In the news of late:
The University of Central Florida Police conducted training for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Orlando Police Department on how to be respectful of members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Lieutenant Brandon Ragan with the OCSO said this: “It just gives them that sense of, you know, peace and acknowledgement, you know, that ‘They really do care how I identify and they do.’ That starts that respecting back and forth when you’re trying to build a rapport.”
Officers learned about the importance of respecting people’s pronoun preferences as well as other important aspects of interaction.
Read about this training, and access the program’s information, here.
In less feel-good news, unfortunately many states continue to ramp up their attacks on the transgender community. Florida governor DeSantis is working to ban care for transgender youth, following in the footsteps of other states such as Texas (whose law currently stands) and Alabama (whose law has been temporarily blocked in court).
Additionally, in a particulary gross and upsetting turn of events, Ohio legislators have approved a measure allowing “genital inspection” of athletes “suspected” of being transgender.
This Salon article discusses these and other recent acts of anti-trans bigotry.
While it’s important to celebrate the victories it’s also important to stay vigilant and continue to stand up for and protect our trans community every day.
Guide to Creating Safe and Welcoming Schools 