Maryland
Md. House committee holds hearing on transgender health care bill
Activists rallied in support of Trans Health Equity Act in Annapolis
A Maryland House of Delegates committee on Tuesday held a hearing on a bill that would expand coverage of transgender-specific health care in the state.
The House Government Operations Committee heard testimony on House Bill 283, or the Trans Health Equity Act. The measure would require the Maryland Medical Assistance Program “to provide gender-affirming treatment in a nondiscriminatory manner” and mandate” the gender-affirming treatment be assessed according to nondiscriminatory criteria that are consistent with current clinical standards.” The bill would also prohibit “the issuance of an adverse benefit determination related to gender-affirming treatment unless a certain experienced health care provider has reviewed and confirmed the appropriateness of the determination.”
The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on an identical bill, Senate Bill 460, on Feb. 28.
The House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 21 will hold a hearing on House Bill 426, or the Trans Respect, Agency and Dignity Act.
This measure would require the Maryland Division of Corrections “to report certain information regarding the gender identities of inmates and the housing status of transgender, nonbinary or intersex inmates.” HB 426 would also prohibit “an employee of a correctional facility from discriminating against inmates on the basis of certain protected classes” and require “the managing official of a correctional facility to develop a written nondiscrimination policy regarding inmates.”
An identical bill, Senate Bill 761, has been introduced in the state Senate.
The two bills are among FreeState Justice’s legislative priorities during this year’s legislative session.
The advocacy group also opposes House Bill 757, which would prevent trans athletes from school sports teams that do not correspond to their gender identity. The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday is scheduled to hold a hearing on the measure.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City) is among those who participated in a rally in support of Trans Health Equity Act. that took place on Lawyer’s Mall in front of the State Capitol in Annapolis on Tuesday.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed a bill that decriminalizes HIV in the state.
State Dels. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) and Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) are among the lawmakers who sponsored House Bill 39 or the Carlton R. Smith Act, which is named after the long-time activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in May 2024.
Smith was a member of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland that advocated for the bill. FreeState Justice, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, was also part of the coalition.
“At FreeState Justice, we are proud to stand with advocates, health experts, and lawmakers who worked diligently to advance this bill. The bipartisan support for the Carlton R. Smith Act is a testament to the power of education, research, and courageous leadership,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry in a statement. “It sends a clear message: Maryland is committed to evidence-based policymaking and to ending the criminalization of people living with HIV. We honor the memory of Carlton R. Smith by continuing the work of building a more just, inclusive, and informed society.”
Maryland is the fifth state to decriminalize HIV.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, in March signed a bill that decriminalized HIV in his state.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump
BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.
So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.
“F—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,” a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Md. schools plan to comply with federal DEI demands
Superintendents opt for cooperation over confrontation
By LIZ BOWIE | Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws.
The two-paragraph letter could deflect a confrontation over whether the state’s public schools run diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that the Trump administration has called illegal. The Baltimore Banner reviewed the letter, which was shared by a school administrator who declined to be identified because the letter has not yet been sent.
Maryland school leaders are taking a more conciliatory approach than those in some other states. Education leaders in Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin said they will not comply with the federal education department’s order, the demands of which, they say, are based on a warped interpretation of civil rights law.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Cuban lawmakers to consider simplifying process for trans people to change IDs
Frank Kameny’s legacy lives on
