Nick Duffy

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First Transgender Troop Has Signed Up, After Trump Ban Defeat

The Pentagon has confirmed that a transgender recruit has signed up to join the military – after Donald Trump’s ban on trans troops was lifted. Donald Trump announced on Twitter last year that all transgender servicepeople would be purged from the US armed forces, claiming they were a burden on the military. Four different courts issued rulings blocking the decision amid legal action, allowing transgender troops to join the military from January 1 this year. Following the legal action, the Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis sent a memo to the White House last week giving guidance on future policy. While […]

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Trump Budget Plans Would Slash HIV/AIDS Funding

Donald Trump’s budget plans include a massive slash to HIV funding. The GOP billionaire has come under fire from LGBT groups following the release of his 2019 budget plans released on Monday.  The budget includes cuts to domestic HIV/AIDS programs, despite the growing needs, including elimination of Special Programs of National Significance (SPNS). The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, issued the following statement in response to the Trump-Pence Administration’s dangerous and irresponsible FY 2019 proposed budget. David Stacy, HRC’s Government Affairs Director, said: “Budgets reflect your values. The […]

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Republicans Throw Support Behind President Trump’s Ban on Transgender Troops

The Republican National Committee has thrown its support behind President Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military. Donald Trump announced on Twitter last year that all transgender servicepeople would be purged from the US armed forces, claiming they were a burden on the military. The decision was reportedly taken without consultation with military chiefs or legal experts, and the policy has been repeatedly smacked down in the courts. Transgender people were able to openly join the military from last month, after a court blocked Trump’s ban from coming into effect. But the controversy and legal action over the policy hasn’t dissuaded […]

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Trump Book Reveals Ignorant Snap Decision Behind Transgender Ban

Donald Trump rushed to a snap decision to ban transgender people from the military. Donald Trump announced on Twitter last year that all transgender servicepeople would be purged from the US armed forces, claiming they were a burden on the military. President Trump tweeted: “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the […]

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Walmart Sued for Discrimination by Transgender Employee Who Was Branded a ‘Freak’

Walmart is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who says she faced horrific discrimination at work because she is transgender. The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund has today filed a federal lawsuit against Walmart on behalf of a North Carolina transgender woman. The employee alleges she faced faced workplace discrimination at a Sam’s Club store in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Sam’s Club is a membership-only retail warehouse chain owned by a subsidiary of Walmart. According to the lawsuit, Charlene Bost endured a shockingly hostile work environment during her time at the company, from 2011 through her firing in 2015. […]

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Catholic Bishops Tell Parents to Reject Their Transgender Kids

Catholic Bishops in the US are behind a new campaign encouraging parents to reject their transgender children. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a letter this week that brands transgender people “deeply troubling” and claims that changing gender is a “false idea”. There is nothing in the Bible about transgender people or changing gender, but the Bishops have called for parents to refuse to allow kids to transition. Studies have shown that an unaccepting or stifling environment drastically increases the likelihood that transgender youths will attempt suicide. The letter says: “Children especially are harmed when they are told […]

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Family Judge ‘Breached Ethics Rules’ by Refusing to Approve Adoptions by Gay Couples

A judge violated ethics rules by insisting he did not want to oversee same-sex adoptions, officials have concluded. Judge Mitchell Nance, who presides over family court in Kentucky’s 43rd Judicial District, caused a storm earlier this year after he banned cases involving gay families from his courtroom. Judge Nance’s order registered an “conscientious objection to the concept of adoption of a child by a practising homosexual”, seeking to recuse himself from such cases on the grounds of “matters of conscience”. The judge claimed he cannot hear the cases because he believes there is no circumstance in which “the best interest of the child [would] be […]

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Republican Lawmakers Abolish Gender So They Don’t Have to Call Trans Politician Danica Roem a Woman

Danica Roem (Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images) Republicans have abruptly taken the decision to stop using gendered language in the Virginia House of Delegates – so they don’t have to refer to groundbreaking trans politician Danica Roem as a woman. Democratic delegate-elect Danica Roem made history earlier this month as the first openly transgender lawmaker to be elected to a state legislature, after unseating GOP incumbent Bob Marshall, who penned anti-transgender ‘bathroom’ legislation. Roem is set to take up her seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in January. But ahead of the new session, the Republican-controlled body has opted to make […]

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One in Three LGBT Travelers Experience Discrimination on Vacation

  Research has shown that one in three LGBT travellers experience homophobic or transphobic treatment while on holiday. The news comes from a report into the issues faced by LGBT travellers worldwide. The report reveals more than one in three (37%) LGBT travellers have experienced some form of discrimination whilst on holiday, with 6% experiencing a threat of physical violence due to their sexuality. The report also highlighted that sexuality had a major influence on where LGBT Brits travelled, with two thirds (63%) refusing to travel somewhere that had an unwelcoming attitude towards the LGBT community. A quarter (23%) of LGBT travellers admitted […]

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Hungary Slammed After Blocking Europe-wide Agreement on LGBT Rights

  A number of MEPs have condemned Hungary’s decision to block a Europe-wide agreement on LGBT rights. The Dutch government, which currently holds the EU Presidency, had tabled a draft agreement at the Council of the European Union this week, which called on the European Commission to tackle homophobic and transphobic discrimination, promote measures to advance LGBTI equality, and step up efforts to collect data on the treatment of LGBTI citizens.  The agreement has been welcomed by the majority of member countries – with conservative countries including Latvia, Lithuania and Poland dropping their initial reservations. However, the agreement was vetoed […]

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