Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signs series of bills limiting abortion access and transgender rights

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed three bills into law Wednesday that limit both transgender rights and abortion access in the state. The signings come one day before Transgender Day of Visibility, a day dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

Police searching for missing transgender woman from North Bay Village

NORTH BAY VILLAGE, Fla. – Julia da Silva, 23, has been missing since Thursday morning around 11 a.m., and now friends and family are hoping that she’s OK.

Da Silva is transgender and often spends time in Miami, Miami Beach and Wilton Manors.

She was last seen leaving her home in North Bay Village where she lives with her aunts. She was last seen wearing a pearl necklace, a black skirt and black tank top.

‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people.

The legislation has pushed Florida and DeSantis, an ascending Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, to the forefront of the country’s culture wars. LGBTQ advocates, students, Democrats, the entertainment industry and the White House have dubbed the measure the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

DeSantis and other Republicans have repeatedly said the measure is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should be broaching subjects of sexual orientation and gender identity with their children. The law went into effect just days after DeSantis signed a separate bill that potentially restricts what books elementary schools can keep in their libraries or use for instruction.