Chile’s Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar became the first two men to tie the knot in the South American country’s history on Thursday after a law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect.
In December, Congress approved legislation guaranteeing legal rights for same-sex couples in a milestone for the conservative nation after a decade-long battle by LGBTQ communities and rights groups.
“Being the first couple to get married in Chile for us is an honor, something to be proud of,” Silva told reporters after the civil ceremony. “We did it! It’s something we didn’t think could happen.”
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Silva and Nazar have been together for seven years and have two young children. They have had a civil union for the last three years, but marriage is a significant step forward for their whole family.
“Now our children have the same rights (as other families) and they will be able to have, we hope, a better future, that they will not be discriminated against for having two parents who love each other,” Silva added.
Chilean couple Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar prepare their daughter to take a nap, a day before their wedding, as the same-sex marriage law goes into effect in Santiago, Chile, on March 9, 2022.Ivan Alvarado / Reuters
Despite its long conservative tradition, Chile has been making progress in recent years in recognizing LGBTQ rights.
“My congratulations to Jaime and Javier for being the first couple to marry under the new #EqualMarriage law. To continue advancing for a Chile with equal rights and freedoms for all people,” President-elect Gabriel Boric, who takes office on Friday, said on Twitter.
Same-sex marriage legislation was first discussed in 2017 and pushed by former President Michelle Bachelet, but was delayed until last year.
Before that, starting in 2015, same-sex couples were able register a Civil Union Agreement (AUC), which allowed some legal benefits.
“I think we’re putting ourselves at the level the rest of the world is living in, which is great,” Nazar said. “I know our society is very conservative, but I also know we have a promising future as a country.”
The Idaho House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation to make it a crime punishable by life in prison for a parent to seek out gender-affirming health care for their transgender child.
Idaho Rep. Bruce Skaug, the Republican sponsor of the bill, said Tuesday on the floor of the Legislature that his proposal is necessary because minors are too young to make life-altering decisions about their bodies.
Skaug did not respond to requests for comment. The bill cleared the Idaho House by a vote of 55-13 on Tuesday. It now heads to the Idaho Senate, where Republicans hold a 28-to-7 majority over Democrats.
Days before a key legislative deadline, Georgia Republican state senators introduced a proposal modeled after Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that aims to deter teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. Senate Bill 613 stands little chance of passing this late in the legislative session, though its provisions could be spliced onto other proposals that have already gained traction.
Senior Republicans indicated that wouldn’t happen. Still, even if it is destined for the dustbin, the measure’s mere existence means it could be used as grist to energize conservatives on the campaign trail. Among its 10 co-sponsors are two candidates for higher office: Bruce Thompson, who is running for labor commissioner, and Burt Jones, who would be president of the state Senate if he’s elected lieutenant governor.
Thompson found himself in the national news early in the pandemic when he checked himself out of the hospital and broke quarantine to vacation at his Florida beach home.
The “free state” of Florida, you may recall, was turning away cars arriving from areas with high rates of coronavirus, which at the time included Thompson’s home county.
Julia Maciocha is exhausted – she’s been keeping busy making sure trans people in Ukraine can still access medication even as war breaks out across the country.
It’s an all-consuming job, but Julia – who serves as chairwoman of Warsaw Pride in Poland – didn’t have to think twice about doing it. Like many other LGBT+ people, she has watched in horror over the last couple of weeks as Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing war and prompting a mass exodus in the process. So far, two million people have fled Ukraine, with half of those crossing the border into Poland.
Julia and the Polish LGBT+ activists she works with at Warsaw Pride quickly leapt into action. They knew there was a great deal of work to be done, from arranging suitable, safe housing for queer people crossing the border to organising much-needed medication for those who remain in Ukraine.
These are the everyday realities of war that most people don’t think about. At the end of the day, trans people will still need hormones and those with HIV will still need access to antiretroviral drugs. Air strikes and curfews have made those things most of us take for granted an impossibility for queer Ukrainians.
LGBT+ people who remain in Ukraine still need access to medical supplies
“I look like s**t,” a tired-looking Julia jokes when we speak over Zoom. She and other activists involved with Warsaw Pride learned over the weekend that they could transport vital medical supplies to LGBT+ people in Ukraine. They worked tirelessly through the weekend to get supplies together, which they did with some help from Fundacja Interakcja, a Polish foundation that helps intersex people.
Finally, on Monday night (7 March), they sent the medical supplies to Ukraine. Dedicating themselves to the task has helped Julia and other Polish activists feel useful in a difficult, turbulent time.
Julia Maciocha at Warsaw Pride. (Provided)
“This is something that I feel is helpful to get through – we have a task, we are doing it, we are not thinking too much about it,” Julia says.
“If somebody is crossing the border and is already in Poland then we can do everything, but we still have people in Ukraine who don’t want to leave or who can’t leave. They need food, they need medical supplies, they need their basic needs to be met.”
It just hurts to know that they could be hurt at any time.
For Julia, their efforts to help out Ukraine’s LGBT+ community is at the very core of what the Pride movement means. The activists involved with Warsaw Pride have worked closely with Kyiv Pride for some time, and Julia considers them friends. She becomes emotional when asked what it felt like to wake up on 24 February to the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
“I’m always crying when I think about it,” she says. “I still have friends there. I have friends who have decided to stay – I understand their decision, they’re doing amazing work, but it just hurts to know that they could be hurt at any time. They are struggling so much.”
Many queer Ukrainians won’t want to stay in Poland because of the country’s homophobia
While some queer Ukrainians have decided to stay, others have made the difficult journey to safety in Poland. The country has won praise from governments across the world for its open-armed approach to Ukrainian refugees, but Julia points out that the country is also one of the most homophobic places in Europe. That presents challenges when finding safe accommodation for LGBT+ refugees.
“I know that right now, any Polish person is opening their hearts to anyone, but it’s still not an ideal position for LGBTQ people to feel safe,” Julia explains. “We want to house them with people that understand their needs and their struggles. We want to focus on help that is sensitive to the needs of LGBTQ people. Right now, people are in huge trauma, they don’t know what to do, they’re in shock.”
Because of the trauma they’ve been through, many of those crossing the border are struggling to adjust, Julia says.
Refugees from Ukraine line up to get in to Poland on border crossing in Medyka, in eastern Poland on February 28, 2022. (WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty)
“They still can’t believe that everything here is given to them for free,” she says. “They can’t believe that they can get housing for free, food, clothes, everything. I’m also surprised that my society, my community in Poland, has decided to help them so much.”
Most refugees are just trying to hold it all together, Julia says – but that’s not easy when you find yourself plunged into uncertainty in a new country, away from family and friends.
I don’t think [Poland] is a great place to stay and to start a new life or to continue living
“I would say that most of these people are just trying to survive the day. Most of them are sleeping for at least two days after staying at the border. It’s very cold – at the beginning there was no humanitarian aid on the side of Ukraine so many people had to stand there for two days without food, without water. Right now we are focusing on giving them time to rest and then we will figure things out.”
The long term outlook is uncertain. Julia anticipates that many of the LGBT+ Ukrainians crossing the border won’t want to stay in Poland long term because of the country’s troubling lurch into homophobia and transphobia in recent years.
“We are in contact with other neighbouring countries to provide them with support after they leave our country. It’s wonderful what Poland is doing now for people, but we still have to remember that we are the most homophobic country on the ILGA ranking, so I don’t think it’s a great place to stay and to start a new life or to continue living.”
Long term solutions are needed if Ukrainian refugees are to be adequately cared for
Poland has won praise from the likes of the United Nations and from Pope Francis over the last couple of weeks for welcoming Ukrainians who are fleeing war with open arms. Julia isn’t “proud” of her country – she doesn’t believe in “countryism”, but she says she is proud of Polish society for responding in the way it has.
“To see ordinary people spending their weekends driving people from the border or spending their evenings making sandwiches for people coming to our cities is beautiful, but we have to remember that it isn’t going to be enough.”
This aerial picture taken on February 28, 2022 shows cars stuck in traffic as families fleeing the conflict drive towards the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing between Ukraine and Poland. (DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty)
Julia says the Polish government needs to “step up” and put in place systems to cater correctly for Ukrainian refugees.
“This is not something society can do. We need our government to step up, and right now our government is just taking praise from the leaders of other countries.
“I’m really proud of Poles, I’m proud of all my friends that are hosting people, that are spending their time volunteering, but I wouldn’t say I’m proud of the country.”
An organization that provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to thousands of young LGBTQ people in the United States announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its services to Mexico.
The Trevor Project — named after “Trevor,” an Academy Award-winning short film about a gay teenager who attempts suicide — estimates that more than 745,000 Mexico-based LGBTQ youths ages 13 to 24 are in crisis each year, though it notes that figure is a rough approximation due to the “severe lack of data.” It also estimates that over 40 million queer youths worldwide seriously consider suicide annually.
To counter the harrowing numbers, the group said that it will offer its round-the-clock digital services — including text and online chat suicide prevention and crisis services — for LGBTQ youths in Mexico by the end of 2022. The expansion into the U.S.’s southern neighbor is the first time the group will offer its services abroad since its founding in 1998.
“LGBTQ young people everywhere deserve not just to survive, but to thrive,” The Trevor Project CEO Amit Paley said. “We don’t think that just because you happen to have been born in one country that means you are more or less deserving of critical, lifesaving services and affirmation.”
The nonprofit has been pivotal in providing LGBTQ youths in the U.S. with mental health services, where it estimates 42 percent of LGBTQ youths and more than half of trans youth seriously considered suicide last year.
It hopes to replicate its efforts in Mexico, where its services will be available in Spanish, in addition to English. The group also said in a statement that it will be collaborating with local organizations throughout the country “to build on the progress they’ve already made.”
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LGBTQ rights have had several advancements in Mexico within the last two decades.
In 2009, Mexico City became the first city in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. Since then, same-sex marriage has been legalized in at least a dozen of Mexico’s 32 states, according to the international advocacy group Human Rights Watch.
And beyond same-sex marriage, 19 Mexican states also have legal gender recognition procedures, allowing individuals to change their gender identity on their official documents, according to the advocacy organization.
However, Cristian González Cabrera, who researches LGBTQ rights in Latin America for Human Rights Watch, said there’s still “a lot to be done” and that The Trevor Project’s expansion in Mexico will be “very welcome.”
“Legal advances don’t always translate to social or lived progress for LGBTQ people in the region,” Cabrera said. “Mexico remains a conservative country in certain aspects and regions, and LGBTQ people continue to experience all sorts of discrimination in all sectors of life, whether that’s education, health care, in the job market, et cetera.”
Research has also shown that LGBTQ people living in Mexico are more prone to violence.
At least 79 LGBTQ people were killed in Mexico in 2020, more than six a month, according to the Mexican LGBTQ rights group Letra Ese.
Through its research in the United States, The Trevor Project has also found that LGBTQ youths who reported having at least one LGBTQ-affirming space had lower rates of suicide attempts.
The group hopes that by expanding its services to Mexico, it can help to create supportive spaces for the country’s LGBTQ youths and save lives as a result, Paley said.
“Mexico is going to be the first country we’re launching in, but it will not be the last,” he said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Brittney Griner remains in custody in Russia, with the country’s state-owned media releasing new images of the WNBA star.
News broke over the weekend that Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medallist, was arrested in February after customs officials allegedly detected hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.
Amid growing concern for her wellbeing and continued calls for her release, Russian state TV broadcast a photograph of the out athlete in custody holding up a piece of paper.
The image, which was released on Tuesday (8 March), was too blurred to be able to make out what was written on the paper.
The Russian Federal Customs Services released a statement claiming that officials detained Brittney Griner in February for possession of vape cartridges that contained hashish oil.
It also released a video that showed airport security workers searching the luggage of a passenger, who was later identified as Griner.
The customs service said a criminal case has been opened, and Griner could face up to 10 years in a Russian prison if convicted.
Brittney Griner had been playing for the Moscow team UMMC Ekaterinburg and was reportedly earning $1.5 million (£1.1 million) for the off-season – six times her WNBA salary with the Phoenix Mercury.
The exact date of her arrest remains unclear and it is still unknown where the star is now.
“If we want her out of jail, Russia is going to have some terms,” said Evelyn Farkas, who served as the US deputy assistant secretary of defence for Russia and Ukraine from 2012 to 2015. “It could be a prisoner swap. They also could use it as an implicit threat or blackmail to get us to do something or not do something. Either way, they find it useful.”
Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is among those calling for Griner’s swift release.
“We know that there were some issues dealing with vape cartridges and other items but let me be very clear,” said Lee, who represents Griner’s hometown of Houston, Texas, in the House of Representatives. “Brittney Griner is a United States citizen, she was a guest in Russia … and I will be demanding her release.”
Lee added that Russia’s actions in Ukraine undermined its authority, saying: “I don’t want to disregard a sovereign nation but Putin has disregarded sovereign nations his entire service in this world.
“Anyone that is killing and attacking and destroying Ukraine, a neighbouring country that is not bothering them, has no right to hold Ms Griner. Period.”
According to the Associated Press, Griner has played professional basketball in Russia for the last seven years.
She played for her Russian team the UMMC Ekaterinburg on 29 January before the league had a two-week break in early February.
Over a dozen WNBA players have played in Russia and Ukraine this winter, and the WNBA confirmed that all players besides Griner had left both countries.
News of Brittney Griner’s detainment comes as the US placed sanctions on Russia after Putin ordered his forces to invade Ukraine last month.
Marin’s LGBTQ Seniors have a special relationship with Dana and not only because his recent birthday made him a senior. Many of us remember the way things were before he became Interim Executive Director and later Executive Director, when senior issues were ignored. Along with the advocacy of the Senior Advisory Committee, Dana met with seniors repeatedly and made The Spahr Center a welcoming place for us. And he responded immediately to the sheltering-in-place orders two years ago, creating more programming to keep us connected. There’s a big agency-wide celebration of Dana and the Spahr Center’s new ED, Adrian Shanker, on April 14th that I encourage everyone to attend. Our Senior Send-off on March 8 will be a time for us to talk with him more personally and appreciate all he has done to create meaningful community among us. March 8“Second Tuesday”at Mgt. Todd Senior Center To all those who miss being together in our discussion groups, please consider coming back! We’ll do our very best to make a safe space for you. First-timers welcome as well! Hill Community RoomA bigger space behind main building (see map below)Margaret Todd Senior Center1560 Hill Road, Novato 94947 Arrive 12:30 or after:feel free to bring your lunch. Discussion 1 to 2:30 pm Proof of vaccination required.Masks on when not eating, drinking, or speaking to the group. Some people may not be open to hugging;elbow bumps may be preferable.Be sensitive to each other as you approach, and declare your safety zone. Dress warmly, doors and windows will be open for safety. We’ll be spread out through the large room and use a new speaker system so we can all hear each other. If you would like to get a ride or share a ride to the event, please let me know:bblackburn@thespahrcenter.org
To be clear: We’re committed to continuing our zoom groups because many of us cannot join in person due to health or distance or disability. Community for All!
Roster of LGBTQ Seniors Last call for entries! A year ago, we invited people to join a roster of seniors to help us all stay in touch during the pandemic. Thirty of us sent in the contact information we wanted listed as well as our interests we wished to have included. Everyone included their email address, most listed their phone number, and interests varied from live theater to vintage autos, hiking to yoga, painting to music composition, reading to cooking to photography and beyond. If you would like to join the roster or update your information, please send an email to me with the word Roster in the subject line. And let me know what information you want included in your listing. The roster will only be distributed among those who are listed. bblackburn@thespahrcenter.org
UPCOMING EVENTS(more info below) March 8 Senior Send-off of DanaIn-Person Second Tuesday at Mgt. Todd March 8 Birthday Celebration on zoom* March 10Readings for Each Other March 15 Games Day at Sam’s Place* March 17 Breakfast Club at Sam’s Place* March 29 Women’s Coffee at Sam’s Place* *Social Committee event, registration requiredby emailing them at socialcommittee@comcast.net
To join the Spahr Senior Groupon ZoomMondays, 7 to 8 pm, &Thursdays, 12:30 to 2 pm,click the purple button below the Butterfly Heart or here:
New participants are warmly welcomed!If you’re zoom-challenged, let me know and I’ll work with you!
Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm March 10 Readings for Each OtherDo you have a poem or short reading you especially love that you would be willing to share with us? Perhaps it’s something you have written; if so, you would get bonus points but we’re not assigning points, just entertaining and perhaps inspiring each other. Maybe your selection would be by Sappho or Whitman, Stein or Wilde, Mary Oliver, Alice Walker or James Baldwin. Writings by non-LGBTQ+ writers are welcome as well – there’s actually some good ones. Whatever your choice, the idea is to share writings that have touched your heart or expanded your mind. We also need people to just listen, there will be no pressure to read. If we have time, we’ll also talk about writers that have inspired us and discover if there is a writer hiding within.
Living Room Mondays7 to 8 pm We share with each other about how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening from our hearts and deepening community.
Coronavirus Updates The Spahr Center has coronavirus rapid home test kits and they are available for free in the office – 150 Nellen Avenue, Suite 100, Corte Madera 94925; 415/457-2487. The office is open 10 am – 3 pm weekdays. Only vaccinated people may come to the office and masks must be worn inside the building. Any staff person can direct you to the kits. This is a great resource we are pleased to offer, please don’t hesitate to get these kits! You can order your free at-home covid tests from the USPS by filling in the form here. In order to keep track of new infections, the County asks that we report self-test resultshere. To see Marin County’s latest pandemic information, click here. The mask recommendations of the Mask Nerd– an aerosol scientist who studies mask effectiveness – are featured in this article and highly informative video. May we all be safe and well!
Community Notices
Social Security Opens to Survivors of Same-Sex Couples Who Could Not MarryThe Social Security Administration now allows lesbians and gay men to receive survivor’s benefits if we can show that we were in a committed relationship and would have married had that been possible. More information here.
The Spahr Center’s Food Pantryis open to seniors who need support in meeting their nutrition needs. We want to help! Items such as fresh meats, eggs and dairy, prepared meals, pasta, sauces, and canned goods are delivered weekly to people who sign up. Contact The Spahr Center for more information: info@thespahrcenter.org or 415/457-2487
The Social Committee has been consistently offering fun events to offset the boredom of the pandemic. Everyone born in any month will be celebrated on the second Tuesday of that month – including your birthday if you’ll let them know when it rolls around! It happens this month March 8 @ 4 pm. Games Day is March 15 at 3 pm, the Breakfast Club9:30 March 17, and the Women’s Coffee, 10 am March 29, will all be held at Sam’s Place in Novato. They request that participants please be vaccinated and healthy. Please register ahead of time as participation is limited to 20 people. To see their calendar & flyers for March, click here. To sign up for their emails or register for events, clickhere.
Vivalon Resources for Seniors Whistlestop, now renamed Vivalon, offers many resources for us seniors, now listed in this easy-to-print one-page guide. Access to rides, food, classes, activities, resources, referrals, and more. Membership not required for most classes and services during the pandemic. Some in-person events are being planned. To get Vivalon’s listings, click here. They also provide access to resources including rides for older adults. Please note: there is a 3-week registration process for the ride program so register now if you think you may need rides in the future. Click here for their website.
Building Community in the Midst of Sheltering-in-PlaceSee old friends and make new ones! Join us!The Spahr Center’s LGBT Senior Discussion Groupscontinue everyMonday, 7 to 8 pm& Thursday, 12:30 to 2 pm on zoom
To Join Group by Video using Computer, Smart Phone or TabletJust click this button at the start time, 6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:Join GroupAlways the same link! Try it, it’s easy!
To Join Group by Phone CallIf you don’t have internet connections or prefer joining by phone,call the following number at the start time,6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:1-669-900-6833The Meeting id is 820 7368 6606#(no participant id required)The password, if requested, is 135296# If you want to be called into the group by phone, notify Bill Blackburn at 415/450-5339
California Department of Aging ResourcesThe CDA has a website that is packed with information and resources relevant to the lives of seniors in our state. From Covid-19 updates to more general care for age-related health issues, access to legal assistance to getting home-delivered meals to help with housing, you may well find answers to your questions by clicking: here.
Adult and Aging Service’s Information and Assistance Line, providing information and referrals to the full range of services available to older adults, adults with disabilities and their family caregivers, has a new phone number and email address: 415/473-INFO (4636) 8:30 am to 4:30 pm weekdays473INFO@marincounty.org
Questions? Assistance? We have resources and volunteers for:grocery deliveryfood assistancehelp with technology issues such as using zoomproviding weekly comfort calls to check in on youplus more!
Following weeks of criticism from Disney staff, writers and fans, Chapek argued that “diverse stories” are more impactful than a company statement against the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, SB 1834, also known as the Parental Rights in Education bill.
“As we have seen time and again, corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds,” he wrote in the memo, published in full by the Los Angeles Times
“Instead, they are often weaponised by one side or the other to further divide and inflame. imply put, they can be counterproductive and undermine more effective ways to achieve change.”
He went as far as to list these “diverse stories” – most of which feature no canonically LGBT+ characters.
“Encanto, Black Panther, Pose, Reservation Dogs, Coco, Soul, Modern Family, Shang-Chi, Summer of Soul, Love, Victor. These and all of our diverse stories are our corporate statements — and they are more powerful than any tweet or lobbying effort,” the Disney CEO wrote.
Michael Cimino in Love, Victor. (Gilles Mingasson/Hulu)
“I firmly believe that our ability to tell such stories — and have them received with open eyes, ears, and hearts — would be diminished if our company were to become a political football in any debate.”
Disney ‘both sides’ Don’t Say Gay politician donation criticism
Chapek said he had met with LGBT+ leaders within Disney who expressed their “disappointment” at the company’s silence.
As much as he found such concerns “meaningful, illuminating, and at times deeply moving,” Chapek did not commit to taking direct action against the bill.
“While we have not given money to any politician based on this issue, we have contributed to both Republican and Democrat legislators who have subsequently taken positions on both sides of the legislation,” he said.
He added that Geoff Morrell, the company’s chief corporate affairs officer, “will be reassessing our advocacy strategies around the world — including political giving — as he begins to integrate the communications, public policy, government relations and CSR teams”.
Chapek’s words echoed a previous Disney statement that stressed the importance of the “inspiring content” that Disney sells rather than publicly opposing cruel, dehumanising legislation.
Disney staff slam Bob Chapek for not taking a stand against ‘hateful’ bill
Employees were less than impressed by Chapek’s statement. Many expressed disappointment and frustration.
“I LOVED being a part of a Disney Channel show known for featuring gay characters AND storylines,” tweetedAndi Mack star Lilan Bowden.
“The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill will be DETRIMENTAL to LGBTQIA+ kids,” she said, adding: “Hoping the company or more ppl in the company take action against this hateful bill. #DisneySayGay.”
Brock Powell, a Mickey Mouse Funhouse voice actor, tweeted: “Never been quiet about my love of Disney over the years but being loud about my own identity as a queer human took YEARS.
“Breaks me in pieces that a company that literally pays me to speak is paying to keep me silent by funding puritanical Anti-LGBTQIA+ politicians. #DisneySayGay.”
Animation writer Benjamin Siemon in a video posted on Twitter: “[Disney is] starting to include more LGBT characters that let kids know that being gay is all right.
“But when they have donated to the sponsors and co-sponsors of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill and they have made no position against this bill, and they are going to continue donating to these politicians, they are essentially saying that this bill is OK.”
Dana Terrace, creator of the acclaimed, LGBT-inclusive The Owl House, said: “I’m f**king tired of making Disney look good.”
“Disney was recently found out to be donating large sums of money, hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the sponsors and co-sponsors of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, a bill that effectively tells LGBT+ kids: ‘You don’t exist. You don’t deserve to exist. You shouldn’t even be talked about.’”
Multiple recent studies have concluded that conversion therapy harms the mental health of those subjected to it, but a report published Monday is the first to quantify the economic cost of the discredited practice.
Efforts to change LGBTQ people’s sexual orientation and gender identities cost the U.S. an estimated $9.23 billion each year, according to a peer-reviewed study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Casey Pick, a senior fellow for advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, which conducted the research in partnership with the multinational clinical trial organization Cytel, said the estimate is “conservative.”
“We knew that there was a financial component to this,” Pick said. “We’re hopeful that for policymakers and others, really being able to look into what that kind of cost looks like would be another way to emphasize just how harmful and detrimental to society this practice really is.”
Coming up with the estimate was an intensive, yearlong process, Pick said. The Trevor Project, a national crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization, worked with a team of economists to develop a model that would examine both the direct costs of conversion therapy and the ongoing costs of mental health and other kinds of medical treatment for survivors of the practice, which entails talk therapy to, in rare cases, shock treatment and water torture.
Research published by The Trevor Project in 2019 found that LGBTQ young people who had been subjected to conversion therapy were more likely to have attempted suicide in the previous 12 months than other queer youths. Happier, healthier people have “less need of treatment or, particularly, trips to the emergency room in the event of suicide attempts,” Pick said.
“They experience less depression and less anxiety and, therefore, require less treatment for that,” she added.
While the $9.23 billion figure attempts to factor in intangible costs, like lost productivity to businesses from survivors’ dealing with mental health struggles, many of the costs that are factored in are direct. The Trevor Project estimates that $650 million is spent annually to provide for so-called conversion therapy, which is also referred to as “reparative therapy” or “ex-gay therapy.”
Scores of LGBTQ and allied high school students from across Minnesota march on March 21, 2019 to the State Capitol where they held a rally to urge lawmakers to protect LGBTQ youth from the effects of conversion therapy.Jim Mone / AP file
Twenty-five states already fully or partly ban conversion therapy for minors, according to the LGBTQ think tank Movement Advancement Project, and Pick said The Trevor Project hopes the new report will fuel the group’s longtime efforts for a federal ban.
The nonprofit organization is a proponent of the Prohibition of Medicaid Funding for Conversion Therapy Act, which would ban the use of taxpayer money under Medicaid to pay for a practice that nearly every leading U.S. medical association has condemned. The legislation, which was introduced in 2019 by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., has yet to pass either the House or the Senate; Amit Paley, The Trevor Project’s executive director and CEO, said he hopes the report motivates Congress to act.
“This alarming study illustrates that subjecting LGBTQ young people to conversion therapy continues to have deep and detrimental costs from both a humanistic and economic standpoint,” Paley said in a statement. “The Trevor Project urges policymakers to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of this so-called ‘therapy’ and to also expand access to LGBTQ-affirming therapy as a means to empower young people to accept themselves for who they are and promote positive health outcomes.”
Opponents of banning conversion therapy commonly cite religious objections, claiming that legislation to curtail the practice would constrain the free speech of faith leaders opposed to LGBTQ rights and the right of parents to determine medical treatment for their kids.
A 2018 report from the Williams Institute at UCLA estimated that nearly 700,000 LGBTQ adults were subjected to conversion therapyat some point in their lives and that about half of them were adolescents at the time of treatment. In 2019, the institute estimated that state bans prevented an additional 10,000 teens from being subjected to the practice.
Pick said she hopes The Trevor Project’s research not only persuades lawmakers across the U.S. to ban conversion therapy but also underscores the harms of denying appropriate health care to LGBTQ youths. So far this year, at least 28 bills have been introduced across the U.S. to limit access to gender-affirming treatments like puberty blockers for trans youths, according to the Human Rights Campaign, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently declared gender-affirming care for minors to be “child abuse.”
“The evidence that we present here of the tremendous benefit to society of removing barriers to affirming health care sends a powerful message as we try to defend against those who would instead construct new barriers,” Pick said.
By laying out the economic impact of conversion therapy, Pick hopes politicians across the country will listen to young people and better understand their “pain and negative experiences.”
“I firmly believe that lawmakers of all political persuasions can be influenced and can come to understand the harms of these practices if they take the time to look into it and to see the stories behind the dollars and cents that we’re describing here,” she said.
An ordinance in Nebraska’s capital city that extends discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity could be put on the ballot this November or rescinded after referendum petitions garnered four times the needed signatures.
The “Let Us Vote” referendum initiative needed 4,137 signatures, equivalent to 4% of voters in Lincoln. But petitions were signed by more than 18,500 voters in just 15 days, forcing the Lincoln City Council to put the Fairness Ordinance on the ballot or rescind the law, according to the Nebraska Family Alliance.
Read the full article. Photo: Nebraska Family Alliance executive director Karen Bowling.
Whatever your choice, the idea is to share writings that have touched your heart or expanded your mind. We also need people to just listen, there will be no pressure to read. If we have time, we’ll also talk about writers that have inspired us and discover if there is a writer hiding within. 
