LGBT issues thread (was Supreme Court to hear same-sex marriage cases)

[LordMortis]

I'd love to see Paxton's nose bloodied even a little.

I'd love to see his nose bloodied in an entirely non-metaphorical sense.

There are some people you can find absolutely no compassion for. None. Nada. Zilch. Paxton is along aside the repeatedly irrationally violent in that line. He's loathsome and may very well unseat McConnell as the worst American of my lifetime before it's all over. It's entirely possible he's already there and I just don't know enough about him. McConnell at least occasionally stands up for values bigger than his ambition, even if he's done more damage that I am aware of. His name also doesn't trigger me.

[Smoove_B]

Some good news for once in Maryland, that I'm sure the usual hate muppets will obsess over:

Beginning Jan. 1, low-income, transgender adults in Maryland will have their gender-affirming care covered by the state’s Medicaid system.

For the state’s LGBTQ+ community, this is a reason to celebrate — “especially at a time when, across the country, we’ve seen this concerted effort to attack trans rights and many other rights,” Sam Williamson, one of the founders of the Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition, told The Baltimore Sun.

...

The Maryland Medical Assistance Program will be prohibited from denying gender-affirming treatment based on an adult patient’s gender identity or excluding certain treatments on the basis that they are cosmetic.

Run by the state, the Maryland Medical Assistance Program pays for health care services for low-income residents with state and federal funds.

Under the Trans Health Equity Act, Maryland’s Medicaid system will be required to cover all gender-affirming treatment, or treatment that is medically necessary health care prescribed by a medical professional to treat conditions related to their patient’s gender identity, to adults. This includes hormone therapy; puberty blockers; hair alteration; voice therapy; surgical alterations to an individual’s face, neck, chest, abdomen, genitals and buttocks; and fertility preservation procedures, among other treatments that align their body or physical appearance with their gender identity or alleviate distress caused by gender dysphoria.

[Isgrimnur]

Kim Davis must pay $260,000 legal fees over same-sex marriage license refusal

Kim Davis, the former county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses in Kentucky to same-sex couples, must pay a total of $260,104 in fees and expenses to attorneys who represented one couple, according to a federal judge’s ruling.

That is in addition to $100,000 in damages a jury said the former Rowan county clerk should pay the couple who sued.

Attorneys for Davis had argued that the fees and costs sought by the attorneys were excessive, but US district judge David L Bunning disagreed and said Davis must pay since the men prevailed in their lawsuit, the Lexington Herald-Leader of Kentucky reported.

Attorneys for Davis were expected to appeal the ruling.

[LawBeefaroni]

"Your honor, our fees and costs are excessive!"

[Jaymann]

There's a smidgen of justice in the world.

[Smoove_B]

I know these topics bridge multiple discussions we have here, but I'm putting it in this thread because of the core element:

A transgender woman running for the Ohio House was rejected from the ballot for not listing her former name.

Vanessa Joy was the only Democrat seeking the Ohio House 50th District seat, which forms a U-shape in Stark County and includes Canal Fulton, East Canton, Massillon and Minerva.

Joy had enough valid signatures to qualify. Problem was, Stark County's four-member Board of Elections found a flaw in her petitions because she legally changed her name in 2022 and did not include her former name on the petitions she'd circulated, as required by law.

Joy said she didn't know she had to include her former name. State law requires anyone who's changed names during the past five years — for almost any reason — to include his or her former name on petitions.

...

With Joy out of the 50th House race, Republican Matthew Kishman stands to win in the fall, unless a write-in candidate enters the fray. The 50th District incumbent, Reggie Stoltzfus, R-Paris Township, opted to run for Congress.

"But in the trans community, our dead names are dead; there's a reason it's dead — that is a dead person who is gone and buried," Joy said.

I have to wonder, has a married woman that took the name of her husband ever been kicked off a ballot in Ohio for not disclosing her maiden name?

[LawBeefaroni]

I have to wonder, has a married woman that took the name of her husband ever been kicked off a ballot in Ohio for not disclosing her maiden name?

My guess is that they probably usually disclose it. Married women also don't usually consider their maiden names dead.

I may be jaded by Chicago politics but petitions here are very commonly challenged and it's on the candidate (or their election lawyer) to keep an eye on the details.

[Smoove_B]

I checked and the law specifically mentions change of name for marriage as being exempt.

It was a law that went into effect back in 1995, so I'm curious as to the reasoning back then:

If any person desiring to become a candidate for public office has had a change of name within five years immediately preceding the filing of his statement of candidacy, both his statement of candidacy and nominating petition must contain, immediately following the person's present name, the person's former names. Any person who has been elected under the person's changed name, without submission of the person's former name, shall be immediately suspended from the office and the office declared vacated, and shall be liable to the state for any salary the person has received while holding such office.

[Jaymann]

Wouldn't the Grateful Dead be technically considered a dead name?

[gilraen]

It was a law that went into effect back in 1995, so I'm curious as to the reasoning back then:

Probably for standard stuff like preventing someone with a criminal history from tricking the voters into not finding out said history. This would have been before the widespread use of internet so tracking someone's name change would require a lot more research than any average voter would care to do.

[Smoove_B]

Probably for standard stuff like preventing someone with a criminal history from tricking the voters into not finding out said history. This would have been before the widespread use of internet so tracking someone's name change would require a lot more research than any average voter would care to do.

Maybe, yeah. I can't seem to find out if this kind of law is common though - if other states have similar requirements. There's a story from 2012 about two House candidates running on made up names (Florida and Idaho) and a law change in NY state in 2021 based on something that affected two women that were disqualified because their registered voting names didn't match the names they used to run for office.

Recently, two Muslim women running for elected office in Queens, Mary Jobaida and Moumita Ahmed, were removed from the ballot by the Board of Elections because the names they used on their designating petitions did not match their registered voter names.

"New York's greatest strength is its diversity and it is imperative that our state's government reflects the people it serves," Governor Hochul said. "This bill is a step in the right direction to removing the institutional barriers that limit political participation from any community."

This legislation addresses the fact that many people with ethnically traditional names unfamiliar to the general population adopt an alternate or anglicized name which is easier to remember or pronounce and that they should not be penalized for doing so. The legislation clarifies that the use of alternate or anglicized names on election petitions and ballots is acceptable as long as the chosen name is commonly used to identify that person in the person's community and its use is not intended to mislead voters or petition signers.

An excellent point from a reasonable person:

State Senator John Liu said, "Candidates should be able to run for office using the nickname they are commonly known by in their communities, as long as they do not intend to mislead or confuse voters. In recent years, the Board of Elections tried to kick several immigrant women off the ballot for using the names they are widely known by personally and professionally, rather than their given names. This legislation changes that undemocratic practice once and for all, and helps candidates of color and immigrant candidates have equal access to the ballot as men with nicknames like 'Marty,' 'Tony,' or 'Bill.' Thank you to Governor Hochul for signing this important bill into law."

No one tell Nikki Haley...

[Victoria Raverna]

I think the rule is reasonable. You probably don't want Santos to run again as Kitara Ravache without telling people he used to be called George Santos or George Anthony Devolder.

[Smoove_B]

Never forget now awful Ohio is:

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced proposals this month that transgender advocates say could block access to gender-affirming care provided by independent clinics and general practitioners, leaving thousands of adults scrambling for treatment and facing health risks.

...

DeWine announced the proposed rules amid a whirl of activity that could push Ohio further than most other states in controlling gender-affirming care and make it just the second to set forth restrictions on adult care.

He also signed an executive order to ban gender-affirming surgery for minors but vetoed a bill that would ban all gender-affirming care for minors. One chamber of the state legislature has already overridden it and the other is voting Jan. 24 on whether to do so.

“It is a policy project that attempts to make it so onerous, so restrictive to get care, that people are functionally unable to do so,” said Kellan Baker, executive director of the Whitman-Walker Institute, a Washington-based organization focused on the health of LGBTQ+ people.

The policies focused on care for adults come in draft administrative rules released this month by the Ohio Department of Health and the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

[hepcat]

The people of Ohio should vote that kind of thing down and…wait….Ohio? Oh yeah, their votes don’t matter if it’s not for something they heard DeSantis supports.

[Smoove_B]

Update on OHIO:

The Ohio Senate voted Wednesday to override Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that bans transition-related medical care for transgender minors and restricts trans athletes’ participation on school sports teams.

After the Senate’s 23-9 vote, the bill will become law in 90 days. The Ohio House already voted 65-28, along party lines, to override DeWine’s veto earlier this month.

Ohio is now the 22nd state with a law that restricts minors’ access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy and the 24th with a law that bars trans girls and women from playing on women’s school sports teams.

Of note:

Health care providers who violate the law could face disciplinary action from their licensing board. The law also allows students in K-12 schools and colleges who believe they have been deprived of an athletic opportunity because of a trans student’s participation to sue their school, school district, interscholastic body or other related organization.

[Smoove_B]

I'm putting this here because of the political implications over the next 15+ years. In addition, it seems to support the anecdotal evidence I've heard (and seen people mentioning here) that more and more high-school aged kids are reporting LGBTQ+ status:

More than 1 in 4 Gen Z adults in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, dwarfing the percentages of LGBTQ Americans in older age groups, a new survey has found.

Twenty-eight percent of Gen Z adults — which the survey’s researchers specify as those ages 18 to 25 — identify as LGBTQ, according to a report released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute, or PRRI. That compares with 10% of all adults, 16% of millennials, 7% of Generation X, 4% of baby boomers and 4% of the Silent Generation, the institute found.

“With respect to LGBTQ identity, it’s very clear that Gen Z adults look different than older Americans,” said Melissa Deckman, PRRI’s chief executive.

No surprise then there's so much political and policy push-back in schools and in legislative officies.

[Blackhawk]

Interesting numbers, but they could absolutely take those numbers and put them on both MSNBC and Fox and have them mean completely different things.

I'd honestly guess that aren't that many more LGBTQ+ people now than there were before. I'd posit that the biggest factor is that kids today are (were?) growing up in a society where not being straight doesn't carry the same stigma and open hatred that it did before. As society becomes more tolerant, more people are either willing to identify openly, or are even more willing to accept those truths about themselves instead of burying them deep in their psyche.

[Smoove_B]

Could be, yes. There are definitely issues right now with LGBTQ+ elders and finding 55+ living communities that are inclusive and supportive - not just the people living in them but the staff as well. It wasn't something I was even thinking about until about 7 or 8 years ago when I had someone ask me what I knew about it. I was blown away that it hadn't even crossed my mind up until that point; I wasn't alone.

But yeah, I'm feeling confident this is also partially result of something like the internet that has allowed people to connect with resources and social groups that are (likely) more supportive than their immediate communities.

[gbasden]

Personally, I think it's great. Gen Z is growing up without the stigma around non-straight sexuality. Are all of these people really queer? Maybe, maybe not, but I think it's awesome that they can have different relationships and find out for themselves.

[Smoove_B]

It was nice while it lasted - back to the awful news:

Transgender people in Florida could have their driver's licenses revoked or face prosecution if they try to change their gender markers, according to a memo shared on social media.

Robert Kynoch, the deputy executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, issued a memo dated January 26 that said "establishing gender on a newly issued Florida Driver License is based on the supporting documents provided with an application," according to a screenshot posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The documents "must be sufficient to establish the identity of the applicant" under Florida law, he said. "Furthermore, misrepresenting one's gender, understood as sex, on a driver license constitutes fraud under s. 322,212, F.S., and subjects an offender to criminal and civil penalties, including cancellation, suspension, or revocation of his or her driver license."

The article is referencing a post made on Twitter (yeah, I know) from an attorney and clinical instructor:

In other posts, Caraballo wrote that "if the language used in this directive is taken at face value, any trans person driving with a changed gender marker on their drivers license could be criminally charged with fraud. This interpretation could potentially apply to anyone driving in the state, including tourists."

Caraballo told Newsweek that the change will "forcibly out" transgender people and put them in danger.

"This is a 'show me your papers' policy for trans people in the state of Florida," she said. "Trans people are now at risk for having their licenses revoked or suspended at any time. It's the legal erasure and criminalization of the entire trans community. It's a dangerous change that will forcibly out trans people and put them at immense risk for discrimination and violence."

[Kraken]

Gawd, what an awful state. In semi-related news I read that FL state universities can no longer teach sociology because it's woke indoctrination.

[Daehawk]

Why do we as a world whole put up with this shit. Why do we stop moving forward for some assholes who stand around and spit on others?

[Blackhawk]

Why do we as a world whole put up with this shit. Why do we stop moving forward for some assholes who stand around and spit on others?

Because the mechanisms for stopping it have broken.

[Daehawk]

Do you know intersex? I didn't but now I do. Thanks to this video.

[Unagi]

Do you know intersex? I didn't but now I do. Thanks to this video.

Yes, welcome to the real world of genders.

Can I get you some hot sauce with those sour&cream chips?

[Smoove_B]

If you'd like to read a thought provoking book (that won the Pulitzer), I'd recommend Middlesex.

"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver's license...records my first name simply as Cal."

So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of l967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.

I understand that's not as flashy as a Youtube, but it was still a really good book.

[hepcat]

Do you know intersex? I didn't but now I do. Thanks to this video.

Yes, welcome to the real world of genders.

Can I get you some hot sauce with those sour&cream chips?

What'ya, pregnant?

[Smoove_B]

Absolutely terrible:

Four attorneys general in conservative states have abused their authority to investigate transgender patients and their health care, and hospitals must do more to protect them, a new Senate Finance Committee report argues.

The report, titled “How State Attorneys General Target Transgender Youth and Adults by Weaponizing the Medicaid Program and their Health Oversight Authority,” investigates how attorneys general in Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana and Texas have opened investigations into hospitals for alleged Medicaid fraud or violations of consumer protection laws. They opened the investigations, the report argues, “in order to further ideological and political goals,” and there has been “significant variation in hospitals’ responses to such requests and their approaches to safeguarding the privacy of one of their most vulnerable patient populations—LGBTQIA+ people.”

[waitingtoconnect]

Do you know intersex? I didn't but now I do. Thanks to this video.

Yes, welcome to the real world of genders.

Can I get you some hot sauce with those sour&cream chips?

This is fantastic - more people to get hysterical about on Fox. A whole cottage industry of lawyers can spring up around this as well - it could become one of our top 100 industries. I really think we need to be bringing opportunities like this to my state.

The report, titled “How State Attorneys General Target Transgender Youth and Adults by Weaponizing the Medicaid Program and their Health Oversight Authority,”

Perhaps the report title should be "How a cottage industry of lawyers sprung up around denying people their rights... "