Canadian PM Marks International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia

“Today, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, we join Canadians and people everywhere to support LGBTQ2 rights, and speak out against the stigma, discrimination, and violence that continue to affect LGBTQ2 communities here in Canada and around the world.

“This year’s theme in Canada, ‘Family support is essential: Send love to your LGBTQ+ relatives,’ recognizes the importance of support networks for LGBTQ2 individuals who continue to face stigma and discrimination for simply being themselves. This theme emphasizes the simple actions we can take, like picking up the phone or sending a text, to offer solidarity and support. These actions can go a long way in helping to break down barriers, and make our country a more welcoming and inclusive place for all.

“On this day, we also thank and recognize those organizations from coast to coast to coast that help provide support and allyship to LGBTQ2 Canadians. This includes Fondation Émergence, which created the first day against homophobia in 2003, and continues to raise public awareness on the issues that those in the LGBTQ2 communities face.

“The current COVID-19 pandemic is a challenging time for everyone and it is having a disproportionate impact on marginalized populations, including vulnerable members of LGBTQ2 communities. That is why we are providing even more support to charities and non-profit organizations that serve our communities through the Emergency Community Support Fund. During this uncertain time, it is more important than ever to show our fellow Canadians that we are in this together.

“Though we still have a great deal of work left to do, the Government of Canada has committed to taking further action for LGBTQ2 communities. This includes the launch of the LGBTQ2 Community Capacity Fund, which will provide funding to LGBTQ2 organizations working to advance equality in Canada, as well as the introduction of legislation in March to criminalize the cruel and harmful practice of conversion therapy. If passed, Bill C-8 would help ensure that all Canadians can be free to be themselves, just as they are.

“Today, and every day, I encourage all Canadians to do their part to make our country a place where LGBTQ2 people can be themselves without fear. We are all stronger when we embrace diversity, and when all Canadians are free to live their lives to the fullest.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, May 17, 2020.

     click here to see original

Calif. Gov Issues Pardon to Civil Rights Icon Bayard Rustin

" In California and across the country, many laws have been used as legal tools of oppression, and to stigmatize and punish LGBTQ people and communities and warn others what harm could await them for living authentically. I thank those who advocated for Bayard Rustin’s pardon, and I want to encourage others in similar situations to seek a pardon to right this egregious wrong. ”
 
California Governor Gavin Newsom, February 4, 2020. Issuance of pardon for 1953 gay sex conviction, for the late Civil Rights movement icon, and openly gay man. 

     Click here to read the original news announcement


 

Calif. Gov's Pardon to Civil Rights Icon Bayard Rustin

 

 

     Click here to view the original document

Court Stops USAF from Discharging HIV+ Servicemembers

" …  Roe, Voe, and the four identified members of OutServe wish to continue to serve their country. Their doctors and their commanding officers support their retention. But the Air Force, without individually considering each servicemember’s condition, fitness, and deployability, assumed the servicemembers could not deploy to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility because they are HIV-positive. The Government’s explanations for why it has imposed an effective ban on deploying HIV-positive servicemembers to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility are at odds with modern science. These servicemembers, like other HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads, have no symptoms of HIV. They take daily medication—usually one pill, for some people two—and need a regular, but routine blood test. They cannot transmit the virus through normal daily activities, and their risk of transmitting the virus through battlefield exposure, if the virus can be transmitted at all, is extremely low. Although transmission through blood transfusion is possible, these servicemembers have been ordered not to donate blood. But the Government did not consider these realities when discharging these servicemembers, instead relying on assumptions and categorical determinations. As a result, the Air Force denied these servicemembers an individualized determination of their fitness for military service.

Plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success of the merits of at least one claim and have made a clear showing of irreparable harm in the absence of a preliminary injunction. The equities and public interest weigh in the Plaintiffs’ favor, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in crafting the preliminary injunction. Accordingly, we affirm the order of the district court. "

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Richard Roe v. DOD), Judge James A. Wynn Jr., January 10/14, 2020.
 

     Click here to read the entire decision

Canadian PM Sets Policy for LGBTQ Inclusion & Equality

Mandate Letters to Canadian Government Ministers

Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Mandate Letter
 
" ... I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory and Cabinet processes to deliver on your top priorities. In particular, you will:

... Continue the work of the LGBTQ2 Secretariat in promoting LGBTQ2 equality, protecting LGBTQ2 rights and addressing discrimination against LGBTQ2 communities.

Provide additional investments to LGBTQ2 organizations to hire staff, expand services and reach more people. This includes hotlines and other support services for LGBTQ2 communities, including those that provide sexual health information.

Work with the Minister of Health, and in partnership with Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec, to build on existing progress to implement a behaviour-based model of donation that eliminates the blood ban for men who have sex with other men.

Consult civil society representatives of LGBTQ2 communities to lay the groundwork for an LGBTQ2 action plan that would guide the work of the federal government on issues important to LGBTQ2 Canadians... "
 
Ministerof Justice and Attorney General of Canada Mandate Letter
 
" ... I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory and Cabinet processes to deliver on your top priorities. In particular, you will:

... Work with the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth to amend the Criminal Code to ban the practice of conversion therapy and take other steps required with the provinces and territories to end conversion therapy in Canada... "
 
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, December 13, 2019.

     Click the links above to read the entire Mandate Letters

 

Wisconsin Gov Flies Pride Flag

" MADISON, June 7, 2019 -  Gov. Tony Evers signed executive order #29 relating to a proclamation that the Rainbow Pride Flag be flown over the east wing of the State Capitol building and throughout the state of Wisconsin in recognition of Pride Month  beginning on Friday, June 7, 2019, and ending at sunset on June 30, 2019.

"Publicly displaying the Rainbow Pride Flag sends a clear and unequivocal message that Wisconsin is a welcoming and inclusive place where everyone can live without fear of persecution, judgment, or discrimination," said Gov. Evers. "

     Click here to see Gov. Evers’ executive order #2 

Court Denies Right of Religious Anti-GLBT Discrimination in Philadelphia Case

Catholic Social Services v. City of Philadelphia
 
" CSS’s theme devolves to this: the City is targeting CSS because it discriminates against same-sex couples; CSS is discriminating against same-sex couples because of its religious beliefs; therefore the City is targeting CSS for its religious beliefs. But this syllogism is as flawed as it is dangerous. It runs directly counter to the premise of Smith that, while religious belief is always protected, religiously motivated conduct enjoys no special protections or exemption from general, neutrally applied legal requirements. That CSS’s conduct springs from sincerely held and strongly felt religious beliefs does not imply that the City’s desire to regulate that conduct springs from antipathy to those beliefs. If all comment on religiously motivated conduct by those enforcing neutral, generally applicable laws against discrimination is construed as ill will against the religious belief itself, then Smith is a dead letter, and the nation’s civil rights laws might be as well. As the Intervenors rightly state, the “fact that CSS’s non-compliance with the City’s non-discrimination requirements is based on its religious beliefs does not mean that the City’s enforcement of its requirements constitutes anti-religious hostility. .....

The City stands on firm ground in requiring its contractors to abide by its non-discrimination policies when administering public services. Under Smith, the First Amendment does not prohibit government regulation of religiously motivated conduct so long as that regulation is not a veiled attempt to suppress disfavored religious beliefs. And while CSS may assert that the City’s actions were not driven by a sincere commitment to equality but rather by antireligious and anti-Catholic bias (and is of course able to introduce additional evidence as this case proceeds), the current record does not show religious persecution or bias. Instead it shows so far the City’s good faith in its effort to enforce its laws against discrimination.

Hence we hold that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for preliminary injunctive relief and affirm its thorough and well-reasoned decision. "
 
Judge Thomas Ambro, Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, April 22, 2019.
 
     click here to read entire decision