The press secretary for Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that the governor soon will rescind an executive order signed in May by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal that allowed businesses and state agencies to refuse to provide services to gays if doing so contravened their "sincerely held religious beliefs," Deadline reported. The announcement, made in response to a Deadline inquiry, came hours after Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal—under mounting pressure from Hollywood, media and other companies nationwide—vetoed a similar religious-freedom bill in his state that had been widely criticized as being anti-gay. Georgia and Louisiana, with their tax incentives, are two of the nation's top film-producing states.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said his office "will not defend the constitutionality of the discrimination in House Bill 2," the sweeping anti-LGBT law the North Carolina General Assembly passed and Governor Pat McCrory signed. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Equality NC, and Lambda Legal filed a joint statement saying, in part, "As our lawsuit highlighted yesterday, House Bill 2 singles out the LGBT community for discrimination. That's not only incompatible with the state's constitutional and legal obligations but also our shared values as North Carolinians. We're grateful the Attorney General stands on the on the right side of history with the many cities, states, businesses and individuals who have come out against this harmful measure."
In Los Angeles, 32-year-old trans woman of color Kourtney Yochum—who also went by Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum on Facebook—was shot and murdered following a domestic dispute with man who has been arrested, Autostraddle reported. She has become the seventh trans person murdered in the United States this year. Other trans individuals murdered this year include trans women of color Monica Loera, Jasmine Sierra and Maya Young as well as Black genderfluid teen Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson and trans men Demarkis Stansberry and Kayden Clarke.
New York City police are searching for a man suspected of sexually assaulting a transgender woman in a bathroom at the historic Stonewall Inn bar in Greenwich Village, The Associated Press reported. Police said the victim was in the unisex bathroom when the unknown man entered and apparently sexually assaulted her, adding that the suspect fled the bathroom, returned a short time later and assaulted her a second time before leaving. Stonewall Inn is the site of 1969 riots that helped give rise to the gay rights movement. Two New York legislators have started a campaign to designate Stonewall Inn as the first national landmark honoring LGBT history.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has banned city workers from non-essential travel to North Carolina after that state approved legislation preventing anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, according to an LGBTQ Nation item. Lee said in a statement that residents in the city with a large gay and lesbian population "will not subsidize legally sanctioned discrimination." North Carolina Gov. Pat McGrory signed legislation voiding a Charlotte ordinance that would have allowed transgender people to legally use restrooms aligned with their gender identity—and the law prevents cities and counties from passing anti-discrimination rules and imposes a statewide standard that leaves out protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Researchers are calling on the federal government to begin collecting information about LGBT students' experiences at the nation's schools, arguing that such data collection is necessary to protect against disproportionate rates of suspension and expulsion, The Washington Post reported. "When we fail to ask questions about youths' sexual orientation and gender identity, we fail to understand, support and protect all students from discrimination in schools," wrote a group of researchers in a brief paper published by Indiana University's Equity Project. However, the project admitted that asking people about their sexual orientation and gender identity is fraught with privacy issues.
In Texas, Prairie View A&M University announced that Dawn Brown will not return as women's basketball coach next season—and the coach said she was fired for allegedly violating Title IX, KHOU.com reported. Brown removed two members of her team during the season for dating each other; Brown said the relationship broke a team rule that she put in place before the season. The former players filed a complaint that said their dismissal was based on sexual orientation and that it violated Title IX, the law that bans discrimination based on sex at schools receiving federal funds.
Delaware has become the 15th state to ban insurance companies from limiting or excluding healthcare coverage for transgender people, DelawareOnline.com reported. Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart issued a bulletin prohibiting private insurers from denying, canceling, terminating, limiting, restricting or refusing to issue plans based on a person's gender identity or transgender status. or if the person is undergoing a gender transition. Companies also cannot impose different health insurance premiums or rates based on a person's gender identity.
Marquette University political-science professor John McAdams will remain suspended without pay, following a controversial blog post in October 2014, CBS58.com reported. The University is suspending McAdams without pay until January 2017; he says he's also been told he must write an apology letter to begin working again—something he has no plans to do. In the post, McAdams said that graduate assistant Cheryl Abbate silenced a student's opposition to same-sex marriage, skimming over the topic in class and then in a post-class conversation.
Kathryn Knott, sentenced to five to 10 months in jail for an attack on a gay couple in Philadelphia in 2014, won't receive the reduced sentence she requested, Advocate.com noted, citing Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne Covington ruled that the sentence is appropriate, saying that Knott is still "in need of correction." Knott was convicted in December of simple assault, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to commit simple assault in the attack on Zachary Hesse and his boyfriend, Andrew Haught, in September 2014.
A 37-year-old Canton, Ohio, man was ticketed for malicious destruction of property after damaging the smartphone belonging to the unrelated 18-year-old man who lives with him, NewNowNext reported, citing Home Town Life. They were apparently having an argument that became physical over each other's alleged use of the gay networking app Grindr. The older man reportedly broke his glasses in the fall and suffered a small cut on his face, but was ultimately issued a citation for damaging his younger housemate's phone.
The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging a ban on letters, magazines and other mail sent to inmates at a Kentucky prison that contains material with gay-related content, The Associated Press noted. Kentucky ACLU legal director William Sharp has written to the West Liberty-based Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex to object to a policy that bans prisoners from receiving items that "promote homosexuality." Sharp was quoted as saying that the prison rejected mail for that reason on at least 13 occasions since August—what he said are violations of prisoners' First Amendment rights.
The Washington, D.C., Office of Human Rights ( OHR ) released the findings of a six-month study that showed 48 percent of employers appeared to prefer at least one less-qualified job applicant over a better-qualified applicant perceived as being transgender, according to The Washington Blade. The study involved sending 200 "test" cover letters and resumes prepared by OHR to 38 employers that advertised 50 individual job openings, according to an OHR statement. The statement says OHR sent two sets of cover letters and resumes to each of the advertised job openings from "applicants" who appeared to be transgender and another two sets from applicants who were portrayed as non-transgender.
The Vermont Senate has voted overwhelmingly to advance a bill banning the use of what's called ''conversion therapy,'' which is most often directed at young gay and lesbian people in a bid to make them heterosexual, The Associated Press reported. The bill makes it unprofessional conduct—subject to sanction by a state regulatory board—for a medical or mental health professional to use conversion therapy with someone younger than 18. Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell said he was surprised to learn Vermont had not banned conversion therapy already.
A second Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice quit the bench in a widening scandal over raunchy and otherwise offensive emails that he and others exchanged with friends and lawyers, CBS News reported. Republican Justice Michael Eakin's decision to retire marks the latest fallout since embattled state Attorney General Kathleen Kane began releasing hundreds of emails in 2014 to the media and ethics agencies. Justice Seamus McCaffery, a Democrat, abruptly retired in 2014 after being suspended by the court for his role in swapping the emails.
The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association ( NLGJA ) announced an expansion of the Excellence in Journalism Awards by 11 categories, a press release stated. New categories include excellence in column writing, feature writing ( non-daily ), a digital edition, digital video, health/fitness coverage, newswriting ( non-daily ), podcasts, profile writing, social media, transgender coverage and travel writing. Submissions are due Tuesday, April 19; awards will be presented throughout the NLGJA National Convention & LGBT Media Summit Sept. 8-11 in Miami.
During a news segment on Donald Trump's recent attacks on Heidi Cruz, out CNN anchor Lemon was trying to get Trump supporter ( and former Apprentice contestant ) Omarosa to answer a question about the tweet Trump had posted insulting Heidi Cruz's appearance—when Lemon lost his temper, according to TheGrio. "I don't think we should start there," Omarosa said and tried to steer the conversation in the direction of the Super PAC that ran an ad featuring a nude Melania Trump. Later, Lemon said, "Cut the mic, everybody. We're not doing that. I want everyone on this panel to answer the question directly," he said. When Omarosa objected to the rule, Lemon cut to commercial.
To kick off Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, Men's Health Network ( MHN ) is launching a new website to promote organizations that are engaged in testicular-cancer awareness and to help educate people about risk factors, warning signs, and treatment options for the disease, a press release stated. TesticularCancerAwarenessMonth.com offers videos, research articles, and awareness activities to turn a difficult-to-discuss problem into an interactive and easier-to-approach learning experience. Testicular cancer has the one of the highest survival rates, if found early.
