LGBT History Month — October 30: Perry Watkins
Pioneering Military Activist
Perry J. Watkins was an African-American soldier who won a landmark lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of his military discharge due to his homosexuality.
Perry J. Watkins was an African-American soldier who won a landmark lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of his military discharge due to his homosexuality.
A victory was obtained in late February when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined that under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, sexual orientation discrimination is discrimination “because of… sex.”
In the second recent historic ruling coming out of South Carolina, a York County judge has convicted a gay man of domestic violence against his husband. The ruling establishes a precedent nationwide that same-sex couples are entitled to the same protection against abuse as heterosexual couples have.
The Department of Justice under Donald Trump has made an about-face from the Obama days of expanding transgender rights. Two days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was confirmed amidst heavy protest, the DOJ filed a brief that presents the first hint as to how the new administration will treat LGBTQ rights.
A federal judge will hear one of four court cases concerning House Bill 2 on Aug. 1 in Winston-Salem.