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18 Dec 2014 - NPWJ News Digest on LGBTI rights
Articles
Latest “Religious Liberty” Fraud: Gay Rights in the Military as a “Threat” to Christianity
By Slate, 15 Dec 2014
Last November, Travis Weber of the Family Research Council—a certified hate group and brainchild of Tony Perkins—testified before Congress about “hostility towards religious belief and its expression in the military.” Weber’s testimony drew largely from “Clear and Present Danger: The Threat to Religious Liberty in the Military,” a report authorized by the FRC. “Clear and Present Danger” is essentially a Gish Gallopthrough a dizzying compilation of overblown or inaccurate claims, each of which attempts to paint Christians in the military as a persecuted minority. Any marginally intelligent person could guess that the report is puerile piffle. But debunking all 61 claims seemed too exhausting to fall within the realm of human possibility. In a 41-page response to the FRC, which will be released widely later this week, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State meticulously deflates or disproves each claim in “Clear and Present Danger.” The result gives us a glimpse into the mindset of far-right religious extremists today and a deeper understanding of how the rallying cry of “religious liberty” can be used to quash free speech, equal protection, and actual free exercise of religion.
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Democrats demand better protections for transgender illegal immigrant children
By Washington Times, 15 Dec 2014
Dozens of congressional Democrats asked federal health officials Monday to take extra steps to protect gay illegal immigrant children from abuse while they’re in custody, including ensuring that transgender children are housed with the sex they identify as. Saying reports of mistreatment “continue to emerge” from federal facilities, the lawmakers asked the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement to improve care for the tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children who streamed across the border over the last year, and who are still coming, though in smaller numbers. “We request ORR to work with providers to ensure that LGBT unaccompanied minors receive affirming and culturally competent care, that placement and housing assignments for transgender youth are consistent with their gender identity, and that appropriate preventative measures and response systems are in place to address incidents of sexual assault as mandated by law,” said the lawmakers, led by Rep. Raul Grijalva, Arizona Democrat. The Democrats said ORR is delinquent on writing new rules that would apply prison rape standards to the 100 or so facilities the agency has contracted to house illegal immigrant children.
Human Rights Watch criticizes Russia, says it fails to protect LGBT people
By CNN, 15 Dec 2014
Russian authorities are failing to protect gay people from persecution and are not prosecuting the perpetrators of a growing number of homophobic attacks, Human Rights Watch says in a new report. Its report calls for a July 2013 anti-gay propaganda law to be repealed, saying many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people interviewed for the report had noticed an increase in persecution since last year. The 2013 legislation bans "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations around minors." This means the public discussion of gay rights and relationships, anywhere children might hear it, is prohibited. Russian and international rights groups have condemned it as highly discriminatory. Many of the LGBT interviewees for the report released Monday reported increased stigma, harassment and violence against them since 2013, the rights group says.
State of LGBT Rights: Married on Sunday, but Fired on Monday
By The Daily Beast, 14 Dec 2014
If you asked most anyone in America how things were going for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, they would probably respond, “Great!” Gay and lesbian people who live in one of the more accepting, urban settings on the East or West Coast might even agree, given that these bastions of liberal thinking have enacted many protections already. Indeed, the struggle for marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples has made great strides, going from a handful of states only a year ago in which gay and lesbian people are able to marry to an astounding 35 states at present. This is amazing progress considering that marriage equality in the first state was achieved scarcely more than a decade ago. But there is still much work to be done to ensure that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are recognized as full citizens of this country with all the rights and protections that citizenship usually bestows.
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