Tagged: lgbt

The state Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments this week in cases involving school transfers and survivor's benefits for the gay partner of a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.

Both cases are to be argued before the high court Wednesday.

Cpl. Dennis Engelhard was killed in 2009 while investigating a Christmas Day accident on Interstate 44 southwest of St. Louis. His partner sued for survivor's benefits, but their 15-year relationship is not recognized by the state.

A Missouri House Representative is pushing for new school bullying policies. Representative Sue Allen’s House Bill 134 was heard at a public hearing this morning by the Committee for Elementary and Secondary Education.

The Truman State Board of Governors voted to add sexual orientation to their non-discrimination policy on Saturday.

The current human rights act in Missouri says, to discriminate against any person because of “race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, or familial status” is illegal, but it doesn’t cover gender identity and sexual orientation. It’s not just in Missouri, right now 29 states have no protections for sexual orientation and 34 have no discrimination protections for transgender individuals.

Aaron Malin is the co-founder of Missourians for Equality, an organization that is attempting to take the issue of employment and housing discrimination of LGBT members to a ballot in 2014. The proposal would be an amendment to the current legal definition of discrimination in Missouri.

LGBT Missourians are disproportionately impacted by various health problems according to the Missouri Foundation for Health’s August 2012 “Responding to LGBT Health Disparities” report. These statistics paint a picture of how LGBT Missourians experience the world.