Tag Archives: LGBT rights

REPORT: Mattis “Appalled” By Trump’s Anti-Trans Edict

The Hill reports: Defense Secretary James Mattis was caught off-guard by President Trump’s announcement that he was banning transgender people from serving in the military, according to a New York Times report. Mattis, who was on vacation at the time of Trump’s decision, only had one day’s worth of notice before Trump tweeted his announcement of the policy, the paper …

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BREAKING: Pentagon Tells Military Leaders That No Official Change Has Been Made On Transgender Service

Reuters reports: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, said in a written message on Thursday to military leaders that there has been no change yet to the military’s policy on transgender personnel, despite plans for a ban announced by President Donald Trump. “There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President’s …

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BREAKING: Justice Department Files Brief Arguing That LGBT Workers Are Not Protected By The Civil Rights Act

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: The US Justice Department on Wednesday argued in a major federal lawsuit that a 1964 civil rights law doesn’t protect gay workers from discrimination, thereby diverging from a separate, autonomous federal agency that had supported the gay plaintiff’s case. The Trump administration’s filing is unusual in part because the Justice Department isn’t a party in …

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Trump’s First Anti-Trans Tweet Left Pentagon Officials Fearful He Was Announcing Strike On North Korea

Buzzfeed News reports: At the Pentagon, the first of the three tweets raised fears that the president was getting ready to announce strikes on North Korea or some other military action. Many said they were left in suspense for nine minutes, the time between the first and second tweet. Only after the second tweet did military officials receive the news …

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Democrats And Civil Rights Groups React With Outrage, ACLU Tells Trans Soldiers To “Get In Touch With Us”

Everybody was caught by surprise by this morning’s anti-transgender tweets, including the Pentagon, but the press releases are starting to roll in. Here’s some of what I’ve gotten so far. From the Democratic National Committee: Right this moment, around the world, brave transgender service members are protecting the American people – including Donald Trump and Mike Pence. While the White …

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BREAKING: Trump Announces Ban On Trans Military Service, We Won’t “Allow Or Accept In Any Capacity”

Donald Trump, the self-described best friend the LGBT community ever had, is bowing to evangelical hate groups. From the New York Times: President Trump tweeted on Wednesday that the United States will not “allow or accept” any transgender person to serve in the military. Mr. Trump consulted with “generals and military experts” on the sweeping policy, he said. “Our military …

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Texas Senate Approves Anti-Trans Bill In 21-10 Vote

The Texas Tribune reports: As part of Republican efforts to revive the controversial “bathroom bill,” the Texas Senate on Tuesday gave initial approval to another version of the legislation. The 21-10 vote — identical to the Senate’s March vote on a similar proposal — came after several amendments to the bill on the floor throughout an eight-hour debate during which …

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GERMANY: President Signs Marriage Bill, Weddings To Start October 1st Unless Bavaria State Challenges

Bloomberg reports: Germany’s president has signed legislation legalizing gay marriage, his office said Friday, paving the way for the bill to take effect this fall. Lawmakers approved the bill on June 30 in parliament’s last session before Germany’s September election. The move became possible after Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose conservative party had long been reluctant to budge on the issue, …

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LIVE VIDEO: Texas Senate State Affairs Committee Hears Public Testimony On Anti-Transgender Bill

The Texas Tribune reports: For the third time this year, a committee of state lawmakers will consider measures to restrict bathroom use for transgender residents in what’s expected to be an hours-long hearing Friday that could draw out hundreds of Texans to testify. On the Senate State Affairs Committee’s agenda are Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 91 — both …

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ACLU Sues Four Federal Agencies For Plans On How They’ll Implement Trump’s “Religious Liberty” Order

Via press release from the ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against four federal agencies demanding documents from the Trump administration that provide clarity on how the administration plans to implement its ‘religious freedom’ executive order. The ACLU initially filed records requests with the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, …

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TEXAS: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Opens Special Session By Fast-Tracking Anti-Trans Bill To Committee Approval

The Texas Tribune reports: On the opening day of the special session of the Texas Legislature on Tuesday, over the cries of Senate Democrats, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took a step to fast-track two bills reauthorizing the Texas Medical Board and four other state agencies jeopardized by inaction during the regular session. The Senate must first pass those bills before …

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Brigham Young Fires Professor Over Pro-LGBT Post

Salt Lake City’s CBS affiliate reports: She is a life-long member of the LDS church with the needed ecclesiastical endorsement to hold a current temple recommend — her faith’s standard of being a believer in good standing. Now she has taught her final class at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho, after she declined to retract a Facebook statement supporting the LGBT …

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Texas Gov Trolled With Photo Op: “How Will The Potty Police Know I’m Transgender If The Governor Doesn’t?”

The Associated Press reports: A transgender Texan has posted an all-smiles photo with Gov. Greg Abbott to protest a “bathroom bill” that state lawmakers will again consider during a special legislative session beginning Tuesday. Ashley Smith posed with Abbott after he announced his re-election campaign Friday in San Antonio. She later identified herself in the photo as “trans-woman” and posted …

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Anti-Gay Washington Florist Appeals To SCOTUS

The Associated Press reports: A florist from Washington state is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a decision by the state’s high court which concluded she violated the law by refusing to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding. Lawyers for Barronelle Stutzman on Friday contended the state Supreme Court decision violated her First Amendment protection for artistic expression. Her …

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Israeli Social Services Minister Walks Back Opposition To Gay Adoption: Our Brief Was Incorrectly Worded

That was quick. Haaretz reports: Minister of Welfare and Social Services Haim Katz responded on Monday to the report, first reported in Haaretz Sunday, that Israel opposes the adoption of children by LGBT couples. Katz’s office issued a statement reading: “Unfortunately, the wording submitted to the High Court was wrong and it would have been better if it was never …

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TEXAS: IBM Publishes Full-Page Ads Opposing Anti-Trans “Bathroom Bill” In Advance Of Special Session

The Dallas Morning News reports: IBM is upping the ante in its fight against Texas’ so-called “bathroom bill,” dispatching top executives to Austin and waging an ad war against what it calls the “discriminatory legislation.” Before state lawmakers reconvene Tuesday for a special legislative session, the technology giant is taking out full-page advertisements in The Dallas Morning News, San Antonio …

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ISRAEL: Government Opposes Adoption By Gay Couples

The Times Of Israel reports: The government announced on Sunday that there are no intentions to change the law and allow gay couples to adopt in Israel. In response to a High Court petition, the state said that it was opposed to allowing same-sex couples to adopt because it would place an “additional burden” on the child. “The professional opinion …

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SEOUL: Record Crowd Turns Out For Pride Festival Despite Thousands Of Christian Protesters [VIDEO]

The Korea Herald reports: Tens of thousands of people marched through central Seoul on Saturday to stand up for equality for sexual minorities in South Korea’s biggest pride parade, despite vocal opposition from anti-gay protesters. Despite sporadic rain, 85,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their supporters gathered at Seoul Plaza, rally organizers said. It was the largest crowd …

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SPLC Denounces AG Jeff Sessions For Speech To Hate Group: If They Had Their Way, Gays Would Be In Jail

Last week Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a secret address to an infamous anti-LGBT hate group which advocates for criminalizing homosexuality. (And against many other civil rights for LGBT citizens.) The DOJ repeatedly declined to release the transcript of Sessions’ speech, which only appeared later in the week on a right wing site after a Freedom Of Information Act demand …

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Chechen President: Gays Are Inhuman Devils And We Must “Purify Our Blood” By Removing Them [VIDEO]

TMZ reports: Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov sat for an interview with David Scott from Real Sports and it’s shocking. There are reports 27 people were recently murdered by the government – killed because they were gay, something the government has denied because the party line is that there are no gays in the country. Kadyrov says, “To purify our blood, …

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