Articles from the Constitution State
A historic signing
On June 1, the first day of Pride Month, Governor Ned Lamont signed the Connecticut Parentage Act into law.
The legislation, which extends parenting rights to all couples regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or marital status, had sailed through the state’s house and senate with almost unanimous bipartisan support. In fact, the state’s senate voted 35-0, with one member absent, to approve the legislation, and the house vote came in at 141-1.
“I’m incredibly proud that Connecticut has been at the forefront of so many LGBTQ issues, and the legislation I signed today is another step forward in that movement to help break down bureaucratic barriers that families can face simply because of the sexual orientation or gender of the parents,” Gov Lamont said.
“I particularly want to thank State Representative Jeff Currey of East Hartford for shining a light on the unequal ways the law has continued to treat different-sex parents and same-sex parents, and helping lead a coalition that advanced this legislation to my desk. Any day that we can expand equal protection for all individuals is a good day.”
After the governor’s speech, the Pride Flag was raised over the Capitol building in Hartford.
Federal case dropped
A federal judge dismissed a high-profile lawsuit seeking to bar transgender athletes from competing in high school girls sports. The case drew national attention in 2020 as some 20 other states started debating laws to restrict transgender athletes from participating in school sports.
Earlier this year, the Biden Administration withdrew federal support for the case against the trans athletes, which the previous administration had been pushing.
The 27-page decision to drop the case came on Sunday, April 25, from US District Court Judge Robert Chatigny. In it, the judge found “that Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, both transgender athletes, had already graduated and it was unlikely the plaintiffs would have to compete against transgender athletes in the following season,” reports The News Times, a Danbury–based newspaper.
“I conclude that the plaintiffs’ challenge to the [Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference] policy is not justiciable at this time and their claims for monetary relief are barred and dismiss the action on this basis without addressing the other grounds raised in the joint motion,” wrote the judge.
‘Last Call’
The writer is Elon Green, who details the true story of the murderer known as the Last Call Killer. The killer targeted gay men in New York during the 1980s and 1990s. The book is “Last Call: A True Story of Murder in Queer New York.”
Green will discuss the book with fellow writer Hugh Ryan in a virtual Westport Library event from 7 to 8 p.m. on July 22. Westport Pride is the host. To register, go to westportlibrary.org.
Green has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The Columbia Journalism Review.
Ryan is the author of “When Brooklyn Was Queer,” which won a 2020 New York City Book Award and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice in 2019, and was a finalist for the Randy Shilts and Lambda Literary Awards. His next book, “The Prison on Christopher Street,” explores NYC’s Women’s House of Detention and the queer case for prison abolition.
Highly inclusive
Connecticut earned the second-highest state ranking for inclusivity in Out Leadership’s “2021 State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index.”
The Constitution State scored 91.93, only behind New York’s 92.67. (Massachusetts came in third at 91.33, Maine fourth at 88.67, Vermont fifth at 87.5 and Rhode Island eighth at 86.63. New Hampshire earned 77.33, coming in 19th.)
While the index may primarily be used as a business tool, its five measurements score overall community values within each state, including legal and nondiscrimination protections; youth and family support; political and religious attitudes; health and safety; and work environment and employment.
Out Leadership partners with the Williams Institute, the Movement Advancement Project, and the United States Transgender Survey to gather their data.
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