National news and events that affect Illinois.
WASHINGTON – Lambda Legal today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a petition from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asking that the Court review three preliminary federal district court rulings that have kept the Trump administration from implementing its discriminatory plan to ban transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services.…
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple has removed an app from an organization that promotes “conversion therapy.” NBC News reported on Sunday that Living Hope Ministries had it’s app removed from the Apple Store after LGBTQ rights groups lobbied the tech giant to remove it. From NBC News: Truth Wins Out, which says it fights “anti-gay religious…
WASHINGTON — Transgender service members challenging Trump’s military ban on Monday filed briefs opposing the administration’s request that the Supreme Court hear the cases now, before the courts of appeal have ruled. The administration is seeking early review by the Court in three cases challenging the ban: Doe v. Trump, Stockman v. Trump, and Karnoski…
BALTIMORE — Friday, Lambda Legal joined Arnold & Porter in a lawsuit filed against the Prince George’s County Public Schools and Board of Education on behalf of a transgender teacher who endured years of abuse, harassment and retaliation at the hands of school administrators, fellow teachers, staff, parents and students after she began to live…
DENVER — Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop that was at the center of a discrimination case that went to the Supreme Court, is back in court. NBC OUT posted a story that lawyers for Philips were suing the state of Colorado to stop enforcement in yet another LGBTQ discrimination case. From NBC OUT: “At this…
WASHINGTON — Today, Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN, with partner law firm Winston & Strawn, filed a lawsuit on behalf of two HIV-positive members of the United States Air Force who were given discharge orders just days before the holiday season. Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN filed the lawsuit, Roe and Voe v. Mattis, in the U.S.…
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Lambda Legal today filed a motion on behalf of a 63-year-old gay man arguing that the Social Security Administration’s denial of spousal survivor’s benefits to him, on the grounds that he was not married for long enough despite marrying on the very first day when he was allowed to do so,…
NEW YORK — An executive at gay app Grindr announced his resignation on a Medium.com post over the weekend, just under two weeks after anti-marriage equality statements were made by the app’s president. Landen Rafe Zumwalt said he was resigning as the app’s head of communications. Although Zumwalt didn’t expressly say his resignation was because…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear appeals from two states that were sued to prevent them from cutting Planned Parenthood from their budgets. Louisiana and Kansas were wanting to cut their payments through Medicaid, Reuters reported. Even recent SCOTUS appointee Brett Kavanaugh voted to refuse the appeal. From Reuters: The…
CHICAGO — The national LGBTQ community got worried this week when Facebook issued new policies that seemed to ban any discussion of anything sexual or even just flirting. From PC Magazine: The expanded policy specifically bans “sexual slang,” hints of “sexual roles, positions or fetish scenarios,” and erotic art when mentioned with a sex act.…
