Aimee Stephens, Transgender Plaintiff at Center of Historic Pending SCOTUS Case, Has Died at 59

Aimee Stephens, the plaintiff at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court’s first case involving transgender rights, has died at 59. Stephens’s case was argued before SCOTUS with two other LGBTQ rights cases in October, but the court has not yet ruled. Stephens’s death will not affect the case’s status.

RELATED: SCOTUS to Hear Arguments on Whether it’s Legal to Fire Someone for Being Gay or Transgender

The New York Times reports: “She died from complications related to kidney failure, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Ms. Stephens. Ms. Stephens had been on dialysis for some time and entered hospice care in late April, according to the A.C.L.U. Donna Stephens, Aimee Stephens’s wife, thanked supporters in a statement for their ‘kindness, generosity, and keeping my best friend and soul mate in your thoughts and prayers.’”

The ACLU on Stephens’ case: “Aimee Stephens had worked for nearly six years as a funeral director at R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes when she informed the funeral home’s owner that she is a transgender woman. Her employer fired her, and the EEOC sued on her behalf. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Aimee’s employer engaged in unlawful sex discrimination when it fired her because she’s transgender. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes is asking the Supreme Court to review the case. The ACLU represents Aimee Stephens.”

The post Aimee Stephens, Transgender Plaintiff at Center of Historic Pending SCOTUS Case, Has Died at 59 appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Aimee Stephens, Transgender Plaintiff at Center of Historic Pending SCOTUS Case, Has Died at 59

WATCH: Karamo Brown makes fiancé Ian Jordan burst into tears

Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown re-proposed to his partner, Ian Jordan, this week.

The two men have been together for ten years. They first got engaged when Brown, 39, Queer Eye’s Culture Expert, got down on one knee in a Los Angeles restaurant in May 2018 during Jordan’s birthday celebrations.

Related: When ‘Queer Eye’ star Karamo Brown came out, it ended his relationship with his father

The men were due to marry in the next few months. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has put those plans on hold. Instead, they’ve been following stay-at-home orders in LA.

Instead, to mark Jordan’s 49th birthday this week, Brown decided to surprise him.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Karamo (@karamo) on May 12, 2020 at 1:08pm PDT

Captured on video, Brown turns to Jordan, a TV director, and says, “Ian, as you know, I love you very much, and after this quarantine, I realized how much I love you, and we were supposed to be getting married and that’s getting canceled because of corona, and you also lost your engagement ring,” he says, reaching into the pocket of his pants and getting down on one knee.

“So, I decided to ask you to marry me again and bought you another engagement ring!”

A visibly moved Jordan, wearing a happy birthday tiara, hugs and kisses his partner.

Brown’s caption to the video reiterated the message: “I’m Engaged… Again! During this Quarantine I have fallen even deeper in love w/ my fiancé @theianjordan so on his bday / which is also our anniversary I proposed again. Our wedding has been canceled/postponed like so many other people but I still wanted to celebrate our love. I love you Sugah!”

Related: Karamo Brown on his initial “hurt” reaction to son being pansexual

Brown’s first taste of fame came with 2004’s The Real World: Philadelphia, but he saw his profile skyrocket after landing the Queer Eye gig in 2018. He’s since also been a contestant on Dancing With The Stars, published a memoir, and co-authored a children’s book with the elder of his two sons, Jason ‘Rachel’ Brown.

Season five of Queer Eye is due to arrive on Netflix this summer, and a sixth season has already been commissioned.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Karamo (@karamo) on May 8, 2018 at 8:23am PDT

www.queerty.com/watch-karamo-brown-makes-fiance-ian-jordan-burst-tears-20200513?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Hillary Clinton Slams Jared Kushner: ‘The President’s Son-in-Law Doesn’t Get to Decide When the Election Is’

Hillary Clinton blasted Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on Twitter Wednesday morning after Kushner gave an interview with TIME magazine talking about a possible delay to the November election.

Said Kushner about holding the election on its planned date, November 3: “I’m not sure I can commit one way or the other, but right now that’s the plan. Hopefully by the time we get to September, October, November, we’ve done enough work with testing and with all the different things we’re trying to do to prevent a future outbreak of the magnitude that would make us shut down again. I’m not sure I can commit one way or the other, but right now that’s the plan.”

Tweeted Clinton: “I can’t believe I have to write this sentence, but the president’s son-in-law doesn’t get to decide when the election is.”

The post Hillary Clinton Slams Jared Kushner: ‘The President’s Son-in-Law Doesn’t Get to Decide When the Election Is’ appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Hillary Clinton Slams Jared Kushner: ‘The President’s Son-in-Law Doesn’t Get to Decide When the Election Is’

#AM_Equality: May 13, 2020

HRC PLANS TO TARGET EQUALITY VOTERS FOR THE UPCOMING NOVEMBER ELECTIONS: Parents like Chelsa Morrison, who has a transgender child, know firsthand how damaging the Trump-Pence administration’s attacks on the LGBTQ community have been. That’s why HRC is working to ensure pro-equality candidates are elected up and down the ballot in November. “Our lives are on the line,” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid). “I’ve been a civil rights advocate for 20 years. I have never seen it as bad as it is now. We have someone who is sitting in the White House who is looking to erase LGBTQ people. He is advancing policy after policy to strip away our protections and to treat us as second-class citizens.” Read the full piece from Nico Lang (@Nico_Lang) at VICE.

HRC PRESIDENT ALPHONSO DAVID RESPONDS TO PASSING OF AIMEE STEPHENS: Yesterday, David responded to the tragic news that Aimee Stephens, plaintiff in R.G. & G.R. HARRIS FUNERAL HOMES v. EEOC and AIMEE STEPHENS, passed away. “Aimee Stephens will be remembered as a trailblazer. All of us in the LGBTQ community owe her immense gratitude for her bravery in standing up for the right of LGBTQ people to live as ourselves at work and in every aspect of our lives,” said David. “After being fired by her employer when she told them she was transgender, she was determined to fight back and took her case all the way to the Supreme Court, where it is pending. Aimee will always be a hero to transgender and non-binary people and to the entire LGBTQ community. We share our deepest condolences with all of her friends and family, and especially her wife, Donna Stephens.” More from HRC, The Advocate and them.

• For reporters covering the transgender community, HRC has a brief Guide to Getting Transgender Coverage Right. The LGBTQ community deserves competent reporting, and the report covers the eight things reporters covering transgender people should know, including avoiding deadnaming. Read the full guide here.

WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY — NEW HRC DATA SHOWS LGBTQ PEOPLE ARE FACING HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT RATES DURING COVID-19: “It is unfortunate, but not surprising, to see how COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations, including the LGBTQ community,” said Senior Adviser for Communications Elizabeth Bibi (@elizlbibi). “Understanding the impact this virus is having on our community is crucial so that we can be best prepared to weather this crisis and work together on how to recover.” Read more from Julie Moreau (@JEMoreau) at NBC News and from The Hill.

HRC IS JOINING COALITION PARTNERS IN A TWITTER CHAT TODAY AT 2 P.M. EDT ABOUT HOW TO DISCUSS MENTAL HEALTH WITH OTHERS: More from HRC.

CDC INCLUDES TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE IN DATA TRACKING THE RATE OF HIV INFECTIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME: Read more from the Washington Blade.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

BRAZIL’S SUPREME COURT HAS RULED THAT BANNING MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN FROM DONATING BLOOD IS UNCONSITUTIONAL: Read more from the Washington Blade.

WASHINGTON BLADE HOSTS CHAT BETWEEN THE BLADE’S MICHAEL LAVERS (@mklavers81) AND YARIEL VALDÉS GONZÁLEZ (@valdes_yariel), A GAY JOURNALIST FROM CUBA: Watch here.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
Metro Weekly celebrates the portraits of Photographer & Art Director Todd Franson (@toddfranson); WTKR profiles Queen Mary, a drag queen in Virginia who is making “fabulous face shields” to support non-profits

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-may-13-2020?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed