NEW YORK – Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, responded to Senate GOP passing a tax reform bill that targets low income and LGBTQ communities. The tax bill would eliminate the individual mandate, a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is expected cause 13 million low income Americans to lose insurance and trigger massive spending cuts to vital programs like Medicaid, the largest federal funder of HIV care and treatment.

“Republican lawmakers are casually and callously playing with the lives and livelihoods of LGBTQ and low income Americans by intentionally ignoring the devastating effects of their tax bill to score a cheap legislative victory,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “This tax bill is nothing more than a scam that deliberately targets access to healthcare for some of our nation’s most marginalized communities, and will have devastating impacts on the health of LGBTQ people and many others in this nation.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: WHAT THE GOP TAX BILL WOULD MEAN FOR LGBTQ AMERICANS

Senate tax bill eliminates the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without it, millions of people will drop out of the insurance market and drive up health care costs. This will result in 13 million low income individuals losing healthcare coverage in the next 10 years, with 4 million losing health coverage in the first year. Cutting health care will affect people at risk for, or living with HIV and result in lack of access to essential medications.

• The 65% of LGBTQ adults with preexisting conditions rely on the ACA and LGBTQ are more likely to be uninsured compared to the non-LGBTQ population.

Deficits caused by the Senate’s 1.5 trillion dollar healthcare bill will result in spending cuts to vital programs. According to the AARP, the legislation would result in an automatic $25 billion cut to Medicare.

• Medicare is the largest federal funder of HIV care and treatment. Massive cuts to the program would put many people with HIV at risk of losing access to life-saving medicines and treatment

Lowest-income Americans will take a large hit under the Senate tax bill.

• LGBTQ Americans, especially those who are transgender, people of color, or both, experience higher rates of poverty than the general population, and the new tax plan raises taxes for people making less than $30k/y.

Both the House and Senate tax bill introduce an expanded child tax credit that excludes low-income families. This benefit will not be accessible for 10 million children whose parent(s) work for low pay.

• Families living in poverty are disproportionally LGBTQ. Single LGBTQ adults raising children are three times more likely to report household incomes near the poverty line, and married and partnered LGBTQ adults are twice as likely.

The House tax bill, as passed, would repeal the Johnson Amendment, a prevision that some Republicans are attempting into sneak into the Senate and final version of the tax bill. This amendment prevents tax-exempt orgs from endorsing/opposing political candidates and its elimination this would allow wealthy individuals to manipulate charities to fit their political opinions.

• The repeal of the Johnson Amendment is being pushed by anti-LGBTQ groups and advocates including the Sothern Poverty Law Center designed hates groups Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom.

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Every week, the GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBTQ-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend!

1) Guillermo del Toro’s newest film, The Shape of Water, opens in New York this weekend. The film, a dark fairytale set in 1960’s America, tells the story of mute woman Elisa (Sally Hawkins) working in a high security laboratory, where she discovers a secret that will change her life. The film also focuses on her close friend, conspirator, and neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins), a lonely gay artist who helps Elisa in her endeavors. Surreal and beautifully shot, The Shape of Water is a story about the power of love, and outcasts fighting the system. It comes out in theaters in New York on Friday, and expands to additional cities December 8^th. Click here to purchase tickets!

2) The first trailer for the teen romance Love, Simon was released this week. The movie, directed by out producer and filmmaker Greg Berlanti, tells the story of the titular Simon, a closeted gay teenager who begins an email romance with another closeted student. The trailer shows Simon among his friends and family, grappling with the idea of coming out. The film is presented as a classic teen romance, presenting Simon’s highs and lows of teenage life. It is also one of the few films from a major studio to feature a queer protagonist, something we need much more of. Love, Simon will be released into theaters on March 16, 2018.

3) The official trailer for the upcoming queer coming of age story Saturday Church was released on Tuesday. The film tells the story of Ulysses, a 14-year-old queer boy who struggles with family life after his father dies, but ends up finding his community in the queer and trans members of “Saturday Church,” a program for LGBTQ youth. Newcomer Luka Kain stars, as well as MJ Rodriguez and Indya Moore of the upcoming FX pilot Pose. Saturday Church will be available on demand and in New York and LA theaters on January 12, 2018.

4) Fox announced on Friday that it is adapting Boom! Studios’ acclaimed graphic novel series Goldie Vance into a film. Goldie Vance tells the story of the titular Goldie, a teenage mixed race queer girl who dreams of becoming the in-house detective at a historic Miami resort. The comic came from the minds of writer Hope Larson and artist Brittney Williams. “Here’s a character who is so cool and fun and also happens to be gay, and everybody in her life is totally fine with it,” Larson has said about Goldie’s sexuality. The series is available through Comixology and other retailers.

5) The Gotham Awards were held on Monday night, hosted by John Cameron Mitchell. Among the winners were acclaimed drama Call Me by Your Name, which won Best Feature as well as Best Breakthrough Actor for star Timothée Chalamet. The documentary Strong Island also won for Best Documentary, which was directed and produced by trans filmmaker Yance Ford. You can catch Call Me by Your Name in theaters in New York and LA, and Strong Island on Netflix.

6) The first trailer has been released for the upcoming HBO docuseries 15: A Quinceañera Story, a four-part series that follows five teen Latinx girls through their quinceañeras. One of the episodes focuses on Zoey, a transgender girl who used the opportunity of the quince to give one to her trans godmother’s who never got to have their own quinceañeras when they were fifteen. 15: A Quinceañera Story premieres on HBO on December 19^th and will run every night through the 22nd, you can watch the trailer below.

7) The first trailer for Rise, the musical theater drama coming to NBC in the spring, was released this week. The show focuses on a high school teacher who makes it his goal to revitalize the school’s theater program in their working class town with a production of Spring Awakening. The drama group includes Simon, a closeted teen who butts heads with his parents over his role in the show. Rise will premiere on March 13^th on NBC and you can watch the trailer below.

8) A new trailer has been released for the sixth and final season of Nashville. This newest trailer teases a lot of drama to be packed into the last season, as well as a new love interest for gay country singer, Will. Nashville will premiere on January 4^th on CMT. In other TV news, it was announced that out producer and writer Ryan Murphy of Glee, American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and the upcoming pilot Pose to name a few will be honored with the 2018 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television by the Producers Guild of America. This award will be given out at the PGA Awards on January 20^th.

9) Out Canadian pop artist Ria Mae released her EP My Love in November, a heartfelt seven track album, which has risen up the Canadian charts. Mae says that the EP is about people she loves “Past love, present love, and self-love.” It also includes the song “Broken” featuring Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara. The album is now available on Spotify and Apple Music, and you can watch the video for the single “Bend” below!

10) Logan McKennah Brown is currently raising funds for her thesis film, The Gay Club. The film tells the story of life as a lesbian in the rural South, in particular the story of Hailey, who started the first GSA at her school despite the backlash from those in her high school. To find out about how you can help this film get made, click here!