National
Bachmann exit cheered by LGBT advocates
Minn. lawmaker called for constitutional marriage ban, return to ‘Don’t Ask’
Rep. Michele Bachmann (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann on Wednesday announced her exit from the race for the White House — much to the delight of LGBT advocates who abhorred the anti-gay positions she espoused during her campaign.
Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite who represents Minnesota in Congress, declared she was suspending her campaign during a news conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday after her dismal showing in the Republican Iowa caucuses.
“The people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand aside,” Bachmann said.
In the Iowa Republican caucus, Bachmann came in sixth place and collected around five percent of the vote, even though the Hawkeye State is where she was born.
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Calling on followers to rally around whomever the Republican Party selects as its presidential nominee, Bachmann said she began her campaign as a citizen who “believes in the foundation and in the greatness of our American principles.”
“Our principles derive their meaning from the Founders’ beliefs, which were rooted in the immutable truths of the Holy Scripture, the Bible,” she said.
Throughout the campaign — and over the course of her four years in Congress — Bachmann’s anti-gay positions vexed LGBT advocates who dreaded the prospects of her presidency.
R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the National Log Cabin Republicans, said Bachmann’s decision to leave the race was appropriate because she focused too much on anti-gay rhetoric during her campaign.
“Michele Bachmann is not and cannot be a serious contender for the presidency, and Log Cabin Republicans are happy to see her step aside,” Cooper said. “While her focus on limited government and repealing the failed policies of President Obama was a positive, her focus on divisive social issues demonstrated her lack of credibility.”
Cooper said Bachmann’s lackluster performance in the Iowa caucuses should demonstrate to aspiring politicians that “earning a reputation for antigay extremism is a harmful distraction that ultimately leads to failure.”
Bachmann reiterated many times throughout her campaign her belief that marriage should be restricted to one man, one woman and was among the candidates who signed a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage committing her to oppose same-sex marriage as president. By signing the document, Bachmann promised to back a U.S. constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage throughout the country and to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
Bachmann was also among the candidates who have pledged to restore “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if elected to the White House.
In the course of her career in Congress, Bachmann voted against hate crimes protections legislation, repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. She was elected to Congress too late to have voted on the Federal Marriage Amendment in either 2004 or 2006.
Bachmann has even expressed indifference to anti-gay bullying over the course of her campaign. Asked what she would do about bullying at rally in Costa Mesa, Calif., in September, Bachmann replied, “That’s not a federal issue.” The lawmaker has become associated with the issue of anti-gay bullying because of the rash of teen suicides in her congressional district.
The candidate has also refused to comment during her campaign on past anti-gay comments she made in 2004. Bachmann had once said ‘Gays live a very sad life” and “it’s part of Satan.”
Both David Gregory on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and, on the day of the Iowa caucuses, Soledad O’Brien on CNN asked Bachmann whether she stands by those comments, but the candidate declined to answer. In response to O’Brien, Bachmann said bringing up her old statements was “bizarre.”
“It’s a bizarre thing to bring up,” Bachmann said. “Today is the election. What people recognize is that the most important issue that people will be looking at is, ‘Who is the best person to deal with the economy?’”
Pressed by O’Brien on the matter, Bachmann said, “It’s a gotcha question coming way out of the past. I stand very strong for marriage between one man and one woman.”
Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, said Bachmann’s positions made her a candidate who was less than worthy of the White House.
“Michelle Bachmann has one of the worst records on LGBT issues of a presidential candidate in a long time,” Cole-Schwartz said. “Unfortunately though, her exit from the race still leaves a field full of candidates who want constitutional amendments to ban marriage equality, a return to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and continued workplace discrimination against LGBT people.”
Among the candidates who are touting anti-gay views and still seeking the presidency is Texas Gov. Rick Perry. He’s renowned for an anti-gay ad in which he says, “There’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”
In the Iowa caucuses, Perry finished in fifth place and said after the results he was returning to Texas to determine whether he should stay in the race. But the next day, he apparently decided to remain in contention. Via Twitter, Perry said, “And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State…Here we come South Carolina!!!”
But Bachmann was distinctive among other anti-gay candidates because activists revealed that she co-owned with her husband, Marcus Bachmann, a clinic offering widely discredited “ex-gay” therapy aimed at turning gay people into being straight.
Feigning a desire to change his sexual orientation, John Becker, an activist with Truth Wins Out, caught on tape sessions with counselor Timothy Wiertzema, who told him he could change from being gay to straight.
Bachmann has refused to answer questions about the clinic, which is operated by her spouse. During an appearance at the National Press Club in July, Bachmann declined to directly answer a question from the Washington Blade on whether she thinks people can change their sexual orientation through reparative therapy or if federal funds are subsidizing this practice at her clinic.
“I’m extremely proud of my husband,” Bachmann said. “I have tremendous respect and admiration for him, and we’ll celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary this coming September. But I am running for the presidency of the United States. My husband is not running for the presidency, neither are my children, neither is our business, neither is our foster children. And I am more than happy to stand for questions on running for presidency of the United States.”
Responding to Bachmann’s exit, Becker said he’s happy to see the candidate go, but speculated she might increase her anti-gay activity now that she no longer wants to represent a national constituency.
“The end of Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign is good news for America’s LGBT community because of her dangerously extreme anti-gay views, and Truth Wins Out is proud to have helped draw attention to that extremism by exposing the ‘ex-gay therapy’ offered at the Bachmann clinic,” Becker said. “However, we should not take today’s announcement to mean that we’ve heard the last of Michele Bachmann. When she returns to Congress, her homophobia is likely to intensify now that she doesn’t need to try and appear presidential.”
Tennessee
Tenn. lawmakers pass transgender “watch list” bill
State Senate to consider measure on Wednesday
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill last week to create a transgender “watch list” that also pushes detransition medical treatment. The state Senate will consider it on Wednesday.
House Bill 754/State Bill 676 has been deemed “ugly” by LGBTQ advocates and criticized by healthcare information litigators as a major privacy concern.
The bill would require “gender clinics accepting funds from this state to perform gender transition procedures to also perform detransition procedures; requires insurance entities providing coverage of gender transition procedures to also cover detransition procedures; requires certain gender clinics and insurance entities to report information regarding detransition procedures to the department of health.”
It would require that any gender-affirming care-providing clinics share the date, age, and sex of patients; any drugs prescribed (dosage, frequency, duration, and method administered); the state and county; the name, contact information, and medical specialty of the healthcare professional who prescribed the treatment; and any past medical history related to “neurological, behavioral, or mental health conditions.” It would also mandate additional information if surgical intervention is prescribed, including details on which healthcare professional made a referral and when.
HB 0754 would also require the state to produce a “comprehensive annual statistical report,” with all collected data shared with the heads of the legislature and the legislative librarian, and eventually published online for public access.
The bill also reframes detransitioning as a major focus of gender-affirming healthcare — despite studies showing that the number of trans people who detransition is statistically quite low, around 13 percent, and is often the result of external pressures (such as discrimination or family) rather than an issue with their gender identity.
This legislation stands in sharp contrast to federal protections restricting what healthcare information can be shared. In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, requiring protections for all “individually identifiable health information,” including medical records, conversations, billing information, and other patient data.
Margaret Riley, professor of law, public health sciences, and public policy at the University of Virginia, has written about similar efforts at the federal level, noting the Trump-Vance administration’s push to subpoena multiple hospitals’ records of gender-affirming care for trans patients despite no claims — or proof — that a crime was committed.
It has “sown fear and concern, both among people whose information is sought and among the doctors and other providers who offer such care. Some health providers have reportedly decided to no longer provide gender-affirming care to minors as a result of the inquiries, even in states where that care is legal.” She wrote in an article on the Conversation, where she goes further, pointing out that the push, mostly from conservative members of the government, are pushing extracting this private information “while giving no inkling of any alleged crimes that may have been committed.”
State Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), the bill’s sponsor, said in a press conference two weeks ago that he has met dozens of individuals who sought to transition genders and ultimately detransitioned. In committee, an individual testified in support of the bill, claiming that while insurance paid for gender-affirming care, detransition care was not covered.
“I believe that we as a society are going to look back on this time that really burst out in 2014 and think, ‘Dear God, What were we thinking? This was as dumb as frontal lobotomies,’” Faison said of gender-affirming care. “I think we’re going to look back on society one day and think that.”
Jennifer Levi, GLAD Law’s senior director of Transgender and Queer Rights, shared with PBS last year that legislation like this changes the entire concept of HIPAA rights for trans Americans in ways that are invasive and unnecessary.
“It turns doctor-patient confidentiality into government surveillance,” Levi said, later emphasizing this will cause fewer people to seek out the care that they need. “It’s chilling.”
The Washington Blade reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, which shared this statement from Executive Director Miriam Nemeth:
“HB 754/SB 676 continues the ugly legacy of Tennessee legislators’ attacks on the lives of transgender Tennesseans. Most Tennesseans, regardless of political views, oppose government databases tracking medical decisions made between patients and their doctors. The same should be true here. The state does not threaten to end the livelihood of doctors and fine them $150,000 for safeguarding the sensitive information of people with diabetes, depression, cancer, or other conditions. Trans people and intersex people deserve the same safety, privacy, and equal treatment under the law as everyone else.”
Iran
LGBTQ groups condemn Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization
Ceasefire announced less than two hours before Tuesday deadline
The Council for Global Equality is among the groups that condemned President Donald Trump on Tuesday over his latest threats against Iran.
Trump in a Truth Social post said “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the U.S. by 8 p.m. ET. on Tuesday.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 launched airstrikes against Iran.
One of them killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran in response launched missiles and drones against Israel and other countries that include Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus.
Gas prices in the U.S. and around the world continue to increase because the war has essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil passes.
Trump less than 90 minutes before his deadline announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran that Pakistan helped broker.
“We the undersigned human rights, humanitarian, civil liberties, faith-based and environmental organizations, think tanks and experts are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s threat regarding Iran that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ if his demands are not met. Such language describes a grave atrocity if carried out,” reads the statement that the Council for Global Equality more than 200 other organizations and human rights experts signed. “A threat to wipe out ‘a whole civilization’ may amount to a threat of genocide. Genocide is a crime defined by the Genocide Convention and by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as committing one or more of several acts ‘with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, racial or religious groups as such.'”
The statement states “the law is clear that civilians must not be targeted, and they must also be protected from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.”
“Strikes on civilian infrastructure — such as the recent attack on a bridge and the attacks President Trump is repeatedly threatening to carry out to destroy power plants — have devastating consequences for the civilian population and environment,” it reads.
“We urge all parties to respect international law,” adds the statement. “Those responsible for atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, can and must be held accountable.”
The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, MADRE, and the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center are among the other groups that signed the letter.
National
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence to take place April 10
Campaign began as student-led protests against anti-LGBTQ bullying, discrimination
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence will take place on April 10.
The annual Day of Silence began as a student-led protest in response to bullying and discrimination that LGBTQ students face. It is now a national campaign for the LGBTQ community and their allies to come together for LGBTQ youth.
It takes place annually and has multiple ways for supporters to get involved in the movement.
Glisten, originally GLSEN, champions LGBTQ issues in schools, grades K-12. Glisten’s mission is to create more inclusive and accepting environments for LGBTQ students through curriculum, supportive measures, education campaigns, and engagement, such as the Day of Silence.
There are three main ways for the community to get involved in the Day of Silence.
Glisten has a Day of Silence frame, a series of pictures used as profile photos across social media that feature individuals holding signs. The signs allow for personalization, by providing a space to put the individual’s name, followed by filling in the prompt “ … and I am ENDING the silence by…”
Participants are encouraged to post the photo on social media and use it as a profile picture. The templates can be found on Google Drive through this link.
Using #DayOfSilence and #NSCS, as well as tagging Glisten’s official Page @glistencommunity, is another way to participate in the Day of Silence.
Glisten also encourages participants to tag creators, friends, family and use a call to action in their caption, to call attention to the facts and stories behind the Day of Silence.
“Today’s administration in the U.S. wants us to stay silent, submit to their biased and hurtful conformity, and stop fighting for our right to be authentically ourselves,” said Glisten CEO Melanie Willingham-Jaggers. “We urge supporters to use their social platforms and check in with local chapters to be boots on the ground to help LGBTQ+ students feel seen, heard, supported, and less alone. By participating in the ‘Day of Silence,’ you are showing solidarity with young people as they navigate identity, safety, and belonging. Our voices matter.”
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