National
Report: Not even half of LGBT people say workplace offers FMLA
Results published on 25th anniversary of historic law
A report from HRC has found fewer than half of LGBT people say they have access to FMLA benefits. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Fewer than 50 percent of LGBT people say they have access in their workplace to benefits under the Family & Medical Leave Act, according to a new report by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
The findings came about as the result of the organization’s 2018 U.S. LGBTQ Paid Leave Survey. The survey, completed by more than 5,400 LGBTQ people from across the nation, found only 45 percent of respondents say their employer extends leave policies — paid or unpaid — that include LGBT people.
Mary Beth Maxwell, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior vice president for programs, research and training, said the report should serve as a wakeup call.
“No one should have to choose between who they are, the people they love and the job they need,” Maxwell said. “As the only developed nation in the world without some form of guaranteed paid leave policy, American workers, including LGBTQ employees, are too often forced to either forgo their income or leave their job entirely to treat an illness, care for a loved one, or grow their family.”
The report comes on the 25th anniversary of the Family & Medical Leave Act, a federal law signed by President Bill Clinton affording employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for family and medical reasons.
The Labor Department first established married same-sex couples have access to benefits under the Family & Medical Leave Act after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 struck down the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to block those benefits to gay couples in states without marriage equality and succeeded in trial court, but that ruling was overturned by the 2015 Supreme Court decision for marriage equality nationwide.
Among the key findings the Human Rights Campaign pulled from its survey:
President Trump has proposed instituting paid family leave by extending unemployment insurance benefits to working parents whose employers do not offer paid maternity leave. But the plan — a pet cause of Ivanka Trump — faces an uphill battle in the Republican Congress, and critics contend unemployment checks under Trump’s plan are skimpy and won’t provide sufficient compensation.
Another finding in the report: 92 percent of LGBT respondents in the survey say the United States should guarantee paid leave to all Americans, and another 92 percent say access to paid leave would positively affect their lives.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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