THE LGBT SOUTH is a weekly email newsletter from the Campaign for Southern Equality that highlights the voices and experiences of LGBT people living in the South. Send feedback and story tips to felicia@southernequality.org.
“Researchers are calling on the federal government to begin collecting information about LGBT students’ experiences at the nation’s schools, arguing that such data collection is necessary to protect against disproportionate rates of suspension and expulsion.”
“Embedded in that argument, though, is a call to begin asking students to declare their gender identity and sexual orientation at school — a move that the Equity Project acknowledges is fraught with privacy concerns.”
“But Church leaders have also emphasized that simply being attracted to someone of the same sex is not a sin, and that God loves all of his children. The Church even supported anti-discrimination legislation in Utah that included protections for LGBT citizens and released a statement that members would not be punished for supporting same-sex marriage and other gay rights on social media or in other public forums. For LGBT Mormons who wished to be part of the Church, a careful balance between their identity and their faith seemed possible.”
“That changed in November when the Church introduced a new policy in the Handbook of Instruction, a guide for lay clergy: Members in same-sex marriages would be considered apostates, an excommunicable offense. Children living in same-sex households would be excluded from religious rites, such as baby blessings and baptism, until they turn 18. Once they reach that age, they have the option to disavow same-sex relationships, move out of their parents’ house, and ask to join the Church.”
“The backlash was immediate, even among conservative members of the Church not prone to championing LGBT rights or questioning Church policy. People were shocked by the policy’s extreme language and worried about the possible negative consequences for children. The incremental but significant progress the Church had made in its relationship with the LGBT community seemed undone. And for LGBT Mormons and their straight allies who disagree with the policy, the decision about whether—and how—to stay in the LDS Church got more complicated.”
“The Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling was supposed to settle the fight over LGBT rights, right? Not a chance. In 2016, states across the nation have been divided by a raft of new legislation—more than 200 bills advocates consider anti-LGBT have been introduced so far this year, according a tally by the Human Rights Campaign. These measures take many forms and have many aims, but they are often rooted in social conservatives’ reaction to two things. Here’s a primer.”
STATE
Judge Invalidates Mississippi’s Same-Sex Adoption Ban, the Last of Its Kind in America By Mark Joseph Stern, Slate“On Thursday, even as a sweeping anti-LGBTQ bill worked its way through the Mississippi legislature, the courts delivered a victory for justice: U.S. District Judge Daniel Porter Jordan III, a George W. Bush appointee, overturned Mississippi’s lawbarring same-sex couples from fostering or adopting children. Jordan’s decision is the first to expand the central logic of Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that states may not interfere with the “rights and responsibilities intertwined with marriage” simply because a couple is gay. Mississippi was the last state to restrict adoption based on sexual orientation. As of Thursday night, same-sex couples may adopt children in every state in the country.”
Editor’s note: Our legal challenge, Campaign for Southern Equality v. Mississippi Department of Human Services struck down Mississippi’s ban on same-sex adoption. You can read the full ruling here.
“The divide between social conservatives and diversity-minded corporations widened Tuesdaywith developments in Mississippi and North Carolina related to the rights of gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender people in both states.”
“Mississippi’s governor signed far-reaching legislation allowing individuals and institutions with religious objections to deny services to gay couples, and the online-payment company PayPal announced it was canceling a $3.6 million investment in North Carolina.”
“The measure signed by Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi allows churches, religious charities and privately held businesses to decline services to people if doing so would violate their religious beliefs on marriage and gender. Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia, under pressure from business interests, two weeks ago vetoed a similar bill passed by the State Legislature.”
“The Obama administration is considering whether North Carolina’s new law on gay and transgender rights makes the state ineligible for billions of dollars in federal aid for schools, highways and housing, officials said Friday.”
“Cutting off any federal money – or even simply threatening to do so – would put major new pressure on North Carolina to repeal the law, which eliminated local protections for gay and transgender people and restricted which bathrooms transgender people can use. A loss of federal money could send the state into a budget crisis and jeopardize services that are central to daily life.”
“Although experts said such a drastic step was unlikely, at least immediately, the administration’s review puts North Carolina on notice that the new law could have financial consequences. Gov. Pat McCrory had assured residents that the law would not jeopardize federal money for education.”
“But the law also represents a test for the Obama administration, which has declared that the fight for gay and transgender rights is a continuation of the civil rights era. The North Carolina dispute forces the administration to decide how aggressively to fight on that principle.”
“Gov. John Bel Edwards is looking to include a religious exemption in an executive order that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender state employees and government contractors from firing, discrimination, and harassment.”
“The governor plans to issue the order in a couple of weeks, but is working on some tweaks to language in a similar executive order used by Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Among the changes he is strongly considering is some form of religious exemption for state contractors that are also religious organizations.”
“Louisiana LGBT advocates had a mixed reaction to the idea that a religious exception might be included in Edwards’ executive order. They said it was hard to evaluate the order without being able to look at the particular language.”
“LGBT advocates said they would be comfortable with language that would allow an organization directly connected to a religious group, such as a food pantry in a church, to be exempt. But it would be a problem if a state contractor who happens to be religious could refuse to hire LGBT workers.”
“The Arkansas attorney general said on Wednesday her office will appeal a judge’s decision that upheld a city of Fayetteville ordinance forbidding discrimination against members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.”
“Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, a Republican, said her office will ask the state’s Supreme Court to strike down the decision because the ordinance runs counter to a state law barring localities from broadening their own non-discrimination measures beyond the state’s measures.”
“The state does not bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“Controversy and emotion over a recent state law banning local LGBT anti-discrimination rules hit home Tuesday as Buncombe County commissioners voted 4-3 to reaffirm the county’s own policy giving protections to its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.”
“The vote split down party lines with Democrats supporting the ordinance and Republicans opposed. That followed more than an hour of comment from members of the public and commissioners who argued over the symbolic resolution and the controversial state law House Bill 2, now known largely as “HB2.”
“With marriage equality the law of the land, popular wisdom is that gay rights are now protected. But the changes in society have had a paradoxical impact on LGBT youth. Kids are coming out at much younger ages than in past generations, making them more vulnerable to harassment. And more are declaring their gender different from the one they were assigned at birth.”
“School, then, can be a daily ordeal where a child is brutalized or driven to suicide. Or it can be safe haven.”
“Louisiana is one of eight states that prohibit teachers and others from saying anything affirming about LGBT students or that require negative depictions. Another two states, Missouri and South Dakota, expressly prohibit naming LGBT youth as a group which should be protected.”
“The Greensboro City Council approved a resolution Tuesday opposing a new state law that revokes legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”
“After more than an hour of heated discussion, the resolution against N.C. House Bill 2 passed 8-1. City Councilman Tony Wilkins cast the lone “no” vote.”
“‘The City of Greensboro City Council reaffirms its support for protecting and advancing the constitutional rights and equitable treatment of all residents,’ the resolution read.”
“Our infrastructure is inexcusable, much of our public education is miserable and one of our leading presidential candidates is a know-nothing, say-anything egomaniac who yanks harder every day at the tattered fabric of civil discourse and fundamental decency in this country.”
“But let’s by all means worry about the gays! Let’s make sure they know their place. Keep them in check and all else falls into line, or at least America notches one victory amid so many defeats.”
“That must be the thinking behind Republican efforts to push through so-called religious liberty laws and other legislation — most egregiously in North Carolina — that excuse and legitimize anti-gay discrimination. They’re cynical distractions. Politically opportunistic sideshows.”
“And the Republicans who are promoting them are playing a short game, not a long one, by refusing to acknowledge a clear movement in our society toward L.G.B.T. equality, a trajectory with only one shape and only one destination.”
