A federal court in Denver on Tuesday reopened the case of an intersex person who sued the State Department after it denied them a passport.Dana Zzyym, a U.S. Navy veteran who is the associate director of the U.S. affiliate of the Organization Intersex International, applied for a passport in 2014 in order to travel to Mexico City for a conference. The State Department told Zzyym it denied the passport application because it was “unable to fulfill your request to list your sex as ‘X.’”
Zzyym provided the Colorado Passport Agency with additional documentation in order to prove their intersex identity with the State Department with their second passport application. The State Department also denied this second application.
Lambda Legal in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit on Zzyym’s behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Cololrado, arguing the State Department’s passport denial violates the constitution and federal law.
Judge R. Brooke Jackson ruled in favor of Zzyym last November. Lambda Legal on Tuesday said in a press release the State Department notified Zzyym on May 1 that it was unable to issue them “an accurate passport.”
“My work as an advocate for the intersex community is incredibly important to me, and I’m unable to do my job because I don’t have a passport,” said Zzyym in the Lambda Legal press release. “The State Department is in effect forcing me to lie about who I am, and I’m not going to do that. No one should be forced to lie about who they are.”
Social network company Hornet today announced a new billboard campaign aimed at fighting the divisive rhetoric spouted by anti-LGBTQ organizations across the United States. Using watchdog groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center as a roadmap, Hornet will focus on the “headquarters of hate” beginning with a mobile billboard on Thursday, June 8 in Washington D.C., followed by additional billboards in Topeka, Kansas, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“We are erecting these billboards across the country to draw attention to places from where hateful rhetoric and influence on anti-LGBTQ legislation stem. The billboards are a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ residents of these areas and a reminder to local leadership that we will not be silenced and we will not be erased,” notes Hornet President Sean Howell. “The 2016 elections created a divisive atmosphere in our country, and, by all accounts, hate crimes against minority groups have been on the rise. As a community, we will not be torn apart. We will continue to thrive and resist attempts by any groups to reverse the progress made over the last decades.”
Over the course of the summer, Hornet will strategically place billboards close to the headquarters of the most notorious anti-LGBTQ hate groups in the country. The imagery for each billboard will feature a same-sex couple or set of friends who represent the millions of Hornet community members who have found a safe space to connect and congregate. A short tagline will be tailored to each city’s anti-LGBTQ organization. The first group of organizations Hornet will highlight are the Family Research Council, Westboro Baptist Church and the Focus on the Family.
In addition to its new billboard campaign, Hornet also serves as an information platform for the LA PRIDE #ResistMarch and a number of community driven social cause efforts. Earlier in 2017, Hornet became the first gay app to merge events, original content and social networking, and it will use that functionality to provide critical logistical information to millions of active users who are interested in voicing opposition to discriminatory policies at the federal, state and local levels.
This year’s latest casualty in the ongoing war on transgender women is Josie Berrios, 28. She lived in Ithaca, New York, and was described by those who loved her as a proud transgender woman of color.
Detectives arrested Davis late Tuesday night and he was arraigned in Ithaca City Court, according to police. He’s incarcerated at the Tompkins County Jail and being held without bail, according to authorities. His next court date in Ithaca City Court is Monday, June 19th.
While prosecutors said Davis killed Berrios, they’re not saying how. The felony complaint alleges Davis brought a can of gasoline to the building under construction where Berrios was found dead, along with a lighter. Berrios’s body was found with apparent burns and that gas can was found at the scene, according to the court records.
Media reports indicate detectives searching Davis’s home found the lighter in a duffel bag, as well as a security company uniform Davis was seen wearing in surveillance video. A photograph of Davis taken Monday shows him with a similar duffel bag, wearing the uniform shirt in the very building where Berrios was found. Police reportedly also recovered work gloves, and that the strong odor of gasoline was evident on the uniform they found in the bag.
“The Ithaca Police Department would like to speak to anyone who may have seen someone walking or hitchhiking on Ellis Hollow Road, Turkey Hill Road, or Ellis Hollow Creek Road between 5:00 am to 6:00 am yesterday, June 13, 2017,” police said in a release Wednesday.
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Josie Berrios
Berrios is the 13th transgender individual killed in 2017, the 12th trans woman and the 11th trans woman of color. The epidemic of violence against transgender Americans shows no sign of letting up, and advocates fear this year’s death toll may surpass 2016’s horrifying record of 27. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs counts 23 homicides, because some of the victims were not a result of homicide or not related to hate violence.
Although initial reports by police misgendered Berrios based on her identification, police were swift to correct the record.
“We’re choosing to honor the victim’s choices in life and her beautiful life in honoring her self identification as that of a female,” Officer Jamie Williamson told reporters. “We ask that the community join us as well.”
Kimbella, also known as Kendra Adams or Josie to some, was one of our founding members of the House of Merlot before we were even official. She was usually full of energy, rarely on time, and always slayed her performances.
A proud trans woman of color, she always tried her best to make new performers feel comfortable in our spaces. She recognized the realness in all of us without question and made us feel beautiful. She was part of so many families here in Ithaca, that many are feeling stunned and lost following this news. Her presence is still felt, and will never be forgotten.
A Celebration of Life and Pride Show on June 22 at the Range will be dedicated to Rosé, and will include a moment of silence.
Below are the names of the other 12 transgender murder victims of 2017:
Today, Lambda Legal and 15 other national LGBT groups urged opposition to the confirmations of John K. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and Damien Schiff to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, citing public statements and writings from both nominees and their repeated demonstration of “contempt for LGBT Americans, people living with HIV, women, and other vulnerable populations.” In a letter sent to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee – who are expected to hear testimony from both nominees at a confirmation hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning – LGBT groups opposed to the confirmations cite not only homophobic epithets and other anti-LGBT and misogynistic remarks made by nominees in their public speeches and writings but also records that clearly illustrate their “views on civil rights issues are fundamentally at odds with the notion that LGBT people are entitled to equality, liberty, justice and dignity under the law.”
“The records of Mr. Bush and Mr. Schiff demonstrate that their appointment to the bench would cause grave harm to the LGBT community, as well as many other communities who rely on the federal judiciary to administer fair and impartial justice,” the letter states. “We urge you to reject their respective nominations.”
The letter documents troubling records on behalf of both nominees and explains how these nominees’ particular brand of “originalism” essentially writes LGBT people out of the Constitution in a way that denies them full personhood.
“Mr. Bush’s disparagement of decisions protecting the right of individuals to make highly personal decisions – the right to engage in private consensual adult relationships, and the right to procreative freedom – reveals a hostility to well established fundamental rights of liberty, privacy, autonomy and self-determination that have been the lynchpin of legal progress for LGBT people,” the letter states.
For a decade, Bush hid behind a “secret” online identity to post extensive rants attacking people with whom he disagreed, often using crude language and insults, and believes the term “faggot” is acceptable language to use in a public address. Bush has also made public statements enthusiastically endorsing the views of opponents of marriage equality for same sex couples, and in 2008 compared abortion to slavery and Roe v. Wade to Dred Scott, writing, “The two greatest tragedies in our country – slavery and abortion – relied on similar reasoning and activist justices at the U.S. Supreme Court …”
Schiff’s record is equally as troubling, believing that states should be able to criminalize “consensual sodomy” – at odds with the landmark case Lawrence v. Texas – and has criticized efforts to prevent bullying of LGBTQ students and referring to the efforts as “teaching gayness in schools.”
“Mr. Schiff has also aligned himself with the concept of ‘natural law’ or ‘divine law’ – the theory that particular, ostensibly universal moral truths trump constitutional rights,” the letter states. “This vague notion incorporates the radical views that LGBT identities and intimate relationships are ‘unnatural.’”
Tuesday, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) launched Recursos en Español de HRC, to expand outreach and resources for Spanish-speakers as well as Spanish-language media. HRC’s top resources will now be available in Spanish, including guides on a range of issues — from health, education, youth and religion to family and coming out — as well as videos and blog posts highlighting the experiences of members of the Latinx LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community is as diverse as the fabric of our nation,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “HRC en Español ensures that our groundbreaking and lifesaving resources are available and accessible to the millions across this country and around the world who belong to Spanish-speaking communities. With the Latinx community facing unprecedented political attacks, now more than ever, HRC stands with all LGBTQ Latinx people in all that we do.”
Despite historic progress on LGBTQ equality within the United States and in many Latin countries, significant challenges remain for the Latinx LGBTQ community throughout the Americas, including discrimination, homelessness, and violence. Recursos en Español de HRC includes original content and resources reflecting the broad range of experiences and needs within the Latinx LGBTQ community and provides support to those working to build inclusive spaces within the Latinx communities in the U.S. and around the globe. Additionally, HRC will be increasing its Spanish language presence on social media, including Twitter.
“These much-needed resources are now accessible not only to LGBTQ Spanish-speaking Latinx people, but also their family members, neighbors, friends, and allies who wish to affirm and support their LGBTQ loved ones,” said Milagros Chirinos, HRC’s Bilingual Media Manager-Spanish. “Our communities must be inclusive and welcoming for all people — no matter who they are, where they come from, or whom they love.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent estimates, Hispanic people in the United States constitute 17.6 percent of the nation’s total population. There are more than 56.6 million people of Hispanic origin living in the U.S. and 72.9 percent of them speak Spanish at home. Since 2012, the percentage of Latinx LGBTQ people living in the U.S. has seen the largest increase among racial minorities, from 4.1 to 5.3 percent.
Working toward equality for the full diversity of the LGBTQ community has always been an important part of HRC’s mission. Recursos en Español de HRC elevates the message of inclusion for the Latinx, LGBTQ, immigrant and ally communities that wish to share their stories, advocate for justice and learn more about LGBTQ topics.
In a community-created consensus statement released today, AIDS United provides critical guidance for clinical providers, funders and social service providers to strengthen their understanding of how best to engage and support transgender communities. The statement provides concrete and measurable steps organizations can take to improve their approach to HIV work in transgender communities and was drafted by 12 transgender leaders at a think tank convened by AIDS United and generously supported by Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP.
The transgender community is critically affected by HIV and faces unique challenges accessing HIV care. A landmark 2013 study estimates that 22 percent of transgender women in the United States are living with HIV. This makes transgender women the most heavily affected group in the United States, relative to their population size. This disproportionate risk is fueled by pervasive violence and discrimination faced by transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in areas such as housing, education and when accessing health care.
“Our recent survey shows 41 percent of the respondents reported lapses in health care for longer than six months. This speaks to the need to meaningfully involve trans people living with HIV in cultural competency training and program designs. Trans people are experts of their experiences and this consensus statement puts the expertise of trans people front and center,” said nationally recognized leader in civil rights and trans equality Cecilia Chung.
“Twelve trans leaders from across the country came together to create concrete recommendations so that funders, health care providers and social services organizations can serve our communities with the dignity and respect we deserve. There is power in this—and the best practices we outlined are critical for improving trans health and justice in this country,” said Chung.
Due to these factors, it is critical that clinics and support services are welcoming, inclusive and competent in serving transgender people. Additionally, funders must ensure that funding strategies and decisions are community informed to yield the greatest impact.
“We can no longer ignore the needs of the transgender and gender-nonbinary community. Our consciousness of their presence has been raised, but our services have not stepped up to meet their unique needs,” said AIDS United President & CEO Jesse Milan, Jr. “We cannot allow transgender people to be left out or left behind or we will not fully achieve our national goals.”
The Consensus Statement and the newly launched Transgender Leadership Initiative, also funded by Janssen Therapeutics, are programmatic efforts by AIDS United to better partner with transgender leaders to address the dire HIV epidemic in transgender communities, to improve transgender health outcomes and to solidify transgender power in our society. Proposals for support from the Transgender Leadership Initiative are due by Jun 14, 2017 at www.aidsunited.org.
“This statement is a foundational tool that every provider and HIV advocate can use. It is the newest tool in our toolbox for ending the HIV epidemic in this country and AIDS United is proud to release it to everyone,” said Milan.
College students who belong to sexual minority groups are more likely to seek help for mental health problems than their straight peers, but they still face many barriers to using on-campus mental health services, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Researchers found that students who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or questioning were more likely to use off-campus mental health services than their heterosexual peers and were more likely to report being deterred by barriers such as concerns over confidentiality and uncertainty over eligibility for on-campus services.
The findings are from one of the largest surveys ever of college students about mental health issues. More than 33,000 students from 33 public four-year and two-year colleges in California were surveyed about mental health needs during 2013. The study was published online by the Journal of Adolescent Health.
“It’s encouraging that college students who identify as sexual minorities are more likely to utilize mental health services, but our findings suggest there is a need to develop campus-based mental health services tailored to this group and address barriers to using them,” said Michael S. Dunbar, lead author of the study and an associate behavioral scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.
The study found that 7 percent — roughly 1 in 15 — of the students surveyed identified as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or questioning.
Compared to heterosexual students, sexual minority students had higher rates of psychological distress (26 percent versus 18 percent), were more likely to report academic impairment related to mental health problems (17 percent versus 11 percent) and reported higher overall levels of stress over the past month (63 percent versus 55 percent).
Members of sexual minority groups were nearly twice as likely to have used some type of mental health services during their time in college (31 percent versus 18 percent). Among all students, most of those who reported serious psychological distress did not use mental health services.
Among students who needed services but didn’t get them on campus, sexual minority individuals were more likely than their heterosexual peers to report specific barriers to using on-campus mental health services. In particular, sexual minority students endorsed concerns over confidentiality, embarrassment over using services and uncertainty over whether they would be eligible for services as reasons they did not use on-campus services. They also were more likely to report seeking help off-campus.
“Our study underscores the need for additional actions to increase access to and use of mental health services among all students,” said Dr. Bradley D. Stein, co-author of the study and a physician scientist at RAND. “It also highlights the need for efforts to ensure that campuses’ mental health services are sensitive and responsive to the needs of sexual minority students, enabling all students to address their mental health needs and maximize their chances for success in college and beyond.”
Previous studies have estimated that 17 percent or more of college students suffer from serious psychological distress, with risks being higher for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or questioning students. If unaddressed, psychological problems among college students often persist, with consequences including greater levels of substance abuse, lower academic achievement, poor graduation rates, and lower workforce participation and income.
Few studies have examined ways that sexual minority college students differ from heterosexual students on factors such as mental health status and their use of mental health services.
The RAND study analyzed information from a survey about mental health completed by students from nine University of California campuses, nine California State University campuses and 15 California community colleges. The results were weighted to help reflect the state’s overall college student population.
Support for the study was provided by California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA), an organization of county governments working to improve mental health outcomes for individuals, families and communities in California. Programs implemented by CalMHSA are funded by counties through Proposition 63, which provides the funding and framework needed to expand mental health prevention and early intervention services to previously underserved populations and all of California.
Other authors of the study are Lisa Sontag-Padilla, Rajeev Ramchand and Rachana Seelam.
Logo, the leading entertainment brand for the LGBTQ community, today released the second annual ‘Trailblazing Companies’ list, a ranking of companies and brands that have demonstrated a public commitment to LGBTQ people and issues through advertising, communications, and other public initiatives. The campaigns and marketing endeavors on the list showcase a range of personalities, stories and experiences within the LGBTQ community.
Hilton, Anheuser-Busch, Marriott, Google, and Apple were found to have the highest scores in categories that counted LGBTQ initiatives in the following objective, public-facing categories: LGBTQ-Inclusive Advertising, Digital Video & Social Media, Policy Support, Spokespersons & C-Suite Executives, Donations & Sponsorships, and Website Engagement. This year, examples of corporate support for the survivors, families and victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub tragedy were also calculated in scoring.
According to Bob Witeck, President of Witeck Communications, LGBTQ consumers represent an estimated buying power of $971 billion. Previous Logo research also has found that 71 percent of LGBTQ consumers are more likely to support a brand after seeing an equality-themed ad, while 71 percent were more likely to purchase from a company that actively supports and contributes to LGBTQ charities/causes.
Logo’s ‘Trailblazing Companies’ list was created through extensive research conducted in partnership with Witeck Communications, a strategic communications firm with special expertise in LGBTQ communications. Logo started with a pool of close to 200 consumer-facing companies that earned 100% scores for their internal LGBTQ policies on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Each company was then evaluated based on the seven objective categories that demonstrate each company’s support of the LGBT community in the public sphere. Companies were awarded points based on their performance in each of these areas.
“Each of these companies is delivering a message of inclusion, diversity and equality that is needed now more than ever,” said Pamela Post, SVP of Programming for Logo. “While we are incredibly proud to recognize these 25 trailblazing companies who are raising the bar higher than just their bottom line, the ultimate goal is to one day reach a time when a list like this is no longer necessary.”
Bob Witeck also adds that, “the resonance of LGBTQ attitudes in the marketplace has made a sea of change in how brands express their values, connect innovatively with diverse households, and grow market share. This new study is an encouraging roadmap of trends and opportunities for all brands aiming to step up their competition.”
Logo’s Top 25 Trailblazing Companies (in ranking order):
Hilton
Anheuser Busch
Marriott International
Google
Apple
Unilever
Target
American Express Co.
Macy’s
Campbell
PepsiCo
AT&T Inc.
Wells Fargo
Nike
Nissan North America
PNC Financial
Bank of America Corp.
Diageo North America
E&J Gallo Winery
American Airlines
Hallmark
Comcast
Intel Corp.
Toyota Motor
Alaska Air Group
For more information on the rankings and each company’s score visit:
A Michigan apple grower who posted on Facebook that he wouldn’t allow gay couples to get married at his farm filed a lawsuit against the city of East Lansing on Wednesday after he was shut out of an outdoor farmer’s market.
The city said Stephen Tennes wasn’t invited back to the market because vendors must follow its civil rights ordinance, which bars discrimination. Tennes alleges that the city’s actions violate his rights to free speech and religion.
Tennes’ farm, 22 miles away from East Lansing in Eaton County, is a popular place to have weddings. In a Facebook post in December, he said he believes in heterosexual marriage and reserves the right to reject weddings that conflict with his beliefs.
“If the government can shut down a family farmer just because of the religious views he expresses on Facebook … then no American is free,” said Tennes’ attorney, Kate Anderson.
East Lansing said in a statement that the farm is violating the city’s “long-standing ordinance that protects sexual orientation” and can’t sell fruit at the market.
Tennes filed a lawsuit in federal court with help from Washington-based Alliance Defending Freedom, which specializes in religious liberty cases. He wants a judge to order East Lansing to allow him back at the market and also stop the city from extending policies to businesses outside the city.
Gov. Kate Brown has signed a bill that will make it easier for transgender people in Oregon to shield any updates they make to their birth certificates, a process typically conducted through the court system without privacy from public view.
The measure, which takes effect next year, makes Oregon the second state after California to adopt laws specifically designed to help mitigate potential discrimination against transgender individuals from employers, landlords or anyone else who is otherwise able to dig up birth-record changes through public record.
The new law eliminates the requirement that changes to someone’s name or gender identity must be posted publicly by the courts. It also allows court cases involving gender identity changes on birth records to be sealed.
It’s a minor tweak to state law that could have a big impact on the local transgender community, says 59-year-old Stacey Rice, executive co-director of Q Center, a Portland community support center for LGBTQ individuals.
Rice is a transgender woman but still hasn’t been able to change her North Carolina birth records after 17 years because she hasn’t undergone a sex-change operation, which the state says must also be confirmed through a notarized letter from their doctor. The same requirements apply for driver’s licenses, although Rice got it done anyway thanks to the kindness of a North Carolina DMV employee years ago.
“I was going to have a driver’s license that has my female face on it, my female name, but it’s still going to say ‘M’ and let’s say I get pulled over for some reason and maybe a police officer looks at it and says ‘what’s going on here?’ that was terrifying,” Rice said.
HB 2673 passed the Democratic-controlled Oregon Legislature earlier this month with some Republican support at a time when, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court‘s legalization of same-sex marriage, the nation remains largely divided as to how to balance LGBTQ rights and religious freedoms.
This year about 30 states introduced roughly 130 anti-LGBTQ bills, about half last year’s figure, according to the D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign. Most of the measures have died, but legislatures in South Dakota, Alabama and Texas passed bills providing protections for faith-based adoption agencies that do not want to place children with gay or lesbian adoptive parents.
Opposite scenarios are playing out in other states like Nevada, where GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a law earlier this month banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ youth. And this week, Republican Congressman Scott Taylor of Virginia agreed to co-sponsor the federal Equality Act, which would give that community civil rights protections.
Oregon wasn’t always a welcoming place for gay rights. Voters approved a measure banning same-sex measure in 2004. It was overturned a decade later.
For Oregon, Brown said in emotional remarks that the transgender equity bill carries broader significance in the aftermath of last week’s deadly stabbings of two men trying to defend two teenage girls from racial and religious slurs on a Portland light-rail train.
“Hate and discrimination have no place in our Oregon,” Brown said.
Brown, herself a bisexual, became the nation’s first openly-LGBTQ elected governor last November and Democrat Tina Kotek is the first openly lesbian House Speaker.