Pride at the Pier 🏳️‍🌈🤝⚧️ he/she/they/xe

Jesse Singal: “I don’t understand why all these experts with degrees keep disagreeing with me. So demoralizing. What could the explanation be??”

Subscribe to Erin In The Morning News and discussion on trans legislation and life. Click to read Erin In The Morning, by Erin Reed, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

10. Lastly, EITM is an award-winning media outlet covering LGBTQ+ news every day. You can subscribe to support our journalism at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.

9. EITM has made numerous requests for comment over the last two weeks. The Mayors Office and H+H have ignored all such requests. NYC Human Rights Commission only said that they could not comment on any investigations.

The Mayor has remained mostly silent on what he can do.

8. There is nothing stopping the mayor from directing his own enforcement agency to move with urgency on its year-old cases, from pursuing parallel action under city law to reinforce the AG's order, or from making the same legal threats James is making.

7. Mamdani also has significant tools with respect to city human rights law enforcement. The NYC Commission on Human Rights, which falls under the mayor's administration, can levy civil penalties of up to $125,000 per violation of the city Human Rights Law.

6. Among the most powerful tools at his disposal: Mamdani can immediately direct NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public hospital system in the country, to absorb transgender youth displaced by the NYU Langone and Mount Sinai closures.

Here's what Zohran Mamdani has promised to do for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers as mayor <p>Here's everything Zohran Mamdani wants to do for LGBTQ+ people in NYC.</p>

5. Now that AG James has acted, many wonder if Mayor Mamdani will follow suit. The mayor ran on a sweeping promise to protect transgender healthcare—pledging $65 million, direct provision of care through the city's public hospital system, and enforcement of city law against hospitals capitulate.

4. "NYU Langone's change in policy is self-imposed; there has been no change in federal law to require the cessation of medically necessary transgender healthcare," says the AG in a letter to NYU Langone.

3. In the immediate aftermath, Democratic politicians across the state with real power to force the hospitals back into compliance failed to act. But that changed last night. Attorney General Letitia James ordered NYU Langone to resume care or face legal action.
www.usnews.com/news/best-st...

2. In the last month, two major hospitals in New York City—NYU Langone and Mount Sinai—have ended their gender-affirming care programs for patients under 19. The decisions are acts of cowardice and capitulation to the Trump administration and violate state and city law.

AG Letitia James Just Stood Up For Trans Youth In New York. Now, Will Mayor Mamdani Act? Attorney General Letitia James has demanded NYU Langone restart care for transgender youth. Will NYC Mayor Mamdani act as well?

1. In a major move, AG Letitia James has given NYU Langone 10 days to resume trans youth care, or face legal consequences.

Now many are asking: Will Mayor Mamdani follow suit and take action to protect trans youth from the Trump administration and capitulation?

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We’ll have more to add but seeing mainstream media report on the ruling without seeming to grasp the facts of the case requires this: this is a specious case given emergency relief on the shadow docket specifically bc it was brought by a dark money funded Christian legal non profit.

BREAKING: We're suing Kansas for a law that invalidates transgender people's updated driver's licenses and authorizes anyone to sue anyone they suspect of being trans for using the "wrong" bathroom.

Fact Check: Jesse Singal Lies About Trans Care At The New York Times The New York Times spreads misinformation about transgender people yet again.

1. The New York Times, unsurprisingly, has released yet another hit piece on transgender people.

This time, it comes from Jesse Singal.

I fact check it in my latest piece.

End your NYT subscription, and put it towards people doing good work on the issue.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

The window for public comment on these proposed rules ends in LESS THAN A DAY, 5pm Eastern (2pm Pacific) TOMORROW, Feb 17th.

Here's a detailed thread on how you can make vital public comment on these proposed rules BEFORE THE WINDOW CLOSES DAY AFTER TOMORROW, Tues Feb 17 at 5pm EST (2pm Pacific):

bsky.app/profile/prid...

GAC update - CHOC/Radys required under TRO to continue most care through Mar 10. This doesn’t include surgeries.

This is an ongoing legal battle & does not mean care is assured long term. Continue to pressure CHOC/Radys to stand by their patients.

#genderaffirmingcare #transrightsarehumanrights

🪡 With that, the board takes a break. The controversial items have been completed on the agenda.

Thanks for joining us tonight - there will be another meeting soon for the second reading of the policy.

🪡 They continue to discuss additional edits to Leandra’s resolution. People are continuing to slowly clear out.

Andy Falco loudly calls out “Political Suicide for Marilyn Anderson” a while before the modified resolution passes.

🪡 Quintero, Buck, and Anderson agree to change the resolution to say the district supports law enforcement that works in partnership with PYLUSD schools.

Frazier and Blades continue to push back, insisting that the resolution should include federal law enforcement, before relenting.

🪡 Anderson speaks longer about more impactful ways the district could support law enforcement if wanted.

Blades says, “well those could be good if we wanted a Law Enforcement Appreciation Resolution but that’s different.”

The resolution they’re discussing is called “In Support of Law Enforcement”.

🪡 A number of the MAGA folks (not an assumption, they’re wearing MAGA attire) who were there support Blades get up and walk out, including the single speaker who spoke in support of the Trump admin investigation into the district’s lack of anti-trans policies.

“We have teachers on social media saying they’ll oppose law enforcement,” says Blades.

Several people shout out comments about how Blades opposed law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6th. Again, confirmed, she’s a proud J6er.

Anderson reminds Blades that her husband is a retired 30-yr cop.

🪡 Frazier and Blades push harder on her resolution, complaining that Quintero removed “federal and state” from the resolution, leaving only local.

Quintero pushes back, highlighting that this is not a board policy, but a resolution and so should focus on local.

🪡 A Trump supporter gets up to leave, upset that so many in the crowd were saying things they didn’t agree with.

She points at the crowd and speaks as she leaves, talking about politics not belonging in the classroom.

The board discussion continues.

🪡 Blades says “There’s a teacher in the district calling ICE murderers”.

The cry goes up, “They are!”

Followed by, “YOU ARE!”

Yes, Leandra Blades murdered an unarmed man as a cop and got away with it. She was Leandra Weisenburger at the time.

🪡 Blades talks about how teachers are handing out “anti-ICE cards”. Trustee Quintero interrupts to correct her, saying, “those are constitutional rights cards.”

She gets wild applause.

🪡 The board votes to pass the standard resolution for a second reading at the next meeting. This isn’t Leandra’s policy.

This is NOT passing the resolution as policy, it’s normal procedure for it to be returned to a secondary reading where it will be voted on next week.

We now move to hers.

🪡 Trustee Marilyn Anderson expresses to Blades that she’s disregarding the real fear that the community is sharing with the board.

Blades turns and says “do you oppose ICE, Marilyn?”

Anderson, a centrist, pauses, and says, “Don’t do this. This is about the very real fear that our families face.”