Steve Lee, Editor

Historic Election Night victories make 2017 the year of the trans candidate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Transgender candidates across the nation won historic races Tuesday night – including Danica Roem, who will become the first openly trans person to win and serve in a state legislature. Four trans candidates won their state and local elections, with one more possible as results trickle in, almost doubling the number of…

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Athletic stars call on UN states to protect sexual orientation in Olympic truce

Today, 17 professional athletes came out against attempts by Egypt and Russia to thwart non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation in the United Nations Olympic Truce Resolution. The letter, endorsed by respected athletes such as Billie Jean King, Greg Louganis and Martina Navratilova, is part of the #OlympicSpirit campaign spearheaded by OutRight Action International and…

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Senators call on DOJ and HHS to reverse course and continue to prioritize LGBTQ youth in key programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bob Casey (D-PA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), joined by 18 of their colleagues, wrote letters to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging the departments to ensure that key programs designed to serve homeless youth and children…

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Virginia voters reject Trump’s politics; elect Northam, Fairfax and Herring

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) celebrated the outcome of Virginia’s statewide election where HRC-endorsed candidates Ralph Northam, Justin Fairfax, and Mark Herring all claimed victory in their respective races. “By electing Ralph Northam for governor, Justin Fairfax for lieutenant governor, and Mark Herring for attorney general, Virginia voters have resoundingly rejected Donald Trump’s and…

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McCann wins top award for Mastercard’s ‘Restroom for All’ campaign

NEW YORK — McCann has announced that McCann XBC, its dedicated client unit for Mastercard, was awarded Best of Show at the Association of National Advertisers’ 2017 Multicultural Excellence Awards. The campaign, created for Mastercard’s ‘Restroom for All’, a restroom open to people from all backgrounds and sexual orientation, debuted at the 2016 NY Pride parade….

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Danica Roem makes history as VA’s first out transgender public official

Danica Roem made history last night becoming Virginia’s first out transgender public official and the nation’s only out transgender state representative. Roem unseated Bob Marshall, a 26-year member of the state’s House of Delegates, in the Virginia District 13 election. Marshall, who described himself as the state’s “chief homophobe,” never debated Roem and referred to…

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GLAAD: Trump’s USDA promotes anti-LGBTQ religious exemptions

NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today called attention to new USDA religious exemptions policy statement that furthers the Trump Administration work to further undermine LGBTQ non-discrimination protections. The new statement appeared on the USDA website yesterday and states that the USDA supports the discussion, display, and distribution of religious…

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U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, colleagues introduce legislation to expand services for LGBT seniors

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, along with Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Edward Markey (D-MA) and Al Franken (D-MN) today introduced the LGBT Elder Americans Act to improve services available for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults. This legislation would build on the Older Americans Act to include LGBT…

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Transgender military ban fight: Plaintiffs hit back in Stockman v. Trump

LOS ANGELES  –The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed a response today in the Equality California case Stockman v. Trump challenging Trump’s transgender military ban in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Today’s court filing is the first in Stockman since Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling last week in NCLR…

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