Stories from March you might have missed, but definitely need to read

In case you haven’t been keeping track, LOOKOUT last month was incredibly active in covering a wide variety of local queer news. From the Washington School Board fight that resulted in a religious liberty protest outside schools, to our first partnership with Prison Journalism Project highlighting the voices of incarcerated LGBTQ+ people, our news is bringing unique coverage with modern perspectives.

Religious Fiasco at Washington Elementary School Board

In February, the school board voted unanimously to end their agreement with Arizona Christian University—a private Christian university—because student-teachers who attend the school are required to sign a pledge that says, among other things, that being queer is a moral sin, and that there are only two genders, which cannot be changed.

The city’s non-discrimination ordinance allows boards to sever contracts with people and organizations that promote discrimination against students, including those who identify as queer.

In their first board meeting since severing the contract, Christian nationalists and legislators that ally with them protested outside the school.

Amid school board fight, state lawmaker and far-right activists double down on religious bigotry as "free speech"

LOOKOUT relies on subscriptions and donations to keep our news free and consistent. For every $100 raised, we provide five people access to local queer news they won’t find anywhere else. Consider a donation today. Before Lindsay Love took her seat on the Chandler Unified School District Board, she’d been frequenting meetings for years. A social worker by trade, the job seemed straightforward: review challenges teachers and administrators had, approve contracts and funding, and hear grievances during public meetings.

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LOOKOUT on KJZZ

In an exclusive interview with KJZZ, LOOKOUT’s founder Joseph Darius Jaafari and Managing Director Jake Hylton spoke with a producer at The Show to highlight why queer news is needed in Phoenix. LISTEN HERE.

Not a paid subscriber to LOOKOUT yet? All subscriptions are 100% tax deductible, as LOOKOUT is Phoenix’s ONLY nonprofit queer news site. Consider a paid subscription today, as low as $5 a month. Annual subscribers get free swag, and founding members get exclusive invite-only access to events.

‘Not On My Watch’

At the annual Fresh Brunch put on by One n’ Ten, the LGBTQ+ youth advocacy group, Gov. Katie Hobbs was honored with being an honorary chair. She also had some things to say about the legislature’s consistent push for anti-LGBTQ+ bills.

Though Hobbs has promised to veto harmful and bigoted legislation aimed at curbing (and in some cases completely eliminate) the rights and existence of queer people in the state, she said she only handles the politics. Much of the work needs to be done on a community level, she said.

“We cannot rely solely on legislation to create real change,” she said.

Hobbs's Challenge to AZ GOP: Any bills targeting queer people will "meet my veto stamp."

LOOKOUT relies on subscriptions and donations to keep our news free and consistent. For every $100 raised, we provide five people access to local queer news they won’t find anywhere else. Consider a donation today. Governor Katie Hobbs this past Sunday re-pledged her support to the state’s queer community, saying at a benefit brunch event that any bill passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and House will “meet my veto stamp.”

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Surviving Being Black and Gay in an AZ Prison

From an excerpt of our first essay partnership with Prison Journalism Project:

“More often than not, I find myself educating staff and prisoners alike about the realities of being a gay man. In my conversations with straight men on sexuality I am often giving perspective to their one-dimensional worldview.

For them, it is expected and demanded that gay men "come out the closet" and "show respect," but these obligations are seldom reciprocated. Instead, people like me are forced to be gender-conscious and sexually aware, and yet when we ask for the same from the rest of the world we are "forcing gay upon everyone" or being disrespectful.

How Do You Survive Prison When You're Gay and Black? Same As You Do On the Outside.

This essay was published in partnership with Prison Journalism Project, which publishes independent journalism by incarcerated writers and others impacted by incarceration. Sign up for The Prison Journalism Project's newsletter, or follow them on Instagram

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LOOKOUT Roundtable on Criminal Justice and Queer Incarceration

Last month, LOOKOUT founder Joseph Darius Jaafari joined a roundtable of criminal justice and abolition activists to discuss the difficulties queer communities face in incarceration and policing. The hour-long roundtable hosted by LOOKOUT's content partner

Equality Arizona

can be found here:

LGBTQ+ Criminalization and Incarceration

Listen now (61 min) | We’re back with another episode of Ask Smart People Smart Questions, recorded live at the Tempe Public Library on March 22, 2023. With each installment of the series, Equality Arizona convenes a panel of experts to talk about the big picture of some of the biggest issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community in Arizona. For the month of March, our topic was …

Equality Arizona

AZ has record low reporting on LGBTQ+ hate crimes, but still worst in the nation

Every year the FBI compiles hate crime data for the state of Arizona from National Incident-Based Reporting System reports submitted to the FBI. The Hate Crime Statistics compiled in 2021 were taken from data received from 82 of 127 law enforcement agencies in the state.

However, only half of the state’s police agencies reported a full year of crime data.

Despite the small number of crimes reported, Arizona still has the highest number of LGBTQ+ hate crimes reported than most other states in the country, according to the FBI.

Despite record low reports, AZ still ranks highest in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people

LOOKOUT relies on subscriptions and donations to keep our news free and consistent. For every $100 raised, we provide five people access to local queer news they won’t find anywhere else. Consider a donation today. AN EDITORIAL NOTE ON THE NASHVILLE SHOOTING

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