Category: Human Rights Campaign

Today, HRC Foundation officially launched its second annual HRC Equidad MX: Programa Global de Equidad Laboral, an assessment evaluating LGBT workplace inclusive policies and practices within major Mexican businesses and other employers.

This year, 69 Mexican employers earned the HRC Foundation’s designation of “Best Place to Work for the LGBT Community” or “Mejores Lugares para Trabajar LGBT,” more than doubling the number of Mexican businesses that explicitly support inclusion of LGBT individuals in the workplace, and reflecting the commitment of corporate leaders to advance LGBT equality and foster inclusive and safe workplace environments for their employees.

The 2019 HRC Equidad MX Report assessed major Mexican businesses and multinational companies based on three core pillars of LGBT inclusion:

• Adoption of nondiscrimination policies;
• Creation of employee resource groups or diversity and inclusion councils; and
• Engagement in public activities to support LGBT inclusion.

Following last year’s successful inaugural program in which 32 major employers in Mexico — including PEMEX, the largest company in the country and one of the largest in Latin America — earned the HRC Foundation top LGBT workplace inclusion designation, Equidad MX seeks to expand the network of inclusive employers throughout Mexico.

“We are proud to witness the growth of LGBT-inclusive businesses throughout Mexico. This year’s honorees keenly understand that the economy of the future is built with the diverse talent of today, and that LGBT inclusion is key to attracting and retaining the best workforce,” said Deena Fidas, HRC Director of HRC Equidad MX and HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program. “Mexican multinational companies have enormous economies and employ thousands of people. This gives them the ability to influence change on this issue in a unique way, and we are delighted to recognize them for this commitment.”

Fidas delivered remarks at the Mexico City-based HRC recognition event, supported by the Pride Connection and prominent LGBT-committed Mexican corporate partners. Fidas, who also leads HRC Equidad CL (HRC’s second in-country workplace program) and co-authors the HRC annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the premier national benchmarking tool on corporate LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices in the U.S.

“HRC Equidad MX 2019 is an unprecedented moment for LGBT inclusion in Mexico and the Latin American region,” said Francisco Robledo and Fernando Velázquez, HRC Equidad MX Implementing Partners. “Corporate leaders in Mexico increasingly recognize that when they stand up for LGBT people, including their own employees, customers, and consumers, they promote justice while also serving their bottom line.”

“Respect and support for diversity has been part of Uber’s DNA from day one. We know that one of our main strengths is a diverse and inclusive team that questions the status quo and drives innovation,” said Federico Ranero, CEO of Uber Mexico. “At Uber, we work every day to create a workplace where everyone is respected and included, everyone is able to be who they are, and where authenticity is celebrated as one of our strengths. We are honored to be recognized by HRC Equity MX for second consecutive year.”

“The inclusive culture of Scotiabank is a reflection of our geographical presence. It allows and obligates us to take advantage of the wide range of skills, knowledge and talent in all of our global operations,” said Thayde Olarte, Vice President of Digital Banking at Scotiabank Mexico. “Our diverse talent is both the result of a diverse society and a business strategy. Where there is diverse and inclusive workforce, there is greater productivity, commitment and customer retention.”

Earlier this year, HRC held a two-week series of business workshops, convening corporate leaders and civil society stakeholders to bolster greater LGBT inclusion in Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Mexico. Through its global workplace equality programs HRC Equidad MX and HRC Equidad CL, the HRC Foundation is leading the effort to advance LGBT workplace inclusion in workplaces across the U.S., Mexico and Chile, impacting more than 14.5 million employees worldwide.

HRC is proud to join with Lexmark México, DELL EMC, Citibanamex, Philip Morris México, Bain & Company, INE, Unilever, SAP México, TE Connectivity, Access Quality, Uber, CompuCom, EY México, Pepsico México, Sony Music Entertainment, Herman Miller, AT&T, México, Coca-Cola FEMSA, J.P. Morgan, Baker McKenzie, Oliver Wyman, Aeroméxico, HSBC México, SONOVA México, Grupo Modelo, Scotiabank México, Lubrizol, Google, Accenture, BASF, Kellogg Company Mexico, Los Cabos International Film Festival, 3M, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Grupo Gayosso, Pfizer México, Procter & Gamble, Cisco Systems, Nielsen México, The Boston Consulting Group, Edelman, IBM México, MetLife México, General Motors de México, McKinsey & Company México, Creel, García – Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez, Cinépolis, American Airlines, SEPHORA México, Thomson Reuters, Pernod Ricard México, Ford Motor Company, Museo Memoria y Tolerancia, Nike México, Mundo Joven Travel Shop, American Express México, PayPal México, Porter Novelli, Sodexo México On Site Services, Walmart de México y Centroamérica, Softtek, Media Marketing Knowledge Group, Volteo, Microsoft, Facebook México, Diageo, Mastercard, DOW and General Electric to celebrate LGBTQ-inclusion in the workplace.

Here is a list in alphabetical order:

3M

Accenture

Access Quality

Aeroméxico

American Airlines

American Express México

AT&T

Bain & Company

Baker McKenzie

BASF

The Boston Consulting Group

Cinépolis

Cisco Systems

Citibanamex

Coca-Cola FEMSA

CompuCom

Creel, García – Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez

DELL EMC

Diageo

DOW  

Edelman

EY México

Facebook México

Ford Motor Company

General Electric

General Motors de México

Google

Grupo Gayosso

Grupo Modelo

Herman Miller

HSBC México

IBM México

INE

J.P. Morgan

Kellogg Company Mexico

Lexmark México

Los Cabos International Film Festival

Lubrizol

Mastercard

McKinsey & Company México

Media Marketing Knowledge Group

MetLife México

Microsoft,

Mundo Joven Travel Shop

Museo Memoria y Tolerancia

Nielsen México

Nike México,

Oliver Wyman,

PayPal México

Pepsico México

Pernod Ricard México

Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX)

Pfizer México

Philip Morris México

Porter Novelli

Procter & Gamble

SAP México

Scotiabank México,

SEPHORA México

Sodexo México On Site Services

Softtek

SONOVA México,

Sony Music Entertainment

TE Connectivity

Thomson Reuters

Uber

Unilever

Volteo

Walmart de México y Centroamérica

For more information on the HRC Equidad MX program, visit hrc.im/equidadMX or email equidadmx@hrc.org to learn more about participating in the HRC Foundation’s Equidad MX survey.

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Responding to a rising tide of legislative and administrative attempts to further marginalize transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex people – detailed in a recent report by the New York Times on administrative efforts to erase transgender non-discrimination protections through reinterpretation of existing law – 121 additional companies, including 49 enterprise businesses and 73 small and mid-size companies, have joined the Business Statement for Transgender Equality since it was first published on November 1.

178 companies in total have now signed the statement, which asserts that diversity and inclusion are good for business, observes that discrimination significantly harms transgender people and imposes enormous productivity costs, and calls for full equality for transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex people under the law. The full text of the statement is included below.

The companies that have signed the statement represent more than 7 million employees, have a collective annual revenue of more than $3.2 trillion, and are drawn from a broad range of industries including financial services, consumer products, and technology.

Sixteen LGBTQ+ community organizations, led by Out Leadership and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), have organized the effort to secure corporate signatories. The coalition also includes: Athlete Ally, Freedom for All Americans, GLAAD, GLSEN, Lambda Legal, The Matthew Shepard Foundation, The National Center for Transgender Equality, The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, The National LGBTQ Task Force, Out & Equal, PFLAG National, The Trevor Project, The Transgender Law Center, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF).

“We’re deeply inspired to see so many of the world’s leading companies speaking with a united voice in support and defense of transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex people. And we’re grateful to every company that’s signed on, including the Out Leadership members who stood up immediately to call for this statement. As we continue to see in our work around the world, including at our Summits in Australia last week and Asia this week, the business community is serving as a crucial backstop for hard-earned progress on LGBT+ equality – because inclusive cultures are more innovative, more productive, and more efficient, and because it’s the right thing to do.” — Todd Sears, Founder and Principal, Out Leadership

“In one united voice, the business community is making clear they stand with the transgender community against the Trump-Pence administration’s unconscionable efforts to gut enforcement of existing civil rights protections. These businesses are speaking out at a crucially important moment as the LGBTQ community faces relentless attacks on equality. No matter how hard the Trump-Pence administration continues to try, we will not be erased.” — Jay Brown, Acting Senior Vice President for Programs, Research, and Training, Human Rights Campaign

“So often, these discriminatory policies are made in the name of Business, but companies and communities know that discrimination is – in fact – bad for business. Millions of Americans who believe in equality for all are watching – and they’re spending and investing based on this value. Transgender people are deserving of employment, equality, and respect, and the companies who have signed this statement know that, and are stronger for it.” — Erin Uritus, CEO, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates

—

Business statement for transgender equality

November 13, 2018

We, the undersigned businesses, stand with the millions of people in America who identify as transgender or gender non-binary, or who are intersex, and call for all such people to be treated with the respect and dignity everyone deserves.

We oppose any administrative and legislative efforts to erase transgender protections through reinterpretation of existing laws and regulations. We also fundamentally oppose any policy or regulation that violates the privacy rights of those that identify as transgender or gender non-binary, or who are intersex.

In the last two decades, dozens of federal courts have affirmed the rights and identities of transgender people. Cognizant of growing medical and scientific consensus, courts have recognized that policies that force people into a binary gender definition determined by birth anatomy fail to reflect the complex realities of gender identity and human biology.

Recognizing that diversity and inclusion are good for business, and that discrimination imposes enormous productivity costs (and exerts undue burdens), hundreds of companies, including the undersigned, have continued to expand inclusion for transgender people across corporate America. Currently more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 have clear gender identity protections; two-thirds have transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage; hundreds have LGBTQ+ and Allies business resource groups and internal training efforts.

Transgender, gender non-binary, and intersex people are our beloved family members and friends, and our valued team members. What harms them harms our companies.

We call for respect and transparency in policy-making, and for equality under the law for transgender, gender non-binary, and intersex people.

Enterprise Businesses

As of November 1, 2018

Accenture

Adobe Systems Inc.

Airbnb

Altria Group

Amalgamated Bank

Amazon

American Airlines

Apple

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP)

Bank of America

Ben & Jerry’s Homemade

BNY Mellon

Cargill

Cisco Systems Inc.

Citi

Clifford Chance

The Coca-Cola Company

Corning Incorporated

Corteva Agriscience™, the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont

Deutsche Bank

The Dow Chemical Company

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

Facebook

Fastly, Inc.

Google

Hogan Lovells

HSBC

IBM Corporation

Intel Corporation

Intuit Inc.

Iron Mountain

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co.

LinkedIn

Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

Lyft

Marriott International

MassMutual

MGM Resorts International

Microsoft Corp.

Nike, Inc.

PepsiCo

Replacements, Ltd.

Ropes & Gray

Royal Bank of Canada

S&P Global

Salesforce

Sheppard Mullin

Sodexo Inc.

Splunk

State Street Corporation

TiVo Corporation

Trillium Asset Management

Twitter Inc.

Uber

Warby Parker

 

As of November 13, 2018

Allen & Overy

AMD

American Express

Asana, Inc.

Atlassian

Best Buy Co. Inc.

BNP Paribas

BounceX

Cardinal Health

Converse, Inc.

Couchbase, Inc.

Cummins

Deloitte LLP

Diageo

Dropbox Inc.

eBay Inc.

Ecolab

Etsy, Inc.

EY

Gamestop

Gap Inc.

GitHub

GSK

Gusto

Hilton Worldwide Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

Kaiser Permanente

Littler

Macmillan

Mastercard

Mercer

Mozilla

Ogilvy

Omnicom Group

Orrick

PayPal

Perkins & Will

Perkins Coie LLP

Progressive Insurance

Quantcast

Sanofi US

Shutterstock, Inc.

Spotify

Square

Squarespace, Inc.

Swiss Re

Tableau

ViiV Healthcare

Workday

 

Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

As of November 13, 2018

7R Media & Expeditions

AdRoll, Inc., dba AdRoll Group

America Competes

Automattic

Bento Box Communications

Betterment

Bizzabo

Brain+Trust Partners

Branch Metrics

Braze, Inc. (formerly Appboy)

Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

Chef Software

Civis Analytics

Collective Health

Combs Advisory Services

Complete Marketing Systems

Cultivating Change Foundation

Dallas Voice

Dialog Group

Donatti Translation & Interpreting

Elettore

EnFocus Strategies

Fernandez & Company

Five North Chocolate

Foursquare

Freedom QA

GALA NTX

Grand Rounds, Inc

Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Handshake

Headspace

Hootsuite

Intersection

Lab Monkey Communications

Lansky Career Consultants

Lime

Litmus Software, Inc.

Lola.com

Mango Digital, LLC

MapAnything, Inc

MediaMath

Megawatt Analytics, LLC

Minted

Mitosis Management

Modern Columbus Realty

Momentum Psychological Services, PLLC

Nakanishi Research & Consulting LLC

New Relic

NightSHIFT Communicator’s Network

Nuna

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)

OutSmart Magazine

Owkin

Patreon

Peloton

Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus

Pivotal

Rathman Consulting & Coaching, Inc.

Rhodes Perry Consulting, LLC

Rudner Law Offices

Safe Connections

Shift Technologies, Inc.

Signal Digital, Inc.

Sprout Social

Strava

Studio 5 – Learning + Development, LLC

SweetRush Inc

Texas Competes Action

The Ally Coalition

TripActions

TripAdvisor

Twilio

Witeck Communications, Inc.

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Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released hate crime statistics for 2017 revealing a dist…

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Today, in the lead up to November 24 referendums in Taiwan in which marriage equality and inclusion of LGBTQ issues in school curricula are on the ballot, 27 Taiwanese and multinational companies operating in Taiwan released a statement in support of LGBTQ equality. The major businesses are joined by six non-governmental organizations operating in Taiwan and globally.

Noting that diversity and inclusion are good for business, and that discrimination significantly harms LGBTQ people and imposes enormous productivity costs, the statement calls for full equality under the law, including marriage equality and the continued inclusion of LGBTQ issues in school curricula. The full text of the statement is included below.

In total, there are five ballot initiatives on November 24 that will impact LGBTQ people in Taiwan. Three initiatives would harm LGBTQ people, including two attempting to undermine a landmark Taiwanese Constitutional Court decision supporting marriage equality and another that would repeal a portion of the Gender Equity Education Act — which supports LGBTQ inclusion in Taiwan’s school curriculum. In contrast, two other initiatives would affirm marriage equality and the importance of the Gender Equity Education Act.

Last year, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court made international headlines by issuing a first-of-its-kind ruling in Asia affirming marriage equality. The court’s ruling mandated that the Legislative Yuan update Taiwan’s marriage law by May 2019 to allow same-sex couples to marry. While LGBTQ advocates in Taiwan have made important progress in recent years, including majority support for marriage equality and support by the current president of Taiwan, these gains could be threatened by the anti-LGBTQ ballot initiatives.

The companies signing the statement in support of LGBTQ equality represent thousands of employees in Taiwan and are drawn from a broad range of industries, including financial services, consumer products, professional services, and technology. Six LGBTQ organizations, led by the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBT) Hotline Association, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, organized the effort to secure corporate signatories.  

“We’re thankful these Taiwanese and multinational companies are speaking in one united voice in support of LGBTQ equality. These companies know that achieving marriage equality in Taiwan is not just the right thing to do, it’s also good for business. We believe that respecting diversity and inclusion can bring harmony and strength to society.” — Jennifer Lu, Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBT) Hotline Association

“These major businesses are speaking out in one united voice to make clear they stand with the Taiwanese LGBTQ community in their fight for equality,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global, Human Rights Campaign. “This is a pivotal moment for equality in the region, as Taiwan is set to become the first in Asia to recognize marriage equality. In order to keep the momentum moving forward, now more than ever, it’s important that fair-minded voices speak out and voice their support for LGBTQ equality.”

“We applaud these leading Taiwanese and multinational corporations for publicly standing with their LGBTQ employees and the entire community in Taiwan,” said Erin Uritus, CEO, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.  “These companies know that creating an environment where their LGBTQ employees feel welcome and respected – both within their companies and in society more broadly – is not only the right thing to do, it’s also good for business and good for Taiwan.”

—

Statement in Support of LGBTQ Inclusion in Taiwan

Diversity, inclusion, respect, equality and non-discrimination are values that we cherish and seek to uphold in our companies and in our business dealings. We do this not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes our companies and our society stronger and more successful.

Research has shown that a diverse workforce is more creative, productive, and competitive. Policies that support and promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace also help businesses in Taiwan attract and retain the top talent we need to remain competitive in the global economy.

As such, employees in same-sex relationships deserve the same right to marry in Taiwan as other couples. Furthermore, Taiwanese students deserve an education that prepares them to engage in a world where diversity and inclusion is prioritized.

For these reasons, we support marriage equality and diversity and inclusion efforts in Taiwan. We believe our businesses—and Taiwan’s society and economy—are strongest when we put aside our differences and find strength in our commonalities.

Taiwanese companies

9floor

ALPHA Camp

Backer-Founder co.ltd

Bounty tavern

Canmeng International Inc.

CASETEK HOLDINGS LIMITED

FunNow

Hahow

justfont.Inc

KUNNEX Incorporated

Morningshop

Oriented Enterprise Co., LTD

Pegatron Corporation

Portico Media

Proteinshop

QLL PTE. LTD.

ystudio.co., LTD

Multinational companies in Taiwan

Airbnb

Deutsche Bank

The Dow Chemical Company

Ernst & Young (EY)

Google

HP

IBM Corporation

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Microsoft

Oracle

Non-governmental organizations

Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBT) Hotline Association

Human Rights Campaign

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates

Council for Global Equality

Freedom to Marry Global Action

Open for Business

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Last week’s election saw historic levels of support for transgender people across the country.&nbsp…

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Tonight, HRC celebrated historic victories for HRC-endorsed LGBTQ candidates and pro-equality allies in key races across the nation. Dozens of HRC-backed candidates declared victory tonight, following 18 months of unprecedented engagement and voter mobilization in more than 70 congressional races and key state-level races from governor to state legislature in 23 states from coast-to-coast.

In the summer of 2017, the Human Rights Campaign launched HRC Rising, the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history. Since then, HRC has endorsed more than 480 pro-equality candidates nationwide, and deployed 150 staff to organize and mobilize voters in more than 70 congressional, targeted senate and key statewide races across 23 states. HRC also backed more women and people of color than in any election cycle in its history: 45 percent of HRC’s endorsees were women — including 55 percent of non-incumbent candidates — and nearly one-third were people of color.

Tonight, a record number of LGBTQ lawmakers were elected at all levels. Notably, Senator Tammy Baldwin was re-elected to the U.S. Senate. Jared Polis became the first openly gay man to be elected governor in the United States. Oregon Governor Kate Brown, the first LGBTQ governor in history, was re-elected. Sharice Davids became the first gay Native American lawmaker in Congress. And a record number of out LGBTQ candidates were elected and re-elected to the U.S. Congress.

HRC helped register more than 32,000 voters and recruited more than 4,200 volunteers, who worked over 8,500 shifts and clocked more than 30,000 volunteer hours. In the critical final four days of the campaign, HRC staff and volunteers in get-out-the-vote efforts alone knocked on more than 80,000 doors, and held 36,400 conversations with voters at their doors and by phone on behalf of our endorsed candidates.

Since June, HRC President Chad Griffin has barnstormed the country campaigning for 50 pro-equality candidates at more than 70 events in 47 cities across 23 states.

“Tonight, millions of LGBTQ voters and allies across the nation rejected the politics of hate and fear and put Donald Trump and Mike Pence on notice,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The days of attacking LGBTQ people for political gain are over, and the American people will not stand for lawmakers who try to drum up votes by trafficking in hate. Thanks to millions of Americans who stood up and fought back, we have succeeded in restoring a sane, pro-equality majority to the House and placing a check on this administration’s hateful agenda. To the 3 million members of the Human Rights Campaign who have worked tirelessly for the last 18 months to out-organize and out-mobilize anti-LGBTQ extremists nationwide, thank you for making history tonight. Together we have sent a loud and clear message that if you come for us, then we will come for you on Election Day.”

HRC’s unprecedented grassroots mobilization represented an investment of approximately $26 million to  recruit volunteers, mobilize constituents, register voters and grow the organization’s grassroots army in an all-out effort to pull the emergency brake on the hateful anti-LGBTQ agenda of the Trump-Pence administration and elect a Congress that would hold them accountable.

HRC’s Equality Votes PAC spent $3.2 million to drive turnout through direct mail and digital ads in priority races including Senator Tammy Baldwin, Jacky Rosen, Kyrsten Sinema, Harley Rouda, Mike Levin, and Representatives-elect Sharice Davids and Angie Craig. HRC also invested in six-figure GOTV ads in Georgia and Florida. Through tested digital ads, HRC was able to reach a total of 4.6 million voters across priority races.

We also celebrate a historic victory in Massachusetts where voters upheld non-discrimination protections for transgender people in public spaces. Question 3 – which asked voters whether to maintain a 2016 law protecting transgender people from discrimination in critical public accommodations including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, stores and public transportation – was the first time gender identity non-discrimination protections were on a statewide ballot independent of protections based on sexual orientation. HRC serves as a founding executive committee member of Freedom for All Massachusetts, a coalition of national and state equal rights organizations, which led the successful Yes on 3 Campaign.

Over the last two years, the Trump-Pence administration has relentlessly attacked the LGBTQ community, from a “license-to-discriminate” executive order to revoking protections for transgender students to unconscionably attempting to ban brave transgender troops from serving openly. Within the last two weeks, the New York Times reported that the administration was secretly planning to redefine “sex” to exclude transgender people in an intentional effort to eliminate federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. A list of the administration’s attacks over the last two years can be found here.

HRC has released a number of statements on major victories for top HRC-backed candidates. 

• Victory For HRC-Backed Senator Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin
• Victory for HRC-Backed Candidate Jared Polis, Nation’s First Openly Gay Man Elected Governor
• Victory for HRC-Backed Candidates in Historic Pennsylvania Election
• Victory for HRC-Backed Candidates in Historic Michigan Election
• Victory for HRC-Backed Sharice Davids: 1st Native Woman in Congress, 1st LGBTQ Member from Kansas
• Victory for HRC-Backed U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and State Senator-Elect Nickie Antonio in Ohio
• Victory for HRC-Backed Candidates Amy Klobuchar, Angie Craig and Tina Smith in Historic Minnesota Election
• Victory for HRC-Backed Oregon Governor Kate Brown
• Victory for HRC-Backed Candidates J.B. Pritzker, Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood in Historic Illinois Election
• Victory for HRC-Backed Candidates Tom Malinowski and Mikie Sherrill in Historic New Jersey Election
• Victory for HRC-Backed Jennifer Wexton & Abigail Spanberger in Historic Virginia Election
• Victory for HRC-Backed Candidates Colin Allred, Lizzie Fletcher and Sylvia Garcia in Texas

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In the final week before Election Day, HRC is exposing the efforts of Vice President Mike Pence, who is o…

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HRC responded to news that Trump’s Solicitor General, Noel Francisco, argued to the Supreme Court t…

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HRC is highlighting the anti-LGBTQ records of Vice President Mike Pence and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who are scheduled to campaign together today in Eau Claire. With deeply disturbing records undermining equality and peddling extremist ideologies, Pence and Walker both have made virulent anti-LGBTQ activism a cornerstone of their political careers, and remain out of touch with a majority of Wisconsin voters, who overwhelmingly support LGBTQ equality. 

“Mike Pence and Scott Walker’s extremist, discriminatory agendas pose a threat to Wisconsin and the nation,” said HRC Wisconsin State Director Wendy Strout. “From their opposition to marriage equality to their efforts to license discrimination against LGBTQ people, they do not represent Wisconsin values and our state’s more than 560,000 Equality Voters. With less than 30 days until the crucial midterm elections, HRC is mobilizing its hundreds of thousands of members and supporters in Wisconsin to reject the politics of hate and elect a pro-equality Governor in November.”

Here’s a snapshot of how Pence and Walker have undermined LGBTQ equality:

• Long history of opposing marriage equality: Walker supported Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, vetoed a bill to give domestic partner benefits to workers and tried to kill a domestic partner registry. While in Congress, Pence proposed a constitutional amendment that would have imposed a federal ban on marriage in every state.
• Support banning qualified transgender people from serving in the military: Pence is a lead architect of the effort to ban transgender troops, has rallied anti-equality leaders to support it and, with his staff, lobbied Congress to pass an amendment banning transition-related care for transgender servicemembers. Walker has said he “wouldn’t change” the Trump-Pence  ban on transgender service members.
• Support a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people: In 2015, Pence’s bigotry received national attention when he signed a bill that could have given businesses, organizations, and individuals a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people in employment, housing, education, and health care, as well as in access to services almost anywhere in the public square. Though the effort prompted widespread condemnation from both sides of the political aisle, Walker expressed support for the “principle” of Pence’s attempt to legalize discrimination.
• Long history of opposing access to affordable health care: During his time in Congress, Pence was a leading voice opposing passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and voted to repeal the ACA —also known as Obamacare— in part or in full, more than 30 times. He also signed one of the nation’s most restrictive anti-abortion laws which was later blocked by a federal judge and in 2017, he cast a tie-breaking vote to strip protections for reproductive health care. As governor, Walker rejected Medicaid expansion under Obamacare and also supported repeal of the entire law, which could have stripped health care from millions of Wisconsinites, including the 2.4 million Wisconsin residents with a pre-existing condition.

HRC’s comprehensive “The Real Mike Pence” campaign includes a report, microsite and series of videos that shine a spotlight on Pence’s decades-long crusade against LGBTQ equality, and inside-the-White House efforts leading the Trump-Pence administration’s attacks on LGBTQ people, including those who bravely serve our nation in the military. It lays out his long record of support for the abusive practice of so-called “conversion therapy;” his relentless pursuit of a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people; his attempts to block hate crime legislation and funding for HIV and AIDS prevention; and his efforts to undermine access to health and reproductive care essential to LGBTQ people. He also keeps busy with his extremist agenda by working to undermine science, health, transparency, education, justice and public safety.

In Wisconsin, HRC has identified more than 560,000 million “Equality Voters” — voters who support LGBTQ-inclusive policies. HRC has prioritized investments and organizing in Wisconsin in the 2018 cycle, and has staff and resources on the ground in the state as part of the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.

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HRC announced its endorsement of Ben Jealous (D) in his bid to become the next governor of Maryland.

“Ben Jealous is a proven leader with the vision and commitment needed to continue moving Maryland forward as a welcoming and inclusive state,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “As a longtime civil rights champion, Ben is passionately committed to putting people over politics and fighting to expand and protect the civil rights of every individual. HRC is proud to endorse Ben Jealous for governor, and we look forward to working with him to advance LGBTQ equality.”

“In 2012, as national President of the NAACP, I worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign to help make marriage equality law in our state, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Marylanders to the polls,” said Ben Jealous. “Today, as the Trump administration continues to roll back protections for the LGBTQ+ community, we need leaders at the state level to protect civil rights and civil liberties. I’m proud to receive the endorsement of HRC and as governor, I look forward to working with them to move all our families forward.”

Ben Jealous has extensive experience as a non-profit executive, serving as the past president of the Rosenberg Foundation, and the founding director of Amnesty International’s U.S. Domestic Human Rights Program. At age 35, he was named the youngest ever National President and CEO of the NAACP. During the depths of a national recession, Jealous guided the NAACP through an unprecedented era of growth. He used his background as a community organizer and executive to press the NAACP forward in expanding and protecting the civil rights of all Americans. Throughout his NAACP tenure, Jealous worked with governors from California to Iowa, developing plans to help end mass incarceration and expand civil rights, and helped to pass numerous landmark pieces of legislation during President Obama’s first term in office. In 2013, he was named Marylander of the Year by the Baltimore Sun for helping to lead the successful efforts to abolish the death penalty, pass marriage equality, pass the DREAM Act, and expand voting rights.

In Maryland, HRC has identified more than 1.7 million “Equality Voters,” meaning they are strong supporters of progressive LGBTQ policies including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Last year, HRC announced a coast-to-coast campaign to mobilize voters for the midterm elections called HRC Rising, which represents the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.
 

Authority: Friends of Ben Jealous, Jason Small, Treasurer.

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