LGBTQ Americans Won’t Be Counted in 2020 U.S. Census After All
by MARY EMILY O’HARA
LGBTQ advocacy groups are outraged after proposed questions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity were quickly removed Tuesday, March 28, from a just-released draft of the 2020 U.S. Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau, which is part of the Department of Commerce, is required to issue a list of categories it plans to track three years before the survey is conducted.
Advocacy groups have been campaigning for years to include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity, and were briefly elated when the 2020 Census draft was released. But hopes were dashed when the proposed addition suddenly disappeared, and a statement was issued by the Census bureau that called the LGBTQ inclusion a mistake.
Kamala Devi Harris (born October 20, 1964) is an American attorney and politician who is the junior United States Senator from California. She is a member of the Democratic Party and served as the 32nd Attorney General of California.
The transgender community, (the “T” in LGBT), hasn’t had an easy existence
There was plenty of hope during the recent years when rights for the LGBT community were recognized as basic human rights, including transgender rights.
However, the Drumpf administration has taken it upon themselves to start the dismantling of these human rights.
From Melanie Nathan, a blogger I follow …. “Today, February 22, that transphobic homophobe the putrid Trump AG, Jeff Sessions, did exactly what we thought he would do the moment he assumed office – AND so hand in hand with that other homophobe and transphobic piece of work Pence – as well as an apparently forced Betsy DeVos Of the Department of Education – announced that Title IX will no longer be enforced to protect transgender students equally in all school facilities, including restrooms.
Title IX guaranteed students the right to a safe and supportive learning environment regardless of gender and protects them from discrimination.
There is no reasonable basis for them to do this except spite and hate of a community that deserves protection and recognition.”
So disgusted!!
I think this is the beginning.
Like the #MuslimBan, the LGBT community is in the cross-hairs now. Bad things are headed this way!!
Transgender Children & Youth: Understanding the Basics
One of the most important and difficult tasks that parents face is how to best support their children while also setting the kind of boundaries and structure that helps them grow up to become responsible and successful adults. Sure, children and teens love to test the boundaries that adults set for them. But it is important to make distinctions between instances where “kids are being kids” and when they’re asserting things about themselves that are critical to their identity and development – as is the case with gender identity and expression.
~Gavin Grimm: Meet the Boy Laverne Cox Shouted Out at the Grammys~
(this case is so much more important now)
by MARY EMILY O’HARA
February 13, 2017
Who is Gavin Grimm — and why does Hollywood’s most high-profile transgender actress want you to learn about him?
Grimm is a 17-year-old high school senior in Virginia whose fight against the local school board will be argued at the Supreme Court on March 28. The transgender boy’s long road to the highest court in the country started at age 15, when he was forced to endure a series of school board meetings at which adults debated whether or not he should be allowed to use the boys bathroom at school.
ACLU attorney Josh Block told NBC News that Grimm’s case has taken on a new significance with President Trump now overseeing federal agencies like the Department of Education.
For the last 20 years the overwhelming majority of lower courts have been holding that out civil rights laws against sex discrimination protect transgender people,” said Block. “Gavin’s case is the first time the Supreme Court will consider the question and reaffirm that transgender people are protected. With a presidential new administration, these protections are more critical than ever.”
But the case, “Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.,” stands to impact every transgender teen and child in the nation: the Supreme Court will use it to decide whether Title IX protections on the basis of sex can be interpreted to include gender identity, and whether Obama-era guidance from the Department of Education can be considered the law of the land.
“I realize now this is much bigger than myself. And my greater goal now is to try to make things better for those who come after me.” Gavin Grimm is taking his fight for transgender rights to the Supreme Court this spring.
After all the work, advances and attained goals, with this simple bill, the beginning of discrimination against a group of the American fabric would be openly and brazenly attacked and stripped of their human rights.
Earlier this month, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Mike Lee of Utah, through his spokesperson, told Buzzfeed they plan to reintroduce an embattled bill that barely gained a House hearing in 2015. But this time around, they said, the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) was likely to succeed due to a Republican-controlled House and the backing of President-elect Donald Trump.
FADA would prohibit the federal government from taking “discriminatory action” against any business or person that discriminates against LGBTQ people. The act distinctly aims to protect the right of all entities to refuse service to LGBTQ people based on two sets of beliefs:
“(1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman,
or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.”
Ironically, the language of the bill positions the right to discriminate against one class of Americans as a “first amendment” right, and bans the government from taking any form of action to curb such discrimination – including withholding federal funds from institutions that discriminate.
FADA allows individuals and businesses to sue the federal government for interfering in their right to discriminate against LGBTQ people and would mandate the Attorney General defend the businesses.
It Is What It Is 