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Tag: human rights

Honor the Sandy Hook Families

Posted in Journalism

“A lot of folks are centering Alex when they should be centering the  bravery and catharsis of Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis,” said Dan  Friesen, cohost of the Knowledge Fight podcast, which has devoted more than 700 episodes to critically examining Jones.

This is a tall order, because making himself the center of attention  is one of Jones’ most carefully honed skills. He’s an expert at saying  and doing things so outrageous that the progressive left can’t help but  share them—always in horror and disgust, but reaping him new viewers and more clicks nonetheless. (Even the Texas Observer is not immune from dwelling on Jones’ antics.)

Middle Fingers Up In Austin After End of ‘Roe’

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and The Texas Observer

More than 1,000 people marched through downtown Austin on Friday, June 25 to express their anger and sadness over the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe V. Wade and the impending, widespread erosion of abortion access as a result.

Organized coalitions like Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights and others called for protesters to gather at the federal courthouse and in the surrounding Republic Square Park on the night after the Supreme Court decision came down. Word spread rapidly via social networks and posters affixed to lampposts throughout the city.

Austin Chronicle: Low-Income Austin Renters Negotiate For Better Deal

Posted in Austin, Austin Chronicle, and Journalism

Low-income residents of a North Austin apartment complex are putting pressure on a developer intent on demolishing their homes, and they’re having some success in getting concessions. The Old Homestead, located on Clayton Lane near the intersection with Cameron Road, is set to be rezoned for vertical mixed use – meaning developers JCI Residential, an affiliate of the Journeyman Group, will be allowed more height and building size in exchange for affordable units. While the new property will have more units than the current 16-unit complex, residents say they’ll struggle to find apartments as affordable – or with a community so closely knit – amid Austin’s surging rental prices.

Austin Chronicle: Texas Supreme Court Calls Out Greg Abbott

Posted in Austin Chronicle, and Journalism

While neither side got exactly what they’d wanted from the May 13 decision, Shelly Skeen, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal representing the plaintiffs, told the Chronicle that the ruling was overall a win for trans young people and their families. The court emphasized the importance of the rule of law, which the state has tried to ignore. “The law is clear and the law says parents have to provide medically necessary care for their kids, and to not do so is child abuse,” she told us. Medical experts overwhelmingly agree that providing age-appropriate care for transgender young people improves their lives and greatly reduces incidences of suicide.

Podcast: Trans Texas & Abortion Access In Texas

Posted in Audio, Austin Chronicle, Journalism, and LGBTQIA

It’s Going Down invited me to come back to their podcast to discuss the GOP war on trans and LGBTQIA rights, based on my recent reporting for the Austin Chronicle:

Trans Refugees: Leaving Texas To Protect A Trans Kid

Posted in Austin Chronicle, Creative Commons, Journalism, and LGBTQIA

“It’s heartbreaking to look back and see that the investigations of gender-affirming families have started, that the nightmare I had of someone knocking on my door and threatening to take away my kid is actually coming true for some people,” Camille Ray told me.

Ray’s family are like a growing number of families: they’ve left or plan to leave the state of Texas to protect a trans or queer child. She moved from the Austin-area to Maryland in August 2021, in order to protect her transgender son Leon. We spoke on the phone as she walked her dog on a hiking trail near her home, as research for my recent Austin Chronicle article on the fear and anxiety faced by trans people and their families.

Though the interview didn’t make it into the article, I wanted to share a little of it here since I know her experience mirrors that of so many other residents of Texas, and other states attacking their LGBTQIA+ young folks. People who make the painful choice to leave, essentially becoming political refugees from a state that hates their trans or queer children.