Today, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Defense and Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to halt discharge proceedings against HIV-positive members of the U.S. Air Force. The order came in the case of Roe and Voe v. Shanahan, filed by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN, with partner law firm Winston & Strawn, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The two Airmen serving as plaintiffs, who filed pseudonymously, were given discharge orders at the end of last year after being found “unfit for continued military service” despite compliance with medical treatment and physical fitness requirements.
Despite support from their medical providers and commanding officers, the first of these Airmen was to be separated from service in just ten days. In granting the preliminary injunction, the judge ruled the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in preventing their discharge through the lawsuit and rejected the Trump Administration’s motion to dismiss.
“This is a major victory in our fight to ensure everyone living with HIV can serve their country without discrimination,” said Scott Schoettes, Counsel and HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal.
“These decisions should be based on science, not stigma, as today’s ruling from the bench demonstrates. Despite President Trump’s promise to improve the lives of people living with HIV at the State of the Union this month, his Administration continues to defend these policies and others discriminating against people most impacted by HIV. Lambda Legal will keep fighting until these brave and qualified Airmen can serve without limitation.”
Do you plan on selling your home this spring? The best way to ensure that your home gets the attention you want it to, is to make sure it is totally ready for when those buyers start looking at the local real estate market. Here are some tips that you can use to make sure your home is ready to get noticed, both inside and out. The more of these things you can get done, the better!
Start by Cleaning Up the Outside
Take a few minutes to check the outside of your home. Since it is spring, no one expects the outside to be perfect. This is especially true if you live in an area where it snows. However, taking the time to trim bushes, rake the yard if you can, and make sure that the landscaping is not covering walkways can go a long way towards making a great first impression. Taking this one step further by cleaning the front door, wiping down the mailbox, and making sure your front porch light works can make your entryway appear even more inviting.
Make the Outside Inviting, If You Can
If it is already warm where you are, then add some nice color to the outside of your home. Add a few small planters with some flowering bulbs or spring flowers. The little splashes of color make your visitors more able to picture themselves living at the house. You do not need to put a lot out there, just a few small planters or a nice window box near the entryway is enough. For those with winter weather, you can opt for fake flowers, or you can use small lights or decorations instead.
Shine All Glass Surfaces
Take the time to wash all of your windows, polish all of your mirrors, and dust off any reflective surface in your home. Windows that are difficult to see out of, or mirrors that are smudged give the impression that the house has not been maintained as well as it should have been. If something as simple as mirrors and dusting is not kept up with, what about the bigger parts of the house? Keep up with the small details because buyers notice these little details.
Dust Off Stationary Materials of Your Home
One area of the home that often gets overlooked is stationary materials within your home. Take the time to vacuum your stationary drapes and get the dust off of them. An even better option is that you can take them to the dry cleaners. Get them clean and fresh smelling. While most people will only look at them, someone who is seriously giving your home buying consideration will go up and move items like these around. Vacuum off any of your furniture that will be there during the open house or walk-through as well, for the same reason. The fresher the area smells and looks, the happier potential buyers will be.
Sharpen the Look of Any Room You Can
Taking $20 or $30 to update a room’s look is well worth it when it comes to making your home look and feel more inviting. Add a fresh coat of neutral colored paint, and make sure the flooring of the room is as clean and nice looking as you can make it. Get the carpet steam-cleaned if it hasn’t been done recently, or have your wood floors polished. Those simple changes can give your room a welcoming feel that invites potential buyers in.
Make Any Simple Repairs That Stand Out
You may have gotten used to not opening a window in that back room because there is a hole in the screen and you do not want bugs to come in, but a potential buyer does not know that. They are only going to see that you didn’t take care of a small detail. It takes a few minutes and very little money to replace a screen. Check all windows for these types of problems, and fix any you find.
The same goes with other areas of your home. If you are so used to the imperfections of your home that you don’t notice them, ask a close friend or family member to look at your home objectively and point out any issues it may have. Make a list of the things they point out, and fix the things you have the ability to fix. This way, it shows that you gave your home a lot of TLC while living there, which boosts buyer confidence in your home.
Having a real estate agent can also help you sell your home. They will point out things they know buyers will notice so that you can make changes before your home gets listed. If you identify as part of the LGBTQ community, you can also seek the help of an LGBTQ-friendly real estate agent. Reach out to us here at www.GayRealEstate.com today to find out more!
Thirteen same-sex couples demanding marriage equality filed lawsuits against the government at district courts across Japan on Valentine’s Day on Thursday, arguing that its refusal to allow them to marry is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Each of the 26 plaintiffs is seeking 1 million yen ($9,000) in compensation, claiming that the government’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage has caused them emotional distress in what their lawyers say is the country’s first lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of such negligence.
The damages suits were jointly filed by the couples who are in their 20s through their 50s, and include Japanese and foreign partners, at the district courts in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Sapporo.
The European Parliament made history today (14 February) as it passed its first resolution dedicated to the ‘urgent need’ to protect the human rights of intersex people.
‘Intersex people are exposed to multiple instances of violence and discrimination in the European Union and these human rights violations remain widely unknown to the general public and policy makers,’ said the European Parliament resolution.
The resolution also pointed out the ‘urgent need to address violations of human rights of intersex people’. It called on the Commission and Member States to propose legislation to address these issues.
Claude Moraes MEP is the rapporteur for the resolution and member of the LGBTI Intergroup at the European Parliament. He said the resolution showed the ‘the European Parliament wants to ensure the European Union as a whole takes its responsibility in protecting the human rights of intersex people’.
‘Intersex people suffer from multiple human rights violations that have been recognised by multiple international organisations,’ he said.
Features of the resolution include condemning the medicalization and pathologization of intersex people. It also strongly condemns sex normalizing treatments and surgeries.
‘Too many countries, whether in the EU or worldwide, still allow “sex normalising surgery” to be performed on intersex children, even though most of the time they are not vital and performed for “societal” or “cosmetic” reasons,’ said Anna-Maria Corazza Bildt MEP. Bildt is the shadow rapporteur for the resolution, member of the LGBTI Intergroup and co-chair of the Children’s Rights Intergroup at the European Parliament.
A milestone and landmark resolution
Intersex and LGBTI groups celebrated the resolution.
‘We applaud the European Parliament for issuing this outstanding resolution’, said Kitty Anderson, Co-Chair of OII Europe (Organiation Intersex International Europe).
‘It is clearly based on an in-depth knowledge about the human rights violations that intersex people face in within the European Union.’
“ILGA Europe enthusiastically celebrates this historic resolution as the fruit of enormous labour on the part of intersex activist across Europe”, adds Evelyn Paradis, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe.
Other issues addressed by the resolution include the need of adequate counselling and support for intersex people and their families, and increased funding for intersex-led civil society organisations.
During the debate which preceded the voting, members of the European Parliament almost unanimously spoke in favour of the resolution and emphasised that ‘human rights violations experienced by [intersex people] are significant’. Many also argued that ‘there is nothing unhealthy about being intersex’.
Minister Delegate George Ciamba who represents the Romanian presidency said ‘extending the right to equal treatment to intersex people is entirely within the spirit of our common European values and of our common campaign for inclusiveness’.
OII Europe co-chair, Miriam van der Have said the resolution has set a clear agenda for what the next steps are to protect intersex people’s rights.
‘Putting an end to genital mutilation of intersex infants and children is a matter of urgency and the European Parliament is very clear about that,’ van der Have said.
An 11-year-old student needs to be escorted to her classes after a violent attack and a series of threats.
Savannah Tirre, a sixth-grader at Zia Middle School in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been threatened on social media by her peers. She has now returned to school. The tween is being escorted to lessons by a Mesilla town marshal, according to Las Cruces Sun News.
Her mother told the news site she has been the target of bullying since October after Tirre came out as gay. The bullying began at her former school Picacho Middle School, forcing her to transfer to Zia.
She came out in the summer after fifth grade
The bullying only continued in her new school.
On Friday (8 February), students published a video on Facebook showing Tirre being punched six times by a student. The bully is not identified.
While the video doesn’t explicitly mention her sexuality, comments on social media threaten more violence and called her gay. One comment seen by the Sun News shows one person calling her ‘a little lesbian’ while saying she is ‘about to get jumped Monday again so get your phones out’.
Her mother has now filed a police report.
Savannah Tirre came out to her mother after graduating from fifth grade at Mesilla Elementary School.
Her family have always accepted her, but the students have not been so kind. According to her mother, the bullying was so intense that she started experiencing seizures that required medical attention by a pediatric intensive care unit.
The school have launched action plans to monitor the physical and emotional health of Tirre. Disciplinary action against the bullies have not yet decided, but the school said Savannah will not face suspension for fighting back.
The group also found a 54% rise in LGBTI hate crime over the last 12 months in the country.
Aguda chair Hen Arieli told Gay Star News the report is an ‘important step’ towards equality in Israel.
Arieli said: ‘Even today, in elections time, we are witnessing homophobic propaganda by radical parties, and the government does nothing in order to stop it.
‘First way to enable a bad habit is not to act against it.’
‘Makes us stay put’
Around 25% of homophobic incidents – which include physical and verbal assault – occurred in public.
15% occurred inside a home, 13% at work, and 22% online.
Notably, 69% of all online abuse was posted by male users, the report found.
Of all complaints of hate crime submitted, 45% were from males and 38% from trans people.
In fact, 24% of online harassment was directed at trans people.
Aguda submitted the report to President Reuven Rivling and called for changes in the law.
She said: ‘First, to correct legislation which discriminates gay people. The fact which the law is backing up these homophobic approaches is what makes us stay put.
‘The government should be the macro sight for a healthier society and not to deep cleavages.’
Though, Aguda stress the figures do not mirror the variety of hate crimes precisely as many go un-reported.
‘Not enough’ change
Aguda has published this report annually for the last six years.
Arieli slammed the government for doing ‘not enough’ for LGBTI rights.
Submitting the report ‘was an important step it is only another one in the way towards a real change in the approach of parliament.’
The highest and most varied hate crime was recorded in Tel Aviv, with 33% of all attacked recorded there.
However, Arieli explained this is because ‘we are hearing’ from the victims more rather than necessarily more attacks occurring.
‘People in the center are more aware to the reporting option than in the peripheries,’ she added.
15% occurred in Jerusalem, 9.5% in Haifa, 7.5% in Beersheba and 5% in Ashkelon.
‘I always fought against LGBT-phobia’
It is not just Aguda campaigning for LGBTI rights in Israel.
Hen Mazzig is a 29-year-od queer Jew living in Israel.
‘I always fought against LGBT-phobia, racism and all other forms of bigotry. Being who I am, I felt like I never had any other option,’ he told Gay Star News.
Now, a recent study highlights the startling disparities Black trans women experience in HIV diagnosis and care. In a study with 422 Black trans women from six U.S. cities, nearly 60% of women living with HIV were undiagnosed, only 38% were getting regular HIV care and about a quarter (24.5%) were virally suppressed.
“In the general population, only about 18% of people living with HIV are estimated to be undiagnosed, compared to the 60% of Black transgender women in our study that were undiagnosed. That’s a huge disparity,” said lead author Leigh Bukowski, MPH.
Tiommi Luckett
“These numbers aren’t really a surprise,” said Tiommi Luckett, from Positive Women’s Network, who was not affiliated with the study.
“We’ve been aware that Black trans women are falling through the cracks in HIV testing and care for a long time. We can fix this—but we’ve got to take a hard look at how our systems of care are failing Black trans women. And we have to be aware of what it takes for Black trans women to go in and get tested—if they’re welcome in the space, if they see themselves reflected in the staff, if transportation is an issue, and if they feel safe accessing services,” said Luckett.
Black trans women from across the U.S. participated
Black trans women recruited from Black Pride events in Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. participated from 2014 to 2017 as part of the Promoting Our Worth, Equality, and Resilience (POWER) study.
Participants completed an anonymous self-administered health survey which asked about their HIV status, HIV care, assault, violence, substance use, social support, incarceration, housing status, hormone use, discrimination, sex work and depressive symptoms. Participants were then offered confidential HIV testing, or anonymous HIV testing if the participant did not want to know their HIV status.
The average age of women in the study was 30.7. Most (78%) had health insurance coverage, and 44% reported being able to access health care.
Violence, discrimination and other forms of oppression were commonly reported by participants. About 36% had been incarcerated in the previous two years, more than half (55%) reported experiencing gender discrimination in their lifetime, and 46% reported experiencing racial discrimination in their lifetime. In the past year, 42% had been homeless, 19% reported sex work, 44% reported physical assault and 46% reported violence from an intimate partner.
HIV rates among Black trans women
A total of 190 participants were living with HIV (45% of participants).
The researchers categorized participants as “undiagnosed HIV-positive” if the person tested positive on their HIV test, but indicated that they were HIV-negative or that they did not know their status on the survey. A total of 112 people were categorized in this “undiagnosed HIV-positive” group.
“One of the main findings was that almost 60% of Black trans women were undiagnosed at the time of the survey,” said Bukowski. She cautioned that this finding relies on self-report data, which may be influenced by participants’ reticence to state that they have been diagnosed with HIV on the survey.
There are many things that may prevent Black trans women from being able to access HIV testing services, said Luckett, a Black trans women who has been living with HIV for six years. Lack of transportation, housing, insurance, mistrust of traditional medical settings and other competing life concerns may all play a role.
“If am worried about where I am going to lay my head each night, or if I’m worried about how I’m going to feed myself, the last thing I want to worry about on top of that is an HIV diagnosis. If all looks bleak and hopeless, the last thing I want to find out is that I’m positive,” said Luckett.
Fear of a partner’s reaction can also be a significant barrier.
“You have to look at how violence shows up in people’s lives,” said Luckett. “We [trans women] are no different than anyone else. We want to be loved and feel loved. But a lot of times we’re looking for love in the wrong places. When our partners’ masculinity is threatened, we can become victims of violence. If I go and get an HIV test, and it comes back positive, I could be putting my life in danger.”
To bring in Black trans women, Luckett said that health care providers can incentivize testing with a meal or gift card and must go to where Black trans women already are.
“Come to where we are, because we don’t feel safe going where you are,” she said.
High rates of HIV care after diagnosis
Although the percentage of Black trans women who indicated HIV-positive status on the suvey was low, most of those who did were already accessing HIV care. Of the 78 people who knew of their HIV status, 96% were linked to care, 92% were receiving regular HIV care, 83% were receiving HIV medications and 58% were virally suppressed.
This was “a bright spot” in the research, said Bukowski. Although the rate of undiagnosed HIV was high, most people who were diagnosed were receiving HIV treatment and care.
Women who reported being incarcerated, homeless, using three or more drugs, sex work and physical assault were less likely to be virally suppressed. It was a surprise to the researchers, said Bukowski, that hormone use was also negatively associated with viral suppression.
“When you consider the syndemic nature of heath disparities in this population, and all of the things that Black trans women are experiencing, perhaps it comes down to an either-or decision,” she said. “You can either get hormones or HIV treatment. And they prioritize hormones. In many places, these services are not co-located. So you’re not getting your HIV care in the same place that you’re getting your gender-affirming health care. When you’re faced with these obstacles, it might come down to, ‘What’s most important to me?’”
Luckett pointed to the importance of providing gender-affirming health care such as hormone therapy in the same place as HIV care. “Many women prioritize hormone therapy as more important than antiretroviral therapy,” she said. “Services must be as comprehensive as possible. We don’t always have access to the services we need.”
Nashville on Monday became the first city in the South to recognize LGBT-owned businesses.
Nashville Mayor David Briley signed an executive order including LGBT Business Enterprises certified by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce in contracting and procurement opportunities throughout the city.
The new policy will give NGLCC-certified businesses in Nashville the same access to contracts and economic development opportunities as businesses owned by women and ethnic minorities.
“Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Briley and of our local affiliate chamber, the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce, LGBT entrepreneurs in the Nashville region will now have the opportunity to create jobs and develop innovations that benefit all who live there,” NGLCC Co-Founder and President Justin Nelson wrote in a press release.
“We hope this executive order in Nashville will encourage more mayors to proactively include the LGBT community for the optimum social and economic health of their cities,” NGLCC Co-Founder and CEO Chance Mitchell added.
Nashville is the first new city in 2019 to recognize LGBT-owned businesses. 2018 saw Baltimore and Jersey City and Hoboken, N.J., added to the list of cities that track and include NGLCC-certified businesses.
NGLCC says certified LGBT-owned businesses add $1.7 trillion to the U.S. economy each year.
“We are excited to see LGBTBEs (NGLCC-certified businesses) in every field, from construction to catering and everything in between, help grow the economy of Nashville and beyond,” Nelson wrote.
Over 100 trans people are being held in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
There are at least 111 ‘self-identified transgender individuals’ are being held in 20 different facilities across the US, according to ICE spokeswoman, Danielle Bennett.
Of this number, 45 trans women are being held in the privately operated South Texas Detention Complex, located about 55 miles southwest of San Antonio.
Bennett also confirmed that there are a number of trans people being detained in the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico, which has a specialist unit for trans detainees, the Washington Blade reports.
The Cibola County Correctional Center gained notoriety last year as the facility Honduran trans woman Roxsana Hernández was held in before she died in a nearby hospital.
Roxsana Hernandez, the trans woman who died in the custody of US immigration, was only 33 | Photo: Facebook/Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement
Hernández’ death caused outrage among activists, many of whom claimed the HIV-positive 33-year-old died from preventable causes.
Three Democratic Senators, Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, and Kamala Harris, wrote a letter to ICE demanding an explanation over Hernández’ death.
‘According to ICE, Lovelace Medical Center preliminarily listed Ms. Hernández’s cause of death as cardiac arrest,’ the letter read.
‘The Transgender Law Center had an independent autopsy performed that suggested severe complications of dehydration on top of an H.I.V. infection and also suggested that Ms. Hernández was beaten with a baton or similar object while she was restrained by handcuffs.’
Bennett denied these accusations in a previous statement.
Countless LGBTI people are among refugees seeking asylum at the southern border of the US after fleeing persecution in their home countries.
Trans communities face particular discrimination in South America, which is the deadliest continent for trans people.
The debate over refugees and asylum seekers has become particularly divisive during the presidency of Donald Trump.
The White House has implemented a number of hardline policies with regards to immigrants.
In turn, human rights groups have condemned the US government for ‘cruel’ and inhumane treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.
Trump has also been accused of stoking fears over immigration to help secure funding to build a wall along the southern border, one of his main campaign promises during the 2016 presidential election.
Planned Parenthood, the 102-year-old organization providing sexual health care, is expanding their mission. The organization is introducing programs specifically for gay men and trans people.
Tell me more
For gay men, Planned Parenthood (PP) is now offering PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). This is a type of regimented medication to prevent HIV infection.
‘We’ve just started doing PrEP fairly recently,’ Phebe Brandt, a Philadelphia-based Planned Parenthood clinician, told Philadelphia Gay News.
‘We do all the counseling around it,’ Brandt continues. ‘We do all the testing that’s necessary, we actually provide prescriptions. And if people don’t have insurance and need to go through the program through Gilead to pay for it, we facilitate the applications for that.’
Gilead
Brandt is referring to Gilead’s in-house program created to help uninsured people access these medications, despite the huge out-of-pocket cost. While Gilead, a pharmaceutical company, has come under fire in the past for their high drug costsand accusations of withholding safer drugs, Brandt had nothing but good things to say about this program.
‘Gilead is actually pretty great about helping people afford their drugs,’ she said. ‘They have a very good program for uninsured people. You have to know about it, of course. But you just have to fill out the application for it and you get a pretty quick approval.’
Trans programs
This new PrEP program at Planned Parenthood inspired another expansion — offering treatment to transgender people.
‘We started providing hormone therapy for trans folks over a year ago, the summer of 2017,’ Brandt explains. ‘We soon realized that we were doing a disservice to our patients. Because we realized that trans folks who have sex with men are at such high risk for acquiring HIV, it was a disservice to them to not offer PrEP.’
While these services are currently only available at Brandt’s PP location in the Norristown area of Philadelphia, she expects other locations will begin offering PrEP to trans people soon.
Brandt notes that this new PrEP program was not the first time PP has catered to the LGBTI community, specifically gay men.
‘We’ve always provided services for gay men,’ she stated. ‘We’ve always provided STD testing and treatment for many, many years [and] we’ve been providing HIV testing for as long as it’s been available. We offer rapid testing, too.’
Counseling & Education
But one of the most needed programs, which PP has introduced, is counseling, education, and clinical services to trans people beginning hormone therapy.
‘We have everybody on their first visit meet with a social worker,’ Brandt said of the process. ‘They make sure that the client is in a good place to be starting hormone therapy. Make sure that they’re safe and also go over with them what changes to expect and other things they need to know. Most clients are already very well-educated about all this before they come to us, but we have to be sure. It’s very rare for the social worker to say the client is not in a good place to start the therapy. But we want to check just to make sure that everything’s good for them.’
‘If everything checks out, if everything is good, we actually have the medication in house to get them started on the hormone therapy. So, once again, if somebody doesn’t have insurance, then we can provide the medication on a sliding-fee scale.’
‘We’ve always felt that, as an organization, it was very important to be open to everybody, and to give understanding and excellent care to just anybody that walks through our doors,’ Brandt said.
