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Religious freedom must not include freedom to discriminate, particularly not with taxpayers' dollars. We are deeply concerned by today's announcements. buzzfeednews.com/article/domini…
White House unveiled 8 regulations this AM to "remove regulatory burdens", stating faith-based organizations will not be discriminated against based on their religious “exercise or belief.”
ALSO: White House released a memo instructing federal agencies to detail how they will prevent discrimination against faith-based orgs in distributing federal grants.
The Trump-Pence administration is attacking prior regulations that ACCOMMODATED religious entities eager to take lucrative federal contracts, grants and awards to provide services to the public.
These prior regulations allowed these entities to get in on the game of getting taxpayer $$$ if they abided by certain basic requirements.
Basic requirements like, you know, promising not to discriminate. 👀
Faith-based entities receiving taxpayer dollars were ALSO required to provide notices to their beneficiaries of their right to receive services elsewhere.
New regs: Eliminate notice reqs & create notices to beneficiaries of faith-based entities’ own "religious rights" instead.
Translation: These claimed "religious rights" (ha, a pun!) often include ~coincidentally~ claiming a right to discriminate against members of the public who would seek to use these services.
Here's the thing: these prior regulations were an ATTEMPT to accommodate religious entities eager for taxpayer $$$.
An effort to bless a flow of those dollars to religious orgs by creating a few nondiscrim & other protections for beneficiaries is now, apparently, discrimination.
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This morning, Oral Arguments were heard at the Supreme Court, where web design agency #303Creative is arguing countless businesses should have the right to refuse service to same-sex couples, & anyone whose identities they disagree with.
Here’s what you need to know. (1of6)
This case is about whether businesses generally open to the public may refuse to serve some customers based on personal objections to who they are, contrary to current civil rights law. (2of6)
If #SCOTUS rules in favor of web designer #303Creative it could provide a license to discriminate against #LGBTQ+ people. It likely would profoundly impact the civil liberties of not only #LGBTQ+ Americans, but ALL Americans. (3of6)
If you or someone you know will be negatively affected by Florida’s proposed rule prohibiting Medicaid coverage for medically necessary gender-affirming care, we encourage you to share your story with us: lambdalegal.org/protecting-hea…
Our fight for fair courts and equality for LGBTQ+ people & everyone living w/ HIV depends on having a #SCOTUS bench committed to justice for all.
We applaud @POTUS’ nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and believe she will strengthen the Supreme Court.
In this historic moment, the stakes are incredibly high for the LGBTQ+ community, with lawmakers across the country relentlessly attacking trans youth. We released this statement on why we have confidence that Judge Jackson will be the fair and impartial justice we need. ⬇️
“The country as a whole is entitled to expect that justices … will recognize the importance of ensuring that historically excluded groups—like the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV—can have confidence that their rights will be fairly adjudicated in a court of law.”
TX AG @KenPaxtonTX's opinion that gender-affirming care for trans youth is "child abuse" is not worth the paper it is written on. It’s not new law. It is beyond shameful for him & @GovAbbott to politicize the health of transgender youth for personal gain. lambdalegal.org/news/tx_202202…
We know this must be scary for caregivers to trans youth, and trans youth themselves. But we want to make it very clear that the law has not changed, and they are not alone. We are here to support parents, guardians, and the youth receiving the life-saving health care they need.
Although the AG’s nonbinding opinion should NOT interfere with medically necessary care, our Help Desk is ready to help anyone in TX navigate this situation. If you need resources or have an investigation opened against you, call our Help Desk. lambdalegal.com/helpdesk
Today, w/our friends at @EqualityILL, we filed a brief in support of Meggan Sommerville, a trans woman & @HobbyLobby employee for more than 20 years who has been fighting to use the women’s facilities @ her job. She’s been fighting for almost 10 years. bit.ly/3pecmEM
“Denying trans people the ability to use facilities that match their GIDs is not just dangerous … but an attempt to deny trans people full participation in society & render us invisible. Trans people exist; & we deserve to be treated w/dignity & respect.” -@AvataraSmithC 🔥🔥🔥
“Meggan Sommerville is a woman, full stop. Well-established state and federal law says so, but most importantly, Meggan Sommerville says so.” -@ethanboehmerice, Lambda Legal
That’s right! A little louder for the people in the back, Ethan! 🗣️
Lambda Legal attorney @oh_rarl said the athletes in the brief all, “recognize the value of inclusive and welcoming sports environments and firmly believe laws like H.B. 500 that single out groups of women and girls from participation in sports harm the entire athletic community.”