COURT MATTERS

U.S. Department of Justice files statement of interest in lawsuit over transgender athletes. The Department of Justice is getting involved in a federal civil rights lawsuit in Connecticut that seeks to block transgender female students from competing as girls in interscholastic sports. Attorney General William Barr signed the statement of interest which argues that allowing trans girls to compete with other girls ‘deprives’ cisgender girls of ‘the single-sex athletic competitions that are one of the marquee accomplishments of Title IX.’

FEDERAL MATTERS

Five LGBTQ+ asylum seekers released from ICE custody. Five LGBTQ+ asylum seekers held at two Arizona detention centers were released because their compromised immune systems increased their risk for contracting COVID-19. Some of the individuals are HIV positive. They were reunited with relatives in the United States.

LGBTQ+ activists again call on FDA to allow LGBTQ+ individuals to donate blood. Allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood would help to alleviate the shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic. The FDA’s ban on accepting blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM) was initially placed in 1987 as a lifetime ban to avoid transmission of HIV through blood transfusions, but activists argue that the ban is misplaced and outdated, even as it was moved to 12 months in 2015. Even this reduction is considered too broad a reach because it targets sexual orientation and not sexual behavior, and it fails to recognize that HIV or other diseases can be detected within 10-14 days of testing under current scientific practices. As of this morning, the guidelines were changed from a 12-month wait to a three-month wait, but organizations including HRC, PFLAG, Lambda Legal and others--who have been working on the frontlines of this issue for decades--are saying that this step doesn’t go far enough, and ignores the science. Learn more in this letter sent by HRC to the FDA on the morning of Thursday, May 2nd.

U.S. Representatives urge Dr. Birx to affirm that anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination prohibited in coronavirus relief efforts. Eighty-seven U.S. Representatives sent a letter to Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, calling on her to affirm that anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination will be prohibited in relief efforts. The letter draws on the assertion that LGBTQ+ individuals are disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19.

Senate stimulus plan includes $155 million for HIV care. The funding has been reserved for people living with HIV who may be affected by the global coronavirus pandemic. The funding will be used for medication and treatment with low-income people living with HIV as well as assistance with the housing needs of people living with HIV.

STATE MATTERS

Idaho - Governor signs nation's two anti-transgender measures into law. Idaho’s governor has signed two controversial anti-trans bills. HB500 prohibits transgender girls from participating in school athletics in alignment with their gender identity in Idaho, and if an athlete is believed to be transgender and competing on a woman’s team, the school may perform a physical examination of their genitals to verify their gender, as well as blood and chromosomal testing. HB509 prevents transgender individuals from changing the sex on their birth certificate. Both of the laws are likely to face legal challenges.

North Carolina - Openly transgender activist and leader Monika Diamond fatally shot on March 18th while being treated by paramedics in Charlotte. Diamond was being treated by paramedics in an ambulance for shortness of breath when a man, first halted from entering the ambulance by paramedics, left and returned to the scene with a gun and fatally shot her although paramedics tried to revive her. Police arrested the man at the scene and he awaits trial. Diamond’s is the 4th reported trans person’s death by violence in the U.S. in 2020.

GLOBAL MATTERS

Andorra - Andorra to legalize same-sex marriage. The small European country is expected to legalize same-sex marriage in the coming months after a bill was passed that removes the legal distinction between same-sex civil unions and marriages between heterosexual couples.

Singapore - Singapore court upholds law that criminalizes sex between men. The law, although rarely used, can result in a jail term of up to two years for those found guilty. The Singaporean high court dismissed three appeals that the law was unconstitutional.

United Kingdom - First European LGBTQ+ dedicated channel, OUTtv, launches in the U.K. next week. While the LGBTQ+ dedicated channel is available in other European countries, it will launch on April 1st in the United Kingdom. The channel features an extensive selection of films, series, documentaries, and TV shows aimed at the LGBTQ+ community.

MEDIA MATTERS

PFLAG National launches #TransKids #SoFierce campaign on Transgender Day of Visibility. This new campaign--which was covered by a variety of LGBTQ+ and other news outlets--will be ongoing, emphasizing the fierceness of trans kids, particularly in the face of over 200+ anti-LGBTQ+ state-level bills, many of which target trans and nonbinary youth. Learn more, and participate, at pflag.org/transkidssofierce.

Gender affirming surgeries for transgender individuals are among necessary medical interventions postponed amid COVID-19 pandemic. As hospitals are trying to deal with the influx of COVID-19 patients, surgeries deemed ‘nonessential’ or ‘elective’ have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. This includes gender-affirming procedures, which has caused trans individuals to face increased anxiety and dysphoria.

Love in the time of COVID-19: Same-sex New York couples aren’t stopped from tying the knot. Three same-sex couples got married this week in New York City, even though it is the center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

LGBTQ+ homeless fear illness and violence as COVID-19 shuts shelters. Advocates are concerned that the closure of homeless centers due to COVID-19 will put LGBTQ+ individuals without housing at increased risk for health complications, hate crimes, and suicide.

LGBTQ+ and out of work: Devastating financial toll of COVID-19. A disproportionate number of LGBTQ+ Americans are being affected by the economic toll of coronavirus. According to a report from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), more than five million LGBTQ+ Americans work in jobs that are likely to be impacted by COVID-19.

Over 120 LGBTQ+ individual events affected by COVID-19 cancellations. However, stay tuned to PFLAG social media and other channels as plans evolve for a Global Online Pride to occur on June 27th that is being shaped now. It will be celebrated around the world, and PFLAG National will help you be part of it all. While it’s true that more than 120 LGBTQ+ events and pride festivals throughout the world have been cancelled, postponed, or moved online due to concerns about COVID-19, pride preparations around the world will be underway shortly.

Anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups on the rise in the United States. The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported that the number of anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups in the U.S. increased 43% in the last year, from 49 groups to 70. Anti-LGBTQ+ groups were the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019.

Enforcement of COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders. Our friends at the Center for American Progress (CAP) published this column on April 2nd to relay how different states and municipal jurisdictions are setting and enforcing stay-at-home orders during this challenging time.