House minority leader and key opponent to Donald Trump Nancy Pelosi has clarified a quote in which she declared “I am LGBTQ,” leading to speculation about her sexuality.
Pelosi is the most senior representative of the Democratic Party in Congress and a crucial figure in opposing Republican policies, including anti-LGBT legislature or attempts to block progress on rights.
She gave a recent quote to Rolling Stone magazine in which she said she was “LGBTQ,” which some people took as a declaration about her own orientation.
She said “I’m LGBTQ, I support those issues. I’m proud to. But they use that – they go into these districts and they say, ‘Too liberal.’”The clarification, to The Wrap, said “She means she’s pro-LGBTQ,”
“As Leader and Speaker, Nancy Pelosi has, according to the Advocate, ‘driven LGBT causes further than any other person in Washington.’ The Leader is very clearly referring to her longstanding work in this regard in this interview.”
Gentrification and economic displacement are not mere abstractions for LGBTQ San Franciscans. We see the tangible effects daily on the places where we live, work and play. The loss of a neighborhood formed around our identities is devastating — not just for individuals but also for the extended families, institutions and events that form our collective, living culture.
Recently, members of the GLBT Historical Society participated in a march through the Polk District led by activist Juanita More. We laid black wreaths at former gay businesses in that once-thriving gayborhood. Longtime LGBTQ activist Cleve Jones joined the march to remind us all why such territories are invaluable (for a video of his remarks, click here). The gathering was a powerful reminder of the centers of LGBTQ life we have lost not only in the Polk, but also in the Valencia Corridor, the Tenderloin and North Beach.
What We Stand to Lose
The march also was a vivid reminder of what we stand to lose today. The threat has inspired activists to pursue establishment of recognized cultural districts in our LGBTQ neighborhoods. This approach has proven a powerful tool for sustaining ethnic neighborhoods in the Japantown Cultural Heritage District, the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District and the SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District.
More recently, the Compton’s Transgender Cultural District in the Tenderloin and the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District in South of Market are leveraging political power to protect community institutions, support special projects and promote affordability. Both the proposed city budget and a November ballot measure hold out the promise of further funding for such districts.
A new initiative modeled on these existing efforts is in the organizing stages. The Castro LGBTQ Cultural District was introduced in May by Jeff Sheehy, the outgoing Board of Supervisors member representing the Castro. The newly elected supervisor, Rafael Mandelman, has pledged to bring the district to fruition in this world renowned gayborhood.
Enhancing Cultural Assets
Those of us involved in advocating the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District hope that city recognition will help enhance the area’s LGBTQ businesses and cultural assets. At the same time, we’re working to reassure local residents and merchants that the Castro will remain a neighborhood where all are welcome to live and work together.
Of course a cultural district can’t counter broad economic and social forces that extend far beyond our city’s borders. But it does provide one important tool to help ensure that LGBTQ people do not lose the housing, services and institutions that give us our heritage and our home in the Castro. That will be invaluable for both locals and visitors from around the world to whom this neighborhood means so much.
To learn more or to help with organizing the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, visit the organizers’ Facebook page.
Terry Beswick is executive director of the GLBT Historical Society.
The vice mayor of Dixon, California, is facing calls to step down after he proclaimed July as “Straight Pride American Month.”
Ted Hickman declared July as a month to celebrate heterosexuals in a bizarre article on his personal blog, which was also published in local paper Independent Voice.
His piece prompted recall efforts – a procedure when elected officials can be removed from office following a vote – with the creation of a “Recall Ted Hickman” Facebook page, which currently has more than 700 ‘likes’.
Hickman has faced calls to step down in response to his article (QuentenVoyce/Twitter)
Hickman wrote in his article: “Now before anyone gets their pantyhose in a knot, this is not really legallyanti anything; instead it’s pro-family; and proud to be a straight American, and me expressing a private opinion… So there!”
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The Californian official added: “Now hundreds of millions of the rest of us can celebrate our month, peaking on July 4, as healthy, heterosexual, fairly monogamous, keep our kinky stuff to ourselves, Americans… We do it with our parades in every state and county in this country with families celebrating together.”
He also described Pride month as “LGBTQF-WTF month,” adding that it was an event that saw “tens of thousands of folks dancing and prancing all over American celebrating the fact they are different than most of the rest of us and showing their “pride” in being so.”
Campaigners are planning a protest at Dixon City Council’s next meeting on July 10, calling for Hickman to stand down.
The Facebook group ‘Recall Ted Hickman’ is urging mayor of Dixon Thom Bogue to respond to Hickman’s article with a statement.
Campaigners are calling for Ted Hickman to step down following his article (Recall Ted Hickman, Vice Mayor of Dixon, CA/Facebook)
Later in his article, Hickman said: “We honor our country and our veterans who have made all of this possible (including for the tinker bells) and we can do it with actual real pride, not some put on show just to help our inferior complex “show we are different” type of crap. We ARE different from them…We work, have families, (and babies we make) enjoy and love the company (and marriage) of the opposite sex and don’t flaunt our differences dressing up like faries and prancing by the thousands in a parade in nearby San Francisco to be televised all over the world.”
The vice mayor defended his article in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, telling the local paper: “It was tongue-in-cheek and had nothing to do with my elected position [and that] thin-skinned people took offense.”
Anthony Avalos, the 10-year-old boy who died last week in Lancaster. (Family photo)
Anthony Avalos came out as gay in recent weeks, and authorities are now investigating whether homophobia played a role in the death of the 10-year-old Lancaster boy, a county official said.
Anthony was found mortally wounded at his home last week with severe head injuries and cigarette burns covering his body.
Brandon Nichols, deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, revealed in an interview Monday that Anthony “said he liked boys” but declined to provide more details, including whom the boy told and when.
Nichols said the criminal investigation of the deadly abuse is ongoing.
Anthony’s aunt, Maria Barron, said it would have taken great courage for Anthony to have announced he was gay in the home.
Anthony’s mother, Heather Barron, and her boyfriend, Kareem Leiva, have not been charged with any crimes related to Anthony’s death. DCFS has determined that Anthony probably died from child abuse. Neither Leiva or Barron responded to requests for comment.
The aunt said she began alerting DCFS in 2015, when she noticed bruises and other injuries that the children told her were caused by Leiva. She said the children also reported Leiva locking them in small spaces where they had to urinate and defecate on the floor. Leiva was convicted in 2010 of domestic abuse.
For the boy to have come out amid those circumstances “only reinforces how brave Anthony was,” Maria Barron said.
Heather Barron and Leiva were the subject of at least 16 calls since 2013 from school administrators, a teacher, a counselor, family members and others to DCFS and police alleging child abuse, sources told The Times for an article Sunday.
At least 13 of those calls were received by DCFS and specifically mentioned Anthony as the alleged victim, Nichols said.
In an interview, DCFS Director Bobby Cagle confirmed The Times’ report on Sunday that callers said Anthony or his six siblings were denied food and water, sexually abused, beaten and bruised, dangled upside-down from a staircase, forced to crouch for hours, locked in small spaces with no access to the bathroom, forced to fight one another, and forced to eat from the trash.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call from his mother about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday and found the boy unresponsive inside his family’s apartment.
Authorities said they were told the boy had “suffered injuries from a fall.” He died at a hospital Thursday morning. County officials removed seven other children from the home as the investigation continued.
Cagle said that despite the years of severe abuse alleged in Anthony’s home, it was “premature” to say that Anthony’s case represented a failure of the child welfare system.
“That’s a very complex question. It’s much more than a black-and-white issue. There are many shades of gray,” Cagle said.
The director promised a deep investigation of any breakdowns and to share any case management errors with the public as they are discovered.
No caseworkers have been placed on desk duty or become the subject of disciplinary action in the case. Nichols said the department will disclose such moves if they occur as the internal review deepens.
“I want to be sure that we are being as fair to them as possible,” Cagle said. “If you are giving up on workers immediately, that only causes more turnover.”
Nichols said that his department’s caseworkers documented years ago that Leiva was allegedly a member of the MS-13 criminal gang, but that information was not classified by the workers as a safety threat necessitating Anthony’s removal from the home, and the department never moved to have him permanently removed.
“Just because someone has some affiliation [with MS-13], in and of itself would not have a conclusive effect,” Nichols said.
The five elected members of the county Board of Supervisors declined interview requests regarding the case.
In a statement, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Lancaster, said, “Our partners in child protection are collaborating with law enforcement who are conducting a thorough investigation to identify the circumstances surrounding this unspeakable crime.”
Supervisor Hilda Solis issued a statement that said, “We will be taking a very hard look at how this happened, take all corrective actions immediately, and provide strict and diligent oversight to ensure that the reforms we have started are carried out.”
Supervisor Janice Hahn said, “We failed Anthony. I hope to get answers in the coming days as to what went wrong.”
In the U.S., many hospitals either are not equipped for proper care for transgender patients or they do not address and handle them with respect and proper pronouns, which can make the already difficult experience of seeking healthcare and dealing with health concerns even more trying. With this in mind, Cedars-Sinai recently announced that they will provide transgender primary care in both Beverly Hills and Culver City.
Transgender care programs at Cedars-Sinai have expanded from being one of only two academic medical centers in the Western U.S. that offer gender-affirmation genital surgery to now include quality medical care for all aspects of their health. The hospital’s gender-affirmation surgery allowed many people who were refused care and coverage by physicians and insurance companies access to transition. For years, gender-affirmation surgery was limited to private clinics, which did not accept many medical insurance options. Now Cedars-Sinai has taken another step forward from providing some of the best care in gender-affirming surgery needs to include a more comprehensive set of programs for transgender patients.
According to a 2017 National Public Radio survey, 31 percent of transgender people in the U.S. say they have no regular doctor or form of healthcare, and that the fear of discrimination plays a major role in that.
“It is such a privilege to take care of the transgender community, which historically has had poor access to care,” said Carl A. Violano, MD, one of Cedars-Sinai primary care physicians with years of expertise in the field of transgender healthcare. “I feel a deep sense of responsibility to provide excellent care to our transgender patients.”
The medical center introduced a new interdisciplinary, research-based Transgender Surgery and Health Program headed by a leader in the field to ensure the team of specialist aid patients through every step in their journeys. Some of these comprehensive healthcare programs include vocal cord and speech therapy, HIV care, hormone management, fertility preservation and mental health services.
“It’s important to recognize that not all LGBTQ community members have access to quality medical care. We’re striving to meet a critical need,” said Mary Clare Lingel, vice president of Strategic Integration at Cedars-Sinai Medical Network.
The transgender community can now celebrate a more joyful Pride Month knowing hospitals like Cedars-Sinai are working to make the best care available.
Donald Trump and his administration are cruelly separating children from their families.
But we won’t allow it to continue. On June 30, we’re rallying in Washington, D.C., and around the country to tell Donald Trump and his administration to stop separating kids from their parents!
Trump and his administration have been systematically criminalizing immigration and immigrants, from revoking Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to ramping up intimidating ICE tactics.
Join us on June 30 to send a clear message to Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress: Families Belong Together!
If there’s not an event near you, keep checking back or create an event at the link below.
Petaluma Mail Depot , parking lot (4th & C streets)
Petaluma, CA 94952
296 attendees
It is time to rally and march against the trump administration’s horrendous treatment of families seeking refuge at the border! These families are being cruelly separated and sent to prison camps. The children are being ripped from their parents’ arms! We must stand united with others across the nation on June 30th and let trump and GOP know no more! The time to stand up is NOW!
Santa Rosa is standing with the national Families Belong Together protest on June 30th, demanding that families not be separated at the US-Mexico Border … Our current administration’s policy of separating children from their parents must stop. Join us in action and solidarity … schedule for the rally will be posted soon on our facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1913293655399367/
Directions: Take 101 N to Downtown Exit and turn right onto 3rd Street – park in parking garage at 3rd and D or at 1st and Santa Rosa Ave. you will pass Courthouse Square on way to parking garage Take 101 S to Downtown Exit and turn left onto 3rd Street – following directions above or park under freeway and walk through Santa Rosa Plaza onto 4th Street – Courthouse Square is 1 block from Mall/Plaza
Stand with your neighbors and our community to say, “NO” to the brutal and inhumane internment, family separation and criminalization of immigrants. Let’s help lead the way to a brighter future for the children of the world! As a very diverse community with many residents who have immigrated from different countries, let’s make the voices of Vallejo and Benicia part of the wave of cities rising up to say “No, we are not okay with this!” We’d like this peaceful, non-violent action to include protest, music, art, testimonies and representation from different faith communities (including faithful and faithless humanists). This will be a youth, elder-friendly and accessible event. Everyone participating in this event will be required to abide by all applicable laws and lawful orders of authorities. This Event will be nonviolent and will not involve any civil disobedience or other violation of law.
Directions: Unity Plaza in downtown Vallejo — the corner of Georgia and Santa Clara Streets by the MLK Library.
June 30th is the anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, signed into law in front of the Statue of Liberty. Let’s show our State and our Nation that babies are not bargaining chips in your politics. Bring diapers, baby blankets, kids books and toys, your signs and your friends. We can leave the baby items there as a symbol of who they are harming, in hopes that they will get the items to the kids who need it. All while we stand there in protest of this abominable policy, leaving our signs there as a reminder to anyone who enters that they are complicit in this abuse. Come when you can. Bring who you can. The time is 11 AM – 2 PM, but show up, leave a sign, show your support, whenever you can. Facebook event for further planning: https://www.facebook.com/events/438561293282798/
Stand with your neighbors and loved ones say NO to the brutal and inhumane internment, family separation and criminalization of immigrants. Join our multi-racial, multi-faith protest and demand Let Our People Go! Organized by people from Solidarity Sundays and the Kehilla Community Synagogue Immigration Committee. Let Our People Go is a youth-and-elder-friendly, accessible action that opposes the detentions/deportations and mass incarceration with protest, music, art, testimonies and representation from different faith communities (including faithful and faithless humanists).
Join us in peacefully protesting the inhumane treatment of children and families seeking asylum at our borders. Remember that silence is consent. If you have any questions call Kathy Timberlake at 305-587-1712
Old City Hall Steps, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
592 attendees
Family separation is another Trump-created crisis. This is not at all required under current law — despite the lies coming out of Trump’s mouth — and Trump could put an end to this with a phone call. And like so many other Trump-created crises, Republicans in Congress are letting it happen. Some may have expressed concerns about the policy, but none have done anything about it. That’s where you come in. Join our rally as part of a national day of action (like the airport protests) in support of keeping families together. (Why do we even need to say that?!)
Directions: The Old City Hall Steps are on Martin Luther King Way between Center St. and Allston Way in Berkeley
This is a peaceful, non-violent, family-friendly gathering to hold signs and protest the separation and detainment of children from their parents at the border. This event will be about visibility and adding one more city to the number of cities who stood up to say “No, we are not okay with this.” We welcome drummers, musicians, artist and poetry to help set the mood of this event. Join me in making our voices heard! Please help lead the way to a brighter future for the children of the world!
“The government should be in the business of keeping families together, not tearing them apart. And the government should have a commitment to transparency and accountability. Under Secretary Nielsen’s tenure, the Department of Homeland Security has a track record of neither. As a result, she must resign.
“During her time as the manager of the government’s third largest agency, the Department has implemented a policy that has separated thousands of children from their families, issued a directive to make it easier to detain pregnant women, tried to use DACA recipients as leverage to achieve the President’s anti-immigrant agenda, failed to address some of the agency’s most pressing management challenges and overseen the continued failed response to tragedy in Puerto Rico.
“The Department’s lack of transparency under Secretary Nielsen’s leadership combined with her record of misleading statements including yesterday’s denial that the Administration even had a policy of separating children at the border, are disqualifying. We must speak the truth. There is no law that says the Administration has to rip children from their families. This Administration can and must reverse course now and it can and must find new leadership for the Department of Homeland Security.”
With chart-topping pop stars like Kehlani and Tove Lo headlining this year’s L.A. Pride Festival, no one could have been surprised by an unusually high turnout. However, during this year’s Pride, the City of West Hollywood, along with the Pride organizers of Christopher Street West, saw an unexpected number of ticket sales and flooded streets on Saturday, June 9, causing parade-goers to be turned away by the thousands.
No one saw it coming. Especially not the ticket holders who showed up from all around the country to participate in the legendary Pride festival. Alisha Broome came out from Florida to attend.
“It was my first time coming to Pride. I came out over two years ago.” Broome said over the phone. “It was really exciting. We purchased the tickets way in advance. When we got there, we were told it was sold out, they weren’t letting anyone through. Once we got up to the front of the line, we were told it was a fire hazard. They were at full capacity. There was no information given about how we would go about getting refunded.”
Before any of the performances began, helicopters circled in the sky, and thousands of ticket-buyers were being told by the L.A. Fire Department that the venue was full.
“There was no direct contact information to get ahold of anyone in regard to ticket sales or refunds.” Said Broome. “It was just a lot.”
Other would-be Pride participators agreed. After the festival began turning people away, Twitter blew up with angry responses from ticket holders who were left with no information about how to get their money back or how to move forward.
“F*** LA Pride.” Tweeted user @OCNew. “They took our money, said you could pick up tix at will call. You couldn’t. Cops saying leave or get locked up. Then Pacific Design Center charging $25 for parking and giving no refunds. Sooooo I paid all that money just to drive to WEHO!”
“LA Pride was so horrible.” Another user, @mkygod, tweeted after being denied entry. “Waited almost 2 hours in line only for the line to stop at the gate due to full capacity. Then they made people wait another hour before telling everyone in line to go home via helicopter.”
Some attendees found that the disorganization of Pride created not just unpleasant, but outright dangerous situations of the same type that Christopher Street West and the LAPD were trying to prevent.
“Extreme ticket overselling, dangerous overcrowding, police with pellet guns, and a scary near miss with a girl attempting to jump off the parking structure (which went unnoticed by authorities,)” tweeted @wondermIm. “#lapride should. have. done. Better.”
Even pop star Kehlani, one of L.A. Pride’s headliners, spoke out about her disappointment in regard to the festival’s organization. With Pride being advertised and sold more like a music festival than a community event, West Hollywood and the Pride organizers quickly had trouble on their hands.
On Monday, June 11, the City of West Hollywood put out a statement addressing the overbooked festival. Estevan Montemayor, CSW/LA Pride Board President, later spoke on the unprecedented event, stating:
“The LA PRIDE festival sold out both nights for the first time in our nearly 50-year history. The event has grown from a small community gathering into something completely unique: a safe and inclusive space where tens of thousands of people can gather to embrace everyone for who they are. With the obvious increase in demand for the LA PRIDE festival, we will be working with the City of West Hollywood and the community to continue to improve and evolve the festival.”
Attendees who were denied entry are urged to request a refund by emailing help@seetickets.us or calling 323.908.0607.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s anti-domestic violence program targeting the LGBT community, known as the STOP Violence Program, has recently received three grants totaling over $1.5 million. The Center is the largest community-based provider of LGBT-related legal services and STOP has offered the “largest and most comprehensive LGBT-specific domestic violence programs” in the country, according to a press release.
Since 1996, STOP, which stands for Support, Treatment, Outreach, Prevention, has not only focused on emotional and physical violence toward LGBTQ+ folks in the home, but also on hate crimes (including bullying, harassment, and discrimination), stalking robbery, identity theft, cyber-crime and human trafficking.
The total sum of $1.5 million comes from three separate grants, two of which come from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CALOES), and a third that given by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime.
The first award from CALOES funds a new STOP program, the Safely Home Initiative, which caters to survivors of intimate partner violence. The initiative is meant to give comprehensive assistance through every stage of the process, from emergency, temporary, and permanent housing; counseling for individuals, groups, and families; and legal services.
While LGBT people experience intimate partner violence and sexual abuse at equal or higher levels than the general population, they face unique barriers to seeking help that heterosexual and cisgender people do not. According to the Williams Institute, a gender and sexuality think tank based at UCLA, legal definitions of domestic violence sometimes exclude same-sex couples. More broadly, LGBT folks, especially trans individuals, have lower confidence in law enforcement and the legal system, which means that they are less likely to seek help when they need it.
The second CALOES grant went to the new Safe Shelters Program, which also provides emergency housing assistance to specific groups as well as offering services to LGBTQ+ victims of crime.
“Disturbingly, LGBT people experience intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking at higher rates than their heterosexual counterparts and, yet, few programs in the country provide services beyond intervention, counseling, and police reporting,” said Susan Holt, PsyD, LMFT, the Center’s manager of the STOP Violence Program. “By providing housing assistance, the Los Angeles LGBT Center is taking the vital step forward to protect, save, and empower victims of violent crimes.”
The third grant, from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office ofVictims of Crime, provides funding to expand STOP’s data-collecting operation. STOP will begin surveying care providers and survivors in Los Angeles to understand the most effective means of assisting LGBT survivors of crime. The Los Angeles LGBT Center is also asking anyone in Los Angeles who has experienced violent crime to visit their website and fill out a survey.
A California man was sentenced to death on Thursday for the killing of a young boy who prosecutors said was tortured because he believed the child was gay, and the boy’s mother was sentenced to life in prison.
Los Angeles County state court Judge George Lomeli sentenced 37-year-old Isauro Aguirre after he was convicted late last year of first-degree murder in the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez.
The child’s mother, Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 34, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February and was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Aguirre was Fernandez’ boyfriend.
Gabriel died in May of 2013 in the working class high desert community of Palmdale, north of Los Angeles. Prosecutors said the boy’s skull was fractured, 12 of his ribs were broken, he was forced to eat cat feces, and that he slept, bound and gagged, in a cabinet.
“The conduct was horrendous, inhumane and nothing short of evil,” Lomeli said Thursday in imposing sentence.
Gabriel Fernandez, who was routinely beaten, starved, forced to sleep in a closet and tortured until his 2013 death.NBC News
“It is unimaginable, the pain that this child probably endured. And from what I heard, Gabriel was a kind, loving individual who just wanted to be loved,” the judge added.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami said during the trial that Aguirre “liked torture” and systematically abused Gabriel Fernandez because he thought the boy was gay.
“This case showed how evil can not only inflict lasting damage to those who loved Gabriel but our society as well,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement Thursday.
Under the terms of the Fernandez’ plea deal, a sentence of life in prison without parole was expected. In November Aguirre was convicted by a jury, which found that a special circumstance allegation of intentional murder by torture was valid, prosecutors said.
Fernandez said in a statement Thursday that “I want to say I’m sorry to my family for what I did. I wish Gabriel was alive,” and “every day I wish that I made better choices,” according to NBC Los Angeles.
State executions in California have been held up by court challenges since 2006. More than 740 inmates are currently on the state’s death row, according to the California Department of Corrections.
Lacey said that the sentences handed down on Thursday mean “the defendants will now spend the rest of their lives in prison for their reprehensible actions.”
Several agencies investigated abuse allegations leading up to Gabriel’s death, the Associated Press reported. On several occasions, investigators concluded there was no evidence of abuse.
Prosecutors have since filed charges of child abuse and falsifying records against four county social workers in Gabriel’s death.
Isauro Aguirre, left and Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, right, sit during their sentencing hearing in Los Angeles. KTLA / via AP pool
