WASHINGTON – Activists from MoveOn Political Action inflated a 15-foot-tall balloon depicting U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) wearing a “full of lies” tie and displayed it on the Mall near the United States Capitol on Tuesday.

Activists called for the expulsion of the congressman following a U.S. House Ethics Committee report detailing fraud and misuse of funds.

Big George Santos balloon in front of the Capitol. Covering for @WashBlade pic.twitter.com/fnmPsqGXzX

— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) November 28, 2023

By Matthew S. Bajko, Assistant Editor | SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. – With the news Tuesday that Congressmember Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) will retire from the South Bay House seat she has held since 1993, it provides an opportunity to see the first LGBTQ person from the Bay Area be elected to Capitol Hill.

Long considered a likely congressional candidate once a seat opened up, gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) is widely expected to enter the 2024 race to succeed Eshoo. Low, 41, told the Bay Area Reporter that he is interested in running for it but is not yet ready to make an official announcement.

“Any person who follows in her footsteps must commit themselves completely to upholding her incredible legacy. Today, I’m going to celebrate one of our valley’s greatest public servants and a personal mentor to me. There are a lot of people in the community I need to talk to before I make a formal decision,” Low, who has until early December to decide, wrote in a texted reply November 21.

Tuesday morning Eshoo released a video about her decision not to seek reelection next year in order to break the news to her constituents.

“As the first Democrat and first woman to ever represent this distinguished congressional district, no one could ever be prouder than me to carry our Democratic Party values,” Eshoo wrote in an email to her supporters.

Eshoo’s 16th Congressional District spans both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. She had first sought a House seat six years after winning election to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors but fell short in the general election of 1988 to Republican then-Stanford professor Tom Campbell.

When Campbell opted not to run for another term in 1992, and instead mounted an unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid, Eshoo ran again and won. She has long been a champion of LGBTQ issues in Congress and has enjoyed strong support from the LGBTQ community throughout her time in the House.

As the B.A.R.’s online Political Notes column reported last year, Eshoo ran her first TV ads since being elected to Congress for her 2022 candidacy. In it, she touted being an original co-sponsor of the Equality Act, the federal omnibus LGBTQ rights legislation adopted by the House in 2021. (It died when the U.S. Senate failed to vote on it.)

It is believed to be the first time a Bay Area congressmember highlighted their support of the Equality Act in a campaign commercial. In an interview Eshoo had told the B.A.R. she was proud to have that distinction.

“I have always believed there is one class of citizenship in our country and that is first class. So without the movement for equality and fullness of citizenship that can’t happen,” Eshoo had told the B.A.R. “I am very proud of that, so I wanted to highlight the Equality Act.”

Eshoo also had the honor of being the first woman to serve as chair of the Democratic Party in San Mateo County, as she noted in her email to constituents. She also served as a member of the Democratic National Committee.

“I’m so proud of all we’ve achieved together and that the strength of our party rests on a strong foundation of clubs, caucuses, and county committees with our allies in Labor and other valued advocates. Our party continues to be strengthened by our diversity, and I’m confident this will continue because it is who we are,” wrote Eshoo. “As the last year of my service in Congress lies ahead, be assured that I will continue to bring my tenaciousness and unswerving commitment to my work to strengthen our democracy, and our work together for a sweeping Democratic victory for the country we love so much.”

In a statement he released reacting to Eshoo’s news, Low called Eshoo “an icon” and a “personal hero” to him. He also praised her for being a “champion who leads this community with tremendous energy, grace, and grit.”

He added that he is looking forward “to the many ways” the community can honor Eshoo for “her extraordinary service” over the years.

“We are so blessed to have her as our leader, gracefully navigating the complex issues in this valley of high expectations,” stated Low. “Her public service has been noble and selfless, advancing quality healthcare access for all, immigration reform rooted in compassion and humanity, and stringent consumer protections unfettered by special interests.”

As the B.A.R. reported last year, Low moved into the redrawn 26th Assembly District that includes Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and parts of San Jose in order to avoid competing against his colleague Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) for reelection to the state Legislature. Berman had been drawn into Low’s former Assembly District.

Doing so required Low to vacate the 1,100 square foot condo in Campbell that he co-owns with his brother, a San Jose police officer. He moved into the Sunnyvale home of his father and stepmother.

Low grew up in San Jose, and his parents separated when he was 18. He graduated from San Jose State University and went on to win election to the Campbell City Council in 2006.

He was the first Asian American to serve on the governing body. Four years later he became the youngest openly LGBTQ+ mayor in the country at age 26.

He first won election to the state Assembly in 2014. He has strong ties to Silicon Valley’s tech industry, which could benefit him in a House race as a source of support and financial donations to his campaign.

Low would be the second out candidate running next year for an open House seat in the Bay Area. Jennifer Kim-Anh Tran, Ph.D., a queer leader within the state’s Vietnamese American community, is seeking to succeed Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), who is running for U.S. Senate rather than seek another House term.

Tran is the partner of Nenna Joiner, who owns several sex shops in the East Bay and a downtown Oakland nightlife venue. She is in a tough race to survive the March primary along with fellow Democrats BART board member Lateefah Simon and business owner Tim Sanchez, a U.S. Navy Reserves veteran who served in Afghanistan.

As the B.A.R. first reported in an online story November 17, there are now out House candidates in all three of the West Coast states. The 2024 election could thus see the California congressional delegation’s LGBTQ contingent expand from its current two gay members, while those in Oregon and Washington state could see their first out members.

**************************************************************************************

The preceding article was previously published by the Bay Area Reporter and is republished with permission.

Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going in these tough times. To support local, independent, LGBTQ journalism, consider becoming a BAR member.

PRETORIA, South Africa — The South African government is one step closer to ensuring any form of homophobia will be subject to hefty penalties that could include a lengthy prison sentence.

Deputy Justice and Constitutional Development Minister John Jeffery on Nov. 22 noted the Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill is now waiting approval in the country’s Parliament. President Cyril Ramaphosa will then sign it into law once it is approved.

First introduced in Parliament in 2018, the bill has been contested on its viability and how it would help protect people in South Africa against hate crimes and hate speech, particularly based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or any other form of discrimination.

MPs approved the bill in March and then sent it to the National Council of Provinces, which approved it on Nov. 17. The Justice and Correctional Services Committee approved the NCOP’s recommendations last Wednesday.

“Section 3 of the bill defines a hate crime as an offense committed where the offender is motivated by prejudice or intolerance towards the victim of the crime because of specified characteristics or perceived characteristics of the victim or another person associated with the victim,” reads a Parliament press release about the bill. “These characteristics listed as grounds that could constitute a hate crime include age, albinism, birth, color, culture, disability, ethnic or social origin, gender or gender identity, HIV status, language, nationality, migrant or refugee status, occupation or trade, political affiliation or conviction, race, religion, sex, which includes intersex or sexual orientation.”

The press release further notes Section 4 of the bill defines hate speech “as the intentional publishing or communicating of anything that can incite harm or promote hate based on grounds, including, among others, age, sexual orientation and race.” 

“The bill also provides for penalties such as fines, imprisonment or both for those who are convicted of the offenses,” it reads.

Access Chapter 2, a South African LGBTQ+ rights organization, meanwhile, has now become the first LGBTQ+-led law clinic in the country. The Legal Practice Council last week officially registered the group.

Although South Africa is the only African country that protects same-sex sexual relations in its constitution, there has been a surge in anti-gay attacks — kidnappings, hate speech, rape and killings — over the last few years. This trend has prompted many people who identify as LGBTQ+ to be cautious about disclosing their sexual orientation.

Gerbrandt van Heerden of the Center For Risk Analysis, a market research firm, says there is an urgent need to better equip society, law enforcement agencies and other sectors to fight homophobic attacks.

“Officials such as police, teachers, judges and magistrates should receive proper training and resources regarding LGBT issues,” said van Heerden. “Sexuality and sexual health should be included as a subject in the healthcare worker curriculum so that professionals in the field will in future have sufficient skills to manage LGBT patients properly, and be more knowledgeable about their specific healthcare needs.”

Van Heerden added companies and employers should receive guidance that helps them understand a hostile-free workplace for LGBTQ+ people can improve productivity and output and attract talent. Van Heerden also said official data, such as that in the national Census, should include Trans South Africans and other members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Doing so will demonstrate how serious South Africa and its policymakers are in cherishing and respecting the country’s progressive constitution,” said van Heerden.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. –  Students at Monarch High School in northern Broward County walked out of classes Tuesday protesting in support of the trans community and school staff who were reassigned amid an investigation involving a transgender female student allowed to play on a girls’ sports team.

In a statement, officials with Broward County Public Schools said that Monarch High principal James Cecil, a 25 year veteran of the Broward district, had been reassigned off-campus while an investigation into allegations of improper student participation in sports, specifically allowing a trans student to participate on the girls’ volleyball team.

Florida Governor starts Pride Month off signing anti-Trans youth sports ban

Local NBC News affiliate WPTV 6 reported that in addition to Cecil, several other staff were reassigned as school district officials investigate the allegations that the Florida state law signed by Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis two years ago, banning Trans youth athletes from participating in sports was violated.

Local journalist Kevin Deutsch reported that in an email and robocall Monday morning, Monarch High School parents and staff were informed that Cecil and three others “have been notified that they are part of the BCPS Special Investigative Unit’s investigation and have been reassigned to non-school sites pending the outcome,” according to a district spokesperson.

The other staff members are Assistant Principal Kenneth May, Teacher/Athletic Director Dione Hester, and Information Management Technician Jessica Norton, according to BCPS.

Additionally, Alex Burgess, a temporary athletic coach at the school, “has been advised his services are paused while the investigation is ongoing,” the spokesperson said.

Related:

Students perform MASSIVE WALKOUT at Monarch High School after staff reassigned:

WDG is the Washington Blade’s media partner in Israel. This article ran on WDG’s website on Nov. 23.

EIN YAHAV, Israel — Among dozens of reservists who became a family, with a spontaneous canopy at the B&B in Ein Yahav and refreshments donated with much love from Eilat businesses and residents, Adam Din and Ilan Cohen held their wedding ceremony Nov. 22.

“We did this wedding because it is important to us that the world knows that there is love even in the middle of the war and that we can celebrate love as well through it all,” said the couple.

Adam and Ilan’s wedding was scheduled to take place about two weeks ago on the beach between Ashdod and Nitzanim. The invitations were already prepared, but the terrible massacre on Oct. 7, and the war that broke out in its wake, postponed all their plans.

Ilan was immediately drafted into the reserves in the Gaza Division, leaving Adam alone at home. Nati Harosh, the couple’s best friend who was supposed to be the groomsman at the wedding, was also drafted into the reserves as a Givati Brigade fighter.

“We were supposed to get married on the beach,” says Adam, “The war postponed the wedding, and also took Nati.”

Adam and Ilan met a year and eight months ago.

“We met on Tinder, not for a serious purpose,” says Adam. “After we met, Ilan introduced me to a group of travelers from the gay community and we used to go on trips together. Over time we got to know each other more and more and in an organic and natural way we became together. It never had an official date.”

The short acquaintance was very significant for both of them. 

“I was in the closet in front of the family before I met Ilan, and also childfree. And getting to know Ilan changed me completely,” says Adam. “I came out in front of my family and introduced them to Ilan, and I also decided that I wanted us to become parents together. My life changed thanks to him and we are really a family.”

The first friend Adam introduced to Ilan was Nati.

“Nati is a friend of mine from the time I lived in Jerusalem during my internship. We met through mutual friends and became very close friends. Nati was a giving person, like the meaning of his name Nathaniel. One of those people who were untouched by the cruelty of the world. Always ready to help. Doesn’t hold a grudge even when he is treated badly, and I would get angry for him and he wouldn’t get angry,” says Adam.

“Nati’s move from Jerusalem to Ramat Gan was one of the reasons that led us to move there as well, and since then we have been at each other’s house a lot on Shabbat,” he adds. “Nati came from a religious family, and he is liberal and open and loves every person regardless of who they are. And it was very clear and natural to me that he would be the one to accompany me on this significant occasion of mine. In the Utah wedding we held in Zoom, Nati was my witness, and we planned for him to be the groomsman in the wedding party.”

An April Fool’s prank that turned into a marriage proposal

Adam proposed to Ilan a few months ago.

“On April 1, we repeated one of our significant dates at the Saker Garden in Jerusalem,” says Adam, “Then Ilan knelt down as if he was going to propose to me and took out a Kinder egg. Kind of an April Fool’s prank. He thought it was funny. So I decided to get back at him and a few months later I also gave him a Kinder egg, only my Kinder egg had a ring in it.”

Three months ago, the two were married in a Utah wedding on Zoom in order to receive recognition as a couple who married abroad, with Nati accompanying them as a witness. They planned to hold the party itself at the beach between Ashdod and Nitzanim, at the exact place where Adam proposed to Ilan. About two months ago they returned to the place, found the perfect location for the wedding and we set a date.

But as mentioned, the events of Oct. 7 postponed the plans, and Ilan was drafted into the reserves.

“During his reserve service, Ilan saw horrible and terrible sights,” says Adam, “[It is] a horror that has no name, that gives him nightmares and scars his heart and soul. But when he comes home he comes to his shelter and his safe environment. Here he can get away for a moment from the horror outside. With the announcement of Nati’s death, the bereavement burst into our house, into our safe place.”

The two found out about Nati’s death through a news website. 

One evening at the beginning of November, when Ilan was at home for a short break, a message about the death of a Givati Brigade soldier in Gaza popped up on his phone.

“He fell silent and went to the side,” Adam recalled. “His face went blank, the way it went blank when he remembered the terrible things he saw there. I asked him what he saw. He didn’t want to show me and started crying. I asked him again what happened and then he told me that Nati died. I didn’t believe him and then he showed me the news. I looked and couldn’t believe what I was reading. I saw Nati’s photo in the article and I said, ‘What idiots, they accidentally put a photo of Nati. What a mistake.'”

“I quickly called Nati to tell him to ask for the photo to be taken down so his family wouldn’t see it, but he didn’t answer,” he added. “Since then I send him WhatsApps all the time. Yesterday I sent him a selfie of us and wrote to him: Tomorrow I’m getting married, you’re invited.”

Many people will have to die for there to be equality

After Nati was killed, the two felt that the wedding was becoming more urgent. Ilan told the story of the wedding to his friends in the reserve battalion, and also told them about Nati, who was killed in the war.

“He told them that the wedding is now more urgent than ever, and that it is precisely now in this war that love should be celebrated, and his friends suggested that the wedding be held in the unit. Two days ago he came to me and asked: What are you doing on Wednesday? And I answered him that I was working. Then he asked me, do you want to get married? I told him yes and asked him if he was coming back from the reserves, and he told me: No. We will do it in the battalion.”

WDG: Did you felt complete with the choice?

ADAM: Ilan and his colleagues have been together for over a month. When I talk to him I hear them, and I hear him talking about them, they really became family. So although the wedding is spontaneous without my friends and family being able to come, it is being held with his family, who are actually the army and the friends from the reserves. And Nati will be there in spirit too. He died among soldiers, so we will feel his love among other soldiers who will be happy with us”

WDG: How does it feel to have a “military wedding”?

ADAM: This is not the wedding I expected, but I always told Ilan that I would marry him even inside a volcano. Everywhere. At the same time, this wedding has a lot of mixed emotions. This period is full of sadness and disappointment. The LGBTQ community is an equal partner in the national effort and the war, and its men and women do not receive equal status when they return home.

We could get married like everyone else but we have to do it in a crooked way with Zoom, and in no way, LGBTQ people are literally dead to protect us but no one counts them.

Ilan has been in service for a month and a half, and yet he had to find crooked ways to get married, feeling that he is worth less than other people, who don’t even join the army.

So for me this wedding is both defiance and pride. And this is the ambivalence. We feel a part and we sacrifice the most precious, and yet we don’t deserve to be married like everyone else and we are in a less good position. And yet we continue and get married in the middle of the war.”

WDG: Do you think that following this period, which highlights the gap between what we give to the state and what we receive, a change will come?

ADAM: For Sagi Golan’s law, Sagi had to die. Part of his mate is dead too, I guess. I do believe that we will have equal rights, I believe that many people will have to die for it.

WDG: What is it like to live when your partner is so far from home for such a long period of time?

ADAM: Since that terrible Saturday when he was called I have been sleeping on the sofa. I can’t sleep in bed without him. There are long periods when he is without reception on the phone and I am constantly refreshing the pages of the news sites, to see if anything has happened. And when he returns home afterwards there is a tremendous feeling of momentary relief and an opportunity to be together for a bit. Even though as a volunteer in the LGBTQ help line, even when he goes out to retire from the reserves, he takes a shift and volunteers remotely.”

The couple and WDG would like to thank WILLOW – Zimmer in Arava, for volunteering to host the ceremony.

WDG is the Washington Blade’s media partner in Israel. This article ran on WDG’s website on Nov. 23.

EIN YAHAV, Israel — Among dozens of reservists who became a family, with a spontaneous canopy at the B&B in Ein Yahav and refreshments donated with much love from Eilat businesses and residents, Adam Din and Ilan Cohen held their wedding ceremony Nov. 22.

“We did this wedding because it is important to us that the world knows that there is love even in the middle of the war and that we can celebrate love as well through it all,” said the couple.

Adam and Ilan’s wedding was scheduled to take place about two weeks ago on the beach between Ashdod and Nitzanim. The invitations were already prepared, but the terrible massacre on Oct. 7, and the war that broke out in its wake, postponed all their plans.

Ilan was immediately drafted into the reserves in the Gaza Division, leaving Adam alone at home. Nati Harosh, the couple’s best friend who was supposed to be the groomsman at the wedding, was also drafted into the reserves as a Givati Brigade fighter.

“We were supposed to get married on the beach,” says Adam, “The war postponed the wedding, and also took Nati.”

Adam and Ilan met a year and eight months ago.

“We met on Tinder, not for a serious purpose,” says Adam. “After we met, Ilan introduced me to a group of travelers from the gay community and we used to go on trips together. Over time we got to know each other more and more and in an organic and natural way we became together. It never had an official date.”

The short acquaintance was very significant for both of them. 

“I was in the closet in front of the family before I met Ilan, and also childfree. And getting to know Ilan changed me completely,” says Adam. “I came out in front of my family and introduced them to Ilan, and I also decided that I wanted us to become parents together. My life changed thanks to him and we are really a family.”

The first friend Adam introduced to Ilan was Nati.

“Nati is a friend of mine from the time I lived in Jerusalem during my internship. We met through mutual friends and became very close friends. Nati was a giving person, like the meaning of his name Nathaniel. One of those people who were untouched by the cruelty of the world. Always ready to help. Doesn’t hold a grudge even when he is treated badly, and I would get angry for him and he wouldn’t get angry,” says Adam.

“Nati’s move from Jerusalem to Ramat Gan was one of the reasons that led us to move there as well, and since then we have been at each other’s house a lot on Shabbat,” he adds. “Nati came from a religious family, and he is liberal and open and loves every person regardless of who they are. And it was very clear and natural to me that he would be the one to accompany me on this significant occasion of mine. In the Utah wedding we held in Zoom, Nati was my witness, and we planned for him to be the groomsman in the wedding party.”

An April Fool’s prank that turned into a marriage proposal

Adam proposed to Ilan a few months ago.

“On April 1, we repeated one of our significant dates at the Saker Garden in Jerusalem,” says Adam, “Then Ilan knelt down as if he was going to propose to me and took out a Kinder egg. Kind of an April Fool’s prank. He thought it was funny. So I decided to get back at him and a few months later I also gave him a Kinder egg, only my Kinder egg had a ring in it.”

Three months ago, the two were married in a Utah wedding on Zoom in order to receive recognition as a couple who married abroad, with Nati accompanying them as a witness. They planned to hold the party itself at the beach between Ashdod and Nitzanim, at the exact place where Adam proposed to Ilan. About two months ago they returned to the place, found the perfect location for the wedding and we set a date.

But as mentioned, the events of Oct. 7 postponed the plans, and Ilan was drafted into the reserves.

“During his reserve service, Ilan saw horrible and terrible sights,” says Adam, “[It is] a horror that has no name, that gives him nightmares and scars his heart and soul. But when he comes home he comes to his shelter and his safe environment. Here he can get away for a moment from the horror outside. With the announcement of Nati’s death, the bereavement burst into our house, into our safe place.”

The two found out about Nati’s death through a news website. 

One evening at the beginning of November, when Ilan was at home for a short break, a message about the death of a Givati Brigade soldier in Gaza popped up on his phone.

“He fell silent and went to the side,” Adam recalled. “His face went blank, the way it went blank when he remembered the terrible things he saw there. I asked him what he saw. He didn’t want to show me and started crying. I asked him again what happened and then he told me that Nati died. I didn’t believe him and then he showed me the news. I looked and couldn’t believe what I was reading. I saw Nati’s photo in the article and I said, ‘What idiots, they accidentally put a photo of Nati. What a mistake.'”

“I quickly called Nati to tell him to ask for the photo to be taken down so his family wouldn’t see it, but he didn’t answer,” he added. “Since then I send him WhatsApps all the time. Yesterday I sent him a selfie of us and wrote to him: Tomorrow I’m getting married, you’re invited.”

Many people will have to die for there to be equality

After Nati was killed, the two felt that the wedding was becoming more urgent. Ilan told the story of the wedding to his friends in the reserve battalion, and also told them about Nati, who was killed in the war.

“He told them that the wedding is now more urgent than ever, and that it is precisely now in this war that love should be celebrated, and his friends suggested that the wedding be held in the unit. Two days ago he came to me and asked: What are you doing on Wednesday? And I answered him that I was working. Then he asked me, do you want to get married? I told him yes and asked him if he was coming back from the reserves, and he told me: No. We will do it in the battalion.”

WDG: Did you felt complete with the choice?

ADAM: Ilan and his colleagues have been together for over a month. When I talk to him I hear them, and I hear him talking about them, they really became family. So although the wedding is spontaneous without my friends and family being able to come, it is being held with his family, who are actually the army and the friends from the reserves. And Nati will be there in spirit too. He died among soldiers, so we will feel his love among other soldiers who will be happy with us”

WDG: How does it feel to have a “military wedding”?

ADAM: This is not the wedding I expected, but I always told Ilan that I would marry him even inside a volcano. Everywhere. At the same time, this wedding has a lot of mixed emotions. This period is full of sadness and disappointment. The LGBTQ community is an equal partner in the national effort and the war, and its men and women do not receive equal status when they return home.

We could get married like everyone else but we have to do it in a crooked way with Zoom, and in no way, LGBTQ people are literally dead to protect us but no one counts them.

Ilan has been in service for a month and a half, and yet he had to find crooked ways to get married, feeling that he is worth less than other people, who don’t even join the army.

So for me this wedding is both defiance and pride. And this is the ambivalence. We feel a part and we sacrifice the most precious, and yet we don’t deserve to be married like everyone else and we are in a less good position. And yet we continue and get married in the middle of the war.”

WDG: Do you think that following this period, which highlights the gap between what we give to the state and what we receive, a change will come?

ADAM: For Sagi Golan’s law, Sagi had to die. Part of his mate is dead too, I guess. I do believe that we will have equal rights, I believe that many people will have to die for it.

WDG: What is it like to live when your partner is so far from home for such a long period of time?

ADAM: Since that terrible Saturday when he was called I have been sleeping on the sofa. I can’t sleep in bed without him. There are long periods when he is without reception on the phone and I am constantly refreshing the pages of the news sites, to see if anything has happened. And when he returns home afterwards there is a tremendous feeling of momentary relief and an opportunity to be together for a bit. Even though as a volunteer in the LGBTQ help line, even when he goes out to retire from the reserves, he takes a shift and volunteers remotely.”

The couple and WDG would like to thank WILLOW – Zimmer in Arava, for volunteering to host the ceremony.

OAKLAND, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced the public release of a largely unredacted copy of the federal complaint filed by a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general against Meta Platforms, Inc. and affiliates (Meta) on October 24, 2023.

Co-led by Attorney General Bonta, the coalition is alleging that Meta designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children and teens to their mental and physical detriment.

As originally filed, however, much of the federal complaint included information conditionally under seal. Based on the company’s own documents, the removal of the redactions provides additional context for the misconduct that the attorneys general allege against Meta. 

“Meta knows that what it is doing is bad for kids — period. Thanks to our unredacted federal complaint, it is now there in black and white, and it is damning,” said Bonta. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute this matter.”

Calif. Attorney General announces nationwide investigation into Instagram

CBS News reported that the state’s prosecutors built their case, in part, using snippets of emails, earnings call transcripts and other internal communications — all of which suggest the extreme value of young users’ personal information and time to company profits. 

In an emailed statement from October when the joint suit was filed, Meta said it was disappointed by the route taken by the attorneys general.

Meta is determined to provide teens with “safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families,” the company said at the time.

In a Monday statement, a Meta spokesperson said, “The complaint mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents.”

Highlights from the newly revealed portions of the complaint include the following:

• Mark Zuckerberg personally vetoed Meta’s proposed policy to ban image filters that simulated the effects of plastic surgery, despite internal pushback and an expert consensus that such filters harm users’ mental health, especially for women and girls. Complaint ¶¶ 333-68.
• Despite public statements that Meta does not prioritize the amount of time users spend on its social media platforms, internal documents show that Meta set explicit goals of increasing “time spent” and meticulously tracked engagement metrics, including among teen users. Complaint ¶¶ 134-150.
• Meta continuously misrepresented that its social media platforms were safe, while internal data revealed that users experienced harms on its platforms at far higher rates. Complaint ¶¶ 458-507.
• Meta knows that its social media platforms are used by millions of children under 13, including, at one point, around 30% of all 10–12-year-olds, and unlawfully collects their personal information. Meta does this despite Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress in 2021 that Meta “kicks off” children under 13. Complaint ¶¶ 642-811.

Related:

Instagram is allowing accounts to spew hate at LGBTQ+ people

Editor’s note: Extreme discretion is advised on reading this story. It contains explicit descriptions of violence and transphobia beyond what I typically report on.

By Erin Reed | MANCHESTER, UK –  As a transgender journalist, I am reporting on a profoundly difficult story. In the United Kingdom, the trial of Brianna Ghey’s alleged murderers has begun, during which the prosecutors presented evidence that could lead to their conviction. Before delving further, it’s crucial to understand that the details in this case exhibit extreme transphobia and depravity, resulting in the killing of a young, beautiful transgender teenage girl, targeted for being different.

Under UK law, it is imperative to stress that these are allegations presented at trial, and I am obligated in my own reporting to refrain from referring to the defendants as her “killers” or “murderers” to prevent a mistrial due to the extremely low bar of “prejudicing a trial” there. This case highlights the systematic violence and rhetoric against transgender people and how such attitudes contributed to this abhorrent killing.

The details of this case are explicit, especially with regards to the evidence presented on the first day of the trial, and I advise extreme caution for transgender readers or parents of transgender children reading further.

I have made the decision to republish these messages in a story specifically because I believe that the alleged text messages show the violent, brutal nature of transphobia and what a transphobic society enables. The messages are not just cruel and horrific, they contain elements of all of the things said by the most ardent anti-trans activists, TERFs, and grifters who have made targeting transgender people with hate a full time career.

Brianna Ghey was a 16 year old transgender girl, TikTok creator, and a “beacon of positivity” according to her friends. She would often film videos set to music while showing off her makeup or walking in a park. It was in one of these parks that her life was taken in in February of this year.

Murder & misgendering of trans girl has sparked anger in UK

In the immediate aftermath of her murder, countless people mourned for her and decried the senseless violence. Her TikToks became makeshift memorials with millions of likes and views. Days later, two teens near her age were arrested and charged with her murder.

Many people considered the idea that anti-trans sentiment and rampant transphobia in the United Kingdom may have played a role in her murder. A study indicated that the Daily Mail, a leading British newspaper, had more negative coverage of transgender people in 2023 than in the previous four years combined. Public figures such as JK Rowling and Maya Forstater have been criticized for normalizing transphobia, advocating against gender-affirming care, and labeling transgender activists as “rapist rights activists.” 

Brianna Ghey tragically experienced this transphobia. Days before her murder, she posted a TikTok about being excluded from school. Damian Harry, whose daughter was friends with Brianna, confirmed this, saying, “She said she was devastated by the constant abuse and even talked of ending it all. It was down to her being trans. It is disgusting what happened.”

The following will include text messages that are very graphic and disturbing. Extreme discretion is advised.

In evidence released today by the prosecution, her alleged killers allegedly sent text messages showing they internalized this hate of transgender people towards Brianna. In these alleged text messages presented at the trial, the teens discuss Brianna in a way many transgender people are very familiar with: one of the defendants speaks to the other about finding her beautiful and fascinating, potentially indicating even attraction toward her. The other responds in dehumanizing terms, calling Brianna an “it” and asking if she was “a femboy or a trnny.”

See the text messages from local journalist, Jess O’Thomson, here:

Transgender people are very familiar with the idea of people finding us attractive and then also feeling anger. This theme is very common in transphobic killings of intimate trans partners and sex workers. In the United States, the trans panic defense has been used to get many such killers off of murder charges after they killed a transgender person they were intimate with.

Likewise, most transgender activists will find in their private inboxes salacious DMs from people who openly advocate for our erasure and for laws targeting us. Viral posts then shame lesbians who date trans women for “not being real lesbians.”

Far-right Britain First party leader Paul Golding similarly tweeted that men dating trans women “makes [them] GAY.” Portraying attraction to a transgender person as shameful contributes to an environment where some people feel so much shame, they may be motivated to kill the target of their attraction.

The alleged text messages then continue towards the planning of Brianna’s death. In one of the messages, one teen tells the other that they sneakily fed Brianna ibuprofen tablets in order to kill her, but that she proved too resilient. This tracks with reports from Brianna’s mother that she had severe abdominal pain earlier in the year and was nearly brought to the hospital. They would allegedly continue to try to poison her as revealed in the text messages. Specifically, one of the text messages stated that “people already know she is depressed and shit so nobody would get sus.”

It is in these alleged text messages that we find another familiar factor where transphobia contributed to Brianna’s harm. Transgender people are known to have high suicide rates, specifically because of transphobia and gender-based victimization. In one study, bullying or physical assault at school lead to suicide attempt rates as high as 63%. These disturbing text messages paint a picture of teenagers using this fact to their advantage to literally help them get away with murder.

Ultimately, the alleged text messages show that they allegedly settle on a plan to kill Brianna, with one horrifyingly wondering if she would “scream like a man or a girl.” The plan details their alleged decision to proceed with Brianna’s murder, the words they would use to initiate it, and the knife that would be used to stab her. Brianna Ghey’s body would be found stabbed 28 times.

Brianna Ghey was targeted for nothing more than being true to herself in a society that often vilifies transgender people. Violent rhetoric targeted towards transgender people has included advocacy for “eradication.” Prominent anti-trans figures, such as Hellen Joyce of the UK-based organization Sex Matters, have advocated for “a reduction” in the number of trans individuals, labeling them a “huge problem for a sane world.” This stigmatization and the resulting bullying and violence contribute to increased suicidality and loss of transgender lives. Brianna Ghey’s tragic fate was not solely at the hands of individual alleged aggressors, but also a reflection of a society deeply entrenched in transphobia, a trend that will continue to fuel these incidents unless something changes.

While the individual alleged actions of the accused paint a violent picture of two depraved individuals, it is important to realize that this violence does not occur within a vacuum. In 1998, Matthew Shepard was killed in a similarly violent manner in Laramie, Wyoming. His death lead to a massive public outcry demanding an end to the public culture of homophobia pervasive at the time. Brianna Ghey’s killing reveals similar forces at work, and must lead to similar reform.

As one of her close friends said, “If Bri would have wanted anything from her passing, it would be change.”

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Erin Reed is a transgender woman (she/her pronouns) and researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker.

Follow her on Twitter (Link)

Website here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/

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The preceding article was first published at Erin In The Morning and is republished with permission.

NEW DELHI — After the Indian Supreme Court ruled against marriage equality in October, it declined to include LGBTQ+ people in regulations against sexual harassment.

Justices Bangalore Venkataramiah Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said the existing 2013 law against sexual harassment in the workplace cannot be made gender-neutral in order to include the LGBTQ+ community. The judges observed the focus will be lost from the principal goal of preventing sexual harassment of women in the workplace if such amendments to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 are made.

“If a person other than an ‘aggrieved woman’ is subjected to sexual harassment, the answer does not lie by amending the existing regulations,” the judges who heard the petition said. “It would be inappropriate to direct the amendments to be made to the 2013 regulations as otherwise the whole purpose and object of the said regulations would be diluted and denuded of its effect.”

Vibha Datta Makhija, a senior activist, appeared before the bench for the plaintiff and said the regulations should provide gender-neutral protections and include LGBTQ+ people. She also said the regulations are inadequate, given LGBTQ+ people and other groups are constitutionally recognized. The Supreme Court, however, relied upon previous rulings that stated a constitutional court would not issue a “writ of mandamus” to a legislature or to a rule-making body to enact a law on a particular subject.

The Supreme Court mentioned regulation of the 2013 law was made in view of Clause 3 of Article 15 of the Indian constitution. Clause 3 of Article 15 focuses on “women” and “children.” The clause states nothing shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children. Article 15 of the Indian Constitution talks about the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

The Supreme Court in 2014 issued a historic ruling in the case of the National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India, which recognized Transgender people as a third gender. There is, however, no law to protect Trans people from sexual harassment in the workplace. 

A 2015 report notes 44.7 percent of trans people faced 2,811 incidents of violence in India.

The Swasti Health Resource Center in research it conducted in different parts of India found four in 10 Trans people experience some kind of sexual abuse and associated trauma before they turn 18. The National Human Rights Commission of India in another study found roughly 52 percent of Trans people faced harassment by their school classmates and 15 percent of trans people suffered mistreatment at the hands of their teachers.

Current Indian laws do not define a sexual offense committed by anyone, irrespective of severity, that does not fall under “rape,” and may be filed under Section 377 of the country’s penal code that deals with “unnatural sex.”

The World Bank Group in 2014 published a report titled, “The Economic Cost of Homophobia and the Exclusion of LGBTQ People: A Case Study of India.” The report noted homophobia and exclusion of LGBTQ+ people from the workplace causes a 1-1.7 percent loss of GDP. It also indicated 56 percent of LGBTQ+ people reported discrimination in white-collar jobs in the country. 

Forty percent of respondents who participated in the Indian LGBT Workplace Climate Survey 2016 said they suffered harassment and had experienced homophobic comments. The National Human Rights Commission of India reported 92 percent of Trans persons are denied the right to participate in any form of economic activity. They were denied jobs, and 18 percent of respondents suffered physical abuse.

“The statements made by the Supreme Court judges, it is quite clear that just as marriage equality, they are saying they do not want to dilute any existing laws,” said Harish Iyer, a prominent equal rights activist in India. “Judges are not opposed to the idea that sexual harassment of LGBTQ people needs to be prevented.”

Iyer told the Washington Blade that corporations need to step up their processes and practices to include LGBTQ+ people. Iyer said they should have an internal inquiry board to prevent any sexual harassment of LGBTQ+ workers.

“Corporates can set up the same POSH committee for internal investigation on matters relating to men and LGBTQI people,” said Iyer. “This does not impede what corporates can do to protect the lives of LGBTQ workers.”

Shoaib Khan, the first Trans woman from the Indian state of Kashmir to succeed in India’s corporate world, told the Blade the ruling is quite unfortunate.

“It is not about the particular gender. The harassment is not subjected to a particular gender, it is subjected towards a person,” said Khan. “I feel like the Indian Constitution should overthink and overrule this judgment.” 

“Multiple companies are following the code of conduct policies in terms of protecting sexual harassment at the workplace irrespective of gender, but those are all multinational companies,” added Khan. “Indian companies need to consider the fact that we as minorities have suffered a lot, so excluding us from protecting our rights at the workplace is something insane.”

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion.

By Rob Salerno | VANCOUVER, Canada – An anti-LGBTQ+ protestor driving a tractor trailer on a highway in suburban Vancouver, dramatically flipped and rolled his tractor off the highway while engaging in a high speed chase with British Columbia Highway Patrol on Saturday, November 25 that was caught on video.

The tractor driver, who has been identified as Chilliwack resident Bill Shoker, was participating in a “Stop SOGI-123 Road Rally” to from Chilliwack to Vancouver, about 60 miles west, to protest the province’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI-123) curriculum, which is used in public schools to promote inclusion of LGBTQ+ students and families. 

BC Highway Patrol say they attempted a traffic stop, but the tractor struck the police vehicle.

Video of the incident shows the tractor repeatedly coming into contact with a BC Highway Patrol vehicle on Highway 15 in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver, before it flips over while attempting to use the exit to Highway 1. 

The Lower Mainland’s Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, which investigates collisions involving police, is investigating the incident.

When the tractor flipped, Shoker was thrown from the tractor’s sunroof. He was arrested by police and taken to hospital for his injuries.

Shoker’s wife Manjit told Global News that her husband was in awaiting surgery for his injuries and may have a broken backbone. Manjit says Shoker has participated in several anti-SOGI protests. 

Although the SOGI-123 curriculum is several years old, protests against it have increased in frequency and intensity in the past year among an extremist coalition that has grown out of anti-vaccination and anti-lockdown campaigns.  

Protests against sex education curriculums in schools have occurred across Canada regularly over the past few months, although they are usually outnumbered by counter-protesters who support LGBT inclusion.

Earlier this week, anti-SOGI protesters launched a recall campaign against BC Education Minister Rachna Singh. The recall campaign has until January 29 to collect signatures from 40% of the registered voters in her district for the recall election to go ahead. There has never been a successful recall campaign in British Columbia.

“SOGI-123 … [is] on the surface there to keep everyone inclusive and safe. But we believe it’s a Trojan Horse. Its real agenda is to indoctrinate straight children, to put ideas in their mind that they may not be male or female, they might be somewhere in the middle,” recall campaign spokesperson Amrit Birring told CBC News.

Related:

By Robert Downen | HOUSTON, Texas – Prominent anti-LGBTQ+ attorney and former Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill is running for the Texas House and to replace House Speaker Dade Phelan.

Woodfill announced his candidacy for House District 138 this week, touting his legal challenges to COVID-19 mandates and LGBTQ+ legislation, and the four “Republican sweeps” that Harris County Republicans saw during his tenure as the local GOP’s leader from 2002 to 2014.

He’s running against incumbent Republican Rep. Lacey Hull, who was first elected to represent the northwest Houston district in 2020 with backing from Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston. Hull was ranked as one of the most conservative members of the Texas House this year based on an analysis of voting records by Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.

Woodfill’s campaign has already tried to frame Hull as a Republican in Name Only — RINO — by citing D ratings from two conservative activist groups. His campaign also accuses her of conspiring with Phelan — a longtime nemesis of Woodfill and other ultraconservative Texas Republicans — to “undermine” conservative legislation and impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“The entire episode was an example of why ‘RINOs’ in Austin must be voted out of office,” Woodfill’s campaign website states. “Woodfill will be ready on Day 1 to bring decency back to HD 138, and return our conservative grassroots values back to the Texas House of Representatives.”

Woodfill and Hull could not be reached for comment Friday.

Woodfill has for years been at the helm of conservative Christian and anti-LGBTQ+ movements in Houston and Texas. In 2015, he and well-known Houston GOP powerbroker and anti-gay activist Dr. Steven Hotze played key roles in the defeat of an ordinance that would have extended equal rights protections to LGBTQ+ Houstonians, during which they compared gay people to Nazis and helped popularize “groomer” rhetoric.

The two have remained close, leading a pro-Paxton fundraising group during the attorney general’s impeachment this summer and spearheading legal challenges to COVID-19 closure mandates and election results in Harris County. Woodfill is also representing Hotze in a criminal investigation stemming from a 2020 incident in which a private investigator, allegedly acting at Hotze’s behest, held at gunpoint an air-conditioning repairman who he believed was transporting fake ballots.

Woodfill has faced his own legal issues: He has for years been at the center of an ongoing lawsuit in which a man accuses Woodfill’s former law partner and Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler of decades of sexual abuse. In March, The Texas Tribune reported that Woodfill testified under oath that he was alerted in 2004 about child sexual abuse allegations against Pressler, who Woodfill was representing at the time in an assault lawsuit that was settled for $450,000. Despite that, Woodfill continued to work with Pressler, providing him with a string of young, male personal assistants who worked out of Pressler’s home. The lawsuit is set for trial early next year.

In 2018, Woodfill was also investigated for money laundering by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office after being accused of misappropriating funds from two clients of his law firm, though no charges were filed.

Hull cruised to reelection in HD 138 last year, beating her Democratic opponent Stephanie Morales by 15 percentage points — or about 8,000 votes.

Disclosure: Rice University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Robert Downen is a reporter covering democracy and the threats to it, including extremism, disinformation and conspiracies. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, he worked for five years at the Houston Chronicle. As a Hearst Media fellow, he developed what would become “Abuse of Faith,” a landmark investigation into child sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention that prompted a Department of Justice investigation.

Before coming to Texas, Robert was a business reporter in New York’s capital region, and the managing editor of six newspapers in his home state of Illinois. He is a 2014 graduate of Eastern Illinois University.

The preceding article was previously published by The Texas Tribune and is republished by permission.

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