IN THE NEWS Gay American couple sues Trump's State Department over daughter's citizenship

Remember earlier this year that Pres. Trump issued an order saying that Children from out of the U.S. or born through surrogates out of the U.S.  and adopted by Gay couples "WILL NOT BE GIVEN U.S. CITIZENSHIP"?  Well, there are already a couple of law suits for this horrible, vicious, hateful anti-family and anti-LGBT law. Here's one from July 24, 2019 from theHill.com in Washington,DC:

 Gay American couple sues State Department over daughter's citizenship

By Rebecca Klar - 07/23/19 04:03 PM EDT 1,104

A gay U.S. couple is reportedly suing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for discrimination after the State Department denied citizenship to their daughter, who was born in the U.K. with help of a surrogate.

The New York Times reported that James Derek Mize and his husband Jonathan Gregg filed a lawsuit Tuesday after their daughter, Simone, was denied citizenship even though both of her parents are American citizens.

Simone was born in the U.K. last year using the donor egg of a British friend and Gregg’s sperm. She was reportedly denied citizenship when the family submitted an application after returning home to the U.S. Her tourist visa will expire at the end of July. 

“I try not to think about ICE coming to our door and deporting our baby,” Mize told the Times, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “That is a pretty hard thing to think about.”
The State Department has a policy requiring that children born abroad through assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy must show biological parentage in order to obtain citizenship.

At least two other same-sex couples are suing the agency for similar reasons and nearly 100 congressional Democrats last month urged Pompeo to reverse the “cruel” policy, according to the Times.

The State Department told The Hill it would not comment on ongoing litigation.
The Times reported that in court documents the department has argueed that the policy does not discriminate and applies to opposite-sex and same-sex couples alike.
Under the State Department policy, cases where the source of the sperm and egg do not match married parents are treated as “out of wedlock” and require a higher bar to transmit citizenship, the Times reported.

Gregg, a U.K.-born citizen to an American mother, does not meet the five-year U.S. residency requirement, but the newspaper said the couples’ lawyers argue that would not matter if the couple had been treated as married.
Under the Obama administration, after same-sex marriage was legalized, the State Department policy was adjusted, according to the Times, so that biological connection could be tied to supplying the egg or the sperm as well as giving birth to a child, allowing same-sex couples to have a child “in wedlock.”

But under the Trump administration, the State Department is fighting the lawsuits in courts in what critics are saying is discrimination against same-sex parents.

7 MORE Ways the Trump Administration Has HURT LGBTQ People

Trump is destroying and removing LGBTQ rights all the time

If you believe the White House this month, PRIDE MONTH, then you need your head examined. 
This President and his Administration is far from being a supporter of the LGBT community. In fact they've done more to hurt the LGBTQ community by REMOVING RIGHTS than any other president. 
Here's what they've done just in the last year and Below that is what he did in 2017.


1. Kicks trans servicemembers out of the military.
2. Eliminates employee protections for gay federal employees.
3. Declares adopted children of gay couples are not American citizens.
4. Directs the Justice Department to declare that civil rights protections are not applicable to gays.
5. Removed all LGBT references from the WhiteHouse.gov website.
6. Directs the HHS secretary to issue memo allowing health care workers to deny care to LGBTs if based on their "sincerely held religious beliefs."
7. Appointed an anti-gay marriage advocate as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, a country with a gay married prime minister.

BREAKING NEWS ON JUNE 5, 2019: TRUMP DEFENDS TRANSGENDER TROOP BAN-  Trump defended his administration’s efforts to ban transgender people from serving in the military in a U.K. interview that aired Wednesday, June 5, 2019. He said America’s armed services had to have a “standard” and stick to it, and made a bogus claim about the “massive” cost of medication.

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HERE'S  MORE OF WHAT HE DID BACK IN 2017
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Monday, July 31, 2017

Friends of LGBT People: Here Are Trump's 8 Anti-LGBT Attacks in 6 Months

    We have some friends who support LGBT people like us, but voted for Trump for reasons of their own. They also believed he would keep his promise to "be the best LGBT supporter."  They've all told us their vote was NOT against us or LGBT people, and believed Trump wouldn't hurt LGBT People.Well, in 6 months' time, Trump's Administration has already done 8 things to hurt, offend, or deny rights and protections to LGBT people.   We are curious to know if our friends have any regrets. 

HERE'S THE LIST OF TRUMP'S OFFENSES AGAINST LGBT PEOPLE (links to articles below for proof)

1) All LGBT Civil Rights Content Removed from Whitehouse.Gov

2) Rescinded All Protections for Transgender Students on Use of Restrooms in Public Schools

3) Revoked Protections for LGBT Workers against Discrimination in Hiring and Employment

4) Dropped Federal Lawsuit over North Carolina's Statewide Prohibition on LGBT Equalty

5) Trump Refused To Declare June Was National Pride Month

6) Trump Says Transgender People No Longer Allowed To Serve In Military

7)  Justice Department Says Rights Laws Doesn't Protect Gays

8) Nominates Anti-Gay Marriage U.S. Ambassador & Offends Netherlands

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1) ALL LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS CONTENT REMOVED FROM WHITEHOUSE.GOV

The Trump administration removed all references to LGBT civil rights as soon as they got in the White House in January 2017. That was a good indication of what they had planned.

http://people.com/politics/trump-white-house-website-lgbt-climate-change-civil-rights-pages/

2) RESCINDED ALL PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS ON USE OF RESTROOMS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS - This happened in February 2017

The move by the Justice and Education departments reverses guidance the Obama administration publicized in May 2016, which said a federal law known as Title IX protects the right of transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identities.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/516664633/trump-administration-rescinds-obama-rule-on-transgender-students-bathroom-use

3) REVOKED PROTECTIONS FOR LBGT WORKERS AGAINST DISCRIMINIATION IN HIRING AND EMPLOYMENT - White House announced this in March 2017

With little fanfare on Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that LGBTQ advocates say rolls back lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and breaks a promise to that community not to make such changes to existing policy.The executive order revokes key components of the Obama administration's previous executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or identity, gay rights advocates say. http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-advocates-say-trump-s-news-executive-order-makes-them-n740301

4) DROPPED FEDERAL LAWSUIT OVER NORTH CAROLINA's STATEWIDE PROHIBITION ON LGBT EQUALTY. He ordered this lawsuit dropped in April, 2017.

The Justice Department on Friday said it was dropping a federal lawsuit filed last year against North Carolina over the state’s “bathroom bill,” which restricted the public bathrooms transgender people were allowed to use.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/04/14/justice-dept-drops-federal-lawsuit-over-north-carolinas-bathroom-bill/?utm_term=.9f961189ef4d

5) TRUMP REFUSED TO DECLARE JUNE WAS NATIONAL PRIDE MONTH to honor all of the LGBT community. For every year of his presidency, Obama issued a pride month proclamation and hosted annual LGBT pride receptions. President Trump did not declare June as LGBT Pride Month. No Republican president has ever recognized June as pride month.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/06/01/president-trump-hasnt-declared-june-pride-month-least-not-yet/102393004/

6) TRUMP SAYS TRANSGENDER PEOPLE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO SERVE IN MILITARY

President Donald Trump tweeted July 26, 2017 that transgender people will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. military “in any capacity” ― a stunning reversal of an Obama-era policy that affects thousands of service members. He cites “tremendous medical costs and disruption” as his reason. Data show he’s wrong. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-transgender-military_us_597893a9e4b0c95f37605a35?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003

7)  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS RIGHTS LAWS DOESN'T PROTECT GAYS
July 27, 2017:  On the same day President Donald Trump banned transgender people from serving in the military, citing costs. "The Department of Justice argued in a legal brief on Wednesday that the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 offers no protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, a position advocacy groups condemned as 'shameful' and 'politically driven.'" As for the transgender ban, current service members are saying it's a "shot in the face" and to "try and kick me out of the military." These Republicans are breaking with Trump on the issue, along with these world leaders. And then there's the question of whether it's legal.  

NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/nyregion/justice-department-gays-workplace.html?mcubz=2

8) NOMINATES ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE U.S. AMBASSADOR & OFFENDS NETHERLANDS
A Dutch LGBT advocacy group has expressed concern over President Trump’s nominee to become the next U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. Philip Tijsma of COC Nederland noted to the Washington Blade on July 28 that former Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra opposes marriage rights for same-sex couples.Hoekstraco-sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. The Washington Post noted he also sponsored eight other anti-LGBT bills and opposed efforts to extend adoption rights to same-sex couples. “The position of Mr. Hoekstra on these issues goes against the Dutch policy of promoting acceptance and equal rights for LGBTI people,” Tijsma said. The Netherlands in 2001 became the first country in the world to extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples.
SOURCE: Washington Blade

Idiot of the Week: Administration to Deny Visas to Same-Sex Partners of Diplomats, U.N. Officials

Another week, Another idiot of the week, but this one isn't about a specific Person- it's about a group of people who did something hateful, Specifically Just to be hateful.  There's no "sliver lining" in this mean-spirited act.
   This time: Trump  Administration to Deny Visas to Same-Sex Partners of Diplomats, U.N. Officials. Sigh.  HOW does this help anyone? How does hatred and exclusion help?

Trump Administration to Deny Visas to Same-Sex Partners of Diplomats

New policy will insist Gay Couples be married

—even if they're from countries that criminalize gay marriage.

Oct. 2, 2018 Foreignpolicy.com
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/01/trump-administration-to-deny-visas-to-same-sex-partners-of-diplomats-un-officials-gay-lgbt/

The Trump administration on Monday (Oct. 1, 2018) began denying visas to same-sex domestic partners of foreign diplomats and United Nations employees, and requiring those already in the United States to get married by the end of the year or leave the country.

The U.S. Mission to the U.N. portrayed the decision—which foreign diplomats fear will increase hardships for same-sex couples in countries that don’t recognize same-sex marriage—as an effort to bring its international visa practices in line with current U.S. policy. In light of the landmark 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the U.S. extends diplomatic visas only to married spouses of U.S. diplomats.

“Same-sex spouses of U.S. diplomats now enjoy the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex spouses,” the U.S. mission wrote in a July 12 note to U.N.-based delegations. “Consistent with [State] Department policy, partners accompanying members of permanent missions or seeking to join the same must generally be married in order to be eligible” for a diplomatic visa.

But critics says the new policy will impose undue hardships on foreign couples from countries that criminalize same-sex marriages.

Samantha Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, denounced the new policy on Twitter as “needlessly cruel & bigoted.”

“State Dept. will no longer let same-sex domestic partners of UN employees get visas unless they are married,” she tweeted, noting that “only 12% of UN member states allow same-sex marriage.”

In July, the U.S. mission sent out diplomatic notes to the United Nations and representatives for foreign diplomatic missions explaining the new policy, which reversed a 2009 decision by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to grant visas to domestic partners of U.S. and foreign diplomats. The contents of the diplomatic note were first reported in August by the Washington Blade. The 2009 policy, however, did not allow a heterosexual domestic partner of a U.S. or foreign diplomat to enter the country on a diplomatic visa.

The new policy —which enters into force Monday—requires that foreign domestic partners of diplomats and U.N. officials posted in the United States must show the State Department proof of marriage by Dec. 31, or leave the country within 30 days. As of today, domestic partners of diplomats and U.N. officials based abroad will need to show they are married in order to enter the country on a diplomatic visa. The latest policy change, the United States explained in the note, was aimed at ensuring all couples were treated equally.

“The Department of State will not issue a G-4 visa for same-sex domestic partners,” the U.N. human resources chief explained in a note distributed to staff last month. “As of 1 October 2018, same-sex domestic partners … seeking to join newly arrived U.N. officials must provide proof of marriage to eligible for a G-4 visa or to seek a change in such status.”

There are currently at least 10 U.N. employees in the United States who would need to get married by the New Year to have their partners’ visas extended.