NEW YORK — After careful review of the executive order covering the Johnson Amendment signed by President Trump yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union has determined not to file a lawsuit at this time. American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony D. Romero issued the following statement: “Today’s executive order signing was an elaborate photo-op…
WASHINGTON – Earlier today, experts, civil rights leaders and a member of Congress hosted a press call to condemn the “religious freedom” arguments used to justify discrimination in state-based legislation and in the upcoming Supreme Court arguments in Zubik v. Burwell. On the call, The Leadership Conference Education Fund released an update to its recent…
ATLANTA – Today, The Leadership Conference Education Fund will release its report, Striking a Balance: Advancing Civil and Human Rights While Preserving Religious Liberty, documenting how the religious arguments commonly used today against LGBT equality have been used to oppose the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage and equality, racial integration, inter-racial marriage, immigration, the Americans…
WASHINGTON— Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and HRC Alabama kept up pressure on the Alabama legislature to halt the progress of Indiana-style “religious freedom” bills (H.B. 56)(H.B. 296/S.B. 261) that would allow discrimination in the arenas of marriage recognition and adoption. With H.B. 56 set to receive Kristen its first hearing in a Senate…
It is no surprise that proponents of so-called ‘religious freedom’ legislation have emerged in Texas. An array of conservative red states are all crafting some form of legislation that would allow businesses to deny services to anyone – not just the LGBTQ community – based on their religious convictions. But a coalition of business and…
Gov. Mike Pence finds himself deeply damaged following the fight over Indiana’s “religious refusal” bill that put LGBT Hoosiers at risk for discrimination, according to a brand new poll of Hoosiers by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). And in a warning sign to governors in other states where similar anti-LGBT bills are pending, a stunning…
This post first appeared on The Huffington Post Blog. What the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) controversies have underscored is the need to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act established classes that are protected from discrimination: race, color, religion, sex and national origin. For…
On Friday, LGBT Weekly posted a story that was from a political satire Web site nationalreport.net. The Web site is known in political circles for its wildly strange but satirical takes on news of the day. After days of covering the hateful Indiana Religious Restoration Act, I thought it might be fun to share the…
Dear LGBT community member, I need your help. Our community is so giddy with the recent gains in rights for LGBT people that we have taken our eye off the ball. We all remember the children’s story of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise challenges the boastful hare to a race because he is…
MONTGOMERY— Today, lawmakers in Alabama introduced two bills, S.B. 261 and H.B. 296, which empower adoption agencies to discriminate against eligible parents and guardians—legislation which, if passed, will deny countless children from accessing loving, caring homes. Though written in the guise of allowing private agencies to cite religious reasons for turning down applications, the bills have a host of…
