June 3, two vital bills will go into effect in Maryland, further expanding the rights and protections of its LGBT community, writes Maureen McCarty on the HRC Blog. Gov. Larry Hogan has said that he will neither sign nor veto these bills, meaning that they become law through a “pocket pass.” The first, SB 743/HB…
While the Girls Scouts’ policy of including transgender girls isn’t anything new – a Denver troupe made headlines in 2012 for including a transgender girl – recent criticism from anti-LGBT groups, along with the increasing visibility of transgender youth and adults in the media, have brought the Girl Scouts’ policy back into the limelight, writes…
With the introduction of a resolution to draw attention to dangerous “conversion” therapy practices, two U.S. Senators are taking a stand for the LGBT community. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Stop Harming Our Kids Resolution of 2015. The resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that “conversion” therapy, or so-called “reparative” therapy, is a dangerous and discredited…
Yesterday a federal appeals court put on hold a trial court order that transgender woman Michelle Lael-Norsworthy, who is currently being held in Mule Creek California State Prison, receive sex reassignment surgery. This came the same day a California board recommended parole for Norsworthy who was convicted of second-degree murder. According to a report by…
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) has passed a resolution opposing so-called “conversion therapy,” which overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm, especially when practiced on young people. ‘Conversion therapy’ generally refers to any practices by mental health providers that seek to…
Today, the president of the Boy Scouts of America called for an end to the group’s blanket ban on gay adult leaders, warning Scout executives that “we must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be,” and that “any other alternative will be the end of us as…
The Equal Protection for All Families Act, authored by Assemblymember David Chiu and co-sponsored by Equality California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Our Family Coalition, passed the California Assembly May 18 with unanimous support. The bill updates California assisted reproduction laws to help ensure that all families are protected equally under California law….
Sen. Ted Cruz – a consistent opponent of marriage equality at every turn – is now apparently lashing out at having to answer questions about why he has chosen to make anti-LGBT positions his political calling card. The Texas Tribune reported that when asked about marriage equality, Cruz accused progressives and the media of being…
Today, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s efforts to pass one of his top priorities, anti-LGBT HB 707, were dealt a major setback. By a bipartisan vote of 10-2 to “return to calendar without amendments,” the bill was potentially killed for the session. Jindal, who has variously been named the nation’s least popular governor in 2013, 2014,…
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-CA) will introduce the “Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act” – the first federal legislation to prohibit the practice of providing “conversion therapy” to any person in exchange for monetary compensation or advertising such services. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) called for Congress to rally behind the important legislation in…
