Yearly Archives: 2022

USAU Selected Indiana to Host 2023 D-III College Champs Before Backing Out Due to Anti-Transgender Laws

BY CHARLIE EISENHOOD via Ultiworld

The USAU EDI committee determined that Indiana should not host one of its major tournaments.

USA Ultimate initially planned to host the 2023 Division III College Championships in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but changed course after the organization’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee determined that USAU should not host it there due to Indiana laws targeting transgender people, Ultiworld has learned.

After a months-long bid process, USAU told Fort Wayne Ultimate (FWU) in early November that their proposal had been selected, said FWU President Jeff Ratajczak. He signed the attached letter of intent and waited for the official announcement from USAU. But in early December, he got word that there may be a problem: the USAU EDI committee was unsure about hosting a big national event in Indiana, due to the state’s new laws barring transgender women and girls from competing on public schools’ women’s sports teams.

FWU, the city of Fort Wayne, the tourist bureau, and other area entities supporting the bid sent in letters to USAU stating their commitment to inclusion, but on December 16th, USAU staff emailed Ratajczak with the news that USAU would not be moving forward with Fort Wayne. “We put together a bid that was perfect until it wasn’t all of a sudden,” said Ratajczak.

“As the decision was being considered to award the bid to Fort Wayne, we performed a final audit of anti-trans laws in Indiana and discovered that one was in effect, which led to us evaluating alternatives in the general area,” said USAU Director of Communications Andy lee. “This included Columbus, which had previously bid on – and was awarded – the D-III championships in 2020 before the pandemic cancelled it.”

The TD of the 2023 D-III College Championships, Rodger Oakes, said that USAU reached out to him in early December asking if he would run the event in Columbus. They had previously discussed it over the summer when it looked like Cincinnati was going to be the host for the D-I Championships. He agreed.

Lee said that USAU does not have a policy in place that strictly bars the organization from hosting its biggest national events in states with anti-trans laws. “It is one of many internal criteria we consider during our process of evaluating bids for national championship events,” he said. “As a [national governing body], we look at laws specific to the sphere in which we operate – i.e. sports inclusion/participation. Because these laws are inconsistent with our Gender Inclusion Policy, they can have a negative impact on the bid.” The USAU email to Ratajczak said that the organization won’t be hosting any of its six national championship events in states with anti-trans laws.

Anti-transgender laws, often targeting trans girls on school-based teams, have proliferated this year around the country. 19 states have passed laws limiting sports participation for trans girls in girls divisions.

There is precedent for USAU’s policy: in 2016, the NCAA pulled seven championship games out of North Carolina due to the state passing a “bathroom bill” law that required people to use bathrooms according to their gender at birth. The USAU College Championships were held in North Carolina that year. Amidst some calls for the governing body to change the location of the tournaments, USAU announced a number of efforts to protest the laws, including the use of rainbow-printed discs at the events. The controversial law fully lapsed in 2020.

The NCAA said last year that it will only host championship events in places that are “free of discrimination” in a show of support for transgender athletes, but many of its 2023 championships are set to be held in states that have passed anti-trans laws.

Ratajczak understands the challenge USAU faces — “It’s a tough spot for an organization like that to make a decision, especially when they’re in the social justice arena,” he said — but is frustrated by the decision.

“The thing that was super irritating is that they took it away from us to give it to Ohio, which has two bills that are likely going to pass the first quarter of next year that are anti-trans,” he said.

The Ohio house and senate have both already passed bills requiring public school students to play in the division of their gender at birth, but they failed during reconciliation votes earlier this month. The Ohio senate leader has already committed to reintroducing the bill in early 2023. Ohio republican governor Mike DeWine has publicly opposed the bills but has not committed to vetoing a measure that gets passed. Both Indiana and Utah’s governors vetoed similar legislation but had their vetoes overridden by the legislature.

Lee said that if Ohio were to pass anti-trans laws next year that USAU would not relocate the College Championships. “Instead, we will work to find other impactful ways to support the trans community locally during the event,” he said.

USAU told Ratajczak that Fort Wayne should continue bidding on regional events. The organization hosted Great Lakes College Regionals in 2022.

Earlier this week, the 2023 D-III College Championships were publicly announced to be held in Columbus, OH, from May 20-22.

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Reference: https://ultiworld.com/2022/12/23/usau-selected-indiana-to-host-2023-d-iii-college-champs-before-backing-out-due-to-anti-transgender-laws/

Continue ReadingUSAU Selected Indiana to Host 2023 D-III College Champs Before Backing Out Due to Anti-Transgender Laws

Indiana lawmakers to consider ‘don’t say gay’ legislation in 2023

Of course they are.

From the Indianapolis Star:

Indiana lawmakers to consider ‘don’t say gay’ legislation in 2023
Arika Herron
Indianapolis Star

A controversial proposal to restrict discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools may be heading to Indiana.

During a legislative conference Friday, an Indiana lawmaker said that a version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill was being drafted for the upcoming legislative session.

Rep. Bob Behning, an Indianapolis Republican and chair of the House education committee, was speaking during a panel discussion with other legislative leaders previewing some of the educational issues that will be addressed by the legislature when the Indiana General Assembly convenes in January.

More:Legislative leaders brace for mild recession ahead of budget-writing session

He said one of his colleagues would file legislation “similar to what Florida did in regards to sexual orientation.”

Behning would not share the name of the lawmaker carrying the bill. He said he did not yet know if the bill would come to his committee or if he would support such a measure.

It’s unclear how much support “Don’t Say Gay” style legislation would have among legislative leaders, who struggled to coalesce their members around a position on similar issues last session and have seemed interested in turning attention toward workforce and economy issues after the past summer’s special session to pass a near-total ban on abortion in the state.

He did say he supports the general principle of parental rights in education, a concept used to drive other controversial measures last legislative session such as bills to restrict what teachers could say in the classroom about race, politics and history.

“Let’s teach kids the basics and not try to get beyond that in terms of what are parental responsibilities versus what are responsibilities of the school,” he said.

The Florida bill, formally titled Parental Rights in Education, was signed into law last spring. The measure bans classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

It also prohibits such teaching in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students, which potentially broadens the ban on discussions to all grade levels.

Parents can sue school districts over alleged violations.

The bill sparked national outrage and concerns about the impact it would have on LGBTQ students for whom schools may be the only place they can speak openly on LGBTQ issues.

A spate of other states has already followed in Florida’s footsteps. In 18 other states, lawmakers attempted similar legislation last year.

Gov. Eric Holcomb said on Friday afternoon that the bill was not on his agenda.

Bill is a ‘gut punch,’ LGBTQ advocates say

LGBTQ advocates in Indiana said they were bracing for the bill to be introduced in the Hoosier state but it was still a “gut punch,” said Chris Paulsen, chief executive officer of the Indiana Youth Group. IYG serves LGBTQ+ youth, providing a safe space, supporting self-empowerment and advocating for affirming communities.

“The damage even having the bill introduced will cause to young people is immeasurable,” Paulsen said. “We will see youth die by suicide because of this. I think it’s that dire and I’m sad that lawmakers don’t realize their actions have really bad consequences, even if the bill doesn’t pass.”

Paulsen said that LGBTQ+ youth often struggle with their mental health, particularly when they don’t have a safe and affirming space. One in four young people are kicked out of their homes when they come out to their families, she said and two of three still in their homes after coming out feel unsafe. Last year, the group served 440 LGBTQ+ youth that were in need of food, housing or clothing assistance. School may be the only safe and affirming place for some LGBTQ+ young people.

Culture wars here to stay at Statehouse

The mention of a “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Indiana is raising concerns that the legislative session will be dominated by culture war issues for the second year in a row. Bills targeting discussions of race and history in classrooms, sexually-explicit content in school library books and transgender students participating in school sports drew protests and prompted hours-long hearings dominated largely by those opposed to the measures.

Sen. J.D. Ford, an Indianapolis Democrat and the Statehouse’s first openly gay member, said the Florida bill was divisive and urged lawmakers to keep culture war issues at bay.

“We have so many more priorities in our state to deal with,” he said, “I don’t think that rises to the level of importance.”

Behning said he did not know legislation similar to the “anti-CRT” or “divisive concept” bills that failed last year would come back but does expect a bill banning books with sexually-explicit content from school libraries to come back.

Continue ReadingIndiana lawmakers to consider ‘don’t say gay’ legislation in 2023

Bloomington Drag Queen Story Hour Recieves Violent Threats

Shared From: VinePair: “The Culture War Has Come to Craft Brewing. Time to Pick a Side.”

WORDS: DAVE INFANTE

The threats started pouring into Switchyard Brewing Company last Friday in earnest. People whipped into a frenzy by local and national right-wing agitators on social media bombarded the Bloomington, Ind., craft brewery via email and phone. Accusations flew foul and furious.

“You name it, we heard it,” Kurtis Cummings, the brewery’s founder, tells Hop Take in a phone interview. “People stating that there would be huge crowds protesting this event, that we’re indoctrinating children, that we’re pedo[file]s, that we’d better make [admission] 18 and over or bad things are gonna happen.”

“Shut it down,” they told Cummings about the family-friendly drag brunch the brewery had scheduled for this past Sunday, its fourth such event. “Or else.”

One of the leading lies enraging the nation’s red-assed bullies these days is the manufactured moral panic — spoon-fed to them by Tucker Carlson, the Facebook algorithm, and the guy who owns Twitter — that drag queens are sexual predators engaged in a nefarious, wide-ranging plot to “groom” children for illegal pedophilic relationships. There’s no evidence for this, of course; it’s just a convenient, homo- and transphobic myth with which conservative kingmakers focus the base’s Eye of Sauron upon challengers to the status quo. False though it is, it’s a powerful call to arms in the deliberately relentless right-wing war on the LGBTQ+ community in general and trans people in particular. As such, reactionaries radicalized online march on venues both public and private that have the temerity to host drag brunches, advertise their allyship on social media, or even simply offer gender-neutral bathrooms.

Craft breweries, which have often marketed themselves as progressive, inclusive, community-oriented oases, tend to do all these things. Unfortunately, there may come a day when the culture war arrives at their taproom doors, like it did at Switchyard’s this past weekend. Now, not then, it’s time to decide what their values are and how to live them — and to prepare accordingly.

“I’m a person who prepares for the worst and hopes for the best in pretty much everything in my life,” says Marley Rall, the founder of the Brewmaster’s Taproom in Renton, Wash. “But never once [did I ask myself] what’s your plan for when people decide that they want to shoot at your business because you have a human being reading books to children?” Last week, right around the time Cummings & co. started getting inbound pressure in Bloomington, someone appears to have done just that, firing a round through the front window of the kid- and dog-friendly craft beer bar Rall and her team have operated in the Seattle suburb since 2016. The attack followed rising online furor among local right-wing groups about the drag queen story hour she’d scheduled for this past Saturday.

Brewmaster’s Taproom has hosted similar events for the past year and a half, eliciting just a handful of angry phone calls or emails, says the founder, speaking to Hop Take by phone. But in a sign of the times, this past weekend’s event drew “hundreds of phone calls, tons of emails,” and a bullet.

The stakes could not be higher, nor the urgency. Just last month, a shooter killed five people at Colorado Springs’ Club Q in an attack that appears to be motivated by the sexual orientation of the LGBTQ+ venue’s patrons and staff. (Incidentally, it was the co-founder of a local craft brewery, Atrevida Beer Company, who heroically helped take down the attacker.) It was a vile act of violence, with echoes of the hateful 2016 slaughter at Orlando gay club Pulse that claimed 49 lives. But given the right-wing punditry’s ongoing project to paint LGBTQ+ people as perverted political enemies of heteronormative American life, it’s unsurprising. The beer industry must take note. If right-wing activists are willing to call in bomb threats on a children’s hospital, harass parents at public libraries, and murder members of the queer community and their allies in private venues, they’ll be willing to do the same to a craft brewery — or worse.

Thankfully, at both Switchyard and Brewmaster’s Taproom, the crowds of community supporters who took up positions outside the businesses seemed to deter counter-protesters on the day of the events. “I think a lot of people drove by, saw how much support we had, and chose not to stop,” says Rall. In Bloomington, home to Indiana University and holder of a perfect LGBTQ+ rating from the Human Rights Commission, Cummings saw a few “‘Proud Boys’ or protesters, complainants, whatever you want to call them,” sitting in their vehicles outside the brewery, but that was about it. He’s relieved that the day wound up being “anti-climatic.” In Renton, Rall has a plate-glass window with a bullet hole to replace, which will cost her a paycheck this month. “It’s part of choosing to be a business owner, those are decisions you shouldn’t go into lightly,” she says.

Having stood firm with their communities in the face of their respective reactionary backlashes, I asked Cummings and Rall for their advice to peers across the craft brewing industry who may find themselves on the receiving end of attacks from the United States’ increasingly unhinged right wing in the future. Both emphasized that credible, specific, localized threats to staff and performer safety had to be handled with much more caution than the generalized vitriol flowing in from around the country. (As I’ve argued before, craft brewing workers who feel like their bosses aren’t prioritizing their well-being in decision making regarding drag events or anything else should unionize with the quickness.)

They also warned that right-wingers would try to to frame breweries’ decisions to host queer-friendly events as politically and financially self-serving. Conservative operatives tried to paint Switchyard’s event as a launchpad for Cummings’ “Democrat” political ambitions (he ran and lost a challenger campaign for state representative this year against an otherwise unopposed 12-year Republican incumbent, and characterizes himself as a political centrist), and alleged the shot fired into Brewmaster’s Taproom was a false-flag event orchestrated by Rall to drum up business (she denies this, noting the sales revenue from the event fell short of the cost of the window.) The concept of monetizing victimhood is a popular conservative fiction — “Soros hires protesters” et al. — and Republican foes in the craft beer business can expect similar attacks.

As far as tactical advice, Cummings says, “the No. 1 thing to do is develop a plan” for emergencies that might arise from that decision, from nasty phone calls to threats of immediate physical harm. Distribute it carefully, the former first responder tells Hop Take. “Share it with local [law enforcement] agencies, share it with the staff, share it with performers. Do not share it on the internet, because you don’t want the bad guys to know what you’re preparing.” Rall tells Hop Take that building community relationships — something many craft breweries already do in the course of normal business as both a moral and economic imperative — is vital. Being raised Jewish in Hawaii, a state where less than 1 percent of the population identifies as Jewish, taught her the importance of “supporting others, because everybody at some point in life is going to be in need of help and support.” “Make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons, and your community will see that and be there for you,” she adds. Rall considers drag events a non-negotiable part of operating a local business, but cautions against craft breweries doing them as one-offs. “This is not just a flash-in-the-pan situation.”

Cummings agrees. “You need to take a deep dive into what your business’s guiding principles are, and what you stand for.” If being a “change agent” is part of a brewery’s mission, go forth — but know that change is hard, and its opponents violent.

This is an unfortunate but clarifying crucible for the industry. The progressive values so many craft breweries profess (and that most, I think, genuinely believe!) have never been this crosswise with such a volatile, violent sociopolitical force as the contemporary American right. Frankly, the industry has not always lived up to those values: Even after 2021’s “reckoning,” the industry is still mostly white and male, with transgressors being quietly welcomed back into the fold after making minimal amends. But what’s past is prologue, as they say. Now that the culture war rages right outside the taproom door, brewery owners, workers, and customers face a serious choice. Should they tone down their programming and support in the face of hatred and ignorance? Or make the emergency plans, invest the extra money on security, spend a few hours on a weekend to show up in force and safeguard their local queer communities and themselves?

Craft breweries of all sizes, in all markets, have long held themselves out as beacons of progress and bastions of tolerance. Now they must decide whether those things are truly worth fighting for — and if so, they must make clear-eyed preparations for the battle before it arrives.

Continue ReadingBloomington Drag Queen Story Hour Recieves Violent Threats

Zionsville school board candidate says ‘All Nazis weren’t ‘bad” in social media post

From the IndyStar:

Claire Rafford
Indianapolis Star

Corrections & clarifications: A previous version of this article misstated the title of Professor Günther Jikeli. He is the associate director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University Bloomington.

On Monday evening, Dr. Matt Keefer, a candidate running for a seat on the Zionsville Community Schools Board of Trustees, posted a now-deleted comment to Facebook that said, “All Nazis weren’t ‘bad,’ as you specify,'” while going on to compare those who joined the Nazi Party to those who got vaccinated, wore masks and practiced social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The comments, including most of the replies, have since been deleted from Keefer’s campaign Facebook page. The page has also limited who can comment on posts.

“They did horrible things,” Keefer continued. “They were in a group frenzy in both cases you site (sic). Who is to say if we were both there in the same place and same time, that we wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

School board races this election season have gained a lot of attention across the nation.

The Zionsville Community Schools Board of Trustees has five seats, three of which are up for election, including one at-large position. Keefer is running against Sarah Esterline Sampson and Christy Wessel-Powell for that seat.

In at-large races, candidates can run regardless of where they live in the district, and everyone in the district can vote for the seat.

Keefer, who isn’t currently a school board member, started attending school board meetings last year to express his opinions against masking in schools.

He wrote the Monday comment on a post from Sept. 21 in response to a comment from a profile using the username Mike Harris, with whom Keefer was in a discussion about how to improve the schools in Zionsville’s district.

Harris’ profile says that they are not using their real name but that they are a “lifelong resident of Boone County.” IndyStar reached out to the Mike Harris profile for more information, but they did not immediately respond.

The Harris username asked Keefer for clarification on what would be considered “indoctrination” for teachers in the Zionsville Community Schools district, including teaching students that all Nazis are bad.

In response to Keefer’s comment, the Harris profile said, “You won’t even say all Nazis are bad? What the living hell is wrong with you? Sorry, you Nazi sympathizer, you lost my vote.”

‘Nobody was forced’ to join the Nazi Party
Keefer told IndyStar on Wednesday that he was “not a fan of Nazis.” The leaders of the Nazi Party were “definitely bad people, but that doesn’t mean the common folk that were required to join the party were all evil,” he said.

“When they say all Nazis were evil, they’re talking about anybody in Germany during that time, all of them were evil people,” he said. “My statement was … the entire population of Germany was not evil Nazis even though they joined the Nazi Party.”

Professor Günther Jikeli, associate director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University Bloomington, said that it is not true that people were required to join the Nazi Party. Some joined because they believed in Nazi ideology, some joined because they thought it would be better for their careers, Jikeli said, but no one was compelled to join the party.

“Nobody was forced,” Jikeli said. “Nobody would go to prison if they would not turn up to the Nazi Party.”

An estimated 6 million Jewish people and millions of other people were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website, under a section of Frequently Asked Questions, said that “the German people were not brainwashed, nor were any of the Nazis’ collaborators.”

“Millions of ordinary people witnessed the crimes of the Holocaust — in the countryside and city squares, in stores and schools, in homes and workplaces,” the website said. “The Holocaust happened because of millions of individual choices.”

The museum’s information said “there was a great deal of pressure to conform,” and that hateful, antisemitic Nazi propaganda was spread and taught in schools.

“The government arrested political opponents or members of the press who criticized Hitler or the Nazi Party,” the FAQ said. “They were put in jails and concentration camps. Few people were brave enough to publicly speak out or to help Jews, especially when they could be arrested or killed for doing so.”

Comparisons should not be made to Nazism, experts say
Keefer, an anesthesiologist, went on to pose a comparison between people in the Nazi Party and people he perceived as being militantly in favor of strict COVID-19 restrictions.

“It’s judging people in the past by today’s standards.” Keefer continued in the same comment. “In 10 years, we may look at covid the same way. The people that hated the unvaxxed and hoped they died, the people that lost their jobs because they wouldn’t get vaccinated, the people who thought everyone should stay 6 feet apart, wear masks, and save some unknown 95 year old from dying by staying locked in their home.

“History should be taught, but remember the old saying. History is written by the victors.”

Keefer’s comments drew ire from other commenters, including Harris, on the post and online.

“The holocaust was GENOCIDE of a group of people simply based on the fact they were Jewish,” username Madalyn Stancik commented. “People having to get vaccinated for work is in no universe the same thing.”

Jikeli cautioned against comparing anything to the events of the Holocaust, and the atrocities perpetuated by the Nazis.

“There are few things that you can really compare to what happened and what Nazism was responsible for,” he said.

Keefer said, “there are similarities but I wouldn’t say it’s even close to exactly the same thing” when asked if he was trying to draw a comparison between Nazis and those who wore masks, got vaccinated and followed government recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The comparison I was trying to make is all those things that I said in the statement you read happened,” he said. “I saw people wishing ill health or no medical care for people that wouldn’t get vaccinated.”

The Holocaust Museum condemns comparing modern events to Nazism: “Comparing contemporary situations to Nazism is not only offensive to its victims, but it is also inaccurate and misrepresents both Holocaust history and the present. The Holocaust should be remembered, studied, and understood so that we can learn its lessons; it should not be exploited for opportunistic purposes.”

When asked how he would respond to a Jewish person seeing his comment regarding Nazis, Keefer said, “the Holocaust is one of the worst things in the history of the world.”

“I support Jewish people, especially those that had ancestors that had to go through that,” he said. “I am not any such person that denies reported history.”

Jikeli said that “there is a general lack of understanding about Nazism.”

“So many people think that only Hitler and a few crazy people were responsible for the atrocities in the name of Nazism,” he said. “But it’s not true. It was a mass movement and many people were implicated. That doesn’t mean that every party member did some action beyond being a party member, thereby supporting the party.”

Jikeli added that the Nazis were not shy about spreading their hateful and antisemitic beliefs. Even at the time, it was clear what the Nazi Party stood for, he said.

“They were clearly accusing Jews of all crimes, taking measures against them,” he said.

Debbie Ungar, who currently holds the at-large seat on the Zionsville Community Schools Board but is not running for re-election, mentioned Keefer’s comments in a Facebook post urging people to vote.

“Today one of these candidates actually posted that ‘All Nazis weren’t ‘bad,”” she said. “The level of educational success and quality teaching that we currently enjoy is not guaranteed and good teachers have many other opportunities.”

More education needed
Amber Maze, Holocaust and human rights associate for the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council, said that though Indiana has a Holocaust education mandate, it’s not enough.

“It’s because of this lack of understanding, lack of awareness of what the Holocaust was about, what role ordinary German citizens played, what role Nazis played, that you get end up getting comments like this,” Maze said.

Another commenter, under username Brad Sullivan, wrote that on a visit to the concentration camp Dachau, they did not come away with the opinion that all Nazis weren’t bad.

“I came away with an awareness of what backward thinking, misunderstanding of science and authoritarian attitudes can ultimately bring to a society,” they wrote.

Keefer’s father served in World War II and fought on D-Day, which Keefer said impacted his perspective on history.

“He saw more than you did on your visit,” he said in a Facebook comment responding to Sullivan. “He didn’t hate all Nazis. There were certainly evil Nazis. There were also good people that had to be Nazis (or they would have been killed). Grouping all people as you are doing is a slippery slope. Have you ever heard the term Mass Formation Psychosis? Look it up and learn about it.”

“Mass formation psychosis” is a term that gained popularity when Dr. Robert Malone used it in an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

Malone used this term to cast doubt on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and claimed that the so-called mass psychosis resulted in a “third of the population basically being hypnotized” into trusting the mainstream media and Dr. Anthony Fauci. He then went on to explain that the concept also explained the environment in Nazi Germany, the AP reported.

However, psychology experts told the Associated Press the term is not used in professional academic circles and is similar to other concepts like “mob mentality” that have been widely discredited by decades of research on group behavior. It does not appear in the American Psychological Association’s Dictionary of Psychology.

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Reference link: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2022/10/21/zionsville-school-board-candidate-says-all-nazis-werent-bad/69574142007/

Continue ReadingZionsville school board candidate says ‘All Nazis weren’t ‘bad” in social media post

Sponsor’s threat to drop Pendleton Pride forces removal of drag queens from story hour

Rory Appleton & Rachel Fradette, Indianapolis Star

An Anderson nonprofit threatened to pull its support from this weekend’s Pendleton Pride celebration unless an event featuring drag queens reading to children was removed, forcing organizers to rearrange the story time plans to ensure the celebration could take place.

In a Sept. 22 news release, Intersect Inc. said it spoke to the Pendleton Pride committee and agreed to remain a sponsor “if the committee discontinues the queens reading to the children.”

“This is not something Intersect can support at this time,” the release read. “Intersect is a prevention agency. The mission is promoting, encouraging, and empowering our community for healthy living.”

It’s unclear why exactly the reading event prompted Intersect to want to back out. Intersect did not respond to a request for further explanation on why they wouldn’t support the event if drag queens were involved in the reading hour. Intersect was also a sponsor of last year’s Pendleton Pride festival.

The event, scheduled to take place noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at Falls Park in Pendleton, is in its second year.

In a Sept. 23 Facebook post, Pendleton Pride acknowledged it would change its program by having LGBTQ community members host story time, not drag queens. The drag queens are still scheduled to perform a separate show at Pride.

“Sometimes progress comes fast, but most often progress is gained slowly and through intense conversations,” the post read.

The organizers explained that Intersect’s sponsorship included providing the insurance for the event, and there was not enough time to find a replacement. Without insurance, Pride could not go on, per Pendleton Parks Department rules. All events held at the park require liability insurance, Robyn Axel-Adams, one of Pendleton Pride’s organizers, said. Pendleton’s parks director could not be reached by IndyStar.

“We tried really hard to think outside the box and could we come up with some other things,” Axel-Adams said.

The group connected with Indiana Youth Group who aided in finding alternatives, offering to be Pendleton Pride’s insurance sponsor. But switching insurance companies last minute would have halted Pride altogether, Axel-Adams said, and they felt it was more important to find a way to have Pride.

“We didn’t also want the LGBTQ and allies community to feel that we had abandoned them that we had given up,” Axel-Adams said. “We fought.”

In statement, Intersect says its work has ‘no political agenda’
In a statement sent to IndyStar Thursday by Intersect’s Executive Director Karesa Knight-Wilkerson, the organization said it had much to learn from those for and against this event and its sponsorship. It’s unclear what prompted these additional comments, which mirrored a Sept. 23 post on the organization’s Facebook page.

“We are committed to further understanding all viewpoints regarding this as well as work with the LGBTQ+ community to educate ourselves,” the statement reads. “We are committed to our sponsorship and look forward to participating on Saturday.”

According to Intersect’s website, the nonprofit is a coalition of community stakeholders formed in 2002 to combat youth smoking in Madison County. Its focus has since grown to include combating alcohol and drug use among children. It operates with funding from two government grants: Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency (ITPC) and the Federal Drug Free Communities Grant.

The nonprofit said it viewed Pendleton Pride as a way for Intersect and other vendors to provide information on smoking and other health issues to the LGBTQ community, which the organization called “a culture that has been elusive to reach.”

“We must be equitable, meaning we have to support everyone where they are,” the organization said in its Sept. 22 news release. “It’s within the strategic plan to be involved with all groups and all that that may entail in order to provide prevention information on alcohol, tobacco/nicotine, and other drugs as well as mental health prevention messaging.”

It further emphasized that Intersect reaches out to all “with no political agenda.”

According to a study from the Office of Health Policy, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, LGBTQ individuals experience higher uninsured rates, are more likely to delay care or be concerned about medical bill cost and are less likely to have a usual source of care than non-LGBTQ people.

There is also a nationwide lack of health care professionals adequately trained in providing culturally competent care, the study noted.

Local church pushes for Pride’s end
At least one local organization has actively pushed for the cancellation of not just the story time but the entire event.

Life Church’s Pendleton campus put a call out to residents to oppose Pendleton Pride. Lead pastor Nathan Peternel verified a Facebook post from pastor Ross Steele asking for anyone upset with Pendleton Pride to join him at a Wednesday meeting held by the town’s Board of Parks and Recreation and voice their opposition.

“It’s really not a super shocking thing that people who believe in the Bible as the authoritative word of God would be opposed to such an event,” Peternel said in an interview.

The church is against sex trafficking and sexual abuse, Peternel said, adding that he was concerned about the children in attendance and that the event may be a form of “grooming,” a term often linked to abuse.

According to RAINN, grooming is a tool used by abusers to manipulate potential victims and coerce them into agreeing to the abuse. Nationally, misinterpretation of the term has been used against LGBTQ+ people, promoting an inaccurate stigma of inappropriate relationships with children in the community.

Peternel referred to homosexuality as “not healthy and not what God wants.” He added that all sex outside of marriage is a sin, and it was the church’s responsibility to remind the community of what is moral.

“That may sound archaic, but that doesn’t change God’s word,” he said. “I live in Pendleton, and I don’t want this here.”

Peternel said he was also concerned about “lewdness” in a public park.

At the board meeting Wednesday, Axel-Adams said members of the church did ask questions, but the parks board told attendees they have to remain neutral because it’s a public park. The event will still take place Saturday.

School district removed Pride flags
The forced changes to Pendleton Pride are not the first hurdle imposed on the local LGBTQ community in Madison County.

In 2021, students concerned over the forced removal of Pride flags from several classrooms at Pendleton Heights High School collected nearly 3,000 signatures on a petition asking the South Madison Community School Corporation. The district maintained teachers must remain neutral and not engage in political speech.

Reece Axel-Adams, whose pronouns are they/them, was a junior at the time and is the child of Robyn Axel-Adams. They told IndyStar in 2021 the flags helped classmates feel seen while at school.

“I remember walking by (a teacher’s) classroom, glancing at it and just being happy,” Axel-Adams said. “I knew we had an ally here at the school.”

They eventually spoke to the school board on behalf of the petition.

Superintendent Mark Hall stressed the district “celebrates all its students and does not tolerate harassment or discrimination based on any protected class” in an emailed statement to IndyStar in 2021.

Hall did not respond to an email inquiry sent Wednesday asking whether the district had an official position on either the drag story time event or Pendleton Pride as a whole.

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Reference: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2022/09/30/pendleton-pride-sponsor-threatens-to-pull-support-over-drag-queen-story-hour/69525930007/

Continue ReadingSponsor’s threat to drop Pendleton Pride forces removal of drag queens from story hour

Indiana AG Todd Rokita files appeal on injunction of transgender sports ban law

Caroline Beck – Indianapolis Star

TAG: House Bill 1024

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced on Thursday that he filed an appeal of a district court’s preliminary injunction that blocked enforcement of Indiana’s transgender sports ban.

Rokita filed his appeal on Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit saying that House Bill 1041 does not violate Title IX protections, which he says only mentions protections of “sex” and not “gender identity.”

“And in prohibiting ‘discrimination’ and exclusion from activities on the ‘basis of sex,’ Congress did not require schools to blind themselves to sex-based differences that affect athletic performance and safety,” reads the appeal.

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana Jane Magnus-Stinson issued the preliminary injunction in July which allowed a 10-year-old girl at the heart of the legal challenge against a state ban targeting transgender athletes to rejoin her softball team.

The lawsuit claimed a new Indiana law banning transgender students from participating in all-female school sports amounts to discrimination under federal law guaranteeing equal access to education and educational programs. The law took effect July 1.

Rokita said in an emailed statement that allowing transgender athletes to compete alongside cis-gender female student-athletes is an “assault on girls’ equality of opportunity and even their physical safety.”

“Males possess certain physiological advantages that make them faster and stronger,” Rokita said. “And it’s unconscionable to ignore these scientific realities. The Left must stop sacrificing women’s well-being on the altar of transgender woke-ism.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is who filed the original lawsuit against the Indianapolis Public School district which is where the 10-year-old’s softball team is located.

The ACLU of Indiana declined IndyStar’s request for comment on Thursday.

The plaintiff, who filed the lawsuit under her initials A.M., began identifying as a girl before she was four years old, according to Magnus-Stinson’s order. Her birth-assigned sex was male, Magnus-Stinson wrote, but in 2021 a state court changed the gender marker on her birth certificate to female.

The judge’s order only applies to the case of the 10-year-old.

The law was passed by both chambers in the state legislature earlier this year. Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, wrote the bill that became law. On the Statehouse floor, she said it was written to “maintain fair competition in girls’ sports now and in the future.”

Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed the bill in March. He said it attempted to target a problem that doesn’t exist in Indiana.

“It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met,” Holcomb wrote in a letter explaining his veto. “After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the overall goal.”

Both the state House and Senate overrode Holcomb’s veto in May, clearing the way for the law to take effect in July.

Advocates for the LGBTQ community have criticized the law, saying it is discriminatory and could further marginalize an already-vulnerable population of children who want to fit in and play sports with their friends.

IndyStar reporter Johnny Magdaleno contributed to this reporting.

Reference: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2022/09/08/todd-rokita-files-appeal-on-injunction-of-transgender-sports-law/66846636007/

Continue ReadingIndiana AG Todd Rokita files appeal on injunction of transgender sports ban law

Indianapolis man sentenced in 2020 murder of transgender woman

Author: WTHR.com staff

According to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, 39-year-old Sara Blackwood was walking home from work on the city’s near east side when she was shot and killed.

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 55 years for the murder of a transgender woman in October 2020 on the city’s near east side.

According to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, 39-year-old Sara Blackwood was walking home from work on Oct. 11, 2020, in the 2600 block of East Washington Street, near North Rural Street, when she was shot and killed. She was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries.

Investigators identified Johnny Viverette as a suspect based on video footage from nearby businesses. IMPD arrested Viverette less than one month after the shooting.

After pleading guilty to murder, Viverette received a 55-year sentence with 45 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, followed by two years of probation.

“Sara Blackwood’s life was tragically cut short while simply walking home from work. She was beloved by coworkers and friends for her thoughtful and curious spirit,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. “We hope that this resolution brings closure to Sara Blackwood’s family, friends and all those affected by her death.”

People experiencing fear, trauma and other concerns as a result of this incident are encouraged to seek assistance.

In Indianapolis, Gender Nexus and Indiana Youth Group, for people 21 and under, provide support services to the local community.

For immediate assistance, the national 24/7 hotlines are available through the Trans Lifeline (1-877-565-8860) and the Trevor Lifeline for people 25 years old and under (1-866-488-7386 or text the word START to 678678).

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Reference: https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/indianapolis-man-sentenced-55-years-murder-transgender-woman-sara-blackwood/531-60bf7375-1957-441b-ac38-f228d91562e7

Continue ReadingIndianapolis man sentenced in 2020 murder of transgender woman

Judge says 10-year-old girl can rejoin softball team in blow to transgender sports ban

Johnny Magdaleno – Indianapolis Star

A federal judge has ordered that Indianapolis Public Schools must allow a 10-year-old girl at the heart of a legal challenge against a state ban targeting transgender athletes to rejoin her softball team.

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana Jane Magnus-Stinson issued the preliminary injunction Tuesday in response to a lawsuit against IPS filed by the girl in federal court in May.

The lawsuit claimed a new Indiana law banning transgender students from participating in all-female school sports amounts to discrimination under federal law guaranteeing equal access to education and educational programs. The law took effect July 1.

A spokesperson for IPS told IndyStar it will comply with the court’s order.

“We will continue to support our students, including our transgender students, with the same care and attention we’ve demonstrated prior to the passage of (the law) and the filing of the current lawsuit,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The plaintiff, who filed the lawsuit under her initials A.M., began identifying as a girl before she was four years old, according to Magnus-Stinson’s order. Her birth-assigned sex was male, Magnus-Stinson wrote, but in 2021 a state court changed the gender marker on her birth certificate to female.

The judge’s order only applies to the case of the 10-year-old.

In a Tuesday statement the ACLU of Indiana’s legal director Ken Falk said the legal organization was “pleased” by the decision. They filed the lawsuit on behalf of A.M.

When misinformation about biology and gender is used to bar transgender girls from school sports it amounts to the same form of sex discrimination that has long been prohibited under Title IX, a law that protects all students – including trans people – on the basis of sex,” Falk said.

The law was passed by both chambers in the state legislature earlier this year. Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, wrote the bill that became the law. On the Statehouse floor she said it was written to “maintain fair competition in girls’ sports now and in the future.”

Advocates for the LGBTQ community criticized the law, saying it would further marginalize an already-vulnerable population of children who want to fit in and play sports with their friends.

Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed the bill in March. He said it attempted to target a problem that doesn’t exist in Indiana.

“It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met,” Holcomb wrote in a letter explaining his veto. “After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the overall goal.”

Both the state House and Senate overrode Holcomb’s veto in May, clearing the way for the law to take effect earlier this month.

Magnus-Stinson wrote Tuesday that she was granting the preliminary injunction because A.M. “has a likelihood ofsucceeding on the merits of her claim” that the state law violates her civil rights guaranteed under federal law. She also said there wasn’t evidence the public would experience harm if she issued an injunction.

A.M.’s lawsuit challenging the law is ongoing.

IndyStar reporter Arika Herron contributed.

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Reference: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2022/07/26/indiana-transgender-sports-ban-judge-says-girl-can-rejoin-softball/65383081007/

Continue ReadingJudge says 10-year-old girl can rejoin softball team in blow to transgender sports ban

House Bill 1041 – Indiana General Assembly 2022 Session

House Bill 1041 – Indiana General Assembly 2022 Session

01/04/2022 Authored by Representative Michelle Davis

Co-Authored by Rep. Chris Jeter, Rep. Joanna King, Rep. Robert Heaton.
Sponsored by Sen. Stacey Donato, Sen. Jean Leising, Sen. Jack Sandlin, Sen. Dennis Kruse, Sen. Gary Byrne, Sen. Blake Doriot, Sen. Michael Young.

Digest
Participation in school sports. Requires, for purposes of interscholastic athletic events, school corporations, public schools, nonpublic schools, and certain athletic associations to expressly designate an athletic team or sport as one of the following: (1) A male, men’s, or boys’ team or sport. (2) A female, women’s, or girls’ team or sport. (3) A coeducational or mixed team or sport. Prohibits a male, based on the student’s biological sex at birth in accordance with the student’s genetics and reproductive biology, from participating on an athletic team or sport designated as being a female, women’s, or girls’ athletic team or sport. Requires school corporations, public schools, certain nonpublic schools, and certain athletic associations to: (1) establish and maintain grievance procedures; or (2) maintain grievance or protest procedures established before July 1, 2022; for a violation of these provisions. Establishes a civil action for a violation of these provisions. Provides that school corporations, public schools, certain nonpublic schools, and certain athletic associations are not subject to liability in a civil, administrative, disciplinary, or criminal action for acting in compliance with these provisions.

Actions for House Bill 1041

H01/04/2022 Authored by Representative Davis
H01/04/2022 Coauthored by Representatives Jeter, King, Heaton
H01/04/2022 First reading: referred to Committee on Education
H01/24/2022 Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
H01/26/2022 Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed
H01/26/2022 Amendment #1 (Davis) prevailed; voice vote
H01/26/2022 Amendment #3 (DeLaney) motion withdrawn
H01/27/2022 Third reading: passed; Roll Call 135: yeas 66, nays 30
H01/27/2022 Senate sponsor: Senator Donato
H01/28/2022 Referred to the Senate
S02/07/2022 First reading: referred to Committee on Education and Career Development
S02/14/2022 Senator Leising added as second sponsor
S02/14/2022 Senator Sandlin added as third sponsor
S02/14/2022 Senator Kruse added as cosponsor
S02/17/2022 Committee report: do pass, adopted
S02/21/2022 Senator Byrne added as cosponsor
S02/22/2022 Second reading: ordered engrossed
S02/22/2022 Amendment #3 (Ford J.D.) failed; Roll Call 223: yeas 13, nays 35
S02/22/2022 Amendment #1 (Ford J.D.) failed; Roll Call 224: yeas 11, nays 37
S02/22/2022 Amendment #2 (Ford J.D.) failed; Roll Call 225: yeas 16, nays 33
S02/24/2022 Senator Doriot added as cosponsor
S02/28/2022 Senator Young M added as cosponsor
S03/01/2022 Third reading: passed; Roll Call 278: yeas 32, nays 18
S03/02/2022 Returned to the House without amendments
H03/04/2022 Signed by the Speaker
S03/07/2022 Signed by the President Pro Tempore
S03/15/2022 Signed by the President of the Senate
H03/21/2022 Vetoed by the Governor
H05/24/2022 Veto overridden by the House; Roll Call 402: yeas 67, nays 28
S05/24/2022 Veto overridden by the Senate; Roll Call 382: yeas 32, nays 15
H05/27/2022 Public Law 177

Continue ReadingHouse Bill 1041 – Indiana General Assembly 2022 Session