Tag Archives: civil rights

The Washington Post reports: The Virginia Senate on Tuesday passed a host of LGBT rights bills as Democrats continued to flex their new power in the Capitol. The Senate voted to ban conversion therapy on children, repeal the state’s now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage and establish statewide policies for the treatment of transgender students. The chamber also voted to replace …

Reuters reports: Virginia moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, a momentous victory for many women’s rights advocates even though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution. The affirmative votes in both chambers of the Virginia legislature came decades after Congress …

Michigan Bridge reports: A coalition of civil rights, business and political leaders is launching a petition drive initiative to expand Michigan law by including anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender residents. Organizers who announced the effort Tuesday hope to spur action by the Republican-led Legislature, whose leaders have cited religious freedom concerns in resisting similar legislation, or put the issue …

The Associated Press reports: The past decade has seen a backlash against human rights on every front, especially the rights of women and the LGBT communities, according to a top U.N. human rights official. Andrew Gilmour, the outgoing assistant secretary-general for human rights, said the regression of the past 10 years hasn’t equaled the advances that began in the late …

USA Today reports: Travel safety blog Asher & Lyric has ranked the worst countries for LGBTQ travelers in 2019. The site looked at the 150 countries across the world that had the most international tourists and created an index based on factors such as legality of same-sex relationships and morality laws. See the full report.

The BBC reports: A well known Moroccan YouTuber has been jailed for four years after being found guilty of insulting the country’s king. Mohamed Sekkaki [photo] was arrested earlier this month after criticising King Mohammed’s speeches and for calling Moroccans donkeys. He plans to appeal against the verdict. Rights groups are worried that personal freedoms are under increasing threat in …

The Associated Press reports: A Turkish court on Friday convicted six journalists and one other employee of an independent newspaper of aiding the network of a U.S.-based cleric who is accused of masterminding the failed coup in 2016, the state-run news agency reported. The seven were accused of supporting the coup through their work for the newspaper Sozcu, which has …

Common Dreams reports: Just one Republican — Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — joined a united House Democratic caucus on Friday to pass what rights groups hailed as “historic” legislation to restore and expand voter protections that were gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013. Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs for Public Citizen, said passage of the Voting …

The Associated Press reports: As Democrats champion anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community and Republicans counter with worries about safeguarding religious freedom, one congressional Republican is offering a proposal on Friday that aims to achieve both goals. The bill that Utah GOP Rep. Chris Stewart plans to unveil would shield LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in employment, housing, education, and other …

The Montgomery News reports: A new statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks was unveiled in downtown Montgomery on Sunday afternoon. “This depiction will inspire future generations to make the pilgrimage to our city, to push toward the path of righteousness, strength, courage and equality,” said Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, who took office as the first African-American mayor of the …

From the opening of an exhaustive list by ProPublica: When he campaigned for president, Donald Trump posed with the rainbow flag and became the first GOP nominee to mention LGBTQ citizens in his convention speech. In his first month as president, he signed an executive order stating he was “determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ …

The Christian Post reports: Only a quarter of evangelicals in the United States believe abortion should be illegal in all cases, according to a new poll showing that a majority of self-identified Christians in the U.S. identify as “pro-choice” and less than half of evangelicals identify as “pro-life.” Save the Storks, a pro-life organization that partners with pregnancy centers to …

Reuters reports: A group of 16 LGBT activists have been arrested and subject to forced anal examinations by police in Uganda, according to a rights group on Thursday. Police confirmed the arrests, saying the men were detained after a “complaint from the public.” Gay acts and anal sex are illegal in Uganda and can be punishable with life imprisonment. “Based …

Reuters reports: U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared divided over whether a landmark decades-old federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace protects gay and lesbian employees as they heard arguments in one of the biggest cases of their current term. Liberal justices signaled sympathy toward arguments that gay workers are covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights …

The New York Daily News reports: Some streets in Washington, D.C., had to be evacuated after a “suspicious package” was found in the area surrounding the Supreme Court building, Capitol Park Police confirmed Tuesday morning. Pro- and anti-LGBTQ rights protesters are planning to stage demonstrations in the nation’s capital to mark what’s being called the most significant legal case in …

Roll Call reports: The Supreme Court confronts a major civil rights issue Tuesday over how broadly the justices should read the word “sex” in a 55-year-old anti-discrimination law — and a key aspect is Congress’ current push to clarify that the law covers LGBT individuals. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits private companies from discriminating against …

The Associated Press reports: A Virginia restaurant operator has agreed to pay $40,000 to resolve a lawsuit that claims its employees routinely harassed a gay server with homophobic epithets and taunted him about his sexuality. A federal judge on Thursday signed off on the settlement between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Mejia Corp., which does business as El …

Reuters reports: Botswana’s government will appeal a high court ruling that decriminalized homosexuality, potentially resuscitating a law that punished gay sex by up to seven years in prison. Last month’s landmark court ruling, which was praised by international organizations and activists, meant Botswana joined a handful of African countries that have legalized same-sex relationships. But Attorney General Abraham Keetshabe said …

Chris Johnson reports at The Washington Blade: The U.S. Supreme Court has designed Oct. 8 as the date when it will hear arguments on whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to cases of anti-LGBT discrimination, setting up a showdown for when LGBT rights in all areas of life will hang in the balance. On Monday, …

Just out from PRRI Polling: Three in ten (30%) Americans say they think it should be permissible for a small business owner in their state to refuse to provide services to gay or lesbian people if doing so violates their religious beliefs, while two-thirds (67%) say they should not be allowed to do so. Support for religiously based service refusals …