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Women politicos to take center stage at DNC LGBT gala

Parker, Jones and Healey among speakers at high-dollar event

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Women politicos that include Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker, Texas congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey are set to speak at the annual DNC LGBT gala. (Washington Blade photo of Parker by Michael Key; photo of Jones by Ana Isabel Photography courtesy Jones Campaign; photo of Healey by Edahlpr via Wikimedia Commons)

At a time when female candidates are taking center stage in the 2018 congressional mid-term elections, a quartet of women politicos are set to speak at an upcoming LGBT gala hosted by the Democratic National Committee in New York City, the Blade has learned.

Three of the women ā€” Annise Parker, Gina Ortiz Jones, Maura Healey ā€” are lesbians, and the other, Danica Roem, is a transgender woman. Each of them is running or has run political campaigns of special significance for LGBT people.

All of them will speak before high-dollar donors to the Democratic Party at the DNC’s 19th annual LGBT gala in New York City, which is set to take place June 25 at Ziegfeld Ballroom. The tickets range from $1,200 to $5,000 per seat, according to an online invitation.

Annise Parker, a former three-term mayor of Houston, holds the distinction of being one of the first openly gay mayors of a major U.S. city. She now serves as executive director of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute.

Gina Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer who served in the Iraq war, is running to represent the 23rd congressional district in Texas against incumbent Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas). Democrats have made her race in the Hispanic-majority district a priority. Hurd narrowly won re-election in 2016 and political observers have rated it as a toss-up.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who will be the keynote speaker at the DNC gala, won election in 2014 and became the first openly gay state attorney general in the United States. She’s seeking re-election in the 2018 election.

The other speaker, Virginia State Del. Danica Roem (D-Prince William County), is the first openly transgender person elected and seated to a state legislature in the United States. The DNC had already announced last month her plan to attend the gala.

Another speaker already announced for the event is Gus Kensworthy, a gay freestyle skier who refused to attend the ceremony at the White House with fellow members of the 2018 U.S. Winter Olympic team out of objections to the Trump administration’s anti-LGBT policies. Another guest is Taylor Trensch, who’s gay and the star of the stage musical “Dear Evan Hansen.”

According to the DNC, the annual gala began in 1999 as a small dinner held by Andrew Tobias, who’s gay and a former DNC treasurer, but has grown to one of the biggest events for Democrats. Last year, former Vice President Joseph Biden was the keynote speaker.

DNC Chair Tom Perez hailed the newly announced women speakers as leaders in the LGBT movement and the women’s rights movement.

ā€œIn the face of sustained Republican efforts to roll back the progress weā€™ve made, leaders within the LGBTQ community, LGBTQ women in particular are stepping up, running for office and fighting back,ā€ Perez said. ā€œAttorney General Maura Healey, Mayor Annise Parker and Gina Ortiz Jones are trailblazers in their communities and Iā€™m proud that they know that building Democratic infrastructure helps LGBTQ candidates at every level, from school board to Senate.ā€

Also praising the speakers was DNC Finance Chair Henry Munoz, who said the party is “thrilled to welcome such inspiring LGBTQ women to speak at this yearā€™s gala.”

ā€œAmericans across the country want to see more women elected, and Democrats are making this happen in 2018,” Munoz said. “With trailblazers like Attorney General Maura Healey, Mayor Annise ā€‹Parker and Gina Ortiz Jones leading the way, we are going to win big this November.”

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Congress

Sens. Butler, Smith introduce Pride in Mental Health Act to aid at-risk LGBTQ youth

Bill is backed by Democrats in both chambers

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U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) speaks at the International LGBTQ Leaders Conference on Nov. 30, 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the Pride in Mental Health Act on Thursday, legislation that would strengthen resources in mental health and crisis intervention for at-risk LGBTQ youth.

ā€œAccessing mental health care and support has become increasingly difficult in nearly every state in the country,ā€Ā said Butler, who is the first Black LGBTQ senator. ā€œBarriers get even more difficult if you are a young person who lacks a supportive community or is fearful of being outed, harassed, or threatened.”

“I am introducing the Pride in Mental Health Act to help equip LGBTQ+ youth with the resources to get the affirming and often life-saving care they need,” she said.

ā€œMental health care is health care,” said Smith. “And for some LGBTQ+ youth, receiving access to the mental health care they need can mean the difference between living in safety and dignity, and suffering alone through discrimination, bullying, and even violence.ā€Ā 

The Minnesota senator added that data shows LGBTQ students are experiencing “an epidemic” of “anxiety, depression and other serious mental health conditions.”

For example, a 2023 study by The Trevor Project found that 54 percent of LGBTQ youth reported symptoms of depression, compared to 35 percent of their heterosexual counterparts.

Joining the senators as cosponsors are Democratic U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Bob Casey (Penn.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Cory Booker (N.J.), and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.). Baldwin was the first LGBTQ woman elected to the House in 1999 and the first LGBTQ woman elected to the Senate in 2013.

Leading the House version of the bill are LGBTQ Democratic U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (Kan.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), along with 163 other House members.

Organizations that have backed the Pride in Mental Health Act include the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association (NEA), National Center for Transgender Equality, Seattle Indian Health Board, PFLAG National, The Trevor Project, American Psychological Association, Whitman-Walker Institute, InterACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, National Alliance on Mental Illness, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Mental Health America, and Center for Law and Social Policy.

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District of Columbia

D.C. mayorĀ honors 10th anniversary of Team Rayceen Productions

LGBTQ entertainment, advocacy organization praised for ā€˜vital workā€™

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Rayceen Pendarvis co-founded Team Rayceen Productions. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser today issued an official proclamation declaring Monday, March 18, 2024, as Team Rayceen Day in honor of the local LGBTQ entertainment and advocacy organization Team Rayceen Productions named after its co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis.

ā€œWhereas Rayceen, along with Team Rayceen Productions co-founder, Zar, have spent 10 years advocating for the Black LGBTQI+ community using various forms including in-person events, social media, and YouTube,ā€ the proclamation states.

The proclamation adds that through its YouTube Channel, Team Rayceen Productions created a platform for ā€œBlack LGBTQIA+ individuals to discuss various topics including spotlighting nonprofit organizations and small businesses, voter registration and participation, the state of LGBTQIA+ rights and resources in D.C, gender equality and equity, and the amplification of opportunities to bring the community together.ā€

It also praises Team Rayceen Productions for its partnership with the Mayorā€™s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in helping to produce ā€œexciting events like the District of Pride talent showcase held each June and the iconic 17th Street High Heel Race celebrated in October.ā€

ā€œWhereas I thank Team Rayceen Productions for its vital and necessary work and am #DCProud to wish you all the best as you continue to support Black LGBTQIA+ residents across all 8 Wards,ā€ the proclamation continues.

ā€œNow, therefore, I, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., do hereby proclaim March 18, 2024, as TEAM RAYCEEN DAY in Washington, D.C. and do commit this observance to all Washingtonians,ā€ it concludes.

ā€œWe thank Mayor Bowser for this special proclamation, which highlights where it all began, with the Black LGBTQIA+ community of Washington, D.C,ā€ Team Rayceen Productions says in a statement. ā€œStarting with The Ask Rayceen Show, Reel Affirmation, and events with D.C. Public Library to Art All Night, Silver Pride by Whitman-Walker, and events with the Mayorā€™s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we are #dcproud of what we have accomplished in the Nationā€™s Capital,ā€ the statement says. 

“For TEAM RAYCEEN DAY, we thank the diverse group of individuals who have made everything we have done possible by volunteering their time and talents over the past decade ā€“ as online co-hosts, event staff, performers, DJs, photographers, and more,ā€ says the statement.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court declines to hear case over drag show at Texas university

Students argue First Amendment protects performance

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The U.S. Supreme Court justices on June 30, 2022. ((Photo by Fred Schilling of the U.S. Supreme Court)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a First Amendment case over a public university president’s refusal to allow an LGBTQ student group to host a drag show on campus.

The group’s application was denied without the justices providing their reasoning or issuing dissenting opinions, as is custom for such requests for emergency review.

When plaintiffs sought to organize the drag performance to raise money for suicide prevention in March 2023, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler cancelled the event, citing the Bible and other religious texts.

The students sued, arguing the move constituted prior restraint and viewpoint-based discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment. Wendler had called drag shows ā€œderisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,” adding that “a harmless drag show” was “not possible.”

The notoriously conservative Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who former President Donald Trump appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ruled against the plaintiffs in September, writing that ā€œit is not clearly established that all drag shows are inherently expressive.”

Kacsmaryk further argued that the High Court’s precedent-setting opinions protecting stage performances and establishing that “speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend” was inconsistent with constitutional interpretation based on ā€œtext, history and tradition.”

Plaintiffs appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is by far the most conservative of the nation’s 12 appellate circuit courts. They sought emergency review by the Supreme Court because the 5th Circuit refused to fast-track their case, so arguments were scheduled to begin after the date of their drag show.

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