More than a dozen stat propose so-lled 'Don't Say Gay' bills : NPR

Contents:

• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
• NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS
• A NEW VIRGIA BILL WOULD LET SCHOOLS, HOTELS, RTRANTS, AND HOSPALS TURN GAYS AWAY
• THREE MEN ARRTED DURG GAY SNA RAID VENEZUELA RELEASED OM JAIL
• GAY RIGHTS VS. FREE SPEECHSUPREME COURT BACKS WEB DIGNER OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

Vcent and the Grenad, where gay sex is still homelsns to ongog physil and verbal abe, the gay muny the small natn of some 100, 000 people says is unr nstant threat. Vcent, anal sex is punishable by up to 10 years prison, while “gross cency” wh another person of the same sex is punishable by up to five years, acrdg to lonial-era laws that are mon the socially nservative Caribbean rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people. ”Human Rights Watch terviewed more than 20 members of the island’s LGBTQ muny who shared their stori but were not intified to protect them, notg that lol police are often openly discrimatory toward gay people who seek help.

Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry. ”González wh Human Rights Watch noted that 2019, the ernment held a workshop for public employe on the importance of rpectg gay rights, a rare move for a nservative Caribbean natn.

NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS

Across the Uned Stat, at least a dozen stat are nsirg new legislatn that several ways will mirror Florida's new ntroversial law, referred to by some opponents as "Don't Say Gay. "The stutnalizatn of the bills is an overt form of stctural transphobia and homophobia, and go agast all public health evince creatg a safe and supportive environment for transgenr, nonbary, queer, gay and lbian youths and teachers to thrive, " Arjee Rtar, assistant profsor of epimlogy at the Universy of Washgton, told NPR. Rtar, a social epimlogist and health equy advote, said the ntroversial bills will lim all youths to live to their fullt potential, addg "there should be no room for transphobia and homophobia — pecially the classroom.

Two years after Arizona lawmakers repealed a law barrg any stctn on HIV or AIDS that that "promot a homosexual liftyle, " they are close to enactg a broad remake of the state's sex tn laws wh a particular foc on LGBTQ issu. "Florida may be the first this wave, but there have been other laws the past that were lled 'no promo homo' laws, which forbid sayg posive thgs about lbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people classrooms, " Simmons told NPR.

A NEW VIRGIA BILL WOULD LET SCHOOLS, HOTELS, RTRANTS, AND HOSPALS TURN GAYS AWAY

New York Cy is lnchg a digal billboard mpaign, supportg LGBTQ visibily that will be displayed five major markets Florida for eight weeks, to lure Floridians unhappy wh their state's "Don't Say Gay" law to the Big Apple, Adams announced. Christe Geiger, the owner of Stud 8 Hair Lab Traverse Cy, told lol outlet 9&10 News that she is OK wh lbian, gay and bisexual people but ref to e preferred pronouns and has a right to ny jt weeks after the U. The 1977 law ma illegal to discrimate on the basis of relign, race, age, weight, sex and other characteristics; was expand earlier this year to clu genr inty and recent Supreme Court cisn sidg wh a webse signer who refed to serve a hypothetil gay uple, 303 Creative v.

THREE MEN ARRTED DURG GAY SNA RAID VENEZUELA RELEASED OM JAIL

Enomic lears have said they fear Japan will not be able to rema ternatnally petive whout greater diversy, cludg reprentatn for the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny. Now a Republin legate Virgia is attemptg to replite Kansas’ effort—wh a bill so extreme, so radilly and vicly anti-gay, that mak Kansas’ measure look morate by parison.

But whereas most of those bills attempted to allow discrimatn the realm of gay marriage—permtg, for stance, a florist to refe to provi flowers for a gay uple’s weddg—the Virgia bill has no such limatn. This clse would allow all workers to refe to “perform, assist, nsent to, or participate any actn” that would “vlate the relig or moral nvictn of such person wh rpect to same-sex ‘marriage’ or homosexual behavr.

) In other words, workers the state of Virgia need only clare that teractg wh people who partake “homosexual behavr” vlat their “moral nvictn”—and they will be ee to turn them away. Marshall also proposed excludg gays om the Virgia Natnal Guard after Congrs repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and succsfully blocked the appotment of a state judge on acunt of his homosexualy.

GAY RIGHTS VS. FREE SPEECHSUPREME COURT BACKS WEB DIGNER OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

No matter the ratnalizatns om the far-right media, bills promotg “relig liberty” are almost always simply pretext, a ploy to perm the basement of gay cizens unr the guise of prcipled “dissent.

The Marshall bill may be more extreme than most—but the same savage homophobia that unrli n also be found between the l of pretty much every “relig liberty” bill we’ve seen troduced over the past year.