Eleven Christian ministers and the Tennessee Independent Baptists for Religious Liberty (TIBRL) are challenging the legality of marriage certificates issued to same-sex couples.
The group filed a Declaratory Order with the Tennessee Department of Health on Thursday, arguing while the state is following a federal order allowing same-sex couples to wed in the state, there is nothing in the Tennessee Constitution which defines marriage as anything other than that between a woman and a man.
In a statement release by The Family Action Council of Tennessee’s Constitutional Government Defense Fund (FACT), which is representing the case, FACT says the “state’s definition of marriage implicates the civil rights of the ministers in regard to the liberty of conscience guaranteed to them under the Tennessee Constitution.”
Tennessee’s FACT has been battling to have Obergefelldeclared void since the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in 2015.
Alexander and Felipe are gay immigrants from Nicaragua and El Salvador living in D.C. Their home is one bedroom festooned with Barbie dolls, rainbow flags and their national flags. How they made it to this small brick rowhouse off of Georgia Avenue, N.W., is a journey fueled by violence, fear, desperation and ultimately love.
In early 2018, the young men left their respective homelands because of homophobic violence. Alexander, who owned a successful fried food kiosk called a fritanga in his hometown of Ayapal, Nicaragua, was forced to flee because he says neither his parents or siblings accepted his homosexuality. The neighbors in his small community were equally intolerant.
“I was threatened with machetes and knives,” he recalls. Alexander says he abandoned his home, business and country because “I thought they were going to kill me.”
Felipe’s story is similar, with the added twist of gang or mara violence that is the “daily bread” of many Salvadorans, especially those living in his hometown of Sonsonate.
“You live in constant fear,” he says. “More so when you are part of … ”
He pauses and says quietly “… the gay community.” It’s almost as if proclaiming his sexuality out loud could still cause his death.
Each youth left on their own and headed north. Their only companions on the road were hardships.
“I had to sleep on the side of the road and in parks. I endured heat, cold, hunger and thirst,” says Alexander. For Felipe, leaving El Salvador was equally tough.
“I placed myself in God’s hand and in his will,” he says softly.
They say their trip to Mexico was fraught with danger. Cartels and criminal gangs are everywhere and immigrants are easy prey.
“They see Central Americans as merchandise,” says Alexander. “If they catch us they kidnap you and hold you for ransom. If you can’t pay, they kill you.”
The youth met in Tapachula, Mexico, near the country’s border with Guatemala and became friends. Unable to find work or get asylum in Mexico, they soon joined one of the caravans of Central American migrants trekking norte to the U.S. border. They faced the same homophobia in the caravan that had forced them to flee their homes.
“They mocked us, threw rocks at us,” recalls Alexander.
Clothes from migrants in Miguel Hidalgo Central Park in Tapachula, Mexico, hang on walls surrounding the park on Jan. 29, 2019. Alexander Flores Olivas and his husband, Felipe Aguilar, met in this Mexican city near the Guatemala border after they fled homophobic violence in Central America. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The couple sought safety in numbers and joined a group of several dozen other LGBTQ youth who were part of the caravan. They hoped that banding together would spare them from even worse homophobic violence from within the caravan.
By the time the ragged group arrived at the Mexico-U.S. border they were exhausted, had run out of money and were still at risk of being kidnapped by the cartels or attacked by homophobes. Alexander, Felipe and the others say they were unnerved by the chaos of thousands of migrants waiting their turn on the bridge and living in camp cities on the border.
Felipe says they feared the Trump administration would soon close the border, which it would do a few months later. The group made a fateful choice.
“We decided we would all try to swim across or die trying,” says Felipe.
The youth on Feb. 23 jumped in the Rio Grande as a group but Felipe, who can’t swim, soon began to struggle in the murky waters.
“About halfway through I started to drown,” he says.
Alexander saw this and returned from the American side of the river and rescued Felipe.
“I told him to hold on to my neck and that I would get him across,” says Alexander.
Border Patrol agents arrested the 15 soaking wet youth but were at a loss with what to do with such a large LGBTQ group of detainees. They were shuttled from one detention center to another in a space of three days.
“No one wanted us, we were rejected everywhere, one day here, then somewhere else, another place,” says Felipe.
Homeland Security contacted Ruby Corado, a transgender activist and Salvadoran-American immigrant who runs Casa Ruby in D.C., and asked her to sponsor them. She didn’t hesitate.
“I understand very well the dangers of being in detention centers, many of them die, some of them are very sick,” says Ruby.
Ruby flew to San Antonio where she took custody of Alexander, Felipe and the other 13 youth on Feb. 28. She bought food, loaded the immigrants into a van and began a 1,600-mile trek to D.C.
At least 24 immigrants have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since the Trump administration began, including seven children and two trans women. Scores of others have complained of physical and sexual abuse while in ICE custody.
Ruby tapped into her contacts within welcoming congregations across the country and arranged support for her small caravan, explaining what was at stake.
“I knew somewhere down the line we were going to save lives,” says Ruby.
The shell-shocked youth, who hours before were shivering in an immigration cell were now being driven across the country and being warmly welcomed at multiple stops, including Houston and Atlanta, where congregations cared for them physically, emotionally and spiritually. For many of these southern congregations, headed by African-American pastors, it was an opportunity to validate their all-embracing vision of Christ’s teachings.
“God told me to love and I show my love for God by serving God’s people,” said Pastor Marvetta Walker of Progressive Open Door Christian Center in Houston while she laid out steaming platters of eggs and bacon along with smiles and hugs in her home. It was also an opportunity for these congregations to re-enact a seminal moment in the plight of enslaved Africans’ own journey to a promised land.
“We all answered the call, so that we could be here and be a part of this underground railroad, to get these wonderful beautiful souls to Washington, D.C. to really experience the freedom that we have,” said Dr. Elijah Nicholas, pastor of Kingdom International Ministries in Atlanta. “This is what America is about.”
Felipe Aguilar, first from right, puts food on his plate at the home of Pastor Marvetta Walker of the Progressive Open Door Christian Center in Houston after Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado took him and other migrants into her custody. (Photo courtesy of Armando Trull)
At one point towards the end of the journey, Ruby started playing Spanish ballads from Mexican torch-singers, the kind of sad songs usually heard at drag shows in Central America. Ruby began bellowing out the words to “A Prueba de Todo” which means “Able to Withstand Anything.” Her bellowing rendition was off-key but with drama to spare, and soon one-by-one the youth started to sing as well. It was a “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” moment as the van made its way through the darkened interstate. It seemed the words of resilience and love were triggering a cathartic group experience.
“At first, I didn’t believe any of this was real, but by the time we were driving in the van towards Washington and singing I started to hope that maybe my life might get better,” said Felipe.
Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado drives through the night after she took Alexander Flores Olivas, Felipe Aguilar and more than a dozen other LGBTQ migrants into her custody in San Antonio. (Photo courtesy of Armando Trull)
Three days later, they arrived at Casa Ruby at 3 a.m. where the exhausted youth were lovingly welcomed by staff, volunteers and clients.
In the past year; Alexander, Felipe and the others enrolled in English classes and secured pro-bono attorneys for their asylum cases. They’ve shared their stories with federal, state and local lawmakers and with LGBTQ activists from places as far away as Israel.
“It was so nice so beautiful that people from so far away wanted to share time with us, wanted to know about us,” says Felipe.
“I feel good, I feel at peace, I feel happy in a free country,” adds Alexander.
Alexander and Felipe are living in a free country where they were able to do something they never imagined in their wildest dreams: Get married, and on Dec. 6 they did just that at Casa Ruby with Larry Villegas as their officiant.
From left: Alexander Flores Olivas and Felipe Aguilar kiss at their wedding at Casa Ruby in D.C. on Dec. 6, 2019. (Photo courtesy of Casa Ruby)
A gay Santa is retiring after 30 years of impersonating the most famous North Pole resident, and he is donating his family collection of Santa suits to a historical society where they will appear alongside archives of his LGBT+ activism.
Leo Treadway, 76, is an AIDS and LGBT+ activist, a mental health counsellor, a church leader and an official member of Minnesota’s “real-bearded” North Star Santas.
Among many other projects, he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Gay and Lesbian Minnesotans, was an adult leader in the Lesbian and Gay Youth Together organisation and worked as a consultant for Minneapolis schools on issues relating to LGBT+ kids.
Throughout his life, Treadway has also collected correspondence, agendas, bylaws, minutes, financial reports, notes, newsletters, brochures, miscellaneous printed matter, and newspaper clippings of the LGBT+ rights movement in Minnesota, and previously donated them to the Minnesota Historical Society.
But according to the West Central Tribune, when Treadway returned from the Vietnam war in 1987 he noticed that his voluminous beard was beginning to turn white.
He realised that the time had come to put on the red suit handed down to him by his father, and take on the role of Santa Claus, appearing in church, family gatherings and various Christmas celebrations.
(Leo Treadway/ Facebook)
When his father’s red suit began to come apart at the seams, the gay Santa worked with local designers to commission a series of new suits based on European interpretations of Santa, from St. Nicholas to the ancient Yule Goat-man of Finland Joulupukki.
Now, retiring from his festive role, his trademark suits will join archives documenting his lifelong commitment to advocating for the LGBT+ community.
Describing his attitude to portraying Santa Claus, especially during the 2007 to 2009 recession, he told the West Central Tribune: “I transitioned from the kind of traditional conversation that Santa has with kids: ‘Hi, how are you, what do you want for Christmas?’
“I transitioned to ‘tell me how you’ve helped somebody this year,’ which was a question they were totally unprepared for.
“For me, it was less about ‘I’ve been good’ to making them think about good things they’ve done.”
A school district is facing legal action from the mother of a 12-year-old who took his own life after homophobic bullying.
Marcy Peterson has filed a lawsuit against the school district in Upper Deerfield, New Jersey, after the suicide of her son Tristan in 2017.
Tristan faced bullying and taunting from his classmates at both Elizabeth Moore School and Woodruff School before taking his own life.
The lawsuit alleges that the school district failed to address “an extended and persistent period of bullying, intimidation, and harassment related to Tristan’s sexual orientation and identity.”
School district sued for ‘failing to act’
According to NJ.com, the suit alleges the student was “specifically subjected to threats from another student… at the Woodruff School related to his sexual orientation, which was witnessed by a staff member” – but the school “failed to properly prevent the abusive behaviour.”
The suit alleges the school district failed to act to prevent homophobic bullying
It adds: “The defendants had a duty to provide for the safety and security of students.”
The wrongful death suit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court, accuses the defendants of negligence and violating anti-discrimination laws.
The school district said it could not comment on the litigation.
New Jersey students ‘should feel safe’
Laurie McGuire of GLSEN New Jersey told the outlet there was a need for LGBT+ inclusive education.
“As a community, I think we can probably all agree that we want all of our children to be cared about and to be supported and to be safe. We need to work together to create safe schools for all students.
““The idea that there are students that are marginalised, that there are students that are bullied and picked on and harassed because they are perceived or seen as different from others and that don’t fit the norm that society has created for them, those students need a space that is supportive and affirming.”
GLSEN’s 2017 national school climate survey revealed that ninety percent of LGBT+ students in New Jersey had heard the word “gay” used in a negative way, while 79 percent reported hearing homophobic slurs.
Sixty percent of LGBT+ students in the state said they had faced verbal harassment, while 20 percent reported physical harassment.
If you are in the US and are having suicidal thoughts, suffering from anxiety or depression, or just want to talk, call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255. If you are in the UK, you can contact the Samaritans on 116 123.
South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a small lead in a new survey of Iowa, but Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are close behind.
The latest Iowa State University/Civiqs poll finds Buttigieg at 24 percent, followed by Sanders at 21 percent, Warren at 18 percent and former Vice President Joe Biden at 15 percent. The poll has a 4.9 percentage point margin of error.
No other candidate is polling above 4 percent in the survey. The results are similar to other recent polls in the Hawkeye State.
An Ames man was sentenced Wednesday to about 16 years in prison after he set fire to a church LGBTQ flag in June. Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, last month was found guilty of a hate crime — a class “D” felony — third-degree harassment and reckless use of fire.
Police said he stole a pride banner hanging at Ames United Church of Christ, 217 6th St., and burned it early June 11 outside Dangerous Curves Gentleman’s Club, 111 5th St.
Martinez admitted to police that he lit the banner on fire with lighter fluid and a lighter after stealing it from the church, according to court documents.
A conservative law firm has threatened legal action against a school district over a policy that bans teachers from outing their students.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty sent a letter of demand to Madison School District, seeking the repeal of its policy on support for transgender, non-binary and gender-expansive students.ADVERTISING
The disputed policy, issued in 2018, directs that “school staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s gender identity to others, including parents or guardians and other school staff, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorised such disclosure.”
Madison School District could face lawsuit over policy that bans ‘outing’
The law firm, which says it is representing 15 parents with children in the Madison, Wisconsin school district, claims that the policies “violate our clients’ constitutional rights as parents.”
If its demands are unmet within 45 days, the group is expected to file legal action against the school board.
The conservative law firm is seeking to challenge a policy that bans teachers from outing teens
In a statement to the Wisconsin State-Journal, a spokesperson for the school district said: “Currently, our view of the challenged portions of the guidance document remains unchanged. We intend to review the letter closely and will formulate a response accordingly.
“[The district] remains dedicated to creating an inclusive and welcoming learning environment.
“Our commitment to this and all other inclusive practices in our schools remain unchanged.”
Conservative law firm claims parents have a right to know about their children’s gender identity
Luke Berg of Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty told the local newspaper: “Parents have a constitutional right to be involved in significant decisions that affect their child’s health and well-being.
“The decision to change gender identity, which should not be a surprise, is both highly controversial and potentially highly consequential, and that’s exactly the type of decision that parents need to be involved in.”
He added: “Our hope is that the School District will see the flaw in the policy and will be willing to make some changes.
“Obviously, we’d prefer not to file a lawsuit, but what we care about is protecting parents’ rights and changing the policy.”
Police are investigating an attack on a Syracuse University student who suffered a nose injury in an assault during which he says he was a called a homophobic slur.
Campus police learned of the Saturday incident after the unnamed student reported that he was harassed and attacked outside a local bar.
Campus and city police are both investigating the incident. It is unclear if the suspect is a student.
The school suspended all fraternity social events for the rest of the semester in response to one of the racist incidents, and released an action plan in November after student protests called for revising the Student Code of Conduct to make clear the consequences of spreading hate speech, requiring diversity training for new faculty and staff, and recruiting and training more international and multilingual resident advisers.
The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a major case on homelessness, letting stand a ruling that protects homeless people’s right to sleep on the sidewalk or in public parks if no other shelter is available.
The justices without comment or a dissent said that they would not hear the case from Boise, Idaho, which challenged a ruling by a federal appeals court.
The outcome was a significant victory for homeless activists and a setback for city officials in California and other Western states who argued the ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals undercut their authority to regulate encampments on the sidewalks.
Popular English-language dictionary Merriam-Webster has named the singular pronoun “They” as their Word of the Year for 2019.
Merriam-Webster has been releasing its Word of the Year list since 2003. The top word, along with the rest of the list, is determined by data, specifically the number of lookups received throughout the year and the percentage of increase over lookups from past years.
According to the dictionary’s website:
Our Word of the Year for 2019 is they. It reflects a surprising fact: even a basic term—a personal pronoun—can rise to the top of our data. Although our lookups are often driven by events in the news, the dictionary is also a primary resource for information about language itself, and the shifting use of they has been the subject of increasing study and commentary in recent years. Lookups for they increased by 313% in 2019 over the previous year.
English famously lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun to correspond neatly with singular pronouns like everyone or someone, and as a consequence they has been used for this purpose for over 600 years.
More recently, though, they has also been used to refer to one person whose gender identity is nonbinary, a sense that is increasingly common in published, edited text, as well as social media and in daily personal interactions between English speakers. There’s no doubt that its use is established in the English language, which is why it was added to the Merriam-Webster.com dictionary this past September.
Nonbinary they was also prominent in the news in 2019. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA) revealed in April during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Equality Act that her child is gender-nonconforming and uses they. Singer Sam Smith announced in September that they now use they and them as pronouns. And the American Psychological Association’s blog officially recommended that singular they be preferred in professional writing over “he or she” when the reference is to a person whose gender is unknown or to a person who prefers they. It is increasingly common to see they and them as a person’s preferred pronouns in Twitter bios, email signatures, and conference nametags.
You can read the full top ten Words of the Year list here.
