Politics
Will Cristina Garcia’s career tank after calling John Perez a ‘homo?’
Former Gov. Bill Richardson still hasn’t lived down saying “maricon’
On her Twitter page, California Assemblymember Cristina Garcia calls herself “Reformer, community activist, math lover and teacher.” In her AD 58 office in Sacramento and on the radio, she called Los Angeles-based gay Assembly Speaker Emeritus John Perez a “homo.” While “very disturbed” by the divisive slur, Perez is more concerned about its harmful impact on closeted LGBT staffers and what it says about the legislator’s real attitudes.
Garcia, who represents Bell Gardens, told KQED on Monday, March 26, that she sees nothing wrong with using the word “homo,” suggesting that lawmakers should have a “safe space” to talk “candidly” about colleagues, which apparently includes using slurs. But after being outed by Politico, Garcia apologized for calling Perez a ‘”homo” five years ago.
“I did make that remark in a moment of anger. I have no reason to lie about something that is true,” Garcia said in a statement. “However, in no way was my use of that term meant to belittle Mr. Perez for his sexuality….I have a long and chronicled history of being a straight ally of the LGBTQ community.”
“I realize that words can be harmful and I humbly and sincerely apologize to Mr. Perez and any member of the LGBTQ community who feels offended by the comment,” Garcia added.
But it’s the casualness with which the slur was used that may prove unforgivable if the LGBT community and allies think the unthinking use of such pejorative terms actually reflect Garcia’s true beliefs, uncensored by political expediency. To LGBT people, such slurs are not just a matter of an “authentic” politician being politically incorrect. Pejorative terms like “homo” and “faggot” are not meant just to harm and offend: they are intended to dehumanize. Like a hate crime, they target not just the person being called “homo” or “faggot,” but the whole LGBT community. And they are not easily forgotten.
Take what happened to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, for instance. In 2007, Richardson was receiving a lot of positive attention as he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, garnering an endorsement from powerful LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina and receiving warm consideration from then-labor leader John Perez. While not expected to win the nomination, he was high on the short list as a vice-presidential pick.
But Richardson’s popularity among LGBT politicos came to a screeching halt after this reporter and former Washington Blade editor Chris Crain wrote about Richardson’s casual use of the gay pejorative “maricon” during a March 2006 appearance on the Don Imus radio show. Richardson immediately called Equality New Mexico, which was pressing him to sign two domestic partners bill, apparently claiming that he understood “maricón” to mean “effeminate,” not “faggot,’ which was the general US understanding of that word. By the time he ran for president, Richardson’s non-apology apology turn “maricon” into meaning simply “gay.”
“It has been brought to my attention that the word also has a hurtful or derogatory connotation, which was never my intent,” Richardson at the time. “If I offended anybody, I’m sorry.”
Richardson’s pro forma apology evaporated during the HRC/LOGO Democratic presidential forum where he responded to a question from Melissa Etheridge saying he thought being gay was a choice. There was an audible gasp in the LGBT audience. Though he immediately tried to clarify, it was clear that the LGBT community would not back Richardson and would scorch any Democrat who gave him a pass.
That may not happen with Garcia. But the assemblymember has more to explain than why the self-described LGBT ally used the slur “homo” at all. And, according to a formerly closeted male staff member caught up in the Assembly investigation into claims of sexual harassment against her, Garcia has called Perez a “faggot,” too.
The investigation has thrown Garcia supporters into confusion. After all, she was a leader of California’s #MeToo movement, which landed her on the cover of Time magazine. But it has also brought into sharp relief the fact that inappropriate behavior toward male staffers constitutes sexual harassment, just as much as it does towards women.
Daniel Fierro, a then-25-year-old staffer to Assemblymember Ian Calderon, claims that in 2014, an apparently inebriated Garcia cornered him in the dugout after an Assembly softball game and “began stroking his back, then squeezed his buttocks and attempted to touch his crotch before he extricated himself and quickly left,” Politico reported last February.
Fierro kept quiet until the #MeToo movement and new whistleblower protections for legislative staffers prompted him to tell Calderon, who referred the matter to the Assembly Rules Committee for investigation.
“If the person leading the charge on [sexual harassment] isn’t credible it just ends up hurting the credibility of these very real stories,” Fierro told the AP.
The day after the Politico report, Garcia went on an unpaid leave of absence.
“Upon reflection of the details alleged, I am certain I did not engage in the behavior I am accused of. However, as I’ve said before, any claims about sexual harassment must be taken seriously, and I believe elected officials should be held to a higher standard of accountability. Therefore, I am voluntarily taking an immediate unpaid leave from my position in the State Assembly, including any accompanying committee assignments, so as not to serve as a distraction or in any way influence the process of this investigation,” Garcia said in a statement Feb. 9. “I implore the Assembly Rules Committee to conduct a thorough and expeditious investigation, and I look forward to getting back to work on behalf of my constituents and for the betterment of California.”
But new allegations surfaced claiming that Garcia “urged staffers to play ‘spin the bottle’ after a political fundraiser,” according to Politico on Feb. 18. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/18/california-metoo-allegations-legislator-416916
“It was definitely uncomfortable,’’ David John Kernick, 38, who worked for Garcia for five months in 2014, told Politico. He’s filed a formal complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing asserting that Garcia charged him with insubordination after questioning the propriety of trying to engage staffers in that kissing game in a hotel room after a night of heavy drinking. He says he lost his district office job two days later.
Kernick and three other ex-staffers sent an open letter to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon complaining about the “toxic” workplace environment “where activities included regular heavy drinking with staffers, sexually charged meetings and raunchy conversations highlighting intimate details of her sex life,” Politico reported.
The day after the Politico story, on Feb. 19, a letter critical of Kernick, signed by Garcia’s 2014 Chief of Staff Tim Reardon, was taken from Kernick’s personnel file and circulated around the State Capitol. “Obviously, it’s improper. It’s a violation of privacy, and it does nothing to counter the narrative for a boss that was accused of being very vindictive. In fact, it seems to confirm it,” Christine Pelosi, the legal counsel for #WeSaidEnough movement, told Politico. “Whoever thought they were helping Cristina Garcia did her no favors.”
On Monday, Kernick challenged Garcia’s denial in the KQED radio interview (transcript below) about using the word “faggot.”
“I don’t use the ‘faggot.’ It’s not in my vocabulary,” she told KQED. “I think that terms like ‘faggot’ are purely derogatory. There’s no good way to use that word.”
Kernick told Politico that Garcia’s denial about never using that word was “a bald-faced lie.”
“The ex-Marine said he is a member of the LGBT community, but he was not out when he worked for Garcia – and so had to remain silent when he ‘routinely’ heard Garcia use both those words [‘homo’ and ‘faggot’] ‘distinctly about the speaker [John Perez], but it was also part of her regular vocabulary. It wasn’t unusual. … And so I just had to internalize it. I had no choice.’”
Perez told the Los Angeles Blade that while he is “incredibly disturbed” by the slurs Garcia made about him, he is even more upset at the thought of the harm done to closeted staffers like Kernick who fear calling out the homophobia lest they lose their jobs.
“I’m incredibly disturbed by the interview I heard on KQED and a pattern of rationalization and minimization of the impact of the use of homophobic language,” Perez said by phone Tuesday while on vacation in Japan. “The lack of appreciation for the impact on staff—and quite frankly, for every kid in society.”
Perez recalled growing up thinking gay people would never be elected until Sheila Kuehl became the first out LGBT person elected to the Assembly in 1994.
“I never thought I’d have the opportunity to succeed her some day and advance to be Speaker,” he said. “But one of the reasons I felt that way was because of the pervasive and pernicious nature of homophobia in society.
“And so it’s so disturbing—despite all the progress we’ve made—to see this additional example of homophobia in the workplace,” Perez continued. “Not because it was a negative statement about me. I assumed as Speaker of the Assembly that at some point every member would be upset with me about something and be angry at me and say something angry. But it is different to say something in anger, something in frustration based on facts and based on circumstances than it is to immediately go to base-level homophobic attacks. Because when you go to base-level homophobic attacks—not only is it an attack on that individual—but it’s attacking the whole community. And it’s borne out of a notion of dehumanizing us based on that which makes us unique.”
The impact of the slurs are an injustice toward “those hearing them directly and indirectly and what it means for a young gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgender staff or even more so, a closeted member of our community hearing these kinds of comments in the workplace and what that means to have a thriving career is particularly bothersome,” Perez said.
“I’m hopeful that the fact-finders [in the sexual harassment allegations] will look into this as they look into the totality of the allegations,” Perez said, “because of the impact on staff. And quite frankly, what it means for how we view people and whether we see our obligation to represent everybody. It’s hard to reconcile divisive language with the notion of representing all people and our constituencies.”
“I do not comment on ongoing investigations,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon told the LA Blade. “That said, using homophobic language is inappropriate and indefensible. Words have consequences and can cause harm. Officials who are elected to represent everyone in their districts should know better and do better.”
Assemblymember Evan Low, Chair of the California LGBT Legislative Caucus, said: “It’s disappointing to hear a respected former Speaker be subjected to hurtful homophobic comments. It’s upsetting but not surprising—it reflects the everyday struggles that our LGBT community faces on a daily basis. We must continue to work to educate others about the importance of eradicating all forms of homophobia—and the ignorance and bigotry behind them.”
The California Democratic Party endorsed incumbent Garcia via their consent calendar. But neither out CDP Chair Eric Bauman nor out LA County Democratic Party Chair Mark Gonzalez are happy with Garcia.
“The use of pejorative terms of any kind is ALWAYS unacceptable, even more so from those who claim to speak to others about morality from on high. This is positively unacceptable and attempts to rationalize, minimize or mitigate the pain caused by the use of slurs only makes it even more offensive,” said Bauman.
“Assemblymember Garcia’s comments regarding the homophobic language she used to refer to openly gay members of the Assembly were offensive, to say the least. The fact that Ms. Garcia justified using homophobic language is a poor defense for actions taken as an adult and leader in the community. She has stood behind the LGBT community in her record as a legislator, but as a leader of California, Assemblymember Garcia and all elected officials need to show that they walk the talk. Language contrary to what one has a history of standing up for has a chilling effect on staff and on the community,” said Gonzalez. “Any language that is derogatory or inflammatory is unacceptable,” said Gonzalez.
Will all the outrage matter? Garcia has given no indication that she is thinking of resigning, though the outcome of the Assembly’s investigation may change that. And as of now, the only Democrat who has announced an intention to challenge Garcia in the June primary is a gay man, John Paul Drayer of Bellflower, a former member of the Cerritos College board of trustees who filed papers on Feb. 12.
“Having effectively no representation in the state assembly 58th District we need new ideas & candidate to turn around the drunken misguided culture of being too close to Sacramento lobbyists,” Drayer wrote in an email to the Downey Patriot. “Therefore I am seriously thinking about running for this effectively vacant seat. Plus I encourage many others to run in a strong debate about fixing Sacramento to work for working families & small businesses with tax cuts from our large surplus. I will protect the 5th amendment due process rights of men & women equally. No gender should be above another.”
There is a bit of confusion over this, however, since Drayer boasted on Twitter about newspaper cover of his Assembly challenge on March 24—but on March 13 he posted @drayerpaul:
Mor
“I filed for the Special Election to fill the unexpired term in the CA State Senate 32nd District on June 5th.”
Here is the link to a clip of Christina Garcia’s interview on KQED:
Here’s the transcript:
KQED: “The other thing I heard that might be concerning for some people in the Capitol and perhaps some people in your district is this idea that you use slurs or something other than respectful word to describe the former Speaker of the House (sic) who is gay, and other folks. Did you ever use slurs like ‘faggot’ or ‘homo?’ Did you ever say anything like that to your staff?
Cristina Garcia: Oh, I will be clear. There’s no one in politics who doesn’t talk about some of the peers we work with and we use candid language. And so along the way, I’ve used candid language – I curse. I mean, I’ve been vocal about some of my (?) words – I don’t know if I can say them on the radio. And you know, if I see staff who didn’t want to engage in that kind of conversation, I would stop. But they never seemed to have any problem with it. But even then, it’s pretty limited. But these are in places where you think you’re in a safe space and you can speak your mind and be vocal.
I don’t use the ‘faggot.’ It’s not in my vocabulary. But at some point, have I used the word homo. Yeah. I’ve used that word homo. I don’t know that I’ve used it in derogatory context. I think you need to think about the context in which it was used. But anything can be taken out of context, clearly, hearing the situation (?)
KQED: Well, I bring that up – I grew up in a neighborhood where the word homo, for example, people still say ‘no homo’ as a way to express their identity, the masculinity. The reason I’m asking you, though, is there – what has been presented to me as this question of whether these words were used in a professional setting and whether they made people uncomfortable. So did you ever use that to describe the Speaker of the House – the word homo?
CG: I can’t remember but I wouldn’t be surprised if I used that word. Right. So I think that that’s fair. I think that terms like ‘faggot’ are purely derogatory. There’s no good way to use that word. I think the word ‘homo’ can also be derogatory. But I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m an angel. Was how I was using them in derogatory terms? No. It’s almost like I was saying I’m a brown person sometimes. Am I perfect? I think all of us at sometime have biases but I try to be open and accepting of all communities, including the LGBT community. You can look at my voting record, you can look at the advocacy I’ve been doing well before I was elected in conjunction with not just the LGBT community but with communities that have been marginalized.”
Congress
51 lawmakers sign letter to Rubio about Andry Hernández Romero
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) spoke about gay Venezuelan asylum seeker
Forty nine members of Congress and two U.S. senators, all Democrats, signed a letter Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding information about Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan national who was deported to El Salvador and imprisoned in the country’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT
“We are deeply concerned about the health and wellbeing of Mr. Hernández Romero, who left Venezuela after experiencing discriminatory treatment because of his sexual orientation and opposition to Venezuela’s authoritarian government,” the lawmakers wrote. They urged the State Department to facilitate his access to legal counsel and take steps to return him.
After passing a credible fear interview and while awaiting a court hearing in March, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly transported Hernández out of the U.S. without due process or providing evidence that he had committed any crime.
In the months since, pressure has been mounting. This past WorldPride weekend in Washington was kicked off with a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and a fundraiser, both supporting Hernández and attended by high profile figures including members of Congress, like U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.)
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) was among the four members who wrote to Rubio about Hernández in April. On Friday, he spoke with the Los Angeles Blade before he and his colleagues, many more of them this time, sent the second letter to Rubio.
“There’s a lot of obviously horrible things that are happening with the asylum process and visas and international students and just the whole of our value system as it relates to immigration,” he said, which “obviously, is under attack.”
“Andry’s case, I think, is very unique and different,” the congressman continued. “There is, right now, public support that is building. I think he has captured people’s attention. And it’s growing — this is a movement that is not slowing down. He’s going to be a focal point for Pride this year. I mean, I think people around the world are interested in the story.”
Garcia said he hopes the momentum will translate to progress on requests for proof of life, adding that he was optimistic after meeting with Hernández’s legal team earlier on Friday.
“I mean, the president, Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio — any of these folks could could ask to see if just he’s alive,” the congressman said, referring to the secretary of Homeland Security, whom he grilled during a hearing last month. ICE is housed under the DHS.
“People need to remember, the most important part of this that people need to remember, this isn’t just an immigration issue,” Garcia noted. “This is a due process issue. This is an asylum case. We gave him this appointment. The United States government told him to come to his appointment, and then we sent him to another country, not his own, and locked him up with no due process. That’s the issue.”
Garcia said that so far neither he nor his colleagues nor Hernández’s legal team were able to get “any answers from the administration, which is why we’re continuing to advocate, which is why we’re continuing to reach out to Secretary Rubio.”
“A lot more Democrats are now engaged on this issue,” he said. U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both from California, joined Monday’s letter. “The more that we can get folks to understand how critical this is, the better. The momentum matters here. And I think Pride does provide an opportunity to share his story.”
Asked what the next steps might be, Garcia said “we’re letting his legal team really take the lead on strategy,” noting that Hernández’s attorneys have “already engaged with the ACLU” and adding, “It’s very possible that the Supreme Court could take this on.”
In the meantime, the congressman said “part of our job is to make sure that that people don’t forget Andry and that there is awareness about him, and I think there’s a responsibility, particularly during WorldPride, and during Pride, all throughout the month — like, this is a story that people should know. People should know his name and and people should be aware of what’s going on.”
Breaking News
Controversy brews in the City of Glendale over support of Pride event
Republican Mayor Ara Najarian pushes back on funding family-friendly Pride event
Over the last three weeks, glendaleOUT — a local LGBTQ group based in Glendale, California and city leadership have been at odds over securing financial support of a family-friendly Pride event set to happen on Saturday, June 7. As of Tuesday, Glendale’s city council voted 3-2 in favor of funding the event, ending a weeks-long argument over securing the funds.
The controversy began when the group highlighted how neighboring cities have visibly demonstrated support for Pride Month celebrations across the county, while the City of Glendale has yet to sponsor events with banners, city logos and financial sponsorship.
Councilmember Dan Brotman proposed $5,000 in sponsorship funds, noting that the city has funded other cultural events with much larger amounts.
Local leaders, but specifically Mayor Ara Najarian — who was just re-elected for a fifth term — are pushing back and opposing the proposal for funding. According to sources, Mayor Najarian openly opposed the proposal, stating a distant conflict of interest as the reason for the opposition.
LGBTQ advocates have been quoted as saying this is a “bad-faith political tactic, not grounded in any real conflict of interest.”
The next potential vote is expected to happen today at a city council meeting. Organizers say that the Pride event will happen regardless, but that they still hope to shed light on the patterns of sexual orientation-based discrimination in the city council.
For more information about the free community Pride event, visit glendaleOUT’s website.
California
LA County officially kicks off Pride Month with blessing from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
‘This needs to be done, because once again, our county and our nation houses people who want us gone, who wish us harm’
The LA County Board of Supervisors and the LA County LGBTQ+ Committee gathered on Tuesday, June 3, to officially kick off Pride Month across the county with a blessing from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who purified the space with their sacred chicken, then led everyone in blessing the Progress Pride flag before raising it at the Kenneth Hall of Administration.
“By raising this flag, the emblem of our souls and of our souls, of our love, of our survival, and of the gifts we offer to every Angeleno in this county — you all declare and you declare to everyone both here and abroad, that we are your people and you affirm that this is our home too,” said Sister Unity. “This needs to be done, because once again, our county and our nation houses people who want us gone, who wish us harm.”
LA County Supervisors and other community leaders gathered on Tuesday at the Kenneth Hall of Administration to raise the Progress Pride flag in honor of Pride Month. (Photo credit to Diandra Jay)
Supervisors Janice Hanh, Holly J. Mitchell, Lindsey P. Hovarth and Hilda L. Solis spoke on the importance of representation in the face of discrimination, homophobia and transphobia.
Supervisor Hahn mentioned in her speech that her father, Kenneth Frederick Hahn designed the LA County flag and it was clear to her that he believed that a flag was more than just a piece of fabric.
“My dad, the original Supervisor Hanh, designed the LA County flag and he understood that a flag is not just fabric. A flag is a symbol. It’s a visual representation of who we are, what we value and what we stand for.”
Two years ago, Supervisor Hahn started the tradition to raise the flag alongside the one her father designed and then it was Supervisor Horvath who suggested that the Pride flag be flown on all county facilities across Los Angeles.
“Now, in every corner of our vast county — from our lifeguard stations on our beaches, to every library, fire station — and may I add: all eight county buildings in the city of Downey. Wherever there is a county facility, the Progress Pride flag will send a clear, powerful message to our LGBTQ residents: ‘your county government unequivocally and unapologetically has your back.’”
The comment about the city of Downey is in regards to a controversial Pride flag ban that was enacted last year.
Supervisor Hahn then introduced LA County Assessor Jeff Prang, one of the longest-serving, out, elected officials in the state of California. Due to his long history in government and as a member of the LGBTQ community, Assessor Prang helped launch the LA County LGBTQ Elected Officials Association with over 50 active members from all levels of government.
“We are in a moment of crisis in the nation. Across the country, an extremist movement is working to dismantle LGBTQ rights — from banning books to criminalizing gender-affirming care, to silencing drag performers, to targeting our youth and families with cruelty disguised as policy,” said Assessor Prang. “These are not isolated incidents, this is a campaign of fear and repression.”
Héctor Trinidad-Plascencia, the Chair of LGBTQ+ Commission, encouraged attendees who are not from the queer and trans communities, to remove the blockages that keep them from being in solidarity with queer and trans people.
“With your solidarity, we are creating a different world together starting in our county home and for the nation to follow,” they said.
White House
DOJ launches investigation into Calif. trans student-athlete policy
State AG vows to defend Golden State laws
One day after President Donald Trump threatened to strip California of “large scale federal funding” over its policy on transgender student-athletes, his Justice Department announced it is investigating the state for potentially violating Title IX.
“The investigation is to determine whether California, its senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district are engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The DOJ said it notified State Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the Jurupa Unified School District, and the California Interscholastic Federation of its investigation.
AB Hernandez, 16, is an out trans female student-athlete at Jurupa Valley High School who qualified for this weekend’s state track and field championship. As the Los Angeles Blade reported earlier this week, the CIF announced a change in the rules at the finals to accommodate girls who were displaced by Hernandez, including giving medals to cisgender competitors who earn a podium spot should Hernandez place ahead of them.
“We remain committed to defending and upholding California laws and all additional laws which ensure the rights of students, including transgender students, to be free from discrimination and harassment,” said Bonta in a statement. “We will continue to closely monitor the Trump administration’s actions in this space.”
As KTLA reported, California is one of 22 states that allow trans student-athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed that policy into law in 2013.
The DOJ announced it is also now supporting a federal lawsuit targeting Bonta and the state Department of Education, claiming that California law and CIF policy discriminate against cisgender girls by allowing trans female athletes to compete according to their gender identity.
The lawsuit was filed by a conservative law group, Advocates for Faith and Freedom, representing the families of two girls at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside. Their suit claims the school’s cross-country team dropped one athlete from her varsity spot in favor of a trans athlete and that school administrators compared their “Save Girls Sports” T-shirts to swastikas.
Officials in Washington also weighed-in, referring to trans girls and women as “males.”
“Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon. “It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies.”
“The law is clear: Discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal and immoral,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “My office and the rest of the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to protect girls’ sports and stop anyone — public officials included — from violating women’s civil rights.”
According to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, out of the 5.8 million students in California’s K-12 public school system, the number of active trans student-athletes is estimated to be in the single digits.
Congress
Garcia confronts Noem over gay asylum seeker ‘forcibly removed’ to El Salvador
Andry Hernández Romero is makeup artist from Venezuela
California Congressman Robert Garcia on Wednesday asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the well-being of a gay asylum seeker from Venezuela who the U.S. “forcibly removed” to El Salvador.
The gay Democrat during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing asked Noem whether Andry Hernández Romero is “alive” and whether “we can check and do a wellness check on him.”
“This individual is in El Salvador, and the appeal would be best made to the president and to the government of El Salvador,” Noem told Garcia.
The Trump-Vance administration in March “forcibly removed” Hernández, who asked for asylum because of persecution he suffered due to his sexual orientation and political beliefs, and other Venezuelans from the U.S. and sent them to El Salvador.
The White House on Feb. 20 designated Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, as an “international terrorist organization.” President Donald Trump on March 15 invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the Associated Press notes allows the U.S. to deport “noncitizens without any legal recourse.”
Alvaro M. Huerta, director of litigation and advocacy for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a Los Angeles-based organization that represents Hernández, said officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection claimed their client is a Tren de Aragua member because of his tattoos.
The Washington Blade on April 17 reported Hernández was sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT.
Garcia, along with U.S. Reps. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), and Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) last month met with U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador William Duncan and embassy staffers in San Salvador, the Salvadoran capital. The lawmakers did not visit CECOT, but Garcia told the Blade that the embassy agreed to ask the Salvadoran government to “see how (Hernández) is doing and to make sure he’s alive.”
California Politics
Zbur continues fight for LGBTQ rights amid Trump attacks
He continues to cement a pro-equality legacy in state legislature
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-51), 68, grew up in a rural farming community
surrounded by animals and land in Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico — ultimately becoming the first person in his rural community to attend an Ivy League university.
Since then, he has continued to build his reputation as an advocate and as a
political leader in environmental justice and LGBTQ rights.
Most recently, Zbur introduced Assembly Bill 309, which would support
California’s strategy to prevent the spread of HIV and viral hepatitis by preserving existing laws that increase access to sterile syringes at no added cost to the state.
“Extensive research and data collection has repeatedly proven that increased access to sterile syringes significantly lowers rates of transmission and saves lives
without increasing rates of drug use,” said Zbur when presenting AB 309.
He added that the average estimated cost for lifetime medical costs related to HIV treatment for one person is $326,500. “Syringe access not only saves lives, but it also saves individuals and the state from the steep cost of treatment,” he continued.
As a gay man in the peak of the AIDS crisis, Zbur saw some of his own close friends become ill, motivating him to become an AIDS activist at a time when the federal government was failing to provide resources to the community that needed them the most.
“Since I’ve been in the Assembly, I’ve always had a number of bills every year that focus on uplifting the LGBTQ community, as well as getting to zero, in terms of HIV — zero transmissions, zero deaths, zero stigma.”
Prior to this bill and a few others, Zbur also introduced AB 5, which he says was a culmination of eight years worth of work, from the time he started working for Equality California (EQCA), the state’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated toward advocating for LGBTQ civil rights.
AB 5, which was passed and is now known as the Safe and Supportive Schools
Act, is meant to improve the conditions for LGBTQ students in schools.
“I think this bill has the most impact for LGBTQ youth and it’s the one I’m proudest of because it requires that every teacher in California schools has LGBTQ cultural competency training, to make sure that our schools are safe and supportive.” Zbur, a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community, has a long history of activism.
In the early 1980s, Zbur campaigned for the fight against HIV/AIDS, helped found the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation and alongside the Los Angeles LGBT Center, organized fundraisers for Bill Clinton while he was governor of Arkansas, and Barbara Boxer, who was then running for U.S. Senate.
“I think part of me coming out more publicly was due to the HIV epidemic and
the fact that I had friends that were getting sick,” he said. “I had a long-term boyfriend
back then and we started to get politically active, really trying to make sure that the
government was doing something about the HIV epidemic.”
He says that this is when he decided he was going to get Barbara Boxer elected, because she was the only Senate candidate during that time who was even mentioning the LGBTQ community.
In 1996, Zbur ran for the United States House of Representatives in California’s 38th congressional district against Republican incumbent Steve Horn. He became the first openly gay non-incumbent congressional primary candidate to win an election when he won the Democratic primary election on March 26, 1996.
During many years following that win, Zbur jumped into another pool of justice
fighting for environmental issues and then in 2014, joined Equality California as
executive director. Under his leadership, EQCA quadrupled in size, passed groundbreaking legislation to advance LGBTQ equality measures and sued the Trump-Pence administration twice, blocking attacks against the transgender community of California.
In 2022, Zbur was elected to the California State Assembly to represent the 51st
Assembly District, a position he currently serves. He was appointed in July 2023 by
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to serve as the Democratic Caucus Chair of the California Assembly, one of the Speaker’s key leadership positions. During that time, he also led the advancement in civil rights and social justice for the many other marginalized communities within the LGBTQ umbrella, such as communities of color, communities of faith, immigrants women and people living with HIV.
Zbur says that his work is never over.
“We’re facing greater risks that are greater than I think we’ve faced in recent
years coming out of the [first] Trump administration. The targeting of transgender and
gender non-conforming people is an even greater part of his hostility toward our
community,” he said. “It’s very real, and we see that it’s not just rhetoric. He’s taking real
steps to try to shut down the healthcare that LGBTQ people and transgender people
need.”
Zbur says that he and the other members of the LGBTQ Caucus in Sacramento
are constantly thinking of those decisions and their repercussions.
“I have another bill that is focused on helping transgender people get the
government documents they need, so they can protect themselves from the Trump
administration and so that they can travel easily to get medical care.”
Zbur says that his own coming out story was positive, but he grew up in a time
where he did not know anyone who was out about their identity. He went through many
trials and tribulations to end up in a space where he was finally accepted.
“For me, coming to terms with the fact that I was LGBTQ, was something that
took a number of years,” said Zbur. “The world was just a very different place back then
and the risks were high, coming out.”
When he started his career as a lawyer, he became a partner in a law firm called
Latham and Walkins, where there was not a single person who was out.
“I eventually came out when I was a fourth or fifth year associate and I became
the first out lawyer in the firm’s history, though there were other gay lawyers at the firm.”
Now, at 68, Zbur says that his only regret is that he lived in the closet for too long.
“When I look back at the things I regret, it’s that I lived in the closet for as long as
I did,” he said. “That is a very limiting thing that I think doesn’t allow your soul or your
spirit to flourish.”
California Politics
Governor Newsom supports bill to put LGBTQ helpline number on student ID’s
AB 727 would put the number for The Trevor Project on the back of students ID cards
Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed support for LGBTQ suicide hotline measures for K-12 students in direct response to recent reports that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s., plans to cut funding for the national nonprofit that provides the resource to LGBTQ people.
“Cutting off kids’ access to help is indefensible. While the Trump administration walks away from its responsibility, California will continue to expand access to life-saving resources, because the life of every child — straight, gay, trans — is worth fighting for,” said Gov. Newsom.
Assembly Bill 727, introduced by Assemblymember Mark González, would aim to facilitate pupil and student safety by requiring schools and institutions to have the telephone number and text line for a specified LGBTQ suicide hotline provided by The Trevor Project, that is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
Existing law that will be enforced July 1, 2025, requires a public or private school that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
This bill would additionally require the list of K-12 public schools and institutions to provide support to youth and their families who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression.
Conservative organizations like the California Family Council are pushing back on this bill, stating that this bill is “forcing LGBTQ advocacy on every student ID — no exemptions for religious schools,” and saying it “undermines families.”
A national 2024 survey by The Trevor Project on mental health of LGBTQ young people, reports that 1 in 10 young LGBTQ-indetifying people in the United States attempted suicide in 2023. Over a third of LGBTQ young people seriously considered suicide within the past year and that figure was even higher for trans and nonbinary-identifying youth, with that figure being 46%.
The survey also found that half of LGBTQ youth who wanted mental health resources and care could not get them. Over 50% of survey respondents answered “a lot” when asked about how often recent politics negatively impact their well-being.
The Trevor Project is one of the nonprofit organizations that is currently at high-risk for losing their funding under Trump’s budget cuts.
The phone number to call for help is 1-866-488-7386 and the number to text for help is 678-678, or you can send them a message at the site link.
Congress
Democratic lawmakers travel to El Salvador, demand information about gay Venezuelan asylum seeker
Congressman Robert Garcia led delegation
California Congressman Robert Garcia on Tuesday said the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador has agreed to ask the Salvadoran government about the well-being of a gay asylum seeker from Venezuela who remains incarcerated in the Central American country.
The Trump-Vance administration last month “forcibly removed” Andry Hernández Romero, a stylist who asked for asylum because of persecution he suffered because of his sexual orientation and political beliefs, and other Venezuelans from the U.S. and sent them to El Salvador.
The White House on Feb. 20 designated Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, as an “international terrorist organization.” President Donald Trump on March 15 invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the Associated Press notes allows the U.S. to deport “noncitizens without any legal recourse.”
Garcia told the Los Angeles Blade that he and three other lawmakers — U.S. Reps. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), and Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) — met with U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador William Duncan and embassy staffers in San Salvador, the Salvadoran capital.
“His lawyers haven’t heard from him since he was abducted during his asylum process,” said Garcia.
The gay California Democrat noted the embassy agreed to ask the Salvadoran government to “see how he (Hernández) is doing and to make sure he’s alive.”
“That’s important,” said Garcia. “They’ve agreed to that … we’re hopeful that we get some word, and that will be very comforting to his family and of course to his legal team.”
Garcia, Frost, Dexter, and Ansari traveled to El Salvador days after House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) denied their request to use committee funds for their trip.
“We went anyways,” said Garcia. “We’re not going to be intimidated by that.”
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on April 14 met with Trump at the White House. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) three days later sat down with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who the Trump-Vance administration wrongfully deported to El Salvador on March 15.
Abrego was sent to the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT. The Trump-Vance administration continues to defy a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ordered it to “facilitate” Abrego’s return to the U.S.
Garcia, Frost, Dexter, and Ansari in a letter they sent a letter to Duncan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday demanded “access to” Hernández, who they note “may be imprisoned at” CECOT. A State Department spokesperson referred the Blade to the Salvadoran government in response to questions about “detainees” in the country.
Garcia said the majority of those in CECOT who the White House deported to El Salvador do not have criminal records.
“They can say what they want, but if they’re not presenting evidence, if a judge isn’t sending people, and these people have their due process, I just don’t understand how we have a country without due process,” he told the Blade. “It’s just the bedrock of our democracy.”
Garcia said he and Frost, Dexter, and Ansari spoke with embassy staff, Salvadoran journalists and human rights activists and “anyone else who would listen” about Hernández. The California Democrat noted he and his colleagues also highlighted Abrego’s case.
“He (Hernández) was accepted for his asylum claim,” said Garcia. “He (Hernández) signed up for the asylum process on an app that we created for this very purpose, and then you get snatched up and taken to a foreign prison. It is unacceptable and inhumane and cruel and so it’s important that we elevate his story and his case.”
The Blade asked Garcia why the Trump-Vance administration is deporting people to El Salvador without due process.
“I honestly believe that he (Trump) is a master of dehumanizing people, and he wants to continue his horrendous campaign to dehumanize migrants and scare the American public and lie to the American public,” said Garcia.
The State Department spokesperson in response to the Blade’s request for comment referenced spokesperson Tammy Bruce’s comments about Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador.
“These Congressional representatives would be better off focused on their own districts,” said the spokesperson. “Instead, they are concerned about non-U.S. citizens.”
Congress
EXCLUSIVE: Garcia demands answers on deportation of gay Venezuelan asylum seeker
Congressman’s correspondence was shared exclusively with the Blade
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is demanding answers from the Trump-Vance administration on its deportation of Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan makeup artist who was sent to a prison in El Salvador in violation of a federal court order and in the absence of credible evidence supporting the government’s claims about his affiliation with a criminal gang.
Copies of letters the congressman issued on Thursday to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CoreCivic, a private prison contractor, were shared exclusively with the Los Angeles Blade.
Garcia noted that Hernández, who sought asylum from persecution in Venezuela over his sexual orientation and political beliefs, had entered the U.S. legally, passed a preliminary screening, and had no criminal record.
Pro-bono lawyers representing Hernández during his detention in the U.S. pending an outcome in his asylum case were informed that their client had been removed to El Salvador a week after he failed to show for a hearing on March 13.
Hernández’s family now fears for his safety while he remains in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), which has a well documented record of human rights abuses, Garcia said.
Additionally, the congressman wrote, while experts say Tren de Aragua does not use tattoos as identifiers, the “primary evidence” supporting Hernández’s deportation based on his supposed links to the transnational Venezuelan gang “appears to have been two crown tattoos labeled ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad,’ which are common cultural symbols in his hometown.”
The determination about his links to or membership in the organization was made by a CoreCivic employee whose criminal record and misconduct as a law enforcement officer led to his termination from the Milwaukee Police Department, Garcia wrote in his letter to the company.
Requesting a response by May 1, the congressman asked CoreCivic President Damon T. Hininger to address the following questions:
- What qualifications and training does CoreCivic require for employees tasked with making determinations about detainees’ affiliations?
- What protocols are in place to ensure that determinations of gang affiliation are based on credible and corroborated evidence?
- How does CoreCivic oversee and review the decisions made by its employees in such critical matters?
- What mechanisms exist to prevent and address potential misconduct?
- What is the nature of CoreCivic’s collaboration with ICE in making determinations that affect deportation decisions? Are there joint review processes?
- What background checks and ongoing assessments are conducted for employees involved in detainee evaluations, particularly those with prior law enforcement experience?
- What guidelines does CoreCivic follow regarding the use of tattoos as indicators of gang affiliation, and how does the company ensure that cultural or personal tattoos are not misinterpreted?
In his letter to Tae D. Johnson, acting director of ICE, Garcia requested answers to the following questions by May 1:
- Did ICE personnel independently review and approve the determination made by CoreCivic employee Charles Cross Jr. identifying Mr. Hernández Romero as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang?
- What evidence, beyond Mr. Hernández Romero’s tattoos, was used to substantiate the claim of gang affiliation?
- Under what legal authority are private contractors like CoreCivic permitted to make determinations that directly impact deportation decisions?
- What vetting processes and background checks are in place for contractors involved in such determinations? Are there oversight mechanisms to ensure their credibility and adherence to due process?
- What guidelines does ICE follow regarding the use of tattoos as indicators of gang affiliation, and how does the company ensure that cultural or personal tattoos are not misinterpreted?
Together with U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Garcia wrote to U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Tuesday requesting permission to bring a congressional delegation to CECOT for purposes of conducting a welfare check on detainees, expressing specific concern for Hernández’s wellbeing. The congressmen said they would “gladly include any Republican Members of the committee who wish to participate.”
Hernández’s case has drawn fierce criticism of the Trump-Vance administration along with calls for his return to the U.S.
Influential podcaster and Trump ally Joe Rogan spoke out in late March, calling the deportation “horrific” and “a horrible mistake.”
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) sent a letter to Kristi Noem, secretary of the U.S. Homeland Security, which manages ICE, demanding Hernández’s immediate return and raising concerns with the right to due process amid the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Hernández “was denied the opportunity to defend himself against unsubstantiated allegations of gang involvement or to present his asylum claim,” the governor wrote. “We are not a nation that sends people to be tortured and victimized in a foreign prison for public relations victories.”
Immigrant Defenders Law Center President Lindsay Toczylowski, who is representing Hernández, has not been able to reach her client since his removal from the U.S., she told NBC News San Diego in a report published April 11.
“Under the Constitution, every single person has a right to due process, and that means they have a right to notification of any allegations the government is making against them and a right to go into court and prove that those allegations are wrong if that’s the case,” she said. “In Andry’s case, the government never gave us that opportunity. In fact, they didn’t even bring him to court, and they have forcefully sent him to El Salvador without ever giving us any notice or without telling us the way that we could appeal their decision.”
“CECOT, this prison where no one has ever left, where people are held incommunicado, is a very dangerous place for someone like Andry,” Toczylowski said.
In March, a DHS spokesperson posted on X that Hernández’s “own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua,” though they did not point to any specific posts and NBC reported that reviews of his known social media accounts turned up no evidence of gang activity.
During a visit to CECOT in March, Time Magazine photographer Philip Holsinger photographed Romero and reported that the detainee plead his innocence — “I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a stylist.” — crying for his mother as he was slapped and his head was shaved.
Federal Government
USCIS announces it now only recognizes ‘two biological sexes’
Immigration agency announced it has implemented Trump executive order
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday announced it now only “recognizes two biological sexes, male and female.”
A press release notes this change to its policies is “consistent with” the “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” executive order that President Donald Trump signed shortly after he took office for the second time on Jan. 20.
“There are only two sexes — male and female,” said DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “President Trump promised the American people a revolution of common sense, and that includes making sure that the policy of the U.S. government agrees with simple biological reality.”
“Proper management of our immigration system is a matter of national security, not a place to promote and coddle an ideology that permanently harms children and robs real women of their dignity, safety, and well-being,” she added.
The press release notes USCIS “considers a person’s sex as that which is generally evidenced on the birth certificate issued at or nearest to the time of birth.”
“If the birth certificate issued at or nearest to the time of birth indicates a sex other than male or female, USCIS will base the determination of sex on secondary evidence,” it reads.
The USCIS Policy Manuel defines “secondary evidence” as “evidence that may demonstrate a fact is more likely than not true, but the evidence does not derive from a primary, authoritative source.”
“Records maintained by religious or faith-based organizations showing that a person was divorced at a certain time are an example of secondary evidence of the divorce,” it says.
USCIS in its press release notes it “will not deny benefits solely because the benefit requestor did not properly indicate his or her sex.”
“This is a cruel and unnecessary policy that puts transgender, nonbinary, and intersex immigrants in danger,” said Immigration Equality Law and Policy Director Bridget Crawford on Wednesday. “The U.S. government is now forcing people to carry identity documents that do not reflect who they are, opening them up to increased discrimination, harassment, and violence. This policy does not just impact individuals — it affects their ability to travel, work, access healthcare, and live their lives authentically.”
“By denying trans people the right to self-select their gender, the government is making it harder for them to exist safely and with dignity,” added Crawford. “This is not about ‘common sense’—it is about erasing an entire community from the legal landscape. Transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people have always existed, and they deserve to have their identities fully recognized and respected. We will continue to fight for the rights of our clients and for the reversal of this discriminatory policy.”
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