On Wednesday, Republican supermajorities in the North Carolina House and Senate overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on three anti-trans bills, stripping transgender youth of their rights to access gender-affirming healthcare, to play sports, and to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. House Bill 808- “Gender Transition Procedures on Minors” The first […]
Switzerland Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in a National Referendum
Swiss voters approved a law that allows same-sex couples to marry in a nationwide referendum Sunday. Switzerland is one of the last countries in Western Europe to give full marriage rights to LGBTQ couples. Last year, the Swiss government amended marriage laws to extend full marriage rights to LGBTQ couples. However, those who opposed the […]
Social Justice Takes the Stage: Feminist Recap of the 2021 Met Gala
The 2021 Met Gala took place Monday evening, showcasing several attendees who used their time on the red carpet to advocate for social justice issues. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) was joined by fellow New York Congresswoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) in using the Met Gala’s theme of “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” to […]
Half of LGBT Renters Behind on Rent Payments Fear Eviction in Upcoming Months
According to a report released by UCLA’s Williams Institute, nearly 50 percent of LGBT renters who are behind on rent fear being evicted from their homes within the next two months. The report’s release comes after the Supreme Court last week blocked the CDC’s federal eviction moratorium. The Supreme Court’s decision to end the federal […]
Charlotte Passes Nondiscrimination Ordinance to Protect LGBTQ Community
On Monday, Charlotte, North Carolina’s city council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance that extends nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people. The new ordinance protects several new classes from discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and passenger vehicles for hire and procurement. It prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, […]
Human Rights Campaign Sues Tennessee over Anti-Transgender “Bathroom Bill”
The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ civil rights organization, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to challenge Tennessee’s latest anti-transgender law. The “bathroom bill” prevents trans students from using the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. The law was signed in May by Tennessee governor Bill Lee and went into effect July 1. It requires that […]
U.S. Court of Appeals Rules Against Web Designer Seeking License to Discriminate Against LGBTQ+ Couples
On Monday, the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals maintained a lower court’s decision to reject a Colorado web designer’s request to discriminate against LGBTQ+ couples. Lorie Smith, the owner of the web design business 303 Creative LLC, challenged the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) by suing to request that her business be allowed to deny […]
Thousands of People Celebrate Pride in Hungary Despite Anti-LGBTQ Legislation
On Saturday, 300,000 people marched in Budapest for the annual Pride parade to both celebrate Pride and protest the Hungarian government’s recent homophobic legislation. The Hungarian Parliament passed a law in June that restricts media seen to promote homosexuality or gender nonconformity. Content that is considered to do so must be labeled as “not recommended […]
Anti-Trans Laws in Arkansas and West Virginia Blocked by Federal Judges
On Wednesday, federal judges blocked two anti-trans state laws from going into effect. The first, an Arkansas law, would prohibit physicians from providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. The second, a West Virginia law, banned transgender girls and women from playing in women’s public-school sports. The Arkansas law would ban doctors from offering necessary gender-confirming […]
Supreme Court Dismisses Transgender Rights Case, Maintains Victory for Student Gavin Grimm
On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case over transgender students’ right to use school bathrooms, leaving intact a lower court decision that allows transgender students to use the restrooms that match their gender identity. While this does not mean that the Supreme Court agrees with the lower court’s decision, it does maintain […]
V.A. Will Provide Gender Confirmation Surgery to Transgender Veterans
On Saturday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that they plan to add gender confirmation surgery to their existing healthcare services. V.A. Secretary Denis McDonough made this announcement at a Pride event in Orlando, Florida. The new directive will reverse a 2013 ban on gender confirmation surgery, in which the V.A. refused to provide the […]
Laurel Hubbard to Become the First Openly Transgender Olympian
Laurel Hubbard, a New Zealand weightlifter, will become the first ever openly transgender individual to compete at the Olympics. She has been selected as a member of the New Zealand women’s weightlifting team for this summer’s Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. Hubbard will compete in the 87-kilogram women’s category. She suffered a potentially career-ending arm injury […]
LGBTQ+ Students Protected Under Title IX, Says Education Department
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education released a notice saying that Title IX’s protections against sex discrimination also forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. This interpretation of the 1972 Title IX law, which prohibits sex discrimination in “any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” will protect gay […]
Supreme Court Rules to Uphold Affordable Care Act, Decides Catholic Adoption Agency has Right to Prevent LGBTQ+ Couples from Fostering Children
In a 7-2 decision Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled to leave Affordable Care Act intact, dismissing a challenge made against the ACA by several states led by Texas. The challenge claimed that the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs had hoped that a ruling of the individual mandate as unconstitutional would declare every other provision of the ACA, and the entire law itself, unconstitutional as well. This is the third challenge to have been made against the ACA since the […]
Florida Governor Signs Anti-Trans Bill into Law
On Tuesday, the first day of Pride month, Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill into law that bans transgender women and girls from playing on public secondary schools’ and colleges’ sports teams. Florida becomes the 8th state to enact such a law this year. South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Montana and […]
Tennessee Passes Bill Targeting Transgender People
On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a bill to require government facilities and businesses to post signage letting the public know if they allow transgender people to use bathrooms associated with their gender identity. The law is the first of its kind, and will go into effect on July 1. A few […]
Texas Legislature Debates Anti-Trans Youth Bill
On Wednesday, the Texas House heard testimony debating HB 1399, a bill which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender young people. The bill would prohibit doctors from providing evidence-based, best practice medical care for transgender young people under 18. Many parents of transgender children spoke on Wednesday about the danger of this bill. One parent […]
Biden Administration Reverses Trump-era Limits on Transgender Health Protections
On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it will provide protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in health care. The new rules undo the Trump administration’s limiting of the definition of “sex”, which they narrowed to the gender one is assigned at birth, thereby excluding transgender and gender nonconforming individuals from […]
Over 400 Businesses Sign onto Coalition in Support of the Equality Act
Several hundred businesses that collectively employ 14.6 million people in the U.S. have signed onto a coalition formed by the Human Rights Campaign to support the passage of the Equality Act. The Equality Act creates anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across a host of areas including employment, housing, credit, education, public services, federal programs, and […]
Arkansas Legislature Overrides Veto on Trans Youth Health Care Bill
Yesterday, the Arkansas General Assembly voted to override Governor Asa Hutchinson’s veto on the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, a bill that will prohibit transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming health care such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, among other services. The bill is the first of its kind in the nation and has […]
