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#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: October 25, 2016
COUNTDOWN and #TurnOUT: Two weeks from today is Election Day and today marks the beginning of early voting in three more states with LGBTQ voter populations that can help tip the scales to pro-equality candidates. They are: Hawaii, with more than 57,000 LGBTQ voters, Louisiana, with more than 113,000, and Utah, with more than 56,000.
BREAKING — USA TODAY HEADLINES HRC’S UNPRECEDENTED EFFORT TO GET OUT VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON AND OTHER PRO-EQUALITY CANDIDATES: USA Today’s Donovan Slack (@DonovanSlack) today details HRC’s “biggest and most sophisticated get-out-the-vote effort ever with hopes of affecting not only the presidential election but control of the U.S. Senate.” HRC “has tallied LGBT voters and the math shows they could help put Democrats over the top in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Florida and Nevada.” Said HRC President Chad Griffin: “In the key swing states, that is where we have put the bulk of our energy, focus and resources in this election. And it’s important not just for this election, but it’s also something we’re building on to grow and expand in two years in the midterms and then in four years in the re-elect.” Ground zero of the effort, Slack reports, is North Carolina, where HRC hopes to capitalize on backlash to that state’s controversial HB2 law “to demonstrate that discriminating against LGBT individuals is no longer palatable politically.” Read more about the effort here.
#turnOUT IN FLORIDA: HRC was in the Sunshine State yesterday, turning out the vote for Hillary Clinton and other pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot. HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) joined voters in Florida on the first day of early voting, including Pulse Nightclub owner Barbara Poma. He told The Orlando Sentinel, “There are more than half a million LGBTQ voters in the state of Florida. This is a state that’s used to close elections, so we truly can make the difference in this election, when we turn out.” Florida has a population that includes a powerful bloc of more than 565,800 LGBTQ voters. Read more about Florida’s LGBTQ voters here. And check out coverage of HRC’s digital ad featuring Pulse survivor Ricardo Negron-Almodovar of Orlando urging LGBTQ Americans to vote – in the Orlando Sentinel, the Washington Post, and NBC News.
Joined the Pulse family, including owner Barbara Poma, to kick off early voting in FL & #turnOUT 565,800+ LGBTQ voters for @HillaryClinton! pic.twitter.com/bRvSI65D23
— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) October 24, 2016
ALLEGATIONS OF ANTI-LGBTQ VIOLENCE AT TRUMP ORGANIZATION: In disturbing allegations detailed by Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC ) in Slate, a former Trump Organization employee says he experienced rampant anti-LGBTQ harassment — including verbal and physical abuse — while working at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey in 2014. In a complaint filed in New Jersey state court, Eleazar Andres alleges that managers at the club did nothing to address his complaints, and then fired him after he told his supervisor that he did not feel safe at work because of the harassment and discrimination. The Trump Organization has received a zero — the lowest possible score — on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, the national benchmarking tool measuring LGBTQ-inclusive corporate policies and practices. More from HRC.
If Donald Trump condones discrimination against his own employees, how would he lead our country? t.co/3VdXH9tykx
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 24, 2016
BREAKING: HRC JOINS WITH 42 SENATORS, CALLS ON MCCAIN TO DROP ANTI-LGBTQ LANGUAGE IN NDAA: The Washington Post’s Karoun Demirjian (@karoun) reports this morning that 42 Senators are opposing a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that “would allow federal contractors to discriminate against workers on the basis of sexual or gender orientation, an issue that could become a major political fight in the post-election “lame-duck” session.” More from WaPo: “This week, the Human Rights Campaign’s government affairs director David Stacy again called on McCain to ‘stand with the majority of fair-minded Arizonans — and Americans all across the country — and drop this discriminatory provision.’” More here.
TUESDAY TWEETS: Yesterday, The New York Times’ Jasmin C. Lee (@JasminCLee) and Kevin Quealy (@KevinQ) compiled every insulting tweet Donald Trump has posted since declaring his candidacy for president. The tweets filled up a two-page spread in the physical copy of yesterday’s paper. For an in-depth look at these tweets, visit NYT.
Donald Trump’s Twitter insults: The complete list, printed in today’s paper t.co/zQCa5LnbBj pic.twitter.com/fuwoypcDoF
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 24, 2016
AMB. SUSAN RICE TO ADDRESS OBAMA ADMIN’S LGBTQ LEGACY: Tomorrow, HRC, American University, and Human Rights First will host Ambassador Susan Rice, President Obama’s National Security Advisor, for remarks on protecting and promoting LGBTQ human rights around the world. The 3 p.m. ET event is being held at American University’s School of International Service. Over the last eight years, the Obama Administration has made advancing the human rights of LGBTQ people a central pillar of the United States’ foreign policy. As the United Nations Ambassador and National Security Advisor, Ambassador Rice has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure basic rights and safety for LGBTQ people globally. She’ll discuss the Obama Administration’s leadership on equality, the vital role it plays in America’s national security and the need for continued efforts to secure LGBTQ human rights abroad. More from HRC.
GIMME BACK MY BOWL! OR – PET·TY, ADJECTIVE. DEFINITION: The Charlotte Observer reports under the headline “Jilted NC to PayPal: Give us our stuff back,” that NC Governor Pat McCrory and his crew are demanding the return of a wooden bowl they gifted PayPal CEO Dan Schulman. The bowl was bestowed on the company when it announced plans to expand in Charlotte. But following the passage of the discriminatory HB2 and concerns for its employees and customers in North Carolina, PayPal halted those plans. Now, the governor wants his bowl back. Here’s another idea: repeal HB2 and bring back business. More from The Charlotte Observer.
HRC ENDORSES JASON KANDER FOR U.S. SENATE: HRC announced its endorsement of Jason Kander yesterday for the Missouri U.S. Senate seat currently held by Roy Blunt. While Kander has vowed to support the Equality Act if elected to the U.S. Senate, Senator Blunt has a starkly anti-LGBTQ record, which includes refusing to support the Equality Act, comprehensive legislation to protect LGBT people from discrimination. In addition, Blunt voted against both the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” More from HRC.
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE CALLS ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO “END SILENCE” ON LGBTQ PEOPLE: In an editorial today, “Time to End the Silence,” the Salt Lake Tribune expresses support for an Equality Utah lawsuit filed Monday with the National Center for Lesbian Rights calling on the state to lift a prohibition on discussing LGBTQ issues and people in public schools. “As with marriage,” the editorial says, “Utah law can no longer distinguish between gay and straight and still be constitutional.” Read the editorial here, and more about the city’s progress on equality here.
LGBTQ-FRIENDLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN PHILLY: Philadelphia will receive a $3 million investment from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to build 30 affordable one-bedroom units for the city’s LGBTQ residents who are homeless or at-risk. More from Philly Voice.
ARRESTS MADE IN MURDER OF BANGLADESHI LGBTQ ADVOCATE AND BLOGGER: In May, Xulhaz Mannan, editor of Bangladesh’s first and only LGBTQ magazine, Roopbaan, and a colleague, Tanay Mojumdar, were brutally murdered in an apartment building in Dhaka, the country’s capital. Last week, the country’s counter-terrorism unit arrested Rashidun Nabi for both murders. More from Zee News.
READING RAINBOW
Al Jazeera speaks to a LGBTQ-affirming Catholic church in Mexico City… The China Post reports on proposed changes to the Civil Code that could grant marriage equality to same-sex couples… Time breaks down an anti-LGBTQ discrimination case involving a bakery in Northern Ireland…
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-october-25-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
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