Options Magazine

This article was written by Kwana this past October. However, it was never published, so this is an archived article. Please be aware that it may contain information that is no longer up to date. A follow-up article is in the works and will be posted in the upcoming weeks Recently, Options reported that Thundermist Health Center laid off 124 employees and cut salaries and benefits for the remaining.

Derek 4 minutes ago 2 min read A Very Special Thank You!From all of us at Options, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of those who donated last month when we sent out a call to action. We know that we have been silent for the past few months as we have looked to dig ourselves out of a jam that we never thought we would be put into. We relied upon the certain individual we mentioned in the email campaign back in March, and for obvious reasons, that person will remain nameless.

Statement from the chair and vice chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party LGBTQ Caucus regarding the results of Tuesday's presidential election. The results of this past Tuesday's election were certainly not what many in the LGBTQIA+ community had hoped for.

Trinity Repertory Company and the Providence Clemente Veterans’ Initiative (PCVI) present the fourth annualVeteran Voices event. Local veterans will share stories and performances at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum Metcalf Auditorium. Over a dozen veterans local to southern New England will give readings and musical performances. Veteran Voices will also feature a reading of an excerpt from the world premiere of Someone Will Remember Us, opening at Trinity Rep in January.

The Rhode Island chapter of Authors Against Book Bans (RI AABB) releases its Freedom to Read Candidate Scorecards for school committee candidates around the state. From an RI AABB press release: Rhode Island was founded on intellectual and personal freedom principles by Roger Williams, author of a book banned in England and colonial Massachusetts. Rhode Island Authors Against Book Bans continue to uphold our state’s tradition of free speech, which includes the freedom of the written word.

You can view and update your voter record, find your local polling location so you know where to go and cast your ballot, and view a full sample ballot including your city or town's unique local elections (i.e. state legislature, town council, school committee) and referendum questions at the Rhode Island Secretary of State's website: https://vote.sos.ri.gov/. Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 5. I respectfully urge all Options Magazine readers to make a plan to vote.

Moms for Liberty injunctions, based on a court case in Kansas, are not against schools or students; they are against the federal Department of Education. Contrary to right-wing talking points, the injunctions have no impact on the rights and protections afforded to Rhode Island's LGBTQ+ students. Editor's note: This article was originally published on Steve Alquist's reader-supported Substack on November 01, 2024. It is reprinted here with his permission.

Editor's note: This op-ed was originally published on Steve Alquist's reader-supported Substack on October 31, 2024. It is reprinted here with his permission. The following op-ed was written in opposition to Ballot Question One. The vote on that ballot measure will determine whether or not Rhode Island will hold a constitutional convention. The op-ed was written by four people, Anthony DeSisto, Roberto Gonzalez, Thomas Izzo, and Kenneth F.

In the lead-up to one of the most important elections of our lifetime, 18 members of the Rhode Island queer community gathered to mail nearly 1,600 handwritten letters they had collectively written to voters across the country. In the lead-up to one of the most important elections in our lifetime, a dedicated group of LGBTQ+ volunteers have stepped up various efforts to encourage voters to register to vote, and to show up and cast their ballots on November 5.

A Harris voter’s warning for LGBTQ voters. It was five words from Vice President Kamala Harris’s 19-minute speech that excited the country when she declared her intention to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for president of the United States. Five words that encapsulated everything her campaign represents: “We are not going back.” These five words became a rallying cry for many of Harris’s supporters.