Tag: Gay

Idaho bill bans government from flying LGBTQ+ rainbow flags. Here’s how it impacts Boise

*This is being reported by the Idaho Statesman.

LGBTQ+ Pride flags in Boise’s North End remain in limbo after Idaho lawmakers passed a bill that bans the flags in some public spaces.

House lawmakers Friday approved amendments to House Bill 96, which allows government entities to display only certain flags, such as the official Idaho, U.S. and state flags. The bill still needs Gov. Brad Little’s signature to become law.

“The ultimate goal is for us to fly flags that unite and don’t divide,” said Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, during a floor debate.

Earlier this year, photographs given to legislators on the House floor included the Pride flags along Harrison Boulevard, where flags are flown during Pride Month in June, and at Boise City Hall. Boise spokesperson Maria Weeg said the bill would likely impact the city’s Pride flags, but in a later message told the Idaho Statesman that the city hasn’t officially engaged on the bill and “we don’t usually comment on bills that have not been signed into law.”

As written, the bill would ban the Harrison Pride flags, because the Ada County Highway District controls the medians, ACHD spokesperson Rachel Bjornestad previously told the Statesman. Those flags have been stolen or vandalized four years in a row. Proponents said the legislation is important to preserve neutrality, and even conservative flags would be banned. But critics said the bills target marginalized communities because it’s a direct response to the Pride flags flown in Boise.

“Now, when we want to celebrate and unite under this rainbow flag and support our community, that is going to be taken from us by the state,” said Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise. “We welcome everyone in my district.”

The bill’s passage comes days after Little signed House Bill 41, which bans schools from displaying flags and banners that “promote political, religious or ideological viewpoints.” A week before, a Meridian teacher’s posters drew local and national headlines, according to previous Statesman reporting. West Ada School District officials had told Sarah Inama, a world civilization teacher, to take down two signs, including one with “Everyone is welcome here,” above hands of different skin tones.

Community members have responded by marking welcoming messages outside West Ada schools, according to previous Statesman reporting, as well as making and wearing shirts with the sign’s message. Utah this week became the first state to prohibit Pride flags in both schools and all government buildings.

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More Americans than ever identify as LGBTQ+

*This was reported by LGBTQNation.com

The number of Americans identifying as LGBTQ+ continued to rise, according to the latest Gallup poll.

In 2024, 9.3% of U.S. adults identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual.

That’s an increase of more than one point since a 2023 survey, double the number from 2020, and up from 3.5% when Gallup first asked about sexual identity in 2012.

14,000 respondents in a phone survey were asked, “Which of the following do you consider yourself to be? You can select as many as apply. Straight or heterosexual; Lesbian; Gay; Bisexual; Transgender.”

Overall, 85.7% say they are straight, 5.2% are bisexual, 2.0% are gay, 1.4% are lesbian, and 1.3% are transgender. Just under 1% mention another LGBTQ+ identity, such as pansexual, asexual, or queer. Five percent of respondents declined to answer the question.

The survey found LGBTQ+ identification is increasing as younger generations of Americans enter adulthood. Younger people are much more likely than older generations to say they are something other than heterosexual.

Both Gen Z and millennials came of age with the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights, marriage equality, and greater representation in the culture.

More than one in five Gen Z adults — those born between 1997 and 2006, who were between the ages of 18 and 27 in 2024 — identify as LGBTQ+. Each older generation of adults, from millennials to the Silent Generation, has successively lower rates of identification, down to 1.8% among the oldest Americans, those born before 1946.

The largest increase was among younger people identifying as bisexual. 59% of LGBTQ+ Gen Z Americans (ages 18-27) called themselves bisexual, along with more than half (52%) of LGBTQ+ millennials (ages 28-43).

Among the nearly 900 LGBTQ+ individuals Gallup interviewed last year, more than half, 56%, said they were bisexual. Twenty-one percent said they were gay, 15% lesbian, 14% transgender, and 6% something else. These figures total more than 100% because the survey allows respondents to report multiple LGBTQ+ identities.

The overall estimate of 9.3% of U.S. adults who identify as LGBTQ+ counts each respondent only once, even if they have multiple identities.

The survey broke down LGBTQ+ identification associated with sex, politics, and geography, as well.

Democrats (14%) and independents (11%) are far more likely than Republicans (3%) to identify as LGBTQ+.

21% of liberals, compared with 8% of moderates and 3% of conservatives, say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

LGBTQ+ identification is higher among people living in cities (11%) and suburbs (10%) than in rural areas (7%).

College graduates (9%) and nongraduates (10%) are about equally likely to identify as LGBTQ+, while 10% of women versus 6% of men say they are LGBTQ+. That gender gap is most pronounced in younger generations.

31% of Gen Z women versus 12% of Gen Z men identify as LGBTQ+, with most of those younger women saying they are bisexual.

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Federal Bill Advancing to Require Schools to Disclose Trans Students’ Identities Passes Key Committee Vote

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

A House committee has advanced a controversial bill, H.R. 736, known as the “PROTECT Kids Act,” which would require schools to disclose transgender students’ identities to their parents if the students request to use different pronouns, a new name, or facilities aligned with their gender identity. The bill, introduced by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), would enforce this policy on all elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding, threatening to withhold funds from any school that does not comply.

Rep. Walberg, who has a history of supporting Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, stated that parents should be informed of all decisions affecting their children. He argues that the bill would “safeguard parental rights by requiring parental consent and will help mitigate under-the-radar activism in our schools.” However, critics, including Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, have condemned the bill as an attack on transgender students, warning that it could put vulnerable kids at risk, particularly those without supportive families.

The bill passed the House Committee on Education and the Workforce with a 22-12 vote and will now proceed to the House floor for consideration. While it may pass the Republican-controlled House, it faces significant opposition in the Democratic Senate, and President Joe Biden is unlikely to sign it into law, as it contradicts his administration’s policies on LGBTQ+ rights.

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