The New Hampshire state Senate, by a 14-10 vote margin, has approved a bill that will add gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law.
New Hampshire is the only state in the New England area without transgender protections in its non-discrimination law.
Notable – both chambers of the state legislature are controlled by Republicans.
Openly gay state Rep. Ed Butler (D) introduced the measure in the House as HB 1319, which was approved in March by a vote of 195-129, with 51 Republican votes.
Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has indicated he will sign the bill into law.
• Can we just skip ahead to summer, please? (above)
• Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) will soon be available for free to gay and bisexual men in Florida in the state’s attempt to reduce HIV-infections.
• Kenosha School District in Wisconsin has agreed to withdraw its challenge to a ruling from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Ash Whitaker, a transgender high school student seeking to use the restroom consistent with his gender identity. In doing so, the 7th Circuit Court’s ruling remains the precedent. Plus, the school district has agreed to pay Ash $800,000 for the harm caused to him and for his legal fees.
• Remember how Donald Trump claimed massive voter fraud to the tune of 3 million fake votes cost him the popular vote? His commission found zero fake votes, so they disbanded the voter fraud commission. #Fail
• A man found guilty of killing a gay couple decides it would be prudent to flip-off the families of his victims after being found guilty. Umm, the death penalty is on the table, asshole.
• Remember TLC’s Trading Spaces? The reboot is coming soon. There’s no official launch date yet, but check out the new promo video below.
Deeply disappointing but not a surprise by any means, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced today that his Department of Justice has reversed course on the Obama era position that federal law bans sex discrimination in the workplace.
Going forward the DOJ’s position is that Title VII does not offer any protections for transgender individuals in the workplace.
The memo sent to U.S. Attorneys’ offices on Wednesday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions says Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 only prohibits discrimination on the basis of a worker’s biological sex, and not their gender identity.
Sessions rescinded a Justice Department memo from 2014 that said Title VII does protect transgender people, a position also taken by several federal appeals courts in recent years.
It was the Trump administration’s latest move to roll back Obama administration policies on LGBT issues. In August, President Donald Trump signed a memo directing the U.S. military not to accept transgender men and women as recruits, reversing a policy that allowed transgender people to serve openly.
And last month, the Justice Department appeared before a federal appeals court in Manhattan to argue that Title VII does not provide protections to gay and lesbian workers.
Yet another hostile move against the LGBTQ community from Donald “Better for the Gays” Trump.
Here’s just a few of the LGBTQ advocacy groups responding to the memo.
Stacey Long Simmons, Director of Advocacy and Action, National LGBTQ Task Force:
“This memo contradicts what is already established legal precedent. Courts across the country have agreed that sex protections include gender identity. The plain truth is that Attorney General Sessions is running the Justice Department with a clear anti-transgender bias, not current law.
“This is only the latest example of the administration’s broad reaching anti-LGBTQ policy changes. There is a pungent stench coming from the Trump/Pence Administration and its actors.”
Kellan Baker, Board of Directors, Equality Federation
“Sessions’ shameful memo is yet another purely political attack on some of the most vulnerable members of our community: transgender people like me.
“The vast majority of Americans and the courts agree that transgender people should have a fair opportunity to provide for ourselves and our families, free from discrimination on the basis of who we are.
“Even as this administration continues its attacks on LGBTQ communities and on our friends and allies, we will continue our fight to live and work safely and with dignity in the communities we call home.”
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to vacate the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on trans high school student Gavin Grimm’s case, and then kick it back for reconsideration at the 4th, actress/trans activist Laverne Cox shared a powerful essay with InStyle about her views on the current state of the rights of transgender folks.
Just a bit from the personal essay:
Over 30 percent of trans people report not eating or drinking so they can avoid going to public bathrooms. Sixty-percent of us have avoided using a public restroom out of fear of being harassed or assaulted. Even when I’m in liberal cities like LA or New York, I would rather not use public bathrooms. But if you leave your house, you have no choice.
But don’t be fooled: These bathroom laws aren’t really about bathrooms. When the current administration rescinded the guidelines for how transgender students should be treated in schools, they made it all about bathrooms. But the Obama-era guidelines also included pronoun and name preferences for these young people as well. These are important components of how trans kids should be treated in school, but all that is lost when we sensationalize this issue. It’s not about bathrooms. It’s about the humanity of trans people, about us having the right to exist in a public space.
Lily Eskelsen García, president of The National Education Association, which is represents more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, issued this statement in response to the Trump administration’s decision to rescind guidance protecting transgender students’ use of public bathrooms in schools:
Every student matters, and every student has the right to feel safe, welcomed, and valued in our public schools. This is our legal, ethical and moral obligation. The Trump administration’s plans to reverse protections for transgender students by rescinding the Title IX guidance, is dangerous, ill-advised, and unnecessary.
We reject this discriminatory plan because it is a drastic departure from our core values. We don’t teach hate, we do not tell people how to pray, and we do not discriminate against people based on their religion, gender, or identity. Period.
As the Trump administration threatens our students and our values, we will double-down on our efforts to protect our most vulnerable citizens, including our LGBTQ students and members. We urge more states, school districts, and schools to adopt protections for transgender students. We owe to our students because they need to see us take a bold stand against discrimination whatever form it takes.
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump initially suggested he supported transgender rights during the campaign, but later retreated saying it should be left to the states.
Now, just two days after Jeff Sessions became Attorney General, his administration is signaling a step back from support for trans protections in a current lawsuit in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Justice Department took a step back Friday from its prior position of advancing transgender people’s rights under existing civil rights laws. On just the second day of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ tenure at the helm of the Justice Department, the federal government filed a notice in the lawsuit Texas and other states had brought against the Obama administration’s pro-transgender policies.
The moves taken in the filing — a joint filing made with the states — suggest that the federal government’s position on the pending legal questions surrounding transgender people’s rights could be changing soon. At the least, it suggests the new administration is pulling back while it determines the position it will be taking in the case.
The Justice Department announced in the short filing that it was withdrawing its request that the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit limit a lower court’s nationwide injunction of the pro-transgender policies to instead cover only those states that had brought the litigation. Then, in a joint request with the states challenging the policy, the states and the Justice Department both requested that the oral arguments on that issue be removed from the court’s calendar.
This new ad – created by the Movement Advancement Project, Freedom For All Americans, and Equality Ohio – is set to air on Fox News the evening that Donald Trump is expected to accept the nomination for president at the Republican national convention.
The spot features Alaina Kupec, a transgender woman from North Carolina, in a scenario that many trans people say takes place regularly in states that don’t have transgender protections in place.
As a voiceover explains the difficulties involved in the simple act of accessing a gender-aligned restroom, the scene unfolds showing Kupec being stopped at a restroom door by an restaurant employee and being directed to the men’s room. That exact scenario is currently legal in 32 states.
The spot is direct and effective. Here’s hoping the message is heard.
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.
