AS BIPARTISAN OPPOSITION TO TRUMPCARE GROWS, MITCH MCCONNELL MOVES TO TAKE HEALTH CARE FROM MILLIONS: Last night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that major portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can be put on the chopping block even without a replacement bill -- but only if the Senate begins debate of their so-called health care bill that would rip health care from millions of people, with a particularly devastating impact on low-income senior citizens, women, children, LGBTQ people, and people living with HIV. While the Congressional Budget Office has yet to score this version of the legislation, a previous projection estimated the legislation will result in 22 million Americans losing their health insurance by 2026 -- with 15 million losing their insurance by the end of next year. More from The Washington Post.

• There are currently nine Republican Senators promising to not repeal the ACA without a replacement: Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John McCain (R-AZ), Rand Paul (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Thune (R-SD), Bob Corker (R-TN), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Orin Hatch (R-UT)
• The People’s Filibuster to Stop #TrumpCare… again: Progressive organizations rallied at the U.S. Capitol yesterday against the latest draft of the Senate's so-called “health care” bill. Marvell Terry (@Marvellous2theT), HRC’s HIV & AIDS Project Manager, spoke at the rally. HRC live-tweeted his speech here. More from The Huffington Post.

.@HRC's HIV Prog. Manager Marvell Terry is speaking @ The People's Filibuster to Stop #Trumpcare Rally. Follow this thread for his remarks!

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) July 17, 2017

GROWING CHORUS OF BUSINESSES SPEAK OUT AGAINST ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATION IN TEXAS SPECIAL SESSION: CEOs from 14 leading employers across Texas sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and House SPeaker Joe Straus speaking out against proposed bills that would prohibit entities such as cities and school districts from protecting LGBTQ people in restrooms, locker rooms and other changing facilities. The CEOs write, “Our companies are competing every day to bring the best and brightest talent to Dallas. To that end, we strongly support diversity and inclusion. This legislation threatens our ability to attract and retain the best talent in Texas, as well as the greatest sporting and cultural attractions in the world.” More from Dallas Morning News and The Atlantic.

• Republican Texas State Senator Kel Seliger correctly categorized these anti-trans bills as “an assault on local control,” highlighting the municipal preemption qualities of the legislation. More from Amarillo Globe-News.
• Need a recap on the special session and what’s at stake for LGBTQ Texans? The Guardian’s Tom Dart (@Tom_Dart) has the latest.

TUESDAY TWEETS -- TWEET SERIES OF TEXAS PARENTS OF TRANS CHILDREN: In a must-read from Dallas Morning News’ Lauren McGaughy (@LMcGaughy), several families of transgender children speak out against the anti-transgender legislation being considered right now by Texas’ legislature. McGaughy tweeted out powerful photos of the families about their child’s coming out, and their hopes for the session. Read the article from Dallas Morning News.

Like Mario Castro and his #transgender daughter, Roxy: "Everything I've done so far, I've done it for the love of my child." #txlege #LGBT pic.twitter.com/f7DuRcvkDE

— Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) July 17, 2017

And Louise McBurnett, whose 8-year-old daughter has lost friends because she is #transgender: "I cry, it's what I do." #lgbt #txlege pic.twitter.com/qXmPpysXA8

— Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) July 17, 2017

BROAD COALITION SPEAKS OUT TO STOP TRUMP’S ANTI-LGBTQ JUDICIAL NOMINEES: HRC joined 27 national advocacy groups to oppose two of President Trump’s federal judicial nominees, John K. Bush and Damien Schiff. Both have made deeply alarming comments against significant LGBTQ court decisions. Bush, who was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Six Circuit, has criticized rulings striking down sodomy laws targeting LGBTQ people; while Schiff, nominated to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, has been a longtime opponent of marriage equality and opposed anti-bullying policies. More from HRC. Read the full letter here. More from The Huffington Post.

#EyesOnChechnya -- MTV TEAMS UP WITH CELEBS TO SPEAK OUT: Jussie Smollett, Tituss Burgess and Carson Kressley -- among others -- are raising awareness to human rights abuses in Chechnya against gay and bisexual men in a new video for MTV. Since news first broke in April, more than 100 gay and bisexual Chechen men have been arrested without charge. While some have been freed, reports indicate that many remain in detention, where they have been beaten, tortured and killed. HRC has repeatedly called on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Trump to forcefully condemn the atrocities in Chechnya. They haven’t to date. More from The Huffington Post.

HOUSE BILL WOULD PROHIBIT ‘SEX’ AND ‘GENDER’ NON-DISCRIMINATION FROM INCLUDING ‘GENDER IDENTITY’: The bill, filed by four extremist Republicans in the House of Representatives, says “no federal civil rights law shall be interpreted to treat gender identity or transgender status as a protected class, unless it expressly designates ‘gender identity’ or ‘transgender status’ as a protected class.” More from Pink News.

THE FIGHT FOR LGBTQ INCLUSIVE SEX ED: A PRRI survey from 2015 found that only 12 percent of millennials had comprehensive sex ed classes that cover same-sex relationships. As HRC Director of the Children, Youth & Families Program Ellen Kahn told reporter Jeanne Sager (@JeanneSager), this can have long-term negative effects on LGBTQ youth. With only nine states requiring their schools teach LGBTQ inclusive sexual education, most states are leaving it to school districts to decide. However, an increasing number of supportive school districts are creating guidelines to ensure the LGBTQ community isn’t left out. More from The Atlantic.

EXPOSING THE ANTI-TRANS JUNK SCIENCE OF PAUL MCHUGH: For years, Paul McHugh has used his platform as a psychiatrist affiliated with Johns Hopkins University to peddle myths about transgender people—not just in his writings, but in courtrooms and state legislatures across the country. His work is medically false, and while he has no expertise in gender or sexuality, McHugh has publicly called transgender people ‘caricatures' and described them as ‘confused' and ‘mad.’ More from Undark Magazine.

SHAMEFUL -- INDONESIA TO CONTINUE CANING LGBTQ PEOPLE: Following condemnation from the global LGBTQ community, including HRC, Indonesia’s Aceh province will end public caning of those accused of same-sex sexual relations. But don’t get it twisted -- this means the country is still caning LGBTQ people, but will now try to hide it from the public eye. More from NewNowNext.

LGBTQ SERBIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS BEAT NEARLY TO DEATH IN GERMANY: After surviving the vicious attack, the same-sex married couple will likely be returned to the same refugee camp where they were targeted. More from Gay Star News.

ISRAEL VOWS TO CONTINUE BAN ON SAME-SEX ADOPTION: The government claims that same-sex adoption puts a “burden” on children. More from NewNowNext.

LONDON’S TUBE SCRAPS GENDERED ANNOUNCEMENTS -- PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS FOR ALL: The traditional “ladies and gentlemen” greeting on Tube announcements will be replaced with more appropriate gender-neutral language. More from BBC.

READING RAINBOW

Gay Star News takes a look at South Korea’s biggest-ever LGBTQ Pride Parade; The Leadership Conference announce their annual conference -- July 26-29 in Alexandria, Va.

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