AFJ: Anti-LGBTQ, anti-environment rulings mark Trump’s nomination for U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alliance for Justice (AFJ) today released a report on Judge Ralph Erickson, a North Dakota federal district court judge who has been nominated by Donald Trump for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement: “We request that Senators carefully scrutinize…

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LGBTQ groups join nationwide day of action against Republican Plans to strip health care from millions of Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality (GLMA), and several other prominent LGBTQ groups announced that they will join Our Lives on the Line’s nationwide day of action July 29 to continue the fight against the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. For the day of…

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UNAIDS announces 19.5 million people on life-saving treatment and AIDS-related deaths halved since 2005

GENEVA/PARIS —UNAIDS has released a new report showing that for the first time the scales have tipped: more than half of all people living with HIV (53%) now have access to HIV treatment and AIDS-related deaths have almost halved since 2005. In 2016, 19.5 million of the 36.7 million people living with HIV had access…

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Senate fails to pass TrumpCare bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Moran and Lee have refused to vote on the so-called Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), erasing the Republican party’s hope of gaining 50 votes in favor, and effectively ending the third attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If passed, the bill would have destabilized the insurance market, gutted Medicaid spending, defunded Planned…

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Sen. Baldwin and Rep. Grijalva lead Congress on LGBT Data Inclusion Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) led 96 Members of Congress in introducing bicameral legislation requiring federal surveys to include data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity. While some federal data on LGBT communities is currently collected, there is no centralized requirement prioritizing the collection of LGBT…

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25 ways President Trump has attacked the LGBTQ community since taking office

NEW YORK – GLAAD today released a list of 25 ways President Donald Trump and his administration have attacked the LGBTQ community since taking office Jan. 20. The list stems from GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project, which tracks the Administration’s anti-LGBTQ movements and calls on media to expose them. From erasing any mention of the LGBTQ…

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US House rejects anti-transgender Hartzler amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House just defeated the discriminatory Hartzler Amendment by a close 214-209 vote. The measure, which would have barred the Defense Department from expending funds on transition-related care, was introduced by Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) as part of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill. The Washington Blade reported that Hartzler had insisted…

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House Rules Committee voting on anti-transgender National Defense Authorization Act amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) introduced an amendment onto the National Defense Authorization Act Wednesday evening that would deny health care coverage for transgender service members and their military dependents. Hartzler earlier tried to ban transgender people from serving altogether in the House Armed Services Committee, and when that failed, she turned to…

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LGBTQ advocates convene in Alexandria to build power of movement

Leaders of state-based equality organizations—from Equality California to Equality Maine—and key national partners, will convene at Equality Federation’s 20th annual Leadership Conference in Alexandria, Virginia July 26-29. Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of Equality Federation, said this year’s conference is especially consequential: “As our movement resists an extraordinarily hostile Administration and continued attacks on our freedoms…

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HRC announces largest grassroots expansion in its history

WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) today announced a bold, proactive grassroots expansion with the launch of HRC Rising, a campaign to accelerate progress in states from coast-to-coast, resist the politics of hate, fight anti-LGBTQ legislation, and fuel pro-equality candidates and initiatives. In June, HRC partnered on dozens of nationwide marches — from the…

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