#AM_Equality Tipsheet: April 9, 2018
VICTORY! ANCHORAGE VOTERS REJECT DISCRIMINATORY PROP 1: HRC celebrated an election victory in Anchorage, Alaska where voters soundly rejected a dangerous ballot measure that sought to eliminate existing municipal non-discrimination protections for transgender people. Said HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin), “Community leaders, businesses, faith leaders, and public officials all spoke out in support of equality. Together, we sent a powerful message that Anchorage is a welcoming and inclusive city for all — including transgender people. HRC was proud to work on the ground alongside Anchorage’s brave transgender community and the Fair Anchorage campaign to expose the opposition’s shameful fearmongering and defeat this discriminatory proposition.” More from HRC.
ANTI-LGBTQ CHILD WELFARE BILLS IN OKLAHOMA, KANSAS: HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadhGriffin) will be on-the-ground in Oklahoma to join efforts to help defeat SB1140, legislation that would provide a license to discriminate in child welfare services. The bill has passed the Senate and is likely to have a hearing next week in the House Judiciary Committee. And in Kansas, we are battling similar legislation, that would allow taxpayer-funded child welfare organizations to turn away qualified Kansans seeking to care for a child in need. The legislation would enable discrimination against LGBTQ couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one prospective parent has previously been divorced, or other parents to whom the agency has an objection.
- Must Read from Kansas-based child welfare professional: “Representatives need to put children first and not let the religious beliefs of any particular agency come between a young person finding a supportive and a loving family, and the chance to thrive despite the trauma they endured,” writes Kellie Becker. More from Topeka Capital-Journal.
- HRC released a video that cuts to the heart of how cruel these proposals are featuring Lupe, who found a family with her two adoptive dads. More from Upworthy.
THIS IS WHAT HRC IS FIGHTING FOR EVERY SINGLE DAY: The Washington Post’s Amber Phillips (@byamberphillips) takes a deep dive into pro- and anti- equality bills in state legislatures across the country. Despite more than 120 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced across the country, none have passed. In previous years, anti-equality lawmakers in both North Carolina and Texas paid big, and many legislatures are “losing their appetite” to move anti-LGBTQ bills, said State Legislative Director Cathryn Oakley. More from The Washington Post.
MUST WATCH MONDAY — SARAH MCBRIDE ON LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS: As HRC’s National Press Secretary, Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) is on the frontlines of the fight for LGBTQ equality across the country. In her new memoir, “Tomorrow Will Be Different,” she reflects on the ever-growing strength of the trans equality movement, while weaving in her personal journey through loss and adversity to become one of the nation’s leading transgender activists. More from Late Night with Seth Meyers.
MORNING MUST READ — “TUCSON’S EL RIO HAS BECOME A DESTINATION CLINIC FOR TRANSGENDER KIDS”: In the HRC Foundation’s 2018 Healthcare Equality Care Index, El Rio was the only Arizona-based health organizations to earn the coveted “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality” designation. More from Arizona Daily Star.
DAYTON BUSINESS LEADERS SUPPORT LGBTQ NONDISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS: “This would allow Ohio to be viewed much more positively in its ability to attract & retain the workforce it needs for the 21st century & beyond,” said Phil Parker, President and CEO of Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, on the chamber’s support for the Ohio Fairness Act. This act would add gender identity and sexual orientation to the state’s non-discrimination laws. More from Dayton Business Journal.
SENATOR HELLER CONTINUES TO ALIGN HIMSELF WITH TRUMP BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Behind closed doors, anti-equality Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) admits that he’s banking on low voter turnout to win in November, gushes about Trump, and vows to strip people of their health care. This is why HRC is working to replace Heller with pro-equality Jacky Rosen — a champion for all Nevadans. More from The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
MISSISSIPPI SUPREME COURT RULES BOTH MOTHERS HAVE PARENTAL RIGHTS TO CHILD FOLLOWING DIVORCE: The court ruled that Christina “Chris” Strickland did have parental rights over her son. This decision overturned a lower court ruling that found that Strickland did not, and that only the parent who carried the child did. More from The Associated Press.
HOUSTON GETS A NEW RAINBOW PRIDE WALL: HRC was in Houston for the unveiling of a new LGBTQ Pride wall to promote visibility for the LGBTQ community. Jim Obergefell, named plaintiff of the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case, cut the ribbon at the dedication ceremony. More from HRC.
STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF ARE CREATING A MORE GENDER-INCLUSIVE CLIMATE AT TEMPLE UNIVERSITY: More from The Temple News.
HRC NAMES JOHN BAEZ AS VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING: More from HRC.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
FRENCH PARLIAMENT VOTES TO PROTECT LGBTQ ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM DEPORTATION: More from Pink News.
THIS WEEK — HIGH COURT OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO TO RULE IN CASE THAT COULD OVERTURN LAW CRIMINALIZING SAME-SEX RELATIONS: More from NewNowNext.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
OutSports interviews gay bike racer Zack Leader (@zleader77); DW explores the fight for LGBTQ equality in Kenya
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-april-9-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
SYRIA. 
JUST DANCE. 
I am so excited for his entrance 
(@FinnsStella) 
