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CPR Scholars Call for ‘Vigilant Advocacy’ to Protect LGBTQ Gains

The Center for Progressive Reform stands with all who are working to advance equity and equality for LGBTQ Americans. To commemorate Pride Month, we asked three CPR leaders to weigh in on progress in this area. Below, Board Member Laurie Ristino and Member Scholars Victor Flatt and Steph Tai offer their perspectives on progress made and work to do, as well as misperceptions about the LGBTQ community and lessons learned from past victories.

Laurie Ristino

Laurie Ristino

“Over the last several decades, LGBTQ rights have made serious progress, gains that require vigilant advocacy to retain and further equal justice for all LGBTQ people.  

“At the same time, the struggle for BIPOC rights continues. In America, we have simply failed to address racial injustice and inequity. What can we learn from the advocacy successes of the LGBTQ experience to move the dial forward so all Americans may enjoy the same rights, protections, and considerations?”

Ristino is a CPR Board member and Member Scholar. She is also founder of Strategies for a Sustainable Future, an environmental consulting firm.

Victor Flatt

Victor Flatt

“The rights of LGBTQ folks have come further and faster in the last 10 years than I could have anticipated in the late ‘80s, when I joined other law students in starting the National Lesbian and Gay Law Students Association. Building on the pioneers who came before us, we knew that law had a very important role in helping secure equality for all.

“However, even with important LGBTQ legal rights now recognized, so much remains to be done. Many people who identify as LGBTQ (especially young people) are vulnerable to crime and exploitation. A more equitable society with support systems would be a great help to them and to all the other vulnerable folk who still struggle.”

Flatt is a CPR Member Scholar and a professor of law at University of Houston Law Center.

Steph Tai

Steph Tai

“Courts and state legislatures are the battlegrounds for LGBTQ rights right now. Attention is needed to ensure that even the gains our community have made will not be eroded or lost.”

Tai is a CPR Member Scholar and a law professor at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

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Allison Stevens, Laurie Ristino, Maggie Dewane, Steph Tai, Victor Flatt | June 24, 2021

CPR Scholars Call for ‘Vigilant Advocacy’ to Protect LGBTQ Gains

The Center for Progressive Reform stands with all who are working to advance equity and equality for LGBTQ Americans. To commemorate Pride Month, we asked three CPR leaders to weigh in on progress in this area.

Robin Kundis Craig | June 16, 2021

Waters of the United States, 2021/2022 Edition, Part II

In the first part of this post, I briefly touched on the chaotic history of the EPA and Army Corps' definition and regulation of "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act. I also pointed out that this definition and its varying interpretations across courts and administrations can have significant impacts on water pollution prevention and the protection of our nation's waterways. With the Biden administration tackling a redo of the "waters of the United States" rule, court challenges are sure to follow. In this post, I'll explore three approaches to the rule that might help it survive judicial review.

Robin Kundis Craig | June 16, 2021

Waters of the United States, 2021/2022 Edition, Part I

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the regulations defining “waters of the United States” under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (better known as the Clean Water Act) are once again going to change. The importance of that announcement is best demonstrated through a quick recap of the chaos that has dominated this element of Clean Water Act jurisdiction.

Alina Gonzalez | June 15, 2021

Wind on the Water: Five Benefits of Offshore Wind Energy

Not long ago, the prospects of offshore wind energy seemed lofty, but the industry is finally taking off. As part of his efforts to combat climate change, President Biden has pledged to double offshore wind production by 2030. This commitment stems from the enormous benefits and potential that wind energy can provide as we transition to clean, sustainable energy.

James Goodwin | June 10, 2021

Department of Labor’s Emergency Temporary Standard Too Weak to Protect All Workers from COVID-19

The Labor Department’s emergency COVID standard, released June 10, is too limited and weak to effectively protect all workers from the ongoing pandemic. Workers justifiably expected an enforceable general industry standard to protect them from COVID-19, and the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) has been calling for such a standard since June 2020. But what emerged after more than six weeks of closed-door White House review was a largely unenforceable voluntary guidance document, with only health care workers receiving the benefit of an enforceable standard.

Daniel Farber | June 9, 2021

What Have We Learned from Recent Disasters?

Hurricanes Harvey and Maria. California wildfires. Superstorm Sandy. The great Texas blackout. The list goes on. These mega-events dramatize the need to improve our disaster response system. The trends are striking: escalating disaster impacts, more disaster clustering, more disaster cascades, and less predictability. We need to up our game. Lisa Grow Sun and I discuss the implications in a new paper, but here are a few of the key takeaways.

James Goodwin | June 9, 2021

CPR Scholars and Staff Back EPA’s Plan to Eliminate Trump ‘Benefits-Busting’ Rule

In addition to cleaning up our environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must also clean up the mess the Trump administration left behind. The Biden EPA recently took an important step in this direction by finalizing its plan to rescind a Trump-era rule that would drastically overhaul how it analyzes the rules it develops to implement the Clean Air Act. If implemented, Trump's "benefits-busting" rule would have sabotaged the effective and timely implementation of this popular and essential law, which protects the public from dangerous pollution that worsens asthma and causes other diseases. On June 9, the EPA held a public hearing to gather feedback on rescinding the rule. CPR Member Scholars Rebecca Bratspies and Amy Sinden joined me in testifying in support.

Clarissa Libertelli | June 8, 2021

Waiting for a Reckoning: Reflections on World Oceans Day, the BP Oil Spill, and Worker Safety

World Oceans Day marks a time to reflect on how our oceans connect to human and environmental health. This year’s theme of “Life and Livelihoods” comes at a time when our federal government is turning to energy jobs and climate justice. As the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 showed, the lives and livelihoods of millions are affected by how we manage ocean policy. Eleven years later, will policy adapt to prioritize human and environmental health over business?

Daniel Farber | June 7, 2021

The Turning Tide

Some events last week sent a strong signal that the tide is turning against fossil fuels. Each of the events standing alone would have been noteworthy. The clustering of these events dramatizes an important shift. To paraphrase Churchill, this may not be beginning of the end for fossil fuels, but at least it is the end of the beginning of the campaign against them.