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Judge overturns Obama era trans healthcare protections

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WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, a federal judge overturned protections for transgender people that had been a part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The Hill reported that Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas vacated the regulation that prohibited insurers and providers who receive federal money from denying treatment or coverage to anyone based on sex, gender identity or termination of pregnancy and required providers to give “medically necessary” services to trans people as long as those services were the same ones provided to other patients.

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HRC Foundation announces LGBTQ seadership summits at HBCUs

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WASHINGTON — On Monday, the Human Rights Foundation announced that it was hosting summits on LGBTQ equality on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). “This significant step forward in the Human Rights Campaign’s HBCU Program creates exciting new opportunities for campus leaders to engage more deeply on the issues of LGBTQ inclusion and equity,” said HRC President Alphonso David in a press release. “By expanding the scope of this important program, we will be able to reach more students, faculty and administrators than ever before, giving them the tools they need to make real and lasting change. We look forward to continuing our partnership with these storied institutions, and supporting the next generation of Black leaders.”

The first HRC 2019 Regional HBCU Leadership Summit took place at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, from September 20-22 and the second summit will take place at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, from October 4-6. Participants will hear from expert facilitators on a variety of topics including action planning, health equity and disparities for LGBTQ Black and African American youth.

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HRC: State, federal officials failing on LGBTQ data

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WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on Tuesday said that state and federal officials are failing to collect full and accurate data on sexual orientation and gender identity. The HRC’s report, “LGBTQ-Inclusive Data Collection: A Lifesaving Imperative,” said that LGBTQ Americans remain largely invisible to government entities. “It is imperative that municipal and state governments close the gap on data collection across this country – and we are calling on them to pass legislation to ensure every single LGBTQ person is counted,” said Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “We must also collect this data at the federal level. The Office of Management and Budget is failing LGBTQ people every day they do not act in collecting information on gender identity and sexual orientation.

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More GOP tell SCOTUS that Civil Rights Act doesn’t cover LGBTQ

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WASHINGTON — GOP members of Congress and state attorneys general have filed a brief telling the U.S. Supreme Court that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not protect LGBTQ people. On Tuesday, NBC OUT reported that 48 members of Congress and 15 AGs had filed two separate briefs. Last month, Illinois was one of 21 state AGs filing a brief saying that LGBTQ people were protected from discrimination for employment. Corporations and advocacy organizations have also filed briefs with similar arguments.  

NBC OUT said that 153 Congressional Democrats had also filed a brief arguing if “a man is discriminated against in the workplace because he dates men, but his female co-workers who also date men are not discriminated against for the same conduct, sex is clearly both a ‘but for’ cause and a motivating factor in that discrimination.”

The news website said both briefs argue that only Congress has the power to ban LGBTQ discrimination. Similar briefs were filed by the U.S. Justice Department last week. 

Three cases, Altitude Express v. Zarda; Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia; and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, that deal with job discrimination for LGBTQ are up before the Supreme Court in October.