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.
“February is upon us, and the picture for anti-transgender legislation has begun to emerge. In 2015 there were 20 state-level bills intended to target transgender people. All of them were either defeated or carried over to the next legislative session. This year has seen the number grow to at least 28 pieces of legislation, and we’ll likely see more before the sessions are over.”
“Fortunately, the majority of these bills will not move forward. They are often introduced by extremist lawmakers who are at odds even with other members of their caucus, and there is frequently little political will to focus on such a nonissue rather than more important legislative priorities. As in 2015, most of these bills will die in committee, given how controversial they are. These bills tend to be poorly written, vague, and broadly worded, which can lead to substantial unintended consequences. Moreover, many of the bills clearly conflict with federal law or are unconstitutional, meaning they are likely to be overturned when challenged in court. All of this makes many lawmakers hesitant to move them through the legislative process.”
“Since 2010, more than 613,000 people have pledged to combat bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens as part of the “It Gets Better” campaign. And a new Northwestern Medicine study has found that most adolescents would agree that it does, in fact, get better. But not all.”
“Discrimination, harassment and assault of LGBT youths is still very much a problem for about a third of adolescents, the study found. What’s more, it’s often very severe, ongoing and leads to lasting mental health problems such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”
“’With bullying, I think people often assume ‘that’s just kids teasing kids,’ and that’s not true,’ Mustanski said. ‘If these incidents, which might include physical and sexual assaults, weren’t happening in schools, people would be calling the police. These are criminal offenses.'”
“Alabama education officials have spent the last few weeks reviewing legal issues associated with transgender students and access to locker rooms and bathrooms on school properties.”
“Officials with the Alabama Association of School Boards – during winter meetings in Hoover, Huntsville, Selma, Decatur, Anniston and Chickasaw – reviewed legal issues and provided information about federal action last year that placed requirements on an Illinois school system to allow a transgender student equal access to a girls’ locker room.”
“Other issues AASB addressed during the meetings included proper names and pronouns of transgender students, dress codes, freedom of association and equal protection at proms and social functions, and sports participation.”
“Popular memory likes to imagine that Jim Crow’s career ended in the 1960s as abruptly as [Black Congressman George H.] White’s had in 1901. But proceedings in a federal courtroom in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, over the last few weeks make it clear that Jim Crow did not retire: He went to law school and launched a second career. Meet James Crow, Esquire.”
“It has been widely reported that North Carolina NAACP v. McCrory is just a test case for voter-ID laws in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby v. Holder—which gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, essentially removing federal oversight of state voting processes. However, the broader context of Mr. Crow’s second career is harder to see.”
“A controversial bill that would require transgender students at Virginia public schools to use the restroom and locker room of their biological sex was killed by a House of Delegates subcommittee Tuesday on a 8-13 vote.”
“The bill, House Bill 781, gained wide attention this year after critics suggested it would require school employees to check students’ genitals. The bill’s patron, Del. Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania, dismissed those suggestions as false, saying the proposal was meant to protect students’ privacy and ward off lawsuits against local school boards.”
“The bill would have required local school boards to adopt policies requiring that all restrooms and locker rooms accessible by multiple students be “designated for and only used by students based on their biological sex.” The legislation would have applied to all public buildings owned by the state. Violations would carry a $50 civil penalty.”
Lawmakers Vote Against LGBT Civil Rights Protections in Georgia By Elizabeth Daley, The Advocate“An amendment to a bill that would have extended civil rights protections to LGBT Georgians was defeated in a House subcommittee Monday. That bill, which protects against discrimination on the basis of religion, race, color, and national origin, is still alive and being taken up today by the full House Judiciary Committee.””The defeated amendment to HB 849 sought to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, disability, age, or veteran status. Even without these characteristics being added to bill HB 849, the measure is designed so that Georgia law more closely mirrors existing federal statutes. The bill would protect Georgians against discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or natural origin in hotels, restaurants, theaters and other public accommodations.””If signed into law, the bill would allow Georgians to sue for discriminatory practices in state court. Georgia is one of four or five states that doesn’t have such protections.”
“Opponents of adding new legal protections for gay, lesbian and transgender residents urged the Charlotte City Council on Monday to ‘Don’t do it’ and ‘Keep Women Safe’.”
“But it appears there is still enough support on council to expand the nondiscrimination ordinance. Council members voted 7-3 to schedule a vote for Feb. 22.”
“During the fall elections, at least eight of 11 council members said they would support expanding the ordinance for LGBT residents. It takes a majority of six council members to pass the ordinance.”
“A demonstration in support of a Gay-Straight Alliance club was held outside Franklin County High School briefly before Monday evening’s school board meeting. The demonstrators, many with pro-gay rainbow flags in hand, shouted as trucks holding Christian flags drove onto the high school’s campus.”
“Inside the high school, hundreds of residents and supports on both sides of the issue packed the auditorium and held up signs and flags at each other before the meeting kicked off.”
“The support of community members, faculty and other students will keep the organization alive even if its members are bullied at school, said Kevin Hambrick, a freshman at the high school and member of the GSA.”
“‘You can take us down,’ he told the board. ‘You can take our signs down. You can take the tears out of our eyes. But we still have a legal right to keep meeting.'”
“President Obama,” Gutiérrez began, “release all LGBT detention centers!”
The leader of the world’s most powerful nation turned his head to find the woman who had interrupted him. Gutiérrez didn’t break her gaze. For a moment, she felt she and Obama might just be two people, playing on the same field. The life that Gutiérrez led as an undocumented trans woman of color — a life in which she often feels she has little power — suddenly seemed to have new meaning. She felt, in that moment, just as powerful as the president.
“President Obama, stop the torture and abuse of trans women in detention centers!” Gutiérrez continued. “President Obama, I am a trans woman. I’m tired of the abuse. I’m tired of the violence!”
The schedule for the 2016 LGBT* in the South conference is now posted – click here to register today!
