In this week's newsletter: Takeaways from the primaries last night; Arizona's queer caregivers experience health problems; An Olympics filled with gays; Lubbock cancels their Friday art event over drag funding; And a new In-Queer-sitive game for the week!
EXTREMISM FALLS FLAT (SORTA): Fountain Hills, the upper middle class enclave northeast of Phoenix, is a Republican stronghold. It's also home to Arizona Sen. John Kavanagh, who is the leader among far-right lawmakers in pushing bills and resolutions that would eliminate LGBTQ+ rights in Arizona.
So, it's no surprise that Robert Wallace, the local chapter leader of Gays Against Groomers (a national group of self-described gay people that aligns itself with hate groups such as Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA), thought that he stood a chance to win city council.
Wallace, who is the former treasurer of the Log Cabin Republicans of Phoenix, was invited to the state capitol during LGBTQ+ Youth Visibility Day, and was featured in a lengthy documentary talking—without evidence—on how "woke" people are attempting to "indoctrinate" children into being transgender. He has been using his platform online to try and publicly shame zoos for hosting drag events, hold rallies across the Valley denouncing trans people, and push far-right talking points against socialism.
That didn't seem to work in his favor.
LOOKOUT'S TAKE: Fountain Hills residents—even if they consistently elect Kavanagh—have voted down extremism in other forms. For example, Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff who was found guilty for contempt of court and then pardoned by friend and former President Donald Trump, has lost every election for mayor in the area, including last night.
Wallace also performed poorly. He didn't even receive 1,000 votes. Read our rundown of everything last night below. Read the rundown of our primary coverage below.
CAREGIVERS: LGBTQ+ people are more often than their straight peers pushed into caring for their aging family members. It's causing issues with their own health. LOOKOUT
GRINER IN PARIS: Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner is competing with Team USA at the Olympics in Paris. She's among 197 openly gay athletes in this year's games. OutSports
TITLE IX: A federal judge blocked several of Arizona's schools from implementing Title IX restriction starting tomorrow, Aug. 1. Arizona Republic
🇺🇸 NATIONAL NEWS
F*** MY DRAG: The drag queen who performed at the opening ceremony of the Olympics talks out against conservative backlash. Associated Press
TRUMP'S PRONOUNS: In a bit of an eye-roll moment on television, Trump was asked if he's gender fluid after saying he doesn't want pronouns associated with him. Pink News
EQUAL RIGHTS: New York senators are arguing to add abortion and LGBTQ+ rights to the state's equal rights amendment. Gothamist
F*** MY DRAG PT. 2: Officials in Lubbock, Texas pulled $30,000 of funding from an art festival because it had drag queens in it. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
IN-QUEER-SITIVE
Test your knowledge of this week in queer news! Answer the question below related to a story in this week's newsletter and get entered into a raffle to win LOOKOUT swag at the end of each month. The more times you play, the more chances you get to win!
What is the medical problem caregivers can suffer from as a result of their work?
Nearly a fifth of new diagnoses in the state are people over 50 years old, while half of Americans living with the virus are approaching retirement age.
Joseph Darius Jaafari (he/him)
