Writers, entertainers, businesses, advocates, politicians stand against new anti-LGBT Mississippi law

www.glaad.org/blog/writers-entertainers-businesses-advocates-politicians-stand-against-new-anti-lgbt-mississippi

The Surprising Sexual Harassment Scandal Accompanying Tennessee’s Anti-Transgender Bill

There’s sexual harassment connected to Tennessee’s anti-transgender bill, but not because of a transgender person.

The post The Surprising Sexual Harassment Scandal Accompanying Tennessee’s Anti-Transgender Bill appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/12/3768671/tennessee-transgender-bill-sexual-harassment/

HRC and Equality NC to McCrory: Executive Order Doubles Down on Most Damaging Provisions of HB 2

HRC and Equality North Carolina blasted NC Gov. Pat McCrory following his executive order today for his continued failure to lead on the repeal of HB 2.

While the governor’s executive order extends protections to state workers, it does nothing to fix the vile and discriminatory provisions he signed into law through HB 2. Under HB 2, transgender people are prohibited from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity in public buildings, including the University of North Carolina campus and the Raleigh-Durham Airport. Cities still cannot adopt ordinances designed to prohibit discrimination against their residents and visitors. And, today’s action does not undo the damage to the state nondiscrimination laws, which now prevent individuals from bringing suit in state courts.

HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said, “The governor’s action is an insufficient response to a terrible, misguided law that continues to harm LGBT people on a daily basis. It’s absurd that he’ll protect people from being fired but will prohibit them from using the employee restroom consistent with their gender identity. The North Carolina Legislature must act to right this wrong as swiftly as possible. They created this horrendous law, and they need to repeal it.”

Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro said, “While Governor McCrory’s Executive Order creates vital protections in public employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, it does not address the deep concerns we share with members of the business community and citizens across the state about the damaging impact of HB 2. In fact, the order doubles down on the Governor’s support for some of the most problematic provisions of HB 2.”

Both HRC and Equality North Carolina continue to call on the governor and North Carolina’s elected officials to repeal HB 2.

HB 2 has eliminated existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and prevents such protections from being passed by cities in the future. The legislation also forces transgender students in public schools to use restrooms and other facilities inconsistent with their gender identity, putting $4.5 billion dollars in federal funding under Title IX at risk. It also compels the same type of discrimination against transgender people to take place in publicly-owned buildings, including in public universities, publicly-owned airports, and publicly-owned convention centers.

Lawmakers passed the legislation in a hurried, single-day session, and Governor McCrory quickly signed it into law in the dead of night. North Carolina has the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first state in the country to enact a law attacking transgender students, even after similar proposals were rejected across the country this year — including a high-profile veto by the Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota.

North Carolina school districts that comply with the law will now be in direct violation of Title IX, subjecting the school districts to massive liability and putting an estimated $4.5 billion of federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as funding received by schools from other federal agencies, at risk. This section of HB 2 offers costly supposed solutions to non-existent problems, and it forces schools to choose between complying with federal law — plus doing the right thing for their students — or complying with a state law that violates students’ civil rights.

Read more about how this bill puts federal funding at risk here.

As a result of North Carolina’s HB 2 law, which puts thousands of youth, citizens, employees, and visitors to the state at risk, more than 140 business leaders are calling for a repeal effort during the upcoming legislative session and a number of businesses have begun to remove investments from the state.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-equalitync-to-mccrory-EO-doubles-down-on-most-damaging-part-of-HB2?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Dangerous and discriminatory South Carolina bill heads to hearing

www.glaad.org/blog/dangerous-and-discriminatory-south-carolina-bill-heads-hearing

North Carolina Governor Pretends To Fix Anti-LGBT Law With Symbolic Executive Order

Nothing in the executive order changes how much anti-LGBT discrimination HB2 requires.

The post North Carolina Governor Pretends To Fix Anti-LGBT Law With Symbolic Executive Order appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/12/3768732/north-carolina-lgbt-executive-order/

HRC Mississippi Commends Fair-Minded Mississippi Lawmakers for Effort to Roll Back Anti-LGBT Law

Today, HRC Mississippi praised efforts by Rep. Jay Hughes and members of the Mississippi House of Representatives to overturn the H.B. 1523 — a discriminatory bill targeting LGBT people that Governor Phil Bryant signed into law on April 5.  At a press conference this morning, Rep. Hughes announced that he is seeking to suspend regular House rules in order to introduce the “Mississippi Economic and Tourism Recovery Act,” which would repeal the terrible law.

“We thank Rep. Hughes and his fair-minded colleagues who continue to fight for the rights and dignity of LGBT Mississippians,” said HRC Mississippi State Director Rob Hill. “The discriminatory H.B. 1523 has no place in our state, and, along with the many Mississippians who support full equality for their fellow citizens, we remain committed to doing everything possible to remove this stain from our state’s legacy.”

Two-thirds of House members must vote in favor of suspending the rules to allow a vote on the proposed legislation to repeal H.B. 1523.

H.B. 1523, dubbed the “Religious Liberty Accommodations Act,” allows almost any individual or organization to use religion as a justification to discriminate against LGBT Mississippians in some of the most important aspects of their lives, including at work, at school, and in their communities.

Last week, HRC announced that executives from major corporations including The Coca-Cola Company, Northrop Grumman, and Intel signed onto an open letter addressed to Gov. Bryant, as well as Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip A. Gunn, urging them to repeal H.B.1523. Some of the state’s largest employers, including Nissan Group of North America, Tyson Food Inc, MGM Resorts International, and Toyota, also publicly voiced their opposition to the appalling legislation — joining national corporations such as AT&T, IBM, and MassMutual. Gov. Bryant also ignored the call of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association (MMA) to veto the discriminatory measure. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has joined an effort to get more CEOs to speak publicly against the law, and top executives from Microsoft and IBM have asserted that the law is bad for business.

Additionally, rocker Bryan Adams cancelled a concert scheduled for later this week in Biloxi, MS, and nearly 100 prominent writers from the state, including John Grisham and Kathryn Stockett, signed a letter protesting the discriminatory law. ABC’s “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts, who is featured as the welcoming face of the Hospitality State’s official tourism guide, also decried the legislation saying, “hurts my soul to think of anyone not feeling welcome.”

Under this new law, religion could be used by almost any individual or organization to justify discrimination against LGBT people, single mothers, unwed couples, and others. Tax-payer funded faith-based organizations could: refuse to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples for provision of critical services including emergency shelter; deny children in need of loving homes placement with LGBT families including the child’s own family member; and refuse to sell or rent a for-profit home to an LGBT person — even if the organization receives government funding. It would also give foster families the freedom to subject an LGBTQ child to the dangerous practice of “conversion therapy,” and subject a pregnant unwed girl to abuse, without fear of government intervention or license suspension. It would even allow individuals to refuse to carry out the terms of a state contract for the provision of counseling services to all eligible individuals, including veterans, based on the counselor’s beliefs about LGBT people or single mothers.

Furthermore, schools, employers, and service providers could refuse transgender people access to appropriate sex-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity — all in direct conflict with the U.S. Department of Justice’s enforcement of federal law. HB 1523 even legalizes Kim Davis-style discrimination by allowing government employees to abdicate their duties and refuse to license or solemnize marriages for LGBT people.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-commends-fair-minded-mississippi-lawmakers?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed