HRC Blog

This is the first post in our Welcoming Schools “Back to School” blog series. Welcoming Schools, a project of the HRC Foundation, offers administrators, educators and parents/guardians the tools they need to ensure their elementary schools welcome all students and families. With LGBT-inclusive resources on embracing family diversity, avoiding gender stereotyping and ending bullying and name-calling, Welcoming Schools is a first-of-its-kind approach to these topics for K-5 learning environments.

There are not many places these days where lesbians can go to enjoy one another’s company and culture in the exclusive presence of other women and lesbians. The Ohio Lesbian Festival [www.ohiolba.org], that convenes every summer just outside of Columbus, is one such venue. Now in its 21st year, this festival celebrates music made by and for women, and offers a range of workshops from religion to hula hooping to politics to sex. There are numerous vendors too and one can purchase women’s art and get informed about a range of issues.

As we anticipate the Senate’s upcoming to vote on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, HRC members across the country take action. Texans who came to the Alamo Draft house in Austin for the Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (GLIFF) took time between shows to call their senators. By the time we left, three senate voice mails were filled!

The following post is a guest post from David Fishback, Advocacy Chair for the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG, with opening comments from HRC’s Family Project Director, Ellen Kahn: As voters across the U.S. prepare to vote in primary elections next week, and coverage of the critically important November mid-term elections permeates every news channel, a reminder about the importance of school board elections to our community is timely. LGBT voters and our allies have a vested interest in the outcomes of school board elections, whether or not you are parents or have any connection to you local public schools.

As we told you earlier this week, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Health Data Collection Improvement Act, a bill that would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity in federal health surveys and programs. This data would provide invaluable information about the health needs of LGBT people and help the federal government begin to address the health disparities facing our community. The bill was discussed as part of a hearing on several public health bills held yesterday by the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.