| | | | | | PFLAG National supports the Build Back Better Act, which will help all families thrive. The bill would expand pre-K for all 3- and 4-year old children; expand childcare subsidies, ensuring families pay no more than 7% of their income in childcare costs; and expand the ACA to include health insurance to people in states without expanded Medicaid, covering low-income people, seniors, and people with disabilities, including LGBTQ+ people, who might not otherwise be covered. It’s important that Build Back Better is brought to the Senate floor and then supported by the House if changed from the House-passed version before going home for the holidays. Contact your Representative and two Senators--don’t forget to give them your address and tell them PFLAG sent you--and ask them to vote in favor of this important bill before going home. | |  | | | | | Supreme Court hears Mississippi abortion ban case. Oral arguments indicated that most justices were willing to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This would be at odds with precedent set in Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion and prohibited states from banning the procedure before fetal viability, currently around 23 weeks. Supreme Court Commission releases final report. The 36-member bipartisan commission studied court reform proposals and the report spoke positively about the possibility of term limits for Supreme Court justices. | | | | | | | Congress approves bill to fast track debt limit increase. The bill, approved on a bipartisan 59-35 vote in the Senate on December 9th following a successful House vote on the 7th, gives Congress authority to consider separate legislation to increase the current $28.9 trillion debt limit. The final debt limit bill, when it comes up for consideration, will not be subject to a filibuster. President Biden releases statement on Trans Day of Remembrance. The President mourned the 46 trans people who were murdered in the past year, most of them trans women of color. The President also urged the Senate to act swiftly to pass the Equality Act. President Biden announces goal of ending HIV epidemic by 2030. The President gave a speech at the White House on World AIDS Day in which he noted that in order to end the epidemic, the plan must tackle racial and gender disparities in healthcare. The President said his plan makes sure “the latest advances in HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment are available to everyone regardless of race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or other factors.” House passes National Defense Authorization Act. The bipartisan defense spending policy bill passed by a vote of 363-70, and allocates $768 billion in defense spending. Provisions expanding the draft to include women and repealing the Iraq War Authorizations were taken out of the final bill. Build Back Better bill includes tax break for some same-sex couples. The current bill includes a provision allowing same-sex couples legally married before 2010 to amend previous tax returns and claim benefits denied to them during those years due to inequity in existing tax laws | | | | | Georgia - Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus celebrates 40th anniversary. Their 40th-anniversary holiday concert took place at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Buckhead. Indiana - Gay Catholic school teacher who was fired can pursue lawsuit against Indianapolis Archdiocese, court rules. Joshua Payne-Elliott, a world language and social studies teacher, claims he was fired from Cathedral High School in 2019 after the archdiocese mandated schools to enforce a morality clause that prohibited employees from being married to a person of the same sex. Iowa - Trans high school student banned from using boys’ restroom. Ethan Stucker, a senior at Spirit Lake High School, was told to use the school’s unisex bathroom in the teacher’s lounge, despite having used the boy’s restroom for a year and a half without incident. Michigan - Bill introduced to ban "LGBT panic defense" in Michigan. State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) is sponsoring the bill, which would forbid invoking a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity as a legal justification for committing a crime. More than 300 cases nationwide dating back to the 1970s have involved this so-called defense. Missouri - City of Independence bans so-called “conversion therapy.” The City Council voted unanimously on November 15th to ban the discredited and harmful practice. PFLAG Kansas City board member Lisa Wright testified in support of the ban. LGBT rights exhibit removed from Missouri Capitol, moves to St. Louis. “Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights” will be displayed at several locations in the region from November 30 into 2022. “Our LGBTQ community has had a huge impact on all of our lives and region,” said Phillip Deitch, president of the St. Louis LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce. “We think untold stories, or untold history, is a loss for the fabric of the larger community.” Oregon - Eugene man charged with hate crime after attacking gay man he contacted on Grindr. Federal prosecutors announced they charged Daniel McGee with a hate crime for “using the internet to target and brutally assault a gay man because of his sexual orientation,” according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Oregon. Texas - Sole gender clinic for trans youth in Texas has closed after attacks by anti-trans activists. The anti-trans activists targeted officials at the hospital where the Gender Education and Care, Interdisciplinary Support program (GENECIS) was based and accused them of promoting child abuse. GENECIS said in a statement that existing youth and young adult patients would continue to receive treatment, but that new patients will only be evaluated and given diagnoses but not offered puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy. Washington - Florist agrees to pay $5,000 to settle case after refusing to make flower arrangement for gay couples’ wedding. Arlene's Flowers owner Barronelle Stutzman has agreed to end the dispute and end her attempt to get the Supreme Court to take her case. The couple, Rob Ingersoll and Carl Freed, are contributing the $5,000 settlement money to a local PFLAG chapter as well as a $5,000 matching contribution of their own. | | | | | Botswana - Court of Appeals unamimously upholds 2019 ruling decriminalizing gay sex. The decision invalidated two sections of the penal code that had outlawed homosexuality and threatened up to seven years in prison for offenders. Canada - Parliament bans so-called “conversion therapy.” Governor General Mary Simon granted Royal Assent for the first time to Bill C-4, officially banning the practice of conversion therapy in Canada, following a unanimous vote in the Canadian Senate. Chile - Chilean Congress votes to legalize same-sex marriage. The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, passed the bill 82-20, following approval by Chile's Senate. President Sebastian Piñera, a conservative, is expected to sign the bill. Hungary - Hungarian parliament passes resolution to put anti-LGBTQ+ law on the ballot. The referendum, which will take place in 2022, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban seeks re-election, will determine whether to implement legislation that limits schools' teaching about LGBTQ+ issues. India - Government expected to appoint first openly gay judge. India’s Supreme Court Collegium recommended that senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal be appointed a justice for the Delhi High Court. Mr. Kirpal has been recommended and passed over for this appointment three times previously. Japan - Tokyo Governor to legalize same-sex partnerships. Governor Yuriko Koike announced plans to legalize same-sex partnerships beginning in April 2022, allowing them some of the same privileges afforded married couples. LGBTQ+ activists celebrated the announcement as a step towards marriage equality. Japan does not currently allow same-sex marriage, the only G7 country where the practice is not legal. Russia - Russian officials investigating complaint against Netflix for violating "gay propaganda" law. A public commissioner claimed that some Netflix content with LGBTQ+ themes was rated suitable for those aged 16 and older, while Russia's laws do not allow the distribution of "propaganda on non-traditional sexual relations" to those under 18. Netflix faces a fine of up to one million rubles and a temporary suspension of service if it is found to have broken the law. United Kingdom - Labour Party pledges to enact tougher sentences for hate crimes driven by sexual orientation, transgender [gender] identity, or disability. Under the party’s proposal, some offences such as assault will be deemed aggravated offences, with tougher sentencing guidelines, if they were motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. Similar rules already exist for racially and religiously motivated hate crimes. | | | | | | | | | | | The PFLAG National Advocacy, Policy, and Partnerships Team is always here to support you with your work, so please don't ever hesitate to reach out to us for assistance. Yours in PFLAG power, | | | |  | Diego M. Sanchez, APR
Director of Advocacy, Policy & Partnerships
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Email: [email protected] | | |  | Patrick Cochran
Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Email: [email protected] | | | | | | | |
