It’s a disquieting trend: The right of trans students to be free from discrimination is tenuous at best and under constant legal attack. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, is behind much of the anti-trans legislation in the U.S.
Rights & Liberties
Influential NRA Lobbyist Marion Hammer, 83, Retires Into ‘Gunshine State’ Sunset
Hammer, 83, successfully shepherded a host of measures that helped to earn Florida the “Gunshine State” moniker and made it a launching pad for gun-related laws that later took hold throughout the country.
DeSantis Administration Issues Proposed Ban on Medicaid Coverage for Transgender Treatments
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration moved forward Friday with a proposal that would deny Medicaid coverage for treatments such as puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy for transgender people.
FPC’s Jack Petocz, Suspended in March, Is President Biden’s Guest at White House Signing of LGBTQ Order
Flagler Palm Coast High School senior Jack Petocz was among President Biden’s guests today at a White House Pride event and signing of an executive order extending protections to LGBTQ+ people. Petocz caught the White House’s attention after leading a walkout at FPOC to protest a new law discriminating against LGBTQ people. He was suspended for three days after the walkout.
Did the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban Diminish Mass Shootings? Yes.
The risk of a person in the U.S. dying in a mass shooting was 70% lower during the period in which the assault weapons ban was active. The proportion of overall gun homicides resulting from mass shootings was also down, with nine fewer mass-shooting-related fatalities per 10,000 shooting deaths.
Prison ‘Gain Time’ Case Roils Court as Sexual Offender Is Deemed Eligible for Early Release
Rejecting longstanding legal precedent, a state appeals court said Friday that a man convicted of attempted sexual battery on a child is eligible to be considered for early release from prison.
The Legal Age to Buy Assault Weapons Doesn’t Make Sense
Considering someone an adult once they turn 18 is a relatively recent trend, and it’s not clear that it can stand up to public scrutiny as a meaningful threshold for legally purchasing firearms.
Why the NRA Is So Successful at Stopping Gun-Safety Legislation
NRA has vigorously rejected any charge that its policies contribute to America’s gun problem, instead advancing proposals such as improving mental health responses, “hardening” schools with increased security, and potentially even arming teachers, which leaders claim, without evidence and against educators’ wishes, can serve as a deterrent.
‘Napalm Girl’ at 50: How Media Myths Distort an Image’s Reality and Exaggerate Its Impact
The Pulitzer Prize-winning “Napalm Girl” photograph by Nick Ut of terror-stricken Vietnamese children fleeing an aerial attack on their village, taken 50 years ago this month, has rightly been called “a picture that doesn’t rest.” But the image formally known as “The Terror of War” has also given rise to tenacious media-driven myths.
Trial Diary: A Journalist Sits on a Baltimore Jury
Could 12 strangers agree on justice in Baltimore, a city riddled with killings and distrust of the police, in a shooting case where the victim was an actor on the legendary drama “The Wire”?