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."
Andrew Desiderio, Congressional Reporter for The Daily Beast, talks the GOP's passing of tax reform and the President's scoring his first major legislative win of his administration. We dig into what this means for the future of the GOP as we head into the 2018 and 2020 elections.
It's an early Christmas for Republicans. Tax reform has passed, which means the Obama-era individual mandate has officially been eliminated. Jacqueline Ayers, Director of Legislative Affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, joins Cheddar to discuss how the new bill will impact women's health.
Congressman Beto O'Rourke has represented Texas' 16th district since 2012. Now he is seeking out a new job in the Senate. He is running against Republican incumbent and former presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz, and he thinks that he can win.
Congressman O'Rourke is on a mission to visit all 254 counties in Texas to listen to constituents who want to see change in Washington. His Senate campaign has already raised more the Senator Cruz's campaign, and he is not accepting money from any special interests groups or super PACs. The congressman says Ted Cruz's popularity is below that of embattled Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who is an accused child molester.
Representative O'Rourke is confident he will beat Ted Cruz come November 2018. He views the Tax Bill and other Republican-passed legislation as an opportunity for Democrats to empower voters to get off of the sidelines and get involved with politics. The congressman says his race in Texas is not just important for the state, but critically important for the country.
After a procedural snafu last night, the House officially passed tax reform this morning. Now the bill goes to President Trump's desk to be signed into law.
Stitch Fix shares plunged after the company's first earnings report and the Senate passes tax reform. We also look a new interstellar object and what Patagonia's move in defiance of the president has meant for sales. Plus our weekly personal finance show "Your Cheddar," presented by Ally.
Early Wednesday morning the Senate passed its tax reform bill, hours after it was sent back to the House for a re-vote. Romina Boccia, Deputy Director at The Heritage Foundation, joins Cheddar to discuss how the bill will impact small companies and what she wishes was included in the legislation.
