The Biden administration spent millions of taxpayer dollars on at least six transgender experiments on mice, National Institutes of Health records show.
President Trump mentioned the transgender mice experiments during his address to Congress on Tuesday night.
&#8220;Eight million dollars for making mice transgender. This is real,&#8221; Trump said as the chamber erupted in laughter.
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🚨TRUMP: &quot;$8M for making mice transgender. This is real.&quot; 💀 <a href="https://t.co/JgxVWsrJY6">pic.twitter.com/JgxVWsrJY6</a>
&mdash; Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) <a href="https://twitter.com/AutismCapital/status/1897116289510109559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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CNN quickly spun up a fact check, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/politics/fact-check-trump-address-congress/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> Trump &#8220;falsely claimed&#8221; the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) identified $8 million for &#8220;making mice transgender.&#8221; The outlet cited $477,121 in government funding for three projects involving giving estrogen to monkeys to test how it affects their susceptibility to HIV.
The White House responded with a fact sheet <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/yes-biden-spent-millions-on-transgender-animal-experiments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">citing</a> six studies involving gender ideology and mice, all funded by the NIH and costing American taxpayers over $8 million.
One <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10891526#description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> treated both male and female mice with estrogen to discover how to better &#8220;treat and prevent asthma in cis and transgender women.&#8221; That study cost taxpayers over $3.1 million over four years starting in 2021.
Another <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11000334#description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> that cost over $1.2 million and began last year used mice to explore how testosterone affects the reproductive systems of &#8220;transgender males&#8221; or biological women who take testosterone.
Another <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/search/-NkoAnjCB0uKdDs0r_5qxw/project-details/10944419#description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> last year on &#8220;gender affirming hormone therapy&#8221; in mice <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11093603/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">injected</a> male mice with estrogen and female mice with testosterone to analyze the relationship between the hormone drugs, the gut microbiome, and skeletal maturation. That study cost the taxpayers $735,113.
One <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/search/Y3xbwNgJV0-V2-RIROPR1Q/project-details/10912193#description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> used mice to explore how taking testosterone affects breast cancer in the &#8220;underserved transmasculine community&#8221; or biological females who identify as male. That study from 2023 cost just under $300,000.
A <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10619517#description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> that has cost $2.5 million since 2019 <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10889210/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> mice both puberty blockers and testosterone to explore the effects of testosterone on the reproductive systems of trans-identifying females. The study said it &#8220;developed a mouse model to mimic T treatment for FTM gender transition&#8221; and found the mice &#8220;manifest defects in ovarian architecture&#8221; and see changes in egg development.
Finally, one <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849830#description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> developed a &#8220;mouse model of gender-affirming hormone therapy&#8221; to &#8220;test the immune responses of &#8216;cis&#8217; vs. &#8216;trans&#8217; mice to a HIV vaccine.&#8221; That study began last year and cost the taxpayers $455,120.
&#8220;The Fake News losers at CNN immediately tried to fact check it, but President Trump was right (as usual),&#8221; the White House said.
Frivolous scientific research is a target of Elon Musk&#8217;s DOGE, which was tasked by Trump with rooting out federal waste.
Gender ideology has become a searing political and cultural issue across the country over the last several years.
Trump signed several executive orders during his first weeks in office banning males from women&#8217;s sports, defining sex as male and female, and pulling federal funding from schools that promote gender ideology.

Common House Mouse

Here Are The Transgender Mice Experiments Trump Talked About

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

DOGE

Donald Trump

Gender

LGBT

LGBTQ

Transgender

Trump

Trump Administration

A trans-identifying man in Canada is on the streets again after he was arrested for allegedly stabbing his two young children earlier this month, leaving the eight-year-old on a feeding tube.
Alice Micheal Attwood, 35, was <a href="https://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/news/grande-prairie-parent-charged-with-aggravated-assault-child-at-stollery-recovering-from-knife-wounds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> with aggravated assault after his two children suffered knife wounds on February 19 in Grand Prairie, Alberta.
One child, age eight, was <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/11047732/grande-prairie-children-stabbed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken</a> to the hospital with a severed esophagus and will be on a feeding tube for several months. The other child, age seven, suffered minor knife wounds. Both children are reportedly in stable condition.
Attwood identifies as a &#8220;transwoman&#8221; and &#8220;genderfluid,&#8221; as well as a &#8220;leftist,&#8221; and uses &#8220;they/she/he&#8221; pronouns, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/581350857734961" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/585860344134885" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ravenfortruth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posts</a> on his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DB7RF-iPTId/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social</a> media accounts.
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Attwood appears to have prolific social media accounts where he shares pro-transgender and anti-Trump posts as well as a YouTube LGBT &quot;podcast&quot; <a href="https://t.co/E7El4jEzqJ">pic.twitter.com/E7El4jEzqJ</a>
&mdash; Mairead Elordi (@JohnsonHildy) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnsonHildy/status/1895221390200184857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Another video of Attwood making a lewd analogy about Canada and the U.S. <a href="https://t.co/cTiFjTssdt">pic.twitter.com/cTiFjTssdt</a>
&mdash; Mairead Elordi (@JohnsonHildy) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnsonHildy/status/1895222470283796956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Attwood was initially arrested and released with a court date. However, his family was <a href="https://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/news/grande-prairie-parent-charged-with-aggravated-assault-child-at-stollery-recovering-from-knife-wounds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerned</a> he was still a safety threat, so they successfully petitioned for a psychiatric hold that allows a doctor to keep someone for 30 days. Attwood was kept in the hospital for several days, but he was released again on Tuesday, earlier than his family hoped.
In a Facebook live <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;ref=watch_permalink&amp;v=648551841020764&amp;rdid=y9eSlT0InZ7IQyEf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> recorded by a man who confronted Attwood at his home after the incident, Attwood identified himself by name and appeared to admit to hurting his children.
&#8220;I felt super stuck, and so I stabbed my child &#8217;cause I was scared we were going to get picked up by human traffickers,&#8221; Attwood told the man recording.
&#8220;I stabbed my daughter in the shoulder, that&#8217;s what I did, above her clavicle,&#8221; Attwood said. &#8220;I felt like I was possessed or something, like I lost my mind.&#8221;
Attwood said he did not intend to kill his children but that he wanted to &#8220;get my kids out of this situation.&#8221;
&#8220;So why&#8217;d you stab your kid? To get them out of what situation?&#8221; the man recording asked.
&#8220;Being f***ing stuck with me,&#8221; Attwood responded. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been trying to tell people, I can&#8217;t just have these kids.&#8221;
&#8220;I was a good parent,&#8221; he added later.
&#8220;I feel like I got f***ing isolated here,&#8221; he said, adding that people are rarely able to watch his children and that his car is broken.
Later in the video, Attwood said he &#8220;wanted to have my kids before I transitioned&#8221; and that &#8220;being trans isn&#8217;t a mental problem. I have other mental problems.&#8221;
&#8220;Just do some soul-searching man, and pray to God, man, and repent,&#8221; the man recording told him.
&#8220;I am, I am,&#8221; Attwood responded.
In one <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/958382149549331" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a>, Attwood said he had been on leave from work for years and collects government disability benefits from his EMT job with Alberta Health Services.
A GoFundMe account for Attwood set up last year <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/donations-for-debt-relief-current-bills-and-food" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> about $1,640. On the fundraiser page, Attwood described struggling to care for his two youngest children by himself while being separated from his partner, ending up homeless twice, and suffering with fibromyalgia.
He described wanting to get certifications for some kind of work, but said &#8220;I don&#8217;t have the energy to get into a regular workforce job again.&#8221;
Attwood said he also made money giving &#8220;oracle readings&#8221; to people, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/958382149549331" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to social media posts.
On his YouTube channel, Attwood has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Ravenfortruth/videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recorded</a> lengthy &#8220;podcasts&#8221; with various LGBT guests that garnered a few dozen views each.
His social media is filled with pro-transgender and anti-Trump posts, as well as videos of himself talking about political issues.
Attwood has a court date on March 13 in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Trans-Identifying Canadian Man Charged With Stabbing His Two Children Released

Canada

Crime

trans

The Department of Health and Human Services is spending more than $400,000 in taxpayer funds to research the alleged role of “structural racism’s” effects on substance use and HIV outcomes.
The University of California Los Angeles will receive <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_R01DA061345_7529">just under $440,000</a> from the National Institute on Drug Abuse as it works to blame differences in HIV and substance abuse treatment outcomes on an overarching system of oppression.
“It is well established that racial disparities in HIV care outcomes and use of substances among sexual minority men (SMM) of color persist because of structural racism in Los Angeles County,” the abstract’s opening line <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/search/tOdEyhgo1UaPJS0JbgaWsQ/project-details/10986884">claims</a>.
The UCLA study seeks to “interrogate” how “historical racist practices influence unequal spatial patterns and how such unequal structural factors are associated with distinct patterns of movement across social and geographic space” among black and Latino “sexual minority men.”
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The description for the grant program, which began in September 2024 and extends until July 2029, explains that the academics will use “Critical Race Praxis” and “intersectional anti-racism frameworks.”
It goes on to explain the alleged necessity of the study, arguing that “understanding how structural racism influences how BLSMM navigate the geography of LAC to receive SU and HIV care and how peer case managers, with racial and SU congruence, may enhance access to care will provide novel insights into the relationship between racism and HIV and SU treatment.”
UCLA will collaborate with researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara and the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-government-to-drop-over-1-5-million-funding-lgbt-youth-mentorship-and-campus-activism">recently reported</a> is set to receive $1.5 million from the Department of Health and Human Services to fund its youth mentorship and campus activism programs.
The UCLA study is one of many ideologically-tinged projects set to receive government funding. The Department of Health and Human Services has also agreed to fund the University of Houston study on “systemic inflammation” caused by “fear of deportation,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/government-to-fund-study-on-fear-of-deportation-leading-to-systemic-inflammation">reported</a>.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has also been used as a vehicle to advance far-left ideology, with a Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/27-of-national-science-foundation-grants-went-to-dei-projects-study-finds">investigation</a> revealing that 27% of all grants from the NSF went to support diversity, equity, and inclusion projects. Among the leftwing pet-projects raking in taxpayer funding through the NSF was a project at Columbia University to “decolonize geoscience” and another complaining that the academic peer review process is racist.
A representative for the UCLA study did not respond to a request for comment.

Prescription medication

Federal Government Set To Drop $440k Studying ‘Structural Racism’ In HIV Treatment

Critical Race Theory

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

UCLA

The United States government is set to spend over $1.5 million in taxpayer money bankrolling a far-left group&#8217;s LGBT mentorship program for children as young as 12 years old in Los Angeles and on-campus activism for K-12 students.
The Lifeworks Mentorship program is one of the initiatives from the Los Angeles LGBT Center that’s benefiting from the financial backing of the federal government, with the Department of Health and Human Services agreeing to put up nearly a million dollars in support of it.
“The LifeWorks one-on-one mentoring program gives LGBTQ+ youth ages 24 and under the opportunity to be matched with an adult in the community,” a <a href="https://lalgbtcenter.org/services/youth-services/lifeworks-mentorship-program/">description</a> from the Los Angeles LGBT Center states, with their site <a href="https://lifeworksla.org/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=idealist">specifying</a> that children as young as 12 years old can be involved. “Each mentorship is unique, and consists of everything from short- and long-term goal setting, to building their understanding of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The program is framed as a way to give young people role models when families are “not accepting” of “queer youth,” with one mentor saying that “a lot of us have gone through a period of self-parenting.”
“There’s kind of an orphaned quality to LGBTQ youth, because you very rarely have someone to model after,” one mentor said in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhQ3sy6er6M&amp;t=5s">video</a> from the organization, with a mentee adding that “there’s just such high rates of family not accepting queer youth.”
The federal government granted  <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_H79SP082182_7522">$910,000</a> in support of the program, with the funds coming from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, a subagency of the HHS. Most of the grant, $574,000, has already been disbursed, with another $336,000 set to be given to the organization before the conclusion of the grant term in August 2025.
The program isn’t the only effort from the Los Angeles LGBT Center that is backed by the American taxpayer. The organization is set to receive two more grants in the amounts of <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_NH28CE002689_7523">$250,000</a> and <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_H79SP080136_7523">$375,000</a> from the HHS, both of which will fund the Lifeworks Community Action Network.
Though the grant site doesn’t detail the program or its operations, the Los Angeles LGBT Center <a href="https://schools.lalgbtcenter.org/community-action-network-can/#">explains</a> that the Community Action Network bolsters LGBT activism at middle and high school campuses.
“CAN works with GSA and LGBTQ clubs on school campuses supporting middle and high school students, helping students and advisors strengthen their school clubs by providing tools on sustainability and recruitment, meeting formats and agendas, and club connectivity, among other things,” the group states, adding that LGBT activists are “trained in facilitation skills to build community and create social change, thereby supporting students on their campuses.”
The training topics range from “LGBTQ competency and awareness,” substance abuse prevention, and “safe spaces and inclusivity.” Both of the two grant terms end in 2027, with funding yet to be disbursed.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center did not respond to a request for comment.
The organization has raked in taxpayer dollars despite being flush with cash, the entity’s <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/953567895">IRS 990 forms</a> indicate. The organization enjoyed a revenue of $162 million in 2023 and paid its previous CEO a salary of $780k, while its chief of staff pulled in $544k. Eleven employees made over $215k each.
The leftwing, taxpayer-funded organization engages in <a href="https://lalgbtcenter.org/programs/policy-advocacy/take-action/">ideologically-driven activism</a> that directly opposes the policies of the current administration. The group claims that President Donald Trump “has pushed for policies that will target LGBTQ+ immigrants” and “threaten the safety and rights of LGBTQ+ immigrants” and also advocates for children to undergo irreversible medical interventions that seek to change their sex despite the risk of sterilization.

Los Angeles LGBT Center

Federal Government To Drop Over $1.5 Million Funding LGBT Youth Mentorship And Campus Activism

Department of Health and Human Services

spending

The Science Museum in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/london">London</a> is getting dragged on social media due to a tour they have which promotes the idea that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lego">Lego</a> blocks can be anti-<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lgbt">LGBT</a> by reinforcing “heteronormative” relationships.
The London attraction is running a self-guided tour called “Seeing Things Queerly,” per <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14368303/Science-Museum-Lego-anti-LGBT.html">The Daily Mail</a>. This tour is said to explore “stories of queer communities, experiences and identities” in the museum&#8217;s collection. 
The tour was created by a “gender and sexuality network” at the museum, the outlet noted, which includes staff and volunteers who promote  visibility and inclusion for the LGBT community. The guide was published on the museum&#8217;s blog more than two years ago, but just now went viral after The Telegraph published an article today about the tour and its claims.
One of their complaints has to do with Lego bricks being “described in a gendered way.”
“The top of the brick with sticking out pins is male, the bottom of the brick with holes to receive the pins is female, and the process of the two sides being put together is called mating,” the blog says. 
“This is an example of applying heteronormative language to topics unrelated to gender, sex and reproduction. It illustrates how heteronormativity (the idea that heterosexuality and the male/female gender binary are the norm and everything that falls outside is unusual) shapes the way we speak about science, technology, and the world in general.”
Elon Musk tweeted his reply, sending a clown face emoji in response to the Telegraph’s article. 
Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro also mocked the notion, writing on X, “Wait until the Science Museum finds out that human beings have male and female parts that are made to mate with each other.”
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Wait until the Science Museum finds out that human beings have male and female parts that are made to mate with each other <a href="https://t.co/XU2HPmxdPC">https://t.co/XU2HPmxdPC</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1887516341814349854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“The funny thing is that removing the male or female parts from Lego bricks means nothing works and everything collapses,” another person <a href="https://x.com/manofmitten/status/1887521519657529388">observed</a>.
Another replied, “Seatbelts are also bigoted.”
“Just wait until they hear about nuts and bolts,” another commenter chimed in.
A Science Museum spokesperson gave Daily Mail a statement on the controversy, saying, “This blog post was published online in 2022 to highlight a small number of objects on display at the museum that relate to LGBTQ+ individuals, experiences and communities.”

Lego blocks

London Museum Mocked For Suggesting Lego Bricks Can Be ‘Anti-LGBT’

London Museum Mocked For Suggesting Lego Bricks Can Be 'Anti-LGBT'

London

Science

Social Issues

Twitter

The stories of a dozen detransitioners, medical professionals, and mothers whose children were caught up in gender ideology are highlighted in a powerful docuseries by IW Features, a project of the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF).
&#8220;Identity Crisis&#8221; <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/watch/identity-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explores</a> the personal stories of women who have been harmed by gender ideology.
There&#8217;s Prisha Mosley, 26, a detransitioner who was <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/documentary/mentally-ill-teen-betrayed-by-health-professionals-who-recommended-testosterone-and-top-surgery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> into taking testosterone and removing her breasts but recently became a new mom; Jeanette, a mother who <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/documentary/jeannette-coopers-story-chicago-mother-loses-custody-of-her-daughter-for-insisting-that-her-daughter-is-a-girl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost</a> custody of her daughter for insisting she was a girl; and Dr. Miriam Grossman, MD, a child psychiatrist who denounced her profession for pushing gender ideology.
Transgender medicalization for children and youth can involve puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, double mastectomies for girls, and genital surgery for both sexes to try to achieve the appearance of the opposite sex. In recent years, medical professionals have begun sounding the alarm on these drastic interventions while detransitioners have spoken out about how they were harmed. A number of European countries and American states have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/weak-evidence-britains-nhs-to-review-all-transgender-treatment-after-major-report">pumped</a> the brakes on allowing children to access transgender drugs and surgeries.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that the United States will not fund or support the &#8220;so-called &#8216;transition&#8217; of a child from one sex to another&#8221; and will &#8220;rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dY6s_wIDUaU?si=fOKq5dZttT0ETV98" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
IWF, a conservative nonprofit <a href="https://www.iwf.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with</a> a mission to expand women’s opportunities and advance policies that will enhance freedom, began highlighting women&#8217;s stories from across the country six years ago. The goal of its storytelling is to foster a deep understanding of complex policy issues and inspire change through the lens of women&#8217;s personal experiences.
&#8220;Women like to tell stories. We sit down, we tell stories a lot,&#8221; Victoria Coley, IWF&#8217;s vice president of communications said in an interview with The Daily Wire.
&#8220;We started realizing that women really wanted to open up to us,&#8221; Coley said. &#8220;Then we started seeing how powerful storytelling was to change hearts and minds. The Left really does a great job with telling stories.&#8221;
IWF first started telling detransitioners&#8217; stories in 2022. Initially, they were contacted by parents of children caught up in gender ideology who wanted to vent, then health care professionals began reaching out to share how gender ideology had taken over their workplaces. Eventually, detransitioners began sharing their stories.
The storytelling project was so successful that last year IWF launched a dedicated website, IW Features, founded by Kelsey Bolar, who executive produced the &#8220;Identity Crisis&#8221; series.
Andrea Mew, IW Features&#8217; managing editor, said that working on the &#8220;Identity Crisis&#8221; series is personal to her.
&#8220;In high school, my closest friends were people who experimented with their gender identity,&#8221; Mew told The Daily Wire.
Mew said she grew up a Democrat &#8220;by default,&#8221; but underwent a &#8220;vast political transformation, poking holes in my own political philosophy and realizing I had been wrong the whole time.&#8221;
&#8220;However, most of my friends never came to that conclusion,&#8221; she said. &#8220;These are people who, unfortunately, now I don&#8217;t think I would recognize them in public. All of my close high school friends identify as transgender.&#8221;
&#8220;My heart hurts to this day still thinking about my old friends and how they&#8217;re all damaged in one way or another by medications and surgeries,&#8221; she said, noting that these are the &#8220;people I use to love and spend all my time with.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s just so much irreversible damage, and thankfully there&#8217;s some reversible damage as well,&#8221; Mew said.
The &#8220;Identity Crisis&#8221; series has several more detransitioner stories coming down the pike that will be released soon.
&#8220;I think unfortunately we&#8217;re going to start to see a lot more stories of young women and young men who underwent these changes, regret them, and now need the support from warm communities with open arms that they are okay, that they can heal, and that we&#8217;re here to support them through the process,&#8221; Mew said.
Mew praised the detransitioners who have already shared their stories for taking &#8220;such a bold stance.&#8221;
&#8220;It takes a lot of courage to say &#8216;hey, I permanently altered my body and I really regret doing it.&#8217; They&#8217;re willing to step up, be extremely vulnerable with us, and contribute their voice to change,&#8221; she said.
Already, the pushback against gender ideology, including the stories of the detransitioners IWF has highlighted has reached policymakers.
Mosley, the detransitioner who recently became a mom, has testified about her experience before several state legislatures. Meanwhile, eight states have <a href="https://www.iwf.org/2025/01/20/independent-women-the-original-champion-of-legislation-to-define-woman-applauds-president-trumps-day-one-executive-order-to-restore-biological-reality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted</a> IWF&#8217;s model legislation to define sex-based terms.
Lawsuits against medical professionals who provided transgender drugs and surgery to youth are ongoing as well.
Mosley is <a href="https://cmppllc.com/?page_id=203" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suing</a> her doctors over her transgender medicalization, and IWF said it helped connect her with her legal team.
Detransitioner Cristina Hineman, 20, is taking on Planned Parenthood with another lawsuit, and Isabelle Ayala, 20, is suing the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Female athletes who were forced to compete against males have also had their stories <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/our-stories/men-in-womens-spaces/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> in IW Features, including Sia Liilii, captain of the women&#8217;s volleyball team at the University of Nevada, Reno, which forfeited a game against a team with a male player, and Payton McNabb, a high school volleyball player who suffered a traumatic brain injury when a male player&#8217;s powerful spike hit her head, ending her athletic career.
Another IW Features <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/watch/cruel-unusual-punishment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">series</a>, &#8220;Cruel &amp; Unusual Punishment,&#8221; highlights the stories of incarcerated women who were forced to share a cell with a trans-identifying man. The series shares the experience of an incarcerated woman who was raped by her 6&#8217;2&#8243; male cellmate, as well as the story of another woman who had to share a cell with a man who was connected to a group of men who sexually abused her when she was 10.
Over the summer, IWF <a href="https://www.iwf.org/2024/06/12/iwf-iwv-iwlc-oppose-nomination-of-judge-sarah-netburn-applaud-u-s-senate-judiciarys-efforts-to-expose-anti-woman-nominee/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposed</a> a federal court nomination, which ultimately failed, of a judge who had recommended that a man convicted of rape and child molestation be transferred to a women’s prison. Bolar, IW Features&#8217; founder, later <a href="https://www.iwf.org/2024/09/24/media-advisory-iwf-kelsey-bolar-testifies-senate-judiciary-on-the-male-takeover-of-womens-prisons/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the issue, sharing several of the women&#8217;s stories.

Untitled design

Detransitioners’ Powerful Stories Showcased In IWF’s ‘Identity Crisis’ Docuseries

Detransitioners' Powerful Stories Showcased In IWF's 'Identity Crisis' Docuseries

Women

A Colorado school district could soon let teachers fly Black Lives Matter and transgender flags in the classroom, but not make other political statements.
The Durango School District 9-R&#8217;s school board is set to consider two resolutions that support displaying the &#8220;Progress Pride&#8221; and BLM flags in classrooms and double down on DEI and gender ideology. The district banned all political flags in September, when a parent <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250105162610/https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durango-schools-ban-black-lives-matter-trans-specific-pride-flags/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a complaint claiming the BLM and transgender “Pride Progress” flags in their child’s classroom are &#8220;political symbols&#8221; that &#8220;indoctrinate students.&#8221;
Chief Academic Officer Dylan Connell reviewed the situation with legal counsel and determined that the &#8220;Pride Progress&#8221; and BLM symbols are “political in nature.” He directed school staff to remove the flags and all other political content “immediately.” On October 1, principals at the high school and middle school told staff that “political flags, posters and items displaying political symbols” must be removed from classrooms in response to a parental complaint.
But just two weeks later, the school board <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250102230720/https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durango-school-board-reverses-ban-on-trans-specific-pride-black-lives-matter-flags/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> unanimously to suspend the ban on the flags amid an outcry from the liberal area&#8217;s residents, including a student walkout. Then, at a November school board meeting, board members <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241231183932/https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durango-school-board-may-consider-action-to-sanction-certain-flags/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> they thought a special resolution might give them a legal loophole to display the progressive flags without opening the door to all political speech or violating the First Amendment.
&#8220;By designating it government speech and adopting [them] as symbols of our school district, it avoids a First Amendment problem,” board member Rick Petersen said.
Essentially, the school district itself would be endorsing the &#8220;Progress Pride&#8221; and BLM flags rather than simply allowing teachers to display them.
Denver Public Schools <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250105200710/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/courts/federal-judge-dismisses-denver-parents-lawsuit-seeking-straight-pride-flag-display/article_2c351eb4-7ee3-11ef-a4c4-3f644b322a60.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won</a> a legal battle using a similar argument last year when a judge ruled that a pride flag in a classroom was the district&#8217;s own speech, so the First Amendment did not apply. A parent had complained that the pride flag was discriminatory, since the school did not also display a &#8220;straight pride&#8221; flag.
The fear of a &#8220;straight lives matter&#8221; flag came up during the Durango school board&#8217;s meeting when a student <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfkMRg6f_CE&amp;t=5520s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> what they would do if someone wanted to display such a flag.
&#8220;You just say no, and if they want to sue us then we&#8217;ll see what the courts say,&#8221; a board member responded.
The district now <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241229162203/https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durango-school-board-unveils-proposed-flag-resolutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has</a> two resolutions on the table that would allow teachers to display both the &#8220;Progress Pride&#8221; and BLM flags.
The pride flag <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/dsd/Board.nsf/files/DBSRLP6E8A9C/$file/LGBTQ%20IA2S%2B%20Resolution%20-%20DRAFT%20(1).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> claims that &#8220;affirming gender identity&#8221; is one of the &#8220;most effective mental health interventions&#8221; for trans-identifying children despite <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/europe-dialing-back-shocking-policies-on-transgender-kids-and-medical-intervention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mounting</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/weak-evidence-britains-nhs-to-review-all-transgender-treatment-after-major-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushback</a> from medical professionals.
It also doubles down on &#8220;honoring&#8221; a student&#8217;s self-reported gender identity, saying it &#8220;will not wait&#8221; for the &#8220;acceptance&#8221; of &#8220;outside adults,&#8221; presumably parents. The resolution also says the district &#8220;does not require parental consent&#8221; to be in their school&#8217;s LGBT club, and emphasizes that the district supports trans-identifying students using the bathroom of the opposite sex.
The BLM flag <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/dsd/Board.nsf/files/DBSRM46E9A5D/$file/BLM%20Resolution%20-%20DRAFT%20(1).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> doubles down on the district&#8217;s 2021 DEI resolution and states that &#8220;addressing systemic inequities&#8221; does not &#8220;diminish the value, rights, inclusion, or educational opportunities of other students.&#8221;
&#8220;The Black Lives Matter movement, like the civil rights and Black Power movements before it, has effectively articulated the systemic injustices that exist at the intersections of race, class, and gender,&#8221; the second resolution reads.
The resolutions appear to be drafted by Kristin Smith, the board&#8217;s <a href="https://www.durangoschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=458611&amp;type=d&amp;pREC_ID=1035718" target="_blank" rel="noopener">president</a>, and Erika Brown, the vice president.
The Colorado Republican Party&#8217;s vice chairwoman has voiced strong opposition to the resolutions.
The LGBT resolution “blatantly disregards students who hold religious, cultural, or personal beliefs that conflict with LGBTQIA2S+ ideologies,” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241229162203/https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durango-school-board-unveils-proposed-flag-resolutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> vice chairwoman Hope Scheppelman, who is also the secretary of the county party.
“These students and families are effectively told they don’t matter,” Scheppelman said.
The school board is expected to consult with the district&#8217;s lawyers this month before considering formally adopting the resolutions.
Last week, the Trump administration took an axe to DEI initiatives, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-everything-trump-did-his-first-week-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrapping</a> all government DEI programs and putting their staff on leave.
As the flag controversy was going on, the Durango school district was dealing with another crisis — one of its teachers was accused of sexually abusing dozens of local children.
In October, Benjamin Smith, 28, a music teacher at one of the district&#8217;s middle schools was arrested and <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/durango-teacher-charged-coercion-and-enticement-minor-possession-child-pornography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> with 48 counts of coercion and enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography, including sexually explicit photographs of more than two dozen children in the Durango area, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241107172952/https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/police-seek-potential-victims-involving-former-escalate-middle-school-teacher/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a federal indictment.
Smith was <a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/durango-teacher-indicted/73-f88f91e7-09e9-424b-929d-a0a55c019eb3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> of posing as a 16-year-old girl on Snapchat and getting a teenager to meet him in a parking lot for sex. The teen met Smith, but then reported him to the police.

U.S. Rep Chrissy Houlahan Visits Community Organizations In Reading Pennsylvania To Talk About American Rescue Plan

Colorado School Board Could Allow Teachers To Fly BLM, Transgender Flags In Classroom

Colorado School Board Weighs Special Exception For BLM, Transgender Flags In Classroom

Colorado

Education

Public Schools

A bishop asked President Donald Trump to “have mercy” on “transgender children” who “fear for their lives” and illegal aliens during her message at the National Prayer Service.
The comments from Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde come just after the newly inaugurated president signed a wide array of executive orders last night aimed at purging far-left transgender ideology from American institutions and securing the southern border.
“In the name of our God, I ask you, to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” Bishop Budde said during the National Prayer Service. “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families who fear for their lives.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Woke Bishop Mariann Budde To Trump: ‘Have Mercy’ On Trans Kids, Illegal Aliens" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6YcWt43ifpY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation,” Budde went on to say to the president. “But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches &#8230;”
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands, to find compassion and welcome here,” she went on to say.
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Budde’s statements come after the Republican president signed an executive order proclaiming that there are <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/">only two genders</a> and blasting “efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex.” The order also mandates that executive agencies stop promoting gender ideology in their own operations and that federal funds are not given to grantees for the purpose of promoting gender ideology.
Trump also signed a range of different executive orders pertaining to immigration, including one declaring a national emergency at the border, an order to curtail birthright citizenship for illegal aliens, and another designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The president is also expected to begin a wave of illegal alien deportations in the coming days.
Budde has a history of <a href="https://x.com/charliespiering/status/1881759652792455291">criticizing</a> Trump and blasted him years ago after he used riot police to clear Black Lives Matter protestors out of the area surrounding the White House, even saying that his message was &#8220;antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that we as a church stand for.&#8221;
<a href="https://store.dailywire.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooufY6nh7gaI2xU7kFPH_cEyu28MIw7OaYPdfQXTDnoFjhxMeAS" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-862379 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-1024x391.png" alt="" width="1024" height="391" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-1024x391.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-300x115.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-768x293.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-1536x587.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-2048x782.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>

Bishop Budde

Bishop Asks Trump To ‘Have Mercy’ On Trans Children, Illegal Aliens At National Prayer Service

deportation

Deportations

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

A famous Minnesota marathon is offering hundreds of discounted tickets to athletes from &#8220;underrepresented communities,&#8221; including racial minorities and LGBT people.
Grandma&#8217;s Marathon in Duluth said it will offer 500 discounted tickets to the special groups, which include but are not limited to &#8220;communities of color, athletes with disabilities, non-binary athletes, and LGBTQI+ athletes.&#8221;
&#8220;In helping with the cost of registration, our organization hopes to open our arms to runners in those communities and to help them feel a sense of belonging within our race, our city, and our sport,&#8221; the marathon&#8217;s website <a href="https://grandmasmarathon.com/the-marathon/diversity-equity-inclusion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reads</a>.
Entries to the race are coveted. The marathon is already <a href="https://grandmasmarathon.com/the-marathon/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold</a> out, even though it is still five months away. But the marathon&#8217;s website homepage <a href="https://grandmasmarathon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emphasizes</a> that &#8220;DEI entries [are] still available.&#8221;
An &#8220;Equity, Access, and Inclusion Policy&#8221; from 2023 on the marathon&#8217;s website <a href="https://grandmasmarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Access-Equity-and-Inclusion-Policy_2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declares</a> that &#8220;our intention [is] to create an event that adheres to principles of social equity and inclusion and is open, welcoming, safe, and accessible for all who have an interest in participating.&#8221;
Despite the marathon&#8217;s repetitive emphasis on inclusivity, it <a href="https://grandmasmarathon.com/the-marathon/diversity-equity-inclusion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">places</a> restrictions on runners who identify as transgender or non-binary.
Trans-identifying runners who want to be eligible for cash prizes or age-division awards must prove their testosterone has been below a certain level for a year, in some cases longer, and they must have claimed to be female for at least four years.
Meanwhile, runners can register as non-binary for the &#8220;mass participation start,&#8221; but if they want to run in the &#8220;elite fields&#8221; they must email the elite athlete director. They are also restricted to a separate prize pool they can compete for amongst each other.
Marathon organizers did not respond to a request for comment.
DEI policies in both education and the corporate world have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-radical-intolerance-behind-woke-corporate-activism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">come</a> under fire in recent years from critics who argue they are discriminatory. One of the biggest blows to DEI was the Supreme Court&#8217;s 2023 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-issues-landmark-ruling-on-affirmative-action-at-universities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision</a> to strike down affirmative action at universities. The Court is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelletravis/2024/12/22/the-supreme-court-case-that-will-fuel-the-corporate-dei-debate-in-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set</a> to rule on another case this year that could have implications for corporate DEI programs.
Already though, companies are taking notice.
On Monday, McDonald&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mcdonalds-backs-away-from-dei-programs-amid-shifting-legal-landscape">announced</a> it will step back from several DEI initiatives, citing a “shifting legal landscape.” Legal experts have <a href="https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2024/04/02/assessing-the-legality-of-dei-programs/?slreturn=20250109141802" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cautioned</a> that in some cases, DEI policies risk causing legal problems.
Grandma’s Marathon, named after its original sponsor, Grandma&#8217;s Restaurant, says it is &#8220;one of the largest and best-known&#8221; marathons in the country and has become a huge community event that marks the &#8220;unofficial kickoff to summer&#8221; for the area.
The race began in 1977 and now attracts more than 20,000 runners every year to run along the shore of Lake Superior into downtown Duluth.

Marathon Runners, Multiracial Group of

Marathon Offers 500 Discounted Tickets To Minority And LGBT Runners

Marathon Offers 500 Discounted Tickets To Minority, LGBT Runners

Minorities

Sports

As fires rage through the Los Angeles area, Kristin M. Crowley, the first woman and lesbian to become Los Angeles Fire Department Chief, is facing harsh criticism for her focus on DEI initiatives instead of a pure meritocracy.
Crowley, who was appointed fire chief by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2022, <a href="https://www.saintmarys.edu/news/forging-future-lafd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> a diversity, equity, and inclusion bureau in January 2023, and prepared to implement a three-year plan committing the LAFD to an organization embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
According to the LAFD, DEI is a top priority for Crowley. “Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities are Chief Crowley’s priorities,” the LAFD <a href="https://lafd.org/about/organization/fire-chief" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> states.
“People ask me, &#8216;What number are you looking for?’” she told a reporter. “I’m not looking for a number; it’s never enough.” She said of including members of the LGBT community, “They feel included; they feel valued, and they feel part of a cohesive team. &#8230; That just kind of opens the door of people who thought, ‘Wow, I didn’t even know that that was an opportunity for me.’”
In June 2024, Crowley served as grand marshal of the LA Pride Parade. “This feels like a whole other level, especially being part of the parade as a grand marshal of the Los Angeles Fire Department,” she <a href="//3B56127F-2573-474A-B493-57E76F8E2C68/v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “It’s very humbling. I have been proud to participate in the pride parade over the past few years, but this is extra special—being able to be out front and represent the department and our community as a whole.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
LA Fire Chief is being hailed as the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in Los Angeles. She says her priority is DEI.
Here she is waving a pride flag at a pride parade while dressed in uniform. <a href="https://t.co/E2mjsGN2KK">pic.twitter.com/E2mjsGN2KK</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1877042946400190654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
By 2 p.m. EST Wednesday, three fires were <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-southern-california-santa-ana-winds-b565a3bd043d6444820f1571b2307bf1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raging</a> in the Los Angeles area: the Palisades fire, west of Los Angeles, which had burned roughly 4.5 square miles; the Eaton fire, north of Pasadena, which had burned about 16.6 square miles, and the Hurst fire, in the San Fernando Valley, which had burned roughly 500 acres. Over <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-fires-things-to-know-winds-f93d41dc901e352b63e86ab67ef7790e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">70,000 residents were under evacuation orders</a>. Over 250, 000 customers were <a href="https://poweroutage.us/area/county/3015" target="_blank" rel="noopener">without power</a>.
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“By 3 a.m. Wednesday, all fire hydrants in the Palisades area ‘went dry,’ said Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the city’s utility,” the Los Angeles Times <a href="//3B56127F-2573-474A-B493-57E76F8E2C68/v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.

Los Angeles Selects First Female Fire Chief

Los Angeles Fire Chief Says DEI Is A Top Priority

Los Angeles Fire Department

U.S.

The past few years have seen Americans roundly reject the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology universities have long pushed on faculty and students alike.
Even before the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action at universities, a majority of Americans, 62%, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/most-americans-think-college-admissions-should-not-consider-race-reutersipsos-2023-02-15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposed</a> race-based college admissions. At least a dozen states, including one with a Democratic governor, have cracked down on DEI at their higher education institutions in the past few years.
In 2024, seven states signed legislation against DEI or stripped funding for it at universities — Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming. Those states join Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and North Dakota, all of which moved against DEI before last year.
In April, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, allowed the legislature to enact a new <a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2105_enrolled.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> that fines public universities $10,000 if they use DEI policies in hiring faculty or accepting students.
&#8220;While I have concerns about this legislation, I don’t believe that the conduct targeted in this legislation occurs in our universities,&#8221; Kelly <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/six-states-banned-limited-dei-colleges-universities-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of the bill.
In Utah, Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, signed a <a href="https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0261.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> prohibiting universities from having &#8220;diversity, equity and inclusion&#8221; programs, practices, or required trainings.
The law says such &#8220;discriminatory&#8221; practices include asserting that &#8220;meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist&#8221; or &#8220;that an individual, by virtue of the individual’s personal identity characteristics, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other individuals with the same personal identity characteristics.&#8221;
Alabama&#8217;s new <a href="https://arc-sos.state.al.us/ucp/L1499133.AI1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> banning DEI offices from public universities, K-12 school systems, and state agencies <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alabama-universities-shutter-dei-offices-new-law-rcna163400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took</a> effect in October.
The Alabama law also prohibits pushing certain &#8220;divisive concepts&#8221; in public settings, including that a person can be &#8220;inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously&#8221; due to his race, sex, or religion.
In response, the University of Alabama&#8217;s three campuses shuttered their DEI offices.
The Alabama law also addresses the transgender bathroom issue. It requires restrooms at public universities to be designated on the basis of biological sex with &#8220;penalties for violation.&#8221;
Indiana passed a <a href="https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0202/SB0202.06.ENRH.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> in March banning universities from requiring diversity statements from employees or students. The law also requires universities to have policies where faculty cannot get tenure if they have not encouraged “free expression and intellectual diversity” or have taught students political views unrelated to their classes. It also orders universities to explore ways to promote recruitment of &#8220;underrepresented&#8221; students, not just minority students.
Iowa passed a <a href="https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&amp;ba=SF%202435" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> in May barring its three state universities from having DEI offices or requiring anyone to submit a DEI statement. And Wyoming <a href="https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2024/03/a-message-from-the-president-legislative-actions-regarding-uw.html#:~:text=Most%20notably%2C%20the%20Legislature%20reduced,%2C%20effective%20July%201%2C%202024." target="_blank" rel="noopener">defunded</a> the DEI office at the University of Wyoming, which had been getting $1.73 million.
A number of other states banned certain DEI policies before last year. Florida now has several anti-DEI laws, including a 2023 law that <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/931/?Tab=BillHistory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibits</a> public universities from requiring a &#8220;political loyalty test&#8221; from employees or students or giving them preferential treatment based on race or ideology. Another Florida law from that year bans using state or federal funds for DEI at public universities.
Last month, Idaho&#8217;s state education board unanimously <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/in-sweeping-action-idahos-education-board-bans-dei-ideology-on-college-campuses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to ban race and gender policies and cultural centers at its public universities.
In 2021, Idaho barred public colleges and K-12 schools from DEI statements, or compelling “students to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to” certain concepts related to sex, race, and religion. The same year, the state <a href="https://www.highereddive.com/news/idaho-education-board-bans-dei-boise-state-university-idaho-state-lewis-clark/735987/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20Legislature%20passed,%2C%20color%2C%20or%20national%20origin." target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut</a> $2.5 million from state funding for social justice programming at its three public universities.
In 2023, North Dakota enacted a new law <a href="https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0417-02000.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banning</a> DEI statements at universities as well as mandatory DEI training. A student or school employee may not be required to agree with concepts like &#8220;race or sex scapegoating&#8221; or that an individual &#8220;should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual&#8217;s race or sex,&#8221; the law says.
The same year, Texas enacted a <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB00017F.pdf#navpanes=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> requiring public universities to confirm that they do not require DEI statements or have a DEI office before they can spend any state money.
In 2022, Tennessee <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/diversity-equity/2023/04/18/tennessee-again-targets-divisive-concepts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a law saying public university students and employees cannot be penalized for not agreeing with certain “divisive concepts” including that “the rule of law does not exist, but instead is a series of power relationships and struggles among racial or other groups.”
The state doubled down in 2023 with another law banning mandatory implicit bias training and inviting students and employees to report violations.
North Carolina passed a <a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/Senate/PDF/S364v6.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> in 2023 making it illegal to force state employees, including those at public universities to give their opinion about &#8220;matters of contemporary political debate or social action.&#8221;
The state&#8217;s Democratic governor vetoed the bill, saying it would get rid of training to help people understand &#8220;the unconscious bias we all bring to our work and our communities.&#8221; However, the legislature <a href="https://ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/S364" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overrode</a> the governor&#8217;s veto.
A slew of other states have proposed anti-DEI legislation as well, but so far they have not been successful.

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Even those who have never considered purchasing a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cars">Jaguar</a> are confused by the brand’s latest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/advertising">relaunch</a>, which has been getting attention for all the wrong reasons. Viewers are saying the luxury car brand has gone <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/woke">woke</a> and in doing so, has destroyed more than 100 years of legacy.
Some thought the colorfully bizarre, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-is-dead-jaguar-gets-mocked-for-colorful-car-free-brand-re-launch">car-free car commercial</a> and the introduction of the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-jaguar-concept-car-revealed-mocked-for-being-pink-batmobile">Pink batmobile</a>” electric concept car this month came out of nowhere. However, the descent into madness at Jaguar has been going on for decades, even if most people weren’t paying attention.
There may be no exact date to point to in terms of steering this <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-kingdom">British</a> brand in a new direction. But it may have started around 2002 when brand reps conducted a survey and determined that they should be marketing to gay and lesbian car buyers who at the time commanded $450 million of purchasing power in the United States, as The Advocate <a href="https://www.advocate.com/news/2002/12/19/jaguar-targets-gay-drivers-7249">reported</a> at the time. 
&#8220;[LGBT buyers] spend more money on luxury cars, and they have more money to spend,&#8221; Jaguar spokesman Simon Sproule said. &#8220;They are very loyal to brands and organizations that talk to them in a way that is relevant.&#8221;
“In recent years, Jaguar has targeted gay consumers on a smaller scale and found the brand is very appealing to this segment,” Jaguar North America marketing vice president George Ayres <a href="https://www.just-auto.com/news/usa-jaguar-targets-new-ad-campaign-at-gay-and-lesbian-buyers/">agreed</a>.
Their <a href="https://www.jaguar.co.uk/partnerships/jaguar-x-attitude.html">website</a> offers further clues to the brand’s progressive shift, touting that since 2016 Jaguar has been “a proud partner to the world’s biggest LGBTQ+ media brand, Attitude Magazine.” 
The brand also sponsors Attitude Magazine’s big annual event, the Attitude Awards, claiming to be the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. In 2019, in partnership with Attitude Magazine, the brand <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/10/04/jaguars-long-term-attitude-partnership-births-jag-race-mini-series">launched</a> an online mini-series – Jag Race – featuring four drag queens, which happened to coincide with the popular American reality show “Ru Paul&#8217;s Drag Race” premiering on the BBC.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Courtney Act and The Vivienne actually drag race | Heat One – Jag Race S1, E1" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4OLZnksXD4U?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Jaguar Land Rover UK marketing director Anthony Bradbury told media outlet The Drum that their goal was, &#8220;challenging stereotypes of what an automotive campaign can be.”
&#8220;The industry has a stereotypically masculine image, so it’s important we use our platform to challenge that perception and reflect the diversity not only in our customer base but our employee network,&#8221; he said of the campaign, also noting that the Jaguar Land Rover Pride community had more than 450 members.
Mike Buckley, head of partnerships at Attitude, said he’s been thrilled with the collaboration with Jaguar. He said “Jag Race” is just one example of the brand’s “commitment to the LGBTQ+ audience.”
&#8220;They&#8217;ve been a dream partner since the start, committed to providing bespoke content for our audience,” Buckley said. “A number of concepts were initially presented by us to them but they wanted to be even more fearless than we thought they did. So Jag Race was their idea which we developed, produced and distributed for them.&#8221;
Also in 2019, Jaguar partnered with Queer Screen to present its 26th Mardi Gras Film Festival. Their “Fit for a Queen” campaign to promote the festival had the <a href="https://campaignbrief.com/jaguar-launches-new-fit-for-a/">intention</a> of  “celebrating individualism and queer storytelling.”
Mark Cameron, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Australia, said of the sponsorship, “Inclusion is integral to the way that we do business at Jaguar and we recently established the Jaguar Land Rover PRIDE LGBTQI network in the UK. We are excited to celebrate creativity, equality and diversity with the incredible line-up of LGBTQI talent and films in this year’s festival, and of course to have some fun at our Jaguar Service Centre.”
There’s more. In 2022, Jaguar highlighted “the voices of two queer creatives” to discuss topics like representation and not caring what people think. Layton Williams <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eggWFSxN3XM">discussed</a> being cast as the first black Billy Elliot cast in a stage production of a show. “As queer people, sometimes we have to… well, you have to work a little bit harder sometimes. Well, I feel I have.”
The work that Jaguar started in 2002 and has been dutifully working toward ever since – to turn the brand into an homage to LGBTQ ideals – should not have been a surprise at all. During an appearance at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards in October, Santino Pietrosanti, UK Brand Director at Jaguar Land Rover, said the company rebrand was exactly what it looked like.
&#8220;We&#8217;re on a transformative journey of our own. Driven by a belief in diversity, inclusion, creativity, policy and, most importantly, action. We&#8217;ve established over 15 DEI groups such as Pride, which are here tonight, and Women in Engineering and Neurodiversity Matters,&#8221; Pietrosanti <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/jaguar-marketing-directors-comments-celebrating-commitment-dei-resurface-after-woke-rebrand">said</a> at the time.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve launched major policy revisions such as transitioning at work to drive equity and support for our communities, embracing individuality as our superpower,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We&#8217;re not just talking about new cars. We are talking about all new ways of thinking and embracing the full spectrum of human potential and creativity. Because Jaguar has always stood for fearless originality, striving to be a copy of nothing. And we believe that every person has the potential to be something unique, something original, and that&#8217;s what makes us strong.&#8221; 
He said, &#8220;At Jaguar we proudly stand with the LGBTQ+ community because we know that originality and creativity thrives in spaces where people are free to be themselves.”
Despite Bud Light’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bud-lights-parent-company-lost-over-1-billion-in-revenue-after-dylan-mulvaney-partnership-report">billion dollar advertising train wreck</a> and several high-profile companies shying away from hot button social issues and abandoning <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/companies-are-running-from-dei-lgbt-initiatives">DEI initiatives</a>, Jaguar is all in for progressive values and unashamed to say so. Time will tell if that works out for them.

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Jaguar Has Been Going Woke For Two Decades, Even If We Just Noticed It

Jaguar Has Been Going Woke For Two Decades, We Only Just Noticed It Now

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