The Senate voted Wednesday to open debate on a bill that would codify federal protections for same-sex marriage, signaling that the legislation has sufficient Republican support to pass.
Lawmakers advanced the legislation in a 62-37 vote days after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to proceed on an updated version of the measure released by a bipartisan group of senators.
A dozen Republicans voted with Democrats to advance the legislation: Sens. Roy Blunt, of Missouri; Richard Burr, of North Carolina; Shelley Moore Capito, of West Virginia; Joni Ernst, of Iowa; Cynthia Lummis, of Wyoming; Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska; Rob Portman, of Ohio; Dan Sullivan, of Alaska; Mitt Romney, of Utah; Thom Tillis, of North Carolina; and Todd Young, of Indiana.
Blunt, Burr and Portman are retiring from Congress at the end of this year.
The bipartisan group that crafted the bill, led by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., signaled this week that the bill would have the 10 GOP votes needed to pass in the upper chamber during the lame-duck session.
Democrats need 10 Republicans to support the bill in order for it to overcome the 60-vote procedural hurdle before a final floor vote can take place.
Key senators involved in the negotiations previously delayed a vote on the legislation until after the midterm elections to give Republicans more time to review an amendment aimed at attracting more GOP votes to overcome a filibuster.
In a statement, the bipartisan group said the amendment was crafted to “confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious liberties and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality.”
The House passed a version of the bill in July, with 47 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting for the legislation. The lower chamber passed the bill, titled the Respect for Marriage Act, after Democratic leaders expressed concern that the Supreme Court could follow its June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade with a ruling rescinding the right of same-sex couples to marry.
The House will need to take up the Senate’s version of the bill before sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
“Love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love. Today’s bipartisan vote brings the United States one step closer to protecting that right in law,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday after lawmakers advanced the mesure.
The legislation would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, enshrine legal same-sex marriage for the purposes of federal law, and add legal protections for married couples of the same sex.
Same-sex marriage remains the law of the land under the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. But Democrats cited Justice Clarence Thomas’concurring opinion in the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe in which he called on the now-more-conservative court to reverse the ruling as well as another landmark decision legalizing contraception.
The cases were weeks apart and eerily similar: Two young men at popular New York City gay bars. They each left with at least one mysterious person. They were both found dead. Both of their bank accounts were drained.
And they may not be the only ones.
More gay New Yorkers are coming forward for the first time with accounts that share notable similarities to the unexplained deaths this spring of Julio Ramirez, 25, a social worker, and John Umberger, 33, a political consultant.
The biggest difference so far: They survived.
NBC News spoke to two people who described harrowing experiences that seem to broadly fit the pattern of what happened to Ramirez and Umberger.
“It sounded so eerily similar to what happened to me,” Tyler Burt, 27, said about Ramirez’s death. “I was like, ‘I’m lucky to be alive.’”
Burt and a student at New York University believe they fell victim to a larger string of robberies and assaults that police are investigating. Their stories also mirror a troubling detail that Ramirez’s and Umberger’s families have only suspected — that they felt like they were drugged before they were robbed.
The New York City Police Department said that the city’s medical examiner is still determining the official causes of Ramirez’s and Umberger’s deaths. There have been no arrests. Police would not confirm whether Burt’s or the student’s cases were a part of their ongoing investigation.
John Umberger was found dead in New York City in May and his bank accounts were drained.Linda Clary
The NYPD provided a statement on Friday reiterating that police and the district attorney’s office are investigating “several incidents where individuals have been victims to either robberies or assault,” in which some but not all are members of the LGBTQ community. NBC News could not verify that the men’s experiences were connected to the string of robberies and assaults.
Meanwhile, the gay community in the country’s largest LGBTQ city awaits answers.
John Pederson, 55, says he was robbed in similar circumstances in 2018 and, combined with the recent reports, the experience has left him shaken.
“Part of it’s like, am I crazy?” Pederson said. “Women are so aware of this as a thing that happens. I don’t think gay men would ever suspect that this could be done to them.”
No memories and emptied bank accounts
In December, Burt — who reached out to NBC News on social media after recent reports regarding the two deaths — was walking home from a night out with friends when he stopped at The Boiler Room, a popular gay bar in Manhattan’s East Village, for one last drink by himself. Sitting alone at the bar was the last thing Burt says he remembers before waking up the next morning in his apartment confused.
Burt said he woke up lying on top of his bed with all of his clothes and shoes on and his phone missing. He then noticed that his personal laptop, iPad, headphones and wallet were also missing. Using his work laptop, he discovered that was just the beginning of what would amount to roughly $15,000 of stolen belongings and funds. The person or people who robbed him accessed his checking account, overdrafting it to pay off his credit cards and then using them to buy three new iPhones that morning.
Burt, who reported the incident to the police the day after the encounter, said he believes an assailant used his unconscious face to unlock his iPhone and bank accounts using the Face ID feature. He said he believes that the person or people who robbed him also slipped him some sort of drug, knocking him unconscious and causing him to black out.
Tyler Burt said he was robbed of $15,000 worth of belongings and funds after he blacked out.
“I don’t think I was drinking nearly enough to have zero recollection. Also, that’s never happened to me before,” Burt said, adding that he had a total of three to four drinks over the course of four hours. “I’ll go out and I’ll get home and be like, ‘Oh, gosh, I don’t remember getting home,’ or, ‘I don’t remember leaving,’ or something like that because I drank a lot, but I don’t remember anything. I don’t remember a single thing after I had that drink, which has just never happened to me in my life before.”
The father of a New York University student, who spoke to NBC News on the condition that his name not be published out of fear of putting his son in danger, said that his 21-year-old son also believes he was targeted by men with similar motives on April 8, less than two weeks before Ramirez’s death.
He said that his son, who also requested that his name not be published, told him he was leaving The Q bar in Hell’s Kitchen, the same bar Umberger was last seen at, with three men he had just met that night. The four of them, he said, had planned to go back to his son’s apartment to meet a friend who was already there. The man — who connected with NBC News through Linda Clary, Umberger’s mother — said his son and his son’s friend believe they were drugged at some point after returning to the apartment with the three unidentified men. The father said that his son and his son’s friend believe they were drugged because of the sudden nature of their blackouts and loss of memory coupled with the robbery.
When the two gained consciousness, the father said, his son’s phone was missing, his bank accounts were emptied using cash apps and his credit cards were maxed out. In total, the man said, about $5,000 worth of cash and items were stolen from his son. Similarly to Burt, the college student’s father said his son believes the assailants used his unconscious face to unlock his iPhone and bank accounts using Face ID. His son’s friend, he said, had her wallet stolen. The father of the college student said that his son filed a police report and that his case is still being investigated. NBC News was not able to independently verify the son’s account.
Pederson, a freelance computer consultant who reached out to NBC News on social media after recent reports regarding the two deaths, said that on Nov. 16, 2018, he also had a similar encounter. Pederson said he was heading home from Tribeca after attending a large private party, where he had three to four drinks over several hours. While alone and hailing a cab, he said he suddenly and uncharacteristically blacked out on the street corner and was robbed.
He regained consciousness momentarily, waking up to a man shaking him violently in the back seat of an unfamiliar car, yelling, “What’s the PIN number? What’s the PIN number? If you just give us the PIN number, we’ll take you home,” he said. The next thing he remembers is being dropped off in front of his apartment building before waking up the next morning with a bloodied face and his bank account wiped out.
Pederson said that he was not feeling heavily intoxicated before abruptly blacking out, nor did he have a hangover the next morning, which he said is common for him on the rare occasions he drinks too much alcohol.
‘You would not want to wish this on anyone’
Although traumatized, Burt, the father of the NYU student and Pederson said they look back on the incidents today with gratitude that they weren’t fatal.
It took Burt about a month after the encounter before he felt comfortable sleeping in his apartment again, he said, adding that the incident prompted him to go to therapy.
“It took me a while to really process what had happened to me and how terrifying it was,” Burt said. “And then seeing stuff that’s come out — like that kid who died in May — that really could have been me. It was just one small move away from that happening to me.”
“There’s a lot of ‘what ifs,’ that I’ve gone through in my head, which is, you know, not fun to think about,” he added.
Less than two weeks after the college student’s alleged encounter in early April, Ramirez was found dead in the back of a taxi. His body was discovered an hour after he was seen leaving the Ritz Bar and Lounge with three unidentified men, according to the NYPD. His family previously told NBC News that approximately $20,000 had been drained from his bank accounts.
Linda Clary is pressing the NYPD to further investigate the death of her son, John Umberger.Linda Clary
Roughly a month later, Umberger was found dead after he and two unidentified men left another popular Hell’s Kitchen gay bar, The Q. The unidentified men transferred about $20,000 out of Umberger’s bank accounts and maxed out his credit cards, according to Clary, Umberger’s mother.
“The pain and sorrow and horror is like nothing else,” Clary said. “You would not want to wish this on anyone.”
Burt, Pederson, Clary and the college student’s father all said they felt the NYPD did not initially take their cases as seriously as they had hoped and were, at times, unresponsive.
“It seemed like he was being reluctant to do anything that required a little bit of extra work,” Burt said of the detective on his case. “It just felt like it was not a priority at all and I was the one following up, bugging this guy, time and time again and I was just getting nowhere.”
The father of the college student who was allegedly robbed said that police stopped returning his phone calls until recently, months after the deaths of Ramirez and Umberger.
New York City Council member Erik Bottcher, whose district includes Hell’s Kitchen, told NBC News in a phone call that his office has been in contact with the NYPD and the Manhattan district attorney’s office on a weekly basis since reports surfaced in May about Ramirez’s death. His office has sought to ensure that appropriate resources have been dedicated to the investigation, he added.
“It’s horrifying and infuriating that people are being preyed upon and victimized in New York City in this way,” Bottcher said. “Whoever’s doing this needs to be brought to justice.”
While the NYPD only confirmed it was looking into “several” other potentially related incidents, Clary said she was told there were at least a dozen other cases included in the investigation. She spoke highly of the current detective on her son’s investigation. But her message to the police and public officials was clear: “People, do your job.”
“Thank you for the work you do,” she added, but “I need you to work harder, and I need you to do more for the sake of your great city and for the sake of citizens that are counting on you.”
Hearts around Colorado and the country are hurting and mourning the loss of five lives in a mass shooting in a LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs.
Hundreds showed up outside All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Colorado Springs for a community vigil on Sunday morning. The church was standing-room only, so organizers held the vigil in waves to keep up with demand.
Gov. Jared Polis and his husband, Marlon Reis, spoke to the crowd via Zoom.
“My heart breaks,” said Polis, who recently tested positive for COVID-19. Polis spoke with the owners of Club Q this morning. He described the nightclub as a safe haven “in an area where it hasn’t always been easy” for people in the LGBTQ+ community.
Club Q owners Nic Grzecka and Matthew Haynes spoke at the vigil.
“Club Q doesn’t have customers,” Haynes said. “Club Q has family and community.”
At least five people were killed and another 25 injured in the attack at Club Q just before midnight, Saturday Nov. 19. Colorado Springs police say at least two people at the club stopped the gunman, who is now in custody at the hospital.
According to Club Q’s social media posts, the nightclub had planned on Sunday to celebrate Transgender Day of Remembrance, which takes place Nov. 20 each year to honor and the remember the lives of transgender people who died from violence.
“While the suspect was inside of the club, at least two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the suspect and were able to stop the suspect from continuing to kill and harm others,” said Colorado State Police Chief Adrian Vasquez at a news conference Sunday morning. “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who in 2018 was the first openly gay male to be elected governor, said “brave individuals” stepped in during the “horrific, sickening and devastating” shooting that has killed at least five people and injured over two dozen.
“We are eternally grateful for the brave individuals who blocked the gunman likely saving lives in the process and for the first responders who responded swiftly to this horrific shooting,” he said in a statement issued Sunday morning. “Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn together.”
Heavy has confirmed that Aldrich is the grandson of outgoing Republican state Rep. Randy Voegel, the former mayor of Santee, California. There were calls to expel Voepel from the state Assembly after he made comments comparing the January 6 attacks to the Revolutionary War. Aldrich’s mother, Laura Voepel, has written posts praising Randy Voepel on Facebook and confirming he is her father.
“This is Lexington and Concord. First shots fired against tyranny,” Randy Voepel, who was defeated in a Republican primary in August 2022, said in a San Diego Union-Tribune article three days after January 6. “Tyranny will follow in the aftermath of the Biden swear-in on January 20th.” Authorities have not yet released a photo of Aldrich; the photos Heavy has found are a few years old, so he looks younger in them than he likely looks today.
Read the full article. Hit the link, there’s much more.
GLAAD calls Club Q shooting ‘horrific tragedy,’ says ‘vile rhetoric’ and anti-LGBTQ legislation responsible for the attack
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released a statement on the Club Q mass shooting on Sunday, calling it a “horrific tragedy.”
“This unspeakable attack has robbed countless people of their friends and family and an entire community’s sense of safety,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive officer of GLAAD.
Ellis also said that false rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ legislation is responsible for attacks like this one on the community.
“You can draw a straight line from the false and vile rhetoric about LGBTQ people spread by extremists and amplified across social media, to the nearly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year, to the dozens of attacks on our community like this one,” she said. “The media must stop spreading misinformation and elevate the truth that LGBTQ people exist, belong and want to live in peace and safety. Elected officials and corporate leaders must act immediately to prioritize this truth, and protect everyone’s safety.”
The mass shooting that claimed the lives of at least five people and injured more than two dozen happened on the eve of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance that started in 1999 to honor the memory of transgender people killed in acts of anti-trans violence, according to GLAAD.
Greg Resha of Colorado Springs is a former employee of Club Q. The fundraiser organizer launched a GoFundMe to help the families of the victims, as well as those who were injured.
The results of this year’s midterm elections showed a tendency among American voters to rebuke extremism from the right, whether it took the form of denying the results of democratic elections or denying women’s reproductive freedoms.
For the LGBTQ community and its allies, it was also a repudiation of attacks from some far-right GOP candidates on trans people, particularly trans youth.
Virginia would not have reelected Democratic Reps. Jennifer Wexton and Abigail Spanberger “if transphobic attacks that are geared toward and about kids were an effective message and an effective persuasion message,” Virginia Delegate Danica Roem told the Washington Blade on Tuesday.
Transphobic campaigns led by the congresswomen’s Republican challengers cost them Virginia’s Prince William County, said Roem, who would become the second openly trans state senator in the country if she is elected in next year’s race to represent Virginia’s 30thSenate District.
Republicans in the state went as far as to weaponize a sexual assault case to attack trans students – by lying about the gender identity of the perpetrator, Roem said.
Last year, the mother of a boy who was charged with sexually assaulting a girl in a Loudoun County high school told The Daily Mail, “First of all, he is not transgender…And I think this is all doing an extreme disservice to those students who actually identify as transgender.”
It is not just in the DC-Maryland-Virginia region that voters rejected transphobic attacks during this election cycle, Roem said. GOP candidates tried this approach in Michigan and Wisconsin, leading to the reelection of Democratic Governors Tony Evers and Gretchen Whitmer, who will enjoy the state’s first Democratic trifecta in 40 years, Roem said.
“Across the country anti-equality opponents tried to win close races by persuading swing voters that trans kids were a danger – a group of people that needed to be bullied and attacked,” said Geoff Wetrosky, campaign director for the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest LGBTQ organization.
“And it failed for them as a strategy, in places from Michigan to Kansas, where close races ended up going to the pro-equality candidates not despite these attacks but because of them,” Wetrosky told the Blade.
“Voters did not appreciate candidates singling out trans kids and speaking propaganda and stigma to rile up extreme members of their base,” he added.
Wetrosky recounted how parents in Arizona had received an anti-trans mailer that was disseminated by former Trump administration official Stephen Miller’s organization America First Legal and reacted by “showing up to the polls for their trans kid but also to show that communities of color could not be split from LGBTQ folks.”
It would be inaccurate to say that Republican gubernatorial candidates like Florida’s Ron DeSantis or South Dakota’s Kristi Noem were reelected because of their open hostility toward trans youth, Wetrosky contends, because we saw that strategy backfire elsewhere.
In terms of attacking trans candidates running for elected office over their gender identities, “the right still tries to use these tactics but it’s harder and harder to manufacture a boogeyman,” LGBTQ Victory Fund and LGBTQ Victory Institute President & CEO Annise Parker told the Blade by phone on Tuesday.
Parker agreed with Wetrosky’s position that much of the transphobia seen from Republican officeholders is meant to appeal to the most extreme elements of the base of the party, for the purpose of raising the profiles of those with national political ambitions.
Communities around the country gather to honor Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) on Nov. 20. Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a trans activist, created TDOR as a vigil for Rita Hester, a Black trans woman who was murdered in 1998. Since 1999, TDOR has become a national memorial to those whose lives were stolen from them because of transphobia and anti-trans violence.
Local activist, community leader, and founder of Baltimore Safe Haven, Iya Dammons, is preparing for the day with a week of activities that honor the trans community’s fight against violence while also paying homage to victims who were failed by the systems that should have protected them from their murderers.
“We will read off the names and have a few youth, community members and advocates step up and share stories of their loved ones who have paved the way,” Dammons said.
Dammons, a Black trans woman and Washington, D.C. native, is no stranger to the uphill struggle of her brothers and sisters in the Baltimore-Washington metro area trans community. At different times during her life, Dammons battled homelessness and turned to sex work to support herself. Dammons’s own experience navigating the tumultuous waters of life fuels her desire to help her community.
“I am a reflection of the people that I work with,” Dammons said.
A 2021 Williams Institute study found that trans people over the age of 16 are victimized four times more often than cisgender people and have higher rates of violent victimization.
One of Baltimore Safe Haven’s driving forces is increasing community awareness of what anti-trans violence looks like for those who are still alive and fighting for equity and justice.
“Sometimes we get so caught up with remembering people that we do not tell our own community members that we appreciate you, but we want you to be vigilant and mindful that harm can happen to you at anytime,” Dammons said.
For Dammons, TDOR is not just about remembering loved ones but also acknowledging that anti-trans violence can happen to her.
“I know that the worst can happen anyday to myself. So I’m sharing space with those other community members to let them know they’re not alone and we stand together in solidarity,” Dammons said.
Elle Moxley, a Black trans woman and founder of the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, echoes Dammons’s plea to remember, protect, and cherish trans lives.
This month, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) will launch its new coalition that works with Black trans-led organizations to end anti-trans violence, specifically against Black trans women, and improve trans people’s lives through public policy and equity.
The coalition will bring organizations together from underserved areas of the country like the Midwest and Deep South, which are traditionally conservative areas that have higher rates of anti-trans violence.
“As violence continues to be something that is a pattern for this country, we know that our efforts to build power will probably be the only efforts to end that violence,” Moxley said.
Both Dammons and Moxley are targeting the structures that perpetuate anti-trans violence in their activism.
“We’re not just reporting on the names of those who have been murdered, that we’re not just reporting on vigilante violence, that we actually are doing our work to provide solutions to ending that violence,” Moxley said.
The MPJI’s coalition will support numerous events and outreach efforts, including advocacy days, legislative days, and healing retreats.
In Washington, D.C., Dammons is starting a new Safe Haven chapter.
“We’re looking at a building now to establish a housing program for 18 to 24 year olds,” Dammons said.
Like Dammons, Moxley sees TDOR as an appreciation for life and the ability to be a voice for those whose voices were unfairly silenced.
“This is a time of commemoration and a time of owing the fight for our lives together,” Moxley said. “TDOR for me means that I am still alive, that I’m still here, and that my name is not on a list when it could have easily been based on the things that I’ve experienced and survived.”
Safe Haven will hold its TDOR remembrance ceremony at 5 p.m. on Nov. 20 at 401 N. Howard St. in Baltimore. There will be a Trans Day of Remembrance brunch, “We will not be erased,” on Saturday, Nov. 19, 11:30 a.m. at Hillcrest Heights Community Center at 2300 Oxon Run Dr., Oxon Hill, Md. Tickets are free but you must register at the event’s Eventbrite page.
Cake Society and MULUSA Rainbow Visibility Platform is hosting a Trans Day of Remembrance Brunch at 11 a.m. on Nov. 20 at 2771 Hartland Road, Falls Church, Va. The event is free, but register to attend at the event’s Eventbrite page.
At least 32 trans people have been violently killed in America this year alone, as anti-trans rhetoric continues to fuel violence.
Sunday (20 November) marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honours the memory of those whose lives were cut short by anti-trans violence.
Ahead of the date, LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation Human Rights Campaign(HRC) released a report reflecting on the causes of this violence, as seen over a year of documenting.
The report confirmed that at least 32 trans and gender non-conforming people have been violently killed in the United States (US) since the start of 2022.
HRC uses “at least” because the true total will inevitably be higher.
It explained: “Data collection is often incomplete or unreliable when it comes to violent and fatal crimes against transgender and gender non-conforming people.
“Some victims’ deaths may go unreported, while others may not be identified as transgender or gender non-conforming.”
Tori Cooper, of the HRC, said: “In 2022, we’ve seen at least 32 transgender and gender non-conforming people killed in an epidemic of violence threatening our community.
“These victims had families and friends, hopes and dreams. None of them deserved to have their lives stolen by horrific violence.
“Most of the victims were Black trans women, a tragedy that reflects an appalling trend of violence fuelled by racism, toxic masculinity, misogyny and transphobia and the politicisation of our lives.”
At least 300 trans live lost since 2013
Since 2013, when HRC began tracking trans murders, it has recorded more than 300 trans people killed.
In 40 per cent of these cases no arrests have been made and the killer remains unknown.
During this same period, a total of 15 people were killed by police or while in jails, or immigration and customs enforcements detention centres, including two in 2022.
A total of 29 per cent of those killed had their lives cut short by someone they knew, such as a friend, partner or family member.
The report also found 85 per cent of victims discovered were people of colour – 69 per cent were Black and 15 per cent were Hispanic.
Meanwhile, 77 per cent of the victims were under 35 and 69 per cent of deaths were caused by a fire arm.
Shoshana Goldberg, the director of public education and research for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, said: “For 10 years we at HRC have tracked fatal violence against trans and gender non-conforming people, with the goal of memorializing their lives and uplifting their stories to bring this epidemic of violence to an end.
“Each and every one of the at least 300 people killed since 2013 was a person with a full, rich life that did not deserve to be cut short.”
2022 was the most violent year on record, with 59 trans people killed that year alone.
145 anti-trans bills introduced across US
The HRC’s Jay Brown noted that “fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people is the tragic result of a society that devalues our lives, with Black and brown trans people facing significantly higher rates of harassment, bias and physical violence”.
Brown added: “This year, we also saw anti-transgender lawmakers passing a record number of discriminatory bills, including bans of lifesaving, medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare. These attacks fuel more stigma against transgender and non-binary people, especially aimed at the youngest among us. It is a stigma that too often ends our lives.”
The report notes that more than 145 anti-trans bills have been introduced across 34 states this year.
These laws include bans on trans youth playing sports, with Louisiana becoming the 18th state to enact law banning trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
Bills introduced to prevent trans students using bathrooms such as in Virginiahave also been introduced, while bans on gender-affirming care, and the “Don’t Say Gay” laws have all made the LGBTQ+ community feel extremely fearful this year.
Most recently Texas introduced an anti-drag bill that would criminalise venues for hosting trans performers or drag shows. It follows a federal judge in Texas ruling that discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in healthcaresettings is fine.
Meanwhile, the Flordia Board of Medicine voted to ban lifesaving gender-affirming care for trans youth in the state. Flordia governor Ron DeSantis also signed the “Stop WOKE Act”, heavily restricting how workplaces, schools and colleges can teach about racism, homophobia and other systemic biases.
Brown added: “As we once more honour our dead, we must continue fighting for the full equality and liberation of transgender and non-binary people.”
The HRC’s Tori Cooper said: “We need everyone to join us in empowering transgender leaders, building safer, stronger communities and reducing stigma. We cannot rest until all transgender and gender non-conforming people can live our lives safely as our full selves.”
While monkeypox (MPV) cases are declining nationally, health officials are learning new details about who’s at greater risk and why. It’s shining urgent new light on known challenges to health and well-being and how they’re not only a risk to a person but to public health overall.
Alarming data has emerged linking severe cases of MPV in people living with untreated HIV who are also experiencing homelessness.
In a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), outlined in an early release of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on October 26, 82% of study participants with severe MPV were also people living with HIV. And 23% were people experiencing homelessness. The study also found that 72% of the severe MPV cases among people living with HIV also had fewer than 50 CD4 cells, indicating a damaged immune system and disease progression from HIV to AIDS. Only 9% of people were taking antiretroviral medication at the time of their MPV diagnosis.
Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) is responding to the intersecting health crisis of MPV, HIV, and homelessness. HOPWA is a long-time federal program providing grants to local communities, states, and non-profit organizations to assist low-income people living with HIV. HOPWA is directing grant partners to utilize funds to secure immediate housing for people impacted by the current MPV outbreak.
Rita Harcrow, Director, Office of HIV/AIDS Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which manages HOPWA, tells GLAAD that along with medical interventions, health professionals invested in reducing occurrences of MPV and HIV must also prioritize housing.
“Housing equals better health outcomes, period. There are all these great medical interventions available, but if someone is experiencing housing instability, they don’t benefit from that,” Harcrow says. “They usually cannot focus on the medical resources available because they’re focused on where they will lay their head tonight.”
According to Harcrow, if a person is experiencing homelessness and is impacted by HIV and MPV, HOPWA is ready to intervene. The organization provides immediate hotel or motel resources for no more than 60 days over six months until more permanent housing is established, which often means placement on a waitlist.
“But while they’re in crisis mode, getting them out of that unsheltered homelessness is really important,” she says.
Black gay men, homelessness, and MPV
Housing instability is a vital concern, particularly for Black gay and bisexual men disproportionately impacted by HIV and severe cases of MPV. In 2019, Black people accounted for 13% of the U.S. population but 40% (479,300) of people with HIV. According to the CDC, Black gay and bisexual men accounted for 82% of HIV acquisitions. Black gay and bisexual men also account for the largest share of MPV cases, with 70% attributed to people of color.
“When we continue to look at the population most vulnerable for infection or inequities, I think [Black] people are at the front of that line,” says Daniel Driffin, Project Manager & Community Monkeypox Coordinator, HIV Vaccine Trial Network.
Driffin points to the social and structural determinants of health—income, health access, housing, and transportation as contributing factors.
“More than 70% of healthcare is connected to your employment. So, if you don’t have a full-time job, you probably won’t have health benefits. Not having a full-time job directly relates to where you can afford to live, which also directly relates to public transportation and other access components,” Driffin adds.
Leisha McKinley-Beach, a veteran Atlanta-based National HIV Consultant, tells GLAAD from a public health perspective, the holistic needs of Black gay and bisexual men have yet to be prioritized in working to achieve better overall health outcomes.
“You’ve got these systems that were never designed to impact Black people, especially Black same-gender-loving men, in ending this epidemic,” she says. “When the reality is if Black people weren’t diagnosed with HIV, if Black people weren’t achieving viral suppression, the money would dry up. It wouldn’t be a need if half of the epidemic is gone.”
McKinley-Beach says a different level of action needs to occur, focusing on the stigma attached to HIV and MPV. According to McKinley-Beach, stigma causes Black gay and bisexual men to not engage in care as often as their white counterparts, leaving them susceptible to disease progression and homelessness.
“When we talk about what stigma looks like in Black communities…that thing is so heavy, and it is impacting our decisions to access and sustain HIV care and treatment,” she says.” There won’t be viral suppression for Black communities until we address the people who are experiencing homelessness.”
“The barriers to housing are already there for LGBTQ [people], especially gay and bisexual men of color,” Harcrow says. “The stigma is there for HIV already, which we try to combat regularly. Discrimination is illegal in housing. If someone is experiencing housing discrimination because of their gender or perceived gender or orientation, that’s reportable,” she adds.
Driffin and McKinley-Beach are concerned that Black gay and bisexual men will continue to bear the brunt of poor health outcomes if public health professionals remain committed to utilizing the same playbook.
“As long as there is a tinge of other-ing involved in how we deliver services, not only healthcare-related services but social services, I think we will continue to see folks falling through the gaps,” he says.
Driffin’s observation bolsters HOPWA’s commitment to identifying and addressing the prevalence of HIV and homelessness experienced by Black gay and bisexual men diagnosed with severe MPV.
“We’re trying to help communities make the connection that housing can and should be used to address the needs of folks in the highest need of services,” Harcrow says.
People needing immediate housing assistance should contact a homeless provider in their area to connect to available resources. According to Harcrow, many communities have funds reserved for short-term rent, mortgage, and utility assistance.
“We have to have city [and public health] officials who understand HIV, housing, and the larger continuum of care,” Driffin says. “If we are placing folks in housing, but we’re not encouraging them to be the healthiest they can be—what are we doing?”
Texas Republicans introduced several bills this week that target the transgender community, including at least two measures seeking to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors and one looking to prevent children from attending drag performances.
Although the Legislature doesn’t officially begin its next session until mid-January, Monday was legislators’ first chance to file their bills for the coming term, potentially foreshadowing the state’s political priorities for the coming year. GOP legislators are barreling ahead with an updated party platform, officially unveiled over the summer, that defines homosexuality as an “abnormal lifestyle choice” and is opposed to“all efforts to validate transgender identity.”
At least two bills introduced this week would designate gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse under state law, and another would revoke liability insurance for providers who offer it.
Gender-affirming care for some minors experiencing gender dysphoria, a medical condition that involves a conflict between people’s sex assigned at birth and their gender identities, is considered medically necessary by a number of major accredited organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. For minors, such care typically includes puberty blockers, which are recommended to trans youths before the onset of puberty, or hormone therapy for teenagers. Adolescents under age 18 in the U.S. are unable to get gender-affirming surgery in most cases, according to the Endocrine Society.
State Attorney General Ken Paxton tried this year to classify transition-related care for minors as child abuse under state law. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott subsequently called on people to report parents of transgender minors to the state if they suspect the minors are receiving gender-affirming care. Several of those investigations, however, have been tied up in court.
Another bill filed Monday would classify any business that decides to host a drag show under the state’s statutory definition of “sexually oriented businesses.”
The bill defines a drag performer as anyone who “exhibits a gender identity that is different than the performer’s gender assigned at birth “by using “clothing, makeup, or other physical markers” and “sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs” in front of an audience.
The current definition of “sexually oriented businesses” includes any venue where two or more people perform nude and alcohol is served. Those businesses are bound by special limitations, including a misdemeanor charge on par with vehicle burglary for the business owner if anyone under age 18 is let in. Patrons must be charged entrance fees of at least $5 at such venues, according to Texas statutes, and sex offenders are barred from owning or operating such businesses.
Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic and a former staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, said the wording of the bill “defines drag as essentially any trans person performing at all.”
“A trans actor in a musical singing would suddenly make it ‘drag’ and thus result in the play venue being labeled a ‘sexually oriented business,’” Caraballo tweeted Tuesday.
She added, “This is one of the most radical bills I have ever seen that seeks to completely eliminate trans people out of public life.”
The first official day of the Texas legislative session is Jan. 23. Republicans control both the House and the Senate.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it would back proposed federal legislation to safeguard same-sex marriages, marking the latest show of support for the measure from conservative-leaning groups.
The nearly 17-million member, Utah-based faith said in a statement that church doctrine would continue to consider same-sex relationships to be against God’s commandments. Yet it said it would support rights for same-sex couples as long as they didn’t infringe upon religious groups’ right to believe as they choose.
“We believe this approach is the way forward. As we work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious freedom together with the rights of LGBTQ individuals much can be accomplished to heal relationships and foster greater understanding,” the church said in a statement posted on its website.
Support for the Respect for Marriage Act under consideration in Congress is the church’s latest step to stake out a more welcoming stance toward the LGBTQ community while holding firm to its belief that same-sex relationships are sinful. Still, its stance toward LGBTQ people — including those who grow up in the church — remains painful for many.
Patrick Mason, a professor of religious studies at Utah State University, said the church’s position was both a departure from and continuation of its past stances — respecting laws yet working to safeguard religious liberty and ensuring they won’t be forced to perform same-sex marriages or grant them official church sanction.
“This is part of the church’s overall theology essentially sustaining the law of the land, recognizing that what they dictate and enforce for their members in terms of their behavior is different than what it means to be part of a pluralistic society,” he said.
The faith opposes same-sex marriage and sexual intimacy, but it has taken a more welcoming stance to LGBTQ people in recent years. In 2016, it declared that same-sex attraction is not a sin, while maintaining that acting on it was.
The bill, which has won support from Democrats and Republicans, is set for a test vote in the Senate Wednesday, with a final vote as soon as this week or later this month. It comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, with Justice Clarence Thomas issuing a concurring opinion indicating that an earlier high court decision protecting same-sex marriage could come under threat.
The legislation would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. It would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.” It makes clear that the rights of private individuals and businesses wouldn’t be affected.
Utah’s four congressmen — who are all Latter-day Saints — each came out in support of the legislation earlier this year.
The church’s public stance is a stark contrast from 14 years ago, when its members were among the largest campaign contributors in support of California’s Prop. 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman in response to cities such as San Francisco granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It has since made incremental changes, including allowing the children of same-sex couples to get baptized.
Troy Williams, the executive director of Equality Utah, said it was “thrilling” to see the church part of the coalition in support of the legislation.
“Despite differences we may have, we can always discover common ground on laws that support the strengthening of all families,” Williams, who grew up a church member, said.
The faith opposes laws that would make it illegal for churches to not allow to same-sex couples to marry on their property. But it has supported state-based efforts to pass laws that prohibit employment and housing discrimination as long as they clarify respect for religious freedom.
The prospect of another Donald Trump presidency would pose a “serious risk” to LGBTQ+ rights, but queer advocates say they’re “battle-ready”.
On Tuesday (15 November), Trump announced he would be running for president in 2024, making him the first president in history to be attempting another presidential bid following impeachment.
As the most anti-LGBTQ+ president in modern history, he couldn’t help including a transphobic dig in his announcement from Mar-a-Lago, insisting that if elected, he would not “let men… participate in women’s sports”.
During the torturous four years that Trump was in office, he relentlessly attacked the LGBTQ+ community, stripping discrimination protections, banning trans people from serving in the military, and erasing LGBTQ+ language, data, and resource pages from government websites.
But, since he left the Oval Office, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has continued to escalate in US politics, meaning that a second Trump presidency could be even more disastrous than the first.
Human Rights Campaign interim president Joni Madison said: “We in the LGBTQ+ community have watched over the past seven years as Donald Trump’s hateful language and discriminatory policies have emboldened waves of bigotry, disinformation and violence.
“Even as Republican voters have become increasingly supportive of LGBTQ+ people – registering majority approval of nondiscrimination projections and marriage equality – he and his extremist MAGA supporters have worked tirelessly to try to slander and demonise us, our relationships, and our families.
“His time in office saw a relentless onslaught of unconscionable executive orders that made it harder to live as an LGBTQ+ person in this country.”
Madison noted the “rainbow wave” seen in the US during the midterm elections, and the fact that Trump-backed candidates underperformed spectacularly, and urged voters to “stand together in opposition to his candidacy, and to ensure Trump forever remains a one-term president”.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis reflected on the more than 200 attacks on the LGBTQ+ community by the Trump administration, tracked by the organisation’s Trump Accountability Project, and said: “It was an administration defined by anti-LGBTQ actions and rhetoric, and policy that empowered white supremacists and fueled racism, xenophobia, antisemitism and misogyny.”
‘Political pawns’
Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, said that “another Donald Trump presidency presents a serious threat to our nation’s LGBTQ community which continues to face rampant homophobia and transphobia fueled by his divisiveness”.
Parker continued: “Donald Trump and those who wish to follow in his footsteps continue to use our community – and LGBTQ kids in particular – as political pawns in their quest for power.
“When our fundamental rights are challenged, our kids’ safety and wellbeing are threatened and our leaders are terrorised, going back is not an option.
“Donald Trump is one of the most bigoted leaders of our time and his continued anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and actions are dangerous and unqualifying… The next presidential election is an opportunity for voters to break from candidates who promote the politics of hate and instead choose a leader who supports fairness and equality for all Americans.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed 424 legal actions against the Trump administration during the four years of his presidency, and ACLU executive director Anthony D Romero said that the organisation is ready to keep fighting.
“Trump appointees on the federal bench have done their best to gut abortion rights, limit voting rights, and strip immigrants and LGBTQ individuals of their basic rights,” Romero said.
“Even as we are engaged in those battles today at all levels of government, the ACLU will be battle-ready for a second Trump administration.
“If Donald Trump believes that a second term would allow him to continue with the unconstitutional and un-American policies of his first term, the ACLU will be ready to fight back at every turn.”
