Call It Out: Baseball’s Curt Schilling Posts Troubling Transphobic Post on Facebook

This week, ESPN baseball analyst Curt Shilling posted a disturbing and transphobic image and comment on his Facebook page, remarking on the recent legislation across the nation limiting transgender people’s access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.

Schilling’s comment read:

“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves. I don’t care what they are, who they sleep with, men’s room was designed for the penis, women’s not so much,” he wrote. “Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic.”

He posted the comment along a horrific anti-transgender meme, which was later removed from his Facebook page. 

“Curt Schilling’s public and derogatory attack on transgender people was extremely troubling. Transgender people aren’t mean-spirited memes. We are your neighbors, co-workers, your family — and yes, even baseball fans,” said Jay Brown, Director of Research and Public Education, HRC Foundation. “And particularly when transgender women are the target of such high levels of physical violence simply because of who they are, this kind of ugly propaganda is not just wrong, it’s dangerous.”

Schilling’s comments are directly related to the onslaught of legislation nationwide targeting transgender people, and particularly children. These bills, such as the one South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard vetoed, the one North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law and the discriminatory bill in Tennessee that was pulled from consideration in the Tennessee House yesterday, compromise the physical and emotional safety of transgender people and put them at increased risk of attack and abuse.

“We are taking this matter very seriously and are in the process of reviewing it,” an ESPN spokesperson told Big League Stew.

An unprecedented 44 anti transgender bills are being considered in 17 states.  Some bills undercut the ability of transgender people to access gender-affirming health care, create state-sanctioned avenues of anti-transgender discrimination and, last but not least, deny transgender people access to bathrooms, locker rooms and athletic teams consistent with their gender identity. Learn more about the legislation here.

www.hrc.org/blog/call-it-out-baseballs-curt-schilling-posts-troubling-transphobic-post-on-fa?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Laverne Cox to host #glaadawards in NYC

www.glaad.org/blog/laverne-cox-host-glaadawards-nyc

Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and Durham Chamber of Commerce Urge Repeal of HB2

This week, the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce urged North Carolina Governor Pay McCrory to repeal HB2, which removes the ability of people facing discrimination on any basis, including on the basis of race, religion, sex, and national origin, to sue in state court; prevents local cities from enacting their own non-discrimination protections; and forces transgender North Carolinians to use restroom facilities in schools and on publicly-owned property inconsistent with their gender identity.

“The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce opposes HB2 and calls for its immediate repeal,” the organization shared in a statement. “This legislation is bad for business and bad for North Carolina. We must eliminate the issues this legislation creates. The Greater Raleigh Chamber will work with Gov. Pat McCrory, legislators, and other elected leaders to find a solution that is in the best interest of our region and state while strengthening our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equality.”

Earlier this week, HRC announced 160 major corporations have signed an open letter urging Gov. McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the radical provisions in the deeply discriminatory law. PayPal and Deutsche Bank, have stopped investments in North Carolina because of H.B. 2 and Bruce Springsteen, Boston and Pearl Jam have cancelled concerts in the state to stand in solidarity with LGBT people across North Carolina and the nation. Basketball players including Charles Barkley and Jason Collins have called on the NBA to move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte if the law is not repealed.

Additionally, earlier today, the American Academy of Pediatrics warned the governor and state legislators about the dangers HB2 poses to youth across the state.

“The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce stands with the many companies, communities and individuals in opposing HB2 and all legislation which discriminates against men, women, governments and private companies living in, traveling to and doing business in North Carolina,” president and CEO Geoff Durham said in a news release. “Durham is an inclusive community which is home to many diverse people, festivals and research centers.”

Gov. Pat McCrory and state lawmakers are under increasingly intense pressure to repeal the discriminatory HB 2 in next week’s legislative session.  In addition to the businesses, mayors and governors across the country are banning travel to the state, musicians are cancelling concerts, and The New York Times editorial board called North Carolina a “pioneer in bigotry.”

HB 2 has eliminated existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and prevents such protections from being passed by cities in the future. In addition, the legislation prevents transgender students in public schools from using restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity. It also compels the same type of discrimination against transgender people to take place in publicly-owned buildings, including in public universities, major airports, and convention centers. Further, HB 2 revokes the ability to sue under state employment non-discrimination law on the basis of any protected characteristic, including race, religion, national origin, and sex.  Lawmakers passed the legislation in a hurried, single-day session, and Governor McCrory quickly signed it into law in the dead of night. The discriminatory law is already facing a legal challenge, and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said he will refuse to defend it in court.

www.hrc.org/blog/greater-raleigh-and-durham-chamber-of-commerce-urge-repeal-of-hb2?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Customers Are OK With Transgender People In Advertising, But Don’t Know What It Means

People are generally okay with seeing transgender people in ads, but that doesn’t mean they understand who transgender people are.

The post Customers Are OK With Transgender People In Advertising, But Don’t Know What It Means appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/19/3770676/transgender-advertising-study/

HRC Hails Historic Federal Court Decision Upholding Civil Rights Protections for Trans Students

HRC hailed today’s Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding the U.S. Department of Education’s assertion that federal civil rights laws protect transgender students from discrimination.

In a 2-1 decision, the court affirmed the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 as protecting transgender students from discrimination, including allowing them to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The ruling came in the case of Gavin Grimm, a 16-year-old high school student and transgender teen, whose lawsuit against Virginia’s Gloucester County School District alleges the district violated Title IX by denying him use of  the boy’s restroom.

“Today’s historic decision is not only a victory for Gavin, but for all transgender young people who are being targeted by discriminatory actions — including North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory’s anti-transgender HB2 law,”said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “This ruling not only gives appropriate deference to the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX as allowing transgender students to use school restrooms consistent with their gender identity, it also is binding on the state of North Carolina. We therefore expect public schools, including those in North Carolina, to immediately comply, ensuring transgender students full protections under the law, which includes full access to the appropriate facilities.”

While today’s ruling guarantees  protections for transgender students in North Carolina, it does not address the other  discriminatory provisions contained in HB2. As a result, HRC continues to call for full repeal of the discriminatory HB2 law, which also prevents transgender youth and adults from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity in all government-owned buildings, including in libraries, major airports, and convention centers. HB2 also eliminated existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and prevents such protections from being passed by cities in the future.  Further, HB2 revokes the ability to sue under state employment non-discrimination law on the basis of any protected characteristic, including race, religion, national origin, and sex. Lawmakers passed the legislation in a hurried, single-day session, and Governor McCrory quickly signed it into law in the dead of night.

The discriminatory law is already facing a legal challenge, and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said he will refuse to defend it in court.

The ruling comes as a number of states — most recently South Carolina — have introduced legislation attacking transgender students by preventing their access to appropriate restroom and other facilities in schools. Last month, North Carolina became the first state in the country to enact a law attacking transgender students, even after similar proposals were being rejected across the country — including a high-profile veto by the Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota. Just yesterday, the sponsor of a similar bill in Tennessee announced plans to pull the discriminatory legislation from consideration this year, after outcry from tens of thousands of fair-minded Tennesseans; major national child welfare, medical, and education groups; country music stars; and major business leaders. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Attorney General Slatery had also expressed concerns about the state losing millions of dollars in federal funds.

Today’s ruling by the Fourth Circuit affirms that school districts denying transgender students access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity are in direct violation of Title IX.  That’s true of the Virginia district that has been discriminating against Grimm, and it is true of any school that chooses to comply with HB2 in North Carolina, which is also in the Fourth Circuit.  HB2 subjects schools to massive liability, and it puts an estimated $4.5 billion of federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education at risk, as well as  other funds a school may receive from another federal source.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-hails-historic-federal-court-decision-upholding-civil-rights-protection?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Sundance Institute joins entertainment community in saying NO to anti-LGBT bills

www.glaad.org/blog/sundance-institute-joins-entertainment-community-saying-no-anti-lgbt-bills