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Iraq veteran to lead Log Cabin Republicans & more

Iraq veteran to lead Log Cabin Republicans
Log Cabin Republicans has chosen a former diplomat and veteran to serve as the organization’s new executive director.
R. Clarke Cooper, who worked in the George W. Bush administration most recently as counselor and chief of staff at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, was announced Monday as the candidate Log Cabin’s board of directors selected to lead the partisan group.
Cooper said he will emphasize “the principles of limited government, individual liberty, individual responsibility, free markets and a strong national defense” as he pursues “equal treatment under the law for gay and lesbian Americans.”
Log Cabin Board Chair Terry Hamilton said Cooper’s “16 years of public policy and political experience has uniquely prepared him to lead Log Cabin” and would help “ensure our role as a key player in strengthening an inclusive Republican Party.”
“As Congress is debating the failed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, we could not have a better advocate in ensuring that this policy gets overturned,” Hamilton said.
Cooper served in Iraq in 2004 as an Army reserve officer on active duty, earning the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award and other decorations. He later worked as legislative affairs adviser for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and senior legislative adviser for a division within the Office of Iraq Affairs.
Franken introduces bill to aid LGBT students
U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has introduced a bill aimed at protecting LGBT students throughout the country from discrimination in schools.
Introduced on May 20, the Student Non-Discrimination Act would bar schools from discriminating against LGBT students or ignoring harassing behavior that targets them. Potential penalties could include a loss of federal funding or a legal cause of action for victims.
Franken told the Blade in a statement that the legislation is necessary because “kids need to feel safe in their schools in order to learn.”
“Our nation’s civil rights laws protect our children from bullying due to race, sex, religion, disability and national origin,” Franken said. “My proposal corrects a glaring injustice and extends these protections to our gay and lesbian students who need them just as badly.”
Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, praised Franken for introducing the bill and said the legislation is needed to ensure LGBT students “can learn without the fear of being discriminated against simply for who they are.”
In the House, gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) is sponsor of companion legislation. Supporters of the measure have said they’re considering including the bill as part of upcoming Elementary & Secondary Education Act authorization legislation in Congress.
Gutierrez wants UAFA in immigration reform
An influential, pro-immigrant U.S. House member has endorsed including language to benefit LGBT bi-national couples as part of comprehensive immigration reform.
In a statement May 20, Rep. Luiz Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said inclusion of language allowing LGBT Americans to sponsor foreign partners for residency in the United States is an important part of a broader reform bill.
“Our efforts to fix our broken immigration system and protect basic civil rights are not truly comprehensive if we exclude same-sex couples,” he said.
Standalone legislation that would enable an estimated 36,000 bi-national same-sex couples to stay together in the United States is known as the Uniting American Families Act. Proponents of the bill have sought its inclusion in UAFA as part of upcoming comprehensive immigration reform legislation in Congress.
Late last year, Gutierrez introduced a version of comprehensive immigration reform legislation that was seen as an alternative to the working bill. However, even though Gutierrez is a co-sponsor of UAFA, his bill didn’t include UAFA-like language.
According to the statement from Gutierrez’ office, the lawmaker’s recent announcement means he’s “recommitting himself” to inclusion of specific UAFA-like language as part of comprehensive reform.
Steve Ralls, a spokesperson for Immigration Equality, called Gutierrez a “key ally” because of “his leadership on immigration issues, his membership in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.”
“He’s someone who carries a huge amount of influence and credibility on immigration reform generally,” Ralls said.
New York
Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade
One of the victims remains in critical condition

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.
According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.
The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.
The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.
In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.
The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.
New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.
“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.
An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.
They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.
Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.
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