TRUMP NOMINATES (YET ANOTHER!) ANTI-LGBTQ EXTREMIST JUDGE: Gordon Giampietro, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, has made anti-LGBTQ remarks during multiple radio interviews. Said HRC’s Wisconsin State Manager Wendy Strout: “Sadly, Gordon Giampietro manages to stand out among a number of unfit, anti-LGBTQ judicial nominees put forward by the Trump-Pence Administration. Giampietro’s extreme anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is deeply disturbing and should not be rewarded with a lifetime judicial appointment representing Wisconsin on the federal court. If confirmed, Wisconsinites could not count on Giampietro to uphold their civil rights.” More from BuzzFeed.

WASHINGTON STATE HOUSE COMMITTEE ADVANCES LEGISLATION PROTECTING YOUTH FROM SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY”: Said HRC Legislative Counsel Xavier Persad. “This ​abusive and ​inhumane practice has no basis in science and is ​uniformly rejected by every major mental health ​organization in the country. We call on the House of Representatives to swiftly pass this bill and send it to Governor Inslee’s desk to be signed into law.” More from HRC.

TIME TO THRIVE TUESDAY: This weekend, HRC hosted its fifth annual Time to THRIVE Conference on February 16-18 at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando. During the conference, HRC honored extraordinary advocates including LGBTQ ally Betty DeGeneres, transgender trailblazer Gavin Grimm and groundbreaking health care provider Dr. Ximena Lopez. Other speakers included Rep.Val Demings (D-Fla.); transgender athlete Chris Mosier; transgender author and reality show star Jazz Jennings; singer Johnny Manuel; Dreamer and sexual assault survivor Yuridia Ramirez; Christine Leinonen, whose son was killed in the Pulse nightclub attack; Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf; Judy and Dennis Shepard of the Matthew Shepard Foundation; and Adrian Stevens and Sean Snyder, a two-spirit couple. Check out the coverage on HRC’s blog.

"We as two-spirit people don’t have representation, our role models are not always given the same platform....If you know any young, Native two-spirit kids, tell them we said, 'Be true. Be proud. And keep dancing.'" - Adrian Stevens (@AdMattStevens) & Sean Snyder #TimeToTHRIVE pic.twitter.com/LhEn6cIws4

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 17, 2018

AN OLYMPIC (QUALIFYING) ROUND...UP:

• Gus Kenworthy on LGBTQ visibility at the Olympics: “It presents an amazing opportunity and I think that it kind of gives us a chance to shed people's misconceptions and just kind of like break down barriers, “Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) told CBS’ Don Dahler (@DonDahlerCBS). More from CBS.
• And check out this video on Kenworthy from NBC.

.@guskenworthy is out and proud at the 2018 #WinterOlympics, but that wasn't the case in Sochi. He tells his story. #BestOfUS pic.twitter.com/KjzGc2xdcg

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 17, 2018

• HRC Senior Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs JoDee Winterhof on Mike Pence’s comments on Adam Rippon: “Mike Pence has spent his entire career figuring out ways to discriminate against our community. And if Mike Pence and his folks are asking the LGBTQ community and our allies to trust that he didn’t want to figure out another way to discriminate against us, our response to that is: ‘Hell no.’” More from Indy Star.
• Glenn D. Magpantay, executive director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, writes about LGBTQ Asian athletes for Advocate.

NEW STUDY FINDS LGBQ GIRLS MORE LIKELY TO BE PUNISHED IN SCHOOL THAN STRAIGHT PEERS: More from Broadly.

TRANSGENDER ACTRESS DANIELA VEGA (@DaniVega) WILL BE AN OFFICIAL PRESENTER AT THE OSCARS: More from The Hollywood Reporter.

LA ACTRIZ TRANSGÉNERO, DANIELA VEGA (@DaniVega), SERÁ PRESENTADORA OFICIAL EN LOS PREMIOS OSCAR: Más de CNN Chile.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS ADDS LGBTQ PRIDE NIGHT TO UPCOMING SEASON: More from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

MEET A GAY CHECHEN WHO ESCAPED STATE-SANCTIONED VIOLENCE: The atrocities against LGBTQ Chechens such as Alihan demand justice. The Trump and Pence’s ongoing silence is deafening. More from BuzzFeed.

• Also in Russia, a government PSA encouraging voting “threatens” viewers with a future where people have LGBTQ roommates. More from NewNowNext.

LGBTQ JOURNALIST AND ADVOCATE DETAINED BY RUSSIAN POLICE GRANTED PERMISSION TO FLEE TO GERMANY: Khudoberdi Nurmatov previously faced deportation back to his native Uzbekistan. More from The Daily Beast.

READING RAINBOW - Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

Mail & Guardian details a seven-year-long Botswana transgender equality case; Washington Blade speaks to LGBTQ journalists about media representation; BBC interviews Georgie Stone, an Australian trans teen fighting for equality; Lauren Duca (@laurenduca), for her Teen Vogue column  “Thigh-High Politics,” sits down with six feminists, including HRC’s Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride); HRC honors Black LGBTQ athletes paving the way for equality