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.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Feb. 26, 2021.Joe Raedle / Getty Images file
“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.
Florida Rep. Joe Harding during a legislative session on Jan. 13 in Tallahassee.Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP file
“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 hydroprose@comcast.net
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
LGBT+ activist Andriy Maymulakhin can hear gunfire in his home, which is located in a village just 50 kilometres from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Life since Russia invaded has been tense for Andriy, who serves as head of LGBT+ rights organisation the Nash Mir Centre, based in Kyiv. He’s separated from his boyfriend of 10 years, who is in western Ukraine. Two of his friends and one of their elderly parents are sheltering at his home.
Shortly after Russia launched its invasion, Nash Mir’s offices were raided and its employees assaulted. Those who attacked them were, surprisingly, Ukrainian – the raid points to just how high tensions are in the country.
“Our organisation is quite small, just five people in the group and about 12 activists across the country. I did not hear from anyone that he or she wants to leave the country. This is our country,” he says.
Like countless other Ukrainians, Andriy has been separated from his loved ones by war. His boyfriend is currently based in Lviv, where he has family, meaning the pair are now unable to see each other.
“We call each other every day, but still, it’s now impossible to join him. He says, ‘Oh I shall return’ – I say, ‘No, it is so dangerous.’”
LGBT+ people in Ukraine could be ‘exterminated’ under Russian rule
The invasion is devastating for the Ukrainian people and the war is destroying people’s lives. For the country’s LGBT+ community, the war has come as a shocking blow for a number of reasons. One of those is that things had been gradually improving for their community in Ukraine in recent years. If Russia were to exert control over their lives, they fear that those hard won freedoms would be under threat once more.
Hundreds of people who fled the war in Ukraine wait to enter the “Wardrobe of Good”, an initiative offering free clothes created in collaboration with IKEA, Strabag and Diverse on March 14, 2022 in Krakow, Poland. (Omar Marques/Getty)
“Since 2014, there has been significant progress on LGBT+ rights in Ukraine, and it is positive. We really are so different now from Russia,” Andriy says.
It is very likely that LGBT+ activists will end up on the lists for concentration camps or extermination.
“For example, five years ago, sociological reports said that 80 per cent of Ukrainians didn’t support LGBT+ people, or they at least don’t want to see LGBT+ Pride. Last year, the same question was asked and it was 56 per cent negative, so it is a significant increase in acceptance. We believe that there is slow but constant progress.”
Like many LGBT+ Ukrainians, the thoughts of Russian control in his country is alarming.
Refugees fleeing Ukraine arrive into Hungary at Zahony train station on March 14, 2022 in Zahony, Hungary. (Christopher Furlong/Getty)
“It is hard to imagine that we will have to come to terms with the so-called ‘Russian world’, its laws and morality, which are aimed against LGBT+ people,” he explained in an email. “It is very likely that LGBT+ activists will end up on the lists for concentration camps or extermination.”
Activists have expressed concern for the safety and wellbeing of LGBT+ Ukrainians
As of now, Andriy is relatively safe – he is still in Ukrainian controlled territory. If that changes, he will try to flee to western Ukraine so he can be with his boyfriend.
“I cannot imagine that I can live on a so-called ‘Russian road’. I shall die better.”
In Ukraine we’re asking other governments to support Ukraine in this very difficult time.
Plenty of people abroad are looking for ways they can help. Right now, Andriy says his organisation doesn’t need donations, although they’re always welcome. Support doesn’t need to be LGBT+ specific, he says.
“In Ukraine we’re asking other governments to support Ukraine in this very difficult time,” he says. “It’s not specific [to the LGBT+ community], but it is what I want to say.”
The war in Ukraine has continued to escalate since Russia launched its invasion in February. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), there have been 1,761 civilian casualties since war broke out, with 636 killed and 1,125 injured.
The human rights watchdog said the actual figures are likely considerably higher.
On Monday (14 March), Ukrainian officials said they had entered into another round of talks with Russia. Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian negotiator, posted online to say that the discussions were proving difficult because the political systems in Russia and Ukraine are so different.
International LGBT+ groups have expressed concern for queer people in Ukraine since the invasion started last month. Some trans women have been unable to get to safety because they have the wrong gender marker on their passports, while other queer people have been vocal about the impact any Russian influence could have on their rights and freedoms.
A married same-sex couple who is seeking permanent residency in Namibia received a partial victory from the country’s Supreme Court last week
The Supreme Court on March 7 presided over a permanent residency case involving Guillermo Delgado and the Home Affairs Ministry.
Delgado, a gay man from Mexico who married Namibian national Phillip Lühl eight years ago in South Africa, approached the Supreme Court last year after Namibia’s immigration officials ruled that their South African marriage did not qualify Delgado for residency in Namibia since the country does not recognize same-sex marriages.
The Home Affairs Ministry also did not consider the fact that Delgado had lived in the country for more than 10 years.
Although the Supreme Court ruled the government had discriminated against their residency application because one of the spouses is foreign-born and ordered the Home Affairs Ministry to review Delgado’s request for residency, his attorney Uno Katjipuka-Sibolile said it was just a lost cause that would eventually bring them back to the Supreme Court.
“Essentially by saying go back to Home Affairs you have to start afresh and we have outlined to the court how Home Affairs has been hostile towards Guillermo, Phillip and the entire family so going back to Home Affairs for what? We know they are going to reject the application except now they are going to pretend to have thought about it a little bit longer then you would have to institute a review application or something and eventually come to the Supreme Court it’s just a waste of time, a waste of money and a waste of energy to be quite frank.
We will just have to study the judgment but this is not what we wanted. The good part is that they recognized that Home Affairs really mistreated Guillermo and ordered punitive cost order like you would have heard they said cost on an attorney client scale so you appreciate that Home Affairs did something wrong but you are sending the person back to Home Affairs it makes no sense to me,” said Uno.
Delgado said he and Lühl they were going to do as the Supreme Court recommended, but nevertheless described it was a daunting task since he was going back to the same process that denied him the residency,
“I feel a little bit disappointed, the application had already been made. I made an application and they rejected it so they (the Supreme Court) are basically telling me I should apply again so it’s unclear to me why I should apply again, I suppose so that they can reject it again and then we are back to square one but there should be some explanation for the judgement,” said Delgado. “So, for now I will just reapply for my domicile and see how it goes.”
Namibia Women’s Diverse Association, a non-profit organization that works with LGBTQ Namibians, said although the Supreme Court judgment was non-fluid per se, it was a step towards ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“As we celebrate, we are cognizant that the journey to full recognition equality and equity shall be a struggle we are all prepared to advocate for, with no compromise of anyone’s rights,” said the Namibia Women’s Diverse Association in a statement.
A Namibian woman and her German partner, Elisabeth Frank, in 2001 sued to have their relationship recognized so that Frank could reside in Namibia.
The Immigration Board granted the residence permit, and the government appealed to the Supreme Court. The court ruled Frank should receive a permanent residence permit, which she received a year later, but it did not rule in favor of same-sex relationships.
Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is not banned in Namibia, and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Section 299 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 2004 includes references to sodomy or attempted sodomy charges.
Schedule 1 groups sodomy together with a list of other crimes for which the police are authorized to make an arrest without a warrant or to use of deadly force in the course of that arrest. Public displays of affection between two men can be considered “immoral” behavior, which is punishable under the Combating of Immoral Practices Act of 1980.
Daniel Itai is the Washington Blade’s Africa Correspondent.
