Three Florida teachers filed suit Wednesday over a Florida statute they claim targets transgender and nonbinary teachers for being themselves at work.

The teachers: Katie Wood, AV Schwandes and a Jane Doe, argued the statute, established by House Bill 1069, which bans instructions on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through eighth grade, also prohibits school employees and contractors from providing their pronouns to students if they do not correspond to their sex.

Sam Boyd, senior supervising attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said plaintiff Katie Wood, a Hillsborough County high school math teacher, was hired at her school as a transgender woman, where she would normally write 'Miss Wood' on the chalkboard.

That was until the law passed, and the school said she could no longer do it.

"And so, if a student calls her 'mister,' she is not allowed to say anything about that," Boyd explained. "If a student asks whether she would prefer to be called Ms. Wood, she's not allowed to answer. She has to sort of stay silent and misrepresent this basic aspect of her identity."

Officials at the Department of Education and the local school districts named in the lawsuit have not yet commented on the case. However, Republican lawmakers with a supermajority argued expanding the parental rights law was necessary to ensure the state's youngest students learn about adult topics, such as sexual orientation and gender identity, from their parents instead of at school.

According to the complaint, the new law has "stigmatized" transgender and nonbinary teachers, "threatened their psychological well-being" and "upended the respect that is owed to them as educators." Boyd contends the pronoun law violates constitutional rights tied to sex discrimination, equal-protection clauses and free speech, among other things, and he hopes the court will see the way it restricts the freedoms of educators.

"The State Board of Education issued regulations that make complying with this law a part of the standards of professionalism under the state, and that means that teachers' licenses can be revoked by the state if they violate the law," Boyd noted.

The issue is also part of the same law dealing with book bans, which prohibit materials in schools containing "sexual conduct." Critics are worried its vague language could apply to valuable pieces of literature.


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June is Pride Month, and Washington's Lavender Rights Project is celebrating with a Black Trans Comedy Showcase. This is the largest fundraiser of the year for the nonprofit, which provides legal and social services for Black trans people.

Angel Patterson, director of development for Lavender Rights, said in the wake of increased attacks on trans rights across the country, the showcase prioritizes the community's health, safety, and joy.

"We are your family too," Patterson explained. "We are your mothers, your brothers, your sisters, your aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, bosses, coworkers. We're all paying parking tickets and taxes the same as everyone else."

Patterson said the showcase will be on June 14th in Seattle and will feature performers from Washington and across the country, including T.S. Madison and Mx Dahlia Belle.

So far, 923 bills targeting trans rights have been introduced across the country this year, and over 100 have passed. Patterson explains that the idea for the showcase came after hearing trans people used as punchlines for jokes in the media.

"Instead of a traditional protest we wanted to reclaim our power in another way that felt sacred to us and this event is truly that and it's a wonderful night to bring our folks together and highlight our work and really just feel the power of pride," Patterson continued.

The comedy showcase will also have auction items to help raise money for the project such as plane tickets, glass blowing classes, concert and sports tickets.

Indiana's largest LGBTQ+ celebration kicks off this weekend as Indy Pride marks its 30th anniversary.

The event expands this year to two days, featuring three major events in downtown Indianapolis. A parade steps off Saturday at 10 a.m. on Mass Ave., followed by a free community gathering at Monument Circle and a two-day concert at American Legion Mall.

Tina Robb, marketing director for Indy Pride, expects tens of thousands of people to attend, and said this year's message is about visibility and unity.

"Pride started out as a protest and as we are seeing in 2025, our rights are being stripped away daily," Robb pointed out. "While it started as a protest, it's going to continue as a protest. And this is our 30th anniversary, so we chose to be loud and bigger than ever this year."

Organizers said the expanded festival reflects both the urgency of the moment and the power of community. June is Pride month and takes place against high profile pushback on equality initiatives by the Trump administration.

Robb noted while some fear rising hate or tension, organizers said they are creating space for joy and safety.

"We can feel the fear," Robb acknowledged. "We can feel the joy is not as high as it normally is, but we need to remember that joy is an act of resistance. We are here for a reason. We have always existed, and we will continue to exist."

Indy Pride expects up to 60,000 people to attend Saturday's parade.


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As Pride Month begins, experts are concerned about rates of tobacco use in the LGBTQ+ community and one expert explained policies targeting people in the community contribute to tobacco use.

More than 15% of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults smoke cigarettes, compared to more than 11% of heterosexual adults, according to the Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco nonprofit.

Kendric Dartis, vice president of outreach and engagement policy and community engagement for the group, said such disparities have major effects on the health of people in the LGBTQ+ community. Tobacco companies, he added, also regularly target them in advertising.

"The toll on public health is staggering," Dartis stressed. "LGBTQ+ youth and young adults use tobacco products at a significantly higher rate than their cisgender and heterosexual peers, a disparity that really fuels higher rates of disease and as well as premature death."

The Truth Initiative offers free online quit programs and just started a new program geared toward young people to help them beat their nicotine addiction, at ExProgram.com.

LGBTQ+ people not only use tobacco at higher rates but they are also more likely to use menthol cigarettes, which are much harder to quit. Some 54% of lesbian, gay and bisexual smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared to just over 40% of heterosexual smokers.

Dartis pointed out policies and laws attacking LGBTQ+ people's identities in local, state and federal governments can create stress. A release from such stress, he acknowledged, can sometimes be found in tobacco.

"The LGBTQ+ community has been largely affected in regard to the predatory nature of the tobacco industry, as well as harmful state and federal policies," Dartis contended. "The combination of those really have fueled chronic stress and really drove disproportionately high rates of nicotine addiction."

The rate of cigarette use among transgender adults is more than double the rate of cigarette use of cisgender adults, which stands at just over 19%. For transgender youth, e-cigarette use and tobacco use were two and three times more prevalent in the community, compared to their cisgender peers.