In preparation for the Trump administration, Transgender Law Center has launched an emergency response project, the Trans Immigrant Defense Effort ( TIDE ), that is devoted to expanding legal support and services available to transgender and gender-nonconforming immigrants, a press release noted. TIDE builds on Transgender Law Center's existing immigration programs and campaigns, including leadership in the #Not1More Deportation coalition, by recruiting and training pro bono attorneys to meet urgent legal needs. See https://transgenderlawcenter.org/programs/tide.
As congressional hearings began on Tom Price's nomination to become secretary for Health and Human Services, Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven released a statement. She said, "Senator Tom Price is a dangerous choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services. ... In particular, we are deeply concerned by his vocal opposition to the Affordable Care Act—the most effective piece of legislation in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the history of the epidemic—as well as his harmful opposition to LGBT equality in vote after vote in Congress."
Tiven also was among many who issued press releases in light of President Donald Trump's inauguration. In part, she said, "We won't go back. We won't go back in the closet, won't disappear, won't be silenced. Donald Trump has already nominated a startlingly antigay cabinet, and erasing us from the White House website signals how he truly feels about LGBT people and everyone living with HIV."
A Philadelphia report says that women, minorities and transgender people have felt unwelcome and unsafe in the city's gay neighborhood for decades, NBC News stated. To address the issue, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations recommended that Gayborhood bars and nonprofits undergo training for racial bias and hire more diverse staff. The agency has issued an action plan for the next three months and said organizations that do not cooperate could be punished or face legal action. The issue of racism in the Gayborhood gained renewed interest in September after a video clip surfaced showing a Gayborhood club owner using a racial slur.
Police in Philadelphia have arrested a 25-year-old homeless man accused of punching a transgender woman, LGBTQ Nation reported. Ryannah Quigley, 23, was attending the Creating Change conference in Philadelphia. ( Creating Change was a conference that the National LGBTQ Task Force held. ) She reported the incident to Philadelphia police who have arrested a man who was wearing the same clothes as in a video she took; she also posted the video to Facebook.
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) released a new report previewing battles against anti-LGBTQ state legislation expected in the year ahead, a press release noted. With at least 40 anti-LGBTQ bills in 16 states introduced so far, HRC anticipates that, as in 2016, anti-equality activists will push for legislation giving a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people under the guise of religion; measures specifically targeting transgender people; and proposals to eliminate local LGBTQ non-discrimination protections, among others. The new analysis also highlights opportunities to advance LGBTQ equality in 2017. See http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/assets/resources/2017_Legislative-Document.pdf.
HRC also released a statement after it was discovered that the Trump Administration has removed from the State Department website former Secretary of State John Kerry's apology for the infamous "Lavender Scare" witch hunt in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as other content regarding LGBTQ pride month observances and the State Department's Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons. "With each passing hour, the Trump administration continues to show the extent of their contempt for the enormous progress made over the past eight years," said HRC President Chad Griffin.
In North Dakota, a Republican state senator from Edinburg reposted, then later withdrew, a conservative blog post on her Facebook page that included a graphic featuring a Nazi swastika centered on a gay pride rainbow flag, the West Fargo Pioneer reported. First-year state Sen. Janne Myrdal shared the post by Thomas Schmitz, an editor for Conservatives4Palin.com, on her Facebook page. "Recently I re-posted a story on my personal Facebook wall that had an image attached to the link that I was unaware of; I have since deleted the post. As a daughter of a family that suffered under the said image, I deplore this image and I would never post this image on purpose," Myrdal wrote on Facebook.
An official from President Donald Trump's presidential transition team and two Trump campaign officials joined more than 150 LGBT Republicans from across the country on Jan. 21 for an Inaugural 'T' Party organized by the gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans, The Washington Blade reported. The event was held at the Capitol Hill Club, which is part of the Republican National Committee's headquarters on Capitol Hill. Log Cabin officials said the "T" in the event's name stood for Trump.
In Philadelphia, An arrest was made this week in connection with robberies of transgender women and the murder of a man, Philadelphia Gay News reported. On Jan. 15, Philadelphia Police arrested Matthew White. White, 32, was charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm, robbery and other related offenses. In two separate occurrences, White allegedly responded to a trans woman's personal ad on classifieds-advertising website Backpage.
NYC police said the massage therapist charged with strangling a popular gay-nightclub operator told detectives he was acting in self-defense after his victim got upset for having his advances rebuffed, DNAInfo.com noted. Daquan King, 23, told investigators he was giving Savyon "Big Ben" Zabar, 54, a massage when Zabar made physical advances. King, who insisted he's not gay, said he refused to indulge Zabar, who became enraged and started to choke him. King is being charged with second-degree murder.
A Dallas theater director is struggling to recover after being brutally attacked in a Target parking lot, NewNowNext.com reported. Derek Whitener, artistic and education director of The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch, had stopped by the store on his way home from performing in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Whitener was threatened by a duo, with and one man hitting him on the head with a wooden rod, fracturing his skull. The young performer is currently in ICU and faces a long recovery.
A new report from the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce ( NGLCC ) reveals that LGBT-run businesses generate more profits, and stay in business longer, than their straight-run counterparts, NewNowNext.com noted. "America's LGBT Economy," the first study of its kind, suggests the estimated 1.4 million LGBT business owners add $1.7 trillion to the U.S. economy, a proportionally larger slice of the pie than their numbers would suggest. Additionally, the NGLCC says the average gay-owned company has been in business 12 years, far above the national average. Visit NGLCC.org/report.
Bishop Eddie Long, the controversial leader of one of the nation's largest megachurches, has died at age 63. Long died after battling an aggressive form of cancer, according to a statement by the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. He was a preacher who led an infamous march against same-sex marriage and denounced homosexuality. However, in 2010, he also settled a lawsuit filed by four young men who said he pressured them into sexual relationships; terms of the settlement were never disclosed.
Nike has released a new clothing line with openly gay skateboarder Brian Anderson, according to NewNowNext.com . Anderson, who took the skating community by storm in the late 90s with his daredevil style, came out as gay this past September in an interview with Giovanni Reda for Vice Sports' Reda for the World. The now proudly out 40-year-old is still riding and has sponsorships with Spitfire wheels and Nike, with whom Anderson is collaborating on a new fashion line.
Since 1976, the 34-room Island House Resort in Key West has been known as a gay hot spot for not only tourists, but the Key West gay community at large—and now it's getting political, according to a press release. In an effort to combat post-election anxiety and uncertainly, the Island House collaborated to make a short video ( 1:47 ), renewing its promise to remain a gay sanctuary. The video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wK7Hluf6y0.
National Hockey League ( NHL ) player Brad Marchand believes hockey athletes would have no problem accepting an openly gay player, according to NESN.com . The Boston Bruins left winger received praise from the LGBTQ community recently when he called out a homophobic Twitter user for using a gay slur. "I want to stand up for what I believe in, and I don't think it's right when people say things or bash people because of their sexual orientation," Marchand told ESPN.com's Joe McDonald recently. "I have friends who are in gay relationships, and I don't think it's right for people to be against that."
The co-owner of the popular Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, gay bar Double L was arrested Dec. 30 on drunken driving-related charges following a high-speed chase that began in Ocean City, Maryland, and ended in Delaware near the Maryland border, The Washington Blade noted. Timothy J. Drabic, 54, of Rehoboth Beach, was charged with DUI, disregarding a police officer's signal to stop, and driving a vehicle at unreasonable or imprudent speeds.
Rick Santorum announced that he will join CNN as a political analyst, LGBTQ Nation reported. The notoriously anti-gay former senator and former presidential candidate is considered by some to be one of the LGBT community's most loathed politicians. David Fahrenthold and Wesley Lowery from the Washington Post, J.D. Vance of National Review and Salena Zito from the Washington Examiner will also join the political lineup. Former Philadelphia police commissioner and chief of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, Charles Ramsey, will also come on board as a law enforcement expert.
