LGBTQ Task Force celebrates International Women’s Day by joining UN call for acceleration of gender equality

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National LGBTQ Task Force is celebrating International Women’s Day 2016 by joining the United Nation’s call for the acceleration of gender equality. “As we celebrate International Women’s Day, and the progress that has been made toward gender equality here and across the globe, it’s vital that we intensify all efforts for…

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SSA grants spousal benefits to Texas widow in Lambda Legal case

Today Lambda Legal and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare announced the resolution of a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) brought on behalf of Kathy Murphy, a Texas widow denied spousal benefits after the death of her wife, and the National Committee. “The basic tenets of the Social Security program…

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Three Floridians have been chosen as National Women’s History Month 2016 honorees

March is National Women’s History Month and the 2016 theme is Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.  This year’s Honorees were chosen for their influence in public service and government leadership.  Often overlooked and undervalued, they have individually and collectively dramatically influenced public policy and the building…

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U.S. Supreme Court reverses Alabama Court’s refusal to recognize same-sex adoption

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court of the United States has made a unanimous decision reversing an Alabama Supreme Court’s refusal to recognize an adoption by a lesbian non-biological mother. HRC joined a coalition of organizations on an amicus brief urging the court to hear the case. The same-sex couple were in a relationship at the time…

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Commentary: Privacy, security and cyberspace

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s continued resistance to a federal court to allow the government access to information on the iPhone of dead ISIS inspired killer Syed Farook has produced a predictable cacophony of opinion. Farook and wife Tashfeen Malik, parents of a newborn, methodically murdered 14 colleagues in San Bernardino, Calif., in December. Leading GOP…

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New TSA policy codifies discrimination against transgender people

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced a final rule that codifies discrimination against transgender people. The rule implements the widespread use of body-scan technology which requires a TSA agent to choose a pink or blue button based on the perceived gender of the person traveling through U.S. airports. Transgender people,…

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Alabama Senate Committee advances bill allowing taxpayer-funded discrimination by child welfare groups

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Senate Education and Youth Affairs Committee voted 6-1 Wednesday to advance S.B. 204. If passed, S.B.204 would authorize licensed, state-funded childcare service providers — such as adoption and foster care agencies — to discriminate in the provision of care to LGBT children and against qualified LGBT prospective adoptive or foster…

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South Dakota House fails to override governor’s veto of bill attacking transgender children

Failing to reach the required two-thirds majority needed, today the South Dakota House of Representatives voted 36 to 29 to override Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard’s veto of HB 1008 – reckless legislation attacking the dignity and rights of transgender children in public schools by attempting to prevent them from using restrooms and other facilities consistent…

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Assembly passes e-cigarette bill

SACRAMENTO – The Assembly today, as part of the Legislature’s extraordinary session on health, passed legislation calling for new statewide regulations on electronic cigarettes. SB X2 5, authored by Sen. Mark Leno, protects public health by ensuring that e-cigarettes are accurately defined as tobacco products and fall under the state’s existing smoke-free laws. It also…

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Advocacy groups urge Tennessee House subcommittee to ditch bill targeting the dignity and rights of transgender students

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Tennessee Equality Project strongly urged the Tennessee House Education Administration & Planning Subcommittee to abandon a bill targeting the dignity and rights of transgender students in public elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as public universities.  Even more restrictive than the appalling legislation vetoed by Republican…

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