Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 7

Florida legislature passes bill to restrict LGBTQ topics in elementary schools

The Florida Senate on Tuesday passed controversial legislation that regulates lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms, despite concerns from activists and student groups that argued the bill would have a chilling impact on gay, lesbian and transgender students.

The legislation, which Florida Democrats and LGBTQ activists refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, now advances to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). In recent days, DeSantis has indicated that he is likely to sign the legislation, saying it is designed to shield Florida’s youngest students from exposure to sensitive topics in the classroom.

Jury finds first US Capitol riot defendant to go on trial guilty on all counts

A jury in Washington, DC, on Tuesday found January 6 rioter Guy Reffitt guilty of all five charges he faced related to the US Capitol attack, in the pivotal outcome of the first federal trial related to the riot.

Reffitt, a Texas Three Percenter and supporter of then-President Donald Trump when he went to the Capitol on January 6, was charged with five counts -- wanting to obstruct the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election, transporting guns into DC, carrying a Smith & Wesson handgun onto the restricted grounds of the Capitol, interfering with Capitol Police protecting the Upper West Terrace and obstructing justice by threatening his son and daughter when he returned to Texas.

Minneapolis teachers to strike Tuesday; St. Paul union reaches 'tentative agreement'

Negotiations between the Minneapolis School District and its teachers union on a new contract have failed, and a strike is set to begin Tuesday.

Teachers in the neighboring St. Paul School District were also in negotiations ahead of a possible strike Tuesday.

Houston hospital pauses hormone therapy for transgender children as threats of child abuse investigations loom

Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has stopped providing hormone therapy to transgender children after Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s child welfare agency to open child abuse investigations into parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children.

“This step was taken to safeguard our healthcare professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications,” a spokesperson for the hospital wrote in a statement.

Parents of a trans child who reached out to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over dinner are now under investigation for child abuse

In 2016, when Texas tried to stop transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice, there were protests, press conferences and a whole lot of anger directed toward the state’s elected officials.

But one mom tried something different — she invited Attorney General Ken Paxton to have dinner at her house with her 8-year-old transgender son. Amber Briggle told The 19th recently that Paxton and her son washed up together in the bathroom before dinner.

More than five years later, Paxton has helped set in motion a targeting of families with trans kids unlike anything experts or lawyers say they’ve ever seen — and the Briggles are now caught in the crosshairs.

According to their attorney, they are one of several families who are being investigated for child abuse for providing gender-affirming medical care to their children.

Court upholds order stopping child abuse investigation into Texas trans teen’s family

A Texas appeals court sided with the parents of a transgender teenager in a ruling Wednesday, rejecting Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to allow a child abuse investigation to proceed.

The ruling will allow a lower court to hold a hearing, scheduled for Friday, where lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal will ask a judge to stop the state from launching child abuse investigations against parents who have obtained gender-affirming care for their transgender children.