National

Geithner urged to advocate against LGBT abuses overseas

Bachus, Frank draw attention to committee amendment

Published

15 years ago

March 30, 2011

Leading lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner drawing attention to a recently approved amendment advocating that foreign governments receiving multilateral development bank funds don’t engage in LGBT persecution.

In a letter dated March 30 and obtained by the Washington Blade, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), chair of the committee, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who’s gay and ranking Democrat on the panel, ask Geithner to inform U.S. officials at multilateral development institutions — including the World Bank — of the committee’s recently adopted position against funding for governments that allow abuses against LGBT people and religious minorities overseas.

“We urge you to be mindful of the Committee’s views on this matter, and particularly in light of the important authorization requests that Treasury has made this year, we also urge you to relay these views to the executive directors who represent the [United States] at these institutions,” Bachus and Frank write. “We believe this is important not only as a matter of public policy and the advancement of American values, but also politically in terms of our ability to generate the necessary support to enable the [United States] to continue to play a significant and influential role at these institutions.”

Natalie Wyeth, a Treasury Department spokesperson, said the department has received the letter and is reviewing it.

On March 15, the House Financial Services Committee approved by a voice vote the amendment as part of legislation that outlines fiscal year 2012 budget priorities for issues under its jurisdiction, including recommended funds for the Treasury Department and the World Bank.

The amendment urges the Treasury Department to advocate that foreign governments receiving assistance from the multilateral development banks don’t engage in gross violations of human rights, such as the denial of freedom of religion and physical persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Bachus and Frank’s letter make particular note of persecution of LGBT people in Uganda as a reason for passing the amendment.

Legislation that would institute the death penalty for homosexual acts has been pending before the Ugandan parliament, although foreign media has recently reported the measure has been shelved. Additionally, David Kato, an activist who was working against the pending measure, was brutally murdered after a publication in the country identified him as gay.

“In some African countries, we have seen the physical persecution of people who are members of sexual minorities,” Bachus and Frank write. “In Uganda, which was a major beneficiary of the multilateral debt relief initiatives, there is active persecution of people who are members of sexual minorities.”

In addition to advocating against LGBT abuses abroad, the letter also decries persecutions of religious minorities, such as the reported hostility towards Christianity in the Middle East.

“We have seen troubling examples of people being persecuted, imprisoned and threatened with execution, for example, in Pakistan, simply for converting from one religion to another,” Bachus and Frank write. “Often, it is people being punished for converting to Christianity.”

The letter notes the United States isn’t entirely responsible for setting policies at multilateral institutions such as World Bank, but says the U.S. role is important.

“We recognize that the United States does not set the policies at these institutions, but we do have an influential voice, and we believe that it is in our interest to use that voice to support what we view to be fundamental human values, regardless of whether a particular government is fully democratic or not,” Bachus and Frank write.

Mark Bromley, chair of the Council for Global Equality, said the letter and the adoption of the amendment by the committee is “a big deal.”

“The United States has significant leverage and a strong voice in the World Bank and the regional development banks,” Bromley said. “Until now, these development institutions have largely shied away from LGBT issues, even in terms of reaching out and supporting access by marginalized LGBT communities to social development and public health programs.”

Bromley encourage the U.S. executive director of these development banks — especially the U.S. director of the World Bank — to leverage U.S. investments to “ensure equal access for all individuals to the public health services and economic opportunities that Americans are supporting through our annual development contributions.”

Bachus’ signature to the letter is noteworthy because he has an anti-gay voting record in Congress and in recent years has consistently scored a “0” on the Human Rights Campaign’s congressional scorecard. The Alabama lawmaker has voted against hate crimes protection legislation, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director for National Log Cabin Republicans, said the values of protecting human freedoms and individual liberty that espouses are conservative values.

“Further, no member of Congress should ever be be ruled out as a potential ally to the LGBT community,” Cooper said. “Log Cabin Republicans continuously seek to foster friends in development among elected Republican office holders as well as their staff and campaigns.”

Download a copy of the letter here.

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Arizona

Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead

Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime

Published

11 hours ago

September 1, 2026

Joe Reberkenny

The shooting happened outside Venture-N bar in Tucson, Ariz. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.

Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.

The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.

Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.

Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.

“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”

According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.

Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.

“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”

“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”

Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.

The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.

“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”

A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.

Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

1 day ago

August 31, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

We’re hitting the pavement across New Hampshire to fight for a freer, fairer future for everyone.

Glad to have Human Rights Campaign President @KelleyJRobinson join us for a canvass launch in Manchester today. pic.twitter.com/XWCEaQxy4o

— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) August 30, 2026

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

National

Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK

ICE arrested far-right provocateur in New Orleans on Thursday

Published

4 days ago

August 28, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Milo Yiannopoulos (Photo via Homeland Security @DHSgov/X account)

Editor’s note: The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the U.K.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday arrested far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

A DHS spokesperson in a statement sent to the Washington Blade said ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, who they described as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom,” at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos “legally entered the country” in New York on May 14, 2019.

“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” said the spokesperson.

The DHS spokesperson said an immigration judge on July 22 “issued a final order of removal” for Yiannopoulos “after failing to show up for his immigration hearing.” The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans on Friday reported Yiannopoulos is being held at an ICE detention center in Alexandria, La., which is about 200 miles northwest of the Crescent City.

“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” said the DHS spokesperson.

Yiannopoulos has, among other things, repeatedly targeted transgender people and Muslims.

The American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conversative Political Action Conference, in 2017 disinvited Yiannopoulos from speaking at that year’s CPAC after a video in which he appeared to condone sex between adults and underage boys emerged. Yiannopoulos subsequently resigned from Breitbart News, a far-right news website, where he had been a senior editor.

Yiannopoulos later that year married his boyfriend in Hawaii. The far-right provocateur in 2021 claimed he was an “ex-gay.”

The Australian government in 2019 banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country “on character grounds.” Yiannopoulos was also banned from Facebook, Twitter (now X), and other social media platforms.

**Milo Yiannopoulos** speaks at a “Gays for Trump” event during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Times-Picayune reported Yiannopoulos “most recently worked for” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

The controversial rapper is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday.

Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who is close to President Donald Trump, has called for Yiannopoulos’s deportation. Loomer on Friday wrote on X that she “reported him to ICE and the FBI” after he “called for me to be assassinated.”