Julie Moreau

Religious Exemptions are Gutting Civil Rights Protections, Advocacy Groups Warn

The Trump administration’s expansion of religious exemptions is undermining civil rights protections and codifying discrimination against marginalized groups — particularly LGBTQ people — according to a report released Monday by three research and advocacy groups. Using a combination of new rules, legal interventions and newly created divisions, the departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban(…)

LGBTQ People Face Higher Unemployment amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Survey Finds

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans are more likely to become unemployed as a result of the coronavirus epidemic than their non-LGBTQ counterparts, according to a poll by the national LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and PSB Research. “It is unfortunate, but not surprising, to see how COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations,(…)

Year after Trans Military Ban, Legal Battle Rages on

In the year since the Trump administration banned transgender individuals from serving in the military, a number of advocacy groups have challenged the policy and many active service members say they’ve been forced to choose between continued service and their dignity and basic health care needs. When the administration implemented the ban on April 12, 2019,(…)

Anti-LGBTQ Hate Groups on the Rise in U.S., Report Warns

The number of anti-LGBTQ hate groups soared 43 percent last year, rising from 49 groups in 2018 to 70 in 2019, according to a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Groups that vilify the LGBTQ community, in fact, represented the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019,” the report states. The SPLC found the surge(…)

Trump Admin Unlawfully Axing LGBTQ Discrimination Protections, Suit Claims

The Department of Health and Human Services plans to unlawfully stop enforcing nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans, a lawsuit filed Thursday claims. The suit centers on a “notice of nonenforcement” and a proposed rule issued by the Trump administration in November that would reverse a 2016 Obama-era rule prohibiting discrimination in HHS-funded grant programs and(…)

States Across U.S. still Cling to Outdated Gay Marriage Bans

Following years of failed attempts under Republican control, Virginia’s newly empowered Democrats finally passed bills repealing two outdated state laws that prohibited same-sex marriage. Sen. Adam Ebbin, the first openly gay lawmaker in the state’s General Assembly, introduced the bill, which was one of four pro-LGBTQ measures passed in the state this month. “This is really just bringing Virginia into the(…)

Advocates Tracking over 200 Active State Bills Targeting LGBTQ Americans

State lawmakers across the country have introduced several anti-LGBTQ bills since November, advocacy groups say, ranging from proposals that would make it more difficult for same-sex couples to adopt to measures that could put doctors in jail for providing hormone therapy to transgender minors. One such group, Equality Federation, said it is currently tracking about 226 bills — including more(…)

Civil rights Agency Slams Trump Admin over LGBTQ Policies

The Trump administration is “undoing decades of civil and human rights progress” — especially when it comes to LGBTQ issues — according to a new report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an independent, bipartisan advisory agency. In its 621-page report, “Are Civil Rights a Reality?,” the commission found that, despite the “extraordinary volume”(…)

Study Dispels Stereotypes of Rural LGBTQ People of Color

Despite stereotypes about rural residents as exclusively white and straight, rural America is home to millions of LGBTQ people of color, and a new report from the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank, shines a spotlight on their lives, their experiences and the unique issues they face. “Rural communities have always been home to people of(…)

Can a Religious School Fire a Gay Teacher? It’s Complicated.

Lynn Starkey worked at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis for nearly 40 years. In May, however, the Roman Catholic school fired Starkey as a guidance counselor after officials discovered that she is married to a woman.  In July, Starkey, 63, sued the school and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, claiming, in part, that they discriminated against her on(…)

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