Quickies: Micro Aggressions, Discriminatory Laws, HIV Study

• “All the Little Things” – Irish drag queen and Person of the Year winner Panti Bliss gives an engaging TED talk on micro aggressions faced by LGBTs, much of which is applicable to other oppressed groups.
• “Group to Challenge DC Youth Conversion “Therapy” Ban – An ex-gay organization is seeking plaintiffs to challenge DC’s ban on so-called gay conversion “therapy” for youth. So far they haven’t found any families willing to sue for access to what is widely considered an extremely harmful practice. Maybe they’d have better luck with trepanning.
• Tiffany Features Gay Couple in Engagement Ring Ad – “Tiffany & Co. has featured a gay couple for the first time in it’s new wedding engagement campaign, and according to Elle, which announced the ad, the two men in the ad are an actual gay couple in New York, rather than merely models.”
• VA Bill Would Allow Discrimination – New bill introduced in the VA House would allow employees in hospitals, schools, any institution public or private, to refuse to perform services that would “violate the religious or moral conviction of such person with respect to same-sex ‘marriage’ or homosexual behavior.” This feels oppressive.
• Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Critisizes Russian Trans Driver Ban – By now you’ve probably read that Russia is banning “sexual deviants,” including transgender people, from driving. Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks called the ban “ridiculous and unlawful.”
• Saks Claims Right to Discriminate Against Trans Employee – After terminating a trans employee for not conforming to the gender forcibly assigned to her at birth, Saks claimed that transgender people are not protected under Title VII just days after Attorney General Holder stated that they were. However, that decision will have to be made by the courts.
• “STUDY: Scientists Train Immune System to Spot and Kill HIV, Could Lead to Vaccine” – “Luring dormant HIV out of hiding and destroying its last cure-defying holdouts has become the holy grail of HIV eradication, but several recent attempts to do so have failed. Now the findings of a Johns Hopkins-led study reveal why that is and offer a strategy that could form a blueprint for a therapeutic vaccine to eradicate lingering virus from the body.”
• “‘Sounds Of Sodomy’: Ireland Explodes In Laughter Over Anti-Gay Christian Campaign” – Ridiculous anti-gay ad in Ireland spawns #SoundsOfSodomy hashtag. – from Critical Dragon1177
• OR Medicaid Covers Transgender Treatments – OR Medicaid will now cover treatments such as hormone replacement therapy, hormone blockers, and gender confirmation surgery for people suffering from gender dysphoria. OR joins three other states in offering coverage for gender dysphoria.

Featured Image via Towleroad