BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After a public hearing and over five years of groundwork, the Birmingham City Council has passed a fully inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance, and Mayor William Bell has committed to signing the ordinance into law immediately. The ordinance passed unanimously on a vote of 7-0. Council Members Kim Rafferty and William Parker were not…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican leaders today decided to shelve the vote on Obamacare repeal during a weekly caucus meeting on Capitol Hill, as they acknowledged that the latest proposal, from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), lacked the 50 votes it required to pass. Monday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) had announced her intention…
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— The California Legislature has sent seven Equality California-sponsored bills to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature. In addition, lawmakers approved two resolutions sponsored by Equality California. If the bills are signed into law, it will bring to 127 the number of pieces of legislation advanced by Equality California to advance the health and…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced it had recruited 104 top businesses — employing more than 5.8 million people — as corporate cosponsors on the Equality Act. By joining HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act, these companies have stepped up to support full federal equality for LGBTQ people through the Equality Act, landmark…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump effectively made his infamous “Muslim ban” permanent Sunday when he announced a new travel ban which takes effect Oct. 18 and will apply indefinitely. The new measure bans entry by most citizens of Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea. It also imposes restrictions on a small number…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Friday that he doesn’t support the latest Obamacare repeal bill, the Huffington Post reports. “I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal,” McCain said in a statement. “I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried,” he…
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — At the Air Force Association’s Air Space Cyber Conference on Wednesday, Chief Master Sergeant Kaleth Wright affirmed that trans troops in the US Air Force will be treated with dignity and respect, invoking the end of racial segregation in the military, the Air Force Times reports. “Right now, our transgender airmen…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos followed through on her promise to rescind Obama-era Title IX guidelines that protected sexual assault survivors on college and university campuses across the nation, replacing it with new interim instructions allowing universities to decide which standard of evidence to use when handling complaints. “This interim guidance will help…
GENEVA/NEW YORK —The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, in collaboration with UNAIDS, brought together six heads of state or government to accelerate action and get countries on the Fast-Track to end AIDS. World leaders joined around 500 partners from government, the private sector and civil society on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lambda Legal has blasted President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Jeff Mateer. Mateer, who is coming under fire as news reports are surfacing past remarks that reveal a record of extreme hostility toward the LGBT community, including Mateer’s referring to transgender children as part…
