Issue Highlights
Can humans ever understand how animals think? | Animals | The Guardian
A flood of new research is overturning old assumptions about what animal minds are and aren’t capable of – and changing how we think about our own species
Progressive poll finds Floridians opposed to bans on LGBTQ books, DEI programs
Cedar Key Progress, a liberal political committee that just sponsored six “We Say Gay” billboards up around the state, commissioned the survey. The billboards will stand through June, Pride Month
What Grant Making in Russia Taught Us About How to Address the Assault on American Democracy
We know all too well that authoritarianism doesn’t take hold overnight. The first time something as egregious as expelling democratically elected leaders happens, it seems shocking and unprecedented. The next time, however, it no longer seems quite so horrific. Authoritarians will continue to push the line, further and further.
Janet Mock on Self-Care, the WGA Strike, and Her Favorite Emerging Trans Storytellers | Them
The Pose writer-director opens up about her own healing, the WGA strike, and her latest creative calling.
LGBTQ Social Justice
Uganda’s President Signs Punitive Anti-Gay Bill Into Law - The New York Times
President Yoweri Museveni dismissed widespread criticism of the anti-gay measure, which calls for life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality.
Legal challenge hits Uganda's cruel anti-gay law; U.S. weighs travel bans, funding cuts
HRAPF executive director Adrian Jjuuko stated:
“The bill, by criminalizing what we call consensual same-sex activity among adults, basically goes against key provisions of the constitution including violating the right to equality and non-discrimination,(Article 20& 21) of the Constitution, the right to dignity which is under (Article 24) of the constitution, the right to liberty of Ugandans under (Article 23) the right to privacy of every individual under (Article 27) and the right to health.
Biden condemns signing of Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act
Biden in his statement notes he has “directed my National Security Council to evaluate the implications of this law on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda, including our ability to safely deliver services under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other forms of assistance and investments. My administration will also incorporate the impacts of the law into our review of Uganda’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).”
“We are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption,” he said.
Report: Hundreds of LGBTI refugees still at risk in Kenyan refugee camps
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Image from the cover of the report on LGBTI refugees at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Amnesty International and Kenya’s non-governmental National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) have published a joint report on homophobic violence suffered by LGBTI refugees in Kenya.
Over 100 Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws Passed In The Last Five Years — Half Of Them This Year | FiveThirtyEight
while the vast majority of these bills (like most bills) don’t become laws, as the total number of bills has risen, the small percentage that are signed into law amounts to a growing number, too. Heading into 2024, it’s become clear many Republicans view anti-LGBTQ+ policies as a winning position, and state lawmakers have spent the past few years letting those views guide their legislative agenda, leading to a surge in restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights across the country.
LGBTQ+ Equality Support Is at Record High But Troubling Trends Exist: Report
66% of Americans believe that anti-LGBTQ bills and legislation at the state level will lead to increased discrimination and violence against the LGBTQ community,” the “Accelerating Acceptance” report states
The Proud Boys Are Reportedly Planning to Escalate Their Presence During Pride | Them
The watchdog groups were not aware of specific chapters’ plans for “Proud Day” as of last week, only that they expect some kind of escalated activity, and advised general caution.
Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Fox News pundits attack LGBTQ organization which parent company Fox Corp actually supports
if GLSEN is so bad, then why does Fox News' parent company, Fox Corp openly support GLSEN?
Choctaw Nation's highest court affirms same-sex marriage | News | weatherforddemocrat.com
Judges for the Choctaw Nation’s highest court ruled parts of tribal code that prohibited recognition of same-sex marriages unconstitutional, paving the way for a same-sex couple to adopt a child through the tribe’s court system.
Trans Adults in Florida Forced to Seek Care Elsewhere Due to Restrictions
A new law bans gender-affirming health care for minors and requires informed consent from transgender adults seeking gender-affirming health care. Those who are transitioning must also see a doctor in person to oversee their health care. Because many people receive healthcare from nurse practitioners and use telehealth, these rules have proven particularly burdensome. As part of the new law, violating the provisions became a crime.
Opinion | In a deep red Florida county, a student-teacher revolt shames the right - The Washington Post
But the real story of the night was the response. Again and again, parents and students forcefully defended teachers. They cast the right’s attacks, the censoring of educators and the removal of books as the real threats to education.
Seminole schools offer to remove LGBTQ+ pages from high school yearbook – Orlando Sentinel
Seminole County Public Schools is offering to reprint this year’s Lyman High School yearbook and remove two pages for parents upset about LGBTQ+ content, prompting criticism that the district isn’t standing up to bigotry.
The pages highlight the school’s LGBTQ+ community and provide definitions of terms such as genderfluid and pansexual.
Pride celebration organizers grapple with new Florida laws on drag, transgender rights ｜ Orlando Sentinel
stumbling blocks for Pride event organizers in communities large and small across the state
Florida Laws Targeting LGBT Community Stoke Pride Energy, Organizers Say - Towleroad Gay News
Organizers of some LGBT Pride events in Florida are limiting access by minors and increasing security in the face of a slate of new state laws they say unfairly target their community.
But the organizers say the laws are rekindling a defiant energy they hope will help push back against Governor Ron DeSanti
Pride festival will go on in Orlando despite new Florida laws, organizers say
“We feel that, if anything, this is the most critical time for us to gather and bring our community together,” she said. “Folks in our community need to see that they are loved and accepted and welcomed, especially in the city beautiful.”
onePULSE Foundation says it's time to shrink down plans for Pulse museum and memorial ｜ Orlando Sentinel
Bowie said board members decided to push the brakes on the Pulse memorial and museum in late January after learning it could cost as much as $100 million to build the project designed by Coldefy and Orlando-based HHCP Architects in 2019.
Tennessee Sued Over Assault on Trans Health Care
The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund has sued the state of Tennessee over the exclusion of transition-related care from the state’s health insurance plan.
Great Apes & Gibbons
Indonesia, Malaysia deploy ministers to push back on EU palm oil restrictions
Indonesia and Malaysia will send top officials to Brussels to voice concerns over a new regulation that bans the trading of commodities associated with deforestation, including palm oil.
Survival and economics complicate the DRC’s bushmeat and wild animal trade
Activists in Lodja and the DRC are working to save live animals from entering the illicit trade of endangered species and encourage alternative sources of income to the commercial trade of wild meat and animals.
Conservation must acknowledge animal sentience (commentary)
Scientific and philosophical literature has consistently pointed to the quality of sentience as a condition for moral status. Individual animals must be valued as morally relevant actors in our conservation calculations, and it’s time to reorient ourselves to a new conservation ethic that is capable of encompassing this and other value systems: a conservation pluralism.
Philanthropy
Freedom Dreaming: A New Collaborative Invites Philanthropy to Reimagine Itself | Inside Philanthropy
Freedom Dreams in Philanthropy, which describes itself as a collaborative and is actually something quite distinctive in the philanthrosphere, seeks to offer social sector folks a chance to envision what the field could and should be through the lens of their own dreams and imaginings.
Can Philanthropy Ever Truly Be Democratized? Here Are Three Things Standing in the Way | Inside Philanthropy
Here are three of the biggest factors standing in the way of a more democratic philanthrosphere.