HRC Blog

Get caught up on the most touching stories and important steps forward in the fight for equality this past week:

• A number of local businesses in Roanoke, VA, came together to pay for the repair of a bullied gay college student’s car. Jordan Addison’s car was vandalized and covered in homophobic slurs several times this year. Check out the touching video below.
• Earlier in the week, we learned the American Psychiatric Association was calling for the elimination of barriers to access to transition-related healthcare for transgender people. In its statement, the APA cited the relentless discrimination transgender people face in virtually every aspect of life – from the workplace to adoption rights to public accommodations – and how that makes it all the more important to ensure transgender individuals have access to high-quality healthcare.
• Today, HRC and Freedom to Marry released a video touting Republican support for marriage equality. The ad will run in Tampa next week during the Republican National Convention. Check it out below.
• We learned that Bob Kerrey, running for the U.S. Senate from Nebraska, is refusing to shy away from the issue of marriage equality on the campaign trail – even though it isn’t necessarily the most popular thing for him to be talking about right now.
• The DNC announced that Rep. Tammy Baldwin – the first open lesbian in the U.S. House who is now running for the U.S. Senate – will be speaking at the Democratic convention in Charlotte. Baldwin joins other prominent women speaking, including U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and NARAL president Nancy Keenan.
• Speaking of the Democratic convention, we learned via the National Stonewall Democrats that this year will see the highest number of openly LGBT delegates participating – at least 470.
• Time Warner Inc. – a longtime leader in corporate equality –announced that it is implementing tax equalization on benefits for employees in same-sex marriages, or in same-sex partnerships/civil unions in states where same-sex marriage is not legal. Time Warner Inc. is the first major media and entertainment company to take this step forward.
• A compelling new ad in support of marriage equality began airing across Maine on Tuesday. The ad features Pat and Dan Lawson, who are the parents of twin sons – one of whom is gay. Check out the touching ad.
• Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) became the latest prominent person to participate in HRC’s Americans for Marriage Equality campaign. In the video, Rep. Moore states, “I’ve always fought for equality and justice in America, which is why I think it’s wrong to tell two people in love they can’t get married, just because they’re gay or lesbian.”