LGBTQ
National museum of LGBTQI+ history and culture proposed by Wisconsin congressman
WASHINGTON — Proposed federal legislation could add LGBTQI+ history and culture to the Smithsonian Institution’s museum tapestry. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat, introduced two bills in late October that would begin the process of creating a National Museum of American LGBTQI+ History and Culture. Both bills would need to be signed into law […]
U.S. House GOP in spending bills takes aim at federal LGBTQ, racial equity policies
U.S. House Republicans are continuing to use government spending bills to engage in culture war battles, with legislation debated during the past week that would ban pride flags on some federal buildings, strip funding from a new museum for Latino history and target certain LGBTQ and racial equity policies and programs. The hot-button provisions in […]
Scholastic needs to take a stand against book censorship
If you could combine Pretzel Day from “The Office” and Treat Yo’ Self Day from “Parks and Recreation” for elementary school-aged Leann, it would have been the Scholastic Book Fair. You’re telling me there’s going to be a pop-up book fair with not only books, but posters, pencils, erasers and bookmarks in my school? And […]
U.S. House Republicans target ‘explicit’ books in school libraries
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats on the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee split at a Thursday hearing about whether some books containing LGBTQ+ content should be removed from public school libraries. Democrats criticized the hearing as leaning into culture war topics to attack public education, and said that those tactics resulted in book bans. […]
Ketchum, who made history as state’s first openly transgender elected official, to run for mayor
When she was elected to Wheeling City Council in 2020, Rosemary Ketchum made history as the first openly transgender woman to hold public office in West Virginia. Ketchum announced recently she’ll run to be the city’s mayor in 2024. If successful, she’d become the state’s first openly transgender mayor. As governments in the state continue to […]
WV State Board of Education should clarify signs supporting LGBTQ+ students are not political
What makes an issue “political?” What makes it “divisive?” The answer impacts the free speech rights of thousands of West Virginians. Teachers, like students, do not lose their First Amendment protections when they enter a school. This is a right the ACLU is proud to have protected for more than 70 years. However, there are […]
‘Why can’t I feel safe?’ Students speak out against removal of pride flags at Hurricane High
The rainbow-colored signage with inclusive messaging that sophomore Brook Brown sees in her teachers’ classrooms gives her a “sense of safety and support” while at Hurricane High School. The openly gay student was one of dozens of people who packed the Putnam County Board of Education’s Tuesday meeting to speak on a policy interpretation by […]
Hurricane law restricts minors from attending ‘adult live performances’
HURRICANE, W.Va. — With a unanimous vote Tuesday evening, Hurricane City Council became the third local government in West Virginia to pass laws restricting minors from attending “adult live performances,” legislation opponents say is meant to target drag shows. Hurricane’s ordinance comes weeks after the county’s first LGBTQ+ pride organization, Putnam Pride, hosted what an […]
Congress brought back earmarks. Now they’re one more point of drama in a divided House.
WASHINGTON — The new Republican chairwoman of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee said just before taking over the panel that she planned to “tweak” how the chamber earmarks spending for community projects — coveted state and local funding that members of Congress request. Some of those changes hinted at by Kay Granger of Texas have […]
Parents have no right to allow their children’s gender transition, Republicans say
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on a panel for limited federal government on Thursday argued that parents should not be allowed to let their transgender children have access to gender-affirming care. “A parent has no right to sexually transition a young child,” the chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, […]
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 […]