Congress
Trump endorses anti-LGBTQ Rep. Jim Jordan for Speaker
As chair of the Judiciary Committee, Jordan has organized hearings to oppose gender affirming healthcare & other anti-trans policies
WASHINGTON – With a Truth Social post early Friday morning, former President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the ultraconservative and anti-LGBTQ chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to lead his partyās majority in the House.
The move comes after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) forced a motion on Tuesday in which he and seven other far-right members joined with the Democrats to remove U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the Speakerās chair, voting 216-210.
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) was tapped to serve in the interim as Speaker pro tempore as House Republicans scramble to coalesce around a new leader. Jordan and GOP House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) declared their bids for the job on Wednesday.
So far, several high-profile GOP members including U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds (Fla.) and Troy Nehls (Texas) have lined up behind Jordan, who was one of the nine founding members and the first chair of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus.
In a post published on X Thursday night, Nehls declared that he had spoken with Trump, disclosed the former presidentās plans to back Jordan, and urged colleagues to ālisten to the leader of our party.ā
Just had a great conversation with President Trump about the Speakerās race.
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) October 6, 2023
He is endorsing Jim Jordan, and I believe Congress should listen to the leader of our party.
I fully support Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Ohio Republican āhas been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C.,ā adding, āHe will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!ā
Jordan has staunchly opposed LGBTQ rights
Jordanās statement announcing his bid for the speakership contains, among other commitments, a pledge to address federal agenciesā supposed practice of ātargeting parents at school board meetings.ā
The congressman has repeatedly argued that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, with a memo he issued in 2021, directed the Justice Department to treat parents who have voiced objections to LGBTQ-inclusive policies and educational materials as domestic terrorists.
Last September, a Trump-appointed federal judge dismissed these same claims when they were brought by a group of parents, ruling that the memo āis not regulatory, proscriptive, or compulsory in nature because it does not impose any regulations, requirements, or enforcement actions on individuals.ā
A spokesperson for Jordan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how he would approach LGBTQ issues if elected speaker or how he would address criticism over his anti-LGBTQ record.
Over the years, LGBTQ groups like GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign have repeatedly noted the congressmanās anti-equality record, including his staunch opposition to same-sex marriage.
As the U.S. Supreme Court was considering Obergefell v. Hodges, Jordan co-sponsored a resolution for a constitutional amendment to limit the federal governmentās recognition of marriages to only opposite-sex unions ā and then came out against the courtās ruling when it was handed down in June of 2015.
Last year, when Congress introduced the Respect for Marriage Act to enshrine protections for same-sex couples in anticipation of a possible reversal by the high courtās conservative supermajority, House Republican leadership opted not to whip votes in either direction.
Jordan tried, nevertheless, to shore up opposition in the conference, 47 members of whom would ultimately vote with the Democrats in favor of passing the bill.
As chair of the Judiciary Committee, Jordan has organized hearings to oppose guideline directed gender affirming healthcare interventions and other anti-trans policies and practices that have been passed by conservative state legislatures.
Congress
Protests against anti-trans bathroom policy lead to more than a dozen arrests
Demonstrations were staged outside House Speaker Mike Johnsonās (R-La.) office
About 15 protestors affiliated with the Gender Liberation Movement were arrested on Thursday for protesting the anti-trans bathroom policy that was introduced by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and enacted last month by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning and social justice advocates Raquel Willis and Renee Bracey Sherman were among those who were arrested in the womenās bathroom and the hallway outside Johnsonās office in the Cannon House Office Building.
Demonstrators held banners reading āFLUSH BATHROOM BIGOTRYā and āCONGRESS: STOP PISSING ON OUR RIGHTS!ā They chanted, āSPEAKER JOHNSON, NANCY MACE, OUR GENDERS ARE NO DEBATE!ā and āWHEN TRANS FOLKS ARE UNDER ATTACK WHAT DO WE DO? ACT UP, FIGHT BACK!ā
Protests began around 12:10 p.m. ET. Within 30 minutes, Capitol Police arrived on the scene, began making arrests, and cleared the area. A spokesperson told Axios the demonstration was an illegal violation of the D.C. code against crowding, obstructing or incommoding.
Mace and her flame-throwing House GOP allies have said the bathroom policy was meant to target Sarah McBride, the Delaware state senator who will become the first transgender member of Congress after she is seated in January.
LGBTQ groups, elected Democrats, and others have denounced the move as a bigoted effort to bully and intimidate a new colleague, with many asking how the policyās proponents would enforce the measure.
Outside her office in the Longworth House Office Building, the Washington Blade requested comment from Mace about the protests and arrests.
āYeah, I went to the Capitol Police station where they were being processed, so Iāll be posting what I said shortly,ā the congresswoman said.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) (Washington Blade photo by Christopher Kane)
Using an anti-trans slur, Mace posted a video to her X account in which she says, āalright, so some tranny protestors showed up at the Capitol today to protest my bathroom bill, but they got arrested ā poor things.ā
āSo I have a message for the protestors who got arrested,ā the congresswoman continued, and then spoke into a megaphone as she read the Miranda warning. āIf you cannot afford an attorney ā I doubt many of you can ā one will be provided to you at the governmentās expense,ā she said.
āEveryone deserves to use the restroom without fear of discrimination or violence. Trans folks are no different. We deserve dignity and respect and we will fight until we get it,ā Gender Liberation Movement co-founder Raquel Willis said in a press release.
āIn the 2024 election, trans folks were left to fend for ourselves after nearly $200 million of attack ads were disseminated across the United States,ā she said. āNow, as Republican politicians, try to remove us from public life, Democratic leaders are silent as hell.ā
Willis continued, āBut we canāt transform bigotry and hate with inaction. We must confront it head on. Democrats must rise up, filibuster, and block this bill.ā
Congress
Baldwin attacked over LGBTQ rights support as race narrows
Wis. Democrat facing off against Republican Eric Hovde
As her race against Republican challenger Eric Hovde tightens, with Cook Political Report projecting a toss-up in November, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) is fielding attacks over her support for LGBTQ rights.
Two recent ads run by the Senate Leadership Fund, a superPAC that works to elect Republicans to the chamber, take aim at her support for gender affirming care and an LGBTQ center in Wisconsin. Baldwin was the first openly LGBTQ candidate elected to the Senate.
The first ad concerns her statement of support for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’s veto of a Republican-led bill to ban medically necessary healthcare interventions for transgender youth in the state.
Treatments require parental consent for patients younger than 18, and genital surgeries are not performed on minors in Wisconsin.
The second ad concerns funding that Baldwin had earmarked for Briarpatch Youth Services, an organization that provides crucial services for at-risk and homeless young people, with some programming for LGBTQ youth.
Baldwin’s victory is seen as key for Democrats to retain control of the Senate, a tall order that would require them to defend a handful of vulnerable incumbents. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, an Independent who usually votes with the Democrats, is retiring after this term and his replacement is expected to be the state’s Republican Gov. Jim Justice.
Congress
164 members of Congress urge Supreme Court to protect trans rights
Justices this fall will hear oral arguments in US v. Skrmetti
A group of 164 members of Congress filed an amicus brief on Tuesday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to defend transgender Americans’ access to medically necessary healthcare as the justices prepare to hear oral arguments this fall in U.S. v. Skrmetti.
Lawmakers who issued the 27-page brief include House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (Calif.), U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), along with the caucus’s eight co-chairs and 25 vice chairs. Ranking members of the powerful House Judiciary and House Ways and Means Committees, U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-N.J.), were also among the signatories.
The case, among the most closely watched this term, will determine whether Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, along with a similar law passed in Kentucky, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
In their brief, the lawmakers urge the Supreme Court to treat with skepticism “legislation banning safe and effective therapies that comport with the standard of care” and to examine the role of “animosity towards transgender people” in states’ gender affirming care bans.
āDecisions about healthcare belong to patients, their doctors, and their families ā not politicians,ā Pocan said. āThe law at issue in this case is motivated by an animus towards the trans community and is part of a cruel, coordinated attack on trans rights by anti-equality extremists. We strongly urge the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionās promise of equal protection under the law and strike down Tennesseeās harmful ban.ā
āFor years, far-right Republicans have been leading constant, relentless, and escalating attacks on transgender Americans. Their age-old, discriminatory playbook now threatens access to lifesaving, gender-affirming care for more than 100,000 transgender and nonbinary children living in states with these bans if the Supreme Court uphold laws like Tennesseeās at the heart of Skrmetti fueled by ignorance and hate,” Markey said.
āTransgender people deserve the same access to healthcare as everyone else,” said Nadler. “There is no constitutionally sound justification to strip from families with transgender children, and their doctors, the decision to seek medical care and give it to politicians sitting in the state capitol. I trust parents, not politicians, to decide what is best for their transgender children.ā
Pallone warned that if Tennessee’s ban, Senate Bill 1, is “allowed to stand, it will establish a dangerous precedent that will open the floodgates to further discrimination against transgender Americans.ā
āUnending attacks from MAGA extremists across the nation are putting trans youth at risk with hateful laws to ban gender-affirming care,” said Merkley author of the Equality Act. “Letās get politicians ā who have no expertise in making decisions for patients ā out of the exam room. The court must reject these divisive policies, and Congress must pass the Equality Act to fully realize a more equal and just union for all.ā
Also filing an amicus brief on Tuesday was the Gender Research Advisory Council + Education (GRACE), a trans-led nonprofit that wrote, in a press release, “Skrmetti is critically important to the trans community because approximately 40 percent of trans youth live in the 25 states that have enacted such bans.”
The group argued laws like Tennessee’s SB 1 are cruel, discriminatory, and contradict “the position of every major medical association that such treatments are safe, effective and medically necessary for adolescents suffering from gender dysphoria.”
GRACE’s brief includes 28 families “who hope to share with the court that they are responsible, committed parents from a variety of backgrounds who have successfully navigated their adolescentās transition.”
āThese parents sought medical expertise for their children with diligence regarding the best care available and input from experienced physicians and mental health professionals and they have seen firsthand the profound benefits of providing medically appropriate care to their transgender children,” said GRACE board member and brief co-author Sean Madden.
“Left unchecked, this may start with the transgender community, but it certainly won’t end there,” added GRACE President Alaina Kupec. “Next it could be treatments for HIV or cancer.ā
Congress
Garcia addresses LGBTQ priorities of a Harris administration
Congressman highlights Equality Act, combatting book bans
CHICAGO ā U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) addressed LGBTQ-focused legislative priorities Democrats are likely to push for in a Harris-Walz administration during a Democratic National Convention and Harris for President press briefing on Tuesday.
Responding to a question from the Washington Blade, the congressman, who’s gay, referenced Vice President Kamala Harris’s record of fighting for rights and protections for the community throughout her career in public service. He said that by contrast, Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is “attacking LGBTQ+ people every single day.”
“So I think you can see not just the Equality Act, which we support, but also ensuring we’re not banning books and that we’re not doing horrible things to attack the community,” Garcia said.
“Remember that the Biden-Harris administration has been the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in history” and the vice president is “a big part of that,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had any presidential candidate who understands the LGBTQ+ community or has advocated for that community as much as Vice President Harris.”
“LGBTQ equality, actually, she has said herself, is a top legislative priority; she’s spoken to it many times,” the congressman said, “but I also believe that her administration will be reflective of the diversity of this country, including within the LGBTQ+ community.”
“When she was D.A. in the Bay Area, she was one of the first people in the country to marry same-sex couples and started that whole revolution across the country,” Garcia added.
Trump, on the other hand, “has been incredibly homophobic and has been incredibly, I think, shameful in his attacks on the community,” Garcia said.
Congress
EXCLUSIVE: Gottheimer, Craig introduce bill to address LGBTQ elder abuse
Legislation will be introduced this week
U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) will introduce a bill this week addressing the “rising elder abuse of LGBTQI+ individuals,” according legislation the Washington Blade previewed.
The Elder Pride Protection Act of 2024 would establish a task force through the Justice Department, with staff selected by the attorney general from the Elder Justice Initiative and the Division of Civil Rights.
They would be tasked with studying “the increased incidence of elder abuse” targeting LGBTQ individuals, developing best practices for a national approach and for state and local authorities to address these crimes, creating and distributing educational materials to raise awareness, and coordinating “the response of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.”
The legislation establishes that the task force would be responsible for issuance of a progress report on its work to the U.S. House and U.S. Senate Judiciary Committees.
Importantly, elder abuse as defined under the bill ranges from the use of physical force to cause harm to forced or unwanted sexual interaction, emotional or psychological abuse, the failure to meet basic needs, and financial crimes.
āIām incredibly excited to introduce my new legislation, the Elder Pride Protection Act, that Iām leading with Congresswoman Angie Craig of Minnesota,” Gottheimer said. “No one should ever be mistreated on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, especially our vulnerable elderly populations.”
The congressman added, “This legislation is a critical step in coordinating our response to this runaway abuse at the federal level.ā
āLGBTQ+ seniors paved the way for so many of the rights we have today, and theyāre a vital part of our communities in Minnesota,ā said Craig, who is the first lesbian mother elected to Congress and serves as a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus.
āIām working to pass the Elder Pride Protection Act to help empower LGBTQ+ seniors and combat any abuse they might face,” she said.
Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s largest LGBTQ rights group noted that “for too long, elder abuse of our older LGBTQ adults has gone un- or under- reported,” adding that, “The establishment of this task force will help bridge the gap experienced by our LGBTQ elders.”
“The work of this task force, particularly the creation of uniform procedures and communication between state and federal agencies, will be formative in combating the abuse and neglect of LGBTQ elders and is critical in creating true lived equality for all Americans,” Garden State Equality said.
“SAGE is proud to support the Elder Pride Protection Act of 2024,” said Aaron Tax, managing director of government affairs and policy advocacy for SAGE, a national advocacy and services organization for LGBTQ elders.
“LGBTQ+ elders deserve to age without fear of elder abuse,” Tax said. “We applaud Rep. Gottheimer for championing the establishment of this important task force, which we hope will improve the lives of LGBTQ+ older people.”
David Stacy, vice president for government affairs for the Human Rights Campaign, said, “By establishing the ELDER Task Force, this country has the chance to affirm its commitment to addressing and preventing the abuse that this community faces all too often.”
“Congress should pass this bill and send a message that they are dedicated to ensuring every elder can live free from fear and harm,” Stacy said.
Congress
Garcia and Lee push for insurers to provide doxy PEP for free
Lawmakers note spike in bacterial infections among LGBTQ populations
Democratic U.S. Reps. Robert Garcia and Barbara Lee of California sent a letter on Thursday urging the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to compel health insurers to provide free access to doxy PEP, a drug regimen for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections.
The USPSTF is an independent panel of experts in primary care and preventative medicine organized under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services whose primary responsibility is to evaluate the evidence on the safety and efficacy of medical screenings, counseling, and preventative medications.
The lawmakers’ letter explains that in 2019, the USPSTF issued an “A-grade” recommendation for prescribing preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) ā a different preventative regimen targeting HIV infections ā to “those at increased risk of HIV acquisition.”
As required under the Affordable Care Act, the rating meant health plans were required to offer the drug with no cost-sharing, which “has been enormously beneficial to hundreds of thousands of Americans āparticularly members of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The letter points to disproportionately high rates of bacterial STIs (“chlamydia, gonorrhea, and especially syphilis”) among LGBTQ populations as well as recommendations published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instructing providers to counsel certain patients about PEP, with the agency writing that the drug intervention requires “a focused effort for equitable implementation.”
For these reasons, Garcia and Lee said, “we respectfully ask for your full and fair consideration of a USPSTF recommendation for doxy PEP to the populations outlined in the guidelines with an ‘A’ rating,” with those populations being “gay and bisexual men, other men who have sex with men, and transgender women, and who have a history of bacterial STIs in the past 12 months.”
“Surging STIs are disproportionately impacting LGBTQ+ individuals,” Garcia, a gay co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said in a press release from his congressional office. “We must ensure that these folks have access to doxy PEP, a critical medication that can save lives and prevent these kinds of infections.”
He added, “By making doxy PEP coverage free by insurers, we can prevent infections and stop the spread of disease for those most vulnerable.”
Lee, a vice chair of the caucus, has a decades-long record of pro-LGBTQ advocacy, particularly in the healthcare space and on issues of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and around the world.
āWidespread use and education about doxy PEP could prevent thousands of bacterial STI cases every year,” she said in the press release. “However, in order to get this treatment to those who need it most, it’s imperative that doxy PEP is covered by insurance plans with no cost to patients.”
“By ensuring doxy PEP is available with grade A rating by the USPSTF, we’re taking a critical step toward promoting health equity and advancing our mission of using informed, evidence-based interventions to support those most in need,” said David Stacy, vice president of government Affairs for the Human Rights Campaign.
David C. Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, said “providing healthcare providers with the guidance and encouragement they need to implement doxy PEP in accordance with the new CDC guidelines will be crucial in helping us use doxy PEP to address our out-of-control STI epidemic.”
Congress
Latino LGBTQ activists lobby Congress for federal protections
Hispanic Federation hosted July 2 event at Capitol
BY JOE REPERKENNY | On July 9, after most members of Congress had left the Capitol, a small group began setting up a celebration. The halls were nearly silent, aside from the occasional tap of heels on the marble floor, as people slowly streamed into Emancipation Hall and down a corridor. Closer to Senate Meeting Room 212, the intertwining murmur of voices in Spanish and English began to grow.
Then one man stepped to the front of the room and a hush overcame the crowd.
āToday was a great opportunity to meet different members in the House and the Senate,ā Frankie Miranda said. āIt was an eye-opening experience in many different opportunities, seeing how our message was being welcomed. And in other cases, really not resonating at all, with some of them.ā
Miranda, who is the president of the Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit membership and advocacy organization with a mission to āempower and advance the Hispanic communityā with a particular focus to low-income, marginalized, and immigrant Latinos, assured that the advocacy for expanding protections for LGBTQ people would not end on Capitol Hill.
āWe are going to continue our push to make sure that the intersectionality in our communities ā that our LGBTQ Latinx and that female voices are heard,ā Miranda continued, conviction clear in his voice. āWe’re going to continue pushing because we know that after pride, the work continues. We cannot just allow ourselves to just be recognized just one month out of the year.ā
Miranda, who became the Hispanic Federationās first gay president in 2019, has vowed to use his platform to help uplift Latino LGBTQ voices. The organization is doing so by giving money to organizations that help with grants and training that focus on LGBTQ Latinosā experiences ā especially those dealing with immigration, race, culture, and language access.
āIn 2022, the Federation decided to invest a million dollars in funding to support Latinx LGBTQ organizations,ā Miranda said. āThose grantees around this room are part of this incredible initiative that has done incredible work.ā
According to the groupās website, 27 organizations have received up to $50,000 each to help serve the Latino LGBTQ community. In addition to providing funds, the Hispanic Federation also created meetings for these organizations to discuss their needs for the continued support of their communities.
Discussions with Latino LGBTQ organizations have informed the Hispanic Federation about overlooked issues within these communities, eventually leading to the creation of the Advance Change Together (ACT) initiative. The ACT initiative includes grantees who are LGBTQ and Latino from various parts of the country, representing diverse segments of the LGBTQ community.
The ACT initiative is then able to promote specific pro-LGBTQ federal legislation through lobbying.
āWe came together as grassroots orgs to really talk about the current political climate, especially against LGBT rhetoric,ā said grantee Kevin Al Perez, president of Somos Familia Valle. āSpecifically, the rise of trans bills with youth, lots of anti-trans legislation that is thrown against the LGBT community. It also brings together the intersections of the Latine experience when it comes to immigration, when it comes to status, when it comes to all the intersections that all of our organizations meet.ā
Somos Familia Valle is the leading local Latino LGBTQ organization in the San Fernando Valley that āsupports, empowers, and mobilizes families, and allies for racial, gender, and economic justiceā through community dialogue, advocacy, and civic engagement.
Perez was able to take his successful dialogue techniques to the federal level, highlighting common challenges that California’s Latino LGBTQ community has endured.
āI was able to meet with Sen. Alex Padilla, which was very amazing,ā Perez explained after his day lobbying on the Hill. āWe had our drag story hour protested, we had our local elementary school protested for having a rainbow assembly for children, which is just a book celebrating diverse families ā¦ I was able to really let him know that this even happens in his own community in Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley.ā
He continued, explaining that the significant work done on the Hill is the first of its kind and will hopefully lead to change.
āI think this is us coming together very historical in a way ā that there hasn’t been specifically a Latine LGBT representation, especially here in the Capitol, especially a group, right?ā Perez said. āWe see a lot of LGBT movement work being led by white boards and I think our perspective really gives an opportunity for our communities to be heard.ā
The specific legislation the ACT grantees were promoting includes the Equality Act that would establish uniform and explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, The Healthy Families Act which that would provide a guaranteed minimum of seven paid sick days per year to care for their families or themselves, and the PrEP Access and Coverage Act that would require all private and public insurance plans to cover the HIV prevention pill and related services.
XelestiĆ l Moreno-Luz, a transgender activist and CEO of Saturnās Wish, an arts and culture organization dedicated to āadvancing the artistic and cultural efforts of TGI (trans, gender-diverse, and intersex) BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) works,ā is another of the grantees lobbying on behalf of the ACT initiative.
For Moreno-Luz, the Equality Act would give many in her community ā specifically trans Latinos, the ability to be protected federally
āOne of the biggest things for me is how are our policymakers, the people in office, making sure that TGI (trans, gender-diverse, and intersex) people have employment opportunities,ā Moreno-Luz said when asked why she was on Capitol Hill. āEven if they have an employment opportunity, Is this employment safe? Is this employment an affirming environment for TGI populations? And so that’s kind of like what I was addressing today.ā
For her, this lobbying is more than just passing an act through the House and Senate. It’s about being able to live safely in her own skin.
āA good colleague of mine mentioned today during one of our delegations that this year 17 trans people have been murdered in the United States,ā Moreno-Luz said. āAnd those are just reported murders, with half of them being Latin.ā
According to the Human Rights Campaign, which tracks instances of reported fatal trans violence, has said that in 2023 at least 32 trans and gender-expansive people had been killed through violent means. Moreno-Luz explained that if Congress passes the Equality Act, more trans people would be safe.
āWe’re all humans: That’s the message I always try to tell people,ā Hector Ruiz, president of the South Texas Equality Project (STEP), said while talking with other grantees. āWe love the same, we breathe the same, we eat the same, whatever it may be. Ultimately we’re just people trying to fight for our rights that haven’t been given to us in the past ā as a group that I feel has been underrepresented and undervalued.ā
STEP works towards creating a more affirming community for LGBTQ people in Texasās Rio Grande Valley through educational forums, support groups, fundraisers, meetups, and other events that include RGV+ Pride.
āWe’re just here to let people [members of Congress] know that weāre humans just like everyone else,ā Ruiz added.
Grantee Dagoberto BailĆ³n, co-founder of Trans Queer Pueblo in Phoenix, emphasizes the importance of bridging the gap between members of Congress and those affected by the proposed legislation. He explains that such discussions are crucial for creating meaningful and impactful laws, which can help local organizations better protect LGBTQ Latinos.
āI think it’s important to build connections to really figure out how we can collectively change the way that the U.S. is talking about issues for LGBT people and Latinx people in general,ā BailĆ³n said. āAlso to go back to our states to see what strategies are working in other states so that we can implement them and sort of build a coalition that can push different pressure points, so that we can achieve the same goal.ā
BailĆ³n is not alone in aiming to change attitudes towards LGBTQ people in the U.S. and increase protective measures.
Debo Ofsowitz, the development director for Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka, Fla., also highlighted the importance of getting federal protections for LGBTQ Latinos.
āYoung LGBTQ people are growing up in a country where they feel like their own government is attacking them,ā they said. āThese are young people who know their identity from the day that they were born, just like the rest of us knew our identity from the day that we were born. They feel like they can’t be who they are. They feel like not only are their parents against them, not only their teachers, not only their church, but also their government. We’re trying to change that.ā
And change that they will try.
All three protective bills ā the Equality Act, Healthy Families Act, and PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2023 ā have all been formally introduced to Congress and have been passed along to committees regarding their issues, but nothing has passed yet.
Visit the Hispanic Federationās website for more information.
Congress
Netanyahu mocks gay pro-Palestinian protesters
Israeli prime minister spoke to joint session of Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday mocked gay pro-Palestinian protesters in a speech that he delivered to a joint session of Congress.
“Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza,'” said Netanyahu. “They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC.'”
Netanyahu spoke to Congress less than a year after Hamas, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization, launched from the Gaza Strip a surprise attack against communities in southern Israel.
The Israeli government says Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, including at least 260 partygoers and others at the Nova Music Festival. Dozens of people who were taken hostage on Oct. 7 remain alive in Gaza.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 38,000 people have died in the enclave since the war began.
The International Criminal Court on May 20 announced it plans to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders ā Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. Karim Khan, the ICCās chief prosecutor, said the five men have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and Israel.
Outright International and the National LGBTQ Task Force are among the groups that have publicly called for a ceasefire. ACT UP, the Audre Lorde Project, and No Pride in Genocide have organized protests against the war since Oct. 7.
Gay U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.), lesbian U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are among the lawmakers who refused to attend Netanyahu’s speech.Ā
Thousands of people have protested Netanyahu since he arrived in D.C. on Monday.
The Associated Press reported police on Wednesday used pepper spray to disperse protesters near the Capitol after they became “violent” and “failed to obey” orders to move away from a police line. Protesters, according to the AP, also vandalized a Christopher Columbus moment in front of Union Station and set a Netanyahu effigy on fire.
Netanyahu in his speech said Iran is “funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America.”
“When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Tehran’s useful idiots,” he said.
Congress
Garcia discusses why heās standing behind Biden
HRC: āWe are proud to stand by our endorsementā of the president
After congressional Democrats emerged from closed-door meetings on Tuesday, House and Senate leaders reassured the media of their continued support for President Joe Biden in his bid for reelection.
As lawmakers returned from the July 4 break this week, a handful of Democrats publicly urged the president to step aside, following a debate performance last month that worsened concerns regarding the candidate’s age, signs of a potential decline in his mental acuity, and questions over his ability to bring the vigor necessary to lead the ticket.
However, speaking with the Washington Blade on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) shared his thoughts on why “it is time to move forward” from Biden’s debate performance and “focus on attacking Donald Trump and the dangers that he poses.”
The congressman was clear that colleagues who have a different opinion should feel free to express their concerns ā and, to that end, he said leadership has “been incredible in hearing members who have sought out input” from them.
“The president had a rough debate, and I think he recognizes that, and I think we all recognize that it was not a great moment,” he said. “I respect the people that have had those concerns and the conversation that’s happened since, so, I get that.”
“Personally, I’ve known from day one that Joe Biden is going to be our nominee,” Garcia said. “He reinforced that with everyone, and it is time to move forward. I’ve been behind the president and the vice president. I continue to be.”
Every day the Democratic Party continues having these conversations internally, “we’re not out there defeating Donald Trump,” the congressman added. “I think for some folks it’s going to take some time for them to feel comfortable, and that’s OK [but] I’m ready to go. I’m fired up and ready to go.”
Garcia, who’s gay, serves as a vice-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, alongside some LGBTQ Democratic members who agree with his position, like Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), and others who do not, like Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.), who have called for Biden to step aside.
When it comes to LGBTQ voters, “from our perspective, I think we’ve just got to understand that we have the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in the history of politics in front of us, and we have Donald Trump on the other side,” Garcia said. “Those are our choices.”
“You don’t have to love every choice you make, but we have to understand the stakes, and we have to understand that there is a binary choice,” he said. “Every person that’s not voting, or not voting for Joe Biden, is certainly empowering Donald Trump. That’s the reality of the moment we’re in.”
Asked how the Biden-Harris campaign can outrun the speculation about the president’s age and the calls from some Democrats for him to step aside, Garcia said “the president has to continue what he’s been doing for the last couple of days. And I think what you’ve seen in the last few days is a fighting Joe Biden.”
“Joe Biden is proving that if he’s going to get punched in the nose, he’s going to punch back twice as hard,” the congressman said. “And I think that is where the campaign is headed, and what needs to continue to happen.”
Weathering the moment in which “the president did have this really bad debate night,” Garcia said, has “also invigorated the campaign and him” with Biden and his team realizing “this is serious, we have a real challenge, here. And let’s get this done.”
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest LGBTQ rights organization and a group that has made major investments in Biden’s reelection effort, also reaffirmed her support for the president in a statement to the Blade on Tuesday.
“Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda pose an existential threat to our rights, freedom, and democracy itself,” she said. “Our job remains the same: defeat him. Biden-Harris is the ticket to do it and we are proud to stand by our endorsement.ā
Asked for comment, a GLAAD spokesperson said “as a [501]C3 nonprofit org, we focus on voter and reporter info and resources, to inform about elevate facts on the candidatesā records and statements about LGBTQ people.”
The spokesperson referred the Blade to a statement by the group’s president, Sarah Kate Ellis, which was issued shortly after Biden’s televised debate against Trump.
āMedia must do their job to ask questions of candidates about their records and plans for and against LGBTQ people. Our community is enduring an onslaught of attacks on our lives and fundamental freedoms. Everything from our marriages to our ability to have children to keeping schools safe for LGBTQ youth is on the ballot.
“The candidatesā records are very clear, and voters need to be informed about this history to make the best decisions. Reporters and moderators must challenge candidate rhetoric for facts about abortion, immigration, inflation, and the security of each personās vote.
“CNN failed to find time in 90 minutes to ask about Project 2025, the fascist fever dream that is laying a path for anti-LGBTQ zealots to weaponize the government to fully eliminate abortion access and LGBTQ people from equal access in American life.
“Accurate information is essential for voters to choose a leader who values the truth, decency, and who will work to ensure freedom and equality for all Americans.ā
The GLAAD accountability project includes detailed entries for Trump and Biden, detailing the candidates’ records on and rhetoric concerning LGBTQ matters.
Congress
House Republicans propose steep cuts in federal AIDS budget
Advocacy groups say move would eliminate āEnding HIV Epidemicā initiative
The Republican-controlled U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved a spending bill on June 26 that calls for cutting at least $419 million from federal AIDS programs that AIDS activists say would have a devastating impact on efforts to greatly reduce the number of new HIV infections by 2030.
The subcommitteeās proposed bill, which includes billions of dollars in cuts in a wide range of other federal health, education, and human services related programs, is scheduled to be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee on July 10. Officials with AIDS advocacy groups say they are hopeful that the full committee, like last year, will refuse to approve the proposed cuts in the AIDS budget.
The proposed GOP cuts would eliminate $214 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionās HIV prevention programs, $190 million from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, and $15 million from the Department of Health and Human Services Secretaryās Minority HIV/AIDS Program.
Activists say the impact of those cuts would kill the federal governmentās Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which among other things, calls for reducing the number of new HIV infections in the U.S. by 75 percent by 2025 and by 90 percent by 2030. The activists point out that ironically the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative was launched during the administration of President Donald Trump.
āInstead of providing new investments in ending HIV by increasing funding for testing, prevention programs, such as PrEP, and life-saving care and treatment, House Republicans are again choosing to go through a worthless exercise of cutting programs that the American people depend on and will never pass,ā said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute.
āWhile we vigorously fight these cuts, we look forward to working with the entire Congress in a bipartisan fashion on spending bills that can actually become law,ā Schmid said in a statement.
Schmid noted that the bill also includes provisions known as āpolicy ridersā that would take away rights and protections from women, such as access to birth control and abortion, and for minorities, including LGBTQ people.
According to a statement released by the office of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who is the ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Committee, one of the policy riders would āblock the Biden administrationās policies to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.āĀ The statement says another policy rider would āprevent policies or programs intended to promote diversity, equality, or inclusion.ā
Most political observers believe the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate would also kill the GOP proposed policy riders and cuts in the AIDS budget if the full Republican-controlled House were to approve the budget bill passed by the appropriations subcommittee.
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who serves as chair of the full House Appropriations Committee, released a statement on June 27 defending theĀ subcommitteeās bill and its proposed spending cuts. āThe bill provides appropriate and fiscally responsible funding to ensure these departments can continue to perform their core missions while also acknowledging the fiscal realities facing our nation,ā he said.
āImportantly, the bill pushes back on the Biden administrationās out-of-touch progressive policy agenda, preventing this White House from finalizing or implementing controversial rules or executive orders,ā Cole said in his statement. āIt also preserves long standing bipartisan policy provisions protecting the right to life.ā
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