Policy Pack II.VII LGBTQ+ RIGHTS, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, & LIBERATION: June, 2019 Thank you, National LGBTQ Task Force for your partnership on this policy pack and leadership in this movement. TheTaskForce.Org PlatformWomen.Org @TheTaskForce @PlatformWomen LGBTQ RIGHTS, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, & LIBERATION: Table of Contents Letter from Platform 1 Letter from National LGBTQ Task Force 3 Lingo- Definitions of key acronyms, phrases, and words 4 The Rundown- A breakdown of the issue at hand 7 Sec. 3 of the Equality Act: Public Accommodations 8 Sec. 5 & 6 of the Equality Act: Public Education & Federal Funding 12 Sec. 7 of the Equality Act: Employment 15 Sec. 10 of the Equality Act: Housing 18 Sec. 11 of the Equality Act: Equal Credit Opportunity 22 Sec. 12 of the Equality Act: Juries 25 What's Missing: Violence 28 What's Missing: Criminalization, State Violence, and Incarceration 32 What's Missing: Voting 34 What's Missing: Immigration 36 Think On It 38 On the Table 39 Do Something 40 LGBTQ RIGHTS, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, & LIBERATION: Letter from Platform We’re pretty positive at this point you know it’s the end of Pride Month. From Pizza Hut making heart-shaped pizzas to United Airlines, Citibank, Converse, and countless other brands and corporations “celebrating” with rainbow merchandise and vague, cutesy slogans; Pride has truly gone mainstream. The real origins of the LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and liberation movement (stemming from the Stonewall riots), and the continued persecution of queer people is frustratingly overshadowed by the common act of “pinkwashing” that often replaces advocacy. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and of Pride, we dedicated this policy pack to breaking down and exploring current policies, or lack thereof, that enable continued discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the U.S.— and that go below the surface of what dominates the narrative. Although we’ve seen a surge in advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States in the past few years, equity and liberation are still works in progress. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and more communities still face an unfathomable medley of discrimination laws and other barriers. From desegregating housing and public education to fixing credit discrimination to combatting violence, the list goes on and there is so much work to be done in the fight for equality. And as it is multiple communities that comprise the LGBTQ+ spectrum, it’s important to recognize that each community and each individual within a community face different barriers, obstacles, and violence. In an effort to combat this, the United States House of Representatives passed the Equality Act this past May. The Equality Act would be the first comprehensive federal legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This policy pack will take you through the contents of the bill and lay out its direct impacts in protecting against LGBTQ+ discrimination. With 239 cosponsors upon introduction, the bill has the most Congressional support in the history of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation. However, the efforts to prevent the bill from becoming law are strong, with the White House saying the bill is “filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.” LGBTQ+ rights are especially vulnerable and targeted under the current administration. The White House has continuously rolled back LGBTQ+ rights claiming to advance “religious freedom.” Since becoming President, Trump has rescinded policy guidance protecting transgender students in public schools; walked back a policy allowing people who are incarcerated to be housed based on their gender identity; announced new faith-based discrimination rules in medicine that allow providers to deny patients critical care; and now intends to reverse the requirement that homeless shelters receiving federal funding must provide equal access for individuals in accordance with their gender identity. We recognize how barriers created and perpetuated by the administration disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ people of color. We recognize the reality of individual identities and experiences shape the importance of intersectionality in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. We recognize that LGTBQ+ people of color live at the intersections of multiple oppressions that deserve unique attention and solutions. 1 LGBTQ RIGHTS, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, & LIBERATION: Letter from Platform (cont'd) Nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ+ Americans report having experienced discrimination. We cannot become complacent with this reality. We cannot forget that these numbers have real people, real experiences, and real pain attached to them. Naomi Washington Leapheart, a Christian minister and Faith Work Director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, shared her story of discrimination after a wedding planner refused to work with her and her current wife Kentina, because “she believe[d] in the biblical definition of marriage, which, to her, made [theirs] illegitimate.” Naomi recalls feeling grateful and joyous during the time of her wedding, but remarked that, “the rejection we experienced during one of the happiest seasons of our lives starkly reminded us that there is still so much more work to be done.”1 Naomi’s story is unfortunately not uncommon in the United States today. This type of discrimination is actually legal on the federal level, as well as in many states, due to spotty state anti-discrimination laws. As long as this type of prejudice remains persistent, and is deemed lawful by the government, Pride is not and cannot just be a celebration of how far we’ve come, but also a continued act of rebellion against the norms and discrimination that continually plague our community. Though Pride is a celebratory month, we know that not everyone feels safe enough to come out. We also know that being “out and proud’ does not erase the pain or obstacles that may persist. To all of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, intersex, pansexual, and asexual siblings: We see you and we love you. The Trevor Project The Trevor Project was created to meet the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning young people under the age of 25. The TrevorLifeline can be reached at: 1-866-488-7386. TrevorChat is an online chat system. Please note, while there is usually just a few minute wait to speak to a counselor, wait times can be up to a half hour. The TrevorLifeline is more immediate. For TrevorText: Text “START” to 678678. Standard text messaging rates apply. Available 24/7. Trans LifeLine The Trans Lifeline is a national trans-led organization dedicated to improving the quality of trans lives by responding to the critical needs of our community with direct service, material support, advocacy, and education. The Trans Lifeline can be reached at: US: 877-565-8860 Canada: 877-330-6366 In community, Paula, Hailey, & The Platform Team 2 LGBTQ RIGHTS, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, & LIBERATION: Letter from National LGBTQ Task Force Dear Readers, At fifteen years old, I organized my first protest. The federal government had announced that high schools would lose their federal funding if they operated any sort of group to support gay and lesbian students, so a few of my friends met me at my house and we called every single person in our high school yearbook and asked them to join us in walking out of class to protest. In response, our school allowed us to meet for an “unsanctioned” support group once a week. It wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but it met the needs of the LGBTQ students at our school. Ten years later, I found myself saying that I wouldn’t work on LGBTQ rights because it didn’t seem as urgent or critical of an issue to me as economic justice, racial justice, or other social justice issues that were demanding my attention. That was because I had bought into the prominent narrative at the time that the fight for LGBTQ rights was just about legalizing gay marriage. And while dignity and equality were important to me, my own experiences with homelessness, violence, and the criminal legal system left me feeling like our community needed more. The National LGBTQ Task Force changed my perspective and allowed me to be a part of a movement that focuses on equity. Through the Task Force, I met dozens of LGBTQ people of color, people who had lived in poverty, people living with HIV, and others who lived at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities. They showed me that fighting for LGBTQ rights is not just about securing equality for same-sex couples – it’s about working to make sure that LGBTQ people can fight for liberation against all the systems of oppression that have an impact on their lives. At the Task Force, we prioritize the issues that have deep and urgent impact on LGBTQ people. We fight to meet the needs of LGBTQ people living in poverty, to end mass incarceration, for access to health care for transgender people and people with disabilities. We fight for reproductive justice and radically comprehensive sexual education. We fight for a democracy that allows us to build power and for welcoming and inclusive faith spaces. We fight for equity. This policy pack will help you understand why issues like criminal justice, immigration, and foster care are so important to the LGBTQ community, and how you can be involved in our struggle. I invite you to join me in the true struggle for LGBTQ rights – the fight to ensure full freedom, equity, and justice for all LGBTQ people. Best, Meghan Maury Policy Director National LGBTQ Task Force 3 LGBTQ RIGHTS, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, & LIBERATION: Lingo We are grateful to be working in partnership with the National LGBTQ Task Force on this policy pack. The definitions below contains language completely and directly taken from the Task Force’s report, “Queering Reproductive Justice.” 2 This important resource can be found at bit.ly/QueeringReproTask.