HRC Blog

During the August recess, three volunteers with HRC Colorado had the great opportunity to meet with Senator Michael Bennet's state director, Rosemary Rodriguez. She has been a true ally to the LGBT community, not just under Senator Bennet, but in years past. We thanked Rosemary for her support and that of Senator Bennet.

This past week I met with One Bowling Green campaign manager Kim Welter, who is heading up the effort to defend two non-discrimination ordinances passed by Bowling Green city councilors in 2009. The ordinances amended the city’s existing anti-discrimination laws to protect individuals from arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and veterans status in housing, public accommodations, employment, and public education. With no state law in Ohio against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, city ordinances are important bulwarks against discrimination in the workplace.

Yesterday, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Health Data Collection Improvement Act, a bill that would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that federal health surveys collect voluntary data on sexual orientation and gender identity. Such data is critical to understanding the unique health needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and ensuring that federal health programs and dollars are targeted to address them. We already know that LGBT people experience significant health disparities – both due to health conditions that disproportionately affect our community and the widespread discrimination that continues to limit our access to quality healthcare. The Center for American Progress detailed these disparities, and the need for health data to understand and combat them, in this 2009 report.

Tonight NY state Senate candidate Tim Kennedy’s had a triumphant victory over anti-equality state senator William Stachowski in the SD 58 Democratic primary election. HRC endorsed Tim Kennedy, a pro-equality candidate, as part of the Campaign for New York Marriage, which aims to help re-elect senators who supported marriage equality, defeat incumbent opponents and elect fair-minded candidates to open seats.

Today, GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, released its National School Climate Survey, which documents the experiences of LGBT students from across the country. The 2009 National School Climate Survey shows that while progress has been made in providing safe schools for LGBT youth, much work remains to be done. Among the report’s key findings: • 84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1% reported being physically harassed and 18.8% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.