Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
By John Mack Freeman Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has vetoed a religious freedom bill in that state that would have allowed for anti-GLBT discrimination. The bill, SB-41, was introduced by State Senator Charles Carrico. Via the Washington Blade: McAuliffe said in a statement that Senate Bill 41 is “nothing more than an attempt to stigmatize.” […]
Via press release Today American Library Association President Sari Feldman and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) Chair Peter Coyl released a joint letter to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal urging him to veto House Bill 757. The bill is yet another example of a disturbing trend of state legislators working to adopt religious freedom laws […]
By John Mack Freeman The world’s biggest association of psychiatrists released a statement this week against so-called “ex-gay” therapies. Their statement is reproduced below in full: WPA Position Statement on Gender Identity and Same-Sex Orientation, Attraction, and Behaviours Background Recent controversies in many countries suggest a need for clarity on same-sex orientation, attraction, and behaviour […]
By John Mack Freeman The Intellectual Freedom Blog run by the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom has posted an entry about LGBT books for young adults written by Naomi Bates. You can read it here.
By John Mack Freeman A large number of high-profile companies have come out against Georgia’s HB 757. A large number of film and television companies and workers have come out against the law. Georgia has a growing film industry due to a sweetheart tax deal that makes it incredibly cheap to film in the state. […]
By John Mack Freeman A new law in Kansas would allow student groups on public college and university campuses to discriminate against other students as long as the discrimination was rooted in a “sincere religious belief.” Governor Sam Brownback signed the legislation in to law this week. Via Advocate.com: The legislation, officially titled the Campus […]
By John Mack Freeman The North Carolina legislature passed a law in a special session this week that bars cities and counties from enacting their own anti-discrimination laws. Governor Pat McCrory signed the law the same day. Via Associated Press: The Republican-controlled General Assembly took action after Charlotte leaders last month approved a broad anti-discrimination measure. […]
By Elizabeth Gartley When I speak to educators about LGBTQ issues, they typically have an easier time accepting different sexual orientations than gender diversity. Most of these educators are well-meaning, and they’re not unaccepting of transgender or gender nonconforming students, but rather a little perplexed at having to challenge their own notions of gender. In […]
By John Mack Freeman The White House announced this week that Raffi Freedman-Gurspan has been appointed as the White House’s primary LGBT liaison. Freedman-Gurspan is the first trans person to hold this role since it was created under President Clinton in 1993. Via Buzzfeed: Freedman-Gurspan became the first transgender staffer appointed to the White House in […]
By John Mack Freeman The Colorado House and the Vermont Senate each advanced bills this week that would make offering ex-gay therapy a crimes in those states. Currently, it is expected the Vermont bill will pass with little effort, but the bill in Colorado may be in trouble due to Republicans currently controlling the Colorado […]