More Corporate Support For Equality Act

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Four new major American companies have become the latest to endorse the Equality Act, federal legislation that would establish full, federal equality for all LGBT Americans. In doing so, these leading companies - IBM, Oracle, Orbitz, and Symantec - made clear that they believe all LGBT Americans should have the protections from discrimination in federal law that they deserve. They join American Airlines, Apple, The Dow Chemical Company, Facebook, General Mills, Google, Levi Strauss & Co., Microsoft, and Nike as part of a national business coalition supporting comprehensive, federal LGBT non-discrimination protections. Additionally, Hewlett-Packard in Fortune recently announced its support for the Equality Act.

STATEMENT BY IBM: “IBM’s workplace culture is built on the principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunity for all. We established a corporate policy on equal opportunity more than a decade before the Civil Rights Act. We championed an industry-leading policy of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation over 30 years ago, and expanded it in 2002 to cover gender identity and expression. IBM is proud to support the Equality Act and maintains our steadfast support for all employees to experience equality in the workplace."

STATEMENT BY ORBITZ: “At Orbitz we’ve been advocates of equality and inclusion since our founding in 2001. Our support for the Equality Act is consistent with our other actions, such as signing the amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to find gay marriage bans unconstitutional.”

STATEMENT BY SYMANTEC: “At Symantec, we are proud to support full and equal rights for the LGBT community. We believe having a diversity of perspectives ensures we make better business decisions and the products and services we offer meet the needs of the broad spectrum of people we serve worldwide, which is why we couldn’t be more proud to support the expansion of legal protections. We unequivocally support the Equality Act – for the future of our business and society.”

As I've mentioned before, the Equality Act will see little traction in the current GOP-dominated Congress, but this early groundwork is critical to what most consider to be the "heaviest lift" in our movement's history.

VIDEO: Equality Act Introduced

Lambda Legal reacts:

We applaud the introduction of this essential bill. Today, it spotlights the pervasive, unjust, and unacceptable discrimination facing LGBT Americans and their families; when passed, it will be a crucial next step forward in ending that discrimination. Its introduction comes nearly one month after the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that made marriage equality the law of the land and just one week after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) landmark ruling in Baldwin v. Foxx that the sex discrimination provisions of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, properly understood, protect employees who suffer workplace discrimination because of their sexual orientation. LGBT equality keeps advancing because fairness is a fundamental American value.

The ACLU reacts:

Today is a historic day that has been decades in the making. The Equality Act would transform the lives of countless women and LGBT people. Our country’s most basic promise of equal treatment under the law will never be real if you fear losing your job, being kicked out of your home, denied access to healthcare or turned away from a business because of who you are. Both the lack of clear and explicit federal protections for LGBT people and the lack of protections for women in core areas of American life are unacceptable. We urge Congress to take up this landmark bill and make our country a more just nation for all.

The Center For American Progress reacts:

This historic legislation would provide clear and vital protections from discrimination for LGBT Americans in all areas of life, from the workplace to the public marketplace. Despite last month’s historic Supreme Court decision, many LGBT people and their families live in constant fear that discrimination could lurk around any corner at school, in the office, or on Main Street. Modernizing our federal nondiscrimination laws to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and, where currently excluded, sex, will bring our laws into the 21st century and ensure that all Americans, including our LGBT friends and neighbors, are judged on their merits, can provide for their families, and live free from fear. The progressive cause in our country has always been about ensuring people can live free of fear regardless of who they are. This bill promises to be a major priority for the LGBT movement and broader progressive community moving forward, and CAP applauds Sens. Merkley, Booker, and Baldwin and Rep. Cicilline for their leadership on behalf of all Americans.

The HRC reacts:

The time has come for full federal equality -- nothing more, nothing less. While America is now a marriage equality nation, the tragic reality is that millions of LGBT Americans face persistent discrimination in their lives each and every day. In most states in this country, a couple who gets married at 10 AM is at risk of being fired from their jobs by noon and evicted from their home by 2 PM, simply for posting their wedding photos online. Congress must pass the Equality Act to ensure that LGBT people and their families are just as safe at work or at school as they are in their marriages. This bill will guarantee all LGBT Americans have the clear, permanent, and explicit protections from discrimination that they deserve.

Major Corporations Back Equality Act

Today the Equality Act, a comprehensive federal LGBT rights bill, will be introduced in Congress. The Human Rights Campaign has already brought three major corporations on board. Via press release:

STATEMENT BY APPLE – “At Apple we believe in equal treatment for everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. We fully support the expansion of legal protections as a matter of basic human dignity.”

STATEMENT BY THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY – “Dow applauds the introduction of the Equality Act and continues to support a comprehensive federal framework that ensures fairness and opportunity for everyone. Full inclusion of our LGBT colleagues and citizens is quite simply the right thing to do – for business and for society.”

STATEMENT BY LEVI STRAUSS & CO. – “Levi Strauss & Co. is proud to support the Equality Act. We have a long history of supporting LGBT equality, and the time has come in this country for full, federal equality for the LGBT community. Ensuring fairness in our workplaces and communities is both the right thing to do and simply good business.”

Each of the three major companies scored a perfect 100 on HRC’s annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a nationally recognized benchmark of LGBT inclusion in the workplace, and were recognized on HRC’s list of Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality in 2015.

“These remarkable companies have proven once again their tremendous leadership on behalf of LGBT Americans,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Time and again, these leaders of Corporate America have asked 'what more can we do?,' and each time they’ve stepped up to the plate and delivered. As the fight for full, federal equality enters a new chapter, I am tremendously thankful that we have these champions standing shoulder to shoulder with us.”

Yesterday winning Prop 8 attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies also endorsed the bill. Most believe that the Equality Act will see little traction in either GOP-dominated chamber.

CONGRESS: Comprehensive LGBT Rights Bill Set For Introduction On Thursday

Via Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade:

A highly anticipated bill that would explicitly bar anti-LGBT discrimination in all areas of civil rights law is set for introduction in both chambers of Congress on Thursday, the Washington Blade has learned. Capitol Hill sources said lead sponsors Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) will introduce the legislation on Thursday and hold a news conference at noon on the legislation on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol. According to a “Dear Colleague” letter dated July 20 and obtained by the Washington Blade, the legislation intends to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in seven areas: credit, education, employment, federal funding, housing, jury service and public accommodations. The name of the legislation is the Equality Act, which is the same as legislation introduced more than 40 years ago by the late Rep. Bella Abzug of New York City. The bill, which was the first-ever gay rights measure introduced in Congress, would have amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation.

More from Dominic Holden at Buzzfeed:

Provisions of the bill to ban discrimination in places of public accommodations may draw the most scrutiny, and elevate local debates over faith. Religious freedom bills in Indiana and Arkansas became national lightning rods this spring, raising disagreement about whether business owners selling cakes or flowers to same-sex couples who are marrying compromised the moral rights of Christians. But Allison Steinberg, a spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union, which advocates for LGBT rights and religious liberties, argues this should be an open and shut issue. “Open for business means open for all,” Steinberg told BuzzFeed News. “A public serving business owner can’t turn someone away because of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, nor should they be allowed to deny someone service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The bill is expected to see little traction in either GOP-controlled chamber.

Maggie Gallagher Has The EEOC Sadz

"On Friday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made a remarkably lawless decision: it unilaterally added 'sexual orientation' to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, something wholly unjustified by the text, by the history, or by the plain meaning of the statue, hijacking the civil rights movement in a profound new way. Everyone knows the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not include sexual orientation. Even the gay rights movement knows it, because they proposed adding employment discrimination by statute, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and even adding sexual orientation to the ’64 Act. Now, unless Congress acts, every religious school, charity, and parachurch organization must hire openly gay people, or face potential backbreaking litigation. Will Kennedy overturn this ruling? Don’t count on it. Will Congress pass a law against it, clarifying the Civil Rights Act of 1964 means what it says? Don’t count on that either." - Maggie Gallagher. (Tipped by JMG reader Christopher)

Jeb Bush Backs Workplace & Housing Protections For LGBT Citizens (But Only On A State-By-State Basis)

Jeb Bush spoke to staffers at a San Francisco tech startup yesterday where he declared that workplace and housing discrimination protections for LGBT Americans should be enacted, but on a state-by-state basis.

An employee who identified himself to Bush as being gay asked about Bush’s position on legislation to ban discrimination of LGBT Americans. “I don’t think you should be discriminated because of your sexual orientation. Period. Over and out,” he replied.

Bush continued: “The fact that there wasn’t a law doesn’t necessarily mean you would have been discriminated against.” He added that in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, the country must work to carefully balance the rights of those seeking to marry and the religious beliefs of those who oppose those unions.

Citing the frequently-used example by religious freedom advocates, Bush said that in the case of a florist approached by a gay couple, “you should be obligated to sell them flowers, doing otherwise would be discriminatory.” But he said that the objecting florist should not be required to participate in the wedding, a fine line that he hopes will appeal to all sides of the debate.

When the employee followed up to ask specifically whether he would support anti-discrimination laws for LGBT Americans for their housing and employment—the next target for gay rights marriage advocates—Bush said he would at the state level. “I think this should be done state-by-state, I totally agree with that,” he said.

See the map of the states which presently offer such protections.

ALABAMA: House Kills LGBT Rights Bill

Via the Montgomery Advertiser:

A House committee Wednesday killed a bill that would have banned discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Christopher England, D-Tuscaloosa [PHOTO], would have added the classes to state protections against discrimination in employment, housing, accommodations, financial transactions and voting. “I believe in order to protect those classifications, they need to be enumerated,” England told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday afternoon. “There is some case history that if it’s not enumerated, it’s not protected.” The committee voted to carry it over, killing it for the remainder of the session. Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, who moved to have it carried over, said he “did not want anyone discriminated against,” but said that he had concerns about how the legislation would interact with existing statutes in Alabama. “It’s creating a new protected class that our nation does not recognize, much less Alabama,” he said. “When you are talking about those types of issues, this is much larger than marriage. This is far broader than that.”

Rep. Patricia Todd, the state's only openly gay legislator, reacted: "We haven’t passed any bad legislation, and that’s great. Alabama is further ahead than Arkansas, Texas and other states. But now it’s time to move forward with some positive legislation that protects people in the workplace, and that’s what this bill would do."

New York City Might Freeze Rents

Via the New York Times:

Possible rent increases this year for New York City’s rent-stabilized apartments will run up to 3.5 percent on two-year leases, with a possibility of a rent freeze also on the horizon for one-year leases, according to a vote by members of the Rent Guidelines Board. Facing a boisterous, sign-waving audience in a packed Midtown auditorium, the nine-member panel voted to consider a 0 percent to 2 percent increase for one-year rent-stabilized leases when it reconvenes this summer for a final vote. Two-year leases could rise 0.5 percent to 3.5 percent, according to the board, which represents both tenants and landlords, though the rent numbers could go up or down after public hearings. The vote on Wednesday was the first by a board appointed entirely by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who last year called for freezing rents for the about one million rent-regulated apartments but did not get his way. The board, which already had a majority appointed by the mayor then, voted instead for historically low increases of 1 percent for one-year leases and 2.75 percent for leases of two years.

The landlords association is fuming.

Tech Industry Coalition Issues Statement Calling For Full Federal LGBT Rights

In response to the ongoing RFRA battles, a coalition of over 100 major tech industry corporations has issued a joint statement calling for full federal LGBT anti-discrimination protections.

The values of diversity, fairness and equality are central to our industry. These values fuel creativity and inspiration, and those in turn make the U.S. technology sector the most admired in the world today. We believe it is critically important to speak out about proposed bills and existing laws that would put the rights of minorities at risk. The transparent and open economy of the future depends on it, and the values of this great nation are at stake.

Religious freedom, inclusion, and diversity can co-exist and everyone including LGBT people and people of faith should be protected under their states’ civil rights laws. No person should have to fear losing their job or be denied service or housing because of who they are or whom they love. However, right now those values are being called into question in states across the country. In more than twenty states, legislatures are considering legislation that could empower individuals or businesses to discriminate against LGBT people by denying them service if it they felt it violated their religious beliefs.

To ensure no one faces discrimination and ensure everyone preserves their right to live out their faith, we call on all legislatures to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes to their civil rights laws and to explicitly forbid discrimination or denial of services to anyone. Anything less will only serve to place barriers between people, create hurdles to creativity and inclusion, and smother the kind of open and transparent society that is necessary to create the jobs of the future. Discrimination is bad for business and that’s why we've taken the time to join this joint statement.

Signees include Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin, Yahoo, Netflix, Intuit, Uber, Salesforce, Cisco Systems, and PayPal. Hit the link for the full list.

MISSOURI: Springfield Readies For Repeal Vote On LGBT Non-Discrimination Laws

Colin Murphy reports at Boom LGBT:

Mirroring a wave of anti-equality efforts in state legislatures and cities across the nation, opponents of a recently passed LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in Missouri's third largest city are asking voters to repeal the law on April 7. In a 6-3 vote on Oct. 13, The Springfield City Council passed City Ordinance 6141, a bill to amend the city’s current nondiscrimination ordinance by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

But any celebration was short-lived when the following month an opposition group successfully turned in more than 2,600 signatures (the threshold is 10 percent of the votes in the most recent April municipal election) to repeal the expansion through a ballot referendum known as Question 1. Proponents of the repeal say they don't want the regulations expanding into their businesses, their churches - or their bathrooms. "We're in a battle for our children and our children's children," said Calvin Morrow, Yes on Question 1 spokesman, the Springfield News Leader reports. Morrow went on to call the ordinance an attack on Christianity.

Leading the repeal drive is local megachurch Pastor John Lindell, who says, "It is possible for someone who has been a life-long alcoholic to stop. It is possible for somebody who has a cutting tongue and a big mouth to stop. It is possible for someone who is engaged in homosexual behavior to stop." Over 100 Springfield businesses have formed a coalition in opposition to the repeal. Yesterday the anti-LGBT side posted the below testimony from a local gay man who supports the repeal of his own rights. Note the on-screen message at the end.

CONNECTICUT: 11-Member Household Challenges Hartford's Definition Of Family

The city of Hartford, Connecticut has been socking an 11-member household in a wealthy neighborhood with zoning violations because most of the adults living there are unrelated. Yesterday the household fired back with a federal lawsuit challenging the city's definition of a family.

In a complaint filed in federal district court Wednesday, the eight adults who live in a Scarborough Street mansion said they are part of a functional, taxpaying household that includes three children, but that Hartford's zoning laws forbid them from living together. "This issue of the government deciding who is a legitimate family and who is illegitimate is unacceptable to us," said Joshua Blanchfield, a Hartford public school teacher who lives in the nine-bedroom home with his wife and two children.

The plaintiffs said the city's refusal to accept them as a family and efforts to evict some of the occupants violate their rights under the state and federal constitutions, including a right to privacy and personal autonomy under the Fourteenth Amendment. They are seeking damages for legal fees and "pain, suffering and emotional distress."

The city did not return a request for comment by Wednesday night. Peter Goselin, an attorney representing the Scarborough group, argued that the city's "antiquated" zoning code encroaches on his clients' freedom to live as a family and raise children together through a partnership among longtime friends. "This is an important right that is part of a long American tradition of extended families, part of a long American tradition of cooperative and collective living arrangements, something that goes all the way back to the Iroquois Nation, even before there was a United States," Goselin said.

More about the group from CBS News:

Just like like others, the home making headlines was purchased by a "family" who live in apparent domestic harmony -- except they're not. The group of 11 actually includes three couples, with three children and two single people. They're all longtime friends who decided years ago they wanted to live together. "I think there's a real extension of our values as people," English teacher Kevin Lamkins said. "The values I'm speaking of are sustainability, cooperation, living more, living well but within your means. Being connected to other people and not being in a silo, so to speak." The group of friends includes three teachers, a grants manager and a mental health therapist. "It's not a cult, there's no religion, there's no intermingling," Julia Rosenblatt said. "We're really living like most people are, you know, we are just doing it together." They purchased the nine-bedroom home and moved in last August. They have a legal partnership agreement and a shared bank account to pay expenses.

Although the zoning law restricts households to two unrelated adults, it permits an unlimited number of live-in servants. The household's neighbors are citing a 1974 Supreme Court ruling which upheld a similar zoning law in New York state. A law professor quoted in the above-linked story says that the federal government has never ruled that "unrelated people can be a family entitled to constitutional protection." (Tipped by JMG reader Arcane)

Log Cabin: We Helped Make Utah Happen

"Having visited the Beehive State and Governor Herbert less than two years ago, I know firsthand how hard Log Cabin Republicans of Utah President James Humphreys and his team have been working to achieve this monumental victory. The passage of this bill in Utah should show Republicans around the country that the balance between LGBT rights and religious liberty is not a zero-sum game. Likewise, advocates on the gay left would do well to see that an all-or-nothing approach to LGBT protections with no reasonable religious exemption will doom passage of any similar non-discrimination protections in GOP-controlled legislatures, be they state or federal. I'm proud of the many Republicans, common-sense LGBT advocates, and the Log Cabin Republicans of Utah who worked tirelessly to achieve this historic milestone in the reddest of red states." - Log Cabin Republicans head Gregory Angelo, via email.

UTAH: Watch Gov. Gary Herbert Sign Bill Outlawing Anti-LGBT Discrimination

As you can see in the tweet above, there were two pieces of good news out of Utah last night as the "license to discriminate" bill is dead for this legislative session. The clip below was posted to Gov. Herbert's official YouTube channel.

MAP: Salary Needed To Buy A Home

From the Washington Post:

Here’s definitive proof that San Francisco’s real estate market is insane. HSH.com, a mortgage research site, has estimated how much salary you need to earn to afford the principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments on a median-priced home in 27 metro areas. On a national scale, a buyer who puts 20 percent down would need to earn a salary of $48,604 to afford the median-priced home in America. But that total varies a lot from city to city. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, St. Louis and Cincinnati rank as the most affordable metros in which to buy a new home – HSH.com estimates that you can buy the median home while making less than $34,000 – while New York, Los Angeles and San Diego are at the high end, requiring salaries of nearly $90,000 or more. But the most expensive city by far is San Francisco, where the site estimates you would need to make $142,448 to buy the median home in the area.

Joe Biden Endorses Federal SOGI Rights

Via press release from the HRC:

Today, Vice President Joe Biden affirmed his support for federal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people while giving remarks at the Spring Equality Convention for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization. Addressing the tremendous progress made for the LGBT community – from marriage equality to open and honest military service by gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members – the Vice President highlighted the challenges that remain, including the need for federal non-discrimination protections that protect all LGBT people.  "We have to pass the federal non-discrimination legislation, and we need to pass it now,” said Vice President Biden. Later this spring, a sweeping LGBT federal non-discrimination bill will be introduced in Congress—a bill that is expected to include protections in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, education, jury service and federal funding. “In most states in this country, a couple who gets married at 10 AM risk being fired from their jobs by noon, and evicted from their home by 2 PM simply for posting their wedding photos on Facebook,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The time has come in this country for full federal equality, nothing more, nothing less.”

If you think the failed ENDA battle was ugly, just wait.

UPDATE: The Hill reports that Biden's speech include a jab at Ben Carson.

"Eight, 10 years ago — even two years ago — homophobic statements would have been, if not embraced, not viewed as having generated any political liability. Look what's happening in the other party today," Biden said in a speech at the Human Rights Campaign in Washington. "Seriously, don't misread the political trends in history here. Now, every ridiculous assertion — from Dr. Carson on. ... I mean Jesus, God," Biden said to raucous applause. "I mean — oh, God," Biden said. "It's kind of hard to fathom, isn't it?" Biden cited the incident as indicative of a broader change in acceptance for gay people and others across the country. "Think about the universal ridicule. That wouldn't have happened two years ago, five years ago. It matters, it matters. It shocks the conscience that at this moment in American history, 29 states in America, people are denied basic dignity because of who they are or who they love," Biden said.

NORTH DAKOTA: State Senate Narrowly Approves LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill

Via the Associated Press:

North Dakota’s Republican-led Senate has narrowly approved a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Senate voted 25-22 on Tuesday to send the legislation to the House, going against the wishes of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which heard testimony on the legislation earlier this month and voted 4-2 to give the bill a “do not pass” recommendation. North Dakota law already outlaws discrimination based on such things as race, age, disability and political affiliation. The measure would add prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill has exemptions for religious organizations.

Similar North Dakota bills failed twice in recent years. (Tipped by JMG reader Lulu)

ARKANSAS: Eureka Springs Approves Sweeping Anti-Discrimination Protections, But It May All Be For Naught

City officials in the popular LGBT resort town of Eureka Springs last night unanimously approved a sweeping rights ordinance just days before the Arkansas legislature is due to enact a ban on any such laws in the state.

Ordinance 2223 was rushed through three readings at Monday's meeting so it would become city law before a bill in the state Legislature passes making the creation or enforcement of such ordinances illegal. Council member James DeVito said it was imperative to pass the ordinance Monday because Senate Bill 202 passed on the Senate floor that day and is on its way to the state House of Representatives. "We passed the first domestic-partnership law in the state, married the first same-sex couples in the state. Yet as a community, we don't have laws to protect those people," DeVito told the council. "So I think it is imperative that we pass this in three readings." The ordinance passed unanimously on all three readings, as did a resolution opposing SB202. The council also passed an emergency clause to put the new ordinance into effect as soon as possible. Eureka Springs Mayor Robert D. "Butch" Berry said he'll sign the ordinance today or Wednesday after document changes requested by the council have been made and a fresh copy of the eight-page ordinance is available. When that happens, Eureka Springs will become the only city in Arkansas with such an ordinance.

According to GOP state Rep. Bob Ballinger, Eureka Springs is wasting their time because his bill "trumps" any municipal legislation. Fayetteville, the first Arkansas town to enact such an ordinance, gained national attention after the Family Research Council and the Duggar family launched a successful repeal campaign in December. (Tipped by JMG reader Michael)

RELATED: During the brief period that same-sex marriage was legal in Arkansas, Eureka Springs was the first to issue licenses.

Tony Perkins Cheers Idaho Rights Vote

"In Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas, Republicans are moving quickly on measures that would penalize any government employee caught issuing same-sex 'marriage' licenses -- regardless of the courts' orders. Meanwhile, Utah, North Carolina, and South Carolina are desperately trying to give cover to anyone with religious objections to same-sex 'marriage' by drafting bills that would give government officials the ability to opt out of licensing or officiating same-sex couples. The brushfire over religious liberty continues in places like Idaho, where citizens are finally standing up to the government's anti-faith bullies. After three days and hundreds of testimonies (including FRC's Peter Sprigg's), the state's heated debate came to a sudden end when Idaho's House committee downed a Houston-type special rights ordinance that would have punished people with natural views on human biology and sexuality. By a 13-4 vote, Republicans succeeded in killing the measure. In the end, conservatives made it clear to the Left's Add the Words campaign that the only words that matter are the First Amendment's. Congratulations to our friends in the Gem State, who are adding their voices to those across the country who have the courage to fight back against these fierce assaults to our most basic freedoms." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

IDAHO: State House Committee Kills "Add The Four Words" LGBT Rights Bill

Via Boise Public Radio:

After more than 20 hours of public testimony, the Idaho House State Affairs Committee decided to kill the "Add the Words" bill that would ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Idahoans. In the nine years that LGBT activists have been fighting for it, this is the furthest the bill has come. Some of the debate among committee members this morning was emotional. "My heart has been touched by this hearing," said Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls. "I've gotten to know you, and I know from this point on forever I will be kinder and I will be compassionate to those who bear a heavy burden." 190 people testified since the hearing began this Monday. According to the Eye On Boise blog, 134 people spoke in favor of the bill, 54 spoke against and two were neutral.

The vote was 13-4 along party lines. Among those testifying on Monday was Family Research Council vice president Peter Sprigg, who has publicly called for "criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior."

RELATED: Yesterday the above sticky note appeared on the front page of the Idaho Statesman and other local newspapers.

Lance Wells, who placed the ad, says he is not in favor of making the change to add “Sexual Orientation” and “Gender Identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act. “Coverage has been slanted in one direction for most sources," Wells said. Wells says he is just standing up for his right to speak against adding the words. He says, so far, the feedback has been negative. "The majority of those were negative, some pretty aggressively so. Couple of words I can’t really repeat,” he said. Wells would not say how much he paid for the ad but he says it was worth every penny if it gets his message out there.

His website is here.

HRC Slams LDS "Truce" On LGBT Rights

Via press release from the Human Rights Campaign:

“Symbolically, seeing the church leaders advocating so openly for these protections will no doubt be deeply meaningful to Mormon families with LGBT members, and provide encouragement to LGBT youth in the church,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “But, as a matter of public policy, it appears deeply flawed.” Doctors would still be allowed to deny medical care. Pharmacists would still be allowed to refuse to fill valid prescriptions. And landlords, as well as business operators, would still be allowed to reject LGBT people. All in the name of religion.

“We share the church’s commitment to freedom of religion. We embrace the principles of the First Amendment and believe churches do and should have the right to make determinations about who fills their pews. But non-discrimination protections only function when they are applied equally,” Warbelow said. "It should be stated that there are countless LGBT Mormons, and Mormon allies, who support equality, not in spite of their faith but because of it."

The Mormon church in recent years has been adjusting its language around LGBT people to be kinder, more accepting. Today’s announcement reflected that, but falls far short of embracing full inclusion and equality for LGBT people. “All Americans should have the right to be employed, receive housing and services in environments free of discrimination,” Warbelow said. "We await the day the church embraces that fully, without any exceptions or exemptions.”

My post on today's press conference by Mormon Church leaders is here.