democrats: Last News

estimates that 29 bills seeking to ban gender-affirming treatments — mostly for youth, though some seek to ban Medicaid and private insurers from covering transition-related procedures — have been passed into law this year.“We should not be in the business of telling low-income or impoverished people that they don’t deserve access to the same level of care that every other Maryland resident has access to,” Del. Kris Fair (D-Frederick Co.), the chair of the Maryland LGBTQ+ Caucus, told The Washington Post.

GOP lawmakers in the Montana House of Representatives on Wednesday banned the state’s only transgender legislator from speaking on the chamber floor for the remainder of the legislative session after she called out her GOP colleagues last week during a debate on access to gender-affirming care.

Republican Assembly member Bill Essayli, who represents the 63rd District in western Riverside County, introduced Assembly Bill 1314. The bill would give school districts three days to notify parents, in writing, once a school employee learns a student identifies as a gender that doesn’t align with their birth certificate or other official records. For example, asking to be identified by a different gender or participating in sports of the opposite gender. The bill died in the education committee after the chair refused to give the legislation a hearing. Photo: Office of Bill Essayli

Republican Assembly member Bill Essayli, who represents the 63rd District in western Riverside County, introduced Assembly Bill 1314. The bill would give school districts three days to notify parents, in writing, once a school employee learns a student identifies as a gender that doesn’t align with their birth certificate or other official records. For example, asking to be identified by a different gender or participating in sports of the opposite gender. The bill is stuck in the education committee after the chair refused to give the legislation a hearing. Photo: Office of Bill Essayli

ban on transgender service members instituted by the Trump administration, in which some individuals who had transitioned prior to the ban were “grandfathered” in, meaning they could continue serving without incident, while those wishing to transition in the future or currently in the process of transitioning could not.Under the Rubio-Banks bill, the Department of Defense would be forced to adopt regulations prohibiting people who identify as transgender or have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria from serving, except in rare circumstances.Those exempt from the ban are people who may identify as transgender but have remained stable in their assigned sex at birth for 36 months prior to joining the military, and members who are diagnosed after entering the military but who do not attempt to medically transition.Under the bill, those who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria may only serve in their assigned sex at birth.

Kentucky Gov. Any Beshear, at a bill signing on Wednesday, vetoed a sweeping GOP bill on Friday that would have regulated the lives of trans youths, including banning access to gender-affirming health care and restricting the bathrooms they can use. The bill also would have also banned discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools with students of any age and allowed teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use. Photo: Gov. Andy Beshear Flickr page

Kentucky Gov. Any Beshear, at a bill signing on Wednesday, vetoed a sweeping GOP bill on Friday that would have regulated the lives of trans youths, including banning access to gender-affirming health care and restricting the bathrooms they can use. The bill also would have also banned discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools with students of any age and allowed teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use. Photo: Gov. Andy Beshear Flickr page

injected itself into culture-war battles over curriculum content, student privacy policies, special accommodations for LGBTQ students, and what books or materials are accessible in school libraries.The House approved the bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep.

Florida Republican Congressman Greg Steube, wants to amend Title IX — the civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex — to carve out an exception and discriminate by recognizing one’s sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” Photo: Office of Greg Steube

transgender athletes from competing in sports that match their gender identity; and ban gender-affirming care, not only for minors, but some legally recognized adults in their twenties.Narissa Rahaman, the executive director of Equality Virginia, told Metro Weekly that some of the “forced outing” bills were especially pernicious.One measure would have required school administrators to out students to their parents, regardless of whether trans-identifying students have discussed their identities with their parents or whether they may be living in a home with parents who are not supportive of LGBTQ identity.“There was one forced outing bill that would require a court order for a student to be able to update their name in their school record,” Rahaman said.  “And not just their official school record, like a roster, but just any sort of school document, like a library card reflecting their correct gender, would have required a court order.”Rahaman said the organization’s priority this year was primarily aimed at defeating such bills, although Equality Virginia was monitoring other pro-LGBTQ measures that were introduced, including three bills — one introduced by Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), one introduced by Del.

Respect for Marriage Act, which would require the federal government and states to recognize same-sex marriage licenses issued in states with laws that allow same-sex nuptials. The Act is a safeguard in case the conservative-leaning Supreme Court reverses its own decision legalizing marriage equality nationwide.She also attacked Democrats for their support of a bill to guarantee a right to an abortion, falsely repeating a Republican talking point that the bill would allow abortions up until the moment of birth (in fact, the bill would only allow such extreme cases to occur in cases where the mother’s life is at risk). “The truth has to be told. And we’re down to a point in America where the truth is being canceled.