Tag Archives: civil rights

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: The executive order implementing the decision in Bostock v. Clayton County comes nearly six months after the Supreme Court issued the ruling, which found anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, thus illegal in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ruling has wide-ranging implications and …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration has embarked on an 11th-hour bid to undo some civil rights protections for minority groups, which could have a ripple effect on women, people with disabilities and L.G.B.T. people, according to a draft document, in a change that would mark one of the most significant shifts in civil rights enforcement in generations. …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: LGBTQ people in North Carolina can no longer be prevented from getting domestic violence protective orders, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. North Carolina had been the only state in the country to withhold emergency protections from people seeking protection from abuse by a same-sex partner. That kind of protection is offered to …

The Associated Press reports: As vice president in 2012, Joe Biden endeared himself to many LGBTQ Americans by endorsing same-sex marriage even before his boss, President Barack Obama. Now, as president-elect, Biden is making sweeping promises to LGBTQ activists, proposing to carry out virtually every major proposal on their wish lists. Among them: Lifting the Trump administration’s near-total ban on …

Reuters reports: In a case pitting LGBT rights against religious rights, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear arguments in a dispute over the city of Philadelphia’s refusal to place children for foster care with a Catholic Church-affiliated agency that excludes same-sex couples from serving as foster parents. It will be the first major case to be …

The Daily Beast reports: On the final day of early voting in North Carolina, police in Alamance County pepper-sprayed a group of voters who were marching to the polls, leaving demonstrators injured and vomiting in the streets. At least one journalist was arrested in the chaotic showdown on Saturday in Alamance County, a red county but one that may decide …

From the Public Religion Research Institute: The vast majority of Americans (70%) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, compared to 28% of Americans who oppose it. Majorities of Democrats (80%) and independents (76%), as well as half of Republicans (50%), support same-sex marriage. White evangelical Protestants stand out as the only major religious group in which a …

ABC News reports: Former President Obama on Friday called for “peaceful, sustained” demonstrations for racial justice as the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., has ignited a new round of protests and demands for reform across the nation. The tweet came as thousands of people congregated in Washington, D.C., in a march against police brutality and systemic racism …

The Washington Post reports: Thousands of protesters gathered Friday at the Lincoln Memorial to call for criminal justice reform and racial equality while honoring the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” address from the same location. Planning began in June after the funeral of George Floyd. Organizers say they want to highlight the …

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee protesters will face harsher penalties, including losing the right to vote, for breaking certain laws during demonstrations under a new law enacted by Gov. Bill Lee. The Republican quietly signed off on the bill Thursday. Lee has previously conceded there were portions of the bill he “would have done differently” but ultimately agreed to sign …

Courthouse News reports: The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating a possible prank call Wednesday that triggered a heavily armed police response at the home of leading Black Lives Matter activist Melina Abdullah, who livestreamed the incident as her three children were inside the home. Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA and a professor at California State University, Los …

NBC News reports: Former president Barack Obama gave a soaring eulogy for John Lewis, urging Americans to honor the legacy of a civil rights giant by engaging in the “good trouble” that leads to a more perfect democracy in the face of powerful institutions that seek to oppress. The former president spoke on the current threat to voting rights in …

CBS News reports: Three former presidents will honor Congressman John Lewis at his funeral in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday at 11 a.m., completing a week of memorial services for the longtime lawmaker and civil rights icon. Former President Barack Obama will deliver the eulogy for Lewis, who died earlier this month at age 80. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George …

CNN reports: Former President Barack Obama will give the eulogy at US Rep. John Lewis’ funeral on Thursday and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will attend the service, according to sources familiar with the former presidents’ plans. The sources added that Clinton and Bush will also participate in the funeral, which will be held Thursday morning at …

Politico reports: The late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis revealed Thursday that he had been “inspired” in his final days by nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality. In an op-ed authored shortly before his death and published on the day of his funeral by The New York Times, the Georgia Democrat reflected upon his own calling …

Atlanta’s ABC News affiliate reports: The late Rep. John Lewis arrived back home in Atlanta today, following four days of tributes and services that have taken the congressman and Civil Rights hero back to his native Alabama and then to Washington, D.C. As he did at the Alabama and U.S. capitols, Lewis will lie in state at the Georgia State …

Bismarck’s CBS News affiliate reports: After both Republican and Democratic politicians spoke out against a portion of the North Dakota Republican Party’s recently adopted policy platform that describes LGBT practices as “unhealthy and dangerous,” and “sometimes infecting society at large,” the NDGOP Executive Committee voted to disavow Resolution 31 and its “harmful and divisive language.” In a statement after the …

USA Today reports: John Lewis has returned to the nation’s capital one last time. Lewis, who died July 17 from pancreatic cancer at 80, arrived at Joint Base Andrews after two days of tributes in Alabama. The family and friends traveling with him include Lewis’ only son, John-Miles Lewis, as well as siblings, nieces and nephews. The motorcade is expected …

Ketchikan’s NPR affiliate reports: An ordinance that prohibits discrimination against LGTBQ individuals in Ketchikan city limits was passed today. The local law was approved by the Ketchikan City Council over the objections of religious advocates. Though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender …

CNN reports: As news of Rep. John Lewis’ death rocked the nation, tributes to the civil rights leader and longtime Georgia politician poured in from activists and politicians alike. Lewis was the son of sharecroppers who survived a brutal beating by police during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama. He ultimately became a towering figure of the civil rights …