#AM_Equality Tipsheet: October 18, 2018

 #TurnOUT — JUST 19 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY:

• Today: HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) will join HRC-endorsed and openly bisexual congressional candidate Katie Hill (D) and LGBTQ and Equality Voters in Los Angeles County, CA. Griffin will discuss the critical importance of the race before kicking off a phone bank to turn out the vote to elect Hill to represent California’s 25th congressional district. If you are interested in covering the event, contact [email protected].
• Mike Pence is on a voter suppression tour this week. He’s stumping alongside Brian Kemp in Georgia, who’s being sued for purging 700K voters from the rolls. Tomorrow, he campaigns in Kansas for Kris Kobach, with whom he led Trump’s discriminatory “Voter Fraud” commission.
• HRC’s plan to #TurnOUT Equality Voters: HRC’s Equality Votes PAC launched an initial digital and direct mail buy of more than $2 million across three U.S. Senate and five U.S. House races crucial to securing a pro-equality majority in Congress. More from The Associated Press.

• HRC endorses Minnesota State Rep. Ilhan Omar for U.S. House in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District: “State Rep. Ilhan Omar is a proven leader who will stand up for Minnesota’s working families in Congress,” said HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “In the Minnesota State Legislature, she has worked to advance fairness and equality, and she is the clear choice for Minnesotans.” More from HRC.
• EXPOSED — Ohio’s slate of anti-equality candidates: With the midterm elections just three weeks away, and early voting already started in Ohio, HRC is exposing six of Ohio’s anti-equality candidates and highlighting their dangerous records undermining LGBTQ equality. More from HRC.

8/8 These abysmal records of supporting discrimination show that these candidates have no business representing Ohioans. Join @HRC & #TurnOUT for:

@SherrodBrown #OHSen
@RichCordray #OHGov
@AftabPureval #OH01
@DannyOConnor1 #OH12
@BetsyRaderOH #OH14
@Rick_Neal #OH15 pic.twitter.com/Vl8svHYKZM

— HRC in Ohio (@HRC_OH) October 17, 2018

PELOSI SAYS EQUALITY ACT WILL BE ‘HIGH PRIORITY’ IF MAJORITY SHIFTS IN THE HOUSE: “Discrimination is a real and persistent problem for far too many LGBTQ Americans, and more than 50 percent of LGBTQ Americans live in states that lack LGBTQ-inclusive statewide protections,” HRC Senior National Press Secretary Stephen Peters (@stephenpeters2) told Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson (@chrisjohnson82). “It’s imperative that Congress end this patchwork of protections by passing the Equality Act.” More from Washington Blade.

THANKFUL THURSDAY — HRC NOMINATED FOR FOUR SHORTY SOCIAL GOOD AWARDS: Check out the nominees, including HRC’s finalist entries for Integrated Marketing, Youth and Family, Immigration and Refugees and Government and Politics here. More from AdWeek.

Get to know our Shorty Social Good Award finalists this year in this @Adweek exclusive: @byAmyCorr t.co/bQghQUf2MV

— Shorty Awards (@shortyawards) October 17, 2018

INSIDE THE FIGHT TO PROTECT TRANS RIGHTS IN MASSACHUSETTS: On Nov. 6, Massachusetts voters will decide the fate of a non-discrimination law that protects transgender people in public spaces. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed the non-discrimination bill into law in July 2016, and it went into effect in October 2016. Opponents of equality used anti-transgender tactics and messages to get Question 3, which would repeal these non-discrimination protections, on the ballot this election. Media Matters breaks down how the local media has covered this vote in a new report.

• Mimi and Joe Lemay are on the frontlines in Massachusetts fighting for their transgender son, Jacob. Read their story from HRC.
• Tracy McKay is also fighting to protect her two transgender daughters this November. More from Wicked Local Needham.

TODAY IS SPIRIT DAY : Spirit Day highlights the need to speak out against bullying and harassment, which overwhelming impacts LGBTQ youth. HRC and researchers at the University of Connecticut found that:

• Seventy-seven percent of LGBTQ teenagers surveyed report feeling depressed or down over the past week;
• Ninety-five percent of LGBTQ youth report trouble sleeping at night;
• LGBTQ youth of color and transgender teenagers experience unique challenges and elevated stress — only 11 percent of youth of color surveyed believe their racial or ethnic group is regarded positively in the U.S., and over 50 percent of trans and gender expansive youth said they can never use school restrooms that align with their gender identity;
• More than 70 percent report feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness in the past week;
• Only 26 percent say they always feel safe in their school classrooms — and just five percent say all of their teachers and school staff are supportive of LGBTQ people;
• Sixty-seven percent report that they’ve heard family members make negative comments about LGBTQ people

WESTERN DAKOTA TECH IN RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, ADDS GENDER IDENTITY TO NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY: More from Rapid City Journal.

AWFUL — SAN DIEGO CHURCH VANDALIZED WITH ANTI-LGBTQ GRAFFITI: More from NBC San Diego.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

AFTER STRUGGLING TO ACCEPT GAY SON, UKRAINIAN MOTHER IS NOW ADVOCATE FOR COMMUNITY: More from Reuters.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

Self interviews trans trailblazer Laverne Cox; The Washington Post memorializes an interracial, same-sex couple whose home shows a rich history of DC and the LGBTQ movement; CNN profiles the National Gay Flag Football League; Sonoma State Star reports on a recent talk by Heather Matarazzo at Sonoma State University

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and not authorized by any candidate or committee.

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