Kyrgyzstan passes draft anti-LGBT ‘Propaganda’ Bill that’s worse than Russia’s law

Today, the Kyrgyzstan National Assembly voted to pass new and discriminatory anti-LGBT legislation during its second reading. The legislation passed through an initial reading in October, but had been stalled until today’s vote. Another parliamentary vote is required before the legislation is submitted to Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, whose signature is necessary for the legislation…

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HRC report: Steps Obama Administration should take to advance fairness and equality for transgender Americans

WASHINGTON – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) highlighted specific steps the Obama Administration should take to improve the lives of transgender people. Following an initial release highlighting important actions needed for LGBT service members and veterans, this second release in a series of highlights from HRC’s 2015 Blueprint for Positive Change – actions the administration…

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Coalition launched to fight ballot initiative targeting transgender Californians

LOS ANGELES – A coalition of leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and allied organizations has formed to battle a proposed ballot initiative targeting California’s transgender community. The coalition consists of the American Civil Liberties Union of California, Equality California, the Human Rights Campaign, Los Angeles LGBT Center, the Mexican American Legal Defense and…

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Point Foundation announces 36 new higher education scholarships

LOS ANGELES — Point Foundation (Point) is awarding new scholarships to 36 students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership in their communities, despite facing obstacles such as bullying and financial hardship. Point is the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students. These new scholarship recipients join 47 current undergraduate…

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Clinton Campaign Debuts ‘Equal’ Marriage Video

Today Hillary Clinton debuted a video expressing her support for marriage equality rights in America. While many LGBT leaders anticipate a Supreme Court ruling in support of marriage equality within the next week, the Clinton Campaign launched the video to bring into stark contrast her position versus that of her potential Republican opponent. Some in…

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America’s LGBT community: Remove the flag

WASHINGTON – More than two dozen of the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organizations have joined an open letter calling on South Carolina and other states to remove the Confederate flag from the public square. Last week, a white supremacist gunman opened fire at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing…

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Stonewall Inn designated as an individual landmark

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission today voted unanimously to designate the Stonewall Inn at 51-53 Christopher Street in Manhattan as an individual landmark. The site was the starting point of the Stonewall Rebellion, and is one of the most important sites associated with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) history in New York City…

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OPM announces healthcare plans cannot have blanket exclusions on transition-related care

WASHINGTON – Today, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that Federal Health Benefit Plan (FEHB) providers will no longer be permitted to have blanket exclusions on all transition-related services in their federal employee healthcare plans. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) praised the news as a victory for transgender federal employees. “This critical change is…

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