• News
    • Local
    • San Francisco
    • State
    • National
    • International
  • Perspectives
    • Opinions
    • Columns
    • Sports
  • Features
    • HIV & AIDS
    • Health
    • Seniors
    • Spirituality
    • Transgender / Transsexual
    • Real Estate
    • Everybody’s Business
    • Travel
    • Fitness
  • Arts & Entertainment
    • Theatre
    • Music
    • Books
    • Television
    • Film
  • Newspaper
    • Contact
    • Advertising Info
We The People
Voice of the LGBTQIA+ Community in the North Bay
  • News
    • Local
    • San Francisco
    • State
    • National
    • International
  • Perspectives
    • Opinions
    • Columns
    • Sports
  • Features
    • HIV & AIDS
    • Health
    • Seniors
    • Spirituality
    • Transgender / Transsexual
    • Real Estate
    • Everybody’s Business
    • Travel
    • Fitness
  • Arts & Entertainment
    • Theatre
    • Music
    • Books
    • Television
    • Film

National/ News/ Top Stories

Puerto Rico Gov. Rossello Must Veto Anti-LGBTQ Bill

Gary Carnivele December 15, 2017

Ricardo Rosselló

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) called on Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to veto a bill passed by the Senate on Sunday that could allow anyone who claims a religious exemption the right to discriminate  against the Commonwealth’s LGBTQ community and visitors.

“This legislation would allow a dangerous license to discriminate, putting LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities directly in harm’s way,” said Sarah Warbelow, HRC Legal Director. “Leaders in Puerto Rico should focus on bringing its citizens together — not on measures that would cause harm and discrimination.”

The bill, a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) similar to the bill Vice President Pence disastrously signed into law as governor of Indiana, would empower individuals to pick and choose which laws they want to follow and allow an individual to sue government actors, including teachers, firefighters and police officers, if that individual believes their religious rights were being violated by a government action. Recently, a for profit business owner in Michigan used a RFRA to justify firing a transgender woman when she informed her boss about her plans to transition.  This stands in stark contrast to Puerto Rico’s progress on LGBTQ equality in recent years, including laws banning anti-LGBTQ discrimination and adding gender identity and sexual orientation to statutes addressing  domestic violence,  as well as executive orders prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in hospitals and allowing transgender persons to change their gender marker on driver’s licenses.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, currently focused on Hurricane Maria recovery efforts in her city, stated: “Discrimination–whatever it may be–disguises hatred, fear, and ignorance. There will never be a justification to hide it behind any law.”

Related Posts

National /

Takano to renew House Democrats’ push for the Equality Act

News /

Sebastopol Center for the Arts Faces its Greatest Challenge: “Save the Center”

Top Stories /

ACT UP and GLAAD Protest Simon & Schuster’s ‘Denialist’ HIV Book

‹ LGBT rights groups mourn the passing of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee › Covered California Extends Enrollment Deadline as Consumer Interest Surges

Back to Top

  • News
  • Perspectives
  • Features
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Newspaper
© We The People 2023
Powered by WordPress • Themify WordPress Themes