National
Illinois Civil Unions go into effect today
Law that guarantees same-sex couples in Illinois 648 benefits and privileges of opposite-sex unions goes into effect today; lines at County Clerk’s office in Chicago out into the street.
Bernard Cherkasov, the C.E.O. of Equality Illinois, is beaming with pride today.
“It’s a fantastic day.” Cherkasov told the Blade over the phone from his desk at the Equality Illinois offices in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, “We’re celebrating civil unions [for same-sex couples in the state of Illinois]. There is something special about today. The weather is beautiful and people are just smiling. I woke up this morning, suddenly, with 648 new rights and benefits that i didn’t have yesterday. The phone has been ringing off the hook with people asking ‘is it really here?’ and I say ‘yes, civil unions are now actually law!’”
According to Cherkasov, some of the new rights guaranteed by the law are hospital visitation rights beyond visitor hours, emergency medical decision making powers, inheritance rights and the ability for same-sex parents who give birth to a child to have both parents on the birth certificate.
Advocates in Illinois won over both houses in the legislature during the lame duck session, in the last days the lawmakers were gathered in Springfield before the new year, in order to pass the Civil Unions law authored by openly gay Chicago representative, Greg Harris. Governor Pat Quinn, who won re-election in November, signed the bill into law early this year to the delight of families throughout Illinois.
“The downside for me is that I had to be up at something like five in the morning,” joked long-time gay civil rights activist and lead lobbyist in the push for Civil Unions last year, Rick Garcia.
“But this morning I went to Cook county, they opened the office up early, and they were brilliant at the way they had it all arranged and everything was phenomenal.”
Garcia was stunned at the turnout today for licences. “I walked in at a little before 7:00 A.M. and there was this huge line all the way from the Clerk’s office out to the street. I was completely overwhelmed and started to cry. I’ve been crying since six o’clock this morning!”
Garcia looked on as the first couple was given their license and Cook county Illinois conferred its first official Civil Union.
“I could barely see them through the tears in my eyes.”
Anthony Martinez, Executive Director of Illinois LGBT advocacy group, The Civil Rights Agenda, felt a surge of pride this morning as he witnessed couples being conferred legal Civil Unions for the first time in Illinois.
“I am Absolutely thrilled and excited to be witnessing the amazing amount of support and outpouring from the community for civil unions,” Martinez gushed. “These couples have been waiting for this for years and now they can go apply and get recognized. This drives our work at The Civil Rights Agenda, and we’re so thrilled for all of this.”
Martinez is also aware that challenges to these happy couples are still a major risk to be monitored. Last week, the opponents of the Civil Unions law, led by anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera of the conservative activist group, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, called for a voter referendum in the state of Illinois on an Amendment to the Illinois constitution barring recognition of any same-sex partnerships.
“There’s a battle between gay rights and religious freedom,” he told the Chicago Tribune this week. “We want to give Illinois voters the same opportunity other states have had.”
Martinez is doubtful that the group will be able to collect the 300,000 signatures needed to get the referendum on the ballot, but prefers to stay vigilant.
“in terms of what’s next, we take any attack on relationship recognition very seriously, especially with this marriage referendum. Though we don’t believe it will gain traction, we are watching it very closely, and want to make sure any attacks are addressed and that there is a plan and strategy in place to make sure those attacks are defeated.”
He’s also eager to concentrate on celebrating today’s victory.
“Friday we’re going to have sixty couples get committed at a mass civil union ceremony at 5:30 at the Chicago History Museum. Its going to be massive.”
Rick Garcia sees today’s victory as validation for years of hard work.
“One of the things I realized was that was where the rubber hit the road for me. On hot hot days like today in Springfield, you walk around the capital building, and its muggy, but today you see the fruit of your work. People who needed protections and benefits are getting what they deserved today.”
“I’m more thrilled than I thought I would be.”
“This has been a hard spring for us, because there have been six attempts to modify or scrap the civil unions bill. Had it not been for [Illinois LGBT advocacy group] The Civil Rights Agenda and the ACLU, today would have been much different. They stopped every piece of legislation that would attempt to gut this. I’m looking at these couples, together–some for a short time, some for a long time–waiting for this and never expected to see this day, and here it is!”
“That said,” Garcia continued, “separate is not equal. We deserve one set of rules; one yard stick for everyone. We’re going to celebrate for two days, today and tomorrow when ceremonies are allowed to take place for the first time; but the day after we have work to do and that work is equal marriage.”
At the Clerk’s office, Garcia was speaking off camera with several television reporters, one of of which remarked, “Oh my God, Rick you look like the proud father!”
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Gil Pontes III on his recent appointment to the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors, Fla. Upon being appointed he said, “I’m honored to join the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors at such an important moment for our community. In my role as Executive Director of the NextGen Chamber of Commerce, I spend much of my time focused on economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and the long-term competitiveness of emerging business leaders. I look forward to bringing that perspective to Wilton Manors — helping ensure responsible stewardship of public resources while supporting a vibrant, inclusive local economy.”
Pontes is a nonprofit executive with years of development, operations, budget, management, and strategic planning experience in 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and political organizations. Pontes is currently executive director of NextGen, Chamber of Commerce. NextGen Chamber’s mission is to “empower emerging business leaders by generating insights, encouraging engagement, and nurturing leadership development to shape the future economy.” Prior to that he served as managing director of The Nora Project, and director of development also at The Nora Project. He has held a number of other positions including Major Gifts Officer, Thundermist Health Center, and has worked in both real estate and banking including as Business Solutions Adviser, Ironwood Financial. For three years he was a Selectman, Town of Berkley, Mass. In that role, he managed HR and general governance for town government. There were 200+ staff and 6,500 constituents. He balanced a $20,000,000 budget annually, established an Economic Development Committee, and hired the first town administrator.
Pontes earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
Kansas
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
A new Kansas bill requires transgender residents to have their driver’s licenses reflect their sex assigned at birth, invalidating current licenses.
Transgender people across Kansas received letters in the mail on Wednesday demanding the immediate surrender of their driver’s licenses following passage of one of the harshest transgender bathroom bans in the nation. Now the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit to block the ban and protect transgender residents from what advocates describe as “sweeping” and “punitive” consequences.
Independent journalist Erin Reed broke the story Wednesday after lawmakers approved House Substitute for Senate Bill 244. In her reporting, Reed included a photo of the letter sent to transgender Kansans, requiring them to obtain a driver’s license that reflects their sex assigned at birth rather than the gender with which they identify.
According to the reporting, transgender Kansans must surrender their driver’s licenses and that their current credentials — regardless of expiration date — will be considered invalid upon the law’s publication. The move effectively nullifies previously issued identification documents, creating immediate uncertainty for those impacted.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 also stipulates that any transgender person caught driving without a valid license could face a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. That potential penalty adds a criminal dimension to what began as an administrative action. It also compounds the legal risks for transgender Kansans, as the state already requires county jails to house inmates according to sex assigned at birth — a policy that advocates say can place transgender detainees at heightened risk.
Beyond identification issues, SB 244 not only bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in government buildings — including libraries, courthouses, state parks, hospitals, and interstate rest stops — with the possibility for criminal penalties, but also allows for what critics have described as a “bathroom bounty hunter” provision. The measure permits anyone who encounters a transgender person in a restroom — including potentially in private businesses — to sue them for large sums of money, dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement beyond government authorities.
The lawsuit challenging SB 244 was filed today in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The complaint argues that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a temporary restraining order on behalf of the anonymous plaintiffs, arguing that the order — followed by a temporary injunction — is necessary to prevent the “irreparable harm” that would result from SB 244.
State Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Kansas Legislature, told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday that “persecution is the point.”
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans,” said Monica Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas. “It undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution.”
“SB 244 is a cruel and craven threat to public safety all in the name of fostering fear, division, and paranoia,” said Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police. Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
“SB 244 presents a state-sanctioned attack on transgender people aimed at silencing, dehumanizing, and alienating Kansans whose gender identity does not conform to the state legislature’s preferences,” said Heather St. Clair, a Ballard Spahr litigator working on the case. “Ballard Spahr is committed to standing with the ACLU and the plaintiffs in fighting on behalf of transgender Kansans for a remedy against the injustices presented by SB 244, and is dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights jeopardized by this new law.”
National
After layoffs at Advocate, parent company acquires ‘Them’ from Conde Nast
Top editorial staff let go last week
Former staff members at the Advocate and Out magazines revealed that parent company Equalpride laid off a number of employees late last week.
Those let go included Advocate editor-in-chief Alex Cooper, Pride.com editor-in-chief Rachel Shatto, brand partnerships manager Erin Manley, community editor Marie-Adélina de la Ferriére, and Out magazine staff writers Moises Mendez and Bernardo Sim, according to a report in Hollywood Reporter.
Cooper, who joined the company in 2021, posted to social media that, “Few people have had the privilege of leading this legendary LGBTQ+ news outlet, and I’m deeply honored to have been one of them. To my team: thank you for the last four years. You’ve been the best. For those also affected today, please let me know how I can support you.”
The Advocate’s PR firm when reached by the Blade said it no longer represents the company. Emails to the Advocate went unanswered.
Equalpride on Friday announced it acquired “Them,” a digital LGBTQ outlet founded in 2017 by Conde Nast.
“Equalpride exists to elevate, celebrate and protect LGBTQ+ storytelling at scale,” Equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill said according to Hollywood Reporter. “By combining the strengths of our brands with this respected digital platform, we’re creating a unified ecosystem that delivers even more impact for our audiences, advertisers, and community partners.”
It’s not clear if “Them” staff would take over editorial responsibilities for the Advocate and Out.
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