Alabama

Alabama House committee passes bill putting definitions of sex into law – Alabama Reflector

Published

2 months ago

February 28, 2024

Alabama House committee passes bill putting definitions of sex into law – Alabama Reflector

The Alabama House Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved a bill creating legal definitions of men and women based on the presence or potential for the person to possess certain reproductive cells.

HB 111, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, says that a man is a person with “a reproductive system that at some point produces sperm” while a woman is a person with “a reproductive system that at some point produces ova.”

The proposal also allows state and local agencies to create separate spaces assigned to each gender and mandates them to collect information that identifies people based on their gender at birth.

“It is a definition bill for our courts to have guidance when interpreting laws that already exist in Alabama,” DuBose said. “Words have meaning, and my intent is to make sure we have uniform definitions, and our courts have clarity.”

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SB 92, a similar bill sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, was approved in a Senate committee earlier this month.

More than 100 people showed up to a public hearing on the legislation last week. The bill, coming after years of legislative attacks on transgender youth by the Alabama Legislature, has troubled groups who advocate for people in the LGBTQ+ community. DuBose sponsored a law last year banning transgender youth from playing college sports.

“For a number of reasons, HB 111 and SB 92, the ‘What is a Woman Act’ does not make sense to implement because it defines the social categories of gender as reproductive systems,” said Allison Montgomery, a member of the Alabama Transgender Rights Action Coalition, in an interview Tuesday. “Even if people transition, they are forever legally classified as whatever they were assigned at birth.”

The implications could be profound for people who are incarcerated, allowing transgender people to be placed into facilities with those who are the opposite gender.

“We are seeing calls to law enforcement because someone suspects someone else in the bathroom of being transgendered,” Montgomery said. “Bills like this are dangerous for everybody because they create a culture of fear.”

Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, expressed reservations about the bill.

“Oftentimes, we create definitions, and we create laws that then create perceptions, and there are people who pursue those perceptions,” he said.

DuBose said the only impact of her bill would be a law that was already passed in education that required K-12 students use the bathrooms according to their sex, “and this would define sex for those purposes,” she said.

England also referred to a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case called Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the justices ruled 6-3 vote that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because of sexuality or gender identity.

“If you create a definition that people have to fit into in state law that doesn’t require certain accommodations to be made based on those definitions, but then you have a Supreme Court case that does require certain accommodations to be made, there may be some conflict there,” England said.

DuBose said she is not aware of the case but does not have an issue with the decision made by the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We are at the beginning stages of this legislation,” England said. “I am certainly willing to come and talk to you further about those because there may be a way that we can draw up legislation and take some of the language from the recent Supreme Court decision, and also the definitions that are already in state law, and maybe prevent litigation in the future.”

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Alabama

5 places to enjoy the country’s trendiest pizza in Alabama – Alabama News Center

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2 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Press Room

5 places to enjoy the country’s trendiest pizza in Alabama – Alabama News Center

You’ve probably heard of minimalist Neapolitan pizza, the New York style with foldable slices or their deep-dish cousin from Chicago. Now, Alabamians are going over the moon for Detroit pizza pies. Detroit pizzas are squared, thick, backward-stacked pies. Originating in Detroit in 1946, they have become a trendy style nationally in the last few years,

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Alabama

Alabama Kidney Foundation Walk breaks fundraising record, star RB makes announcement

Published

9 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Press Room

Alabama Kidney Foundation Walk breaks fundraising record, star RB makes announcement

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – A morning of celebration, remembrance, and fundraising for a cause many hold dear to their hearts: stopping kidney disease.

“I had a kidney transplant done in 2021,” said Alabama Kidney Foundation Patient Chair Denise Riley Mitchell. “Ever since then, it’s been my mission to help others get the funds and the finances they need to fight kidney disease.”

The event proving even more important in Alabama, which organizers say has the worst statistics for kidney disease in the country.

“Alabama ranks #1 per capita for kidney failure,” explained Alabama Kidney Foundation Regional Director Shannon Morrell. “We have a big need in our area, our local River Region area. When they lose their jobs, they have to continue dialysis. We just go in and help them financially when they need it the most.”

Pike Road native and Ohio State star running back Quinshon Judkins was in attendance as well, proud of the community he grew up in making an impact.

“Just to see this community come out and you know, support each other, everybody come out and celebrate and come together for a cause that’s bigger than everyone else, it’s been awesome to see,” Judkins expressed.

He’s hoping to make an impact of his own this fall, as every touchdown he scores $1,000 will be donated to the Alabama Kidney Foundation by Jerry Kocan, who owns the trucking company Four Star Freightliner and has also had kidney disease impact his life.

“If you’ve seen this young man [Judkins], he’ll have a couple dozen,” said Kocan.

When asked if it will incentivize him to score a couple more touchdowns this year, Judkins laughed, saying “Yeah, most definitely.”

That money will be added to an already record breaking kidney walk fundraiser. The goal this year was $185,000, and the foundation has already raised over $200,000.

If you couldn’t make it to the event, the Alabama Kidney Foundation collects donations year-round. To donate, click here.

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Alabama

Former Alabama Player Gets Head Coaching Position

Published

16 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Press Room

Former Alabama Player Gets Head Coaching Position

It’s been an offseason full of drama surrounding the Pell City High School football program. That’s not too unusual when Rush Propst is your head coach, but the notorious football coach added another chapter to the story this week by turning in his resignation after just one season.

Propst led the Panthers to a 1-9 season and complained of jealousy and backstabbing as to why things weren’t progressing at the pace the supporters may have expected. On Saturday Pell City named former Alabama football defensive lineman Nick Gentry as its next head coach.

Gentry won two national championships at Alabama and got right into coaching after his college playing days were through. This will be his first head coaching job, but he’s served as a defensive coach at Jacksonville State and UAB before delving into the high school ranks. The Pell City Panthers open their season on Friday, Aug. 23 against Pelham high school.

Today’s Crimson Tide Schedule:

Baseball at No. 16 Mississippi State, 12 p.m., SEC Network +

Crimson Tide Results:

Countdown to Crimson Tide’s 2024 Football Season Opener:

118 days

On This Day in Crimson Tide History:

May 5, 1954: Cecil Ingram won the Hugo Friedman Prize, given annually to the best athlete at Alabama. The Tuscaloosa native, known to his friends on campus as “Hootie.” starred in both football and baseball. Bill Oliver, a teammate of Ingram’s, received two awards, the “Jimmie Moore Memorial Award” and the “Dr. Joseph Hirsch Memorial Trophy.” — Bryant Museum

May 5, 1995: Ross Pierschbacher was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:

“Alabama is a typical Wade [Wallace] machine, powerful, big, tough, fast, aggressive, well-schooled in fundamentals, and the best blocking team I’ve ever seen. … When they came on the field, you could hear the fans yell, ‘Hold your horses, here come the elephants.” — Referee Everette Struper, who officiated the 1930 Alabama-Ole Miss game and wrote a weekly article for the Atlanta Journal. He coined the nickname, Red Elephants.