| | | | | | | | Supreme Court invalidates President’s vaccine mandate for large employers. In a 6-3 opinion, the justices ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have the power to mandate vaccinations for employees as part of its mission to protect workers against workplace hazards. The court did leave in place a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers at hospitals which receive Medicaid funding. Supreme Court halts abortion providers again over Texas six-week ban. The 6-3 vote unsigned order issued without comment resulted in Justices Sotomayor, Breyer and Kagan writing in dissent. Texas’s six-week ban conflicts with Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that recognized a constitutional right to abortion before a fetus is viable, typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy. President Biden continues to diversify federal judiciary with latest judicial appointments. The president nominated eight new judges, including Arianna Freeman, a former public defender who would be the first Black woman to serve on the Third Circuit Court. A majority of the President’s nominees have been women or people of color, and he has also nominated more public defenders to the federal bench than any of his predecessors. | | | |  | | | Voting rights legislation fails to clear filibuster hurdle in Senate. On a party-line vote, the motion to end debate on The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act failed on January 19th. A move to change the filibuster rules to create a simple majority vote requirement to end debate on voting rights legislation also failed, with all Republicans and two Democrats voting against the rule change. U.S. Postal Service to ship free at-home coronavirus test kits upon request. Each household order will contain four rapid tests, which the Postal Service says will be shipped for free "in late January." The website launched on January 18th. PFLAG National encourages members to order tests for their households. Biden administration to make 400 million N95 masks available for free. Beginning the week of January 23rd, KN95 masks from the Strategic National Stockpile will be made available at local pharmacies and community health centers. An administration official said "This is the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in US history.” Gender identity categories added to veterans’ health records. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it began including gender identifiers in its national medical record system last month “to help VA providers better understand and meet the health care needs of Veterans,” including transgender and gender-diverse veterans. The VA added the categories “transgender male, transgender female, non-binary, other, or does not wish to disclose” as options in its gender identity field. Advocates, Members of Congress call on FDA to lift blood donation ban on gay and bisexual men. To donate blood in the US, men who have sex with men (MSM) exclusively must abstain from same-sex sexual activity for 90 days prior to donation. PFLAG National is a long-standing advocate for removing discriminatory policies, using science-based policies, and calling for removal of this ban. After the Red Cross announced the “worst blood shortage in more than a decade,” 22 Senators and 6 House members wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra and FDA acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, urging them to remove the restriction. | | | | | Eight states introduce bills attacking transgender and non-binary youth. As the 2022 legislative session begins, state legislators in Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and South Dakota have all proposed anti-trans bills which include restrictions on trans and non-binary youth accessing gender-affirming healthcare, participating in school sports, using restrooms that correspond with their genders and protecting providers who refuse non-emergency treatment including transition-related care. This comes after 17 anti-trans measures were enacted in state legislatures in 2021. Find resources to fight against anti-trans legislation here. Iowa - Fairfield City Councilwoman criticized for anti-LGBTQ+ comments. The council debated adopting a letter of intent from Fairfield’s Equity and Diversity Committee, in which the city would publicly announce its stand against discrimination based on faith, race, sexual orientation, gender, nationality, age, immigration status, military status, and class. Councilwoman Ham objected to the letter, likening it to “grooming” and “sex trafficking.” Fairfield community members and city councilmembers , as well as the ACLU of Iowa, have strongly criticized her comments. Minnesota - Andrea Jenkins, elected President of Minneapolis City Council, becomes first transgender official in the US with that title and role. Jenkins, previously City Council Vice President, was elected council president by a unanimous vote of the Minneapolis City Council. Jenkins became the first openly Black transgender woman elected to public office in 2017 when she won her city council seat. New Hampshire - State House votes to outlaw “LGBTQ+ panic” defense. Following the bipartisan State House vote, the bill now moves to the State Senate. The LGBTQ+ “panic” defense has been banned in 15 states and the District of Columbia. New Jersey - Gov. Murphy signs bill enshrining right to same-sex marriage into law. Same-sex marriage was legalized in New Jersey in 2013 by a state court ruling. The bill which Gov. Murphy signed protects that right regardless of future court rulings, however. Ohio - School Board member becomes Ohio’s first openly trans elected official. Dion Manley was elected to the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools' board of education, citing his daughter’s experience in public school as his reason for running for office. LGBTQ+ rights activist Jim Obergefell announces run for State House. Obergefell, who was the plaintiff in the US Supreme Court case which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, is running for Ohio’s 89th House district, which covers parts of Erie and Ottawa counties. South Carolina - Medical refusal bill stalls. The bill would have allowed doctors to refuse medical care to LGBTQ+ people if the doctors had “moral objections'' to the care they were being asked to provide. The bill stalled in committee after lawmakers considered that the bill could give doctors the right to refuse treatment to unvaccinated South Carolinians. South Dakota - Gov. Kristi Noem releases a national TV ad promoting trans athlete ban. The ad tauts the proposed athlete ban as "the strongest law in the nation protecting female sports." The state bill, if passed, would prevent trans girls from playing on any female sports teams at school, including club teams. Texas - Trans athlete ban goes into effect. The anti-trans athlete ban, which was signed into law in a special legislative session last year, took effect on January 18th, making Texas the 10th state with an active trans athlete ban. Virginia - State Senate blocks proposed restrictions on voting. The bills sought to reinstate voter ID requirements, do away with same-day voter registration, and reintroduce other restrictions the General Assembly did away with in 2020 in an effort to make voting easier in Virginia. All the proposed restrictions died in committee on January 18th. | | | | | | | | | | Michaela Jaé Rodriguez becomes first out trans actress to win a Golden Globe. Rodriguez won the award for best television actress in a drama series for her work on Pose. NCAA adopts new guidelines that fail to fully include trans athletes. Under the new guidelines, approved on January 19th, participation by transgender athletes will be determined by the policy for that individual sport's national governing body, subject to review and recommendation by an NCAA committee to the Board of Governors. This aligns the NCAA’s guidelines with the U.S. and International Olympic Committees’ framework; both fail to fully include trans athletes. Winter Olympic Games in Beijing to set LGBTQ+ record. More openly LGBTQ+ athletes are expected to participate in this Winter Games than any before, exceeding the 15 publicly out competitors on record in 2018. Out athletes include Timothy LeDuc, the first out non-binary Winter Olympian, and several skating and other athletes are scheduled to compete. The Olympics run Feb 4th-20th. Openly transgender Jeopardy champion Amy Schneider logs 37 wins and over $1.25 million so far. She is the highest-earning woman contestant ever, and one of the top contestants of all time in terms of earning and consecutive wins. She is also the first ever openly trans contestant to compete in the tournament of champions. Adam Rippon announces marriage. Rippon and his husband, Jussi-Pekka Kajaala, a Finnish real estate broker, were married on New Year’s Eve with their puppy Tony attending the simple ceremony. | | | | | | | Register today for the Live with Leadership Conversation for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) on February 7th, 2pm ET/11am PT, Launched in 1999, this annual observance is to increase HIV education, testing, community involvement, and treatment among black communities. grassroots-education effort to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS prevention, care, and treatment in communities of color. The Live with Leadership conversation, hosted by the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy, will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss: - Accelerated efforts to address HIV in Black and African-American communities,
- Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative’s progress, as well as
- Innovative programming through the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund.
- The newly released National HIV/AIDS Strategy (2022–2025) (NHAS), which designates Black gay, bisexual, other men who have sex with men, and Black women as priority populations disproportionately impacted by HIV to accelerate their efforts and resources to achieve the greatest impact and ensure that no communities are left behind.
The Live with Leadership conversation will feature: - Harold Phillips, Director, The White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP).
- Kaye Hayes, Acting Director, Department of Health and Human Services, OIDP, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, and Executive Director of the Presidential Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS (PACHA)
- Dr. Timothy Harrison, Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives and Senior Policy Advisor, OIDP.
- Kayla Quimbley, National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Ambassador, Advocates for Youth and PACHA member.
Register now! | | | | | 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] | | | | | | | |
