You Might Like
#AM_Equality Tipsheet: May 24, 2018
“BETSY DEVOS, HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?” — HRC PROJECTS MESSAGE ON U.S. DEPT. OF EDUCATION BUILDING IN WASH., D.C.: Last night, HRC and artist Robin Bell (@bellvisuals) projected a message to Education Secretary DeVos to raise awareness about how the Trump-Pence Administration’s policies are harming already vulnerable LGBTQ youth. The projection featured findings from HRC’s recent groundbreaking survey of 12,000 LGBTQ teens. The survey, conducted in partnership with the University of Connecticut, found that LGBTQ teenagers are not only experiencing heartbreaking levels of stress, anxiety and rejection, but also overwhelmingly feel unsafe in their own schools. The projection included a survey finding that 95 percent of LGBTQ teens report trouble getting to sleep at night, and asked DeVos, “how do you sleep at night?” More from HRC and The Hill.
- HRC’s projection took place one day after DeVos unconscionably told a U.S. House committee that she would not take action on civil rights violations against transgender students “until the Supreme Court opines or until [U.S. Congress] takes action.” More from The Hill.
- DeVos also showed complete ignorance for the law regarding undocumented students, stating that schools should decide whether to report undocumented students to immigration enforcement. More from The Washington Post.
MORNING MUST READ — CEO OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC. SAYS FED. GOVT NOT HEEDING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ON LGBTQ HEALTH: “Psychological science demonstrates the harms of discriminatory public policies and the benefits of supportive ones,” Arthur C. Evans Jr. (@ArthurCEvans) writes. “The current climate in Washington is likely to increase stigma and stress in sexual and gender minority populations across the nation, with negative effects on physical and mental health.” More from The Hill.
THANKFUL THURSDAY — TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICANS SUPPORT MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Gallup’s latest polling shows that 67 percent of Americans support marriage equality — the highest ever recorded. In 1996, only 27 percent of Americans supported marriage equality. Support for marriage equality has increased for Democrats (83 percent), remained the same for Independents (71 percent) and decreased slightly for Republicans (44 percent). More from Gallup.
- Gallup also estimates that 4.5 percent of Americans identify as LGBTQ — an estimate lower than findings from other research groups. The same survey also found that 8.2 percent of millennials identify as LGBTQ. More from Gallup.
UNACCEPTABLE — OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS OF HIV AND AIDS MEDICATION & PREVENTION ARE SKYROCKETING: Health insurers are cancelling co-pay assistance programs, forcing people living with HIV and people on PrEP to pay thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. HRC joined dozens of HIV organizations in calling on insurance commissioners and attorneys general to investigate. More from Washington Blade.
HRC MOURNS GIGI PIERCE, TRANS WOMAN SHOT IN OREGON: Police investigators say they believe that Pierce, 28, was shot during an altercation with Sophia Adler, who has been charged with Pierce’s murder, according to KGW-TV. Advocates and allies took to social media to raise awareness of her murder, calling the news of the Idaho native’s death “shocking.” Oscar Guerra-Vera, executive director of the Q Center in Portland, said that he is planning a community response to Pierce’s death for Portland’s LGBTQ community. More from HRC, Gay Star News and The Portland Mercury.
- In Detroit, Charles Marion Brown was sentenced to 32-55 years in prison for assault and armed robbery of a transgender woman. More from The Detroit News.
MEXICAN MAN MARRIED TO AMERICAN MAN WRONGLY ARRESTED BY ICE: Jose “Ivan” Noe Nuñez Martinez was arrested in January after he and his husband, Paul Frame, petitioned for Nuñez Martinez to gain legal status. More from The Associated Press.
TRANSGENDER INMATES IN MISSOURI WILL NOW HAVE ACCESS TO CRITICAL CARE: Missouri Judge Noelle C. Collins ruled that the state’s Department of Corrections must change its policy denying trans inmates gender-affirming care — even if they did not receive it prior to entering prison. More from Nidhi Prakash (@nidhiprakash) in BuzzFeed.
WHY AREN’T TRUMP-PENCE CABINET SECRETARIES ATTENDING THEIR AGENCY’S PRIDE RECEPTIONS? Chris Johnson (@chrisjohnson82) asks the question in The Washington Blade.
HRC JOINS ONGOING EFFORTS TO HELP LGBTQ PEOPLE IN PUERTO RICO: HRC is proud to join #ReconstruyeQ, a coalition of LGBTQ and allied organizations working to support ongoing rebuilding efforts for LGBTQ people in Puerto Rico who are still suffering from the effects of Hurricane María, which devastated the island last September. More from HRC.
Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico more than eight months ago — and hurricane season starts again in June. @HRC is proud to join the @ReconstruyeQ project to rebuild homes for LGBTQ families still in dire need of support. ��️������ t.co/sBSIOuH7uH pic.twitter.com/ZqxCC9jSCq
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) May 23, 2018
ADVOCATES IN COLUMBUS, OHIO, REACH OUT TO POLICE CHIEF ABOUT RESPECTING ALL IN THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY: In anticipation of next month’s LGBTQ Pride festival, members of the community — including HRC’s local steering committee — sent a letter to the chief highlighting the disproportionate policing of people of color, and especially transgender people of color, across the country. More from Prizm.
- In Minneapolis, police will not attend the local Pride Parade in uniform. More on why from Minnesota Public Radio.
LGBTQ-AFFIRMING INDIANA CHURCH CUTS TIES WITH NON-PROFIT THAT ALLEGEDLY FIRED MAN FOR SEXUAL ORIENTATION: More from The Evansville Courier & Press.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
Washingtonian interviews two advocates in DC bringing HIV screenings to underserved neighborhoods; Advocate profiles LGBTQ advocates in America’s territories; The Washington Post speaks to those involved in the new Star Wars about efforts to have LGBTQ representation; HRC profiles LGBTQ foster youth advocates; ArtForum mourns artist Robert Indiana.
RIP Robert Indiana, an LGBTQ artist who made “LOVE” an iconic image. t.co/XvRSblv9GE
— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) May 23, 2018
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-may-24-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
You Might Like
