Most notable was the passage last March of the Parental Rights in Education Act, widely known to critics asDon’t say gaywhich limited “instructing in the classroom … on sexual orientation or gender identity” for children up to third grade and discussion of these subjects “in a manner inappropriate for the age or development of the students.”

But the new law doesn’t just apply to young children. It has sparked cold rhetoric in classrooms across Florida, and school officials fear lawsuits. shoot rainbow decorations or avoid certain themes. Some were afraid mention your same-sex spouse. Just last week, days before the kids gathered in Naples, DeSantis announced his intention to expand “Don’t Say Gay” from its current form to officially covers students from grades 4 to 12.

Another law empowered any Florida resident to file objections to materials in classrooms or school libraries, which conservative groups seized on to lobby for them. dozens of books who discuss LGBTQ or race issues that should be banned. The bookshelves were closed to hide them from view as their content is awaiting review and approval by certified officials.

However, the most affected students in Florida were transgender or non-binary children. In addition to the 2021 law banning transgender girls from playing on sports teams for student athletes who were assigned female at birth, ban on gender-affirming medical care for minor transgender people entered into force this month.

The law prompted Kayak, a 17-year-old who self-identifies as transmask non-binary, to enter the race to start hormone replacement therapy in December to be covered by an exception that protects minors who have already begun treatment.

The cumulative effect of these attacks has left LGBTQ students like Kayak feeling unsettled or worse. According to 2022 survey from the Trevor Project, a non-profit organization for suicide prevention, 45% of Florida’s LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide last year, and 16% attempted it. These rates are higher for transgender or non-binary youth, at 54% and 20% respectively.

The Trevor Project notes that LGBTQ youth are not inherently at higher risk of suicide, but rather find themselves at increased risk due to social stigma or abuse. Their report found that 74% of respondents experienced discrimination in the past year, and 86% believe that recent policies have sometimes or severely affected their well-being. Laws formulated to protect children actively harm them.

“It’s just scary to exist here because I’m becoming a queer adult. And when you go from being a queer child to being a queer adult, you go from being a victim to being a “groomer,” to being a pedophile,” Kajak said. “As a trans guy, I’m afraid to be a trans adult because then I’m a ‘bad person’.”

But the political onslaught has not ended. There are 10 more bills pending in the state legislature. ACLU defined as harmful to LGBTQ people, including a bill restricting the use of the toilet for transgender people And broad bill that, among other things, require all transgender youth to detransit. If passed, parents seeking out-of-state gender-affirming care for their children could be removed from their custody.

It’s for these reasons that Shaw, chapter director of GLSEN, said the discussion at the conference on gender-affirming care is critical because it will share information that some children may be desperate to find online. Instead, Nurse Mishya Nishioka, Director of Gender Confirmation Hormone Therapy, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, spoke with stakeholders about hormone options, fertility preservation, and updating gender identity in legal documents.

“The presentation will be life-saving for some of these kids,” Shaw said.

Three barges, including one carrying about 1,400 tons of methanol, were pinned to a dam on the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, officials said.

The three were part of a group of 10 who broke free from their tugboat around 2 p.m. Tuesday after it collided with a structure at the entrance to the Portland Canal, near river locks and McAlpine Dam, the Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. Louisville. The agency said one barge remained attached, and all but the one carrying methanol were carrying soybeans and corn.

“At this time, there is no evidence of a reservoir breach or any leaks, and resources are available to monitor air and water,” the statement said.

The situation prompted officials to restrict traffic on the river as state and federal agencies responded and attempted to remove the three barges, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Chris Davis said.

Downriver traffic has been halted, he said, and nearby locks that have reopened from previous closures are likely to close again overnight as officials reassess the situation.

“We blocked traffic,” Davis said. “There will be rescue operations and it will be dangerous.”

The Louisville Water Company said the incident occurred downstream of its water intake, so drinking water in the city was not affected.

“Your water is safe to drink,” the post reads. Facebook.

The seven other barges that broke free were previously spotted by other vessels in the area, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

There were no injuries, no missing persons,” the statement said.

Methanol is used in windshield washer fluid, gas line antifreeze, carburetor cleaner, copier fluid, perfumes and other products. This chemical, part of the “toxic alcohols” group, can be “extremely dangerous” to humans if ingested and can lead to death, coma, respiratory and cardiovascular failure. White paper about a chemical released by federal health officials.

The US Coast Guard was investigating the cause of the wreck, which resulted in the release of the barges.

Dennis Romero

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Claire Sechrist another Matthew Mata contributed.

President Biden is again calling on Congress to ban assault weapons following the Nashville, Tennessee school shooting that killed three students and three staff members.

The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that the shooter was “heavily armed with three pistols, two of which were assault pistols.”

“People say why do I keep talking about it if it doesn’t happen?” Biden said, referring to his frequent call for such a ban. “Because I want you to know who doesn’t, who doesn’t help, to put pressure on them.”

The Nashville incident was the latest of 130 mass shootings this year. according to from the National Archives of Gun Violence.

South Dakota Senator John Thune, no. 2 in the Senate GOP leader, reporters said Tuesday it was “premature” to discuss potential legislation in the aftermath of the attack.

“The investigation is ongoing and I think we need to uncover the facts,” he said.

Senate chaplain calls for more than ‘thoughts and prayers’

“As a nation, we owe these families more than our prayers. We owe it to them to act,” Biden said on Tuesday.

His comments echo those of Senate Chaplain Barry Black, who opened the legislative session on Tuesday pleading with lawmakers to take action after the fatal shooting.

“Lord, when babies die in a church school, it’s time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers,” said Black, who has served as Senate chaplain since 2003. “Remind our legislators the words of British statesman Edmund Burke: All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was gunned down during a 2017 congressional baseball practice, told reporters on Tuesday. he “gets very angry when I see people trying to politicize it for their own personal gain.”

“The first thing I do in any tragedy is pray,” he said. “I pray for the victims, I pray for their families.”

He said Congress might consider tightening school safety procedures and mental health resources.

“Firstly [Democrats] talk about taking weapons away from law-abiding citizens, and this is not the answer,” he said.

A familiar uphill battle in a divided Congress

Biden, who has also taken executive action on guns, signed last year the first major gun safety legislation passed by Congress in about three decades.

The legislation was the result of bipartisan negotiations following two mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, which occurred two weeks apart.

The bipartisan Safer Communities Act includes incentives for states to pass so-called red flag laws, which allow groups to petition the courts to remove guns from people who are considered a threat to themselves or others.

The bill also expands background checks for people between the ages of 18 and 21 and closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” with a law that bans those convicted of domestic violence from owning guns. The law expanded this to include dating partners and not just spouses and ex-spouses.

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, who was the lead negotiator on this bipartisan gun deal, said Tuesday the focus in the Senate is on background checks to prevent individuals with mental health issues or a criminal record from buying or owning firearms.

“This is an area where we had a bipartisan consensus,” he told reporters.

“The only thing I’ve heard the administration advocate is a ban on assault weapons, which I believe would mean that the 16 million people who own semi-automatic rifles would have to give them up – they would be confiscated,” Cornin said.

“I don’t know what other purpose could be served,” he said, adding: “If there’s anything that can be done while respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens, I’m certainly open to talking about it.”

But Cornyn said there were no talks with the bipartisan Senate group that drafted last year’s package that the president signed, and warned it was too early to know specific details about the Nashville shooting to offer a concrete legislative response.

An assault weapons ban has no political future in either the Republican-controlled House of Representatives or the Senate, where the Democrats have a very thin majority.

Cornyn said the extended background checks under the 2022 legislation are “actually working pretty well.”

“The director of the FBI told us that the national criminal background check system has already stopped the sale of about 100 different arms deals to minors or people who purchased weapons with minors’ documents showing that they are disqualified on the basis of mental illness or crime,” hey. said.

House Democrats discussed efforts to increase pressure for legislative action at their weekly caucus on Tuesday.

The leaders urged members to continue pressuring GOP leaders in the House of Representatives to take action on gun control, a source at the meeting said.

South Carolina Democratic Representative Jim Clyburn is re-introducing his bill to close the so-called “Charleston loophole” that allows guns to be sold even if background checks are not completed.

Group of Democrats – Rep. Rhode Island’s David Cichillin, Georgia’s Lucy McBath, Texas’ Sheila Jackson Lee and Jerry Nadler of New York are calling on House Speaker McCarthy to call a vote on the assault weapons ban passed by the House of Representatives last year.

“Children should not fear for their lives or plan how to protect themselves from shooters armed with machine guns. They shouldn’t plan to play dead, or practice locking themselves in bulletproof rooms, or listen for loud bangs in their hallways. , ” the letter reads. “Teen survivors should not be lobbying legislators to pass common sense legislation or demanding action on the streets of Washington or in the halls of the Capitol. It’s not their job. This is ours. And we failed.”