Three news stories out of New Hampshire have us reassessing if the state is LGBTQ-friendly ahead of the summer travel season.
First LGBTQIA Group Home Opens in Keene, NH
Better known for its college party culture, Keene, NH is now the home of the Granite Stateโs first queer youth group home.
Instead of being stuck in some crusty group home with oppressive religious vibes, 8 queer youth ages 12-19 can now live together, watched over by a team of staff who will help them prepare to either *reunite with their families* or *age out of the system*.
The article makes no mention of how these kids ended up wards of the state and if any of their families are getting the inclusive parenting talk so they can actually care for their queer kids, should they regain custody.
The Keene Sentinel admits NH has โhigh rates of discrimination and violence toward LGBTQ+ youthโ – but how high is high?
Higher than the 60% of queer youth nationwide who say their homes arenโt supportive, according to The Trevor Project???
The God-Fearing New Hampshire Republican Who Thought an Iris Mural Was a Groomer Message
In Littleton, New Hampshire, one woman’s crusade against a seemingly innocent mural sparked the sort of bitter petty infighting that New Englanders truly excel at.
I mean…they don’t call us Massholes for nothing.
Little Miss Prim decided that blooming irises and dandelions were actually secret gay agenda messages from the groomers at North Country Pride.
โMs. Gendreau said she knew, when she first criticized the mural, that most people would not understand โ that the iris was a dangerous symbol because Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow; that children needed protection from demonic forces threatening to lead them astray,โ says the NYT reporter who covered the local feud.
New Hampshire NIMBYs got all up in arms about โmutual respectโ โ aka, they got sad the queers yelled them down for protesting our right to live peacefully in a state whose motto is LIVE FREE OR DIE.
Not gonna air the blatant transphobia and hypocrisy that comes next โ you can read the full tale at The New York Times โ but happily for the cityโs queer population, Little Miss Prim got shamed for her bigotry and decided not to run for reelection.
New Hampshire Legislature Advances Anti-Trans Bills
Living up to its reputation for conservative politics, the NH State Senate advances two anti-trans laws on party line votes. One bills trans girls from playing girls sports. The other is an “educator forced outing” bill.
GLAD has more details.
The bills aren’t law yet. (I’ll update if I hear more).
But if you’re planning a summer hiking trip, might I recommend queer-friendly states like Vermont, Maine, or my old home state of Massachusetts instead?
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