Latest news with #MatthewHumphrey
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lafayette judge exonerates LGBTQ+ activist, apologizes for arrest and 3-year prosecution
LAFAYETTE, La. () — A judge exonerates and apologizes to an LGBTQ+ activist over charges from a 2022 meeting about banning LGBTQ+ books. Matthew Humphrey was arrested after speaking out of turn at the meeting and charged with disruption of a lawful peaceful assembly. Humphrey spoke out of turn to call out the then-library board president Robert Judge 'disingenuous.' 'You're being disingenuous. It was three words, and the police were told to remove me,' Humphrey said. 'Why was he being disingenuous? He was lying. I said disingenuous, but he was lying about the plan to lease a space for the Northeast Regional Library.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now As seen on video, Humphrey held out his wrists to be handcuffed but was not removed. Later after the room settled down, Michael Lunsford of the conservative group approached the microphone. 'They called the book banner in-chief up, and I said, 'Yay,'' Humphrey said. Then, he was arrested and escorted out of the library. 'That's uncalled for, that's part of the Constitution,' someone in the room said. 'That is uncalled for.' He missed his hearing in June of 2023, saying fear kept him out of court. This past Friday, three years after the arrest, Humphrey went to court with a 16-page testimony, citing evidence, such as personal stories and news articles on local LGBTQ+ subjects, to support his actions as constitutional. 'My testimony was six years' worth of receipts of me paying attention to the viewpoint discrimination in this area of the local government against a gay man,' Humphrey said. Humphrey said 15th Judicial District Court Judge Royale Colbert exonerated him 'with no witnesses and no evidence from anybody other than what I said.' 'He said, 'I read every word of your testimony.' That's all he said to me,' Humphrey said. 'Then, he turned to the assistant district attorney (Assistant District Attorney Chris Richard), and he said, 'I don't see where he disturbed the peace here. I don't see where he committed a crime. And you said there's evidence that you can't produce. What are you doing with this case?'' The Judge Colbert said he would find Humphrey not guilty if Assistant District Attorney Richard chose to continue with the case. Then, the charge was dismissed. 'The judge said that he was accepting the dismissal and that he was sorry that I had to go through the arrest and the prosecution,' Humphrey said. 'And he thanked me for my courage.' Humphrey continued, 'The judge thanked me for my courage and apologized for what that board president did, and there is no crime in being gay at the library.' Humphrey said he is happy the three-year battle is over, even if he didn't get to the stand. 'I didn't need to be up on the stand to know the truth,' Humphrey said. Police warn of gun law following arrest at Rayne parade Lafayette judge exonerates LGBTQ+ activist, apologizes for arrest and 3-year prosecution Remembering Zydeco legend Lynn August Heavy Rain Tuesday Night & Arctic Air Returns Lather This Week… Blood donor continues donations for nearly 40 years Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
St. Landry Schools Pronoun Policy, 'They talk about the closet for a reason'
OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY)– St. Landry Parish School Board is discussing adopting a new pronoun policy that does not require teachers to call students by their preferred pronoun. This policy aligns with state rules. The was adopted by the state last year, requiring each public-school governing authority to adopt the policy ensuring students' legal names and pronouns are used at school. The policy being discussed in St. Landry Parish reads, 'An employee of the St. Landry Parish School Board shall not be required to address a student by a name other than the student's legal name, or a derivative thereof, and the employee shall not be required to use a pronoun that is inconsistent with the student's sex.' Louisiana legislative session ends with big wins for conservatives on social issues, compromises on major policies The policy outlines consequences for those who don't comply. 'lf a school employee refers to a minor student by a pronoun that is inconsistent with thestudent's sex or refers to the student by a name other than the student's legal name, or aderivative thereof, the parent may seek corrective action by the school principal so thatthe student will be addressed according to the student's sex.' 'lf the school principal intentionally refuses to implement corrective action, or, if after theschool principal implements corrective action, an employee intentionally refuses to honorthe corrective action, then the parent shall have remedies as follow:An employee, parent of a minor student, or a student who has reached the ageof majority aggrieved by an intentional violation of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. 917:2122by a public school shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief,monetary damages, reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any otherappropriate relief.' Lafayette Parish School Board adopted the same policy last month. Local LGBTQ+ activist Matthew Humphrey (he/him) told News Ten this policy creates consequences for queer children. 'These kids already feel different inside. They're struggling with something that even their educators don't understand and refuse to try to understand,' Humphrey said. 'They're navigating uncharted waters, and now they're being told that the place that is supposed to be safe for them, that they go every day, and the teachers that are supposed to teach them how to do life, don't even have to respect how they feel inside.' He also said the pronoun policy seems to serve no purpose. 'I don't think it actually serves any sort of purpose for the school board. I don't think it serves a purpose for the school or the children that are in it,' Humphrey said. Humphrey said if he could tell lawmakers who pushed the 'Given Name Act' anything, he would ask them to 'leave the kids alone.' 'If I were sitting with a group of trans kids, and we were reading over this policy, I would tell them that, 'Okay, well, then just hide yourself in school, because that's what they're telling you to do,'' Humphrey said. 'It's not as though we haven't always been doing this.' He continued, 'They talk about the closet for a reason, and we get put there. We get told that we have to stay in there, so that other people are comfortable with pretending that we don't exist. And we do exist.' One school board member told News Ten this discussion is to determine whether or not this policy will be brought before the board to be voted on in the next board meeting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
