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Raúl Castro speaks about LGBTQ rights during Communist Party congress

Former Cuba president stepped down as first secretary

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The eighth congress of Cuba’s Communist Party (Photo from Granma)

Tremenda Nota is the Los Angeles Blade’s media partner in Cuba. This article was published on their website on April 17.

HAVANA — Raúl Castro in his report to the eighth congress of Cuba’s Communist Party (PCC) that began last Friday and will end on April 19 in Havana referred to the rights of LGBTI+ people, gender-based violence and discrimination based on skin color.

“It continues to support the work of the Federation of Cuban Women and other institutions in the defense of women’s rights and the denunciation of gender-based violence. The confrontation with prejudices associated with sexual orientation and gender identity will deepen,” said the Cuban leader.

He also mentioned the process of drafting and discussing the Family Code, the law that must finally resolve whether LGBTI+ couples will have the right to marriage.

“In compliance with the constitutional mandate, the Council of State approved the commission that will come up with the draft of the Family Code for its analysis in Parliament and subsequent discussion with the population, an activity that is already being worked on,” he said.

The Council of State on March 23 appointed a commission that must present the bill within an unspecified period. Activism has demanded the identity of those who make up that commission be made public. This request, thus far, remains unanswered. LGBTI+ activists are currently divided between those who support public debate and the holding of a referendum to adopt the Family Code or not and those who reject the idea that the rights of a group are submitted to the majority.

Raúl Castro also commented on authorities’ response to discrimination against people of African descent.

“The creation of the government program and the commission headed by the president of the republic, (Miguel) Díaz-Canel, to address the issue of racial discrimination will promote a more effective confrontation with these lags of the past and greater coherence in the presentation and conduct of the public debate about them,” he said.

The political leader later declared that the agendas of LGBTI+, anti-racist, feminist and animal rights groups are a goal of U.S. policy with the aim of achieving “the breakdown of national unity.”

“Priority [of the United States government] is given to actions directed at young people, women and academics, the artistic and intellectual sector, journalists, athletes, people of sexual diversity and religions. Matters of interest to specific groups related to the protection of animals, the environment, or artistic and cultural protests are manipulated, all aimed at ignoring existing institutions,” he said.

These are the criticisms authorities have repeatedly made with respect to independent activism that emerges in Cuba: Having U.S. support to build spaces for participation that are parallel to organizations and entities that are subordinate to the State. Various groups, however, including those run by artists, animal rights defenders and the LGBTI+ community, have expressly declared their desire to dialogue with the institutions and have also emphasized their autonomy with respect to U.S. politics.

Raúl Castro drew attention to “the benefits and dangers of using the internet and social networks” saying that “they can be used for the best and also the worst purposes.”

He declared the internet is “a virtual image of Cuba as a dying society with no future, about to collapse and give way to the much longed-for social explosion that is created and disseminated to the four winds.”

Regarding the political opposition, he said that “it lacks a social base, leadership and mobilization capacity, the number of its members and the number of social impact actions continues to decrease, concentrating its activism on social networks and the internet.”

The report did not speak explicitly of the non-state press in its range of agendas, but it did criticize the official media for their “incorrect approaches” to the measure of establishing stores for the sale of basic necessities in U.S. dollars.

Raúl Castro has been a vocal critic of the official media precisely controlled by the PCC. In the report he pointed out “his attachment to the truth and his rejection of lies” to later regret the “demonstrations of triumphalism, stridency and superficiality in the way they approach the reality of the country.”

“Sometimes journalistic works that are presented tend to confuse, instead of clarifying. These approaches damage the credibility of the information and communication policy that has been approved. The immediacy in approaching the national task should not be at odds with objectivity, professionalism and, above all, political intentionality,” he said.

A good part of the report refers to the current economic crisis affecting Cuba and its relationship to U.S. sanctions.

“Sometimes the objective data on the damage that the United States has caused to the Cuban economy and the objective impact of the more than 240 coercive measures adopted since 2017 are not sufficiently understood or evaluated in detail. It should be understood that these are not simple actions to expand the embargo, but rather new methods, some unprecedented, that took the magnitude of the economic war to a qualitatively more aggressive step, which is reflected in the material deficiencies that accompany the daily life of every Cuban, “said Raúl Castro.

He later took the opportunity to express “the will to develop a respectful dialogue and build a new type of relationship with the United States, without pretending that Cuba renounces the principles of the revolution and socialism in order to achieve this.”

After referring to Cuba’s economic situation, its international relations and the state of defense institutions, the 89-year-old political leader announced he was leaving the post of first secretary of the PCC’s Central Committee. He gave his support to the current Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, near the end of the report.

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Israel

Dispatch from Tel Aviv

Monday marks a year since Oct. 7

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An Israeli Pride flag flies next to a banner on a terrace in Tel Aviv, Israel, that calls for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers will be on assignment in Israel through Oct. 9.

TEL AVIV, Israel — It has been quiet in Israel’s largest city since I arrived on Friday afternoon.

An Israeli airstrike in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Sept. 27 killed Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group. Iran on Oct. 1 launched upwards of 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.

Rosh Hashanah ended on Friday. 

Monday will mark a year since Hamas launched its surprise attack against southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. The group, which the U.S. and Israel have designated a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for an Oct. 1 attack at a Tel Aviv light rail station that left seven people dead and more than a dozen others injured.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 people in the enclave since Oct. 7. Reuters on Friday reported the Lebanese Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and elsewhere in the country over the last two weeks have killed more than 2,000 people.

An Israeli airstrike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Thursday killed 18 people in a Palestinian refugee camp. 

The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet, the country’s security agency, said the airstrike killed Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, a senior Hamas commander, and 11 other Hamas operatives. The Associated Press reported the airstrike also killed a family of four, including two young children.

The International Criminal Court in May announced it plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, said the five men have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and Israel. (A suspected Israeli airstrike on July 31 killed Haniyah while he was in the Iranian capital of Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration.)

A banner calling for the release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip hangs from a balcony in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 5, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Here are some things I have seen since I arrived in Tel Aviv.

• Banners that read “Bring Them Home Now!” in reference to the hostages who remain in Gaza are on overpasses and buildings throughout the city. Several people who were jogging along Tel Aviv’s seafront promenade on Saturday morning were wearing “Bring Them Home Now!” t-shirts.

• “FCK HMS” stickers are on streetlights across Tel Aviv.

• I could not access Al Jazeera’s website on Saturday. (The Israeli government in May banned the Qatar-based network from working in the country, and shut down its bureaus in East Jerusalem and Nazareth, a predominantly Arab city in northern Israel. A judge in June extended the ban for 45 days. Israeli soldiers on Sept. 22 raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah, the Palestinian capital, and ordered its closure for 45 days.)

• Two men and a woman who were wearing nightclub wrist bands were sitting on beach chairs at Hilton Beach at around 8 a.m. on Saturday and talking about traveling to the Philippines and Thailand. A helicopter with what appeared to be two missiles attached to it flew south along the city’s seafront while swimmers, kayakers, and paddleboarders were in the water.

• A middle-aged man who was wearing an IDF uniform had a machine gun strapped across his body while he had dinner with his family at a restaurant on Friday night.

“FCK HMS” stickers like this one are a common sight in Tel Aviv, Israel (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Hilton Beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 5, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A lifeguard station at Hilton Beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, honors the hostages that Hamas militants captured on Oct. 7, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The situation in Gaza, in northern Israel, in Lebanon, and on the West Bank is obviously very different than in Tel Aviv.

The events of the last year have been horrific for LGBTQ communities in Israel, in Palestine, and throughout the region. The Los Angeles Blade remains committed to documenting this impact while on the ground in Israel.

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California

Forfeitures against San Jose State over trans athlete on roster spark controversy, backlash

Boise State, University of Wyoming and Utah State joined Southern Utah in forfeiting against San Jose State this season.

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(Bigstock photo)

Blaire Fleming is at the center of a national debate over transgender athletes joining gendered sports at the collegiate level, after her team won fourth match by account of forfeiture.

Fleming made headlines earlier this year as her former roommate and team co-captain, Brooke Slusser, filed a class-action lawsuit against her and the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Slusser took to the Independent Council on Women’s Sports to file the class action lawsuit along with other cisgender athletes.

They claim that allowing Fleming and other transfemme athletes compete in women’s sports is in violation of Title IX, which does not permit trans athletes to compete against biological women, or use women’s restrooms. 

The move to forfeit on account of a trans athlete, sparked controversy and driving the three other universities to forfeit in the recent weeks.

San Jose State responded to the latest forfeiture by stating that outing Fleming would have violated school policy. 

The NCAA stated that it will “continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships.”

The controversy gained more traction as cisgender, far-right, voices joined the conversation. 

Riley Gaines, a former competitive swimmer who came in fifth place in a 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship – tying with trans athlete Lia Thomas – took to X to speak on the issue and openly express her transphobia.

In the post, Gaines repeatedly misgenders Fleming, also adding that it is ‘unfair and dangerous,’ to allow transfemme athletes to compete in women’s sports. 

Gaines is one of many far-right athletes who have either tied or lost a match to a trans athlete, then made it their mission to cast trans athletes out of women’s sports. 

Equality California’s Executive Director released a statement regarding the issue.

“Equality California stands with San Jose State University and appreciates their strong support for their student athletes. All students deserve a safe and inclusive environment where they can thrive without fear or anxiety while being themselves,” said executive director Tony Hoang. 

The San Jose State women’s volleyball team is scheduled to go against San Diego State on Oct 10.

Los Angeles Blade will continue to cover the issue as the story develops.

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National

Lesbian software developer seeks to preserve lost LGBTQ history

HistoryIT helps create digital archives that are genuinely accessible

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‘There's so much history, and we have to transfer it to the digital,’ says Kristen Gwinn-Becker.

Up until the early 2010s, if you searched “Babe Ruth” in the Baseball Hall of Fame, nothing would pop up. To find information on the greatest baseball player of all time, you would have to search “Ruth, George Herman.” 

That is the way online archival systems were set up and there was a clear problem with it. Kristen Gwinn-Becker was uniquely able to solve it. “I’m a super tech geek, history geek,” she says, “I love any opportunity to create this aha moment with people through history.” 

Gwinn-Becker is the founder and CEO of HistoryIT, a company that helps organizations create digital archives that are genuinely accessible. “I believe history is incredibly important, but I also think it’s in danger,” she says. “Less than 2% of our historical materials are digital and even less of that is truly accessible.”

Gwinn-Becker’s love for history is personal. As a lesbian, growing up, she sought out evidence of herself across time. “I was interested in stories, interested in people whose lives mirrored mine to help me understand who I was.” 

“[My identity] influences my love of history and my strong belief in history is important,” she says.

Despite always loving history, Gwinn-Becker found herself living and working in San Francisco during the early dot com boom and bust in the ‘90s. “It was an exciting time,” she recounts, “if you were intellectually curious, you could just jump right in.”

Being there was almost happenstance, Gwinn-Becker explained: “I was 20 years old and wanted to live in San Francisco.” Quickly, she fell in love with “all of the incredible new tools.” She was working with non-profits that encouraged her to take classes and apply the new skills. “I was really into software, web, and database development.” 

But history eventually pulled her back. “Tech was fun, but I didn’t want to be a developer,” she says. Something was missing. When the opportunity to get a Ph.D. in history from George Washington University presented itself, “I got to work on the Eleanor Roosevelt papers, who I was and remain quite passionate about.” 

Gwinn-Becker’s research on Eleanor Roosevelt planted the seeds of digital preservation. “Eleanor Roosevelt doesn’t have a single archive. FDR has lots but the first ladies don’t,” she says. Gwinn-Becker wondered what else was missing from the archive — and what would be missing from the archive if we didn’t start preserving it now.

Those questions eventually led Gwinn-Becker to found HistoryIT in 2011. Since then, the company has created digital archives for organizations ranging from museums and universities to sororities, fraternities, and community organizations.

This process is not easy. “Digital preservation is more than scanning,” says Gwinn-Becker. “Most commercial scanners’ intent is to create a digital copy, not an exact replica.” 

To digitally preserve something, Gwinn-Becker’s team must take a photo with overhead cameras. “There is an international standard,” she says, “you create an archival TIFF.” 

“It’s the biggest possible file we can create now. That’s how you future-proof.”

Despite the common belief that the internet is forever, JPEGs saved to social media or websites are a poor archive. “It’s more expensive for us to do projects in the 2000 to 2016 period than to do 19th-century projects,” explains Gwinn-Becker, since finding adequate files for preservation can be tricky. “The images themselves are deteriorated because they’re compressed so much,” she says.

Her clients are finding that having a strong digital archive is useful outside of the noble goal of protecting history. “It’s a unique trove of content,” says Gwinn-Becker. One client saw a 790% increase in donations after incorporating the digital archive into fundraising efforts. “It’s important to have content quickly and easily,” says Gwinn-Becker, whose team also works with clients on digital strategy for their archive.

One of Gwinn-Becker’s favorite parts of her job is finding what she calls “hidden histories.”

“We [LGBTQ people] are represented everywhere. We’re represented in sports, in religious history, in every kind of movement, not only our movement. I’m passionate about bringing those stories out.” 

Sometimes queer stories are found in unexpected places, says Gwinn-Becker. “We work with sororities and fraternities. There are a hell of a lot of our stories there.”

Part of digital preservation is also making sure that history being created in the moment is not lost to future generations. HistoryIT works with NFL teams, for example. One of their clients is the Panthers, who hired Justine Lindsay, the first transgender cheerleader in the NFL. Gwinn-Becker was excited to be able to preserve information about Lindsay in the digital record. “It’s making history in the process of preserving it,” says Gwinn-Becker.

Preserving queer history, either through “hidden histories” or LGBTQ-specific archives, is vital says Gwinn-Becker. “Think about whose history gets marginalized, whose history gets moved to the sidelines, whose history gets just erased,” she prompts. “In a time of fake news, we need to point to evidence in the past. Queer people have existed since there were humans, but their stories are hidden,” Gwinn-Becker says.

Meanwhile, Gwinn-Becker accidentally finds herself as part of queer history too. Listed as one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 250 Female Founders of 2024, she is surrounded by names like Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez, and Natalie Portman. 

One name stuck out. “Never in my life did I think I’d be on the same list – other than the obvious one – with Billie Jean King. That’s pretty exciting,” she said. 

But she can’t focus on the win for too long. “When I go to sleep at night, I think ‘there’s so much history, and we have to transfer it to the digital,’” she says, “We have a very small period in which to do that in a meaningful way.”

(This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.)

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Israel

Blade returns to Israel to cover Oct. 7 anniversary

Middle East on the brink of a regional war

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Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 4, 2024. (Los Angeles Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

International News Editor Michael K. Lavers will be on assignment in Israel through Oct. 9.

Lavers will be in the country on Oct. 7, a year after Hamas launched its surprise attack against Israel, and will cover how the country’s LGBTQ community has coped with that horrible day and its ongoing aftermath. Lavers will also cover how the war in the Gaza Strip has impacted LGBTQ Palestinians — in both Gaza and the West Bank and among the Palestinian diaspora in the U.S.

Lavers arrived in Israel three days after Iran launched upwards of 200 ballistic missiles at the country.

An Israeli airstrike in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Sept. 27 killed Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group.

Hezbollah since last October has launched rockets into northern Israel. The Israeli military earlier this week began a ground incursion into southern Lebanon. 

“The horrific events of Oct. 7 and their aftermath have impacted LGBTQ people in Israel, in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, and elsewhere throughout the Middle East and around the world,” said Lavers. “It is critically important for the Washington Blade to document the situation on the ground, and to show how the horrific events of the last year have impacted LGBTQ communities throughout the region.”

“We are committed to objective coverage of the situation in the Middle East and to highlighting the plight of LGBTQ Palestinians and Israelis caught up in the war,” said Blade editor Kevin Naff. “The generous support of our readers enables this coverage so please consider making a donation at bladefoundation.org to ensure the Blade’s 55-year record of award-winning journalism continues.”

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Peru

Victory Institute to honor Peruvian congresswoman at D.C. conference

Susel Paredes is first lesbian woman elected to country’s Congress

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Peruvian Congresswoman Susel Paredes. (Photo courtesy of Susel Paredes)

The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute will honor Peruvian Congresswoman Susel Paredes at its annual International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference that will take place in D.C. in December.

Paredes, a long-time activist who in 2021 became the first lesbian woman elected to the South American country’s Congress, will receive the 2024 LGBTQ+ Victory Institute Global Trailblazer Award.

Paredes and her wife, Gracia Aljovín, married in Miami in 2016. The two women sued the Peruvian government after the country’s Constitutional Court denied their request to register their marriage. 

“It is a true honor and a recognition that I deeply value,” said Paredes in a post to her X account after she learned the Victory Institute will honor her in D.C.

Victory Institute Executive Director Elliot Imse described Paredes as “a true champion through her activism and political engagement for decades.”

“Her historic election to the Congress of Peru is just one of many testaments to her status as a true trailblazer who is exceptionally deserving of this honor,” added Imse.

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LGBTQ+ voter education town hall held tonight in Los Angeles

Unique Women’s Coalition, Equality California and FLUX host discussion on upcoming election.

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(stock photo)

The Unique Women’s Coalition, Equality California and FLUX, a national division of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, will host their second annual voter education town hall today at the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center in Los Angeles from 7PM to 9PM tonight. 

The organizations will present and discuss ballot propositions and measures that will appear on the November ballot and that affect the LGBTQ+ community in this part of the town hall series titled ‘The Issues.’  

“The trans and nonbinary community is taking its seat at the table, and we are taking the time and space to be informed and prepare the voter base,” said Queen Victoria Ortega, international president of FLUX.

The town hall will feature conversations through a Q&A followed by a reception for program participants, organizational partners and LGBTQ+ city and county officials. 

There will later be a third town hall before the election and The Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center will also become a voting location for anyone who feels like they need a safe space to vote, regardless of what voting district they are a part of. 

“Our community is really asking for a place to talk about what all of this actually means because although we live in a blue sphere, housing and other forms of discrimination are still a very real threat,” said Scottie Jeanette Madden, director of advocacy at The Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center. 

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District of Columbia

Trans employee awarded $930,000 in lawsuit against D.C. McDonald’s

Jury finds franchise failed to stop harassment, retaliation by staff

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Diana Portillo Medrano, second from right, joins her legal team from the law firm Correia & Puth outside D.C. Superior Court on Aug. 15. From left to right are paralegal Claudia Inglessis, attorney Andrew Adelman, Medrano, and attorney Jonathan Puth. (Photo courtesy of Correia & Puth)

A D.C. Superior Court jury on Aug. 15 ordered a company that owned and operated a McDonald’s restaurant franchise in Northwest Washington to pay $930,000 in damages to a transgender employee who charged in a lawsuit that she was subjected to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation because of her gender identity in violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act.

The lawsuit, which was filed in January 2021 by attorneys representing Diana Portillo Medrano, says Medrano was first hired to work at the McDonald’s at 5948 Georgia Ave., N.W. in 2011 as a customer service representative and was recognized  and promoted for good work until she began to transition as a trans woman two years later.

It says she was fired in 2016 after she filed a discrimination complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights on grounds that she did not have legal authorization to work in the U.S. as an immigrant from El Salvador. One of her attorneys, Jonathan Puth, said the jury agreed with the lawsuit’s allegation that the reason given for the firing was a “pretext” and the real reason was retaliation for her discrimination complaint.

Puth said evidence was presented during the eight-day civil trial that the McDonald’s had knowingly hired other immigrant employees who did not have legal authorization to work and never held that against them.

“Despite a successful five-year career with McDonald’s marked by raises, promotions, and awards and absence of discipline, Plaintiff Diana Medrano’s supervisors and co-workers subjected her to a barrage of taunts, laughter, ridicule, and harassment because she is a transgender woman,” the lawsuit states.

“Managers and supervisors routinely referred to her as male despite her expressed request that they respect her gender identity as female, encouraging co-workers to harass her relentlessly in like fashion,” it says. “When she complained to her managers, they claimed Ithat the harassment was justified because she hadn’t legally changed her name,” the lawsuit’s complaint continues.

“After she formalized and elevated her complaints, Defendants fired her on pretextual grounds. Defendants discriminated against Ms. Medrano because of her gender identity and retaliated against her in violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act,” the lawsuit complaint states.

The lawsuit names as defendants International Golden Foods LLC and MCI Golden Foods LLC, two companies based in Burke, Va. that it says were owned and operated by Luis Gavignano, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The lawsuit says the two companies held the franchise rights to own and operate the McDonald’s where Medrano worked.

The Washington Blade’s attempts to reach a spokesperson for the two companies and for Gavignano as well as two of the attorneys that represented them in contesting the lawsuit through email and phone messages were unsuccessful. 

In a nine-page written answer to the lawsuit filed Feb. 12, 2021, on behalf of International Golden Foods, which is referred to as IGF, attorneys Amy M. Heerink and Kelvin Newsome dispute the allegations that Medrano was targeted for discrimination and harassment because of her gender identity.

The written answer to the complaint highlights the company’s claim that Medrano was fired because she didn’t have legal authority to work in the U.S. It refers to the company’s personnel official, Carla Vega, who informed Medrano that she could no longer work for the McDonald’s outlet.

“IGF admits that Ms. Vega informed Plaintiff that her employment had to be terminated due to Plaintiff’s voluntary and unprompted statement during the investigation that she was not authorized to work in the United States,” the written answer to the lawsuit states. “IGF admits that Plaintiff’s employment was terminated based on her ineligibility to work in the United States,” it says.

“The jury clearly found that IGF continually used unauthorized employees, hired and employed unauthorized workers knowingly,” Puth, Madrano’s attorney, told the Blade. “And they never fired anyone for that reason at any of their stores except for Diana,” Puth said.

“And so, the jury found that the reason given was a pretext for retaliation,” he said. “That was what was motivating them. They were motivated to retaliate against her because she kept complaining about discrimination.”

Puth noted that Medrano initially filed her complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights and was represented at that time by an attorney with Whitman-Walker Health’s legal clinic. He said Whitman-Walker later referred her to his law firm, Correia & Puth, after determining the case could not be resolved at the Office of Human Rights.

The jury’s verdict of $930,000 in damages included $700,000 in punitive damages and $230,000 in damages for the emotional distress Medrano suffered due to the discrimination and harassment to which she was subjected.

A statement released by the law firm representing her says the action by the jury is believed to be the first jury verdict in a transgender employment discrimination case under the D.C. Human Rights Act.

Attorney Puth and his law firm partner, attorney Andrew Adelman, were the attorneys of record representing Medrano in her lawsuit. 

 “When you are sure of what you have experienced, no matter how much time passes, the truth will come to light,” Medrano said in the statement released by her attorneys. “Our truth is our best weapon to achieve justice,” she said. “It is truth, justice, and faith in God that have helped me get here.”

In his law firm’s statement, Puth called the jury’s verdict a vindication of Medrano’s 11-year battle for her legal rights.

“Diana is our hero,” he said. “She stood up for her rights in the face of terrible harassment and kept fighting even after she was fired for doing so. This verdict puts other employers on notice that tolerating harassment of transgender employees is both unlawful and costly.”

Puth said earlier this year Medrano was approved for U.S. political asylum based on discrimination and harassment she faced in El Salvador. He said she is currently working full-time as a counselor for Empoderate, an LGBTQ health organization providing services for the Latina/Latino community that is affiliated with the D.C.-based La Clinica del Pueblo.

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Mexico

Claudia Sheinbaum sworn in as Mexico’s first female president

Former Mexico City mayor pledged to continue supporting LGBTQ rights

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (Screen capture via PBS News Hour YouTube)

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday took office.

Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s former mayor who is a member of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s leftist Morena party, on June 2 defeated Xóchitl Gálvez of the opposition National Action Party and Jorge Álvarez Máynez of the Citizens’ Movement.

Sheinbaum, who is also a scientist, is Mexico’s first female and first Jewish president.

First lady Jill Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman, and U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) are among the American officials who attended Sheinbaum’s inauguration.

“Mexico and the United States are strong partners and close neighbors and we share deep political, economic, and cultural ties,” said President Joe Biden in a statement in which he congratulated Sheinbaum on her inauguration. “The United States is committed to continuing to work with Mexico to deliver the democratic, prosperous, and secure future that the people of our two countries deserve.” 

Sheinbaum before the election released a policy paper that reiterated her support for LGBTQ rights in Mexico. The platform, among other things, reiterated “absolute respect for diverse gender identities” and pledged to create “public policies to (end impunity) and to eradicate hate crimes and violence against LGBTIQ+ communities because of gender and sexual orientation.”

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News

What does Prop 3 mean for same-sex marriage in California?

Proposition 3 would add a constitutional amendment that states all people have a right to marry regardless of sex or race.  

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In practice, Prop 3 would not change who can marry, it would only change the language of the California Constitution that still only acknowledges marriage between a man and a woman. 

Approving the change of language would cement the legacy of progress that has allowed same-sex and interracial couples to marry.

In the Hollingsworth v. Perry Supreme Court case from 2010, United States District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Prop 8 was unconstitutional after a two-week trial. He then issued an order prohibiting the state and local officials named in the lawsuit, from enforcing the proposition – referred to as an injunction. 

Following that move, the proponents of Prop 8 challenged the decision by filing an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court, standing by the notion of its unconstitutionality, though they stated a different reason for their position on the issue. The proponents of Prop 8 then filed a petition to review the Ninth Circuit and the district court’s rulings. 

In 2013, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that the proponents of Prop 8 ‘lacked standing to appeal to the district court’s ruling that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional.’

Instead of deciding whether Prop 8 was constitutional or not, the U.S Supreme Court decided only that the appeal from the district court’s ruling was ‘improper,’ and invalidated the Ninth Circuit’s ruling.

Judge Walker’s district court ruling that states Prop 8 is unconstitutional and the injunction he set, are the only rulings that remain intact from that ordeal. On June 28 2013, same-sex couples were able to resume the right to marry. 

It wasn’t until 2015, that the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 states. 

Proposition 3 would add a constitutional amendment that states all people have a right to marry regardless of sex or race.  

If rejected, there would be no change to the ability for new couples to marry or reversal in the legitimacy of current marriages, but it would put same-sex marriage in possible danger for being challanged by the Supreme Court in future cases similar to Hollingsworth v. Perry

Proposition 3 enshrines same-sex marriage in the Constitution to match what the federal courts have said about who can marry, meaning that same-sex and interracial couples are federally protected and Prop 3 would simply back that up in California. 

If approved, there would be no change in revenues or costs to state and local governments. 

Prop 3 would replace the definitions of marriage set forth by the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, which states that defines marriage as ‘between one man and one woman, or husband and wife, and spouse as only a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.’

DOMA further goes on to say that ‘no state, territory or possession of the United States or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any marriage between persons of the same sex under the laws of any other such jurisdiction or to any right or claim arising from such relationship.’ 

In September, The Public Policy Institute of California found in a poll of 1,605 adults, that 68% of likely voters would vote yes on Prop 3. The poll found that a strong majority of Democrats and independents support the proposition. 

The poll also found that majorities across demographic groups in California support the proposition and that the support increases with higher educational attainment and income, while support decreases among those age 45 and older and remains stronger in those aged 18 to 44. 

Supporters of the proposition include Sierra Pacific Synod of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Dolores Huerta Foundation and Equality California. 

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LGBTQ groups mark National Hispanic Heritage Month

GLAAD screened ‘Dímelo’ at Sept. 20 event in Los Angeles

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(GLAAD screenshot)

Advocacy groups across the country are marking National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles on Sept. 20 hosted a comedy night that featured Danielle Perez, Gabe González, Lorena Russ, and Roz Hernandez. The event, which GLAAD organized, also included a screening of “Dímelo,” a digital series the organization produced with LatiNation that features interviews with Latino comedians. 

A press release notes Damian Terriquez, Mimi Davila, Salina EsTitties, and Tony Rodriguez attended the event. GLAAD in a post on its website on Sept. 25 highlighted Essa Noche and other Latino drag queens.

“The art of drag has always been a vibrant expression of resistance, creativity, and identity, particularly within marginalized communities,” reads the post. “Latine drag artists not only embody the resilience and power of their heritage but also elevate queer voices in spaces where their visibility is often limited.”

EsTitties on Sept. 29 hosted Queerceañera, “an inclusive take on the coming-of-age quinceañera tradition throughout Latin America and the United States” the Los Angeles LGBT Center organized.

Celebrate Orgullo, which describes itself as the “first Hispanic and Indigenous LGBTQ+ festival in Greater Miami and Miami Beach,” will take place from Oct. 4-14. Unity Coalition|Coalición Unida, is organizing the events.

“The festival invites you to experience a warm and welcoming ‘wave’ of pride that celebrates what makes us unique while uniting us in a shared spirit of inclusion,” reads a press release.

GLSEN has posted to its website a list of resources for undocumented students.

“Especially in this political climate, it’s important not only to affirm LGBTQ Latinx identities with positive representation but also to ensure that students know how they’re protected, especially those who are among the most marginalized,” says GLSEN.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15-Oct. 15.

Fenway Health in Boston on its website notes National Hispanic Heritage Month “honors and celebrates the vibrant histories, cultures, languages, traditions, values, and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.”

Hispanic Heritage Week began in 1968. It became National Hispanic Heritage Month in 1988.

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua mark their respective Independence Days on Sept. 15. Mexico’s Independence Day is on Sept. 16, and Chile’s Independence Day is on Sept. 18. Día de la Raza is Oct. 12.

“Here at Fenway Health, we are grateful every day for the many Latino/a/é staff members, clients, patients, volunteers, and supporters that are part of our community,” said Fenway Health. Their contributions and perspectives help drive Fenway’s mission: To advocate for and deliver innovative, equitable, accessible health care, supportive services, and transformative research and education and to center LGBTQIA+ people, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) individuals, and other underserved communities to enable our local, national, and global neighbors to flourish.”

President Joe Biden in his National Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation made a similar point.

“In our country, Latino leaders are striving for the American Dream and helping those around them reach it too,” he said. “From those who have been here for generations to those who have recently arrived, Latinos have pushed our great American experiment forward.”  

The proclamation also acknowledges Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman, and other Latino members of his administration.

“I am proud to work with incredible Latino leaders, who are dedicated to bettering our nation every day,” said Biden.

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