This is ⁨Nathan Saavedra⁩, the Programs Manager, with your weekly update. This week has been a big push for key legislation. There’s good movement on some bills, but we also need to stay loud against harmful policies. We’re pushing hard to make sure our values are clear, and now is the time to take action!

HERE'S WHAT’S HAPPENING:

First, we’ve got some important legislation moving in the right direction. NMIPSA, now called NMCPSA, was introduced in the senate with sponsors Sen. Charley & Sen. Duhigg focuses on protecting New Mexicans from the harm aimed at us-by Trump and other states by protecting our data from big tech—it’s a big step forward for privacy. Privacy is a critical protection for our communities to stay safe.

On the adoption front, we saw some positive movement with a bill designed to make confirmatory adoptions more accessible. It passed its initial committee and is now one step closer to making life a little easier for families. The goal here is simple: give lgbtq couples a simplified way to prove their parenthood while traveling to other states or countries that might not be friendly to the way we create our families.

We’re also waiting for a bill on sex education to be scheduled in the Senate Finance Committee., so keep your ears open for that. Another bill aimed at supporting libraries and protecting librarians from potential threats is moving forward, which is great news for our local communities and their access to information.

However, not everything is looking positive. There’s a new bill that would restrict access to gender-affirming care. This is something we need to actively oppose - especially as it threatens the well-being of vulnerable communities. We’re also watching a bill that could unnecessarily criminalize LGBTQ events disguised as protecting to child safety We’re still digging into this bill and will report back when we understand it's consequences (intentional or otherwise) better

On a more positive note, there’s a bill focused on addressing the overdose crisis, which passed its first committee. It’s a priority of our Public Safety Coalition because it could have a significant impact on harm reduction efforts. We're committed to strong support for the public health crisis that is addiction in NM.

Even though this work is hard and often tireless, we keep finding time to support our partners and be in community - and community is all we have sometimes.

Here's a pic of some of our team alongside our Repro Health and Gender Affirming Care cohort at the annual Planned Parenthood fundraiser! We love hard work, and we love a good time, too!

We’ve reached the halfway mark, but we still need to raise $15,000 to continue our critical work protecting LGBTQ+ New Mexicans from the threats posed by Donald Trump and his allies.