The head of an LGBTQ rights group in Ukraine has fled the country’s capital.
Insight Chair Olena Shevchenko on March 10 left her home in Kyiv and evacuated to Lviv, a city in western Ukraine that is close to the country’s border with Poland.
Shevchenko on Tuesday told the Washington Blade that she fled Kyiv because of the “bombings, the absence of working possibilities, medicines and some food as well.” Shevchenko said she continues to work to help LGBTQ Ukrainians who remain trapped in Kyiv and in other cities that Russian forces continue to attack.
“(It’s) pretty hard,” Shevchenko told the Blade. “I think I’m almost at my limits.”
Shevchenko wrote an op-ed that the Blade published on Feb. 24, the same day that Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
“Our activists from the LGBTQI+ communities are staying and keep working, providing support to the most marginalized ones,” wrote Shevchenko. “Honestly, I don’t know how long we will be able to resist, but we will do our best for sure.”
Shevchenko in her op-ed acknowledged concerns that Russia may target LGBTQ Ukrainians and other groups if it were to gain control of the country.
Magomed Tushayev, a Chechen warlord who played a role in the anti-LGBTQ crackdown in his homeland, died on Feb. 26 during a skirmish with the Ukrainian military’s elite Alpha Group outside of Kyiv. A White House official the day earlier told the Blade that the Biden administration has “engaged directly” with LGBTQ Ukrainians and other vulnerable populations.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova, his Ukrainian colleague, died on Monday outside of Kyiv when their vehicle was attacked. The same incident left Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall injured.
Brent Renaud, an American journalist and filmmaker, died in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on Sunday after Russian forces attacked his car and shot him in the head. The New York Times reported the same attack left Juan Arredondo, a photographer and professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, injured.
LGBTQ groups continue to raise funds for Ukraine counterparts
Shevchenko on Tuesday told the Blade that Insight has raised $51,000 since the invasion began.
OutRight Action International on its website says the fund it launched to support LGBTQ rights groups in Ukraine has raised more than $525,000.
Pride organizations across Europe have donated $54,862.45 (€50,000) to Ukrainian advocacy organizations. Prague Pride has worked with Alturi, a group that promotes global engagement on LGBTQ issues, to raise more than $12,000 to support groups inside Ukraine and to provide assistance to LGBTQ Ukrainians who reach the Czech Republic.
“While the situation is grim we can offer hope to our LGBTI family in Ukraine,” says Alturi on its website.
Putin’s war in Ukraine is part of a mission to turn back the clock to the Soviet era – a prospect that terrifies LGBT+ Russians.
Maria, an LGBT+ activist in Russia whose name has been changed to protect her identity, says queer people have been fleeing her country since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine – which many agree is all part of a terrifying quest to bring Russia back to its former dominance.
That vision, she says, does not include LGBT+ people.
When Maria speaks to PinkNews over Zoom, she’s quick to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a war. That shouldn’t come as a surprise – it is a war, but Russia has remained adamant that it’s a “special operation”. The government is so committed to that lie that it’s even made calling it a war a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
“According to Russian law, we are required to call it a ‘special operation’,” Maria says with palpable anxiety. “If we talk about real human casualties, it’s treason.”
That’s why Maria doesn’t want to use her real name. She knows that speaking out is the morally right thing to do, but she also knows that queer Russian people are counting on her to be there to help them. She needs to protect herself.
Russia banned what it called “gay propaganda” in 2014, which prohibits the “promotion” of homosexuality. It wasn’t the first – or last – government attack on LGBT+ people. In 2020 Russia attempted (but failed) to legally erase trans people. The following year it solidified a ban on same-sex marriage. Violence against LGBT+ people is widespread, and Russia has been complicit in the so-called gay purges in Chechnya, in which dozens have been abducted, tortured and killed.
Still, activists like Maria have stayed put, working hard to change society and to bring about a better tomorrow for queer Russians.
“I think LGBT+ people recognise that, if the system is getting oppressive, that probably means they’re going to come after minority groups, vulnerable groups,” Maria explains. “We don’t know if tomorrow we’re going to wake up in a world where it’s back to before the 90s where LGBT+ relations are punishable by the law and criminal again. I think people are fearful of that and that’s why they’re leaving.”
The problem is that many are leaving in a state of panic, meaning they’re not putting in place the right supports beforehand.
“They don’t know that, for example, once they leave Russia, their Russian bank cards are not going to work, so they’re without money and they’re away from their financial resources and they don’t know where to go,” Maria explains. “Even if you leave the country, if you have no registration someplace else, if you have no nationality of another country, the most you can stay someplace is three months, half a year – what’s next?”
The situation has become so bad that Maria is considering setting up a shelter for LGBT+ Russians who are fleeing the country abroad – however, most of her efforts right now are focused on helping LGBT+ Ukrainians.
She’s starting to wonder how she can continue her work in Russia and how she can continue to advocate for her community in a country that is increasingly oppressive.
“At times I feel desperate because I don’t believe it’s possible to be an LGBT+ activist in Russia anymore,” she says.
She knows other activists who have already fled because their partners are male and they fear that they could be drafted to fight in a war they oppose. “They felt it necessary to leave the country so they don’t serve the aggressive regime.”
Russian propaganda is obscuring the truth about Ukraine
The entire thing is made even more complicated by just how sophisticated Russian propaganda is. The free media has been stifled in the country, and most people take at face value the state-sanctioned information they’re receiving.
The country has now been blocked from accessing Facebook and Instagram, meaning reliable information is even harder to come by for Russian people. Because most people are consuming propaganda, many are under the illusion that Russia is “protecting” the Ukrainian people, Maria explains.
“Most of the Russian population thinks that we’re not harming anyone who’s peaceful, that there are no human casualties, that the Russian military is only targeting military objects in Ukraine and that this is all with the good intention of ‘freeing’ the people of Ukraine of ‘nationalistic’ and ‘pro-Nazi’ people,” she says. “It sounds so twisted it’s almost unbelievable, but that’s what people think.”
While Maria was shocked by the invasion – most people were, she says – with hindsight, she can see that it’s been a long time coming. For years, the Russian government has been working to bring the country back to a bygone era. The goalposts were clearly set when Russia banned “gay propaganda”. The government’s commitment to “traditional values” is intrinsically inked to Putin’s view that Russia has a rightful claim to Ukrainian territory.
“It’s this idea of, we are our own people, we have our own values, and we don’t need your values and democratic institutions. Going against International norms and regulations in this war against Ukraine is also part of it,” Maria continues. “Russia doesn’t care anymore – it has its own rules.
“The Kremlin is building this Russian values rhetoric, this anti-western rhetoric, and to set it apart from the rest of the world – to say, we’re different from the west, we follow our own values, we don’t have to be like the rest of them.”
Biden administration officials held a closed-door meeting Thursday with several Florida LGBTQ students and their families about the state’s so-called Don’t Say Gay bill, the Education Department said.
The legislation — officially named the Parental Rights in Education Act — would prohibit “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in Florida primary schools. Its passage in Florida’s House and Senate in recent weeks sparked national debate.
At Thursday’s virtual roundtable, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and the assistant secretary of health and human services for health, Dr. Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender Senate-confirmed federal official, reaffirmed support for LGBTQ youths and their families.
“Laws around the country, including in Florida, have targeted and sought to bully some of our most vulnerable students and families and create division in our schools,” Cardona said, according to a readout of the meeting. “My message to you is that this administration won’t stand for bullying or discrimination of any kind, and we will use our authorities to protect, support, and provide opportunities for LGBTQI+ students and all students.”
Proponents of the measure contend that it would give parents more discretion over what their children learn in school and say LGBTQ issues are “not age-appropriate” for young students.
Critics say the legislation would prevent youths and teachers from openly talking about themselves and their families.
“Being an LGBTQ student in Florida is already incredibly difficult due to bullying from fellow students and peers,” Miami high school student Javier Gomez said Thursday. “This legislation will compound this problem and make life even more difficult for LGBTQ students.”
The legislation would go into effect July 1 if it is signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as considering a run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination and has signaled his support for the measure several times.
Debate over state legislation that affects the LGBTQ community rarely leaves the halls of state capitols. But Florida’s Parental Rights in Education act — which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — has suddenly sparked a national war of words.
In recent weeks, leaders of global corporations, editorial boards of major newspapers and Hollywood actors have all weighed in on the proposed legislation, with some calling it “deeply disturbing” and others “noncontroversial.” Kate McKinnon ripped into the bill during a recent “Weekend Update” segment on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” The hosts of the ABC talk show “The View” mulled over the policy for more than seven minutes on air last month. And Bravo’s Andy Cohen dedicated a closing segment of “Watch What Happens Live” last week to slam the measure.
The bill has even prompted President Joe Biden — who has seldom weighed in on the recent slate of state bills concerning LGBTQ people — to use the bully pulpit of the White House to rebuke the Florida measure and its sponsors. The bill even appears to have caused a rift between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has said he supports the bill but hasn’t signed it yet, and Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
Supporters of HB 1557 say it would give parents greater control over their children’s education, vindicating their “parental authority.” Conversely, opponents say it would unfairly target the LGBTQ community — particularly gay and trans students — and is “pretending to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”
So, which is it?
For starters, criticism that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill does not in fact say “gay” anywhere in its text is true. The bill, which passedFlorida’s Senate last week and the state’s House of Representatives in February, does, however, contain the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” each twice.
But legal experts say that whether the bill prohibits the word “gay” itself is a “distraction.”
“In the same way that critical race theory isn’t being taught in schools, that hasn’t stopped people like the governor of Florida from deploying the term ‘critical race theory’ in efforts to engage in certain kinds of political maneuverings,” said Charlton Copeland, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law who writes about sexual orientation and gender identity. “The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ moniker is a moniker about a certain political framing of this situation.”https://iframe.nbcnews.com/OGojlsF?_showcaption=true
Beyond branding, a core argument over the bill centers around whether it would prohibit the “instruction” or “discussion” of sexual orientation.
The bill’s sponsors have emphatically stated that the bill would not prohibit students from talking about their LGBTQ families or bar classroom discussions about LGBTQ history, including events like the 2016 deadly attack on the Pulse nightclub, a gay club in Orlando. Instead, they argue that the bill would bar the “instruction” of sexual orientation or gender identity.
But the text says both.
In its preamble, the bill’s authors write that their aim is to prohibit “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity.” But later, the actual bill states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur.”
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“I could see why people are confused by that,” said Clay Calvert, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law who specializes in freedom of speech.
“I have no idea why that’s still left up there, but that’s not part of the binding legislation that DeSantis would sign,” Calvert added, referring to the word “discussion” in the bill’s preamble.
“Basically, all of that language is just telling us what the bill is about,” Calvert said, contending that the text in the bill’s preamble would have no real-life consequences.
Copeland disagreed.
“One of the things I would have told my students in the fall, when I taught them statutory interpretation, and one of the things that courts certainly do, is to look at the preamble to assess, ‘Well, what’s the scope of that term called ‘instruction?’” Copeland said. “And the preamble seems to have a conception of what is prohibited that is much broader when we might think of a cramped conception of ‘instruction.’”
He added, “A good lawyer in a local school district, a good lawyer in the state department of education is going to do exactly that.”
Regardless, it remains unclear what the “instruction” of sexual orientation or gender identity entails. A definition of that type of lesson is not in the bill’s text.
Without a clearer description, Calvert said, “teachers may legitimately fear being sued” for a wide variety of classroom instruction, including lessons concerning same-sex marriage or the history of the AIDS epidemic.
“If a student raises a question that is not part of the lesson plan or the instructional plan of a teacher, but that question ties to sexual orientation or gender identity, then what may the teacher say at that point?” Calvert said.
Calvert raised the prospect of answering a student’s question about how same-sex couples marry each other.
“Am I teaching about what the Constitution says in that case, or am I teaching about sexual orientation?” he asked.
The bill’s sponsors did not directly answer repeated queries to provide examples of “instruction” of sexual orientation or gender identity during House and Senate debate. When asked by a Democratic lawmaker to explain what the instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity would look like, Republican state Rep. Joe Harding, one of the bill’s sponsors, read the definition of the word “instruction” from what appeared to be a dictionary.
“Vagueness is deployed for certain purposes. People aren’t vague just because they’re ignorant; they’re not vague because they’re sloppy; they’re not vague because they’re lazy,” Copeland said. “Sometimes they’re intentionally vague to move the site of where the political fight is going to take place.”
Which age groups the bill would apply to has also sparked fierce debate in recent weeks.
The text states that teachings on sexual orientation or gender identity would be banned “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
Critics have said the language of this provision could open districts and educators to lawsuits from parents who believe any conversation about LGBTQ people or issues to be inappropriate, regardless of their child’s age.
Legal experts agree, but dispute that a parent’s interpretation of what is or isn’t “age appropriate” would hold up in court.
Nonetheless, Calvert said, “it remains to be seen what ‘age appropriate’ or ‘developmentally appropriate’ means,” according to the state.
A clause on the final page of the bill would require the Florida Department of Education to update state standards “in accordance with the requirements of this act” by June 30, 2023.
“The Department of Education has some leeway here to update and review its own standards about what is age appropriate, and then those will influence how this bill is actually implemented,” Calvert said. “In other words, it could stretch higher than third grade.”
Copeland added that the mere threat of lawsuits would complete the bill’s “work.”
“This kind of ever-present possibility of having to defend oneself, of a school district having to spend resources, will have its own chilling effects,” he said.
If signed by DeSantis, who is widely seen as eyeing a run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination and has signaled his support for the measure several times, the legislation will go into effect July 1.
A private Christian college in Oklahoma has come under fire for terminating a professor who says he was let go for bringing an LGBTQ guest speaker to his classroom.
O’Keefe’s lawyer, Kevin Jacobs, accused the school of discrimination and said the school unfairly disciplined the longtime professor.
“Letting students expect a world where you may be different is the message Mr. O’Keefe wanted his students to hear. That’s the message this speaker delivered, not an advocacy of gay rights,” Jacobs said in a statement to KFOR. “Unfortunately, that’s not permitted at Oklahoma Christian University today. It cost Mr. O’Keefe his job.”
The speaker that allegedly cost O’Keefe his job was a guest in his senior-level class The Business of Branding Yourself, where one of the topics addressed was “overcoming obstacles and developing resilience and character,” according to Jacobs’ statement. The openly gay speaker, the statement noted, was also an Oklahoma Christian University alumnus and was employed as an adjunct professor at the university for nearly 20 years.
In his statement, Jacobs said his client was still “evaluating all the options he has to address this unjustified and wrongful action.”
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Neither O’Keefe nor his lawyer immediately responded to requests for comment.
In an email to NBC News, the university shared a brief statement from Oklahoma Christian University lawyer Stephen Eck: “The decision to end employment was made after a thorough review process. The university will always put first the wellbeing of our students in every decision we make.”
The university also shared a link to its “mission, vision and values” statement, which read, in part: “We strive to treat our bodies with the honor due the temple of the Holy Spirit — honoring God’s plan that sexual relations be a part of a marriage between a man and a woman, dressing modestly and avoiding any self-destructive practices (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).”
Emily Thornton, a 2019 graduate of the university, said O’Keefe’s firing will be felt across the school community.
“He guides the students from start to finish,” she said, adding that he was invested in their success throughout their time at Oklahoma Christian University. “So losing him suddenly, those students are now abandoned.”
Thornton said when she was a student at Oklahoma Christian, LGBTQ students and allies were frequently targeted, with students facing the risk of expulsion for hosting LGBTQ meetings on campus. She said the school’s policies took a toll on the mental health of some of her LGBTQ classmates.
“It was tough watching some of my best friends go through that,” Thornton, 24, told NBC News. “They had a relationship with God and a relationship with someone of the same sex, and the school wasn’t accepting of that.”
“You have to give up one or the other if you’re at that school, and that’s not a decision that needs to be made, but it was being forced to be made,” she added.
Thornton also condemned the administration’s decision to fire O’Keefe as discriminatory.
“I wish they could look me in the eyes and tell me, ‘Because students are homosexual, we’re not going to accept them,’” she said. “What they’re doing is really telling the students straight up, ‘We discriminate. We don’t accept you. You’re not welcome here.’”
A 79-year-old woman has reasonable grounds to claim that a Maine assisted-living facility discriminated against her for being transgender when it rejected her as a potential resident, the Maine Human Rights Commission found.
The commission’s 3-2 vote on Monday sets in motion a process that could result in a lawsuit being filed against Sunrise Assisted Living in the town of Jonesport on a claim of violating state nondiscrimination law by denying Marie King’s application for residency.
King’s attorneys say the case has already made legal history as the nation’s first known discrimination complaint filed by a transgender person against a long-term care facility.
“This kind of discrimination against transgender people needing long-term care is far from an isolated incident, but it is also plainly illegal,” said Karen L. Loewy, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, which is not involved in the case.
In July 2021, a California appellate court struck down a portion of a 2017 state lawthat made it a misdemeanor for nursing home staff to deliberately and repeatedly misgender residents or use their former name — known in the trans community as “deadnaming.” The court found that this part of the law violated staff members’ right to free speech under the First Amendment. The California Supreme Court is reviewing the decision and may ultimately reverse it.
The California law has stood at the vanguard of a nascent movement in Democratic-controlled states to establish explicit legal protections against discrimination for LGBTQ seniors in nursing homes.
Long-term care homes that are specifically geared to welcome the nation’s more than 51 million LGBTQ seniors remain few and far between. But they have begun to crop up across the United States in recent years, including in Philadelphia, New York, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and San Diego.
Research indicates that trans seniors are more likely than their cisgender counterparts to require institutionalized care because they tend to have lower incomes, be in poorer healthand be more likely have severed ties from family members.
After King was admitted to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine, in the spring of 2021, a hospital social worker sought to place her in a long-term care facility, given her poor overall health.
According to the legal complaint filed with the state human rights commission in October, an administrator at Sunrise initially told the social worker that there were vacancies.
But after the administrator learned that King is transgender, she allegedly told the social worker that she was rejecting her application because she did not want to place her with a cisgender-woman roommate.
“Long-term care facilities need to understand that they’re going to have lesbian, gay and transgender residents or applicants,” said Chris Erchull, a staff attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders in Boston, the nonprofit firm representing King.
The human rights commission’s decision, Erchull said, “is a reminder to all assisted-living homes and other long-term care facilities that they have to treat people with respect, compassion and understanding.”
The commission will now attempt to resolve the dispute between King and Sunrise, and barring such a resolution the commission may then file suit against the facility on her behalf.
King’s attorneys also have the option of suing independently of the commission.
Sunrise’s attorney, John K. Hamer, declined to comment.
Contacted through her attorney in January, King stated in an email that she hopes her case “will open doors to a better understanding” of the needs of transgender people.
OUR LIVES MATTER THEATER COMPANY – Theater to Take Home presents “UNEARTHING THE SILENT RUMBLINGS,” a new play about fighting racism will be staged at Congregation Ner Shalom (The Old Cotati Cabaret) 85 La Plaza, Cotati
Saturday evening, April 2nd – 7pm Sunday matinee, April 3rd – 3pm Saturday evening, April 9th – 7pm Sunday matinee, April 10th – 3pm
(Depending on demand, a matinee may be added on Saturday April 9th)
This Black production consists of 4 short plays sure to stir the hearts and minds of the audience. It is an invitation to talk about race in a safe place. Included will be a facilitated conversation and discussion after the show.
The playwright is Dianna L. Grayer, PhD.
For tickets and contact information: https://ourlivesmatterthea.wixsite.com/our-lives-matter
Saturdays, March 20 and Ongoing — 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Old Courthouse Square — Santa Rosa
(Additional vigil locations, dates and times to be announced — watch for notices.)
Vigils hosted by a group of Sonoma County QuakersAll Welcome — Please Join Us For further information about this and future Quaker Vigils for Peace in Ukraine, contact Hubert at [email protected]
Today, the GLBT Historical Society celebrates the 37th anniversary of our first meeting, way back in 1985. This graphic contains an original button from the year that the society was founded, when we were known as the San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society. Since then, we have grown significantly, from a living room full of boxes to an international leader in the field of LGBTQ history, and one of the most important queer cultural institutions in the world.
Over the past 37 years we have provided material for innumerable books, documentaries, podcasts, artistic projects and more that explore a broad array of LGBTQ histories. And for the last 11 years, we have operated a museum that shares our history with more than 26,000 people annually.
We have already told thousands of stories, and we have so many more to tell!
You can help us keep our irreplaceable history alive for another 37 years by making a contribution today at glbthistory.org/donate. Plus, check out our anniversary auction, which runs until noon Pacific Time on Wednesday, March 30.
Visit our virtual anniversary auction to bid on the items below and dozens more! Every dollar spent in the auction helps us preserve and share LGBTQ history with people from around the world.
Photograph of Reel in the Closet World Premiere at the Castro Theater by Danny Nicoletta Danny Nicoletta is a photographer who began his career in 1975 as an intern to Crawford Barton (1943–1993), who was then a staff photographer for the U.S. national gay magazine The Advocate, among other publications.
Nicoletta’s work maps a romance with San Francisco history and its people, especially LGBTQ people and allies, and is built upon the shoulders of our elders and ancestors.
This print depicts the Castro Theater on June 21, 2015, the date of the world premiere of Reel in the Closet at the Frameline Film Festival.
The Ladder with Business Card signed by Phyllis Lyon The Daughters of Bilitis was the earliest organization for lesbians in the United States. Founded by Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin in San Francisco in 1955, the pioneering group published a monthly national magazine, The Ladder; organized coffee klatches; offered information and support; and worked to improve the legal and social status of lesbians.
Offered here is the February/March 1968 issue of The Ladder, with a cover designed by Elizabeth Chandler, and a business card signed by Phyllis Lyon.
Sinister Wisdom 49 Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal that publishes four issues each year. Publishing since 1976, Sinister Wisdom works to create a multicultural, multi-class lesbian space.
This issue of the journal talks about the ways we experience and perceive our own Lesbian bodies, and the anti-lesbian/lesbian-feminist backlash. The idea of a lesbian body can be a kind of a labyrinth—a series of chambers in which it is difficult to find our way, though we can hear her heartbeat through the walls.
Kinsey Sicks Promo Set They’re funny, they’re witty, they’ve got harmony that’s out of this world…they’re the Kinsey Sicks!
Own this promo set of Rachel, Winnie, Trixie, and Vaselina, the original cast of the Kinsey Sicks, a drag a cappella ensemble that bills itself as “America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet.”
Note: The GLBT Historical Society occasionally receives multiple copies of historic materials. This lot is one such duplicate—not a facsimile, but a historic original. The society has retained at least one vintage print of this publication for our permanent collection; unique items from the archives are never sold.
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, announced a slate of 2022 endorsements Thursday, ahead of the California Democratic Party convention.
The organization has endorsed progressive pro-equality champion Tina McKinnor in the April 5 special election to fill the vacancy in the current 62nd Assembly District following the resignation of Assemblymember Autumn Burke. McKinnor is a lifelong Democrat who has led efforts to advance civil rights and social justice in the California Legislature — including the successful push to pass Senator Steven Bradford’s SB 2 last year, which created a process for the decertification of law enforcement officers who engage in serious misconduct and illegally violate a person’s civil rights.
“Tina McKinnor is the pro-equality champion we need fighting for South LA in the California Assembly,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang. “Tina led the campaign against Proposition 8 in South Los Angeles in 2008, and now leads a multiracial, multifaith coalition in support of civil rights and social justice as Director of Civic Engagement for LA Voice — underscoring her longtime commitment to full, lived equality for LGBTQ+ Californians and the diverse communities to which we belong. Equality California is thrilled to support her campaign.”
Equality California also endorsed Aisha Wahab to replace Senator Bob Wieckowski, who is terming out this year, in the new Senate District 10. Wahab made headlines in 2018 as the first Afghan-American woman elected to public office in the United States. As Mayor Pro Tempore & City Councilmember of Hayward, Wahab has implemented policies that reduce economic inequality, expand homeownership opportunities, support small businesses, and strengthen safety nets for seniors, women, children and working families. As a City Councilmember, she voted for the City of Hayward to raise the PRIDE flag, requested that all human resources’ applications in the city have a nonbinary option and supported the creation of gender-neutral restrooms.
“Equality California is proud to support Aisha Wahab’s campaign for the California Senate,” said Hoang. “Aisha is a steadfast pro-equality champion and a committed advocate for civil rights, reproductive freedom, affordable housing and quality healthcare for all. We are confident that Aisha will be a champion for the LGBTQ+ community in Sacramento, and we look forward to working with her in the Senate.”
Additionally, the organization endorsed incumbent Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) for reelection in the new 16th, 44th and 42nd Assembly Districts, respectively.
“Assemblymembers Bauer-Kahan, Friedman and Irwin have been strong pro-equality champions in the Assembly, and we are proud to support their campaigns for re-election,” said Hoang. “We look forward to continuing our partnership as we strive to create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people.”
For a full list of Equality California’s 2022 endorsements to date, visit eqca.org/elections.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org