Gender

FILE - Benjamin Franklin High playwriting class students hold hands as they perform their play "The Capitol Project" on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol in Baton Rouge, La., March 27, 2024. Unlike recent years when there was an LGBTQ+ ally in the Louisiana governor's office, nothing stands in the way this year of legislation hostile to transgender people. Democratic former Gov. John Bel Edwards was able to block most such legislation in previous years through vetoes. Now conservative Republican Jeff Landry is in the governor's chair, and the legislation is advancing rapidly. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Transgender Louisianans lost their ally in the governor’s seat. Now they’re girding for a fight

Unlike recent years when there was an LGBTQ+ ally in the Louisiana governor’s office, nothing stands in the way this year of legislation hostile to transgender people.
 
FILE - A protester outside the Kansas Statehouse holds a sign after a rally for transgender rights on the Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2023, in Topeka, Kan. A new rule from President Joe Biden's administration assuring transgender students be allowed to use the school bathrooms that align with their gender identity could conflict with laws in Republican-controlled states that seek to make sure they can't. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File)

New federal rule bars transgender school bathroom bans, but it likely isn’t the final word

 
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Paxton is dropping a request for a Seattle hospital to hand over records regarding gender-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas as part of a lawsuit settlement announced Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Seattle hospital won’t turn over gender-affirming care records in lawsuit settlement with Texas

 
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks about abortion access during a Democratic National Committee event Oct. 18, 2022, in Washington. As he campaigns for a second term, Biden is highlighting how women’s health has been affected by the overturning of federal abortion protections. His campaign is getting help from two women who say abortion restrictions put them in medical peril. Amanda Zurawski of Texas and Kaitlyn Joshua of Louisiana say their personal experiences are driving them to campaign for Biden in North Carolina and Wisconsin over the next two weeks. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Biden administration tightens rules for obtaining medical records related to abortion

 
FILE - The Iowa Capitol is visible before sunrise, Jan. 12, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. After a marathon day that stretched into the early hours of Saturday, April 20, Iowa lawmakers wrapped up a four-month legislative session that was focused on reforming the way special education is managed and speeding up tax cuts. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Iowa lawmakers address immigration, religious freedom and taxes in 2024 session

 

Minnesota legislators propose banning book bans

Last fall, Shae Ross and fellow students in Bloomington, Minnesota successfully persuaded their district not to ban certain books dealing with sexuality, gender and race. Now, legislators are pursuing a prohibition on similar bans in schools across the state. (AP video: Mark Vancleave)
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Federal appeals court considers nation’s first ban on gender-affirming care for minors

German parliament approves law that makes it easier for people to change their name, gender

Gender-based violence increases in Central African Republic as conflict continues

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Teen charged in mass shooting at LGBTQ+ friendly punk rock show in Minneapolis

A teenage suspect who allegedly made derogatory remarks about LGBTQ+ people before opening fire at a backyard punk rock show now faces felony charges.
 

Alabama lawmakers advance expansion of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ and ban Pride flags at schools

Alabama lawmakers have advanced legislation to ban teacher-led discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms through eighth grade.
 

Transgender Tennessee woman sues over state’s refusal to change the sex designation on her license

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A transgender Tennessee woman sued the state’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security on Tuesday after officials refused to change the sex on her driver’s license to match her gender identity.
 

Maine’s governor signs bill to protect providers of abortion, gender-affirming care

Maine’s Democratic governor has signed a bill designed to protect providers of abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought by other states. Gov.
 
FILE - Erin Friday, a leader with Our Duty, a group supporting policies requiring school staff to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender, speaks at a rally outside of the state Capitol in Sacramento Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. A group backing a proposed ballot measure in California that would require school staff to notify parents if their child asks to change gender identification at schools is battling the attorney general in court Friday, arguing he released misleading information about the proposal to the public. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin, File)

Judge tentatively sides with California AG in fight over ballot measure on students’ gender ID

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California judge has tentatively sided with state Attorney General Rob Bonta in a dispute over the title of a proposed ballot measure that would require school staff to notify parents if their child asks to change gender identification at schools.
 
FILE - Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday, April19, 2024, by the Biden administration. Notably absent from Biden’s policy, however, is any mention of transgender athletes. (AP Photo/Patrick Orsagos, File)

Biden’s new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but avoid addressing transgender athletes

The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under new rules from the Biden administration.
 
FILE - People gather in front of the Idaho Statehouse in opposition to anti-transgender legislation moving through an Idaho Republican congress, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Boise, Idaho. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Monday, April 15, 2024, allows the state to put in place a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18. A federal judge in Idaho had previously blocked the law in its entirety. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP, File)

Things to know as courts and legislatures act on transgender kids’ rights

Several U.S. courts have ruled this week on state laws restricting the rights of transgender young people.
 
A view of the Swedish Parliament as lawmakers vote on the new gender identity law, in Stockholm, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The Swedish parliament passed a law Wednesday lowering the age required for people to legally change their gender from 18 to 16. Young people under 18 will still need approval from a guardian, a doctor, and the National Board of Health and Welfare. The government of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has been split on the issue.(Jessica Gow/TT News Agency via AP)

Sweden’s parliament passes a law to make it easier for young people to legally change their gender

The Swedish parliament has passed a law lowering the age required for people to legally change their gender from 18 to 16.
 
FILE - People gather in front of the Idaho Statehouse in opposition to anti-transgender legislation moving through an Idaho Republican congress, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Boise, Idaho. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Monday, April 15, 2024, allows the state to put in place a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18. A federal judge in Idaho had previously blocked the law in its entirety. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP, File)

Idaho’s ban on youth gender-affirming care has families desperately scrambling for solutions

Idaho families with transgender children are desperately scrambling for solutions as a state law banning gender-affirming care for minors has taken effect. The U.S.
 
FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media, March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. DeSantis admits the book challenge law he enacted two years ago is causing problems for school districts. He signed a bill Tuesday, April 16, 2024, that adjusts the law that made it easy for anyone to have any book removed from school libraries and classrooms, either temporarily or permanently. (AP Photo/Phil Sears, File)

DeSantis tweaks Florida book challenge law, blames liberal activist who wanted Bible out of schools

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has acknowledged that a law he enacted two years ago making it easier for people to challenge books in schools and libraries has caused problems for school districts.
 
Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, talks a bill brought to the House floor by Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson, that would require parents are notified of a student's gender identity or intention to transition to a gender different from the person's sex at birth Monday, April 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Tennessee schools would have to out transgender students to parents under bill heading to governor

Tennessee would join the ranks of states where public school employees have to out transgender students to their parents under a bill advancing in the Republican-supermajority Legislature.
 
In this 2013 photo provided by Regina Fleming Photography, Kevin R. Johnson, founding pastor of Dare to Imagine Church in Philadelphia, poses for a portrait in Philadelphia. Johnson has been selected by a pulpit search committee to lead Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, known by some as the flagship of the Black church in America. Before he can be hired, the congregation will need to approved his candidacy. (Regina Fleming Photography via AP)

Prominent New York church, sued for gender bias, moves forward with male pastor candidate

A search committee previously sued for gender discrimination over its hiring process has announced its pick for the next senior pastor of a prominent New York City congregation.
 
FILE - The Supreme Court of the United States is seen in Washington, March 26, 2024. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week with profound legal and political consequences: whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a federal case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

Supreme Court allows Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth

The Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts.
 
Several dozen students gather outside the Memorial Union on the University of Kansas' main campus for a campus LGBTQ+ pride photo, Friday, April 12, 2024, in Lawrence, Kan. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Kansas governor vetoes ban on gender-affirming care for minors and 2 anti-abortion bills

The governor of Kansas has vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a measure to require more reporting from abortion providers and what she says is a vague bill making it a crime to coerce someone into having an abortion.
 
FILE - The Maine State House is seen at dawn, Jan. 3, 2024, in Augusta, Maine. The Democratic-controlled Maine Legislature has approved a bill that would protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought in other states. If signed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, Maine would join more than a dozen states that shield medical providers and others from out-of-state investigations regarding abortions. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Maine lawmakers approve shield law for providers of abortion and gender-affirming care

The Democratic-controlled Maine Legislature has approved a bill that would protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought in other states.
 
A 39-year-old security guard stands on the doorway at a clinic in Bangui, Central African Republic, Monday, March 11, 2024. She said she was sexually assaulted by a United Nations peacekeeper in November while on the night shift. Sexual assaults and other cases of gender-based violence are rising in Central African Republic. The alleged attackers include everyone from Wagner mercenaries to bandits to United Nations peacekeepers. Reasons include ongoing conflict in one of the world's most volatile countries, a weak legal system and the stigma of speaking up. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

Sexual assaults rise in Central African Republic. Wagner, bandits and even peacekeepers are blamed

Sexual assaults and other cases of gender-based violence are rising in Central African Republic. The alleged attackers include everyone from Wagner mercenaries to bandits to United Nations peacekeepers.
 

Alabama lawmakers advance bill to define sex based on reproductive systems, not identity

Alabama lawmakers have advanced legislation to define who is considered a man or a woman under state law, saying it must be based on reproductive systems and not gender identity.
 
FILE - The Maine State House is seen at dawn, Jan. 3, 2024, in Augusta, Maine. Fiery debate over a bill to protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from out-of-state lawsuits crossed a line in the Maine House, leading lawmakers to formally censure a pair colleagues on Thursday, April 11. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Fiery debate over proposed shield law leads to rare censure in Maine House

Debate over a bill that would protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from out-of-state lawsuits is off to a fiery start in the Maine Legislature.
 
FILE - The Idaho state flag hangs in the State Capitol in Boise, Idaho, Jan. 9, 2023. Idaho lawmakers spent much of an unexpectedly long and sometimes contentious legislative session focusing on bills targeting LGBTQ+ residents by limiting health care and reading materials. They also passed a bill that allows the state to spend $2 billion over the next decade to address dilapidated public school buildings and other school facility needs. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, File)

School grants, student pronouns and library books among the big bills of Idaho legislative session

Idaho lawmakers spent much of an unexpectedly long and sometimes contentious legislative session focusing on bills targeting LGBTQ+ residents by limiting health care and reading materials.
 
Rep. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, talks about her bill that would make it a crime to take a minor to another state for gender-affirming care without the consent of the child's parent during legislative session of the Senate, Thursday, April 11, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Tennessee GOP senators OK criminalizing helping minors get transgender care, mimicking abortion bill

Tennessee lawmakers are considering criminalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent.
 
ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, right, and actor Elliot Page leave the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a hearing Thursday, April 11, 2024, in St. Louis. The Federal appeals court is hearing arguments over Arkansas' first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Page was at the hearing in support of the ACLU’s challenge to the law. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)

Federal appeals court hears arguments on nation’s first ban on gender-affirming care for minors

A federal appeals court is considering whether to reinstate Arkansas’ first-in the-nation ban on gender affirming care for minors after hearing arguments.
 
Dusty Farr talks with his transgender daughter at a park near Smithville, Mo., Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Farr is suing the Platt County School District after his daughter was suspended for using the girl's bathroom at the Missouri high school she attended. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

As his trans daughter struggles, a father pushes past his prejudice. ‘It was like a wake-up’

Dusty Farr used to be someone else. Before his transgender daughter was suspended after using the girls’ bathroom at her Missouri high school.
 
FILE - The Louisiana Capitol stands, April 4, 2023, in Baton Rouge, La. A bill that that would effectively bar transgender people in Louisiana from using restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping quarters that correspond with their gender identity, in public schools, jails and domestic violence shelters, advanced out of a state legislative committee Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith, File)

Louisiana lawmakers quietly advance two controversial bills as severe weather hits the state

While state offices and schools were closed across Louisiana because of severe storms, a GOP-controlled legislative committee gathered in the Capitol to debate controversial bills that opponents say target the LGBTQ+ community.
 
FILE - The rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, flies over a building next to Nelson's Column monument, right, in Trafalgar Square, central London, Britain, March 28, 2014. Children who question their gender identity are being let down by lack of evidence and a toxic political debate, according to a report Wednesday from a senior doctor in in England. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

A major UK report says trans children are being let down by toxic debate and lack of evidence

A report from a senior doctor in England says children who question their gender identity are being let down by lack of evidence and a toxic political debate. Dr.
 
FILE - Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, leader of the "Kinnar Akhara," a monastic order of the transgender community, meets with followers at the Kumbh Mela festival in Pragraj, India, Feb. 5, 2019. The Kumbh Mela is a series of ritual baths by Hindu holy men, and other pilgrims that dates back to at least medieval times. The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex – a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church. Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and the inclusion or exclusion of transgender people. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

Transgender inclusion? World’s major religions take varying stances on policies toward trans people

The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex. It’s a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church.
 
FILE - The Louisiana Capitol stands, April 4, 2023, in Baton Rouge, La. A bill that that would effectively bar transgender people in Louisiana from using restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping quarters that correspond with their gender identity, in public schools, jails and domestic violence shelters, advanced out of a state legislative committee Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith, File)

Louisiana’s transgender ‘bathroom bill’ clears first hurdle

Louisiana lawmakers have advanced a bill that would effectively bar transgender people from using restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping quarters — in public schools, jails and domestic violence shelters — that correspond with their gender identity.
 
A copy of the 20-page "Infinite Dignity" declaration issued by the Vatican's doctrine office sits on a journalist desk as the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, meets the journalists during a press conference at the Vatican, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity

The Vatican has declared that gender-affirming surgeries and surrogacy are grave violations of human dignity.
 
FILE - Women gather round the San Bernardo Convent in support of the convent’s cloistered nuns who accused the Archbishop of Salta Mario Antonio Cargnello and other church officials of gender-based psychological and physical violence, in Salta, Argentina, May 3, 2022. An Argentine court ruled on Thursday, April 4, 2024, that Cargnello and three other church officials committed different forms of violence against the cloistered nuns of the convent. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

An Argentine judge recognizes gender abuse suffered for years by 20 nuns in a breakthrough ruling

An Argentine judge has ruled that 20 cloistered nuns had suffered abuse for more than two decades at the hands of high-ranking clergy in a conservative northern province.
 
Protesters hold signs outside the doors of the legislative chamber in the Nebraska State Capitol in response to a bill that would have restricted students to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth, on Friday, April 5, 2024, in Lincoln, Neb. The bill failed to advance Friday. (AP Photo/Margery Beck)

A Nebraska bill to ban transgender students from the bathrooms and sports of their choice fails

A Nebraska bill that would bar transgender students from bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that correspond with their gender identity has failed.
 
FILE - Nebraska state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh speaks to reporters, Thursday, March 18, 2024, in Lincoln, Neb. A bill to limit transgender students’ access to bathrooms and sports teams has been advanced out of committee with just days to go until the end of the session. Cavanaugh says she will filibuster bills not yet passed if Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauth's bathroom and sports bill advances. Speaker of the Legislature Sen. John Arch announced late Thursday, April 4, 2024, that the bill would be debated the next day for no more than four hours. (AP Photo/Margery Beck, File)

Nebraska lawmakers to debate a bill on transgender students’ access to bathrooms and sports teams

A Nebraska bill to limit transgender students’ access to bathrooms and sports teams has advanced out of committee with just days to go until the end of the session.
 
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