National
Latin American LGBT activists visit the U.S. on State Department-sponsored trip
Nine Central and South American LGBT activists will remain in the country through Sept. 22
Laura Bronzino of Argentina and Jaime Parada in Chile in D.C. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Nine Latin American activists continue to tour the United States on a State Department-organized trip that is part of its ongoing efforts to promote human rights for LGBT people around the world.
Jaime Parada of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation in Chile; Laura Bronzino, president of the Misiones LGBT Association in Argentina; Henry Peralta, general director of the LGBT Equality Foundation in Bolivia; Marcela Sánchez, executive director of Colombia Diversa; Brazilian Congressman Jean de Matos; Francisco Madrigal of the Center for the Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights in Central America in Costa Rica; Efraín Soria, president of the Equity Foundation in Ecuador; José Lopéz, vice president of Comunidad Cultural de Tijuana LGBTI in México and Panamanian activist Augustín Rodríguez began their trip in D.C. on Sept. 4. They met with Human Rights Campaign staffers, former HRC President Elizabeth Birch, Council for Global Equality President Mark Bromley, transgender activist Dr. Dana Beyer and gay Maryland state Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City,) representatives from the Justice Department, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and other federal agencies, human rights groups and non-governmental organizations while in the nation’s capital. The group also discussed the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers at the Pentagon.
The activists met with staffers and representatives from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Harvey Milk High School, the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York City Anti-Violence Project and Gay Men’s Health Crisis while in the Big Apple from Sept. 8-12.
The group is scheduled to meet with representatives of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, Equality California, the Transgender Law Center, the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and COLAGE while in the Bay Area from Sept. 12-16. Activists are also slated to meet with the University of Louisville’s Office of LGBT Services staffers and PFLAG members while in Kentucky from Sept. 16-19. And they are scheduled to meet with members of the Unity Coalition and Walker Burttschell, a former Marine infantryman who was discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2003, in Miami before they leave the country on Sept. 22.
“I am tremendously happy for this experience that I will live,” said Parada in a press release his organization released before he arrived in the United States on Sept. 1. “It will be a big help in amplifying and perfecting my fight for the human rights of [Chile’s] sexual diversity. Without a doubt, the experiences and knowledge that I will gain will benefit sexual minorities.”
Latin American countries expand rights to LGBT citizens
Central and South American countries have also begun to expand rights to their LGBT citizens.
Same-sex couples in Mexico City have been able to marry and adopt children since 2010 — the Mexican Supreme Court ruled the same year that the country’s 31 other states must recognize them. Gays and lesbians have been able to enter into civil unions in the Mexican state of Coahuila since 2007.
Ecuador and Uruguay also allow civil unions for same-sex couples. Colombia also recognizes these relationships, but gays and lesbians will automatically receive full marriage rights in June 2013 if the country’s lawmakers do not act upon a court ruling that orders them to legislate the matter.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández signed her country’s same-sex marriage law in 2010, while neighboring Uruguay is widely expected to become the next Latin American country to allow gays and lesbians to tie the knot. São Paolo and several other Brazilian cities and states have recognized hundreds of same-sex civil unions in response to a 2011 ruling from the country’s Supreme Court.
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera pledged ahead of the country’s 2010 presidential election that he supports civil unions for same-sex couples. He introduced a civil unions measure last year, but it has stalled in the Chilean Congress.
“Marriage is uncertain,” Parada told the Blade. “It will undoubtedly be one of the most important points in the next presidential election, but it is very uncertain what will happen in that regard.”
Lawmakers pass transgender rights, anti-hate crimes bills
In addition to marriage, attitudes towards anti-LGBT discrimination and other issues in Latin America continue to change.
Piñera in July signed an LGBT-inclusive hate crimes and anti-discrimination bill that had languished for seven years. Chilean lawmakers passed the measure in response to four self-described neo-Nazis who allegedly beat Daniel Zamudio to death in a park in Santiago, the country’s capital, because he was gay.
Parada noted to the Blade that Santiaguïnos marched in the streets nearly every day to show their solidarity with Zamudio in the days and weeks after the brutal attack that left him in a coma. He ultimately succumbed to his injuries, but Parada noted the media coverage that surrounded Zamudio’s death highlighted efforts to combat anti-LGBT discrimination and violence in the country.
“It started a small ‘click’ in the people’s minds,” he said. “This case was an earthquake of a loss of a human life, but it was a point of inflection.”
In neighboring Argentina, Fernández in May signed a law that allows people who have not undergone sex-reassignment surgery to legally change their gender without a doctor or judge’s approval. It further mandates public and private health insurance plans to cover SRS, hormone therapy and other trans-specific treatments without additional premiums.
Bronzino, who is from northeastern Argentina near Iguazu Falls, acknowledged the same-sex marriage and gender identification laws to the Blade. She stressed that anti-LGBT police violence and discrimination remain problems.
Bronzino further noted that a lot of people have yet to benefit from these new legal protections.
“Equality has taken root in this country and the LGBT gender change,” she said. “But in Misiones they are not relevant. Only 15 equal marriages and 13 LGBT gender changes [have taken place.] That is not a large number of people.”
Activists: Trip proves Clinton’s commitment to global LGBT rights
The State Department did not return the Blade’s request for comment on the trip, but those who met with the activists applauded their efforts.
“They’re a great group of people who are all very active in their countries,” said Mónica Trasandes, GLAAD’s director of Spanish language media. “There is so much going on in Latin America now — Mexico and Central and Latin America. It’s wonderful and exciting to see that.”
“It was a pleasure to support the work of the State Department and all of the committed activists visiting the U.S. hoping to take lessons learned from our movement and apply them for positive change in their home countries,” added HRC spokesperson Michael Cole-Schwartz.
Beyer, who met with the activists in Annapolis after she returned from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, further described the trip as proof what she said is the former First Lady’s ongoing commitment to LGBT rights.
“Secretary Clinton came out and said LGBT rights are human rights and human rights are LGBT rights,” she told the Blade. “She wasn’t just talking. She’s made it real. This is an implementation of that policy of treating LGBT rights as human rights.”
Wyoming
U.S. attorney nominee confirmed despite anti-LGBTQ history, no trial experience
Nine felony grand jury indictments tied to Darin Smith dismissed last week
Republicans confirmed Darin Smith as U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming on Monday, regardless of his history as interim U.S. Attorney for Wyoming and a state senator.
While serving as interim U.S. Attorney for Wyoming — after being appointed by President Donald Trump last July despite never trying a case outside of his time as a law student intern — former state Sen. Darin Smith likely prejudiced jurors during grand jury proceedings.
Nine felony grand jury indictments tied to Smith’s tenure were dismissed last week.
Judges dismissed felony indictments against Cheyenne Swett, Richard Allen, Michael Scott Hopper, Brian Joseph Johnson, Dennison Jay Antelope, Matthew Christopher Jacoby, Matthew Miller Jr., Wolf Elkins Duran, and Jose Benito Ocon. The now-dismissed charges included felony firearm possession, drug distribution, and possession of child pornography, among other allegations.
Smith allegedly told the grand jury that the defendants were “bad guys,” described them as “murderers,” and said deliberations “won’t take long.”
Even the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming acknowledged that Smith’s comments were “ill-advised.”
Smith has a history of aligning with Trump over the Constitution and supporting anti-LGBTQ legislation.
In 2025, Smith co-sponsored House Bill 0194, titled “Obscenity amendments,” which, among other provisions, would have criminalized drag shows. The bill also would have repealed exemptions for public and school librarians from the crime of “promoting obscenity” to minors. The wording of the bill was so vague that Republican state Rep. Lee Filer said, “We will end up having to arrest somebody for allowing a child to read the Holy Bible.”
Smith also co-sponsored SF0062, a bill requiring public school students to use restrooms, sex-designated changing facilities, and sleeping quarters that align with their sex assigned at birth. In March 2025, the Wyoming governor signed the bill into law, along with its House companion.
He also attended the Jan. 6 Capitol riot alongside thousands of other Trump supporters.
“Smith was on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 … and made the reprehensible claim … that the hundreds of Capitol Police officers who risked their lives that day were guilty of ‘massive incompetence.’ Smith blames the police for what happened on Jan. 6. Without evidence, he claimed that rioters who breached the Capitol were victims of entrapment,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said. “Moreover, Smith is not remotely qualified to be a U.S. Attorney. He’s going to be in the package — take it or leave it. Prior to becoming the interim U.S. Attorney, he had no courtroom or litigation experience whatsoever. None. And Smith’s lack of experience has had real-world consequences.”
Prior to his work in the Wyoming state legislature, Smith worked as Director of Planned Giving for the Family Research Council, an organization that describes homosexuality as “harmful” to society with “negative physical and psychological health effects.”
The organization also believes that sexual orientation “should [not] be included as a protected category in nondiscrimination laws or policies, as it is not comparable to inborn, immutable characteristics such as race or sex.”
During questioning before the U.S. Senate, he denied that his work with the organization shows he has loss of impartiality when it comes to matters of LGBTQ rights.
Also questioning, Smith was asked about a now-deleted Facebook post in which he appeared to express support for Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was found to be unconstitutional in her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses, despite Obergefell v. Hodges.
“Perhaps Hillary and Obama can share the cell with Kim Davis for refusing to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act,” the post said.
When asked why he posted it, Smith told Durbin: “I do not recall.”
Josh Sorbe, spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats and Durbin, said:
“Anti-LGBTQ+ extremist Darin Smith has no business serving as a top law enforcement officer in any state — let alone a state with as much history of queer importance as Wyoming. He’s an unqualified insurrectionist with no experience litigating criminal or federal matters, and his bigotry puts into serious question his commitment to upholding the law for all Americans.”
Human Rights Campaign Vice President of Government Affairs David Stacy also condemned Smith’s confirmation to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“The justice system in America is supposed to be about ensuring the law is applied fairly and equally. But Darin Smith has spent his career obsessed with making life worse for LGBTQ+ people, opposing marriage equality, cosponsoring state legislation targeting transgender youth, and smearing LGBTQ+ people in public statements,” Stacy said. “Just over two decades after Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in that same state, Wyoming deserves better than tired anti-LGBTQ+ hate at the helm of federal law enforcement. The Senate should reject Darin Smith and demand a nominee who will put the people — and justice — first.”
Vermont
Vt. lawmaker equates transgender identity with bestiality
Vermont Democrats condemned comments, demanded apology
State Sen. Steven Heffernan (R-Addison) equated transgender people to bestiality on the Vermont Senate floor on May 15 while debating an animal cruelty bill.
Heffernan, who was elected in 2024 to the state Senate, constructed a scenario in which a trans person is indistinguishable from someone committing bestiality.
“In these crazy times, what happens if the individual identifies as an animal having intercourse with an animal? How is the courts going to handle that?” the former member of the Vermont Air National Guard said while debating House Bill 578. “Being that we voted through Prop Four, and if it does make it through this state, and I have a gender identity that I identify as a dog and had sex with my dog, is this law going to affect me?”
State Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (D-Chittenden Central), who presented H. 578 responded professionally.
“The bill that we are putting forward in the current law is quite clear that any act between a person and an animal that involves contact with the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the person, and the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the animal, without a bona fide veterinary purpose, will be a crime.”
In the video, Heffernan continued to ask inappropriate questions — questions that Vyhovsky answered.
“If I identify as that animal, will this be able to … It says a person. I’m not a person. I’m identifying as this animal I’m having intercourse with,” he said. “We are identifying genders, of whatever gender we decide we want to be, and I think I like this bill. I’m going to vote for this bill, but I want to make this chamber aware of what’s coming.”
Vyhovsky made a statement saying this was a planned move in an attempt to “other” trans Vermonters instead of protecting them.
“Senator Heffernan knew exactly what he was doing,” said Vyhovsky. “Sen. Heffernan is using the same dehumanizing playbook that has been used against LGBTQ+ people for generations — the false, ugly suggestion that queer and trans identity is synonymous with deviance and harm. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.”
This derogatory action at the expense of trans people appears to be part of a pattern of behavior from Heffernan in his official capacity.
In March, Heffernan left the floor right before lawmakers voted on Proposal 4, conveniently missing the bill vote. PR 4, if passed by the state’s voters in the fall, would amend the state constitution to enshrine protections against unjust treatment, including discrimination based on a “person’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.”
Heffernan told VTDigger at the time that he left because his stomach was feeling “agitated” and he needed to use the restroom. He said he had not made up his mind on how to vote on the amendment, largely because he’d heard from constituents urging him both to vote for and against it.
“My pizza hit at the right time, I guess,” he said, calling the timing “convenient.”
Despite his leaving — and being the only lawmaker to do so — the state Senate voted to pass it 29-0, with Heffernan marked “absent.” This came after the state House of Representatives voted to pass it 128-14 last week.
Vermont Senate Democrats condemned the statement and used the opportunity to emphasize the need for the state to pass PR 4 on Nov. 4.
“In the wake of Sen. Heffernan’s comments, the stakes of this election couldn’t be more clear,” the statement provided to the Washington Blade read. “Transgender and nonbinary Vermonters are our neighbors, our friends, and our family members. On Friday, Sen. Heffernan used his platform as an elected official representing the people of Vermont to dehumanize them. Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for dignity for all Vermonters. We demand Senator Heffernan apologize to those he has harmed with his words and actions.”
State Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden Southeast), speaking in her capacity as chair of the Senate Ethics Panel, responded to similar transphobic comments made by President Donald Trump in a White House counterterrorism strategy document last week, in which he said those with “extreme transgender ideologies” should know “we will find you and we will kill you,” stating:
“A lot of people are living in fear in this country because of what somebody with the power of the pen and the power of the military is saying every day,” Hinsdale said. “Just because [speech] is protected does not mean it is worthy of this institution, and does not mean it is worthy of the office we hold and the power that we wield in the lives of Vermonters.”
The Blade reached out to Heffernan for comment but has not heard back.
Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) died on Tuesday. He was 86.
The Massachusetts Democrat served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981-2013. Frank in 1987 became the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay.
The Washington Blade earlier this month interviewed Frank after he entered hospice care at his Ogunquit, Maine, home where he lived with his husband, Jim Ready, since 2013. The former congressman, among other things, talked about his new book, “The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy.”
The book is scheduled for release on Sept. 15.
NBC Boston reported Frank’s sister, Ann Lewis, and a close family friend confirmed his death.
The Blade will update this article.
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