U.S. Briefs: Methodists vote for gay clergy and radically restructure

North Carolina

Delegates at the United Methodist Church General Conference voted May 2 to repeal a ban on ordination of homosexual clergy. The conference, held in Charlotte, N.C., from April 23 to May 3, was the denomination’s first meeting since 2019. The UMC’s mass exit of Biblically faithful American churches and the inability of about 100 African delegates to attend the conference meant the liberal votes had the upper hand. The gay clergy vote passed with 93 percent approval from delegates. Delegates also voted April 25 to pass a “regionalization” plan that would restructure the denomination, allowing different geographical regions to set their own policies for clergy ordination, marriage rites, and other matters. The plan, which still needs ratification by a larger group of UMC members, may allow some churches to remain in the denomination while disagreeing on key points of theology. But regionalization didn’t satisfy 66 churches in Russia and Eastern Asia that opted to leave the UMC on the same day. The remaining conference delegates were also set to vote on a proposal to change the UMC’s definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.   —Elizabeth Russell

This version of the North Carolina brief has been updated to reflect the UMC General Conference’s May 2 vote on gay clergy.

New Mexico

According to an April 25 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three women tested HIV-positive after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed Albuquerque spa. The findings mark the first documented cases of HIV transmission through cosmetic services using needles. An investigation showed the spa reused equipment intended for one-time use. It closed in 2018 after the investigation was launched, and authorities prosecuted its owner for practicing medicine without a license. The “vampire facial” involves drawing a client’s blood, separating out the plasma, and injecting it back into the skin to promote rejuvenation and reduce the appearance of scars. On average, the treatment costs about $850. —Kim Henderson

West Virginia

Drivers in the Mountain State will now face penalties if they’re caught using lit tobacco products while transporting passengers under the age of 16. State lawmakers finalized the statute on April 23, making it a misdemeanor punishable with a $25 fine. One of the bill’s sponsors, pul­monologist and state Sen. Tom Takubo, said his young patients motivated him to propose the rule. Many of them, he said, struggle with asthma and lost lung function as a result of secondhand smoke. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concentrations of secondhand smoke can reach “very high levels” inside a vehicle. West Virginia joins 28 U.S. states that have enacted similar bans. —Juliana Chan Erikson

Wyoming

Six animal welfare groups notified the U.S. Depart­ment of the Interior they intend to sue the federal government to return the Western U.S. gray wolf to the list of endangered or threatened species. In an April 22 letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the groups cited a viral video of a Wyoming man showing off an injured wolf. He allegedly ran over the wolf with a snowmobile on Feb. 29. After taping its mouth shut, he took the animal to a bar and later killed it. Animal welfare advocates said the government acted arbitrarily and failed to assess the effect of hunting, politicization of wolves, and inadequate regulations before deciding in February not to reinstate wolves’ endangered status. The Wyoming gray wolf was removed from the endangered species list in 2017 after congressional pressure and is managed at the state level. In the recent Wyoming incident, law enforcement officials charged the man with illegal possession of a wild animal and issued a $250 fine. —Todd Vician

Minnesota

Nearly 40 immigrant laborers holding temporary work visas filed suit against a vegetable farm for human trafficking. The April 22 lawsuit claims John Svihel and Svihel Vegetable Farm shorted paychecks and subjected workers—mainly from Honduras, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic—to “deplorable conditions.” The laborers say they often toiled 17 hours a day, without promised overtime and Sundays off. They allege they could not drink water or use the restroom while working, and pesticides were sprayed on or near them. Their free communal housing had unclean mattresses, bedbugs, and insufficient restrooms, according to the suit. They said the farm let them get groceries only once every 15 days. Svihel disputes the workers’ claims. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in foreign labor contracting and paid workers restitution of nearly $200,000. —Sharon Dierberger

Mississippi

State lawmakers on April 24 unanimously approved a bill that would require age verification for social media platforms and parental consent for underage account holders. A separate state bill cleared the Mississippi legislature on April 19, creating new criminal penalties for perpetrators of sexual extortion regardless of where they live. Both bills await Republican Gov. Tate Reeves’ signature. The measures are named after a teen, Walker Montgomery, who took his own life after succumbing to a sextortion scheme. Brian Montgomery, Walker’s father, began speaking out about the danger online sextortion schemes pose to teen boys after his son’s death (see “Speaking for his son,” May 6, 2023). In a Facebook video posted the day the second bill passed, Brian called it “a big win … a stake in the ground letting tech know we’re going to be there to protect our kids.” He said parents still bear responsibility for keeping their kids safe online, “but the help we need is going to be provided here.” —Mary Jackson