Latest news with #WhatisaWomanAct
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate committee amends drag performance ban over theater concerns
Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, chair of the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee, listens to testimony on HB 67, sponsored by Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, which would ban drag performances in public libraries, on April 29, 2025 in Montgomery, Ala. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama Senate committee Tuesday approved a bill that prohibits public libraries from presenting or sponsoring drag performances in the presence of minors without parental consent. As initially filed, HB 67, sponsored by Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, would have prohibited such performances in public libraries as well as K-12 schools. After concerns that the bill could impact school theater productions — with one high school switching a planned 'Peter and the Starcatcher' production to avoid conflict with the potential bill — the bill was amended to prohibit drag performances only in public libraries and libraries in public K-12 schools. 'What the amendment does is limit the effectiveness of this bill to where the problem is occurring … it just it talks about libraries instead of K-12 institutions, and I think that will solve, broadly, our theater program problems in all K-12 schools,' Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, the chair of the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee, which approved the bill. Elliott did not say where libraries are hosting drag performances. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Several people spoke against the bill in a public hearing and criticized its definition of drag performances as 'a performance in which a performer exhibits a sex identity that is different from the sex assigned to the performer at birth using clothing, makeup, or other physical markers.' Opponents said that was an excessively broad definition. Zephyr Scalzetti, a transgender man from Huntsville, asked if the clothes he wears would be considered drag under the bill's definition. Pointing to the 'What is a Woman Act,' Scalzetti asked if he should wear a dress to his local library. 'Where is the line between what I'm wearing today and drag? Is my beard drag, since it's a male physical marker, the very hair that grows out of my face? The answer to that question in this bill is left entirely up to libraries to determine individually,' Scalzetti said. Opponents also raised potential legal challenges related to First Amendment rights and equal protection, with some arguing that similar laws have been deemed unconstitutional in the past. 'Whether you call this a drag ban, a crossdressing ban, a masquerade law or a three article rule, courts have ruled these laws unconstitutional for 50 years,' said Opelika resident Chris Hathcock. Ted Halley, who said he 'detransitioned' back to male after 12 years of identifying as a woman, claimed that 'drag shows are grooming children to be transgender' and incentivize children to transition. Halley did not say whether a drag queen incentivized him to identify as a woman. 'Drag queen story hour, whether it's in school, which I think you should put it back in, or a library, is very dangerous,' Halley claimed. Detransition and regret are different concepts, a Harvard Medical School study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests, which may overlap in some people, but they are 'sometimes mistakenly viewed as synonymous.' Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, asked how consent would be obtained and in what situations it would be required. She said that she hosts events for seniors and her sorority in the Bessemer Public Library, and they may bring children with them to some events that could potentially be in conflict with the bill. 'It's a public library. There can be minors, and a lot of my seniors take care of their grandchildren. They may bring them to the event with them,' Coleman said, adding that it's the same case with some sorority events. Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, said the legislation is a 'cultural distraction' that distracts from more pressing concerns. He said that he is 'absolutely concerned' with lawmakers not 'paying attention to the fact that we are not living– we are not living in normal times.' He said that parents should be deciding what events their children attend. 'Here we are talking about what parents can decide and attempting to codify this into law. I am embarrassed by this … That is shameful. That is not what our government should be doing,' Hatcher said. The bill goes to the full Senate for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
16 days down, 14 to go: What's left for the 2025 Alabama legislative session
Left to right: Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman; Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey applaud during a press conference at the Alabama State Capitol on Feb. 12, 2025 promoting a law enforcement package in the Legislature. Ivey mentioned the package as a top priority in her February State of the State address. What's left of her priorities for the 2025 Legislative Session?(Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Legislature is just over halfway through the 2024 Legislative Session with Tuesday marking the 17th day of session. Gov. Kay Ivey laid out her priorities for the session in her State of the State address in February. Some have already been signed into law, like the What is a Woman Act and the Glock switch ban. But what is still moving through the legislative process? • SB 97, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Alabaster, also known as the What is a Woman Act, was one of the first pieces of legislation to make it to Ivey's desk this session. Critics say the law is discriminatory and that passage was rushed. It received final passage on the fifth legislative day, which is the minimum number of days it takes to pass a bill. The law defines 'sex' as the 'state of being male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth' and provides further definitions for male, female, man, woman, boy, girl, mother and father. It also prohibits males, as defined by the law, from being in female spaces, as defined by the law, and vice versa. • Ivey signed a ban on Glock switches, which turn semi-automatic firearms into automatic firearms, on March 19. SB 116, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine, for a person to own or sell the combination of parts that create a Glock switch. The bill was the first firearm restriction legislation to pass the Legislature since 2010. Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, carried the legislation in the House and had done so for the past two sessions. • The Legislature also passed a bill altering the Veterans Affairs Board to give Ivey control over its commissioner and policies. SB 67, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, the board will retain its current size of 17 members, but the governor will appoint the commissioner. The bill also removes the board's ability to enact policies and rules on veterans' issues, reducing them to an advisory role in the governor's office. Ivey appointed Jeffrey Newton, a retired brigadier general, as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs last week. 'We will use this new structure to focus on what matters most — serving those who sacrificed so much for our freedoms — our veterans and their families,' Ivey said in a statement after signing the bill. • Ivey supported paid parental leave for educators in her February speech. Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, tried to pass the legislation last year, but it did not get a House vote. This year, Figures and Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, teamed up to pass SB 199 on March 20. The law allows women who give birth, have a stillbirth, or a miscarriage after 12 weeks to receive eight weeks of paid leave. It also allows a father to take two weeks of paid leave under those circumstances. If a couple adopts a child under 3 years old, either parent may have eight weeks of leave. It awaits a signature from Ivey, which she said last week in a social media post she would sign it. 'Thank you to Rep. Ginny Shaver and Sen. Vivian Figures for carrying this important legislation. I look forward to receiving the bill and getting my signature on it,' she wrote. • On the education front, Ivey called for a ban on cell phones in classrooms. HB 166, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, and SB 92, sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, bans cell phone use in public schools from bell-to-bell with few exceptions. According to the legislation, cell phones could be used in emergency situations, by students with Individualized Education Plans and Section 504 plans, and when necessary for instructional purposes. Both bills are waiting on floor votes in their respective chambers of origin. • SB 55, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, attempts to invalidate out-of-state driver's licenses issued without legal presence verification. It passed the Senate in February and the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee in early March. It awaits a vote on the House floor. • HB 297, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Fidler, R-Silverhill, would impose a 4% fee on international transfers, often used by immigrants to support family overseas. It is similar to SB 77, sponsored by April Weaver, R-Alabaster, but the House version does not impose as much of a fee that Weaver's bill proposed. It passed a House committee last week and awaits a vote from the full House. • HB 7, sponsored by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would give sheriff's deputies and police officers authority to arrest and detain people without citizenship and to transfer them to the custody of federal law enforcement. It passed a House committee in February and awaits a floor vote in the House. It is not on the agenda for April 1, when the Legislature returns from a weeklong break. • A bill that would allow felons convicted under the Habitual Offender Act before 2000 to have their sentences reviewed passed the Alabama Senate last week and moves to the House Judiciary Committee. As of Wednesday afternoon, that committee has not posted its agenda. SB 156, sponsored by Barfoot, also known as the Second Chance Act, got support from Ivey. The criminal justice reform measure is designed to ensure state prison space is used for the most serious offenders. • SB 63, sponsored by Sen. Lance Bell, R-Pell City, would require fingerprinting and DNA collection from non-citizens in custody. The bill passed the Senate in February and is awaiting a vote in the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee. • SB 53, sponsored by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, establishes a process to determine immigration status detained by law enforcement and creates a new crime of harboring or concealing a person without legal immigration status. The bill received a lot of criticism for containing language that mirrored the Fugitive Slave Act. That language has been removed from the bill. It passed the Senate in February and is awaiting approval from the House Judiciary Committee. • HB 3, sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, enhances penalties for people without legal status when they are charged with a felony where the victim is a minor. It passed the House last week and awaits approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which does not have its agenda published yet. Studies have repeatedly found that immigrants without legal status commit significantly less crime than the U.S. population as a whole. • HB 302, sponsored by Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, requires companies that hire people without legal status to register their employees with the Department of Workforce. The sponsor said the bill aims to cut down on human trafficking. It passed the House last week and awaits consideration from the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee, which does not have its agenda published yet. • Ivey also called for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public schools, including colleges and universities, despite a federal court ruling on a similar Louisiana law deeming the display unconstitutional. SB 166, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, received opposition and support in a March committee meeting. Opposition primarily came from religious leaders from across the state, while support stemmed from Western civilization's foundation. The legislation has yet to be moved out of the Senate Education Policy Committee, and it is not on the committee's agenda for next week. • On public educator benefits, a bill giving public educators workmen's compensation was stalled last week in the House Ways and Means Education Committee. SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, was carried over without a vote due to Republican committee members' concerns about how the legislation mirrors the benefit given to state employees. • HB 202, sponsored by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, raises the bar for prosecuting law enforcement by creating a round of hearings on a law enforcement officer's immunity prior to trials or hearings. The bill passed the House along party lines in early March and awaits approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee. • A bipartisan supported public safety bill, HB 287, sponsored by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, requires law enforcement agencies to report their staff numbers annually. It passed the House in February and awaits a vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee. • The House Judiciary Committee last week approved a constitutional amendment expanding Aniah's Law, which was approved by voters in 2022. The expansion would make more charges subject to bond denial, including having a firearm or firing a gun into places with people, or soliciting, attempting or engaging in a conspiracy to commit murder. SB 118, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, awaits a vote from the full House. • The General Fund and Education Trust Fund (ETF) budgets are not usually considered until the back half of the session. This year is no different. Ivey submitted her recommendations for the ETF and General Fund, which total at $9.2 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter supports an overhaul on the funding formula for the ETF. Legislators approved a hybrid model in February. 'It's time to get something different,' Ledbetter said on Feb. 4. 'They're looking at a weighted funding which, you know, the areas which are more poverty stricken, it certainly would help them, as well as ESL students. I certainly believe it's positive.' Lawmakers previously outlined three options: maintaining the existing system, which allocates money based on daily attendance; overhauling it entirely, or adopting a hybrid with additional funding for specific student populations, such as special education and English language learners. Members decided to go with the hybrid approach, which would maintain the current foundation program while introducing additional funding based on student needs. As of Wednesday, no bills had been filed to make the change. • The House passed five tax cuts that mostly affect the ETF. The cuts take $205 million from the ETF, which is less than the $230 million hole left by the overtime tax exemption that is set to expire this summer. Ledbetter said he likes the overtime tax exemption, but the five bill package would impact more Alabamians. 'I think those are the largest tax cuts that's ever been passed in this state, and it affects everybody, not just a small segment of the population,' Ledbetter said last week. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, filed a bill that would extend the overtime tax exemption and commission a study on its economic impact. There is not a fiscal note attached to HB 467. • Lawmakers said in February they are prioritizing essential services as federal COVID funds disappear. COVID funding and historically high income and sales tax revenues left state coffers flush over the last several years, allowing legislators to pass supplemental funding bills near the start of the legislative sessions. Alabama Medicaid requested $1.2 billion in state funding at its budget hearing in February. While that is a $229 million increase from last year, Medicaid gets $8.9 billion from the federal government. The General Fund will start in the House this year and the ETF will start in the Senate. Ledbetter said last week that he expects to see the budgets in committee next week. 'We'll probably see them the first week of April, but a lot of work's already been done behind the scenes going into that,' Ledbetter said last week. 'Committees have met, they've met with agencies, and so I think we're in a place where we start moving those through.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
People Are Applauding A Wyoming Woman For Purposely Misgendering A State Senator To Prove A Point About An Anti-Trans Bill
A slew of new anti-trans legislation is making headway across the country, including in the Wyoming State Legislature. Wyoming legislators introduced HB0032, called the What is a Woman Act, which defines terms like "man" and "woman" as strictly cisgender. There's also State File 007, a bill proposing that state employees not be required to use a colleague's preferred pronouns. It asserts that "compelled speech is not free speech." At a meeting of the Wyoming Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources committee last Friday, Wyoming resident Britt Boril joined via Zoom call to express her disapproval of the legislation and casually stole the show. @ posted it to TikTok, where it's been viewed over 2 million times. State Senator Tim French, a Republican and cisgender man, called on Boril to speak. She says, "Hello. Thank you, Madam Chairman." She continues but is cut off by French. "You can call me Mister Chairman if you want," he interrupts. "Well, I cannot be compelled to use your preferred pronouns, as you have all voted to allow," Boril says. Senator French replies, "Wait a minute, we're talking about preferred pronouns. A lot of people are. I prefer to be called Chairman French. That's my preferred pronoun." "I know," Boril tells him, "and you all voted that preferred pronouns cannot be 'compelled' speech in SF0077. Anyway, my name is Britt Boril, and I'm a constituent calling in from Casper to voice my opposition to HB0032." HuffPost reported that "Boril told the committee that the act puts women in 'real danger through government overreach'" and that they should focus "on issues 'that actually matter' to Wyoming citizens." Boril also shared on her Instagram that "misgendering people is not cool" and that "disrespect was the message," HuffPost wrote. "We're all about mindful malicious compliance here," she also said. People were very into Britt's comments at the Senate meeting online. This person wrote, "Malicious compliance has entered the chat." "Britt Borel you're my type of petty and I'm here for all of it," someone else wrote. "And she knew he'd instantly take the bait too." People LOVED how she transitioned to the real matter at hand. "The 'ANYWAY' was so healing too," someone commented. "The 'anyway' went so hard," another person wrote. Many poked fun at Sen. French, aka "Madam Chairman," with some of the condescending things historically said to women. "Don't get hysterical madam chairman French," this user wrote. "Why is madam chairman getting so emotional?" someone joked. "Madam Chairman got so emotional. She should have a nap and a lie down," another commented. Britt also got a lot of love on the Instagram video she posted addressing her new followers and talking about her testimony. You can watch the clip of Britt here or the full meeting recording here. Wyoming Legislature / Via What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Buzz Feed
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
People Are Applauding A Wyoming Woman For Purposely Misgendering A State Senator To Prove A Point About An Anti-Trans Bill
A slew of new anti-trans legislation is making headway across the country, including in the Wyoming State Legislature. Wyoming legislators introduced HB0032, called the What is a Woman Act, which defines terms like "man" and "woman" as strictly cisgender. There's also State File 007, a bill proposing that state employees not be required to use a colleague's preferred pronouns. It asserts that "compelled speech is not free speech." At a meeting of the Wyoming Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources committee last Friday, Wyoming resident Britt Boril joined via Zoom call to express her disapproval of the legislation and casually stole the show. @ posted it to TikTok, where it's been viewed over 2 million times. State Senator Tim French, a Republican and cisgender man, called on Boril to speak. She says, "Hello. Thank you, Madam Chairman." She continues but is cut off by French. "You can call me Mister Chairman if you want," he interrupts. "Well, I cannot be compelled to use your preferred pronouns, as you have all voted to allow," Boril says. Senator French replies, "Wait a minute, we're talking about preferred pronouns. A lot of people are. I prefer to be called Chairman French. That's my preferred pronoun." "I know," Boril tells him, "and you all voted that preferred pronouns cannot be 'compelled' speech in SF0077. Anyway, my name is Britt Boril, and I'm a constituent calling in from Casper to voice my opposition to HB0032." Boril also shared on her Instagram that "misgendering people is not cool" and that "disrespect was the message," HuffPost wrote. "We're all about mindful malicious compliance here," she also said. Britt also got a lot of love on the Instagram video she posted addressing her new followers and talking about her testimony. You can watch the clip of Britt here or the full meeting recording here. @ Love it Wyoming Legislature / Via
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House approves bill defining sex-based terms, sends Gov. Kay Ivey
Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, presents SB 79, a bill putting definitions of sex into state law, on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A bill defining sex-based terms passed the Alabama House 77-12 Wednesday morning and is headed to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk. SB 79, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Alabaster, commonly known as the What is a Woman Act, would define 'sex' as the 'state of being male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth' and provide further definitions for male, female, man, woman, boy, girl, mother and father. 'We do need to pass this law for clarity, certainty and uniformity in the courts and in the laws of Alabama,' said Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, who handled the bill in the chamber. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A message seeking comment was left with Ivey's office on Wednesday morning. The governor said in her State of the State address last week that she planned to sign it. The bill would define genders as 'male' and 'female' based on human reproductive system function. Female would be defined as a person 'who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces ova.' Male would be defined as someone 'who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces sperm.' The Republican majority placed on the bill on what is known as a 10-minute calendar, limiting debate over the legislation and amendments to 10 minutes before requiring a vote. Democrats spoke for an hour prior to the adoption of the calendar, raising concerns about the bill and objections to the process. Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, cited a person who testified against the bill Tuesday at a public hearing at the House Health Committee that looked 'more masculine than any man in this room' and informed the committee he was born a woman. Under the legislation, that person would have to go into a women's restroom. 'So that within itself needs some in depth discussions as to how people of that portrait can be going into a ladies' restroom because we say she's a female,' Warren said. Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Prichard, said 10 minutes is not enough time to debate a controversial bill. 'It's a big deal. It's a controversial topic,' Bracy said. 'To give it just 10 minutes doesn't do it justice.' House Rules Committee Chair Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, said to Bracy that the House was trying to pass legislation quickly to accommodate for the committee meetings Wednesday. 'Since we're doing a three day week, we have committees meeting all day today, so our time is restricted,' Lovvorn said. 'The first bill on the calendar, for instance, is one that we debated and dealt with last year.' DuBose has filed similar legislation for the past two years. She said there have been six public hearings on the bill and it is needed because 'woman' is used in Alabama law 149 times. Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, offered an amendment that would prevent surveillance cameras from being used in private spaces to determine the sex of a person. However, it failed 74-24. DuBose said surveillance had nothing to do with this bill. 'If we'd added an amendment, it would have to go back up to the Senate debate,' DuBose said. 'It's not something that needed to be included in this bill, and if it's something that, if we want to consider it needs to be a separate, stand-alone bill.' Rafferty said the failure of his amendment made him think that the protection of women and girls is not the actual aim of the bill. 'It made me feel like the premise of trying to protect women and girls was not the actual aim of this bill,' he said. 'My biggest concern of consequences would be sex-based discrimination.' The bill also allows single sex spaces to exist. DuBose said that these spaces would not be required to exist nor created under the law, but allows places like dorm rooms, rape crisis centers and prisons to be protected for only women as defined by the bill. 'Those are spaces that could be protected for women only, as women are defined,' she said. 'Now this bill does not require that or create that, but it allows for them to exist or to be created.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
