The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday that employers cannot discriminate in hiring due to a candidate's sexual or gender preference was a surprising revelation for many Americans, including Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD.
"It was groundbreaking. It was historic today," she told Cheddar.
Still, Ellis said this is just a small part of the rights challenges members of the LGBTQ community face.
"We're debating whether or not I can be fired from my job at the Supreme Court simply because I'm gay. It shouldn't even be a discussion," she said.
The historic decision came just days after the Trump administration rolled back healthcare protections for transgender people under the Affordable Care Act -- a move which Ellis said is in line with the president's broader dismissal of LGBTQ people throughout his term.
"This administration has attacked the LGBTQ community 150 times with both policy rollbacks and rhetoric since he's come into power," she said.
As demonstrators across the nation call for social justice and equality this June, Ellis said that it is important for Pride month supporters to remember where it started.
"Pride is a protest, and we need to be on the streets," she stated. "We have to go back to our roots this one. This Pride especially."
She noted that 14 members of the trans community have been violently killed so far this year.
In 2020, a year unlike any other with a pandemic canceling Pride celebrations and calls for social justice amplified throughout the nation, Ellis tasked people to come together now to force real change.
"Our community is our power. Our identity is our power," she said. "We need to be fighting for Black Lives Matter, for our trans community. We have to be standing up for each other right now, and we need to be locking arms as marginalized communities."
California Governor Gavin Newsom is projected to keep his job. Around two-thirds of the votes have been reported, and roughly 64% of those votes are in favor of keeping Newsom as their governor.
Daniel Strauss, senior political correspondent at The New Republic, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more about what Newsom's win means to both political parties moving into Midterm elections season.
The Department of Justice is suing Texas over the state's new abortion law that prohibits abortions after six weeks, well before many women even know they're pregnant. The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent. It was filed last week in federal court in Texas, but could go all the way to the high court within weeks. Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, discusses the DOJ lawsuit and what it could mean for other abortion laws across the country.
26 states have now fully vaccinated more than half of their population with Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts fully vaccinating at least two-thirds of their residents. These three states are among the ones with the lowest new Covid-19 cases per capita, but in states with low vaccination rates, hospitals are filling up again.
Dr. Rob Davidson, ER doctor and executive director of Committee to Protect Health Care, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more.
The Biden Administration has officially extended a ban on a Trump-era policy that prohibits traveling with a U.S. passport to North Korea. The extension is expected to last until August 2022. The ban was initially enforced after the death of Otto Warmbier, who entered a vegetative state while in North Korean custody. Advocates against the ban argue that it has caused crippling impacts on Korean Americans who have not been able to reunite with their families back home. Senior Fellow at The Foundation For Defense of Democracies Anthony Ruggiero joined Cheddar's News Wrap to discuss more.
