| |  | | | | | If equality is important to you and your family, we need you to get involved in the fight for the Equality Act. PFLAG National, in coalition with HRC, NEAT, FFAA, and others, is planning a Lobby Day on Wednesday, April 21st to urge key Senators to pass the Equality Act. We need your voices and your stories to help convince Senators to vote YES! Sign up to lobby NOW (and be sure to sign up as a member or support of PFLAG in the drop-down menu). All are welcome to participate; we particularly need voices from Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin to make the case for the Equality Act to key swing votes in the Senate. PFLAG National is also hosting several phone banking events, offering an opportunity to talk to voters in target states and patch them through to their Senators’ offices to urge them to vote YES on the Equality Act. Never phone banked before? No worries! Our partner organization, The NEAT, provides in-depth training videos to get you comfortable with using the phone bank tool, and our Chapter Engagement Coordinators will be there to answer questions and make sure you’re comfortable. | | | | President Biden makes 11 judicial nominations. The nominations represent the fastest any recent Administration has moved to fill judicial vacancies. The nominees include three African American women for appeals court vacancies, and, if confirmed by the Senate, the first federal district judge who is Muslim, the first Asian American woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the first woman of color to serve as a federal judge in Maryland. Texas and 13 other states have filed a motion with the Supreme Court to defend previous Administration’s “Public Charge Rule.” The rule, which is currently blocked by the Biden Administration, makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use certain public benefits, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing vouchers. | | | | President Biden issues the first-ever presidential proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. In his proclamation, President Biden recognizes the work that still needs to be done for trans equality, saying trans people “still face systemic barriers to freedom and equality,” such as higher rates of violence, harassment and discrimination. Read and share the full proclamation, which came not from the White House, but from the President himself. U.S. Department of Defense announces new regulations for trans inclusion. The new rules allow transgender people who meet military standards to enlist and serve openly in their self-identified gender, as well as get medically necessary transition-related care authorized by law. The regulations come after a two-month Pentagon review aimed at implementing the repeal of the trans military ban, which President Biden announced just days after he took office in January. Dr. Rachel Levine becomes first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate. The Senate voted on March 24th to confirm Dr. Levine as Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. The bipartisan vote was 52-48. State Department reverses previous Administration’s human rights policies. The previous policies sidelined reproductive healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called that approach “unbalanced,” saying “All people are entitled to these rights, no matter where they're born, what they believe, whom they love, or any other characteristic. Human rights are also co-equal. There is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others.” | | | | Note: Members of PFLAG can take action on all active bills targeting the trans community at the state level. Visit pflag.org/protecttranskids to take action in your state today. Want to take action and not seeing your state included? Please contact Patrick Cochran, Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator, to have your state legislators added! Alabama - Parents and trans youth speak out against proposed trans youth healthcare ban. The state Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill and could go before the full House very soon. At a House health committee hearing this month, lawmakers heard moving testimony from Police Sgt. David Fuller who is father to a transgender girl: "The health care she got [at the UAB gender health clinic] was vital to her staying alive," he told the committee. "If you take this healthcare out, my kid's dead." Arkansas - Arkansas becomes the first state to pass a trans youth healthcare ban. The State Senate voted 28 to 7 in favor of the bill on March 29th, which would ban doctors from providing transgender minors with gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and transition-related surgeries, or referring them for such treatments. The bill must be signed or vetoed by Gov. Hutchinson by Saturday. North Carolina - Democratic House and Senate lawmakers introduce LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination bills. The companion bills in the House and the Senate are called the “Equality for All Act,” which would establish comprehensive statewide nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment, and schools for all LGBTQ+ people. Montana - Legislature advances “religious freedom,” license to discriminate bill. Passed on March 31st and now headed to the governor’s desk for signature, once enacted the law would enable service providers to deny queer residents goods and aid, from ordering a cake at a bakery to accessing PrEP. It comes just days after Montana’s Senate inched closer to banning trans athletes from taking part in high school and college sports, AP reported. Ohio - A federal appeals court rules that Shawnee State professor can sue the university over reprimand he received for refusing to use a trans student’s correct pronouns. Shawnee State concluded in 2018 that Professor Meriwether had created a “hostile environment” by refusing to use correct pronouns for the student and issued a written warning saying he could be fired or suspended without pay for violating campus nondiscrimination policy. The Appeals Court ruled that this action could potentially have violated the professor’s free speech rights, and allowed his lawsuit against the University to continue. Tennessee - Tennessee lawmakers consider banning any textbooks or curriculum that contain LGBTQ+ content from schools. HB 800 would prohibit public schools and teachers from using materials that "promote, normalize, support, or address lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgender (LGBT) issues or lifestyles." Tennessee becomes the third state this month to adopt a trans athlete ban. Governor Bill Lee signed the bill on March 26th, requiring students to prove their sex assigned at birth in order to participate in middle and high school sports. Texas - Court rules that Texas civil rights law bans LGBTQ+ discrimination in employment. The appeals court found that the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act was meant to coordinate and conform with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court concluded that, in order to reconcile the Titile VII with federal law following the Bostock decision, the prohibition on sex discrimination must include a prohibition bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity. South Dakota - Gov. Noem issues two executive orders to ban trans athletes from participating on women's and girls' school sports teams. Earlier this month, state lawmakers passed a trans athlete ban bill, but Gov. Noem declined to sign it over concerns the law would not survive legal challenges and asked lawmakers to revise the legislation's language. The legislature rejected the proposed changes and the Governor’s authority to issue such “style and form” recommendations. Following this, the Governor announced the executive orders. Virginia - Virginia becomes 12th state to ban the gay and trans “panic” defense. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the legislation on March 31st that bans use of the defense for murder or voluntary manslaughter charges. The bill (HB 2132) passed the state House 58-42 and Senate 23-15 in February. LGBTQ advocates praised the bill as a significant step in rolling back the trans panic defense in states across the country, especially amid a rise in murders of trans people, particularly Black and Brown women. | | | | | | | | DC and Marvel Comics to publish anthologies celebrating queer characters and talent for Pride month. “DC Pride” will include queer characters Batwoman, Aqualad, Midnighter, Apollo, Harley Quinn, and John Constantine in stories written by LGBTQ+ and ally creators. Marvel Comics will release an LGBTQ+ special in June as well, “Marvel’s Voices: Pride,” which will highlight minority characters and talent. A PRRI poll finds support for anti-discrimination laws and marriage equality for LGBTQ+ people is at an all-time high. According to a report released on March 23rd 76% of Americans, and strong majorities of Americans of every gender, religion, race, age, and geographic location support anti-discrimination laws. The survey also found, for the first time, that a majority of Republicans endorse same-sex marriage. Two Catholic bishops and other church officials publicly condemn discrimination against transgender people. Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, and the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, as well as the presidents of two Jesuit organizations called for an end to “the epidemic of violence against transgender individuals.” The US Conference of Catholic Bishops revealed to have lobbied against the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act. The law, introduced in 2019, would create a national suicide prevention hotline. The Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed the LGBTQ+ resources in the bill and so worked to prevent its passing. Lil Nas X releases new video Montero, commentary on Black queer identity. The video, which has received strong reaction--both positive and negative--was released last week by the openly gay, Black artist, and touches on themes of Blackness, queer identity, and faith. | | | | PFLAG National
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