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For the first time in our movement history, a stand-alone transgender non-discrimination bill passed and was signed in a Republican-controlled state. This will serve as a model for the rest of the nation, as we look to the fights ahead to protect and defend fairness and equality.

Last week, Governor Sununu of New Hampshire signed HB 1319, the bill that will protect transgender people across the state from discrimination in employment, housing, and public places. With the governor’s signature, New Hampshire became the sixth and final New England state to ensure transgender people have the security to live and work free from discrimination, just like everyone else. For the first time in our movement history, a stand-alone transgender non-discrimination bill passed and was signed in a Republican-controlled state.

This moment has been ten years in the making in the Granite State, and is a critical milestone in GLAD’s work advancing full equality across the region.

I remember the day NH Representative Ed Butler called me to say he wanted to introduce a bill protecting transgender people from discrimination. It was 2008 and GLAD had been building momentum for LGBTQ equality after securing legislative wins for non-discrimination protections across New England. By then, all six states had already adopted sexual orientation protections, and Rhode Island, Maine and Vermont had added gender identity to state non-discrimination laws. Connecticut would add gender identity to its non-discrimination laws in 2011. Massachusetts passed gender identity non-discrimination protections in employment, credit, and housing that year, and in 2016 passed transgender protections in public accommodations.

Without hesitation, I said, “Let’s do it.”

In 2009 we introduced the first incarnation of the transgender non-discrimination bill to the legislature, where it passed the House by one vote. In those early days of organizing, we worked with a small but passionate group of six people from the transgender community to testify before the Senate committee. The day the bill went to the Senate for a vote, marriage equality was also on the calendar. We won the freedom to marry that day. But the Senate swiftly killed the transgender non-discrimination bill.

That moment was a rallying cry, and the seed of grassroots community organizing was planted.

GLAD worked with Transgender NH, an organization for and by the transgender community, to lay the building blocks for winning statewide gender identity non-discrimination protections. Together, we started building relationships and supporting leaders within the community, like longtime advocate Gerri Cannon. We provided legal expertise and resources to develop a public education campaign and share the experiences of transgender people across the state in storybooks, pictures, and videos.

This was the foundation of GLAD’s strong, sustained investment and relationship-building across New Hampshire, which led to smaller yet impactful victories, including updating the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles policy for gender marker changes on driver’s licenses and ending the discriminatory exclusion from Medicaid coverage of gender transition-related surgeries.

This moment has been ten years in the making in the Granite State, and is a critical milestone in GLAD’s work advancing full equality across the region.

By 2016 New Hampshire was the only New England state without any law explicitly ensuring fair and equal treatment of transgender people. GLAD, along with Freedom for All Americans, helped form the Freedom New Hampshire coalition, a bipartisan coalition dedicated to growing support for HB 1319, the bill to add gender identity to state non-discrimination law, sponsored by Representative Butler.

This new campaign, also comprised of Transgender NH, ACLU of NH, Rights & Democracy, and the Human Rights Campaign, was a shot of adrenaline for our movement, fueled by transgender community members and their families, and led by campaign manager Linds Jakows, a proud nonbinary person. The grassroots public education campaign driven by Freedom New Hampshire garnered an unprecedented groundswell of bipartisan support statewide for transgender equality.

It was during the legislative hearings this year that I realized just how much the momentum for equality had grown. Hundreds of supporters – legislators, local and state officials, and the transgender community, their families, and allies – packed the Statehouse during the House and Senate hearings, and provided over twelve hours of powerful testimony.

Thanks to the strategic, organized, and persistent work of transgender community members, who are the real champions of this victory, a stand-alone transgender non-discrimination bill passed and was signed in a Republican-controlled state – for the first time in our movement history. I know this will serve as a model for the rest of the nation, as we look to the fights ahead to protect and defend fairness and equality, including in Massachusetts, where we’re fighting to uphold basic protections for transgender people at the ballot box this November.

With HB 1319 signed into law, all six New England states now have full nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. GLAD is proud to have worked on the ground with communities across the region to advance equality. There is still so much more we can achieve. But our forty-years’ work building the foundation for these victories has prepared us for the fight ahead to protect these rights, and ensure a future of equality and justice for all in New England, and across the country.

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On May 3, the Connecticut legislature passed SB13 An Act Concerning Fair Treatment of Incarcerated Persons, which includes some of the strongest protections in the country for transgender people who are incarcerated.

The updated law will ensure that transgender people are treated consistent with their gender identity including with regard to strip searches and access to clothing, commissary items and educational materials, as well as housing based on their recognized gender.

Advocating for fairer treatment of people who are incarcerated, through legislation like SB13 as well as litigation, is a priority for GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project. Transgender individuals are among the most vulnerable people within our systems of incarceration, facing daily harassment, humiliation, degradation, and abuse. The legislators and advocates, including the CT Equality coalition, who supported this change recognize that it is unacceptable for transgender people to face additional punishment simply for being who they are.

This victory is a step toward fairer treatment of transgender people who are incarcerated. We hope that other states will follow Connecticut’s lead on this critical issue.

GLAD is a supporting partner in CT Equality, a growing coalition of advocates and community organizations continuing the fight for equality and justice for LGBTQ+ people across Connecticut. On May 16, the coalition will host the CT Equality Convening, an opportunity for community members to talk about the issues they care about most and help shape the CT Equality advocacy agenda. RSVP here to join the conversation.

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Statement of GLAD Senior Staff Attorney Patience Crozier

GLAD congratulates Connecticut for closing the Connecticut Training School, the last large youth prison in the state. This is an exciting and promising moment for Connecticut, particularly for the youth and advocates, including the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, who worked so hard for the facility’s closure. We know that youth prisons do not work. They particularly do not work for LGBTQ youth and for youth of color, who continue to be disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system, and who suffer from high levels of harassment and abuse when incarcerated.

The decision to close this facility reflects evidence and understanding that we can meet youth needs for growth and development, and address public safety needs, with quality community-based programs and a focus on treatment and skill-building rather than incarceration.

Resources must be focused on diverting youth from entering the juvenile justice system, and providing care and services for youth in their communities. Closing the Training School is a momentous positive step, and we hope and expect the state will invest substantial resources in local communities to address the needs of youth, and to support youth and communities with a robust continuum of care.

Connecticut has shown strong leadership in closing its last youth prison, and has an opportunity to be a model for the region and the nation. We hope other states, including Maine where GLAD and other youth advocates are actively engaged in addressing serious issues at Long Creek Youth Development Center, will follow the example Connecticut has set.

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In Banning Conversion Therapy, Connecticut and Rhode island Step Up to Truly Affirm LGBTQ Youth

Gouvènè Connecticut, Dannel Malloy, siyen yon lwa sou entèdiksyon terapi konvèsyon an.
GLAD and our partners in Connecticut and Rhode Island celebrated important wins for LGBTQ youth this year. With overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, An Act Concerning the Protection of Youth From Conversion Therapy was signed into law by Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy in May. And in August, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed the conversion therapy ban bill surrounded by supportive legislators, community organizers, and coalition members. “We are thrilled at the overwhelming level of support in the legislature,” says Robin McHaelen, Executive Director at True Colors, Inc. in Hartford. “The state of Connecticut sent a strong message to LGBTQ youth that there’s nothing wrong with who they are, and that is huge.” That message is a fundamental starting place for creating a world where LGBTQ youth are supported and affirmed at every step. The passage of Connecticut’s conversion therapy ban was an inspiring and energizing win for the CT Equality Coalition, which worked together closely in the months leading up to the vote. “We had a really strong group of people behind this bill” says Anne Stanback, one of the primary volunteer organizers in the coalition, In addition to GLAD and True Colors, that included Planned Parenthood, who were instrumental in organizing both online and on-the-ground, the Connecticut affiliate of the National Association of Social Workers, the CT TransAdvocacy Coalition, CWEALF, and the Connecticut ACLU. “Importantly,” adds Stanback, “we also had a group of supportive clergy – close to 200 people – who were there to answer any religious opposition.” Despite being discredited as harmful, unethical, and ineffective by all major medical and mental health organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, conversion therapy is still practiced in the U.S. All one need needs to do to see how true that is, is to attend a public hearing on a bill to ban the practice, as happened in Connecticut this spring. LGBTQ youth are especially at risk of harm and may be subjected to the practice by well-meaning families who are unfamiliar with its dangers, or by families who are simply unaccepting of who they are. “Vulnerable LGBTQ youth risk growing up in a society in which the seriousness and legitimacy of their sexual orientation and gender identity is in question,” adds Levi. “Conversion therapy tells youth that they are not okay as they are – and that has a predictable outcome: despair, self-harm and sometimes, suicide.” Banning conversion therapy is simply sound public health policy. Being LGBTQ is not what puts youth at risk. It is the anti-LGBTQ beliefs underlying attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity that are the real cause of that harm. In barring the practice, Connecticut is sending a powerful message to LGBTQ youth that they are ok, and that they are valued for who they are. The Connecticut legislative efforts was part of a growing movement across the country to ban state-licensed mental health professionals from employing the unethical practice. Connecticut became the eighth state to prohibit conversion therapy with LGBTQ youth, joining Vermont, California, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Illinois, and New Mexico, Rhode Island, as well as Washington, D.C. Nevada passed a bill shortly after Connecticut. GLAD is committed to working on this issue throughout the 6 New England states. In Massachusetts, GLAD senior attorney Ben Klein presented testimony at a public hearing in early June in support of “An Act Relative to Abusive Practices to Change Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Minors.” Similar bills are also being considered in Maine and New Hampshire.
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signs the conversion therapy ban bill into law
Meanwhile, the CT Equality Coalition is readying itself for the next push to make the state more welcoming and affirming “We intend to keep the momentum going,” Stanback says. “As we look ahead, we hope to leverage this crucial win to gain support for future work aimed at protecting LGBTQ youth.” The growing movement to affirm and celebrate LGBTQ youth – to say that being LGBTQ is beautiful – has the power to create transformational change.

Join GLAD at Hartford Pride

Hartford Capital City Pride will celebrate their third annual PrideFest on Saturday, September 9th.

WHERE
Pratt Street, Hartford, CT

WHEN
Parade & Festival: Saturday, September 9th from 12:00-6:00PM

CLICK HERE TO MARCH WITH GLAD

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Mizajou: Gouvènè Malloy siyen yon lwa konsènan pwoteksyon jèn yo kont terapi konvèsyon!

Connecticut Governor Dannell Malloy signs the conversion therapy ban into law
Gouvènè Connecticut, Dannel Malloy, siyen yon lwa sou entèdiksyon terapi konvèsyon an.

Lejislasyon sa a pral fè Connecticut yon kote ki pi an sekirite e ki pi akeyan pou jèn LGBTQ yo.

Sena a te vote jodi a pou adopte HB 6695 la. AAC Pwoteksyon Jèn yo kont Terapi Konvèsyon pa yon vòt inanim toulede pati yo 36-0. Patwone pa Senatè Beth Bye ak Reprezantan Jeff Currey, pwojè lwa a gen 100 ko-patwone epi li te apwouve nan Chanm Reprezantan an ak yon majorite akablan semèn pase a.

“Nou kontan anpil ak vòt jodi a, epi nou rekonesan dèske Sena a, avèk yon sipò solid sou tou de bò yo, te aji byen vit pou pwoteje jèn Connecticut yo kont konsekans devastatè sa yo rele terapi konvèsyon an,” te di Jennifer L. Levi, Direktè Pwojè Dwa Transjan pou GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). “Lejislasyon sa a pral fè Connecticut yon kote ki pi an sekirite e ki pi akeyan pou jèn LGBTQ yo.”

Òganizasyon medikal, sante mantal, ak byennèt timoun nan nivo leta ak nasyonal yo tout opoze pratik terapi konvèsyon an, yon pratik ki chache chanje oryantasyon seksyèl oswa idantite sèks yon moun. Anpil dokimantasyon pwofesyonèl montre pratik la pa efikas pou chanje oryantasyon seksyèl oswa idantite sèks epi li danjere pou jèn yo. Jèn ki te sibi terapi konvèsyon yo gen plis risk pou yo gen depresyon, panse swisid ak tantativ swisid, ak itilizasyon dwòg ilegal.

Anba dispozisyon pwojè lwa a, nenpòt pwofesyonèl sante ki gen lisans epi ki pratike terapi konvèsyon ap sibi disiplin nan men Depatman Sante Piblik la ki ka menm pèdi lisans pwofesyonèl li.

“Nou gen yon responsablite pou nou kreye yon klima sipò pou tout jèn nan eta nou an, pou nou fè yo konnen yo renmen yo epi yo gen valè jan yo ye a,” te di Anne Stanback nan kowalisyon Egalite Connecticut la. “Nou remèsye Senatè Beth Bye ak Reprezantan Jeff Currey pou lidèchip yo, ak anpil moun ki patwone ak sipòte pwojè lwa a nan Chanm Reprezantan an ak nan Sena a paske yo te pran angajman pou sipòte ak afime jèn LGBTQ yo.”

David McGuire, Direktè Egzekitif ACLU Connecticut la: “Jèn LGBTQ yo bezwen epi merite sekirite ak akseptasyon, pa wont ak domaj leta apwouve. Avèk adopsyon pwojè lwa sa a, lejislati a voye yon mesaj fò ke Connecticut kanpe avèk jèn LGBTQ yo, epi ke eta nou an pap tolere diskriminasyon. Nan yon moman kote anpil timoun LGBTQ ap enkyete pou lavni, Connecticut montre ke moun tout koulè politik kapab epi y ap reyini pou afime diyite ak dwa moun yo.”

“Nou vrèman kontan ke moun nan Connecticut p ap an danje pou yo sibi eksperyans twomatizan sa a ankò,” te di Gretchen Raffa, Direktè Politik Piblik Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. “Nou rekonesan ke pratik fwod ak danjere sa a pral entèdi nan eta nou an. Antanke pi gwo founisè swen sante nan rejyon an, nou konnen ke tout moun merite sèvis ak enfòmasyon swen sante kalite siperyè ki pa gen wont ak jijman – kèlkeswa sa k rive.”

Gouvènè Dannel Malloy te siyen pwojè lwa a touswit apre vòt Sena a. Connecticut mete tèt ansanm ak Kalifòni, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont ak Washington DC pou entèdi pratik danjere e diskredite sa a.

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Being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer is beautiful.

It is essential to do all that we can to create a climate of support and affirmation for LGBTQ youth. Being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer is beautiful. It’s time state law reflected that truth.

Together we can–and we must–make the world a better place for LGBTQ youth.

Today, Connecticut legislators took a big step toward doing just that by moving forward a bill that would ensure LGBTQ youth remain free from harmful practices that seek to change young people’s sexual orientation or gender identity. HB 6695, An Act Concerning the Protection of Youth from Conversion Therapy, passed the House by a vote of 141-8. Passing a law to ban so-called conversion therapy tells youth–you are okay just as you are.  It also guards against the predictably devastating consequences of outdated, discredited practices that seek to change a core aspect of a person’s identity. It’s now up to the state’s senators to take a similar stand for LGBTQ youth. If they do, Connecticut will join California, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington DC in banning such practices. Similar bills are pending in states across the country, including in New England, and legislation to ban conversion therapy at the federal level was introduced last week. Together we can–and we must–make the world a better place for LGBTQ youth. GLAD is a proud member of the CT Equality coalition. Visit CT Equality’s website for the latest information and important next steps on this bill.

CT House Passes Conversion Therapy Ban

Kontakte: Anne Stanback, CT Equality: (860) 280-6896

Today the Connecticut House of Representatives passed HB 6695, AAC Pwoteksyon Jèn yo kont Terapi Konvèsyon, by a vote of 141-8. Sponsored by Representative Jeff Currey and Senator Beth Bye, the bill has 100 co-sponsors and was approved by a unanimous vote of the Public Health Committee.

“We are thrilled with this vote to protect the well-being of Connecticut’s youth,” said Anne Stanback, speaking for the Connecticut Equality Coalition. “We look forward to the Senate vote and to the moment when this barbaric practice is banned in our state.”

Òganizasyon medikal, sante mantal, ak byennèt timoun nan nivo leta ak nasyonal yo tout opoze pratik terapi konvèsyon an, yon pratik ki chache chanje oryantasyon seksyèl oswa idantite sèks yon moun. Anpil dokimantasyon pwofesyonèl montre pratik la pa efikas pou chanje oryantasyon seksyèl oswa idantite sèks epi li danjere pou jèn yo. Jèn ki te sibi terapi konvèsyon yo gen plis risk pou yo gen depresyon, panse swisid ak tantativ swisid, ak itilizasyon dwòg ilegal.

Under the bill’s provisions, any licensed health professional who practices conversion therapy would be subject to discipline by the Department of Public Health up to and including the loss of their professional license

The Senate will take up the bill next. Governor Dannel Malloy has said he will sign the bill. Connecticut would join California, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington DC in banning the practice.

Logo for Connecticut Equality Coaltion

CT Equality: Leading the fight for equality and justice for LGBTQ people in Connecticut

Drop-in Clinic at the 2017 Transgender Lives Conference

On Saturday, April 29yèm, join GLAD staff and attorneys at the annual Transgender Lives Conference for a name and gender marker change drop-in workshop for transgender people seeking to update their identity documents.

Participants will have the opportunity to meet individually with attorneys and GLAD staff to seek assistance in updating their Connecticut birth certificates and other legal documents.

What can you expect from the workshop?

  • An opportunity to review applications and documentation with attorneys and trained staff.
  • Space to ask questions and learn more about the process to change gender makers on Connecticut and federal ID documents
  • A chance to be connected with attorneys who are knowledgeable and affirming

Click here to read the full description of the workshop and to RSVP.

Given time and space constraints, we are unable to address legal concerns outside of those related to updating birth certificates during this workshop. However, our GLAD Answers manager, Daniel Weiss, will also be on site to help connect those with additional questions to resources and information beyond what is covered at the legal clinic.

Many thanks to all the attorneys who are part of this work, and to our partners the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) and Connecticut Trans-Advocacy Coalition (CTAC)!

Have questions? Call GLAD Answers, GLAD’s information and legal referral service, for answers to questions about LGBTQ and HIV+ legal issues.  Volunteers are available Monday through Friday from 1:30 to 4:30 pm. For more information, visit www.gladanswers.org.

Banning So-called “Conversion Therapy” in CT

Update, May 2017:

Victory! After passing the House, HB 6695 An Act Concerning the Protection of Youth from Conversion Therapy passed the Senate in a unanimous bipartisan vote, and was quickly signed into law that day by the Governor on May 10, 2017. Read more.

Update, March 24, 2017:

The conversion therapy ban bill, An Act Concerning the Protection of Youth from Conversion Therapy (House Bill 6695), has passed through the Public Health Committee.

GLAD is a member of the CT Equality coalition and is working hard this session to pass a bill that would make it impermissible for licensed health professionals working with minors to engage in so-called conversion therapy.

The term conversion therapy refers to a range of dangerous and discredited practices that seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Contact your legislators and ask them to protect LGBTQ youth in Connecticut from the harmful practice of conversion therapy.

For more information on this bill visit EqualityCT.org.

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