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Senator Dianne Feinstein, an ‘icon for women in politics,’ dies at 90

Senator Dianne Feinstein has died at 90 years old, her office has confirmed. Her career was one of many firsts. She was the first woman president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the first woman mayor of San Francisco, and one of two of the first women elected to the U.S. Senate from California.

James Sauls, chief of staff to Sen. Feinstein, released the following statement:

“Sadly, Senator Feinstein passed away last night at her home in Washington, D.C. Her passing is a great loss for so many, from those who loved and cared for her to the people of California that she dedicated her life to serving. Senator Feinstein never backed away from a fight for what was just and right. At the same time, she was always willing to work with anyone, even those she disagreed with, if it meant bettering the lives of Californians or the betterment of our nation. There are few women who can be called senator, chairman, mayor, wife, mom and grandmother. Senator Feinstein was a force of nature who made an incredible impact on our country and her home state. She left a legacy that is undeniable and extraordinary. There is much to say about who she was and what she did, but for now, we are going to grieve the passing of our beloved boss, mentor and friend.”

Senator Chuck Schumer once said of Feinstein, “She’s a legend. A legend in California as the first woman senator. A legend in the Senate. She was the leader on so many different issues.”

Born Dianne Goldman in San Francisco on June 22, 1933, she was raised by a Russian Orthodox mother and Jewish father. She worshipped at Temple Emanuel Synagogue and graduated from San Francisco’s Convent of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic all girls’ high school. She was in the glee club, ballet, camera club and athletics.

Feinstein went on to study at Stanford University where she graduated in 1955 and was later married three times.

She had her only daughter, Katherine, with her first husband, who she divorced after three years.

In 1962, she married her second husband, Bertram Feinstein, who died in 1978 of colon cancer, just months before Feinstein became San Francisco mayor.

In 1980, Feinstein married her third husband, investment banker Richard Blum. She remained with him until his death from cancer in 2022.

Feinstein’s first foray into politics came in 1960 when then-Gov. Pat Brown appointed her to the California Women’s Parole Board. But it was in 1969, at the age of 35, that Feinstein first held public office, winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was in the state Senate at the time. He recalled meeting Feinstein during those years.

“I remember that I was trying to get a house here in San Francisco, when they wouldn’t allow Black people easily to get houses,” he said. “And there was a demonstration and this angular tall, great looking white woman pushing a baby stroller with a little kid in it, who nobody knew anything about, came out to participate in the protest. That was Dianne Feinstein! And it was that long ago, and so I am a great admirer.”

In the 1970s, while serving as the first female president of the Board of Supervisors, Feinstein ran twice for mayor, but lost. She had decided to not run again, when tragedy struck the city.

The tragic assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone by Supervisor Dan White in 1978 put Feinstein in the job. In 1979, Feinstein won her first full term as mayor and began reshaping the city.

During the decade she served, she survived a recall attempt, lead mostly by detractors of her proposal to ban handguns in San Francisco. She oversaw the remaking of the city’s skyline, which some decried as the Manhattan-ization of San Francisco, also oversaw a raucous 1984 Democratic National Convention and saved the city’s cable car system.

“The cable cars still running!” Brown exclaimed. “Cause of Dianne.”

Feinstein rose to power as a crisis gripped the city’s gay community. A disease that would later be called AIDS, killed thousands of gay men. Hoping to save lives, Feinstein ordered the city’s bathhouses closed. A risky move, considering the political power of the gay community at the time.

Under her watch, the city’s health department created the global standard for AIDS healthcare at San Francisco General Hospital. In 1990, Feinstein set her sights on a higher office, running for California governor. She lost to Republican Pete Wilson, but still made history again as the first woman in the state to win a major party’s gubernatorial nomination. Then, in 1992, there was a turning point.

During what was dubbed the “Year of the Woman,” Feinstein was elected to the U.S. Senate, alongside Bay Area Congresswoman Barbara Boxer.

In Congress, Feinstein served as the first woman to chair the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee. She authored the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, leading to a 10 year restriction on certain semi-automatic weapons. The legislation was prompted by the 101 California Street shooting, when a gunman opened fire at a law firm in San Francisco’s financial district, killing eight people.

“I worked with Republican and Democrats alike,” said Feinstein in an interview with CSPAN. “Ten Republicans along with 46 Democrats voted in favor of the amendment.”

Brown adds, “Dianne Feinstein is the only member of Congress either on the Congressional side or on the Senate side who’s ever been able to get a controlled weapons ban signed into law. Dianne got that.”

In 2014, Feinstein released a report revealing how the CIA was detaining and interrogating potential terrorists, sometimes torturing the suspects. The release of the report, led to anti-torture legislation.

“This program was morally, legally and administratively misguided,” she said in an interview with CSPAN. “This nation should never again engage in these tactics.”

Feinstein’s legislative legacy also includes:

  • Creating federal coordination of Amber Alerts, the national child abduction warning system
  • Passing the California Desert Protection Act, which protected millions of acres of California desert and created the Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks
  • Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, to protect women from domestic violence and sexual assault
  • Authoring the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, to enshrine marriage equality into federal law

In an interview with CSPAN she said, “Simply put, Americans should be free to marry the person they love regardless of sexual orientation or race.”

At times, Sen. Feinstein faced criticism from some in her own party.

Some of the worst came in 2018, after she initially declined to make public a letter from Bay Area professor Christine Blasey Ford during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanagh. Ford had said Kavanagh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school.

Two years later, some Democrats also criticized Feinstein for appearing too cozy with Republicans during the confirmation hearings for conservative Supreme Court appointee Amy Coney Barrett.

Still, throughout her career, Feinstein was seen as a trailblazer for women. Someone who broke barriers, juggling being a wife and mother while navigating a career in the male-dominated field of politics.

“Dianne is unbelievable in how she sets her mind and her program on doing something and it gets done,” Brown said. “

In Feinstein’s later years in office, concerns were raised about her mental fitness and ability to serve. She was the oldest sitting member of Congress.

In late February of 2023, at age 89, she was hospitalized with shingles. That health scare came the same month Feinstein had announced she would retire from the U.S. Senate when her term was up in 2024. She told reporters it was time.

“You know, there are times for all things under the sun, and I think that will be the right time,” Feinstein said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Feinstein teared up when she told her Democratic colleagues about her decision.

“And she got a standing ovation that lasted minutes and minutes,” he said. “One of the longest I’ve ever seen. Which shows the love our caucus, and the country have for this wonderful, wonderful leader and legend, Dianne Feinstein.”

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Uganda’s anti-gay law causing wave of rights abuses, activists say

The consideration and passage by Uganda’s government of one of the world’s harshest anti-gay laws have unleashed a torrent of abuse against LGBTQ people, mostly committed by private individuals, rights groups said on Thursday.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), which was enacted in May, prescribes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts. At least six people have been charged under it, including two accused of the capital offense of “aggravated homosexuality”.

But the report, authored by a committee of the Convening for Equality (CFE) coalition, said the main perpetrators of human rights abuses against LGBTQ people this year — including torture, rape, arrest and eviction — were private individuals.

It said this pointed to the way the law and the rampant homophobic rhetoric that preceeded its passage earlier in the year had radicalized the public against the LGBTQ community.

For example, the report said mob-aided arrests had become increasingly common “because AHA has put LGBTIQ+ persons on the spot as persons of interest, and the public seems to be the custodians of enforcing the witch hunt.”

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, researchers documented 306 rights violations based on the victim’s sexual orientation and gender identity, with state actors the perpetrators in 25 of those cases.

By contrast, reports by rights activists in 2020 and 2021 found that state actors were responsible for nearly 70% of the rights violations documented in those years. The report did not provide comparative figures for 2022.

Ugandan Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi was not immediately available for comment.

The report’s authors said they had documented 18 instances in which the police conducted forced anal examinations of people in their custody to gather “evidence” of homosexuality.

“Surviving a forced anal examination at police is something that lives with you forever,” it quoted one survivor as saying.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said he had not yet read the report and could not comment.

The report cautioned that its statistics could not be considered exhaustive given the difficulties LGBTQ people face reporting violations.

The climate of fear and intimidation unleashed by the law has also led to rising cases of mental health conditions in the LGBTQ community, including suicidal thoughts, it said.

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UN refugee agency slams Braverman’s LGBTQ+ asylum comments

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has hit back at UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s highly controversial comments on the international asylum system.

Braverman faced heavy backlash this week when she publicly criticised the 1951 refugee convention, claiming it was no longer fit for purpose.

Elsewhere in her speech, given at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, Braverman claimed that being discriminated against for being LGBTQ+ or a woman is not enough of a reason to qualify for asylum.

“Let me be clear, there are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay, or to be a woman,” Braverman said in her speech on Tuesday (26 September).

“Where individuals are being persecuted, it is right that we offer sanctuary. But we will not be able to sustain an asylum system if, in effect, simply being gay or a woman, and fearful of discrimination in your country of origin, is sufficient to qualify for protection.”

Currently, it is illegal to be LGBTQ+ in 64 UN member states. 

Braverman also suggested that the UK government would do “whatever is required” to tackle the issue of migrants illegally arriving, even if it meant leaving the convention.

In a rare public statement, the UNHCR responded to Braverman’s comments and defended the 1951 refugee convention.

“The need is not for reform or more restrictive interpretation, but for stronger and more consistent application of the convention and its underlying principle of responsibility-sharing,” a statement from the agency read, per BBC News.

“Where individuals are at risk of persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, it is crucial that they are able to seek safety and protection,” the statement read.

The statement also made a pointed reference to the UK’s sky-high backlog of asylum claims.

Just last month, the Home Office released statistics that revealed a record-high number of asylum seekers, with 175,000 applications waiting to be decided on.

“An appropriate response to the increase in arrivals and to the UK’s current asylum backlog would include strengthening and expediting decision-making procedures,” the UNHCR suggested.

Suella Braverman leaving Downing Street wearing a blue blouse.
The UNHCR has responded to Braverman’s speech. (Getty)

Braverman has also been condemned by LGBTQ+ asylum charity Micro Rainbow, who accused the Home Secretary of using LGBTQ+ people as scapegoats.

“LGBTQI people often face death, imprisonment, and violence. When they come to the UK to seek safety, they have to go through an asylum system that is re-traumatising and dehumanising. In addition, the standard of proof is very high,” founder and chief executive Sebastian Rocca told PinkNews.

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“The system, as it is, is incredibly difficult. These comments seek to scapegoat migrants and LGBTQI people for political gain once again.”

The Labour party has also lambasted Braverman’s comments.

“In many countries, persecution of LGBTQ+ people is rife, while discriminatory laws mean they face prison or even the death penalty simply for being themselves,” said Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East.

“Those fleeing to the UK are already put through dehumanising ‘tests’ to prove their identity and are still regularly disbelieved by the Home Office. Braverman encouraging the international community to turn its back on LGBTQ+ refugees increases the risk that people are sent to their deaths.”

There has also been backlash from Braverman’s own party following the speech.

Conservative member of the London Assembly Andrew Boff told BBC News that Braverman was “victim-blaming” to distract from the “appalling backlog of asylum claims.”

Another Conservative MP, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that unless Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “gets rid” of Braverman, there was a danger it “reflects poorly on him.”

Downing Street confirmed to the national broadcaster that it had signed off on Braverman’s speech.

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UK Official: Being LGBTQ Is Not Grounds For Asylum

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EuroNews reports:

Suella Braverman questioned the United Nations Refugee Convention in a speech in Washington, arguing that “simply being gay, or a woman” should not be by itself grounds for international protection. The British government has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority.

With a general election due next year, which the opposition party Labour is widely tipped to win, the ruling Conservatives’ stance against asylum seekers is becoming increasingly hardline. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, the UK home secretary questioned the role of the 1951 Geneva Convention, which defines refugee status.

In 12 countries around the world, people can be put to death for having a same-sex relationship, while in 66 states private, consensual same-sex sexual activity is criminalised, according to the Human Dignity Trust.

Read the full article.

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California governor signs law barring schoolbook bans based on racial and LGBTQ teachings

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday to ban school boards from rejecting textbooks based on their teachings about the contributions of people from different racial backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities.

Newsom called the measure “long overdue.”

“From Temecula to Tallahassee, fringe ideologues across the country are attempting to whitewash history and ban books from schools,” Newsom said in a statement. “With this new law, we’re cementing California’s role as the true freedom state: a place where families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what’s right for them.”

The bill takes effect immediately.

The topic of banning and censoring books has become a U.S. political flashpoint, cropping up in states around the country. Many of the new restrictions enacted by conservative-dominated school boards have been over textbook representations of sexuality and LGBTQ history.

The California bill garnered heightened attention when a Southern California school board this summer rejected a social studies curriculum for elementary students that had supplementary material teaching about Harvey Milk, who was a San Francisco politician and gay rights advocate.

A 2011 state law requires schools to teach students about the historical contributions of gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

Newsom threatened the school board with a $1.5 million fine and the board later voted to approve a modified curriculum for elementary students that met state requirements.

The new legislation bars school boards from banning instructional materials or library books because they provide “ inclusive and diverse perspectives in compliance with state law,” according to a press release from Newsom’s office.

The bill cleared the state Legislature after intense debates about what role the state should have in curricula approved by local districts and how lawmakers can make sure students are exposed to diverse and accurate portrayals of history.

Newsom also signed a bill Monday to increase penalties for child traffickers.

Democrats in the Assembly Public Safety Committee blocked the proposal earlier this year. Some lawmakers initially opposed it because they were concerned it could inadvertently punish victims of child trafficking.

After it was blocked, Newsom weighed in with his disapproval of the bill’s failure to advance, and lawmakers revived it. Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove, who authored the bill, later amended the bill to protect victims from being criminalized.

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Federal judge declares Texas drag law unconstitutional

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a Texas law that LGBTQ advocates feared would ban drag shows in the state and imprison performers.

The law, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June, expanded existing state law to prevent children from exposure to sexually explicit performances. While the legislation, Senate Bill 12, does not cite drag specifically, drag performers feared that it was passed with the intention of criminalizing the art form, which has deep ties to the LGBTQ community, and that it would repress their freedom of expression. 

The bill’s statement of intent leads with and repeatedly cites drag shows as a threat to children. And on the day Abbott signed the bill into law, he shared an article about it and wrote, “Texas Governor Signs Law Banning Drag Performances in Public. That’s right.” 

U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, writing that the law “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills free speech.”

“Not all people will like or condone certain performances,” Hittner wrote. “This is no different than a person’s opinion on certain comedy or genres of music, but that alone does not strip First Amendment protection.”

Hittner — who temporarily blocked the law from taking effect last month — added that the “chilling effect S.B. 12 will have on speech in general outweighs any hardship on the State of Texas.”

LGBTQ advocates and drag performers celebrated the ruling.

“LGBTQIA+ Texans, venue owners, performers, and our allies all came together to uphold free expression in our state — and we won,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “This work isn’t done but for now we celebrate. Long live Texas drag!”

Texas drag performer Brigitte Bandit, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement to NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin that she was “relieved and grateful for the court’s ruling.”

“My livelihood and community has seen enough hatred and harm from our elected officials,” Bandit said. “This decision is a much needed reminder that queer Texans belong and we deserve to be heard by our lawmakers.”

A spokesperson for State Attorney General Ken Paxton — the lead defendant in the case who was acquitted during a historic impeachment trial earlier this month — confirmed in a brief email late Tuesday evening that Paxton will appeal the ruling. 

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, also suggested after the ruling that legislators will again try to restrict drag performances in the state.

“#SB12, which restricts children from being exposed to drag queen performances, is about protecting young children and families,” Patrick wrote on X. “This story is not over.”

Republican legislators in more than a dozen states are trying to restrict drag performances, particularly in the presence of minors.

Montana and Tennessee have passed laws that explicitly limit drag performances in some capacity, and four other states — Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Texas — passed laws this year that regulate “adult” performances and could be used to target or restrict drag, according to the LGBTQ policy think tank Movement Advancement Project. Tennessee’s drag law was similarly ruledunconstitutional this year, and the laws in Arkansas and Florida are not enforceable pending ongoing lawsuits.

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They Live in the US, but These LGBTQ+ Couples Can’t Get Married

Alray Nelson and his partner Brennen Yonnie are married in all but name.

They’ve been together for 12 years. They’ve raised a child together. They wear wedding rings and refer to each other as husbands. Unlike straight married couples, however, they can’t benefit from each other’s insurance, file taxes jointly or build a house together on tribal land.

Same-sex marriage is banned on the Navajo Nation, the sprawling reservation that spans Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. The two could have married in another jurisdiction and moved somewhere that recognizes the rights of LGBTQ couples. But the reservation is home, and they feel there’s no other place for them to go. So despite a lifelong commitment to each other, they don’t plan to marry until the ban is lifted.

“When it comes to having a marriage certificate, that’s something that we will not obtain until that marriage certificate says ‘the Navajo Nation’ on it,” Nelson, executive director of Navajo Nation Pride and an executive assistant to Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, told CNN.

That day could be on the horizon.

In June, Navajo Nation Council Delegate Seth Damon introduced a bill to repeal the prohibition on same-sex marriage. The legislation has cleared three committees and faces just one more before it can go before the full council. Meanwhile, key Navajo leaders have voiced support for the measure.

If the bill clears the committee stage, Nelson said he expects it to go before the full council in mid-October. And if it passes, he added, it could have a ripple effect on Indigenous nations in the US.

“It sends a message of inclusiveness across Indian Country and the United States — that the largest target tribal nation in the country stands on the right side of history,” he added. “It supports our LGBTQ relatives, as our nations always have since time immemorial.”

Navajo leaders banned same-sex marriage in 2005

Though the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, the Navajo Nation and other federally recognized tribes are sovereign and not bound by the court’s decision. While at least 37 tribal nations have marriage equality laws on the books, others — including the Navajo Nation — explicitly prohibit it.

In 2005, the Navajo Nation Council passed the Diné Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman and declared same-sex marriage “void and prohibited.” Its sponsor characterized the law as promoting family values and preserving Navajo tradition.

Jennifer Denetdale, professor and chair of American Studies at the University of New Mexico, said that the Diné Marriage Act was enacted during a moment when broader American society appeared to be concerned about the preservation of the nuclear family. But according to Denetdale, some Navajos were surprised that the council felt such legislation was necessary. (Then-President Joe Shirley Jr. vetoed the legislation, calling same-sex marriage on the Navajo Nation a “non-issue” and the ban discriminatory, but the council ultimately overrode the veto.)

“Our matrilineal system recognizes that kin relationships are the building blocks of our nation and our relationships,” she told CNN. “We privilege and we prize our kin relationships. This means that we remember our inclusion of our LGBTQ2 (Two-Spirit) relatives.”

Though supporters of the Diné Marriage Act have cited concerns over preserving Navajo tradition, what constitutes Navajo tradition has also been a subject of debate. Some scholars have written that Navajos traditionally acknowledged and respected a third gender, the “nádleehí” (and even multiple genders) — though there’s disagreement over whether relationships between the nádleehí and their partners correspond to modern LGBTQ relationships.

The proposed legislation to repeal the Diné Marriage Act’s ban on same-sex marriage maintains that the traditional Navajo wedding ceremony will remain between a man and a woman. LGBTQ couples will be able to marry on the Navajo Nation through other methods, and the tribal government will also recognize such marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

“The way in which it’s written is intended to acknowledge that the Navajo people consider marriage to be sacred between a man and a woman,” Denetdale said. “But the legislation recognizes and acknowledges that there are relationships between people who we may consider to be of the same sex, who have always had long-standing and fruitful and loving relationships as well. And those relationships deserve to be recognized by the Navajo Nation.”

The proposed legislation also calls for changing gendered language in tribal statues to be more inclusive, and removing provisions of Navajo code that require married women to have their husband’s consent before making certain financial decisions.

Damon, who sponsored the bill, did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.

Some Navajos are hesitant to return home without marriage equality

Nelson said a repeal of the same-sex marriage ban would have a profound impact on him and his partner, as well as other LGBTQ couples on the Navajo Nation. For example, if his partner were to experience a medical emergency, he might not have visitation rights or any authority over decisions regarding his care.

“God forbid something happened to his life, I do not have any decision making power over what happens to my husband — a privilege that same-sex couples and my mom and my dad had in their marriage,” he said.

While Nelson and his partner have chosen to remain on the Navajo Nation, others say they could be forced to build a life elsewhere if circumstances don’t change.

“If things don’t go the way I want them to go, then it’s quite possible that I may have to leave and find a place where I am welcomed and celebrated,” said Charlie Amáyá Scott, a scholar and educator who runs the popular Instagram account Diné Aesthetics.

Such considerations are partly why Josie Raphaelito doesn’t currently live on the Navajo Nation.

Raphaelito, a board member for Diné Pride and a vocal advocate for marriage equality on the Navajo Nation, grew up in Pine Hill, New Mexico, on the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation and left to attend college and graduate school on the East Coast. Though she now lives in Buffalo, New York, with her wife, she said she always planned on returning home eventually.

While there are other factors affecting her decision, Raphaelito said she’s hesitant to move back to the Navajo Nation when she knows she and her wife would lack protections afforded to straight married couples.

“It’s hurtful to not be seen as equal and to have your partner not seen as equal either,” she said.

Marriage equality advocates are optimistic about the bill’s future

There have been other attempts to repeal the Navajo Nation’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The first bill, introduced last year by Navajo Nation Council Delegate Eugene Tso, was initially withdrawn and resubmitted with changes. The council concluded its legislative session before the second proposal could come up for a vote.

Nelson and Raphaelito are optimistic that the third time will be the charm.

“The years and years of advocacy and education are starting to really pay off,” Raphaelito said. “(People) are serving as allies and introducing bills and encouraging their colleagues to listen with their hearts and be a better relative to all of our Navajo people.”

While some LGBTQ and Two-Spirit Navajos report not feeling welcome in their communities, the tide is turning. Organizations such as Diné Equality have long advocated for LGBTQ rights. The Navajo Nation, meanwhile, observed Diné Pride Week for the first time in 2017 and the festivities have continued in the years since.

“It’s time for the Navajo government to really exercise its sovereignty to protect people that look and live like me and my husband,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he feels confident that the council has the votes to pass the legislation this time around. And if that happens, he and his partner plan to be first in line for a marriage license issued by the Navajo Nation.

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Democrats introduce bill to fight anti-LGBTQ+ harassment in colleges

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Democrats introduced a bill that would require colleges and universities to fight anti-LGBTQ+ harassment on campus.

The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act would require colleges and universities that receive federal funds – which is almost all of them – to enact an anti-harassment policy that specifically addresses harassment based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, and religion. The policies would also have to address cyberbullying.

The appeals court ruled evidence “tainted the jury’s verdict on the remaining charges, depriving defendant of his constitutional right to a fair trial.”

“No one should live in fear of being bullied just because of who they are, especially in our schools,” said out Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who introduced the bill in the Senate with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). “In the face of increased harassment and discrimination, particularly against members of the LGBTQ+ community, our legislation makes crystal clear that kind of hate has no place on our college campuses or universities.”

The bill was first introduced in the Senate in 2011 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who said, “While there is no way to completely eliminate the cruelty that some students choose to inflict on their peers, there should be a clear code of conduct at all universities to prohibit harassment.” It was then introduced again in 2021 by Baldwin and Murray. 

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced a companion bill in the House. 

“No one should be bullied or harassed because of who they are or who they love,” said Pocan in a statement. “Today we honor Tyler’s life by reintroducing the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act to ensure that students can learn in peace and not have to worry about living in fear or humiliation for being themselves.”

Tyler Clementi was a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey who died by suicide in 2010 after his roommate used a webcam in their dorm room to record Clementi kissing a man. The roommate posted video to Twitter and Clementi found out.

The roommate was charged with two counts of invasion of privacy, two counts of attempted invasion of privacy, four counts of bias intimidation, three counts of tampering with physical evidence, three counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution, and one count of witness tampering. He was found guilty on all counts in a verdict that was later overturned on appeal. He then pled guilty to one count of attempted invasion of privacy.

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Gay Man Elected To Lead Greek Opposition Party

Bloomberg News reports:

Members of Greece’s leftist Syriza party elected Stefanos Kasselakis to head the country’s second-largest political party after the resignation of former leader Alexis Tsipras in June following a free fall in support for his party in two general elections earlier this year. Syriza’s new president also becomes the first openly-gay person to lead a Greek political party and has campaigned with his partner, Tyler McBeth, a 32-year-old American nurse.

“I don’t have a gay agenda. I have a human agenda,” Kasselakis said in a statement in August to announce his candidacy. Kasselakis has positioned himself as a self-made man who wants social equality, the separation of church and state and the abolition of compulsory military service. While still a student, he worked as a volunteer on the staff of then-Senator Joe Biden during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Read the full article.

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Newsom Signs New Protections For LGBTQ Youth

NBC News reports:

The new laws include legislation that focuses on support for LGBTQ youth. One law sets timelines for required cultural competency training for public school teachers and staff, while another creates an advisory task force to determine the needs of LGBTQ students and help advance supportive initiatives. A third requires families to show that they can and are willing to meet the needs of a child in foster care regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“California is proud to have some of the most robust laws in the nation when it comes to protecting and supporting our LGBTQ+ community, and we’re committed to the ongoing work to create safer, more inclusive spaces for all Californians,” Newsom said in a statement. “These measures will help protect vulnerable youth, promote acceptance, and create more supportive environments in our schools and communities.”

Read the full article.

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