News
Trump nominee refuses to say foreign laws criminalizing gays unjustified
Brownback nominated as U.S. ambassador for int’l religious freedom


Gov. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), nominated as U.S. ambassador for religious freedom, speaks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Oct. 4, 2017. (Screen capture public domain)
President Trump’s pick as U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom faced tough questioning Wednesday over his anti-LGBT record during which he refused to say laws in foreign countries criminalizing LGBT status were always unjustified.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, whom Trump nominated in July to become U.S. ambassador at-large for international religious freedom, was non-committal on opposition to these foreign laws, which in some cases penalize homosexuality with death, under questioning from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
Seeking to connect the issue of anti-LGBT discrimination to religious freedom, Kaine asked Brownback if he’s aware that countries have laws punishing homosexuality with imprisonment or death.
When Brownback replied, “I believe that’s correct,” Kaine pointed out the justification for these draconian anti-gay laws is religious reasons.
In response, Brownback said the day before his confirmation hearing, he had a “lengthy conversation” with Randy Berry, who continues to serve during the Trump administration as U.S. envoy for the State Department for international LGBT human rights issues, and how he worked with the Obama administration’s U.S. ambassador for religious freedom David Saperstein.
“We had a good conversation about how these two offices work together,” Brownback said. “I don’t see doing anything any different than what they worked together.”
Kaine started to reply, “That wasn’t really my question,” but Brownback responded, “But that really is the point.”
Seeking to get back on topic, Kaine asked the nominee if there’s any situation in which religious freedom could be used to justify laws imprisoning or executing people for being LGBT, but Brownback didn’t directly answer.
“I agree with what Randy Berry did around the world on that topic,” Brownback said. “I’m not fully briefed on the various specifics of what he basically did and described to me yesterday and the work he did back and forth with ambassador Saperstein, I wouldn’t see changing.”
With his question unanswered, Kaine asked again if there’s any circumstance in which criminalizing homosexuality for religious reasons is justified, but Brownback again declined to directly answer.
“I don’t know what that would be and what circumstance, but I would continue the policies that had been done in the prior administration in work on these international issues,” he said.
Kaine wasn’t satisfied: “I really would expect an unequivocal answer on that, but my time is up.”
Brownback refused to say outright laws criminalizing homosexuality are always unjustified days after the Trump administration faced criticism for voting against a U.N. resolution condemning the death penalty for homosexuality. The Trump administration defended that action by saying the resolution was about the death penalty in general, not specific to gays, and previous administrations declined to support similar resolutions.
The choice of Brownback as ambassador for religious freedom overseas has inspired consternation among LGBT rights supporters since Trump announced his choice based on the Kansas governor’s anti-LGBT record, which was explored during the hearing.
Brownback also faced tough questions from Kaine about rescinding as governor an executive order barring anti-LGBT discrimination in the state workforce.
Referencing Brownback’s decision in 2015 to reverse the order established by his Democratic predecessor Kathleen Sebelius, Kaine asked the nominee to defend his actions.
“That was an order that created a right by the executive branch that wasn’t available to other people and it wasn’t passed by the legislative branch,” Brownback replied. “I believe those sorts of issues should be passed a legislative branch.”
But Kaine wouldn’t have Brownback’s explanation the protections should be left the legislature, asking the nominee, “Isn’t that kind of the point to an executive order?”
“You issue an executive order on something that the legislature doesn’t pass,” Kaine added. “If it was clearly in statute, you wouldn’t need to issue an executive order.”
But Brownback said an executive order against anti-LGBT discrimination would be inappropriate because it was “a foundational issue that you were creating a right for state employees that wasn’t available to the rest of the people in the state.”
When Kaine replied “was it bad” to give state employees a course of action under anti-LGBT discrimination, Brownback insisted the state legislature should be responsible for those protections.
Kaine asked Brownback a series of questions on whether as Kansas governor he appoints Cabinet secretaries and agency heads, and the nominee more or less affirmed that was the case. When Kaine asked Brownback if he applies a high standard to state employees, Brownback replied “yes.”
Kaine’s follow up: Why then, as Kansas governor, could he also not protect LGBT state employees through executive order?
“If you’re hiring for honesty, if you’re hiring for competence, wouldn’t that be an appropriate thing that the governor as a chief of state personnel operation would want to know about leaders in state government,” Kaine said.
Brownback’s defense: “I think that would be a rational thing. I just don’t think it’s a right the executive branch should create without the legislative branch.”
Reversing the executive order isn’t the only anti-LGBT action Brownback took as governor. Last year, he signed into law a “religious freedom” bill allowing student groups at taxpayer-funded public universities in Kansas to deny membership to LGBT students.
As a member of Congress — first as U.S. House member, then as U.S. senator — Brownback built a significant anti-LGBT reputation. Among other things, Brownback championed a U.S. constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage.
Kaine recalled during his tenure as Virginia governor issuing an executive order against anti-gay discrimination in state employment, saying that was the first action he took as governor even though he faced resistance from then-Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell over the legislature not having acted on the issue.
“Can’t you see that the retraction of an executive order like this that had been in place for eight years sends a message that that is not a value, non-discrimination against folks on the grounds of sexual orientation, that’s not a value that you share?”
Brownback disagreed and insisted for the role at hand as ambassador for religious freedom, he wouldn’t engage in any kind of discrimination.
“I look forward to working with people, working with everybody regardless of their ideas or views on how we can advance the agenda of religious freedom,” Brownback said.
Also questioning Brownback on LGBT rights was Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who after raising the issue of Indonesian refugees in her state facing deportation asked Brownback if he’s willing to work with civil society groups working not just on religious freedom, but LGBT and women’s rights.
In response, Brownback insisted his focus will be religious freedom to maintain bipartisan support for that role.
“I will work with anybody that I can on the topic of religious freedom and not veer out of that lane because I think if you start to veer out of that lane, you get pulled to other topics that other people are charged with doing, you’re going to lose bipartisan support for the position, which is critical to have,” Brownback said.
Coming to Brownback’s defense was Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was chairing the hearing and said his colleagues were asking him about topics other than religious freedom.
“If there is persecution on the basis of religion, or oppression on the basis of religion, or the denial of liberty on the basis of religion, your job would be to advocate for that freedom for them to practice in peace religion in peace,” Rubio said. “That is the scope of the job that you’d been nominated to, is that correct, not to litigation theological points or policy differences beyond the scope of that liberty?”
Brownback affirmed that view and repeated his response that bipartisan support for his role is important, adding a distraction into other issues would make the position “less effective if effective at all.”
David Stacy, the Human Rights Campaign’s director of government affairs, said after the hearing his organization remains “deeply concerned” about Brownback’s nomination.
“Brownback’s long history of anti-LGBTQ actions in Congress and as governor was reflected in his refusal at his hearing today to unequivocally condemn the inhumane treatment, including execution, of people based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Stacy said. “While he expressed some support for the LGBTQ human rights work at the State Department, his other responses give us every reason to believe that Brownback will continue to use his own narrow view of ‘religious freedom’ as permission to discriminate against LGBTQ people.”
Lesotho
LGBTQ activist murdered in Lesotho
Authorities have arrested a suspect in Kabelo Seseli’s death

Kabelo Seseli, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist in Lesotho, was murdered over the weekend in a suspected homophobic attack.
According to the People’s Matrix Association, a LGBTQ rights organization, Seseli’s body was found with stab wounds on their neck and genitals.
“This was not just a murder, it was a hate-driven, dehumanizing act meant to send a message of fear and rejection to our community,” said the People’s Matrix Association in a statement posted to its Facebook page on April 29. “Kabelo deserved to live. Kabelo deserved dignity, safety, and the freedom to exist without fear, just like every Mosotho.”
The LGBTQ rights group also said it is demanding action, justice, and protection from the government, especially given the fact authorities have arrested a suspect.
“We strongly condemn this act of violence and call on the government of Lesotho and law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable,” said the People’s Matrix Association. “We also urge leaders and the public to reflect on the role of hate speech and social stigma, which continue to incite violence against LGBTI individuals across our country. We demand action.”
Victor Mukasa of Trans and History Intersex Africa also condemned Seseli’s murder.
“Death is a fact of life, but murder is criminal,” said Mukasa. “Murder of people because they are LGBTIQA+ or for belonging to a particular social group is a hate crime.”
Thato Motsieloa, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist, said he was “deeply distraught to learn about the brutal murder of Kabelo Seseli.” Motsieloa said he and Seseli met on Facebook.
“Although we never met in person, we had plans to do so,” said Motsieloa. “The manner of his death is particularly heartbreaking, and the fact that his killers desecrated his body by removing his private parts is utterly heinous. I hope justice is served, and those responsible face the consequences of their horrific actions. My sincerest condolences go out to Kabelo’s family, may his soul rest in eternal peace.”
Lesotho in 2012 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. Marriage, however, remains limited to heterosexual couples. There have also been sporadic reports of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes since 2012.
The International Commission of Jurists, in partnership with Outright International, a New York-based LGBTQ advocacy group, in 2022 held a workshop with the Lesotho judiciary that focused on human rights for the LGBTQ community.
The judiciary noted LGBTQ people exist, but acknowledged there is no local jurisprudence on their rights, even though the country’s constitution guarantees the right to respect private and family life and freedom from discrimination.
Religious and cultural norms, like in many African countries, play a pivotal role in how society perceives the LGBTQ community. Many people in Lesotho disregard the existence of LGBTQ people, even though the government is trying to make room for the acknowledgment of LGBTQ rights.
Outright International Africa Advocacy Officer Khanyo Farise says the judiciary’s active engagement with the LGBTQ community is an important step towards ensuring LGBTQ rights are upheld.
“Judges and judicial officers play an important part in ensuring access to justice for LGBTIQ+ people, but also have an important role in producing judgments which can advance their human rights,” said Farise.
ICJ Africa Communications and Legal Officer Mulesa Lumina said though the ICJ is encouraged by these developments, particularly the willingness of judiciary members to understand the plight of the community, LGBTQ people continue to face harassment, discrimination, abuse and violence because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We will continue working with partners, such as the People’s Matrix and Outright International, to ensure the enforcement of the country’s obligations under international human rights law, which entitle LGBTIQ persons to the full range of human rights without discrimination,” said Lumina.
India
LGBTQ Kashmiri students targeted after terrorist attack
26 people killed in Baisaran Valley on April 22

Baisaran Valley, a Kashmiri meadow surrounded by pine trees, was bustling with Hindu tourists on April 22.
Families were wearing phirans (traditional Kashmiri clothing) for photos, while ponies trotted along the Lidder River. Gunfire shattered this peace when five terrorists opened fire. They targeted Hindu men, checking their religion before shooting them. The terrorists killed 26 people — 25 tourists, including a Navy officer who was on his honeymoon — and Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a pony guide who died protecting others. More than 20 others were wounded.
The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based group tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organization, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but retracted the claim three days later, fearing India’s diplomatic and military response that eventually included the tightening of borders and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The attack sparked outrage across India.
Misdirected anger targeted Kashmiri students in Dehradun, Jalandhar, and other cities in which LGBTQ people face heightened vulnerability. They endured harassment, evictions, and threats of violence. The J&K Students Association reported more than 1,000 distress calls, and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged states to protect them.
Activists across India have rallied to help LGBTQ Kashmiri students in their cities.
Harish Iyer, a prominent activist, offered shelter and legal assistance to them in Mumbai, the country’s financial hub.
“Religion is a tool used by terrorists worldwide to ensure that their victims divert their energy towards fighting each other while they continue to focus on our destruction,” said Iyer. “It is a tried and tested formula designed to divide us while we should all be united against them.”
Iyer told the Washington Blade he saw videos of Kashmiri students being targeted.
“Hate gets compounded when you look at it from several intersectional points,” he said. “To belong to identities like queer, Muslim, and Kashmiri makes one vulnerable. In a moment where hate reveals its fang, it is important that love opens its home too.”
Iyer said he received a couple of phone calls from queer people in northern India who had been attacked. He offered to pay for their travel to Mumbai or any other city, but they eventually told him they found a place where they would be safe.
“It just reinstates our collective faith in humanity and asserts that there are kind people everywhere,” said Iyer. “The community stands united with each other against terror.”
He stressed “intersectional realities make us most vulnerable” and “that’s why we need to rise up and be the best of who we are as queer humans.” Iyer told the Blade that other queer activists in India are trying to do just that, albeit silently, by opening their homes to people who have been targeted.
“Anish Gawande, the queer spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, has been working hard to restore peace in the valley,” he noted. “He has been doing good work in the Kashmir Valley for several years now. I truly admire his courage and candor. But truly, it’s the everyday queer Indian who advocates for kindness who matter.”
“They would not be known to all and sundry, may not have a fan following or several followers on social media, but they have it in them to open their homes and their world to those affected,” added Iyer. “Sometimes, love doesn’t cause outpouring visibility, sometimes it silently protects and creates homes with a beating heart.”
Gawande has worked in Kashmir since 2012, running a program for Kashmiri journalism students and an art residency.
He acknowledged to the Blade the increase in violence against Kashmiri students. Gawande also said LGBTQ Kashmiri students face unique challenges because they are a “minority within a minority.”
“In these difficult times, several activists like Harish Iyer have come forward to offer their support to young Kashmiri LGBTQ students who are afraid for their own safety,” he said. “The intent of the terrorists was to divide us — we cannot let their strategy succeed. I am incredibly grateful to so many members of the queer community and allies who have stepped forward to help all Kashmiris in this difficult time.”
Gawande said he has been supporting the efforts of student leaders, including Nasir Khuehami of the J&K Students Association, who has been leading efforts to ensure Kashmiris across India remain safe and secure. Gawande also said government officials, politicians, and law enforcement are working to protect the students.
“I am grateful to both the central government and state governments across the country for their prompt assistance in this matter,” said Gawande. “In these difficult times, when emotions run high, we remain united against hate.”
“Today, attempts are being made to create divides between Indians and Kashmiris, between Hindus and muslims,” he added. “We must stand up against such attempts in one voice.”
Gawande last weekend traveled to Srinagar, the Kashmiri capital, and led multi-faith prayer services in temples, churches, gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship), and dargahs (shrines) “to mourn those who lost their lives in Pahalgam and to send out a message of communal harmony.”
“When attempts are being made to divide us on religious grounds, we must unite through religion,” he said.
Gawande also spoke directly to Kashmiri LGBTQ students, urging them to reach out to the J&K Students Association. He said his New Delhi home and his party’s offices across the country are “also available to those who need a safe space or a place to grieve.”
“In this time of grief, where we are all mourning the dastardly loss of life, it is important to stand up for what is right,” said Gawande. “Queerness has taught me that we have two kinds of families — those of birth and of choice.”
“Kashmir holds a special place in my heart, and when the well being of those who I consider family is under threat, there is no question of even thinking about any potential jeopardizing of my own safety,” he added.
The Vatican
Potential Pope Francis successor views homosexuality as an ‘abomination’
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu is archbishop of Kinshasa

One of the cardinals who is reportedly in the running to succeed Pope Francis has described homosexuality as an “abomination.”
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo, made the comment in a Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar statement in response to Francis’s 2023 decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.
“Within the church family of God in Africa, this declaration has caused a shockwave, it has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons, and even pastors and has aroused strong reactions,” wrote Ambongo in the Jan. 11, 2024, statement he signed. “The African Bishops’ Conferences emphasize that people with a homosexual tendency must be treated with respect and dignity, while reminding them that unions of persons of the same sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the church.”
The statement notes several Biblical passages that “condemn homosexuality, notably Lv. 18:22-23 where homosexuality is explicitly prohibited and considered an abomination.”
“In addition to these biblical reasons, the cultural context in Africa, deeply rooted in the values of the natural law regarding marriage and family, further complicates the acceptance of unions of persons of the same sex, as they are seen as contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically corrupt,” it reads.
Ambongo, who is president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, in 2024 said homosexuality “does not exist” in Africa outside of “a few isolated cases.” La Croix, a French Catholic newspaper, reported he made the comment during a rally that took place outside of Kinshasa.
Actualité, an online Congolese newspaper, reported Ambongo reiterated his opposition to homosexuality and same-sex unions in his 2023 Christmas message.
“Same-sex unions are not accepted in our church,” he said. “Although homosexuals should be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, homosexuality remains a moral disorder contrary to natural law and our African culture.”
Jérémie Safari, executive director of Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, a Congolese LGBTQ rights group, criticized Ambongo when he spoke with the Washington Blade.
“This cardinal is very homophobic; very, very homophobic,” said Safari.
Francis died on April 21.
The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.
Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians.
Francis last August met with two African activists — Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda and Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah — at the Vatican last August. Francis in 2023 visited Congo and South Sudan.
Juan Carlos Cruz, a GLAAD board member who survived clerical sex abuse in Chile, is among the hundreds of thousands of people who attended Francis’s funeral that took place at the Vatican on April 26. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial.
The conclave to select Francis’s successor will begin on May 7.
The Associated Press notes Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila in the Philippines; Archbishop of Bologna (Italy) Cardinal Matteo Zuppi; and Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary) Cardinal Peter Erdo are among those who are considered potential Francis successors.
“He [Erdo] has been reluctant to take positions on several of the government’s policies that divided society in Hungary, such as public campaigns that villainized migrants and refugees and laws that eroded the rights of LGBTQ+ communities,” said the AP.
New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, in an April 21 statement said it hopes “our loving God, who is a God of justice and equality, will continue to bless us by extending Francis’ welcoming and inclusive message in the next papacy.”
Anti-LGBTQ Catholic figures offered a far different view.
Doug Mainwaring — described as a “marriage, family, and children’s rights activist” — on Monday described Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah as “the only conclave participant to counter LGBT ambiguity and lies of Francis pontificate” in a post that LifeSiteNews, an anti-LGBTQ Canadian Catholic website, published.
“There is just one cardinal about to enter the conclave who is crystal clear, fearless, and uncompromising with the truth when it comes to pastoring those of us who experience same-sex attraction and gender confusion: Cardinal Robert Sarah,” wrote Mainwaring.
Mainwaring also highlighted anti-LGBTQ comments that Sarah made in his 2019 book.
“I think that the first victims of the LGBT ideology are the persons who experience a homosexual orientation. They are led by its militants to reduce their whole identity to their sexual behavior,” Sarah wrote, according to Mainwaring. “I beg Catholics who are tempted by homosexuality not to let themselves be shut away in this prison of LGBT ideology. You are a child of God by baptism! Your place is in the church, like all Christians. And if sometimes the spiritual combat becomes too hard, fraternal charity will support you.”
Catholic League President Bill Donohue on April 22 urged the cardinals to consider an African counterpart to succeed Francis.
“If the cardinals decide to choose someone who is a traditionalist, they can do no better than to look to Africa. It is home to the most brilliant orthodox clergy in the world,” said Donohue. “If the cardinals want to choose someone more like Francis, they will look to Europe.”
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