We’re opposing the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The bill would make websites responsible for sites kids might use to protect anyone less than 16 years old. They’d have to protect young people from physical or emotional harm. We absolutely believe that kids should be as safe as possible everywhere - including online. But this bill will not keep young people safe. It will limit access to information on bullying, on LGBTQ+ issues, and on drug abuse or suicide prevention. We joined our allies in signing a letter of opposition early last week - and we’re encouraging you to contact your Senators and let them know how you feel about this.
More information about the bill can be found here. 

Exxxotica DC 

COO Mandy Salley and Board Member Ben Benavides attended Exxxotica in Washington, DC this past weekend. They had a chance to chat with Lotus Lain who spoke at our Human Rights Commission this past August and meet new folks passionate about sexual freedom! Thanks so much to the organizers who put on a great event! We were glad to be invited. 

Hey FDA: The Time Is Now to Approve Over-the-Counter Birth Control (Rewire News Group) 

Rachel Logan argues that the FDA should approve OTC birth control, now: “Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, debate over access to contraceptives has become a proxy fight for abortion. It was a hot-button issue in state elections, including Georgia’s gubernatorial race. Some states successfully liberalized access in the midterms (California and Michigan), while others continue to try and restrict it (Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin, to name a few). In states with abortion bans, college campuses have become a battleground in the fight over contraceptive access. This fight is coming to a head, but it’s not new. For 20 years, the Free the Pill coalition of over 100 advocacy groups, researchers, and health-care providers has worked to ensure and expand access and options.” Read more.

Colorado Springs shooting brings even greater sense of devastation so close to Trans Day of Remembrance (The 19th) 

Orion Rummler writes about the anti-LGBTQIA+ shooting at Club Q in Colorado: “LGBTQ+ advocates and lawmakers in Colorado feel numbness, anger, and sorrow in the aftermath of the Colorado Springs shooting on Saturday that killed five people and injured at least 18 others at Club Q — an LGBTQ+ bar that has stood as a community space for two decades. The timing of the killings just before the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) brought an even greater sense of devastation and urgency to LGBTQ+ people in the community and national advocates.” Read more.

Hundreds of New York Women Are About to Sue Alleged Rapists (and Enablers) Under a Revolutionary New Law (Mother Jones) 

Madison Pauly explains a recent New York law and what it means for survivors: “Under the Adult Survivors Act, New Yorkers who were sexually assaulted as adults but who have run out of time to seek accountability in court will have a one-year “lookback window” to sue their abusers, as well as institutions that were negligent in responding to the assault. While many states have experimented with lookback windows to allow child sexual abuse victim to bring civil claims, the New York law marks only the second time such a grace period has been extended to people who were adults at the time of the assault.” Read more.

Documents Show DOJ’s Multi-Pronged Effort to Undermine Section 230 (Electronic Frontier Foundation) 

Aaron Mackey highlights the DOJ’s efforts to undermine Section 230: “In the summer of 2020, the Department of Justice was closely monitoring the public and congressional debate about a key law protecting internet users’ speech at the same time that it  pushed to undermine the law, documents show. DOJ was tracking multiple efforts to repeal or frustrate 47 U.S.C. § 230 (Section 230), including implementation of then-President Donald Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order and the department’s own proposed amendments to the law. Although all of those efforts were public, the fact that the DOJ was closely monitoring them was not.” Read more.

Their book is banned from dozens of districts, but has helped countless young readers (NPR) 

Reena Advani and Rachel Treisman write about bans of George M. Johnson’s young-adult memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue: “The book is about growing up Black and queer, and always feeling different but not having the words to express it. Over the past couple of years, at least 29 school districts have banned the book because of its LGBTQ content and for being sexually explicit. [...] Johnson is glad to have written a book that might help others, but says watching it be banned has been bittersweet. They say that if parents don't want their own child to read it, they should opt them out rather than try to block all students — some who may really need the book — from accessing it.”
Read more.

Tess’ Take: Abortion Access in Guam: Contending with Colonialism & its Devastating Consequences post-Dobbs (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

Tess Joseph writes about abortion access in Guam: Four years ago, Guam’s last surgical abortion provider retired. Since 2018, no one else has taken their place. People seeking abortions are left with few options: they can receive abortifacients by mail, or, if a medication abortion is impossible, they can travel to Hawai‘i if they have the means to do so. Whatever option they choose, people seeking abortions in Guam must contend with its 13-week abortion ban in almost all situations. Post-Dobbs, abortion access in Guam will almost certainly get even worse. Read More.