first amendment: Last News

Ana On the Edge, by A.J. Sass, The Fabulous Zed Watson, by Basil Sylvester, Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea, by Ashley Herring Blake, and Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff.All feature LGBTQ characters, but do not contain any sexual conduct or descriptions of sexual activity, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer.Cahall argues in her lawsuit, filed in U.S.

ruling, Rosenthal found that the Queer Empowerment Council, which organizes the event, was likely to succeed in proving the ban violates the First Amendment. Rosenthal’s ruling comes after the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents passed a resolution in February banning drag performances from all 11 state university campuses on the grounds that drag — specifically, the idea of biological male performers dressing as women — is allegedly offensive and demeaning to women, “inconsistent” with the university’s core values, and creates a “hostile environment” for women in violation of federal law.The Queer Empowerment Council sued the university, arguing that the ban violates students’ and performers’ First Amendment rights and engaged in censorship or viewpoint discrimination against those who either do not find drag offensive or don’t hold socially conservative political beliefs.Rosenthal, a George H.W.

resolution states that the Board of Regents finds that “it is inconsistent” with the university’s core values, including respect for others, to allow special event venues on the university’s campuses to host drag shows “that involve biological males dressing in women’s clothing, wearing exaggerated female make up and/or exaggerated prosthetics meant to parody the female body type, and that are: open to the public; involve sexualized, vulgar or lewd conduct; and involve conduct that demeans women.”The resolution claims that drag shows are likely to “create or contribute to a hostile environment for women” in violation of Title IX’s prohibitions on sex-based discrimination and involve “the mockery or objectification of women.”The resolution cites President Donald Trump’s executive order recognizing only two sexes, based on biology, which prohibits federal funds from being used to “promote gender ideology,” and a directive from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordering state agencies to comply with Trump’s order.It also asserts that allowing drag shows to take place on university campuses violates that order.The resolution, adopted unanimously by the board, will likely spark a First Amendment fight over whether the ban on drag shows infringes on students’ free speech and freedom of expression.Historically, Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi and East Texas A&M University have hosted drag shows, with the university’s main College Station campus hosting “Draggieland,” an award-winning drag event that has been held annually.By passing the resolution, this year’s Draggieland event, initially scheduled for March 27 at the Rudder Theatre in College Station, is now imperiled.

lower court’s ruling that the AEA was an unconstitutional infringement on performers’ First Amendment rights.The judges also lifted an injunction that prohibited local authorities in Shelby County — which encompasses the city of Memphis and its suburbs — from enforcing the law Writing for the court, Nalbandian found that the Memphis-based LGBTQ theater company, Friends of George’s (FOG), lacked legal standing to sue over the law, because its “drag-centric performances, comedy sketches, and plays” did not meet specific criteria under Tennessee law to be considered “harmful to minors.”As a result, he argued, the theater company failed to prove it was at risk of potential future prosecution and lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.Nalbandian and Siler declined to address whether the law’s content violated the First Amendment.But Circuit Judge Andre Mathis, a Biden appointee, noted in a dissenting opinion that the majority’s ruling conflicts with both past 6th Circuit precedent, as well as Supreme Court precedent.Mathis argued that Friends of George’s had standing to sue because the content of their skits might be considered “adult-oriented performances.”And because the theater where the troupe performs does not distinguish between adult and child ticket holders, and does not card all patrons, a handful of minors could end up seeing the shows — thus violating the law, and making the theater company subject to prosecution.Mathis found that the AEA is not simply a “time, place, or manner restriction” that might otherwise be considered reasonable, but rather a content-based restriction targeting shows that lawmakers may personally deem offensive or objectionable — a clear violation of the First Amendment.Tennessee Attorney

first-ever PrideFest, last year at the Public Square, a parcel of city-owned property at the center of the town. Approximately 200 people attended the event, held without disruption.PrideFest’s organizers, the Patoka Valley AIDS Community Action Group, expected it would be green-lit this year and filed an application in November 2023 to hold it on September 7, 2024.

Miami Herald that “[p]reparations for a suit in federal court are well underway.”“My civil liberties are not up for debate,” he said of his intention to not only sue Miami Beach Gay Pride, but the city of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County, which are co-sponsoring the Pride parade.Kent Harrison Robbins, an attorney for Basabe, wrote to Horwich warning him that excluding Basabe from participating in the parade “would be willfully, knowingly, and intentionally abridging his First Amendment right to free speech and to peaceably assembly on a public street.”“Legal precedents from the federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court, have ruled that a concern that there may be physical opposition to [Basabe] is not a legal justification for violating his speech and assembly rights,” Robbins wrote in the letter. “Basabe must be allowed to participate in The Pride Parade and he must be notified immediately through my offices that he will be allowed to do so without any impediments.”Robbins argued that because city and county jurisdictions are among the sponsors of the parade, it doesn’t constitute a private event that would allow for Basabe’s exclusion.

makes it easier to remove books from libraries that are deemed to have “sexual” content or are considered “inappropriate” for minors.One of the books removed from shelves was And Tango Makes Three, a children’s story based on real-life events about a same-sex penguin couple that hatches an egg together and raises its chick.The book was recently banned by Lake County Public Schools in central Florida, only to be returned to shelves after the book’s authors filed a lawsuit.While Lake County has permitted Tango to return to shelves, the overall law still allows for other titles with LGBTQ themes or characters to be restricted, and the authors’ lawsuit has been transferred to U.S.

temporary restraining order directing the city of Murfreesboro and its officials, including City Manager Craig Tindall, Mayor Shane McFarland, and the Murfreesboro Police Department, not to “enforce or take any action pursuant to the provision to Murfreesboro City Code 21-71 that includes ‘homosexuality’ within the definition of ‘sexual conduct.'”The so-called “decency ordinance,” which was approved in June, prohibits people in public spaces from engaging in “indecent behavior,” displaying “indecent material,” or subjecting minors to behaviors, material, or events that are “patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors.” Those found in violation are barred from sponsoring any events at a public space for a period of two to five years.Critics of the ordinance have argued that such language is overly vague and subject to wide interpretation based on individual biases or preferences.Some have also noted that the ordinance’s references to appealing to the “prurient interest” appear to be specifically targeting drag shows, with the intent of having such performances deemed as “offensive” based on the aforementioned “prevailing standards” of what constitutes “decency.”A year ago, the city started to take action targeting BoroPride over the presence of drag and open displays of LGBTQ identity.Tindall, the city manager, sent a letter to BoroPride organizers stating that he would deny future permits for the festival and drag show on government property.

Emma & Mommy Talk to God, The Color Purple, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Separate is Never Equal, Wonder, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Of those titles, only The Color Purple contains LGBTQ content.The display had a piece of artwork showing a child in a wheelchair against a background of five colors, along with a quote from poet Maya Angelou reading, “In diversity there is beauty and strength.”The display also contained a multicolored infinity symbol, symbolizing autism awareness, with the slogan, “We all think differently,” reports The Topeka Capital-Journal.A temporary summer employee, Ruth Splitter, believed the autism symbol signified support for LGBTQ Pride, and told Lancaster, during an argument on June 22, she found it offensive.Even after being told it was a neurodiversity and autism logo, Splitter launched into an “anti-LGBT diatribe,” according to the librarians’ lawsuit.That same day, Splitter complained to library board member Michelle Miller in a text about “gay pride.” Miller, the vice chair of the library board, told Splitter she would raise her concerns at the board meeting the following day, allegedly telling her, “We’re not going to have that display up because I will rally the board members to call [Wheeler] to take it down.”Miller then texted Wheeler, saying she had stopped by the library, even though she had not.“I do not want any kind of rainbow display (aside from solely colors focused) especially in this month,” Miller said, referencing the fact that June is celebrated as Pride Month.

state law seeking to prohibit drag shows by classifying them as “adult cabaret performances.”Blount Pride, a festival featuring music, art, drag performances, and a community resource fair, is held annually in Maryville, Tennessee, less than a half-hour outside Knoxville.This year’s celebration was scheduled to take place during an eight-hour time slot on Saturday, Sept. 2, on the campus of Maryville College.

giving cancel culture a huge heckle offstage. “Most of the people on social media with these [negative] opinions aren’t even real people …They’re trying to strip us of the very thing that makes our country special: the freedom of speech.”Recently, Marlon used comedy to address the senseless violence and brawl at an Alabama dock which caught the nation’s attention. It’s something he spoke in detail about on this week’s episode – along with negative reaction to his own commentary on the incident.“I think social media messed up socializing and we’ve got to get back to laughing and finding reasons to laugh and stop being so damn sensitive,” he said.

A group of students and the authors of And Tango Makes Three, a story about two male penguins raising a chick, are suing the Lake County school district in Florida over the book’s removal from libraries.Published in 2005, the award-winning And Tango Makes Three is based on the true story of Roy and Silo, a pair of male penguins at the Central Park Zoo, who helped protect and hatch an egg and raised the penguin chick, Tango, that emerged from it.Authors Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell were inspired to write the book after hearing about how Roy and Silo were “completely devoted to each other,” according to a New York Times article.While the book is geared towards 4- to 8-year-olds and does not contain sexually explicit content, Florida school district authorities banned the book. They removed it from school library shelves, citing Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, also known as the “Don’t Say Law.”Under the law, which is intended to allow parents to have a greater say over the content of their classroom lessons, teachers in public schools are barred from providing classroom “instruction” — which is vaguely defined — on sexual orientation and gender identity.“We removed access to And Tango Makes Three for our kindergarten through third-grade students in alignment with Florida House Bill 1557, which at the time prohibited classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for those grade levels,” Sherri Owens, a spokesperson for Lake County Schools, told the Times in an email.Parnell and Richardson and the parents of five school-age students subsequently sued to challenge the county’s ban on Tango.In the lawsuit, filed in U.S.

And Tango Makes Three, are suing a Florida school board as well as members of the Florida Board of Education. One of the arguments is that the book, based on a true story, is implied to be obscene by the fact that it’s banned.The lawsuit was filed Tuesday, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, the two authors of And Tango Makes Three, along with six children who wish to read the book and their parents.

internal and external protests by LGBTQ employees and their allies — to the “Don’t Say Gay” law. “State leaders have not been subtle about their reasons for government intervention,” the company writes in the lawsuit. “They have proudly declared that Disney deserves this fate because of what Disney said.

The Trevor Project — had been canceled.While Wendler said the idea of raising money for a suicide prevention organization was “a noble cause,” he also characterized drag as “derisive, divisive, and demoralizing misogyny” and even compared it to “blackface.”“Does a drag show preserve a single thread of human dignity? I think not,” Wendler said. “As a performance exaggerating aspects of womanhood (sexuality, femininity, gender), drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood.

Gender Queer — as “obscene,” a designation which would have made it illegal to sell or lend the books in the commonwealth.Circuit Judge Pamela Baskervill rejected the petitions, ruling that the state law being used to challenge the books is unconstitutional on its face because it violates the First Amendment and the Constitution of Virginia, infringing on free speech rights as well as the right to due process for booksellers and publishers, who are not required to be informed of when a book they are selling or distributing has been designated “obscene.”Baskervill also vacated a lower court determination of probable cause for obscenity, finding the lawsuit didn’t present facts that could support a finding that the books are obscene, even as defined under Virginia law. As a result, she dismissed the case.The original petition sought to challenge Gender Queer, Kobabe’s autobiographical story about coming to terms with their sexuality and gender identity, and A Court of Mist and Fury, adult fantasy romance novel, by Sarah J.