Chilean deputies for the Frente Amplio party, celebrate as they hold a giant fake Chilean Identity card reading “My identity, my right”, after voting a gender identity law, during a session at the Deputies Charmber, of the National Congress in Valparaiso, Chile, on September 12, 2018. (Francesco Degasperi/AFP/Getty)
Chile has passed a new gender identity law that will allow transgender people aged 14 years and above to change their name and gender in official documents.
The process will take place at a civil registry and will not require surgical or medical intervention, although minors will have to obtain permission from a parent or guardian and from a family court.
The law was first approved by a large majority of 26 in favour and 14 against in the Senate last week and landed in the country’s Congress on Wednesday (September 11), where it passed a 95-46 vote marking the end of a five-year-long fight by transgender rights activists.Chilean president Sebastián Piñera now has 30 days to sign the law.
“We celebrate! The Chamber of Deputies voted and dispatched the gender identity law, which we sponsored more than five years ago. A great victory for TRANS people!” the Chilean non-governmental organisation Fundación Iguales, which champions LGBT+ rights, tweeted following the vote.
One of the law’s most controversial elements was the inclusion of minors, with LGBT+ activists lamenting the age limit of 14 in the bill. The legislation originally included children younger than 14 years of age, but a vote on this provision failed to reach the necessary majority.
“Today is bittersweet since the discrimination against those under 14 will translate into more suicides,” Rolando Jimenez, one of the founders of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, was quoted as saying in the Associated Press (AP).
Two conservative lawmakers who voted against the law have instead vowed to challenge the inclusion of any person below 18 years of age in the bill.
Sergio Bobadilla and Juan Antonio Coloma claimed the project “undermines the right of the biological identity of minors” and have said they will present that argument in front of the country’s Constitutional Court, AP reported.
Daniela Vega, delivers a press conference after a meeting with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on March 6, 2018. (Pablo Vera/AFP/Getty)
Chilean transgender actor and singer Daniela Vega, the star of the 2018 Oscar-winning film A Fantastic Woman, celebrated news of the vote writing a poetic post on Instagram on Thursday, in which she remembered those who have died without seeing the law becoming reality, as well as celebrating a more hopeful future.
She wrote: “The testimony and the body as a declaration of rebellion. But you cannot be rebellious without first being worthy and dignity is not a faith, it is a right. Do not fear children, there will be arms that contain your beautiful nature.
“To wall in the door is not going to darken the horizon, because it will be you, children who will govern your biography. The art, infinite key of immovable locks. The will, motor of the future that appears more hopeful today.
“There are those who did not see this day, this dawn, their bodies, dignified by the memory of rebellion, of dignity. Love, motor of experience. Love, endorsement of infinite space.
“To live, to resist, to move in the calendar. The time and objectivity of feeling it happen. To have today, the right to live in, to belong. Future body, white canvas of new struggles, new utopias, new spaces, of movement, of dignity.”
The San Francisco Bay Times, the first newspaper for the LGBTQ community to be jointly and equally produced by women and men, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. This living-history panel will review San Francisco history from 1978 as covered in the pages of the paper.
Among those who will take part in recounting memories and discussing the significance of the publication are founding news editor Randy Alfred, founding production manager Susan Calico, founding contributor Cleve Jones, founding arts and entertainment editor M. J. Lallo, historian and current columnist Bill Lipsky, and former columnist and current San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.
September 28, 2018 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Museum
3 Hours
Admission: $5.00; free for members
A reception with the panelists is set for 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., followed by the discussion from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
The GLBT History Museum4127 18th Street San Francisco, CA 94114 United States
OUTwatch – Wine Country’s LGBTQI Film Festival is thrilled to announce our move to Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol. We join an impressive list of film festivals that call Rialto Cinemas home, including the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival. The weekend of October 12 – 14, we will present seven critically-acclaimed films and the first of two exciting additions to the festival. Sunday Cinematic Salons, a discussion of queer film, and LGBTQI Classic Film Revival, a presentation of groundbreaking films that changed the landscape of cinema.
OUTwatch is determined to bring the best of International LGBTQI Cinema to the North Bay. This year, the schedule is: Friday, October 12 7:30 p.m. Mapplethorpe An unflinching look at the life of acclaimed photographer Robert Mapplethorpe from his rise to fame along with best friend rocker Patti Smith in the 1970s to his untimely death from AIDS in the 1990s. Saturday, October 13 NoonMan Made Follow four men, their partners and families through the challenges and joys of transitioning as they prepare for Trans FitCon, the world’s only transgender bodybuilding competition. 2:30 p.m. Ideal Home A glamorous foodie couple’s (Steve Coogan; Paul Rudd) lives are turned upside-down when a 10-year-old grandson shows up and threatens to change their lifestyle forever in this hilarious and endearing comedy. 5 p.m.The Rest I Make Up María Irene Fornés, was a lover of Susan Sontag and an integral member of New York’s experimental theater scene. Grappling with memory loss, she still radiates inquisitive curiosity and unquenchable creativity in this emotional documentary. Sunday, October 14 1 p.m. Dykes, Camera, Action! This important documentary explores what happened when lesbians picked up cameras and changed how queer women are seen in film. Includes insightful interviews with pioneering filmmakers like Su Friedrich, Cheryl Dunye, Yoruba Richen, Rose Troche, and Barbara Hammer. Afterwards, Film scholar Jane Winslow will lead a discussion about the topics and issues raised in the film. 3 p.m.The Watermelon Woman OUTwatch is thrilled to bring this newly restored lesbian classic to the big screen. Cheryl and Tamara are making a video about their search for the mysterious film actress from the 1930s known only as the ‘Watermelon Woman.’
A petition to ban gay marriage has been signed nearly 3 million times
13 September 2018
Same-sex marriage could forever be in jeopardy in Romania after the senate overwhelmingly voted to allow a referendum which could change the eastern European countries Constitution.
The proposed referendum would ask Romanians whether they approved of changing the definition of unions in the Constitution. Currently, the Constitution defines unions as between the gender neutral ‘spouses’.
But a petition signed by three million people wants unions defined as between ‘a man and a woman’. If the Constitution changes to say that, it would make it almost impossible to make same-sex marriage legal in Romania.
On Tuesday the senate voted 107-13 in favor of the referendum, after the Lower House voted to approve the referendum at the end of last year.
The Coalition for Family civil groups started the petition in 2016 and got three million Romanians to sign it.
Romania’s government now has to set a date for the referendum, saying it could happen as early as 7 October.
Many LGBTI groups are trying to fight the proposed referendum, labelling it ‘completely immoral’.
Vlad Viski heads the LGBTI community group MozaiQ. He accused politicians of being ‘cowards’ for giving in to ‘conservative forces trying to marginalize the LGBT community in Romania’.
‘We will recommend our followers not to cast their vote in the upcoming referendum because human rights cannot be subject to a popular vote,’ he said.
Viski warned that if the Constitution changed it would ‘gravely’ affect democracy in Romania.
‘It will put into question the rights of all citizens,’ Viski said.
‘At the same time we will not give in to being humiliated by politicians and we will fight for our rights until the end. We urge everyone in Europe to express solidarity with the LGBT community in Romania and spread our message.’
The senate’s vote came less than two months after Romania’s Constitutional Court (RCC) rule to recognize same-sex couples.
Married couple, Adrian Coman and Clai Hamilton married in Belgium in 2010. They wanted to move to Coman’s native Romania because the country didn’t recognize same-sex relationships.
Promoting safety and acceptance, two laws that allow Californians to legally change their gender on IDs and birth certificates and simplify the process went into effect this month.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), authored Senate Bill 179, the Gender Recognition Act, and Senate Bill 310, the Name and Gender Act last year. Now, as they go into effect, he encourages residents to visit the California Courts’ online help center for assistance with the new streamlined procedures.
“Mindful of all the people I know who are gender-nonconforming, and the families I know with transgender children, I wanted to make sure that California continued to be a leader in gender-identity equality,” Atkins said. “For the individuals who want this, this is really about them being able to be recognized for who they are by their friends, their neighbors, and their government even.”
More than just recognition, the passing of these laws promote safety for gender-nonconforming individuals.
“Having appropriate ID is an issue of public safety for many trans, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people, who may be subject to discrimination, harassment and even violence when they’re forced to carry inaccurate or mismatched documents,” Kris Hayashi, executive director of Transgender Law Center, said.
AB 179 simplifies the process for transgender, nonbinary and intersex people to obtain a gender or conforming name change on state-issued identity documents.
“When Governor Brown told me he had signed SB 179, it was one of the proudest moments of my career,” Atkins said as reported by MSNBC. “Mindful of all the people I know who are gender-nonconforming, and the families I know with transgender children, I wanted to make sure that California continued to be a leader in gender-identity equality. I am thrilled to see SB 179 and SB 310 implemented and grateful to our courts for their work to ensure a streamlined application process.”
Under the simplified processes SB 310 creates, people may change their gender markers to nonbinary (in addition to male or female) on state-issued identity documents by petitioning a gender and/or conforming name change through a judicial process or by revising their birth records.
“The new law also removes costly and outdated barriers to updated IDs and birth certificates that fell disproportionately on incarcerated trans, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people and those without access to affirming healthcare,” Hayashi said.
A Republican Congressional candidate has defended voting against a ban on gay ‘cure’ therapy.
New Hampshire state lawmaker Steve Negron is the GOP candidate for the US House of Representatives in the state’s Second Congressional District.
Negron picked up the Republican nomination in a narrow primary vote on Tuesday, just weeks after he publicly defended voting against cross-party legislation to ban gay ‘cure’ therapy.
Steve Negron
The candidate was among Republicans to oppose the state’s recently-introduced law that bans the provision of conversion therapy to minors.
He was challenged over his vote in an interview with local TV station WMUR, as noted by Talking Points Memo.
In the interview, which took place last month, Negron was challenged about his vote on gay ‘cure’ therapy and appeared to defend the practise.
Negron said: “I did not vote for that [bill].
“I believe that’s something that, when you look at these young children that are trying to make a decision, and I remember when I was 15, 16 I was confused, I had a lot of options in my life.
“I think we need to be able to help them understand what it is, give them the right information, and let them get the treatment that they need to understand what the situation is.
“I think the parents have a huge role in that as well, and that’s why I think we should be able to help them.”
Steve Negron
He also reaffirmed his personal opposition to same-sex marriage, though he claimed gay couples in relationships should have “the same rights” as straight couples.
Negron said: “A union between two people is really not a federal issue for me. I have my own beliefs because I am a Catholic.
“For me, as a Catholic, marriage is very succinct at what it is, but for people that are in a relationship, they should have all the rights and privileges as anybody else.”
The New Hampshire Democratic Party said: “The Republican nominee in the Second Congressional District, Steve Negron, fought through the primary to appear more supportive of President Trump and his administration’s policy objectives than his opponents.
“His views, whether it’s about repealing the Affordable Care Act, building a border wall, or engaging in trade wars with our nation’s and our state’s closest allies, are morally reprehensible. He is wrong choice for New Hampshire.”
The district has been held by Democratic Rep. Ann Kuster since 2012.
Kuster, who held the seat by a four-point margin in 2016, is standing for re-election.
Local media have reported on Moore’s death, with some outlets referring to the woman by the name she was given at birth (commonly known as ‘deadnaming’).
Police are reportedly treating Moore’s death as murder. However, it is not yet clear if they are investigating it as a hate crime.
The overwhelming majority of known trans murder victims in the US this year have been trans women of colour.
Police are reportedly treating Moore’s death as murder. (Londonn Moore/Facebook)
“When it comes to murder, murder is murder,” North Port Police Department officer Joshua Taylor told NBC. “Whether it’s a hate crime or not, you’re going to pay that price.”
Just a week before her death, Moore had posted on Facebook: “Ima give this whole love thing one more chance. Wish me luck.”
Tucker, who had celebrated her 30th birthday on September 2, was found with a gunshot wound by police at about 1am on a highway in the Hunting Park area of the city, according to local media reports.
She was taken to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police are reportedly looking for a suspect in connection with the murder.
At the time of Tucker’s death, the Human Rights Campaign reported that 16 of the 19 known killings of trans people in the US in 2018 have been women of colour.
Shantee Tucker was found dead on September 5. (Shantee Tucker/Facebook)
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Dejanay L. Stanton, a 24-year-old woman, was found on a street in Chicago on Thursday morning with a gunshot wound to the head, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The other woman, 18-year-old Vontashia Bell, was found in a street in Shreveport, Louisiana, with gunshot wounds to the chest and wrist.
Sarah McBride, national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, recently told PinkNews: “There is a growing epidemic of violence targeting transgender people, particularly Black transgender women.
“This is an urgent crisis that is a by-product of the toxic and violent combination of transphobia, misogyny, and racism. As a society, our policymakers and lawmakers must do more to combat this violence.”
Fillmaker Romas Zabarauskas (left) and LGBT+ activists handing out free Pride flags in Vilnius on Friday. (Arcana Femina)
PinkNews Daily LGBT+ Newsletter
Two Lithuanians have responded defiantly to a series of arson attacks against the LGBT+ community in Vilnius—by buying 500 rainbow flags to wave around the city.
Filmmaker Romas Zabarauskas and LGBT+ rights activist Tomaš Ilja decided to fundraise thousands of euros to buy the flags after arsonists targeted the office of the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL)—the country’s only non-governmental organisation representing LGBT+ people—on August 10.
And, on September 2, arsonists set fire to the corridor outside Zabarauskas’ flat on fire in a possible homophobic incident, after the director hung a Pride flag on his balcony.
LGBT+ activists with Pride flags in Vilnius. (Arcana Femina)
Speaking to PinkNews, Zabarauskas said that, following the arson attack outside his flat, a police offer had told him to take down his Pride flag.
“The next morning, after the initial shock, I realised that not only I won’t take the flag down, I need to do something more to send a strong message and not to give in into fear,” he explained.
“So I made this story public, emailed some people and we quickly raised enough funds to buy 500 flags.”
Zabarauskas said that supporters of his and Ilja’s initiative are posting their own Pride flags on social media using the hashtag #LGBTdraugiškaLietuva, which means “LGBT+ friendly Lithuania.”
The first 400 Pride flags were handed out for free to LGBT+ supporters at the gay-friendly Paviljonas jazz club on Friday in the city.
A further 100 flags will be distributed for free during the queer festival Kreivės in Vilnius.
The initiative has been supported by politicians across the city, including Vilnius city councillor Mark Adam Harold, who attended the event on Friday and hung the Pride flag on the Vilnius City Municipality building. He has also supported the campaign on social media.
Zabarauskas also said that Vilnius city mayor Remigijus Šimašius has expressed support for the campaign. PinkNews has contacted Šimašius for comment.
Pride flags hanging from a building in Vilnius. (rzabarauskas/Twitter)
Zabarauskas continued: “Taking down a flag and hiding your true identity never makes you feel safer. Freedom of expression and acceptance do. I’m currently surrounded by rainbow flags—I can see one in each of the three buildings around mine. That makes me feel great.”
“Lithuania is a free country and we’ll defend our freedom with Pride,” he added.
LGBT+ rights activist Tomaš Ilja. (Arcana Femina)
“I care about LGBT+ visibility. I truly think it’s the main way to go if we want to achieve equality in our region. And it feels better to live your true life.”
Zabarauskas explained that he could not be certain that the arson attack outside his flat was a homophobic incident, but added that it “deserves to be investigated.”
Mark Adam Harold hanging a Pride flag on the side of the Vilnius City Municipality building. (rzabarauskas/Twitter)
He said, however, that the attack on LGL was “clearly a hate crime.”
PinkNews has contacted the police in Vilnius over the arson attack on LGL, and was directed to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, which has also been contacted for comment.
The Trump administration defended a new military policy that will allegedly result in HIV-positive service members being fired in violation of their constitutional rights when it takes effect Oct. 1.
The “Deploy or Get Out!” directive is intended to improve military readiness by weeding out soldiers who can’t deploy overseas for more than 12 consecutive months “for any reason.” An earlier directive from the height of the AIDS crisis prevents soldiers with HIV from deploying overseas, meaning the new policy may make it impossible for them to serve.
But the military has wide latitude in deciding who can serve, the U.S. said in filing Sept. 7 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, in seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over the policy.
The lawsuit was filed by OutServe-SDLN on behalf of a National Guard member who was deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan before being diagnosed in 2012. He was later denied a promotion, apparently because he could not be redeployed.
