Take Action
Deadline: August 13th - Tell HHS to keep LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination in the ACA
As reported previously in Policy Matters, the Trump Administration on June 14th published a proposed rule to roll back existing nondiscrimination protections now included in the Health Care Rights Law of the Affordable Care Act.
Between now and August 13th, your comments are needed.
- Visit ProtectTransHealth.org
- Follow the simple instructions there: begin with your personal story
- Reach [email protected] if you want help
Background
The proposed rule by HHS seeks to revoke existing protections for LGBTQ+ people and other communities currently protected by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulations.
This rule would severely threaten transgender people’s access to all forms of health care, undermine access to care for women and other people with reproductive health needs, make it harder for people with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) to access health care, and Curtail nondiscrimination protections for everyone by attempting to severely limit their scope, people’s access to information about their rights, and ability to enforce them.
As part of this rollback, the administration has opened a mandated 60 day period for comments on the proposed rule. This comment period closes on August 13, 2019. The administration is required to respond to the comments it received and may not implement this new rule until 60 days after the comment period has closed. At this time anti-discrimination protections under the Health Care Rights Law are still the law of the land.
Visit ProtectTransHealth.org to share your story and tell the Trump administration that the new proposal will make it harder for LGBTQ people to access life-saving care.
Federal Matters
Nationwide raids to arrest thousands of undocumented family members have been scheduled to begin Sunday, June 14th. ICE’s goal is to deport the families as quickly as possible. ICE agents are targeting at least 2,000 immigrants who have been ordered deported but who remain in the country illegally. The operation is expected to take place in at least 10 major cities. Stay tuned to PFLAG media channels as this develops.
The House on Thursday, July 11th approved an amendment to the annual defense policy bill aimed at reversing President Trump’s policy banning most transgender people from serving in the military. The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would enshrine in law that any person who meets gender-neutral occupational standards can serve in the military regardless of race, color, national origin, religion or sex, including gender identity or sexual orientation.
Court Matters
President Trump on July 11th abandoned his desire to place a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census, and instead issued an Executive Order that instructed the government to compile citizenship data from existing federal records instead. The announcement asks federal agencies, specifically naming the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration, to continue a practice that they already have in place.
State Matters
California - New homeless shelter opens with focus on LGBTQ+ community. Interfaith has shelters around the county that are LGBTQ+ friendly, but this is their first hat is targeted for the LGBTQ+ community. Their main goal is to get the residents into permanent housing.
Connecticut - Police said a man broke into a Milford church and damaged an office door because he believed the church and its pastor “were supporting and pushing the LGBT agenda.” He was charged with a hate crime, burglary and criminal mischief.
Illinois - Illinois Governor Pritzker signs executive order to protect transgender students. On the last day of Pride Month, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a measure that he says will ensure that the state's schools are "affirming and inclusive" of transgender and non-binary students.
Navajo Nation, Arizona - On June 28, the Navajo Nation kicked off Diné Pride, a two-day event in Window Rock, AZ., the capital of the Navajo reservation. This year's Diné Pride is infused with that history, themed Sacredness Before Stonewall — focusing attention on honoring transgender women of color and their history in indigenous culture.
North Carolina - Transgender woman arrested after bathroom dispute escalates. A man called police when the transgender woman used the same bathroom as his wife at a Denny's in North Carolina. Officers on the scene informed the man that the woman did not break a law. However, the dispute escalated, and the transgender woman was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly spitting toward the man and his family.
Republican compared anti-LGBTQ proposal to saving Jews from Holocaust. The Republican candidate for an open House seat in North Carolina likened his efforts to undermine LGBTQ+ rights via religious exemptions to the work of Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
Wyoming - Racist, anti-LGBTQ+ student flyers challenge Cheyenne school district. Flyers with anti-LGBTQ and anti-Black rhetoric were handed out and taped up on school grounds. Students also reported being initially told that they could not wear or display LGBTQ-supportive items. There is currently a district investigation and a lawsuit seeking the release of the report on the school.
Global Matters
Botswana - Botswana to appeal ruling decriminalizing homosexuality. Last month, Botswana's high court unanimously overturned a colonial-era law criminalizing same-sex relations, but the government will appeal the ruling.
France - French people are increasingly tolerant of homosexuality and its expression in public, but continue to hold clichéd views of LGBT individuals, according to a survey published by pollsters Ifop.
Honduras - Three transgender women have been killed in Honduras in the last week.
India - Delhi High Court dismisses plea to recognize LGBTQ+ relationships. The court had been asked to amend the Hindu Marriage Act and other family laws in order to usher in equal marriage and adoption rights, but the request was turned down. Justices argued that drafting laws for such reform was the responsibility of the Legislature.
Northern Ireland - MPs vote to extend abortion and same-sex marriage rights to Northern Ireland. The two historic votes to extend same-sex marriage and access to abortion brings the region into line with the rest of the United Kingdom on the two significant social issues.
Thailand - Samak Kosem is a gay Thai Muslim who uses art to explore how LGBT+ Thais in the restive south reconcile their religion with their sexual identity. Samak - who has exhibited at the Bangkok Art Biennale and in galleries from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong - says it is rare to see LGBT+ Muslims represented in his culture, a reflection of the double existence they are often forced to lead.
Media Matters
Lil Nas X comes out on the last day of Pride Month. He announced the news by pointing to the lyrics of “C7osure” from his new 7 EP and then took to Twitter.
‘You can’t win without gay players,’ says USA’s World Cup hero Megan Rapinoe. When asked last week whether it was particularly exciting to lead her team to a World Cup win over France during Pride Month, U.S. national team star Megan Rapinoe laughed and replied, “Go gays!” She continued: “You can’t win a championship without gays on your team. It’s never been done before. Ever. That’s science right there.”
Transgender actress Hunter Schafer talks about her role on HBO’s “Euphoria” and her journey to get there. Hunter Schafer takes on her first acting role in HBO's boundary-pushing drama “Euphoria” as Jules Vaughn, and dives into her character's past and current traumas as well as her own.
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