HRC Mourns Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum

Violence has once again tragically claimed the life of a transgender woman of color. Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum, 32, was fatally shot yesterday afternoon outside her Los Angeles apartment complex in what, according to police, appeared to be a dispute with her former boyfriend. Quartney was walking her dogs when the assailant approached and shot her in the head.

She was pronounced dead at the scene and a suspect has been arrested.

Media reports of Quartney’s death, as well as posts on her Facebook page, reflect the community’s love for her.

“I’m heartbroken,” her apartment manager, Anita Nelson, told The Los Angeles Times. “Our residents are traumatized, our staff is traumatized. Everybody loved her. She was very popular.”

Quartney is at least the sixth transgender person who has died from fatal violence in 2016. Several other cases are still under investigation. In addition to the fatal stabbing of Maya Young and the fatal shooting of Monica Loera, advocates learned recently of the deaths of transgender Latina Jasmine Sierra and transgender black man Demarkis Stansberry. Most recently, Kendarie Johnson, a gender fluid teenager, was fatally shot.

Two other transgender people of color, Veronica Banks Cano of San Antonio and Nino Acox Jackson of Dallas, also died in recent weeks under suspicious circumstances. And in January, 24-year-old Kayden Clarke, a transgender man from Arizona, was shot and killed by police in his home, after they responded to a call that Kayden was threatening suicide.

In 2015, advocates tracked at least 21 deaths of transgender people due to fatal violence, the most ever recorded. 

HRC extends its heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum.

For more information on addressing anti-transgender violence, visit hrc.org/trans-violence.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourns-quartney-davia-dawsonn-yochum?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Time Warner, Sony, Lionsgate, Fox, Weinstein joins chorus calling for veto of Georgia's 'license to discriminate' bill

www.glaad.org/blog/time-warner-sony-lionsgate-fox-weinstein-joins-chorus-calling-veto-georgias-license

Five Things to Know About North Carolina’s Newest, Radical Anti-LGBT Law

A little over 12 hours ago, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law an outrageous and unprecedented anti-LGBT bill.

While the state’s legislative session is over, the state legislature reconvened yesterday for a costly special session where they passed legislation that revoked Charlotte’s non-discrimination ordinance, sanctioned discrimination statewide, put transgender people at increased risk of discrimination and undermined the democratic process in cities and towns across the state.

Here are five things you need to know about North Carolina’s extraordinarily harsh anti-LGBT law:

1)    The law eliminates existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and prevents such provisions from being passed by cities in the future. This means that only statewide non-discrimination laws are allowed, and the law passed doesn’t include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

2)    The law forces transgender students in public schools to use restrooms and other facilities inconsistent with their gender identity. Additionally,access to  facilities in all government agencies must be based on biological sex as well.  That includes public universities.

3)    North Carolina is the first state in the country to enact such a law attacking transgender students, even after several similar proposals were rejected across the country this year.

4)   he Because the law directly contravenes Title IX, North Carolina’s federal funding – at least 4.5 billion dollars- is put at risk.

5)   The law also prevents cities from regulating in areas like living wage laws, benefits and hour regulations for workers in the city, city contracting, and even child labor regulations.

Learn more about the horrendous law here.

www.hrc.org/blog/five-things-to-know-about-north-carolinas-newest-radical-anti-lgbt-law?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Time Warner joins chorus calling for veto of Georgia's 'license to discriminate' bill

www.glaad.org/blog/time-warner-joins-chorus-calling-veto-georgias-license-discriminate-bill

How North Carolina Became The Most Anti-LGBT State In Less Than A Day

Could other states similarly try to skip the scrutiny to get right to the discrimination?

The post How North Carolina Became The Most Anti-LGBT State In Less Than A Day appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/03/24/3763023/north-carolina-anti-lgbt/

Entertainment Industry Leaders to Georgia Gov: Veto HB757 or We will Abandon Production in State

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, sent a letter to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal on behalf of dozens of entertainment industry leaders who will abandon production in the state if he signs the anti-LGBT H.B. 757 into law. The letter follows a call to action from HRC President Chad Griffin, who delivered a speech in Los Angeles last Saturday urging Hollywood executives to stand up to Governor Deal and speak out against the dangerous and discriminatory legislation that could become law. H.B. 757 could weaken local non-discrimination protections and allow businesses to discriminate and deny service to LGBT people, in addition to explicitly allowing discrimination by taxpayer-funded religious organizations. Later today, additional studios and entertainment leaders are expected to announce they will abandon operations in Georgia if H.B. 757 is enacted.

A copy of the letter and signers can be found here and below.

“We applaud the dozens of leaders from the entertainment industry who are taking a stand today against discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The entertainment industry has a huge economic footprint in Georgia, and the choice for Governor Deal could not be any clearer: he must veto this outrageous legislation before it inflicts tremendous damage on the state. This outrageous and discriminatory legislation is an affront to the values we all share.”

This past Saturday night at the Los Angeles HRC Gala, HRC President Chad Griffin addressed nearly 1,000 supporters and leaders in the entertainment industry and called on Hollywood to stop productions in Georgia if Gov. Nathan Deal doesn’t veto the new Indiana-style “license to discriminate” bill passed by the state legislature last week. According to the State of Georgia, which offers major tax incentives for entertainment companies to film in the state, at least 248 film and television productions were shot in Georgia during the state’s 2015 fiscal year. This resulted in at least $1.7 billion in direct spending as well as more than 100 new businesses relocating to or expanding in Georgia to support these activities.

In addition to this letter from the entertainment industry, sports teams, major corporations, and countless businesses have spoken out against the Georgia bill, including: Apple, the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta Hawks, Dell, the Dow Chemical Company, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Hilton, Intel, Intercontinental Hotels, Live Nation Entertainment, Marriott, MailChimp, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Microsoft, the NFL, Paypal, Salesforce, Square, Turner, Twitter, Unilever, Virgin, Yelp, and many others.

HRC and Georgia Unites have also delivered more than 75,000 email petitions to Gov. Deal urging him to veto the measure which could undermine local non-discrimination ordinances that protect LGBT people, permit hospitals to refuse to provide medically necessary care, or even allow a taxpayer-funded service provider to discriminate by denying a job because of the applicant’s religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

The full letter to Governor Deal and signatures follow:

“Dear Governor Deal,

As leaders in the entertainment industry, we have deep concerns about H.B. 757, which would sanction discrimination against LGBT people and others in Georgia.

As you know, Atlanta is often referred to as the Hollywood of the South. During the last fiscal year, at least 248 films and television productions were shot in Georgia, adding at least $1.7 billion in direct spending to the state’s economy. Additionally, the entertainment industry helped to bring more than 100 businesses to Georgia through relocation or expansion in the past fiscal year. Only two states — California and New York — have a larger entertainment industry footprint and both have statewide non-discrimination protections on the books. Unfortunately, Georgia not only lacks such protections, but could soon move from a bad situation to worse with H.B. 757.

We pride ourselves on running inclusive companies, and while we have enjoyed a positive partnership on productions in Georgia, we will plan to take our business elsewhere if any legislation sanctioning discrimination is signed into state law.

We urge you to veto H.B. 757 and send a strong message that Georgia will not tolerate discrimination against citizens, employees and visitors to the state.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this urgent issue.”

Ali Adler, Writer and Producer
Greg Berlanti, Writer and Producer
Matt Bomer, Actor & Simon Halls, Publicist
Dustin Lance Black, Screenwriter and Filmmaker
Bradley Bredeweg, Executive Producer and Showrunner
Kristin Chenoweth, Actress and Singer
Diablo Cody, Writer, Producer and Director
Bruce Cohen, Producer
Lee Daniels, Producer and Director
Dana Fox, Writer and Producer
John Goldwyn, Producer
James Gunn, Writer and Director
Anne Hathaway, Actress
Alan Hergott, Entertainment Attorney
Nina Jacobson, Producer
Dan Jinks, Producer
Kathy Kennedy, Producer
Zoe Kravitz, Actress
Bryan Lourd, Talent Agent
Seth MacFarlane, Producer and Filmmaker
Laurence Mark, Producer
Frank Marshall, Producer and Director
Neil Meron, Producer
Julianne Moore, Actress
Ryan Murphy, Producer
Peter Paige, Executive Producer and Showrunner
Rob Reiner, Actor, Director and Producer              
Sarah Schechter, Producer
Adam Shankman, Director and Producer
Aaron Sorkin, Screenwriter and Producer
Marisa Tomei, Actress
Gus Van Sant, Producer and Director
Harvey Weinstein, Producer and Film Studio Executive
Craig Zadan, Producer and Director

www.hrc.org/blog/entertainment-industry-leaders-to-georgia-gov-veto-hb757-or-we-will-abandon?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Walter Reed, Healthcare Facilities in the South Earn HRC Award for LGBT-Inclusive Policies

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the storied healthcare facility of U.S. presidents and wounded warriors, is making history again, becoming the first U.S. active military medical facility to earn the HRC Foundation’s Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality designation.

The world’s largest military hospital is joined this year by a growing number of healthcare facilities in the South in embracing LGBT-inclusive policies and practice, according to  a report released today by the HRC Foundation.

“We are thrilled that a record number of healthcare facilities — from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to an increasing number of hospitals in the South — have committed to providing fully LGBT-inclusive healthcare for the patients they care for each year, as well as to protecting their LGBT workers from discrimination,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Over the last several years, our nation has made substantial progress on LGBT equality, including historic gains in the availability of full-inclusive healthcare.”

“I commend leaders of these inclusive facilities for using HRC’s Health Equality Index as a roadmap, and for advancing equality in health care for our nation’s LGBT patients, their families, and for medical providers and caregivers,” Griffin said. “We still have much work to do to achieve full equality, but today we have a record number of leaders setting an example for other healthcare facilities across our nation.”

A record 2,061 healthcare facilities are rated in the HRC Foundation’s 2016 HEI survey, up 37 percent from the last survey. And an unprecedented 496 healthcare centers from all regions of the U.S. earned the Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality designation this year, with substantial gains in the South — including in Alabama, where three major Birmingham-area facilities were awarded leader status for the first time.

While every region of the country saw an increase in the number of medical facilities earning HEI leader status this year, the South stepped up with the second highest number of new leaders. It now ranks second only to the Northeast region in the number of hospitals and healthcare facilities committing to LGBT-competent and inclusive care.

Walter Reed, which admits more than 13,000 service members annually to its facilities and treats nearly 30,000 each year in its emergency department, joins the nation’s system of veterans hospitals as a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality. The U.S. Veterans Health Administration and an overwhelming majority of its hospitals began participating in the  Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) in 2013.

To earn healthcare leader status, facilities must have established LGBT-inclusive patient non-discrimination policies, as well as employment non-discrimination policies that are fully LGBT-inclusive. They also ensure equal visitation rights for LGBT people, patients and families; and their staff members participate in training in LGBT patient-centered care.

“Walter Reed joins diverse healthcare facilities across the U.S. that are making tremendous strides toward LGBT patient-centered care,” said Tari Hanneman, author of the HEI and Deputy Director of the HRC Foundation’s Health and Aging Program. “In unprecedented numbers, they are committing to fully LGBT-inclusive policies for both their patients and their employees.”

Leadership shown by Walter Reed, the nation’s veterans hospitals, and other medical facilities embracing LGBT inclusion is sorely needed. While a record number of healthcare centers earned leader designation this year, too many continue to fall short in providing vital patient and employee non-discrimination protections.

Nearly half of the facilities that were independently researched by HRC Foundation staff performed poorly, particularly in the area of non-discrimination policies: only 58 percent have patient non-discrimination policies that include both sexual orientation and gender identity; and just 53 percent have LGBT-inclusive employment non-discrimination policies.

And four states have no facilities earning leader status this year: Alaska, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

The HEI’s findings demonstrate the patchwork of protections nationwide for LGBT patients and their families, as well as LGBT healthcare facility employees, underscoring the need for uniform federal non-discrimination protections. LGBT Americans are facing a harsh choice between healthcare facilities that have policies that guarantee them equal care, and those that have consistently failed to take steps to ensure all patients receive inclusive, compassionate and respectful care.

The good news? The number of active HEI participants continues to grow, and their leaders are striving to meet HRC’s criteria for equal treatment of LGBT patients, as well as employees, and are succeeding. Many are going well beyond the survey’s criteria to do right by all their patients and workers by adopting additional HRC-recommended best practices, including offering employees trans-inclusive health insurance coverage.

Read the full HEI report here.

www.hrc.org/blog/major-healthcare-facilities-in-the-south-among-those-earning-hrc-award-for?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed