20 Apr 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on on LGBTI rights

Articles

Planned Parenthood Stands Against Texas Assault on Trans Rights
by Advocate, 19 Apr 2017

In Texas last week, in an effort to pass the state budget, extreme politicians dropped an amendment that would have prohibited transgender Texans from using the public restroom that corresponds with their gender identity while keeping an amendment that would block people from getting health care at Planned Parenthood. In the media and in the Texas capitol, this backroom deal is being treated as a compromise — as if the ability of transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity is preserved for now. That is nowhere near the truth. A bill modeled after North Carolina’s “bathroom bill,” which has already passed the state Senate, could still be passed by the Texas House. Texas politicians’ budget bill “compromise” is a distraction — so that they can feel free to further limit Texans’ access to birth control, cancer screenings, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. And make no mistake: Any attack on Planned Parenthood is an attack on the health and well-being of people of all gender identities, including transgender and gender-nonconforming people. According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, nearly a quarter of transgender adults say they have avoided getting health care because of fear of being mistreated, and 33 percent avoided getting health care because they could not afford it. In a world that is far too often hostile and unsafe for trans people, Planned Parenthood strives to be a safe place for people of all identities to get the care and information they need to stay healthy and live the lives they want. In many communities, a Planned Parenthood health center may be one of the few spaces where someone’s gender identity is acknowledged, respected, and understood. We are proud to be a source of health care, information, and education to people of all gender identities.

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Droits des LGBTI : que proposent les candidats ?
by Libération, 19 Apr 2017

Commençons par des impressions générales. Les droits LGBTI et la lutte contre les discriminations ont loin d’avoir été au cœur de la campagne. Aucune question n’a ainsi été posée sur la diversité des familles et les modes de procréation lors des grands débats télévisuels. Certains candidats, même à gauche, ont fait du pied à l’électorat catho-tradi-conservateur (en mode «on a humilié cette France-là»), d’autres convergent avec la Manif pour tous et ses émanations politiques (Sens commun) et le sujet n’est plus porteur. Seuls Benoît Hamon, Emmanuel Macron, Jean-Luc Mélenchon et Philippe Poutou y consacrent un espace dans leurs programmes ou sur leurs sites de campagne. Dans le programme des autres, les droits des lesbiennes, des gays, des bisexuels, des trans et des intersexes sont soit menacés (François Fillon, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Marine Le Pen), soit invisibles. Ainsi, l’UPR, le parti de François Asselineau «ne s’exprime pas sur les sujets de société». Pour Jacques Cheminade (Solidarité & Progrès), de même, «ce sont des questions importantes mais pas fondamentales». Mariage et adoption Touchera, touchera pas à la loi Taubira ? Aujourd’hui, le débat n’est plus à ce niveau : les anciens opposants au mariage pour tous que sont Jean Lassalle, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, et François Fillon ne souhaitent pas enlever aux homosexuel(le)s le droit de se marier. Seule Marine Le Pen plaide pour l’abrogation (sans effet rétroactif) de la loi du 17 mai 2013. Le mariage serait remplacé par un «pacs amélioré». Emmanuel Macron, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Benoît Hamon et Philippe Poutou, quant à eux, restent attachés à la loi. Le candidat de La France insoumise va plus loin en promettant de «mettre fin, de façon assumée et publique, aux discriminations au mariage pour tou·te·s concernant les onze nationalités exclues» des conventions binationales sur ces unions.

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LGBT advocates seek to label opponents as U.S. hate groups
by Reuters, 18 Apr 2017

A liberal coalition on Thursday started a campaign to label socially conservative organizations that oppose transgender rights as hate groups, ratcheting up the antagonism between opposing sides on one of America's most contentious debates. The Eliminate Hate Campaign seeks to draw attention to groups it sees as extreme and hateful against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, accusing them of hiding behind ostensibly Christian or family values. Alarmed by a surge in reported hate crimes tied to the 2016 presidential campaign, the campaign will pressure the media to use the hate-group designation for about 50 organizations in the United States, based on designations already made by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has long monitored extremist groups. It also will encourage the public to oppose extremism and seek to diminish the prestige of groups it believes spread fear and lies about LGBT people. Conservatives have promised to dig in for a long fight in the debate over whether transgender people deserve legal protection against discrimination and the right to use the public bathrooms of their choice. Several of the targeted groups said they reject any hate designation as an attempt to silence them.

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India holds first state trans sports competition and meet up
by Pink News, 17 Apr 2017

An Indian state is set to hold the country’s first ever meet-up for trans sports people, with competitors taking part in a variety of races and events. Organised by the Kerala State Sports Council, it will be the first event for trans sports people at a state level in the country. Speaking to The Times of India, event organiser Anil Arjunan said the government initiative was hoping to attract about 20 participants from each district. Events will include 100m and 220m sprints, shot put, long jump and relay. Events will include 100m and 220m sprints, shot put, long jump and relay with competitors racing against those from both their own and other districts. Participants will also get the chance to take part in a three-day warm up, with coaching available in different disciplines. Shyama, a 25-year-old trans medical graduate who is also on the event’s organising committee, said the event will be a “revival of dreams” after shying away from sport at school. “‘Why do you run like a woman?’ This was a common question encountered by many of us and the fear of mockery forces us to stay away from sports days in schools and colleges. “Even though we have made our presence felt in the cultural space and showcased our talents like in mimicry, dance, mono act and so on, we were never given a platform to explore experience our skills in sports until now.”

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