In a time when equality for the LGBTQ-plus community is a distant dream, a few U.S. lawmakers are pushing legislation that aims to prove America is willing to fight not only for LGBTQ equality but also for LGBTQ lives around the world. The introduction of two new bills — Promoting Respect for Individuals Dignity and Equality Act (“PRIDE Act”), which would act as a form of reparations for the financial harm unjust tax laws caused Read more…
In a time when equality for the LGBTQ community is a distant dream, a few U.S. lawmakers are pushing legislation that aims to prove America is willing to fight not only for LGBTQ equality but also for LGBTQ lives around the world.
The landmark Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v Hodges granted marriage equality to all couples, regardless of gender, stating that same-sex couples “…ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. …It is so ordered.” But for some same-sex couples, the rights granted to them under the Constitution are under attack from all angles, and particularly in regards to the citizenship status of their children. The U.S. State Read more…
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on one of the most unsettled civil rights questions—are LGBTQ people protected by Title VII in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin and sex?
This column was one of the more emotional columns I’ve written for the Philadelphia Gay News. I am writing this sitting in my hotel room at the Dearborn Inn in Michigan, after visiting the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation which houses the historical bus that Rosa Parks rode when she was arrested for violating a Montgomery, Alabama ordinance requiring her to relinquish her bus seat to a white passenger. Rosa Parks’ act of defiance sparked Read more…
While acceptance of LGBTQ individuals has been growing rapidly in the last decade, there are still subsets of people who abhor any orientation other than heterosexual. Coming out is never an easy process for LGBTQ people, no matter their age. For teens experiencing same-sex attraction, particularly those whose families are deeply religious, there are added fears: “What if they kick me out?” “What if they disown me completely?” “What if they make me ‘pray the Read more…
Parents can legally force their LGBTQ children into conversion therapy in all but 14 states, and for those LGBTQ teens living in the other 36 states, conversion therapy is a very real fear.
When the U.S. Supreme Court passed marriage equality in 2015, LGBTQ citizens and their allies rejoiced. But it did not mean full equality in the eyes of the law. There are still questions surrounding LGBTQ civil rights, particularly around children. These questions most often arise when LGBTQ couples with children dissolve their relationship or marriage and the court must make custody determinations. Because children of LGBTQ couples come about in a variety of ways — Read more…