HRC: House Judiciary Committee Right to Advance VAWA Without Anti-Transgender Amendments

Today, HRC applauded pro-equality members of the House Judiciary Committee for voting down last-minute, harmful, and unnecessary amendments to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that would have stripped protections of transgender people from violence and given organizations and individuals a license to discriminate against the transgender community.

“It’s shocking that in 2019, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee would use a bill designed to address violence against women as a vehicle to launch a coordinated attack on the LGBTQ community,” said David Stacy, HRC Government Affairs Director. “Protecting people from violence shouldn’t be a partisan issue. These amendments ignore medical expertise and defy common sense. The reality is that trans people are disproportionately victims of violent crime, and they need to be able to access appropriate services. Leaders of hundreds of sexual violence and domestic violence organizations agree that transgender women victims being served alongside other women is appropriate and not a safety issue. We are grateful that pro-equality members of the Judiciary Committee voted down these discriminatory amendments.”

Despite today’s anti-trans efforts by Republican members, protections against violence for the transgender community in prison and other spaces has a considerable bipartisan history. In 2003, President Bush signed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which provided for the development of basic federal protections for the care of transgender people in prison. After six years of study, the Department of Justice adopted regulations fully implementing these protections in 2012. The National PREA Resource Center developed an FAQ on the implementation of these standards, which have made clear that searches of transgender people who are incarcerated should be based on their gender identity and reflect that transgender prisoners are more than nine times more likely to be targeted for sexual abuse or assault.

Last year, HRC called out the Trump-Pence White House’s blatantly undermining Obama-era protections for transgender prisoners when they ordered the Bureau of Prisons to use “biological sex” in determining how transgender prisoners are assigned housing, putting them at significant risk of sexual abuse, assault, and other types of discrimination.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-house-judiciary-committee-right-to-advance-vawa-without-anti-transgende?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

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Equality Act, Judge Judy, Boeing, Detox, Vampire Weekend, Operation Varsity Blues: HOT LINKS

EQUALITY ACT. Nancy Pelosi and David Cicilline reintroduce legislation: “The Equality Act is simple. It says, unequivocally, that LGBTQ Americans deserve the full protections guaranteed by the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. To dismantle the discrimination undermining our democracy, we must ensure that all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are treated equally under the law — not just in the workplace, but in education, housing, credit, jury service and public accommodations as well.”

JUDGE JUDY. She’s finally getting her Emmy.

OPERATION VARSITY BLUES. Lori Loughlin surrenders to FBI.

PULL UP TO THE BUMPER. Guess who’s headlining NYC Pride?

SLEEP WELL TONIGHT. Attorney who spoke with Rudy Giuliani assured Michael Cohen he could “sleep well tonight” according to a copy of a 2018 email. “Cohen, in his closed-door congressional testimony, has provided these emails in an effort to corroborate his claim that a pardon was dangled before he decided to cooperate with federal prosecutors, according to sources familiar with his testimony.”

CALIFORNIA. Gavin Newsom to end death penalty. I “will not oversee the execution of any individual.”

TRANS MILITARY BAN. New policy sets limits for treatment, new recruits: “The Defense Department has approved a new policy that will largely bar transgender troops and military recruits from transitioning to another sex, and require most individuals to serve in their birth gender.”

BOEING 737 MAX 8. Pilots complained about safety flaw months ago: ‘Pilots repeatedly voiced safety concerns about the Boeing 737 Max 8 to federal authorities, with one captain calling the flight manual “inadequate and almost criminally insufficient” several months before Sunday’s Ethiopian Air crash that killed 157 people, an investigation by The Dallas Morning News found.’

PLANES GROUNDED IN U.S. By emergency order: ‘The FAA said it decided to ground the jets after it found that the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft that crashed had a flight pattern very similar to the Lion Air flight path. “It became clear that the track of the Ethiopian flight behaved very similarly to the Lion Air flight,” said Steven Gottlieb, deputy director of accident investigation for the FAA.’

OOPS. Trump letter firing FBI Director James Comey was sent to the wrong printer…

INDIANA. Now issuing nonbinary IDs.

COVINGTON FALLOUT. MAGA-hat wearing student sues CNN in $275 million defamation suit: ‘A Kentucky teenager sued CNN on Tuesday for defamation, saying the cable network falsely conveyed to viewers that he was the “face of an unruly hate mob” confronting a Native American activist at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in January.

LATIN RETRO HEAT. ’60s Mexican star Jorge Rivero in his humpy heyday (wk-unfriendly).

UTAH. Student protesters meet with Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, ask her “to formally apologize for proposing a substitute version of HB399 they felt would not protect LGBTQ youth and for making comments they felt were homophobic…Lisonbee said she had a respectful meeting with the youth and that she told them she regretted comments she made in the past and was sorry for the hurt she caused.”

DETROIT. Man sentenced for 2013 murder of gay man: ‘Hameer Alkotait accepted a plea agreement on second-degree murder. Judge Michael Hathaway sentenced Alkotait to 18-20 years in prison in connection to the murder of Gabino Rodriguez. Alkotait’s co-defendant, Andrew Czarnecki, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after he was found guilty by trial in December 2018. Alkotait and Czarnecki targeted Rodriguez for robbery because he was gay, prosecutors said. During the robbery, Alkotait and Czarnecki savagely beat and strangled Gambino, and then burned his body beyond recognition in a field in southwest Detroit.’

NEW MEXICO. Gay Men’s Choir to celebrate Harvey Milk: ‘Part choral work, part theater piece, I Am Harvey Milk is an emotional celebration of an American icon. The New Mexico Gay Men’s Choir is proud to present the Southwest premiere of this historic work.

DRAG DOCUMENTARY OF THE DAY. Detox.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Vampire Weekend “Sunflower ft. Steve Lacy” directed by Jonah Hill, starring Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Lacy, and Fab 5 Freddy.

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. D Galloway by Paul Freeman.

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Equality Act, Judge Judy, Boeing, Detox, Vampire Weekend, Operation Varsity Blues: HOT LINKS

Massachusetts House Passes Bill Protecting Youth from Dangerous “Conversion Therapy”

Today, HRC celebrated a vote by the Massachusetts House of Representatives to pass bipartisan legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” The bill will now head to the Massachusetts Senate. If enacted, Massachusetts would become the 16th state in the U.S. to protect youth from this egregious practice.

“Conversion therapy has been debunked and condemned by all major medical and mental health organizations; we should call this practice what it is: child abuse,” said HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse. “No child should have to endure such a painful and life-threatening experience, and we applaud the Massachusetts House of Representatives for taking such decisive action to protect LGBTQ youth. Now, it is critical for the Massachusetts Senate to quickly pass these bipartisan protections so they can make their way to the Governor.”

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.

Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Delaware all have laws protecting youth from this abusive practice. A growing number of municipalities have also enacted similar protections, including at least fifty cities and counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Wisconsin.

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 officials fail to act. Last year, national organizations representing millions of licensed medical and mental health care professionals, educators, and child welfare advocates declared their support for legislative protections against conversion therapy.

HRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the Trevor Project, MassEquality and local advocates in support of these vital protections. More information on the lies and dangers of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity can be found here.

www.hrc.org/blog/massachusetts-house-passes-bill-protecting-youth-from-conversion-therapy?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed