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biggest-gaudiest-patronuses · 1 year

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it is. so weird to me that I'm having to say this again after a real-life cartoon supervillian already once ran for president on a platform of hatred & fascism and won, but.

it's November, please fucking vote

#not a shitpost #serious post #this election cycle will DETERMINE what legislation gets passed #it will DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF ABORTION RIGHTS AND GAY MARRIAGE AND OTHER LGBTQ+ PROTECTIONS #the supreme court plans to destroy as much progress as possible and that means we have to rely on congress to protect those rights #which they can only do if the Dems control the senate and the house #we are in FULL BLOWN DAMAGE CONTROL MODE here #especially because it is still somehow perfectly possible and actually probable #that the festering pile of garbage in human form who recently tried to overthrow the government will end up back on the ballot in 2024 #we still haven't recovered from 4 years of trump and if we don't show up at the polls it is perfectly possible we will get another 4 years #vote this november to protect basic human rights #and vote in november 2024 so we don't have to survive another 4 years under trump #because many of us--the most vulnerable of us--won't survive. and many many more will suffer #vote to protect yourself and your neighbors. vote to protect those who most need protection.#vote because it is the right thing to do #vote out of kindness #and vote out of spite--because billionaires are spending insane amounts of money to prevent you from voting #so tell them to get fucked and vote anyway #do it out of spite and do it out of heart and do it out of rage and do it out of love #show up #us politics

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ivygorgon · 25 days

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Credit Adam Ellis

AN OPEN LETTER to THE U.S. CONGRESS

Stop the attacks on trans people! Introduce and pass the EQUALITY Act now!

2,621 so far! Help us get to 3,000 signers!

I’m writing out of great alarm at the attacks on LGBTQ people in our country. I’m particularly horrified at how trans people—especially trans kids—are being targeted. I agree with President Biden—it’s the duty of national legislators “to protect all the people’s rights and freedoms,” and to “pass the bipartisan Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity.”

Right now, there are hundreds of state bills aimed at denying the LGBTQ+ community the free speech, health care, civil rights, and public accommodation due ALL Americans. Together with encouraging hateful rhetoric and physical violence, this is akin to state-sponsored terrorism against a peaceful minority. Historically, we’ve seen this before. It is a precursor to genocide.

Have you publicly spoken against anti-trans and anti-gay state laws? What other actions are you taking to protect the rights and freedoms of their LGBTQ+ constituents? What level of tragedy will it take to change this?

Attacking marginalized communities is the opposite of what our country is supposed to be about. I expect to see you take strong action to oppose it. Thanks.

▶ Created on March 21, 2023 by Jess Craven

📱 Text SIGN PTFEXR to 50409

🤯 Liked it? Text FOLLOW JESSCRAVEN101 to 50409

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mahkari · 11 months

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of course to anyone with a brain the fact that terfs and other transphobic lgb people believe that their push to ban care and block helpful legislation for trans people will just stop at trans people is stupid but good god you’re all just so stupid

#kari rambles #you’re meaning to tell me that letting your legislators know that you won’t fight back against bills meant to directly harm lgbtq bills will #just get more passed 😢 this has to be those trans peoples fault

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anotherpapercut · 1 year

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I've seen a few posts of people from varying us states saying "why is no one talking about x new anti LGBTQ+ bill/law in my state?" and I need you guys to know that unfortunately part of the reason you're not hearing much about your specific state is that it's not just your state. there are currently 321 anti LGBTQ+ bills in the us

you'll notice that several of these states have more than 10. Missouri and Oklahoma have 31 and 34 respectively. and some of these have already passed or are well on their way. living here has become exponentially more terrifying. and even people in states with 0 bills should be worried because they are absolutely not going to stop at state level legislation, the next step is federal law. it's really time for everyone in the us to be vigilant right now. connect with people in your community and start or get involved in movements for change, starting on a very small local level. I know it gets really discouraging looking at maps like this. you're probably not going to be able to help everyone in every state, but you might be able to make a big difference with your local community

#missouri has THIRTY ONE #i only knew about 5 of them 😥#the reason florida has 0 in this map is it was 2023 legislative session ONLY and they had 0 until a few days ago #click on the link for an updated map

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reasonsforhope · 17 days

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"Georgia Republicans bundled over a dozen measures that targeted the state’s transgender residents into omnibus packages in a desperate attempt to get them passed. In a stunning defeat for the GOP, every single one of them failed.

Legislators gutted bills that had passed through committee and instead stuffed them full of their anti-LGBTQ+ wishlist items.

Bills that would ban transgender students from playing on teams aligned with their gender identity, ban transgender students from bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, opt parents into notification for every book a student checks out of the library, bar sex education before sixth grade, make all sex-ed classes opt-in and expand obscenity laws to make it easier to ban books with LGBTQ+ content all failed.

“MAGA politicians in Georgia tried it all in service to their anti-LGBTQ+ agenda,” said Human Rights Campaign Georgia State Director Bentley Hudgins, “including silencing debate and gutting unrelated, popular bills that had bipartisan support to ram through policies that would have put young LGBTQ+ Georgians in harm’s way. They failed.”

“It’s undeniable that the tides are shifting, both here in Georgia and across the nation,” Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham added. “Anti-LGBTQ actors are losing their political power, and more and more Georgians who know and love LGBTQ people are standing up against their baseless fear-mongering.”

In Florida recently, nearly two dozen anti-LGBTQ+ bills were defeated in the wake of Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R) presidential campaign implosion, dozens of measures in Virginia were tabled [Note: In the US, "tabled" means "shelved" or "taken out of consideration - the opposite of its meaning in the UK and other places], and Ohio’s governor backed off his attempt to restrict gender-affirming care access for transgender adults and minors.

Meanwhile, in D.C., Democrats successfully excised 50 anti-LGBTQ+ provisions in the two budget bills passed and signed by President Joe Biden to fund the federal government.

Even Fox News has been forced to acknowledge transgender issues are among the lowest-priority concerns among voters."

-via LGBTQ Nation, April 1, 2024

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hug-your-face · 7 months

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Image: Resistbot campaign to stop KOSA, crossed out with red lines.

This post used to be (Spring 2023) a plea to use ResistBot to try to stop the Kids Online Safety Act.

As of Feb 2024, I've removed that content, because at this point stopping KOSA not the fight to fight. KOSA may pass as-is or it may go for another round of revisions but either way there's too much momentum for it to be simply killed.

A political analyst at the Stanford Internet Observatory says that "Much of the concern with the bill comes from reading between the lines with fears about how the legislation would be enforced or used to advance political agendas."

So stop trying to stop KOSA.

You don't try to dodge a punch that's already grazing your nose. You're gonna take that hit. You have to "roll" with that punch to minimize its effect.

GIF: Mohammad Ali "rolls" with a punch that connects to minimize its impact

The time to DODGE a punch is when you see the punch COMING.

GIF: Chuck Norris winds up to punch us in the face, but we can clearly see he's about to do it. Best get out of the way.

You know what's coming?

That's right. THE ELECTION.

COPPA already exists. Some form of KOSA is going to exist. What matters to you, your internet, LGBTQ+ kids, is going to be how these laws are enforced.

And how that happens is going to be REALLY FUCKING DIFFERENT depending on whether the Biden Administration is in office, or if the Trump-Or-Worse Administration is in office.

Please:

Donate to some close Progressive candidates running for Senate seats.

Make sure you're still registered and still on the rolls to vote, NO LATER than 30 days prior to the election

Volunteer to help get out the vote (you don't have to call people! you can text!)

Talk gently with your "not going to vote as a protest" friends. Remind them that in a first-past-the-post race the only vote that matters are the ones cast; votes withheld do nothing; and the Republican crazies are all planning to vote regardless of their differences

And VOTE BLUE THIS FALL.

#KOSA #stop kosa #kosa bill #kosa act #censorship #internet #srsly folks -- horse gone barn door and all that

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wilwheaton · 7 months

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Lawmakers have 11 legislative days to fund the government and avert a shutdown. But the far-right have been making it clear over the lengthy recess that they will continue to hold spending bills hostage until they get their various demands – which range from spending cuts to abortion restrictions to impeachment – are met. For weeks before the August recess, MAGA House Republicans handicapped typically uneventful appropriations committee meetings and turned them into battle grounds over their party’s manufactured culture wars and far-right grievances. MAGA Republicans tried to attach anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ amendments to the bills and claimed they wanted to cut government spending to pre-COVID levels. But instead they’ve created a handful of appropriations bills, some of which haven’t passed out of committee yet, that are dead on arrival in the Senate.

McCarthy Caves To Far-Right, Directs House Committees To Open Baseless Impeachment Inquiry Into Biden

These fucking idiots.

#fuck republicans #republicans are garbage

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mollyjimbly · 10 months

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🚨🚨ATTENTION🚨🚨

Another Disgusting anti-LGBT bill, planning to censor queer content online.

Yet again another law that infringes on privacy. and anonymity.

The bill is KOSA

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1409

KOSA is a threat to LGBTQ+ youth.

It allows right-wing AGs to censor LGBTQ+ content in the name of "protecting kids".

This doesn't protect kids. This actually hurts kids even more.

It will snuff out LGBTQ+ spaces and makes the internet more of a dangerous place for them, more or less...

"Of course, like so many of these “bipartisan” anti-internet bills that have bipartisan support, the support on each side of the aisle is based on a very different view of how the bill will be used in practice. We went through this last year with the AICOA antitrust bill. Democrats supported it (falsely) believing that it would magically increase competition, while Republicans were gleefully talking about how they were going to use it to force websites to host their propaganda."

"Now, with KOSA, again you have Democrats naively (and incorrectly) believing that because it’s called the “Kids Online Safety Bill” it will magically protect children, even though tons of experts have made it clear it will actually put them at greater risk."

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/05/24/heritage-foundation-says-that-of-course-gop-will-use-kosa-to-censor-lgbtq-content/

KOSA will also undermine privacy in the name of "protecting children".

"This bill would effectively place many internet services behind an age verification wall, prevent anonymous surfing, and would require all users – adults or teens – to verify their age before they can access information or content.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association supports the enactment of comprehensive privacy legislation at the federal level, but has concerns about KOSA’s duty of care, vague requirements that would prevent teens from accessing critical information, and compliance provisions that conflict with current trends toward data minimization."

https://ccianet.org/news/2023/05/ccia-statement-on-unintended-consequences-of-kosa-legislation-would-place-most-internet-services-behind-age-verification-wall/

Age verification technology is just not secure enough for usage at the moment, leaks are likely to happen, it will be especially dangerous if the leaked Age verification information has a government ID linked to it. That would mean that malicious individuals may get a hold of personal addresses, bank details, basically you'll get doxxed by the government...

You may be asking, "well is there anything to do about it?"

Of course there is, but we really need your help spreading awareness around, because the bill is most likely to pass this July!

This website was put together by Fight for the Future. It has everything, from petitions to calls scripts. It's very easy to understand and use and one of the best links to spread. I urge you to use this when calling your members of congress. All you need to do is put in your phone number once and read off the script provided and it does the rest for you.

https://www.badinternetbills.com/

Signable petitions and open letters;

If you live in the states, call your state representatives;

Joinable Discord server;

More information;

I have to say again and I am not exaggerating, this is URGENT the bill could be passed THIS MONTH!

I am begging you, please OPPOSE KOSA!!

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qqueenofhades · 5 months

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Do you think part of what makes people feel like voting isn’t worth it because things don’t get better under democrats is because we can’t see what would have happened? Like I see a lot of people saying “well biden hasn’t made america much better so there’s no point” but it’s like they don’t understand that under a republican they would actively do everything they could to cause more harm. It’s like they don’t understand that 1. The president can’t do much, and 2. IT WOULD BE WORSE. like they don’t understand the possibilities. Idk people just frustrate me

I'm sorry, as I know you're just relaying what these people think and not claiming so yourself, but the whole "things don't get better under Biden/Democrats" line to which we are subjected so very, miserably often is a lie!!! It is demonstrably a lie! It is peddled by people who deliberately live in their echo-chamber leftist misinformation bubbles and either don't read the news, don't accept anything less than the Magical Socialist Revolution Now, and don't think partial or incremental progress (aka the only kind of progress that exists) is valid. "Biden hasn't single-handedly fixed everything wrong with America and the world after the most damaging presidency ever to exist and 250+ years of flaws, while other countries actually are their own actors with agency making complex choices, so we shouldn't vote for him" is a bullshit lie and I'm tired of it!!!

(Again. Sorry. This is not directed at you. This is just my frustration with this entire ridiculous situation speaking.)

We have had multiple elections now where people voted for Democrats, which resulted in abortion protections, protections for LGBTQ people, the biggest climate legislation ever to pass Congress/be signed into law (the Inflation Reduction Act), vast improvements in the job market, executive actions both large and small, improvements in labor and the economy, a general democratic system, a defense of the rule of law, a warning against fascism, and everything else that Trump trampled on in 4 years and will finish the job of doing if this godforsaken country is either right-wing-zealot or left-wing-zealot enough to put him back into office. (Like, people. Google is free. You're welcome to look up the improvements Biden has actually made, but that would harm your Narrative.) So much of this misinformation is also peddled by people who are proud that they don't have a clue how the American government works and/or deliberately lie about it: see all the claims that it was Biden's fault for not magically stopping a Trump-stacked SCOTUS, selected for the express purpose of overturning Roe, from overturning Roe. Because the president could just unilaterally overturn the Supreme Court with no problems at all if He Really Wanted To, I guess. Even if that is literally not the way it has ever functioned in history.

All the noxious Republicans in state legislatures passing anti-trans/anti-abortion/anti-voting laws ARE NOT SOMETHING BIDEN CAN STOP. If you're going to criticize him for not doing something, for God's sake at least make it for something he can do (like not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, though I would argue he's already taking a more nuanced approach than the entirety of the American establishment during the War on Terror). And then vote for him when/if he follows it up, not just throw your hands in the air and scream about how you Can't Possibly Sully Yourself (especially when there is some very selective support going on here and a deliberate white-washing of how many orders of magnitude worse absolutely everything else in America and the world would be under Trump. So.)

I'm tired of it. I'm really, really tired of it. I've been trying to cut back on my politics posting because my mental health is bad right now and I often feel like a broken record screaming into the void. But. Yeah. Anyway. Whoof.

#plantsandothers #ask #politics for ts

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cazort · 19 days

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I have seen a post circulating that talks about US politics and basically insinuates that in the upcoming presidential election, Biden is "99% Hitler" and Trump is "100% Hitler" and it makes me so frustrated that people can't see this as the disinformation and anti-vote propaganda that it is.

I'm intensely frustrated with Biden for how he has acted too little, too late on the Palestine issue, and how the U.S. continues to send billions in arms to Israel. And yet I'm going to be voting for him, and the analogy above is hugely dishonest. There is a massive difference between Biden and Trump:

The Biden administration and Democrats have strongly and unambiguously protected abortion rights, whereas Donald Trump appointed three supreme court justices who overturned Roe vs. Wade, and Republicans have across-the-board passed draconian abortion restrictions far more conservative than even their base.

Biden and the Democrats are strongly pro-LGBTQ rights including trans rights, at a time when Republicans are threatening trans rights in every state they control, and when even mainstream, "center-left" publications like the NY Times have been publishing transphobic drivel.

The Biden administration continues to expand healthcare access and work to control costs whereas the Trump administration worked to undermine much of the coverage we had.

The Trump administration was hopelessly corrupt and dysfunctional, with turnover in most appointed positions, scandal after scandal. Trump committed crime after crime in plain view, and incited an insurrection when he lost the election and has continued to back conspiracy theories undermining the very foundation of our democracy. Biden has been a relatively straightforward, "what you see is what you get" politician over his whole career, with a sort of level of flaws and corruption that is more typical of politics.

Trump had unprecedented anti-immigrant stances and under him, life became much more difficult for immigrants to the US as well as for non-citizens living here legally. Biden's administration has tried and worked against tough resistance to reverse many of the worst immigration changes made under the Trump administration, including doing things like giving 320,000 Venezuelans temporary protected status as refugees, trying to halt the border wall construction, and increasing legal immigration across-the-board.

Biden's rhetoric has become more critical of Israel over time, Biden has called for regime change and the ousting of Netanyahu, and under Biden the US Ambassador finally stopped voting against a ceasefire resolution and only abstained. Whereas Trump and the Republican's rhetoric has retained entirely critical of Palestinians and not at all critical of Israel, and Republicans have consistently supported draconian restrictions such as bans on BDS and some even introducing legislation banning referring to the region as Palestine. And weeks back, when public sentiment was not as anti-Israel as it is now, several Democrats voted for scrutiny to the Israeli military aid, whereas only one Republican did.

I am highly critical of Biden and I too am appalled that he's still running and that we don't have a better candidate who even ran in the primary. But it's far from truthful to say there is only a 1% difference between Biden and Trump, and even more dishonest and inaccurate to call Biden "99% Hitler", that's crazy talk and it serves only one purpose: to demotivate people and suppress voting.

There is a huge difference between these candidates. They will affect my daily life and your daily life and they will affect the whole world and they will affect Palestine.

Do you want a better candidate? Do you want to vote for an idealistic third-party candidate as a protest vote?

Support ranked choice voting first. Then, if you are in a state like Maine or Alaska that allows ranked choice for the president, vote for your ideal candidates and place Biden however low you want and then omit Trump entirely.

But if you do not have ranked choice in your state, especially if you live in a swing state, vote for Biden. And make sure to also join a movement that advances ranked choice, ideally Total Vote Runoff (TVR) as that is the best system for ranked choice.

#biden #trump #disinformation #voter suppression #ranked choice voting

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birdmomblogs · 1 year

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Content Warnings: This post discusses or mentions capital punishment, child abuse, execution, fascism, genocide, homicide, Nazis, politics, prison, and transphobia.

*****

"The Lemkin Institute [for Genocide Prevention] believes that the so-called “gender critical movement” that is behind [USA anti-trans legislation] is a fascist movement furthering a specifically genocidal ideology that seeks the complete eradication of trans identity from the world."

As I write this on April 22nd 2023, a total of 498 anti-trans bills have been introduced in the USA during 2023 alone. 19% of these bills have failed (96/498). 9% have passed (43/498). 72% of these bills are still being actively considered (359/498). This is already 286% more anti-trans bills introduced in 4 months than in the entirety of 2022 (176 bills were introduced in 2022). These bills affect;

ability to change sex marker on legal documents

preferred name usage

personal pronoun usage

access to gender-affirming care

student athletes

student bathroom usage

drag performers

and more!

This puts parents of trans children, educators, health care providers and more at risk for simply advocating for trans children. This puts trans adults and drag performers at risk. This puts trans children at risk.

Punishment for breaking anti-trans legislation is at risk of being as worse as imprisonment for life or the death penalty.

Example 1: Bill amendments HB - 4257, would define any person (including parents, doctors, coaches, teachers, etc.) involved in the gender transition of a minor as a child abuser, punishable by imprisonment for life. This bill amendment proposal has been continuously reintroduced with no sign of stopping until passed.

Example 2: "Drag ban" bills such as SB - 1438 and SB - 1698 broadly label drag as sexual conduct to "protect minors" from them. States then proceed to pass bills such as SB - 1342 that can allow sexual crimes against children to be punishable by death. Do you see the connection and how uncanny the timeline of the introduction or passing of these bills is? More than 4% of those executed are innocent but this percentage is likely higher in reality due to racial bias, economic inequality, etc. This number will only increase with prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community being legalized.

There are only 3 other accounts of trans genocide that have occurred globally:

During Nazi Germany (1920-1945), the Institute for Sexual Research was looted and destroyed. The Institute worked toward improving gender-affirming surgery and advocated for trans rights. Trans and gender non-conforming individuals faced forced detransitions and sentences to concentration camps. In 2022, Germany ruled that claiming trans people were not targeted by Nazis as denial of Nazi crimes, which is punishable by a prison sentence.

In Indonesia during the 1960s, a Bugis gender identity known as the bissu, faced violent persecution, torture and execution, with sacred ceremonies being banned. Bissu persecution in the Pancasila Republic of Indonesia continues to this day. In 2022, it was declared that these people are close to extinction.

Brazil has experienced the most annual transgender-targeted homicides since 2009. That's 14 years in a row. Many trans homicides go unreported, misreported or uninvestigated. The methods of murder are becoming increasingly more violent and organized. Transphobia continues to run rampant in Brazil due to the lack of legal protections and encouragement from politicians.

The one stage of genocide that the United States has not yet reached, like these other 3 countries, is execution. Do not let it get to that stage.

Anti-trans legislation is not about protecting women, children, etc. Its sole purpose is to silence and control, leading to the erasure of trans identities. The longer this continues the easier it is for transphobes to spread their harmful ideology and get away with it. I am privileged to have the opportunity to live in Canada, but in recent years even I have experienced and witnessed increasing numbers of transphobic incidents. Although not violent, the ideology is there. Hate spreads like a plague.

Be vigilant when following the news and make some noise about this with your own state officials. Even if you aren't American, label it like the genocide it is. Don't be silent about this. I've listed two resources below that I think will be helpful next steps once you finish reading this post. Feel free to also share your own resources in reblogs! Thank you!

***** About me: I am a trans and queer individual with a B.Sc. in Agriculture and International Development. Currently, I am working towards applying for graduate school. Research interests include food security, indigenous peoples, the LGBT community and historical aspects of human rights development.

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cryinginthefkncorner · 1 month

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So my state passed a law that now requires laboratories and doctors offices to collect demographic information including sexual orientation and gender identity.

I usually wouldn’t have a problem with this, except that the law states that 1) this is for “the tracking of lab results and diseases within certain demographics” and 2) that it exempts hospitals and labs from having to do sensitivity training for catering to these demographics.

I wish I understood that before I filled out those papers they gave me thinking it was hospital policy, but nope they want labels on our medical records to track what illnesses were getting so they can tie it back to our identities…

…As someone who ID’s as intersex and lesbian, they’ve got to understand why I’m angry at this, or at the very least fucking suspicious of their motives

Because this feels like a “calling what we know as AIDS “GRID” (Gay Related Immune deficiency) in the 80’s until the straights started to get it too” situation, you know, the one of multiple times when the American government and the cisgendered-straight population decided it was okay to pretty much genocide the queers by refusing to offer them medical help, housing, jobs, etc. because of their status as HIV+ (or just as LGBTQ+)

And also, before you go attacking republicans this was passed by a majority democratic state senate, and was sponsored by two democrats.

It goes to prove that no state, no matter what any map says, no matter the makeup of the states legislative body, is safe for LGBTQIA+ Americans.

To add, if you live in my state and have seen this you are allowed to choose “chose not to answer” or “would not disclose” as an answer to these questions, and now that you know the government is getting this information I highly recommend that you do as such, and only disclose to providers who are safe to disclose to verbally, as well as requesting that your answers to the survey stay as “not disclosing” due to the reasons it is being collected, and who is getting that information (hit, it’s the states DOH so they can most likely start labeling conditions “gay diseases”)

#queer community #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbtq community #lgbtq healthcare #queer #lesbian #gay #bisexual #sapphic #transgender #transfem #transmasc #nonbinary #genderqueer #genderfluid #this could effect all of us

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 12 days

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a law on Monday that adds crucial protections for LGBTQ+ couples using fertility treatments to build a family.

The Michigan Family Protection Act includes a series of provisions to protect families of all kinds. Most notably for the LGBTQ+ community, it changes “outdated state law to treat LGBTQ+ families equally and eliminate the need for them to go through a costly and invasive process to get documentation confirming their parental status,” as a press release from the governor’s office explains, adding that “Even if they move to a state that does not respect these basic rights, these bills help ensure they cannot be denied their relationship to their child.”

The law also repeals a law that made Michigan the only state in the country to criminalize surrogacy contracts; increases protections for surrogates, parents, and children; ensures equal legal treatment of children born through surrogacy and assisted reproduction; and streamlines the process for families to establish legal connections to their children.

“The Michigan Family Protection Act takes commonsense, long-overdue action to repeal Michigan’s ban on surrogacy, protect families formed by IVF, and ensure LGBTQ+ parents are treated equally,” Gov. Whitmer said in a statement. “Your family’s decisions should be up to you, and my legislative partners and I will keep fighting like hell to protect reproductive freedom in Michigan and make our state the best place to start, raise, and grow your family.”

Stephanie Jones, founder of the Michigan Fertility Alliance, called the legislation “an incredible victory for all Michigan families formed through assisted reproduction, including IVF and surrogacy, and for LGBTQ+ families.”

The press release also acknowledged the attacks on reproductive rights taking place across the country, most notably the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade and the 2024 Alabama Supreme Court’s declaration that embryos created through IVF have the same legal rights as children.

“As other states seek to restrict IVF, ban abortion, and make it harder to start a family, Michigan is supporting women and protecting reproductive freedoms for everyone,” the release stated.

One fierce advocate, Tammy Myers, has been fighting for the decriminalization of surrogacy in the state for the past four years. She told 7 Action News, “The tipping point, I think, is seeing that rights are being taken across the nation and we all need to fight for reproductive freedom.”

Polly Crozier, director of family advocacy at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), added in a statement, “Michigan has shown us what strengthening families should look like in 2024: making it more possible for people to fulfill their dreams of building a family and more accessible for all families, including LGBTQ+ families, to obtain the safety and stability that comes with legal parentage.”

“Amid efforts to restrict Americans’ reproductive freedom and roll back protections for LGBTQ+ people and their families, the Michigan Family Protection Act is an inspiring example for other states where gaps in parentage laws leave families vulnerable.”

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reasonsforhope · 1 year

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LGBTQ+ organizations and allies are celebrating Michigan for becoming the first state in three years to pass comprehensive anti-discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. The legislation, which now heads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) to be signed into law, finally passed after decades of court battles and hold-ups from Republican legislators.

The bill passed in a 64-45 vote in the Democrat-led House on Wednesday. It amends the state’s 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to include LGBTQ+ people among its protected groups. The law forbids discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodation within businesses, government buildings, and educational facilities on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, marital status — and now, LGBTQ+ identity.

Democrats had tried introducing various LGBTQ+ non-discrimination measures over the last 40 years, according to the bill’s gay sponsor Sen. Jeremy Moss (D). However, the attempts were repeatedly voted down by Republican-led legislatures. Last January, Democrats took control of the full legislature for the first time in nearly 40 years, finally giving them the chance to pass the protections.

In July 2022, Michigan’s Supreme Court issued a landmark 5–2 ruling that ELCRA already forbade discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as forms of discrimination based on sex and gender. This followed a 2020 Michigan Court of Claims ruling that said ELCRA didn’t ban anti-gay discrimination as well as a 2018 vote by Michigan’s Civil Rights Commission interpreting ELCRA as protecting LGBTQ+ people from religious-based discrimination...

When the House voted to pass the historic bill on Wednesday, a crowd in the House gallery broke into applause, Bridge Michigan reported. Republican House members had tried adding amendments that would’ve carved out exceptions for religious people to continue discriminating against LGBTQ+ people. None of these amendments passed into the final bill.

Gov. [Whitmer] has signaled that she will soon sign the bill into law. In a Wednesday tweet, she noted the observation of International Women’s Day and wrote, “I’m celebrating trans women who have continuously led the way, despite constant threats to their lives and liberty. I’m proud that we’re finally in a position to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ+ Michiganders. Let’s get it done!”

-via LGBTQ Nation, 3/9/23

Note: If it's not clear from the language, this is basically a done deal--the bill signing IS ABSOLUTELY GOING TO HAPPEN.

As scary as things are right now, there are so many of us fighting to protect ourselves, our communities, and the queer and trans people around us.

This comes only a day after Minnesota's governor signed a landmark executive order that guarantees the right to gender-affirming care and prevents the state from complying with any other states' attempts to interfere. via them.us, 3/9/23

There is hope, and there are so many people fighting for us.

#transgender #trans #trans rights #trans healthcare #top surgery #gender affirming care #trans rights are human rights #michigan #united states #us politics #gretchen whitmer #democrats #voting matters #lgbtq #lgbtq rights #transphobia cw #good news #hope

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mariacallous · 1 year

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For everyone who's like "that bill doesn't ACTUALLY codify anything, and states only have to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages performed in other states, they can still ban them if/when Obergefell is overturned"

-The definition of "codify" is "to write into law" - if you thought it meant "makes it supremely overruling everything and absolute" that's a you thing. Same-sex marriage was never codified - it was judicially decided. Now it is (as is interracial marriage).

-Cases take time to work their way through the court system to get to the point where SCOTUS can overturn a precedent. As we've seen in the last few months, a lot of people were able to work and organize and get state protections for reproductive rights. It would be a similar strategy.

-It's a big fucking deal that one of the two main political parties has solidly swung behind lgbtq rights in the last few decades where it is mainstream and de rigueur, and that 12 Republicans, for whatever reason, joined them in passing this legislation. This is not something that a lot of people would have expected even 10 years ago.

-For all the "realists", here's something - we're never going to get rid of the "religious freedom" exemptions in laws until we get more Democrats elected to Congress and more judges appointed, and even then it's really baked into this country. We're likelier to get serious gun control before we get minimizing religious freedom. And, as a lot of businesses and individuals have seen, it costs more to hate.

The bill isn't perfect, but there is no such thing as a perfect bill, and this finally legislatively overturns DOMA and establishes same-sex marriage and interracial marriage as a right to be recognized all across the nation, a right that if not recognized or codified means a lot of privileges and resources are denied to lgbtq people if they aren't able to legally marry.

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laura1633 · 30 days

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max as charles bodyguard 🤭

Thanks anon ♥️ Here is a brief summary of a bodyguard au but CW for gunshots and a background of some homophobia.

Tenth Random Lestappen AU summary: Bodyguard

Charles is an up and coming politician who is running for Governor of his state. He is running on a platform of LGBTQ+ rights and plans to sign off on legislation legalising same-sex marriage. It is a hot topic and Charles soon starts receiving death threats. He is headstrong though and not about to back down. He does however hire a bodyguard in the form of Max.

Charles is sceptical at first because Max seems a little stand offish but he is also extremely efficient and clearly cares about doing a good job. As times goes on Charles starts to crack away at Max’s rough exterior and learn more about him, it’s then that Charles finds out that Max is in fact also gay and is a huge supporter of Charles’ plans which is one of the reasons he was keen to take the job.

As the campaign progresses the death threats intensify and Max becomes increasingly protective to the point that he is practically glued to Charles’ side, his arm wrapped tightly around the politicians waist as he manhandles him through the crowd. It feels almost possessive but Charles shakes away the feeling because Max is a professional and doing his job (even if he happens to look particularly hot doing it).

On the day of the election Charles is giving a speech on the steps of city hall when he hears a loud shot. Before Charles can make out what is happening there are people screaming and fleeing in every direction and Max is pushing him to the ground. Charles is shaken but unharmed but as he turns to thank Max he is pushed out of the way and his bodyguard is suddenly surrounded by paramedics. Charles is inconsolable as he realises Max has taken the bullet that was intended for him.

Charles takes victory in the elections and a few months later gets the legislation through. He also gets to celebrate the news with his now boyfriend Max who is steadily recovering from his gunshot injury and being cared for by Charles (despite Max’s stubborn protestations that he is fine).Charles hopes that further down the line he will get to make use of the legislation he has just passed by getting down on one knee for the man who literally risk his life for him.

#anon asks #Lestappen au game #Lestappen fanfiction

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