National
Court rules Prop 8 tapes should be public
Recording set to be available on Sept. 30
A U.S. District Court in California has ruled that tape recordings should be made public of the trial for the federal lawsuit that led to the determination that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.
In a 16-page ruling issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge John Ware determines “no compelling reasons exist” to keep the tapes of trial sealed away and orders the clerk of the court to place the recording in the publicly available record of the case.
“Foremost among the aspects of the federal judicial system that foster public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the process are public access to trials and public access to the record of judicial proceedings,” Ware writes.
Ware issued a temporary stay on his order that will last until Sept. 30. Unless a further stay in granted by the district court, or a higher court, the tapes will be made public at that time.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who’s gay and now retired, determined last year that Prop 8 — a 2008 ballot initiative approved by California voters that ended same-sex marriage in the state — is unconstitutional. The case, known as Perry v. Brown, is now pending before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The California State Supreme Court is considering whether or not defendants, the group known Protect Marriage, which was responsible for pushing Prop 8, have standing to appeal.
Plaintiffs contended the First Amendment establishes a strong presumption that the recordings should be open to the public. Defendants wanted the trial recording to remain under wraps because they argued they would in danger of reprisal supporters of same-sex marriage if the tapes were available.
But Ware in his ruling says defendants’ arguments aren’t enough of a reason to keep the recording away from the public.
“The Court finds that this contention is mere ‘unsupported hypothesis or conjecture,’ which may not be used by the Court as a basis for overcoming the strong presumptionin favor of access to court records,” Ware writes.
LGBT advocates praised Ware for the ruling that the tapes should be made publicly available.
Chad Griffin, board president for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the organization behind the litigation, called the ruling “a significant victory for the American people, who will soon be able to see the evidence put forward by both sides in this historic federal trial.”
“Unlike political campaigns, in a court of law, the truth and facts are all that matter,” Griffin continued. “When witnesses take the stand, they are under oath and under penalty of perjury, and their statements are subjected to cross-examination and scrutiny. The public will soon see the extraordinarily weak case that the anti-marriage proponents presented in a desperate attempt to defend this discriminatory law.”
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the ruling “is a great victory for openness and transparency.”
“Our democracy depends on the public’s right to know what takes place inside our nation’s federal courts, especially in cases addressing fundamental constitutional rights that affect every person,” Minter said. “The proponents of Prop 8 should be ashamed for fighting to bar public access to this historic trial.”
Defendants are expected to appeal the ruling.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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