#AM_Equality Tipsheet: August 15, 2019

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TODAY -- HRC PRESIDENT ALPHONSO DAVID KICKS OFF TENURE WITH NATIONAL #WeAreHRC TOUR OF CRITICAL STATES: The tour will take him to Richmond, Virginia; Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; and Wilmington, Delaware, to meet with and rally HRC members, advocates, voters and pro-equality candidates ahead of the 2019 and 2020 elections. “Our work and priorities must always be informed by those who are living these issues and challenges every day, which is why I’m proud to begin my tenure by traveling the country to hear from many of the advocates and activists doing lifesaving work around the country,” HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid) said. The tour is David’s first official act as the head of the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights group and will highlight his priorities, including passing the Equality Act, stopping anti-trans violence, expanding access to inclusive health care, ending the HIV and AIDS epidemic and electing pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot. More at HRC.

  • Wash Post reports -- HRC launching historic investment in Virginia legislative races, focusing on 27 races and mobilizing the state’s 1.2 million Equality Voters to turn out on election day. More from Washington Blade and Laura Vozzella (@LVozzella) at The Washington Post

TRUMP-PENCE ADMIN PROPOSAL WOULD EVISCERATE EXISTING PROTECTIONS FOR LGBTQ EMPLOYEES WORKING FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS: “This regulation, which directly contradicts Trump’s earlier promise, is a broad and sweeping effort to implement a license to discriminate against people on the basis of their gender identity and sexual orientation,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “Everyone deserves a workplace free from discrimination. The Trump administration needs to withdraw this proposed regulation and stop these attacks on LGBTQ people.” More from HRC, Politico and The Daily Beast.

BREAKING: The Trump-Pence administration has announced a proposal that would rip massive holes in existing protections for LGBTQ employees of contractors and more. pic.twitter.com/lBKqxNOw9M

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) August 14, 2019

OHIO SEN. SHERROD BROWN AND SPOUSE, WRITER & JOURNALIST CONNIE SCHULTZ, TO SPEAK SATURDAY AT HRC CLEVELAND DINNER:  New HRC President Alphonso David will also deliver his first HRC dinner remarks. If you are a member of the press interested in covering this dinner, please contact viet.tran@hrc.org.  

THANKFUL THURSDAY -- TWO MALE PENGUINS AT BERLIN ZOO RAISING ZOO’S FIRST PENGUIN CHICK IN ALMOST 20 YEARS: Skip and Ping adopted the egg from their fellow penguin, The Orange. If the egg is fertilized, it will likely hatch next month. “I hope Ping and Skip get a little penguin baby and become the best parents you’ve ever seen,” Zoo Berlin Penguin Keeper Anja Seiferth said. More from The New York Times.

It’s a tale as old as time: boy meets boy. Boys move to Berlin. Zookeeper gives boys a penguin egg. https://t.co/9UKrDIqmw3

— Liam Stack (@liamstack) August 14, 2019

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE JOINS OPEN LETTER CALLING ON HHS SEC. ALEX AZAR TO RECONSIDER PLANS TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST TRANS PEOPLE: More from Peoria Public Radio.

MORNING MUST READ -- CEO OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CONSULTING FIRM WEIGHS IN ON IMPORTANCE OF LGBTQ INCLUSION AND PENDING SCOTUS CASES: Eric Pliner of YSC Consulting writes: “Supporting LGBT employees at work isn’t just about performance and productivity; it’s also about patriotism. When our government fails to meet the full needs of its populace, business has long intervened to help.” More from Fortune.

SEPT 20 -- PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES WILL APPEAR IN FORUM ON LGBTQ ISSUES: The event is hosted by One Iowa, The Gazette, and The Advocate. More from The Advocate.

ERIC BLEVINS BECOMES WORLD MASTERS DIVING CHAMP AS HIS HUSBAND CHEERS ON: More from OutSports.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES MUST INVESTIGATE WEBSITE TARGETING LGBTQ PEOPLE WITH VIOLENCE: The website includes photos and addresses of LGBTQ people, and encourages violence and murder. More from Pink News.

READING RAINBOW - Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

Vanity Fair reports on the rise of positive trans representation in television; HRC interviews Garry Bevel, advocate for LGBTQ children in child welfare system; Gay City News reviews the upcoming LGBTQ film “End of the Century”; Forbes takes a look at Univision’s first telenovela to feature a same-sex couple as the main protagonists 

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