David “Dae” Manley, also known as the drag performer Daelicious O’hare Mizani, has passed away at age 23, Philadelphia Gay News reported. Another drag performer, Dalyla Mizani Cristal, said that Manley was attacked days before his death. “He had bruising all over his body and was in a lot of pain,” Seth (who Manley resided with at the time of his passing) said about Manley’s injuries. Manley said a group of teens attacked him and they were going to rob him—pushing him to the ground, beating him all “all over his body” and kicking him in the groin. In a video, Cristal urged the attackers to “please just step up.”
Since May 2022, when Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the Gender Recognition Act—which lets people use a neutral “X” gender marker on their identification—almost 5,000 people have utilized it, per The Advocate. Those applying for a photo Id for the first time can select “X” from the start, and those who are unable to visit a DMV office to change their IDs. can do so online. With the announcement, DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder added that it was “thrilled to implement this new option that we know will have a positive impact on the lives of so many of our customers.”
In what might be a first, a diocesan hermit, Brother Christian Matson, has come out as transgender—with the support of his local bishop, according to New Ways Ministry, citing Religion News Service. Matson, a Kentucky resident who is also a Benedictine oblate, believes he is the first openly transgender person in his position in the Catholic Church. Matson spoke out with the permission of his bishop, John Stowe of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky. According to Matson, years ago, a canon attorney recommended being open about his status as a trans man in any conversations with church leaders and mentioned the role of a diocesan hermit.
Elon Musk’s social-media platform X (formerly Twitter) is restricting accounts for using the terms “cis” and “cisgender,” calling them slurs, The Advocate noted, citing The Independent. According to the Independent, users attempting to post these terms now receive warnings stating that they may be considered slurs and could be used in violation of X’s rules. Many medical organizations, including the American Psychological Association, approve of the terms. A GLAAD spokesperson told TechCrunch, “Elon Musk has been engaging in this disingenuous and inherently bigoted effort to redefine this term for nearly a year. This would appear to be another of Musk’s endless exercises in catering to his new right-wing extremist user base of X.”
In NYC, authorities were looking for two young men who allegedly attacked a gender nonconforming person in Brooklyn in what officials are calling a hate crime, Gothamist reported. According to the NYPD, the 33-year-old victim was sitting on the front steps of their home. Officials said two unidentified men approached and asked if the victim was a woman. Police said it was unclear how the victim responded, but a verbal dispute ensued. Both men made remarks, picked up a metal pipe and struck the victim in the head before fleeing.
And the San Diego Police Department is saying that several recent pellet-gun attacks are possible hate crimes, according to CBS8. Four of the five shootings happened outside LGBTQ+ bars. Surveillance footage showed a car driving through the Hillcrest area; someone in the back of what police describe as a “newer” black vehicle, then starts shooting pellets at people in front of several establishments. Three people were hit; one person who was shot in the eye required minor surgery.
In California, a Riverside County school district will pay $360,000 to settle a lawsuit from former teacher Jessica Tapia, who was fired last year after refusing to adhere to policies regarding transgender or gender-nonconforming students, citing her Christian beliefs, per a Yahoo! News item. Tapia, who taught physical education at Jurupa Valley High School, claimed in her wrongful termination lawsuit that her free speech and religious rights had been violated. The Jurupa Unified School District did not admit any wrongdoing, but agreed to pay Tapia $285,000, as well as $75,000 in attorneys’ fees.
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) issued a press release commending the Biden administration after it announced the formal rulemaking process to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. NBJC CEO and Executive Director Dr. David J. Johns said, in part, “For over 50 years, the Schedule I designation has criminalized marijuana, leading to countless arrests and convictions. It has fueled systemic racial disparities, contributing to mass incarceration [as well as] the erosion of economic and social opportunities for Black people. Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III represents not only a progressive shift in our nation’s drug policy but also an essential move towards justice and equity. By reducing the severity of federal penalties, this rescheduling initiative promises to right some of the long-standing harms inflicted upon marginalized communities.”
Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors in the state, CNN reported. In announcing the signing, McMaster claimed on social media that the bill (which took effect immediately) “protects our state’s children from irreversible gender transition procedures and bans public funds from being used for them.” South Carolina now joins more than 20 other states in restricting gender-affirming care for transgender minors. In criticizing the development, Alliance for Full Acceptance Executive Director Chase Glenn said, in part, “This loss does not crumble a movement. Our movement supporting transgender people in South Carolina is louder and stronger than it’s ever been. We’ve marched at the State House, we’ve told our stories, and we’ve made sure our lawmakers heard from us. Now, we will do everything in our power to support our community through this crisis.”
In Oregon, attendees booed high-school transgender runner Aayden Gallagher as she crossed the finish line during the 400-meter race in the state championships, PinkNews noted. Gallagher, a sophomore at McDaniel High School, won gold in the 200-meter final and silver in the 400-meter race. The Oregon State Activities Association regulations allow athletes to participate in race categories that align with their gender identity despite state Republican lawmakers wanting a change to the regulations after Gallagher won in a previous 400-meter race.
Former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger and actress Kerry Washington are co-chairs of the advisory council for the non-partisan poll worker-recruitment group Power the Polls, Politico noted. “At a time when our democracy is facing unique and historic threats, the role poll workers play in keeping our elections free and fair has never been more important,” Kinzinger—a noted anti-Trump Republican—said in a statement. Some of the council members include IllumniNative founder/CEO Crystal Echo Hawk, author/Diversability founder Tiffany Wu and Voters of Tomorrow founder/ED Santiago Mayer.
In Massachusetts, the Provincetown Business Guild (PBG) presents the 7th annual Provincetown Pride Festival, taking place May 31-June 2, per Out Traveler. Provincetown Pride, among other things, announced this year’s Reimagining Queer Africa—a partnership between the PBG and Obodo, a youth-led, pro-LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization based in Lagos, Nigeria. Obodo founder/director Matthew Blaise will be in town along with Rachel Victory, a visual artist working in photography and film and who is part of the Obodo Queer Artist Fund 2024. This year’s Provincetown celebration will also feature the Queer Comedy Showcase, Pride Cruise with Bay State Cruise Company, Feet Over Front Street 5K Pride Run & Walk, official Pride parties and more.
Renee Raketty, who has been with SGN (formerly Seattle Gay News) since 2001, is the new editor of the newspaper now celebrating its 50th year, Press Pass Q noted. Longtime editor/publisher George Bakan led the newspaper from 1983 until his untimely death in 2020. After his passing, Bakan’s daughter Angela Cragin took over as owner and publisher—and chose to keep the business running as she spearheaded a rebrand and restructuring.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was to lead a roundtable discussion at Manhattan’s New York Public Library that focused on the civil rights of students against the growing threat of school book bans, The Advocate noted. The roundtable was part of a broader effort to address the impact of book bans on students’ civil rights. Last June, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to protect LGBTQ+ communities, including the appointment of a new coordinator specifically tasked with addressing the issue (attorney/advocate/former Obama official Matt Nosanchuk).
In California, Yolo County Library officials announced that they had agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Moms for Liberty—a group the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate and extremist group—after library leaders shut down the local chapter’s anti-transgender forum last August, The Los Angeles Blade noted. In addition to $70,000 in damages and attorneys fees, the settlement has the library policy mandate that staff “shall not interfere with presentations or other speech by individuals or groups that have reserved meeting rooms based on the content of such speech” and to instruct staff to “curtail any disruptive behavior” during events.