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<\/p>\n#AM_Equality Tipsheet: January 19, 2017<\/b>
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PRESIDENT OBAMA ON HIS LGBTQ RIGHTS LEGACY — \u201cI COULD NOT BE PROUDER<\/em>\u201d: <\/strong>At his final White House press conference, President Obama said he \u201ccould not be prouder\u201d of his LGBTQ legacy when asked about it by Washington Blade<\/em> reporter Chris Johnson (@ChrisJohnson82<\/a>). The president also looked back on LGBTQ milestones during his administration, including the repeal of \u201cDon\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell<\/a>,\u201d honoring Ellen DeGeneres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom<\/a> and helping transform public perceptions of the LGBTQ community. He also talked about the battles ahead and transgender people being targeted specifically. \u201cThe attitudes of young people, in particular, have changed,\u201d Obama said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t going to be some fights that are important, legal issues, issues surrounding transgender persons. There\u2019s still going to be some battles that need to take place.\u201d<\/p>\n During the last press conference of his presidency, @POTUS<\/a> spoke about his legacy on #LGBTQ<\/a> rights & the heroes who changed America forever. pic.twitter.com\/vg0ai2Ueip<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) January 18, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n SEN. CORY BOOKER URGES UN NOMINEE HALEY TO CONTINUE PROGRESS ON GLOBAL LGBTQ RIGHTS: <\/strong>During South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley\u2019s Senate hearing for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations yesterday, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) recounted the seminal moment when current UN Ambassador Samantha Power told the UN Security Council, \u201cLGBT rights are human rights, human rights are LGBT rights, and human rights must be universal.\u201d The U.S. has been a leader at the UN when it comes to LGBTQ human rights. Last year, the UN created and twice protected<\/a> a new watchdog position devoted to advancing LGBTQ rightsand released a first-of-its-kind report<\/a> on violence and discrimination against the LGBTQ community. See Booker\u2019s remarks on C-SPAN<\/em><\/a> (starting at 02:00:39).<\/p>\n HRC JOINS \u201cDOCUMENTING HATE\u201d PROJECT TO COLLECT MORE COMPLETE DATA ON BIAS-MOTIVATED INCIDENTS: <\/strong>The project<\/a> organized by ProPublica, the independent, nonprofit news organization, is thought to be the most robust effort to date to collect data on hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents. As The New York Times <\/em>reports, \u201cDocumenting Hate\u201d will \u201canalyze information from law enforcement, news reports, nonprofit groups and individuals in order to investigate topics like how many hate crimes occur annually, which parts of the country have the highest prevalence and whether the frequency or severity of hate crimes has changed since the election of Mr. Trump.\u201d In addition to the Times, other project participants include Google News Lab, Univision<\/em>, BuzzFeed <\/em>and The Advocate, <\/em>and is utilizing data collected by HRC in their reports on anti-transgender violence<\/a>, by other civil rights organizations including the Southern Poverty Law Center, as well as reports submitted directly to the project. More from The New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n THROWBACK THURSDAY: <\/strong>The cast of the groundbreaking TV show Will & Grace<\/em> — Debra Messing (@DebraMessing<\/a>), Eric McCormack (@EricMcCormack<\/a>), Sean Hayes (@SeanHayes<\/a>) and Megan Mullally (@MeganOMullally<\/a>) — announced that the show will return to primetime later this year with a 10-episode revival. The show, which first aired in 1998, has been heralded as opening doors for LGBTQ characters in the television industry. More from Vogue<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n #WillandGrace<\/a> to return to @NBC<\/a>! Congrats to @MaxMutchnick<\/a> @DebraMessing<\/a> @SeanHayes<\/a> @MeganOMullally<\/a> @EricMcCormack<\/a> t.co\/po52bmsNDd<\/a> <\/a>pic.twitter.com\/OD6BgAGsGA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) January 19, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n SHOT — UNC PRESIDENT SAYS HB2 DRIVING AWAY QUALIFIED JOB CANDIDATES: <\/strong>Margaret Spellings, president of the multi-campus University of North Carolina system, told The Associated Press<\/em> that she knows of qualified candidates who have cited the state\u2019s anti-LGBTQ HB2 law when turning down offers to work in the UNC system. With 16 universities and a high school, the system is one of the state\u2019s largest employers. Read the full interview from AP<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n CHASER — TEXAS REP WARNS LEGISLATURE ABOUT HB2-LIKE ANTI-TRANS BILLS: <\/strong>In a speech to the Texas Association of Business, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus stressed the economic fallout that anti-LGBTQ laws can cause, saying, \u201cMany people where I come from get concerned about anything that can slow down our overall job-creating machine. They are also watching what happened in North Carolina, and they are not enthusiastic about getting that type of attention.\u201d Estimates show that Texas stands to lose up to $8.5 billion<\/a> from anti-LGBTQ legialation. More from The Texas Tribune<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n COALITION ON CIVIL RIGHTS BANDS TOGETHER ON EVE OF TRUMP INAUGURATION: <\/strong>On the eve of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration, a coalition of more than 200 national advocacy organizations, including HRC, has issued a bold statement of solidarity — promising to stand firm on civil rights in the face of an incoming administration that ran on an anti-rights agenda. Read the full statement here<\/a>.<\/p>\n HRC REPORT DETAILS ANTI-LGBTQ CAREER OF TRUMP\u2019S HHS PICK: <\/strong>After announcing its opposition to Tom Price (R-GA), Donald Trump\u2019s choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services, HRC released a report, Tom Price: A History of Anti-LGBTQ Actions<\/em><\/a>, detailing his discriminatory voting record, public statements against LGBTQ people and opposition to the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n PRESIDENT OBAMA PARDONS SOLDIER ONCE IMPRISONED FOR BEING GAY: <\/strong>Peter Heidgerd, imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth in the 1990s because he was in a relationship with another man<\/a>, has had the felony removed from his record. More from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n ELLEN (KEEPS!) MAKING HISTORY: <\/strong>At last night\u2019s People\u2019s Choice Awards, Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) was awarded her 20th People\u2019s Choice Award — the most anyone has ever earned. Congrats! More from The Huffington Post<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Congratulations to @TheEllenShow<\/a> on making @PeoplesChoice<\/a> history! #PCAs<\/a> t.co\/wew97Ussww<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) January 19, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n HRC PRESIDENT HONORED BY SECRETARY OF THE ARMY: <\/strong>At a ceremony at the Pentagon before Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning\u2019s final farewell ceremony, he honored HRC President Chad Griffin <\/strong>with the Secretary of the Army Public Service Award, for exceptional service that makes a substantial contribution to the accomplishment of the Army’s missions.<\/p>\n .@SECArmy<\/a>, thank you. You not only made history — you led w\/ honor. Grateful to have received Sec. of the Army Public Service award today. pic.twitter.com\/ePSd4roaXi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) January 18, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CAPTURES STORIES FROM TRANS COMMUNITY: <\/strong>The Transgender Oral History Project will publish more than 200 stories from transgender and gender nonconforming people in the Midwest. More from Minnesota Daily<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n SRI LANKAN OFFICIALS REJECT PROPOSAL TO DECRIMINALIZE SAME-SEX SEXUAL ACTS: <\/strong>A proposal to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation was rejected by the Cabinet, which ruled it would undermine a section of Sri Lanka\u2019s penal code that makes same-sex<\/a> sexual acts punishable by up to 12 years in jail. More from Press Trust of India<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n READING RAINBOW <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Fortune<\/em><\/a> shares five states where LGBTQ-owned businesses are thriving\u2026 Bloomberg<\/em><\/a> sits down with Joseph Vardner, vice president of the LGBT Bar Association of DC, to talk about upcoming legal challenges during the Trump administration\u2026<\/p>\n Have news? Send us your news and tips at <\/em><\/strong>AMEquality@hrc.org<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. <\/em><\/strong>Click here<\/em><\/strong><\/a> to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow <\/em><\/strong>@HRC<\/em><\/strong><\/a> for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n www.hrc.org\/blog\/am-equality-tipsheet-january-19-20171?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" #AM_Equality Tipsheet: January 19, 2017 PRESIDENT OBAMA ON HIS LGBTQ RIGHTS LEGACY — \u201cI COULD NOT BE PROUDER\u201d: At his final White House press conference, President Obama said he \u201ccould not be prouder\u201d of his LGBTQ legacy when asked about it by Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson (@ChrisJohnson82). The president also looked back on LGBTQ … Continue reading #AM_Equality Tipsheet: January 19, 2017<\/span> \n
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