Tag Archives: LGBTQ Youth

Mother Jones reports: The federal government plans to eliminate services for LGBTQ youth who call 988, the national suicide and crisis hotline, according to a Health and Human Services budget draft leaked last week. Since the hotline’s launch in 2022, callers have been able to speak with counselors trained to work with specific at-risk populations, including LGBTQ youth, who are …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Republicans in the Legislature filed more than 80 bills that would affect LGBTQ Texans, including many focused on public schools that would impact students, teachers and staff. Republican lawmakers filed a range of bills to ban teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, limit the ability of teachers and students to discuss sex and gender …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: Ken Paxton has announced the end of a foster care rule intended to protect children who identify as LGBTQ. On Friday, Texas Attorney General Paxton’s office announced that his office had defeated a rule requiring agencies to ensure foster care families support their child’s identity. “This is a tremendous victory for Texas families, parental rights, and …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Less than half of young LGBTQ Floridians feel accepted in their communities, according to a new report released by The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides crisis support for LGBTQ young people, surveyed almost 1,000 young LGBTQ Floridians about their mental health, and 48% felt the community they live in was accepting of …

Posted to the Family Research Council’s website: In 2023, the rate of people who identified as LGBTQ was 7.6%. At the time, that was a sharp increase from the 3.5% recorded in 2020. However, in just one year’s time, the number has continued to climb. In fact, Gallup released a poll last week that found a record “high of 9.3% …

Gallup Polling reports: Gallup’s latest update on LGBTQ+ identification finds 9.3% of U.S. adults identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual in 2024. This represents an increase of more than a percentage point versus the prior estimate, from 2023. Longer term, the figure has nearly doubled since 2020 and is up from 3.5% in 2012, when …

Columbus’s NBC affiliate reports: Westerville voted on Tuesday to become the 13th city in Ohio to ban anti-LGBTQ+ practices known as “conversion therapy” that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Westerville City Council passed the ordinance 5-2 to prohibit healthcare professionals in the city from engaging in conversion therapy with minors. While one speaker argued …

The New York Times reports: A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to keep federal funding in place for hospitals that offer gender-transition treatments for people under the age of 19. The temporary restraining order issued by Judge Brendan A. Hurson, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, came in a case brought by six …

The Bay Area Reporter reports: A new report estimates that roughly 266,000 LGBTQ+ young people and their families have uprooted their lives and left a state because of anti-LGBTQ politics or laws. It is also detailing in stark relief the positive outcomes on the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ youth that state lawmakers can have when enacting policy. The eight-page …

User Mag reports: For months, Meta has been restricting content with LGBTQ-related hashtags from search and discovery under its “sensitive content” policy aimed at restricting “sexually suggestive content.” Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags including #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, #queer, #nonbinary, #pansexual and dozens of others were hidden for any users who had their sensitive content filter turned on. Teenagers have the …

Sacramento’s PBS affiliate reports: Amid a flurry of recent school board policies aimed at the rights of transgender students, California passed a new law in July that prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ. The new law, AB 1955, came in response to a handful of school boards adopting policies that require teachers …

NBC News reports: Like many who took up new hobbies during the pandemic, Austin Rivers found comfort in knitting. But his craft took on a larger meaning when he realized his scarves and hats could also support his New York City queer community. He was particularly eager to help homeless LGBTQ youths, who comprise up to 40% of the country’s …

Cleveland’s ABC affiliate reports: Ohio advocates are warning against a bill that would require schools to notify parents if the child identifies as LGBTQ+ as well as allow parents to opt out of so-called “sexuality” content. The GOP denies it is homophobic, saying it’s just a way for parents to stay informed. During the last expected week of lame duck …

NBC News reports: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed a law Monday prohibiting public schools and libraries from banning books and protecting librarians who obey state law. Murphy’s signing of the Freedom to Read Act comes amid an ongoing push by conservative lawmakers and activists across the country to challenge books they consider inappropriate for minors, particularly those …

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court appeared deeply divided along ideological lines Wednesday in a historic case involving gender transition care for transgender minors, with key conservative justices expressing concern about courts intervening in an evolving nationwide debate over access to treatments for young people. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh repeatedly suggested that …

NBC News reports: The conservative-majority Supreme Court on Wednesday dives into the culture war issue of transgender rights as it weighs whether states can restrict gender transition care for minors. President-elect Donald Trump and his allies repeatedly pushed an anti-transgender rights message during the recently concluded election. Among other things, he has pledged to restrict access to gender-affirming health care …

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday over whether a Tennessee law denying some kinds of medical care to transgender youth runs afoul of the Constitution. Twenty-three other states have similar laws. The court’s decision, expected by June, will almost certainly yield a major statement on transgender rights against the backdrop of a fierce …

Carl Siciliano, the founder of New York City’s Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBTQ youth, sends us a memory of their first Thanksgiving: In 1994, I became the director of SafeSpace, a Times Square daytime drop-in program for homeless teens. At that time there was no safe shelter for LGBT youths in NYC, and most lived brutally dangerous lives out …

Michigan Live reports: Books with sexually explicit or LGBTQ content would largely be protected from being pulled off public library shelves under new legislation proposed by Michigan Democrats. The two bills introduced Nov. 7 would require public libraries to adopt uniform policies outlining unacceptable reasons for residents to request a book be removed from the shelves. School and university libraries …

Little Rock’s Fox affiliate reports: Crawford County is facing ongoing lawsuits over removing LGBTQ books from children’s library sections, costing taxpayers nearly $500,000 in legal defense. The dispute could result in an additional $118,000 in legal fees, potentially affecting the library system’s budget. Van Buren resident Dr. Jeff Hamby and Rudy resident John Riordan led the charge, calling for the …