USA: Florida college students, civil rights groups protest restrictive education bill to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs and associated “belief systems”

College students across Florida staged walkouts this week in protest of Governor Ron DeSantis’ proposal to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs and associated “belief systems” on college campuses.

House Bill 999 targets diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and the study of critical race theory at public Florida universities. The bill includes a ban on university spending to “promote, support, or maintain” any programs, fields of study or activities that support DEI or critical race theory ideology but notably does not define either concept. If passed, the legislation would also prevent universities from using diversity statements or any other “political identity filters” when hiring new staff or considering tenure for existing staff.

House Bill 999 would impact Florida education at a collegiate level, and student groups across the state have organized on-campus protests against the bill. Led by groups like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), students at all of Florida’s major universities, including Florida State University, The University of Florida and Florida A&M, have begun rallying against the bill. On Tuesday, students at the University of South Florida were arrested by campus police during a protest led by SDS.

In addition to student groups, House Bill 999 has already received backlash from civil rights and educational organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Historical Association (AHA) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).

The ACLS is currently drafting a petition against the bill, arguing:

The promise of academic freedom has played a key role in the growth and strength of higher education in the United States. Thanks to the protection of the free discovery and exchange of knowledge and of faculty decision-making, American colleges and universities have long been the envy of the world. These institutions are valued for the basic and applied research that they conduct; for their role as anchors of industry and of local communities; for providing equitable access to opportunity, increasing over time, for those who have not had such access, including women, people of color, and first-generation college students; and for their capacity to prepare students to be thinking and feeling people in a world larger than their hometowns and states.

In 2022, Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education bill, better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation and identity within certain grade levels, and House Bill 1467, requiring the review of books available in schools and classrooms. DeSantis proposed House Bill 7, nicknamed the “Stop WOKE” Act, which would have restricted discussions of race and gender in higher education classrooms, but the bill was blocked by a federal judge in November 2022.

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Uganda lawmaker introduces ‘anti-homosexuality’ legislation

The so-called Anti-Homosexuality Bill, introduced to Uganda’s parliament on Thursday, seeks to ban all forms of homosexual relations, as well as vaguely described “related matters.”

Under the legislation, introduced by Member of Parliament Asuman Basalirwa, individuals convicted of the “offense of homosexuality” would face 10 years in prison. Notably, this offense includes not only sexual relations but also the “[touching] of another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality,” or one’s identification as “lesbian, gay, transgender, a queer or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female.”

The bill also seeks to treat HIV as an aggravating offense and to subject suspects to forced HIV testing.

In addition, the legislation seeks to criminalize a range of related “offenses.” Anyone who “aids, abets, or counsels” with respect to homosexuality would face two years in prison — a clause that would appear to seek the criminalization of relationship advice. And anyone who seeks to facilitate a same-sex marriage would face 10 years in prison.

If passed, the law would also ban the “promotion of homosexuality,” an “offense” covering a vast swath of amorphously described activities, such as sponsoring “homosexuality or other related activities” or using the internet to “promote homosexuality.”

The bill provoked the immediate ire of human rights activists.

Oryem Nyeko, Uganda researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “One of the most extreme features of this new bill is that it criminalizes people simply for being who they are as well as further infringing on the rights to privacy, and freedoms of expression and association that are already compromised in Uganda. …Ugandan politicians should focus on passing laws that protect vulnerable minorities and affirm fundamental rights and stop targeting LGBT people for political capital.”

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USA: New Jersey AG issues civil rights violations to 28 municipalities for LGBTQ discrimination

The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) Wednesday issued notices of violation to 28 municipalities in the state for civil rights violations committed through exclusionary marriage license practices against non-binary people.

The notices allege that the municipalities in question violated the Law Against Discrimination (LAD) by requiring non-binary people applyling for marriage licenses to misgender themselves under oath either as male or female.

According to the Attorney General’s office, such a requirement is inconsistent with the marriage license application on the state’s health department website, which includes a gender option for non-binary individuals and has since 2019. The municipalities face penalties of up to $10,000 if the issue is not resolved. The state was motivated to act because of a report that discovered “certain municipalities violated the LAD by expressly limiting marriage licenses to opposite-sex couples.”

If the municipalities fail to correct this issue, they will face up to $10,000 in fines. The notice also contains an offer of settlement  if municipalities update the marriage licenses on their websites, include a link to the New Jersey Department of Health’s marriage license application, remove any gender-restrictive language pertaining to marriage licenses from their websites, adopt a written policy prohibiting discrimination against those using the municipality’s services, and provide anti-discrimination training to all employees.

The Law Against Discrimination prohibits discrimination by organizations serving the public on the basis of actual or perceived race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or other protected characteristics. According to the DCR, the exclusion of a non-binary gender identifying option violates this provision.

The notices served to the 28 counties are the latest action in the DCR’s Marriage Equality Enforcement Initiative, which was implemented to ensure that municipalities in New Jersey comply with the Law Against Discrimination and provide gender-inclusive marriage licensing options to the public.

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USA: Fourth Circuit hears arguments regarding West Virginia Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming surgeries

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Tuesday heard oral arguments on whether the West Virginia Medicaid Program’s denial of gender-affirming surgery for individuals with gender dysphoria violates the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid Act and Equal Protection Clause under the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment.

Caleb David, attorney for the state defendants, argued that West Virginia’s program treats everyone equally and provides the same amount of coverage to both trans and cis gender participants who seek treatment under the same diagnosis. Judge Diana Gribbon Motz asked the defense whether transgender men and cisgender women are equally situated, regardless of their diagnosis, when they seek similar medical care. David responded by saying that the insurance industry and the Medicaid program define standards for coverage differently.

Tara Borelli, the attorney for the plaintiffs, responded to Judges Julius Richardson and Allison Jones Rushing’s questions regarding West Virginia Medicaid’s  refusal to cover surgeries for people who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria by stating that gender dysphoria is a diagnosis that only pertains to transgender people. As a result, she argued that the exclusion of the surgeries only applied to particular people.

In David’s closing argument he reiterated that West Virginia Medicaid is not required to cover the surgeries even if it is deemed necessary.

Christopher Fain and Shauntae Anderson, the named plaintiff in the class action, brought the case against West Virginia state officials and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Medical Services. Fain and Anderson receive hormone therapy for their gender dysphoria diagnosis. Both plaintiffs wish to receive gender-affirming surgery, however West Virginia’s Medicaid Plan exclusion of transsexual surgery prohibits any transgender individual who is “diagnosed with gender dysphoria” from receiving “coverage for the surgical treatment of this diagnosis.”

The trial court found in favor of the plaintiffs and granted their motion for summary judgement. The trial court found that West Virginia Medicaid’s exclusion “invidiously discriminates on the basis of sex and transgender status.”

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Congratulations to my doctoral student Tsubasa Shinohara for successfully defending his PhD thesis: “Paving the Way for the Protection of Human Rights in Sports: The Case of Intersex and Transgender Female Athletes” More on this thesis defence: https://agenda.unil.ch/display/1669807792947 More on all PhDs written under my supervision: https://www.unil.ch/dip/en/home/menuinst/recherche/andreas-r-ziegler/PhD%20Studies/doctorats-completes.html More on our work on SOGEISC law and […]

Congratulations to my doctoral student Tsubasa Shinohara for successfully defending his PhD thesis: “Paving the Way for the Protection of Human Rights in Sports: The Case of Intersex and Transgender Female Athletes” — Andreas R. Ziegler

In the framework of “The OECD work on LGBTI+ inclusion” a report on Germany was published

More: https://www.oecd.org/social/the-road-to-lgbti-inclusion-in-germany-977b463a-en.htm

More: https://www.oecd.org/social/lgbti.htm

Interesting Article: The Future of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Human Rights – Where Will European Consensus Take Us?

USA Powerlifting ordered to reverse ‘discriminatory’ ban on trans athletes after legal challenge

Apply now for the Summer School “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in International Law: Human Rights and Beyond” (25/7 to 4/8 2023)

Application online is now possible for the sixth edition of Leiden University’s
Summer School on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity in International Law
(The Hague, Leiden & Amsterdam, 25 July to 4 August 2023)

The draft programme for the 2023 edition is now online. It includes expert speakers (from many continents, universities and organisations) who will discuss global and regional human rights, international criminal law, international economic law, international refugee law, and more. Some sessions will focus on legal aspects of intersex issues, of gender identity/expression, of sexual orientation, or on themes common to these forms of sex/gender diversity.

Participants learn about the history of the rights of LGBTQI persons in the international sphere, about current developments around the world and about the potential for future progress on equality. Several speakers have been involved in important precedent-setting court cases that helped to achieve some international protection against homophobia, transphobia and interphobia. Academic coordinator is Kees Waaldijk, professor of comparative sexual orientation law at Leiden Law School.

Leiden University’s Grotius Centre has been offering this unique and successful summer school since 2016, with very good evaluations. Each year participants have included lawyers, researchers, activists, officials and students from all over the world.

Requirements for admission: Completion of at least one year of university education including several law courses, plus some knowledge of human rights law and SOGI issues. For participants and potential participants, a list of online video/audio/reading materials has been put together: the Leiden Overview on SOGIESC in International Law. These materials (some of which are by former and future speakers of this summer school) offer a good preparation for taking part.

The summer school takes place in The Hague (the International City of Peace and Justice, and host to a growing campus of Leiden University), and for the last few days in Leiden (the main seat of Leiden University), and Amsterdam (where the annual Queer & Pride events are taking place around the dates of this summer school).

More information and online application form at https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education/study-programmes/summer-schools/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-in-international-law-human-rights-and-beyond.

Please share this announcement widely!

USA: Tennessee becomes first US state to ban drag performances in chilling attack on LGBTQ+ rights