Mayor John Carli rejects Pride month, Louisiana's Senate denied a bill that sought to ban gender-affirming care, and Iowa bans LGBTQ topics in schools as well as removing books depicting sex from libraries.
Mayor Rejects Pride Month
According to the Bay Area Reporter, the Solano County Pride Center said that Vacaville Mayor John Carli will not be recognizing Pride Month this June. Vacaville is midway between San Francisco and Sacramento.
"Solano Pride Center met with Vacaville Mayor Carli on May 24 to discuss celebrating and acknowledging Pride Month," Sarah White from the Solano Pride Center wrote in a press release. "Breaking precedent, Carli is refusing to raise the Pride flag, or issue a proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month in Vacaville."
White wrote that Vacaville’s two previous mayors acknowledged Pride Month and have raised the rainbow flag for the last two years.
Senate Kills Bill That Aimed To Ban Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
Photo via Adobe.
According to WWNO, a NPR member station based in New Orleans, the Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare committee killed a bill on May 24 that sought to ban gender-affirming care for minors.
Those in favor of the bill described gender-affirming care as “mutilation” and “experimental.”
Opponents of the bill advocated that gender-affirming care promotes mental health and cited studies stating that less than 1% of people regret their transitions.
“When you prescribe hormone therapies to these kids, they get better,” Dr. Clifton Mixon, a Louisiana psychologist who treats trans youth, said. “They stop cutting. They want to live. They go to school. They get better grades. Their relationships improve, and they can begin to live a more normal teenage life.”
State Bans Education On LGBTQ Topics, Books Depicting Sex Acts From Libraries
Photo via Gov. Kim Reynolds, Facebook.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law on May 26 a bill banning education on gender identity and sexual orientation up to the sixth grade as well as removing books portraying sex acts from school libraries, according to the Associated Press.
“This legislative session, we secured transformational education reform that puts parents in the driver’s seat, eliminates burdensome regulations on public schools, provides flexibility to raise teacher salaries, and empowers teachers to prepare our kids for their future,” said a statement from Reynolds.
The law also requires school administrators to inform parents if their students decide to change their names or pronouns. The ban on books depicting sex acts does not apply to religious texts.
“Like many other pieces of her agenda, this legislation punches down on a vulnerable group of kids, and it benefits no one,” Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy at One Iowa, said.
