Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law on Friday a “religious freedom” bill enabling taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to deny placement into LGBTQ homes, marking the first time in 2018 a state anti-LGBTQ bill became law.
In a statement Friday, Fallin announced she signed Senate Bill 1140 into law “after many hours of consideration and investigation of Oklahoma’s current practice” amid a groundswell of opposition from LGBTQ rights supporters and child care agencies.
The Republican National Committee has approved a resolution in favor of President Trump’s effort to ban transgender people from the U.S. military, according to the Associated Press.
The RNC approved the resolution Friday at its annual winter meeting, which this year is taking place in West Virginia. Trump delivered remarks at the event this week before departing for Mar-a-Lago for the weekend.
Despite a first year of an administration marked by anti-LGBT policies, President Trump expressed support equality for LGBT people in a letter recently unveiled by Log Cabin Republicans.
The letter, dated Dec. 21 and made public this week by the LGBT Republican group, is signed by Trump and congratulates the organization on its 40th anniversary.
A new media report that the Trump administration is set to propose a rule that would allow medical providers to refuse abortion-related services or treatment for transgender people has invoked concern among both LGBT and women’s groups.
On Wednesday, Politico reported the Department of Health & Human Services is preparing a rule enabling its civil rights office to shield workers who refuse to provide abortion-related care and services to transgender people on religious grounds. The rule would reportedly allow HHS to punish organizations that don’t allow practitioners to express these objections.
ABOVE: Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann may run for U.S. Senate. Washington Blade file photos by Michael Key
Shakeups in the U.S. Senate led to news Tuesday that two prominent Republicans and former presidential candidates who have anti-LGBT records — Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann — may run in 2018.
Following passage of tax reform legislation, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced he’d retire after four decades in the Senate, opening the door for Mitt Romney, who had publicly mulled the idea of running for the seat.
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