Empire actor Jussie Smollett has officially pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to police about a gay hate crime.
One of Smollett’s lawyers, Tina Glandian, entered the plea at his arraignment in a Chicago courtroom this morning (14 March).
Smollett is due in court again on 17 April. He could face up to three years in prison.
Jussie Smollett: A background
This story began in late January when Smollett reported to Chicago police two men attacked him.
The investigation took a turn when police arrested two brothers. The brothers claimed Smollett paid them to help him stage the attack.
Jussie Smollett on Good Morning America | Photo: ABC
Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted actor Smollett on 16 felony counts.
The indictment stated Smollett filed a false report and then charged him with disorderly conduct.
According to CBS Chicago, the Cook County grand jury’s indictment stated: ‘Jussie Smollett knew that at the time […] there was no reasonable ground for believing that such offenses had been committed.’
Each of the counts covers various alleged false statements Smollett made to police officers. This includes alleged acts Smollett reportedly falsely described to officers, including two men attacking him and pouring a chemical on him.
Smollett was first charged with one count of disorderly conduct in February.
He continues to maintain his innocence as a victim and his attorneys said they would be mounting an ‘aggressive defense’.
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization released the following statement from Executive Director Rick Zbur in support of Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to impose an indefinite moratorium on executions in the State of California, to be announced Wednesday:
“Equality California applauds Governor Newsom for the principled leadership he has demonstrated through this decision. Fairness and equality are fundamental California values. But these core values are not reflected in our state’s broken death penalty system. We cannot accept a system in which certain communities — especially communities of color and the LGBTQ community — are disproportionately vulnerable simply because of our race, our sexual orientation or gender identity, how much money we have or where we are from.
“In 2004, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom stood up for marriage equality before it was politically popular. Today, Governor Newsom is taking another principled stand, this time against California’s unfair and unjust death penalty system. As Dr. King said, ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’”
“Equality California is committed to our mission of striving to create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. The governor’s moratorium on executions is an essential step toward creating such a world.”
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org
Trans rights lawyer Adrienne Smith told The Star misgendering could now constitute emotional abuse. What’s more, parents could, therefore, be reported to authorities.
‘Misgendering a person, using the incorrect name for them and trying to persuade them not to undertake gender-affirming care are forms of family violence, and that’s really important,’ Smith said.
‘Young trans people can take comfort that the way that they are often misgendered and deadnamed is a human rights violation and could rise to the level of being family violence.’
Health decision
The Star reports that the ruling suggests transitioning is a health decision. It is not a political or moral one that a parent can stop.
The boy, who The Star does not name, has lived his true gender since he was 11.
He planned to start hormone therapy in the summer of last year.
But, his father objected and took him to court.
With the support of his mother, medical professionals, teachers, school district, and the Ministry of Education, he won.
One doctor testified that the son could attempt suicide if doctors delayed treatment, according to The Star.
The father, however, has appealed the decision.
‘He just believes that his child needs some protection at this point, just too young to make such a decision’, the father’s lawyer told the Star.
German authorities on Wednesday extended compensation payments to more gay men who were investigated under a law criminalizing homosexuality that was enthusiastically enforced in West Germany after World War II.
German lawmakers in 2017 approved the annulment of thousands of convictions under the Paragraph 175 law, which remained in force in its Nazi-era form until homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969. They cleared the way for payments of 3,000 euros ($3,380) per conviction, plus 1,500 euros for every year of jail time the convicted men started.
The Justice Ministry’s new directive extends compensation to people who were put under investigation or taken into investigative custody but not convicted. There will be payments of 500 euros ($565) per investigation opened, 1,500 euros ($1,695) for each year of time in pre-trial custody started, and 1,500 euros for other professional, financial or health disadvantages related to the law.CONTENT FROM AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE “Natural gas is vital to both the environmental and economic sustainable energy future”
“Paragraph 175 destroyed lives, led to sham marriages, harassment, blackmail and suicide,” Justice Minister Katarina Barley said.
She said it was important to her to go beyond the original legislation and compensate more people, because “Paragraph 175 also severely affected the lives of those who sat in investigative custody or who were just put under criminal investigation.”
The law criminalizing male homosexuality was introduced in the 19th century, toughened under Nazi rule and retained in that form by democratic West Germany, which convicted some 50,000 men between 1949 and 1969.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969 but the legislation wasn’t taken off the books entirely until 1994, a few years after German reunification.
In 2000, the German parliament approved a resolution regretting the fact that Paragraph 175 was retained after the war. Two years later, it annulled the convictions of gay men under Nazi rule but not the post-war convictions.
The compensation also applies to men convicted in communist East Germany, which had a milder version of Paragraph 175 and decriminalized homosexuality in 1968. About 4,300 men are believed to have been convicted there.
In all, some 68,300 people were convicted under various forms of Paragraph 175 in both German states.
The Justice Ministry said Wednesday that 133 people have applied for compensation so far under the 2017 legislation, and that payments totaling 433,500 euros ($490,000) have been approved.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Democrats on Wednesday (13 March), with some bipartisan support, are re-introducing the Equality Act to Congress for the third time.
This bill seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected traits. If passed, it would prohibit discrimination in various areas, including employement, housing, public accommodation, and more on a national level.
When nearly half of all LGBTI people in the US live in states without workplace protections, such legislation becomes especially pressing.
Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), as well as Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) are re-introducing the bill today.
When Democrats took back the majority in the House of Representatives following last year’s midterm elections, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to make the Equality Act a ‘top priority’.
Widespread support
There is mass support for the Equality Act, both from legislators as well as the American people.
The Campaign of Southern Equality praised the bill for its importance to LGBTI people living in the South.
‘Right now, more than a third of LGBTQ people in the United States call the South their home, but no Southern state has passed statewide protections from anti-LGBTQ discrimination,’ said Executive Director Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara.
‘On top of this, most of the anti-LGBTQ bills filed each year are filed in Southern states, and we continue to hear story after story of LGBTQ people who are fired from their jobs, evicted from their homes, and denied service because of who they are.’
In the face of a discriminatory and cruel administration, the Equality Act feels more critical than ever.
Legislators introduced the first version of it in 1974, only including sexual orientation in various areas of life. Previously, the Equality Act as it exists today, including both sexual orientation and gender identity, has been introduced to Congress twice. The first time was in 2015 and then again in 2017.
Both years the bill died in committee.
With the Democratic majority in the House, it is very likely the Equality Act will pass there. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), however, has to call a vote in the Senate for it to pass. It is unclear if he will do so.
longtime Tea Party Republican politician now running in a special election for the open U.S. House seat for North Carolina has a long history of anti-LGBT animus and spreading lies about gay people.
Fern Shubert during her failed campaign to become governor of North Carolina in 2004 claimed that gay people lead a destructive lifestyle. ThinkProgress’ Josh Israel unearthed an archived copy of Shubert’s old campaign website and investigated her long history of extremist attacks against LGBT people, same-sex marriage, women’s choice, gun control, and the Democratic party.
“Love the sinner but hate the sin seems appropriate,” Shubert’s 2004 campaign website stated. “Unfortunately, some believe sin is old fashioned and want everyone to condone a lifestyle that history shows is destructive.”
Shubert, who has served in both chambers of the North Carolina state legislature, also likened gay people to pedophiles.
“After what happened in the Catholic Church, it amazes me that anyone can keep a straight face when suggesting that the Boy Scouts should accept homosexual scoutmasters and parents should ignore homosexual recruitment,” she says in that campaign website. “NAMBLA has made their interest in child abuse quite evident. If the press were not so supportive of ‘gay rights,’ more people would recognize the hidden agenda.”
Gay people have no “hidden agenda” and are not more likely to be pedophiles than straight people.
“The government’s attack on traditional families is already reflected in rising crime rates,” she wrote in a section titled “Same-Sex Marriage.”
“Anyone who cares about the future should seek to structure a society that provides the best environment for raising children, and that is the traditional two parent family.”
Studies prove children raised in same-sex parent headed households are no different than children raised in different-sex headed households.
Russia is failing to address the gravity of torture use by authorities in Chechnya. That’s the conclusion of the Council of Europe’s anti-torture Committee.
Yesterday, the committee issued a public statement. It urges the Russian Federation to do more to investigate reports of atrocities and an anti-gay purge.
Located in the North Caucasus region, Chechnya is a subject of the Russian Federation.
Its president is Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been in power since 2007. He tends to rule the country in accordance with traditional Islamic social codes, even if these contravene Russian law. Since late 2016, the country has arrested, detained and tortured LGBT citizens. Some men have disappeared, believed murdered.
There has been an international relief effort to help get LGBT people out of Chechnya. Political condemnation led Russian President Vladimir Putin in summer 2017 to say that Russia would investigate the reports. However, no action appears to have been taken.
New wave of atrocities
It was believed that international attention led to Chechnya halting its persecution of gay and bi people. However, late last year reports began to emerge that arrests had recommenced.
The full statement from the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) can be read here.
The CPT has issued statements on the use of torture in Chechnya on three previous occasions: 2001, 2003 and 2007. It returned to the region in November and December 2017 to see if the situation remained the same.
‘Regrettably, it is clear from the information gathered by the Committee in the course of those visits that resort to torture and other forms of ill-treatment by members of law enforcement agencies in the Chechen Republic remains widespread, as does the related practice of unlawful detentions which inevitably heightens significantly the risk of resort to ill-treatment, in particular due to the denial of fundamental safeguards.
‘Further, it remains deeply worrying that, in their responses to the CPT’s visit reports, the Russian authorities have failed to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.’
‘A deep-rooted problem’
The statement says, ‘torture and other forms of ill-treatment of detained persons in the Chechen Republic has remained a deep-rooted problem.
‘This speaks not only to a dereliction of duty at the level of the Republic’s authorities, but also to a failure of effective oversight and control at the Federal level. It is clear that the manner in which law enforcement officials in the Chechen Republic deal with persons in their custody must be subject to far closer and more robust supervision.’
The committee notes widespread reports of an anti-gay purge in Chechnya. This includes, ‘abductions, unlawful detentions, severe ill-treatment and extrajudicial killings of a large number of people – including but not limited to LGBTI persons – by, at the instigation, or with the acquiescence of law enforcement officials at various locations in the Chechen Republic.
‘The facts found during [our] 2017 visit lend credence to those claims.’
‘Impasse’
It says the committee has made repeated requests to Russia to carry out investigations.
‘Regrettably, the CPT’s ongoing dialogue with the Russian authorities on this subject has reached an impasse.’
Russian authorities have failed to show evidence to the committee that it is carrying out any investigation.
The committee says Russia must deliver, ‘a firm and unambiguous message of “zero tolerance” of ill-treatment to all members of law enforcement agencies operating in the Chechen Republic. … As part of this message, it should be reiterated that all forms of ill-treatment are absolutely prohibited, and that both the perpetrators of such acts and those condoning them will be punished accordingly.’
‘Intolerable’
The report was welcomed by human rights advocates. Rachel Denber is a Deputy Director with Human Rights Watch, overseeing Europe and Central Asia.
She describes the report as, ‘powerful and important.’
‘It calls out the widespread practice of torture in Chechnya.
‘The Russian authorities’ failure to cooperate with the committee in no way diminishes the importance of this report. It’s essential for an agency that is as authoritative and expert as the CPT to document this intolerable abuse – for the sake of the victims, and the sake of the facts themselves.’
How you can help
Gay Star News is currently running a fundraiser to help raise money to halt the crisis in Chechnya. Money raised will go directly to the Russian LGBT Network to help tackle the crisis and to aid LGBTI people to flee Chechyna and seek asylum elsewhere.
President Donald Trump unveiled his annual budget proposal on Monday (11 March). It includes $291 million for the national fight against HIV and AIDS — while cutting over $1 billion in similar funding on a global scale.
In the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020, Trump allocated $291 million to the Department of Health and Human Services. This money is specifically allocated to end the transmission of HIV.
In his 2019 State of the Union address, Trump pledged to end new HIV transmissions in the US by 2030 — an announcement met with skepticism from many LGBTI groups.
‘My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years,’ Trump said. ‘Together, we will defeat AIDS in America and beyond.’
In the new proposal, however, Trump drastically cuts funding in the fight against HIV and AIDS ‘beyond’ the US.
‘Actions speak louder’
Trump’s budget includes $250 million cut from the Global Fund and a $1.5 billion cut to PEPFAR.
The Global Fund is an international financial organization focused on ending the epidemics of HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
PEPFAR, meanwhile, is the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief. President George H.W. Bush and the Global Fund originally started this program together. According to reports, PEPFAR has helped treat and save the lives of more than 16 million people living with HIV as of 2018.
Trump also proposed cutting funding to PEPFAR last year.
Finally, Trump is also proposing cutting funding to Medicare and Medicaid. These two programs help low-income individuals, including those living with HIV.
In his proposal, Trump would cut $818 billion from Medicare over the next 10 years.
‘LGBTQ Americans were right to be skeptical about President Trump’s pledge to end HIV and AIDS and today’s budget revealed the truth: this administration is not serious about this fight,’ said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO at GLAAD.
‘Actions always speak louder than words, and the Trump Administration once again proved to people living with HIV – which includes LGBTQ Americans – that they simply cannot trust this President to do anything more than pay lip service.’
The U.S. Senate last week approved three of President Trump’s picks for the judiciary — each of whom have anti-LGBT records — and in some cases the judges were confirmed from Senate Republicans who say they support LGBT rights.
The Senate confirmed Allison Jones Rushing of North Carolina to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit, Chad Readler of Ohio to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit and Eric Murphy of Ohio as U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit.
Each of three new judges has issues in their on civil rights troubling to many observers, including aspects of the record related to LGBT rights.
Rushing, who at 37 is now the youngest federal circuit judge in the United States, once had an internship at the anti-LGBT legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
ADF has filed lawsuits seeking to bar transgender people from using restroom consistent with their gender identity and argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who sought a First Amendment right to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couple based on religious objections.
Rushing, who also clerked for U.S. Associate Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, also spoke in favor of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage, when it was litigated before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. The Supreme Court ended up striking down the anti-gay statute.
Despite Rushing’s record, all three Republican senators on the record in support of same-sex marriage — Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska) — voted for Rushing’s confirmation.
Vanita Gupta, CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, said in a statement Rushing’s confirmation brings bias and inexperience to the Fourth Circuit.
“Her inexperience is only outmatched by her clear bias – as evidenced by Rushing’s work with Alliance Defending Freedom, an extremist organization listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center,” Gupta said. “Rushing has denounced marriage equality, opposed remedies for discriminatory lending practices, and rejected efforts to end housing discrimination against domestic and sexual violence survivors. Her record clearly shows she will not be a fair and independent judge – a reality with dire consequences for Fourth Circuit cases and the American people.”
Readler, who until recently was acting assistant attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department for the Civil Division, faced opposition to his confirmation based on mostly on his signature on Trump’s administration briefs arguing protections for pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act should be struck down.
But Readler, who also defended Trump’s travel ban on mostly Muslim countries and the family separation policy for immigrants seeking asylum at the border, also built a record defending the Trump administration’s anti-LGBT legal policy.
Readler penned his name to legal briefs defending President Trump’s transgender military ban as well as voluntarily briefs arguing gay workers aren’t protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars sex discrimination in employment, and Phillips in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case.
Collins broke with her caucus and voted against Reader’s confirmation, citing his legal work against protections for pre-existing conditions, but she did vote to invoke cloture on his confirmation. Portman and Murkowski both voted to confirm Readler.
Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, denounced Readler’s confirmation in a statement after the vote.
“A vote for Chad Readler is a vote to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” Perez said. “It’s as simple as that. Republicans have shown their true colors: They’ve confirmed a judge who has a long and disturbing record of attacking people’s health care, voting rights, and civil rights. He’ll drag us backwards on every issue – from criminal justice and consumer protection to LGBTQ rights and the treatment of immigrants. Voters will not forget this betrayal next November.”
Murphy, who until recently was solicitor general of Ohio, defended in court the state’s ban same-sex marriage in the Obergefell v. Hodges case, which despite his efforts led the Supreme Court to rule in favor of marriage equality nationwide in 2015.
Collins, Portman and Murkowski each voted for Murphy’s confirmation. In the case of Portman, who has a gay son, the senator voted for a nominee that would have deprived his son of right to marry had Murphy’s argument succeeded before the Supreme Court.
Sasha Buchert, senior attorney at Lambda Legal, took a note of Portman’s vote in a statement condemning the Murphy confirmation.
“Today’s vote to confirm Eric Murphy was yet another example of how little concern Senate Republicans have for the safety and security of the LGBT community, and their broader disdain for civil rights,” Buchert said. “The fact that even Sen. Portman, who came out publicly in support of marriage equality, could not bring himself to vote against this nominee demonstrates the extent to which Senate Republicans have completely abdicated their duty to provide meaningful advice and consent. Our federal courts will be the worse off for generations to come.”
County officials are working to bring programs to help businesses get back on their feet. State and Federal officials are still working to determine Federal Disaster status that will unlock FEMA support.
The Local Assistance Center set up at the Bank of America Building in Guerneville will be open from 9-6 through next weekend – go there for individual advice on programs open for residents, workers, and businesses.
There are two loan disaster assistance programs that businesses should look into right away:
***** California Small Business Loan Guarantee Program & Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee Program www.ibank.ca.gov │916.341.6600 │ [email protected] Use of Funds New Construction Inventory Working Capital Lines of Credit Agriculture Disaster Relief LoanGuaranteeTerms Loans up to $20 million Maximum guarantee$2.5 million Guaranteed up to 7 years; term can be longer Guarantees up to 80% – 95% of loan Qualifications based on lender criteria More info here.
****** Working Solutions is offering a special loan product to help businesses rebuild. Diana Chavez 415-780-1222 | [email protected] Emergency Relief Loans Available: In order to support the recovery of our North Bay communities affected by recent floods.
Préstamos de Emergencia : Para apoyar la recuperación de las comunidades afectadas por las inundaciones en el Norte de la Bahía, Working Solutions ofrece un producto de préstamo especial para la reconstrucción de su empresa. Loans of $5-50,000 with deferred payments for 6 months and waived application fees.
We will have the fliers and information at the Chamber office, or message us here and we’ll forward you the information.
Also, we learned at the Community meeting today that the United Way is setting up a fund and there are additional resources coming that the County is working on with State and Federal Officials. We will keep you informed as this develops.