People For the American Way, the organization that runs Right Wing Watch, filed suit against the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development today to demand the release of documents concerning reported changes in federal policy toward LGBTQ people.
Right Wing Watch had filed Freedom of Information Act requests with both agencies asking for documents on reported actions removing mentions of LGBTQ people from federal announcements and programs. These reported actions were being taken quietly and without public announcement, raising the questions of who made the decisions, what the decisions covered, and whether agency staff had been directed to implement certain policies regarding programs affecting LGBTQ people without public knowledge.
In August, the organization asked HUD for copies of any directives to pull back from efforts to combat LGBTQ homelessness after New York magazine reported that department leadership had:
… ordered the removal of online training materials meant, in part, to help homeless shelters make sure they were providing equal access to transgender people. It also pulled back a survey regarding projects in Cincinnati and Houston to reduce LGBT homelessness. And it forced its Policy Development and Research division to dissociate itself from a major study it had funded on housing discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender people — the study ended up being released in late June under the aegis of the Urban Institute instead.
In September, after The New York Times reported that the Department of Justice had “scrubbed references to ‘L.G.B.T.Q. youth’ from the description of a federal program for victims of sex trafficking,” we asked DOJ for any directives related to that action as well.
Although the deadlines for fulfilling these requests have long past, neither agency has produced any responsive documents.
The group have also recently filed a FOIA request with the Department of Health and Human Services regarding similar decisions to remove references to LGBTQ people from agency policies.
A Media Matters analysis of broadcast and cable news found that networks discussed anti-LGBTQ violence and homicides only 22 times for less than 40 minutes across seven channels in 2017, even though it was the deadliest year in hate violence against the community since at least 2012. The majority of the coverage was about two specific stories and came on just four days, and the networks rarely noted the trend of increasing anti-LGBTQ violence nationwide in their coverage.
Top trends from a year of anti-LGBTQ violence coverage on broadcast and cable TV news
Media Matters analyzed 2017 coverage of the deadliest year in anti-LGBTQ hate violence since at least 2012 on cable and broadcast TV news, flagging segments in which speakers focused on anti-LGBTQ violence or on a specific anti-LGBTQ killing. We analyzed cable TV news coverage between 6 a.m. and midnight on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC and broadcast TV news coverage on the morning shows, flagship evening news programs, and Sunday political talk shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox Broadcasting Co. Here are some of our key findings:
Across seven networks, anti-LGBTQ violence was discussed only 22 times for a total of 39 minutes and 36 seconds.
Speakers contextualized their subjects as part of an overall trend of increasing violence against the LGBTQ community in only seven of the 22 discussions.
Discussion of two stories — the death of Scout Schultz and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to send a hate crimes prosecutor to investigate the 2016 killing of Kedarie Johnson — comprised more than half of all discussions about, and time spent covering, anti-LGBTQ violence. Stories about Schultz’s death occurred over a three-day period, and stories about Johnson’s case all occurred on one day.
Though Fox News spent the most time covering anti-LGBTQ violence — at 10 minutes and 21 seconds — most of that coverage came from one 7.5-minute segment featuring a disgraced police detective who defended the police officer who shot Schultz.
Anti-LGBTQ hate homicides in 2017 were at their highest rate in more than five years, mirroring a years-long rise in anti-LGBTQ hate incidents
NCAVP finds that anti-LGBTQ murders were up by 86 percent in 2017, and the latest FBI data found an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in 2016. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) reported that anti-LGBTQ homicides were up by 86 percent in 2017, with the number of victims growing from 28 in 2016 to 52 in 2017. Of the 52 victims, 27 identified as transgender or gender nonconforming and 22 were transgender women of color. People of color made up 71 percent of anti-LGBTQ hate homicide victims in 2017, and 67 percent of the total victims were under the age of 35. According to a report by the Human Rights Campaign and the Trans People of Color Coalition, “Transgender women are estimated to face more than four times the risk of becoming homicide victims than the general population of all women.” These findings reflect a general trend of increasing anti-LGBTQ hate crimes and violence. In November, the Human Rights Campaign reported that the FBI’s 2016 hate crime statistics showed increases in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, noting, “Of the 6,121 incidents reported, 1,076 were based on sexual orientation bias and 124 were based on gender identity bias. These numbers reflect a two percent and nine percent increase, respectively.” [National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, January 2018; Human Rights Campaign and Trans People of Color Coalition, 2017; Human Rights Campaign, 11/13/17]
Some media have reported on the rise in anti-LGBTQ violence throughout 2017. Media have been aware of increasing violence against LGBTQ people since well before NCAVP’s January report was released. In March 2017, TheWashington Post wrote that seven transgender women had been killed only two months into the year, quoting Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) saying that the country was “certainly on pace to blow right by the record set last year.” The article also noted that “while not unprecedented, the frequency of the killings has rattled a community whose members are prone to suffering violent attacks, whether hate-based or otherwise.” That same week, Newsweek similarly reported that those seven murders put “the rate well on course to beat the previous figure of 23 reported murders” of transgender people in 2016. In June, The Daily Beast reported on NCAVP’s 2016 report, noting that the year “was the deadliest year on record for the LGBT community” and that it marked an increase in anti-LGBTQ homicides even if you didn’t count the “49 victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre” in Orlando, FL. The report added that “anti-LGBT violence shows no signs of stopping in 2017” and that the year was “on track to be the most violent on record for the U.S. transgender community.” [The Washington Post, 3/16/17; Newsweek, 3/15/17; The Daily Beast, 6/12/17]
Broadcast and cable news spent less than 40 minutes discussing anti-LGBTQ hate violence in 2017
Throughout 2017, broadcast and cable news spent a total of 39 minutes and 36 seconds discussing anti-LGBTQ hate violence. Broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox Broadcasting Co. spent a total of just over 17.5 minutes during their morning shows, flagship evening news programs, and Sunday political talk shows discussing anti-LGBTQ hate violence in 2017. Cable news networks CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, meanwhile, spent just under 22 minutes covering the topic throughout the year, based on a review of 18 hours of coverage every day between 6 a.m. and midnight. Of the total 39 minutes and 36 seconds of coverage across networks, 24.5 minutes were spent discussing just two stories — the murder of Scout Schultz and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to send a hate crimes prosecutor to investigate the death of Kedarie Johnson — accounting for more than 60 percent of the coverage. Fox News spent the most time discussing anti-LGBTQ violence, devoting 10 minutes and 21 seconds to the topic, but more than 7.5 minutes of that coverage came from one segment that included disgraced former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Mark Fuhrman defending the police officer who shot Schultz. Fuhrman became toxic during the O.J. Simpson murder trial with the discovery of hours of video tape of him using a racial epithet and was later charged with perjury for lying under oath about his language. Fox News has a history of hosting Fuhrman to discuss police violence. MSNBC had the most segments addressing the subject, but its coverage lasted less than 5.5 minutes in total, the lowest of any cable channel. In terms of broadcast networks, Fox Broadcasting Co. did not address anti-LGBTQ violence in 2017 but does not have morning or evening news programming; ABC News had the next least amount of coverage with less than 2.5 minutes. [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, 9/19/17; Media Matters, 3/30/16]
Across networks, anti-LGBTQ violence was discussed only 22 times in 2017, and only seven of those reports explicitly mentioned or alluded to it as part of an overall upward trend
Throughout 2017, cable and broadcast news shows discussed anti-LGBTQ violence only 22 times. An analysis of programming between 6 a.m. and midnight on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News and on the morning shows, flagship evening news programs, and Sunday political talk shows on broadcast stations ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox Broadcasting Co. found that networks discussed hate violence against the LGBTQ community only 22 times in total in 2017. MSNBC had the most discussions, with six pieces of coverage, and ABC News and Fox Broadcasting Co. had the least coverage, with one and zero segments, respectively, although Fox does not have morning or evening news programming like the other broadcast networks.
Only seven out of the 22 discussions of anti-LGBTQ violence and its victims contextualized it as part of an overall trend of increasing violence against the LGBTQ community. Only seven segments discussing anti-LGBTQ violence and its victims mentioned or alluded to an overall growing trend in anti-LGBTQ hate violence, with all seven also noting in some way the trend of increased violence against the transgender community. All 15 discussions that failed to contextualize the trend were about specific murders of LGBTQ victims (for instance, not one of the 13 segments about Johnson or Schultz mentioned the trend). We deemed coverage as contextualizing the trend in anti-LGBTQ hate violence if it specifically mentioned an increase in anti-LGBTQ violence, acknowledged the high rates of violence against LGBTQ people, or noted several instances of anti-LGBTQ violence within a specified time frame.
Reports on the death of Scout Schultz and the investigation into Kedarie Johnson’s killing made up more than half of the coverage of anti-LGBTQ violence
Out of 22 discussions of anti-LGBTQ violence across the networks, eight were specifically about the murder of Scout Schultz. More than one-third of the discussions about anti-LGBTQ violence in 2017 were about a single case, the killing of Scout Schultz, the “bisexual, nonbinary, and intersex” president of an LGBTQ student group at Georgia Tech, who used the gender-neutral pronoun they. All eight discussions occurred between September 17 and 19, while protests were erupting on the Georgia Tech campus. A campus police officer fatally shot Schultz, who reportedly was holding a multipurpose tool with an unextended blade and saying “shoot me,” after Schultz “called 911 to report a suspicious white male with long blonde hair on campus holding a knife and possibly a gun,” according to The New York Times. Schultz had left three suicide notes in their room, and, according to the Times, their mother said that they “suffered from depression and had attempted suicide in the past.” Half of the segments were framed around the campus protests that erupted after Schultz’s murder, and of the eight discussions, only three mentioned Schultz’s LGBTQ identity. [The New York Times, 9/18/17]
Five of the 22 pieces of coverage discussing violence against the LGBTQ community were about Jeff Sessions sending a hate crimes prosecutor to Iowa to investigate the killing of Kedarie Johnson. More than 22 percent of TV news discussions in 2017 of anti-LGBTQ violence were about Attorney General Jeff Sessions sending a hate crimes prosecutor to Iowa to investigate the 2016 killing of gender-fluid black teenager Kedarie Johnson. All five discussions occurred on October 16 on cable news, with MSNBC discussing the case three times and CNN and Fox News discussing the case one time each. [The New York Times, 10/15/17, 10/26/17]
Methodology
Media Matters searched Nexis transcripts for cable TV coverage appearing between 6 a.m. and midnight on CNN and between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Fox News and MSNBC (daytime transcripts for those networks are not available on Nexis), as well as transcripts of broadcast TV news morning shows (Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, and Today) flagship nightly news shows, and Sunday political talk shows on ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017, for mentions of the words or variations of the words “LGBT,” “gay,” “transgender,” “gender identity,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” “sexual orientation,” “gender nonconforming,” or “gender fluid” occurring within 25 words of the terms or variations of the terms “violence,” “crime,” “hate,” “attack,” “homicide,” “shoot,” “murder,” “death,” “die,” or “kill.”
We also searched for the names of all 52 anti-LGBTQ homicide victims in 2017, using the name or names listed in the NCAVP report: Mesha Caldwell, Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, Sean Ryan Hake, Savyon Zabar, Bill Denham, Dontae Lampkins, JoJo Striker, Jaquarrius Holland, Keke Collier/Tiara Richmond, Chyna Gibson/Chyna Doll Dupree, Glenser Soliman, Ciara McElveen, Alphonza Watson, Andrew Nesbitt, An Vinh Nguyen, Kenne McFadden, Bruce Garnett, Chay Reed, Mx. “Kenneth” Bostick, Earl English, Imer Alvarado, Sherrell Faulkner, Kevin Wirth, David Swartley, Matthew Murrey, Josie Berrios/Kendra Adams, Neil Rodney Smith, Ava Le’Ray Barrin, Michael “Chris” Jones, Ebony Morgan, Robert Lee Covington, Rodriguez Montez Burks, TeeTee Dangerfield, John Jolly, Jaylow MC, Juan Javier Cruz, Gwynevere River Song, Kiwi Herring, Ally Lee Steinfeld, Anthony Torres, Derricka Banner, Scout Schultz, Elizabeth Stephanie Montez, Candace Towns, Giovanni Melton, Sydney Loofe, Brooklyn BreYanna Stevenson, Brandi Seals, Shanta Myers, Brandi Mells, Kerrice Lewis, and Kaladaa Crowell. Media Matters also searched for a number of variations and potential misspellings of the victims’ names.
We also searched Nexis transcripts of Fox Broadcasting Co.’s Sunday show Fox News Sunday (the network does not have an evening or morning news program) for the same terms. Any reruns of programming were not included in analysis.
Additionally, Media Matters conducted the same searches on iQ media for the above terms and names appearing on MSNBC’s and Fox News’ programming between 6 a.m. and midnight for the same time frame, as full transcripts from shows on these networks’ daytime programming are not available on Nexis. The iQ media search of Fox News and MSNBC coverage was limited by iQ media’s transcripts.
We excluded from the study coverage of anti-LGBTQ violence in other countries such as Chechnya and Saudi Arabia, updates on past instances of anti-LGBTQ violence like the murders of Harvey Milk and Gianni Versace, and coverage of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse nightclub, an LGBTQ bar in Orlando, FL.
When we found the above terms, we included the segments if the stated topic of discussion was anti-LGBTQ violence in general or instances of anti-LGBTQ violence, such as a specific anti-LGBTQ homicide, or if there was significant discussion of the topic. We defined “significant discussion” as a back-and-forth exchange between two or more people; passing mentions were not included in the analysis.
The Sonoma International Film Festival has earned a reputation for blending Wine Country lifestyle with world-class films from around the world.
This year’s festival, which takes place March 21-25, will feature 110 films from 18 countries and 200 filmmakers. The festival will celebrate food, wine and film and, in the wake of widespread sexual harassment and assault accusations in the movie industry, it will also explore gender roles in Hollywood.
The opening night headline film is Borg vs McEnroe, which explores the story of the legendary 1980 Wimbledon match between Björn Borg and John McEnroe. The film is directed by Janus Metz and stars Sverrir Gudnason as Borg and Shia LaBeouf as McEnroe.
Two other films will headline the festival: Back to Burgundy, a French film, directed by Cédric Klapisch, about three siblings trying to save their family winery, and Chef, an Indian remake of the 2014 American hit film.
Film star Karen Allen (Animal House, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Malcolm X, The Perfect Storm, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), will grace the historic Sonoma Plaza. Allen will serve on the film jury and will participate in a panel discussion titled “Reversing Gender Inequality by 2020.” The panel will also include Academy Award-nominated actress Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, August: Osage County), actor and casting director Pamela Guest (Blue Velvet), JD Heyman, Deputy Entertainment Editor for People, Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, and Ingrid Rudefors, former head of the Stockholm Film Commission.
Additional star power will be provided by actor and director Ed Begley, Jr. (Ghostbusters, Better Call Saul, Arrested Development), who also serves on the film jury.
As usual, food and drink will rule at the festival. Local restaurants including Oso, the girl & the fig, and Umbria will serve small bites paired with wine from Gloria Ferrer, Petroni, Adastra and more. There will be parties from opening to closing night at the backlot located just blocks from the Sonoma Plaza.
Thursday, March 22, features a unique five-course dinner. Each course will be prepared by a celebrity chef and will be paired with a short film. Foodie stars include Dominique Crenn of San Francisco, Evan Funke (Felix Trattoria) from LA, and two local favorites: John McReynolds (Stone Edge Farms) and John Toulze (the girl & the fig).
The Sonoma International Film Festival runs March 21-25 in Sonoma. Tickets start at $35. sonomafilmfest.org
Survivors of the mass shootings at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and a South Florida high school embraced Wednesday outside the club where 49 people were killed nearly two years ago.
“We’re all family,” said Neema Bahrami, who was an event manager at Pulse at the time of the attack.
Pulse survivors, wearing shirts that read “We Will Not Let Hate Win,” stood among Parkland survivors, whose shirts read “Kids First, Politics Second.” The Parkland group hung 49 white roses on the gate surrounding the nightclub, one for each of the victims.
The visitors from Parkland made a stop at Pulse to pay tribute to the nightclub shooting victims and show solidarity with its survivors and activists as part of their trip home from Tallahassee, where they had petitioned lawmakers to reform the state’s gun laws.
If stricter gun legislation had been enacted in response to the June 12, 2016, mass shooting at Pulse, the Parkland survivors argued, they would have been spared the shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.
Stronger laws should have been in place even before the Pulse shooting, said both sets of survivors, including 16-year-old Annabel Claprood, who was in the first room the Parkland school gunman approached.
“This should have been changed after Sandy Hook,” Annabel said, referring to the 2012 massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. “Pulse shouldn’t have even happened.”
She testified before state lawmakers Tuesday.
“We’re gonna get it done,” a Parkland survivor said to Bahrami.
“Thank you for keeping it up. It’s exhausting,” another Parkland survivor said. Bahrami held her hands, and they vowed to keep fueling the conversation about gun-control legislation.
State lawmakers rejected an assault-style weapons ban Tuesday, despite the group’s testifying in its favor.
“They just made a huge group of activists out of us who are teaming up with other activists. This community right here,” said Shelbie Seys, who has three children going to schools in Parkland.
Orlando knows their pain and the road to healing far too well, said Mayor Buddy Dyer, who was at Pulse on Wednesday to welcome the group. Dyer said he wanted to show the same love and support that Orlando felt from around the world after Pulse.
Orlando city attorneys have been to Broward County since the massacre, helping School Board attorneys there navigate some issues that confronted Orlando immediately after the Pulse shooting, Dyer said.
Dyer said he favors gun-control legislation.
“If the shooter in the case in Parkland had not been able to purchase that weapon during the course of the last two years, he could not have carried out the act that he did,” Dyer said. “I do support a ban on assault weapons moving forward.”
The nation watched as student survivors organized rallies and delivered compelling testimony. Students got in front of state lawmakers who were in their legislative session, an opportunity Pulse survivors did not have because the shooting occurred in June.
The session begins in January and ends in March.
Construction is currently under way on a “interim” memorial at Pulse that is meant to make it easier for visitors to pay their respects while long-term plans for the site are still being determined.
On Wednesday, Pulse survivor Luis Ruiz befriended Heather Davidson, director of public policy and advocacy for United Way of Broward County. They exchanged numbers and a hug before Davidson boarded the bus.
They stood together for a photo in front of the roses.
“We’re stronger together,” Davidson said. “This needs to stop.”
The California HIV Alliance, of which Project Inform is a member, submitted their budget request to the State, urging the State to make strategic investments in programs that will increase PrEP uptake and other evidence-based prevention services, provide targeted HIV prevention and employment services for transgender women, address the health and psychosocial needs of older adults living with HIV and educate medical providers about advances in HIV prevention and treatment.
Specifically, we urge the Legislature to consider the following:
$10 Million General Fund Annually – $10 Million General Fund Annually – Support Comprehensive HIV Prevention Services Including PrEP and PEP;
$2 Million General Fund Over 3 Years – Support Demonstration Projects to Address Economic Empowerment and Linkage to HIV Care and Prevention Services for Transgender Women;
$3 Million General Fund Over 3 Years – Support Demonstration Projects to Address the Health and Psychosocial Needs of Older Adults Living with HIV;
$1 Million General Fund Over 2 Years – Develop a Public Health Detailing Initiative to Educate Medical Providers about HIV and STD Prevention;
ADAP Rebate Fund – Modify PrEP Assistance Program to Provide More Comprehensive Coverage for PrEP and PEP.
Further, the HIV Alliance also supports a proposal from the California Hepatitis Alliance to provide $6.6 million General Fund annually for hepatitis C prevention, testing, and linkage to and retention in care. They also support a proposal from Essential Access Health to provide $10 million General Fund annually for STD prevention.
Finally, the HIV Alliance opposes Governor Brown’s proposal to eliminate 340B drug reimbursement within the Medi-Cal Program.
On February 5-6, 2018 in Santa Rosa, CA, Project Inform hosted The Opioid Crisis & Related Public Health Issues in Rural Northern Counties: A Summit to Discuss Solutions. Over 113 participants from a diverse array of health and social service organizations, including drug treatment programs, federally qualified health centers, syringe exchange programs, local health departments, and health plans from the 26 most northern counties in the state attended the Summit. The counties of interest included Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba.
The objectives of the Summit were to:
Encourage the sharing of best practices among providers in the region;
Facilitate networking among providers working on issues related to the opioid crisis in the region; and
Summarize local provider recommendations for a more effective and better resourced response to the opioid crisis and related public health issues in rural northern counties.
The first day of the Summit was primarily dedicated to examining public health issues related to the opioid crisis, such as hepatitis C, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, skin and soft tissue infections, and to broader issues around engaging PWUD and working in “frontier” or low-resource counties. The second day of the Summit focused specifically on preventing overdose and information and resources to increase and improve overdose education and naloxone distribution programs in the region.
The feedback from participants has been very positive. Many attendees reported that they are grateful for the information they received at the Summit and, most importantly, for the opportunity to network and share successes, challenges, and innovative approaches with their colleagues throughout the region.
A summary report, including recommendations and next steps, and links to video recordings of the major sessions will be available in the near future.
Following the murder of Blaze Bernstein, the gay University of Pennsylvania student from Orange County, the California state senator from his district has proposed legislation to increase the penalty for capital crimes motivated by gender or sexual orientation.
As it stands now, murdering someone because of their gender or sexual orientation does not carry additional penalties. This did not sit right with State Senator Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove.)
“This means that under current law, committing a crime against someone who is gay could be called a hate crime, which carries its own lower penalties, but murdering someone specifically because they are gay does not constitute a special circumstance, thus eliminating a more just punishment,” Nguyen said to the Los Angeles Times.
Spurred by Bernstein’s murder, which was reportedly motivated by his sexuality, Nguyen has drafted Senate Bill 971, which would expand the sentencing enhancements for murder convictions to include gender and sexual orientation.
“Details of this case have come to light that have further underscored the senselessness of this act, as it has not been ruled out that Blaze’s sexual orientation could have been the reason for his murder,” Nguyen said. “This is a sad and heartbreaking prospect for all.”
Currently, someone convicted of murder faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. But if prosecutors file special-circumstance allegations, convicted murderers can face life without parole or the death penalty. But these special-circumstance allegations for hate crimes only include “race, color, religion, nationality or country of origin”—not sexual orientation. If the bill passes, it would not impact Bernstein’s case.
Prosecutors have charged Samuel Lincoln Woodward, a 20-year-old high school classmate of Bernstein, with the murder. According to the case against him, investigators found DNA evidence at the crime scene that tied him to the killing. Bernstein’s body was found in Lake Forest Park last month with more than 20 stab wounds. Woodward has pled not guilty to the charges.
In an affidavit to authorities, Woodward claimed that he met Bernstein on the night of the murder to “catch up.” While the two sat in the car together, according to Woodward, Bernstein kissed him on the lips. Woodward claims that Bernstein left the car and walked into the park by himself.
According to news reports, Woodward is allegedly connected to a neo-Nazi group called Atomwaffen Division, which espouses a neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic, and anti-government ideology.
Bernstein’s mother was heartened by news of the proposed legislation.
“Of course, we take comfort that should this bill pass, we will be one step closer to providing a safer California for LGBTQ members to live and thrive,” Jeanne Pepper Bernstein said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
But for her, the comfort comes too late.
“I am crying because there is nothing that can bring my son home to me,” she said. “There is nothing that can bring back any of the innocent beautiful souls that have been lost to us because of ignorance and hate.”
A fifth transgender woman has been murdered in the US.
Phylicia Mitchell was shot dead outside of her home in Cleveland, Ohio last week.
The 45-year-old was found with bullet wounds in her chest in her living room on February 23.
She was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Police have not yet determined a suspect or a motive for the shooting.
Her partner of 30 years, Shane Mitchell, said that he is distraught over her loss.
Phylicia and Shane (Photo by Phylicia Mitchell/Facebook)
“Everyone loved her,” he told Cleavland.com. “I miss her tremendously. That’s my soulmate.
“We went everywhere together. We did everything together.”
Mitchell took her partner’s name last year, although they did not have an official wedding.
He explained: “It was like a mock wedding.
“We had a few friends come, some of her family. It was awesome.”
The two had recently separated as they both struggled with drug addiction, which Mitchel fears is the reason she was killed.
Over the time that they knew each other, Shane had helped Phylicia get out of sex work.
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He said: “She was a good person, even though she had a drug problem, she’s a good person.
“She got mixed up with the wrong people.
“We should have never started doing drugs together. We’d have both had an even better life than we already did.”
Mitchell added that when they first started their relationship they struggled as people “didn’t respect them” but over the years, his family began to accept her.
“My nieces and nephews opened up to her so much. She was just so funny and kind,” he added.
She was found stabbed to death in her home. Her husband Mark Steele-Knudslien, has been arrested on suspicion of the murder after he confessed to police that he had killed her. However, he has since entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment hearing.
Gutierrez was brutally murdered and her body was found burnt.
Local trans rights activist Ari Moore told Buffalo News: “The hatred, the bigotry and the aggressive attacks on trans people is almost an everyday occurrence in our lives.”
Gus Kenworthy is seen at a press conference during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Feb. 11, 2018.
American freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy might not have medaled at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, this year, but he has had quite the impact in another respect.
On Tuesday, Kenworthy tweeted screenshots of some particularly vile comments.
His post elicited a strong response from followers, as it illustrated that even one of the biggest celebrities from this year’s Olympics still has to deal with anti-gay attacks.
Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton expressed her sympathy on social media, telling the skier that the comments “reflect on the people making them, not you.”
Later in the day, Kenworthy received a response from YouTube’s official Twitter page, which said the company was “actively working” to remedy the situation.
“This is unacceptable, we’re so sorry these comments and notifications came through to you,” the tweet reads. “We’re actively working to fix this so you won’t see or be notified of abusive comments and exploring more ways to protect people from abusive comments overall.”
Kenworthy responded on Wednesday with some suggestions for the company’s screening policy, explaining that these slurs and hateful messages could have done serious damage to a younger, less confident version of himself.
Kenworthy, who won a silver medal during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, didn’t come out until the following year. Since then, he’s been a proud advocate for the LGBTQ community.
Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his much-praised movie, Louder Than Bombs, has found much acclaim. It’s the sort of intriguing film that builds tension by living in a moral grey area and maintaining an enigmatic, sexual air.
Thelma (Eili Harboe) is a young woman who’s led an incredibly sheltered life. Her strongly religious parents have completely controlled her existence, but now she’s getting her first taste of freedom by going away to university. As she settles into college life – which still includes the need to contact her parents everyday so they can keep an eye on her – she starts to have feelings for one of her female friends.
While she initially tries to deny what’s happening, it begins to unlock deeply suppressed psychokinetic powers which she may not be able to control. They are powers which could be extremely dangerous if fully unleashed.
Thelma is a movie that starts as it means to go on, with a father and his daughter hunting in the woods. All seems fine until the dad points the gun at his child. From there the movie builds an eerie, unsettled feel, where what should be simple and natural becomes dangerous and full of tension.
It would be easy to dismiss it as a Carrie rip-off, but it’s more than that. It is a modern examination of suppression and denial, looking at how things such as religion can be used to avoid dealing with a problem, and ultimately make things worse. It presents a complex morality, designed to get the viewer thinking. A few years ago, Thelma’s emerging sexuality would probably have been presented salaciously and as just another ‘symptom’ of her strangeness. However, Trier carefully presents her as an innocent – despite what we learn about her. Her sexual awakening is shown as something beautiful that is threatened with destruction not by the supernatural powers inside her, but by the control and repression that has been thrust upon her which means she now has no idea what she’s dealing with.
It is at times unnerving and often intriguing, using some beautiful imagery to something something both familiar and otherworldly. That intimacy between the mundane and the strange also allows it to build empathy for its central character, played sublimely by Eili Harboe. It feels like an extremely timely movie – an allegory for sexuality, female power and the generational divide. At times it may have uncomfortable things to say about those things, but it’s a tantalising and sometimes darkly humorous movie that lingers in the brain. There are also echoes of the effect of ‘gay cure’ therapies and the devastation they can wreak, which goes far beyond the person ‘cured’.
Overall Verdict: A haunting, morally complex and sometimes tense movie that takes modern issues to the edge with empathy and supernatural eeriness.
