* This piece originally appeared in them.us on September 10, 2018. A vote this November on trans rights in Massachusetts could have wide-ranging national consequences. by Shannon Minter & Jennifer Levi This November, Massachusetts voters will be the first anywhere to be asked whether they will retain a statewide law protecting transgender people’s equal access to public places. The law, Bill S.2047, was passed in 2016 with bipartisan support and signed by a Republican governor. For over...
Our Voices
Providing healthcare to all of our nation’s veterans is the right thing to do. Federal law requires the Veterans Administration (“VA”) to “furnish hospital care and medical services” to veterans. For most veterans, this means that after serving in the military they receive comprehensive medical care from the VA. Right now, transgender veterans’ healthcare coverage is at risk. On July 9, the Trump Administration announced it will be deciding whether to provide transgender veterans with...
* This piece originally appeared in the Los Angeles Blade and the Washington Blade on July 12, 2018. On July 9, President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kennedy, who authored the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision and a number of other landmark LGBTQ rights cases, was an occasional swing vote on the Supreme Court. Though he almost always sided with the conservative justices, sometimes he voted with liberal Justices...
Leading the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) has been the job of a lifetime. I feel extremely honored to have held this position and privileged to have experienced the countless moments of joy and awe that have forever changed our lives as LGBTQ individuals. After 22 years, with a full and grateful heart, I will step-down as the Executive Director of NCLR at the end of this year. I never imagined I would live in San Francisco or lead an organization at the forefront of the fight for...
On January 1, for the first time in history, transgender Americans will be able to openly enlist in our nation’s military. This is an incredible moment, and one we can all celebrate. We know that many transgender Americans have been planning and preparing for over a year for this day. And many others will now begin considering this as a real option for the very first time. The military has put considerable time into preparing for this day, and has developed guidelines for those charged with...
This year, NCLR celebrated four decades of work to advance LGBTQ equality. We know that we are stronger and better able to fight today’s battles because of our deep history in the movement—growing with, standing with, and supporting our community. And today, on World AIDS Day 2017, we renew our commitment to the fight against HIV, supporting our family members living with HIV, and honoring those who have died. Former executive director Roberta Achtenberg recently reflected on our early work in...
Yesterday, the President of the United States defended white supremacy and virulent racism on national television. He derided the journalists who challenged or questioned his comments, and he created a false equivalence between anti-racism protesters and Neo-Nazis. This is not normal. And we cannot allow this to become the new normal. Trump did not make yesterday’s statements in a vacuum. He made them against the backdrop of a nation reeling from the recent deadly racist rally in...
Monday marked two important moments at NCLR. First, we celebrated the second anniversary of winning the freedom to marry nationwide at the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges. Being a part of the legal team that won that landmark and transformative victory for our community will always be a highlight of my legal career. Also on Monday, NCLR won our third U.S. Supreme Court victory in two years, Pavan v. Smith. In this case, we represented two married same-sex couples who sued the state...
As an organization that litigates cases to protect equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender(LGBT) people, we do not take lightly a decision to oppose judicial nominees. The records of these two individuals, however, compel us to take this position. We believe the unvarnished animus towards LGBTQ people exhibited by Mr. Bush and Mr. Schiff render them unfit to serve as federal judges. Click here to read the full text of our letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary....
On June 13, 2017, the Human Rights Campaign and National Center for Lesbian Rights delivered a letter to the U.S. Senate urging them not to gut access to healthcare. More than 60 LGBTQ organizations, representing millions of LGBTQ people across the country, signed onto this letter sharing deep concerns for the health of our community. The letter notes that the Congressional Budget Office has projected that repeal of the Affordable Care Act would result in 14 million Americans losing health...
