Full EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW For LGBTQIA Nebraskans

Posts tagged ‘equality’

Unicameral Needs Your Voice on LB586, WorkPlace Protections.


OMAHA, NE – The Nebraska Unicameral Session for 2015 is almost over, just 10 days or less actually. It is crunch time in the Nebraska Equality Movement! Thursday, May 14th, the Unicameral will debate and vote on workplace equality. We need you to call or email your state senator in our state’s Unicameral. Don’t know who that is? You can click here: http://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/senator_find.php Don’t know what to say or write? We have that covered too!  Read the next paragraph below, You can start with what’s written below and add your experience and name to it!

Dear (Your State Senator’s Name), LB586 adds Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to the state’s workplace protections statute which already cover race, sex and religion. Discrimination against Nebraskans based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity is real. We lose talented Nebraskans to other states that treat their residents equally. We also lose the business opportunities associated with those lost talents. As result, inequality in the workplace has a direct impact on our state’s economy, passing LB586 would help decrease Nebraska’s brain drain. Over 100 Nebraska businesses have pledged support for Workplace Equality. The Chambers of Commerce in both Lincoln and Omaha have also voiced their support. Young professionals groups representing more than 10,000 young professional Nebraskans also support LB586. They are the Lincoln Young Professionals Group and the Greater Omaha Young Professionals. LB586 also keeps Nebraska’s current religious exemptions intact, so it doesn’t force religious organizations to hire gays as some people have erroneously claimed. So many Nebraska conservatives claim to support a growing economy, supporting equality in the workplace should be a no-brainer!

Sincerely, (Your Name)

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LGBT, Statements

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Changing the LGBT Equality Conversation.


OMAHA, NE –  The LGBT community has fought for equality for decades, yet a significant amount of LGBT discrimination remains: 51% of Americans live in the 34 states that ban marriage equality. In 29 states, you can be fired based on your sexual orientation, in 33 states based on your gender identity. In 30 states, you can be denied housing based on your sexual orientation, in 34 states based on your gender identity. In 29 states, you can be denied public accommodations based on your sexual orientation, in 34 based on your gender identity. *Source: ACLU, Marriage Equality USA, Get Equal, HRC, State Government websites.

Unfair treatment and discrimination lead to higher rates of poverty and distress in the LGBT community. This is not acceptable. LGBT Americans are entitled to full and equal federal protection as a matter of international human rights law, the 14th Amendment and as an urgent matter of public health, to stop the suffering caused by anti-LGBT stigma in society. The time to stand for the full spectrum of rights and protections we deserve as Americans is now.

A real solution to inequality is The Equality Pledge and the American Equality Bill, an omnibus bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity as federally protected classes under a broad list of areas where other classes are already federally protected. These areas include public accommodations, public facilities, federally funded programs, employment, housing, education, credit, federal marriage equality, immigration, disability, and family leave. Adding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity as protected classes when it comes to federally funded programs is probably the single most important civil rights issue never talked about in the LGBT community. Current laws covering the other protected classes include; the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Fair Housing Act, Education Amendments Act of 1972, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
See the Pledge: http://www.actonprinciples.org/thepledge

May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia or IDAHOT. IDAHOT is a day to stand against violence, oppression and to promote freedom, diversity, and acceptance. Last year, IDAHOT was celebrated in 113 countries. Members of the Omaha area’s LGBT community will rally at 72nd and Dodge Streets at 2pm this Saturday, May 17th, where they will also advocate for full federal equality through the omnibus bill, or one-bill strategy.
See also: http://dayagainsthomophobia.org
See also: https://www.facebook.com/events/281157485379314

Sincerely,
Ken Riter
Nebraskans For Equality

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American Equality Bill, IDAHOT, LGBTQIA, Nebraska, Press Release

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