutional right to revoke a school's policy on student bathroom usage."
After falling short in their bid for a California state Assembly seat last year, nonbinary former union organizer Joe Thompson now has their sights set on being elected to the Santa Cruz City Council, per The Bay Area Reporter. With an official campaign launch event set for early September, Thompson has already lined up endorsements from a wide array of elected and community leaders. Among other things, the 20-year-old was a leading organizer in the effort to create a union last summer at the Starbucks where they had worked in Santa Cruz as a shift supervisor.
A judge denied early release for 75-year-old Robert Fehring—a Long Island, New York man convicted of mailing threatening letters to LGBTQ+ individuals, News12 reported. Fehring was sentenced in August 2022 to 30 months in prison, a decrease of his original 60-month sentence after a judge took Fehring's age and health into account. Five of Fehring's victims made impact statements begging the judge to keep him in prison for the full 30-month sentence because he robbed them of their sense of safety and left them fearful for their lives.
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund-endorsed candidate Fabian Nelson advanced to the runoff election for Mississippi state House District 66, an organizational press release noted. If elected, Nelson would be the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to the Mississippi state legislature. Mississippi and Louisiana are the only states to have never elected an out LGBTQ+ person to their state legislatures. The primary runoff elections will be on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
In Massachusetts, authorities said an inflammatory item posted on the official Hopedale Police Department Facebook page boasting about police officers involved in the shooting of a transgender person was a hoax, per The Milford Daily News. Police Chief Mark Giovanella said the post was made by hackers who gained access to the department's Facebook page, adding, "The posted message was a hoax designed to cause shock and alarm in our community and our followers." Police Lt. Donald Martin Sr. told the Daily News that the department will now employ two-factor authentication as an additional security function.
An unknown individual allegedly complained about LGBTQ+ content on screens outside of the Tribeca-based Flea Theater last month before smashing the display overnight, per Gay City News. The Flea, which is located at 20 Thomas St. and works to support experimental art by Black, Brown and queer artists—first announced the attack on Instagram, saying staffers encountered the apparent vandal on July 11 after returning from a Fourth of July break. Early that week, the individual asked if there was gay content on those screens (as the screens depicted a June fundraising campaign) and called on The Flea to remove the screens; that night, the Flea said, "this person smashed all three screens." The matter is being investigated.
On Aug. 27, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation will present The Equality Ball, in association with Beeline Productions and the Shady Gang, with support from Beyonce's BeyGOOD Foundation—which aims to bring authentic ballroom culture to Las Vegas, a press release noted. The Equality Ball will be held at the Palms Casino Resort, "and will celebrate and uplift the beauty of Black and Brown, queer joy." People can find out more at hrc.im/EqualityBall.
A compromise is offering hope that a west Michigan library defunded over having LGBTQ+-themed books may be able to keep its doors open, Bridge Michigan noted. The Patmos Library, in Jamestown Township in Ottawa County, will ask voters for a third time to approve a millage that provides 84 percent of the library's $250,000 budget; that vote will take place Nov. 7. No books will be removed from the library as part of the compromise. Gender Queer A Memoir, for example, is currently kept behind the counter, where it can be checked out by patrons.
Tou Thao—who held back bystanders as Derek Chauvin restrained/killed George Floyd in 2020—is the final of four Minneapolis officers to be sentenced on state criminal charges, receiving just under five years, according to Axios. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill found Thao guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in May.
A Mississippi school district implemented a dress code that discriminates against trans students, per The Advocate, citing the Sun Herald. Last month, the Harrison County School Board adopted a dress code that requires students to wear clothes matching the gender assigned to them at birth. Earlier this year, the district made headlines for denying a transgender student the right to wear a dress to her graduation ceremony, prompting the American Civil Liberties Union to file suit; however, the judge did not intervene and the student missed the event.
A conservative legal nonprofit led by Stephen Miller (a former senior adviser to former President Donald Trump) is suing Target on behalf of one of the company's investors, saying it should have anticipated public backlash to its LGBTQ+ Pride displays in June, The Hill noted. America First Legal claims the company misrepresented the adequacy of its risk monitoring after its Pride month campaign led to employee harassment, bomb threats and a conservative online hate campaign. Target's stock dropped by nearly 20 percent after the backlash began in May.
About 49,500 people took their own lives last year in the United States—the highest number ever, according to an NBC News item that cited a CDC report. Experts have said that suicide is complicated, and that recent increases might be caused by several factors, including higher rates of depression and limited availability of mental health services. However, a main factor is the growing availability of guns, said Jill Harkavy-Friedman, senior vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The NBA team the Orlando Magic has angered LGBTQ+ leaders by donating thousands of dollars to Never Back Down—a super PAC backing Florida Republican Gov./presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, The Advocate reported. "The Orlando Magic needs to make it make sense," said Carlos Guillermo Smith, an out Democrat running for the Florida Senate. "On one side, they host Pride night. They march in Pride celebrations and they claim to support equality, inclusion, and anti-racism. And then on the other hand, they donate $50,000 to a presidential campaign who is running against the existence of LGBTQ people and who is trying to promote the idea that there's personal benefits to slavery.
Nevada's Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization has dissolved after three years, per The Nevada Current. Stephan Page, co-chair of the task force, said members decided not to ask the 2023 legislature to renew it "for a few different reasons" after the group was initially created in 2019 and re-verified in 2021. Task force member Rob Phoenix—a family nurse practitioner who owns and operates the Huntridge Family Clinic—said, "We're still figuring out things about [Gov. Joe Lombardo]; I'm not sure where he is on the HIV front."
A Seattle museum removed all traces of British Harry Potter creator JK Rowling from its exhibition celebrating the schoolboy wizard and his friends because of her transphobic stance, Deadline noted. The Museum of Pop Culture had previously published a blog explaining its decision to airbrush Rowling from its display, due to her "super hateful and divisive" views. Project manager Chris Moore, who is transgender, wrote, "There's a certain cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity in the world of Harry Potter and, this time, it is not actually a Dementor."
The two Democratic Tennessee state representatives who were expelled by Republicans in April for protesting in support of gun safety on the chamber floor reclaimed their old seats in recent elections, media reports noted. Justin Jones won his election for his state House seat in Nashville, and Justin J. Pearson won his race in Memphis, per NBC News.
