Tag Archives: GetEQUAL

GetEQUAL Shuts Down! - Group Becomes Victim of It's Own Social Justice Agenda

GetEQUAL Shuts Down! – Group Becomes Victim of It’s Own Social Justice Agenda

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GetEQUAL’s newly appointed Executive Director Gabriel Garcia-Vera announced today that the group will be shutting down immediately following a scandal surrounding the termination of a former staffer, Campaign Manager Aaryn Lang who accused the board of racism and transphobia.

“I have learned so much over the last few months, but one thing I have always known is that the movement and the world need fewer people in power who are ready to abuse it for their insecure whims,” Lang wrote on Facebook. “We all deserve better from the people and places that have aligned themselves with justice.”

Lang demanded GetEQUAL make donations to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Trans Sistas of Color Collective, Black Queer and Intersectional Columbus and No Justice No Pride which the GE has worked closely with in the past.

Garcia-Vera denied the allegations of discrimination but also put some blame on the groups closing on finances, even though they supposedly just came off a successful donor drive. “Our financial assets are barely sufficient to cover our operations for more than a few weeks. Our board of directors has collapsed. Raising new revenue and rebuilding the board would be a tremendous challenge even if we weren’t in the middle of a social media storm,” Garcia-Vera wrote in an open letter to the community. “But even more importantly, I fear that our capacity to advance our mission has been undermined.”

GetEQUAL was founded in 2010 by Robin McGehee, who was co-director of the National Equality March that took place in Washington, D.C..

GetEQUAL original mission statement was to secure complete Federal civil rights for the LGBT community and staged a series of protests against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which included Lt. Dan Choi and other service members handcuffing themselves to the White House fence.

Next Heather Cronk picked up the gauntlet as leader of the group following the civil rights message but it was not until Angela Peoples joined and started to take over that GetEQUAL changed its message to a QPOC (Queer People of Color), Trans Rights group.  And it protests changed from handcuffing themselves to the White House gates to protesting Pride Parades thus cutting out their base donors.

The irony of a GetEQUAL a being accused of racism and transphobia after years of accusing the gay and lesbian community of racism and transphobia is not lost on many in the community who have questioned their tactics and behavior after People’s took charge.

QPOC Protesters of Columbus Pride Found Guilty on 6 of 8 Misdemeanor Counts for Blocking Parade

QPOC Protesters at Columbus Pride Found Guilty on 6 of 8 Misdemeanor Counts for Blocking Parade

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Yesterday a Franklin County jury convicted 3 QPOC Black and Trans activists on six misdemeanor counts of “disorderly conduct” and “failure to obey”  from a 2017 Columbus Pride protest of police violence, violence against trans women and marginalization of people of color within the LGBTQ community.

On June 17, 2017 a week after a similar protest at Capital Pride in Washington, D.C. that delayed the Pride parade for hours, a group of 10 people blocked the Columbus Pride parade. The participants, who said they were unaware of the D.C. action, wanted to protest the June 16 acquittal of the Minnesota police officer who killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop. The group also hoped to raise awareness about the violence against and erasure of black and brown queer and trans people, and in particular the lack of safe space for black and brown people at Pride festivals”

During the demonstration, the protesters linked arms and stepped into the street and refused to move despite numerous warnings by the police. Wriply Bennet, Kendall Denton, Ashley Braxton and Deandre Miles — were duly arrested.

After refusing a plea bargain consisting of no jail time and doing community service. Yesterday the jury convicted Bennet of disorderly conduct, failure to comply with a police officer’s orders and resisting arrest; Braxton of disorderly conduct and failure to comply; and Denton of disorderly conduct. 

Deandre Miles, the fourth person arrested on June 17, faces a felony charge and will be tried separately. He’s charged with aggravated robbery, accused of jumping on a police officer’s back during the incident and reaching for her gun.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Bennet, Braxton and Denton interrupted the Pride parade as it moved past Columbus City Hall and that they ignored repeated police commands to move back onto the sidewalks.

“These orders were given as officers arrived … and were given throughout this incident,” Prosecutor Isaac Rinsky told jurors in closing arguments.

But instead of following police orders, Rinsky said, Denton pushed forward against officers, while Bennet continued to lock arms with other activists. Braxton pulled away from a police officer as he tried to subdue her, the prosecutor said, causing the officer to injure a knee.

It’s not a surprise how we’re going to respond to certain events,” Sgt. Weiner said, referring to CPD’s standard protocol, an “Action-Response Use of Force Continuum,” which he explained is public information. He also said police presence and verbal commands to move are forms of de-escalation and that charges by the protesters that they did not try to de escalate the situation are unfounded.

Protesters and groups such as Black Lives Matter, No Justice, No Pride and GetEqual are making demands of Stonewall Columbus, including: an official call for charges against the #BlackPride4 to be dropped; ask for an investigation by the Department of Justice into CPD’s “use of force against people of color”; pay for the #BlackPride4′s legal fees; and hire community-based security for future events.

To date, Stonewall Columbus has not agreed to any of the demands.

From June 2017

 

Sources: Bob Vitale of PRIZM and Columbus Alive

Human Rights Campaign National Dinner Protested by SJW Zombies

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The Human Rights Campaign National Dinner was protested on Saturday night at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC  by a small group of social justice warrior zombies from the groups No Justice No Pride, GetEqual and the Trans Woman of Color Collective.

A statement released by No Justice No Pride stated the protesters dressed as zombies to “reflect the horror done by HRC partnering with a monster like Wells Fargo.”

In June, at the Pride Parade, we targeted Capital Pride’s willingness to sell our communities out to harmful corporations. Today, we’re targeting HRC’s willingness to do the same.

For decades, the LGBT movement has cast aside the most marginalized in pursuit of ‘equality’ for the most privileged members of our communities. Our hope is that No Justice No Pride’s actions begin to wake the LGBT establishment up to the fact that there is a new generation of trans and queer folks with bigger, broader and more radical dreams of liberation. Dreams inspired by the lives of our ancestors — like Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson and Audre Lorde — which are fundamentally incompatible with entities like Wells Fargo.

Said Lourdes Ashley Hunter, executive director of the Trans Woman of Color Collective

We have had enough of the juggernaut non-profits profiting off the lives of black bodies, brown bodies, indigenous bodies, undocumented bodies: Fuck HRC! Now more than ever it is important for our voices to be heard. We cannot continue to let these organizations represent us. They don’t represent us, number one, and we know that.

They represent their capitalist interests. They represent their white, cis gay pajama parties, they represent everything that liberation is not standing for. And so we’re here today to not only say ‘fuck HRC,’ ‘fuck Wells Fargo,’ well fuck everybody who paid $400 to come up in here and continue this shit.

As many of you know who have followed me the past 8 years, I have no love for the HRC but also I have no respect for No Justice No Pride, GetEqual  and their ilk.  Both sides are equally guilty of being self-centered and self-serving  on the  issues facing the LGBT community. Both sides are selfish and non-inclusive. And both sides have also lost sight of our original mission which is full civil rights under the law for all of us.

 

Source:  The Washington Blade
Photo by Michael Key

BREAKING: NYC Pride and Chicago Pride Parade’s Disrupted By QPOC Activists – Video

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Both the NYC and Chicago Pride Parade’s were disrupted this afternoon while small handfuls of alt-Pride  activists from Black Lives Matter, GetEqual, No Pride, No Justice, and Trans Liberation Collective blocked the parade routes.

Arrests were made after multiple warnings in New York City after the protesters who were marching in the parade suddenly sat down in front of the Stonewall Inn and refused to remove.

We will keep you updated as more details are released.

 

*UPDATE: 1
According to Gothamist an total of 12  protesters were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

 

NEW YORK CITY PRIDE

 

CHICAGO PRIDE

 

The Chicago Protest’s Demands were as follows:

1. We call for divestment from gentrification, displacement, and white cis supremacy!

The same forces which violently forced our ancestors out of their own movement are still at work, creating a celebration of queerness that is inaccessible by all but the most privileged of trans and queer people. When queer celebrations uphold the violent systems of gentrification and segregation in Chicago, echoing racist practices of redlining that have shaped the human geography of this city, queer revolution is impossible. We rise in solidarity with coalition member Pilsen Alliance, who are working to end economic and environmental violence where the most vulnerable communities in Chicago are being pushed out, schools are being closed, and families are being separated—thanks to Danny Solís and Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s real estate developers. We denounce the racist, transphobic, ableist, and exclusionary policies and practices of white, cis gay organizations like Center on Halsted, Howard Brown, Equality Illinois, and other organizations that prioritize North Side services and wealthy bodies over Black and Brown trans people.

2. We rise in solidarity with Palestinian liberation, including the call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions!

The Chicago Pride Parade has a long history of allowing organizations that engage in pinkwashing–the promotion of Israel’s supposed positive record on LGBTQ rights as a means to distract from their brutal crimes against Palestine–to participate in the Parade. The presence of groups like A Wider Bridge, Stand With Us, and the Israeli Consulate General dishonors the legacy of the trans women of color who galvanized our movement. As an explicitly anti-Zionist collective leading an explicitly anti-Zionist coalition which includes Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian organizers, we reject any celebration of the illegal Israeli state in the Chicago Pride Parade. Trans and queer people will not be used as the propaganda for a genocidal, settler-colonial state, in an attempt to spread racist and Islamophobic tropes about Palestinian culture. Pinkwashing, Zionism, settler-colonialism, and genocide have no place in queer struggle. As a coalition, we proudly join the calls to free Palestine!

3. We rise in solidarity with anti-colonial movements, from Puerto Rico to Standing Rock, and beyond!

Trans liberation necessitates the liberation of all peoples, and especially indigenous peoples. We honor the legacy of Sylvia Rivera, a Boricua trans woman as we resist all forms of colonial occupation and US imperialism, both in Chicago and around the world. We remember Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, an indigenous trans woman murdered this year, and recognize that indigenous peoples will be the leaders in our movements as we continue to proliferate ways of celebrating ourselves that transcend binaries, and protect the natural environment. We denounce the participation of banks and corporations in the Chicago Pride Parade that contribute to the genocide of indigenous people, the continued investment in DAPL and other oil pipelines, and the debt crises in oppressed communities across the planet. The Trans Liberation Collective and all members of our coalition demand Puerto Rico’s colonially-created debt be forgiven, that all stolen lands be returned to indigenous peoples, and advocate self-determination for all colonized communities as we fight to protect our planet!

4. Stonewall and Compton’s were anti-police riots! We reject the insertion of law enforcement into queer struggles, and demand the city of Chicago immediately move toward disarming, disbanding, and abolishing all police and prisons!

The police are not now, and have never been, a friend of queer and trans people, especially queer and trans people of color. For far too long, police have intentionally harassed queer and trans people, arresting us on assumptions and false charges, terrorizing our communities, and criminalizing our very existence. Hosting the Chicago Pride Parade in the heavily-policed neighborhood of Boystown–and relying on the labor of incarcerated people to clean up afterward–is a testament to the event’s lack of commitment to Black and Brown communities. We rise in explicit solidarity with coalition member Black Lives Matter Chicago in calling for the immediate abolition of police and prisons, including the practice of solitary confinement. The brutality of the Chicago Police Department, and the cowardly, conniving racism of Mayor Rahm Emanuel have shown us again and again that abolition is the only answer. Chicago does not need police; it needs better infrastructure, public schools, free health services, and shelters specifically for trans and queer people, especially trans and queer elders and youth.

5. We demand sanctuary and immediate amnesty for all undocumented communities!

Undocumented queer and trans folks are some of the most vulnerable in our community. We demand that the safety of undocumented immigrants be ensured through immediate amnesty. Furthermore, we denounce the actions of both current and previous administrations in perpetuating the state of political violence that has led so many refugees to seek safety in the United States, where they are forced to confront the xenophobic and racist policies in place. We demand that ICE be dismantled, and that the funds used to imprison undocumented people be channeled back into immigrant communities. No borders! No walls! No prisons!

6. Trans people are the vanguard of the queer liberation movement. We demand more resources, facilities, funding, and access for Black and Brown trans people in Chicago!

We demand better education on trans issues, beyond just pronouns, and that trans educators be paid to do this education. We demand jobs for all trans people, who are systemically underemployed due to transphobia, especially in organizations that claim to work for queer and trans causes. We demand access to affordable housing, especially for Black and Brown trans people, trans elders and youth. We demand trans-affirming shelters to be established and fully funded, especially in the South and West sides. We need free, affirming, competent, and accessible healthcare, to offset the disproportionate poverty, lack of wellness, and HIV+ rates in the trans community–the result of decades of medical mistreatment and refusal. We demand a redistribution of funding from wealthy North Side schools to impoverished and underfunded schools on the South and West sides as a form of educational reparations. We demand an immediate end to the practice of charter schools in Chicago, and a use of those funds to invest in public schools with education and protections for queer and trans children. We demand the decriminalization of sex work, because sex work is real work, and deserves to be treated as such. We demand to be treated as human beings, with respect, dignity, and resources!

7. In the legacy of powerful trans women of color, we will be launching our own celebration for 2018!

Today, in the city of Chicago in 2017, we follow the legacy of disruptions before ours, and answer Sylvia Rivera’s call by announcing the reinstating of Chicago’s Trans Pride, to be held during June of 2018, co-sponsored by Brave Space Alliance, the Trans Liberation Collective, and the BTGNC Collective. We call on all trans people in Chicago, and especially all trans and queer people of color to join us in divesting from Chicago Pride, and joining us in 2018. Together we will make a new celebration in our own images, full of our own joy, pride, strength, resilience, and liberation.

Trans liberation means police and prison abolition! Trans liberation means resisting capitalism! Trans liberation means divesting from war, militarism, and colonialism! Trans liberation means protecting the environment and sharing resources!

 

Deacon Maccubbin Activist, Founder of Lambda Rising Bookstore, and DC Pride Responds To “Misguided” Attacks On Pride

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The group “No Justice No Pride” seems to have chosen the right name, as they appear to have neither. More importantly, they lack both historical context and forward-looking vision.

In 1971, police in D.C. and elsewhere were notoriously anti-LGBT (actually more anti-gay, since they largely ignored the other members of our community to concentrate on gay men). The fledgling Gay Activists Alliance (now the GLAA) had tried for nearly two years to schedule a meeting with the D.C. police chief to talk about the harassment, arrests, abuse and even blackmail being practiced by “D.C.’s Finest” but the chief refused to meet with LGBT people.

So a group of about a dozen staged a sit-in in the police chief’s office and, after occupying the office for about five hours, a smaller group of three — Bill Bricker, Cade Ware and myself — agreed that we would be arrested, the first arrests for LGBT civil disobedience in Washington.

When we went to trial some weeks later, we pled nolo contendere, since we knew we were guilty, but it gave us an opportunity to explain to the judge how long we had tried to get a meeting with the police, how we had been stymied in that, and why we had decided that civil disobedience was our only option. After deliberation, the judge returned and said, “Because you pled nolo contendere, I have no choice but to find you guilty. But if I had been in your position, I’d probably have done the same thing. No fine. No jail time. You are free to go.” Two weeks later, the police chief agreed to meet with us.

And that began a process. It started with communication, spread into the adoption of new training for police recruits (training that members of the LGBT community helped conduct), then spread to better screening of new recruits, to more inclusive direction by subsequent police chiefs, to the establishment of a Civilian Complaint Review Board and, eventually, to the creation of the LGBT Liaison Unit. LGBT victims of crime are now assisted by openly LGBT and LGBT-supportive police officers.

Are there still some officers who fail to live up to the standards we and their chief expect? Of course there are; in any group of thousands, there will always be a few bad officers. But the overwhelming majority of D.C.’s police force do their job without prejudice. By all means, keep up the oversight, continue to push for removal of those few bad officers, but at the same time, welcome those LGBT officers and those supportive officers to march with us, to celebrate with us, to continue to make progress in respecting all LGBT people in Washington.

There is merit in Pride looking closer at which corporate sponsorships are appropriate, but the executive board of Pride has already agreed to do that. As the founder of D.C.’s annual Pride Day event in 1975 and the sole sponsor of the event for the first five years, I have always been in favor of melding both political and social aspects in the celebration. It’s a time to celebrate our victories as well as to push for continued progress. For every commercial booth that lines Pennsylvania Avenue (and provides the bulk of the funding for the event), there are non-profit and activist booths offering Pride attendees ways to get involved. “No Justice No Pride” would be wise to participate there, too.

As for the call to remove members of Capital Pride’s executive board, that’s an insult to those who have dedicated so much time and effort to the community. If you look at their bios, you’ll see that they cross most gender and racial lines and they have long histories of work in LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations. Likewise, the Pride staff demonstrates that ALL are welcome to the effort.

Staging the parade, the block party, the entertainment, the parties, the workshops and all the other activities surrounding Pride is a huge undertaking. If you’ve read this far, consider volunteering to make it all even better. Just don’t tear it down in the process.

*Deacon Maccubbin, was the owner of the LGBT bookstore Lambda Rising, and longtime activist who organized the city’s first annual gay pride event in Washington, DC.

Reprinted from The Washington Blade

Anti-Semitic Agtivist Shut Down Jerusalem Open House At Creating Change Conference – Video

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Creating Change anti-semetic protest

Chanting “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” about 200 ag-tivist attempted to crash and shut down a religious Shabbat service and reception for Jewish participants organized by A Wider Bridge ( AWB ), an organization that fosters relationships between Israel and the LGBT community, Friday night during the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change conference in Chicago.

The reception was to feature speakers from the Jerusalem Open House LGBT community center in Israel, and had already created “controversy” after  Creating Change organizers initially cancelled the reception in response to online and local protests, but was then reinstated after more protests from members of the Jewish community and other supporters.

Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network summarized the protesters’ objections. “For several years the Israeli government has attempted to use propaganda about the freedoms some LGBTQs in that country have as a cover for their increasingly brutal rule over Palestinians, a process known as ‘pinkwashing,'” the statement said.

“Because of the brutal racism of the country, mimicking South Africa under apartheid—one set of laws for Jews, another for Palestinians—most Palestinian LGBTQs don’t enjoy those freedoms. Instead, they endure the anti-Palestinian racism meted out on a daily basis to gay and non-gay alike

There were reports of altercations between the protestors and the reception guests. Witnesses saw a man get into a scuffle with the protesters and have his yarmulke knocked off his head while others called Jewish participants “kikes”.

Hilton Hotel officials called in Chicago police, maintaining that protesters were impeding fire safety. A Hilton staff member told protesters they would be arrested if they did not leave, and threatened to close the conference which was set to close Sunday.

“We got our guests from Jerusalem out of there very quickly, to ensure their safety,” said AWB Executive Director Arthur Slepian adding, “We came here with a message we wanted to bring, and I think there are lessons to be learned here. What happened tonight was contrary to all the important liberal values our society holds dear. I also felt there was a strong undercurrent of anti-semitism.”

Faith Cheltenham, president of BiNet USA, who is well known in LGBT circles of hi-jacking other conferences for her own agenda took part in the protest  said that she saw it as part of a larger effort to get “our movement back.”

“It’s wonderful because we’re seeing people be represented. There are many LGBT people who think treatment of Palestinians is incorrect. Many people. There are very few people who’d say, ‘You know, they’re getting everything they want. … It is cultural apartheid, so much so that the Obama administration recognized that. They actually said recently that this is unjust. So when you come here to the LGBTQIA gender non-conforming queer community and you deal with us, that’s our movement. That’s our intersection.” 

Reminiscent of last years Netroots Nations where #BlackLivesMatter protestors disrupted and hijacked a talk with Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley both #BLM and GetEQUAL both took part in in the #CC16 “protest”.

A statement Saturday from A Wider Bridge said protesters had entered the reception and taken over the stage, preventing the visiting Israelis from speaking.

“Last night the values of free speech and respectful communication that we all value and that should be the hallmark of the Creating Change conference were replaced by a disgraceful authoritarian-like action that seeks to silence the voices of anyone the protesters feel don’t adhere to their rigid dogma,” the statement said.

“Lies and gross distortions about A Wider Bridge and Israel were being repeated throughout the conference and at the protest. We look forward to working with the leadership of the Task Force to ensure that Creating Change can be a welcoming and safe space for LGBT people, Jews and non-Jews, who care about Israel.”

It’s well past the time that conferences like Creating Change and Netroots Nation place ZERO tolerance rules regarding protests at conference events and on conference grounds. This protest was not only potentially harmful to its participants, the attendees of A Wider Bridge, but also to our movement as a whole.

Its time to take back the power from the children.

The video below will disgust many.  Especially at the 6:30 mark.

 

 

White House Announces Support of Amending The Civil Rights Act To Include LGBT Protections

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White House Rainbow

 

The White House announced on Tuesday its endorsement of legislation that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via The Equality Act.

The Washington Post reports:

Speaking to reporters, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the administration “has been reviewing for several weeks” the bill. “It is now clear that the administration strongly supports the equality act,” he said, adding it would advance the civil rights of “millions of Americans.”

Earnest added the White House would “work to ensure that the legislative process produces something that balances “the bedrock principles of civil rights with the religious liberty that we hold dear in this country.” Although there is little chance that this Congress will approve the legislation — which was introduced in July by Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Cory Booker (N.J.) — President Obama’s support elevates to greater prominence the question of whether lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans need greater legal safeguards.

And while the majority of the community and its leading organizations support the Equality Act fully, he once LGBT equality grassroots group GetEQUAL led by Heather Cronk and Angela Peoples is asking the LGBT movement to focus on race and transexual issues instead and not support amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo also states that his group does not support the legislation.

While as for now as long as the Republican party holds the House and senate hostage it’s little more than a gesture but it does put something on the table and give us something to work towards.

 

 

Nike, Google, General Mills and More Get On Board With The Equality Act

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gaycivilrights

 

More and more major businesses are hopping on-board the Equality Act Express!  

The Equality Act would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act  to include civil rights protections to all LGBT American citizens.

STATEMENT BY NIKE – “At NIKE, we are committed to diversity and inclusion, and we strive to treat our employees equally. We believe that diversity drives innovation and allows us to attract and retain world class talent. We need fair and equitable laws that prevent discrimination, and NIKE supports the Equality Act introduced by Senator Merkley and his colleagues in Congress. This is another important step in the fight for equality.””

STATEMENT BY GOOGLE — “Diverse perspectives, ideas, and cultures lead to the creation of better products and services and ideas. And it’s the right thing to do. That’s why we support protections for LGBT individuals as outlined in the Equality Act.”

STATEMENT BY FACEBOOK — “We are open and vocal supporters of equality. Ensuring fairness in the workplace is a fundamental principle at Facebook and we support legal protections for LGBT Americans as outlined in the Equality Act.”

STATEMENT BY GENERAL MILLS — “At General Mills we have a long history of supporting LGBT equality and the time has come in this country for full, federal equality for the LGBT community. Ensuring fairness in our workplaces and communities is both the right thing to do and simply good business.”

STATEMENT BY AMERICAN AIRLINES — “We at American Airlines are proud of our long history of supporting LGBT equality. Now is the time for full equality for the LGBT community in the United States. Ensuring fairness in our workplaces and communities is both the right thing to do and simply good business.

STATEMENT BY GOOGLE — “Diverse perspectives, ideas, and cultures lead to the creation of better products and services and ideas. And it’s the right thing to do. That’s why we support protections for LGBT individuals as outlined in the Equality Act.”

While the legislation has very little chance of passing while the GOP holds control of both the House and Senate with elections around the corner it passage could be possible in as little as 4 years.

Meanwhile the misdirected activist group GetEQUAL still stands against the bill.  

You’d think if any group would understand the meaning of “separate is not equal” it would be GetEQUAL. 

#GetEQUALGetAClue

 

 

Comprehensive LGBT Civil Rights Bill To Amend The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Will Be Introduced This Week

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gaycivilrights

On Thursday Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Cory Booker of New Jersey will introduce legislation in Congress on Thursday to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal laws to protect LGBT Americans from discrimination,

The Equality Act would amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include employment protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. Religious beliefs, race, sex, color, and national origin are already protected classes. The bill would not change existing religious exemptions for religious corporations, schools, and associations to make hiring decisions based on religious beliefs if the employee will be performing work connected with their religious activities.

The bill would also update the Government Employees Rights Act of 1991 and the Civil Service Reform Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity protections for federal and District of Columbia government employees.

Other areas covered in the sweeping legislation include nondiscrimination protections for those seeking child welfare, public education, student loans, healthcare or nutrition assistance. LGBT people would also be protected from discrimination in any aspect of purchasing or renting a house.

David Cicilline of Rhode Island, also a Democrat and who will be the lead sponsor in the House. Of Representatives explained the need for the legislation following the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of marriage equality. Cicilline warns lawmakers that the fight for LGBT rights isn’t over; instead, it’s just begun.

“Every day, millions of LGBT Americans face the danger of real discrimination and sometimes even violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Cicilline writes. “In most states, a same-sex couple can get married on Saturday, post pictures on Facebook on Sunday, and then risk being fired from their job or kicked out of their apartment on Monday.”

The Bill would also clarify that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act cannot be used to defend discrimination against LGBT people and clarifies that sex-segregated facilities must admit individuals in accordance to their gender identity, and that it applies to anyone discriminated against because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or association with a protected class.  And while many are applauding the bill there are some in our community that are worried about it also.

Heather Cronk and Angela Peoples, of the small grassroots organization GetEQUAL (It’s hard to call GE an LGBT rights organization now since they actually spend very little time on LGBT/Protection issues any more time and have focused more on immigration and race issues) call The Equality Act “dangerous,” fearing right-wing lawmakers would not only strip the bill of its intended protections with amendments, but also gut the civil rights laws being amended.

Rep. Cicilline and Sen. Merkley will hold a news conference on Thursday to announce the legislation’s introduction.

World Congress of Families LGBT Hate Conference “Opens In Chaos”, Hundreds of Australian Protesters Wreck Havoc

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Aussie Pride WCF From the Austrailan Guardian: 

About 100 protesters blocked the entrance to the Catch the Fire evangelical ministries in the Melbourne suburb of Hallam on Saturday morning, where the controversial World Congress of Families conference was scheduled to begin. Many speakers, including the American campaigner Angela Lanfranchi, who planned to speak on the thoroughly debunked link between breast cancer and abortion, were unable to get through the gates in their cars. Their path was blocked by protesters holding signs with slogans such as “Our bodies are our property” and “Women are not incubators”. More than 30 police officers formed their own barrier on the opposite side of the gate in the quiet street of Star Crescent, located in an industrial area. It forced attendees to trickle through the gates one by one as church security struggled to establish whether they had registered. The Monty Python satirical song Every Sperm is Sacred boomed from a sound system organised by protesters. The protests were vocal, but largely peaceful. Two protesters were arrested as others chanted “What’s the charge?”

Austrailia’s The Age adds:

One protester managed to sneak in as a registered guest, storming the stage and pouring fake blood over herself in front of NSW MP, the Reverend Fred Nile and his wife. “We don’t want your backyard abortions,” she yelled, before being marched out. Guests at the event were visibly rattled by the breach and turned to prayer as the woman was ushered outside. But despite ongoing protests at the gate throughout the day, the rest of the conference was incident free. Controversial American breast cancer doctor Angela Lafranchi was one of the headline acts, pushing her research suggesting a link between abortion and breast cancer. Reverend Nile, leader of the NSW Christian Democrats, called for more Christians to get involved in politics. And Paul Hanrahan, the executive director of Family Life International Australia, used his speech to suggest abortion was worse than terrorism in Syria. “Many people lately have been upset at the terrible atrocities being committed in the name of religion in Iraq and Syria and other places. Terrorists and terrorists’ kids holding severed heads is certainly gruesome. Answer me this: how is it worse?” he asked.

On a related note from September 26th – 28th the Family Research Council hate group will be running it’s own anti-gay conference called the Values Voter Summit which will be held at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. Perhaps this year some American LGBT activist will show up and make thier presence known that they will not stand for hate parading undering the guise of politics or religion. (Yes GetEQUAL I am talking to YOU!)