National
Right-wing media watchdog project launched
Equality Matters created by gay ex-conservative David Brock
Former Clinton administration official Richard Socarides will head the newly created Equality Matters. (Photo courtesy Equality Matters)
Gay former conservative strategist and author David Brock, who changed sides in 2002 to become a champion of LGBT equality and progressive causes, announced the founding this week of a new initiative aimed at exposing “right-wing bigotry and homophobia wherever we find it.”
Brock said the new entity, Equality Matters, would be an arm of the progressive-leaning media watchdog group he founded in 2004 called Media Matters.
A statement released Monday says New York gay attorney and former Clinton administration official Richard Socarides would serve as president of Equality Matters. Lesbian journalist and Washington correspondent for The Advocate, Kerry Eleveld, was named editor of the project’s website, EqualityMatters.org, which organizers say will provide “news, opinion, and messaging” on LGBT-related issues in the media.
“Despite huge progress in gay rights in recent years, exemplified by the historic vote [on Dec. 18] finally striking down the ban on gay men and women from serving in the military, we are now living through a period of ferocious fundamentalism in the Republican Party and the conservative movement,” Brock said.
“Traditional conservatives and the Tea Party movement are united only in their contempt for equal rights for all Americans and a desire to return America to a 19th century idyll,” he said. “Equality Matters will not allow these latter-day ‘clerics’ to gain serious recognition by the media nor influence the policies that affect the lives of every American.”
A source familiar with Media Matters said the group and an affiliated entity, Media Matters Action network, raised about $23 million in 2010 in cash contributions and “long term commitments for 2011 and 2012.”
The New York Times reported that much of Media Matters’ funding comes from large contributions by wealthy liberal donors, including gay philanthropists.
The Blade source, who spoke on condition of not being identified, said the two entities yielded between $13 million and $14 in revenue this year. The 2010 figure disclosed by the source represents a significant boost in Media Matters’ revenue of $6.7 million in 2009 and $8.09 million raised in 2008, according to reports the group filed with the IRS in 2008 and 2009.
Socarides told the Blade Tuesday that Equality Matters would not have a separate budget and instead would operate under the Media Matters budget. He said Equality Matters, which would be based in the same offices as Media Matters at 455 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., would operate initially with a six-person staff, including him and Eleveld.
“We will draw on the Media Matters staff extensively,” he said. “And there are just under 100 people who work there. So we’ll have six people dedicated to just this and then parts of 95 others.”
According to Socarides, Equality Matters will not be involved in direct lobbying and won’t make campaign contributions – unlike existing LGBT groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.
“Much like Media Matters already does on a broad range of issues, we will do news and information media monitoring,” he said. “And we’ll be a rapid response to any homophobic misinformation in the media or in political discourse. So part of our mission is to respond rapidly with smart and accurate information when the right wing – be it in media or politics – puts out misinformation.”
At least two activists involved with national LGBT groups said the launching of Equality Matters would likely trigger speculation among LGBT movement insiders about whether Brock and Socarides were seeking to step into the realm of other national LGBT groups that came under some criticism in the past year.
Expectations were high in January 2009 for significant progress on LGBT-related legislation as President Obama entered the White House and Democrats were in control of Congress, the two activists said. Although Congress passed an important hate crimes law last year with protections for LGBT people and last week repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” all other important bills remain stalled in committee. Among them is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, which calls for banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The feeling among some of us is the established groups could have done more and could have put more pressure on the Democrats to do more,” said one of the activists.
But others, including gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), considered one of the leading advocates for LGBT rights in Congress, have said there were not enough LGBT-supportive votes in Congress to advance the other bills. Frank has said it is up to LGBT advocates to do the lobbying and advocacy work in the sections of the country, especially the so-called “red states,” where members of Congress oppose LGBT equality and won’t vote for pro-gay bills.
Socarides said he sees Equality Matters as a new force that will work with the existing groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which also specializes in media-related initiatives.
One gay activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, questioned whether Equality Matters would be replicating the work of existing groups.
“Media Matters is fantastic at pushing back at conservative disinformation, and if they’re ramping up that function in the gay space, God bless,” the activist said. “But if they’re doing policy advocacy, plenty of people with vastly more substantive experience than Socarides are doing that pretty well, as the passage of DADT suggests. It’s not clear this isn’t a completely redundant vanity project, but I guess we’ll see.”
GLAAD, which has a budget of $7.95 million and a 48-member staff located in New York and Los Angeles, focuses on the positive portrayal of LGBT people in the media and in entertainment, according to its president, Jarrett Barrios.
“GLAAD fights defamation in the media from major outlets to small markets around the country,” Barrios said. “Some of GLAAD’s most visible work is in Hollywood, but much of our work is with journalists and news organizations to ensure accurate and responsible coverage of LGBT peoples’ lives and the issues that affect them.”
He said that unlike Equality Matters’ stated objective, GLAAD steers clear of addressing specific political and policy-making issues.
“I think our effort will be complimentary rather than overlapping with GLAAD,” said Socarides. “And in fact one of our core missions at Media Matters and at Equality Matters is to help other progressive and LGBT rights organizations fulfill their own missions.”
Now that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been addressed legislatively, Socarides said Equality Matters plans to devote much of its resources to promoting same-sex marriage equality, both on the national and state level. He said the group would jump into the media fray as ballot measures seeking to ban same-sex marriage surface in the states.
He said Equality Matters would also push to advance legislation stalled in Congress to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage under federal law as a union only between a man and a woman and bars all federal programs – including Social Security benefits – for same-sex married couples.
“Despite our best efforts over the years to stiffen the spines of progressives in the face of unrelenting smears from the Republican attack machine, fearful progressives continue to cede the political field to right-wingers who are waging war against core American values,” Brock said in a statement. “We need to do more. Our new communication war room for gay equality, Equality Matters, will expose right-wing bigotry and homophobia wherever we find it, show that the real political vulnerability on these issues belongs to the GOP, provide desperately needed ballast in the media, and trigger progressive passion – so that our political leaders act on their convictions and fight for them,” he said.
Pennsylvania
Malcolm Kenyatta could become the first LGBTQ statewide elected official in Pa.
State lawmaker a prominent Biden-Harris 2024 reelection campaign surrogate
Following his win in the Democratic primary contest on Wednesday, Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who is running for auditor general, is positioned to potentially become the first openly LGBTQ elected official serving the commonwealth.
In a statement celebrating his victory, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President Annise Parker said, “Pennsylvanians trust Malcolm Kenyatta to be their watchdog as auditor general because that’s exactly what he’s been as a legislator.”
“LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is all in for Malcolm, because we know he has the experience to win this race and carry on his fight for students, seniors and workers as Pennsylvania’s auditor general,” she said.
Parker added, “LGBTQ+ Americans are severely underrepresented in public office and the numbers are even worse for Black LGBTQ+ representation. I look forward to doing everything I can to mobilize LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians and our allies to get out and vote for Malcolm this November so we can make history.”
In April 2023, Kenyatta was appointed by the White House to serve as director of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.
He has been an active surrogate in the Biden-Harris 2024 reelection campaign.
The White House
White House debuts action plan targeting pollutants in drinking water
Same-sex couples face higher risk from environmental hazards
Headlining an Earth Day event in Northern Virginia’s Prince William Forest on Monday, President Joe Biden announced the disbursement of $7 billion in new grants for solar projects and warned of his Republican opponent’s plans to roll back the progress his administration has made toward addressing the harms of climate change.
The administration has led more than 500 programs geared toward communities most impacted by health and safety hazards like pollution and extreme weather events.
In a statement to the Washington Blade on Wednesday, Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said, “President Biden is leading the most ambitious climate, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history — and that means working toward a future where all people can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a healthy community.”
“This Earth Week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $7 billion in solar energy projects for over 900,000 households in disadvantaged communities while creating hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs, which are being made more accessible by the American Climate Corps,” she said. “President Biden is delivering on his promise to help protect all communities from the impacts of climate change — including the LGBTQI+ community — and that we leave no community behind as we build an equitable and inclusive clean energy economy for all.”
Recent milestones in the administration’s climate policies include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s issuance on April 10 of legally enforceable standard for detecting and treating drinking water contaminated with polyfluoroalkyl substances.
“This rule sets health safeguards and will require public water systems to monitor and reduce the levels of PFAS in our nation’s drinking water, and notify the public of any exceedances of those levels,” according to a White House fact sheet. “The rule sets drinking water limits for five individual PFAS, including the most frequently found PFOA and PFOS.”
The move is expected to protect 100 million Americans from exposure to the “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to severe health problems including cancers, liver and heart damage, and developmental impacts in children.
An interactive dashboard from the United States Geological Survey shows the concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl substances in tapwater are highest in urban areas with dense populations, including cities like New York and Los Angeles.
During Biden’s tenure, the federal government has launched more than 500 programs that are geared toward investing in the communities most impacted by climate change, whether the harms may arise from chemical pollutants, extreme weather events, or other causes.
New research by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law found that because LGBTQ Americans are likelier to live in coastal areas and densely populated cities, households with same-sex couples are likelier to experience the adverse effects of climate change.
The report notes that previous research, including a study that used “national Census data on same-sex households by census tract combined with data on hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from the National Air Toxics Assessment” to model “the relationship between same-sex households and risk of cancer and respiratory illness” found “that higher prevalence of same-sex households is associated with higher risks for these diseases.”
“Climate change action plans at federal, state, and local levels, including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery plans, must be inclusive and address the specific needs and vulnerabilities facing LGBT people,” the Williams Institute wrote.
With respect to polyfluoroalkyl substances, the EPA’s adoption of new standards follows other federal actions undertaken during the Biden-Harris administration to protect firefighters and healthcare workers, test for and clean up pollution, and phase out or reduce use of the chemicals in fire suppressants, food packaging, and federal procurement.
Maine
Maine governor signs transgender, abortion sanctuary bill into law
Bomb threats made against lawmakers before measure’s passage
BY ERIN REED | On Tuesday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 227, a sanctuary bill that protects transgender and abortion providers and patients from out-of-state prosecution, into law.
With this action, Maine becomes the 16th state to explicitly protect trans and abortion care in state law from prosecution. This follows several bomb threats targeting state legislators after social media attacks from far-right anti-trans influencers such as Riley Gaines and Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok.
An earlier version of the bill failed in committee after similar attacks in January. Undeterred, Democrats reconvened and added additional protections to the bill before it was passed into law.
The law is extensive. It asserts that gender-affirming care and reproductive health care are “legal rights” in Maine. It states that criminal and civil actions against providers and patients are not enforceable if the provision or access to that care occurred within Maine’s borders, asserting jurisdiction over those matters.
It bars cooperation with out-of-state subpoenas and arrest warrants for gender-affirming care and abortion that happen within the state. It even protects doctors who provide gender-affirming care and abortion from certain adverse actions by medical boards, malpractice insurance, and other regulating entities, shielding those providers from attempts to economically harm them through out-of-state legislation designed to dissuade them from providing care.
You can see the findings section of the bill here:
The bill also explicitly enshrines the World Professional Association of Transgender Health’s Standards of Care, which have been the target of right-wing disinformation campaigns, into state law for the coverage of trans healthcare:
The bill is said to be necessary due to attempts to prosecute doctors and seek information from patients across state lines. In recent months, attorneys general in other states have attempted to obtain health care data on trans patients who traveled to obtain care. According to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, attorneys general in Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, and Texas attempted to obtain detailed medical records “to terrorize transgender teens in their states … opening the door to criminalizing women’s private reproductive health care choices.”
The most blatant of these attempts was from the attorney general of Texas, who, according to the Senate Finance Committee, “sent demands to at least two non-Texas entities.” One of these entities was Seattle Children’s Hospital, which received a letter threatening administrators with arrest unless they sent data on Texas patients traveling to Seattle to obtain gender-affirming care.
Seattle Children’s Hospital settled that case out of court this week, agreeing to withdraw its Texas business registration in return for Texas dropping its investigation. This likely will have no impact on Seattle Children’s Hospital, which has stated it did not treat any youth via telemedicine or in person in Texas; the hospital will be able to continue treating Texas youth who travel outside of Texas to obtain their care. That settlement was likely compelling due to a nearly identical law in Washington that barred out-of-state investigations on trans care obtained solely in the state of Washington.
The bill has faced a rocky road to passage. A similar bill was debated in January, but after coming under intense attack from anti-trans activists who misleadingly called it a “transgender trafficking bill,” the bill was voluntarily withdrawn by its sponsor.
When LD 227 was introduced, it faced even more attacks from Gaines and Libs of TikTok. These attacks were followed by bomb threats that forced the evacuation of the legislature, promising “death to pedophiles” and stating that a bomb would detonate within a few hours in the capitol building.
Despite these threats, legislators strengthened both the abortion and gender-affirming care provisions and pressed forward, passing the bill into law. Provisions found in the new bill include protecting people who “aid and assist” gender-affirming care and abortion, protections against court orders from other states for care obtained in Maine, and even protections against adverse actions by health insurance and malpractice insurance providers, which have been recent targets of out-of-state legislation aimed at financially discouraging doctors from providing gender-affirming care and abortion care even in states where it is legal.
See a few of the extensive health insurance and malpractice provisions here:
Speaking about the bill, Gia Drew, executive director of Equality Maine, said in a statement, “We are thrilled to see LD 227, the shield bill, be signed into law by Gov. Mills. Thanks to our pro equality and pro reproductive choice elected officials who refused to back down in the face of disinformation. This bill couldn’t come into effect at a better time, as more than 40 percent of states across the country have either banned or attempted to block access to reproductive care, which includes abortions, as well as transgender healthcare for minors. Thanks to our coalition partners who worked tirelessly to phone bank, lobby, and get this bill over the finish line to protect community health.”
Destie Hohman Sprague of the Maine Women’s Lobby celebrated the passage of the bill despite threats of violence, saying in a statement, “A gender-just Maine ensures that all Mainers have access to quality health care that supports their mental and physical wellbeing and bodily autonomy, including comprehensive reproductive and gender-affirming care. We celebrate the passage of LD 227, which helps us meet that goal. Still, the patterns of violence and disinformation ahead of the vote reflected the growing connections between misogyny, extremism, and anti-democratic threats and actions. We must continue to advocate for policies that protect bodily autonomy, and push back against extremist rhetoric that threatens our states’ rights and our citizens’ freedoms.”
The decision to pass the legislation comes as the Biden administration released updated HIPAA protections that protect “reproductive health care” from out-of-state prosecutions and investigations.
Although the definition of “reproductive health care” is broad in the new HIPAA regulations, it is uncertain whether they will include gender-affirming care. For at least 16 states, though, gender-affirming care is now explicitly protected by state law and shielded from out-of-state legislation, providing trans people and those seeking abortions with protections as the fight increasingly crosses state lines.
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Erin Reed is a transgender woman (she/her pronouns) and researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker.
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The preceding article was first published at Erin In The Morning and is republished with permission.
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