The Supreme Court on Monday took up job discrimination cases that could for the first time resolve at a national level whether lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers can be fired based on their identity.
The cases come as federal courts as well as independent agencies within the Trump administration remain divided over whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which says that employers may not discriminate based on “sex,” prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
There is no national law that explicitly bars discrimination on those grounds. State and local laws barring such discrimination do exist. About half of the country’s LGBT population lives in states that allow employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to MAP, an LGBT advocacy think tank.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced this week that it intends to ax an Obama-era measure that called for data collection on LGBTQ foster youth and parents.
The data included the sexual orientation and gender identity of youth in foster care, along with their foster parents, adoptive parents or legal guardians.
The stated goal of the rule, adopted in December 2016, at the end of the Obama administration, was “to help meet the needs of LGBTQ youth in foster care.”
The Trump administration delayed its implementation and is now proposing to remove the LGBTQ data elements entirely.
“While we understand the importance of collecting sexual orientation data … we must balance this with the need to collect accurate data per the statue and in a manner that is consistent with children’s treatment needs,” the department said.N
A third of states have asked that the requirement be dropped over concerns that collecting data on sexual orientation may be perceived as “intrusive and worrisome to those who have experienced trauma and discrimination as a result of gender identity or sexual orientation,” HHS said.
The proposed rule reversal has raised concerns among many LGBTQ and child welfare advocates who say that current data collection practices leave them in the dark about how many LGBTQ youth there are in care and what unique obstacles they may face.
“Identifying those youth and being able to capture the disparity between non-LGBTQ youth and LGBTQ youth helps states and tribes to understand what their experiences are and be able to devise implement and deploy best practices,” Denise Brogan-Kator, chief policy officer at the LGBTQ advocacy group Family Equality Council, told NBC news.
In a 2014 study funded by HHS, researchers determined that one in five youth in foster care identified as LGBTQ, and they were twice as likely to suffer negative outcomes while in care.
“We knew it anecdotally, but we didn’t have the data to back it up,” Brogan-Kator said of the study’s findings. She added that systematic collection of such data is necessary to improve outcomes for LGBTQ children in care.
“We need to understand why and where those negative experiences occur and where they don’t,” Brogan-Kator added.
More than 40 child welfare organizations have already publicly opposed the rule change, which must go through a public comment period.
Christina Wilson Remlin, lead counsel at Children’s Rights, a nonprofit that has publicly opposed the rule reversal, said HSS was failing in its duty to protect children in state care by proposing to stop collecting data on LGBTQ foster youth and prospective parents.
“Many of these children have already been rejected by their families of origin,” she said. “We should do everything we can to provide them with safe and loving homes, including recruitment of diverse and affirming foster families.”
Remlin said collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity is a “critical step toward addressing the needs” of LGBTQ youth and crucial to “holding government agencies accountable.”
“To stop collecting data on LGBTQ foster youth would only serve to render this vulnerable population invisible,” she added.
An official from the HHS Children’s Bureau said the Obama-era rule would have “drastically expanded unnecessary data elements required to be reported by child welfare agencies.”
“The modifications in the proposed rule would allow state and tribal child welfare agencies to focus more of their time and resources on child welfare — from prevention to foster care services to adoption and guardianship — and less on unnecessary data collection and paperwork,” the official said.
Brogan-Kator disagreed.
“It costs states and tribes so much more to deal with the negative outcomes when these youth experience homeless and incarceration,” Brogan-Kator said. “These kinds of burdens are significant. Reducing that will more than offset any extended costs there might be around it.”
This is not the only LGBTQ data the Trump administration is seeking to reverse course on. In 2017, the HHS removed questions about LGBTQ seniors from its annual survey of older Americans. A week later, the administration announced it would not collect information on LGBTQ identification on the 2020 census. And last year, the Department of Justice moved to scrap questions relating to sexual orientation and gender identity on its National Crime Victimization Survey.
A Mississippi man’s jaw was broken in two places during a brutal beating because his attackers thought he was gay, according to his family.
Trevor Gray’s jaw was wired shut after the horrifying attack in Waynesboro, Mississippi, on April 12.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, Gray met alleged attackers Landon McCaa and Toman Sion Brown at a local bar.
Mississippi man attacked ‘because he was different’
Gray was part of a group that went on to continue drinking at McCaa’s home when the bar closed, but some of the men turned on Gray and decided to attack him.
A video of the attack filmed on a mobile phone was circulated on social media, showing what appears to be McCaa repeatedly punching Gray.
The victim’s brother Cruz Gray alleged that the attack was motivated by sexuality, noting that Brown called him a “queer” during the beating.
Trevor Gray was attacked in Waynesboro, Mississippi (Facebook)
He told the newspaper: “This was an act of cruelty for no reason, because he was different.
“He’s not gay, but it wouldn’t matter if he were. No one deserves for this to happen to them.”
McCaa and Brown have been charged with aggravated assault, but Wayne County Sheriff Jody Ashley told the Clarion-Ledger that they could also face a federal hate crime charge.
Thousands raised to cover medical expenses
The community has rallied round Gray in the wake of the attack, with a GoFundMe set up to cover his medical expenses raising more than $14,000.
One donor said: “Not only is this such a dastardly deed, I have a son who is gay and I’m donating to show my unconditional love and support for him as well as Trevor. God holds all of His children in his love.”
Another added: “You did not deserve this, and there are people that you may never meet that love you and are praying for your physical and emotional health following this horrific attack. I am one of those people.”
In a statement to the newspaper, Trevor Gray said: “For as long as I can remember, my family has taught me to see the best in others.
“My peace in this situation comes from that. So, for those wondering, I’m not angry or vengeful; I’m not sad. I’m optimistic. The events of that night are small when weighed against the incredible amount of love and support people have shown me.
“My mouth will be wired up for the next several weeks, so if you see me and I don’t smile, know that I’m smiling on the inside. Most importantly, believe in the good, give someone a hug, and stay positive.”
A husband-and-wife team of developers faced mounting backlash in Sonoma this week after a series of anti-gay online posts made by the wife went viral this month.
Stacy Mattson who, together with her husband Ken, has spent $80 million the past three years purchasing 26 properties throughout Sonoma Valley, made the controversial comments on her then-public Facebook page. In one post, she described herself as “disgusted” by the 2013 Rose Bowl Parade being “high-jacked by the gay agenda,” adding that “the last thing I want to see in the parade is promotion of sin by being forced to watch a gay marriage ceremony.”
In a 2015 post, she wrote that upon returning from a trip to China, she “found our country in an even bigger mess than when [I] left thanks to some truly horrible Supreme Court filings… Obamacare, gay marriage.”
Her most recent public political post was a photo of the couple in early 2017 as they prepared to attend President Trump’s inauguration. The posts are no longer viewable as her Facebook settings were changed to private earlier this week.
Stacy Mattson’s Facebook posts began making waves several weeks ago when screen shots of the anti-gay remarks first started to spread through the community. The posts came under wider scrutiny after the Index-Tribune published an April 8 story about the couple’s real estate buying spree in town. Since 2015, the Piedmont couple have assembled a giant portfolio of Sonoma Valley properties, with the latest wave of purchases taking over high-profile commercial sites that include Cornerstone shopping center, Ramekins culinary school and the General’s Daughter event center.
As the extent of their holdings became known, the couple and their online profiles drew even closer attention from local residents. A week after the Index-Tribune story ran, Sonoma food writer Sarah Stierch posted screen shots of the Stacy Mattson’s Facebook posts, which have since been shared almost 100 times.
The resulting backlash has been vocal and increasingly public, even coming from within some of the Mattsons’ new properties.
Kyle Kuklewski, executive chef of Ramekins and General’s Daughter, raised rainbow flags on Tuesday to show solidarity with the community.
“We 100 percent disagree with their personal beliefs and we told them that,” said Ramekins general manager David Daniel, referring to an email he said he sent to the couple on Tuesday.
Ken and Stacy Mattson declined to be interviewed but provided a statement on Thursday that sidestepped the content of the posts. Originally from Rancho Cordova, Ken Mattson has worked in the financial services industry for 35 years, most recently as a financial planner. Stacy Mattson is originally from Fairfield. They have been married for almost 30 years and have four children, all of whom are in their 20s.
“The businesses we have purchased in Sonoma have a proud history of being inclusive in terms of employees and clientele,” he wrote. “As new owners, we have insisted that this history of inclusion continue. We also know that a truly diverse community benefits from the discussion of a broad range of ideas. We hope that all our guests, clients and employees will join in on this discussion.”
The controversy has erupted in a city that has sought to make overt shows of support for LGBTQ residents and visitors. It has hoisted the rainbow-colored flag over City Hall, serves as host for the popular summertime Gay Wine Weekend and is home to a growing array of businesses that cater to the gay community.
Gary Saperstein, who runs Out in the Vineyards, the promoter of the Gay Wine Weekend and other gay-centered wine country events, said that Stacy Mattson’s posts are “disturbing to say the least.”
“To have this going on in our very own backyard is a reminder that hate exists in all corners of the world… even here in Sonoma,” Saperstein said. “I’m concerned for the employees who work in these businesses as I know that they do not stand with the owners.”
Daniel said that the Mattsons have treated the staff “with respect and kindness since day one,” and are hands off — trusting him to make the right decisions for their business. “We have a total inclusive and supportive culture here which will continue. Kyle and I are both huge advocates for that.”
But adding to the furor over Stacy Mattson’s expressed views on gays and gay marriage was news that the couple’s business partner, Tim LeFever, has served as chairman of the board of the Capitol Resource Institute, which has lobbied to repeal state legislation that ensures gay people and gay rights are included in school textbooks and that sexual orientation is protected against discrimination in the schools. LeFever was also part of a group, Privacy for All, that in 2015 proposed a state initiative which would have banned transgender people from using bathrooms in government buildings that matched their gender identity.
LeFever’s current ties with the groups could not be independently confirmed this week.
Marcelo Defreitas, a local philanthropist and the city of Sonoma’s 2018 alcalde, or honorary mayor, conveyed his distress over the posts.
“We don’t need this kind of divisiveness here,” Defrietas said. “We are one in this community. We work together. Those posts are not what our values are.”
Defreitas, who is gay, said that he has been accepted in Sonoma since he moved here 20 years ago. “From day one,” he said. “It wasn’t even a question.”
Out in the Vineyards’ May 4 spring soiree, Pink Sonoma Saturday, was booked to take place at the General’s Daughter prior to its sale to LeFever-Mattson. The space was donated to Saperstein.
“I am glad that the owners are not making money from my event,” he said, adding that the event is also a fundraiser for support and advocacy for local LGBTQ youth. “As one friend said to me, ‘All the more reason to gay it up at Pink Saturday and show ‘em just how gay friendly Sonoma is!’”
According to Daniel, several same sex weddings are on the books at Ramekins and General’s Daughter and they will take place as scheduled, and new bookings continue to be accepted.
Sonoma-based developer and lobbyist Darius Anderson oversaw the January sale of Cornerstone, Ramekins and General Daughter to the Mattsons and LeFever. He said his team does background research on prospective buyers, but they don’t look into or take into consideration religious beliefs or political background when evaluating a transaction.
“But over the past 20 years, Kenwood Investments has been a leader in supporting diversity and equality, and in our own company policy we provide benefits for domestic partners,” Anderson said of his development firm. Anderson is managing member of Sonoma Media Investments, owner of the Index-Tribune.
Several community leaders said they intend to take action in the wake of Stacy Mattson’s comments coming to light.
Mayor Amy Harrington said that she and fellow council member Logan Harvey have asked City Manager Cathy Capriola to agendize a request to discuss the city’s current policies with regard to discriminatory practices at a future City Council meeting. The request will be discussed at the May 6 council meeting.
Meanwhile, Springs resident Dmitra Smith, vice chairwoman of the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights, designed a poster to offer Sonoma Valley businesses with a “We Welcome All” message, in both English and Spanish.
“When they go low, we go high,” said Smith.
She said that two dozen local businesses have already ordered the posters, slated for distribution next Thursday.
“Portland originally made these and they are long overdue in Sonoma Valley,” Smith said.
Community activist Jennifer Gray Thompson said she has met numerous times with Ken Mattson to discuss his development projects in the Springs. While she said she disagrees wholeheartedly with Stacy Mattson’s posts, she does not support boycotting the businesses who rent from the Mattsons — a measure some critics of the posts had initially proposed.
In a lengthy Facebook comment this week, Gray Thompson described herself as having “outrage fatigue.”
“And have come to the conclusion that, for me, the best road is the toughest one: I choose humanity, listening and compassion,” she wrote before speaking with the Index-Tribune on Tuesday. She said she will continue to meet with Ken Mattson and have “tough conversations,” but, she continued, “I will not dehumanize them in an effort to get them to see the humanity in others. The more fundamental the disagreement, the more talking we need to do.”
The collection includes a number of LGBT icons, including trans actress Indya Mooreand the lawyers who helped decriminalise homosexuality in India.
The list also includes homophobic Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. The Latin American leader is described by TIME as a “poster boy for toxic masculinity… intent on waging a culture war and perhaps reversing Brazil’s progress on tackling climate change.”
Janet Mock, the first trans woman of colour to write and direct for television, profiles Indya Moore who stars in Pose.
Mock wrote in TIME Magazine: “Writing her character Angel proved healing for me as a trans woman who had walked in those same platform shoes, longing for more than the crumbs society had thrown girls like us. But a greater gift has been watching Indya rise from an adolescence navigating foster care in the Bronx to critical acclaim as an actress and model using her voice to center the marginalized communities she comes from.”
TIME 100 picks Lawyers Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy
The list also includes Indian lawyers Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who helped orchestrate the overturning of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The colonial-era law criminalised homosexual sex in India for 157 years.
The landmark judgment was the outcome of a long-term campaign organised by Katju and Guruswamy.
Their listing was written by Priyanka Chopra, who wrote: “The LGBTQ+ community has battled on both legal and social fronts for decades—for their fundamental rights, for privacy, for dignity, for safety and for love.”
“That is one of his great and seductive charms: the wonderful childlike enthusiasm he possesses. His sense of adventure and exploration, a boundless imagination, a brilliant mind and a wicked sense of humor,”
“He is a born storyteller, and, like the best of them, he is constantly pushing the limits. I have often marveled at his uncanny ability at capturing the zeitgeist,” Lange wrote.
Noteworthy queer allies
Lady Gaga also made the 2019 influencer list and Celine Dion wrote about her activism. “Whether it’s her unstoppable support for the LGBTQ community, or her anti-bullying campaigning, Lady Gaga’s voice is being heard where it really counts,” Dion said.
Queer icon Troye Sivan wrote about his friend Ariana Grande. “Her love of her fans and of music guide her every move. But my favorite moments with Ari are the quieter ones. When I, like so many, have been inspired by that resilience, love, care and heart in someone I’m lucky to call my friend,” Sivan said.
Taylor Swift also made the list. Shawn Mendes wrote about Swift and said: “I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for as long as I can remember. But it wasn’t until I met and got to know her that I understood how wonderful a person she truly is.”
Sandra Oh, who stars in popular crime series Killing Eve is also listed, as well as singer Khalid who featured on the soundtrack for the gay romantic comedy Love, Simon.
A 29-year-old LGBTI journalist has been murdered while reporting on ‘dissident republican activity’ in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
A masked gunman allegedly shot Lyra McKee to death while she covered riots in Londonderry – also known as Derry – on Thursday (18 April).
Police said a group known as the New IRA ‘are likely to be the ones behind this’.
Cell phone footage shows a masked gunman crouching down and opening fire with a handgun at about 11pm. McKee was wounded as she stood by a police SUV according to police.
‘A single gunman fired shots in a residential area of the city and as a result wounded Ms McKee. Officers quickly administered first aid before transporting her in the back of a landrover to hospital,’ said Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton.
‘Tragically she died from her injuries. At this stage we believe her murder was carried out by a violent dissident republican.’
Hamilton appealed for witnesses to share information with police.
Assistant Chief Constable for District Policing Mark Hamilton | Photo: PSNI
Not long before her murder, McKee tweeted a photo of the riots with the caption ‘Derry tonight. Absolute madness’.View image on Twitter
McKee lived in Belfast where she edited media trade publication, Mediagazer. Forbes named her on its 30 under 30 in media list in 2016.
She had published a non-fiction novella about The Troubles in Northern Ireland called Angels with Blue Faces. Publishing house Faber & Faber had also given her a two-book deal, of which the first book The Lost Boys was due for release next year.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) described McKee as ‘one of the most promising journalists’ in Northern Ireland.
Hundreds of people have paid tribute to Mckee, including British Prime Minister Theresa May who said she ‘died doing her job with great courage’.
New IRA
Police reported an increased in ‘dissident republican activity’. Officer carried out a raid at Londonderry’s Creggan estate on Thursday night looking for weapons.
Law enforcement thought the estate to be a hotspot for the New IRA and police worried about violence breaking out to mark the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Police blamed the New IRA for McKee’s murder and a for bomb attack at the Derry City Courthouse last year.
Violence against journalists on the increase
McKee’s has become the 7th journalist murdered while doing their job in 2019 and the first in the UK. This comes off the back that 2018 was one of the deadliest ever for journalists according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Before her death McKee was actually due to speak at a World Press Freedom Day event for Amnesty International.
‘Lyra was a great young journalist, whose commitment to truth was absolute and whose laughter could light up a room,’ said Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland programme director of Amnesty International.
‘The bitter irony was that Lyra was due to speak at an Amnesty International event at the Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast on 4 May about the dangers of reporting violent conflicts.’
Corrigan went on to say ‘journalists put themselves on the frontline in the battle for truth every single day’.
‘Every day, it becomes more dangerous for reporters to do their job on behalf of us all,’ he said.
‘Lyra McKee was one of those courageous seekers after truth, with a life ahead of her and so much to give.’
Friday April 26 @ 7:30 pm.People’s Music Benefit for Occidental Center for the Arts!Join Alex Bryant of People’s Music Store for ‘a night of great music with friends’ to benefit our live music venue Occidental Center for the Arts! Don’t miss this showcase of Sonoma County talent featuring: Hoytus & New Paradise, The Stoney Point Ramblers, Whispering Light, and Washington Hill. MC’d by Jim Corbett . All proceeds benefit our nonprofit arts organization. Admission is $15. at the door. Refreshments available ; wine and beer for sale. OCA Art Gallery open during events. Wheelchair Accessible. www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org 3850 Doris Murphy Ct. Occidental CA. 95465.
Richard Green, a lawyer and psychiatrist who made a name for himself fighting for LGBTI rights, has died at 82.
He died of esophageal cancer at his home in London. His son, Adam Hines-Green, survives him.
Green spent decades of his life battling against LGBTI discrimination and oppression. Both his work as a lawyer and psychiatrist reflect the passion and resilience he possessed for this endeavor.
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1936, he went on to study medicine at Johns Hopkins under John Money, a well-known sex and gender psychologist. When training as a psychiatrist at UCLA, he worked with gender identity expert Robert Stoller.
Two of his most well-known accomplishments happened a decade apart in 1962 and 1972.
In the first instance, Green successfully challenged Chester Morales’ deportation from the US. Morales, originally from Nicaragua, was being deported due to his homosexual identity.
Ten years later, he published a paper appealing to the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders. According to LGBTI activist Peter Tatchell, people advised him this course of action would ruin his career.
One year later, he appealed again, and the APA removed homosexuality from the list.
Pioneering LGBTI paths
Green’s commitment to LGBTI rights was broad and far-reaching.
In his medical career, he also advocated for gender confirmation surgery. In the 1960s, he began seeing transgender patients with Harry Benjamin.
Beyond medicine, he also fought for marriage equality and the rights of LGBTI parents.
In 1974, he appeared on the US television show The Advocates, participarting in a debate on marriage equality. He also testified in numerous court cases as an expert witness for LGBTI parents look to adopt or get custody rights to children from previous relationships.
In court, he also a witness and champion in several discrimination cases.
As Tatchell writes, Green’s work risked his ‘reputation and career to advance the understanding and acceptance of sexual and gender minorities’. Because of his contributions, several crucial strides towards equality were made.
A group of Russian LGBT+ activists have been arrested in St. Petersburg during an annual “Day of Silence” protest for sex and gender equality.
Some 11 people were detained by police on April 17, including Daniel Maksimenko, who spoke to reporters at local news site OVD-Info.
“The police are going to detain everyone who walked with their mouths sealed. I heard what they said,” said Maksimenko.
The activists were walking in the direction of the Church of the Saviour and covered their mouths with red tape when the police began making arrests. According to the organisers around 40-50 people attended the protest.
In 2013 Russia implemented a “gay propaganda” law which prohibits “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” towards minors. The European Court of Human Rights ruled the law is discriminatory.
Since it was implemented hate crimes against LGBT+ people have doubled in the country.
LGBT activists have filed a criminal complaint to Russia’s Investigative Committee. (John MacDougall/AFP/Getty)
In August 2018 police detained around 30 LGBT+ activists in St Petersburg. A total of around 60 campaigners assembled in Palace Square after their request for a pride parade was turned down by local authorities.
On November 27, 2018, the European Court of Human rights ruled that Russia’s ban on pride events breaches human rights. The ruling found that “the applicants suffered unjustified discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.”
The state of Nevada has banned gay and trans “panic” defences in criminal cases in an effort to prevent LGBT+ victims from being blamed for their own assaults and murders.
Gay and trans panic defences are still frequently deployed in criminal cases across the world in an effort to get more lenient sentences for homophobic and transphobic attacks.
The line of decence usually involves the perpetrator claiming they had a moment of “temporary insanity” brought on by unwanted sexual advances or suddenly discovering a person’s gender identity. The use of such defences has previously been banned in California and Illinois.
Nevada’s gay and trans ‘panic’ bill passed by 19 votes to 2
Representatives voted yesterday on the bill and it was passed by 19 votes to 2. The only two members to vote against the bill were Ira Hansen and Pete Goicoechea.
The bill says that “an alleged state of passion or provocation” in a perpetrator will not be considered a valid defence “if it resulted from… [the] sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of the victim.”
The wide-ranging bill also notes that gay and trans panic defences continue to appear in criminal cases across the United States. It notes that these defences are “surprisingly long-lived, historical artifacts and remnants of a time when widespread public antipathy was the norm for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.”
“The bill says that gay and trans panic defences are ‘surprisingly long-lived, historical artifacts and remnants of a time when widespread public antipathy was the norm for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.’”
– Nevada bill banning the use of gay and trans ‘panic’ defences
It also says that gay and trans panic defences appeal to “irrational fears and hatred of [LGBT+] people, thereby undermining the legitimacy of criminal prosecutions and resulting in unjustifiable acquittals or sentencing reductions.”
The bill concludes by noting that they want to “end the antiquated notion that the lives of [LGBT+ people] are worth less than the lives of other persons and to reflect a modern understanding of [LGBT] persons as equal to other persons under the law.”
Nevada bans gay and trans ‘panic’ defences in criminal cases (Pexels)
The most famous example of the ‘gay panic’ defence was in the Matthew Shepard case
The American Bar Association unanimously passed a resolution in 2013 which urged governments to provide guidance to jurors and prosecutors about the use of gay and trans panic defences.
In the same year, California became the first state in the US to ban gay and trans panic defences.
Meanwhile, Democrats filed a bill to Congress last year in an effort to outlaw the use of such defences nationwide.
The best known use of the gay panic defence in the US was in the murder case of Matthew Shepard. He was killed in a violent attack in 1998 in which he was beaten, robbed, tied to a fence and left to die.
His killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, attempted to argue in court that they suffered “a moment of insanity” when Shepard made sexual advances towards them.
