At some point during the Republican National Convention, the following advertisement is scheduled to appear (actually it will appear the night of the acceptance speech, I hear).
You can learn more at Fairness USA.
Just Want Privacy cancelled an appointment scheduled for yesterday morning at which they were supposed to turn in signatures calling for an anti-transgender referendum to be placed on the November ballot.
When last we checked on Massachusetts, it seemed as if progress were...er...progressing apace. The Senate had passed their version of the Transgender Public Accommodation bill 33-4, the House had passed their version 116-36 and Governor Charlie Baker had said he would sign the House version.
Now somehow we have slowed to whatever is less than a snail's pace. I'd suggest a glacial pace...but you know how vanishing those are becoming.
And the current legislative session is fast approaching conclusion.
After a delay that has lasted several months the Pentagon is planning to publicly announce the repeal on its ban on service by transgender troops on July 1.
Top personnel officials plan to meet as early as Monday to finalize details of the plan, and Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work could sign off on it by Wednesday, according to a Defense official familiar with the timetable but who spoke on condition of anonymity because officials were not authorized to speak publicly about it. Final approval would come from Defense Secretary Ash Carter, and the announcement will be on the eve of the Fourth of July weekend.
US District Court Judge Robert G. Doumar, having been overruled on the topic of the applicability of Title IX by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, has ordered that the Gloucester County School System must allow Gavin Grimm to use the boys restroom while his discrimination case continues to be litigated.
The US DoE's Office of Civil Rights yesterday announced that Dorchester County School District Two in South Carolina has entered into a voluntary agreement to stop discriminating against a transgender elementary school student. THE OCR had found that the district was in violation of Title IX's prohibition on sex-based discrimination.
I commend Dorchester County School District Two for committing to protect the civil rights of all students and ensuring that all students have equal access to education programs and activities.
--Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights
Word out of Washington is that a Pentagon policy change allowing transgender members of the military to serve openly is in its final stages of approval.
Originally, we were expecting the change to be announced in March.
Gender dysphoria disqualifies service members under current policy. However, Defense Secretary Ash Carter enacted a de facto moratorium on such dismissals last year as the Defense Department crafted its new guidelines. Officials have been wrestling with several issues regarding transgender troops including recruiting, medical treatment, housing, uniforms and physical fitness standards.
Superintendent Ann Clark of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools announced today that transgender students in the system can be called by the name and gender they choose and may have access to restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. The district conducted training with school administrators on the issue today.
On Friday, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the case of Gavin Grimm v Gloucester County School Board to proceed in district court.
GCSB had asked that the case be put on hold while they prepare a writ of certiorari...an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Chicago City Council's Committee on Human Relations advanced an ordinance to the City Council Floor which will close a loophole in the city's human rights code which could make it difficult for transgender people to access public washrooms.
Under examination was the requirement that people be able to show a government-issued identification card that indicates that their gender matches that indicated for the washroom.
