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📚 Republican state senators in Georgia on Thursday passed a bill that would force state libraries to cut ties with the American Library Association. Their issue? The ALA is led by a lesbian who also happens to be a Marxist. Two things that the Georgia GOP apparently can't stand. Emily Drabinski has been outspoken against book bans — yes, the same book bans that many GOP lawmakers seem to love. Several states including Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas have announced or enacted some form of disassociation from the ALA, but the Georgia bill passed by the Senate this week would be the first to effectively ban nearly all association with the group.
🚨 The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has initiated an investigation into Owasso Public Schools in Oklahoma following the bullying and death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict. The trans teen's death hasn't been revealed by the local medical examiner, but questions have emerged about a fight he was in the day before his death. The announcement comes after the Human Rights Campaign and other groups have pushed for the federal government to get involved. 🚨
❗Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to be obsessed with trans people, especially trans youth. The state official has tried to get details of trans members of the LGBTQ+ rights group PFLAG — that is, until a court this week said he couldn't. Paxton, an intensely anti-LGBTQ+ Republican, issued a demand in early February for the organization to turn over documents, communications, and other information related to its work with these families. This would include the names and addresses of trans youth members. PFLAG National is a plaintiff in two lawsuits filed against Texas’s restrictions on gender-affirming care for trans youth — its ban on this care and an order from Gov. Greg Abbott that families allowing their children to undergo it be investigated for child abuse. Responding to the latest demand, PFLAG National filed a new lawsuit against Paxton’s office and sought a temporary restraining order to keep him from obtaining the information. Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel granted the order Friday. How's that, Ken? ❗
See you Tuesday!
Onward and upward,
Alex Cooper
Federal investigation opens into Owasso Public Schools after death of Nex Benedict
Kasandra Phelps via GoFundMe
Rachel Maddow calls out Supreme Court’s decision to hear Trump immunity claim as ‘flagrant bull pucky’
NBC; Shutterstock
Ukrainian veterans protest after church withdrawals gay soldier's medal
instagram @viktor_pylypenko; Shutterstock
Texas AG Ken Paxton can't get PFLAG's data on trans members and care: court
Video screen shot via Forbes Breaking News
Georgia Senate passes bill banning American Library Association from state libraries
Shutterstock; via emilydrabinski.com
🫖 Tea time 🫖
It's been a week of difficult news for transgender and nonbinary people, with the coverage of Nex Benedict stirring up a lot of discussion on social media and right-wing politicians like Texas AG Ken Paxton continuing to target the trans community.
In the midst of this, Elon Musk's X/Twitter seems to have quietly reinstated a policy banning misgendering and deadnaming on the platform. This of course caused anti-trans accounts like Libs of TikTok to freak out, to the point that Musk personally assured Chaya Raichik that she wouldn't be suspended — though that doesn't appear to be good enough for her.
☕ Have you noticed any changes on social media on this issue, for better or worse? Let us know by emailing social@advocate.com.
Look, the answer!
Each week, The Advocate newsletter has a little bit of LGBTQ+ trivia. Tuesday, you'll get the question. Thursday, you'll get a hint. And today, you'll get the answer.
This week's question was: Who was the first out LGBTQ+ person elected governor in the U.S.?
This week's answer is:Kate Brown, a Democrat from Oregon, is bisexual. She became the first out LGBTQ+ person elected governor in 2016.
Reply to this email with some trivia we should know and you may get a shout-out in a future newsletter!
What you should also be reading:
- Anitta fires back at people who call her a 'fake bisexual' (Pride)
- Andy Cohen hires PR team amid Housewives lawsuits & the internet discourse is WILD (Pride)
- Kara Swisher's Burn Book roasts Silicon Valley's toxic masculinity (Out)
- Vanessa Williams on gay cruising, Miranda Priestly & her longtime 'bond' with LGBTQ+ people (Out)
@wgacooper
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