ARMY SEC NOMINEE MARK GREEN CLAIMS HE IS NOT ANTI-LGBTQ -- AND LINKS TO WEBSITE THAT ATTACKS LGBTQ SERVICE MEMBERS: In a bizarre Facebook post by Mark Green, Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Army,  he responds to critics --  including HRC  -- who have exposed his extremist anti-LGBTQ record as a Tennessee State Senator. In that same post, Green links to an article on an anti-LGBTQ website known for attacking LGBTQ service members  titled, “Homosexual activists target Army Secretary nominee Mark Green. Because he’s Christian.” Here are the facts: Green’s anti-LGBTQ record includes describing former President Obama’s guidance protecting transgender students an example of “tyrannical government,” saying that being transgender is a “disease” and encouraging the state of Tennessee to deny marriage licenses to gay couples. As a State Senator, he supported legislation giving businesses a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, sponsored several anti-transgender bills, and opposed state nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. More from The Huffington Post.

GOOD QUESTION -- “ARE SOME DEMS GOING SOFT ON LGBTQ RIGHTS IN AGE OF TRUMP?”: Michael Signorile asks that question in The Huffington Post after the LA Blade’s Karen Ocamb (@KarenOcamb) reported that the Democratic Governors Association (DGA)  may be meeting in North Carolina, where the legislature and Gov. Roy Cooper just enacted legislation doubling down on anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Writes Ocamb: “Apparently the planning started after a former staffer for newly elected North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper joined the DGA. The source did not know if the conference was a counter-measure to the backlash from such prominent LGBT organizations as the Human Rights Campaign, Equality North Carolina and Equality California over Cooper’s ‘compromise’ with conservative state Republicans to ‘repeal’ the transphobic HB2 law in order to appease business boycotters such as the NCAA.” Read more at The Huffington Post, and the LA Blade.

• To date, California; Washington state; Minnesota; New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; Baltimore; Atlanta; Oakland, Calif.; Cincinnati; Salt Lake City; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Portland, Maine; Palm Springs, Calif.; Burlington, Vt.; and Wilton Manors, Fla. have reaffirmed their travel ban for state or city employees to North Carolina.

HRC’S GROUNDBREAKING CONFERENCE SUPPORTING LGBTQ YOUTH KICKS OFF FRIDAY: HRC, in partnership with the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Counseling Association (ACA) will be holding its nationally-acclaimed Time to THRIVE Conference in Washington, D.C. this week, from April 28-30.  In its fourth year, this premier event will address safety, inclusion and well-being for LGBTQ and questioning youth, and bring together youth-serving professionals to discuss best practices for working with and caring for LGBTQ youth and their families in schools, community centers, healthcare settings, and beyond.  “During a time when too many people -- from classrooms to government offices -- feel emboldened to bully marginalized communities, LGBTQ youth need their counselors, teachers, social workers and other professionals fighting for them,” said Vincent Pompei, Director of HRC's Youth Well-Being Project and Time to THRIVE conference chair. More from HRC.

WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY: In response to the unprecedented gains by the LGBTQ community during the Obama Administration, Texas Republicans have unleashed a torrent of anti-LGBTQ bills in an attempt to undermine critical non-discrimination protections and marriage equality. The bills would allow discrimination against and block facility access for transgender Texans, and overturn non-discrimination ordinances providing critical protections in several major Texas cities and force state agencies, municipalities, public schools and public universities to discriminate against transgender people. As Senior Legislative Counsel Cathryn Oakley said during testimony given to the Senate Affairs Committee, “[N]one of these bills are actually about bathrooms, they’re all about prejudice.” More from The Huffington Post.

HRC ANNOUNCES FELLOWSHIPS FOR 10 YOUNG LEADERS WORKING TO END HIV: Yesterday, HRC announced the selection of ten outstanding young leaders for the second year of its fellowship program focused on elevating the work of young people on the front lines of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The HRC Foundation's HIV 360° Fellowship Program, made possible with the generous support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), provides individualized training and support to innovative young professionals and nonprofit leaders as they tackle the challenges facing communities hit hardest by HIV, including Black and Latino gay and bisexual men, transgender women of color, and LGBTQ people living in the U.S. South. The new class reflects a diverse cross-section of the activists and advocates working tirelessly to combat both the stigma and spread of HIV across the country. More from HRC.

LEGISLATION TO PROTECT AMERICANS FROM SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY” REINTRODUCED IN CONGRESS: Yesterday, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) reintroduced the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, which would classify so-called “conversion therapy” for what it truly is -- fraud. “So-called ‘conversion therapy’ is nothing more than child abuse and those who inflict it on others must be held accountable,” said HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin). “HRC thanks Senators Murray and Booker and Representative Lieu for their efforts to outlaw this dangerous and inhumane practice.” More from HRC and BuzzFeed.

THE EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE AGAINST TRANSGENDER WOMEN MUST END: On Friday, Chay Reed, a transgender woman of color, was shot and killed in Miami. Reed was 28. Media coverage initially misreported her gender because based on an incorrect  police report, according to WPLG. Reed is at least the ninth transgender woman of color killed in the U.S. this year. Her death marks yet another dark moment for the transgender community, which is plagued by disproportionately higher rates of violence. More on this epidemic of violence from Refinery29.

• Despicable - GOP Senator insinuates violence against LGBTQ people is justified: Read Bustle’s report on Sen. Mike Enzi’s (R-WY) disgusting comments to a group of middle and high schoolers here. Although he later apologized, this rhetoric contributes to anti-LGBTQ sentiment and policy-making.

LGBTQ AMERICANS FACE MAZE WHEN SEEKING JUSTICE: Depending on where you live, getting justice when you are discriminated against for being LGBTQ can be complicated, or even impossible. For one Pennsylvanian suing their employer for discrimination based on sexual orientation, this meant a months-long process just to determine the proper place to file the complaint. Until our country has explicit federal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, this will continue to be the reality for LGBTQ Americans. More from Advocate.

TODAY IS #40ToNoneDay: Youth homelessness in the U.S. is a national, affecting an estimated nearly two million young people every year. Consistent research shows that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented among the homeless, comprising up to 40 percent of the total unaccompanied homeless youth population, even though they make up an estimated eight percent of the overall youth population. In order to address this epidemic, True Colors Fund launched #40toNoneDay, a national day to raise public awareness about LGBTQ youth homelessness, and to provide advocates with tools to address this crisis. More from HRC.

WEHO CITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS CHECHNYA’S ATTACKS ON GAY MEN: The resolution to condemn was unanimously adopted at West Hollywood City Council’s meeting on Monday. More from West Hollywood Patch.

OLYMPIAN AND RECORD-BREAKING POLE VAULTER COMES OUT: Shawn Barber, who holds the world record in indoor pole vault and is a member of Team Canada, came out as gay in a Facebook post, thanking his friends and family who supported him through the process. More from NewNowNext.

READING RAINBOW

The (London) Times interviews intersex model Hanne Gaby Odiele about her advocacy; Fortune examines Goldman Sachs strategy for avoiding anti-LGBTQ bias in hiring; The Washington Post reviews a new photo book that features LGBTQ people in their homes;

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