Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on Monday introduced a bill to bar transgender women from facilities on Capitol Hill that match their gender identity, The Hill reports.
Axios: Congress erupts over bill targeting new transgender member.
“President Biden took a stab at former President Barack Obama on the issue of gay marriage during a gaggle with reporters on Tuesday, as the rift between the two continues to widen,” the Daily Beast reports.
Said Biden: “Well, I’m really proud of my position. I was the first guy to come out for gay marriage. Remember that little problem with the Obama administration?”
“Following the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, unity was expected to be the hallmark of the Republican National Convention for the presidential candidate,” ABC News reports.
“But the message of unity rings hollow for some in the LGBTQ community, who say they have repeatedly been the target of Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee, and others on the national stage.”
Washington Post: GOP called for unity as it continued to feature far-right figures, ideas.
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President Biden is expected to pardon US veterans who were convicted by the military over a 60-year period under a military law that banned gay sex, CNN reports.
The pardon proclamation is expected to be announced on Wednesday and one official said it is set to affect roughly 2,000 people.
Gallup: “More than two in three Americans continue to believe that marriage between same-sex couples should be legal (69%), and nearly as many say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable (64%).”
“Both readings have been consistently above the 50% mark since the early 2010s and above 60% since 2017.”
The Colorado Republican party is urging members to burn the Pride flag this month.
“The Colorado Republican Party marked the start of Pride Month with a mass email attacking ‘godless groomers’ and a social media post calling for the burning of all Pride flags,” KUSA reports.
“The state GOP’s move to the far right after a series of electoral blowout losses continued with some of its harshest anti-gay rhetoric in recent years.”
“The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ rights group in the United States, is launching a $15 million commitment to help Democratic President Joe Biden defeat Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 election,” NBC News reports.
“The spending blitz, shared first with NBC News, will cover the six key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. The group says it will include paid ads, staff hires, field campaigns and events in those states, which are poised to decide who wins the presidency and Congress.”
Gallup: “LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual.”
“The current figure is up from 5.6% four years ago and 3.5% in 2012, Gallup’s first year of measuring sexual orientation and transgender identity.”
Wall Street Journal: “Two decades later, what was once the white-hot center of political debate has receded to the background. Polls show nearly three-quarters of Americans, including 49% of Republicans and a majority of regular churchgoers, support it. The Supreme Court made same-sex marriage a nationwide right in 2015, and Congress gave federal recognition to the practice on a broad bipartisan vote in 2022…”
“The widespread public approval suggests most people don’t believe the horrors once forecast have resulted from same-sex marriage’s legalization, and now there is evidence to prove it. A comprehensive new research report by the Rand organization finds that the consequences of two decades of legal same-sex marriage have been broadly positive for gay and straight Americans alike.”
President Biden is facing criticism from Donald Trump’s campaign and religious conservatives for proclaiming March 31 — which corresponds with Easter Sunday this year — as “Transgender Day of Visibility,” the AP reports.
“In 2024, the March 31 designation overlaps with Easter, one of Christianity’s holiest celebrations. Trump’s campaign accused Biden, a Roman Catholic, of being insensitive to religion, and fellow Republicans piled on.”
The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to declare the California capital a “sanctuary city for transgender people,” NBC News reports.
“The resolution, which takes effect immediately, ensures that no city resources will be used to criminalize trans people seeking transition-related care or to cooperate with jurisdictions seeking to enforce laws that criminalize the care elsewhere.”
“The White House on Sunday slammed Congressional Republicans for including a provision in the government funding bill that essentially stops LGBTQ+ Pride flags from being flown over U.S. embassies and vowed to repeal it,” ABC News reports.
Philip Elliot: “If Roe could fall after 49 years in a 6-3 ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, there’s no reason to think Obergefell is any safer after less than a decade in action.”
“It’s the legal earthquake that people like the lawyers at the Human Rights Campaign’s headquarters in Dupont Circle argue could come as soon as next year.”
Emily MacDonald, a school board trustee in Woodland, California, is poised to be recalled in her first term for saying “transgenderism” is a “social contagion,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
“A new bill introduced in the Missouri House would force teachers to register as sex offenders if they use the names and pronouns of transgender children or otherwise support them and their identity,” the Riverfront Times reports.
Salt Lake Tribune: “On Friday afternoon, with eight hours remaining in the 2024 Utah Legislature, Senate Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to circumvent the normal legislative process and sneak through a de facto ban on displaying pride flags in school classrooms. A similar measure was defeated in the Utah House earlier this week.”
“Later, a third attempt to pass the bill — this time with only 20 minutes remaining in the session —also failed.”
“A bill that would largely ban displaying pride flags in public school classrooms was passed by the GOP-led Tennessee House on Monday after Republicans cut a heated debate short,” the AP reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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