On the first of April, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled the law which requires California-based or headquartered corporations to have a minimum of one director from an underrepresented community is unconstitutional.
The Los Angeles Blade reported that Judge Terry Green granted summary judgement to Judicial Watch, a Washington D.C. based conservative legal nonprofit founded by attorney Larry Klayman, led by Tom Fitton since 2003.
On behalf of three residents, Judicial Watch sued the state and alleged that the state expenditure of taxpayer funds to enforce the law was unconstitutional, according to the court filings.
“This historic California court decision declared unconstitutional one of the most blatant and significant attacks in the modern era on constitutional prohibitions against discrimination,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “In its ruling today, the court upheld the core American value of equal protection under the law. Judicial Watch’s taxpayer clients are heroes for standing up for civil rights against the Left’s pernicious efforts to undo anti-discrimination protections.”
Assembly Bill no. 979 mandates corporations to have at least one member who identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Alaska Native on its board by the close of the 2022 calendar year.
Andres Picon, a reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle noted that before the law passed, more than one-third of California boardrooms were all white, according to the Latino Corporate Directors Association.
Proponents of AB979 hoped it would push companies to hire more diverse directors, increasing equity in hiring and encouraging companies to be mindful of underrepresented communities, especially during decision making.
Critics of the bill argued the law is a violation of the equal protection clause in the California Constitution, that forcing diversity quotas would not lead to changes, according to the Blade.
“Corporate boards should not just be made up of white, straight men. AB 979 is a critical law that promotes diversity and inclusion, and ensures people from marginalized communities have a seat at the table. This is a terrible ruling and I hope it will be overturned in higher court,” Out State Senator Scott Wiener, (D-SF) told the Blade.
Florida’s health department has issued chilling guidance to block medical care and even social transition for trans kids in the state.
The guidance, issued by Florida’s department of health on Wednesday (20 April), contradicts federal guidance and guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and states that “anyone under 18 should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy”.
It also appears to promote conversion therapy, stating that trans “children and adolescents should… seek counselling from a licensed provider”.
The guidance has echoes of a directive released by Texas governor Greg Abbott in March, which urges Texans to report families providing their trans kids with gender-affirming medical care, framing it as “child abuse”.
However the Florida guidance, signed by governor Ron DeSantis and state surgeon general Joseph Ladapo, takes the attack on trans kids a step further, declaring that even social transition, for example a change in name, pronouns or dress, “should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents”.h
It is currently unclear what the real-life impact will be on trans kids in Florida, but considering DeSantis’ record on legislating against the existence of LGBT+ people, the guidance has activists and the wider trans community deeply concerned.
Equality Florida described the guidance as “non-binding”, but said in a statement: “Once again, Ron DeSantis seeks to replace science and the safety of young people with political propaganda… The guidance demonizes life-saving, medically-necessary care, and asserts that the government, not parents, knows best when it comes to health care for our kids.
“DeSantis wants government to intrude into doctors’ offices to pander to extremists in service to his ambitions.”
The attack on the rights of the parents of trans children is ironic, considering that DeSantis recently signed into law the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
DeSantis has claimed that the bill gives parents greater control over what their children are taught in school, but it bans the discussion of LGBT+ topics in classrooms, regardless of parents’ wishes.
Equality Florida continued: “Parents should be deciding, in partnership with their child’s doctor, based on science, not politics, what is best for their children.
“DeSantis’ runaway agenda of banning books, muzzling teachers, censoring history, and pushing government control is putting a handful of extremists in charge of every aspect of the lives of Floridians and is making the state less safe for LGBTQ families, especially trans kids.”
The ACLU added: “This is a desperate effort to sow lies and fear about transgender youth, their parents, and their health care.
“Trans youth know who they are. We’re ready to do everything in our power to defend the fundamental rights of trans youth and their families.”
Saturday, April 30 @ 6 pm. The Musers at Occidental Center for the Arts. Come celebrate life, creativity and the release of CD #4 with Sonoma County’s fun-loving folk trio. The Musers are Anita Sandwina, Megan McLaughlin and Tom Kuhn, with the tasteful addition of Chris Govea on drums. Enjoy their sweet harmonies, diverse musical styles, and exceptional song craft in our acoustic sweet spot. Tickets are $25 General Admission, $20 for OCA Members @ www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org. OCA is following current County Public Health guidelines. Fine refreshments including wine and beer for sale. Art Gallery exhibit will be open for viewing. OCA is a non profit performing and fine arts center accessible to persons with disabilities. Become an OCA Member and get discounts/free admission. Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct., Occidental, CA. 95465. 707-874-9392.
A gay man in Fort Lauderdale suffered multiple facial injuries after he was punched by a stranger who first asked if he was gay.
James Garcia said he was walking his dog, Delilah, outside his condominium on the morning of Sunday, April 17, when he was attacked, suffering two facial fractures and multiple wounds requiring 10 stitches to close. Police later arrested Maurice Antwan Charles, 36, in connection with the attack.
“When I close my eyes I see this attacker every day,” Garcia told WPLG. “I hear his voice. I see his face.”
Garcia said he left his condominium on A1A near 27th Street around 7:45 a.m. when he heard screaming nearby. A few moments he said the man he later identified as Charles approached him.
“Never seen the person in my life. Don’t know who he is,” Garcia said, becoming emotional. “When he approached me, [he] asked me if I was gay, and then he punched me.”
The punch was so brutal that it knocked Garcia off his feet.
“He punched me really hard. I fell to the ground bleeding,” Garcia continued. “My phone was covered in blood. I couldn’t call 911. My fingers kept slipping.”
He said one passerby ignored his plea for help while he was bleeding on the ground.
“Thankfully another person from the neighborhood stopped, called the police.”
Garcia said he suffered multiple facial fractures and two lacerations that required 10 stitches to repair.
The homophobic attack is one of several to have occurred recently.
Pride Media’s editorial director of print, Neal Broverman, and his husband Robbie Pierce, were attacked for being gay parents on an AMTRAK train in California while traveling with their two small children. As The Advocate reported, a man aboard berated the couple’s children, called Broverman and Pierce “rapists” and accused them of “stealing Black and Asian children.” Pride Media is the parent company of The Advocate.
“The anti-LGBTQ legislation alone this year has been potentially recording breaking, and this, coupled with the labeling of those opposed to this legislation as ‘groomers’ by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, has really unmasked how Republican lawmakers introducing these bills really see the LGBTQ community,” McCoy told The Advocate.
Charles has a lengthy criminal record, with separate previous convictions for aggravated battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. It is unclear if Broward County prosecutors will add an additional hate crime charge to the current aggravated battery charge facing Charles.
Carolyn Mercer, 74, spoke to the Metro.co.uk about her experience of being strapped to a chair and given electric shocks to “cure her” at 17 years old.
“I went to an NHS hospital, I was taken into a dark room and strapped to a wooden chair. Electrodes were soaked in saltwater and stuck to my arm”, Mercer, from Lancashire, explained.
“Pictures of women were shone on the wall in front of me. Then randomly, they threw the switch.
“The pain shot through my body, my arm shot up in the air. This was repeated. They tried to make me associate pain with who I saw myself as being, who I wanted to be.”
The retired headteacher said: “For Johnson to say it’s utterly abhorrent for gay people, then why is it acceptable for trans people? It’s barbaric. Perhaps they want to go through it themselves and see what it’s like.
“As well as being barbaric, conversion practice is responsible for people losing their lives… If this isn’t banned, there is blood on people’s hands – particularly the prime minister’s, and he needs to realise that.
“If there was a will, the Conservative government could work the complexities out easily. They don’t want to do it.”
After six hour-long conversion therapy sessions, and years of struggling with depression, the teacher opened up to her family and began taking hormones in the early 1990s.
Despite now living her authentic life, Mercer told Metro that she never started to “like myself more” due to undergoing the conversion practice.
“I don’t physically shake anymore when I think about the treatment, that went on for 40 years, but I’m still struggling,” she said.
Polling conducted by YouGov on behalf of The Times found that 58 per cent of Tory voters back banning so-called conversion therapy that “seeks to change someone’s gender identity”, compared to only 19 per cent of Tory voters who don’t.The Times claimed that Tory voters found little difference between a ban on trans conversion therapy and a ban on LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) conversion therapy, with 63 per cent of Tory voters agreeing that therapy “seeking to change someone’s sexual orientation” should be stopped.This polling follows a petition which gained over 100,000 signaturesbacking a ban on conversion therapy after changes to the proposed legislation were made.“It’s shameful that the UK intends to deliberately exclude trans people from a ban in contrast to the approach taken by many countries, despite trans people being at a greater risk of experiencing the harmful and degrading practices,” the petition states.
“The government’s own figures show that trans people are nearly twice as likely to be at risk of experiencing the harmful & degrading practices of conversion therapy.
“A ban needs to ensure all forms of conversion therapy are banned.”
A trans man feels too scared to leave his home after four of his ribs were broken in an attack that still haunts him a year on.
Callum Kenney, a 22-year-old Dublin City University graduate, told PinkNews a thug brutally set upon him in 2021, only a week after he came out, leaving him unable to wear a binder and with costly surgery as his only option.
It was an attack that captures so many of the struggles LGBT+ people face in Ireland, from a police force seemingly uninterested in their plight to a threadbare trans healthcare service.
While walking through an alleyway in his hometown of Dundalk in County Louth last March, Kenney heard someone hurl slurs and his deadname at him right before he was struck.
“I don’t even remember it being painful being hit. I didn’t even register that I was hit. I struggled to get away and ran,” he said. “There was a lot of pain and I was crying.”
The incident took place just a week after Kenney published an article about how the COVID pandemic, which all but froze life in Ireland for months, gave him a chance to “come to terms” with his gender identity.
“I’m still proud of it to this day, even though I do think it, in part, led to the attack,” Kenney said.
Kenney was hesitant to report the incident to the An Garda Síochána, Ireland‘s national police force. To Kenney, the Gardaí are apathetic to anti-LGBT+ violence.
“I had friends that have been attacked like me and they tried to report it to the Gardaí only for their reports to go missing or be turned away with a laugh,” he said.
“I just felt like: ‘What’s the point?’ I didn’t want to go through that to get nothing.
“We’re all being told to trust the people that are supposed to protect us, but they’re not doing that at all. They don’t seem to care,” Kenney added.
For nearly a week, Ireland has been grieving. Aidan Moffitt, a 41-year-old local auctioneer, and Michael Snee, a 58-year-old retired healthcare worker,were both found dead earlier this month in Sligo.
Aidan Moffitt (L) and Michael Snee (R). (Facebook)
The killings of two gay men have appalled politicians and shuddered fear throughout the LGBT+ community, Kenney included, who recalled an unsettling familiarity when reading about their deaths.
“I sat down and sobbed. I didn’t know these people, but there is a sense of community,” he said, “we’ve all experienced very similar things. I was upset to learn that what happened to me can happen again and it’s continuing to happen.”
Kenney said it feels as if Ireland’s LGBT+ community are almost “terrified to exist” as a harrowing realisation dawned on him: “They’re far from the last.”
“I went out for a walk last night but I came back after five minutes,” Kenney explained, “because I no longer feel safe leaving the house.
“If someone walks behind me in a particular way, I jump and have to wait for them to walk past me.”
According to the Gardaí, at least 85 hate crimes have taken place in the first two months of 2022. No records exist for such crimes motivated by hatred for a person’s sexuality or gender identity, however.
“These devastating crimes bring to the fore the need for comprehensive hate crime legislation,” Paula Fagan, CEO of LGBT Ireland, told PinkNews.
“These crimes are on the extreme end of a spectrum of violence experienced by the LGBTI+ community,” she said, adding that many victims do not report hate crimes to the Gardaí as “homophobia and transphobia remain normalised”.
Trans man brutally beaten left with no other choice but to raise money for surgery
Two months and a move to the capital later, Kenney reckoned with the aftermath of his attack – four of his ribs had shattered, leaving him with a bruise that crawled across his torso.
Yet it also meant he could not wear his binder, which can help reduce the appearance of a person’s chest. For some trans people, wearing one can greatly reduce their sense of gender dysphoria as well as anxiety and depression, researchers found.
“Even a year on, I’m going to a physio to relieve the pain but I still can’t wear a binder, which is why getting top surgery is really important sooner rather than later,” he said.
There was no other option than to go private, Kenney explained, given that seeking subsidised trans healthcare through the Health Service Executive is a tall order.
Leo Varadkar called Ireland a ‘beacon’ for LGBT+ in Ireland. But some see otherwise. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
One major roadblock set by the Irish National Gender Service is that a patients’ guardians must be present during a consultation, even when the patient is an adult. This policy, Kenney said, comes on top of the five-year-long wait for appointments.
Those struggling with this “waiting game” sometimes seek healthcare in Britain instead, which isn’t exactly any better, Kenney said.
To afford going private, Kenney has worked two jobs for months – in a café in the daytime and moonlighting as a cleaner. He had to quit both because of his failing health and now works in an office.
Kenney’s friend, Tadgh Jenkins, launched a GoFundMe earlier this month to help cover the medical costs. It has so far raised €4,200.
“It’s all empty words, they’re often not backed up by action – we are being left to die. It’s almost as if they’re putting every barrier possible to stop us from getting the healthcare we need.”
“By the time I get contacted,” he added, “I’ll turn around and say: ‘You’re a bit late.’”
The Royal British Legion (RBL) has won praise after it apologised for historic discrimination against the LGBT+ community and war veterans.
The RBL is a national organisation that works to make sure the contribution of the armed forces is not forgotten – however, it has faced criticism in the past for its approach to LGBT+ veterans.
The charity once described LGBT+ wreaths at a First World War memorial in London as “disgusting” and “an insult to the war dead”, according to activist Peter Tatchell.
The organisation has been accused of ordering that LGBT+ wreaths be removed and destroyed in the past.
The RBL has finally apologised for its past treatment of LGBT+ veterans in a letter written to Tatchell, who raised the issue with the organisation late last year.
Tatchell had asked the RBL to issue a “public apology to LGBT+ veterans and the wider LGBT+ community for its actions in the past”. He accused the organisation of having refused to acknowledge that LGBT+ people serve in the armed forces and of opposing LGBT+ veterans marching in a Remembrance Sunday parade.
He also said the RBL had failed to respond to letters from himself and other LGBT+ activists over the years criticising its approach to LGBT+ veterans.
Royal British Legion has ‘very much changed’ on LGBT+ issues
Charles Byrne, director general of the RBL, said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of Tatchell’s past experience with the charity.
“I am deeply saddened by your previous experience with the charity, and I can only apologise on RBL’s behalf for not responding and the discrimination shown at the time,” Byrne wrote.
“RBL has very much changed as an organisation since your original correspondence with us… The behaviour you outline of the RBL of the past is not tolerated in today’s organisation.
“The corrective action of more recent years has led to an organisation where differences are celebrated.”
Byrne said RBL has since formed a “positive relationship” with Fighting with Pride, a charity that supports LGBT+ veterans, and he said they had set up a helpline to support former veterans from the community.
This draws a line under the pain of the RBL’s previous prejudice and discrimination.
He also said RBL had provided support to LGBT+ veterans who were unfairly discharged and stripped of their medals before the ban on gay people serving in the armed forces was lifted in 2000.
Tatchell welcomed the RBL’s apology. “Our praise and thanks to the Legion for turning away from its homophobic past with this forthright and fulsome apology,” he said.
“We are delighted by its commitment to support LGBT+ veterans and work with the LGBT+ community. This draws a line under the pain of the RBL’s previous prejudice and discrimination. LGBT+ people can now confidently collaborate with the RBL, knowing the they are on our side.”
According to Tatchell, all LGBT+ wreaths were removed from the Cenotaph in London and destroyed until 1985. He said he was told this was done at the request of the RBL.
Anti-LGBT+ discrimination is an ‘ongoing issue’ in the military
Much has changed in the last two decades for LGBT+ personnel and veterans, but there is more work to be done to stamp out discrimination, according to a solicitor who specialises in the area.
Hannah Swarbrick, associate in the military claims team at solicitors firm Bolt Burdon Kemp, told PinkNews that discrimination is an “ongoing problem within the military” – however, she stressed that steps have been taken recently to address those issues.
“The government recently announced a review of the impact of the pre-2000 ban on homosexual service personnel, and initiatives have been launched to restore medals and improve diversity training,” Swarbrick said.
“That being said, more can and should be done within the military and the military charities, which play a crucial role in supporting personnel and veterans, to celebrate diversity and promote a culture of inclusivity.
“We still see many cases involving discrimination against LGBTQ+ personnel and more should and can be done to tackle these prejudices.”
When QAnon burst on the scene a few years ago, the general feeling was that it was so deep in the fever swamps that it would never become anything more than a fringe conspiracy theory. After all, who could believe the premise that a cabal of Democratic politicians and Hollywood stars are engaged in Satanic practices that involve sex trafficking children and harvesting their blood to produce a psychoactive drug?
As it turns out, the Republican party believes it.
Or at least enough of the party’s leadership believes it that it has now embraced QAnon’s pedophilia claims and is now using it to slander all of the party’s opponents.
The two biggest targets of the party’s slur against its political enemies: newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and the LGBTQ community.
Jackson’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee were an opportunity for Republicans to accuse her of being pro-child porn and sympathetic to pedophiles. According to the Washington Post, Jackson’s hearings featured some variation of the phrase child porn 165 times, and fifteen mention of “pedophile.” There were a mere dozen mentions of the Bill of Rights.
Ostensibly, the reason for the line of questioning was Jackson’s record of sentencing sex offenders, which was in line with other judges’. But the Republicans on the committee saw an opportunity to smear her as not just soft on crime but soft on pedophiles – exactly the way QAnon sees Democrats.
LGBTQ people are long used to this libel, which the GOP is now resurrecting with glee. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said that anyone who disagrees with the states Don’t Say Gay law is a “groomer,” a synonym for a sexual predator. (Pushaw happily plays rabid Trumpist so that DeSantis can pass as merely feral.)
Pushaw then began calling the Don’t Say Gay bill the Anti-Groomer Bill, as if even mentioning the word “gay” or “transgender” was the same as luring a minor into an illegal sexual act.
Why would the Republican party decide to go all in now on a lie that that went the way of Anita Bryant? The reason is two-fold.
For one, their core followers believe it. As conservative evangelicals see politics as an extension of their religion, they see their cultural battles in apocalyptic terms. Trumpist rallies are now prayer rallies, complete with spiritual music.With Trump they had a taste of victory, and they are going to press that advantage. Many genuinely believe that anything non-heteronormative is a perversion, and teaching children otherwise corrupts their innocence.
The second part is more cynical and outright shameful. Republicans want votes, and midterm elections depend upon motivated voters. Christians saving children from pedophiles disguised as Democrats are motivated voters. Republicans are happy to play that lie up if it gets them more votes. If gaining power is your sole concern, there really is no depth to which you cannot stoop – as the GOP proves daily.
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, announced its endorsement of Governor Gavin Newsom for re-election on Thursday. The organization previously supported Newsom in his 2018 primary and general election campaigns and was the first organization to officially oppose the attempt to recall him in 2021. Throughout his career, Newsom has been a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ civil rights and social justice, including — most recently — as an outspoken opponent of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks from far-right governors in Florida and Texas.
