TRUMP-PENCE ADMINISTRATION UNLEASHES UNPRECEDENTED ANTI-LGBTQ #LicenseToDiscrimination: HRC strongly condemns the Trump-Pence administration’s decision to carry out a sweeping “license to discriminate” that puts millions of LGBTQ Americans at risk of discrimination. “The Trump-Pence administration has launched an all-out assault on LGBTQ people, women, and other minority communities by unleashing a sweeping license to discriminate,” said HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin). “This blatant attempt to further Donald Trump's cynical and hateful agenda will enable systematic, government-wide discrimination that will have a devastating impact on LGBTQ people and their families. Donald Trump and Mike Pence have proven they will stop at nothing to target the LGBTQ community and drag our nation backwards. We will fight them every step of the way.” The guidance instructs federal government attorneys on how to handle matters before them and directs federal agencies to reconsider current and future regulations in light of this license to discriminate. More from HRC.

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions consulted with anti-LGBTQ extremist group Alliance Defending Freedom ahead of this license to discriminate. More from Pete Madden (@pamadden) at ABC.

#HandsOffMyBC -- TRUMP-PENCE ATTACK WOMEN’S, LGBTQ HEALTH WITH CONTRACEPTION REGULATION: “It’s unconscionable that the Trump-Pence administration is also encouraging employers to exert control over the essential health care decisions of their employees,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The rule change on contraception will undoubtedly limit access to vitally important care that women and so many in the LGBTQ community rely on every day. We each deserve to have the freedom to live and plan our lives with dignity, and this administration’s reckless efforts to undermine the health care of millions of Americans must be stopped.” On Friday, the Trump-Pence administration released a new regulation that could deny millions of Americans access to critical contraceptive care previously guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). More from HRC.

• Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) in the Wash Post -- “Trump’s War on the American People” -- “Forget about the war of words (and tweets) between President Trump and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.),” writes Capehart. “It would appear the president of the United States is at war with women, immigrants, African Americans or lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgender (LGBT) men and women.” Read more at The Washington Post.

TUESDAY TWEETS: Join HRC and AP Stylebook on Twitter today at 2:30 PM ET to discuss the language we use to describe gender and the LGBTQ communtiy. Track the conversation and add your thoughts using #APStyleChat.

LGB grew to LGBT then LGBTQ. You might see LGBTQIA, too.
Which should you use? Join #APStyleChat on gender terms, 2:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) October 5, 2017

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU REVERSES COURSE ON REMOVING SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTION FROM MARKETING SURVEY FOR 2020 CENSUS: NPR reports that “after an outcry from advisers to the U.S. Census Bureau, the federal agency is no longer considering a proposal to remove a question about sexual orientation from a marketing survey for the 2020 Census.” Writes Hansi Lo Wang (@hansilowang), according to meeting minutes obtained by NPR, members of a working group of the bureau's National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations on a recent call with bureau staffers raised concerns after learning about the proposal to change the draft questionnaire for the Census Barriers, Attitudes and Motivators Survey, or CBAMS. More from NPR.

MORNING MUST READ -- “MY WIFE AND I ARE ABOUT TO WELCOME A BABY INTO THE MOST ANTI-LGBTQ STATE IN THE U.S.”: Brittney Rowell Harbuck shares her joy at becoming pregnant with her wife -- and her fear about how that baby will be treated in Mississippi, a state with the most anti-LGBTQ law in the U.S. “A parent’s second nature is to give their child the best that life has to offer. But, because our state values religious freedom over the equal rights of a child that is not yet earth side, my daughter will never have a chance at having an equal playing field,” she writes. “Instead, this law already makes me feel like a failure of a mother, because there will be a point in her life where she will be discriminated against before she can even spell the word, and there will be nothing I can do about it.” More from HuffPost.

• The “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,” is by far the most sweeping and devastating state law to be enacted against LGBTQ people in the country. Under this law, almost any individual or organization could justify discrimination against LGBTQ people, single mothers, unwed couples and others. More from HRC.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR BROWN SIGNS BILL UPDATING STATE’S HIV LAWS: HRC praised California Governor Jerry Brown for signing into law SB 239 -- a measure that modernizes several provisions of California’s criminal code targeting people living with HIV. “This important measure modernizes California’s HIV laws in response to clear and compelling evidence from public health science,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “Outdated HIV criminalization laws harm our efforts to achieve an AIDS-free generation by reinforcing stigma and discouraging people from getting tested out of fear that if they know their status, they may be accused of wrongdoing. We applaud Governor Jerry Brown for signing this measure into law.” More from HRC.

AUTHOR DONATES COPIES AFTER WICHITA SCHOOL DISTRICT REFUSES TO PURCHASE TRANS-INCLUSIVE CHILDREN’S BOOK: George, written by transgender author Alex Gino (@lxgino), is for students in late elementary school, and discusses a transgender student coming out navigating her school. However, the supervisor of library media for the Kansas district claims the book is “not appropriate,” and won’t put it on library shelves. Gino has donated a copy to every Wichita elementary and K-8 school library. More from The Wichita Eagle.

DESPICABLE -- NEW YORK COLLEGE FIRES TRANSGENDER-SUPPORTIVE DOCTOR: Annamaria Kontor was fired from the Rochester Institute of Technology after legally and ethically managing hormone replacement therapy for transgender students. The school is now facing at least three civil rights complaints related to Kontor’s dismissal. More from The Democrat & Chronicle.

LAWSUIT AGAINST HOSPITAL THAT REFUSED TO COVER GENDER AFFIRMATION SURGERY: The ACLU of Washington is representing Cheryl Enstad, the mother of a transgender son and social worker employed by PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. The Center refused to pay for Enstad’s son’s transition-related services, which the ACLU argues violates the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act. More from Seattle Times.

PHILLY POLICE RELEASE GUIDELINES FOR INTERACTING WITH TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY: The policies include asking a person their gender pronouns and asking if a person would prefer to be searched by a male or female officer. More from The Philadelphia Inquirer.

AUSTIN, TX., CHURCH HALTS ALL WEDDINGS UNTIL CLERGY CAN OFFICIATE SAME-SEX WEDDINGS: The First United Methodist Church of Austin will not officiate any marriages until the United Methodist Church accepts marriage equality. More from NBC.

YOUNGER ACTOR DAN AMBOYER COMES OUT AS GAY: The actor announced his engagement to longtime boyfriend Eric P. Berger. More from People.

ANTI-LGBTQ CRACKDDOWN IN EGPYT: HRC is alarmed by recent human rights abuses against LGBTQ people in Egypt. On September 22, at least six people were arrested for “promoting sexual deviancy” after waving a Pride flag at a concert in Cairo. These arrests have led to a wider crackdown on the community, and LGBTQ people are fleeing the capital of Cairo and hiding in fear. Sarah Hegazy, one of the people arrested, spoke about her experience with Reuters.

• Nine international human rights groups have issued a statement condemned the Egyptian government’s actions. More from Egypt Independent.

#EyesOnChechnya -- RUSSIAN LGBT NETWORK VISITS CHECHEN REFUGEES IN CANADA: The Russian LGBTQ organization has helped at least 32 Chechens flee anti-LGBTQ violence to Canada. More from CBCnews.

URUGUAY’S FIRST OPENLY TRANSGENDER SENATOR: Michelle Suarez, is serving as a substitute for Senator Marcos Carambula. More from Telesur.

READING RAINBOW

Independent reports that same-sex couple are less likely to show affection when traveling abroad;

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