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…
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…
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…
The transgender military community has been rocked this morning upon learning of the suicide of a transgender veteran, Jess Shipps. The Military Freedom Coalition reports that from what has been known so far, certain people received a goodbye letter from Shipps this morning – including a member of that organization. One of the nation’s leading…
In a press conference today, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds, saying the killings of nine church-goers at Emanuel AME in Charleston last week mandated a change in the state’s heart. The Post and Courier reported that in a bi-partisan gathering inside the…
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Six SPARTA members will be attending the White House’s annual LGBT Pride Month Reception. Two actively serving transgender service members will attend the Reception Wednesday, June 24. Upon receiving his invitation, Air Force Senior Airman Logan Ireland notified his command, who authorized a policy exception to allow him to attend in male dress…
Psychiatric disorders can be difficult to diagnose because clinicians must rely upon interpreted clues, such as a patient’s behaviors and feelings. For the first time, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report identifying a biological marker: the over-production of specific genes that could be a diagnostic indicator of mental illness in…
WASHINGTON — Last week, anti-equality Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (S. 1598, H.R. 2802) – legislation that would create a breakdown of government services and runaway litigation by giving federal employees and contractors a right to sue the federal government over opposition to marriage…
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday upheld a divorce granted in a lower court for a same-sex couple, a rare decision in a state that has a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, reports Reuters. The court ruled that state authorities, who tried to block the divorce, did not have appropriate standing in the matter and…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In recognition of LBGT Pride month, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced Friday that the Henry Gerber House in Chicago, Illinois, has been designated a National Historic Landmark, becoming the nation’s second LGBT related property to achieve such recognition. Once the residence of noted gay rights activist Henry Gerber, the…
