Tag Archives: civil rights

PENNSYLVANIA: Dem Gov. Tom Wolf Creates Nation’s First State Commission On LGBTQ Civil Rights [VIDEO]

Via press release: Governor Tom Wolf today will sign an executive order creating the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, the only one in the nation. “The creation of the commission on LGBTQ Affairs is one step of many we have taken to ensure obstacles are removed for anyone who is facing an unfair disadvantage based on sexual orientation, gender identity …

Read More »

Democrats Denounce Sessions’ “Religious Liberty Task Force” As A “Bigoted” Attack On LGBTQ Civil Rights

Via press release from the Democratic National Committee: Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of a “Religious Liberty Task Force” focused on protecting religious-based discrimination. This task force will be dedicated to implementing his previous directive, which outlined the Trump-Pence administration’s position in support of using religious beliefs as a license to discriminate in employment, housing, business, and …

Read More »

MISSOURI: Married Lesbian Couple Sues After Senior Community Denies Them Housing Because Jesus

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: A St. Louis County senior community has denied housing to a married lesbian couple who have been together for nearly four decades because of the couple’s sexual orientation, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. Mary Walsh, 72, and Bev Nance, 68, both of Shrewsbury, say the Friendship Village senior living community, …

Read More »

INDIANA: Florist Refuses Service For Gay Wedding

The Indy Channel reports: A man claims the owner of a floral shop in Avon decided not to help with his wedding when she learned he was going to be marrying another man. David Elliott says he went to Avon Florist on Rockville Road on July 19 and he posted about what happened at the shop afterward on his Facebook …

Read More »

MICHIGAN: Republican Attorney General Rules LGBT Citizens Are Not Protected By Anti-Bias Laws [VIDEO]

The Detroit News reports: In a legal opinion sure to reverberate through his campaign for governor, Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette on Friday deemed “invalid” a new agency interpretation that had extended anti-discrimination protections to gay and transgender Michigan residents. The formal opinion was derided by a Democratic state lawmaker as an attempt to “trample” on the gay community but …

Read More »

HHS Deletes LGBT Resources From Obamacare Site

Just in from the Democratic National Committee: Today, the Sunlight Foundation reported that the Trump-Pence administration’s Department of Health and Human Services removed and altered language from its website on the provision of the Affordable Care Act that prohibits discrimination in health care services.  The move limits access to information and resources that protect women and LGBTQ people, particularly transgender …

Read More »

100+ Civil Rights Groups Oppose Brett Kavanaugh

The Hill reports: More than a 100 civil and human rights groups are urging senators to oppose Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s latest Supreme Court nominee. In a Tuesday letter, led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the groups say Kavanaugh will be a fifth and decisive vote to undermine a host of core rights and legal protections, …

Read More »

HELSINKI: Human Rights Campaign Calls On Trump And Putin To End Chechnya’s Crimes Against LGBTs

From the Human Rights Campaign: Today, just ahead of tomorrow’s Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki, HRC projected an enormous message onto the Presidential Palace in Helsinki demanding that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin immediately end the ongoing anti-LGBTQ crimes against humanity occurring in the Russian republic of Chechnya. For more than 15 months, Donald Trump and his administration have refused to …

Read More »

INDONESIA: Gay Couple Publicly Flogged 80+ Times

Agence France-Presse reports: A gay couple was publicly whipped in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Friday (July 13), despite an earlier pledge by officials to stop the punishment after it drew international criticism. The two men were flogged more than 80 times each for having gay sex, which is outlawed under local Islamic law, as a jeering crowd hurled abuse …

Read More »

BREAKING: SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy To Retire

USA Today reports: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, giving President Trump and Senate Republicans an opportunity to create a solidly conservative court that could last for decades. Kennedy’s long-rumored decision to step down July 31 will touch off a titanic battle between conservatives and liberals in the nation’s capital, on the airwaves, and in states represented by key …

Read More »

UTAH: Provo Relents On Allowing LGBT Groups In July 4th Parade After Threat To Public Funding [VIDEO]

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: After hours of sometimes heated negotiation, a deal has been struck that lets a coalition of groups representing Utah County’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community into the popular Freedom Festival parade and patriotic celebration. It came after intense political and community pressure on the festival and hours of closed-door talks …

Read More »

UTAH: Provo Bans LGBT Groups From July 4th Parade

Two positive Utah stories today but now this. Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: Mayor Michelle Kaufusi has signed a new agreement with America’s Freedom Festival that includes a non-discrimination clause, but it apparently does not mean that LGBTQ groups will be allowed to march in the July 4 parade. Five LGBTQ groups that asked to be …

Read More »

Cossacks To Report Gay Kissing At World Cup [VIDEO]

Sky News reports: Gay couples seen kissing in public by Russian Cossacks during the World Cup will be reported to police. The tournament begins in 11 cities across the country next week. Rostov-on-Don, a southern city, will reportedly have 300 Cossack vigilantes on patrol to help the police keep the streets safe, including 100 on horseback. The city will host …

Read More »

NAACP Sues DeVos For Rolling Back Anti-Bias Rules

Via press release: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation’s premier civil rights organization yesterday filed a lawsuit along with the National Federation of the Blind and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates against the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. District Court …

Read More »

Democrats Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month: We’ll Never Stop Fighting For The Equality Every Human Deserves

Last year Glorious Leader broke with tradition and declined to issue a Pride Month proclamation although he did find time to proclaim Great Outdoors Month, National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, African-American Music Appreciation Month, National Ocean Month, and National Homeownership Month. We expect the same for 2018. Here’s this year’s message from the Democrats: “Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate …

Read More »

Increase: 4.5% Of Americans Now Identify As LGBT

Gallup reports: The percentage of American adults identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) increased to 4.5% in 2017, up from 4.1% in 2016 and 3.5% in 2012 when Gallup began tracking the measure. The latest estimate is based on over 340,000 interviews conducted as part of Gallup’s daily tracking in 2017. The expansion in the number of Americans …

Read More »

BELARUS: Government Slams Same-Sex Relationships As “Fake” After UK Embassy Flies Rainbow Flag In Minsk

Reuters reports: Leading rights groups praised the British embassy in Minsk on Tuesday for flying a rainbow flag to support sexual minorities in one of Europe’s most homophobic states, after Belarus condemned the UK for challenging its “traditional values”. Britain came under fire from the eastern European country’s interior ministry on Sunday, which said on its website that the UK …

Read More »

Federal Court Affirms Rights Of Transgender Students

Via press release from the ACLU: A federal court today denied the Gloucester County School Board’s motion to dismiss a case brought by former student Gavin Grimm, holding that Title IX and the Constitution protect transgender students from being excluded from the common restrooms that align with their gender identity. The court directed the parties to schedule a settlement conference …

Read More »

NFL Owners Weigh 15-Yard Penalty For Kneeling

Sports Illustrated reports: On Tuesday, NFL owners put three hours aside for a privileged session to speak—amongst themselves and family members—about the most sensitive of topics. One was how the league will handle players kneeling during the national anthem going forward. An idea being floated in the room goes like this: It would be up to the home team on …

Read More »

MOLDOVA: Police Use Tear Gas, Drag Away Christian Protesters Blockading LGBT Rights March [VIDEO]

Radio Free Europe reports: Religious hard-liners in Moldova’s capital tried to crash a rally in support of the country’s LGBT community but were fended off by police who deployed tear gas. The Orthodox Christian protesters unsuccessfully attempted to break through a police line set up to guard dozens off demonstrators who marched through Chisinau in the May 19 rally against …

Read More »