Statement from the National LGBTQ Task Force. Press release Washington DC, March 6, 2017:
"Version 2.0 of the Trump anti-Muslim executive order is still based entirely on religious hatred and thinly-veiled racism. He is still targeting specific countries; he is telegraphing his despicable anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-refugee and anti-people of color views. This version is still completely against core American values such as freedom of, and from, religion; it still diminishes our stature as a global partner for humanitarianism by denying vulnerable refugee families some basic respite — solely on the basis of their faith. With this undiminished and appalling display of anti-Muslim sentiment, Trump dehumanizes an entire faith and millions of people in the process, both abroad and here in the United States. Let there be no doubt about the chilling impact of this revised order — it will be less safe for Black and Brown people to travel. We call upon our members to join us in intensifying our stand for justice and freedom as we resist this continued and massive attack on the core foundation of American freedoms," said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force.
Statement from the Metropolitan Community Churches. From a press release:
"Today, as the Supreme Court refused to hear Gavin Grimm's case, the green light to discrimination is still in place."
Rev. Elder Rachelle Brown, MCC Interim Global Moderator
"In February, we decried Trump's action to strike guidance to schools for transgender student rights. Today, as the Supreme Court refused to hear Gavin Grimm's case, the green light to discrimination is still in place. As for our church, MCC declares the T comes first in TLGB! We will confront any leader with Holy Resistance if they target the most vulnerable among us, especially our transgender family," said the Rev. Elder Rachelle Brown, MCC Interim Global Moderator.
"Using the restroom is such an incredibly basic need, that to be denied that right is profoundly dehumanizing. As a faith leader, we cannot teach our children that some people are less worthy and less human than others. Different does not equal inferior," said Rev. Jakob Hero, Senior Pastor at MCC Tampa in Florida. Rev. Hero is also an elected member of MCC's Global Governing Board.
"School must be free of bullying and discrimination. As Christians we know that we are all created in the image of God. People who deny the existence of transgender persons do not make us disappear," said Stacy Sandberg, MCC Program Officer for Trans* Inclusion. "It just tells us that when we face violence and discrimination, those people will act like that does not exist either."
"Under Jim Crow, we saw bathrooms marked 'Men,' 'Women,' and 'Colored,'" said Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, Director of the MCC Diversity and Inclusion Program. "Today, when trans children are forced to go to special bathrooms, it's just one more form of discrimination that must be stopped. Children should go to school without fear of harassment, bullying, or discrimination, including when using the restroom."
Bloomberg reports that an earlier federal appeals court ruled that reserving the boys' bathrooms for "biological" males "probably" violated U.S. civil rights law. The Supreme Court order revokes the appeals court ruling, so now the court below the appeals court will reassess the case by directly considering what's required by Title IX, the 1972 law that bars gender discrimination in schools.
"As a transgender follower of Christ, I read that Jesus followed God's will above the law. God's will is love and using the law to deny people sovereignty over their own bodies is an aggressive move to block the light of God from shining forth in a person. But we know we are a Holy People and we will embody Holy Resistance," said the Rev. Caedmon Grace, MCC Minister in San Diego.
Founded in 1968, Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) has been at the vanguard of civil and human rights movements by addressing issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, economics, climate change, aging, and global human rights. MCC was the first to perform same gender marriages and has been on the forefront of the struggle towards marriage equality in the USA and other countries worldwide. MCC recognizes a state of need around the world in the areas of human rights and justice. As people of faith, MCC endeavors to build bridges that liberate and unite voices of sacred defiance. MCC leads from the margins and transforms.
HRC Statement on Donald Trump's Continued Attacks on Immigrants and Refugees. Press release, March 6, 2017:
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) strongly condemned President Donald Trump's second Muslim ban executive order. Trump's order not only needlessly and shamefully continues to vilifies the Muslim community, it poses a threat to countless refugees — including thousands of LGBTQ refugees seeking to escape violence and persecution.
"This latest discriminatory iteration of Trump's Muslim ban will have tragic consequences for thousands of people seeking safety in the U.S.," said JoDee Winterhof, Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs of the Human Rights Campaign. "The intent of Trump's executive order targeting refugees and Muslims remains the same — he has simply changed the wrapping paper. Tragically, LGBTQ people in the Middle East and North Africa are regularly threatened with violence and death for merely living their lives. Barring them from reaching asylum in the U.S. puts their lives in jeopardy. HRC will continue to fight for all LGBTQ Muslims and immigrants — and we will stand alongside them against this discriminatory order."
The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
