Estimated reading time: 5m 10s
|
| |
|
7 stories you might've missed |
The wedding of a queer couple in a small, rural mountain town would have already been momentous, but the nuptials between Spence Puckett and Caleb Platt had a special resonance for their community. They are both drag performers, throwing local events under the names Jean Jacket and Lebia Majora, respectively. During the ceremony, Platt sported a navy blue genderfluid suit with a 20-foot train, which he notes is only five-feet shorter than the one that the late Princess Diana wore to her 1981 wedding. Puckett donned a flowing black suit draped in a feathery red gown, and both of the betrothed wore makeup and shimmering jewels. Their officiant, the drag performer Ivita Nelottovaz, married the couple in glam papal regalia-inspired by the Netflix sitcom “Schitt’s Creek,” except that Moira Rose’s bottom wasn’t visible through the original version of the ensemble. Puckett and Platt knew they were taking a major risk by making the expression of their love so public. The wedding took place five months after Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed a drag ban prohibiting “sexually oriented shows” from being held at schools, libraries, or other forms of public property where children might be present. The law was just the second of its kind in the United States, and critics warned that the vaguely worded legislation could potentially be exploited to target trans and gender non-conforming people just going about their day. Days after the ban was enacted, a Butte library canceled a planned LGBTQ+ history event with Adria Jawort, a Native trans woman. State Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D), Montana’s only out trans elected official, was banned from the state legislature for the remainder of 2023 session after passionately denouncing the statute. Read more from "These drag queens got married to protest Montana’s drag ban and their whole town showed up" by Reckon freelancer Nico Lang, founder of Queer News Daily. |
Body camera footage recently released to the public has ignited a debate over censorship and the role of law enforcement in libraries. The footage shows Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris searching a local library for a young adult novel, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, which he deemed “obscene.” Norris was accompanied by a member of a local citizen’s group, CleanBooks4Kids, advocating the removal of what they consider inappropriate materials from libraries. The footage reveals the sheriff expressing a desire to use the book as part of a “political stunt.” The group’s Facebook account bio reads, “We are a grassroots group that believes the innocence of our children is worth protecting.” This isn’t the first the sheriff has tried to take matters into his own hands. Read more about the "Idaho sheriff who wants to raid your library and decide what you can read" by Reckon's deputy editor, Michelle Zenarosa. |
Recently, South Carolina’s Senate Medical Affairs Committee heard a singular bill that would harm the state’s trans people in a slew of concerning ways. House Bill 4624 seeks to amend the state’s Code of Laws Title 44, which deals with health. Specifically, it seeks to amend the code’s Chapter 42 with efforts to redefine gender, sex and other terms. Starkly, HB 4624 would not only also require schools to disclose a student’s non-cisgender identity to their guardians, but it would also ban the state’s Medicaid program from covering gender-affirming healthcare for trans people under 26. Penalties for healthcare professionals who knowingly treat trans and nonbinary minors would be deemed as “unprofessional conduct and shall be subject to discipline by the licensing entity with jurisdiction over the physician, mental health provider, or other medical health care professional,” ultimately giving the professional’s respective licensing board the power to judge. Read more about how "Not even adults are safe: South Carolina’s new bill could ban trans healthcare for everyone" by Reckon's Denny. |
The Alabama Supreme Court has effectively ended access in the state to IVF, leaving families navigating infertility in limbo. The decision has sent shockwaves across the country. Democratic lawmakers have used the ruling to push for nationwide IVF protections, promoting a bill that Senate Republicans blocked on Wednesday afternoon. President Joe Biden has criticized the decision, and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra traveled to Alabama this week to meet with affected patients. Outside of Alabama, IVF patients have begun to question the security of their own treatment. Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff in a case challenging Texas’ abortion bans, said this week she is moving her frozen embryos in case her state is next to curb access to IVF. But the ruling’s implications outside of Alabama remain uncertain. Legal researchers have their eyes on a handful of states where similar changes could take effect, though it’s unclear when or how that might happen. “It’s always difficult to predict what will happen in other states,” said Sonia Suter, a legal professor and bioethicist at George Washington University. “But there are other states that are very, very conservative that have strong evangelical leanings. You worry about it happening in those states.” Read whether more "States follow Alabama in ending IVF access" from the 19th's Shefali Luthra. Reckon is proud to be part of the 19th News Network. |
More must-read stories from the Reckon team: Migrant advocacy organizationsare praising a federal judge’s decision to block Texas Senate Bill 4, which would have given state police the ability to arrest and deport people suspected of unlawfully crossing from the Mexican border. The killing of a Georgia nursing student by a Venezuelan migrant in February has added more fuel to anti-immigrant rhetoric this election year, with some conservatives seizing an opportunity to introduce stricter border legislation over the last several days. Misleading social media are circulating about the state's abortion laws after an attorney was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years on probation for drugging his wife to try to induce an abortion. Reckon fact-checked the viral claims. |
|
|
Is your utility bill out of control? Let's talk about it. Reckon is partnering with the nonprofit politics and public policy newsroom, Texas Tribune, for an upcoming panel discussion on the intersection of extreme weather, utility rate hikes and quality of life in the U.S.
“Spring Awakening: A look at how climate catastrophe impacts the cost of living,” will feature Reckon climate reporter Christopher Harress, Texas Tribune energy reporter Emily Foxhall, freelancer climate reporter Maya Richard-Craven, and more.
Moderated by Texas Tribune editor Dave Harmon, the panel will focus on the Texas freeze of 2021 and how it reflects the ongoing inequalities that directly reflect climate disaster and its unrelenting impacts on residents. "Spring Awakening" streams live on YouTube on Wednesday, March 13 at 5 p.m. ET. |
Got something you want us to dive into soon? Let us know at newsletters@reckonmedia.com. That's all we've got for this week! The Reckon Team |
|
|
|
