REPORT: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT Americans | Advocate.com

A new report on the incarceration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans and how the nation’s criminal justice system treats LGBT people shows how they are disproportionately imprisoned and face abuse behind bars.

The study's authors, the Center for American Progress in conjunction with the Movement Advancement Project and in partnership with other groups, found that LGBT people are more likely than the average American to interact with law enforcement and to have their lives “criminalized” as a result of what the groups call “pervasive stigma and discrimination, biased enforcement of laws, and discriminatory policing strategies.”

“It used to be a crime to be LGBT in the United States,” said Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project. “And while police are no longer raiding gay bars, LGBT people, especially LGBT people of color, are still disproportionately pushed into the criminal justice system. They are treated unfairly within the system and in correctional settings, and face extraordinary challenges in rebuilding their lives."

The report delves deep into personal stories of LGBT people impacted by the failure of the U.S. criminal justice system to treat each inmate equitably and highlights that those identifying LGBT pay a higher price than others.  

REPORT: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT Americans | Advocate.com

Bill would ban 'conversion therapy' for gay teens - Florida Politics

Florida’s only openly gay lawmaker has filed a bill to outlaw conversion therapy, a treatment program usually to change one’s orientation from homosexual to heterosexual, on those under 18.

State Rep. David Richardson, a Miami Beach Democrat, filed his bill (HB 137) on Thursday.

The legislation would forbid anyone who does “professional counseling” to use conversion therapy on minors.

That includes “medical practitioners, osteopathic practitioners, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and licensed counselors.”

Following Richardson's lead, Florida may join California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and the District of Columbia in banning this barbaric practice.

State Sen. Jeff Clemens on Friday filed a Senate companion bill (SB 258) to a piece of House legislation that aims to outlaw sexual conversion therapy on patients under 18.

Bill would ban 'conversion therapy' for gay teens - Florida Politics

Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Next Big Fight For LGBT Rights - Towleroad

With marriage equality out of the way (minus a few exceptions), it’s no secret that religious exemption laws represent one of the next major battlegrounds in the struggle for LGBT equality.

Which means that if you haven’t already, this might be a good time to bone up on which states have these laws, how they work and why they pose such a grave threat to gay rights going forward.

The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) released a report today that serves as a good primer on the subject, and as you can see in the map reproduced above, the news is not so good.

The report shows that nearly half of LGBT Americans live in one of 21 states with broad religious exemption laws, and with new proposals likely this fall, those numbers may soon grow. Already, lawmakers in 17 states have introduced religious exemption proposals since the beginning of the year, largely in response to the spread of marriage equality.

Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Next Big Fight For LGBT Rights - Towleroad