The Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed class-action lawsuit challenging a measure barring people from listing a gender on their birth certificate other than the one they were born with. Montana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 280 in 2021, which requires a court order to change gender on a birth certificate. A state court issued an injunction against the measure but now the state health department has put a total ban on changes to sex designations on birth certificates. .
The Nebraska Winnebago Tribe s Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation has been awarded $2 million through MacKenzie Scott s Yield Giving company. Some 6,300 nonprofits applied to Yield Giving s open call for grants the Ho-Chunk were among 279 to receive a top tier rating. In the next-highest tier, 82 organizations each received $1 million. .
Wyoming artists of all varieties will be able to access tools needed to survive as a viable business through artsWORK, a new series aiming to strengthen the state s creative economy. Beth Venn, executive director of the Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts, said the program will feature a series of professional development workshops. And a new online resource hub will offer tools for building business plans and websites, and strategies for finding funding, public art commissions and residencies. .
Gun control legislation is making headway in the 2024 New Mexico legislative session. On Wednesday, the New Mexico Senate passed a bill to ban guns near polling places and drop boxes. Another bill already passed by a House legislative committee would raise the legal age to possess automatic firearms from 18 to 21. .
A Native American advocacy group is making a big push to get out the Indigenous vote in this year s elections. It is hiring field organizers across the state and turning to technology. Western Native Voice calls its initiative "No Vote Left Behind in 2024." The group is hiring 14 part-time organizers, on reservations and in urban areas. .