US Seventh Circuit Court Of Appeals Full Panel Rules You Can't Be Fired For Being Gay

“I have been saying all this time that what happened to me wasn’t right and was illegal. Now I will have my day in court, thanks to this decision, No one should be fired for being lesbian, gay, or transgender like happened to me and it’s incredibly powerful to know that the law now protects me and other LGBT workers.”-Kimberly Hively

That's something I always believed and many Americans believed was already the case for TBLGQ Americans, but now we have a federal court decision to back that up in the Hively vs Ivy Tech Community College case.

On Tuesday a full panel of the US Seventh Circuit in Chicago by an 8-3 margin found that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

“… Hively represents the ultimate case of failure to conform to the female stereotype (at least as understood in a place such as modern America, which views heterosexuality as the norm and other forms of sexuality as exceptional): she is not heterosexual. Our panel described the line between a gender nonconformity claim and one based on sexual orientation as gossamer-thin; we conclude that it does not exist at all. Hively’s claim is no different from the claims brought by women who were rejected for jobs in traditionally male workplaces, such as fire departments, construction, and policing. The employers in those cases were policing the boundaries of what jobs or behaviors they found acceptable for a woman (or in some cases, for a man).”
-Chief Judge Diane Wood

This came just three weeks after a three judge panel in Atlanta ruled the other way that Title VII doesn't cover discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The plaintiff in this case, Kimberly Hively, was an instructor at Ivy Tech Community College  who in August 2014 sued the school with the help of Lambda Legal after she was seen kissing her girlfriend in the parking lot of the school and subsequently denied promotions and full employment.

Hively's suit argued that Ivy Tech violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  The trial court dismissed her suit and claimed that Title VII of the CRA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion, doesn't protect employees from anti-gay discrimination.

In April 2015 Lambda Legal appealed the case to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a reversal of the trial court decision and reinstatement of Hively's complaint.  The three judge panel ruled against Hively in July 2016, but Lambda Legal requested it be heard by a full Seventh Circuit eleven judge panel.   The request was granted on October 11. 2016 and heard in November 2016.

What also makes this ruling notable is that the Seventh Circuit not only leans conservatives, five of the eight majority judges in this 8-3 decision were appointed by Republican presidents.

Once again, that 'strict constitutionalism' cuts both ways. so spare me any calls of 'judicial activism'.. You conservafools don't complain when those same federal judges make rulings in your direction.  .

“In many cities and states across the country, lesbian and gay workers are being fired because of who they love. But, with this decision, federal law is catching up to public opinion: ninety-percent of Americans already believe that LGBT employees should be valued for how well they do their jobs—not who they love or who they are. Now, through this case and others, that principle is backed up by the courts,” said Greg Nevins, Employment Fairness Program Director for Lambda Legal. who argued the case in front of the full Seventh Circuit judicial panel.  

“This decision is gamechanger for lesbian and gay employees facing discrimination in the workplace and sends a clear message to employers: it is against the law to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.”

And it remains to be seen whether this decision gets litigated at the Supreme Court.      

Election Registration Deadlines Today In TX And Several States

If after watching (or not watching) the second debate and you are sufficiently motivated enough to vote on November 8, then you better bust a move because today is the deadline day to get registered.

Texas is one of those states in which today is the deadline to get registered to vote along with georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Just a reminder, here's the rest of the voter registration deadlines for October.

In the District of Columbia today is also the deadline to register in advance of the election, but you can do same day registration there. I'd suggest you do it now DC if possible.

Florida's deadline was originally today, and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to extend the deadline despite the fact that county offices in much of the state were closed because of Hurricane Matthew.  
Thanks to a successful voting rights lawsuit filed by the Florida Democratic Party, the voter registration deadline was extended by US District court Judge Mark E. Walker (Obama appointee) by one day, with another hearing coming later today to determine whether to extend it beyond Wednesday.


Once again, presidential elections matter, and if you wish you exercise that right to vote on November 8 or during early voting if your part of the country offers it like Texas does (October 24-November 4), you must handle the first step of it and register to vote.

The clock's ticking.    You can check your registration status or register to vote via this link.

If you believe your voting rights are being messed with, call the ACLU Voter Protection Hotline at 877-523-2792

Indiana Presidential Primary Election Today

The Hoosier State gets a chance today to weigh in on the contentious Democratic Primary race between former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

And just as a reminder who I'm supporting in this Democratic presidential primary race and why I made that decision, it's the real Democrat, not the DINO..

But back to the post concerning this Indiana primary that kicks off in a few hours.

There are 92 delegates up for grabs on the Democratic side, and after Clinton took four out of five Northeastern states last week to pump up her already sizable delegate lead, she needs only 221 more delegates to reach the 2394 delegates necessary to clinch the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination and sing the 'It's over' aria for the Sanders campaign..

She's more than ready to pivot to the general election and get to whacking on the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, but Sanders is still trying to hang on until the June 7 California primary.

But first we have to handle our electoral business in Indiana, and the Democratic race is close Clinton leads by 4% points over Sanders, but that is within the margin of poll error in a state that not only has an open primary, but is predominately white (72%). but has a 17% Latino population and a 13% Black one.

Handle your electoral business Indiana, and we'll check out the results later tonight.

Indiana GOP Senator Files Unjust Anti-Trans SB 35

While y'all were checking out what gifts were left for you under your Christmas trees and in your stockings, Indiana trans folks were given a lump of legislative coal from the GOP.

Indiana Republicans, mad because they were forced to back down from implementing the discriminatory RFRA they passed  because of the national backlash that cost them business, failed to learn their lesson from that debacle and have now set their sights on attacking the Indiana trans community.  

Senator Jim Tomes (R-Wadesville) has decided to unleash his inner trans oppressor and file a bill that would criminalize being a trans person in the state of Indiana.

SB 35 if passed and signed into law by Governor Mike Pence (R) would take effect on June 1, 2016 and make using the bathrooms, locker rooms that don't correspond to your genitalia a Class A misdemeanor, send you to jail for up to a year and fine you up to $5,000.

Exceptions would be made for parents of children under age 8, first responders, janitors and people rendering first aid and insist that public and charter schools adhere to its unjust provisions even though schoolchildren would not face criminal charges..   

This bill is a mess because it confuses sex and gender identity and throw chromosomes in the mix by using the  XX= female, XY = male as part of the bill's definition of 'biological gender'.

Umm Senator Trans Oppressor, Google a condition called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome in which people with XY chromosomes not only develop female bodies but female genitalia.  There are also other combinations of chromosomes for humans besides XX and XY.

And if you're intersex, which locker room, shower facility or public potty do you use in Indiana?

And explain to me Sen. Tomes, who is going to pay for the expensive lab tests to determine someone's chromosomal makeup?  

You damned sure can't determine someone's chromosomes just by looking at them.

Tomes disingenuously tried to claim he's not singling out trans people for attack, but that's exactly what the unjust SB 35 bill does.

This unjust anti-trans bill is now in the Senate Committee on Public Policy, and if passed will put Indiana on a collision course with the US Department of Justice.   The DOJ recently said in July that trans students not being allowed to use the facilities that corresponds with their gender identity is a for of sex discrimination.

Indiana sadly is trying to establish itself as the Crossroads of Transphobic Bigotry, and criminalize trans lives.  The unjust SB 35 bill needs to die.

2015 Final Four Coaches Issue Statement On The Indiana Religious Bigotry Law

The men's Final Four is taking place in Indianapolis this weekend, and instead of us talking about whether the Kentucky Wildcats will win the two games they need to become the first unbeaten NCAA men's champions since Indiana did it in 1976, we are talking about events that happened up the street from Lucas Oil Stadium at the Indiana statehouse and governor's mansion.

The GOP controlled Indiana legislature passed a RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) that is a Trojan Horse that allows discrimination against TBLG people, and is so broadly written that it could open the door to discrimination to other groups that white male Republicans don't like on the basis of their alleged Christian beliefs.

And for those of you who drank the GOP red Kool-Aid and claim it won't, then why did Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) have a double secret signing ceremony for it last Thursday with three professional gaybaiters in attendance?

Hey, if you're so proud of this bill, then why the secret signing?  Why are you ashamed Gov. Pence of your and your GOP controlled state legislature's discriminatory handiwork?

It has triggered a backlash that is seriously fracking with Indiana's economy through cancelled concerts and lost convention and tourist business.   If they don't kill this unjust law, this may end up being the last NCAA men's (or women's) Final Four they host.

The 2016 Women's Final Four is scheduled to be held in Indianapolis next year. 

FYI Texas Legislature, the 2016 Men's Final Four is scheduled to be in Houston.  So I would suggest that you drop ALL the anti-TBLG bills you flied this session in order to avoid the fate of Indiana.

The coaches involved in this year's Final Four, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan, Kentucky's John Calipari, and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski issued this statement condemning the Indiana law through the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

“We are aware of the recent actions in Indiana and have made a point to talk about this sensitive and important issue among ourselves and with our teams," the statement read. "Each of us strongly supports the positions of the NCAA and our respective institutions on this matter – that discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated. As a part of America’s higher education system, college basketball plays an important role in diversity, equality, fairness and inclusion, and will continue to do so in the future.”
 

Stay tuned, we'll see if Indiana does the right thing instead of the right-wing thing and kills this unjust law.

Indiana Enacts 'Religious Bigotry' Law- Backlash Ensues

Bigotry has a cost, and Indiana is about to find that lesson out the hard way.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) signed the Orwellian named Religious Freedom Restoration Act  into law on Thursday that allows faith-based discrimination against the TBLG community.   Ever since  then, the condemnation and backlash of the unjust law has been swift.

“The lawmakers didn’t listen. The governor didn’t listen. They ignored huge job creators and small businesses. They ignored churches and other institutions of faith. They dismissed the idea that a license to discriminate would make us unappealing to visitors and potential residents.”
--Freedom Indiana

“We certainly understand the implications this legislation has on our ability to attract and retain employees, Simply put, we believe discriminatory legislation is bad for Indiana and for business.”
Janice Chavez, Eli Lilly spokesperson  (Eli Lilly has 17,500 employees in Indiana)

Hey, where were y'all Eli Lilly and other businesses when this unjust law was being considered? Now y'all wake up and call it out?

Angie's List just cancelled a $40 million dollar expansion in the state that would have brought 1000 jobs to Indiana.   The Indianapolis based Disciples of Christ denomination sent a letter to Governor Pence  threatening to cancel their 2017 convention that is scheduled to be held there.

"Our perspective is that hate and bigotry wrapped in religious freedom is still hate and bigotry," Todd Adams, the associate general minister and vice president of the Indianapolis-based denomination, told The Indianapolis Star. Adams said the Disciples of Christ would instead seek a host city that is "hospitable and welcome to all of our attendees."

The Indianapolis based NCAA, which hosts the men's Final Four there at Lucas Oil Stadium next week, is also concerned about the anti-LGBT law.

"The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events. We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement.

“We will work diligently to assure student-athletes competing in, and visitors attending, next week’s Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis are not impacted negatively by this bill. Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce."

The Gen Con gamer convention, which brings 56,000 people to Indianapolis and has a $50 million dollar impact on the local economy, is also threatening to pull out of the city. 

Unfortunately it's too late for Indiana to stop its passage, but it can serve as a cautionary tale for Texas and the rest of the country considering passing the same kind of blatantly unconstitutional and unjust laws

And Now There Are Ten-RIP Ashley Sherman

We have lost another transsister to anti-trans violence.

Location this time was Indianapolis, IN, in the Tudor Park Condominiums on the eastern side of the city, and sadly it's another trans woman of color.. 

25 year old Ashley Sherman was found at that location early Monday morning by a patrolling police officer. 

She had been shot in the head, and police are trying to ascertain whether she was killed there or was brought there from another location.  While police are saying this was a homicide, as usual they are not investigating it as a hate crime.
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A vigil was held on Wednesday at that location attended by 100 people, including Sherman's family and friends in which her mother implored the killer come forward.

Will be keeping track of this latest instance of one of our sisters being murdered until the case is satisfactorily resolved.

Rest in power and peace Ashley.   As with the rest of  our fallen sisters, we will not rest until justice is served.

Evansville, IN Unanimously Passes Inclusive Ordinance

When I lived in the Louisville area had the pleasure of making the drive on I-64 west a few years ago to Evansville for a friend's wedding.   Evansville is also the hometown of actor Avery Books and actress Michael Michele Williams

I was happy to hear that Evansville, Indiana to the increasingly long list of jurisdictions that are passing trans inclusive human rights laws.  On November 28 the Evansville City Council on a unanimous 8-0 vote passed their Human Rights Ordinance that includes housing and employment protection based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Evansville City Council added the words age, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation to the Evansville Human Relations Civil Rights Ordinance and by doing so added legal protections to prevent discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation in public and private employment, housing, public accommodations, credit and education..

This was a huge win for the Evansville's rainbow community and add this city to the long list of municipalities that value their TBLG citizens to do so.

Mitch McConnell Has A Major Bridge Problem

Louisville sits on the Ohio River directly across from the state of Indiana and has two major interstate highways, I-64 and I-65 that intersect there.  

Until Friday, there were only three bridges crossing it to handle that traffic.  The Clark Memorial, which is a four lane bridge almost century old bridge takes traffic into downtown Louisville, the John F. Kennedy, which takes I-65 over the Ohio not far from the Clark, and the Sherman Minton, which takes I-64 over the Ohio and into Indiana near New Albany, IN.   .  

There is the I-265 East End one that has been talked about for decades, was finally in the design phase while I was living there and would connect the Kentucky and Indiana sides of that loop interstate.  It is still in the contentious planning stages because it has been mired in lawsuits by River Fields homeowners on the Kentucky side of it with a severe case of NIMBY syndrome.



Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-KY) who has famously said his number one goal this session was to make 'Barack Obama a one-term president' and opposes the American Jobs Bill that the POTUS proposed Monday to work on infrastructure problems has a major infrastructure problem in his backyard.  

On Friday the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed indefinitely by Indiana governor Mitch Daniels (R) because of a critical crack found in a major support beam on the double decker bridge that carries 80,000 vehicles per day between New Albany, IN and the west side of Louisville.   

It's an interstate bridge, but due to a longstanding agreement between the two states Indiana has responsibility for the Sherman Minton maintenance while the John F. Kennedy Bridge is Kentucky's responsibility.

“Because the safety of the thousands of people who use the I-64 bridge is of utmost concern, Governor Daniels notified me today of his decision to temporarily shut down the Sherman Minton until the structure can be inspected more fully,” said Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D) according to the Examiner..
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“I have directed the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to send a team of our state’s bridge inspectors, engineers, and consultants to help evaluate the situation as quickly as possible and assist the State of Indiana and the Federal Highway Administration.  These evaluations will begin immediately and will be coordinated with the Indiana Department of Transportation.  Our highest priority is confidence that the public’s safety is assured.”

The Sherman Minton Bridge was built in 1962 at a original cost of $14.8 million and is named for Supreme Court justice (1949-1956) and long-time New Albany resident Sherman Minton.  The bridge has the negative combination of being built with a tiered.arch design that makes it more susceptible to failure and a type of T1 steel that was popular with bridge building projects in the 1960's that is less resistant to cracking.       

The closure means there are only two bridges left mere yards from each other in Downtown Louisville to take cross river traffic across the Ohio with the escalating traffic headaches and ripple effects of its closure affecting the lives of people on both sides of the Kentuckiana region.

With the increased traffic traversing it, the Kennedy bridge is also a concern of people who live in the area since it contains the same T1 steel that the Sherman Minton was built with.  

It also has political ramifications on the Kentuckiana area's congressional representatives and senators who are predominately Republicans with the exception of Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) who has been at the forefront of efforts to get the East Ebd bridge expeditiously built.

So is Sen. Mitch McConnell and the Republican reps going to continue their partisan political opposition of the American Jobs Bill when he has a critical bridge in his political backyard that will take anywhere from three months to two years to repair or replace?

Stay tuned, this it going to be interesting to see how this situation plays plays out in the Kentuckiana area's politics as tempers from constituents on both sides of the Ohio grow shorter as the commutes get longer.