MARINE DISCHARGED UNDER DADT -- “JOIN ME IN STANDING UP TO THIS DISGRACEFUL ASSAULT ON OUR FELLOW SERVICE MEMBERS”: Following President Donald Trump’s dangerous and unpatriotic move to reinstate a ban on qualified transgender people serving in the military, HRC National Press Secretary Stephen Peters (@StephenPeters2), drummed out of the Marine Corps under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,  shared his experience and called on service members and veterans to call out this discriminatory move: “I hope that every service member and veteran who has fought for our country will see the injustice in what Trump and Pence have done. I hope they will join me in standing up to this disgraceful assault on our fellow service members.We enlist and commission to protect our most fundamental values: freedom, justice, equality under the law. It is an outrageous tragedy that our commander in chief has decreed transgender troops -- who are fighting for those ideals we all share -- should be treated so shamefully.” Read the full piece from U.S. News & World Report.

• 58 percent of Americans believe that transgender people should be allowed to serve in the military. More from Reuters.
• The USA Today Editorial Board writes, “In a clipped 62 words, the president betrayed an entire class of people, all for the sake of advancing a budget bill (to fund his border wall) and feeding red meat to his base (to counter discontent over his cyber bullying of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a conservative favorite).” More from USA Today.
• Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Prominent Navy Medical Reserve Officer Jesse Ehrenfeld have joined the growing chorus of military voices opposing this reckless decision.
• Military families with transgender children fear for what Trump’s tweets could mean for their families. More from NBC.
• Where’s the supposed ‘voice of reason’ Ivanka Trump? Nowhere to be seen. As HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) put it, “Actions speak louder than words … Either Ivanka is ineffective in her advocacy within the building, or her voice doesn’t matter to the president as much as she hopes it does.” More from Newsweek.

MAJOR EDUCATOR AND COUNSELOR GROUPS OPPOSE TEXAS’ ANTI-TRANSGENDER LEGISLATION: The letter to leadership in the Texas Legislature urges them to reject SB3, which mandates HB2-style anti-transgender discrimination in any multiple-occupancy restroom or locker room in any property owned by a city, county, school district, or other political subdivision. Additionally, it would overturn LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances protecting millions of people across Texas in cities including Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth insofar as those ordinances protect people from discrimination in bathrooms. It also prohibits those entities from allowing transgender students to compete in athletics consistent with their gender identity.

• In The Houston Chronicle, Texas Faith Leader Jonathan Page reminds legislators that faith should not be used to defend discriminatory anti-transgender legislation: “If a person can't use the bathroom, they can't go to work, they can't go to school, they can't see a movie. It's a dark, insidious way of saying to trans people: This society is not for you. As a Texan, and as a person of faith, I reject that.” Read the full piece from The Houston Chronicle.
• Michael Williams, a mainstay of Texas’ Republican Party, opposes SB3, saying “Look. Ain’t no transgender boy going into the bathroom to beat up little girls. That ain’t happening. If anything, [transgender] people are the one’s that are going to get jacked up.” More from Texas Monthly.

National educator and counselor groups + @TexasAFT pen letter to #txlege leadership to outline bathroom bill opposition pic.twitter.com/9PPpL5BBuv

— Alexa Ura (@alexazura) July 28, 2017

MUST WATCH MONDAY -- LIAR IN CHIEF: The latest video from HRC shows Trump using his own words to describe who is really a friend to the LGBTQ community. Hint: It’s not Donald Trump. Watch here.

HRC ENDORSES MARK HERRING FOR VIRGINIA AG: HRC’s Board of Directors has voted to endorse Virginia’s Attorney General Mark R. Herring in his bid for re-election. With an estimated 185,366 eligible LGBTQ voters and hundreds of thousands more allied voters in Virginia, HRC’s get-out-the-vote effort for the pro-equality candidate could make all the difference in the November 2017 race. “Attorney General Mark Herring has spent his career fighting to ensure all Virginians are treated with dignity and respect,” said HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin). “Whether it was standing up against a discriminatory ban on marriage equality or working to ensure LGBTQ students can go to school in an environment free from discrimination and harassment, Mark Herring is a proven champion of fairness and equality under the law. We are proud to endorse Attorney General Herring in his bid for re-election.” More from HRC.

UPDATE FROM HRC -- THE RESISTANCE REPORT: The Resistance Report provides bi-monthly updates on the latest actions HRC is taking to unite, resist and enlist against the injustices happening to the LGBTQ community on the federal, state and local levels. Check out the latest edition from HRC.

AOA PASSES RESOLUTION CONDEMNING SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY”: Last Friday, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) passed a resolution that prohibits the dangerous and discredited practice of “conversion therapy.” This resolution essentially prohibits any board-certified and practicing osteopathic physician in the United States from engaging in this harmful practice. More from HRC.

MAJORITY OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS NOW SUPPORT LGB PEOPLE: Fifty-two percent of American Muslims now agree with the statement, “Homosexuality should be accepted by society,” nearly double the number from those polled a decade ago, according to new findings from Pew Research Center. More from HRC.

READING RAINBOW

Mashable shares a moving video of a YouTuber coming out to his little brother; Vox speaks to a transgender Army captain about Trump’s unconscionable actions

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