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Fox News
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
'Heartbreaking' photo of McDonald's PlayPlace triggers social media firestorm
A McDonald's in Franklin, Tennessee, is attracting viral attention after a customer called out the children's play area. X user @NancyAFrench posted an image of the PlayPlace," writing, "This is so heartbreaking. I'm at a new McDonalds in Franklin, TN and look at their 'play place' for children. Two screens/two chairs." The photo showed a corner of the restaurant with a sitting area and two screens embedded in the wall. "McDonald's and our franchisees are proud to provide family-friendly spaces across many of our U.S. restaurants," a McDonald's spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "While this restaurant has a few interactive features for younger guests, it does not represent the full PlayPlace design and experience," the spokesperson added. The X user added a video to her thread saying, "I went back in to make sure I didn't miss something." "There was this column thing that might be for getting kids to exercise. But I don't think this is temporary. I think this is it," she continued. The video shows the woman stomping on an interactive music pad along with a "playground safety rules" sign. The post garnered more than 16 million views and nearly 2,000 comments. This is so heart breaking. I'm at a new McDonalds in Franklin, TN and look at their "play place" for children. Two screens/two chairs. 😭😭😭 "I hope that's only temporary! We still have the play equipment at my local McD's," commented one X user. "Upsetting," another user wrote. "This is more of a punishment place," added another. A user reminisced, saying, "so many joys our kids will never know." "The playpits were filthy, and this screen thing is an abomination," declared one woman. "Nothing says childhood fun like staring at a screen in a slightly different location than home," another person wrote. I went back in to make sure I didn't miss something. There was this column thing that might be for getting kids to exercise. But I don't think this is temporary. I think this is it. One woman commented, "If kids won't pick up toys to play with anymore and demand screens - businesses provide what the consumer keeps asking for, repeatedly. The digital heroin conditioning." Other X users didn't appear to be fazed by the play area. "seems fine to me," one person commented. "McDonalds is not a childcare facility. They are there to eat," another user wrote. Children ages 8-12 spend four to six hours a day watching or using screens, while teens spend up to nine hours, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). It is advised that children between the ages of 2 and 5 limit non-educational screen time to an hour per weekday and a maximum of three hours on weekends. For children 6 and over, the AACAP recommends encouraging "healthy habits and limit activities that include screens." Too much screen time can cause obesity, irregular sleep, behavioral problems and possible exposure to violent content, according to Mayo Clinic.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
KY Houses passes bill canceling Beshear's restrictions on conversion therapy
Kentucky House chambers, Jan. 9. 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. FRANKFORT — The GOP-controlled Kentucky House approved a bill Wednesday that critics say would protect the controversial practice of conversion therapy, targeting Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order restricting the practice. Sponsor Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, touted House Bill 495 as a way to protect counselors, pastors and therapists providing therapy to minors from discriminatory actions by the government, assuring parents can make choices on what kind of therapist a minor sees. The bill specifically protects mental health services seeking to relieve 'discomfort or distress caused by an individual's sex or romantic or sexual attraction.' Hale successfully added a floor amendment to the legislation that seeks to invalidate Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order issued last year banning the practice. Hale told his fellow lawmakers he believed the order infringed on 'parental authority' and First Amendment rights. The House passed HB 495, with the addition of the floor amendment, on partisan lines by a vote of 77-18. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is among the medical and psychological organizations that have condemned conversion therapy. AACAP has stated conversion therapies 'lack scientific credibility and clinical utility' and that there is 'evidence that such interventions are harmful.' The American Psychological Association has stated people who have undergone 'sexual orientation change efforts' are significantly more likely to be depressed and suicidal. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. The minority of Democrats in the chamber echoed concerns expressed by advocates representing psychologists, social workers and the LGBTQ community in opposing the bill. Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, said the bill would be detrimental to mental health care for youth, mentioning her time as a foster parent working with LGBTQ minors. 'Many times they came into care, not because there was necessarily abuse or neglect — or sometimes there was. But sometimes it was simply because their family rejected them for who they were, who they are, and they could not stay there,' Stalker said. 'This is harmful, and it's certainly not compassionate.' McKenna Horsley contributed to this report.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GOP bill shielding conversion therapy clears committee on party line vote
Rep. David Hale, listens to questions from lawmakers about HB 495. In an interview with the Lantern, Hale mentioned Gov. Andy Beshear's order banning conversion therapy as part of his rationale for sponsoring the bill. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. FRANKFORT — Kentucky lawmakers would endanger vulnerable minors by approving a bill to protect conversion therapy, warned a coalition representing psychologists, social workers and the LGBTQ community during a committee hearing Thursday. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear banned the controversial practice last year but House Bill 495 would appear to override the governor's executive order. Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, the bill's primary sponsor, dismissed opponents' arguments, including personal testimony from speakers who told stories of experiencing abuse and harm from conversion therapy themselves. Hale told lawmakers on the House State Government Committee he wanted to protect counselors, therapists and pastors providing therapy to minors from discriminatory actions by the government, empowering parents to make choices on what kind of therapist a minor sees. The bill specifically protects mental health services seeking to relieve 'discomfort or distress caused by an individual's sex or romantic or sexual attraction.' 'The parents, in my opinion, have the right and the privilege of seeking whatever help they feel is best, necessary for that child,' Hale told lawmakers. Hale didn't specifically mention conversion therapy in his testimony. In a Lantern interview after the committee approved the bill 15-4 on party lines, Hale mentioned Democrat Beshear's executive order as a part of his reasoning for filing the bill. He said he worked with a couple of organizations to craft the bill's language but declined to name those organizations. Calling it a 'dangerous' practice,' Beshear last year issued an executive order banning conversion therapy. He was slammed by Republicans who said he was constitutionally overreaching and pushing a far-left agenda. Conversion therapy attempts to alter a young person's gender expression or sexual attractions. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is among the medical and psychological organizations that have condemned conversion therapy. AACAP has stated conversion therapies 'lack scientific credibility and clinical utility' and there's 'evidence that such interventions are harmful.' The American Psychological Association has stated people who have undergone 'sexual orientation change efforts' are significantly more likely to be depressed and suicidal. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. Eric Gunn, the executive director of the Kentucky Psychological Association and a licensed clinical psychologist, said HB 495 'directly threatens the trust between a mental health provider and our clients' by protecting those who practice conversion therapy, something that is 'widely discredited' and had no place in the mental health care of LGBTQ youth. The Rev. Brandon Long, an ordained minister from Fort Thomas who spoke against the bill, recounted his experience as a survivor of conversion therapy. After he had shared with others that he was gay, he said he was told in secular and religious settings that his same sex attraction was caused by childhood trauma, poor parenting and 'demonic influence.' 'I do believe in forgiveness and repentance, but conversion therapy weaponizes these sacred pastoral practices,' Long said. 'Because this is not pastoral care. It is spiritual and psychological abuse. Religious liberty is not absolute. It ends where harm begins. That's why we do not allow human sacrifice or child marriage in worship.' Brenda Rosen, the executive director of the Kentucky chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, urged lawmakers to work together to help minors with the mental health challenges they face through an approach based on 'acceptance and support.' Chris Hartman, the executive director of the LGBTQ-rights group Fairness Campaign, questioned why HB 495 was being heard in a committee dealing with state government when he said the bill deals with mental health services. 'Few practices destroy families and hurt LGBTQ youth more than what's considered conversion therapy, which is defined in a positive light in this bill,' Hartman said. The minority of Democrats on the committee strongly condemned the legislation and echoed the concerns of the opponents. Rep. Joshua Watkins, D-Louisville, mentioned his Christian faith in explaining his opposition, pointing to Bible scripture about loving oneself. 'I am an absolutely, firmly, resounding 'no' on this bill because to me, it breaches all of the things that my faith teaches me,' Watkins said. Some Republicans on the committee suggested the bill offers broad protection for counselors going beyond conversion therapy. Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville, argued the bill would also include protections for 'mental health care professionals that would be pro-LGBTQ therapy, or gender-affirming care.' 'I don't see anywhere in here where it would choose a type of therapy,' said Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy. 'I don't think it prohibits affirming care. It doesn't authorize conversion therapy.' Hale had said to lawmakers he believed the testimony from opponents was 'not correct.' When asked by the Lantern about opponents' personal testimony, Hale said he had found 'no evidence' in his research to substantiate the types of personal testimony shared by opponents. After the bill passed the committee on party lines, Hale got up from his seat to shake hands with some of the bill's opponents. Long refused to shake hands with Hale, telling him 'you don't believe I exist.' 'He's looking at us telling our stories, to then frame on the record that, 'I do not believe these individuals,'' Long said. 'In other words, they are lying. And that is of the utmost disrespect for ourselves, for our lives, for our experiences coming and putting it forth on the record.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge denies request to stop Michigan's ban on conversion therapy
A federal judge has denied a request to stop a Michigan law banning practicing conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors, ruling in a lawsuit brought on by religious groups last year, although plaintiffs have appealed the ruling. U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering ruled Tuesday the state law does not appear to violate the free speech of mental health therapists in Michigan. A lawsuit, filed in July on behalf of the Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties and Emily McJones, a Lansing-based therapist, sought to have a preliminary injunction issued against the law. In a 36-page ruling, Beckering denied the motion for a preliminary injunction, writing plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their case. "The language of the law, on its face, concerns treatment and does not target speech," Beckering wrote. "The law provides that licensed mental health professionals shall not 'engage in conversion therapy with a minor,' with 'conversion therapy' defined as a 'practice or treatment.'" Beckering is an appointee of former President Joe Biden. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington-based nonprofit legal group that aims to defend religious expression, represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Plaintiffs filed an appeal to the Cincinnati-based U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, court records show. Conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling or psychoanalysis, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). According to AACAP, there is no evidence conversion therapy is effective, however, there is evidence the practice can be harmful to children's development. In 2023, the Michigan House and Senate passed bills banning the practice, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the ban into law in July of that year. The bills passed mostly along party lines, with Democrats supporting them and Republicans largely opposed. At the time, LGBTQ advocacy organizations commended the legislation. Under Michigan's ban, the definition of conversion therapy would not include counseling for individuals undergoing gender transition, counseling for those coping with questions about their sexual orientation or gender identity, or interventions for unlawful sexual conduct or abuse, so long as the interventions don't attempt to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued the law violates their free speech, free exercise of religion and due process rights because it limits how they can practice counseling minors who are questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation. A Becket official criticized the law and said the plaintiffs look forward to a ruling in their appeal. "Michigan's new law pushes vulnerable children down a dangerous path of drugs, hormones, and surgeries that have been banned by the majority of states and federal government," Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement provided to the Free Press. "It harms children, defies the best available scientific evidence, and cuts children off from the compassionate, evidence-based counseling they need." Twenty-three states currently have laws prohibiting conversion therapy for minors, according to the Movement Advance Project. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office represents the state in litigation against its laws, applauded Beckering's ruling and said her office would continue its efforts to have the lawsuit dismissed. 'The harms of conversion therapy on our children are well known and documented, which is why Governor Whitmer and health officials took action to protect their mental health,' Nessel said in a statement. 'States have a duty to shield their residents, especially kids, from treatments proven to cause devastating harm, and I am glad the Court denied this request to block the enforcement of this critical law." Whitmer, Nessel, state health and licensing officials, including Michigan Department of Health Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel, and members of the state's Board of Counseling, Board of Social Workers and Board of Psychology are listed as defendants in the lawsuits. Beckering's ruling removed Hertel as a defendant, with the judge ruling plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate her standing in the case. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge denies request to stop Michigan's ban on conversion therapy
