The LGBT South is a weekly email newsletter, compiling national, regional, and local news important to LGBT Southerners. Subscribe to get the latest edition to your inbox every Friday morning and keep up with what the Campaign for Southern Equality is up to!
[mc4wp_form id=”11283″]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There are trans youth in our state who are fighting each day to be who they are. To simply survive. And at every turn, we want them to know that we have their backs, we will never stop fighting, and ultimately we will win.”
–CSE Executive Director Jasmine Beach-Ferarra, on the passing of North Carolina’s HB 2 “compromise bill”
Here’s your breakdown of what’s happening this week in the #LGBTsouth:
A COMPROMISE ON HB 2
After a year of political back and forth, countless protests, economic losses, and a controversial race for Governor, legislators in North Carolina have reached a compromise on HB 2. Under pressure from the NCAA to make changes to the law or lose hosting opportunities for tournaments until 2022, Democrats and Republicans alike voted to pass the HB 142 – 32-16 in the Senate and 70-48 in the House – and the bill was signed into law by Governor Roy Cooper.
The bill was labeled a “compromise repeal bill”, and while it technically repeals HB 2, it doesn’t fix its problems. Instead, it puts in place new legal barriers that ensure transgender and LGBQ people in the state will not receive basic protections. It bans cities and towns from passing their own non-discrimination ordinances and puts the state in charge of policies regarding restrooms, locker rooms, and the like. HB 142 was supported by both Democrats and Republicans, but a compromise between parties does not spell success for citizens who, again, were absent from the process as this new bill was rushed through, much like HB 2 was last year.
What motivated HB 142 was a desire to stop the economic damage caused by HB 2 – and a specific desire to retain NCAA and ACC sports events – rather than a commitment to fighting for the full equality of LGBTQ North Carolinians.
We will fight HB 142. Just as we are fighting HB 1523 in Mississippi, and SB 2 in North Carolina, just as we fought Amendment One.
In other political news this week, at the federal level, Trump and his administration:
- Rescinded an executive order signed by President Obama that required companies contracting with the government to prove their compliance with certain federal law, which could negatively affect workplace protections for LGBTQ workers.
- Appointed an anti-LGBTQ activist to lead the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights.
- Removed questions on sexual and gender identity from the proposed draft of the 2020 census, erasing LGBTQ people and making it impossible to locate and address disparities.
- Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee have all proposed adoption bills that would limit same-sex adoption.
- In Tennessee, lawmakers also approved a bill to increase the penalty for blocking highways and streets in protest.
- A bathroom bill in Arkansas has been dropped for this legislative session. It was part of a trio of anti-trans bills that was up for consideration in Arkansas, which together would have effectively barred trans people from many public accommodations.
IS REPRESENTATION ENOUGH?
Similarly, many companies and advertisers get a boost from featuring LGBTQ individuals or couples in their marketing, but how inclusive are these representations, really? Researcher Ana-Isabel Nölke looked at LGBTQ portrayals in advertising from 2009-2015, and while representation is on the rise, she notes that the men being shown “all look like Neil Patrick Harris” and that lesbians, bisexuals, and trans folks are still portrayed in narrow or stereotyped ways. She adds, “Despite a move away from hypersexualization, LGBT portrayals remain overwhelmingly uniform and heteronormative with no diversity in race, class, gender identity or age.”
This week, two popular podcasts featured stories centered on trans experiences. On “Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People”, comedian Chris Gethard spends an hour on the phone with a stranger each week; this week he talks with a trans man about his life in a call that easily blends conversation and education. On “This American Life”, a rebroadcast of a 2002 episode features the story of another trans man’s experience among several segments exploring testosterone. And even though the episode was recorded fifteen years ago, before many media platforms were presenting trans stories, it is refreshing to hear such a candid, respectful talk.
WHAT ELSE?
Orlando has designated June 12 “Orlando United Day” in commemoration of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
A new app will help LGBTQ patients find and rate culturally competent doctors.
This photo series is showcasing the lives and diversity of LGBTQ families in Virginia.
In India, Catholic nuns and a trans activist attempted to start the first all-trans school.
STAFF READ OF THE WEEK
Our Legal Director Crystal Richardson attended the NAACP People’s Moral Legislative Advocacy Day in Raleigh, NC last week. Read about her experience, why the people must hold legislators accountable and how.
On March 21, 2017, I travelled nearly three hours to our state capitol, to attend the NC NAACP’s 11th Annual People’s Moral Legislative Advocacy Day. It was important for me to be visible and vocal about the trauma that our community is currently facing post-HB2/post-Trump Administration. I was there to hold legislators accountable to Article I, Section 2 of the NC Constitution, which states: ‘all political power is vested in and derives from the people. All government of rights originates from the people and is founded upon their will only and his instituted solely for the good of the whole.’”
In less than 100 days, the current Administration has invoked a travel ban against Muslims, motivated hate groups to attack Jewish Communities, and tried to take away transgender rights from students. And many LGBTQ advocates are literally on pins and needles waiting for an Executive Order that will rescind rights of LGBTQ people. Statewide, LGBTQ people are suffering tremendously from heightened levels of harassment, violence, suicide attempts, poverty, low wages and numerous other social, physical, and psychological issues, particularly since passage of HB2. LGBTQ people are under political attack from our U.S. and State Government and the only way to change it is to keep showing up and demanding them to divest their power back into the People, in which they serve.
As a supporter of the Forward Together Moral Movement, I attended Advocacy Day to engage with elected officials around various issues concerning the LGBTQ community, including civil rights, education, employment, living wages, poverty, healthcare, and criminal justice. I am a part of a movement of people that continuously mobilizes people to the North Carolina General Assembly to have their voice heard. No longer are marginalized people willing to be ignored and overlooked by legislators that are supposed to be representing our best interest, but the Forward Together Movement is built on the premise that legislative work should be in the best interests of the people, and abide by the spirit and the dictates of the state constitution – advocates are showing up and demanding to be heard.
Read the full piece here on our blog.
WHAT THE CAMPAIGN FOR SOUTHERN EQUALITY IS UP TO
We are excited to host a FREE “Protect Yourself” Clinic that centers the trans experience and is led by trans and gender nonconforming folks. Hosted by Gender Benders and the Campaign for Southern Equality, the clinic will take place Sunday, March 26 in Greenville, SC.
This free clinic will cover a range of safety issues that come up for trans folks, including: trainings in self defense, writing a safety plan, and using safety apps on your phone and pepper spray. Free and confidential HIV testing and counseling will also be available. Every participant will receive a can of pepper spray and a flashlight, and we will have free pizza, snacks and drinks.
