#AM_Equality Tipsheet: August 16, 2018
MEET THE ANTI-LGBTQ EXTREMIST RUNNING TO OUST THE SENATE’S ONLY OPENLY LGBTQ MEMBER: Throughout her almost two decades in public office, Leah Vukmir has:
- Derailed efforts to pass commonsense protections for Wisconsin’s LGBTQ community, including protections for LGBTQ youth facing discrimination and bullying at school;
- Long opposed marriage equality and has close ties to some of the nation’s most virulently anti-LGBTQ organizations, including the Family Research Council;
- Consistently voted against pro-equality legislation and has pushed for a license to discriminate in the health care system that would prioritize physicians’ beliefs over life-saving patient care. More from Washington Blade, Into and Pink News.
Leah Vukmir’s extreme views place her far outside the mainstream. Her record and close affiliation with extremist groups is setting off alarms not only for the LGBTQ community, but for all Wisconsinites. #WISen
�� Help us stop Vukmir: t.co/U3nnnCObFK ��
— HRC in Wisconsin (@HRC_WI) August 15, 2018
ICYMI — OKLAHOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT CANCELS CLASSES AFTER EXTREMISTS THREATEN TRANS STUDENT WITH VIOLENCE: “The hateful and violent rhetoric of these adults is despicable, disgusting and completely dehumanizing,” said Ellen Kahn, Director of the HRC Foundation’s Children, Youth and Families Programs. “No student should face threats of violence or harassment from anyone in their school community, let alone from their peers’ parents. In the aftermath of the last election, LGBTQ students reported an increase in bullying, and the incident in Oklahoma reinforces the unconscionable fact that the bullying can sometimes come from adults in their community.” More from Pink News, Time and Refinery29.
THROWBACK THURSDAY — HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY, ELLEN AND PORTIA! This power couple have been warming our hearts and serving as role models to LGBTQ youth everywhere for the past decade. Cheers to that!
Happy th anniversary to @TheEllenShow and @PortiaDeRossi! #RelationshipGoals
❤️ pic.twitter.com/kNXUtQ80yr
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) August 16, 2018
TRANS TROOP BAN UPDATE — YET ANOTHER JUDGE RULES TRUMP-PENCE MUST BRING FORTH INFORMATION USED TO IMPLEMENT UNCONSTITUTIONAL BAN: In yet another ruling against the administration in their ongoing crusade against transgender troops, a federal judge in Maryland has ordered that documents the Trump-Pence administration hoped to shield in a case to bar qualified trans service members must be revealed. More from The Associated Press.
“CHILDREN DO NOT ALWAYS KNOW WHAT’S BEST,” SAYS TRANSPHOBIC JUDGE WHO DENIED TEEN A NAME CHANGE — DESPITE SUPPORT FROM PARENTS AND THERAPIST: Judge Joseph Kirby, who has a history of denying transgender people the right to legally change their name, is being sued by group of dedicated parents on behalf of their trans children. More from The Cincinnati Enquirer.
DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT CITED AS REASONS LGBQ YOUTH ARE MORE LIKELY TO USE ILLEGAL DRUGS: The study from San Diego State University did not look at rates among transgender youth. More from Reuters.
HRC HOSTS EQUALITY ACTION ACADEMY IN HOUSTON: More than 60 HRC members participated in the training to build their campaign skills. Learn more about HRC’s nationwide efforts to mobilize members for the 2018 midterms at hrc.im/Academy.
Tired of the Trump-Pence administration rolling back LGBTQ protections? ��
Empower yourself and your community to #TurnOUT the vote & mobilize #EqualityVoters ahead of the November midterms. ����
Join @HRC’s new Equality Action Academy TODAY. ����️�� t.co/sfWNesE5co pic.twitter.com/MgHsOoS3sY
— HRC in Wisconsin (@HRC_WI) August 15, 2018
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
ALARMING — INDONESIAN PRESIDENT SELECTS RUNNING MATE WHO HAS CALLED FOR LGBTQ PEOPLE TO BE CRIMINALIZED: More from Gay Star News.
GAY AFGHAN ASYLUM SEEKER REJECTED BY AUSTRIA ON SUSPICION OF LYING ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION: An official claims the teenager did not “walk, act or dress” like a gay man. More from The Guardian.
CRICKETER BEN STOKES (@benstokes38) SAVES SAME SEX COUPLE FACING HOMOPHOBIC ATTACK: More from Metro.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
Tennis World shares star player Roger Federer’s (@rogerfederer) powerful support for LGBTQ players; Pink News reports on an attack on a same-sex couple in Belgium; Al Dia speaks to Cuban activists about the upcoming constitutional debates, which could lead to marriage equality; Voice of America interviews Haitian LGBTQ activists; Iowa Public Radio reviews the local one-man show “Confessions of a Gay Catholic”
Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and not authorized by any candidate or committee.
Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-august-16-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
I volunteered for the Atlanta photo shoot because I believe all people should be treated equally . My mother was a Southern feminist who taught not only with her words but by her actions. She treated everyone with respect and was often judged for her open-mind . My obstetrician in the 1980s was a 
#RainbowTram“>
