President Trump will stop at nothing to ensure that LGBTQ rights and protections are systematically dismantled under his administration. His latest attack is so extreme that it would roll back nondiscrimination protections against transgender people who seek lifesaving medical care.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a proposal to redefine the Affordable Care Act’s anti-discrimination protections to exclude “gender identity.” ¹ The proposed rule would give health care providers a license to discriminate against transgender people.

We need to show that there is massive public opposition to this rule. If you sign now, we will include your signature in our public comment to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Tell the Department of Health and Human Services: Everyone deserves full, equal access to lifesaving medical care. Preserve anti-discrimination laws that protect transgender people in healthcare. Click here to add your name.

The ACA’s Health Care Rights Law guarantees full, equal access to medical care and insurance coverage regardless of race, color, national origin, gender identity, sex, age or disability. The inclusion of gender identity as a protected class under the ACA’s Health Care Rights Law was a historic Obama-era law that protects over 3 million people across the country from discrimination and ensures quality health care to all. The proposed HHS rule would redefine anti-discrimination protections on the basis of sex to exclude “gender identity.” ²

The proposed rule would:

• Allow health care professionals and insurance providers to deny transition-related care, including gender reassignment surgery, to transgender people. ³
• Grant a license to discriminate and allow health care providers to deny general health care on the basis of religious beliefs.⁴
• Roll back protections for people with Limited English Proficiency and people with disabilities who rely on the Health Care Rights Law for support navigating the health care system. ⁵
• Allow health care providers to deny abortion care and information. ⁶
• Eliminate protections for people living with HIV/AIDS from being denied care or charged exorbitant prices for lifesaving medicine.⁷

This proposed rule was introduced only one week after the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act to extend civil rights protections to the LGBTQ community and ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

This proposed rule is only one of many attacks Trump is waging against the LGBTQ community. Trump is dismantling protections in housing, work and health care. We must fight back against this proposed rule and continue to fight to ensure that the LGBTQ community has full, equal civil rights protections.

Alongside our partner Transgender Law Center, we are mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people to make their voices heard to the Department of Housing and Human Services. Your name will be included in a comment that will be read and summarized by the federal government. Can you add your name today?

Tell the Department of Health and Human Services: Everyone deserves full, equal access to lifesaving medical care. Preserve anti-discrimination laws that protect transgender people in healthcare. Click the link below to add your name.

Thanks for fighting back,

Thaís Marques, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

References:

1. Kate Sosin, “Trump Moves to Roll Back Healthcare Protections for Trans Individuals,” them, May 24, 2019.
2. Chris Johnson, “Trump admin seeks to roll back trans health care protections in Obamacare,” The Washington Blade, May 24, 2019.
3. Ibid.
4. Transgender Law Center, “Know Your Rights,” accessed July 3, 2019.
5. Dominic Holden and Ema O’Connor, “Trump Is Gutting Health Care Protections For Transgender People And Those Who Have Had Abortions,” Buzzfeed News, May 24, 2019.
6. Johnson, “Trump admin seeks to roll back trans health care protections in Obamacare.”

Transgender Law Center, “Know Your Rights.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals alleged Seattle’s Judge Pechman failed to give the policy sufficient deference and must reconsider the case.

President Trump triumphed in his efforts to ban transgender people from the military after the U.S. appeals court Friday ordered U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman to review her ruling.

RELATED:
WHO Stops Categorizing Transgender as ‘Mental Disorder’

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals alleged Seattle’s Judge Pechman failed to give the policy sufficient deference after she ruled against the ban, saying it infringed on the constitutional rights of transgender service members and recruits.

Without ruling on the merits, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based appeals court said Pechman did not give the military’s judgment enough deference and ordered her to give it more.

Pechman is one of four federal judges to rule against Trump’s policy toward transgender military personnel.

In January, the Supreme Court, which has a 5-4 conservative majority, lifted lower court injunctions against the policy, while allowing legal challenges to continue.

The policy also allowed military personnel diagnosed with gender dysphoria — “the conflict between a person’s physical gender and their identified gender” — under Obama’s policy to serve according to their gender identity.

In April 2018, Pechman extended her injunction to the revised policy, finding no evidence that transgender troops reduced the military’s effectiveness, and saying the ban undermined the dignity of those troops.

In March 2018, Trump backed a revised policy from then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that disqualified most transgender people with a history of gender dysphoria from military service, and people who have undergone gender transition steps.

On Friday, the appeals court said the revised policy “discriminates on the basis of transgender status” but was nevertheless “significantly different” from the 2017 ban.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar slammed the United States President Donald Trump for prohibiting the country’s embassies from flying the signature rainbow Pride flag to commemorate LGBTQ Pride Month during June.

June is recognized as Pride Month worldwide. The U.S. embassies in Israel, Germany, Brazil, and Latvia requested to fly the flag on their respective official embassy flagpoles. The State Department denied those requests.

“This is another blatant example of this administration’s bigotry and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community,” Omar tweeted Monday in response.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ilhan-Omar-Slams-Trumps-Bigotry-for-Banning-Pride-Flags-20190612-0008.html?utm_source=planisys&utm_medium=NewsletterIngles&utm_campaign=NewsletterIngles&utm_content=13

https://www.rt.com/usa/461163-rabbi-hurricane-gay-pride/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Arriving 14 years too late for the Hurricane Katrina conspiracy theories, an American rabbi has claimed that the devastating storm was divine punishment for a gay pride parade, and was “a foretaste of God’s anger.”

As the LGBT community (and corporations keen for the diversity dollar) deck themselves up in rainbows for Pride Month celebrations, one New Jersey rabbi is fighting back against the “homosexualization of society,” calling on Jews in the religious community of Lakewood, New Jersey, to boycott an upcoming gay pride celebration hosted by the Lakewood BlueClaws, a Minor League Baseball team.

“This is something that affects the entire country and the entire society,” the rabbi ranted, in a YouTube video published Monday that, among other things, lamented “the pushing of foreign values down our throats.” The religious leader went on to slam the local library and various community groups for “corrupting” Jewish youth with LGBT pride events.

In a flyer distributed around Lakewood at the same time, the rabbi issued a “dire warning.”

Hurricane Katrina which occurred in 2005 on Southern Decadence Day when a gay pride parade was supposed to be held but was stopped when the dams burst. Homosexual conduct is the worst form of sinful behavior. 

The hurricane, which killed more than 1,800 people and dealt catastrophic damage to New Orleans and the surrounding areas, was “a foretaste of God’s anger,” ahead of “its final outpouring on the day of judgment.”

The rabbi’s fire-and-brimstone crusade elicited laughs of derision online. “Damn! We certainly have some awesome powers,” one commenter wrote on Reddit. “Pentagon would have already weaponized this gay hurricane effect if it was true,” another said.

Others were more blunt. “As a Jew myself, f**k this guy” wrote one.

House Dems just introduced a comprehensive LGBTQ civil rights bill. Every Democrat was an original co-sponsor…except Dan Lipinski.

Lipinski is from a bright blue Illinois district Hillary Clinton won by 15%. Yet he’s Co-Chair of the Pro-Life Caucus, opposed Obamacare, opposes a $15 minimum wage, and voted with Republicans to gut Wall Street regulations and lower student debt.

Progressive Marie Newman came 1% away from defeating Lipinski in the 2018 primary — and she’s aiming to finish the job in 2020.

But according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s new blacklist policy, if a progressive consultant wants to stand up for LGBTQ rights by working to defeat Lipinski AND wants to help flip 5 more red districts blue in 2020, the DCCC says: Thanks, but no thanks. We won’t hire you if you help a primary challenger.

Can you help fight back by chipping in $3 to Marie Newman’s campaign and our work to support bold progressives like her all across the country? Click here.

The Human Rights Campaign says: “Lipinski has the shameful distinction of being the worst-scoring Democrat in the U.S. House and Senate.” With your help, we and Marie Newman will stand up for justice and defeat him…and show the DCCC how wrong their policy is.

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

— The PCCC Team

Beginning with the nominations of officers meeting on December 11, 2018, Fresno Stonewall Democrats will meet an half hour earlier at 6:30 p.m. The social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Today, Gap Inc. announced they are signing the Open to All Business Pledge and urging other business leaders across the nation to add their names and to declare they are Open to All and oppose discrimination.
There are over 2,300 Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix stores in the country, spanning all 50 states.
Gap Inc. joins Yelp, Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, as well as more than 1,500 small businesses, and 200 nonprofits, in partnering with Open to All, a public education campaign focused on the longstanding principles that affirm that when a business opens its doors to the public, it should be open to everyone on the same terms. To welcome all customers, Gap Inc. stores will also feature the Open to All window cling in select stores across America. In addition, Marriott International Inc. has announced that they are joining Open to All and signing the Open to All Business Pledge.
It’s shocking that many people of color, LGBT people, people of minority faiths, and many others still face discrimination when they seek goods or services from businesses in their local communities. Far too often, we hear stories like the couple that was kicked out of an Uber simply because they’re gay, Muslim women who were ordered to leave a café, people of color facing abuse and violence in a diner, or people with disabilities being harassed in a restaurant.
That’s why the Open to All campaign is encouraging businesses across the country to join together to declare that they are Open to All.
Open to All businesses pledge to:
• Maintain a welcoming and safe environment for people—including employees, visitors, customers, vendors and clients—regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion or disability.
• Not discriminate against any individuals or deny them goods or services based on any of these characteristics, and to provide all goods and services to everyone on the same terms.

And most Americans supports businesses that are open to all. The Harris Poll®, conducted in conjunction with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, finds that 75% of Americans believe when a business opens their door to the public, they should be open to all and serve everyone on the same terms. The poll also found that a vast majority of Americans agrees that businesses should not be allowed to deny services to people based on their race, ethnicity, or national origin (87%), sex (87%), sexual orientation (81%), gender identity (80%), religion (85%), or disability (88%).
In a time when many people of color, LGBT people, people of minority faiths, and many others still can’t be sure they won’t be discriminated against when they seek goods or services, it is more important than ever for businesses to affirm inclusive values and declare they are Open to All.
TAKE ACTION!
• DONATE: Please support collaborative campaigns like Open to All with $50 today!
• SPREAD THE WORD: Ask local businesses to sign the Open to All pledge and order window clings to show their support publicly!
• SIGN THE PLEDGE: If you are a business owner, sign the Open to All business pledge and let your customers and your community know that you pledge to serve everyone on the same terms.
• SHARE Help spread the word about Open to All on social media using #OpenToAll. Check out some of the great Open to All graphics to share. And don’t forget, if you see an Open to All window cling at your favorite business, snap a photo and share it!
o SAMPLE POST: I support businesses like @Gap, @BananaRepublic, @OldNavy, @Athleta, @Intermix, & @MarriottIntl that are #OpentoAll!
• BE COUNTED Add your voice to the growing chorus of Americans who reject discrimination! Be a part of the Open to All campaign!
• OPEN TO ALL ON YELP Let businesses know about Yelp’s new “Open to All” attribute and encourage them to check the box!

June 4, 2018 — This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the case where an LGBTQ couple was denied service by a cake baker. In a very narrow ruling limited to this specific case, the Court voted 7-2 in favor of the anti-LGBTQ baker.
The good news is that this ruling is very limited and applies narrowly to the unique facts of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. It did NOT create a license to discriminate or overturn existing LGBTQ non-discrimination protections. Instead, the court reaffirmed the need to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in the market place through nondiscrimination laws. Places like California, which have strong non-discrimination laws, will continue to protect its LGBTQ people.
But this case also presents new challenges. As we’ve always said, this case was never about cake. Fundamentally, this was an attempt by our opponents to attack marriage equality and carve away LGBTQ civil rights protections, which we’ve fought so hard to obtain. This decision will embolden our opponents to continue to attack the civil rights of LGBTQ people through the courts, the legislatures and ballot boxes across the country. This case demonstrates that the right-wing will accelerate their attacks on the LGBTQ community across the country and that we have much more work to do.
SIGN OUR PLEDGE >>

More than half a century ago, our nation decided that when a business is open to the public, it must be open to all. Not just a policy, this is a fundamental principle at the heart of who we are — and how we treat one another — as Americans.
Ultimately, the overwhelming majority of Americans do not support discrimination, and will continue to use our wallets to support businesses who value fairness and inclusion — and our ballots to support candidates who will fight to protect LGBTQ Americans from discrimination, including passing the Equality Act in Congress.
Equality California and our partners will do everything in our power—in state legislatures, in Congress, at the ballot box and in the courts—to fight these attempts to roll back our civil rights—and we will continue our work to shape hearts and minds. We will not stop until we achieve our ultimate goal of creating a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. And we need your continued support to do so.
Join us in pledging to stand with Equality California in the fights ahead:
http://action.eqca.org/masterpiece-pledge

Rick Zbur
Executive Director
Equality California

Fired ‘Marketplace’ Reporter Wonders: Is Objective Journalism Dead?

Lewis Wallace, former “Marketplace” reporter. (Sam Worley / KCRW)

In this week’s episode of “Scheer Intelligence,” Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer interviews Lewis Wallace, a former reporter fired for questioning objective journalism in the age of Trump.

Wallace had been working for the American Public Media show “Marketplace” for months when he was abruptly fired in February. The reason? He’d written a personal blog post, titled “Objectivity is dead, and I’m okay with it,” in which he explored how journalists will “adapt to a government that believes in ‘alternative facts’ and thrives on lies, including the lie of white racial superiority.”

“Marketplace” executive Deborah Clark stated that the blog post “was a clear violation of our ethics code.” Wallace, who is transgender, tells Scheer that he can’t be objective when it comes to LGBTQ issues in the news — nor should he have to be. The two also discuss diversity in journalism. Listen to the full interview below:

The Fresno State Cross-Cultural and Gender Center is a great place to meet new people and find a sense of belonging on campus.
We are excited to bring new programming, and honor existing, as well as collaborate with groups, clubs, and organizations across campus.

If your group would like to work on a campus event or ongoing programming with us, let us know! We are not limited to the groups listed above, and we would love to partner with you!

We are located in between the Satellite Student Union and the Kennel Bookstore in the Thomas Building, Room 110.

Cross-Cultural and Gender Center
5241 N. Maple Ave. M/S TA35
Fresno, CA 93740
P 559.278.4435

https://www.fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/ccgc/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com › Places › Fresno, California › Organization
Resources for Transgender Students
What Are My Rights at School?
The federal Title IX law, which bans sex discrimination in schools, has been interpreted by courts and the US Justice and Education Departments to prohibit discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming students.

You have the right not to be bullied or harassed because you are transgender or gender non-conforming. If school administrators become aware of bullying or harassment they must take action to end it.
You have the right to equal educational opportunities regardless of your gender identity or expression or your race, nationality, or disability. This includes not being punished or excluded from school activities or events because you are transgender or gender non-conforming.
You have the right to present yourself in a way that is consistent with your gender identity, so long as you follow rules for how to dress that apply to all students.
You have the right to use restrooms and other facilities that are consistent with your gender identity, and can’t be forced to use separate restrooms.
You have the right to privacy concerning your transgender status and gender transition. Any such information kept in school records must be kept private and not shared without your permission.
You have the right to join or start a Gay-Straight Alliance or Pride Alliance, and to have your group treated like other student groups.