REPORTS - TRUMP PREPARING TO FORCE DISCRIMINATORY TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN DESPITE BIPARTISAN OPPOSITION: According to press accounts, the proposed policy, which Trump initially tweeted a variation, would prevent transgender people from joining the military, allow military leaders to remove qualified, currently enlisted transgender Americans from serving their country, and unconscionably halt medically necessary health care for transgender troops. Max Greenwood (@KMaxGreenwood) reports on the developments in The Hill.

Despite overwhelming opposition, @realDonaldTrump is advancing his discriminatory & unpatriotic attack on trans troops. https://t.co/eKrR90hGE2

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) August 24, 2017

HRC ENDORSES  CHARLOTTE MAYOR JENNIFER ROBERTS IN RE-ELECTION BID: “Mayor Roberts is a champion of LGBTQ equality and unwavering in her commitment to moving Charlotte forward as a welcoming and inclusive city,” Scott Bishop, a Charlotte resident and member of the HRC Board of Directors, said during the announcement yesterday. “In the face of two direct legislative attacks on LGBTQ North Carolinians with HB2 and HB142, and despite the shameful political pressure from state lawmakers, Mayor Roberts continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ community in the fight for LGBTQ equality.” Throughout the past year’s discriminatory legislative attacks in North Carolina, Mayor Roberts stood by the LGBTQ community despite the political pressure being exerted from state lawmakers. More from HRC, QNotes and The Charlotte Observer.

• Time Out Youth, Charlotte’s LGBTQ youth center, has moved to a permanent location, and plans to offer a 10-bed shelter by 2020. More from The Charlotte Observer.

.@HRC, @equalitync & @MeckPAC endorse @JenRobertsNC in her bid for re-election as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina https://t.co/aRWgtk4Qn1 pic.twitter.com/zq2OyYkf3q

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) August 23, 2017

CHUCK SCHUMER TO DONALD TRUMP -- WITHDRAW NOMINATION OF ANTI-LGBTQ SAM CLOVIS OR YOU’LL GET A FIGHT IN THE SENATE: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called on Donald Trump to withdraw Sam Clovis as a nominee for chief scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Sam Clovis is wildly unqualified to be USDA chief scientist & Pres. Trump should pull his name now,” Schumer tweeted yesterday. In a joint statement, Schumer and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said,  “If President Trump refuses to withdraw Mr. Clovis, we will vehemently oppose his nomination and urge our colleagues from both parties to come together and summarily reject him as well.” Clovis, who has no scientific background, has a disturbing history of anti-LGBTQ extremism, repeatedly peddling the falsehood that being LGBTQ is a “choice.” Clovis has also disgustingly equated protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination with protecting pedophiles, and he opposes marriage equality. More from The Huffington Post.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: HRC is honoring Bayard Rustin, the openly gay organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, who passed away 30 years ago today. Rustin was a key strategist who greatly influenced Martin Luther King Jr., and was an early LGBTQ advocate, but is too often left out of civil rights history.

Today, we honor African American #LGBTQ leader Bayard Rustin and his contributions to the civil rights movement. pic.twitter.com/2R0KCxRpau

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) August 24, 2017

PROTESTERS INJURED BY CAR AT VIGIL FOR KIWI HERRING: Marchers protesting the fatal police shooting of Kiwi Herring, a transgender woman from St. Louis, were injured by a car as they blocked an intersection Wednesday night. Reports differ on the incident, but three vigil-goers were injured after the car sped away. Police quickly arrested the driver for fleeing from a felony. The vigil followed the death of Herring, who was fatally shot by police after they were called to her home following reports of a stabbing. Police reports indicate the officers fired at Herring after an officer was slashed with a kitchen knife. More from Huffington Post and Bustle.

RETÓRICA DE TRUMP INSPIRA AL CLIMA DE HOSTILIDAD: TeleSur invitó a HRC a participar en una nota informativa sobre las recientes manifestaciones de odio y la posición del gobierno de Trump. “Lo que pasó en Charlottesville fue una de las manifestaciones claras de las consecuencias que obtenemos a través de la retórica presidencial”, dijo Milagros Chirinos, jefa de prensa bilingüe-español de HRC. La nota repasó también los últimas contraprotestas ocurridas en Boston. Para ver más visite TeleSur.

ATHENS, OHIO, CITY COUNCIL PROTECTS YOUTH FROM SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY”: The unanimous decision means Athens joins Cincinnati, Columbus Toledo, and Dayton in banning the debunked, abusive practice in Ohio. More from WOUB.

WHAT DOES BACK TO SCHOOL MEAN FOR LGBTQ FOSTER YOUTH?: For children and youth in foster care, going back to school can be especially challenging. Over the course of a school year, they are often moved from one foster home to another, which can mean multiple school changes. One study found that more than a third of youth who age out of foster care reported having five or more school changes, and less than 70 percent of youth in foster care finish high school before leaving care. Because LGBTQ young people are overrepresented in the foster care system, it is important that we consider how out-of-home care status intersects with the educational experiences of LGBTQ youth. More from HRC.

WASHINGTON, DC, TO OPEN ITS FIRST HOME FOR LGBTQ ELDERS: Imani Woody, the founder of Mary’s House, plans to turn her childhood home into a welcoming living facility for LGBTQ elders. Too often, LGBTQ people are forced back into the closet when they move to long-term care facilities. More from The Renewal Project.

MAN ARRESTED FOR MURDER OF TEETEE DANGERFIELD, TRANSGENDER WOMAN MURDERED IN ATLANTA: Tyrone Kemp was arrested for the murder of TeeTee Dangerfield, a Black transgender woman, shot and killed earlier this month in Atlanta. According to the Georgia Voice, Dangerfield, 32, was found outside her vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on July 31. More from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

ATTENTION AUSTRALIANS!  THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THE MARRIAGE EQUALITY POSTAL SURVEY IS MIDNIGHT: To encourage viewers to register before the Friday midnight deadline (Friday, 10 AM ET), MTV Australia will replace all regular programming with a special message telling people to go out and support marriage equality. More from NewNowNext.

• Keep track of key dates for the postal survey at HRC.

MEET THE MAN WHO COULD BE CHILE’S FIRST OPENLY LGBTQ CONGRESS MEMBER: Luis Larrain (@luislarrain), an alumnus of the HRC Global Innovative Advocacy Summit, is campaigning to be the National Congress of Chile’s first openly LGBTQ member. More from HRC and Radio Free Qtopia.

TWO SINGAPOREANS ARRESTED AND JAILED IN ABU DHABI FOR LOOKING ‘FEMININE’: One is a transgender woman. The United Arab Emirates is one of 10 countries where same-sex relations may be punishable by death. More from Gay Star News.

READING RAINBOW

NewNowNext reviews a South African film featuring a LGBTQ love story that recently premiered at Sundance; Teen Vogue speaks to those standing up against hate at the Phoenix rally, including HRC Youth Ambassador Justin Jones;

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