Pennsylvania’s governor signed an executive order protecting LGBTQ+ youth from conversion therapy. [Them]
Prisons are going to be left behind when it comes to monkeypox vaccines. [Them]
Scotland is now offering free period products for everyone, regardless of gender. [Towleroad]
Out NFL player Carl Nassib has signed a deal to return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. [Them]
A new report found that New York City jails routinely fail to protect trans people. [The City]
A school librarian is suing the right-wing activists who tried to harass her. [Them]
Legislation
This section of the newsletter is brought to you in collaboration with the Trans Formations Project’s Newsletter Team. The Trans Formations Project is a grassroots organization dedicated to tracking anti-trans legislation across the United States.
Hello everyone! This week, we’re covering more court drama, harassment campaigns, and concerning developments and what they suggest for the upcoming legislative sessions after the 2024 midterm elections.
The first thing we should talk about is the ongoing crisis in trans healthcare from the state of Florida. Last week, they issued new rules which would block Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for both adults and children. Trans groups, specifically led by Southern Legal Counsel’s Transgender Rights, are in the process of suing against these rules. It’s on: let’s keep eyes on the cases that follow.
The Thing(s) We Won This Week
First, Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf (Democratic) has signed an executive order aimed at protecting Pennsylvanians from conversion therapy. Given the horrific legacy of gay conversion therapy and the continued push for conversion therapy in anti-trans movements, this is a rare, unambiguously good thing, though we shall have to watch to see whether it holds, given that it is an executive order that can be overridden by a subsequent Republican governor unless it is codified into state or federal law.
Second, an important court ruling has occurred in the 4th Circuit Federal Court’s Williams v. Kincaid. This ruling has stated that gender dysphoria, a name for the distress some trans people feel at the mismatch between their experienced gender and their bodies, is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As such, it cannot be excluded under “gender identity disorder” provisions, since GID is an antiquated and discriminatory concept which was discontinued under the DSM-5 in 2013.
