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Arrest made in SF killing of Bob Lee — tech exec’s alleged killer also worked in tech
Mission Local is informed that the San Francisco Police Department early this morning made an arrest in the April 4 killing of tech executive Bob Lee, following an operation undertaken outside the city’s borders. The alleged killer also works in tech and is a man Lee purportedly knew.
We are told that police today were dispatched to Emeryville with a warrant to arrest a man named Nima Momeni. The name and Emeryville address SFPD officers traveled to correspond with this man, the owner of a company called Expand IT.
Multiple police sources have described the predawn knifing last week, which left the 43-year-old Lee dead in a deserted section of downtown San Francisco, as neither a robbery attempt nor a random attack.
Rather, Lee and Momeni were portrayed by police as being familiar with one another. In the wee hours of April 4, they were purportedly driving together through downtown San Francisco in a car registered to the suspect.
Some manner of confrontation allegedly commenced while both men were in the vehicle, and potentially continued after Lee exited the car. Police allege that Momeni stabbed Lee multiple times with a knife that was recovered not far from the spot on the 300 block of Main Street to which officers initially responded.
This scenario would explain, in part, why Lee was walking through a portion of Main Street in which there is little to no foot traffic at 2:30 a.m. That was one of several incongruous circumstances surrounding Lee’s violent death, which law-enforcement sources, from the get-go felt made it far from a straightforward or random crime.
Nevertheless, some of Lee’s fellow tech luminaries and a chorus of other influential voices portrayed this killing as part and parcel of a city awash in violent crime and on a descent into further chaos. While Lee is one of a dozen homicide victims in San Francisco this year, his is the only killing that has garnered national coverage — or, in most cases, even cursory local coverage.
San Francisco’s other homicide victims in 2023 are Gavin Boston, 40; Irving Sanchez-Morales, 28; Carlos Romero Flores, 29; Maxwell Maltzman, 18; Demario Lockett, 44; Maxwell Mason, 29; Humberto Avila, 46; Gregory McFarland Jr, 36; Kareem Sims, 43; Debra Lynn Hord, 57; and Jermaine Reeves, 52.
San Francisco is home to much in the way of visible public misery, unnerving street behavior and overt drug use. Its property crime rate has long been high, and the police clearance rate for property crimes has long been minimal. But the city’s violent crime rate is at a near-historic low, and is lower than most mid-to-large-sized cities.
Today’s arrest would appear to undermine the premise that Lee’s violent death was due to street conditions in San Francisco. If the police do have their man, this was not a robbery gone bad nor a motiveless assault by some random attacker, but an alleged grievance between men who knew one another, which the suspect purportedly escalated into a lethal conflict.
Lee’s death, however, was packaged in the media and on social media into a highlight reel of recent San Francisco misfortunes and crimes: large groups of young people brawling at Stonestown; the abrupt closure of the mid-market Whole Foods, leaving San Franciscans just eight other Whole Foods within city limits; the severe beating of former fire commissioner Don Carmignani in the Marina District, allegedly by belligerent homeless people — it all adds up to a feeling of a city coming undone.
This manner of coverage, however, does not capture the actual lived experience of the vast majority of San Franciscans. It also omits potentially mitigating details of the individual events. Carmignani, for instance, was brutally struck in the head with a metal rod and hospitalized. But the lawyer for his alleged attacker claims that the former fire commissioner first pepper-sprayed the homeless man accused of beating him — which certainly would color this incident.
Of note, police sources say that a series of homeless people had previously been pepper-sprayed in the Marina District prior to this instance.
The arrest in the Lee case is a breaking story. We will update or follow this article as soon as possible.
As Ukraine’s LGBTQ soldiers fight on the front line, acceptance grows in the conservative country
On a riotous Instagram profile featuring pole-dancing, cross-dressing and fierce makeup, a picture of Ivan Honzyk in high heels and stockings next to an image of him in military uniform has gotten the most likes by far.
The junior sergeant’s posts are a bold statement in socially conservative Ukraine, where pride parades were often attacked before the war and swaths of the country are occupied by forces loyal to Russia, one of the world’s most conspicuously homophobic states.
But as more members of the LGTBQ community fight on the front lines, the greater visibility of gay and lesbian military personnel appears to be a catalyst for acceptance in wider society, and opinion polls show attitudes are changing.
Honzyk, 27, said his uncompromising self-expression, combined with his work in places like Bakhmut — the city in eastern Ukraine that has seen some of the bloodiest battles of the war, while serving as a potent symbol of the country’s defiance — is helping to further the cause of LGBTQ rights in the country faster than any pride marches could.
“My fellow soldiers are really impressed with what I’ve done in Bakhmut, the massive scale of work that I did there, and after that they just don’t care about who I sleep with,” Honzyk, whose medical unit evacuates wounded soldiers and provides emergency first aid, said in a hip café in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, while on leave from the front line.
Plenty of other gay and lesbian soldiers have also posted photos and videos of themselves online, some sporting unicorn insignia on their uniform, the mythical creature an ironic riposte to the idea that there are no LGBTQ people in the military.
In the U.S., lesbian, gay and bisexual people were allowed to serve openly in the military only in late 2011. Ukraine’s armed forces did not have rules preventing the LGTBQ community from serving, but homophobia was rife in the ranks, reflecting a more widespread societal attitude.
But in apparent recognition of their services, Ukrainian lawmakers recently tabled draft legislation that would recognize same-sex relationships and address the lack of inheritance, medical and other rights for the partners of LGTBQ soldiers killed or wounded fighting pro-Moscow forces.
“The parades and pride events were not enough,” said Honzyk, who has served for four years. “The better way to change attitudes is what we’re doing now. We entered the military and we’re showing that we’re worthy. We’re not hiding somewhere at the back. We’re doing real missions, dangerous missions.”
LGBTQ ‘propaganda’
Across the border, President Vladimir Putin has maintained that he launched the invasion in February 2022 to protect Russian-speaking people in Ukraine’s east, while attempting to frame what he calls the “special military operation” as a defense of morality against un-Russian liberal values promoted by the West.
Putin has frequently espoused “traditional values” in his speeches and framed gender-transition surgery and same-sex parenting as morally degenerate Western imports. In December he signed a law expanding Russia’s restrictions on promoting what it calls “gay propaganda,” in effective outlawing any public expression of LGBTQ behavior in Russia.
Any action considered an attempt to promote homosexuality in public; online; or in films, books or advertising could incur a heavy fine.
Activists like Edward Reese, 37, a nonbinary communications officer with KyivPride, said Russia’s invasion had sharpened Ukraine’s sense of its own distinct identity and caused many of his countrymen to show more empathy toward their LGBTQ compatriots.
“People see that homophobia, transphobia, sexism, racism are Russian values,” he said. “People understand that they don’t want to have anything in common with Russia. So that’s why they start to rethink their own homophobia here in Ukraine.”
Reese said he had a tough upbringing and was sent for so-called conversion therapy by religious parents who followed the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The church has been outspoken against LGBTQ people, and last year its leader, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, said the “sin” of gay pride parades justified the war in Ukraine.
But his influence and that of his church has plummeted in recent years in Ukraine. In 2019 the Orthodox Church of Ukraine split from its Russian counterpart.
Kyiv has since accused Russian Orthodox priests of spying for Moscow, charges they deny.
“Ukrainian civil society is trying to kick out the Russian Orthodox Church, and they are the most anti-gay people in Ukraine,” said LGBTQ activist Maksim Mishkin, 40, speaking at KyivPride’s offices.
“Today most religious people in Ukraine are either positive or neutral towards us.”
Somebody to hate
Away from the battlefield, LGBTQ groups in Ukraine and abroad have helped evacuate and house people displaced by the fighting and raise money for the military.
Mishkin said he had held fundraisers to send care packages to serving personnel, the appreciative soldiers sending back photos of themselves brandishing coffee mugs and other items featuring LGBTQ-affiliated logos.
Such efforts may have contributed to growing acceptance in Ukraine.
A January survey by the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that works to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions in developing countries, found that 58% of Ukrainian respondents agreed that LGBTQ “people should have the same rights as others.”
That contrasts with a 2016 survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology that showed 60.4% of respondents viewed LGBTQ people negatively. Last year a similar poll found that percentage had shrunk to 38.2%.
Ukrainian politician Inna Sovsun hopes to harness the positive momentum to pass a draft bill she introduced in parliament last month recognizing same-sex relationships.
“When a person in uniform says, ‘Look, I have a loved one. If I am killed in action protecting this country, protecting every single one of you, my partner will not be able to make decisions about where to bury me because there is no legal connection between us,’ that is something that society cannot say no to, because they are in uniform and risking their lives every single minute for us,” she said.
U.S. calling on Kremlin to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
APRIL 12, 202301:27
“Right now it’s not just the right thing to do, it’s also the politically smart thing to do, because the majority of Ukrainians actually support it,” she added.
However, she cautioned that the level of support for LGBTQ rights in Ukraine can be overstated.
Outside of the country’s main metropolitan centers, life for LGBTQ people can be difficult, she said, adding that not all LGBTQ military personnel were accepted by their peers and some had been bullied.
For Honzyk, life’s too short to worry about the haters before he heads back to the front line.
“If you accept yourself, then the world will accept you too. You need to remember a lot of people are wearing masks, but you shouldn’t do that because you have only one life, and any day a missile may kill you,” he said.
“Don’t care about what other people say, because they’ll always find somebody to hate.”
Southern Queers: New Study Reveals the Reality of LGBTQ+ People in the South
A new study published Thursday examines the lives of LGBTQ+ Americans in the South and the results might be surprising to some. The data indicates that the notion that LGBTQ+ people only live in blue states or big cities isn’t entirely accurate.
In a survey of 1,042 LGBTQ+ adults living in 12 Southern states from Alabama to Virginia, the progressive think tank and polling firm Data for Progress examined the significance of LGBTQ+ affirming community spaces, the relationships between LGBTQ+ Southerners and their communities, and the specific threats faced by marginalized, rural LGBTQ+ communities.
This research examined how queer people in rural America construct a sense of safety and community in a place where they traditionally are unwelcomed or feel unsafe. According to the findings, rural America isn’t necessarily a dangerous place, and people can live happy, fulfilling lives there, which could affect the perception of queer people living in rural America.
The study revealed surprising data on the number of queer people in these areas. It also showed their lack of safety and satisfaction with life and the need for more welcoming spaces, says Miles Davis-Matthews, the study’s author.
He tells The Advocate that one of the most surprising things he found was how unhappy many trans and non-binary people were.
“Something that the data showed repeatedly was the lack of feelings of safety, the lack of feelings of satisfaction with life,” he says. “It’s really, really concerning to see that because we know that there are more and more people coming out as non-binary and trans all the time.”
He adds, “Coming out during this time when rhetoric is super negative and super violent, and there are all these occurrences of violence happening, really just shows that the trans and non-binary community needs more support.”
On the flip side, though, he says, “I didn’t anticipate that there were going to be so many Southerners that felt safe and in being out and open, not just like in the South but also the rural South.”
He adds,” I think that’s a significant finding in that it challenges so much of the narrative that’s been told about South and also about rural America, and I think that might encourage people to look a little bit more closely at the things that they’re reading, challenge it a little bit more, question it a little bit more.”
Data for Progress research shows LGBTQ+ adults in the South value LGBTQ+ spaces. Nearly two-thirds of people surveyed say they can connect and meet new people through these spaces. In addition, in Southern LGBTQ+ communities, 17 percent say access makes them feel safer, while 22 percent say belonging is most valuable.
LGBTQ+ community centers, organizations, and groups are the most valuable to 14 percent of Southerners because they provide access to essential resources.
Transgender and gender non-conforming people may be incredibly grateful for safe LGBTQ+ spaces, as only 5 percent of nonbinary adults do not value access to LGBTQ+ spaces, the report found.
In recent years, LGBTQ-centered public charter schools have also appeared across the country in states like Ohio, Connecticut, California, and, more recently, Alabama, offering young LGBTQ+ students the chance to build better relationships with their identities and the community of people who share those identities.
Per the Data for Progress polling, 62 percent of people ages 18 to 24 believe that interacting with other LGBTQ+ people is somewhat or very important. Southern nonbinary adults significantly benefitted from socializing with the LGBTQ+ community. Compared to 53 percent of women and 55 percent of men in the same age group, 84 percent of nonbinary people find interacting with other LGBTQ+ people somewhat or very important. For young LGBTQ+ people, schools that cater to their needs offer a valuable opportunity to build community.
About 64 percent of LGBTQ+ Southerners believe that it is extremely or somewhat important for local communities to provide spaces for LGBTQ+ people to congregate and engage in social activities. The local queer spaces are the most important to lesbians and nonbinary Southerners, with 75 percent and 83 percent, respectively, finding these community spaces very or somewhat important.
In light of the higher rate of mental health issues, loneliness, and social disconnection LGBTQ+ people experience due to discrimination and marginalization, developing a space for people to find friendship, community, and social support becomes increasingly important. When social infrastructure is lacking, quality of life can be devastatingly reduced.
The survey reflects that 55 percent of LGBTQ+ Southerners disagree that their lives are close to ideal, and 59 percent disagree that they would not change a thing if they had to do it all over again. Compared to lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women, nonbinary people are least likely to say they are satisfied with their lives. In contrast to 61 percent of men and 58 percent of women, only 34 percent of nonbinary people agree that their lives are satisfied.
Despite this, survey results indicate that 43 percent of Black LGBTQ+ adults in the South agree that their communities celebrate their identities, compared to 35 percent of white LGBTQ+ adults. Black LGBTQ+ adults are more likely than white LGBTQ+ adults to agree that it is safe in their communities to be openly and visibly queer.
Those living in rural locations report feeling closer to family than their urban counterparts and relying more on friends and family in times of need.
Although LGBTQ+ people in rural areas are less likely to be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity with their families, that does not mean they are more honest with each other. According to Data for Progress, two-thirds of urban LGBTQ+ people are open to their family members, compared with 52 percent of suburban LGBTQ+ adults and 54 percent of rural LGBTQ+ adults.
Over two-thirds of LGBTQ+ Southerners belong to a religious community, according to the study; however, 77 percent of LGBTQ+ Southern adults do not have access to churches or religious institutions that welcome them in their local communities.
Almost eight in ten non-religious LGBTQ+ adults believe their local religious community does not welcome them, while 74 percent of LGBTQ+ Southerners are religious. Moreover, in contrast to 35 percent of gay people, less than 25 percent of bisexuals, lesbians, and pansexuals report access to accepting religious establishments in their communities.
“There are people who are interested in being in churches, are interested in, that are involved already in church in other religious institutions,” says David-Matthews. “And yet they’re not finding spaces that are welcoming or open to them.”
He adds, “I imagine that just having that change, of having spaces that are there for them, could be huge in bridging gaps between the religious institutions and communities that exist out there and queer communities, and showing that there is not so much difference, or not as much difference as we may think, between our values, between the things that we care about, and the way that we live our lives.”
Nebraska Lawmakers Take Fight Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Nationwide
Nebraska lawmakers who are fighting anti-transgender legislation are seeking to have an impact far beyond their state’s borders.
Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh, John Fredrickson, and Megan Hunt have formed a political action committee, Don’t Legislate Hate, to support pro-equality candidates for state legislatures around the nation.
Cavanaugh has made news with her filibuster against a bill seeking to ban gender-affirming health care for trans youth. She started it in late February, vowing to “burn the session to the ground over this bill.” That has meant hours of debate over every piece of legislation to keep the anti-trans measure from passing.
Hunt and Fredrickson, the first two out LGBTQ+ members of the legislature, were as appalled by the bill, LB 574, as Cavanaugh was. “We’ve never had a bill like this,” Hunt, a bisexual woman with a trans son, said in a recent interview with The Advocate. “We’ve never had a bathroom bill. We’ve never had anything attacking trans youth. … We just wanted to say, in Nebraska, it’s not going to happen this way.”
She and Fredrickson had been working behind the scenes with conservative lawmakers to fight the bill in Nebraska’s unicameral (one-chamber), officially nonpartisan legislature while Cavanaugh filibustered. But eventually they joined Cavanaugh’s filibuster, and the national attention and unsolicited donations it brought made them realize they needed to do more.
“We just thought we should put our heads together, and we should combine our resources and start a PAC so that we can bring hope to the LGBTQ+ community,” Hunt said. “We can let them know that someone is fighting for them.”
They are encouraging other legislators around the country to do the same, given that more than 450 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced at the state level this year.
“What’s been really fascinating to me is the amount of outreach we’ve gotten, both from Nebraskans and across the country,” Fredrickson, who is gay, said in the interview. “It was clear to me that the average Nebraskan doesn’t want this. It’s not a priority of theirs.” Nebraskans are far more interested in the economy, education policy, child care, affordable housing, and other practical issues, he said.
“We made it very clear in the legislative body that every single bill is going to be filibustered this year until this is off the table,” he added. He and his colleagues weren’t looking for national attention, he said, “but what has become clear is that it’s really inspired folks, and it’s really important to do this type of work, because frankly, it’s the right thing to do.”
Hunt, who was first elected in 2018, said she’s never put a lot of public emphasis on the fact that she has a trans child. “I just wanted my kid to be a kid and not put a spotlight on him,” she said. But now she’s realized, “I really have a unique platform and position to tell other parents of trans kids that I have their backs and also tell other Nebraskans who don’t have a trans person in their life that it’s normal. … There are trans people everywhere, and there always have been.”
Fredrickson, who was elected last year, said it’s important that he and Hunt have brought LGBTQ+ representation to the legislature. “It’s hard to hate up close,” he said, adding, “We fear what we don’t know.” They feel a great responsibility to put a face on the community, he noted.
Both said they didn’t have a lot of LGBTQ+ role models while growing up, Fredrickson in Omaha and Hunt in the small town of Blair, Neb. Fredrickson came out while attending college in New York City, where for the first time he saw queer people living joyful lives. Hunt said she was never really “in,” but she had to appeal to school administrators to bring a female date to her high school prom. So now she sees the need to normalize LGBTQ+ identity. “We’re actually just normal, just like everybody else,” she said.
Don’t Legislate Hate is just getting started and is still reviewing candidates, but its principals have heard from other organizations that are interested in partnering with it and candidates who want to be part of the process. “It’s already made a big splash,” Hunt said. “People are noticing what we’re doing, I think because it’s in a red state. It’s really important for people to see people standing up for LGBTQ equity and for trans rights in red states and conservative communities because we can show them it can be done. And also that hate-filled legislation like this — it’s not what even everyday Republicans want to do.”
Blue states including CA stockpile abortion pills amid legal uncertainty
The high-stakes legal battle over a widely used abortion pill has left some blue states busily stockpiling the medication, in anticipation of a time when it could no longer be easily accessible.
The big picture: At least two states say they are creating reserves of mifepristone to continue enabling access to the two-pill regimen for medication abortion that’s at the center of the legal battle. Two others are focusing on the other pill, whose availability isn’t threatened, to offer an alternative.
- Medication abortion accounts for 54% of abortions in the U.S., and 98% of those used mifepristone, an abortion drug normally used alongside a second pill, misoprostol.
- Misoprostol can be used on its own to terminate a pregnancy, but the method is slightly less effective. The combination regimen is considered the gold standard by health providers.
Driving the news: Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked lower court rulings that put restrictions on the use of mifepristone that the Food and Drug Administration had lifted over the years, including a ban on teleprescribing.
- Mifepristone is still available without those limitations until at least Wednesday while anti-abortion groups respond.
- But courts have yet to settle anti-abortion groups challenge to the FDA’s overall authorization, and the case could well wind up at the high court again.
What’s happening: The states that have said are stockpiling abortion pills have laws protecting abortion access.
- In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the state “secured an emergency stockpile” of up to 2 million doses of misoprostol.
- MassachusettsGov. Maura Healey (D) requested the University of Massachusetts purchase around 15,000 doses of mifepristone and has directed individual health providers to do so as well, which the state says will “ensure sufficient coverage … for more than a year.”
- The state will financially support any provider by paying for the doses.
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) stockpiled 150,000 doses of misoprostol, a projected five-year supply, “to meet anticipated needs.”
- In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) purchased a three-year supply of mifepristone through the state’s Department of Corrections, which has a pharmacy license.
- Dispensing mifepristone in Washington at the moment is also protected by a separate federal ruling that prohibits the FDA from rolling back access to the drug.
State of play: The Supreme Court could reinstate the restrictions or even scrap the FDA’s approval of the drug, which could cut off access in Massachusetts and Washington state.
- If the FDA’s authorization is revoked, it’s possible that providing mifepristone would violate the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act “because that would cause the introduction of an unapproved drug into interstate commerce,” said Delia Deschaine, an attorney at Epstein Becker Green specializing in FDA regulatory matters.
- However, the Justice Department is responsible for enforcing federal law and has argued that mifepristone is safe and effective. That makes it unlikely that the federal government would enforce the law against providers or pharmacies that are prescribing or dispensing mifepristone, even if it’s technically unapproved, Deschaine added.
Yes, but: States would still be subject to the restrictions if they take effect after Wednesday, particularly the in-person prescribing and dispensing requirement.
Florida LGBTQ group issues rare advisory warning for travel to Sunshine State
A group that’s invested in promoting Florida as a place to live, work and visit, is now advising anyone considering visiting the Sunshine State to stay home.
Equality Florida, a civil rights group that advocates for the LGBTQ community, on Wednesday issued a travel advisory.
In what the group acknowledged in a statement to be an “extraordinary step,” it warned of the risks posed to the health, safety, and freedom of those considering short- or long-term travel, or relocation to Florida amid the “passage of laws that are hostile to the LGBTQ community, restrict access to reproductive health care, repeal gun safety laws, foment racial prejudice, and attack public education by banning books and censoring curriculum.”
The NAACP last week issued a similar travel advisory over the Sunshine State’s African American studies ban.
Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith said in a statement it issued the advisory “with great sadness.”
“As an organization that has spent decades working to improve Florida’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place to live work and visit, it is with great sadness that we must respond to those asking if it is safe to travel to Florida or remain in the state as the laws strip away basic rights and freedoms,” Smith said.
“While losing conferences, and top students who have written off Florida threatens lasting damage to our state, it is most heartbreaking to hear from parents who are selling their homes and moving because school censorship, book bans and health care restrictions have made their home state less safe for their children. We understand everyone must weigh the risks and decide what is best for their safety, but whether you stay away, leave or remain we ask that you join us in countering these relentless attacks.Help reimagine and build a Florida that is truly safe for and open to all, and where freedom is a reality, not a hollow campaign slogan.”
The group’s statement alleges that Gov. Ron DeSantis has made “the extremist policies the centerpiece of his” likely presidential campaign strategy, noting that he “has weaponized state agencies to silence critics and impose sanctions on large and small companies that dissent with his culture war agenda or disagree with his attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Gay TikTok couple arrested in Russia
A young gay couple has been arrested with one facing deportation back to his native China after running afoul of Russia’s “gay propaganda” law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last December, for their videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Gela Gogishvili, 23, a Russian national and his boyfriend, Chinese national Haoyang Xu, 21, live in Kazan, the fifth largest city in Russia located on the banks of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in southwest Russia. The young couple had been documenting their everyday lives with their 740,000 followers on TikTok and 64,900 subscribers on YouTube.
The couple was arrested this past Thursday and although Gogishvili was released, Xu remains being held in a Russian detention center for migrants before being deported in seven days.
In an interview with Newsweek’s Shannon Power “We were very scared … it became a living hell because the impossible happened,” Gogishvili said.
According to Moscow-based LGBTQ group, DELO LGBT+ a local citizen tipped off police to Gogishvili and Xu’s social media content.
“The ‘gay propaganda’ law falls under the Administrative Code, but the Kazan police’s criminal investigation department has been looking for these guys … and they are treated like they are dangerous criminal offenders,” Vladimir Komov, senior partner and a spokesperson for the organization said.
In a court hearing Friday, Xu who had moved to Russia to study Russian at university, was found guilty of violating the enhanced “gay propaganda” law and sentenced to a week in the detention center for migrants before being deported. The couple’s attorneys are appealing that decision.
According to Newsweek: Police stopped the couple in the street after they had attended a museum with friends and demanded Xu present his papers, such as passport and student visa, but he couldn’t because he did not carry them on him. The officers then escorted them to get his documentation and took them in a police car to the Yapeyeva police station.
But once they got there, police informed the men they were being charged under Article 6.21 of Russia’s Administrative Offenses Code, otherwise known as the “gay propaganda” law.
“The policeman told us that it’s not that Haoyang didn’t have his papers on him but we will be prosecuted for ‘gay propaganda’ and … Haoyang could be deported,” Gogishvili said.
DELO LGBT+‘s Komov said that he could not understand why the couple had been arrested because they were “quite popular” on their social media platforms and their content was “not erotic” by any standard.
“They do TikToks about their everyday life as a gay couple, how they do chores, how they wash the dishes, how they communicate and only share a few romantic moments such as kissing … and some cuddling,” Komov said.
“How did the police informer and the Kazan police deem there was LGBT+ ‘propaganda’ on their social media? These guys just posted videos in which they kiss, hug and show their favorite sleeping poses.
“All this was considered an inappropriate demonstration of ‘homosexual intimacy’.”
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin issued a decree last December that directs the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated as Roskomnadzor, to ban any websites that contain information about LGBTQ identities without a court order.
As a part of the stepped up enhancements of the law, “Information propagating non-traditional sexual relations and (or) preferences” now serves as grounds for blacklisting any website in Russia and more recently used as a tool by Russian police and prosecutors against those posting prohibited material on their personal social media platforms.
Free Online SoCo LGBTQI+ History Class Will Focus on The Billy’s, the Gay and Trans Men Group That Still is Active Today
LGBTQI History: A Sonoma County Timeline 1947-2000.
Wednesdays 1:30-3pm. Online via Zoom. On April 19,
Ken Kunert will be joining us for a discussion on the history
of the Billy Foundation. Please contact me to enroll in this
FREE class and receive a Zoom invite: [email protected]
Politician becomes first ever female minister in France to come out as gay
A politician in France has become the first female minister to come out as gay in the country after revealing her sexuality in an interview.
Democratic Movement politician and youngest serving minister Sarah El Haïry revealed that she is queer and is currently dating someone.
The 33-year-old state secretary for youth at the Ministry of National Education casually mentioned her partner while discussing whether she uses Twitter.
In the interview with Forbes, she responded to the question by saying that she only ever reads Twitter when it affects her family or her girlfriend.
The casual mention of her partner cemented El Haïry in the history books, becoming the first female minister in France to identify as queer.
Since being appointed youth secretary of state, the country’s youngest government minister has been outspoken regarding both women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.
She has previously called out discrimination against LGBTQ+ groups in France, saying that promoting LGBTQ+ rights is a “daily fight”.
El Haïry’s announcement, which Forbes described as “discreet”, came shortly after a similar reveal from former National Assembly of France member Olivier Dussopt.
In an interview with French magazine Têtu on 24 March, Dussopt said that his sexuality was “neither a secret, nor a subject” while condemning homophobic attacks in France.
“Being homosexual is never neutral,” he said during the interview. “But one has the right to defend causes, to militate, to participate in the debate without making one’s personal situation a political element in itself.”
He added that, while this was his first time coming out, he has been outspoken for same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ autonomy in the past.
Despite the country’s current government being supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, the rise of the far-right in France following 2022’s presidential election has caused concern.
Emmanual Macron defeated far-right rival Marine Le Pen in the 2022 presidential race, gaining a slim 58 per cent of the vote compared to Le Pen’s 41.46 per cent.
The win saw LGBTQ+ people in France spared from what would have been a dire scenariofor queer rights.
Despite this, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is still an issue in Macron’s France, with homophobic attacks still worryingly prevalent and Le Monde reporting a 27.6 per cent increase in reports of offences committed ‘because of sexual orientation or gender identity’ in 2021, compared to 2020.