Allison Turner – Enviroshop

Call it Out: Fox & Friends Invites Radical Anti-LGBTQ Activist on Show

August 6, 2018 Allison Turner Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

On July 31, Fox & Friends invited University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson on air to share extremist opinions regarding teaching students tolerance. During his appearance, Peterson asserted that “faculties of education are full of people who are radical.”

Peterson is an anti-LGBTQ extremist, using his platform as a media pundit to spread misinformation that stokes dangerous hatred. On his Twitter account, he has made specious claims that the movement for transgender equality and same-sex parents are a sign of “cultural collapse,” and that “science has not yet proven that trans is even a thing.”

We are calling out Peterson — and Fox & Friends for elevating his extremely dangerous rhetoric.

Last year, HRC debunked myths about transgender people being perpetrated by quacks and bigots like Peterson. Check out our video explainer, part of our McHugh Exposed campaign, here:

A widespread medical consensus and growing body of research have affirmed the reality of transgender people’s identities. Major medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, have reinforced the validity of transgender people’s gender identities, as well as the medical necessity of transition-related care. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians also publicly support inclusive practices for transgender and gender expansive youth.

And Peterson’s ill-informed comments dismissing the importance of inclusive learning environments, and the teachers who help create them, simply promote putting children in peril.

Inclusive schools are key to the success and well-being of LGBTQ students — the exact concept Peterson stands against.
To date, only 19 states and the District of Columbia have enacted anti-bullying laws to protect LGBTQ students from being bullied by students, teachers and school staff on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Meanwhile, just 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed school non-discrimination laws and state-wide regulations to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination in schools on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Without such policies in place, LGBTQ youth remain vulnerable to discrimination, harassment and bullying from peers, teachers and administrators. HRC Foundation and the University of Connecticut recently released the largest-of-its-kind survey of more than 12,000 LGBTQ teenagers across the nation, revealing in distressing detail the persistent challenges so many of them face going about their daily lives at home, at school and in their communities.

It found that these teenagers are not only experiencing heartbreaking levels of stress, anxiety and rejection, but also overwhelmingly feel unsafe in their own school classrooms. Only 27 percent of LGBTQ youth can “definitely” be themselves in school as an LGBTQ person and only 26 percent of LGBTQ youth report that they always feel safe in the classroom.

HRC remains committed to protecting LGBTQ youth and training youth-serving professionals through its the Welcoming Schools program, the All Children-All Families program and the Time to THRIVE conference.

HRC’s “Call It Out” calls out inaccurate, misguided or extreme anti-LGBTQ references in the public square. For more information, check out hrc.org.

HRC Foundation Report Highlights Trump & Pence’s Stealth Attacks on Democracy & the LGBTQ Community

October 7, 2017 Allison Turner Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

Today, HRC Foundation released a new report, Trump’s Administrative Abuse and the LGBTQ Community, highlighting the Trump-Pence administration’s highly unusual and abusive efforts to quietly roll back critical protections, programs and services for the LGBTQ community by bypassing longstanding administrative policies and customs for instituting such changes.

“Under the Trump-Pence administration, federal agencies have ignored long-standing guidelines for engaging the public in policy changes specifically targeting the LGBTQ community and in some instances have failed to report changes all together,” said HRC Associate Legal Director Robin Maril. “This stealth effort by Trump-Pence to disregard the legal safeguards in place to promote consistency and public accountability is undermining public trust and fostering an atmosphere of anxiety and skepticism.”

The new HRC Foundation report details the Trump-Pence administration’s concerted effort to ignore longstanding policy and customs — including those calling for 30- to 90-day public comment periods for most rulemaking. The administration has released a series of complex, high-impact rules with appallingly brief public comment periods — some allowing just days for interested and affected parties to weigh in.

In March, for example, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Community Living (ALC) failed to announce it had removed a crucial question about sexual orientation from the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (NSOAAP), an annual national survey of recipients of select services under the Older Americans Act (OAA). Following an outcry from advocates including HRC, HHS finally issued an announcement correction — but refused to extend the public comment period.

Additionally, the Trump administration has been pushing major and controversial regulation changes affecting LGBTQ people though interim final rules (IFRs), which allow changes to become effective immediately, without public comment. Before Trump was elected, this process was reserved for urgent changes and was rarely used for complex or controversial regulations except in emergencies. In May, Trump proposed an IFR that could strip millions of women and LGBTQ people of access to critical contraceptive care previously guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Vox reported on a leaked draft of the proposal that would allow employers — including for-profit companies — to refuse to provide insurance coverage of birth control on the basis of religious or moral objections.

Also detailed in the HRC Foundation report is Trump’s reliance on social media platforms like Twitter to announce presidential intent, reflecting not only disrespect for the process and the people affected by his pronouncements, but also a dangerous misunderstanding of the limits of his own power. Trump’s unconscionable tweets asserting his intention to bar qualified transgender people from serving their country in the U.S. Military are a prime example of this undemocratic power grab.

Tweets can’t make policy. They don’t carry the force of law, and, as we have seen by Trump’s recent actions, they do not provide federal agencies and their staff with the vision and guidance required to implement policy. Unfortunately, what tweets can do is incite anxiety, undermine the real and valuable daily work of the federal government, and contribute to a corrosive and divisive political atmosphere.

Read the full report, Trump’s Administrative Abuse and the LGBTQ Community, here.

HRC: New Senate Proposal Jeopardizes Health Coverage for Millions of Americans

July 16, 2017 Allison Turner Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

HRC responded to the latest draft of the Senate’s so-called “health care” bill. While the Congressional Budget Office has yet to score this version of the legislation, a previous projection estimated the legislation will result in 22 million Americans losing their health insurance by 2026 — with 15 million losing their insurance by the end of next year.

“Today, Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell released a new draft that would still rip health care from millions of people, with a particularly devastating impact on low-income senior citizens, women, children, LGBTQ people, and people living with HIV,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “Any health care proposal should improve the lives of individuals — not put them at risk. This version of the bill is just as bad as the previous ones. With people’s lives on the line, we urge the Senate to stop this madness and reject this harmful piece of legislation.”

Like the prior versions, the most recent bill undermines core provisions of the landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA). As a result of the ACA, thousands of low-income people living with HIV have been able to obtain health insurance through the Medicaid expansion. This critical coverage ensures that people living with HIV have access to lifesaving treatments. The bill’s drastic changes to Medicaid will likely strip these people, and other vulnerable populations, of essential healthcare coverage.

Beyond repealing these key provisions of the ACA, the bill would also cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which could jeopardize the ability of clinics to deliver preventive health services, including HIV testing and transition-related care. The ACA’s public health and prevention fund, established to expand investments in the nation’s public health infrastructure, would also be repealed. Health centers, like those operated by Planned Parenthood, often offer the only culturally competent healthcare available, especially in rural and isolated areas.

In considering the ACA in 2009 and 2010, the House held 79 hearings over the course of a year, heard from 181 witnesses and accepted 121 amendments. The current House leadership has moved this unacceptable repeal and replacement legislation through the House in a matter of weeks. The Senate adopted the ACA only after approximately 100 hearings, roundtables, walkthroughs and other meetings, and after 25 consecutive days in continuous session debating the bill.

U.S. Supreme Court Remands and Vacates Gavin Grimm Case

March 26, 2017 Allison Turner Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

Today, HRC responded to the news that the Supreme Court of the United States will not hear the case of G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board this term. Gavin Grimm, a transgender boy, filed suit against the school board alleging it violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by denying him use of the boy’s restroom.

“The Supreme Court of the United States sent this case back to the Fourth Circuit as a direct result of the Trump Administration rescinding school guidance protecting transgender students. Now, thousands of transgender students across the country will have to wait even longer for a final decision from our nation’s highest court affirming their basic rights,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “To be clear, transgender students are covered by Title IX and are entitled to the same rights and protections as every other student. But while this plays out in our courts, we are deeply concerned about the consequences this could have for transgender students, who may not be aware of their rights or be subject to increased discrimination by others who feel emboldened by the Trump Administration’s recent actions. Now more than ever it is crucial for all of us to affirm to transgender students that they are equal, they are valued, and there are millions of people across our country who will have their backs, no matter what.”

Today, the Supreme Court sent the Grimm case back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals following the Trump Administration’s decision to rescind protective school guidance for transgender students. Because the Fourth Circuit’s original ruling was heavily based on the Obama Administration’s guidance, the Supreme Court has asked the lower court to revisit the case and rule on the underlying statutory question regarding the scope of Title IX. Title IX prohibits discrimination against transgender students including with respect to restroom access regardless of the guidance.

In June, a federal court ordered the Gloucester County School Board to allow Grimm full access to the restroom that corresponds with his gender identity, consistent with a ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In August, the Supreme Court of the United States halted the lower court’s order, allowing the school board’s discriminatory policy to remain in place while the court awaited an application by the school board to have its full appeal heard.

48 hours after Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General and a day after being sworn in, the Department of Justice moved to eliminate the Obama Administration’s challenge to a nationwide injunction against enforcement of the guidance, allowing the nationwide hold to continue. Despite this action, transgender students facing discrimination can still file suit under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Allowing transgender people to access facilities consistent with their gender identity — something compelled for years by laws in 18 states as well as embraced by hundreds of cities and school districts around the country — has not resulted in problems. On the other hand, forcing transgender students to use sex-segregated facilities contrary to their identity can impose real harm on transgender students, further compounding the discrimination and marginalization they already face.

A recent study correlated the high suicide rates of transgender students with discriminatory bathroom restrictions, and, according to the Youth Suicide Prevention Program, more than 50 percent of transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday.