National

  Today, House Republicans defeated a motion in the U.S. House of Representatives to safeguard President Obama’s executive order protecting LGBT employees of federal contractors from discrimination. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) During consideration of a bill to require federal agencies to cut costs by eliminating existing regulations, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) offered a procedural motion to exempt regulations implementing the federal contractor executive order, guaranteeing these important protections would be shielded from any potential cuts.  As is often the case with these procedural motions, the amendment failed along party lines on a vote of 178 to 239. “We’re disappointed that […]

Gay rights activist Tim Campbell died December 26, 2015, in Houston, Texas, at the age of 76, from esophageal cancer. Campbell was perhaps best known as the publisher of the GLC Voice newspaper in Minneapolis, which came out from 1979 through 1992. During that period he was the go to person in Minneapolis for the media whenever they needed a quick quote on some gay related event. Because Campbell was also known for a number of street theater type gay rights protests scattered over the years, it chagrined a few more polite gays and lesbians when he became their “voice”. […]

Two New Mexico lawmakers have pre-filed a bill that would give state business owners the right to refuse business to gay, lesbian and transgender people and their families on the basis of religious freedom. Republican Reps. David Gallegos and Nora Espinoza are the sponsors of the bill, HB55. “The intent of the bill would be to ensure people would not be forced to operate their business that was in a way inconsistent with their religious beliefs,” said Rep. Gallegos in a Friday interview. Such a law would have allowed businesses like Elaine Photography to get away with refusing to photograph […]

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has announced that a record number of U.S. cities have achieved perfect scores on its 2015 Municipal Equality Index by establishing fully-inclusive local protections for LGBT people. The most notable trend in the annual report is the rapidly growing number of cities and towns across the nation stepping up to ensure that all people are treated equally, even in states where fully-inclusive LGBT laws and policies remain elusive. Since the MEI debuted in 2012, the number of cities earning perfect scores has more than quadrupled, and today at least 32 million people live in cities with fully-inclusive local […]

  A gay-to-straight “conversion therapy” provider found by a New Jersey jury to have violated the state’s consumer fraud protections will permanently cease operations and dissolve its corporate entity as part of a settlement that precludes an appeal of a jury’s verdict in the landmark lawsuit. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Peter F. Bariso Jr. granted a permanent injunction on Friday after an agreement by both parties requiring JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing) to shut down entirely and prohibiting founder Arthur Goldberg and counselor Alan Downing from engaging in any form of conversion therapy commerce in New Jersey. The […]

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) called on the Department of Education to take action in light of a disturbing trend by religious colleges and universities to request exemptions from existing civil rights law in order to discriminate against LGBT students. In a comprehensive new report, HRC details the growing trend and calls on the Department of Education to publicly document for students and Congress which colleges are claiming their ability to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to require each institution to make publicly available the exemptions they request and obtain so that students […]

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today a new guidance from the Justice Department designed to help law enforcement agencies prevent gender bias in their response to sexual assault and domestic violence, highlighting the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability systems. “Gender bias, whether explicit or implicit, can severely undermine law enforcement’s ability to protect survivors of sexual and domestic violence and hold offenders accountable,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “This guidance – developed in collaboration with law enforcement leaders and advocates from across the country – is designed to help state, local, and tribal authorities more fairly […]

Pride Foundation, a regional community foundation, has announced that it has invested over $7.5 million this year to expand opportunities and advance full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals and families throughout the Northwest. “2015 represented another important milestone for our community,” said Kris Hermanns, Executive Director of Pride Foundation. “Despite the setbacks and losses we faced locally and nationally, we continue to make progress so that one day all LGBTQ people are able to be who they are, where they are. Our recent investments give me hope that when we join together, we can chart a […]

Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, in partnership with Advocates for Youth, Answer, GLSEN, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), called for significant improvements in sex education programs to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth have access to information crucial to their health and well being. More than 60 additional organizations signed a letter in support of the Call to Action. A Call to Action: LGBTQ Youth Need Inclusive Sex Education, urges educators, advocates, and policymakers to take immediate, concrete steps to provide LGBTQ inclusive […]