National
Unitarians rally for LGBT rights, immigration reform
Campaign delivers 15,000 signatures to Congress
Rally participants stood in a line, holding signs with letters made up of petition signatures on Wednesday. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)
Activists affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association rallied Wednesday upon delivering 15,000 signatures to Congress promoting LGBT rights and immigration reform.
About a dozen participants gathered on the East Lawn of Capitol Hill to support the effort and hear from local religious leaders and residents about the importance of advancing such issues. The event was coordinated by Standing on the Side of Love, a campaign sponsored by the Unitarian Church.
At one point, as participants stood in a line, they held signs with letters made up of petition signatures spelling out the slogan, “We Stand on the Side of Love.”
Adam Gerhardstein, campaign manager for Standing on the Side of Love, said participants gathered with “a message of inclusion, encouragement and support.”
“While we have a small group here today, we represent a much larger constituency,” he said. “Over 15,000 people during this congressional break sent in their words of support for the immigrant community, for the gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. They ask for immigration reform. They ask for full equality under all matters governed by law for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.”
Gerhardstein said issues of immigration reform and LGBT rights “intersect much more than people ever think” because “many people are gay immigrants, many people have partners who are gay immigrants.”
Under current immigration law, LGBT Americans can’t sponsor same-sex partners who are foreign nationals for residency in the United States. Activists are seeking a provision in immigration reform that would allow LGBT people to sponsor their foreign partners for residency, similar to how straight people can sponsor their spouses.
Steve Ralls, spokesperson for Immigration Equality, which helped to coordinate the event, said the effort from the Unitarian Association was particularly important in pushing for LGBT inclusion in immigration reform.
“This is significant and important because the faith community is such a critical part of the immigration reform coalition,” he said. “Unitarians have been one of the strongest and consistent voices calling for a bill that includes LGBT families.”
The 15,000 signatures include 10,000 signatures calling for full equality for LGBT people and 5,000 signatures calling on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Gerhardstein told DC Agenda the petitions were split into two categories because his group had been working on gathering the signatures of LGBT rights longer than the immigration signatures.
“The important thing is that everybody who signed those petitions and postcards did it because they stand on the side of love with people who are being marginalized or oppressed just because of who they are,” he said.
Among those who spoke at the rally was Erwin de Leon, a gay D.C. resident and DC Agenda contributor, who married his spouse in D.C. last week.
De Leon said “the hard reality” of his marriage is that his license “isn’t worth much outside the [local] jurisdiction.” He noted that he and his spouse feel the need to take their living wills with them sometimes when they travel in case of a medical emergency.
“We both dread the thought of not being able to be by the side of the one injured [or] worse, not being able to make the life and death decisions only a spouse should make,” he said.
De Leon decried the federal government’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage under the Defense of Marriage Act, which means he and his partner aren’t entitled to each other’s Social Security benefits and would have to pay taxes on the inheritance they leave to each other.
Another problem facing de Leon is his status as an immigrant. Because the federal government doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, de Leon’s spouse can’t sponsor him for his green card.
“Even though I consider the United States my home, I lived here legally for several years, and in my heart, I know I’m as American as my native born cousin, I have no recourse but to wait for my mother’s sponsorship to come through, which will take many years unless the immigration system is reformed,” he said.
De Leon said if he were in an opposite-sex marriage, his spouse could apply for a green card for him that could probably be obtained by the year’s end.
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
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