Queer Nation NY

Angered by state “religious freedom” laws that are little more than a license to discriminate? Disturbed by the “Utah compromise” that expanded the exemptions for religiously affiliated organizations while giving limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people?

Comprehensive federal legislation that bars discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, and government services that has the limited religious exemption found in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 will address these concerns and set a national standard for anti-discrimination laws.

Mar 16

Author of Utah LGBT Rights Law Has Deep Ties to Anti-LGBT Right Wingers

LGBT Activists Condemn HRC for Backing Law With Right Wing Agenda

New York, NY (March 16, 2015) – The University of Illinois law professor who wrote Utah’s recently-enacted law barring some instances of anti-LGBT discrimination opposed New York’s marriage equality law as written, joined the right wing Alliance Defending Freedom in defending a broad religious exemption law in Arizona in 2014, and has ties to a leading proponent of the discredited Regnerus study claiming that children are harmed by having gay and lesbian parents.

“Robin Fretwell Wilson has joined hands with some of the LGBT community’s most hate-filled opponents,” said Ken Kidd, a member of Queer Nation, about the law’s author. “It’s shocking that the Human Rights Campaign ignored widely available information about Wilson and has partnered with someone who is clearly seeking to do great harm to the LGBT community.”

The Utah law has sweeping exemptions that allow religious institutions and their affiliates to continue to discriminate against LGBT Utahns in employment and housing. The law also allows all Utahns to refuse service in public accommodations to members of the LGBT community.

In 2011 letters to Republican state senators, Wilson and five other law professors argued for a “middle way” in New York’s marriage law, saying that “without adequate safeguards for religious liberty…the recognition of same-sex marriage will lead to socially divisive and entirely unnecessary conflicts between same-sex marriage and religious liberty.” Marriage equality was enacted that year without their recommendations. Wilson has made the same argument to other jurisdictions that enacted marriage equality.

In 2014, Wilson was one of 11 law professors who wrote to then Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer saying that SB1062, a so-called religious freedom bill, had been “egregiously misrepresented by many of its critics.” The letter was organized by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a right wing group that has a long history of attacking the LGBT community. Brewer vetoed SB1062 after a national outcry.

In 2006, Wilson and University of Virginia professor Bradford Wilcox authored an article on adoption in the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. In 2014, Wilson and Wilcox penned a controversial editorial in the Washington Post that said that women should get married to avoid sexual assault. Wilcox played a leading role in the Regnerus study attacking gay and lesbian parents.

Wilson has consistently argued in favor of broad religious exemptions in marriage equality laws, including exemptions for government employees who process marriages. In 2012, Wilson co-authored an article on marriage and religious exemptions with Douglas Laycock, a University of Virginia law professor who has also championed religious exemptions, and Anthony Picarello, the general counsel for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In a March 4 statement, Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the Utah law “should serve as a model for other faith traditions” and would be a template for legislation in other states.

“LGBT people are equal in every way and our community’s goal is state and federal legislation that insures that we are treated equally under the law,” Kidd said. “Utah’s law, with its sweeping religious exemptions, jeopardizes that goal by allowing discrimination by those who most want to fire LGBT people from their jobs and deny us housing or service in public accommodations. We should oppose broad religious exemptions as fiercely as we oppose the conservatives who support these religious exemptions.”

Queer Nation continues to call for state and federal comprehensive civil rights laws that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, education, credit, public accommodations, and federally funded programs with the limited religious exemption that is found in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Dec 15

Saying good riddance to ENDA

While the holidays are best known for gifts, parties, and goodwill, this is also the time of year that we recall those who passed away.

We lost the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2014 and we couldn’t be happier. Good riddance ENDA. Hello comprehensive legislation that will make LGBT people equal under the law.

Aug 26

HRC Can’t Decide if it Likes or Opposes Religious Exemptions

Earlier this year we complained loudly when the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) sent a letter to the Vatican objecting to Roman Catholic schools in the US firing teachers because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). The religious exemption in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), legislation that HRC supports, would allow these schools to continue to do this.

We don’t insist on complete consistency, but on something this important – our jobs – our major inside-the-Beltway lobbying groups can’t have it both ways, we said.

Now HRC is at it again. The group sent around an email asking its members to write Congress opposing legislation that would allow adoption and foster care agencies to deny services to people “on the basis of their personal religious objections.”

So HRC’s,position is what? Nearly 200,000 religiously affiliated employers should be allowed to fire or refuse to hire LGBT people, but adoption and foster care agencies should not be allowed to cite their religious beliefs to discriminate against LGBT people.

How about we just make LGBT equal under the law.

Aug 21

LGBT Activists Target Democrats on Civil Rights

New York, NY (Aug. 21, 2014) – In its ongoing effort to pressure Congressional Democrats to advance comprehensive federal civil rights legislation that will give lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans the same rights and protections that all other Americans have, Queer Nation is targeting 34 House Democrats in a social media campaign called “Which Side of Your Mouth Should We Listen To?”

The House members support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which only bars employment discrimination against LGBT people and has a sweeping religious exemption that would let nearly 200,000 religiously affiliated employers fire or deny jobs to LGBT Americans.

The 34 Democrats wrote “The federal government has a moral responsibility to ensure that all citizens are treated equally and with dignity” in a July 15 letter to Pres. Barack Obama urging him to sign an executive order barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors.

“Apparently, this moral responsibility doesn’t apply to Congress because these 34 Democrats support ENDA, which only bars employment discrimination and has a religious exemption that is big enough to drive a truck through,” said Andrew Miller, a Queer Nation member. “Democrats must support legislation that gives LGBT Americans the same rights and protections that every other American has.“

Many national and state LGBT groups, including Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and other community legal organizations, have dumped ENDA over its religious exemption.

Queer Nation’s campaign, which started a month ago, earlier targeted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has since endorsed comprehensive federal civil rights legislation for LGBT Americans. Rep. Mark Takano, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Mike Michaud, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Rep. David Cicilline, and Rep. Jared Polis, all of whom are gay, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a lesbian, and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is bisexual, were also targeted. Takano later backed comprehensive legislation. The campaign has received nearly 64,000 views on Facebook. It is also being distributed on Twitter and other social media networks.

Queer Nation is calling for a comprehensive civil rights law that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, education, credit, public accommodations, and federally funded programs.

Which side of your mouth should we listen to, Democrats?

In July, 34 House Democrats urged Pres. Barack Obama to sign an executive order barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors saying, “The federal government has a moral responsibility to ensure that all citizens are treated equally and with dignity.”

But those same 34 Democrats support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which only bars employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans, instead of comprehensive civil rights protections for us. And ENDA has a religious exemption that would let nearly 200,000 religiously affiliated employers fire or deny jobs to LGBT Americans.

Aug 14

LGBT Activists Target Tammy Baldwin on Civil Rights

New York, NY (Aug. 14, 2014) – In its ongoing effort to pressure Congressional Democrats to advance comprehensive federal civil rights legislation that will give lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans the same rights and protections that all other Americans have, Queer Nation is targeting Sen. Tammy Baldwin in a social media campaign titled “Which Side of Your Mouth Should We Listen To?”

Baldwin, a lesbian, supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which only bars employment discrimination against LGBT people and has a sweeping religious exemption that would let nearly 200,000 religiously affiliated employers fire or deny jobs to LGBT Americans.

Many national and state LGBT groups, including the community’s largest legal organizations, have dumped ENDA over its religious exemption.

Following her vote for ENDA in the US Senate last year, Baldwin said “What we’ve seen on the Senate floor today…is such a restatement of basic American values of freedom, of fairness, and of opportunity.”

Queer Nation member Ken Kidd said “Nothing could be more American than believing that all of us must be equal under the law. As more and more voters are learning, ENDA will never protect LGBT Americans from discrimination in housing, public accommodations, credit, education, and federally funded programs and its employment protections are deeply flawed. Tammy Baldwin can talk about freedom and fairness, but she votes like someone who thinks LGBT people are second class."

Queer Nation’s campaign, which started three weeks ago, earlier targeted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has since endorsed comprehensive federal civil rights legislation for LGBT Americans. Rep. Mark Takano, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Mike Michaud, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Rep. David Cicilline, and Rep. Jared Polis, all of whom are gay, and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is bisexual, were also targeted. The campaign has received nearly 56,000 views on Facebook. It is also being distributed on Twitter and other social media networks.

Queer Nation demands a comprehensive civil rights law that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, education, credit, public accommodations, and federally funded programs.

Which side of your mouth should we listen to, Senator Baldwin?

Following her vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the US Senate last year, Tammy Baldwin said “What we’ve seen on the Senate floor today…is such a restatement of basic American values of freedom, of fairness, and of opportunity,” but she supports ENDA, which only bars employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans, instead of comprehensive civil rights protections for us, and ENDA has a religious exemption that would let nearly 200,000 religiously affiliated employers fire or deny jobs to LGBT Americans.