White House says it won’t roll back LGBTQ protections
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he won’t roll back federal workplace protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people, giving a rare nod of approval to President Barack Obama‘s work on the issue. In a statement released early morning, the White House said Obama’s 2014 executive order prohibiting LGBTQ workplace discrimination would remain intact “at the direction” of Trump. The announcement came just hours before Trump was to announce his pick for the Supreme Court. That nominee, if confirmed by the Senate, would have a say in potential court challenges to gay marriage rights. The Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage in 2015, but efforts are underway in some states to try to restrict the scope of the decision. “President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election,” according to the White House statement. “The president is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression.” The Trump administration has vowed to gut much of President Barack Obama’s work from the past eight years and had been scrutinizing the 2014 order. Obama’s directive protects people from LGBTQ discrimination while working for federal contractors. Human Rights Campaign, an opponent of the Trump administration, said it isn’t convinced of the president’s commitment to LGBTQ rights. HRC President Chad Griffin said Trump “has left the key question unanswered — will he commit to opposing any executive actions that allow government employees, taxpayer-funded organizations or even companies to discriminate?” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Barack Obama to name Stonewall Inn first-ever national monument for gay rights
New York’s iconic Stonewall Inn, where the modern gay rights movement took root, will become the first national monument honoring the history of gays and lesbians in the U.S. under a proposal President Barack Obama is preparing to approve. Designating the small swath of land will mark a major act of national recognition for gay rights advocates and their struggles over the last half-century. Since the 1969 uprising in Greenwich Village, the U.S. has enacted anti-discrimination protections, allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military and legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Though land must still be transferred to the federal government and other details worked out, the president is expected to move quickly to greenlight the monument following a public meeting Monday in Manhattan, according to two individuals familiar with the administration’s plans. They weren’t authorized to discuss the plans publicly and requested anonymity. Next month marks Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month in the U.S. The gritty tavern, known colloquially as the Stonewall, became a catalyst for the gay rights movement after police raided it on June 28, 1969. Bar-goers fought back, and many more joined in street protests over the following days in an uprising widely credited as the start of large-scale gay activism in New York and around the word. Annual pride parades in hundreds of cities commemorate the rebellion. The White House declined to comment. Yet Obama has paid tribute to the site before, most notably in his second inaugural address in 2013. In what’s believed to be the first reference to gay rights in an inaugural address, Obama said the principle of equality still guides the U.S. “just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall.” New York lawmakers have long advocated for a national designation for the Stonewall. Last year, New York City made it a city landmark – the first named primarily because of significance to LGBT history. In Congress, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Jerrold Nadler – both Democrats – are pushing legislation to make the Stonewall a national park while urging Obama to commemorate the site through executive authority. Nadler said the site would serve as “an important reminder of the struggle for equality in our country,” including the ongoing fight for rights for transgender people. Proposals the Obama administration is considering include Christopher Park, a small public area on the street where the Stonewall is located, as well as the surrounding vicinity. At 51 Christopher St., where two adjoining buildings once housed the gay bar, the building where the current Stonewall Inn operates is still a popular gay gathering place. Originally built as stables in the 1840s, the structures still have the brick-and-stucco facade that greeted bar-goers in 1969. A number of procedural steps stand between the Stonewall and formal designation by the president. The first step comes Monday evening at a public school in Manhattan, first reported by The Washington Post. The Interior Department said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis will attend an open meeting about proposals to “protect Christopher Park for future generations.” Obama has made wide use of his power to designate monuments, not only to protect millions of acres of wilderness and ocean but also to honor groups whose struggles for equal treatment have become milestones in U.S. history. Last month, Obama named a historic Washington home as the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. The Human Rights Campaign and other gay rights groups cheered the forthcoming announcement. Corey Johnson, an openly gay New York City councilman who represents the area, said it was “incredibly important” for the federal government to recognize the site. “What happened at Stonewall and at Christopher Park is a key chapter in American history,” Johnson said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Lesbian mother appeals Alabama adoption decision
A lesbian parent in Alabama asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review her case after Alabama judges refused to recognize her adoption that was granted in another state. The woman, known in court filings by her initials V.L, petitioned the high court to step in. She said the Alabama decision prohibits her from seeing the children she helped raise. Cathy Sakimura, of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, called the Alabama decision “terrifying” and said it illustrates the continued legal challenges facing gay and lesbian parents. She said the Alabama court had no legal authority to second-guess the decision of the Georgia court that had granted the adoption. “As a result of that serious constitutional violation, the children in this case have been wrongly separated from one of their parents, and the stability of adoption judgments across the country has been called into question,” Sakimura said. The woman and her former partner had three children, who were conceived with sperm donor assistance, during their 16-year relationship. A Georgia court in 2007 approved V.L.’s adoption of the children that her partner gave birth to. However, the Alabama Supreme Court in September struck down the woman’s visitation rights and ruled the adoption invalid, saying the Georgia court was wrong under that state’s adoption laws to grant it. The Alabama justices said “Georgia law makes no provision for a non-spouse to adopt a child without first terminating the parental rights of the current parents.” Sakimura said her client helped raise the children, now ages 10 to 12, since their births, but isn’t allowed to see the children because of the court decision. Her ex-partner fought her visitation saying the couple lived in Alabama, but only rented a home in Georgia because they believed the court there to be friendlier to adoption petitions by gay couples. The Alabama Supreme Court earlier this year directed probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples even though a federal judge ruled the state’s ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. The directive brought a stop to the weddings until the U.S. Supreme Court said gay and lesbian people have a fundamental right to marry. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
