Federal Matters
Doctors are calling for the end of so-called conversion therapy, falsely sold as a way to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. An estimated 20,000 LGBTQ+ adolescents will be subjected to conversion therapy with a licensed health care professional by the time they reach the age of 18, according to physicians writing in the New England Journal of Medicine. PFLAG National endorses H.R. 3570, the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019 introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu. This bill would would ban so called conversion therapy for youth and adults under federal law.
The Department of Justice urges the EEOC to change its position and tell SCOTUS to rule that businesses can discriminate against transgender employees without violating the law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has maintained its Obama-era position that businesses are banned from discriminating against LGBTQ+ workers because it’s a form of sex bias.
The Department of Labor proposed a rule allowing “religion-exercising organizations” with federal contracts to raise religious exemptions if accused of bias in their hiring practices. “The DOL proposed a rule that aims to let government contractors fire workers who are LGBTQ+, HIV positive, or who are pregnant and unmarried, based on the employers’ religious views,” the PFLAG National opposes axpayer-funded discrimination and using the freedom of religion as a license to discriminate. Public comments will be accepted until September 16th, and watch for PFLAG’s invitation to submit yours.
Court Matters
A federal judge ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm, determining that a Virginia school district’s policy barring a male transgender student from using the boys’ bathrooms violates the United States Constitution, an important victory for transgender rights advocates in a closely watched case. Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen of the United States District Court in Norfolk, Va., made this ruling on August 16th.
A group of YouTube creators is suing YouTube for allegedly discriminating against their LGBTQ+-focused videos by suppressing recommendations and making it difficult to earn ad revenue. The lawsuit alleges that YouTube uses “unlawful content regulation, distribution, and monetization practices that stigmatize, restrict, block, demonetize, and financially harm the LGBT Plaintiffs and the greater LGBT Community.” The lawsuit also alleges that both YouTube’s machine learning moderation tools and human reviewers unfairly target channels that have words such as “gay,” “bisexual,” or “transgender” in the title.
A group of 80 philosophers have written an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the LGBTQ+ employees in three discrimination cases that will be heard on October 8th. The amicus brief was co-authored by philosopher Robin Dembroff (Yale) and law professor Issa Kohler-Hausmann (Yale), and concerns the Supreme Court’s review of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, and Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC on whether Title VII’s protections apply to LGBTQ+ employees.
State Matters
Alabama - Nearly 600 Alabama United Methodists sign apology letter to the LGBTQ+ community. The letter apologizes for the denomination’s failure to change its stance against homosexuality or to lift its long-held ban on same-sex marriage.
The vibrant spirit of a gay teen who died earlier this year hasn’t left the hearts of those who are organizing Alabama’s largest Black LGBTQ+ pride celebration. The second annual Birmingham Black Pride (BBP) kicked off on August 15th with a comedy show in Birmingham’s Avondale neighborhood. Nigel Shelby, who was 15 when he died by suicide in Huntsville in April, will be honored in memoriam throughout the four-day celebration.
Florida - Discrimination against gay, transgender and disabled students would be banned in private schools that take Florida vouchers under bills filed this month in the Florida legislature. The bills (HB 45 and SB 56) would add “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” and “disability” as well as religion to an existing Florida law that spells out anti-discrimination requirements for private schools that accept taxpayer-funded state scholarships, or vouchers.
Illinois - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation ensuring state schools teach the role and contributions of LGBTQ+ people in American history. Pritzker signed House Bill 346, which passed earlier this year. The law requires all schools in the state include "the role and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this state" in official textbooks.
Maryland - School officials are now developing LGBTQ+ curriculum standards, calling for the state’s public schools to include information about LGBT rights and disability rights in their history classes. PFLAG Metro DC advocacy champion David Fishback, a retired US Department of Justice attorney, wrote a landmark and launchpad curriculum case study and toolkit that you can view and use on PFLAG’s website.
Nevada - A Las Vegas security guard who once patrolled his neighborhood with a semi-automatic rifle has been arrested on a federal charge in connection with possessing "destructive devices." The FBI says he had bomb-making materials and was planning to attack a synagogue and a gay bar. The 23-year-old also allegedly chatted online with white supremacists, quoted Adolf Hitler, and drew a sketch for attacks, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
New Hampshire - A Superior Court judge heard testimony in the case of a Nashua man accused of threatening a transgender woman. The case is being pursued by the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office. The defendant is accused of threatening to kill the transgender woman for using the women's locker room at a Planet Fitness facility. The defendant has denied the allegations, saying he asked about her gender, but did not threaten her in any way.
Ohio - Ohio teen allegedly threatens to shoot federal agents, a Planned Parenthood clinic and an LGBTQ+ bar. According to police and court documents, an Ohio teenager threatened to shoot federal agents, a Planned Parenthood, a gay bar, and was found at a residence that had a gun vault and around 10,000 rounds of ammunition and 25 guns.
Virginia - Gay waiter harassed by co-workers, federal judge orders compensation. The waiter’s co-workers regularly harassed him with homophobic slurs and would taunt him about his sexual orientation. The settlement ordered by a federal judge was $40,000. The money will be shared between the waiter and another employee, who is straight but was harassed for associating with him.
Global Matters
Ecuador - Murder of trans woman sparks fears of rising anti-LGBT+ violence in Ecuador. Family members found the body of a 40-year-old trans woman known as ‘La Gata' in the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, the eighth case of murder or violent or unclassified death of a trans woman this year in Ecuador.
Hungary - By the standards of Western advertising, Coca-Cola’s billboard campaign in Hungary is tame. In the “Love is Love” ad campaign, three couples enjoy a soda and smile at their partner. One ad shows a man and a woman; another shows two women; the third shows two men. The ad has angered anti-LGBTQ+ people, including a representative of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Media Matters
A true PFLAG show if there ever was one, the Netflix series No Good Nick features Melissa Joan Hart and Sean Astin--and recently included a coming-out episode which has gone viral online. Catch the tear-jerking coming-out scene here (TISSUE ALERT!) and then watch the whole first season of the series on Netflix. We’re already fans!
‘Schitt’s Creek’ Fans Give $20K To LGBT Youth Line For Dan Levy’s Birthday. Fans of the popular Canadian comedy “Schitt’s Creek” have raised more than $20,000 for an LGBTQ+ youth support group in honor of co-creator Dan Levy’s birthday.
Zoo Berlin officials announced that two of its male king penguins, Skipper and Ping, have eagerly adopted an egg. It'll be the pair's first chick, if all goes well.
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists announced that longtime Miami Herald reporter Steve Rothaus, Recode co-founder Kara Swisher, and LGBTQ+ pioneer Lilli Vincenz are the 2019 inductees in the LGBTQ Journalists Hall of Fame. Their induction will take place on August 31st at the NLGJA National Convention in New Orleans.
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