Former county clerk Kim Davis, who refused to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples in Kentucky, must pay more than $260,000 in legal fees and expenses after one couple sued her.
That’s on top of the $100,000 in damages already awarded to David Ermold and David Moore.
The gay couple took the former Rowan County clerk to court in 2015 after she declined to issue them a marriage licence.
Davis’ legal woes began that year when she started denying marriage licences to queer couples – despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage across the US.
Now, Davis must pay an additional $246,026 in attorney fees and $14,058 in expenses.
Michael Garland, part of the legal team representing Ermold and Moore, told USA Today in September that his clients “couldn’t be happier” with the ruling.
Davis’ legal team argued that the fees and costs sought by the couple’s attorneys were excessive, but Bunning disagreed. The judge said Davis must pay the fees and costs because the couple prevailed in their lawsuit, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
It’s likely that attorneys for Davis will appeal against the decision.
Davis drew international media attention when she was briefly jailed in 2015 over her refusal to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. She argued that doing so would violate her religious beliefs as a Christian as well as “God’s definition of marriage”.
When he made the tough choice to flee Uganda, in the wake of the country’s draconian anti-LGBTQ+ law being passed, activist Henry Mukiibi thought: “What have I left behind?”
Mukiibi, the executive director of LGBTQ+ group Uganda’s Children of the Sun Foundation (COSF), has been on the run and living in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, since earlier this year, after receiving information that the authorities at home wanted to arrest him under the new anti-homosexuality legislation.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which was enacted in May and carries the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, has unleashed a torrent of abuse against LGBTQ+ people in the country. Several queer individuals have beenarrested. Others, including Mukiibi, managed to escape as their government enacted one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world.
Mukiibi tells PinkNews that the situation in Uganda is worse than it has ever been.
COSF’s services, which provide healthcare and legal assistance as well as shelter for vulnerable people, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, have been affected by the legislation.
Mukiibi says he witnessed people become “so homophobic” that they “started attacking” COSF committee members, “beating them because of who they are”.
He adds: “What we did was ask the people who are close to them to bring them to the clinic, and we are giving them healthcare services to see that they get treatment.
“Evictions have become too many because the bill had a phrase which said landlords should not give LGBT people shelter or houses to rent. Many people were evicted.
“Those whose landlords knew their identities, they were evicted because the landlords fear they will also be taken to prison.
“We welcomed those people into our shelter, but unfortunately, our shelter’s landlord wrote me an eviction letter since they know I’m a queer person.”
Henry Mukiibi fled Uganda, but life is ‘really hard’ in Kenya as he waits to be resettled in another country. (Henry Mukiibi/COSF Uganda)
Under Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, queer people can face life imprisonment or even the death penalty in cases involving so-called “aggravated homosexuality”, which can include having sex with a minor or vulnerable person, having sex while HIV-positive or engaging in incest.
Someone simply advocating for LGBTQ+ rights could be jailed for 20 years, and individuals renting to LGBTQ+ people face up to a seven-year prison sentence.
Mukiibi says life is really hard in Nairobi as he waits to be resettled in another country. While fearing for his own safety, he still thinks about the LGBTQ+ community trying to survive in Uganda.
“If I’m evacuated, what am I leaving behind?” he asks. “They have this saying: ‘I cannot be a hero twice’.
“I’m also trying to see that we are working remotely so our community members get the services they need. The reason I came up with the idea of the clinic was that sometimes the LGBT community are discriminated against in facilities, and I recently witnessed it.
“People went [to] healthcare providers who are preaching to them to beat homosexuality out of children.”
Even before the Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed this year, LGBTQ+ people faced severe discrimination in Uganda
Uganda was already one of several African nations where it’s illegal to be queer and enacted a previous anti-homosexuality act in 2014. The courts struck it down, although being LGBTQ+ remained illegal because of previous legislation, according to Human Rights Watch.
Anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment has been rife in the East African nation, with president Yoweri Museveni describing queer people as “deviants”, and government officials attacking queer-focused groups.
Many in the Ugandan LGBTQ+ community have sought safety in Kenya, only to find they face discrimination there too.
Dhalie Bulyaba, the director of Safe Place International’s global family initiative, decided to leave Uganda and go to Kenya because they “wanted to find a place that wouldn’t question [them] about the way [they] dress, or ask for an explanation about how [they] identify”.
But they realised that seeking asylum and appealing to authorities “forces outings” of LGBTQ+ people.
“Kenya has one of the largest refugee populations in Africa,” Bulyaba says. “They receive a lot of people from Somalia, Sudan, the [Democratic Republic of the] Congo and other war-torn areas, so when you say you are coming from Uganda, they are confused.
“They will ask: ‘Why are you here? There is no war in Uganda’. You are forced to out yourself and hope for their mercy because Kenya also criminalises homosexuality.
“It’s hard enough to fight for your rights in your own country.”
Kenya has one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, and seeking asylum there ‘forces’ LGBTQ+ refugees to out themselves. (Getty)
LGBTQ+ people are criminalised in Kenya, and same-sex sexual activity between males carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
Bulyaba loves “trying to think through big-picture issues and driving systemic change”, and they are as passionate about reading and cooking as they are about advocacy.
“There is always time in my day to meet for coffee and call out these politicians and the systems they are trying to push,” they add.
They also point out that the persecution of African LGBTQ+ people doesn’t come solely from conservative forces on the continent – UK and US groups are behind some of it.
‘We could have prevented LGBTQ+ people being forced to flee Uganda‘
Various groups in the US and UK have campaigned for years in parts of Africa for hard-line anti-LGBTQ+ measures. (Getty)
Sulah Mawejje, Safe Place International Dream Academy Kenya country director, says the World Bank and other organisations “need to be more proactive and less reactive” because they know the anti-LGBTQ+ movements in Africa are being funded by foreign organisations.
“Why have they waited for something like this anti-gay bill to pass before they impose sanctions and try to stand up to the government?” he asks.
“We could have prevented people being forced to flee and being forced to go through the very difficult process of becoming a refugee.”
Mawejje, a part-time interpreter for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, adds that he’s “much more than a refugee, a person who has faced unspeakable discrimination” while fleeing Uganda.
“There is another side to me, like many refugees, that the media doesn’t get to, I’m the life of the party,” he says. “I love being bold and challenging.”
Max and Sasha are just two of the many LGBTQ+ people who have joined the mass exodus fleeing Russia to avoid violence, discrimination and war.
Now, the queer Russian-Ukrainian couple are left with the scars of living under Vladimir Putin’s repressive regime.
Putin’s obsession with rejecting what he sees as Western “degradation” has led to Russia toughening anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent months. At the same time, the Kremlin has clamped down on free speech, human rights and dissent as the war in Ukraine drags on.
Max and Sasha fled Russia this time last year. They joined the hundreds of thousands of people trying to find safety in other countries bordering the huge nation.
They made it to the the Latvian border, hitching a ride with a stranger.
When the queer couple got to the crossing, guards confronted them, demanding to know why they were leaving Russia.
Unable to reveal their real reasons, they had “full-on panic attacks just trying to hold back tears” as they waited hours to be let them through, the pair tell PinkNews.
“When we got there and we gave our passports, the guard looked at Sasha’s, and he was like: ‘I can’t see the visa, so what are you doing? What are your plans? What are you thinking? What are you doing there?’” Max, who is Ukrainian, recalls.
“We were like: ‘There are some people waiting for us there’. We were trying to say at least something. You’re completely stunned… we were standing there trying not to cry because they took our passports.
“We were like: ‘What next? What are they doing with our passports? They’re not letting us go’.”
A growing number of people, like Max and Sasha, have left Russia via land border crossings into other countries. (Getty)
Several countries – including Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Finland – have put in place measures to restrict the entry of Russian citizens, limiting the chances for people to use them as safe havens.
At one point, the border guards let Sasha, who is Russian, through but said that Max couldn’t join him. However, the couple knew they had to stay together so they regrouped in Russia and used “some other ways to cross the border”.
‘The scariest thing was that people were delusional about Russia’
Eventually, they made it into one of the Baltic states and began the process of applying for asylum. But they encountered difficulties with access to resources because of their differing citizenships, given the ongoing war.
Max feels he has a “lot of privilege as a Ukrainian” because he can travel, and it’s “easier” to find a job. Sadly, he can’t share that same level of support with Sasha because the pair aren’t married yet.
The LGBTQ+ community in Russia has faced a growing crackdown by authorities, which has only increased in ferocity since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Getty)
The queer couple’s asylum application was initially denied because the person reviewing it argued that it’s merely “hard” for gay people in Russia – refusing to recognise the very real abuse LGBTQ+ people face.
“The arguments were: ‘It’s hard for gay people in Russia, but you did go to work. You did finish at school’,” Max explains.
“We were basically going around the streets, pretending we are someone who we are not. No matter how [hard] we try, people always figure everything out.
“We were standing near a subway station and hearing a guy talk to his wife like: ‘Oh my God, you won’t believe it. I’m standing next to the most disgusting f*****s. Come save me. They’re gonna rape me right now’. People don’t understand that it’s not possible to get any proper help.
“At [one] point, we were shot at. There were four guys passing us by in a car. They stopped to ask if we’re f*****s, and we said ‘no’. They said: ‘We saw you guys kiss’. We weren’t kissing.
“When we were talking about this in our [asylum] interview, they were like: ‘Why didn’t you go to the police?’ It’s pointless, you’ll leave the police station feeling worse.”
Sasha and Max, who have since been granted asylum after appealing the first ruling, say that people react with shock when they discover the true level of discrimination and violence LGBTQ+ people face in Russia.
“I think the scariest thing was, when we arrived, that people were delusional about Russia,” Sasha says. “They don’t know anything, what happens there and how it happens, which also affected our case.
“They don’t understand that, if you go to the police, you can be assaulted or even killed there, and no one will know. People have no idea what it is like… I was so scared after all that, that while being [in the country that last year], I wouldn’t go out of my house because I was so scared of people, men specifically.”
Anti-LGBTQ+ ideology has been a central axis of political propaganda in Russia over the past decade
Sasha and Max still feel the impact of the Russia’s oppressive anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which have led to hate and violence on the streets. As they put it: “You left Russia, but Russia never left you.
“It’s been a year, and when we got the asylum status approved, it was a relief, but I did not feel safe,” Sasha says. “It’s still hard for me to get out of the house. I’m still wearing a hat outside when I dye my hair.
“Yes, I understand that I don’t live in danger any more. I’m not in Russia. A rational part of me knows I’m not there, and it’s not as scary as I think it is outside [and] I can express myself with clothing more.”
It’s been a year since Max and Sasha fled anti-LGBTQ+ persecution in Russia, but Sasha says it’s “still hard for [him] to get out of the house”. (Getty)
Anna-Maria Tesfaye, the co-founder of LGBTQ+ not-for-profit organisation Queer Svit, says many LGBTQ+ people think they can “leave this bulls**t behind” when they flee Russia, but they realise they are still “mentally” trapped in the country’s politics of terror.
“You finally have the ability to think because you’re not in Russia any more,” she says.
“You don’t need to do anything, then it hits you. You understand that maybe you’re out of Russia, but you’re in Russia mentally. A lot of people understand that it’s probably post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Max and Sasha say they still “scan every corner [and] every street” for “scary-looking people” and the police because of their Russian experiences.
The pair are feeling a “little more freedom” in their new home, but it’s still difficult to live fully in the moment given the hate they endured.
Laphonza Butler, the woman chosen by governor Gavin Newsom to replace late senator Dianne Feinstein, will make history as the first Black lesbian to serve openly in Congress.
Butler, a Democratic strategist and advisor to vice president Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, will be the only Black female senator to currently serve in Congress and only the third in US history.
She will also be the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent California in the chamber.
Newsom described Butler as a staunch leader who will represent the state “proudly” in Senate and “carry the baton left” by Feinstein in fighting for “all Californians in Washington DC”.
“An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to vice president Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and she’ll represent us proudly in the United States Senate,” Newsom said.
“As we mourn the enormous loss of senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for – reproductive freedom, equal protection and safety from gun violence – have never been under greater assault.
“Laphonza will carry the baton left by senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington DC.”
‘A champion for increasing women’s representation’
Laphonza Butler is the president of EMILY’s List, where she was the first woman of colour and mother to lead the political action committee focused on electing Democratic pro-choice women to office.
Butler is set to complete Feinstein’s term, who died Friday (29 September) at the age of 90 after serving in the US Senate from 1992 until her death.
“Throughout her career, Laphonza Butler has been a strong voice for working families, LGBTQ rights and a champion for increasing women’s representation in politics,” Padilla said.
“Governor Newsom’s swift action ensures that Californians maintain full representation in the Senate as we navigate a narrow Democratic majority. I look forward to working together to deliver for the people of California.”
An attacker has been sentenced to over a year in jail after he punched and threatened a man who he thought was gay with a deactivated AK-47 rifle and bayonet in a homophobic incident.
Marcin Skalimowski, 41, assaulted an unidentified man in an unprovoked attack after the man tried to talk to him at the St James Wine Bar in St Helier, Jersey on the evening of 20 March.
Skalimowski was removed from the bar after the assault, but he returned 10 minutes later to threaten the victim, who he assumed was gay, with the two weapons.
Crown advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, told the court that Skalimowski asked door staff if the victim was “still inside” before he unzipped the bag containing the deactivated AK-47 rifle, the Jersey Evening Post reported.
Fearing for their safety and the lives of customers, the door staff wrestled the man to the ground and alerted police.
While under interview, Skalimowski, who admitted to assault and possessing an offensive weapon, said he had “nothing against” LGBTQ+ people but wanted them to keep “themselves to themselves rather than bothering straight people”.
During sentencing on Friday (18 August), bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq said the incident was “incredibly stupid and reckless” and included a “significant element of homophobia”.
The bailiff sentenced Skalimowski to 12 months for possession of a weapon and three months for the assault, with both sentences to run concurrently. Skalimowski also received a consecutive three-month sentence for breach of a previous community service order.
On 13 August, at 10.15pm, two men, one in his 20s and the other in his 30s, were attacked by a man with a knife outside the Two Brewers bar. The attacker then fled the scene on foot, which resulted in an urgent investigation by authorities.
Both victims were taken to hospital and later discharged.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community have been in shock since the horrific incident, saying they feel like their “second home was attacked”.
A trans woman living in Moscow is scared for her safety as Russia moves to ban gender recognition and trans healthcare.
Mihelina moved to Moscow from Georgia to study performative arts and music. It used to be “one of the most liberal cities and queer friendly,” she tells PinkNews, via translation by Queer Svit co-founder Anna-Maria Tesfaye.
“Now, every day, I hear slurs and threats towards me,” she goes on.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, president Vladimir Putin has clamped down even further on LGBTQ+ people in Russia. Trans people have been considered internal enemies, with fresh efforts to take away their rights to healthcare, legal recognition and participation in society.
“All of this made homophobes and transphobes feel more comfortable and basically made them think they can do anything,” Mihelina says.
“For example, two days ago, we were walking around in one of the central parks in Moscow, and two men came to us and said, ‘You have two minutes to leave this park or else’.
“Then, we went to the [underground], and someone called my friend a ginger c**t for no reason.”
Mihelina, who uses she/him pronouns, has been left “worried and scared s**tless”. She’s particularly concerned for his future given a new bill that seeks to ban trans people from updating their official gender marker, particularly with Russia tightening its conscription for the war effort.
She eventually made contact with Queer Svit, an LGBTQ+ support group which, among other things, is helping trans people to obtain legal recognition while they still can.
Mihelina, a Georgian trans woman living in Moscow, says the situation for LGBTQ+ and trans people is “getting worse and worse” in Russia. (miliyollie)
“Before Queer Svit happened, I thought that the only option I had was suicide… I was very confused, and I didn’t know what I should do” Mihelina says.
“Every day, a new law project or law would be passed. It’s not only concerning queer people, but in general. They were all insane… I felt absolutely hopeless and I didn’t know what to do.
“But then I found that Queer Svit has this initiative where they help people like me with changing their gender marker.
“Honestly, when they said they would help me, it made me cry because I was unable to find money then, and my parents were not very helpful. They didn’t want to help me with this, and I was terrified.”
Russia moves to ban trans healthcare and gender recognition
On 14 June, Russian lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill that would ban gender-affirming healthcare as well as changing one’s gender marker in official documents, such as passports, and public records.
The bill still needs to go through the state duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, before it lands on Putin’s desk, but there’s little doubt that the legislation will pass quickly because about 400 of the 450 members of the Russian parliament, from all political factions, are listed as its authors, according to Russian independent media outlet Mediazona.
Queer Svit has received more than 500 requests from trans people like Mihelina who need help, Tesfaye says. The number has increased at least fivefold lately, because “people are freaking out”.
“Trans people are already marginalised,” Tesfaye says. “If – well not even if, it’s just when – they pass this law, it means these people will be unable to find a job, to get medical help, to have gender-affirming therapy and definitely surgeries. [It will] also increase the level of transphobia.
“This increases the level of any type of crime – hate crime, murders. I don’t think we can even process the levels of problems. It’s horrible.
“I don’t think I can even understand the catastrophe that will happen even though I know it will happen. It’s just impossible to realise how inhumane this law is.”
The anti-trans law is yet another blow to Russia’s beleaguered LGBTQ+ community
Putin, lawmakers and the Russian Orthodox Church have embarked on a decade-long campaign to preserve what they deem the country’s “traditional values.”
This crusade saw tightened restrictions under Putin’s so-called LGBTQ+ propaganda law, preventing queer representation in mass media.
The law, which was first introduced in 2013 under the guise of protecting children, was revised in December to prohibit the dissemination of information on LGBTQ+ and trans identities to people of all ages.
Amid this onslaught of state-run hate, LGBTQ+ activists have fled the country, queer organisations have been persecuted and social media influencers arrested.
The Russian health ministry has been instructed by Putin to establish a psychiatric facility to study the “social behaviour” of LGBTQ+ people, independent news outlet Meduza reported.
Mihelina would ‘love to leave Russia right now’, but the trans woman can’t because of family obligations and her studies. (miliyollie)
Health minister Mikhail Murashko announced the move while answering questions in the duma during the first reading of the bill.
LGBTQ+ groups fear the statements are a sign that Russia is preparing to roll out forcible conversion therapy. The pseudo-scientific practice has been widely condemned by medical organisations, LGBTQ+ advocates and human rights groups worldwide and has been compared to torture by UN experts.
Mihelina doesn’t have “any words to describe this madness”. She would “love to leave this country right now”, but she can’t because of family obligations and her studies.
She says music is what keeps her afloat – she’s “obsessed” with hyperpop, and artists such as Arca and Sophie.
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
LGBTQ+ people in Malaysia are under sustained attack from the government, but the next generation is giving hope, says one non-binary person.
Malaysia’s government is cracking down on the LGBTQ+ community. Queer people have faced arrests and forced conversion therapy in what officials term an attempt to stem the “spread of LGBTQ+ culture in society”.
Growing up in the country, Shaf, the musician also known as moreofthem, grew up experiencing a “lot of internalised homophobia” and gender dysphoria.
“I didn’t really feel masculine, I didn’t really feel all that feminine at the same time and I was kind of bouncing back and forth,” Shaf explains.
“And at the time obviously when you’re in that environment like a very strict religious environment, you don’t know how to navigate it, and you don’t really know who to turn to.”
Before moving to the UK for the first time in 2016, 2017, Shaf kind of knew the “idea of being transgender”, but there wasn’t a “lot on display back home”.
The predominantly Muslim country criminalises consensual same-sex sexual intimacy, with punishments ranging from corporal punishment to imprisonment under Sharia Law and British colonial-era civil laws.
The Malaysian government relies on the force of the law to prohibit expression and conduct that it deems outside of heterosexual, cisgender norms. It is one of 13 countries worldwide that explicitly criminalises the gender expression of trans people.
In 2021, Nur Sajat, trans businesswoman and social media personality, was charged with insulting Islam after she attended a religious event three years earlier wearing clothing traditionally considered female attire. This offence can be punishable by imprisonment in Malaysia.
Sajat fled persecution in Malaysia and was arrested in Thailand before she found refuge in Australia.
Shaf says younger generations of people are ‘getting more open and bit more accepting’ of LGBTQ+ identities despite the government denouncing the queer community. (Ben Ashurst)
At the start of the year, Shaf visited Malaysia to see family and friends.
“There are cases where you have to be careful, and yeah, raids can happen,” they say.
However, they were pleased to see that there is a a growing acceptance of queerness among younger generations.
“I’ve seen a lot of people with trans identities, and I have a few friends that are non-binary in Malaysia, and they’re able to navigate Malaysia quite safely for the most part.”
They add: “But they do lack the resources in the sense there’s not a lot of LGBT-friendly clinics back in Malaysia.
“You kind of have to play it safe, and you have to be a bit hush hush about it, which is a shame. That was kind of my experience.”
When Shaf was home with family they “had to be really, really careful” about expressing their identity.
“But with friends for the most part – there are some bad apples with people my age – but for the most part, a lot of people that I encountered that have been the same age and maybe younger, they seem to be getting more open and bit more accepting.
“So I can see that there is some form of progress in Malaysia. I don’t think we’re anywhere close, but I think we are hopefully getting to a stage of working towards it.”
Being from Malaysia, Shaf wants to use their platform, music and identity to “help champion others and give them a voice”. After all, they know the power of visibility first-hand.
Shaf says their eyes were opened when a “really good friend” began transitioning.
It took them until “maybe 2020, 2021” to become comfortable with their own identity.
“I was kind of going back and forth, and I had many discussions with friends.
“I would say to them, ‘I don’t really feel like a man. I don’t really feel like this either. I don’t know what I’m going to do at this moment.’ But then I had a friend that came out at non-binary, and they gave me this strength to kind of breathe.
“I went to basically all the meetings with him and was there for him when no one else was and that was kind of my way of learning about it all.”
Fox News taking Tucker Carlson off the air means that one of the loudest anti-trans voices in US media falls silent – for now. But his anti-LGBTQ+ legacy will continue to reverberate.
Carlson was Fox News’ top-rated and most-watched host, and he’s been credited with setting the agenda for US conservatives from coast to coast.
Night after night, millions tuned in to watch Carlson rant and paint a dystopian picture of a US where conservatives are under attack from the encroaching ‘woke’ left.
Over the years his eponymous show aired, he raged against the LGBTQ+ community, embraced racist conspiracy theories and pushed an increasingly far-right agenda on his viewers.
His departure from the network came as a shock to many. In a terse statement released Monday (24 April), Fox News said it and Carlson agreed to “part ways” effective immediately. It’s been reported that the decision was made by Fox chair Rupert Murdoch.
It means that Carlson made his final appearance, apparently unknowingly, on Friday, bringing to a quiet close an era of right-wing hate and ‘radicalisation’.
It said he “worked to radicalise the Republican party in the direction of its most dangerous, authoritarian elements”.
“Carlson has been the face of the network since at least the 2020 election, with executives counting on his personal connection to viewers to keep them coming back as former president Donald Trump receded from the national stage,” Media Matters added.
“He used that opportunity to focus the network (and through it, the GOP) on his own particular obsessions, like the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory, anti-trans invective and support for authoritarian regimes in Russia and Hungary.”
Tucker Carlson was at the forefront of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and attacks on trans rights
Among Carlson’s most vehemently pursued talking points was the idea that white, cisgender, heterosexual people are under attack in the US. It’s a common bigoted topic pushed by the right-wing to abuse anyone who deviates from their perceived norm.
Fast forward to 2020, he took to the air to call the Black Lives Matter protests an “insidious” attempt to “challenge Western civilisation itself”. He also called workplace anti-bias training “poison” and reverse racism.
Tucker Carlson has also been at the forefront of the modern attack on gender-affirming healthcare by the right-wing.
Over the years he appeared on Fox News, Carlson hosted a lengthy list of anti-trans guests, who espoused hateful talking points. He’s also devoted hearty chunks of his on-air career to personally attacking the lives of trans people.
In 2021, he hosted a guest who falsely suggested gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth allows people to “basically molest and abuse children”. Carlson agreed before falsely characterising such medical treatment as “genital mutilation”.
He depicted healthcare officials providing gender-affirming care as “criminals” and said Boston Children’s Hospital was “playing the victim” after it received bomb threats over such care.
Tucker Carlson used mass shootings to attack drag queens and trans people
Amid right-wing attacks against drag, Tucker Carlson said on Fox News that kid-friendly drag events were attempts to “indoctrinate and sexualise children”. In another segment, he claimed it’s “not that unfair” to accuse drag queens of “being creepy with kids”.
He also blasted what he described as the “sexualisation” of children by teachers and urged parents to “fight back” against discussions of LGBTQ+ issues in schools.
The host falsely claimed on his Fox News show that the school shooting “happened because of a deranged and demonic ideology that is infesting this country with the encouragement of people like Joe Biden”.
He also labelled trans people as the “natural enemy” of Christianity as he alleged that the “trans movement is targeting Christians”.
Tucker Carlson characterised the trans community as the “natural enemy” of Christianity in the wake of the Nashville school shooting. (Fox News)
What will happen to Tucker Carlson after his Fox News exit?
Once O’Reilly stepped away for good from the mic, his name, reputation and sway in the right-wing crowd faded into obscurity. Carlson may face a similar fate.
It also came just a short while after Fox settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5m. The lawsuit centred on Fox airing false claims that the presidential election was stolen after former president Donald Trump’s 2020 loss.
Filings in the case featured a lengthy list of messages from Carlson disparaging the media group’s news division and management, revealed his feelings about Trump and demonstrated his scepticism of the ‘stolen election’ conspiracy theory.
An enraged conservative threw a bigoted temper tantrum after he saw some LEGO store staff wearing rainbow pins, and now he’s getting roasted online.
The tirade began when John K Amanchukwu Sr, who describes himself as a contributor to far-right organisation Turning Point USA, went into a LEGO store and saw employees wearing kaleidoscopic Pride pins on their uniforms.
He then pulled out his camera, started arguing with them and posted the result on his social media channels.
Amanchukwu asked one worker if the “LEGO group supports” LGBTQ+ people, to which the employee called over another worker before replying, “Yes.”
“But the question is, why are you all in here with those pins on?” Amanchukwu asked. “Do you think children care about what man sucks d**k at home? What girl eats vaginas at home?”
The employees then asked Amanchukwu to leave, but he doubled down and insisted he wanted a response.
“I don’t think they think about that, personally,” the employee responded.
“Right, they think about it when they see your pin,” Amanchukwu said.
The employee insisted kids don’t think about that before telling Amanchukwu to leave again, and Amanchukwu weakly threatened to tell security that the workers were “in here wearing Pride flags”.
Security soon arrived, but Amanchukwu continued to rant about “grooming” before equating wearing LGBTQ+ Pride pins to “borderline pedophilia” and “child abuse”.
The security guard told Amanchukwu to leave the store, and he vowed not to spend any more money on LEGO – truly a terrifying threat to a billion-dollar company that has thrown its support behind the LGBTQ+ community before.
The clip has been widely viewed – and lambasted – on Twitter after it was shared by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Kirk has promoted numerous conspiracy theories and “demonised the transgender community”, as noted by the Anti-Defamation League.
Amanchukwu didn’t win any sympathy points online, and people on Twitter came out in force to slam his video.
Social media users pointed out that the LEGO staffers were literally just doing their job while Amanchukwu – who was ranting about sexual acts and “grooming” – was the one actually being inappropriate in a toy store surrounded by children.
As soon as Team Trans’ hockey players first stepped onto the ice four years ago, they felt something life-changing. They’d found a family for life.
Mason LeFebvre joined Team Trans, an international collective of trans and non-binary hockey players, for its first event in Boston in November 2019. They played off against Boston Pride Hockey, an LGBTQ+ team that’s been around since the early 90s.
It meant to a lot to Mason, who’d been playing hockey since he was 10. Finally, he was “getting to play with other people who had similar experiences”.
“Up to that point in my life, I’d only ever played with, as far as I was aware, cis people,” he tells PinkNews. “It was just about wanting to have that experience, to get to know other trans hockey players, because I hadn’t been able to do that.”
Goalie Mason LeFebvre says he never experienced the “concept of found family” until he joined Team Trans. (Ian DeGraff/Ian Steven Photography)
Team Trans primarily plays internal draft tournaments all over North America, with all-trans teams playing against each other.
It relies on donations to fund travel and hosting events. The National Hockey League (NHL) is a supporter, both financially and vocally, defending the club on social media from bigotry.
Having begun as a collective of a few players, it has over the years involved hundreds of players, who’ve formed tight bonds.
“I hadn’t experienced the concept of found family until I joined Team Trans, and now my found family is a couple hundred people strong,” Mason says. “I’ve invited these players to come stay with me in my house for a weekend at events we’re hosting or just an open ended invitation in general.”
When they’re together, Mason says, it “almost doesn’t matter” that they’re trans – they can simply exist as people. That 2019 event sparked a deep love within him for Team Trans, and he stuck with the club for years, eventually joining its board.
Mason LeFebvre and Danny Maki say they found a network of friends through Team Trans. (Ian DeGraff/Ian Steven Photography)
Danny Maki grew up in a “hockey family”. He started skating at age 2 – his parents tried to put figure skates on him, but he “absolutely hated them” – he wanted to play hockey like his older brothers.
They joined Team Trans through a hockey community in Minnesota after being off the ice for about 10 years.
“It was amazing, especially because when I joined I was already going through a hard time, and I didn’t have any trans friends that I could reach out to,” Danny says. “I was like hockey has always been good for me. I’ll start doing that again.”
Danny ended up becoming the vice president of the Twin Cities chapter. It’s “opened up possibilities for meeting tons of people” and “going places” that he never thought of before.
The locker room is often a serious obstacle for trans people, and Danny says one of his favourite things is being able to be comfortable with others in such a space.
“I drove together with one person to Toronto, and she’s never been able to show in the locker room before,” Maki says.
“She was able to do that without worry, and I was able to do that because nobody’s gonna care what I look like naked. Nobody gives a s**t, and just the general joy of – we didn’t do super well in Toronto – of still having fun.”
Mason LeFebvre says it was “powerful” to connect with the NHL because it made him realise “what an impact” Team Trans has “just by existing”. (Ian DeGraff/Ian Steven Photography)
There’s been some sadly predictable backlash to Team Trans, and Danny was mentioned in a few articles after getting injured on the ice. The headlines ran with the usual anti-trans voices disparaging trans inclusion in sports.
Danny describes these “nasty articles” as “absolute rubbish” that is “putting a target on us”. However, they fuel him to “keep pushing forward and keep representing the possibilities for trans individuals”.
“I imagine a young trans kid who loves hockey, they could see that we as Team Trans exist and will be available to them once they turn 18 (as of our policies right now),” they say.
“This negative media, as cruddy and at times hurtful as it is, will not stop me from playing the sport I love and the sport that has kept me alive more times than I like to admit.”
Mason feels the same – he’s energised too by the support and love coming from within the community and allies.
One of his highlights was received an email from the NHL, which wanted to film a Team Trans event he recalls thinking: “Holy s**t.”
“That was one of the most powerful things because it helped me realise what an impact we can and are having just by existing and showing there are more than just the 16 of us that originally showed up in Boston.”
