Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
By Jeremy Selvidge On Friday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the forty-fifth president of the United States. As a candidate, Trump pledged to sign the “First Amendment Freedom Act,” a bill originally introduced in 2015 that would allow discrimination based on the “moral conviction that marriage is… the union of one man and one […]
By John Mack Freeman New guidelines from the Oregon Department of Education encourage educators throughout the state to create new protections for trans students. The document runs 15 pages and was created as a response to districts in the state needing advice on how to handle these emerging issues. The document recommends districts allow students to […]
By John Mack Freeman On May 3rd, the Chicago Public Schools system released new guidelines related to trans students and staff use of restrooms and locker rooms in the district. Via the press release from Chicago Public Schools: Chicago Public Schools ( CPS ) today announced the implementation of new guidelines to support transgender students, […]
By John Mack Freeman The New York City Commission On Human Rights released a new report from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration that outlines the way the city will interpret a 2002 law that protects the rights of trans people. First off, it has officially banned willful misuse of gender pronouns as part of a […]
By John Mack Freeman An anti-trans initiative has failed to gather the required signatures to make the ballot in California. Via Towleroad: Had it been approved by California voters, the “Personal Privacy Protection Act” would have required trans people to use public restrooms according to their biological sex unless a doctor confirmed they had undergone gender reassignment surgery. In response to […]
By John Mack Freeman The Department of Veterans Affairs opened its first health center specifically dedicated to transgender veterans and service members. The clinic opened in Cleveland this week, and received its first visitors on November 11th. There are approximately 134,000 trans veterans in the United States. Via Huffington Post: Housed within the Louis Stokes Cleveland […]
By John Mack Freeman A Malaysian court upheld a ban on cross-dressing this week that continues to criminalize trans women in that country. The ruling overturned a previous ruling on procedural grounds. Via PinkNews: In November, the Appeals Court ruled that Section 66 of the Sharia code of the state of Negeri Sembilan – that bars Muslim men […]
By John Mack Freeman For the first time, a trans inmate has successfully challenged his or her treatment under the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Inmate Sandy Brown was held in solitary confinement for 66 days in 2014. Via Washington Blade: She also claimed that she was “taunted and harassed” by prison employees, including one who […]
By John Mack Freeman A policy in South Dakota that allows students to play on the sports teams of their gender identity has survived a review by the state’s activity board. Via Associated Press: The South Dakota High School Activities Association Thursday gave preliminary approval to some revisions to the 2014 policy such as establishing an […]
By John Mack Freeman The Department of Health and Human Services released a proposed rule this week that would prohibit anti-trans bias in healthcare in the United States. Via Washington Blade: Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement the proposed rule seeks to protect individuals “who have often been subject to […]
