Queer News

MsTinkerbelly · 07-17-2015, 01:07 AM

The EEOC ruled today that gay men and women are protected in the workplace by the 1964 Civil Rights Act!

The government is working on expanding those protections, as individual states are trying to keep discrimination on the books.

The story is on LGBTQnation.com

puddin' · 07-24-2015, 04:11 PM

http://www.afterellen.com/people/444...abundance-2015

puddin' · 07-27-2015, 03:14 PM

http://www.wbtv.com/story/29269176/j...nttype=generic

Jesse · 07-27-2015, 06:31 PM

Boy Scouts vote to allow gay scout leaders. The vote had a 79% approval.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...l_nbn_20150727

Cin · 11-12-2015, 07:43 AM

Utah judge orders baby taken away from married lesbian foster parents

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...foster-parents

Cin · 11-13-2015, 12:00 PM

Update:
Utah authorities fight judge’s order to remove baby from lesbian foster parents

Utah state officials have announced they will fight a judge’s order that a baby girl be taken away from her married lesbian foster parents and placed with a heterosexual couple.

Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services said on Thursday that it would go to an appeals court if state juvenile Judge Scott Johansen did not rescind his decision.

The state agency said the judge went against its recommendation that the baby should stay with April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce, a married couple in Price, Utah.

In his decision Johansen claimed research had shown children did better when raised by heterosexual families.

Utah’s Republican governor, Gary Herbert, said on Thursday that the judge should apply the law rather than his personal beliefs. Herbert said he was puzzled by the ruling , which shocked rights groups and prompted a tweet from the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that being a good parent “has nothing to do with sexual orientation – thousands of families prove that”.

Herbert said: “He may not like the law, but he should follow the law. We don’t want to have activism on the bench in any way, shape or form.”

Herbert added that the judge should not “inject his own personal beliefs and feelings in superseding the law”.

The judge’s order calls for the baby girl the couple has been raising for three months to be taken away within a week.

April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce said the judge claimed that research showed children did better when raised by heterosexual couples. A Utah courts spokeswoman, Nancy Volmer, said judicial rules mean Johansen could not discuss the case.

Hoagland said: “We’ve been told to care for this child like a mother would, and I am her mother, I mean that’s who she knows.

“And she’s just going to be taken away in seven days, to another probably good, loving home, but it’s just, it’s not fair, and it’s not right and it just hurts me really badly.”

The ruling came during a routine hearing for Hoagland and Peirce. They are part of a group of same-sex married couples who were allowed to become foster parents in Utah after the recent US supreme court ruling that made gay marriage legal across the country, said a spokeswoman for the state’s family services agency, Ashley Sumner.

“We are shattered,” Hoagland told the Salt Lake City television station KUTV. “It hurts me really badly because I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Peirce added: “He’s never been in our home, never spent time with the child in our home or our other children so he doesn’t know anything about this.”

A full transcript of the ruling has not been made public, and may not be because court records of cases involving foster children were kept private to protect the children, Sumner said.

Sumner said she could not speak to specifics of the case but confirmed that the couple’s account of the ruling is accurate – the judge’s decision was based on the couple being lesbians. The agency was not aware of any issues with their parenting, she said.

Hoagland and Peirce had passed background checks, interviews and home inspections.

The couple said they had planned to adopt the infant with her birth mother’s blessing. Their family already includes Peirce’s biological children, aged 12 and 14.

Peirce told the Salt Lake City Tribune that the childcare agency and a court-appointed representative for the child also supported the couple, “so the only thing standing in the way is the judge”.

The judge’s ruling prompted a heated response from the Human Rights Campaign, which called it “outrageous, shocking and unjust”.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/utah...oster-parents/

*Anya* · 12-07-2015, 07:19 AM

Monday 07 December 2015

Gay refugees placed in separate accommodation after attacks December 4, 2015

Five gay asylum seekers in Amsterdam have been moved to a new location after they were spat on and attacked by other people in their refugee centre, the Parool says on Friday. The five – three from Syria, one from Iran and one from Iraq – have been moved to a house owned by housing corporation Rochdale. Junior justice minister Klaas Dijkhoff said earlier he did not support separate accommodation for gay refugees because it was ‘stigmatising’.

A spokesman for the Salvation Army, which is in charge of refugee accommodation in the capital, said the men’s safety could not be guaranteed in their former housing. ‘They often don’t dare to leave their rooms,’ Philip Tijsma from gay rights lobby group COC told the Parool. In October, two other asylum seekers were rehoused after problems at a refugee centre in the district of Zuidoost. This weekend, four other gay men will move to a house in Rotterdam.

The Parool said that at the beginning of next year gay refugees will have their own wing in the Groenhof refugee centre in a former care home close to the city centre. ‘LGBTs are extra vulnerable and I consider it crucial that they have a safe environment to recover and receive care,’ city alderman Simone Kukenheim said. Share Share Share Tweet Share

Read more at DutchNews.nl: Gay refugees placed in separate accommodation after attacks http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archive...after-attacks/

07-17-2015, 01:07 AM	#1
MsTinkerbelly Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: ... Preferred Pronoun?: ... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ... Posts: 6,573 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,737 Thanked 22,907 Times in 5,017 Posts Rep Power: 0	EEOC major ruling The EEOC ruled today that gay men and women are protected in the workplace by the 1964 Civil Rights Act! The government is working on expanding those protections, as individual states are trying to keep discrimination on the books. The story is on LGBTQnation.com

07-24-2015, 04:11 PM	#2
puddin' Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: a genderqueer nuisance Preferred Pronoun?: bitchboi Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: new zealand Posts: 7,120 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,467 Thanked 7,962 Times in 2,340 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	a good article me thinks... http://www.afterellen.com/people/444...abundance-2015 __________________ be true, be you, be brave.

07-27-2015, 03:14 PM	#3
puddin' Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: a genderqueer nuisance Preferred Pronoun?: bitchboi Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: new zealand Posts: 7,120 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,467 Thanked 7,962 Times in 2,340 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	the man said no not today... http://www.wbtv.com/story/29269176/j...nttype=generic __________________ be true, be you, be brave.

07-27-2015, 06:31 PM	#4
Jesse Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Transguy Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: single Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Central West Coast of Florida Posts: 5,204 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 34,866 Thanked 17,783 Times in 3,940 Posts Rep Power: 21474857	Boy Scouts vote to allow gay scout leaders. The vote had a 79% approval. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...l_nbn_20150727 __________________ “You’re so hard on yourself. Take a moment. Sit back. Marvel at your life: at the grief that softened you, at the heartache that widened you, at the suffering that strengthened you. Despite everything, you still grow. Be proud of this.”

12-07-2015, 07:19 AM	#7
Anya Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Lesbian non-stone femme Preferred Pronoun?: She, her Relationship Status: Committed to being good to myself Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Coast Posts: 8,258 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 39,306 Thanked 40,447 Times in 7,284 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	Monday 07 December 2015 Gay refugees placed in separate accommodation after attacks December 4, 2015 Five gay asylum seekers in Amsterdam have been moved to a new location after they were spat on and attacked by other people in their refugee centre, the Parool says on Friday. The five – three from Syria, one from Iran and one from Iraq – have been moved to a house owned by housing corporation Rochdale. Junior justice minister Klaas Dijkhoff said earlier he did not support separate accommodation for gay refugees because it was ‘stigmatising’. A spokesman for the Salvation Army, which is in charge of refugee accommodation in the capital, said the men’s safety could not be guaranteed in their former housing. ‘They often don’t dare to leave their rooms,’ Philip Tijsma from gay rights lobby group COC told the Parool. In October, two other asylum seekers were rehoused after problems at a refugee centre in the district of Zuidoost. This weekend, four other gay men will move to a house in Rotterdam. The Parool said that at the beginning of next year gay refugees will have their own wing in the Groenhof refugee centre in a former care home close to the city centre. ‘LGBTs are extra vulnerable and I consider it crucial that they have a safe environment to recover and receive care,’ city alderman Simone Kukenheim said. Share Share Share Tweet Share Read more at DutchNews.nl: Gay refugees placed in separate accommodation after attacks http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archive...after-attacks/ __________________ ~Anya~ Democracy Dies in Darkness ~Washington Post "...I'm deeply concerned by recently adopted policies which punish children for their parents’ actions ... The thought that any State would seek to deter parents by inflicting such abuse on children is unconscionable." UN Human Rights commissioner

11-12-2015, 07:43 AM	#5
Cin Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: Truly Madly Deeply Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: In My Head Posts: 2,815 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 6,333 Thanked 10,409 Times in 2,477 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	Utah judge orders baby taken away from married lesbian foster parents http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...foster-parents

11-13-2015, 12:00 PM	#6
Cin Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: Truly Madly Deeply Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: In My Head Posts: 2,815 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 6,333 Thanked 10,409 Times in 2,477 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	Update: Utah authorities fight judge’s order to remove baby from lesbian foster parents Utah state officials have announced they will fight a judge’s order that a baby girl be taken away from her married lesbian foster parents and placed with a heterosexual couple. Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services said on Thursday that it would go to an appeals court if state juvenile Judge Scott Johansen did not rescind his decision. The state agency said the judge went against its recommendation that the baby should stay with April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce, a married couple in Price, Utah. In his decision Johansen claimed research had shown children did better when raised by heterosexual families. Utah’s Republican governor, Gary Herbert, said on Thursday that the judge should apply the law rather than his personal beliefs. Herbert said he was puzzled by the ruling , which shocked rights groups and prompted a tweet from the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that being a good parent “has nothing to do with sexual orientation – thousands of families prove that”. Herbert said: “He may not like the law, but he should follow the law. We don’t want to have activism on the bench in any way, shape or form.” Herbert added that the judge should not “inject his own personal beliefs and feelings in superseding the law”. The judge’s order calls for the baby girl the couple has been raising for three months to be taken away within a week. April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce said the judge claimed that research showed children did better when raised by heterosexual couples. A Utah courts spokeswoman, Nancy Volmer, said judicial rules mean Johansen could not discuss the case. Hoagland said: “We’ve been told to care for this child like a mother would, and I am her mother, I mean that’s who she knows. “And she’s just going to be taken away in seven days, to another probably good, loving home, but it’s just, it’s not fair, and it’s not right and it just hurts me really badly.” The ruling came during a routine hearing for Hoagland and Peirce. They are part of a group of same-sex married couples who were allowed to become foster parents in Utah after the recent US supreme court ruling that made gay marriage legal across the country, said a spokeswoman for the state’s family services agency, Ashley Sumner. “We are shattered,” Hoagland told the Salt Lake City television station KUTV. “It hurts me really badly because I haven’t done anything wrong.” Peirce added: “He’s never been in our home, never spent time with the child in our home or our other children so he doesn’t know anything about this.” A full transcript of the ruling has not been made public, and may not be because court records of cases involving foster children were kept private to protect the children, Sumner said. Sumner said she could not speak to specifics of the case but confirmed that the couple’s account of the ruling is accurate – the judge’s decision was based on the couple being lesbians. The agency was not aware of any issues with their parenting, she said. Hoagland and Peirce had passed background checks, interviews and home inspections. The couple said they had planned to adopt the infant with her birth mother’s blessing. Their family already includes Peirce’s biological children, aged 12 and 14. Peirce told the Salt Lake City Tribune that the childcare agency and a court-appointed representative for the child also supported the couple, “so the only thing standing in the way is the judge”. The judge’s ruling prompted a heated response from the Human Rights Campaign, which called it “outrageous, shocking and unjust”. http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/utah...oster-parents/