Tag: LGBT protections

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7th Circuit Court Of Appeals Rules Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Protects LGBTs From Workplace Discrimination

The Associated Press is reporting that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTs from workplace discrimination.

Normally, a case would be heard by three judges on the court, but this was heard by the full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The judges ruled 8-3 that Title VII protects LGBTs in the workplace.

This is WAY huge.

The decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after it threw out a July finding by three of its own judges that the law doesn’t cover sexual-orientation bias and ordered a rare rehearing by the full court, a rare session known as an en banc hearing.

It also comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has begun setting its own policies on LGBT rights. Late in January, the White House declared Trump would enforce an Obama administration order barring companies that do federal work from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual identity. But in February, it revoked guidance on transgender students’ use of public school bathrooms, deferring to states.

The Hively case stems from a lawsuit by Indiana teacher Kimberly Hively alleging that the Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend didn’t hire her full time because she is a lesbian. The entire court reheard oral arguments in November and directed the toughest questions at a lawyer for the college who argued only Congress could extend the protections. The aggressive questions suggested the court might be willing to expand the 53-year-old landmark law.

Judge Diane Wood called it a “common-sense reality that it is actually impossible to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation without discriminating on the basis of sex.”

The 7th Circuit covers federal lawsuits out of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

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Surprise! Oklahoma Legislature Kills Two Anti-LGBT Bills

It’s not often we get good news regarding LGBTs in Oklahoma.

But this past Thursday, the Republican-controlled state Senate voted down a bill that would have blocked local municipalities from passing their own ordinances that would protect LGBTs from housing and employment discrimination.

Oklahoma has no statewide protections for LGBT citizens.

Republican state Sen. Josh Brecheen, who authored the bill, said his intent was to protect the “sincerely held religious beliefs” of Oklahomans. But the state Senate gave the legislation a thumbs down by a vote of 25-18.

Clearly those lawmakers have seen what happened over in North Carolina and Indiana when anti-LGBT laws were passed.

A second measure, which would allow businesses to discriminate against LGBTs, was withdrawn after Brecheen’s bill went down.

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Jacksonville City Council Approves LGBT Protections

At the end of a five year battle, the city council of Jacksonville, Florida, has finally passed LGBT protections by a vote of 12-6.

Mayor Lenny Curry announced he would allow the law to go into effect without his signature.

The legislation, which bans discrimination against gay and transgender folks, faced a few obstacles on the way to the historic vote.

One councilman, Bill Gulliford, attempted to block or water down the legislation by proposing a citywide vote on the issue, and then tried to strip transgender protections out.

Councilman Danny Becton proposed exempting any privately owned business from the law.

All three amendments were voted down.

Jacksonville is the most populous city in the state of Florida, and the 12th most populous in the country.

Equality Florida issued this statement:

Yesterday, after years of hard work and courageous advocacy from the local LGBTQ residents, businesses owners, faith voices and community leaders, the Jacksonville City Council has voted to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression by a 12 to 6 vote.

This update modernizes the existing city ordinance which previously banned discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations (such as restaurants and stores) based solely on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status or familial status.

“After years of hard work and courageous advocacy, Jacksonville has sent a clear message to Florida and the entire country that discrimination of any kind is wrong and that LGBTQ people are welcomed and accepted,” said Amber Paoloemilio, Field Director of Equality Florida.

Over the last five years, because of the personal stories from LGBTQ people, business owners, and faith leaders, Jacksonville public opinion has transformed. Based on a 2015 poll conducted by the University of North Florida, over 62% of voters support this important update to the Human Rights Ordinance.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Podcast: Mixed Signals From Trump White House On LGBT Rights

In my latest podcast for The Randy Report, I recap the developing news story regarding the Trump administration’s announcement that President Obama’s executive order on LGBT workplace protections will remain in place – for now.

President Trump maintains that he is a friend of the LGBTQ community, but advocates are not quite sure of what’s to come.

The LGBT community has been on the lookout for some kind of announcement from the White House since Donald Trump won the presidential race last November. This week it looks like we finally got an answer.

Late Monday evening, the Trump White House announced Obama’s 2014 pro-LGBT executive order will continue to be enforced.

But a draft of an executive order that began circulating in Washington over the weekend called for allowing discrimination against LGBTs in the federal workforce and by federal contractors based on “religious freedoms.”

Listen in as I explore the concerns of those in the LGBTQ community and the positions of those who oppose these vital protections.

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Draft Executive Order Outlines White House Plan To Legalize LGBT Discrimination

The Nation has obtained of a leaked copy of a draft executive order that would realize the fears of the LGBTQ community by legalizing discrimination.

The four-page draft order, a copy of which is currently circulating among federal staff and advocacy organizations, construes religious organizations so broadly that it covers “any organization, including closely held for-profit corporations,” and protects “religious freedom” in every walk of life: “when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with Federal, State or local governments.”

The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women’s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act.

Language in the draft document specifically protects the tax-exempt status of any organization that “believes, speaks, or acts (or declines to act) in accordance with the belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, sexual relations are properly reserved for such a marriage, male and female and their equivalents refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy, physiology, or genetics at or before birth, and that human life begins at conception and merits protection at all stages of life.”

The breadth of the draft order, which legal experts described as “sweeping” and “staggering,” may exceed the authority of the executive branch if enacted. It also, by extending some of its protections to one particular set of religious beliefs, would risk violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

“This executive order would appear to require agencies to provide extensive exemptions from a staggering number of federal laws—without regard to whether such laws substantially burden religious exercise,” said Marty Lederman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and an expert on church-state separation and religious freedom.

With this language, you have to wonder if Catholics might be able to legally discriminate against divorced people?

Advocacy groups react:

See photo copies of the draft below via The Nation (click images to enlarge):

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White House Announces LGBT Executive Order Will Remain Intact

The White House issued this statement last night in regards to rumors that the Trump administration was circulating an executive order draft which would repeal President Obama’s LGBT protections.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2017

President Donald J. Trump Will Continue to Enforce Executive Order Protecting the Rights of the LGBTQ Community in the Workplace

President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression. The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.

President Obama’s 2014 executive order was the first ever to bar federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. The EO was, in part, a response to the GOP-controlled Congress who clearly were never going to pass the dead-on-arrival Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Although this is good news, it does not mean President Trump may attempt to issue additional executive orders which may give some kind of “religious freedom” clause.

Given the past few days chaos over Trump’s immigration EO, plus the fact I believe the sources who reported the draft of a repeal, I tend to believe Trump wasn’t up for more protests.

This is just my gut, but I think the EO draft may have been the brain child of notoriously anti-LGBT Vice President Mike Pence in an attempt to appease social conservatives in the Republican party.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued a statement which read in part, “L.G.B.T.Q. refugees, immigrants, Muslims and women are scared today, and with good reason,” Mr. Griffin said. “Donald Trump has done nothing but undermine equality since he set foot in the White House.”

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Washington Post Confirms Draft Of Trump Executive Order On LGBT Issues

Many LGBTs across the country have feared, since the election of Donald Trump, that our rights and protections could come under fire with a Trump administration.

It appears that our concerns may be born out later this week.

This afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer dodged a direct question about a possible anti-LGBT executive order: “I’m not gonna get ahead of the executive orders that we may or may not issue. There’s a lot of executive orders, a lot of things that the president has talked about and will continue to fulfill. But we have nothing on that front right now.”

An hour later, Washington Post reporter Josh Rogin tweeted that there is, indeed, a draft of an executive order addressing LGBT issues.

Watch below (49:14 mark) as Spicer side-steps the question on a possible LGBT executive order:

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Trump Executive Order Targeting LGBTs Could Come This Week

It’s not all that surprising, when you consider that President Trump has promised to sign the so-called First Amendment Defense Act which would legalize anti-LGBT business discrimination nationwide, that sources are saying an executive order allowing discrimination against LGBTs is expected from the Trump White House.

The expectation is that the EO would affect areas of employment, social services, business, and adoption.

From LGBTQ Nation:

From what we’ve heard, the executive order could be far-reaching, and could include: making taxpayer funds available for discrimination against LGBTQ people in social services; allow federally funded adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ parents; eliminate non-discrimination protections in order to make it possible to fire federal employers and contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity; and allow federal employees to refuse to serve people based on the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that gender is an immutable characteristic set at birth, which would impact a broad range of federal benefits.

The order is expected to come in the packaging of so-called “religious freedom,” which argues that someone’s religious beliefs should be enough to prevent them from having to provide goods and services to members of the LGBTQ community if doing so would conflict with said beliefs.

The Human Rights Campaign‘s JoDee Winterhof, Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs, issued a statement which read in part:

“The rumors of an anti-LGBTQ executive action by President Trump are deeply troubling. We already know that he is willing to target and marginalize at-risk communities for his perceived political gain. As the President and his team plan their next steps, we want to make one thing clear: we won’t give one inch when it comes to defending equality, whether it is a full-on frontal assault or an attack under the guise of religion. Mike Pence should know that better than anyone given his track record in Indiana.

“The Human Rights Campaign will stand with those who have already been targeted by this Administration and are prepared to fight tooth and nail against every effort to discriminate.”

When asked about the reports, White House press secretary Sean Spicer refused to answer the question.

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Virginia: Governor Promises To Veto Any Anti-LGBT Legislation

(image via Twitter)

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says his state will not be emulating the anti-LGBT mess going on in North Carolina any time soon.

Earlier today, McAuliffe signed an executive order that bans anti-LGBT discrimination among state employees, contractors and subcontractors.

Via the Roanoke Times:

Gov. Terry McAuliffe vowed Wednesday to veto any legislation he receives from Virginia lawmakers similar to North Carolina’s controversial “bathroom bill.” His statement comes one day after Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, prefiled the Physical Privacy Act. The bill stipulates people must use the restroom, locker room or changing room that corresponds to the gender assigned at birth as opposed to the gender with which they identify. The measure would apply to restrooms located in public schools, universities and government buildings.

Asked about the proposal after an unrelated event Wednesday at Virginia Tech, McAuliffe said he would strike down all legislation that inhibits anyone’s individual rights. “Stay away from the socially divisive issues,” he said to legislators. “We are not going to put a wall up around Virginia.” Marshall said he doesn’t introduce legislation based what McAuliffe likes and doesn’t like. Virginia would be lucky to be as business-friendly and collect as much tax revenue as its neighbor to the south, Marshall said.

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Massachusetts Becomes 19th State To Enact LGBT Non-Discrimination Protections

Via The Human Rights Campaign:

Today, Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed into law legislation extending commonsense, non-discrimination protections to transgender residents and visitors to the state. While Massachusetts state law already prohibits discrimination against transgender people in housing and employment, the new law extends these same crucial protections to public accommodations, such as access to restaurants, malls, restrooms, and locker rooms.

“By signing this bipartisan legislation into law, Governor Baker has joined the growing list of fair-minded Republicans who are standing up for equality,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Equality is not a Republican or Democratic value, it’s an American value. This crucially important measure will help ensure transgender Bay State residents and visitors are protected from discrimination in public spaces.”

Massachusetts becomes the 19th state with non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, housing, and employment. In addition, similar protections exist in more than 100 cities across the country, including Atlanta, Dallas, and Louisville.