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#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: August 16, 2016
TRUMP HYPOCRISY ON DISPLAY DAYS AFTER CAMPAIGNING WITH ANTI-LGBTQ ACTIVISTS: Just five days after campaigning with Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver and other enemies of global anti-LGBTQ equality, Donald Trump delivered a “foreign policy” speech (again) fabricating a supposed commitment to LGBTQ equality. HRC President Chad Griffin blasted Trump for courting support from LGBTQ activists, threatening to roll back LGBTQ equality and doubling down on his hateful agenda by adding Mike Pence — one of the most prominent faces of discrimination in America today — to the ticket. Hillary Clinton’s record as Secretary of State stands in stark contrast: she went before the international community to declare that “gay rights are human rights,” launched the Global Equality Fund, and pioneered the first-ever UN resolution protecting LGBTQ people. More from HRC.
- Meanwhile, Pence will spend some anti-equality time campaigning with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in coming weeks, bringing together two politicians whose careers have been marked by anti-LGBTQ efforts. Despite Rubio’s long record opposing LGBTQ equality and commonsense gun safety legislation, he despicably continues to cite the tragedy at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub as his reason for running for re-election. More from The Associated Press.
TODAY: NAVAL SHIP TO BE NAMED AFTER LGBTQ RIGHTS PIONEER HARVEY MILK: At a ceremony today in San Francisco, the U.S. Navy will make history by naming a new Military Sealift Command ship after Harvey Milk, the former Navy diver and pioneer in the LGBTQ civil rights movement who was assassinated in 1978.
FOR OUR STATE, FOR OUR FUTURE, REPEAL HB2: Jonah Perrin, a rising junior at Carrboro High School in Carrboro, NC, shared a powerful message about HB2: “What teacher would want to come to North Carolina, given that transgender students will experience institutional discrimination?” As the new school year ramps up in the Tar Heel State, students and teachers are concerned about the rights of trans students; as the election season ramps up, voters should be concerned about officials campaigning on this hateful law. Read Jonah’s full op-ed at The News & Observer.
- The Charlotte Observer questions taxpayer-funded scholarships going to faith-based NC schools that bar LGBTQ students: The Observer’s editorial board writes that the three-year-old discriminatory program, supported by GOP lawmakers, will result in state legislators “wrestling with yet another costly legal quagmire of their own making.”
- Meanwhile, Gov. McCrory is (again) defending (another) discriminatory law despite courts having already ruled that provisions of North Carolina’s voter restriction law “target African Americans with almost surgical precision”. Given the hole he’s already dug on HB2 and the money he’s had to divert from emergency funds to pay for HB2’s defense, one wonders when he’ll ever decide enough is enough…
NEW RULE ENSURES TRANS PEOPLE EQUAL RESTROOM ACCESS IN GOV’T BUILDINGS: This week, a new regulation is being submitted to the Federal Register ensuring that transgender people can access restrooms consistent with their gender identity in thousands of federal offices, buildings and facilities under the jurisdiction of the U.S. General Services Administration. “Every person should be able to access government programs, facilities, and services without fear of discrimination,” said HRC Communications Director Jay Brown, who is openly transgender. “This regulation builds off of years of precedent and provides a vital layer of protection for transgender people seeking to fully and equally participate in public life.” More from BuzzFeed and HRC.
- Millennials overwhelmingly support trans equality: A USA Today and Rock the Vote survey shows that by a 2-1 margin millennials believe transgender people should be allowed to use public restroom facilities that correspond to their gender identity. The results echo those of a recent GenForward survey that found young people overwhelmingly support LGBTQ rights. More from USA Today.
ANTI-LGBTQ PASTORS SUE ILL. WITH HELP FROM KNOWN ANTI-EQUALITY LAWYERS: A group of anti-LGBTQ Illinois pastors are suing the state, arguing that clergy should be exempt from a law banning the debunked and dangerous practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” The pastors are represented by the law firm Mauck & Baker, which has a history of working with anti-LGBTQ hate groups including Alliance Defending Freedom. More from The Washington Post.
- Also in Illinois: Anti-LGBTQ students and teachers at a suburban Chicago high school are challenging the school district’s 2015 settlement with the U.S. Department of Education allowing a transgender girl access to the correct locker room at school. More from Reuters.
IOC TAKES GRADUAL STEPS TO SUPPORT LGBTQ EQUALITY: After harsh criticism for choosing Russia as a host country for the 2014 Olympics despite its draconian and discriminatory anti-LGBTQ laws, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adopted policy changes to protect the LGBTQ community in future games. The IOC changed its charter to include sexual orientation in its non-discrimination clause, but the policy falls short: it does not include gender identity, leaving transgender athletes without protections. More from HRC.
- While Brazil may have LGBTQ-inclusive laws, backlash towards the community has escalated in recent years. Advocates are hoping that the celebration of openly-LGBTQ athletes during the Olympics can help reduce anti-LGBTQ animus in Brazil and around the world. More from The Chicago Tribune.
- He said ‘yes!’ Olympian Tom Bosworth proposed to Harry Dineley in Rio yesterday. Bosworth is competing as a race walker for Great Britain. Congrats to the happy couple!
MUST WATCH: Comedians Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen are featured in a new Bud Light ad, “Labels,” that includes a pointed nod to gender identity as a spectrum. Watch the ad here.
READING RAINBOW
The Globe and Mail looks at Canada’s international LGBTQ equality efforts; The Advocate explains how Trump threatens national LGBTQ health; Vice News profiles César L. Baquerizo, an Ecuadorian author fighting dangerous “conversion therapy”; Times Live checks out South Africa’s first LGBTQ video streaming service; Yahoo Sports talks to WNBA stars about when the “stigma” faced by openly gay NBA players will end; and ThinkProgress breaks down what Marco Rubio’s speech to anti-LGBTQ activists was really about.
Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to A.M. Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-august-16-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
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