Connect with us

National

Quinn: More work on LGBT issues needed in N.Y.

NYC Council speaker calls lack of trans protections ‘not acceptable’

Published

on

Gay News, Washington Blade, Christine Quinn

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (Photo by Thomas Good)

HOUSTON — For lesbian New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the passage of a same-sex marriage law in New York was a big win, but she acknowledges that more work on LGBT issues is needed.

“It passed in a pretty low time in our economy and a tough time for the city and state, and what I’ve noticed is wherever I go in the city — even still — people are happy,” Quinn told the Washington Blade. “You go to senior centers, they’re still congratulating me. It’s really created, I think, a lot of joy and a stronger sense of community in the city.”

Quinn made the remarks during the 27th International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference — sponsored by the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute — after a panel session titled “Victory in New York: A Model for Success,” in which participants discussed the strategy that led to the enactment of same-sex marriage in New York.

Despite that victory, one key piece of pro-LGBT state legislation that still hasn’t passed in New York is GENDA, or the Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would institute non-discrimination protections for transgender people in the private workforce.

Quinn noted that New York City has transgender protections, but called the lack of statutory protections at the state level “simply not acceptable.”

“So I think we can be simultaneously happy, proud of ourselves, but not satisfied because we have more work to do, and GENDA is top of that list,” Quinn said.

Quinn added she’s “optimistic” that transgender employment protections will pass “very soon” in the New York Legislature because Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) — credited with leading the marriage fight in New York — supports the measure.

Other advancements Quinn is seeking on LGBT issues include a reduction in hate crimes, additional funding for LGBT organizations and effective implementation of the Dignity for All Schools Act, a law that bars bullying in schools, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Asked about President Obama’s lack of support for marriage equality, Quinn said she’s unhappy with anyone who doesn’t support marriage rights for gay couples, but commends those who say they could evolve on the issue — which Obama has done.

“I applaud people who are open to discussing, thinking and evolving, and the president is certainly in that category, but I want him to fully get there,” Quinn said.

Quinn, who’s expected to run for mayor of New York City in 2013, declined to say whether she would pursue the office.

Pressed further on the implications of having an openly lesbian mayor of the nation’s largest city, Quinn said an openly LGBT person winning elected office anywhere is a “step forward.”

“I think anytime somebody who’s openly LGBT gets elected to office — whatever office that is, whatever city, state, town that’s in — it is helpful to moving LGBT issues forward, and all civil and human rights issues forward,” Quinn said. “What city it is, what position it is doesn’t matter. Anytime it happens, it’s a step forward for everybody.”

A transcript of the interview with Quinn follows:

Washington Blade: You’ve had marriage equality in New York State for quite a few months now. How do you think that has changed New York City?

Christine Quinn: I think the thing that’s most fun about marriage equality passing is how happy it has made people. It passed in a pretty low time in our economy and a tough time for the city and state, and what I’ve noticed is wherever I go in the city — even still — people are happy. You go to senior centers, they’re still congratulating me. It’s really created, I think, a lot of joy and a stronger sense of community in the city.

Blade: Marriage equality is a big win, but statutory protections for transgender people in the workplace remains outstanding in the State of New York. Do you have any —

Quinn: Absolutely. Our work is not done. We have the GENDA in New York City; we don’t have it in New York State. And that’s simply not acceptable, so I think we can be simultaneously happy, proud of ourselves, but not satisfied because we have more work to do, and GENDA is top of that list.

Blade: I know you’re not in Albany, but are you able to make a prediction for when you think we will see those protections put in place?

Quinn: I’m optimistic that GENDA will be passed very soon. The governor, who is incredibly popular and incredibly effective, is supportive. He was one of the key differences in getting marriage, so I’m very optimistic it’ll be in the near future.

Blade: Are there any other LGBT issues you want to see addressed either at the state or city level?

Quinn: We have to find ways to reduce hate crimes against all people — particularly people who are perceived to be LGBT.

Our statewide advocacy group, the [Empire State] Pride Agenda, has done a lot of great work around funding for LGBT organizations. Our organizations are funded at a disproportionately low percentage compared to others. That health and human service work has to continue.

And we have a big “to-do” on our list, which is to get to the Dignity for All Schools Act implemented effectively over the next couple years. So that’s just a few.

Blade: What’s your take on the presidential race, and as a Democrat do you have a favorite candidate among the Republicans?

Quinn: My favorite candidate is President Obama. And he’s going to win re-election, and I think the Republicans make it clearer every day of the week that there is no one worth supporting on their side.

Blade: At the federal level, we’ve seen a lot of advances, but President Obama has yet to support marriage equality. Does that disappoint you?

Quinn: I’m disappointed in anybody who doesn’t agree with us in marriage equality. That said, I applaud people who are open to discussing, thinking and evolving, and the president is certainly in that category, but I want him to fully get there.

Blade: I’m sure a lot of people are asking you this, but I’m going to take a stab at it here. Are you going to run for mayor in 2013?

Quinn: There’s more time to talk about that, but thank you for asking me all the legislative questions.

Blade: One last question for you. Hypothetically speaking, what do you think would be the implications of having an openly lesbian mayor of the nation’s largest city?

Quinn: Look, I think anytime somebody who’s openly LGBT gets elected to office — whatever office that is, whatever city, state, town that’s in — it is helpful to moving LGBT issues forward, and all civil and human rights issues forward. What city it is, what position it is doesn’t matter. Anytime it happens, it’s a step forward for everybody.

Blade: Thank you so much, Madam Speaker.

Watch the video of the interview here:

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

New York

Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced

One of the victims, John Umberger, was D.C. political consultant

Published

on

(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

A New York judge on Wednesday sentenced three men convicted of killing a D.C. political consultant and another man who they targeted at gay bars in Manhattan.

NBC New York notes a jury in February convicted Jayqwan Hamilton, Jacob Barroso, and Robert DeMaio of murder, robbery, and conspiracy in relation to druggings and robberies that targeted gay bars in Manhattan from March 2021 to June 2022.

John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant from D.C., and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, died. Prosecutors said Hamilton, Barroso, and DeMaio targeted three other men at gay bars.

The jury convicted Hamilton and DeMaio of murdering Umberger. State Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced Hamilton and DeMaio to 40 years to life in prison.

Barroso, who was convicted of killing Ramirez, received a 20 years to life sentence.

Continue Reading

National

Medical groups file lawsuit over Trump deletion of health information

Crucial datasets included LGBTQ, HIV resources

Published

on

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Nine private medical and public health advocacy organizations, including two from D.C., filed a lawsuit on May 20 in federal court in Seattle challenging what it calls the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s illegal deletion of dozens or more of its webpages containing health related information, including HIV information.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, names as defendants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS itself, and several agencies operating under HHS and its directors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.

“This action challenges the widespread deletion of public health resources from federal agencies,” the lawsuit states. “Dozens (if not more) of taxpayer-funded webpages, databases, and other crucial resources have vanished since January 20, 2025, leaving doctors, nurses, researchers, and the public scrambling for information,” it says.

 “These actions have undermined the longstanding, congressionally mandated regime; irreparably harmed Plaintiffs and others who rely on these federal resources; and put the nation’s public health infrastructure in unnecessary jeopardy,” the lawsuit continues.

It adds, “The removal of public health resources was apparently prompted by two recent executive orders – one focused on ‘gender ideology’ and the other targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’) programs. Defendants implemented these executive orders in a haphazard manner that resulted in the deletion (inadvertent or otherwise) of health-related websites and databases, including information related to pregnancy risks, public health datasets, information about opioid-use disorder, and many other valuable resources.”

 The lawsuit does not mention that it was President Donald Trump who issued the two executive orders in question. 

A White House spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit. 

While not mentioning Trump by name, the lawsuit names as defendants in addition to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Matthew Buzzelli, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health; Martin Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Thomas Engels, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration; and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management. 

The 44-page lawsuit complaint includes an addendum with a chart showing the titles or descriptions of 49 “affected resource” website pages that it says were deleted because of the executive orders. The chart shows that just four of the sites were restored after initially being deleted.

 Of the 49 sites, 15 addressed LGBTQ-related health issues and six others addressed HIV issues, according to the chart.   

“The unannounced and unprecedented deletion of these federal webpages and datasets came as a shock to the medical and scientific communities, which had come to rely on them to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, assist physicians and other clinicians in daily care, and inform the public about a wide range of healthcare issues,” the lawsuit states.

 “Health professionals, nonprofit organizations, and state and local authorities used the websites and datasets daily in care for their patients, to provide resources to their communities, and promote public health,” it says. 

Jose Zuniga, president and CEO of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), one of the organizations that signed on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the deleted information from the HHS websites “includes essential information about LGBTQ+ health, gender and reproductive rights, clinical trial data, Mpox and other vaccine guidance and HIV prevention resources.”

 Zuniga added, “IAPAC champions evidence-based, data-informed HIV responses and we reject ideologically driven efforts that undermine public health and erase marginalized communities.”

Lisa Amore, a spokesperson for Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s largest LGBTQ supportive health services provider, also expressed concern about the potential impact of the HHS website deletions.

 “As the region’s leader in HIV care and prevention, Whitman-Walker Health relies on scientific data to help us drive our resources and measure our successes,” Amore said in response to a request for comment from  the Washington Blade. 

“The District of Columbia has made great strides in the fight against HIV,” Amore said. “But the removal of public facing information from the HHS website makes our collective work much harder and will set HIV care and prevention backward,” she said. 

The lawsuit calls on the court to issue a declaratory judgement that the “deletion of public health webpages and resources is unlawful and invalid” and to issue a preliminary or permanent injunction ordering government officials named as defendants in the lawsuit “to restore the public health webpages and resources that have been deleted and to maintain their web domains in accordance with their statutory duties.”

It also calls on the court to require defendant government officials to “file a status report with the Court within twenty-four hours of entry of a preliminary injunction, and at regular intervals, thereafter, confirming compliance with these orders.”

The health organizations that joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs include the Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Nurses Association, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy Health, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, National LGBT Cancer Network, and Vermont Medical Society. 

The Fast-Track Cities Institute and International Association of Providers of AIDS Care are based in D.C.

Continue Reading

U.S. Federal Courts

Federal judge scraps trans-inclusive workplace discrimination protections

Ruling appears to contradict US Supreme Court precedent

Published

on

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Screen capture: YouTube)

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has struck down guidelines by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission designed to protect against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The EEOC in April 2024 updated its guidelines to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which determined that discrimination against transgender people constituted sex-based discrimination as proscribed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

To ensure compliance with the law, the agency recommended that employers honor their employees’ preferred pronouns while granting them access to bathrooms and allowing them to wear dress code-compliant clothing that aligns with their gender identities.

While the the guidelines are not legally binding, Kacsmaryk ruled that their issuance created “mandatory standards” exceeding the EEOC’s statutory authority that were “inconsistent with the text, history, and tradition of Title VII and recent Supreme Court precedent.”

“Title VII does not require employers or courts to blind themselves to the biological differences between men and women,” he wrote in the opinion.

The case, which was brought by the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, presents the greatest setback for LGBTQ inclusive workplace protections since President Donald Trump’s issuance of an executive order on the first day of his second term directing U.S. federal agencies to recognize only two genders as determined by birth sex.

Last month, top Democrats from both chambers of Congress reintroduced the Equality Act, which would codify LGBTQ-inclusive protections against discrimination into federal law, covering employment as well as areas like housing and jury service.

Continue Reading

Popular