Meraxes Medina, a 24-year-old transgender Latina, was shot to death March 21 in Los Angeles.
Police responded to a call about 4:30 a.m. that day and found her on the street on the city’s south side, having been shot in the head, the Los Angeles Timesreports. She had been dumped from a car. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The Times story did not state Medina’s name, but her identity was confirmed by friends on a GoFundMe page. Another woman, apparently cisgender, was fatally shot in the same neighborhood two days earlier. The area is known for sex work, and police have said the women had been engaged in sexual encounters that led to violence. The deaths remain under investigation.
Medina, who turned 24 in February and recently begun hormone therapy, had worked as a makeup artist at Universal Studios. She was undocumented and had experienced homelessness. But friends were predicting great things for her.
“She left an impression on everybody,” her longtime friend Alejandro Fernandez told officials at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “She was someone you weren’t going to forget. She had this aura about her, and everywhere we went, people would turn around. She had so much potential. I was waiting for her to be an influencer and blow up. I would tell her, ‘Girl, I’m waiting for your moment because you’re already the bomb.’”
Another friend, Alisha Veneno, told the center, “We were just trying to make it in life. We didn’t know what we wanted to do or where we wanted to go, but we wanted to go somewhere.” Veneno said she knew something was wrong when she didn’t see any recent activity from Medina on Instagram, where she normally posted several times a day, displaying her skills with makeup.
“Meraxes was a young woman who deserved to live out a long and fulfilling life,” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for the Human Rights Campaign’s Transgender Justice Initiative,” said in a press release. “At just 24 years old, she had so much more to give. Yet again, we find ourselves honoring the life and mourning the loss of someone from our transgender community killed by gun violence, and that alarming reality should emphasize our collective need to fight against lax gun laws. We need to come together and remind everyone, especially lawmakers and politicians, that our lives are worth saving and worth living.”
“Violence against transgender and gender-expansive people is a gun violence issue,” the groups Everytown for Gun Safety and Students Demand Action posted on Instagram. “In 2023, 80% of homicides of trans people were with a gun, and 60% of victims were under 30. … Trans people deserve to live freely without fear of gun violence. They deserve to grow old. We can and must #DisarmHate by simultaneously fighting discriminatory anti-LGBTQ+ policies and attempts to weaken gun laws.”
“A predator stalking sex workers is something we must attend to with all haste,” added Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents.“It is far too easy for these women (in this case) to be overlooked because of society’s practice of dehumanizing sex workers.”
C.J.*, a volunteer with the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Auxiliary Officer program, says fellow officers and supervisors subjected him to homophobic harassment, including an off-duty assault, vandalism of his departmental locker, and retaliation for complaining about how he was being treated.
Officers in the NYPD’s auxiliary program supplement the regular police force and perform limited duties like foot patrolling, traffic, and parade control. Auxiliary officers get a uniform and a modified badge and aren’t given a gun, pepper spray, or allowed to arrest anyone. Auxiliary officers can also join “special units” that patrol specific transport areas like the subways, highways, or ports.
C.J. moved from Dallas, Texas to New York City in 2012. He worked a full-time job and began volunteering for the NYPD’s auxiliary unit that same year. But because of his negative experiences in the military, he hadn’t planned on coming out in the NYPD.
However, in 2014 the coordinating officer of his auxiliary unit informed Jimenez that his fellow officers all knew he was gay. C.J. didn’t know how they found out or who began telling others, but the outing made him feel very uncomfortable. He decided he wouldn’t “broadcast” his homosexuality at the department, but he could sense that others were gossiping about it.
C.J. told LGBTQ Nation that he endured a lot of mistreatment in the military because of his perceived sexual orientation. He served in the U.S. Army from January 2000 to January 2005, joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 2007, and served in Iraq from 2008 to 2009.
At the time, he didn’t report his mistreatment to his superior officers for fear of being forcibly discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. military ban on homosexual service members. He retired from the reserves as a Sergeant First Class in June 2022.
However, his old fears about homophobic mistreatment materialized in October 2014 when fellow Auxiliary Officer David Jones* allegedly assaulted him while off-duty. C.J. already disliked Officer Jones, seeing him as a narcissist whom he never saw eye-to-eye with. While the two were being driven from a Halloween party, they got into a drunken verbal argument.
Jones began yelling and belittling C.J., to which C.J. responded, “You’re just pissed off because I’m gay and I have more balls than you, and you haven’t been in Iraq.”
When C.J. exited the vehicle to take a subway home, Jones allegedly shoved him out of the car onto the ground, began kicking and choking him, and called him a “wetb**k,” a “queer,” and a “dirty fa***t.” C.J. said he felt stunned and surprised to see Jones’ “true colors.”
The attack didn’t leave C.J. with any serious injuries, but he felt emotionally shaken. Despite this, he didn’t report the attack because it happened off-duty and because he thought things at the NYPD would be better if he didn’t.
C.J. C.J. wearing his military uniform
In 2015, Jones was transferred to a special auxiliary unit. In November of that same year, C.J. asked Sergeant John Smith*, the coordinator overseeing all auxiliary special units, for a transfer to another special unit patrolling the borough of Queens. C.J. spoke with that unit’s coordinator, Sergeant Tim Jackson*, and went on rides with two unit sergeants who seemed to like him.
But by February 2016, neither Smith nor Jackson had returned C.J.’s calls asking about his transfer. “At that point, I began to realize something wasn’t right,” C.J. told LGBTQ Nation.
By July 2016, C.J. spoke with Detective Robert Brown*, an officer overseeing the special unit Jones had transferred to. C.J. confided about the assault, and Brown reportedly told him that Smith and Jackson weren’t processing his transfer request because he didn’t get along with Jones.
Tired of the stonewalling and mistreatment, C.J. reported Jones’ assault to NYPD Internal Affairs in October 2016. Nine months later, in July 2017, C.J. tried filing another transfer request to the special unit where Jones no longer worked. Brown, the unit head, seemed reluctant to accept C.J.’s transfer request, C.J. said.
In November of that year, C.J. filed a complaint with the NYPD’s Equal Opportunity (EO) office about the lack of responses to his transfer requests. In response, Smith then allegedly ordered C.J. not to contact him or anyone in auxiliary special units anymore. C.J. felt that his order was a retaliation for filing a complaint.
In June 2018, C.J. filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights that he was being retaliated against for his EO complaint. However, C.J. didn’t pursue it because he couldn’t afford a lawyer.
C.J. unsuccessfully filed another transfer request in October 2018. He then filed a Human Rights complaint with the City of New York in September 2019 to address the ongoing stonewalling. The COVID-19 shutdowns of 2020 delayed any handling of his complaint, and it was administratively dismissed in September 2021. Yet again, C.J. chose not to pursue the matter because he couldn’t afford a lawyer.
C.J. C.J. marching at Stonewall 50: World Pride NYC 2019 with the NYC Veterans Alliance
Despite the stonewalling, C.J. continued volunteering with the auxiliary program. However, in December 2020, someone broke into his departmental locker, cutting the lock with bolt cutters. Whoever had broken in had removed his duty belt, baton, flashlight, uniform cap, road guard vest, tie, and other various uniform items that he kept in a blue IKEA bag. The vandal hadn’t touched any items belonging to his locker mate. He later found what he believes to be his broken lock on top of the lockers while deep cleaning the area in May 2023.
“I was hesitant to say anything because I was burned out,” he told LGBTQ Nation. He felt like hehad been targeted for filing complaints and that no one would really care or do anything about the locker break-in. He alerted the EO office about the vandalism, but nothing came of it, just as nothing came of his repeated transfer requests, the most recent of which he filed in late 2023. C.J. says his transfers seem to keep disappearing with no explanation.
C.J. says he has had no disciplinary actions filed against him for any misconduct on the force, meaning that his on-duty behavior doesn’t seem to be the reason for his mistreatment. He feels his experience at the NYPD shows that some in the department are acting like a “good ol’ boys” club at the taxpayers’ expense, basing their workplace decisions on who he gets along with rather than his actual qualifications.
LGBTQ Nation contacted the NYPD for comment but they did not respond by the time of publication.
“Following the locker incident, I have been reluctant to do any auxiliary police patrols because, at this point, I feel very uncomfortable because of everything that has happened,” C.J. told LGBTQ Nation. Despite this, he said he has stayed in the NYPD because he refuses to be scared away.
“NYC prides itself on being a safe haven for LGBTQ [people] and NYPD says it is here to protect the LGBTQ community,” he added. “However, look at what happened to me after I felt safe to open my mouth about a problem in a place that is supposed to be a safe haven — I am getting the runaround.”
C.J. said he missed out on his longevity ceremony and because of his reluctance to do hours due to the runaround. He is telling his story now in hopes that the NYPD might finally live up to its standards and address his ongoing issues, not only for himself but for future officers who might otherwise face similar mistreatment.
“I know from military experience that all it takes is one or two people with ulterior motives … to make things difficult for [someone], especially if they have power over them such as rank or authority,” he said. “My goal isn’t a lawsuit, or another investigation — all I want is the wrong righted.”
*The officer in this story asked LGBTQ Nation to use aliases for fear of violating department policies as his official complaints move through the system.
Ella Matthes, the longtime publisher and editor of Lesbian News Magazine, died March 16 at a hospital in Norwalk, Calif. She was 81 years old, and the cause was a heart attack, according to a press release.
She ran Lesbian News Magazine, commonly known as the LN, from 1994 until 2022. The LN was North America’s longest-running lesbian publication. When it was founded in 1975 in Southern California by Jinx Beer, it was the lone voice for lesbian issues (The Ladder, published by the Daughters of Bilitis, had ceased publication three years earlier) and evolved throughout the years under Matthes’s leadership. The press release calls it “the nation’s foremost voice for lesbians of all ages.” It carried cover stories on Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang, Ellen DeGeneres, Marlee Matlin, Hillary Clinton, Toni Braxton, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Judith Light, Janet McTeer, and more.
Matthes, a native of Los Angeles, bought a printing company, Superior Printers, when she was in her 20s, and ran it for several decades. However, she wanted to support lesbians and iacrease their visibility, so in 1994, she bought Lesbian News Magazine from Deborah Bergman, who had acquired it from Beers.
This was her mission statement: “The editorial vision of the LN has always been to inform, entertain, and be of service to women who love women of all ages, economic class, and color. We hope women from all walks of life will not only find something of themselves in the LN, but also be accepting of those with differing opinions. Lesbian News is our small contribution to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender liberation movement.”
She received several awards for her work, including the 2002 Women’s Night Gay & Lesbian Center’s Lesbian & Bisexual Women Active in Community Empowerment Award, the 2002 Business Alliance of Los Angeles Community Involvement Award, the 2003 Southern California Women for Understanding Community Service Award, and the 2012 Vox Femina Los Angeles Aria Award.
Matthes and Gladi Adams had been together for 26 years and were married July 13, 2013. Matthes’s survivors include Adams and a brother, Carl Matthes.
Memorial donations in her name may be made to the June Mazer Archives in West Hollywood.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a law on Monday that adds crucial protections for LGBTQ+ couples using fertility treatments to build a family.
The Michigan Family Protection Act includes a series of provisions to protect families of all kinds. Most notably for the LGBTQ+ community, it changes “outdated state law to treat LGBTQ+ families equally and eliminate the need for them to go through a costly and invasive process to get documentation confirming their parental status,” as a press release from the governor’s office explains, adding that “Even if they move to a state that does not respect these basic rights, these bills help ensure they cannot be denied their relationship to their child.”
The law also repeals a law that made Michigan the only state in the country to criminalize surrogacy contracts; increases protections for surrogates, parents, and children; ensures equal legal treatment of children born through surrogacy and assisted reproduction; and streamlines the process for families to establish legal connections to their children.
“The Michigan Family Protection Act takes commonsense, long-overdue action to repeal Michigan’s ban on surrogacy, protect families formed by IVF, and ensure LGBTQ+ parents are treated equally,” Gov. Whitmer said in a statement. “Your family’s decisions should be up to you, and my legislative partners and I will keep fighting like hell to protect reproductive freedom in Michigan and make our state the best place to start, raise, and grow your family.”
Stephanie Jones, founder of the Michigan Fertility Alliance, called the legislation “an incredible victory for all Michigan families formed through assisted reproduction, including IVF and surrogacy, and for LGBTQ+ families.
The press release also acknowledged the attacks on reproductive rights taking place across the country, most notably the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade and the 2024 Alabama Supreme Court’s declaration that embryos created through IVF have the same legal rights as children.
“As other states seek to restrict IVF, ban abortion, and make it harder to start a family, Michigan is supporting women and protecting reproductive freedoms for everyone,” the release stated.
One fierce advocate, Tammy Myers, has been fighting for the decriminalization of surrogacy in the state for the past four years. She told7 Action News, “The tipping point, I think, is seeing that rights are being taken across the nation and we all need to fight for reproductive freedom.”
Polly Crozier, director of family advocacy at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), added in a statement, “Michigan has shown us what strengthening families should look like in 2024: making it more possible for people to fulfill their dreams of building a family and more accessible for all families, including LGBTQ+ families, to obtain the safety and stability that comes with legal parentage.”
“Amid efforts to restrict Americans’ reproductive freedom and roll back protections for LGBTQ+ people and their families, the Michigan Family Protection Act is an inspiring example for other states where gaps in parentage laws leave families vulnerable.”
The American Library Association has released its list of the 10 most challenged books of 2023, and seven of the 10 were challenged — that is, subject to ban attempts — at least in part for LGBTQ+ content. Several of them are by or about people of color.
“In looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” ALA President Emily Drabinski said in a press release. “At ALA, we are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read.”
The top 10 list, released Monday during National Library Week, consists of these books:
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe; reasons: LGBTQ+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson; reasons: LGBTQ+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson; reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQ+ content, rape, drugs, profanity
Flamer by Mike Curato; reasons: LGBTQ+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; reasons: rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, equity, diversity, and inclusion content
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQ+ content
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
Let’s Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQ+ content
Sold by Patricia McCormick; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, rape
“These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence — stories by and about LGBTQ+ persons and people of color,” ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone said in the release. “Each challenge, each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation. When we tolerate censorship, we risk losing all of this. During National Library Week, we should all take action to protect and preserve libraries and our rights.”
Attempts at book censorship took a giant leap in 2023, with 4,240 titles targeted in schools and libraries nationwide — a 65 percent increase from 2022’s record of 2,571, according to the ALA. There were 1,247 demands to censor books, with many targeting multiple titles, as documented by the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom.
Monday is the second anniversary of Right to Read Day, a day of action launched by the ALA’s Unite Against Book Bans initiative, which takes place the Monday of National Library Week. This year’s theme is “Don’t Let Censorship Eclipse Your Freedom to Read,” and anyone who supports the right to read is encouraged to take action by contacting Congress.
The Top 10 Books are featured in Unite Against Book Bans’ Book Résumé resource. Launched in February, these résumés support librarians, educators, parents, students, and other community advocates when they defend books from censorship. Created in collaboration with the publishing industry and library workers, each book résumé summarizes the book’s significance and educational value, including a synopsis, reviews from professional journals, awards, accolades and more. Where possible, the book résumés include information about how a title has been successfully retained in school districts and libraries after a demand to censor the book.
Also Monday, ALA announced the theme for Banned Books Week 2024, “Freed Between the Lines,” which honors the ways in which books bring us freedom and that access to information is worth preserving. Banned Books Week will take place September 22-28.
The state’s primary was held March 5, but official results in the close race in the 16th Congressional District, located in Silicon Valley, just came in this week. Evan Low, a gay man who’s currently in the California Assembly, tied for second place with Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, with 30,249 votes each, or 16.6 percent. Now both will advance to November’s general election, along with former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who finished first with 38,489 votes, or 21.1 percent.
Under California’s system, candidates from all parties run against each other in the primary, and the top two vote recipients advance to the general election, regardless of party — or, in the case of tie for second, the top three. These three are all Democrats in a heavily Democratic district, and this is the first tie for second since the top-two system was put in place in 2012, the San Francisco Chroniclereports. A total of 11 candidates ran in the primary.
“I am honored to have won the support of our community to advance to the general election to replace the esteemed Anna Eshoo for Congress now that the Registrars of Voters have certified the results,” Low wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Eshoo, a fellow Democrat, is retiring after 30 years in the U.S. House.
Low was first elected to the Assembly in 2014 at age 30, making him the youngest Asian American elected to the body up to that time. He began his political career on the Campbell, Calif., City Council, to which he was elected in 2006 as its first Asian American member. He was elected mayor of Campbell in 2010, becoming the youngest out LGBTQ+ mayor in the U.S.
There are already two out members of the California congressional delegation, Robert Garcia and Mark Takano, both from the southern part of the state. Both are running for reelection. Another gay candidate, Will Rollins, is challenging incumbent Republican Ken Calvert in the 41st Congressional District, also in Southern California.
Low had the endorsement of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, among many others. “Evan Low’s strong showing in this multi-candidate primary proves that he’s earned the confidence of Silicon Valley voters based on his long record of service to this region,” Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker said in a press release. “Not only is Evan’s victory a testament to the excellent campaign he ran, it’s a sign of the excellence his constituents can expect from him as their voice in Washington. LGBTQ+ Americans are woefully underrepresented at all levels of government — including Congress — and Evan’s primary performance is a major milestone to celebrate. LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is all-in in our commitment to ensuring a victory this November.”
He also was endorsed by Equality PAC, the political action arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Sometimes democracy takes a moment to work, and in this case, we are very excited to see Evan advance to the November general election as he works to secure the votes to represent California’s 16th Congressional District in the House,” said a statement from Takano and U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, the cochairs of Equality PAC. “Like so many other candidates across the nation, Equality PAC came in early to support Evan among a crowded primary field. Every endorsement, every door knocked, every phone call truly made the difference in this race, and Equality PAC was there every step of the way. Evan’s primary race represents the impact Equality PAC can have on races across the nation as we work to boost more LGBTQ candidates that will help advance our equality agenda. As Evan begins this unique three-person race for Congress, we remain confident in his ability to show voters why he is the best candidate to represent them in Washington. Evan has been an LGBTQ leader in California, and we need him to be part of our new pro-equality majority in the House.”
Lambda Legal and co-counsel Winston & Strawn LLP, Perkowski Legal, PC, and Scott Schoettes today announced they have reached a settlement with the Department of Defense (DoD) in a lawsuit filed in 2018 on behalf of a former Navy midshipman, Kevin Deese, and a former Air Force cadet, John Doe (a pseudonym), who were denied commissions after graduating from their respective service academies because they are living with HIV. The settlement provides for Deese and Doe to be commissioned as officers in recognition of the status and military careers they qualified for and earned years ago.
“We are gratified that our clients, who were denied officer commissions they had earned because of the U.S. military’s discriminatory policy of withholding career advancement opportunities from HIV-positive service members, will now be able to achieve their goals,” said Kara Ingelhart, Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal. “Service members living with HIV, once affected by an outdated, discriminatory policy, no longer face discharge, bans on commissioning, or bans on deployment simply because they are living with HIV.”
“Joining my brave co-plaintiff in this case was, for me, about demonstrating the very leadership that inspired me to a military career. I follow the mantra of 2004 Naval Academy graduate Travis Manion—“If not me, then who?” said plaintiff Kevin Deese. “Now, ten years after my Naval Academy graduation, future midshipmen and cadets living with HIV will be able to commission with their classmates upon graduation. And I could not be more proud to finally be commissioning.”
“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Lambda Legal and others to overturn the military’s outdated and unconstitutional policies concerning people living with HIV,” said Bryce Cooper at Winston & Strawn. “Our pro bono efforts, in both the district court and the Fourth Circuit, have brought about a meaningful, and long overdue, change for service members living with HIV.”
This settlement also follows the June 2022 DoD policy changes to some of the military’s former policies that discriminated against service members living with HIV that confirmed service members living with HIV who are asymptomatic with undetectable viral load “will have no restrictions applied to their deployment or to their ability to commission . . . solely on the basis of their HIV-positive status.” That 2022 policy change had the effect of preventing what happened to Deese and Doe from impacting future military academy cadets who seroconvert while in their course of their college education. And those changes followed a groundbreaking federal court ruling in April 2022 that ordered the DoD to stop enforcing those discriminatory policies. The ruling came in two cases—Harrison v. Austin and Roe v. Austin, combined for purposes of discovery and summary judgment—for which Lambda Legal served as co-counsel with Winston & Strawn LLP, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Scott Schoettes, and Peter Perkowski.
As of this release, counsel and clients are currently waiting for a U.S. District Court to rule on the military’s last remaining bar preventing people living with HIV from joining any branch of the U.S. Armed Services in the lawsuit, Wilkins v. Austin.
Tickets to Food For Thought’s annual gala and auction, Our Long Table, are on sale now! Take advantage of our Early Bird discounted rate of $225 per ticket. Hurry though, the special rate only lasts until April 21, 2024.
Last month, he told the BBC that the incident had made him feel that “homophobia is still an issue in this country”.
“I have been out since but even walking from the bar to the taxi I was really on edge. You always think ‘it won’t happen to me’,” he added.
The exterior of the Irish Bar, Seamus O’Donnells – the alleged attack took place outside (Google)
“It was just a regular night, the pub had a drag event on and they were handing out paper pride flags.
“My boyfriend was given one and we went outside when we were approached by someone who ripped the flag out of his hand and started stamping on it.
“They were trying to get a reaction out of us, calling us homophobic slurs.”
He told the BBC that his boyfriend was also attacked during the violent incident, which he said “blindsided” him and left him with “horrific” bruising.
One man has already come forward in connection with the attack, however police are still trying to identify the other two men. A CCTV image of the pair was re-shared on X/Twitter on March 29 in an attempt to move the investigation forward.
Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen said: “Our investigation into this concerning incident is progressing and we now want to identify the three men in the CCTV image released, as we believe they can help us with our enquiries. If this is you, or if you know who any of the men are, please call us.
“We will be keeping the victim, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the owners of the Seamus O’Donnell’s bar updated on the latest developments.”
Speaking to the BBC in February about the alleged hate crime, the man said he was “worried” that those responsible had not been found.
He said: “I do worry that I’d be recognised if I’m out in Bristol and it is hard to enjoy yourself when that’s on your mind. I am Bristolian, I have lived here all my life, and I have always felt safe here and accepted.
“For me to experience something like this in my home city is really upsetting.”
A drag queen in the Philippines has spoken out following their arrest for performing as Jesus.
Vega, real name Amadeus Fernando Pagente, was first arrested in October after performing “Ama Namin”, a rock version of The Lord’s Prayer, while dressed as Christ.
They were released after three days, when fellow drag artists raised enough money to secure bail.
The performer was charged under article 201 of the South East Asian country’s criminal code, which prohibits “indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows” that “offend any race or religion”.
“I was released on bail today. I got to learn about my cellmates, their stories and much more,” Vega wrote. “Because of what is happening and through the support and explanations of my lawyers, I now feel comfortable using legal jargon in every-day life.”
Vega added that they were grateful to who those who “have supported and defended me”, along with the hashtag #DragisArt and #DragIsNotACrime.
The Philippines is a staunchly religious country, with more than 86 per cent of the population identifying as Roman Catholic, according to not-for-profit group the Asia Society.
Vega’s political performances have resulted in them being declared an “unwelcome person” by several cities in the Philippines.
Their previous legal woes began when an online video revealed the rock performance, prompting a religious group to complain to prosecutors in the capital, Manila.
