Issue Highlights
State legislatures wrap, leaving terror in their wake State legislatures wrap, leaving terror in their wake
“This has escalated very quickly in a couple of years from, ‘oh, well, you know, we just have some concerns about the fairness of trans people who are competing in sports,’ to multiple states passing bathroom bills or considering bathroom bills, multiple states expanding what kinds of gender affirming care they’re considering trying to take off the table,”
GOP-led states are clearing record numbers of anti-LGBTQ bills. Can Biden do anything? ｜ The Kansas City Star
Where the administration can step in, it’s often in conflict with legislation passed at the state level.
How an indigenous group is keeping Indonesia’s rainforest alive - The Washington Post
As global deforestation continues at alarming rates, the empowerment of Indigenous peoples such as the Kajang is emerging as a key way to protect the world’s rainforests. A spate of recent research suggests that when armed with land rights, these communities, whose members manage half the world’s land and 80 percent of its biodiversity, are remarkably effective custodians.
EU parliament passes historic law forcing companies to track deforestation
A law passed by the European Parliament requires companies working in cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood to demonstrate their products aren’t sourced to deforested land or land with forest degradation, or else risk heavy fines.
LGBTQ Social Justice
Ugandan lawmakers approve revised Anti-Homosexuality Bill
The death penalty provision remains, even though Museveni advised lawmakers to repeal it from the original measure.
Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2023 - Williams Institute
On March 21, 2023, the Ugandan Parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality bill, which further criminalizes the identities and behavior of LGBTI people in Uganda. This brief provides scientific research that directly responds to the purported arguments in support of the bill.
Goal: No more money for Ugandan homophobes from UK, US, Ikea, UN and EU
the report by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change (IJSC) found a “staggering” number of connections between anti-LGBTQ+ organisations in Uganda and international aid donors, including the UK.
Anti-trans laws backed by GOP find support in Washington Post-KFF poll - The Washington Post
While a majority of Americans oppose access to puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children and teenagers, for instance, clear majorities also support laws prohibiting discrimination against trans people, including in K-12 schools.
Over half of registered voters say political attacks on trans kids, families are a ‘major problem’: poll | The Hill
The poll found that 57 percent of respondents said the attacks are a major problem, while 26 percent said they are a minor problem. Only 15 percent said they were not a problem, while 3 percent said they were unsure.
‘A country on fire’: New poll finds America polarized over culture, race and ‘woke’
Among those who say they know a transgender person, 67% say society hasn’t gone far enough in accepting transgender people and 25% say society has gone too far.
Among those who say they do not know a transgender person, 57% say society has gone too far, while 34% say it hasn’t gone far enough.
Pride organizers keep eye on drag laws ahead of festivals | AP News
“As soon as this stuff started making its way, I immediately started coming out with plans to be able to counteract that,” said longtime festival organizer Vanessa Rodley. “Because, at the end of the day, we can’t put on an event that then segregates a huge portion of our community, right? We just can’t do that. So you have to find ways around it.”
LGBTQ+ lawmaker to GOP: 'I’m literally trying to exist' | AP News
Rayner-Goolsby is a lawyer currently in a Master of Divinity program who was raised with a strong religious background. She’s also the first Black lesbian lawmaker in the statehouse to be out.
Hundreds of drag queens march on Florida capital to protest anti-LGBTQ legislation | The Hill
The LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida, which helped organize the event, said Tuesday’s protest is the largest of its kind. Organizers said the protest is intended to educate the public about the “rich history of Drag as a form of cultural artistic expression suitable for all ages.”
Florida Republicans pass bills on pronoun usage at schools, ban on diversity programs | AP News
Florida Republicans on Wednesday approved bills to ban diversity programs in colleges and prevent students and teachers from being required to use pronouns that don’t correspond to someone’s sex, building on top priorities of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Florida Passes Bill Allowing Trans Kids to Be Taken From Their Families | The New Republic
Florida courts could modify custody agreements from a different state if the minor is likely to receive gender-affirming care in that second state. The text refers to gender-affirming care as “sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures” and qualifies this care as a form of “physical harm.”
Florida approves bill that allows doctors the right to refuse to treat LGBTQ+ people - Queerty
It allows healthcare providers and insurers the right to refuse patients in line with their conscience. It’s officially called the “Protections of Medical Conscience” Act.
The legislation includes clarification stating healthcare providers cannot turn anyone away based on their “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
Notice what’s missing from that list?
Great Apes & Gibbons
Meet the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners
Delima Silalahi, a community organizer and NGO leader, spearheaded an effort for six Indigenous communities to gain legal guardianship of 7,213 hectares (17,824 acres) of land in the tropical forests of Indonesia’s North Sumatra province.
The North Sumatran forests are biodiversity hotspots and home to many critically endangered species like the Sumatran tiger, orangutan and elephant.
Ground-nesting chimps hold lessons for conservation — and for human evolution
The study also found that chimpanzees were not deterred from ground nesting when they shared space with humans — as long as those humans were not hunting.
Camera trap images of rare gorillas with infants bring hope in DRC
Camera traps in the Tayna Nature Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recorded two mother-infant pairs of eastern lowland gorillas, confirming the presence of healthy family groups in one of their last strongholds.
Philanthropy
Who Is Threatening ‘Philanthropic Freedom?’ - The Center for Effective Philanthropy
must I ascribe the “best intentions” to those philanthropists supporting efforts to deny the reality of climate change or ban the teaching of American history — including its history of racism — in our schools? How about those who seek to deny the humanity of people because of their gender or sexual identity?
It's Time for Philanthropy to Be as Bold as Leaders on the Front Lines of Social Change | Inside Philanthropy
a lack of understanding, or even awareness, of multi-entity work often dominates philanthropy’s internal culture and prevents open and honest communication about the reality of grantee work and needs. Standard grant practices are often far more risk-averse than what the law allows, limiting the impact of grantees’ work to the detriment of us all.
Report Finds Scant Funding for Disability Rights and Social Justice — and Points the Way Forward | Inside Philanthropy
“Foundation Giving for Disability: Priorities and Trends” is the first study of its kind to map philanthropic giving for disability causes.
Meet the Southern warriors for the future we deserve | Commentary and opinion | Features | PND
Organizations like Florida Rising, Florida For All, and Equality Florida are declaring a state of emergency, building coalitions to fight back and protect their communities. Our grantees are showing us how to dig in deeper, build wider, lock arms across sectors and state lines, and act not out of fear but with purpose and clarity, resolution, and hopefulness.
What Does the Appalachian Community Fund Support in the Southeast? | Inside Philanthropy
Important topics for this funder include the promotion of non-violent communities, building inclusive and democratic organizations, and ending racism, sexism, classism, ageism, homophobia and ableism.