According to the California Department of Justice’s latest “State of Pride” report, hate crimes against members of the LGBTQ+ community have increased for the second consecutive year.
From 2022 to 2023, hate crimes motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias increased by more than 86% statewide, according to the report.
Toni Newman, president of the nonprofit Trans Can Work, explained the importance of finding solutions.
“The deaths of trans women in the United States continue to be a significant issue that highlights racism, transphobia, and systemic violence,” Newman said. “Transgender women, particularly women of color, face disproportionately high rates of violence.”
So far in 2024, the Human Rights Campaign has tracked 20 violent deaths of transgender and gender-expansive people, about half of which were committed by intimate partners. Seventy percent were people of color, and 35% were Black transgender women.
Becky Monroe, deputy director of strategic initiatives and external relations for the California Office of Civil Rights, wants victims to know they can call the new hotline at 833-8-NO-HATE or visit the website CAvsHate.org.
“We offer service in over 200 languages when you call us,” Monroe explained. “When you go to our website, you’ll find a statewide network of hundreds of community-based organizations that can provide service.”
California Versus Hate connects callers with trauma-informed counselors, Monroe said, and can also refer victims to police if requested.
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By Eduardo Miranda Strobel / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqui of the Kent State University NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaborative
Concerns have been growing among transgender residents and advocates in Ohio since the “bathroom bill” was passed last month.
TransOhio denounced HB 183, which was passed June 26 as an amendment to an unrelated bill.
“The hatemongers in Columbus want transgender and gender non-conforming Ohioans to be stripped of their right to exist in public,” TransOhio Executive Director Dara Adkison said in a press release after the vote. “They can make our lives harder, but they can’t remove us from parts of our state.”
If passed, the bill would have concrete effects on transgender students in Ohio.
“I started taking testosterone about two months ago so I’m going to be using the men’s bathroom and stuff at school and HB183 literally makes that illegal so it’s not fun,” said Robin Balladarber, a sophomore at Centennial High School in Columbus.
HB 183, introduced by Rep. Adam Byrd (R-New Richmond) and Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena), would require transgender students attending elementary, middle, and colleges in Ohio to use the restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth.
The bill, also known as the “Protect All Students Act,” passed the Ohio House Higher Education Committee on April 10 by a 10-5 vote. The bill awaited further consideration until HB183 was added as an amendment to SB104, a revised version of the College Credit Plus program that allows students in grades 7 through 12 to earn college credit. The amended College Credit Plus bill passed by a 60-31 vote, mostly along party lines.
The Ohio Channel recorded the debate on the House floor.
“Schools are places that provide academic guidance and protection for all children,” Lear said during the debate. “If a girl is insecure about her body and thinks she might be a boy, it’s not safe for her to go into the boys’ locker room or the boys’ bathroom. It’s not safe. It’s our responsibility to make the best choice for all our children, because it will protect them all.”
Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcana) urged other senators to vote in favor of the amendment.
“I hope that one day my son will grow up in a world where he doesn’t have to wonder if he’s a girl or if a boy is going to come into the bathroom, and that there is a safe place in Ohio,” Powell said during the debate.
Byrd’s proposal faced opposition from Democrats.
“Students learn best and reach their full potential when they know they’re part of a community,” Rep. Beryl Picolantonio (D-Gahanna) said during debate. “This bill actually makes life harder for school district employees who are already under a lot of pressure and stress. The bill’s language is overbroad and unclear, and it doesn’t provide funding for needed building renovations.”
Rep. Joseph Miller, D-Amherst, said he was disappointed that Ohioans are trying to shame transgender children and young people for saying they want to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.
“Measure 183 is problematic because it doesn’t protect all students and it doesn’t protect their right to gender-affirming facilities,” Miller said in an interview before the vote.
HB 183 would also restrict students from staying overnight with students of the opposite sex.
This does not restrict the ability to assist young children or people with disabilities, or to respond to emergencies in toilets or changing rooms.
“Transgender kids just want to go to the bathroom and pee,” Adkison said in an interview. “It would be great if lawmakers would focus more on educating them and less on what their genitals look like.”
Reps. Byrd and Lear, the two sponsors of HB 183, were contacted but did not respond to interview requests.
Eight percent of transgender people age 13 and older live in states that prohibit transgender people from using restrooms or facilities consistent with their gender identity in all government-owned facilities, including K-12 schools, universities, etc. This includes transgender people living in Florida and Utah.
Ten other states have some form of bathroom ban on the books.
For androgynous people, bathrooms can create conflict because girls may be perceived as too masculine and boys as too feminine, Baradarbar said.
“Being transgender can be very scary,” Varadarvar said, “especially when you don’t have separate bathrooms for men and women. Those facilities are not very common in schools, at least in high schools, right now. So it’s kind of traumatic.”
The Senate is expected to vote on the revised bill after it returns from its summer recess. If it passes, it will be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine.
The collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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Twenty years after Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage equality, the majority of same-sex couples feel it has had a very positive impact on their lives. A new report finds that same-sex marriage has strengthened couples’ relationships, provided them with legal protections, financial stability, and greater acceptance from family and friends.
Abby Goldberg, a psychology professor at Clark University, said marriage equality is part of a public health agenda.
“They have access to health insurance, they’re physically and mentally healthy, and they can share the challenges and labor of raising children,” Goldberg said.
Still, Goldberg noted that about 80% of couples surveyed are concerned about the future of marriage equality. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have both suggested the Supreme Court reconsider its Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.
The report finds that same-sex couples are also concerned about an increasingly hostile environment in the U.S. More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced since last year, including banning classroom conversations and books about LGBTQ+ people.
Goldberg said such concerns are forcing couples across the country to consider moving to more immigrant-friendly states, such as Massachusetts, or even abroad.
“This doesn’t just create legal uncertainty, it forces people to think about the future in ways that require time, money and planning,” she continued.
Goldberg added that marriage equality creates families, and the report found positive aspects of the protections it provides: Nearly 60% of respondents said marriage brings more stability and security to children, and often leads to new step-families who can help.
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For some LGBTQ+ voters in Nebraska, the state’s new voter ID law caused problems in the May primary and could cause problems again in November’s general election.
Johnny Redd, a spokesman for OutNebraska, said the group has been using Pride Month to focus on the meanings and non-meanings of voter registration and voter ID laws. Redd explained that one concern they’ve heard is what happens when the photo on someone’s ID doesn’t match their appearance or gender expression.
“It doesn’t have to look like the photo, it just has to be a photo ID,” Redd said. “Obviously if it looks like someone of a different race or anything like that, that’s an issue.”
Redd noted that it’s not uncommon for people to look different from their photo ID because of hair color, hairstyle, weight gain or loss, etc. But he stressed that if someone has changed their name, the name on their ID and voter registration must match to be eligible to vote.
Redd urged people to make sure their voter registration is up to date. The Secretary of State’s voter registration portal allows people to register, change their address and in some cases even change their name.
Redd added that voter roll purging is another reason for people to double-check their registrations. He said it’s usually referred to as “maintenance,” but in some cases it can be more targeted.
“Specifically, BIPOC and LGBTQ people make up a large percentage of the people who are removed from voter rolls for one reason or another,” Redd noted. “It’s also a big problem when you go to vote and realize, ‘Wait, I’m not on the rolls because I haven’t voted since 2017.'”
Nebraska law requires people who move to update their voter registration by a deadline set by the county elections commissioner or county clerk or they will be removed from the voter rolls.
The 2022 survey found that members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies are one of the fastest-growing voting groups in the country.
Disclosure: OutNebraska donates to funds for coverage of LGBTQIA issues, reproductive health and social justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, please click here .
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