#American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A federal court judge has ruled that parents in Ohio don’t have the right to challenge a trans-inclusive school bathroom policy.

A case brought by parents and students in the Bethel Local School District (BLSD) in November sought to prohibit trans and non-binary students in the region from using toilets and other facilities consistent with their gender identity.

But, in a ruling issued on Monday (7 August), Judge Michael Newman decreed that the accusations brought by the group did not “pass legal muster” to warrant further consideration.

“Not every contentious debate concerning matters of public importance presents a cognisable federal lawsuit,” Newman wrote in his ruling opinion.

During a school board meeting in January 2022, BLSD announced it had implemented policies allowing transgender students to use communal toilets consistent with their gender identity.

Several months later, a group of parents filed a legal challenge, arguing that their parental rights were being infringed upon by not having a public meeting to discuss the matter.

They further argued that a previous policy, which had no protections for trans students, did not violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which states that no person in the US shall exclude or discriminate against students on the basis of sex.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing for the Title IX claim and that citing parental rights did not immediately require the school to adhere to the group’s demands.

Dismissing the case, Newman wrote that parents do not have a “constitutional right” to revoke school policies on toilet usage.

ACLU Ohio deputy legal director, David Carey, said the ruling reaffirmed that the Constitution is not a vehicle to “compel discrimination.”

He explained: “Nothing in the constitutional guarantees of parenting rights, equal protection or free exercise of religion, mandates that transgender students be excluded from gender-appropriate communal restrooms on the basis of their classmates’ beliefs and values.”

“For public schools to function, one student’s or family’s religious beliefs cannot provide a basis to exclude another student from full participation in the school environment.”

In its legal intervention arguments, the ACLU wrote that it believed the public has a “strong interest” in advancing policies that affirmatively protect transgender students and create inclusive school environments.

The LGBTQ & HIV Project staff attorney at the ACLU, Malita Picasso, said the court’s decision made it “resoundingly clear” that the rights of trans students are “not in conflict” with the rights of their peers.

“No student should have to fear discriminatory treatment every morning they walk into school, and this ruling brings us closer to the day no transgender student has to,” she added.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Victoria Bekiempis at The Guardian:

An Ohio judge has decided that the state’s ban on most abortions was unconstitutional and could not be enforced. Judge Christian Jenkins of the Hamilton county common pleas court also granted a permanent injunction in his ruling on Thursday. Jenkins said that Ohio’s abortion prohibition flouted language in a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution that protected reproductive healthcare. “Ohio voters have spoken. The Ohio constitution now unequivocally protects the right to abortion,” Jenkins said in his ruling. Jenkins’s decision stems from a law that prohibited doctors from performing abortions after the detection of fetal cardiac or embryonic activity. This activity can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy, the Columbus Dispatch reported. While Republican lawmakers in Ohio passed this law in 2019, the legislation did not go into effect until June 2022 – when the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade.

Jenkins temporarily paused the law less than three months after it went into effect. Healthcare providers in Ohio filed suit to permanently end the legislation, as it drove patients to seek reproductive care outside of the state and imperiled several clinics. A young girl who was sexual assaulted in Columbus, Ohio, even had to travel to Indiana for abortion care, spurring still more anger over the measure. Advocates launched a ballot initiative to ensure that reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion, were protected by the state constitution. This campaign passed in November last year, winning 57% of voting Ohioans’ support, the newspaper said. “This is a momentous ruling, showing the power of Ohio’s new Reproductive Freedom Amendment in practice,” Jessie Hill, cooperating attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said. “The six-week ban is blatantly unconstitutional and has no place in our law.”

In Ohio, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins ruled that the Buckeye State’s abortion ban is unlawful due to the fact that the state’s voters last year voted to put abortion rights protections in the state’s constitution.

[kemetic-dreams]

First Afro-American ran for US President

“George Edwin Taylor ran for president a long time before Barack Obama.”

“Born in the pre-Civil War South to a mother who was free and a father who was enslaved, George Edwin Taylor would become the first African American selected by a political party to be its candidate for the presidency of the United States.

Taylor was born on August 4, 1857 in Little Rock, Arkansas to Amanda Hines and Bryant (Nathan) Taylor. At the age of two, George Taylor moved with his mother from Arkansas to Illinois. When Amanda died a few years later, George fended for himself until arriving in Wisconsin by paddleboat in 1865. Raised in and near La Crosse by a politically active African family, he attended Wayland University in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin from 1877 to 1879, after which he returned to La Crosse where he went to work for the La Crosse Free Press and then the La Crosse Evening Star. During the years 1880 to 1885 he produced newspaper columns for local papers as well as articles for the Chicago Inter Ocean.

Taylor's newspaper work brought him into politics--especially labor politics. He sided with one of the competing labor factions in La Crosse and helped re-elect the pro-labor mayor, Frank "White Beaver" Powell, in 1886. In the months that followed, Taylor became a leader and office holder in Wisconsin's statewide Union Labor Party, and his own newspaper, the Wisconsin Labor Advocate, became one of the newspapers of the party.

In 1887 Taylor was a member of the Wisconsin delegation to the first national convention of the Union Labor Party, which met in Ohio in April, and refocused his newspaper on national political issues. As his prominence increased, his race became an issue, and Taylor responded to the criticism by increasingly writing about African American issues. Sometime in 1887 or 1888 his paper ceased publication.

In 1891 Taylor moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa where he continued his interest in politics, first in the Republican Party and then with the Democrats. While in Iowa Taylor owned and edited the Negro Solicitor, and became president of the National Colored Men's Protective Association (an early civil rights organization) and the National Negro Democratic League, an organization of Africans within the Democratic Party. From 1900 to 1904 he aligned himself with the Populist faction that attempted to reform the Democratic Party.

Taylor and other independent-minded African Americans in 1904 joined the first national political party created exclusively for and by Africans, the National Liberty Party (NLP). The Party met at its national convention in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904 with delegates from thirty-six states. When the Party's candidate for president ended up in an Illinois jail, the NLP Executive Committee approached Taylor, asking him to be the party's candidate.

While Taylor's campaign attracted little attention, the Party's platform had a national agenda: universal suffrage regardless of race; Federal protection of the rights of all citizens; Federal anti-lynching laws; additional African regiments in the U.S. Army; Federal pensions for all former slaves; government ownership and control of all public carriers to ensure equal accommodations for all citizens; and home rule for the District of Columbia.

Taylor's presidential race was quixotic. In an interview published in The Sun (New York, November 20, 1904), he observed that while he knew whites thought his candidacy was a "joke," he believed that an independent political party that could mobilize the African American vote was the only practical way that blacks could exercise political influence. On election day, Taylor received a scattering of votes.

The 1904 campaign was Taylor's last foray into politics. He remained in Iowa until 1910 when he moved to Jacksonville. There he edited a succession of newspapers and was director of the African American branch of the local YMCA. He was married three times but had no children. George Edwin Taylor died in Jacksonville on December 23, 1925.”

Above written source=

George Edwin Taylor - 2014 - Question of the Month - Jim Crow Museum

The Brother tried and I knew all the Afro-Americans couldn't vote for him because voter suppression .

[beardedmrbean]

Indiana can now enforce a law banning minors from seeking gender-transitioning treatments after a federal appeals court ruled to remove a temporary injunction issued by a judge last year, which kept the ban from going into effect last summer.

A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago handed down the decision on Tuesday. Two of the judges were appointed by presidents Reagan and Trump, while the third judge was appointed by President Biden.

The bill, which was signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 5, 2023, was set to become law on July 1, 2023, but was blocked by a judge a month prior following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued the injunction, which halted the parts of the law prohibiting minors from accessing hormone therapies and puberty blockers, and prohibiting Indiana doctors from communicating with out-of-state doctors about transgender-related treatments for minors. The law's ban on gender-transitioning surgeries for minors was still allowed to take effect.

On Tuesday, the ACLU of Indiana issued a written statement in response to the appeals court's ruling, describing it as "heartbreaking" for transgender minors, their families and doctors.

"As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over," the statement read. "We will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family."

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita did not share those sentiments and praised the court's decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday evening.

"Our commonsense state law, banning dangerous and irreversible gender-transition procedures for minors, is now enforceable following the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s newest order. We are proud to win this fight against the radicals who continue pushing this horrific practice on our children for ideological and financial reasons," he wrote.

The ACLU of Indiana filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of four minors undergoing gender-transitioning treatments and a doctor providing such care. The organization argued that the ban violates the Constitution's equal protection guarantees and strips parents of the right to make medical decisions for their children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, among other medical groups, claim minors can safely seek gender-transitioning treatments if they are being administered properly.

Representatives from the state's only hospital-based gender health program at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis told legislators last year that doctors do not perform or provide referrals for genital surgeries for minors, according to The Associated Press. The hospital was not involved in the lawsuit opposing the ban.

Twenty-two other states have also enacted laws restricting or banning gender-transitioning treatments for minors. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

The bans are in limbo in some of those states as a federal court ruled Arkansas' ban is unconstitutional and temporary injunctions were placed on the laws in Idaho and Montana.

[captain-crackship]

Image credit: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio

[dankusner]

ID laws could lock out trans voters

210,000 lack ID matching identity, report finds

WASHINGTON – Nine U.S. states have tightened voter ID laws since the last presidential election – rules that risk locking out hundreds of thousands of transgender voters, many in swing states.

More than 200,000 trans voters risk problems matching their face or name to their identity papers at polls Nov. 5, a potentially significant number in some too-close-to-call states.

'Community members may have an outdated ID or one that no longer lines up with who they are today, and because of that it really creates further barriers for them to show up,' said Jazmynne Cruz, communications director at Equality North Carolina, the country’s oldest state-based LGBTQ+ organization.

Groups in North Carolina are therefore putting in extra time to calm fears among trans voters and urge them to show up to vote.

Voters face worries about old IDs that do not reflect a changed name or appearance, or that do not match state information, along with potential harassment by poll workers.

'It’s the first time that we’ll all have to navigate these mandates,' Cruz told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

'For us, it’s about helping people understand the voter ID law, understand all of the options they have to gain voter ID and use their ID, and make sure people feel safe to show up at the polls.'

The group has been canvassing the neighborhoods, as well as setting up stalls at community events to ease any confusion.

'Mostly we’re just trying to make sure they don’t feel discouraged,' Cruz said.

A spokesman for the North Carolina State Board of Elections did not respond when asked whether efforts were underway to address the issue.

The North Carolina law, which went into effect last year, requires a valid photo ID to vote in person or as an absentee – one of nine states with restrictive new voter ID laws that weren’t in place in the 2020 presidential election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank.

Trans votes in swing states could prove decisive.

In 2020, Republican Donald Trump won the state’s 16 Electoral College votes by less than 1.5 percentage points.

Trans voters 'are uniquely susceptible to being denied the right to vote because they don’t have the right form of ID, or the information on their ID may not match what is in the state records,' said J. Collin Marozzi, deputy policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Ohio office.

Ohio last year implemented what Marozzi said is the country’s strictest voter ID law, requiring one of four forms of state-issued identification to vote.

'That doesn’t leave a lot of options for individuals that might operate in gray areas,' he said.

Any Ohio voter who has a concern about their photo ID should update it before voting, said Dan Lusheck, deputy communications director for the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State.

'There’s a lot of points in this process where voters can be turned away,' Marozzi said.

'We’re on the precipice of seeing just how impactful this new law is going to end up being.'

In the most recent U.S. Trans Survey, respondents who were not registered to vote said it was in part down to them being trans, as their current information didn’t match their ID, or due to fears of possible harassment by election officials.

More than 210,000 trans people who are eligible to vote do not have IDs with their correct name or gender, according to a September report from the UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute.

That’s the highest number yet, said Jody L. Herman, a senior scholar with the Williams Institute and co-author of the report, which has tracked the issue for over a decade.

'The problem is certainly getting worse.'

Thirty-six states now have voter ID requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In the 42 states that conduct their elections primarily in person, rather than by mail, 43% of eligible trans voters lack updated documents, the Williams Institute found. The problems stem from the new laws – but also because many states are making it tougher for trans people to get IDs, Herman said, noting a legislative 'patchwork quilt' at state level.

For instance, some states require trans people to have some form of gender-affirming surgical care in order to alter a birth certificate, then change other forms of ID.

While a few states such as California have sought to make changing an ID easier, Herman said the trend ran in the opposite direction.

Another challenge lies in training poll workers on the nuances of voter ID laws and how to address any discrepancies.

'The crux of the issue is people interacting with people,' Herman said. 'It’s when trans people go to polls and have to interact with poll workers – that’s the moment when harassment can happen, and we have evidence that denial of service does happen when they show IDs.'

A new national advocacy effort, TRANSform the Vote, is offering guidance for trans voters and poll workers, urging the latter 'not be distracted by gender presentation when you are evaluating a voter’s identity and eligibility to vote.'

Rules that California put in place in 2019 note that perceived differences between a voter’s appearance and the details of their documentation do 'not render their identification insufficient,' and specify that any such doubt should be resolved in favor of allowing the person to vote.

Rhode Island has made it a priority to help trans voters navigate voter ID laws and overcome any difficulty at the polls, including offering a free ID without a gender marker.

The state recently took part in an event to provide voting and ID information to the trans community, said Department of State communications director Faith Chybowski, noting 'every eligible voter should be able to cast their ballot safely and comfortably.'

The program started in 2021, at that time rooted less in problems experienced at the polls and more with perceived blocks that had kept trans voters from turning out in the first place.

[skarabrae-stone]

US Voting Rights, Advocacy, & Assistance Part 4

I post a lot about how important it is to vote, but I know it’s not that simple/easy for people living in places with voter suppression. So I thought I’d make a post of organizations that help people exercise their right to vote, both on the national and the state/regional level. The links below included resources for voting, education on voting in your state/region, and opportunities to volunteer and get more politically engaged.

This will be a series of posts, going in alphabetical order. National organizations and organizations for states N-O (Nebraska through Oregon) below the cut: Part 1 (A-C), Part 2 (D-I) Part 3 (K-M)

Links marked with an * include information for disabled voters. Links marked with a # include information on voting rights for people who have been incarcerated.

National:

Vote.Org Vote 411 American Civil Liberties Union #* Movement Voter Project Fair Elections Center Autistic Self-Advocacy Network Voting Toolkit * League of Conservation Voters Common Cause Ballotpedia Environmental Voter Project Black Male Voter Project Black Voters Matter US Vote Foundation #* Accessible Voting *

Nebraska:

Husker Vote Coalition Civic Nebraska Civic Nebraska: Resources for voters with felony sentences # Better Ballots Nebraska Voting Rights Restoration Coalition/RISE # League of Women Voters of Nebraska Nonpartisan Nebraska Disability Rights Nebraska * The ARC of Nebraska *

Nevada:

PFLAG Get Out the Vote Vote Nevada All Voting is Local Nevada Native Voters Alliance Nevada Human Rights Campaign Nevada League of Women Voters of Nevada Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center * Brennan Center for Justice #

New Hampshire

Vote in New Hampshire # New Hampshire Democracy Fund New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights Disability Rights Center NH * League of Women Voters of New Hampshire

New Jersey

The Arc of New Jersey * AARP * ACLU New Jersey *# Brennan Center for Justice # League of Women Voters of New Jersey New Jersey Voter Empowerment Act Disability Rights New Jersey *

New Mexico:

New Mexico Voting Rights Act Inclusive Democracy New Mexico Center for Civic Policy # Conservation Voters New Mexico Native American Voters Alliance Accessible Voting New Mexico * Disability Rights New Mexico * Campaign Legal Center # League of Women Voters of New Mexico

New York:

We Are New York Values New York for Full Restoration of Voting Rights Coalition # Let NY Vote NYC Votes League of Women Voters of New York Access CNY * Accessible Voting New York * NYCLU #

North Carolina:

Team Unity NC # Center for Common Ground Democracy North Carolina Action NC You Can Vote * Southern Coalition for Social Justice Blueprint NC North Carolina Voter Guide (Common Cause) Disability Rights North Carolina * Transgender Voting Guide (ACLU) League of Women Voters of North Carolina

North Dakota:

League of Women Voters of North Dakota US Vote Foundation # Four Directions Native American Rights Fund North Dakota Native Vote Accessible Voting North Dakota *

Ohio:

Ohio Voter Rights Coalition #* League of Women Voters of Ohio Ohio Organizing Collaborative Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates #* Fair Districts Ohio

Oklahoma:

League of Women Voters of Oklahoma Oklahoma Policy Institute Resources for Voters with Disabilities (US Vote Foundation) * Together OK *# Oklahoma United

Oregon:

Basic Rights Oregon League of Minority Voters Next Up Oregon Oregon CARES League of Women Voters of Oregon Oregon Ranked Choice Voting Disability Rights Oregon * Oregon Voting Rights Restoration (US Vote Foundation) #

[sa7abnews]

How Arizona’s Abortion Ballot Measure Could Affect the Presidential Race

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/how-arizonas-abortion-ballot-measure-could-affect-the-presidential-race/

How Arizona’s Abortion Ballot Measure Could Affect the Presidential Race

Arizona voters will decide in November whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution—a move in a key swing state that could have implications for the tumultuous and historic presidential election.

The Arizona secretary of state’s office confirmed to TIME that the measure will appear on the ballot in the November election after it had certified on Monday about 577,971 signatures—far surpassing the number needed to put the initiative on the ballot. Dawn Penich, communications director for the coalition supporting the initiative, Arizona for Abortion Access, says the group turned in the highest number of signatures by a citizens initiative in state history: more than 820,000.

The coalition, which includes reproductive rights organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, celebrated the news. “Us moving forward with our ballot initiative and getting as much support as we’ve already gotten shows that Arizonans are tired of seeing their rights subject to the political whims of whoever might be in the legislature or whoever we may be in our courts, and they want to settle this matter once and for all for themselves through this citizens initiative process,” says Chris Love, spokesperson for the coalition’s campaign.

Arizona currently prohibits abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The law, which was signed in 2022, includes exceptions for medical emergencies. The November ballot measure, Proposition 139, would allow abortions until a fetus could survive outside the womb, which is typically around the 24th week of pregnancy. It would also include exceptions after that if the pregnant person’s life is at risk or to protect the individual’s physical or mental health. It would “establish a fundamental right to abortion” in the state constitution and would prevent the state from banning or restricting access to the procedure before viability. States including Michigan and Ohio have previously approved similar measures.

Those who oppose the measure have said it goes too far, arguing that the mental health exception is broad and would allow people to end viable pregnancies. 

Having the abortion initiative on the ballot in November could have political effects beyond reproductive rights in Arizona. In the presidential campaign, it’s a key difference between Vice President Kamala Harris, who was central to the Biden Administration’s messaging on reproductive rights, and former President Donald Trump, who appointed three of the Supreme Court Justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Other Democrats have made it a main focus of their 2024 campaigns, and states including Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and South Dakota are all set to vote on abortion rights this year.

The issue’s interplay with political races and how it affects turnout could be particularly determinative in Arizona, one of the most crucial battleground states in the 2024 election. 

“Arizona is a swing state; our electoral outcomes typically are razor, razor thin,” says Samara Klar, a political science professor at the University of Arizona. “We are seeing tiny margins of victory in very high-profile elections, and frankly, in local elections as well. So having something on the ballot that is going to mobilize voters to come out is really, really crucial.”

In other abortion ballot initiatives that have come before voters since the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, Americans have largely sided with abortion rights and the issue has typically boosted Democrats. “Having abortion on the ballot is helpful for Democrats because it mobilizes the types of people that are going to support Democratic candidates,” Klar says.

Some polls show support for abortion rights among Arizonans. In March, Klar collaborated with YouGov on a survey of 800 registered Arizona voters. More than 40% said abortion decisions should be left up to a woman and her doctor, while about 25% supported a near-total abortion ban. A CBS News poll in May found that 65% of likely Arizona voters said they would vote “yes” on a ballot measure establishing a constitutional right to abortion in the state; 21% said they would vote against it.

Abortion policy in Arizona has been somewhat unsettled since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization two years ago. In April, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law that only allowed abortions to save the pregnant person’s life, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The Republican-controlled legislature then repealed the law, leaving a 2022 statute banning abortions after 15 weeks in place.

“There’s been a lot of confusion about what the status of the law in Arizona has been,” Love says. “Ensuring this right in the constitution gives Arizona voters the certainty that they’ll need to understand what their reproductive rights are and, again, take those matters back into their own hands and make those personal health care decisions with their families and their medical providers.”

And as Arizona voters head to the ballot box, the abortion initiative “absolutely could make a difference” in the presidential race, Klar says. “This is a tight state, a salient issue, and a very mobilizing issue.”

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.5 (1860-1930)

1860 – Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim. 1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US$800; rescinded in 1872). 1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats. 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports. 1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom. 1882 – Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, today known as ExxonMobil, is established officially. The company would later grow to become the holder of all Standard Oil companies and the entity at the center of the breakup of Standard Oil. 1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor. 1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008. 1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first World Athletics recognised long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m), a record that would stand for 20 years. 1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy. 1914 – World War I: The German minelayer SS Königin Luise lays a minefield about 40 miles (64 km) off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion. 1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer SS Pfalz which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War. 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed. 1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula. 1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out. 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

[lboogie1906]

William Thomas Scott (April 28, 1839 - January 23, 1917) known as W.T. Scott, was a tavern/ hotel owner, newspaper owner/ editor, and politician in the latter half of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. He was the first African-American selected by the convention of a national political party as its candidate for the office of POTUS. He was born free in Newark, Ohio to Lucy Scott (his father’s first name is unknown).

He received barber training and worked on riverboats on the Ohio River before the Civil War. He married Nellie (1861-1871). In 1863, he enlisted in the Union Navy and served 18 months as a steward on the USS Clara Dolsen. He married Lizzineky Jenkins (1872-1884).

He lived in Cairo and was a leader within local Republican political circles (1870-83) when he became a Democrat. His newspaper, the Cairo Gazette was the first Black daily in the Midwest and claimed to be the first in the nation. He moved to East St. Louis and Springfield, Illinois. He was the owner/editor of the East St. Louis Leader and the Springfield Leader.

His business ventures that involved liquor, gambling, and vice kept him from obtaining political office. He championed the idea that African Americans should receive patronage and government appointments in direct proportion to the number of votes cast in elections. He was critical of party bosses in both major political parties and identified himself as an Independent at a time when nearly all Black voters were Republicans.

He was considered the wealthiest African American in southern Illinois. He shifted his focus to the state and national politics. He became president of the National Negro Democratic League and the Negro Bureau within the National Democratic Party. He served in various high offices in the Bureau. He was president and founder of the National Negro Anti-Expansion, Anti-Imperialist, Anti-Trust, and Anti-Lynch League.

He was a prominent leader in the National Negro Liberty Party. In 1904, that party’s convention selected him as its candidate POTUS. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[sutrala]

By Kate Anderson Daily Caller News Foundation The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Ohio Tuesday after state lawmakers passed a law banning transgender hormones and sex-change surgeries for minors. The law, which is set to go into effect in April,...

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ryan Adamczeski at The Advocate:

An Ohio judge has upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, as well as its ban on trans girls and women in women's sports. Two families of young trans people filed a lawsuit against the state's law in March after Ohio lawmakers passed the legislation in January by overriding Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto. The families argued that the law violates the Ohio Constitution because it deals with more than one subject — sports and health care — which goes against the single-subject rule. While the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas temporarily ruled in favor of the families in April, Franklin County Judge Michael J. Holbrook overturned its decision Tuesday, allowing the state's law to go into effect. Patients under 18 can no longer receive gender-affirming care, save for an exception allowing those already on the treatment to continue.

Holbrook wrote in his ruling that those “dissatisfied with the General Assembly’s determinations" must settle their grievances "through their vote as opposed to the judicial system.” “This is a devastating result for our clients and families like theirs across the state of Ohio," Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney at American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. "HB 68’s ban on medical treatments for gender dysphoria remains medically baseless and genuinely dangerous to the current and future well-being of transgender youth in the state. We are particularly appalled the court claims the ‘regulation of transgender individuals’ is a legitimate subject for the legislature under the state constitution."

In Moe v. Yost, Judge Michael Holbrook laws Ohio’s gender-affirming care ban for trans minors and trans women in women’s sports ban combo law (HB68) to take effect.

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: Ohio judge upholds state ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors

[spark-of-the-buckeye-flame]

[Image Description: Promotional image with text that reads - The Buckeye Flame amplifies the voices of LGBTQ+ Ohioans to support community and civic empowerment through the creation of engaging content that chronicles our triumphs, struggles, and lived experiences. /End description.]

Issue #188 | 1 February 2024

~ ACLU to fight Ohio's healthcare ban for transgender youth. Here's what to expect.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio has officially announced plans to file a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on healthcare for transgender youth.

🔥 Ignite Action

The ACLU Take Action page has pre-formatted messages to state representatives about different issues.

(The article also includes hotline information for those struggling. Due to the Trevor Project being one of many hotlines that will involve police, I would suggest the Trans Lifeline - this link provides the numbers for US and Canada, and instructions in Spanish.)

~ Ohio and Michigan GOP legislators discuss 'endgame' of banning all trans health care

Rep. Gary Click has repeatedly denied he wanted to limit gender-affirming care for adults. Now he admits that is indeed the goal.

🔥

~ How one Ohio hairstylist offers gender-affirming supplies for his rural community

'I didn't want people to be without again,' said the Chillicothe salon owner.

🔥  Ignite Action

Financially support First Capital Pride Coalition via sponsorships and donations (including Kroger Community Rewards).

To support Kaleidoscope Youth Center, go here [one time or monthly donation options].

~ Why is an Ohio city council president pushing a resolution to ban public drag? Hint: It's a family affair.

Jason King said that someone is pushing the resolution forward. He just neglected to mention that the someone is him.

🔥 Ignite Action

Contact the Celina City Council by going here to let them know your thoughts on pushing forward this resolution.

The Mercer County Leaders for Equity Access and Diversity PAC is sponsoring a letter-writing campaign for those who want to express their disapproval of this resolution. More info here.

~ Politics should not be personal. Now is the time to act for Ohio's trans community. [Commentary]

Politics become personal when one's identity is attacked.  Unfortunately, for the transgender community, politics are personal.

🔥 Ignite Action

Submit comments on the Health Department draft rules. Comments should be submitted to ODHrules@odh.ohio.gov no later than Monday, February 5th . In the subject line of the email, indicate "Comments on Gender Transition Care Rules."

To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here. (This is noted for several anti-LGBTQ+ House Bills mentioned.)

To contribute to the Emergency Fund and support trans youth in Ohio, please visit TransOhio’s Donation Page or contact transohio@transohio.org.

This post contains time sensitive content that may mean it is outdated when reading after 1 February 2024. Please see The Buckeye Flame for current coverage.

[pashterlengkap]

Dozens of families flee Ohio after anti-trans health care ban passes

A trans advocacy group in Ohio says 68 families and seven trans adults have already contacted them seeking emergency relocation funds to flee the state now that a gender-affirming care ban is set to become law. “Their government is forcing them to uproot their lives,” Dara Adkison, secretary of the board for TransOhio, told NBC News. “They’re selling their homes, they’re changing jobs and careers and closing out all of their savings. They’re closing their businesses, they’re leaving their medical practices. The intense amount of personal and community trauma that is being inflicted by the government right now and putting these families through who just love their f**king kids is so cruel.”  Related: New regulations could force trans Ohioans like me to detransition. I’m terrified. It’s not too late to fight back. If you care about trans lives, please say something. The Ohio Senate voted 24-8 on Wednesday to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) veto of H.B. 68, a bill banning gender-affirming care for trans minors and trans women and girls from participating in scholastic sports. The override makes Ohio the 23rd state to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors and the 24th to ban trans sports participation. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. State Sen. Kristina Roegner (R), a co-sponsor of the bill, stated before the vote that “there is no such thing as a gender spectrum” and “no such thing as gender-affirming care” because “you can’t affirm something that doesn’t exist.” She accused hospitals of forcing gender-affirming care on kids to make money, though major medical associations, including the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics, support gender-affirming care for trans youth. Meanwhile, Ohio Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D) called the legislation “a cold, callous, and calculated attack on children, parents, and families.” State Rep. Jessica E. Miranda (D) said the GOP is “literally killing our children” with the bill. “All to win your Republican primary races,” she said. “Disgusting.” “Folks, please watch closely at what is happening here today,” she told fellow lawmakers. “Find out who truly cares about your privacy. The so-called party of personal and parental rights and privacy is voting to take away your parental rights. The party of so-called freedom is voting to take away your freedom today, against their own Republican governor.” I stand by every word. pic.twitter.com/pGNvIrlAfa— Rep. Jessica E. Miranda (@JessicaEMiranda) January 11, 2024 DeWine vetoed H.B. 68 on December 26, 2023, saying, “The government [doesn’t know] better what is medically best for a child [more] than the two people who love that child the most, their parents.” DeWine said he decided to veto the bill after visiting with parents of trans youth who are currently receiving gender-affirming healthcare. DeWine also opposed the sports ban, stating, “This issue is best addressed outside of government, through individual sports leagues and athletic associations.” While Ohio’s law is expected to take effect on April 23, it will likely face a legal challenge, possibly delaying the law from going into effect. The Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already pledged to “do everything we can to fight this.” Despite DeWine’s stance against the bill, he recently signed an executive order banning hospitals in the state from performing gender-affirming surgeries on minors. The ban went into effect immediately, even though such surgeries aren’t typically conducted on minors. During a Friday morning press conference, DeWine also announced that the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Health and Addiction Services would on Friday file draft rules that would prevent “fly-by-night” providers… http://dlvr.it/T1sZgs

[thenewsart]

ACLU Sues Over Ohio Voting Law, Saying It Violates Federal Disability Law

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that an Ohio voting law provision criminalizes voter assistance and violates federal disability law. The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, the ACLU of Ohio and the Covington & Burling law firm on behalf of a disabled voter and the League of Women Voters of Ohio, and claims that a provision in Ohio’s HB 458 restricting who…