Latest news with #LGBTQPrideMonth
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Republicans suggest PBS ‘grooming' children with Pride post
A group of congressional Republicans accused PBS on Monday of 'grooming' children after 'Sesame Street,' one of the nonprofit TV network's flagship programs, shared a social media post recognizing Pride Month. 'On our street, everyone is welcome. Together, let's build a world where every person and family feels loved and respected for who they are. Happy #PrideMonth!' the longtime children's education show wrote in a post early Sunday on the social platform X. The post, uploaded at midnight on June 1, the official start of LGBTQ Pride Month, included an illustration of 'Sesame Street's' colorful cast of puppets holding hands, their outstretched arms arranged in the order of a rainbow. The Republican Study Committee (RSC), a coalition of GOP House members whose membership is not public, responded to the post with a meme of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the words 'I am once again asking PBS to stop grooming children.' Representatives for PBS, 'Sesame Street' and Sanders did not immediately return requests for comment. The RSC did not respond to an email asking for additional comment on the post. The group's accusation comes amid a broader battle between PBS and Congress and the White House over the broadcaster's federal funding, which President Trump threatened last month in an executive order. PBS sued the Trump administration over the order, which claims it and the nonprofit radio network NPR produces 'biased and partisan news coverage.' NPR is also challenging Trump's order. The 'Sesame Street' Pride Month post drew backlash from other House and Senate Republicans, who used it to justify the administration's argument that it cut funding from PBS. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), whose website identifies her as an RSC member, also accused PBS of 'grooming' children with the post, which she said 'is evil and should infuriate every parent in America.' 'DEFUND!!' Miller wrote Monday on X. 'Federal funds aren't for grooming,' Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote from his personal X account, responding to a separate 'Sesame Street' clip from a 2020 episode that featured 'Queer Eye' host Jonathan Van Ness. Reacting to the same clip, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said, 'PBS is grooming children on American taxpayers' dime. This is unacceptable. Congress must defund them and hold the executives accountable.' The strong responses to 'Sesame Street's' post, including accusations of grooming, also come as the Trump administration increasingly targets LGBTQ Americans with policies and rhetoric that advocacy groups and LGBTQ people say threaten their safety and basic rights. Executive orders signed by Trump since his return to office in January aim to bar transgender people from serving openly in the military, ban trans athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports, end federal support for gender-affirming care for minors and slash funding for LGBTQ health programs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Evers raises Pride flag over Wisconsin State Capitol
The Progress Pride Flag flies over the Wisconsin Capitol. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner) For the seventh time, Gov. Tony Evers ordered the Progress Pride Flag to fly over the Wisconsin State Capitol for LGBTQ Pride Month. This year, Pride Month begins on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which gave same-sex couples the right to get married in 2015. But Evers' celebration of LGBTQ pride is occuring as the administration of President Donald Trump attacks the rights of transgender people and a recent Gallup poll found that Republican acceptance of same-sex marriage has fallen to its lowest level in nine years. 'When the Pride Flag flies above the People's House, it sends a clear and unequivocal message that Wisconsin recognizes and celebrates LGBTQ Wisconsinites and Americans,' Evers said in a statement. 'Every day, but especially today and this month, we reaffirm our commitment to striving to be a place where every LGBTQ kid, person, and family can be bold in their truth and be safe, treated with dignity and respect, and welcomed without fear of persecution, judgment, or discrimination. I promised long ago that, as governor, I would always fight to protect LGBTQ Wisconsinites with every tool and every power that I have. I will never stop keeping that promise.' In the executive order Evers signed Friday, he notes that the LGBTQ has been under attack in recent years, including in Wisconsin where Republicans have tried more than once to pass legislation attacking transgender children. 'Despite historic victories, in the last several years, there has been a significant increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation introduced in state Legislatures across the country, including in Wisconsin, that have targeted LGBTQ kids and people and increased dangerous anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, as well as efforts on a state and national level to erase LGBTQ history and stories.' The Progress Pride Flag flying above the Capitol includes the recognizable LGBTQ rainbow colors and a chevron of additional stripes that represent LGBTQ people of color, the transgender community and people with HIV/AIDS. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Patrons object to library's Pride month plans with taxpayer money
A local library has planned an LGBTQ Pride Month event that doesn't sit right with some patrons. Charles Trupe and Kristina Holden of Zionsville think Pride events normalize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) lifestyles and are partially responsible for an increase in youth who identify as such. And they think Zionsville's Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library programs support the LGBTQ agenda. Hussey-Mayfield has scheduled a program called Pride Speed Dating with a Book for June 11. June is LGBTQ Pride Month when that community recognizes a series of encounters between LGBTQ protestors and police over six days in 1969. Each June, the LGBTQ community honors its members who were lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS and many participate in pride events, such as parades and concerts around the nation. The Hussey-Mayfield Pride event was advertised on the library's online calendar for ages 13-18 and for adults, as of Monday. On Thursday, the age range had changed to only adults. The event description reads, 'In celebration of Pride Month, discover the world of LGBTQIA+ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual] lit[erature]…' Hussey-Mayfield Director Kristin Shelley said Thursday the event was intended for adults only, and a librarian may have corrected an error online, if it was at first opened to 13-year-olds and older. Shelley said speed dating with a book is just that, a date with books – not with people. 'It's a time to talk to staff about some of the books they've read and liked and a time of just being exposed to an array of books, characters, themes, or LGBTQ authors,' Shelley said. 'One of our core values is having the library open to all, so that everyone who walks through our doors sees themselves in some form or fashion. And we aren't questioning who walks in through our doors. They should see themselves in displays, materials, and programs.' Last year the library sponsored a Pride party for sixth-graders through college students, Trupe said. The invitation read, in part, 'Whether you are gay, trans, an ally, or anything under the rainbow, you are welcome.' Shelley said the library did have a party for teens through college aged patrons, providing cupcakes and showing the movie 'Love Simon,' a gay teenage romance rated PG13. Department heads with master's degrees in library science develop programs for Hussey-Mayfield on topics that are beneficial to the entire community, Shelley said, adding, 'They base them on what's popular and trending, and I don't put many restrictions on what kind of programs we do. But I do ask them to be intentional about ages or grades.' Likewise, Lebanon Public Library department heads schedule programs based on public interest, Director Beau Cunnyngham said. Lebanon has no pride events on the calendar, because 'June is the beginning of summer reading, and it's all hands on deck for that,' he said. 'I have never felt the need to put limitations on my program directors,' Cunnyngham said. 'They come up with programming to appeal to a wide range of people. I fully respect libraries attempting to get people into the door with a variety of programming.' Trupe and Holden reminded Boone County Council members and Commissioners this month that they appoint some members to the library board and asked them to select conservative members in the future. 'Taxpayer dollars should not be used to promote the LGBTQ agenda,' Trupe told them. 'We need a strong library board that says 'no' to the library director when she proposes something like this.' Trupe also objected to a display celebrating Transgender Visibility Day in March. The display was in the adult section, but within view of children, he said. One book cover had a photo of a boy wearing a girl's cheerleading uniform, he said. 'Professional librarians choose displays that people have asked about, or that are relevant to the date or month,' Shelley said, citing as an example, a recent display on romance that showed men and women on the covers. 'We really want this to be a welcoming and open space to all.' Lebanon's collection also includes materials that appeal to the LGBTQ community and its needs and interests. 'Our materials cover a wide range of topics,' Cunnyngham said. 'We buy books based on regional and national popularity. There are few limits. If it's published by a children's publishing house, we buy it and put it in the collection. We're not going to censor that. It's an age-old practice among libraries.' But both libraries have a formal complaint process for the public to object to materials. Both have committees that review any complaints and a library board will then make a final decision. Cunnyngham remembers only eight or fewer complaints since he took the helm in Lebanon in 2015 and said no books were banned after review. Shelley said that only a few people in Zionsville have complained about LGBTQ events and materials. 'The flip-side,' she said, 'is that I got far more supportive emails, like four times as many,' for last year's event. 'The support from the community has been absolutely amazing,' she said. 'I'm so happy that people are engaged in their public library.'
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iowa man reportedly fired for wearing Bible verse t-shirts during Pride Month settles lawsuit
An Iowa man reached a settlement with his former employer this week after he claimed he was fired for wearing t-shirts with Bible verse messages during the company's celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month. Cosby "Corey" Cunningham, a "devout, born-again Christian," filed a religious discrimination lawsuit in federal court last August against Eaton Corp, a global management company, after his firing in August 2023. Cunningham was hired by Eaton in 2019 as a quality assurance manager, where he managed new product development of military and commercial aerospace activities before his termination, according to the lawsuit. His lawsuit says during his employment, Eaton began "increasingly promoting" DEI and LGBTQ support in the workplace. He was allegedly required to attend multiple DEI training sessions, and says he was "singled out" during one training for disagreeing on the use of "woke" pronouns. Seattle Pride Faces Budget Shortfall As Corporate Sponsorships Dwindle Amid Anti-dei Shift On June 2, 2023, Eaton initiated a "Pride Month ceremony," where a Pride flag was raised in front of its main building in support of Pride Month. Eaton's management encouraged employees to attend and wear specific colors that day to show their support for the effort. Pride t-shirts were also sold to employees, according to the lawsuit. Read On The Fox News App Cunningham said he began wearing Bible verse t-shirts that day to express his "sincerely held religious beliefs" and to "counter the views that were being coerced by the company on its employees" regarding support for LGBTQ pride. One shirt cited Proverbs 16:18 with the text, "Pride goes before destruction, an arrogant spirit before a fall." Another shirt read, "Taking back the rainbow —Genesis 9:13," with the verse, "I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth," on the back. I Was Forced To Take Action Against My School District To Halt Compelled Speech, Racist Dei A third read, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6." On July 20, 2023, Cunningham was called into a meeting with Human Resources ("HR") and told that his shirt was making people "uncomfortable" and one person felt it was "inflammatory toward the LGBTQ community." He met with HR again, one week later, and requested written documentation showing which company policy he was violating by wearing the religious t-shirts. His lawsuit claims Eaton threatened to fire him at this meeting. The following day, he requested, in writing, a religious accommodation to wear the t-shirts, which was denied. He made a second request via a letter to HR, saying he felt he was being "attacked" by his employer over his beliefs. State Lawmakers, Companies Prepare To Push Back Against Dei, 'Woke' Initiatives: Experts In the following weeks, Cunningham says he was sent home twice after he refused to stop wearing the t-shirts. Eaton fired him on August 23, 2023, saying he had violated their "Harassment-Free Policy." Cunningham filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission before filing his complaint in federal court in August 2024, alleging unlawful religious discrimination by Eaton. According to Cedar Rapids-based KCRG, lawyers for Eaton argued Cunningham was not entitled to any damages because any actions taken by the company against him "were legitimate and non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory," and were based on legitimate business reasons. The case came to a conclusion this week with Eaton and Cunningham reaching an unspecified settlement agreement out of court, according to KCRG. The case was dismissed on May 20, according to court documents. Eaton declined Fox News Digital's request for article source: Iowa man reportedly fired for wearing Bible verse t-shirts during Pride Month settles lawsuit
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lewis County Pride hosts 6th annual picnic
LOWVILLE, N.Y. (WWTI) — The Lewis County Pride Committee will be hosting the 6th Annual Lewis County Pride Picnic on Sunday, June 1, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Lewis County Fairgrounds Pavilion. The community is welcome to the free event, which marks the beginning of LGBTQ Pride Month in Northern New York. A community resource fair, free hot dogs from Stewart's, food trucks, bingo, raffles, a DJ, and an arts and crafts fair are all planned by the Committee this year. They are hosting a mini-pride float competition this year. For a chance to win a $100 gift card, they are encouraging people to make their own small Pride float. Floats can be made by teams, must be 2 feet by 3 feet OR less, and can be pulled or carried! Additionally, the committee will be collecting non-perishable food items and personal hygiene goods for the June 4 food drive organized by the United Way of Northern New York. 'The Lewis County Pride Committee has worked really hard to celebrate the 6th year of this event— we have local food trucks, dessert from the CopperCakery, Bingo with prizes and music from Tunes 92.5 and 104.5 FM,' says Hilary Avallone, the LGBT Program Manager for The Q Center at ACR Health. 'This event is always very heartwarming. This small town shows up and supports their LGBTQ friends and families, and you can always feel the love.' The Q Center at ACR Health, in addition to NRCIL, NNY Pride, Planned Parenthood of the North County NY and The Volunteer Transportation Center, are sponsoring this year's event. Local LGBTQ communities, allies and supporters are invited to join in on the June 1. For more information, you can reach out to Lewis County Pride on Facebook or via email at lewcopride@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
