Tag: LGBTQ

REPORT: Dems to Unveil ‘Transgender Bill of Rights’ in Response to Roe v Wade Reversal

by Breck Worsham, posted in law, news, politics

WASHINGTON (The Hill)– A group of House Democrats on Tuesday announced they would move to codify federal protections for transgender people.

The proposal, dubbed the “Transgender Bill of Rights,” would codify the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision that protects employees against discrimination for being gay or transgender.

The proposal would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly include protections for gender identity and sex characteristics, expand access to gender-affirming care and ban conversion therapy.

It would also require the attorney general to designate a liaison dedicated to overseeing enforcement of civil rights for transgender people and invest in community services to prevent anti-transgender violence.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and co-chair of the Transgender Equality Task Force, said in a statement that the resolution would ensure transgender people can lead “full, happy lives.”

“As we witness Republicans and an extremist Supreme Court attack and roll back the fundamental rights of trans people across our country, and as state legislatures across the country target our trans community with hateful, bigoted and transphobic attacks, we are standing up and saying enough is enough,” Jayapal said.

Jayapal introduced the proposal alongside Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Marie Newman (D-Ill.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). The bill has 84 other co-sponsors.

The bill’s proponents cited Friday’s Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion that the court should also consider overturning some of its other precedents decided under the same substantive due process protections at the heart of Friday’s decision, like rights to same-sex marriage and contraception.

The Bostock decision was not mentioned in Thomas’s concurring opinion and involved a different legal question.

But Thomas’s opinion has caught the eye of many Democrats who believe the Supreme Court’s conservative majority is poised to roll back rights extended to LGBTQ people in past cases.

Democrats supporting the bill also pointed to research from the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, showing state legislatures have proposed more than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills in the past year.

The bill is supported by more than 30 organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Education Association.

“While some politicians are targeting our community with discriminatory legislation, we are grateful that the members House of Representatives are sending this message to us — and especially to transgender youth — that they affirm our lives and value the contributions we make to our country,” said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, the National Center for Transgender Equality’s executive director. “We deserve to live as who we are without sacrificing our safety, access to health care or enduring violence and discrimination.”

The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld contributed to the contents of this report.

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REPORT: Military to Offer Free Transgender Surgery Per Biden Executive Order

by Breck Worsham, posted in law

WASHINGTON (Newsmax)– The Department of Defense has confirmed in recent memos that sex reassignment surgery could be provided free of cost as part of the military’s medical benefits package following President Joe Biden’s Jan. 25 executive order.

“America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive. The military is no exception,” the White House said in a press release announcing the order. 

“This means no one will be separated or discharged, or denied reenlistment, solely on the basis of gender identity,” the release continued. “Prospective recruits may serve in their self-identified gender when they have met the appropriate standards for accession into the military services.”

“This revised policy will also ensure all medically necessary transitionrelated care authorized by law is available to all Service members,” wrote Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a memo obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said the military would “perform an assessment of the necessary steps to eliminate the exclusion of ‘gender alteration’ (gender affirmation surgery) in the medical benefits package.”

He wrote last month, in a memo ordering a review of the department’s policies and practices, that “Every person at VA, whether a customer or member of VA’s workforce, should be treated with respect and dignity. Our success as a team — our ability to deliver world-class care for our veterans — depends on our respect for our fellow VA employees and the veterans we serve and is critical to everything we do.”

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., an Iraq War veteran who says he supports transgender people serving in the military, told the Examiner: “This is radical and new territory for a presidential administration to force taxpayers to fund sexual reassignment surgeries for those in the military. I’m compassionate toward those individuals who want to undergo an elective surgery of this nature, but taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook to pay for it. It’s constitutionally dubious that Congress hasn’t passed these measures, but the administration, in a radical way, is pushing through this agenda. I sit on the committee that should debate these issues.”

Pink News notes that the military’s health insurance provider, TRICARE, already covers the cost of hormone therapy and psychological counseling for gender dysphoria and, while they generally do not cover surgery, they do note that “active-duty service members may request a waiver if their provider deems surgery medically necessary.”

The Pentagon first paid for gender-reassignment surgery for a transgender soldier in 2017, and has paid $8 million to treat 1,525 transgender troops between 2016 and 2019. Most of that cost covered psychological counseling and not surgical operations related to transitioning. A total of 161 surgeries were performed during that time, according to data provided to USA Today in 2019.

Trump ‘Surprised’ Over Recent Supreme Court Rulings; Warns Conservatives ‘Not Doing Too Well’

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was “surprised” by a series of Supreme Court rulings against him and warned that conservatives are “not doing too well.”

The Supreme Court is “supposed to be in our favor,” the president said during an interview with CBN’s David Brody.

“I was surprised, I was surprised,” the president said of the court’s most decision that LGBTQ workers are protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act under Title VII. “Some people felt that it was a decision that they weren’t as surprised as I was. Yeah, I was surprised.”

“So far we’re not doing too well,” the president said. “Look: We’ve had a lot of losses, with a court that was supposed to be in our favor. This is just to show what it means.

“We need — you know you’ll probably have a couple of more judges in the next four years,” he said. “It could even be more than that, it could be three or four. If you have a radical left group of judges, religion, I think will be almost wiped out in America. If you look at it, pro-life will be absolutely wiped out. So, if you have that happening, pro-life is going to be out, it’s going to be gone.”

SWINGING BACK: Trump Vows To Appoint New Conservative Justices in Wake of Recent SCOTUS Rulings

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON — Shaken by a series of recent Supreme Court rulings, President Donald Trump has turned his attention toward appointing fresh conservative nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before,” the president, wrote in a Twitter post.

Blasting the Supreme Court’s recent decision that gay and transgender workers are protected under federal employment law and a second blocking his request to end DACA, the president said more conservative Justices are needed in order to protect the constitution, specifically, he said, the Second Amendment.

“We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else” he wrote. “These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives.”

“If given the opportunity, I will only choose from this list, as in the past, a Conservative Supreme Court Justice,” he continued. “Based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before (Second Amendment, Right to Life, Religous Liberty, etc.) – VOTE 2020!”

So far in his administration, President Trump has made two appointments to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. In Thursday’s ruling, both Justices sided with him in their ruling.

SWINGING BACK: Trump Vows To Appoint New Conservative Judges in Wake of Recent SCOTUS Rulings

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON — Shaken by a series of recent Supreme Court rulings, President Donald Trump has turned his attention toward appointing fresh conservative nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before,” the president, wrote in a Twitter post.

Blasting the Supreme Court’s recent decision that gay and transgender workers are protected under federal employment law and a second blocking his request to end DACA, the president said more conservative Justices are needed in order to protect the constitution, specifically, he said, the Second Amendment.

“We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else” he wrote. “These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives.”

“If given the opportunity, I will only choose from this list, as in the past, a Conservative Supreme Court Justice,” he continued. “Based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before (Second Amendment, Right to Life, Religous Liberty, etc.) – VOTE 2020!”

So far in his administration, President Trump has made two appointments to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. In Thursday’s ruling, both Justices sided with him in their ruling.

TRUMP TO TRANSGENDERS: ‘YOU’RE OUT’; PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES RETURN TO BAN ON TRANSGENDERS IN MILITARY

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a stunning announcement, President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced an immediate reversal on former president Barack Obama’s policy which allowed transgendered persons to serve in the U.S. military.

In a series of tweets posted to his official Twitter account, the president wrote:

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow…Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming..victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”

The announcement quickly caused a wave of backlash from members of the LGBTQ community who called the announcement an offense to transgendered individuals.

“This is worse than don’t ask don’t tell, this is don’t serve, don’t serve,” The National Center for Transgender Equality said in a written statement. “This is an appalling attack on our service members; it is about bigotry rather than military readiness, reason or science. It is indefensible and cannot stand.”

However, the announcement was met with high praise from pro-family and pro-military groups who felt the Obama era policy was harmful to active military members and promoted the wrong priorities.

“I applaud President Trump for keeping his promise to return to military priorities – and not continue the social experimentation of the Obama era that has crippled our nation’s military,” FRC President Tony Perkins said in a statement. “The military can now focus its efforts on preparing to fight and win wars rather than being used to advance the Obama social agenda.”

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) was also quick to praise the president’s decision.

“Pleased to hear that @realDonaldTrump shares my readiness and cost concerns, & will be changing this costly and damaging policy #readiness,” Hartzler wrote on Twitter upon hearing the news.

Many believe the decision to reverse the controversial policy was fueled by tough talking Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who last month delayed the review of the Obama mandate that allowed transgender people to join the military.

In a statement in June, Mattis approved a recommendation to defer the decision to allow transgender individuals to join the military, a policy known more commonly as accession. “The services will review their accession plans and provide input on the impact to the readiness and lethality of our forces,” the statement read.

Mattis was asked during his confirmation hearing in January whether he would move to ban openly gay and transgendered from service on the basis that their presence somehow makes the military seem less lethal.

“Frankly, senator, I’ve never cared much about two consenting adults and who they go to bed with,” Mattis responded, but refused to comment as to whether or not he felt their presence eroded the military’s image.

In a statement from The Pentagon, Capt. Jeff Davis refused to comment on the president’s announcement of reversal and deferred all questions on the new policy to The White House.

“We refer all questions about the President’s statements to the White House,” a statement from Davis read. “We will continue to work closely with the White House to address the new guidance provided by the Commander-in-Chief on transgender individuals serving the military. We will provide revised guidance to the Department in the near future.”

A 2016 study by Rand Corp. estimated that approximately 6,630 transgender individuals were actively serving in the U.S. military. The total force is about 1.3 million. Under the Obama mandate, any transgendered person who chose to have gender reassignment surgery would be provided treatment and said surgery on the tax payer’s dime.

Prior to the Obama mandate, the Pentagon banned transgender troops from openly serving in the military. Any transgendered person who intentionally revealed their transgender service would be discharged or denied reenlistment.

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