Take Action
Deadline: August 13th - Tell HHS to keep LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination in the ACA
We need your PFLAG family voice to weigh in with the Administration because nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people and families in current law is at risk. 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 (ACA), called Section 1557.
Please submit your comment without delay; LGBTQ+ lives, healthcare and health insurance access depend on you:
- Visit ProtectTransHealth.org
- Follow the simple instructions there: begin with your personal story of why retaining nondiscrimination in health care for LGBTQ+ people matters to you and your family
- Email [email protected] (or call directly at 202.657.6997) 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
Since early 2018, New Mexico’s Cibola County Correctional Center has incarcerated more than 180 women in its “transgender pod”—the only known ICE-run detention facility for transgender women. The Santa Fe Dreamers Project said that the women in the trans pod face extraordinary hardships and obstacles to winning their cases. “While in custody, they face a shocking lack of medical and mental-health services,” she said. “They are put in abusive solitary confinement, they experience high levels of sexual assault, and they face discrimination from the government and the corporation that detains them.” Johnson cited the deaths of Roxsana Hernandez Rodriguez in 2018 and Johana Medina Leon this year as grave evidence of ICE’s inability to detain trans women safely.
The PRIDE Act passes House, updating tax code to provide equal treatment to same-sex married couples. Introduced by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), the bill passed by a voice vote [did not require a roll call vote by name] on July 24th.
House passes amendment on July 11th that would reverse the Administration’s transgender military ban put in place in April; awaits Conference Committee negotiation and final vote on the NDAA. The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) dubbed “the Truman Amendment,” passed 242-187 and included 10 Republicans who joined all Democrats. It 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. The NDAA passed in the House by a vote of 220-197, but because the House and Senate versions of the bill differ, it is now in Conference Committee for negotiation and for a vote to follow. Stay tuned to PFLAG media channels as this progresses.
The Trump administration announced the formation of the Commission on Unalienable Rights, an advisory committee that will review "the role of human rights in American foreign policy.” Both the nature of the commission and those appointed to serve on it raised red flags for several human rights and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, and PFLAG National signed and sent a letter expressing these concerns.
LGBTQ+ asylum-seekers exempt from "Remain in Mexico" policy and can stay in the United States. Asylum-seekers who arrive at the southern border and claim to be LGBTQ+ are exempt from the U.S.-Mexico “Remain in Mexico” policy and will not be returned to Mexico to await decisions by U.S. immigration judges.
After a sixteen-year-old Guatemalan boy, died in Border Patrol custody in May, officials gave a basic account of what happened. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez crossed the border alone near Weslaco on May 13, and was then held at a processing center for unaccompanied minors in nearby McAllen for six days until falling ill on May 19. Vasquez died of the flu near the toilet in his Border Patrol holding cell.
House passes two-year debt ceiling and budget bill, passing it to the Senate. The bipartisan bill passed in a 284-149 vote on July 25th and suspends the debt ceiling through mid-2021. The Senate is expected to pass the bill next week and the President is expected to sign it into law.
Court Matters
A federal judge approved a legal settlement on July 23rd affirming transgender people's right to use restrooms matching their gender identity in many North Carolina public buildings. The consent decree between the state's Democratic governor and transgender plaintiffs covers numerous state-owned buildings including facilities run by executive branch agencies that oversee the environment, transportation and Medicaid, among others. In return, the plaintiffs have agreed to drop pending legal action against the governor and other defendants.
A mother who sued her transgender daughter for emancipating herself and then obtaining gender transition care is bringing her case to the Supreme Court, though her daughter is no longer a party to the case. Her daughter, identified in court papers as E.J.K., moved out in 2015 and at age 15, obtained a letter from a legal clinic that concluded that E.J.K. was “legally emancipated.” On July 24th, the mother, Anmarie Calgaro, filed a petition alleging that her “parental Due Process Clause rights” were violated by St. Louis County, medical providers and the St. Louis County School District. A district court ruled against Calgaro and a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling in March, writing that E.J.K. had turned 18, completed high school, and that makes Calgaro’s claims moot. Stay tuned to PFLAG media channels as this progresses.
State Matters
Alabama - Alabama Secretary of State slams “homosexual activities” on TV. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill recently blamed television for cultural decay and said viewers are “too interested in homosexual activities” and shows about wife-swapping.
Maryland - A Baltimore man was arrested and charged in the killing of Zoe Spears, a transgender woman who was fatally shot on June 13th in Prince George's County, Maryland, according to police. Spears, 23, was found shot to death in Fairmount Heights.
Michigan - Gay man killed, another critically injured in Grindr meetup. A Detroit man has been charged in an attempted robbery and shooting on July 6th that left one gay man dead and another critically injured. The incident is the latest in a string of attacks against gay men targeted through Grindr, self-described as a geosocial networking and online dating app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people.
Missouri - Police are investigating the death of a transgender woman whose body was found at an abandoned home in Kansas City. Police say 32-year-old Brooklyn Lindsey was found dead shortly after 6:30 a.m. on June 26th and identified by name on July 19th.
New Hampshire - New Hampshire residents are expressing disappointment that Gov. Chris Sununu (R) vetoed on July 21st a bill that would have made it easier to change their birth records. The bill would have allowed transgender people to change their name and gender information on their birth certificates after getting notarized statements from health care providers, both issuing new documents and retaining those replaced.
New Hampshire residents who don't identify as either male or female will in 2020 be able to express that on their driver's licenses, effective Jan. 1st. Gov. Chris Sununu (R) let a bill become law without his signature this week that would allow driver's licenses or non-driver identification cards to be marked "M'' for male, "F'' for female or "X'' for other.
On July 18th, Gov. Sununu signed a bill to protect children from discrimination at school. The law prohibits discrimination against students in public schools based on characteristics including age, race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Pennsylvania - A Pennsylvania mayor who came under fire last week for canceling an LGBTQ pride flag ceremony reversed course and said he will now allow the rainbow flag to be flown over the town’s City Hall next year for the first time. Reading Mayor Wally Scott axed the event, which had been scheduled to occur on July 15th, stating that he viewed the flag as a political symbol and that flying it would be against city policy. Yet, in a video posted to his Facebook page Saturday, Scott expressed a change of heart.
South Carolina - Police in South Carolina are investigating whether the killing of a 29-year-old transgender woman on July 20th was a hate crime. Denali Berries Stuckey was found fatally shot along a North Charleston roadway. She is the 12th transgender women of color found murdered this year.
Washington - Willem Van Spronsen was an anarchist and anti-fascist from Washington who was fatally shot by police on July 13th while trying to set a fire with incendiary devices during an attack at an ICE detention center in Tacoma. Van Spronsen also went by the name Emma Durutti on a now-deleted Facebook profile. The detention center is run by GEO Group, a private company, and has a capacity to hold 1,575 people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The incident comes amid nationwide protests against planned raids targeting undocumented immigrants announced by President Trump and his administration and outcry against the conditions of facilities being used to hold detained migrants and asylum seekers.
Washington, D.C. - America has rarely treated all people with HIV equally. In 1998—when the HIV epidemic’s death toll had reached more than 400,000—Congress, which oversees Washington, D.C.’s budget, banned the city from using its own municipal funds for syringe exchanges. The D.C.-specific ban lasted for nine years. During that time, the District suffered the highest rates of HIV in the country, while other cities that were allowed to fund their own exchanges saw drops in transmissions caused by intravenous-drug use. By the time the ban was lifted, the nation’s capital had reached a higher rate of HIV per capita than that of West Africa.
Global Matters
Brazil - In a country with one of the world’s highest rates of violence against gay and transgender people, where social media is deluged with homophobic rants, some LGBT people no longer trust the state to protect them — and are now taking personal defense into their own hands. Martial arts classes for LGBT people are being taught in some of the country’s biggest cities — in Rio, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre. Some in the community say they’ve considered arming themselves.
Canada - Canadian ‘LGBT purge’ victims to receive compensation. 718 victims of Canada’s “LGBT purge” are receiving compensation for the discrimination they suffered because of state-sponsored homophobia, bi-phobia and transphobia.
India - India's first ever LGBTI job fair attracted a sellout crowd Friday as some of the biggest names in business lined up to interview hundreds of candidates in the tech city of Bangalore. Goldman Sachs , Ford, Uber, Accenture, and Intel, as well as big Indian companies such as Godrej — a family-owned conglomerate — and luggage maker VIP Industries, were among dozens of employers that sponsored the fair and offered jobs.
Israel - Israelis call for education minister to resign over gay conversion remarks. Rafi Peretz, who leads a small religious nationalist party, said in a televised interview that he supports conversion therapy and has performed it. The statement was attacked by the prime minister, other members of the government, and hundreds of demonstrators.
New Zealand - New Zealand extends support for transgender youth. Transgender and gender diverse people in the Northland and Auckland regions will soon be able to access District Health Board funded peer-support services provided by two of the country's longest running LGBTQ+ organizations.
Poland - Around 1,000 pride marchers walked defiantly through the streets of the northeastern city of Bialystok, Poland as thousands of nationalist football "ultra" fans, far-right groups and others threw flash bombs, rocks and glass bottles. The city of 298,000 people is located in the conservative region of Podlasie, a stronghold for Poland's ruling right-wing Law and Justice party.
Russia - A Russian LGBTQ activist, Yelena Grigoryeva, was fatally stabbed in St. Petersburg the night of July 21st after her name was listed on a website that encourages people to “hunt” LGBTQ activists. Grigoryeva, 41, was active with Russia’s Alliance of Heterosexuals and LGBT for Equality and other activist causes, according to the Russian LGBT Network.
Tunisia - Meet the man hoping to become the Muslim world’s first openly gay president. Mounir Baatour, the head of the country’s Liberal Party and a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights, has announced he will run in the country’s Presidential elections on November 10th. The move is a bold step in Tunisia, where where gay sex is still illegal and LGBTQ+ people face routine discrimination.
United Kingdom - Alan Turing, a founding father of computer science and artificial intelligence, was revealed Monday as the face of Britain’s new 50-pound bank note. Turing was also famed as a World War II codebreaker whose work was widely credited with hastening the end of the war and saving thousands of lives. But at the time, his achievements were overshadowed following his conviction of engaging in homosexual activity — then a criminal offense in Britain.
Media Matters
Zach Barack made history this year when it was announced that he would appear in Spider-Man: Far From Home, making him the first openly trans actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there are a few canonically trans superheroes in Marvel Comics, there’s never before been an out transgender actor or obviously trans character in the Marvel movie world.
Pose's Billy Porter is first openly gay black man with Emmy Nomination for lead actor in a drama. Porter received an Emmy nomination in the outstanding lead actor in a drama series category for his starring role as ball emcee Pray Tell. He is the first openly gay black man to receive the honor.
Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie will be Marvel’s first openly LGBTQ+ superhero. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige recently confirmed that the character will have an explicitly queer relationship of some kind in Marvel’s forthcoming “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the fourth MCU movie centered around the hammer-wielding superhero played by Chris Hemsworth.
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