New Hampshire

‘Emergency for trans girls in NH’: Young athletes share fears Gov. Sununu could sign ban

Published

2 years ago

May 30, 2024

‘Emergency for trans girls in NH’: Young athletes share fears Gov. Sununu could sign ban

CONCORD — Maëlle Jacques was happy after she won the high jump in the New Hampshire high school Division III track and field championships on May 23. But it wasn’t because of the victory.

“It was my favorite thing ever, because I tied,” Jacques said. “It’s like, sharing the experience with the girl, we were both really happy. We got to share the first-place ribbon. That’s my favorite part of it, is just being happy with friends.”

But Jacques also dreaded news articles she expected would follow. Articles like one published by a conservative media outlet after the indoor track championships this winter with a headline that read, “Winner of NH Girls High Jump is Biological Male.”

While she was happy to share the first-place ribbon, Jacques said if her competitor had wanted to keep jumping, she would’ve stepped out. Because for Jacques, who is a transgender girl and a sophomore who competes on the soccer and track teams for Kearsarge Regional High School, sports aren’t about winning. Sports are where she can clear her head, where she can find acceptance, and where she has her closest friends.

“I don’t find a level of acceptance I find in sports anywhere else,” Jacques said. “I mean, I’m part of the team. There’s not really a second thought from my teammates.”

It’s the same for Parker Tirrell, who plays soccer at Plymouth Regional High School. Soccer is where she’s made most of her friendships.

“Soccer is one of the main parts of my life,” Tirrell said. “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t play anymore.”

But now in New Hampshire, transgender girls are being forced to consider life without sports. Over the past couple weeks, state lawmakers have passed several bills that would affect transgender people. House Bill 1205 would ban transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams from fifth to 12th grade. HB 396 would roll back nondiscrimination protections for transgender people, opening the door to bathroom bans. HB 619 would ban gender-affirming procedures for those under 18 years old, and HB 1312 would expand notice requirements to parents to materials related to gender identity.

All four bills are headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who has not indicated whether he will sign them. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

“I think it’s an emergency right now for trans rights in New Hampshire,” said Linds Jakows, a founder of 603 Equality, a LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in New Hampshire. “If any of these bills are passed, that would be the first time that New Hampshire actively took a step backwards for trans legal rights in the state.”

Will transgender youth leave New Hampshire?

For Tirrell and Jacques, New Hampshire is their home. But they, and other transgender people in the state, have had to consider leaving.

The Tirrells have deep roots in their community. Parker’s father, Zach, is on the Plymouth selectboard, and her mother, Sara, does a lot of volunteer work. They said their community has been very supportive and they would rather stay in Plymouth, but if laws started passing that would prevent Parker from receiving gender-affirming care, they might be “forced” to leave. The care, like any medication, is not something Parker can just quit “cold turkey,” she said.

Jakows said she already knows some families who are making plans to move by next school year; in particular, another family whose daughter plays sports in New Hampshire.

“They don’t want to take their chances,” said Jakows. “I think that some people who are on the anti-trans side think that, ‘oh, it’s just a very slight rearrangement of your life,’ like ‘oh, you know, if you cannot play sports, you’ll find another hobby or some other activity.’ But there are people that are rearranging their entire lives and making major moves when they don’t want to otherwise based on these policies.”

More: Why are there so many bills about gender identity in New Hampshire? Experts weigh in

Rep. Alissandra Murray, D-Manchester, one of a few transgender legislators in New Hampshire, has friends who are leaving or thinking of leaving the state because of the legislation. Murray doesn’t want people to leave but understands the desire to move somewhere they will feel safer and more accepted.

“The sad thing is that some families that are here, have already moved here because they left Texas or like another place that they didn’t feel safe. And now they’re feeling like they might have to move again,” said Murray. “That’s really heartbreaking. I hate that we have made our state feel so unwelcoming to such a vulnerable population.”

Murray thinks this isn’t the “norm” for New Hampshire and has “full confidence” lawmakers will be able to repeal these bills within the next couple of years if Sununu signs them. The Tirrells have hope too: after all, New Hampshire is supposed to be the “Live Free or Die” state, they said.

“When I was grew up, they told me that this was a free state and we could do what we want, as long as it wasn’t illegal, and we could pursue our dreams and we could be what we want to be and for me that’s being a girls soccer player,” said Parker. “And they are now telling me that I can’t do that.”

Jacques wants to move, but with two years left of high school, her brother headed to college, and separated parents, she thinks it’s probably not a realistic possibility. Instead, she said her best option is to fight.

“Work with organizations, ACLU, GLAAD, whatever it takes to try and find some other means of getting around this bill,” Jacques said. “If not possible, I have family in Quebec. So I’ll go to college in Canada.”

‘We’re just kids’: Legislation targets a small community, opponents say

For Murray, this legislative session has been challenging. They’ve felt betrayed and hopeless when their colleagues continue to vote for these bills even after Murray has talked to them. While it has been mostly Republicans voting for these bills, 11 Democrats voted for HB 619 and two voted for HB 396 in the House.

“I’m basically having to beg my colleagues to recognize our humanity and listen to the people, like the queer people here in New Hampshire, and not let these national headlines and culture wars impact what actually goes on in our state,” Murray said.

Murray said the bills feel “really targeted,” especially with such a small number of transgender girls playing in school sports in New Hampshire. Jacques only knows one other: Tirrell. On the Senate floor, Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, said there were just five.

“So these children that are being really intentionally picked on, essentially, by conservative media and conservative politicians and made to feel like they are a danger somehow to their friends and teammates, and made to feel like they’re wrong and that there isn’t a place for them in public schools, or in schools in general,” said Murray.

Arguments in support of these bills, especially to ban transgender athletes, include ones of fairness and safety.

Jacques said she feels like people make her and other transgender athletes out to be “menaces to be defeated,” when in reality, she said on her team, she is “by far” the least muscular and not close to the tallest. Tirrell and her parents said that people often struggle to pick Parker out in pictures, proving that one has “no idea without having that context.” Their message: Transgender girls are not a monolith.

“I feel like a lot of those people have the perspective that all trans girl athletes are like, I don’t know, like, 6-foot-3-inch football linemen or something that are like a danger,” Jacques said. “Obviously, there are cases where it could be unfair and whatnot. But it’s not all cases and an outright ban is really extreme.”

LGBTQ community members rally outside State House

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, what looked like over one hundred members of the LGBTQ community and allies gathered at the New Hampshire State House to call on Sununu to veto the legislation. They lined the halls of the state house, chanting and singing things like “Which side are you on?” and “We are fighting for our futures and together we are strong.” They entered the Governor’s office, and told their stories to a staffer one by one.

Tirrell joined the rally. Her mother has been writing letters by hand to Sununu every day. They are optimistic that he won’t “bow to some cultural pressures,” and instead make a decision aligning with the anti-discrimination protections for transgender people he signed into law in 2018.

“Back in 2018, Gov. Sununu chose to do the right thing and protect trans people in NH from discrimination,” said Grace Murray, political director at NH Youth Movement, in a press release. “Now that several horrifying, discriminatory pieces of legislation have come to his desk, it’s time for him to do the right thing again and veto these bills. NH is the ‘live free or die’ state and those values should apply to all people. Trans people should be allowed to live free in this state without the constant attacks to their rights. Gov. Sununu needs to uphold the freedoms we cherish in NH and veto these bills.”

Murray put it more bluntly.

“We’re at this point where Sununu is literally our last hope,” Murray said.

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New Hampshire

A New Hampshire school learned sign language to communicate with its only deaf student

Published

34 minutes ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

A New Hampshire school learned sign language to communicate with its only deaf student

Campton, New Hampshire — Seven-year-old Ben O’Reilly is deaf and has other special needs. A first grader at Campton Elementary in Campton, New Hampshire, his aide, Cheryl Ulicny, says that Ben had felt isolated at school.

“He didn’t have relationships with his peers or teachers, for that matter,” Ulicny said. “He was very alone. And he acted very alone.”

New Hampshire is one of the few states in the nation that doesn’t have a dedicated school for the deaf. In fact, Ben is the only deaf student in his whole school district. So, aside from Ulicny, there was virtually no one in this whole school community he could talk to. At least at first.

The transformation began when some of Ben’s classmates, including Reid Spring, started picking up on a few signs.

“If he’s your friend, you can play with him, and he’s my friend,” Reid said of Ben.

Then, the rest of the class decided to learn sign language. Eventually, other teachers in other grades began taking sign language classes and speaking in sign, even when Ben wasn’t around.

“It’s fun communicating with Ben and playing with him,” Reid said.

Ben’s adoptive mothers, Etta and Marlaina O’Reilly, were in shock when they found out how well he was being treated at school.

“It’s incredible,” Etta O’Reilly told CBS News. “I could barely breathe. Like it was just so overwhelming.”

Today, just about every Campton student and staff member knows at least some sign language. Ben’s parents say this has had a profound impact on their son.

“It clicked for him that the sign language had value,” Etta O’Reilly said.

Said Ulicny: “You could just watch his world open up with communication. It was amazing.”

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New Hampshire

Video: Light icy mix, slick spots possible

Published

13 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

Video: Light icy mix, slick spots possible

AND NOW THERE’S SOME ICE UP NORTH THIS MORNING. SO SOME LOCALIZED SLICK SPOTS POSSIBLE NOW AND PROBABLY THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS, SAY THROUGH ABOUT 9 OR 10 A.M. AS THE TEMPERATURES HOVER NEAR FREEZING, ESPECIALLY NEAR AND NORTH OF THE LAKES REGION. SO ANYTHING UNTREATED MAY BE A BIT SLICK. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR GRAFTON, CARROLL AND COOS COUNTIES THROUGH 10 A.M. AND THIS IS WHERE MOST OF US ARE SEEING TEMPERATURES NEAR OR BELOW 32. WE’RE RIGHT THERE IN PLYMOUTH AND IN LACONIA, SOME HIGHER ELEVATIONS THROUGH CHESHIRE AND SULLIVAN COUNTIES AS WELL. SITTING VERY CLOSE TO FREEZING. SO BASICALLY ANYWHERE YOU SEE THIS BLUE COLOR HAS AT LEAST THE CHANCE FOR HAVING SOME LIGHT FREEZING RAIN. IT’S A HEAVIER RAIN IN NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND EVEN WITHIN JUST THE PAST COUPLE OF MINUTES. FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE GREATER CONWAY AREA. YEAH, YOU SEE THIS LIGHTNING BOLT ON THE RADAR. SO SOME THUNDER WAKING YOU UP IN THE MOUNT WASHINGTON VALLEY AND RIGHT ALONG ROUTE 16. AND AGAIN, IT IS KIND OF FUNNY THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. THE TEMPERATURES ARE SO CLOSE TO FREEZING. REALLY DOESN’T HAVE MUCH OF AN IMPACT ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON UP IN THE CLOUD, BUT CERTAINLY DOWN AT GROUND LEVEL. ANYWHERE YOU SEE THIS PINK COLOR, THAT RAIN COULD BE FREEZING ON CONTACT. IT’S A LITTLE BIT MILDER RIGHT ALONG THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, BUT YOU GET JUST EAST OF THERE, OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AND UP INTO THE GREAT NORTH WOODS AS WELL, THROUGH, SAY, ERROL BERLIN, GORHAM. THAT’S WHERE THEY’RE LIKELY SOME SLICK SPOTS TO CONTEND WITH THROUGH THIS MORNING. YOU SEE THE PINK COLOR LINGERING IN NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE THROUGH ABOUT 7 A.M. ON FUTURECAST. NOT COMPLETELY DRY. FARTHER SOUTH, THOUGH, THE DRIZZLE, THE LOW CLOUDS. THE FOG MAKING FOR A CHILLY, MURKY MORNING COMMUTE OUT THERE, THERE MAY BE A POP UP SHOWER OR DOWNPOUR MID MORNING, EVEN FAR SOUTH, AND THEN FROM MIDDAY AND BEYOND, THE CLOUDS WILL SLOWLY START TO BREAK APART FROM WEST TO EAST. THAT SHOULD ALLOW FOR SOME SUNSHINE THAT WILL WARM OUR TEMPERATURES UP A BIT LATER ON. TODAY. ONE LAST FRONT COMES IN LATER ON THIS EVENING. ALONG. IT COULD COME IN ADDITIONAL SPOT SHOWER OR DOWNPOUR. MUCH OF WESTERN AND SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE MAKES A RUN TOWARD THE UPPER 50S TO NEAR 60 DEGREES TODAY, WITH THAT SUN BREAKING OUT THIS AFTERNOON, BUT LIKELY SOME COOLER POCKETS IN THE LAKES REGION IN THE MOUNT WASHINGTON VALLEY THAT KEEP TEMPERATURES THERE A BIT CLOSER TO THE 50 DEGREE MARK. ITS OPENING DAY DOWN AT FENWAY. FIRST PITCH THERE IN BOSTON, COMING UP AT 210. THINGS SHOULD BE DRYING OUT, BUT YOU SEE THE TEMPERATURES A LITTLE BIT COOLER GIVEN THEY’RE RIGHT ALONG THE COASTLINE, THOUGH IN THE LATE INNINGS THERE COULD BE SOME SUNSHINE. NOT A BAD APRIL DAY FOR OPENING DAY DOWN AT FENWAY PARK. AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE GOING TO GET IN OPENING DAY AT DELTA DENTAL STADIUM. THAT’S WHERE WE FIND OUR FRIEND, METEOROLOGIST KEVIN SKARUPA. THIS MORNING, KEVIN, THE FISHER CATS FIRST PITCH COMING UP LATER ON TONIGHT. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR THAT? YEAH, IT’S A GOOD THING THAT WE’RE NOT HAVING THE THE GAME AT 6:03 A.M. BECAUSE YOU SEE THAT. YEAH. 30S AND A LITTLE BIT OF DRIZZLE OUT HERE EARLY THIS MORNING. WE ARE LOOKING AT IMPROVING CONDITIONS AS YOU’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. AS WE GRADUALLY GO THROUGH THE DAY. WE CLIMB THROUGH THE 40S THIS MORNING, THROUGH THE 50S THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE BUILDING BREEZE AND WITH ANY SORT OF SUNSHINE AT ALL. YOU’RE TALKING UPPER 50S. THAT IS FOR FIRST PITCH JUST AFTER 6:00 THIS EVENING. THEY ARE FACING THE BINGHAMTON RUMBLE PONIES, WHICH JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE DEFENDING CHAMPS OF THE DIVISION. SO THEY’RE RIGHT OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE. RIGHT TONIGHT. 6:03 P.M. A LOT OF NEW STUFF TO CHECK OUT HERE WITH THE FISHER CATS. WE WILL HAVE MUCH MORE COMING UP FROM THE GIFT SHOP COMING UP IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. BACK TO YOU. SOUNDS GREAT, KEVIN, THANKS FOR THAT. AND IT’S GOOD TO SEE THAT WE’LL HAVE SOME BRIGHT AND WARMER WEATHER FOR FIRST PITCH LATER ON THIS EVENING. WE’LL HANG ON TO THE BRIGHT SKIES TOMORROW, BUT THE TEMPERATURES FALL ON SATURDAY, LIKELY REACHING THE 50S IN THE MORNING AND PROBABLY BACK IN THE 40S FOR THE AFTERNOON. UNFORTUNATELY FOR EASTER EGG HUNTS ON SUNDAY, IT IS LOOKING DAMP WITH TIMES OF CLOUDS AND SHOWER

Milder air gradually returns today after a damp start. The weekend is split with some sun Saturday, then shower chances on Easter. Cooler air will follow a front that moves in later Sunday.A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties until 10:00 a.m.Drizzle and light icing in higher elevations continues this morning, and a quick downpour can’t be ruled out. Clouds should gradually erode for some sunny breaks this afternoon. Temperatures will climb to near or just above 60 degrees in southern and western New Hampshire, though we may only get to near 50 in parts of the Lakes Region and Mt. Washington Valley.A spot evening shower or downpour is possible, otherwise partial clearing tonight with lows in the 40s.Partly sunny on Saturday. Temperatures may briefly climb into the 50s during the morning, then an easterly breeze will knock readings back into the 40s for the afternoon.An approaching front will keep Easter cloudy and unsettled. There may be some scattered showers early in the morning, with steadier light rain possible during the afternoon. Clearing skies but cooler air for early next week.

Milder air gradually returns today after a damp start. The weekend is split with some sun Saturday, then shower chances on Easter. Cooler air will follow a front that moves in later Sunday.

A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties until 10:00 a.m.

Drizzle and light icing in higher elevations continues this morning, and a quick downpour can’t be ruled out. Clouds should gradually erode for some sunny breaks this afternoon. Temperatures will climb to near or just above 60 degrees in southern and western New Hampshire, though we may only get to near 50 in parts of the Lakes Region and Mt. Washington Valley.

A spot evening shower or downpour is possible, otherwise partial clearing tonight with lows in the 40s.

Partly sunny on Saturday. Temperatures may briefly climb into the 50s during the morning, then an easterly breeze will knock readings back into the 40s for the afternoon.

An approaching front will keep Easter cloudy and unsettled. There may be some scattered showers early in the morning, with steadier light rain possible during the afternoon. Clearing skies but cooler air for early next week.

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New Hampshire

Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

Now Chief meteorologist Mike Haddad with your storm watch 9 forecast. Oh, the temperatures on the chilly side and then some cold enough for *** touch of wet snow in the last, say, 2 or 3 hours even here in downtown Manchester. But right now *** lot of that has lifted away. The clouds linger, more showers building in from the west, bumping in this cold air. Only 35 at this hour. Normal high 52, so we are nowhere near the normal. For this time of year in early April and even farther north, not *** whole lot warmer despite being away from the ocean influence of that wind coming in off of the chilly Atlantic right now, 30 to 40, not gonna fall off all that much as the night wears on. Band of showers number 1 approaching right now, filling into the Meannock region, places like Keene and Hinsdale and all the way up to about say Charlestown and southern parts of Solomon County near the Upper Valley getting in on. Some light rain or some light mixing, but it’s *** narrow band. It’s not gonna last more than, say, *** couple of hours, and it’ll be gone by about 10 o’clock this evening. And in the wake of that, still lingering clouds, sprinkles of rain, or even *** touch of light icing, and then more filling in by early tomorrow morning, especially to the north. Speaking of the north, winter weather advisories, if we needed any more of that right, central and northern locales of the lake. Region, the White Mountains and points north, 8 p.m. tonight to about 9 or 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. So here’s our timeline of all of that. As I mentioned, the showers building in *** quick hitter in the next 3 or 4 hours, gone by about 9 or 10 o’clock with the clouds lingering, and we’re right near freezing, especially western, central and northern New Hampshire. So there, anything untreated could glaze over. So watch out for that if you’re traveling overnight tonight after *** dry. Overnight period by about 4 or 5 a.m. through the morning drive tomorrow, more showers in the form of rain, but again right near freezing, so *** touch of light icing, especially the farther north you go. But then by the afternoon, totally different story. The winds turn around out of the southwest, the clouds break apart, and here comes that early spring warmth just in time for the Red Sox home opener tomorrow afternoon and the Fisher Cats opener. Right here in the Queen City in the early evening. So again, the highs tomorrow, much better than we are out there right now. So again for the Sox home opener tomorrow, we’re drying out by midday and early afternoon later on in the innings, hopefully with the Red Sox ahead. Peaks of sun and the temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. Next round of showers, unfortunately Easter Sunday. Tough to call the exact timeline, but it looks like *** late morning and afternoon event, dry and cool Monday through Wednesday.

Cold, raw, and damp through early Friday. Pockets of an icy mix are possible over higher elevations north and west Thursday night. By Friday afternoon the skies will try to clear as milder air moves in. Some sun on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, but now it looks wet on Easter Sunday, with morning showers then a steadier rain in the afternoon and evening. Even cooler feel early next week.A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.

Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

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