Republicans were emboldened in the 23 states where they control the governorship and both houses of the legislature. Other factors include a newly conservative U.S. Supreme Court, GOP backlash over former President Donald Trump’s reelection loss and a tidal wave of social media campaigns and commentary aimed at galvanizing conservatives by playing up divisive cultural issues.
Civil Rights
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Defamation Claim By Anti-Gay Florida Ministry Termed a Hate Group
Coral Ridge, a nonprofit organization based in Fort Lauderdale, sought to benefit from Amazon Smile’s program but was denied admission because it had been tagged by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group over its positions on LGBTQ issues,
Bias Is Natural. How You Manage it Defines Your Ability to Be Just.
We all have biases to some degree, whether we care to admit this or not. Our biases remain innocuous until our assumptions impact our behaviors toward other people. By acknowledging our biases we can find ways to mitigate their impact on our decision making.
Debating Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, 1st Transgender Woman in Individual Sports at Olympics
When Laurel Hubbard was announced as the first out transgender woman athlete to compete in an individual sport at an Olympic Games, controversy wasn’t far behind. One prominent commentator even called it a “disaster for women’s sport.” The arguments are emotive and polarizing, and often ignore key facts.
13-Year-Old Soccer Player Files Suit Against Florida’s Just-Enacted Ban on Transgender Girl Athletes
A 13-year-old Broward County soccer player and her parents are challenging a a new state law that bans transgender female athletes from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams, arguing that it is unconstitutional and “ignores basic medical science” about trans students.
No Acquittal This Time for For L’Darius Smith as Jury Convicts Him of Aggravated Assault in Race-Tinged Confrontation
Two brothers, 63 and 59, had allegedly called L’Darius Smith the N word in a confrontation that began with one of the men complimenting him for his Batman jacket. He picked up a baseball bat–and a conviction for aggravated assault that may now send him to prison. Four years ago he was acquitted of charges of molesting his sisters when they were young children. He still faces a burglary charge.
From Drag Queens to Sister Bunny Juju, Throngs Exult in Pride, Joy and Freedom at Flagler’s 2nd Annual LGBTQ Festival
Saturday’s Flagler Pride Festival and its crowds, which by 9 p.m. had totaled between 600 and 800 people, put the lie to the county’s presumed homogeneity: Palm Coast, a city started in the late 1960s as an integrated, post-racial subdivision, is still more diverse than perhaps assumed, and if anything growing more so.
There Are No Transgender “Issues” in Flagler Schools. A Small, Noisy Group Is Fabricating an Issue Anyway.
There are no transgender bathroom issues in Flagler schools, no issues with transgender athletes, no issues with a student of one birth sex supposedly using their transgender status to leer at students of the other. But to hear it from some, it’s a crisis warranting a reversal of policies and procedures. The School Board hears a presentation on the current state of the law and procedures Tuesday. A crowd is expected.
I Want Civil Rights. They Want to Talk About Sports.
The Equality Act would extend basic civil rights protections to Queer people in housing, employment, education, and other arenas. Support tops 70 percent. Many people assume a federal law like this already exists. But in dozens of states, it’s perfectly legal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Palm Coast Student Elliott Bertrand Accuses Senate Panel of ‘Prejudice’ Before 6-4 Vote on Transgender Sports Ban
The Florida Senate Health Policy Committee today approved a bill that would scrap existing policy and ban transgender women from participating in competitive high school and college sports absent testosterone testing that might clear them to play. Elliott Bertrand, a student at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was among the many opponents of the bill who addressed the panel in Tallahassee.