BREAKING: House Appropriations Republicans Adopt “License to Discriminate” Amendment

Today, HRC blasted House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee for adopting a discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ amendment to a funding bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. If it remains in the final bill, the amendment would grant a “license to discriminate” in the provision of child welfare services, allowing child welfare placing agencies that receive federal government funding to turn away qualified prospective parents based on the agency’s religious beliefs. The vote in the committee was 29-23, along party lines, with Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA) the lone Republican to vote against the amendment.

This amendment, introduced by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), would have a sweeping, harmful impact in child welfare services by enabling discrimination against LGBTQ people, same-sex couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one prospective parent has previously been divorced, or other qualified parents to whom an agency has an objection. The biggest barrier to placing children with families is a lack of qualified prospective parents; having the government give contractors and subcontractors a license to discriminate, thereby limiting the pool of prospective parents for no legitimate reason, is unconscionable and an unacceptable use of taxpayer dollars.

“Any Member of Congress who supports this amendment is clearly stating that it is more important to them to discriminate than it is to find loving homes for children in need,” said David Stacy, director of government affairs at the Human Rights Campaign. “Congress should be focusing on ways to help children in the child welfare system find homes rather than creating needless obstacles for prospective parents, effectively shrinking the pool of qualified folks who want to provide children with a loving home. HRC urges Congress to reject this discriminatory amendment in the final appropriations bill.”

HRC recently released a report, titled Disregarding the Best Interest of the Child: License to Discriminate In Child Welfare Services, detailing the harms of efforts to write anti-LGBTQ discrimination by child welfare agencies into law. Statistics suggest that an estimated two million LGBTQ adults in the U.S. are interested in adoption, but the LGBTQ community often remains an untapped resource when it comes to finding families for children and youth in foster care.

Research consistently shows that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system, as many have been rejected by their families of origin because of their LGBTQ status, and are especially vulnerable to discrimination and mistreatment while in foster care. This type of amendment will only exacerbate these challenges faced by LGBTQ young people.

www.hrc.org/blog/house-appropriations-republicans-adopt-a-license-to-discriminate-amendment?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Madison City Council Passes Measure to Protect LGBTQ Youth from Practice of “Conversion Therapy”

HRC praised the Madison City Council for passing a measure protecting LGBTQ youth in the city from the dangerous, abusive and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” Madison is the second city in Wisconsin to pass such a measure; Milwaukee passed similar protections for minors in March.

“No child should be subjected to abuse — and that’s exactly what this dangerous, discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy” really is,” said HRC Wisconsin State Director Wendy Strout. “That’s why this abusive practice has been condemned by every major medical and mental health organization, and why 14 states and Washington, D.C. have taken action to protect minors from conversion therapy. We thank Alders Arvina Martin, Shiva Bidar and Amanda Hall, as well as Austin Kieler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s LGBTQ Caucus, for their leadership on this issue, and hope it can help fuel the momentum we are seeing nationwide as lawmakers work to pass legislation protecting LGBTQ youth.”

So-called “conversion therapy,” sometimes referred to as “sexual orientation change efforts” or “reparative therapy,” encompasses a range of dangerous practices that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These practices are based on the false premise that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that needs to be “cured” — a theory that has been rejected by every major medical and mental health organization.

HRC recently released a video featuring the story of Alex Cooper, a teen in Utah who was subjected to “conversion therapy” and tells the story of her abuse. Watch and share the video here.

There is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. To the contrary, research has clearly shown that these practices pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people such as depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior. The harmful practice is condemned by every major medical and mental health organization, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association.

In addition to Madison, a growing number of municipalities across the country, including cities and counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Wisconsin, have enacted similar crucial protections. Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, Hawaii, and New Hampshire all now have laws or regulations protecting youth from this abusive practice, and similar legislation is currently awaiting gubernatorial action in Delaware.

According to a recent report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 20,000 LGBTQ minors in states without protections will be subjected to conversion therapy by a licensed healthcare professional if state lawmakers fail to act. HRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and state equality groups across the nation to pass state legislation ending conversion therapy. More information on the lies and dangers of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity can be found here.

www.hrc.org/blog/madison-city-council-passes-measure-protect-lgbtq-youth-from-practice-of?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Drunk Racist Harasses Woman Wearing Puerto Rican Flag Shirt in Chicago-Area Park While Cop Stands By, Does Nothing: WATCH

A video shot in mid-June in which a drunk racist harasses a woman for wearing a shirt bearing the Puerto Rican flag has lit up social media. The incident in the clip, which is disgusting, is made more disturbing by the fact that a police officer is standing by as the woman continues to be harassed.

RELATED: Sonoco Fires Racist Loser Who Called Police on Black Woman at Her Swimming Pool: WATCH

Says the man, identified as Timothy Trybus: “Why is she wearing that sh*t? … If you’re an American citizen, you should not be wearing that shirt in America…You’re not an American…If you’re an American, you wouldn’t be wearing that.”

Almost ten minutes go by before additional officers show up to handle the situation.

The Chicago Tribune reports: “The officer in question has been placed on desk duty as an internal investigation progresses, a local congressman called for a federal probe into the matter and the video prompted multiple calls for the police officer to resign or be fired. Even the governor of Puerto Rico tweeted about it as views of the video approached the 2 million mark.”

Watch the video:

The investigation is ongoing and the officer involved has been assigned to desk duty pending the outcome. The intoxicated individual involved in the incident was arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct.

— Forest Preserves (@FPDCC) July 9, 2018

The post Drunk Racist Harasses Woman Wearing Puerto Rican Flag Shirt in Chicago-Area Park While Cop Stands By, Does Nothing: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Drunk Racist Harasses Woman Wearing Puerto Rican Flag Shirt in Chicago-Area Park While Cop Stands By, Does Nothing: WATCH

How Gay Dads Become Incidental Activists

Queer fathers are often asked by strangers about “Mom’s day off” — many turn it into a teachable moment.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/7/11/how-gay-dads-become-incidental-activists

How to Avoid Publishing Writers Who Enable Bigots

Journalists like Jesse Singal — who wrote a much-derided story on transgender children — need a warning label at the very least, Brynn Tannehill says.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/7/11/how-avoid-publishing-writers-who-enable-bigots