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Our Voices

Beyond the Schoolhouse Gates: The Need to Educate the School Community about Transgender Students

Each year, as the new school year begins, my social media feeds are filled with stories of families of transgender youth asking school and district administrators to respect and affirm their child’s gender identity. Overwhelmingly, administrators and teachers are stepping up, educating themselves about how to meet the unique needs of transgender students in school. Some school systems have even devoted precious staff training time on this topic. Taking these steps fosters a safe and welcoming...

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We Still Need Full Equality for LGBTQ Families

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent marriage equality ruling has brought the freedom to marry to the entire country, recognizing the equal dignity of our families. However, there is a lot more we need to do to achieve true family equality that fully respects the rights of LGBTQ parents and their children. Let me share the story of Marisol and her spouse, Elena (names have been changed to protect their family). They decided to have a child and asked one of Marisol’s friends to be their sperm donor....

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#BornPerfect: A Year In and We’re Not Backing Down

A year ago, we set out with a goal—protect LGBTQ children from conversion therapy by wiping out the dangerous and discredited practice in just five years. Since then, our #BornPerfect campaign has helped protect thousands of kids across the country from practices linked to severe depression, substance abuse, and even suicide. And we couldn’t have done it without you by our side. Here’s a snapshot: In #BornPerfect’s first year, we helped bring laws to Washington D.C., Oregon, and...

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I Dared to Dream

As a kid, I never dared to dream I’d be where I’m at today—starting my first day of law school at the University of San Francisco and looking forward to a future as an attorney helping immigrants whose stories are similar to my own. It was just three years ago that I lived my life by a simple rule—never be noticed, absolutely never mention my status as an undocumented immigrant to anyone, and never dream too big. But the course of my life changed in 2012 when I was approved for President...

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ERPA Would Close Gap Between Disenfranchised and Law Enforcement

The End Racial Profiling Act of 2015 (ERPA), introduced by Representative John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), is the latest iteration of a federal bill to eliminate racial profiling in law enforcement, including at the state and local levels. The bill defines “racial profiling” to include profiling on the bases of actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, and for the first time, gender identity and sexual orientation. The language of the bill...

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We Still Need the Voting Rights Act

I turned 18 in 1978 and voted in my first presidential election in 1980.  Jimmy Carter was on his way, sadly, to being a one-term president. It wasn’t until 1992 that the candidate I voted for won the White House. That was the year Bill Clinton won, and I still remember the raucous party held at the home of a friend in my hometown of Ogden, Utah. Going back to all those elections, I felt certain that my vote never really mattered in the national contest for president (and since I was in Utah...

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We Stand With Planned Parenthood

Here we are again. Surreptitiously gained footage targeting the most well-known name in access to reproductive healthcare – yes, Planned Parenthood. I know that many of us are tempted simply to sigh and shake our heads in exasperation, but instead we must remain more vigilant than ever about keeping their clinics—often the only resource for reproductive health care for low-income women and transgender people in many parts of the country–open. First and foremost, we must write or call our...

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My Family. Race. And The Work Ahead

I don’t know about you, but the past three weeks have been a whirlwind. The June 26th U.S. Supreme Court ruling acknowledging our freedom to marry is a new high water mark for our movement. As this new reality settles in, I feel a profound gratitude to be here as a witness. It is the highest honor of my career that NCLR played a central role in winning marriage equality. You made this possible. Now it’s time to harness this new energy. Now is the time to capitalize on this momentum and our...

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A Historic Final Rule Aimed at Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced last week an historic final rule aimed at affirmatively furthering fair housing. This final rule marks the first time since the Fair Housing Act (FHA) passed in 1968 that HUD has clarified this provision of the FHA, which requires the government and federally funded program recipients to take affirmative steps to achieve fair housing. That broad mandate has the potential to fulfill the promise and purpose of this civil rights era...

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Joint Statement on the Sentencing of Michael L. Johnson

Counter Narrative Project, Positive Women’s Network (PWN-USA), HIV Prevention Justice Alliance, and the National Center for LGBTQ Rights On Monday July 13, 2015, Michael L. Johnson was sentenced to 30½  years in prison (a concurrent sentence) after being convicted of “recklessly infecting a partner with HIV” and “recklessly exposing partners to the virus.” We are outraged by this sentencing and Johnson’s incarceration. This represents a failure of the justice system and a blatant...

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