NEWS.Monthly federal and state news from PFLAG National
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POLICY MATTERS MAY 14, 2016
TAKE ACTION
Want to help get the Equality Act passed? Phone bank with us! PFLAG National, in partnership with the NEAT, is providing an opportunity for our members and supporters to talk to voters in target states and patch them through to their Senators’ offices to urge them to vote YES on the Equality Act. Never phone banked before? No worries! Our partner organization, The NEAT, provides a quick training to get you comfortable with using the phone bank tool. You can sign up any time and phonebank whenever is convenient for you. Register here and make some calls for equality!
COURT MATTERS
Supreme Court agrees to hear first gun-rights case in over a decade. In NY State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Corlett, the Court will review a New York law that requires individuals to get a license to carry a concealed gun outside the home. The case will likely be argued in the fall. Read the PFLAG National Gun Violence Prevention policy statement, adopted by the Board of Directors in 2019.
ACLU of D.C. and public defender’s office sue D.C. Dept. of Corrections for housing trans woman in men’s unit of D.C. jail. Sunday Hinton has been housed in the men’s unit since April 26th, according to the lawsuit. “I would like to be housed in a general population women’s unit because I am a transgender woman and identify as a woman,” Hinton said in a statement.
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. The suit alleged that Connecticut’s trans-inclusive student athletic policies were harmful to cis-women and girls. Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, two transgender student athletes who were named in the lawsuit, were allowed to join the lawsuit in defense of Connecticut’s inclusive policies. The decision noted that “courts across the country have consistently held that Title IX requires schools to treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity.”
FEDERAL MATTERS
President Biden announces reinstatement of Obama-era rule prohibiting healthcare discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the new policy, the Department of Health and Human Services will once again prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by health care organizations that receive federal funding. This reverses the previous administration’s policy that said anti-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 did not apply to transgender people.
President Biden nominates Catherine Lhamon to lead the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Lhamon held the same position in the Obama administration, when the Obama administration emphasized tackling sexual assault on college campuses.
House passes Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The bill would ensure that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees that would enable them to keep working while maintaining a healthy pregnancy.
STATE MATTERS
Note: Members of PFLAG can take action on all active bills targeting the trans community at the state level. Visit pflag.org/protecttranskids to take action in your state today. Want to take action and not seeing your state included? Please contact Patrick Cochran, Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator, to have your state legislators added!
Alabama - Governor Kay Ivey signs sex ed bill removing inaccurate and stigmatizing language LGBTQ+ people. Previously, Alabama state law required that sexuality education emphasize “that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public” and “homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state.”
Florida - Gov. DeSantis says he will sign trans athlete ban bill. Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Fox News town hall, “We’re going to protect our girls...They deserve an even playing field, and that’s what we’re doing.”. PFLAG National and Equality Florida urge Floridians to call the Governor’s office at 850.717.9337 now to oppose signing.
Georgia - Trans woman shot and killed in Brookhaven. 36-year-old Sophia Arrieta Vasquez was murdered at her apartment on May 4th. She became the 23rd trans person, most of whom--including Sophia--were women of color, to be reported as murdered in 2021.
Atlanta police warn LGBTQ+ community of robberies people using the gay dating app Grindr. Atlanta police say they’ve identified at least eight people who were robbed since February, calling it “a very concerning pattern,” noting that some incidents may have gone unreported.
Kansas - State Legislature upholds Gov. Kelly’s veto of trans athlete ban. The Kansas Senate was one vote short of overriding Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the legislation.
Kentucky - Fayette County bans so-called conversion therapy. On May 6th, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously to pass a conversion therapy ban ordinance. City officials said the ban takes effect immediately.
Montana - Gov. Gianforte signs trans athlete ban. Montana becomes the seventh state to enact such legislation this year, after Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Texas - Trans athlete ban advances in State House. Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), House Public Education Committee Chair, revived SB 29 on May 7th and it passed out of committee. He reraised the bill as retaliation because an unrelated bill of his failed to pass earlier.
Washington - Seattle Police Department affirms support for LGBTQ officers and rejects "Appreciation Dinner" invitation from Pastor Franklin Graham. City Council President Lorena Gonzalez objected to the invitation for the May 11th event, and SPD declined it as well.
GLOBAL MATTERS
Canada - Ontario Catholic school district mandates LGBTQ+ awareness and staff training for Pride. The Halton Catholic District School Board failed to pass a proposal to fly the LGBT Pride flag outside schools in June, and instead voted to “raise awareness around Pride Month,'' mandate staff training and request a review from Ontario’s Education Minister.
Iran - Young gay man murdered by family in “honor killing.” Alireza Fazeli Monfared, who was 20 years old, was planning to flee Iran for Turkey and then seek asylum in Norway or Sweden. Arsham Parsi, a Toronto-based, Iranian gay-rights activist and head of the International Railroad for Queer Refugees, said, "There's no guarantee that this won't happen again until our society becomes educated and informed.”
Japan - Japan’s LGBTQ+ and other orgs oppose proposed so-called “LGBT Equality Act” that offers no protections The bill requires the government to “promote understanding of LGBT people but fails to include nondiscrimination protections or enforcement and thereby fails to uphold the Olympic charter.
Lithuania - Lithuanian artist raises money for LGBT groups with art installation. Erikas Malisauskas raised over $6,000 with his work, titled "Hate Speech Cloud," which consists of 400 offensive messages addressed to Tomas Raskevicius, the first LGBTQ+ rights activist elected to Parliament. The messages are bundled and shaped like a cloud.
United Kingdom - Queen Elizabeth II announces government will ban so-called conversion therapy. In her annual address to the House of Lords, written by the government to set out its agenda, the Queen said that measures “will be brought forward to address racial and ethnic disparities and ban conversion therapy.”
United Kingdom - Bangor, Wales elects world’s first-known nonbinary mayor. Owen Hurcum, 23, is genderqueer and agender, and was elected unanimously last year by the City Council in Bangor, Wales. Hurcum takes office May 17th.
MEDIA MATTERS
TUNE IN: Join us on Sunday, May 23rd at 2pm ET/11am PT for PFLAG Parent Day (#PFLAGParentDay), a celebration of all of the parenting people—moms, dads, and nonbinary parents; parents by blood, foster care, and adoption; found/chosen family; educators, healthcare workers, and more—who show up for LGBTQ+ folks. We'll have great conversations, musical performances, and fun surprise appearances, live on Facebook and YouTube (both with closed captions available), with additional #PFLAGParentDay content on Instagram. Visit pflag.org/pflagparentday for more information and to set a tune-in reminder!
At least eight openly transgender athletes competing in Tokyo Olympic Games this summer. Until this point, an openly trans athlete has never competed in the Olympics, and Tokyo is set to change that. The hopefuls hail from five different countries and include Olympic vets who weren’t previously out, as well as promising young competitors. PFLAG New Hampshire is proud to support track and field athlete CeCé Telfer, who was the first openly trans woman to win an NCAA championship when she won the Division II 400m hurdles in 2019
NCAA announces preliminary host schools for Division I Softball Championship- including schools in states with trans athlete bans. The list of 20 possible host schools included schools in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee, all of which recently passed laws banning transgender girls and women from competing in women's sports teams. The final list of 16 schools that will host games in the tournament's regional round will be announced May 16. GLAAD and Athlete Ally are pushing the NCAA to not host championships in states that ban trans athletes.
Evangelical Lutheran Church elects first out trans bishop. Rev. Megan Rohrer was elected to a six-year term as bishop of the Sierra Pacific synod, an assembly based in Sacramento that includes about 200 congregations across Northern and Central California and northern Nevada. Pastor Rohrer said in an email, “I pray that my election by the faithful people of the Sierra Pacific Synod will become a constant reminder that God’s fabulous love is never limited by the opinions or legislation of others.”
2021 breaks record for most anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed in one calendar year. 17 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year, breaking the previous record of 15 set in 2015. An additional 11 anti-LGBT+ bills are sitting on governors’ desks waiting to be signed into law or vetoed while dozens more are moving through state legislatures across the country.
Top platforms are unsafe for LGBTQ community, new GLAAD report says. The report comes a few months after those surveyed in a Pew Research Center study in January said about 68% of lesbian, gay or bisexual adults who said they have been harassed online think it occurred because of their sexual orientation. Check out the May 13th episode of Something to Talk About Live, where we discussed the report and its ramifications for our LGBTQ+ loved ones.
PFLAG National
1625 K St NW Suite 700 | Washington, District of Columbia 20006
(202) 467-8180 | info@pflag.org
Want to help get the Equality Act passed? Phone bank with us! PFLAG National, in partnership with the NEAT, is providing an opportunity for our members and supporters to talk to voters in target states and patch them through to their Senators’ offices to urge them to vote YES on the Equality Act. Never phone banked before? No worries! Our partner organization, The NEAT, provides a quick training to get you comfortable with using the phone bank tool. You can sign up any time and phonebank whenever is convenient for you. Register here and make some calls for equality!
COURT MATTERS
Supreme Court agrees to hear first gun-rights case in over a decade. In NY State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Corlett, the Court will review a New York law that requires individuals to get a license to carry a concealed gun outside the home. The case will likely be argued in the fall. Read the PFLAG National Gun Violence Prevention policy statement, adopted by the Board of Directors in 2019.
ACLU of D.C. and public defender’s office sue D.C. Dept. of Corrections for housing trans woman in men’s unit of D.C. jail. Sunday Hinton has been housed in the men’s unit since April 26th, according to the lawsuit. “I would like to be housed in a general population women’s unit because I am a transgender woman and identify as a woman,” Hinton said in a statement.
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. The suit alleged that Connecticut’s trans-inclusive student athletic policies were harmful to cis-women and girls. Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, two transgender student athletes who were named in the lawsuit, were allowed to join the lawsuit in defense of Connecticut’s inclusive policies. The decision noted that “courts across the country have consistently held that Title IX requires schools to treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity.”
FEDERAL MATTERS
President Biden announces reinstatement of Obama-era rule prohibiting healthcare discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the new policy, the Department of Health and Human Services will once again prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by health care organizations that receive federal funding. This reverses the previous administration’s policy that said anti-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 did not apply to transgender people.
President Biden nominates Catherine Lhamon to lead the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Lhamon held the same position in the Obama administration, when the Obama administration emphasized tackling sexual assault on college campuses.
House passes Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The bill would ensure that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees that would enable them to keep working while maintaining a healthy pregnancy.
STATE MATTERS
Note: Members of PFLAG can take action on all active bills targeting the trans community at the state level. Visit pflag.org/protecttranskids to take action in your state today. Want to take action and not seeing your state included? Please contact Patrick Cochran, Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator, to have your state legislators added!
Alabama - Governor Kay Ivey signs sex ed bill removing inaccurate and stigmatizing language LGBTQ+ people. Previously, Alabama state law required that sexuality education emphasize “that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public” and “homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state.”
Florida - Gov. DeSantis says he will sign trans athlete ban bill. Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Fox News town hall, “We’re going to protect our girls...They deserve an even playing field, and that’s what we’re doing.”. PFLAG National and Equality Florida urge Floridians to call the Governor’s office at 850.717.9337 now to oppose signing.
Georgia - Trans woman shot and killed in Brookhaven. 36-year-old Sophia Arrieta Vasquez was murdered at her apartment on May 4th. She became the 23rd trans person, most of whom--including Sophia--were women of color, to be reported as murdered in 2021.
Atlanta police warn LGBTQ+ community of robberies people using the gay dating app Grindr. Atlanta police say they’ve identified at least eight people who were robbed since February, calling it “a very concerning pattern,” noting that some incidents may have gone unreported.
Kansas - State Legislature upholds Gov. Kelly’s veto of trans athlete ban. The Kansas Senate was one vote short of overriding Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the legislation.
Kentucky - Fayette County bans so-called conversion therapy. On May 6th, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously to pass a conversion therapy ban ordinance. City officials said the ban takes effect immediately.
Montana - Gov. Gianforte signs trans athlete ban. Montana becomes the seventh state to enact such legislation this year, after Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Texas - Trans athlete ban advances in State House. Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), House Public Education Committee Chair, revived SB 29 on May 7th and it passed out of committee. He reraised the bill as retaliation because an unrelated bill of his failed to pass earlier.
Washington - Seattle Police Department affirms support for LGBTQ officers and rejects "Appreciation Dinner" invitation from Pastor Franklin Graham. City Council President Lorena Gonzalez objected to the invitation for the May 11th event, and SPD declined it as well.
GLOBAL MATTERS
Canada - Ontario Catholic school district mandates LGBTQ+ awareness and staff training for Pride. The Halton Catholic District School Board failed to pass a proposal to fly the LGBT Pride flag outside schools in June, and instead voted to “raise awareness around Pride Month,'' mandate staff training and request a review from Ontario’s Education Minister.
Iran - Young gay man murdered by family in “honor killing.” Alireza Fazeli Monfared, who was 20 years old, was planning to flee Iran for Turkey and then seek asylum in Norway or Sweden. Arsham Parsi, a Toronto-based, Iranian gay-rights activist and head of the International Railroad for Queer Refugees, said, "There's no guarantee that this won't happen again until our society becomes educated and informed.”
Japan - Japan’s LGBTQ+ and other orgs oppose proposed so-called “LGBT Equality Act” that offers no protections The bill requires the government to “promote understanding of LGBT people but fails to include nondiscrimination protections or enforcement and thereby fails to uphold the Olympic charter.
Lithuania - Lithuanian artist raises money for LGBT groups with art installation. Erikas Malisauskas raised over $6,000 with his work, titled "Hate Speech Cloud," which consists of 400 offensive messages addressed to Tomas Raskevicius, the first LGBTQ+ rights activist elected to Parliament. The messages are bundled and shaped like a cloud.
United Kingdom - Queen Elizabeth II announces government will ban so-called conversion therapy. In her annual address to the House of Lords, written by the government to set out its agenda, the Queen said that measures “will be brought forward to address racial and ethnic disparities and ban conversion therapy.”
United Kingdom - Bangor, Wales elects world’s first-known nonbinary mayor. Owen Hurcum, 23, is genderqueer and agender, and was elected unanimously last year by the City Council in Bangor, Wales. Hurcum takes office May 17th.
MEDIA MATTERS
TUNE IN: Join us on Sunday, May 23rd at 2pm ET/11am PT for PFLAG Parent Day (#PFLAGParentDay), a celebration of all of the parenting people—moms, dads, and nonbinary parents; parents by blood, foster care, and adoption; found/chosen family; educators, healthcare workers, and more—who show up for LGBTQ+ folks. We'll have great conversations, musical performances, and fun surprise appearances, live on Facebook and YouTube (both with closed captions available), with additional #PFLAGParentDay content on Instagram. Visit pflag.org/pflagparentday for more information and to set a tune-in reminder!
At least eight openly transgender athletes competing in Tokyo Olympic Games this summer. Until this point, an openly trans athlete has never competed in the Olympics, and Tokyo is set to change that. The hopefuls hail from five different countries and include Olympic vets who weren’t previously out, as well as promising young competitors. PFLAG New Hampshire is proud to support track and field athlete CeCé Telfer, who was the first openly trans woman to win an NCAA championship when she won the Division II 400m hurdles in 2019
NCAA announces preliminary host schools for Division I Softball Championship- including schools in states with trans athlete bans. The list of 20 possible host schools included schools in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee, all of which recently passed laws banning transgender girls and women from competing in women's sports teams. The final list of 16 schools that will host games in the tournament's regional round will be announced May 16. GLAAD and Athlete Ally are pushing the NCAA to not host championships in states that ban trans athletes.
Evangelical Lutheran Church elects first out trans bishop. Rev. Megan Rohrer was elected to a six-year term as bishop of the Sierra Pacific synod, an assembly based in Sacramento that includes about 200 congregations across Northern and Central California and northern Nevada. Pastor Rohrer said in an email, “I pray that my election by the faithful people of the Sierra Pacific Synod will become a constant reminder that God’s fabulous love is never limited by the opinions or legislation of others.”
2021 breaks record for most anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed in one calendar year. 17 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year, breaking the previous record of 15 set in 2015. An additional 11 anti-LGBT+ bills are sitting on governors’ desks waiting to be signed into law or vetoed while dozens more are moving through state legislatures across the country.
Top platforms are unsafe for LGBTQ community, new GLAAD report says. The report comes a few months after those surveyed in a Pew Research Center study in January said about 68% of lesbian, gay or bisexual adults who said they have been harassed online think it occurred because of their sexual orientation. Check out the May 13th episode of Something to Talk About Live, where we discussed the report and its ramifications for our LGBTQ+ loved ones.
PFLAG National
1625 K St NW Suite 700 | Washington, District of Columbia 20006
(202) 467-8180 | info@pflag.org
Policy Matters April 16, 2021
TAKE ACTION
Phone bank for the Equality Act! PFLAG, in partnership with NEAT, is providing an opportunity for our members to talk to voters in target states and patch them through to their Senators’ offices to urge them to vote YES on the Equality Act. Never phone banked before? No worries! Our partner organization, The NEAT, provides in-depth training videos to get you comfortable with using the phone bank tool. You can sign up any time and phonebank whenever is convenient for you. Register here and make some calls!
COURT MATTERS
House and Senate Democrats introduce a bill to expand the number of Supreme Court justices to 13 from 9. The bill, led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), is the first legislation in recent years designed to add seats to the Court and responds to activist pressure pushing for court expansion.
FEDERAL MATTERS
Senate votes to advance hate crimes bill. The bill, called the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, which cleared a procedural vote on April 14th, would strengthen federal efforts to address hate crimes directed at Asian-Americans. The changes the bill would make include creating a new position at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite the review of hate crimes related to the coronavirus pandemic; expanding public channels to report such crimes; and requiring the DOJ to issue guidance to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the pandemic.
President Biden announces pick for first ever AAPI senior liaison. Erika Moritsugu will have direct contact to the president and his administration in discussing issues affecting AAPI (Asian American-Pacific Islander) people, who have been experiencing a rise in hate crimes since the start of the pandemic.
STATE MATTERS
Note: Members of PFLAG can take action on all active bills targeting the trans community at the state level.
Visit pflag.org/protecttranskids to take action in your state today.
Want to take action and not seeing your state included? Please contact Patrick Cochran, Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator, to have your state legislators added!
Alabama - Alabama legislature approves trans sports ban. The bill, HB391, passed the state House and Senate on April 15th and would prohibit trans girls and women competing on sports teams that match their gender identity. The bill now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.
Arizona - Arizona legislature passes sex education bill requiring parents to sign off on their children learning about LGBT issues. The bill "requires the school governing board to develop procedures by which parents will be notified in advance, and given the opportunity to opt their children into, any instruction regarding sexuality, gender identity or gender expression.” Schools may also not teach students about AIDS or HIV without parental consent.
Arkansas - Arkansas becomes the first state to enact a trans healthcare ban. Arkansas will prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming treatment for trans people under age 18 after the General Assembly overrode Governor Hutchinson’s veto on April 6th. Gov. Hutchinson called the bill a "vast government overreach" after meeting with families with trans youth.
California - Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Center opens new youth housing development. The Michaeljohn Horne and Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing provides 25 supportive housing apartments for young adults ages 24 and under.
Florida - Anti-LGBTQ+ protesters demonstrate outside the home of Brevard County School Board member. The protesters oppose new accommodations for LGBTQ+ students adopted by the school district, including allowing bathroom use by students according to their gender identity. Florida House approves athlete ban. The bill, HB1475, passed on a party line 77-40 vote. The companion bill in the state Senate still has to pass before the athlete ban legislation goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.
Illinois - PFLAG member Kristal Larson becomes first non-judicial candidate to be elected to office in Illinois as an openly trans person. Larson, a member of PFLAG Grayslake/Round Lake, was elected Avon Township clerk after serving as a trustee on the Avon Township board before disclosing as trans.
Montana - Montana Legislature considering amendments to trans athlete ban. The House rejected a Senate amendment on April 12th that would have voided the athlete ban if the federal government would withhold education funding in response to the law. The bill will go to a conference committee, where members of the House and Senate will discuss the proposed amendment.
North Carolina - North Carolina lawmakers introduce trans healthcare ban bill. The bill would prevent doctors from providing gender affirming care for trans youth under 21. Doctors who defy the law could have their license revoked and face fines of up to $1,000 per occurrence. Two trans sex workers murdered in Charlotte weeks apart. Police have been investigating the murders of the two women since April 4th. It is not clear if the murders are connected. Jermaine Nakia Lee, program director for State of Emergency, said “This is a pandemic in our community. These trans individuals are somebody’s children, grandchild. We should care that they’re being wiped out.”
North Dakota - North Dakota legislature approves athlete ban. The bill, HB1298, bars public elementary and secondary schools from “knowingly” permitting trans students to compete on sports teams conforming with their gender identitiy, but allows cis girls to play on boys’ teams. The measure now goes to Gov. Doug Burgum.
Pennsylvania - Erik Larson named new deputy director of LGBT Affairs for Philadelphia. Mayor Jim Kenney’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion announced Erik Larson as the new deputy director of LGBT Affairs on April 14th. Larson started working for the City of Philadelphia in 2018 as a part-time policy fellow, and previously worked as a coordinator in the Office of LGBT Affairs. He holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.
Tennessee - Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce pens open letter to Governor in response to anti-trans bills. The letter is signed by dozens of major corporations and small businesses. The businesses are emphasizing their opposition to anti-transgender legislation Tennessee lawmakers are considering, including HB 1182, which would force businesses to post anti-trans signage outside of bathrooms. Tennessee passes bill allowing parents to waive LGBTQ-related curriculum for their children. The bill passed the state House 64-23 on April 14th and now goes to Gov. Bill Lee's desk for his signature.
Texas - Texas lawmakers considering trans youth medical ban. Senate Bill 1646, filed by State Sen. Charles Perry, would define allowing a child to receive gender affirming care as child abuse on the part of the parents. Texas’s House and Senate committees are simultaneously considering a slate of anti-trans bills that advocates, including PFLAG members, are fighting every day. Texas Senate approves trans athlete ban. Senate Bill 29 bans trans atheltes from participating in sports teams that conform with their gender identity and would require students to show their original, unchanged birth certificate to prove their “biological sex.” The measure now heads to the Texas House of Representatives, which is currently considering its own version of the same bill.
West Virginia - Governor Jim Justice announces he will sign trans athlete ban. The Gov. said in his weekly coronavirus briefing “Personally I feel that absolutely, I just can’t get through my head that it is the right thing for us at a middle school level or a high school level in our state for me not to support the bill.” The bill would ban middle and high school trans athletes from competing with a team conforming with their gender identity.
PFLAG National
1625 K St NW Suite 700 | Washington, District of Columbia 20006
(202) 467-8180 | info@pflag.org
Phone bank for the Equality Act! PFLAG, in partnership with NEAT, is providing an opportunity for our members to talk to voters in target states and patch them through to their Senators’ offices to urge them to vote YES on the Equality Act. Never phone banked before? No worries! Our partner organization, The NEAT, provides in-depth training videos to get you comfortable with using the phone bank tool. You can sign up any time and phonebank whenever is convenient for you. Register here and make some calls!
COURT MATTERS
House and Senate Democrats introduce a bill to expand the number of Supreme Court justices to 13 from 9. The bill, led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), is the first legislation in recent years designed to add seats to the Court and responds to activist pressure pushing for court expansion.
FEDERAL MATTERS
Senate votes to advance hate crimes bill. The bill, called the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, which cleared a procedural vote on April 14th, would strengthen federal efforts to address hate crimes directed at Asian-Americans. The changes the bill would make include creating a new position at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite the review of hate crimes related to the coronavirus pandemic; expanding public channels to report such crimes; and requiring the DOJ to issue guidance to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the pandemic.
President Biden announces pick for first ever AAPI senior liaison. Erika Moritsugu will have direct contact to the president and his administration in discussing issues affecting AAPI (Asian American-Pacific Islander) people, who have been experiencing a rise in hate crimes since the start of the pandemic.
STATE MATTERS
Note: Members of PFLAG can take action on all active bills targeting the trans community at the state level.
Visit pflag.org/protecttranskids to take action in your state today.
Want to take action and not seeing your state included? Please contact Patrick Cochran, Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator, to have your state legislators added!
Alabama - Alabama legislature approves trans sports ban. The bill, HB391, passed the state House and Senate on April 15th and would prohibit trans girls and women competing on sports teams that match their gender identity. The bill now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.
Arizona - Arizona legislature passes sex education bill requiring parents to sign off on their children learning about LGBT issues. The bill "requires the school governing board to develop procedures by which parents will be notified in advance, and given the opportunity to opt their children into, any instruction regarding sexuality, gender identity or gender expression.” Schools may also not teach students about AIDS or HIV without parental consent.
Arkansas - Arkansas becomes the first state to enact a trans healthcare ban. Arkansas will prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming treatment for trans people under age 18 after the General Assembly overrode Governor Hutchinson’s veto on April 6th. Gov. Hutchinson called the bill a "vast government overreach" after meeting with families with trans youth.
California - Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Center opens new youth housing development. The Michaeljohn Horne and Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing provides 25 supportive housing apartments for young adults ages 24 and under.
Florida - Anti-LGBTQ+ protesters demonstrate outside the home of Brevard County School Board member. The protesters oppose new accommodations for LGBTQ+ students adopted by the school district, including allowing bathroom use by students according to their gender identity. Florida House approves athlete ban. The bill, HB1475, passed on a party line 77-40 vote. The companion bill in the state Senate still has to pass before the athlete ban legislation goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.
Illinois - PFLAG member Kristal Larson becomes first non-judicial candidate to be elected to office in Illinois as an openly trans person. Larson, a member of PFLAG Grayslake/Round Lake, was elected Avon Township clerk after serving as a trustee on the Avon Township board before disclosing as trans.
Montana - Montana Legislature considering amendments to trans athlete ban. The House rejected a Senate amendment on April 12th that would have voided the athlete ban if the federal government would withhold education funding in response to the law. The bill will go to a conference committee, where members of the House and Senate will discuss the proposed amendment.
North Carolina - North Carolina lawmakers introduce trans healthcare ban bill. The bill would prevent doctors from providing gender affirming care for trans youth under 21. Doctors who defy the law could have their license revoked and face fines of up to $1,000 per occurrence. Two trans sex workers murdered in Charlotte weeks apart. Police have been investigating the murders of the two women since April 4th. It is not clear if the murders are connected. Jermaine Nakia Lee, program director for State of Emergency, said “This is a pandemic in our community. These trans individuals are somebody’s children, grandchild. We should care that they’re being wiped out.”
North Dakota - North Dakota legislature approves athlete ban. The bill, HB1298, bars public elementary and secondary schools from “knowingly” permitting trans students to compete on sports teams conforming with their gender identitiy, but allows cis girls to play on boys’ teams. The measure now goes to Gov. Doug Burgum.
Pennsylvania - Erik Larson named new deputy director of LGBT Affairs for Philadelphia. Mayor Jim Kenney’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion announced Erik Larson as the new deputy director of LGBT Affairs on April 14th. Larson started working for the City of Philadelphia in 2018 as a part-time policy fellow, and previously worked as a coordinator in the Office of LGBT Affairs. He holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.
Tennessee - Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce pens open letter to Governor in response to anti-trans bills. The letter is signed by dozens of major corporations and small businesses. The businesses are emphasizing their opposition to anti-transgender legislation Tennessee lawmakers are considering, including HB 1182, which would force businesses to post anti-trans signage outside of bathrooms. Tennessee passes bill allowing parents to waive LGBTQ-related curriculum for their children. The bill passed the state House 64-23 on April 14th and now goes to Gov. Bill Lee's desk for his signature.
Texas - Texas lawmakers considering trans youth medical ban. Senate Bill 1646, filed by State Sen. Charles Perry, would define allowing a child to receive gender affirming care as child abuse on the part of the parents. Texas’s House and Senate committees are simultaneously considering a slate of anti-trans bills that advocates, including PFLAG members, are fighting every day. Texas Senate approves trans athlete ban. Senate Bill 29 bans trans atheltes from participating in sports teams that conform with their gender identity and would require students to show their original, unchanged birth certificate to prove their “biological sex.” The measure now heads to the Texas House of Representatives, which is currently considering its own version of the same bill.
West Virginia - Governor Jim Justice announces he will sign trans athlete ban. The Gov. said in his weekly coronavirus briefing “Personally I feel that absolutely, I just can’t get through my head that it is the right thing for us at a middle school level or a high school level in our state for me not to support the bill.” The bill would ban middle and high school trans athletes from competing with a team conforming with their gender identity.
PFLAG National
1625 K St NW Suite 700 | Washington, District of Columbia 20006
(202) 467-8180 | info@pflag.org
