National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said today:

This is truly a historic moment as the NAACP  — the nation’s oldest civil rights organization — takes an official and unequivocal stand for marriage equality. As the country’s oldest national LGBT rights group, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force could not be more thrilled.

We are also not surprised by the leadership exhibited once again by the NAACP. Just a few months ago, NAACP President Ben Jealous stood before 3,000 LGBT rights activists at our Creating Change Conference and spoke powerfully and poignantly about the ties of conscience and courage that bind us. “The NAACP and the LGBT movement have fought together for social justice since Bayard Rustin planned the March on Washington in 1963,” he told the crowd. “He was a black gay hero who wrote the textbook on mobilizing the masses for jobs and freedom.”

We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the NAACP working together on the many issues that affect all of our lives. Whether it be fair access to education and jobs, an end to voter suppression and racial profiling, the right to love and be who we are free of discrimination — these issues affect all of us, our families and our country. Today the NAACP did what it does so well — inspires and affirms our common humanity.

The regulations establish several critical protections for inmates, and will have a particularly profound impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) detainees who remain extremely vulnerable in detention settings.

The standards, which the Task Force has advocated for, include specialized training for prison staff, and screenings in detention settings to help assess whether an inmate is at higher risk for being targeted for sexual abuse in prison because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Agencies must also train security staff on respectful searches of transgender inmates; transgender people will not be assigned to a male or female facility based solely on genital status, but rather on a case-by-case assessment of the inmate’s health and safety; and transgender inmates will be given the opportunity to shower separately from other inmates.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, through its New Beginning Initiative, has advocated for these humane standards. The Task Force has also been calling on federal officials to ensure that these protections apply to the hundreds of thousands of people — including many LGBT people  — housed in immigration detention facilities. The presidential memorandum ensures all federal agencies with detention facilities, including the Department of Homeland Security, will issue regulations to reduce the risk of sexual violence.

Statement by Rea Carey, executive director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

Sexual violence is traumatizing and dehumanizing. No one — and I mean no one — should ever be subjected to this pain and indignity. People in detention settings are particularly vulnerable to this violence, which has been allowed to run rampant.

By adopting these national standards to prevent, detect and respond to prison rape, the federal government put its foot down and said ‘no more.’ LGBT people, often the targets of brutality in detention settings, stand much to gain. Lives are literally on the line, and these historic standards will help combat this terrible epidemic and lift our common humanity.

We applaud DOJ for issuing these standards and the White House for ensuring that similar requirements be issued for immigration detention facilities. The Task Force is dedicated to the rights of those who are unjustly incarcerated and to all inmates’ right to live free of sexual assault.

Injustice at Every Turn finds transgender people at risk in detention facilities

Injustice At Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equality, found that prison abuse was a serious, widespread problem for transgender inmates. The report found alarming rates of such abuse: 15 percent of transgender and gender non-conforming people who had been to jail or prison reported being sexually assaulted by peers or staff. The rate of abuse was far higher for people of color: 34 percent of black respondents and 24 percent of Latino/as were sexually assaulted in jail/prison.

Additionally, 7 percent of transgender people report having been incarcerated simply because of their gender identity/expression, having committed no crime. For people of color, the rate was astonishingly high with 41 percent of black respondents and 21 percent of Latino/as reporting incarceration for being transgender or gender non-conforming. Whether incarcerated or not, 22 percent of respondents who interacted with police reported harassment by police.

The Senate approved the reauthorization of an intact and inclusive Violence Against Women Act last month in a 68 to 31 vote. The White House issued a veto threat yesterday of the House GOP version, saying it is unacceptable.

The 1994 federal law provides funds to enhance investigation and prosecution of violent crimes such as domestic violence and sexual assault, and it bolsters victim services programs. The Task Force Action Fund is among a broad coalition of organizations that has been lobbying for inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the law.

We need the inclusive version of this bill because:

• LGBT people experience domestic violence in 25-35% of relationships, which is the same rate as the general population.
• LGBT victims face discrimination when accessing services, including being turned away from shelter, mis-arrested as the primary aggressor by local law enforcement, and denied orders of protection.
• In a 2010 study, 96% of victim services and law enforcement agencies said that they did not have specific services for LGBT victims. In fact, studies have shown that only one in five survivors of same-gender sexual assault and intimate partner violence received victim services.

Statement by Rea Carey, executive director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

Does the House Republican leadership have no shame? Obviously not. Once again, they’re up there on the Hill, sitting in their cushy offices — paid for by taxpayers, I might add — making bad decisions about regular people’s lives. This time, it’s victims of domestic violence who will suffer because of these obstructionist shenanigans.

To be the target of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence or stalking — whether perpetrated by a stranger or an intimate partner — is terrifying and traumatic. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are not immune from this violence, and their distress should not be exacerbated by a lack of proper response from service providers or law enforcement. Imagine being assaulted, scared and in pain — and then also being turned away from receiving basic services and care.

The Violence Against Women Act passed by the Senate and supported by the White House is a model bill designed to meet the needs of all victims of domestic violence in the country. The House version coldly and unnecessarily puts people at risk at a time when they are most vulnerable. Whether it’s access to health care or access to life-saving services, House leadership keeps turning their backs on the people, and on our common humanity. This is unacceptable. We urge the conference committee to put the critical provisions for LGBT people and our families back into the bill.

You can learn more about all of the events, and find one near you on the IDAHO website here. You can also participate and raise awareness for the event online by RSVPing to the global event on Facebook or following the official day on Twitter.

Watch the global mobilization video below:

The Task Force is a partner in the fight against the anti-marriage amendment in Minnesota. Check out here what we’ve been doing in the faith front.

También, Pedro Julio participó de un panel de activistas latinos/as pro-LGBTT en el programa Pura Política de NY1 Noticias que puedes ver aquí:

Además, aquí puedes ver el reportaje que hiciera Noticiero Telemundo Internacional sobre el mismo tema.

Y por último, si no viste nuestra primera entrevista en CNN en Español sobre este tema, ve aquí:

The Rev. Darlene Nipper, the Task Force’s deputy executive director, and Bishop Harry Jackson of the Hope Christian Church, addressed the hot topic with host Roland Martin. Watch:

And our board member Kierra Johnson got personal with CNN about the need for full marriage equality. Check it out:

Watch our other related CNN and C-SPAN segments here and here.

Hearing room packed with supporters of civil unions. Photo credit Daniel Gonzales, volunteer, One Colorado.

Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey says:

As families wake up to yet another day with no protections in sight, we stand with Coloradans in our disappointment and anger that our lives have fallen to political horseplay. Who is most hurt by these legislative shenanigans? Colorado families, that’s who. While not a substitute for full legal marriage, civil unions would have provided vital protections to loving, committed same-sex couples and their families, who continue to remain vulnerable.

We thank Gov. John Hickenlooper for calling a special session in an attempt to unlock the gridlock and get things moving again. We thank One Colorado and all those who advocated for this bill. We stand in solidarity with them in the push for full equality.

The Task Force has been fielding a slew of  media requests this week related to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks on marriage, the North Carolina vote on Amendment One, and more.

We’ve been talking to English-language and Spanish-language media outlets. Here’s the Task Force’s Pedro Julio Serrano on CNN en Español yesterday:

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, scheduled a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which if passed and signed into law would make it illegal under federal law to discrimination against employees on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation – effectively protecting the LGBT people in employment settings.

The announcement for ENDA’s hearing, which has bipartisan support, comes two weeks after the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a decision that federal law against sex discrimination includes protections for transgender people based on gender identity. While the historic EEOC decision helps protect transgender people, a federal law explicitly covering LGBT people is still necessary in order to ensure adequate protections in the workplace.

LGBT people face discrimination on the job. We’re still fired, denied promotions and harassed, just for being who we are. Most don’t know that over half (51 percent) of LGBT people hide who they are at work to most or all of their co-workers.

Discrimination against transgender people has also been well documented, most recently by our National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Seventy-eight percent experienced mistreatment, harassment, or discrimination at work, with one in four (26 percent) losing their job because they were transgender.

The Task Force has long advocated for the passage of ENDA and in January coordinated a Lobby Day where hundreds of LGBT activists met with U.S. Senate offices urging for the passage of ENDA. We applaud Senator Harkin for scheduling a hearing on ENDA and urge the committee to pass this vital legislation.