Almanack Contributor Kelly Metzgar

In the past two years we’ve seen an outpouring of hate, attempts at overt discrimination, attempted role back of basic human rights protections at the federal level. We are facing a potential crisis in the US Supreme Court over settled law in the area’s of women’s health, reproductive rights, marriage equality, and basic LGBTQ civil rights protections.

We’ve seen attempts to ban members of the transgender community from serving openly in the military as well as prohibit their use of public accommodations based on lies and fears of spread by homophobic and transphobic hate groups bent on our elimination from society.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who heads the Department of Justice, issued guidance stating that LGBTQ people are not covered under federal anti-discrimination laws. This opened the gates to discrimination in all aspects of our lives, including housing, employment, medical care and insurance coverage. We’ve see repeated civil rights violations of our immigrant and native neighbors. » Continue Reading.