Tag Archive for "discrimination"

Posts Tagged discrimination

CeCe McDonald pleads guilty to manslaughter

On June 5th of last year, there was a fight outside a bar in Minneapolis. Several people were involved, a few were injured, one was killed. Only one was arrested.

The person who was killed was a straight white cisgender man, and the person who was arrested was a young transgender woman of colour.

Around 12:30 am, CeCe was walking to the grocery store with some friends, all of them young, African American, and either queer or allied. As they passed a local bar, the Schooner Tavern, a group of older, white people who were standing outside the bar’s side door began hurling racist and transphobic slurs at them, without provocation. They called CeCe and her friends ‘faggots,’ ‘niggers,’ ...

On June 5th of last year, there was a fight outside a bar in Minneapolis. Several people were involved, a few were injured, one was killed. Only one was arrested.

The person who was killed was a straight ...

By Vanessa • 12 years ago

Ohio mom ousted as Boy Scout troop leader for being gay

Well, this is abhorrent:

On Tuesday night protesters gathered in front of a Bridgeport church to let their local Boy Scout leaders know how they felt about a controversial decision.

The controversy began just last week when a Tiger Scout leader had her membership revoked due to her sexual orientation.

Jennifer Tyrrell said she was the den leader for Pack 109’s Tiger Scouts for a year before her orientation became an issue. […]

[T]he Boy Scouts of America has a strict policy when it comes to sexual orientation and membership.

“We do not grant membership to individuals who are opened or avowed homosexuals,” said Bob Drury. Drury is the scout executive for the Ohio River Valley. Drury said there was no decision ...

Well, this is abhorrent:

On Tuesday night protesters gathered in front of a Bridgeport church to let their local Boy Scout leaders know how they felt about a controversial decision.

The controversy began just last week ...

By zerlina • 12 years ago

Rep. Steve King proves how much he sucks….again

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) really sucks. Apparently, when he’s not ranting about Muslims, he’s suggesting a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” approach for the workplace. Because you know that worked out great for the military (eyeroll).

Currently, there is no federal protection for LGBT employees to prevent being terminated from their job because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Rep. King was asked recently if business should be able to discriminate on who they hire or fire. According to Rep. King, the employee should simply “hide” it from the employer if that risk is there,

“You have private sector businesses here and they need to have freedom to operate [and unless] someone makes their sexuality public, it’s not ...

By Eesha Pandit • 12 years ago

Update: Miss Universe to allow trans woman back into pageant

Previously disqualified contestant, Jenna Talakova, will be allowed back into the international pageant according to a statement released late last night by the Miss Universe Organization.

In the statement, the Miss Universe Organization said Ms. Talackova can compete, provided “she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions.” The statement, however, did not elaborate on what the requirements were.

Ms. Talackova was one of 65 finalists selected to compete for the title of Miss Universe Canada, with the ultimate goal of representing her country in the international Miss Universe pageant.

But having been accused of lying about having had sexual reassignment surgery, the pageant authorities told her did not meet requirements for the pageant. ...

Previously disqualified contestant, Jenna Talakova, will be allowed back into the international pageant according to a statement released late last night by the Miss Universe Organization.

In the statement, the Miss Universe Organization said Ms. Talackova ...

By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Muslim employee sues Abercrombie & Fitch for religious discrimination

News broke on Friday that a Muslim employee of Abercrombie & Fitch will be suing the company because she was fired for refusing to remove her hijab at work. The San Mateo Patch reported:

The woman, who has not been identified, is a Muslim, and “she was told that her headscarf, though worn based on a religious mandate, was not in compliance with the company’s ‘look policy,’” said those representing her in the lawsuit. She worked at Hollister Co., a subsidiary of Abercrombie & Fitch, in 2009 and 2010.

Abercrombie & Fitch has a spectacularly bad track record on employee discrimination. In 2005, it was the defendant in a class action suit in which female employees alleged that they had ...

News broke on Friday that a Muslim employee of Abercrombie & Fitch will be suing the company because she was fired for refusing to remove her hijab at work. The San Mateo Patch reported:

The woman, who ...

By Vanessa • 12 years ago

Connecticut: They really ARE full of surprises

When one thinks of the state of Connecticut, there’s often a semi-boring vision that arises: lots of colonial houses, Yale University, George W. Bush was born there — as was Foxwoods Casino. But not only is the state becoming more diverse in population and geography, but has been pretty bad-ass when it comes to progressive legislation — hello, gay marriage! — but also this week in particular.

Saturday morning, the state senate voted for final approval of legislation that will protect people from being discriminated against in the workplace or while seeking housing or obtaining credit based on gender identity and expression. I love what Sen. Eric Coleman, co-chairman of the legislature’s judiciary committee, had ...

By Samhita • 12 years ago

Southwest tells another person they are ‘too fat to fly.’

I recently traveled to Panama for a much needed vacation and on my way back, my friend and I were sitting next to each other in seats neither one of us could comfortably fit in. I was hanging off my seat into the aisle (which of course led to the stewardess constantly going ‘EXCUSE me’) and my friend actually had sore arms from having to hold them up so as not to infringe on her neighbors space. We were too big for our seats and it made the ride mildly humiliating, uncomfortable and frankly, annoying.

And we got off relatively unscathed. No one made a direct fuss about our size, probably because we can pass as “average” and if asked people ...

I recently traveled to Panama for a much needed vacation and on my way back, my friend and I were sitting next to each other in seats neither one of us could comfortably fit in. I was ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 13 years ago

Wal-mart gender discrimination case reaches Supreme Court today

Today, the Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in Dukes vs. Wal-mart, the gender discrimination lawsuit against Wal-mart. At stake is whether the case can continue as a class-action suit–that is, whether the plaintiffs in the case can represent over a million more women who worked for the company since 1998.

At Slate, Richard Thompson Ford explains why this case is so important–and why class action suits are so vital to enforcing non-discrimination laws.

“Most of the women in the Dukes class action would never bring an individual lawsuit. Proving individual discrimination is hard. Even if the statistics prove that Wal-Mart discriminated against a lot of women, very few would be able ...