Which company recently trolled Florida's GOP lawmakers by offering its own banned books to Floridians for free?
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! – the beloved franchise that shares bizarre facts, oddities, and events through books, television, games, and live attractions – clapped back at a Florida county for removing three of its books from school library shelves by offering free copies to state residents.
“Looking for a good book?” the company asked. “Try one some Florida students aren’t allowed to read.”
The Archdiocese of New York condemned a service held at St. Patrick's Cathedral recently. What was the service?
It was a funeral for a transgender woman
Trans activist Cecilia Gentili's funeral was held at the cathedral, and big names in the trans community attended. Rev. Enrique Salvo expressed "outrage over the scandalous behavior" at the funeral and accused Gentili's grieving family of being "deceptive" by requesting a funeral for a Catholic without explaining that she was a trans activist.
Which Supreme Court justice argued that excluding homophobes from juries is a violation of their constitutional rights?
Samuel Alito
In a discrimination case brought by a lesbian worker, potential jurors who said that they believe homosexuality is a sin were excluded from the jury.
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Alito said that this is exactly “the danger that I anticipated in Obergefell v. Hodges,” referring to the case that legalized marriage equality in 2015. He said the case shows that “Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct will be ‘labeled as bigots and treated as such’ by the government.”
Parents in Orange County are blasting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R) "out of control" culture wars after they were required to sign a permission slip for their high schoolers to do what?
Watch a Disney movie
Parents in Orange County, Florida, are fed up with the culture that has been fueled by Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R) Don’t Say Gay bill, which recently required high schoolers to seek parental permission to watch Disney’s Tangled. While the Don’t Say Gay bill mostly focuses on banning instruction on LGBTQ+ identities, it also mandates permission slips for all school-sponsored events before, during, or after school.
Why is George Santos suing Jimmy Kimmel?
Santos said Kimmel aired his Cameo videos in violation of the TOS
On the December 7 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host debuted a segment called “Will Santos Say It,” featuring Cameo videos that the ousted New York Republican recorded in response to Kimmel’s absurd prompts. In his opening monologue, Kimmel said he’d sent the requests anonymously to see if Santos would actually make the videos and noted that he had about a dozen clips to parcel out on his show over the coming week.
Santos says that airing the video violated the terms of service because the video was intended for "personal use."
Which Black LGBTQ+ Civil Rights leader organized the iconic March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech?
Bayard Rustin
For decades, gay strategist and King advisor Bayard Rustin has remained a footnote in the retelling of this historic day. Rustin was the lead organizer behind the march, but for decades, activists agreed to cast Rustin as an extra instead of a leading player due to his sexuality amidst internal fears of damage to the Civil Rights movement.
The Freedom Caucus wrote a letter to pressure Speaker Mike Johnson to do what this week?
Keep their far-right - and anti-LGBTQ+ - policies in appropriations bills
House Republicans attached anti-LGBTQ+ policies - and other conservative measures - as riders to several major bills that fund the federal government. These bills were supposed to have passed last year and if they don't pass soon, the federal government might shut down. The far-right Freedom Caucus is worried that their extreme measures will be dropped from the bills in order to get them passed.
Their letter contains a list of riders that are a priority for the House Freedom Caucus, which include their efforts to “defund gender transition surgeries or ‘gender affirming care’ paid by taxpayer dollars,” “prohibit funding for radical ‘Diversity, Equality, Inclusion’ (DEI) Executive Orders and the other bureaucratic offices responsible for promoting DEI and ‘Critical Race Theory’ training and policies,” and “prohibit rules requiring biological boys to be allowed to compete against girls in women’s sports and prohibit federal funding for schools that allow biological men to participate in women-only sports.”
Which GOP governor signed a marriage law this week that could set the stage for a challenge to nationwide marriage equality?
Bill Lee (TN)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill that states individuals “shall not be required to solemnize a marriage” if they object based on their “conscience or religious beliefs.” Since there is currently nothing on the books in Tennessee requiring ordained folks to officiate marriages they’re against, it's been argued that the law is designed to create a lawsuit and test the limits of marriage equality.
