Disability protections for transgender people instead of civil rights guarantees under Iowa proposal: Iowans who are transgender would receive legal protections akin to those received by people with physical or mental disabilities, and would not receive protection under the state’s Civil Rights Code, under a proposal being considered by a state House subcommittee. The Gazette reports that the One Iowa activist group labeled the proposal “an insult.”
Americans support public school education about the Holocaust: Providing more education about the Holocaust is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans, regardless of whether they are Jewish, says a new study. At least three-fourths of Americans, and up to nine in 10 of Jewish Americans, said “yes” to not only Holocaust education, but also teaching about antisemitism and Jewish studies, and assessing the effect of those teachings. The American Jewish Committee is releasing these preliminary survey results a day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which happens Jan. 27. Illinois is among 23 states that currently require holocaust education in public schools, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Gen Z identifies more strongly as LGBTQ than any other generation: Among Americans ages 18 to 25, 28 percent identify as LGBTQ, according to a new study by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). That ratio includes 8 percent of Gen Z Americans who identify as “something else” rather than straight, gay or lesbian, or bisexual, reports NBC News. By contrast, 10 percent of Americans overall identify as LGBTQ+. In both measurements, bisexuals account for the majority of those who identify as LGBTQ. The survey features 6,600 participants nationwide in August and September. In addition, the study showed that people of color Gen Z adults are more than three times as likely as white Gen Zers to “experience discrimination based on their race or ethnicity.”
People of color, women less likely to be chosen as “heroes:” White men are predominantly cited by Americans and Britons when they’re asked to name their heroes, according to a new study. Only 31 percent of Americans, and 15 percent of Britons, chose a person of color when asked to name a hero, whether in personal or public life, reports the University of Exeter about the study. And only 20 percent of Americans, and 25 percent of Britons, mentioned a female. In addition, friends and family members were the most common identity for both countries’ heroes, while celebrities were second-most chosen in Britain, and religious figures were second-most chosen in America.
Ohio legislature bans youth gender transition care, sports participation:Â Transgender Ohioans under age 18 will soon be banned from puberty blockers and hormone treatments in addition to surgical gender transition steps, after the Ohio State Legislature voted earlier this week to override its governor’s veto of the bans, reports USA Today. The new law is expected to take effect in April and also bars transgender teens from participating in K-12 and collegiate competitive sports. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, had vetoed the law late last year, banning only gender transition surgery for youth through an executive order. The state’s Republican-controlled House voted last week to override that veto, and the Senate did the same Monday.
(photo credit: Dorian Rhea Debussy at a transgender rights rally in Ohio in 2022, and the interior of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center Remembrance Room, both courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
