Joseph Darius Jaafari

3 weeks ago | tucsonsentinel.com | Joseph Darius Jaafari

LOOKOUT In a blow to LGBTQ+ and civil rights groups, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs broke with her party writ-large to sign a bill that could make posting information or images of LGBTQ+ people—and literature related to them—illegal without age verification.

3 weeks ago | lookoutnews.org | Joseph Darius Jaafari

In a blow to LGBTQ+ and First Amendment advocates, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill that could make posting information or images of LGBTQ+ people — and literature related to them — illegal without age verification. House Bill 2112 requires any website where more than one-third of the content could be considered “sexual material” to implement an age verification system. The bill, already passed in 12 Republican-led states, is intended to prevent minors from accessing lewd content.

1 month ago | lookoutnews.org | Joseph Darius Jaafari

El Rio Health in Tucson advertised itself for years as the leader in gender-affirming care not just for Tucson, but much of the state, where medical care for transgender people was either unavailable or stigmatized. In 2018, Tucson.com reported that patients were showing up from across Arizona — from Safford to Flagstaff — because of the organization’s push to be a leader not just in LGBTQ+ health care, but specifically for youth and adults who identified as transgender.

1 month ago | lookoutnews.org | Joseph Darius Jaafari

Transgender and nonbinary residents in Tucson overwhelmingly support reducing police funding in favor of investing in social services, including support for unhoused communities, childhood programs, and harm reduction strategies for drug users, a LOOKOUT review has found. Last month, the city of Tucson released a public survey asking residents to rank their priorities as officials work to address a $28 million budget shortfall.

1 month ago | lookoutnews.org | Joseph Darius Jaafari

A late Friday announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has prompted some Arizona providers to cancel gender-affirming care for transgender adults, limiting access to what doctors consider life-saving treatment for thousands of Arizona residents.