The case against a Colorado baker who refused to bake a trans cake was dismissed, the District of Columbia announced LGBTQ History Month celebrations, and the Wisconsin Senate race narrows as LGBTQ issues become a focal point.
Case Against Baker Who Refused Trans Cake Order Dismissed
The Colorado Supreme Court tossed a discrimination case against a baker who refused to make a cake with trans pride colors based on procedural grounds.
According to NBC News, lower courts had ruled that Autumn Scardina’s rights were violated when the bakery’s owner, Jack Phillips, refused to make the cake. However, the higher court avoided that decision and instead ruled that under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, Scardina was not permitted to sue in 2019 following an earlier administrative process.
That process involved Scardina initially filing a complaint that was confidentially settled with Phillips without her participation. A court justice said that she should have challenged that decision in an appeals court rather than filing a new lawsuit.
LGBTQ History Month Celebrations Announced
Photo via worldpridedc.org.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced her administration would be celebrating LGBTQ History Month with three events throughout October, according to the Washington Blade.
Though one event already passed earlier this month, residents and visitors can look forward to a two-day World Pride workshop beginning Oct. 21.
D.C. was selected as the host city for World Pride in 2025, so this workshop will give business owners and organizers an opportunity to plan legal and licensed events for the celebration next year.
There will also be a high heel race on Oct. 29. Bowser said the city is “proud to be in the forefront of LGBTQIA progress.”
Senate Race Narrows As LGBTQ Issues Become Focal Point
Senator Tammy Baldwin via baldwin.senate.gov.
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin is losing her previously large lead over Republican challenger Eric Hovde after facing multiple attack ads tying her to funding LGBTQ care for youth.
According to The Guardian, the Wisconsin race is one of a few that could decide which party will control the Senate next year.
Recent ads have claimed, “Baldwin supported providing puberty blockers and sex change surgeries to minor children,” and “ensured hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars went to a Madison nonprofit that pushes an aggressive LGBTQ agenda on kids.”
These quotes may have referred to Baldwin’s decisions to veto a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors in Wisconsin, as well as designate federal dollars to an organization that supports at-risk and homeless youth.
A Hovde campaign spokesperson said the candidate “believes any effort to push conversations about sexuality and gender identity on kids without parental knowledge is just plain wrong and taxpayer dollars should not be supporting those programs.”
Baldwin wrote on social media that gender-affirming care shouldn’t be politicized.
“Trans kids deserve … the freedom to just be kids, play sports and get the health care they need, all without politicians butting in,” Baldwin wrote.
