News

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Lisa Middleton Wins Election to Palm Springs City Council to Become First Openly Transgender Person Elected to Non-Judicial Office in California

Palm Springs City Council Candidate Lisa Middleton will become the first out transgender person elected to a non-judicial office in California with her commanding first place win in today’s election. Additionally, Palm Springs City Council Candidate Christy Holstege will become another LGBTQ voice on the Palm Springs City Council as the winner of the second open seat. Equality California endorsed both candidates and spent thousands of dollars in direct contributions, independent expenditures and member-to-member communications to help elect them. Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur issued the following statement in response to tonight’s victory: “In light of the repeated attacks […]

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Senators Call on DOJ and HHS to Reverse Course and Continue to Prioritize LGBTQ Youth in Key Programs

U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bob Casey (D-PA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), joined by 18 of their colleagues, wrote letters to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging the departments to ensure that key programs designed to serve homeless youth and children who are the victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking, continue to focus on the needs of LGBTQ youth. “During the campaign, President Trump said that he would ‘do everything in [his] power to protect LGBTQ citizens.’  We write to you because the Administration is not living up to […]

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North Bay Rapid Response Network: Sonoma County Launches 24-Hour Hotline to Defend Undocumented Immigrants

Today, a 24-hour hotline and rapid response structure will be launched in Sonoma County to help defend undocumented immigrants from the increase of immigration enforcement, ICE raids and other attacks by the Trump administration that are causing fear and anxiety in the immigrant community. This endeavor consists of collaboration from over 50 community groups and organizations and involves over 600 individuals from all parts of Sonoma County. The structure includes: • Bilingual dispatchers that will answer the hotline and send trained legal observers to document ICE raids; • Trained legal observers that will track, verify, and document ICE raids that […]

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Federal Agency Boots LGBT From EEOC Policy

HRC has learned that the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has removed sexual orientation and gender identity from their Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statement. Under the Civil Service Reform Act and the Executive Orders signed by Presidents Clinton and Obama, sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination is prohibited in federal employment. Earlier this year, the Department of Commerce took a similar action, but Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross restored the sexual orientation and gender identity language following new stories reporting on the change. “Yet again, we see the Trump-Pence Administration actively seeking to undermine rights for LGBTQ people,” said David […]

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Civil Rights Organizations: Our Immigration Policies Must Reflect our Nation’s Values

Following President Trump’s meeting with Republican senators to discuss the future of immigrant youth who have been thrust into legal limbo, civil rights leaders from across the country have united to call on President Trump and policymakers on both sides of the aisle to adopt inclusive immigration policies instead of racially divisive ones. The organizations issued the following joint statement: “Congress has an opportunity to do something positive for the country by passing a bipartisan Dream Act by the end of this year. Doing so would allow young immigrants to finally be recognized as Americans on paper, allowing them to […]

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New York Teacher Suspended for Teaching Class About LGBT Issues

A teacher at a New York school has been suspended from her job after teaching students about LGBT issues. Jacqueline Hall, the health teacher at the Cambridge Central High School, was suspended with pay after inviting a guest lecturer to teach about LGBT issues.  The second day of lectures by the Pride Centre of the Capital Region was also cancelled by the school. Parents had complained about a pack given out to students which taught about gender identity and sexual orientation. One parent, Sirell Fiel, took to Facebook, recording a video expressing his disgust that his child would be taught […]

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GLAAD Calls Out Ed Gillespie’s Anti-LGBTQ Record in Race for Virginia Governor

As the the race for the governor’s mansion in Virginia goes down to the wire, GLAAD today called out Republican candidate Ed Gillespie’s anti-LGBTQ record leading into next Tuesday’s election. GLAAD states that Gillespie’s actions during the 2017 gubernatorial race so far have proven that he is no “moderate” as he was once described, instead building his campaign on the racist stereotyping of the Latinx community and the foundation of a deeply troublesome anti-LGBTQ record. “Ed Gillespie’s clear targeting of marginalized communities falls in line with the racist and anti-LGBTQ agenda of the Trump Administration,” said Zeke Stokes, Vice President […]

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Russia and Egypt Attack Sexual Orientation Protections in Olympic Truce at the UN

Over the next two weeks, a decision will be made at the United Nations (UN) on whether governments globally will accept discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation at the 2018 Olympics in South Korea.  While the UN General Assembly cannot remove the ban on discrimination from Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter itself, Egypt and Russia are leading a stealth attack on the Olympics at the UN General Assembly that is laden with meaning and must be stopped. Every two years, member states of the UN General Assembly negotiate the “Olympic Truce Resolution”, which calls for peace among nations […]

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State of LGBTQ Equality in 57 California Cities Detailed in HRC’s 6th Edition of the Municipal Equality Index

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute, released its sixth annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI), assessing LGBTQ equality in 506 cities across the nation, including 57 in California. The 2017 Municipal Equality Index, the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law and policy, shows that cities across the country, including in California, continue to take the lead in supporting LGBTQ people and workers — even in face of renewed attacks this year on the […]

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Cannabis Business Groups to Host Fire Relief Fundraiser in Santa Rosa

In response to the devastating fires that swept through Northern California this month, the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) and its state affiliate, the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), are hosting a cannabis industry fundraiser for community fire relief efforts Nov. 6 in Santa Rosa, Calif. While preparing for the state’s January 1 implementation of legally regulated adult-use cannabis sales, several cannabis farms preparing for the shift have been destroyed and many more crops have suffered smoke damage. Due to federal law, state-legal cannabis cultivators have difficulty obtaining access to insurance which would otherwise offset the losses incurred by the […]

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