National
Ohio introduces its own ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
“Ohio’s Don’t Say Gay bill is an insidious attempt to chill & censor free speech in classrooms- lawmakers are trying to erase LGBTQ+ people”

Ohio lawmakers Monday introduced the state’s version of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would limit how sexual orientation and gender identity are taught in schools.
H.B. 616, introduced by Republican state Reps. Mike Loychik and Jean Schmidt, would ban discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3, applying to all public schools and most private schools. Older grades can discuss the issues, but the material would have to be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
For violating the bill, educators could face suspension while schools face the loss of state funds.
In addition, the legislation bans other “divise concepts,” like the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory and “any other concept that the state board of education defines as divisive or inherently racist.”
The proposal follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature on the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 and allows parents to sue schools or teachers. Last week, the legislation received a challenge in court, with LGBTQ+ rights groups Equality Florida and Family Equality filing a lawsuit against the law.
LGBTQ+ advocates in Ohio noted the similarities between Ohio’s measure and the one that passed in Florida, calling the legislation “Ohio’s Don’t Say Gay” bill. Statewide LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Ohio deemed the bill is “more dangerous” than Florida’s, calling it “more broad and vague.”
“Ohio’s Don’t Say Gay bill is yet another incidious attempt to chill and censor free speech in the classroom. Lawmakers are effectively trying to erase LGBTQ+ people and skew history in their favor,” said Alana Jochum, the group’s executive director. “Attacks like these are a product of a small minority of people pushing their agenda to dismantle diversity at all costs – and in the process putting educators and families in jeopardy for political gain.”
Loychik touted his legislation in a press release, saying the bill “promotes free and fair discussion.”
Schmidt added: “The classroom is a place that seeks answers for our children without political activism. Parents deserve and should be provided a say in what is taught to their children in schools. The intent of this bill is to provide them with the tools to be able to see what their child is being taught.”
However, Equality Ohio said it would erase an already marginalized group of people and “deeply harm” the more than 30% of LGBTQ+ adults who are raising kids in Ohio.
The Ohio Education Association (OEA), one of Ohio’s largest groups representing educators, also denounced the bill.
“Why would Ohio want to follow in Florida’s footsteps after it forced a showdown with Disney, one of the state’s biggest employers?” said Scott DiMauro, OEA’s president. “HB 616 is exactly the kind of legislation that could send Intel and other major employers running, hurting our students’ future job prospects for decades to come.”
DiMauro was referring to Intel’s January announcement that it would invest billions and build two new “leading-edge” chip factories in Ohio.
“These politicians are continuing to use race and sexual orientation as wedge issues to score cheap political points, and they should be ashamed of themselves,” DiMauro added.
New York
Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade
One of the victims remains in critical condition

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.
According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.
The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.
The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.
In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.
The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.
New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.
“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.
An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.
They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.
Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.
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