In The News

More and more states are passing laws banning conversion therapy, here in Connecticut we passed the law in 2017 with a vote of 36 Yea, 0 Nay in the Senate and in the House the vote was 141 Yea, Nay 8 so there was strong bipartisan support for the bill.

Republicans reject conversion therapy ban in Minnesota
Pink News
By Patrick Kelleher
10th May 2019

An amendment in Minnesota that would have banned conversion therapy for minors has been shot down by Republican senators.

The amendment—which was put forward by openly gay Senator Scott Dibble—was ultimately voted against by every Republican in the house, and failed by a 34-30 majority, according to CityPages.com.

The amendment’s rejection came as a blow to Dibble as he had previously had two Republicans approach him to offer their support. One of those Republcians, Scott Jensen, provided his own version of the amendment as he was worried that Dibble’s version was too far-reaching.

He was told by Jensen and fellow Republican Eric Pratt that, if they took it on, they could get between four and 10 Republicans to support the measure.

Then they Republicans played hardball with their members...

However, Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka called a recess and summoned the Senate’s Republicans to a meeting.

Here in Connecticut the Republicans can be surprising in that they vote for LGBTQ+ legislation but the Trump Republicans here are becoming more vocal and want to follow the national party.

---

On this Mother’s Day families are being attacked by the Trump administration.

“We Are Scared”: Gay Dads Fight to Keep Son From Being Deported by Trump
"Every night when we go to sleep, we think about what could happen."
NewNowNext
By Nico Lang
May 10, 2019

[…]
His husband’s indomitable spirit would repeatedly be put to the test throughout the course of their relationship. The couple was married in 2010, three years before the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Because the United States didn’t recognize their relationship at the time, the two were forced to start a life together in Canada. A year after the Supreme Court ruled marriage equality legal across the U.S., the two gave birth to twins, Ethan and Aidan, conceived through a surrogate, with the expectation they would be granted citizenship.

The day they went to the American consulate to apply for a U.S. passport for their sons, Elad remembers it was a “cold day in Toronto.” He adds, “We had to wait with a baby stroller for twins outside before they let us into the building.”
[…]
Because Ethan isn’t Andrew’s biological son, he was denied citizenship. The couple would later receive two envelopes in the mail: a smaller one containing Aiden’s passport, and a much larger one containing an explanation the U.S. government’s birthright policy.

Wrong!

The Trump administration hates anything LGBTQ+

Even after a California district court ruled in February that the policy unfairly discriminates against same-sex families, the couple’s fight isn’t over. At 6pm ET on the last possible day to file an appeal, the State Department announced plans to seek a reversal of the ruling. The case will soon be headed for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, although it could be another year before the bench is prepared to hear oral arguments.

Elad claims they were “shocked and disappointed” to learn the Trump administration is appealing the historic court victory. As a condition of that ruling, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ordered the State Department to issue Ethan a passport, and until this week, he was living peacefully with his family in Los Angeles.
[…]
Spencer Tilger, the public affairs manager for Immigration Equality, claims Judge John F. Walter said as much in his February ruling. He claimed the State Department’s interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act is “strained.”

“Their policy is based on the laws that Congress has created, but they’re misinterpreting the law,” Tilger tells NewNowNext. “We can’t say exactly why they’re so set on this interpretation, but it’s clear that the impact of this law is discriminatory toward LGBTQ families. When a same-sex couple goes to a consulate [to register their child for U.S. citizenship], they’re always going to be asked about how they conceived the child. A married different-sex couple is never going to be asked that question.”

Anything to deny us of our Human Rights.

---

Then down in Texas a group of women stood up to the Republicans bigots.

All-female Texas LGBT caucus defeats ‘Save Chick-fil-A’ bill
Pink News
By Sofia Lotto Persio
10th May 2019

The Texas LGBT+ caucus successfully defeated a bill characterised as an attack on LGBT+ rights.

The five out lawmakers leading the recently-formed Texas House LGBT+ Caucus challenged Republican Matt Krause’s House Bill 3172 during a floor reading on Thursday (May 9).

State representative Julie Johnson moved a point of order against the bill, which was rejected, the Texas Tribune reported.

The second point of order raised was however accepted, killing the bill which intended to protect “religious beliefs and moral convictions, including beliefs and convictions regarding marriage.”
Critics of the bill feared that, if passed, the legislation would be used to discriminate against LGBT+ people in the name of “sincerely held” religious beliefs.

When we defeat one attack on us there is another attack waiting in the wings… it has become a never ending battle.