It’s the end of another week or LGBTQ+ news headlines, and we’ve got them all wrapped up for you here to dive into. We’re down to just 37 days until the November presidential election, which comes to just over five weeks. Next week brings the vice-presidential debate as Tim Walz goes toe-to-toe with JD Vance, and we’ll have more on that soon.

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This week brought a selection of depressing headlines with news stats that demonstrate the struggles of LGBTQ+ people and the affect of so much anti-LGBTQ+ political rhetoric. However, there’s also some positive news. Celebrities and politicians are fighting back against the hate and supporting queer Americans. And, of course, Florida is doing something stupid again.

LGBTQ+ acceptance is up, but so are hate crimes

In the general public, the acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in society is up. However, the FBI has released new stats which demonstrate that anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes are on the rise. From 2022 to 2023, hate crimes based on sexual orientation went from 1,947 to 2,402 and hate crimes based on gender identity rose from 469 to 547. It is possible that some element of this drastic increase comes from increased reporting and knowledge of the issues. However, it stark rise is in contrast to the other data which shows that violent crime is down and hate crimes across all demographics are only up by 2%.

Attempted suicides are up among trans youth

A new study by Nature has looked into the rates of suicide attempts in trans youth and found that their increase is tied to an unsurprising source. The study provides a causal link between the suicide attempt rate in trans and nonbinary people from the age of 13 to 24 and the enactment of anti-trans legislation. While the proposal of anti-trans bills seemed to have little effect on the rates of attempted suicide, there was a marked increase in the year follow the laws enactment. The study found that anti-trans laws lead to an increase between 7% and 72% in the rate of suicide attempts in young trans people.

New stats show the increase in book bans

PEN America has released their preliminary findings on book bans in public schools during the 2023-2024 school year. In the 2022-2023 school year, the organization recorded 3,362 book bans. In this past year, they have tracked over 10,000 book bands, tripling the number since last year. These books have included a substantial number of LGBTQ+ titles, as well as books written by authors of color.

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The Buttigiegs are tackling JD Vance

Ahead of next week’s vice-presidental debate between the two candidates, JD Vance and Tim Walz, Trump’s right-hand man is being targeted by both Buttigiegs. Chasten Buttigieg took issue with JD Vance claiming that Trump was right for the White House because you need to have a “person of character,” and called into question what type of character that was by citing the Access Hollywood tape. Meanwhile, his husband, Pete Buttigieg, is playing Vance in Tim Walz’s debate prep, while still keeping up his own line of rebukes against Trump himself.

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Alabama is returning to draconian requirements for gender markers

In 2024, even getting the United States federal government to change the gender marker on your passport to an M, F, or even and X requires no paperwork or medical work. They understand that individuals are the people most familiar with their own gender identity. Alabama, meanwhile, has taken a step backwards, and now they once again require trans people to have bottom surgery before they can change the gender marker on their driver’s license. Quite aside from the fact that plenty of trans people don’t ever plan to receive such surgeries, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversal of a previous ruling from a lower Alabama court effectively requires that trans people be sterilized if they with to have the correct gender marker on their license.

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Republican attorneys general push against trans care

Led by the Idaho attorney general, 22 Republican attorneys general have signed a letter that attacks the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and seeks to probe the organization. They suggest that the AAP is violating consumer care laws that prohibit making misleading statements. The letter is likely a combination of threat and fishing expedition as the group of Republicans request access to AAP documents and hope to prevent them from being able to vocally support trans healthcare. The letter demonstrates the ongoing damage of the Cass Review with its references to the document.

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Wonder Woman pushes back on her Republican sister

Arizona’s Maricopa county became a household name in 2020 when it became part of the misinformation campaign around who had won the election. The county houses Arizona’s 4th congressional district, where Pamela Carter is running for Arizona’s House of Representatives. She is running on an anti-abortion and anti-same-sex marriage platform, and feels that school teachers should carry guns. She also claims to have the “full support” of her family. She has been corrected on this point by her younger sister, Lynda Carter, who made a name for herself playing Wonder Woman on the eponymous TV show from the 1970s. Lynda Carter, who has endorsed Democratic candidates in the past, made a statement to Mother Jones, saying “I have known Pam my entire life, which is why I sadly cannot endorse her for this or any public office.”

Florida’s latest school ban is even more nonsense

The limitations that Florida schools face in discussing sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity have been well documented. The limitations from their “Don’t Say Gay” law were always vague and could have led to over censorship of even the most basic discussions about human physiology. However, the state has felt it necessary to take that all one step further, this week banning sex education classes from providing “pictures, activities, or demonstrations” around the use of contraceptives. Additionally, while in the past Florida insist that sexual abstinence be emphasized, the new state textbook insists that abstinence is the only way to prevent STDs and pregnancy, disregarding any discussion of contraception. If that wasn’t enough, the classes will also be prohibited from showing any “pictures of external sexual/reproductive anatomy” or even using the word “fluid.”

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