Civil Rights

CANADA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau To Apologize For Government’s History Of Anti-Gay Persecution

The Globe & Mail reports: As early as this autumn, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will apologize on behalf of all Canadians to those who were imprisoned, fired from their jobs or otherwise persecuted in the past because of their sexuality. That apology is a key element in a broad range of reforms that will collectively represent one of the greatest …

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BELIZE: Supreme Court Legalizes Homosexuality

The Belize News reports: Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin today found that Section 53 of the Criminal Code which criminalizes consenting intercourse between adults of the same sex contravenes the right granted by the Constitution of Belize to no interference with a person’s dignity and personal privacy, as well as equality and equal treatment of all persons before the law. So …

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McCrory Flack: Don’t Believe The Lies, North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Hate Law Hasn’t Hurt The Economy

Dozens of canceled conventions, boycotts from more than a dozen states and major cities, and no more NBA All-Star game. That’s just for starters. But nope, not a scratch on the economy says the budget director for North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. From his op-ed in the Charlotte Observer: One of the benefits of being the Budget Director is that …

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ALABAMA: Haters Rally For Justice Roy Moore As Court Says It Will Soon Decide On Booting Him From Bench

ABC News reports: Alabama’s Court of the Judiciary said it will soon decide whether to remove Alabama’s suspended chief justice, Roy Moore, from office after hearing Monday from both sides on his misconduct charges. Moore is accused of violating judicial ethics by urging probate judges to defy the federal courts and keep denying marriage licenses to gays and lesbians, months …

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Flip Benham: The Streets And Schools Of Charlotte Will Flow With Blood Over Transgender Rights [VIDEO]

“There is one God and we’re going to stand for him in this city. You cannot make a moral wrong a civil right. You have no right to do that! It’s a moral wrong. If God doesn’t fix this city, if God isn’t the answer, if God isn’t at the foundation, you’re going to have bloodshed coursing down the corners …

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NORTH CAROLINA: Court Hearing Begins On Lawsuit To Overturn Magistrates’ Same-Sex Marriage Opt-Out Law

The Associated Press reports: Roughly 5 percent of North Carolina’s magistrates are refusing to marry same-sex couples for religious reasons, and lawyers for the state say people suing in federal court have no standing to challenge these opt-outs as unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn scheduled a hearing for Monday in Asheville in part to consider a motion by the …

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FRC Launches Petition Against NBA [VIDEO]

From the Family Research Council’s just launched petition against the NBA: North Carolina is a beautiful state to visit and a wonderful place to live and work. The recent hypocrisy of organizations like the NBA and some large corporations over North Carolina’s bathroom privacy and government overreach protections (HB2) is unfounded and unnecessary. The government should not criminalize people who …

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NORTH CAROLINA: Appeals Court Refuses Stay On Ruling That Struck Down Racist Voter ID Law

Next stop, SCOTUS. Reuters reports: A U.S. appeals court issued an order on Thursday denying North Carolina’s motion to stay the court’s decision last week striking down the state’s voter ID law. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said staying its ruling now “would only undermine the integrity and efficiency of the upcoming election.” On Friday, the court ruled …

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Billboard Of The Day

Via press release: Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, revealed a new billboard off I-85 calling out disgraced, notoriously anti-LGBTQ Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. The billboard, which reads “#NoMoore: Dismiss Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore” goes up as Moore, suspended from the …

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SUPER SADZ: McCrory Says Dem AG Doesn’t Deserve Paycheck For Refusing To Appeal Voter ID Ruling

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: Gov. Pat McCrory on Tuesday called a news conference to announce that the attorney general will not appeal last week’s ruling by three federal judges throwing out the state’s requirement that voters produce photo identification, along with other changes to election law. The governor said the state would appeal the ruling without help from …

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INDIANA: Lafayette City Council Unanimously Approves Transgender Rights In Preliminary Vote

The Lafayette Journal-Courier reports: Twenty-three years after Lafayette adopted anti-discrimination protections for gays and lesbians, city council members Monday night unanimously said they were ready to defend the transgender population with similar protections based on gender identity. Dressed largely in green, the color of the transgender movement, supporters of an amended Human Relations Ordinance overcame concerns by several pastors, who …

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MISSISSIPPI: Federal Judge Won’t Allow Enforcement Of Anti-LGBT Hate Law While State Pursues Appeal

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant had asked U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves to issue a stay of his preliminary injunction order during the appeal. If granted, the state would have allowed the state to enforce the law during its appeal of the ruling against the law. In dismissing the state’s argument for why a stay …

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AFA Becomes Third Hate Group To Yank Support For FADA Because It Also OK’s Anti-Straight Discrimination

Two weeks ago the Family Research Council abruptly withdrew its support for the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) because of new language that also legalizes discrimination against married straight couples on the basis of “religious belief or moral conviction.” Last week the Liberty Counsel did the same. Today the American Family Association becomes the third anti-LGBT hate group to …

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NORTH CAROLINA: Arguments Begin At Trial To Halt Enforcement Of Hate Law, Judge Skeptical Of HB2

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: A federal judge expressed skepticism on Monday that North Carolina lawmakers were solving a legitimate safety problem when they passed a law in spring that bans many transgender people from restrooms in government facilities that match their gender identity. US District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder also seemed flummoxed at one point by how the …

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Federal Court: Sexual Orientation Discrimination Isn’t Covered By Existing Civil Rights Laws

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected a woman’s claim that existing civil rights law protects against sexual orientation discrimination — ruling that only the Supreme Court or Congress can make that the law. “Kimberly Hively has failed to state a claim under Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for sex discrimination,” …

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US Navy To Name Ship For Harvey Milk

Oh yes, the sadz will be deafening. USNI News reports: The Navy is set to name a ship after the gay rights icon and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, according to a Congressional notification obtained by USNI News. The July 14, 2016 notification, signed by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, indicated he intended to name a planned Military Sealift …

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Washington Leads 12 States In Filing Court Brief In Support Of Obama’s Transgender Rights Directive

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: A federal judge should not halt enforcement of Obama administration policies that advance protections for transgender students and workers under existing civil rights laws, according to a dozen states that will file a brief in federal court on Wednesday. “The bottom line is that the federal guidance at issue here threatens no imminent harm,” reads …

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BALTIMORE: All Charges Dropped Against Final Three Cops In Freddie Gray Police Brutality Case

The Baltimore Sun reports: Prosecutors dropped all remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in a downtown courtroom on Wednesday morning, concluding one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Baltimore history. The startling move was an apparent acknowledgement of the unlikelihood of a conviction following the acquittals of three other …

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NORTH CAROLINA: Court Date Set For Hate Law

Via press release from Lambda Legal: A federal court has scheduled the trial in a legal challenge to North Carolina’s sweeping anti-LGBT law, House Bill 2, to begin on Monday, November 14. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder is holding arguments on Monday, August 1, on a motion for a preliminary injunction that asks the court to stop the enforcement …

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Democrats Ratify Most Pro-LGBT Platform In History

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Democrats ratified a party platform late Monday called the most LGBT-inclusive in history and a unifying document after a bitter primary. As convention chair Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) presided, delegates at the Democratic National Convention approved the platform by voice vote. Although loud “nays” were heard, the overwhelming “yays” in favor of the …

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