POLICIES

Australians vote to vote on gay marriage.

Australian citizens will be asked where they stand on potential legalization of same-sex marriage in a non-binding mail-in vote, after lawmakers failed to pass legislation Wednesday to make it a national plebiscite vote issue in November.

BUSINESS

Many in the LGBT community still in the closet.

A new Canadian survey on the LGBT community suggests while just more than one-tenth of the population identifies as part of that group, many people are reluctant to tell others. More than half of the respondents who described themselves as LGBT said they have not come out to work colleagues, while just under half have not told their classmates. The findings are found in a survey that was commissioned on behalf of a Quebec foundation committed to fighting bullying, discrimination and violence.

POLICIES

Two lawsuits against the transgender troop ban.

Two LGBTQ rights groups are suing President Trump over his plan to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed a lawsuit on behalf of five transgender service members in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday.

POLICIES

Federal Bar Association embraces a LGBT law section.

Last year, the Federal Bar Association carved its own place in LGBT history with the formation of a law section specifically for that demographic. Since then, the LGBT Law Section has held various events to increase membership and visibility. The current chair is Chirag Badlani, of the Chicago firm Hughes Socol Piers Rensick & Dym, Ltd. He recently talked with Windy City Times about the organization and its mission.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Married on Sunday & fired on Monday.

Most countries that have enabled same-sex marriage had a ban on workplace discrimination against gay people first. Yet in the US, even though the US Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that gay people can get married, it has yet to rule that they cannot be fired for their sexual orientation.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Texas bathroom bill on the way to being flushed.

With little more than a week left in Texas’ 30-day special legislative session, a barrage of corporate advertising and activism has the potential to sink legislation restricting transgender bathroom use that has been a flash point in the state’s culture wars.