Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a New York Democrat, said Monday that he plans to reintroduce a bill aimed at improving sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in violent crimes and suicides. 

The “LGBTQ Essential Data Act” would require law enforcement to include sexual orientation and gender identity information in the National Violent Death Reporting System — a database run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that documents violent deaths and suicides, and provides information about why they occurred.

“The epidemic of violence against transgender Americans — particularly transgender women of color — is only getting worse,” Maloney said in a statement provided in advance to NBC News.

Maloney introduced the bill in 2019, but it didn’t pass. Now, Democrats narrowly control Congress, making it more likely that it could.

If the bill is passed, President Joe Biden is expected to sign it, as inclusive data collection was listed as a priority in his plan to advance LGBTQ equality.

The reintroduction comes at a critical time: Fatal violence against transgender people is at a record high — but that’s only according to data from advocacy organizations. The federal government allows law enforcement agencies to voluntarily submit hate crime data, but it doesn’t require them to track anti-trans violence or anti-LGBTQ violence, generally. 

Advocates say that’s a serious problem, especially now. 

This year is on track to become the deadliest on record for trans people, with at least 28 trans and gender-nonconforming individuals killed so far, according to the Human Rights Campaign. At this time last year, at least 18 trans people had been killed, according to the group. Advocates say these estimates are likely low, as law enforcement often use trans people’s birth name, also known as their deadname, in reports of their deaths.

“HRC has been tracking the underreported data since 2013, and Congress still hasn’t acted to enable local law enforcement to do the same,” Maloney said in his statement. “My bill will help us collect the data necessary to fully support the LGBTQ community. I am proud to be introducing this legislation, which was marked by President Biden as a legislative priority, with broad support. I trust our new Democratic Majority will work to get this bill passed into law. We must act now and help save lives.”

Without comprehensive data, advocates say, it’s hard to know how pervasive anti-LGBTQ violence really is. It’s also difficult to take steps to prevent it, as government data collection is often used to guide funding and resource allocation.

Sam Brinton, vice president of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization, said inclusive data collection “in life and in death” would help advocates “to better understand the scope of suicide and homicide among LGBTQ people and to respond more effectively with resources and policy solutions.” 

“The Trevor Project is the largest suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth, yet we don’t know how many LGBTQ youth die by suicide each year because that data is simply not collected systematically,” Brinton said in a statement. “The LGBTQ Essential Data Act would help deliver much-needed data that we can use to prevent violent deaths and save young LGBTQ lives.”

A 2018 report from the Human Rights Campaign found that no state has a comprehensive law that requires all government-funded data collection efforts to include sexual orientation and gender identity data with other demographic data such as race, ethnicity and sex. 

Four states — New York, California, Oregon and New Jersey — and Washington, D.C., have narrower laws that require LGBTQ-inclusive data collection in some areas other than hate crimes. 

Twenty-one states and D.C. require law enforcement to collect and report data on hate crimes based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, the report found. 

In 2019, Los Angeles County became the first jurisdiction in the nation to pass a motion to train medical examiners and coroners to investigate the violent deaths of LGBTQ people and to collect mortality data on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Though all 50 states now report data through the National Violent Death Reporting System, 10 states face a two-year backlog, according to the Trevor Project. Maloney’s bill would authorize $25 million in funding to help the CDC expand data collection.

NYC Pride announced last month that it would no longer allow corrections and law enforcement exhibitors to participate in NYC Pride events until 2025. The decision is in accordance with NYC Pride’s commitment to create safe spaces for marginalized LGBTQ groups including BIPOC and transgender individuals at their Pride festivities.

“Effective immediately, NYC Pride will ban corrections and law enforcement exhibitors at NYC Pride events until 2025. At that time their participation will be reviewed by the Community Relations and Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion committees, as well as the Executive Board,” reads NYC Pride’s statement. NYC Pride is scheduled for June 27. 

To make sure that safety regulations are still adhered to at events, NYC Pride will “transition to providing increased community-based security and first responders, while simultaneously taking steps to reduce NYPD presence at events.”

Police officers being banned from participating in Pride parades and festivities is not an unfamiliar conversation to LGBTQ advocacy and activist groups in North America. In 2018, Capital Pride in D.C. announced that uniformed officers would not be allowed to march in the Pride parade. In 2019,  Pride Toronto announced that uniformed police officers would not be permitted to attend any Pride Toronto events. 

The announcement was preceded by a voting session that took place among Pride Toronto members. Global News, a Canadian news platform, reported a final result of 163-161, disallowing police participation in Pride Toronto events.

Global News also reports that Pride Toronto committed to using their $1.25 million federal grant to examine the LGBTQ community’s feelings regarding police, and to forge a way forward. 

In solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Vancouver Pride Society announced in 2020 that police officers were no longer welcome to march and exhibit during any of Vancouver Pride Society’s festivities. 

“The roots of Pride are in righteous anger, riot and uprising against police brutality. These riots against the violence of the police were led by Black and Brown trans women and queer people. The Stonewall Riots propelled gay movements from assimilationist tactics towards unapologetic Pride. These riots worked,” reads Vancouver Pride Society’s statement. 

The organization also pledged to ensure public safety by participating in calls to defund the police and “commit to learning and convening community dialogues about what these alternative forms of managing public safety look like.”

Why ban the police? The decision from NYC Pride was simple: given the law enforcement’s history of police brutality in America, there is a need to ensure that BIPOC and transgender individuals who attend Pride events can do so comfortably, without feeling vulnerable at events meant to be safe havens that allow full, unabashed identity expression and manifestation. 

“After many interactions between the police and LGBTQ community locally, [including] the passive aggressive moves between the NYPD and peaceful protestors in Washington Square Park last year, we have to look at the history,” said André Thomas, NYC Pride co-chair. “The ability to welcome Black, Brown, and trans Americans at our events is an even higher priority than for someone to be able to wear police uniform in a parade.”

It is no secret that BIPOC and transgender communities are some of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to interactions with corrections and law enforcement officers. 

Mapping Police Violence reports that in 2020, Black people constituted 28% of those killed by the police despite only constituting 13% of the country’s population. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey also reports that Black transgender people were 50% more likely to report that their interactions with police officers as suspecting them of soliciting sex work and leading to an arrest. In addition, the Movement Advancement Project reports in a 2017 study that nearly 40% of incarcerated girls identify as LGB and 85-90% of incarcerated LGBTQ youth are LGBTQ youth of color. 

With this in mind, NYC Pride’s goal is to make their events harm-and-fear-free for members of the LGBTQ community. 

To supplement the absence of corrections and law enforcement officers at NYC Pride events, the organization will provide community-based security companies and first responders who will ensure that Pride events are secure and will also be on standby in case of emergencies. 

As part of their training, the security companies are primed on how to deal with all kinds of situations including responding to an active shooter. 

“Our staff has gone through active shooter training and everything it entails including what they’re wearing and how they’re identifiable to the community,” said Thomas. “We want to ensure people that even though the NYPD may be a block away, there is still security [present] to take care of your needs.”

A lot of NYC Pride’s information regarding security measures is currently being relayed through social media and reportage from various news sources. 

“We tweeted about our meetings that we had with the NYPD to reinforce public safety after the initial news broke out of what’s been going on,” said Thomas. 

Regarding whether NYC Pride will implement this year’s model for next year’s Pride, “[NYC Pride is] figuring out what works and what doesn’t,” said Thomas. “We’re trying to do things in a hybrid model with some limited in-person and some virtual events. We’re going to figure out what to keep and what to change, and this will influence the planning and processes that we do.”

As for future Prides, Thomas wants everyone to remember this: “It’s always someone’s first Pride, and so, you want to be able to give someone that special experience. So, for future Prides, we’ll be working on greater inclusivity and representation.”

National Museum of the American Indian celebrates Pride

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian will celebrate Pride month with an online panel featuring Indigenous youth on Thursday, June 17 at 4 p.m. Panelists will include Indigenous youth working in education, health, cultural heritage, and the arts.

The topic of discussion will focus on how identity influences activism and panelists will participate in amplifying Two Spirit (people who identify as possessing both male and female spirits) and Native LGBTQ+ voices and issues.

Closed captioning for this program will be available in both English and Spanish, and registration is available online at the Smithsonian’s website.

Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Monday that prohibits use of state funds for the practice of conversion therapy on minors.

Erin Knott, the Executive Director of Equality Michigan was present for the signing ceremony telling the Blade by phone afterwards, “Since Day 1, she has said she do what she could to stop this barbaric practise. She had worked with us in 2019 getting started on this issue but then the pandemic hit and other issues surrounding that [COVID19] in the state so it was delayed till now.” 

Knott reflected that the Executive Order, 2021-3, prevents a discredited practise noting that, “it has been used on too many young people in our community to make them feel like there is something wrong with who they are. These children have been subjected to abusive and hateful practices when they should be held and loved.”

“Since day one, I have made it clear that hate has no home in Michigan,” said Whitmer. “My administration is committed to addressing the systemic barriers faced by young LGBTQ+ Michiganders so that our state is a place where they are able to reach their full potential. The actions we take today will serve as a starting point in protecting our LGBTQ+ youth from the damaging practice of conversion therapy and in ensuring that Michigan is a reflection of true inclusion.” 

By signing the order, the governor said that she plans to ensure that taxpayer funding is only used for research-based medical and mental health practices. She has also asked the Michigan legislature to draft a ban on conversion therapy.

“As a pediatrician who works with LGBTQ+ adolescents, I have seen how patients thrive when they are able to be themselves and when their identities are supported,” Dr. Maureen Connolly, a pediatrician in Detroit who specializes in adolescent medicine and caring for the LGBTQ+ community told Detroit ABC News affiliate WZZM 13. “Conversion therapy is the exact opposite of what young people need and has been shown to have long-lasting negative effects including depression, self-harm and decreased self-esteem. I am grateful for this executive action and I know it will have a positive impact on the health of young people across Michigan.”

“LGBTQ youth are beautiful the way that they are and deserve to be loved and respected — not subjected to the dangerous and abusive practice of conversion therapy. Thank you to Governor Whitmer for taking action to protect LGBTQ youth,” said Sam Brinton, Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project. “While there is still much work to do in the Great Lake State, this is an amazing step forward that will help save young LGBTQ lives in Michigan.” 

Research: 

• According to The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, 13% of LGBTQ youth reported being subjected to conversion therapy, with 83% reporting it occurred when they were under age 18. LGBTQ youth who were subjected to conversion therapy reported more than twice the rate of attempting suicide in the past year compared to those who were not.
• A peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that LGBTQ youth who underwent conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide and more than 2.5 times as likely to report multiple suicide attempts in the past year.

CRinimals in Louisville, Colorado, have repeatedly torn down the city’s display of Pride flags, leaving a Confederate flag in its place.

On 1 June a group of volunteers pitched in to plant dozens of rainbow flags at a busy intersection in celebration of Pride Month.

Within a week they’d all been stolen, not once but twice – and on one occasion a Confederate flag was left at the scene as a stark message.

“I mean, it’s certainly disappointing,” Louisville mayor Ashley Stolzmann told 9News. “But sometimes when you see something like this negative happen, it kind of reminds you why you need to do this kind of activity.”

Louisville Police said witnesses observed a 74-year-old man yanking several flags from the ground display, but officers couldn’t be sure he was the one who left the Confederate flag.

The man was issued a municipal citation for the offence and the Pride flags were recovered.

But after the display was vandalised a second time, the mayor took to carrying hammers and mallets around with her in case she needs to replace the flags again.

“Unfortunately, as of late I’ve had them in my purse,” Stolzmann said.

She’s supported by local LGBT+ group Out Boulder County, which has noticed an increase in anti-LGBT+ vandalism this year.

“It’s really amazed me that this year a lot more folks have come out and decided to do more destructive acts like these,” said events manager Juan Moreno.

In his five years with the organisation he believes this is the first time rainbow flags have been targeted in Boulder County.

Fortunately, the group has more than enough Pride flags to outnumber a few angry homophobes.

But after the display was vandalised a second time, the mayor took to carrying hammers and mallets around with her in case she needs to replace the flags again.

“Unfortunately, as of late I’ve had them in my purse,” Stolzmann said.

A Florida homeowners association has ordered a gay couple to remove a small rainbow flag from their front yard, but the couple has no intention of taking it down.

Bob Plominski and Mike Ferrari of Oakland Park, Florida, were issued a citation on June 5 that told them to take the flag down by June 15 or pay a $50 daily fine. The couple put it up to celebrate Pride Month.

Plominski and Ferrari told NBC Miami they were confused by the notice because they have flown the pride flag before and posted political signs in the neighborhood without any problems.

“I got upset,” Plominski said. “We’ve done this before and it’s a simple showing of our pride to the community and it’s up for 30 days. We were in shock they were going to do that.

Bob Brusseau, president of the Eastland Cove Homeowners Association, said the five-person board sent the couple a violation notice after one of the association’s members complained based on a rule that restricts residents to displaying only U.S. or military flags in the neighborhood.

“It’s in the document, and you can be sued,” he told NBC News.

Fines actually won’t be enforced until around 30 to 40 days from the issuing date of the citation, according to Brusseau.

“Personally, I’ll vote against any fine,” he said, adding that two board members didn’t even wish to pursue the case, but the other three did.

Plominski and Ferrari have a right to appeal the association’s decision before a grievance committee.

“I really think the citation is because it’s a gay pride flag and someone in the neighborhood is offended, simple as that,” Ferrari told NBC Miami.

The couple said they will continue to fly their pride flag until the end of the month.

“It’s going to stay up until June 30,” Plominski told NBC Miami. “We as a community worked really hard to earn and get to where we are today. We’re not going to back down on this one.”

Via press release:

5 years ago, 49 LGBTQ people, largely Black and Latinx, were killed in the deadliest attack on LGBTQ people in American history. The shooting is also the second-deadliest mass shooting in American history. In response, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, DNC Secretary Jason Rae and DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes released the following statement:

“Five years ago, our nation wept as 49 lives were taken in a senseless act of violence. We lost siblings and children, cousins and friends. But we turned our mourning into a vibrant movement for reform. Gun safety is an LGBTQ issue, plain and simple. President Biden and Democrats know we must honor those lost at Pulse with action and pass gun safety legislation to finally put an end to mass shootings across our nation.

“We must also finally address the growing epidemic of violence that leaves countless transgender and gender non-conforming people afraid of losing their lives. In 2021, we have already lost 28 transgender and gender non-conforming people, almost entirely transgender women of color, putting us on track for the deadliest year on record. President Biden is committed to ending the violence, achieving equality and protecting the LGBTQ community. Today, we renew our commitment to making possible a world where LGBTQ people, including LGBTQ people of color, are valued, loved and safe.”

Via press release from the White House:

Five years ago today in Orlando in the middle of Pride Month, our nation suffered the deadliest attack affecting the LGBTQ+ community in American history, and at the time, the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman.

Within minutes, the Pulse nightclub that had long been a place of acceptance and joy turned into a place of unspeakable pain and loss.

Forty-nine people were there celebrating Latin night were murdered, even more injured, and countless others scarred forever – the victims were family members, partners and friends, veterans and students, young, Black, Asian and Latino – our fellow Americans.

A few days later, I traveled with President Obama to pay respects to them and their families, to thank the brave first responders and the community who found strength and compassion in each other, and to pledge that what happened would not be forgotten.

Over the years, I have stayed in touch with families of the victims and with the survivors who have turned their pain into purpose, and who remind us that we must do more than remember victims of gun violence and all of the survivors, family members, and friends left behind; we must act.

In the coming days, I will sign a bill designating Pulse Nightclub as a national memorial, enshrining in law what has been true since that terrible day five years ago: Pulse Nightclub is hallowed ground.

But there is more we must do to address the public health epidemic of gun violence in all of its forms – mass shootings and daily acts of gun violence that don’t make national headlines.

It is long past time we close the loopholes that allow gun buyers to bypass background checks in this country, and the Senate should start by passing the three House-passed bills which would do exactly that.

It is long past time we ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, establish extreme risk protection orders, also known as “red flag” laws, and eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.

We must also acknowledge gun violence’s particular impact on LGBTQ+ communities across our nation. We must drive out hate and inequities that contribute to the epidemic of violence and murder against transgender women – especially transgender women of color.

We must create a world in which our LGBTQ+ young people are loved, accepted, and feel safe in living their truth. And the Senate must swiftly pass the Equality Act, legislation that will ensure LGBTQ+ Americans finally have equal protection under law.

In the memory of all of those lost at the Pulse nightclub five years ago, let us continue the work to be a nation at our best – one that recognizes and protects the dignity and safety of every American.

Washington DC’s NBC News affiliate reports:

Vice President Kamala Harris put her pride for the LBGTQ+ community on display Saturday in Washington, D.C. Harris surprised marchers by joining the Capital Pride Walk and Rally. She wore a pink blazer and a “love is love” shirt and walked with the procession for about a block.

“Happy Pride,” Harris told members of the crowd as she waved to people cheering on sidewalks. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, wearing a t-shirt with rainbow lettering, joined Harris and the other marchers headed toward the Capital Pride rally at Freedom Plaza.

In brief remarks, Harris called for the passage of the Equality Act and said the Biden administration understands the importance of advancing LGBTQ+ rights.

Read the full article.

Pride flags will remain banned from U.S. military installations, even during Pride Month, the Pentagon says, upholding a policy former Defense Secretary Mark Esper established last July.

The Defense Department “will maintain the existing policy from July 2020 regarding the display or depiction of unofficial flags,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday at a news briefing, confirming that “there won’t be an exception this month for the Pride flag.”

However, Kirby noted that the choice “in no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people of the LGBTQ+ community, personnel in and out of uniform who serve in this department.” 

“We’re proud of them,” he added. Kirby explained that the decision was made to avoid challenges that could arise from making an exception to the policy.

Kirby noted that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will participate in Pride Month festivities at the Pentagon this week. 

Austin “encourages all commands to likewise find ways to recognize the service and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community in defense of this nation,” Kirby said in a statement. 

The Trump administration’s flag policy was put in place to limit what flags were able to be flown at military installations and was notable for excluding the Confederate flag, NBC News previously reported. 

Esper, a Trump appointee, confirmed the modification in a July 17, 2020, memo that contains guidance on what flags are allowed to be flown. Permitted flags included U.S. state and territory flags, military service flags, the prisoners of war and missing in action flag, and several others. 

The Modern Military Association of America, a nonprofit supporting LGBTQ service members and veterans, shared a tweet Friday calling on the Pentagon to “reconsider its misguided policy” and authorize the use of Pride flags on military installations. The group also noted that President Joe Biden had promised to do so on the campaign trail last year. 

In a tweet last July, then-candidate Biden said: “Banning the Confederate flag from military installations was long overdue. Banning the LGBTQ Pride flag — the very symbol of diversity and inclusion — is undeniably wrong. The Pentagon should ensure it is authorized, or as President, I will.”

The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment. 

On the first day of his presidency, Biden issued an executive orderthat expanded federal laws preventing discrimination on the basis of sex to include LGBTQ individuals. Days later, the president reversed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people from openly serving in the military.

Last week, Biden released A Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, 2021, in which he honored the “remarkable progress” the LGBTQ community has made since the June 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising, which ignited the modern LGBTQ movement for equality. The president also noted that close to 14 percent of his administration’s 1,500 agency appointees identify as LGBTQ.