Latest news with #LawAgainstDiscrimination
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill allowing trans people to be kept out of bathrooms, locker rooms heads to NH governor's desk
Supporters of transgender rights gather at the Legislative Office Building in Concord on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) A bill that would eliminate certain transgender protections established by a 2018 anti-discrimination law in New Hampshire was approved by the state Senate Thursday and now heads to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk. If it becomes law, House Bill 148, which was sponsored by Wilton Republican Rep. Jim Kofalt, will allow businesses and organizations in New Hampshire to classify certain services, such as locker rooms and restrooms, by biological sex. It would also permit schools and organized sports teams in the state to keep transgender athletes off teams that are consistent with their gender identity. It would allow prisons, mental health facilities, and juvenile detention centers to place transgender people with members of their at-birth sex even if they ask to be placed according to the gender they identify with. The bill doesn't require any of these things, but it allows whoever owns the restrooms, administers the sports teams, or runs the prison to do so without facing discrimination charges. This reverses parts of 2018's Law Against Discrimination, which was enacted to protect people from discrimination on the basis of 'age, sex, gender identity, race, creed, color, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, or national origin.' The Senate passed the bill, 16-8, along party lines Thursday, with all Republicans voting yes and all Democrats voting no. The House passed the legislation, 201-166, in March. Only two Democratic House members, Reps. Jonah Wheeler and Peter Leishman, both of Peterborough, voted in favor. Ayotte will now have the option to sign the bill into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without her signature. Her predecessor, former Gov. Chris Sununu, was given the same options in 2024 when the House and Senate approved House Bill 396. This year's bill, HB 148, is a word-for-word copy of last year's HB 396. Sununu ultimately vetoed the bill, calling it 'unacceptable,' and saying it 'runs contrary to New Hampshire's Live Free or Die spirit' and 'seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves,' per his veto message. LGBTQ+ rights supporters sang outside the State House restrooms in protest of the bill during the Senate session Thursday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill allowing trans people to be kept out of bathrooms, locker rooms heads to Ayotte's desk
Supporters of transgender rights gather at the Legislative Office Building in Concord on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) A bill that would eliminate certain transgender protections established by a 2018 anti-discrimination law in New Hampshire was approved by the state Senate Thursday and now heads to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk. If it becomes law, House Bill 148, which was sponsored by Wilton Republican Rep. Jim Kofalt, will allow businesses and organizations in New Hampshire to classify certain services, such as locker rooms and restrooms, by biological sex. It would also permit schools and organized sports teams in the state to keep transgender athletes off teams that are consistent with their gender identity. It would allow prisons, mental health facilities, and juvenile detention centers to place transgender people with members of their at-birth sex even if they ask to be placed according to the gender they identify with. The bill doesn't require any of these things, but it allows whoever owns the restrooms, administers the sports teams, or runs the prison to do so without facing discrimination charges. This reverses parts of 2018's Law Against Discrimination, which was enacted to protect people from discrimination on the basis of 'age, sex, gender identity, race, creed, color, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, or national origin.' The Senate passed the bill, 16-8, along party lines Thursday, with all Republicans voting yes and all Democrats voting no. The House passed the legislation, 201-166, in March. Only two Democratic House members, Reps. Jonah Wheeler and Peter Leishman, both of Peterborough, voted in favor. Ayotte will now have the option to sign the bill into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without her signature. Her predecessor, former Gov. Chris Sununu, was given the same options in 2024 when the House and Senate approved House Bill 396. This year's bill, HB 148, is a word-for-word copy of last year's HB 396. Sununu ultimately vetoed the bill, calling it 'unacceptable,' and saying it 'runs contrary to New Hampshire's Live Free or Die spirit' and 'seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves,' per his veto message. LGBTQ+ rights supporters sang outside the State House restrooms in protest of the bill during the Senate session Thursday.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House committee advances bill rolling back trans protections
Supporters of transgender rights gather at the Legislative Office Building in Concord on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) A bill seeking to roll back protections for trans people in New Hampshire got the go-ahead from the state House Judiciary Committee Monday. The committee voted, 10-8, along party lines on Monday to recommend the entire New Hampshire House of Representatives pass House Bill 148. If signed into law, HB 148, which was sponsored by Wilton Republican Rep. Jim Kofalt, would allow transgender people in New Hampshire to be banned from using locker rooms or restrooms matching their gender identity. The bill would also allow schools and organized sports in the state to keep transgender athletes off sports teams consistent with their gender identity. It would also allow people to be forcibly placed in prisons, mental health facilities, or juvenile detention centers with members of their at-birth sex. The bill doesn't go so far as to require transgender people be banned from or forced into these places. Rather, it allows whoever owns the restrooms, administers the sports teams, or runs the prison to do so without facing discrimination charges. In previous debates over the bill, a point of contention has been that the bill does not define biological sex. At a meeting over the bill in Concord ahead of the vote, Rep. Eric Turer, a Brentwood Democrat, called it 'legislative malpractice' to introduce a bill that doesn't actually define the key terminology at question. He provided examples for how this bill might cause issues. 'The thing this bill intends to solve seems like it will almost be caused by this bill,' he said, explaining that it could allow a trans boy, who has transitioned and now has male hormones, to be playing on a girls team against their will. Rep. Katy Peternel, a Wolfeboro Republican, attempted to combat this notion by pointing to a recent release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the release, the department, under President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., defined female as 'a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs' and male as 'a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm.' If passed, HB 148 would cut back on some of the legal protections put in place years ago. The 2018 Law Against Discrimination prohibited discrimination on the basis of age, sex, gender identity, race, creed, color, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, or national origin. And it created a Commission on Human Rights to ensure this discrimination doesn't occur. If the bill is passed by the House, it will still need approval from the Senate and Gov. Kelly Ayotte to become law.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City of Tacoma affirms support for immigrants, LGBTQ+ people. Are resolutions enough?
The Tacoma Council has unanimously approved two resolutions affirming support for immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, pledging to use no city funds to 'investigate, enforce, cooperate with or assist in the investigation and enforcement of any federal registration or surveillance programs' targeting people based on race, religion, citizenship status, national origin, sex or gender. The move Tuesday came after the Tacoma Police Department announced in January it has no agreements with ICE and would comply with state regulation, which says local police do not enforce civil federal immigration laws. Tacoma police officers also will not inquire into a person's immigration status unless it is connected to a criminal investigation, and school resource officers cannot investigate or collect information about a person's immigration status nor provide immigration information to authorities for enforcement, as previously reported by The News Tribune. According to Resolution 41627, which affirmed support for immigrants, more than 12% of people living in the city of Tacoma were born outside of the United States as of 2022, and nearly 20% speak a language other than English at home. Immigrants make up 15% of Washington's population and 19% of its labor force and are responsible for 21% of the state's gross domestic product, according to the Washington State Budget and Policy Center. About 100 people crowded the council chambers Tuesday, many standing and overflowing into another room, said city spokesperson Maria Lee, who was present. The crowd erupted in cheers after the passage of each resolution. In January the Olympia City Council declared Olympia the state's first sanctuary city for transgender and LGBTQ+ people. The resolution approved by the Tacoma City Council this week didn't include any 'sanctuary city' language. Council member Olgy Diaz, who was the main sponsor of Tacoma's resolution told The News Tribune on Thursday she was inspired by Olympia's resolution and used it as a basis for Tacoma's. Substitute resolution 41628 affirmed the city's commitment to ensuring all individuals regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity 'feel safe and supported' and reaffirmed the city's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The council embraced Washington's Law Against Discrimination and authorized the city attorney to prosecute violations as a gross misdemeanor 'should someone intentionally or recklessly interfere with individuals' right to access a health care facility to seek gender affirming care,' according to the resolution. It also affirmed individuals' rights to seek access to restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms and homeless or emergency shelters 'that are consistent with that individual's gender expression or identity,' engage in expression supporting LGBTQ+ people, including through books, literature, arts and drag performance, and seek housing, employment and public accommodation 'without discrimination, harassment or prejudice against one's gender expression/identity of LGBTQIA2S+ familial structures.' The resolution states that no city resources, including city property or employee time, 'shall be used for investigation, assisting an investigation, arrest or prosecution' of anyone exercising those rights. In the event that any law or regulation passed in Washington would impose criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties or professional sanctions on an individual or organization exercising their rights, 'the City Manager will be directed to make enforcement of said law or regulation to be among the City's lowest enforcement priorities,' the resolution continues. Diaz said in bringing the resolution forward she wanted to show the community what protections Tacoma already has in place to support LGBTQ+ people because, 'it's easy to get lost ... because we're so overwhelmed by fear and anxiety.' Washington already has protections for access to reproductive health care and gender-affirming care, in addition to laws about what information the state can share with the federal government when prosecuting immigrants, so Diaz said this was something city councilors could do within their power at the local level. Council members Diaz, Sandesh Sadalge, Joe Bushnell, Sarah Rumbaugh, John Hines and mayor Victoria Woodards spoke glowingly of the resolutions and said in passing them the community would know the city has their backs and celebrates their contributions to society. But City Council member Jamika Scott raised concerns about the true protective nature of the resolutions. Before she voted in favor of the LGBTQ+ resolution, Scott said she felt 'very deeply troubled and uncomfortable celebrating as people continue to face real risk and danger.' 'Language can evoke a lot of things. They can evoke excitement, fear, joy, anger, etc. And my concern is that these resolutions tonight have the ability to create a false hope, leading our constituents to believe that the City Council has more power to protect them than it truly does,' she said. 'Though we really want to protect you all, we are limited in what we can do. And we have to be honest about the dangers that marginalized people and communities face. And this resolution does not shield anyone from federal legislation, not in the real sense, nor does it fully eradicate the everyday discrimination that too many of us continue to endure.' Scott said the council must be transparent that the policies it passes 'can be overwritten' or 'dismissed entirely by people who do not value the rights that we seek to uphold' or have their own agendas. 'History shows us that words alone have never stopped oppression. Words did not stop all of the violence, erasure, discrimination and gaslighting endured by non-dominant communities long before this moment we're in today. Words did not stop Nazis or the Confederacy. Words don't stop violent coups and they don't stop oligarchs. Action does,' she said. 'Find comfort in the words and the resolutions that are being presented and will hopefully be passed tonight, but please do not rest. Please reflect on what individual responsibility we all bear in keeping ourselves and each other safe, and how we can share in that scary and wonderful burden together. Because real change, the kind that swells up rather than trickles down, does not come from government alone. It comes from a community committed to action.'
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Court battle over policies on transgender students leads to ruling — and repeal
After an appellate panel affirmed that schools don't have to follow state guidance on transgender students, the Middletown school board voted on Feb. 13, 2025, to repeal their policy. (Stock photo) New Jersey's transgender community celebrated earlier this week after an appellate panel upheld a lower court order saying school districts cannot require staff to alert parents if a student changes their gender identity at school. But some districts also declared victory, zeroing in on a few lines in a pair of rulings issued Monday that confirmed school officials also don't have to follow state guidance issued in 2018 directing districts to accept a student's change in gender identity without notifying parents. One district wasted no time in spiking the football. Middletown Township's school board held a special meeting Thursday night with just one thing on the agenda — abolishing the 'anti-parent policy,' as board President Frank Capone put it, that board members adopted in 2019 to comply with the state's 2018 guidance, known as Policy 5756. In a meeting that lasted barely three minutes, the board repealed the policy, with no public comment, just one no vote, and a brief speech by Capone. 'Let this outcome send a powerful message to Governor Murphy and Attorney General Platkin: It's time to stop using our children as pawns in political games. Middletown will not accept the abuse,' he said. 'This vote to rescind Policy 5756 will guarantee no child faces individual discrimination, and every parent in this district will remain actively involved in their child's education with complete transparency in Middletown.' The rulings come as the Trump administration works to roll back transgender students' rights and protections. Since taking office last month, President Donald Trump has banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, barred transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports, and directed federal education officials to erase records set by transgender athletes. The court fight in New Jersey started nearly two years ago, when Attorney General Matt Platkin first sought and secured judicial orders blocking parental notification policies in Middletown, Marlboro, Manalapan, and Hanover school districts that he said violated protections for transgender students under the state's Law Against Discrimination. In Monday's rulings, a three-judge appellate panel upheld the preliminary injunctions, affirming lower court rulings that backed Platkin. The districts' parental notification policies would subject transgender students to disparate treatment and possible mental health issues, backlash from families, housing instability, and other harms, in violation of the Law Against Discrimination, the judges agreed. They also would harm school staff by subjecting them to discipline if they don't comply with disclosure requirements, the judges said. While parents have the right to control their child's upbringing, case law 'has not extended that right to require schools to affirmatively provide parents with information,' the judges wrote. Parents can still access their children's student records, and the injunctions do 'not prevent students from voluntarily sharing information about their gender identity or expression with their parents,' they added. But the judges noted the injunctions were meant to be temporary until the state's Division of Civil Rights ultimately decides the matter. That agency has made no substantive progress on the issue since lower courts ordered the injunctions in 2023, the judges wrote. If it doesn't make 'reasonable progress soon,' they added, district officials can petition the court to lift or modify the injunctions. Attorney Michael J. Gross, who represents Marlboro, saw that as a win. 'The Division of Civil Rights is not doing anything in this case, and they've sat on it for more than 18 months,' Gross said. 'So we were happy to see that the Appellate Division panel unanimously agreed that the Division of Civil Rights hasn't done what they were supposed to do.' Capone seconded that sentiment Thursday night. 'For the past 18 months, we have dealt with an attorney general who misused his authority to convert a temporary injunction into a permanent one,' he said. Platkin's office, which oversees the division, declined to comment on that delay. Parental notification supporters, including Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth), complained that the end result of the court battle and Monday's rulings is 'no policy at all … a net negative for trans kids.' But Christian Fuscarino, who heads Garden State Equality, said the districts essentially forced the state to take them to court to ensure transgender students get the protections the law requires. Fuscarino's group filed briefs supporting the state's case. 'We are forced into this position when school districts decide to pass policies that could potentially out them to families that may kick them out of their homes,' Fuscarino said. 'LGBTQ youth represent 40% of the entire youth homeless population. To suggest that all young LGBTQ people grow up in homes that are loving and affirming is ignoring that difficult statistic.' Platkin said in a statement that the state agrees that parents should be involved in making important decisions about their children. But the courts rightly decreed that schools cannot have a blanket policy that unfairly forces educators to choose between endangering a vulnerable child's safety and well-being if they notify parents of gender identity changes and losing their job if they don't, Platkin said. 'All our lawsuits have sought to do is to reinstate the status quo that has existed for years without controversy — one that was put in place by Gov. Chris Christie and that respects the need for parents to be informed about their children while safeguarding the civil rights of all students,' he said, referring to the 2017 law that tasked the state Department of Education with issuing guidance on transgender students. Robert Kim heads the Education Law Center, which has advocated against parental notification policies. He found the rulings notable in light of the Trump administration's actions on this front. 'When you have a federal government that is hell-bent on targeting transgender students for not only disfavorable treatment, but for non-recognition completely, then it's all the more important to rely on the parallel system of government in our country, which is the state governments and the state courts,' Kim said. 'It's a positive development that both the executive and judicial branches of New Jersey can signal that they have independent authority to protect students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, given what's happened over the last 23 days out of Washington,' Kim added. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
