Tag Archives: LGBT rights

LIVE VIDEO: House Hearing On The LGBTQ Equality Act

Via press release: The first-ever hearing on the Equality Act set to take place this morning in the House Judiciary Committee. The crucially important, bipartisan legislation will finally provide clear, comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across the country. The Equality Act has unprecedented support and is backed by nearly 70% of Americans, hundreds of members of Congress, more than …

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Kamala Harris And Cory Booker To Speak At HRC Event

From the Hollywood Reporter: The Human Rights Campaign announced Thursday that Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who has entered the 2020 presidential race, will attend the upcoming 2019 HRC Los Angeles dinner and speak on issues of equality. Harris will join Sen. Cory Booker, who is also scheduled to speak. The evening program will honor Christina Aguilera with the …

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Brunei To Enact Death Penalty For Homosexuality

Amnesty International reports: Cruel and inhuman punishments such as death by stoning for same-sex sexual acts and amputation for robbery will come into effect in Brunei next week, Amnesty International said today. “Pending provisions in Brunei’s Penal Code would allow stoning and amputation as punishments – including for children, to name only their most heinous aspects,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Brunei …

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TEXAS: Republicans Advance Bill To Allow Doctors And Many Others To Discriminate Against LGBT Citizens

The Austin Statesman reports: Opening what promises to be one of the most contentious fights of the 2019 legislative session, a Senate committee on Monday approved a bill to give state-licensed professionals — including doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and barbers — broad protection for actions taken according to their religious beliefs. Opponents said the bill, and more than a dozen similar …

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NAACP Backs Equality Act In Blow To Log Cabin

NBC News reports: The NAACP, the country’s oldest African-American civil rights organization, publicly endorsed the Equality Act, a federal LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill. “We support what it does — and we support it now,” Hilary Shelton, the organization’s D.C. bureau director, told NBC News on Friday. “It’s important that it gets through.” Shelton said the group had previously endorsed the bill …

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TENNESSEE: “License To Discriminate” Bill Advances, Would Protect Anti-LGBT Businesses From Punishment

The Tennessean reports: A bill opposed by LGBTQ advocates that would prevent state or local government entities in Tennessee from discriminating against a business based on the company’s internal policies has advanced in the House. House Bill 563, sponsored by Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville [photo], passed in the House on a 68-22 vote. The legislation seeks to prohibit the state …

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Alabama Senate Votes 26-0 To End Marriage Licenses

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: The Alabama Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would eliminate marriage licenses and the need to solemnize marriages. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, passed 26 to 0. It moves onto the House. Albritton, who first filed the bill in 2015, said it “takes the state out of granting permission, saying who can …

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Dem Candidates To Participate In LGBT Rights Forum

The Advocate reports: Democratic candidates for president will participate in a forum focused specifically on the lives and rights of LGBTQ people this fall. Showing the growing political influence of LGBTQ advocates and voters, the event provides a chance to educate the potential next president of the United States on the issues and challenges still facing queer Americans. It will …

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Manchin Claims Equality Act Overrides “Local Control”

Politico reports: The West Virginia senator, perhaps the most conservative Democrat in Congress, said that he believes the bill should allow more local control after talking to officials in his state. The bill extends federal protections to people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. “I am not convinced that the Equality Act as written provides sufficient guidance …

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Manchin Only Dem Senator Holdout On Equality Act

The Charleston Register-Herald reports: U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is the only Democratic senator who didn’t sign on to a bill introduced this week in Congress to extend protections in housing, employment and public accommodations to LGBT people. Senate Bill 788, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., has 43 Democratic sponsors, two Independent sponsors, and one Republican sponsor, …

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Sen. Kamala Harris Blasts Pence On LGBT Rights And That He Won’t Meet With Women By Himself [VIDEO]

“I disagree with most of what the vice president stands for when he makes decisions about our LGBTQ community in a way that doesn’t understand they should be entitled to full equality and rights under the law as any other American. I disagree with him when he suggests it’s not possible to have meetings with women alone by himself. I …

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GERMANY: Compensation Payments Approved For Gay Men Persecuted Under Nazi Law After End Of WWII

The Associated Press reports: German authorities on Wednesday extended compensation payments to more gay men who were investigated under a law criminalizing homosexuality that was enthusiastically enforced in West Germany after World War II. German lawmakers in 2017 approved the annulment of thousands of convictions under the Paragraph 175 law, which remained in force in its Nazi-era form until homosexuality …

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LIVE VIDEO: Democrats Introduce LGBT Equality Act

Via press release: Democratic leaders of the House and Senate will hold a press event at 2PM to introduce The Equality Act, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in education, employment, housing, credit, federal jury service, public accommodations, and the use of federal funds. The …

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SURVEY: Majorities In All States And Across All Demo Groups Support LGBT Non-Discrimination Legislation

From the Public Religion Research Institute: Amid our currently polarized political climate, a new PRRI survey shows that majorities of Americans across virtually all demographic groups and geographical locations support laws protecting LGBT people. Support for nondiscrimination protections enjoys broad support across the political spectrum. Majorities of Democrats (79%), independents (70%), and Republicans (56%) say they favor laws that would …

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Record 155 House Members Join LGBT Equality Caucus

From the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus: The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus announced its membership list for the 116th Congress today. With eight openly LGBT Co-Chairs, eighteen Vice Chairs, and 155 total members, this is the largest LGBT Equality Caucus in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives. “Fairness and equality are core American values. Unfortunately, as he has shown …

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Tulsi Gabbard: I Never Supported Ex-Gay Torture And Reversed On LGBT Rights After Serving In Middle East

CNN reports: Presidential hopeful Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sought to explain her shift away from advocating anti-gay policies in the early 2000s on Sunday, saying her time in the military caused her to “go through some soul-searching.” “I was raised in a very socially conservative home. My father is Catholic, he was a leading voice against gay marriage in Hawaii …

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161 Major Corporations Back LGBTQ Equality Act

Just in from the Human Rights Campaign: HRC announced that an unprecedented 161 leading businesses have joined HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. With a combined operation in all 50 states, headquarters in 26 states, more than $3.7 trillion in revenue, and more than 8.5 million employees across the United States, these companies know how important it is to …

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Gay Couple’s 1971 Marriage Officially Recognized

NBC News reports: In 1971, gay couple Michael McConnell and Jack Baker applied for a marriage license from Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The clerk, not realizing one of the individuals listed on the application was male, issued the license — though stopped short of officially recording it. Nearly five decades later — after a prolonged legal battle to get their …

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Pelosi: Dems Will Intro LGBT Equality Act Next Week

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday during her weekly news conference the Equality Act, legislation that would enact long sought-after federal protections against anti-LGBT legislation, would be introduced next week. As it was previously introduced, the Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to …

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STUDY: 4.5% Of Adult Americans Identify As LGBT

Reuters reports: An estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, and they tend to be younger and poorer than the population at large, according to an analysis of polling data released on Tuesday. The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law examined previously released results from the Gallup Daily Tracking survey and went …

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