Pride Month during June highlights the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, which have long faced discrimination. People in these communities say they continue to face prejudice in Montana, including in finding a place to live.

Pam Bean, executive director of the nonprofit Montana Fair Housing, said LGBTQ people only recently received a major victory in housing at the federal level.

"Given the fact that it's only been a year-and-a-half that under the Fair Housing Act, it's illegal to discriminate against this population based on gender identity and sexual orientation," she said, "there's a lot of education that still needs to take place with housing providers."

A 2020 report from UCLA found LGBTQ people face significant barriers to finding housing. Young adults in this population experience homelessness at a rate more than twice that of the general public. The number is even higher for people younger than 18.

Bean has noticed that people moving from out of state may not understand some of the landlord-tenant laws in Montana or local city ordinances, and this has led to conflict at times. For instance, she spoke to one renter who hung LGBTQ Pride flags outside his residence.

"He and the housing provider ended up with a very adversarial relationship," she said, "because he didn't realize he had to get permission to be hanging things up on the exterior of the unit."

Bean said it's important to understand the laws governing housing. But she also notes that organizations such as hers can provide dispute resolution between landlords and tenants.

"We can share information with both parties and educate them in regards to the issues at hand," she said, "and hopefully reach a resolution where, particularly in this housing market, the household is able to maintain their housing."

Bean said Montana Fair Housing also can help people file administrative complaints with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, she noted this isn't a speedy process, typically taking months or years to resolve.

A proposal to create a perimeter around working police investigations has made it through the first half of the 2023 Indiana legislative session.

Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, said House Bill 1186 allows for a buffer zone up to 25 feet between officers and bystanders.

Amelia McClure, executive director of the Hoosier State Press Association, has concerns about how the bill could affect journalists.

"Democracy functions when citizens can properly monitor their public officials' actions," McClure asserted. "Oftentimes, we rely on journalists to report on those actions, because we can't be everywhere at once. So, when there is a bill that could hinder the public's access to public officials, we are almost always concerned about that."

The bill would make "encroaching on an investigation" a Class C misdemeanor. It has passed out of the Indiana House and is in the Senate chamber, where opponents hope to offer amendments.

McClure said a recent report suggests it takes more than 17 feet to disarm someone.

"I think that, in conjunction with the proliferation of cellphone videos and protests, and movements surrounding George Floyd, have kind of all come together to influence this legislation," McClure noted.

McClure pointed out journalists' ability to observe and report also adds a measure of credibility for law enforcement officers on the job.


This story is based on original reporting from Xain Ballenger with The Statehouse File.

The disability community is mourning the loss of one of its greatest advocates.

Judy Heumann, often called the "mother of the disability rights movement," and a driving force behind some of its greatest legislative accomplishments, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, has passed away.

Monica Zulauf, interim executive director with Able N.H., said Heumann helped ensure people with disabilities were made visible.

"We're losing a generation of people who knew how to advocate and how to bring people together in a respectful way that really moved the needle," Zulauf said.

Zulauf added she admired Heumann's bold leadership and direct actions, including a 1977 sit-in by disabled activists at a federal building in San Francisco which lasted 28 days and led to passage of what's known as Section 504, one of the first federal civil rights laws offering protection for Americans with disabilities.

Heumann spent her life working to ensure people like herself had access to education and jobs. In 1970, she won a lawsuit against the New York Board of Education and became the first teacher there to work while using a wheelchair. Kelly Ehrhart, president of People First of New Hampshire, said Heumann's activism made a lasting impression.

"I think it will help us realize that we can advocate for ourselves because she did it for herself and other people, too," Ehrhart said.

Some of Ehrhart's advocacy work coming to fruition. After years of debate, a law ensuring dental benefits for adults under New Hampshire's Medicaid program has been fully implemented providing more than 100-thousand Medicaid recipients access to needed care.


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A new report found antisemitism is on the rise across the U.S., but awareness of its detriment is rising as well.

The report from the American Jewish Committee showed 91% of Americans know antisemitism is a serious problem. According to the New York City Police Department, hate crimes against Jewish people increased 11% from 2021 to 2022.

Holly Huffnagle, U.S. director for combating antisemitism at the American Jewish Committee, thinks it is great more people are aware of antisemitism's harm, but she pointed out one issue in trying to combat it is people cannot always identify it.

"Many people, they might have been familiar with the term, but they don't know what antisemitism looks like or how to recognize it," Huffnagle explained. "That it's not just a hatred, that it's a conspiracy. That it's about power or control, and it looks different than other forms of racism. So, we, in our efforts, in our educational efforts, we always start with just being able to recognize it. "

Huffnagle noted there are a slew of factors driving the rise in antisemitism, the most prevalent being social media. The report found 82% of Americans saw some form of antisemitism on social media, and 67% of American Jewish people reported seeing it online as well.

Allaying fears of violence for Jewish people has not been easy. The report showed 38% of Jewish people changed their behavior out of fear of antisemitism. Huffnagle emphasized there are plenty of questions about where antisemitism fits into ongoing fights against racism.

"There's a blind spot in our society today with rightly fighting racism and victims who are perceived as inferior," Huffnagle contended. "Unfortunately, Jews are still a vulnerable minority group around the world. So, something's missing when it comes to how do we fight antisemitism, how do we know who Jews are, and how do we include them within diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives?"

She added when it comes to combating antisemitism, law enforcement needs to be better at keeping Jewish people safe.

Of the Orthodox Jewish people surveyed, 65% say law enforcement is effective in addressing their security needs, down from 81% in 2021. Huffnagle stressed the next steps are for society, alongside government officials and law enforcement, to take responsibility to educate people properly about antisemitism and Jewish people.