National
Fired gay employee sues Library of Congress
Lawsuit says boss cited anti-gay biblical passages before terminating staffer
A gay man has charged in a lawsuit filed on Friday that he was fired in April from his job at the Library of Congress after being harassed and humiliated for more than a year by a supervisor who repeatedly quoted biblical passages condemning homosexuality.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charges that management analyst Peter TerVeer, 30, suffered employment discrimination based on his gender, gender stereotyping and his religious beliefs in violation of Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The lawsuit charges that his supervisor John Mech and library official Nicholas Christopher, Mechās immediate supervisor, further violated Title VII by retaliating against TerVeer when he attempted to challenge their actions in an internal library complaint.
āMech imposed his sex stereotypes and fundamentalist religious beliefs on homosexuality upon the plaintiff, resulting in a hostile working environment,ā the lawsuit alleges.
In addition, the suit charges the library with violating TerVeerās Fifth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection; violating an internal Library of Congress policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and religious beliefs; and violating the Library of Congress Act, a federal law that calls for the library to consider decisions related to employees āsolelyā on an employeeās āfitnessā for his or her job duties.
Library of Congress spokesperson Gale Osterberg said the library has no immediate comment on the lawsuit. She said the libraryās official response would come in the form of a legal brief filed in court that addresses each of the allegations made in the lawsuit. Under court rules, the Library of Congress has 60 days to file its response from the time TerVeerās attorneys serve the library with an official copy of the lawsuit.
In April, when TerVeer and his attorney disclosed that TerVeer had filed a complaint against Mech and other officials with the libraryās Equal Employment Opportunity office, which adjudicates employment discrimination cases, Osterberg said TerVeerās case was a personnel matter and the library never comments on personnel matters pertaining to an individual employee.
She told the Blade at that time that under library rules, neither Mach, an accountant and lead auditor for the libraryās Office of the Inspector General, where TerVeer worked, nor any other library employee familiar with TerVeerās case, would be permitted to comment on the case.
When asked about a Library of Congress internal policy adopted in the 1990s that bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, Osterberg said only that, āWe adhere to Title VII, period.ā
She was referring to the provision in the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, and other criteria but not on sexual orientation.
Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the ACLUās Washington, D.C. office, said TerVeerās lawsuitās claim that Mech and other Library of Congress officials violated Title VII by discriminating against TerVeer based on his sex and religious beliefs could make him eligible for relief under Title VII.
Spitzer noted that a U.S. District Court judge in D.C. ruled in 2008 that the Library of Congress illegally discriminated against a transgender woman on grounds of sex discrimination. Spitzerās ACLU office represented the transgender woman, Diane Schroer, in the case along with the ACLUās LGBT Rights Project.
The ACLU called the judgeās action āa groundbreaking decision that found that discriminating against someone for changing genders is sex discrimination under federal law.ā
Spitzer said TerVeerās case could potentially result in expanding the scope of Title VII, the federal civil rights statute, to cover gay people if the court issues a favorable decision on TerVeerās lawsuit.
But Spitzer noted that unless the case is appealed by the library and an appeals court upholds the lower court decision, the favorable ruling would only apply to TerVeer.
Schroer was a retired and highly decorated Army colonel assigned to the Army Airborne Rangers before she applied for a Library of Congress job as a terrorism research analyst. The library hired her before reversing its decision and turning her down for the job when it learned she was transitioning from a man to a woman.
In its ruling against the library, the court ordered the library to pay Schroer nearly $500,000 in compensation for the discrimination it found the library to have committed. Schroer chose not to take the job there.
TerVeer is being represented for his lawsuit by attorneys Christopher Brown and Glen Ackerman of Ackerman Brown, PLLC; and Thomas Simeone of Simeone & Miller. (Ackerman Brown, PLLC also represents the Washington Blade in legal matters.)
The lawsuit says that when TerVeer began his job in February 2008 as a management auditor in the auditing division of the Library of Congress Office of the Inspector General, his work was well received and he soon received promotions.
The lawsuit says Mech andĀ TerVeer had a cordial, professional relationship until Mach discoveredĀ TerVeer was gay in August 2009.
āMech facilitated an introduction to his single daughter, Katie Mech, and the two became āfriendsā on the social networking website Facebook in January 2009,ā the lawsuit says.
It says that in August 2009 TerVeer missed noticing that Facebook changed its privacy settings, enabling Facebook friends to see certain postings on his site that previously could not be seen by people other than those he allowed to see them. One of the postings was a page linked to a group that supports gay fathers and advocates for ending discrimination against gay parents.
When Katie Mech apparently saw the “gay”Ā link on TerVeerās Facebook page she wrote him a message saying, āDonāt tell me youāre weird like that,ā the lawsuit says. It says TerVeer responded offline by confirming that he was gay but noting that he was not āweird,ā the lawsuit says.
According to the lawsuit, from that time going forward John Mach dramatically changed his attitude toward TerVeer in a negative way, leading TerVeer to believe Katie Mach told her father he was gay.
āNow, at the beginning of almost every work-related conversation, Mech would engage in a religious lecture to the point where it became clearĀ that Mech was targeting TerVeer by imposing his conservative Catholic beliefs on TerVeer throughout the workday,ā the lawsuit says. āTerVeer proclaims a Christian faith, but one that is accepting of his sexual orientation,ā says the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says that on June 21, 2010 Mech called TerVeer into an unscheduled meeting and delivered a stern lecture to āeducateā TerVeer on āhellā and the sin of homosexuality.
Mech began reciting Bible verses to TerVeer, the lawsuit says, telling him, āI hope you repent because the Bible is very clear about what God does to homosexuals.ā The lawsuit says Mech went on to quote the biblical passage of Leviticus that says, āIf a man lies with a man as one lies with a womanā¦they must be put to death.ā
TerVeer charges in the lawsuit that Mech, with help from Mechās supervisor, Nicholas Christopher, ācontinued to manufacture a negative paper trailā to downgrade TerVeerās work performance ratings. The lawsuit says this was an effort to justify Mechās alleged goal of orchestrating TerVeerās termination from his job.
āTerVeer was subjected to a hostile work environment and continued harassment from Mech based upon religious affiliation, sex stereotyping, and sexual orientation,ā the lawsuit says. Christopher, Mech, and other supervisors failed to inform TerVeer of his right to file a discrimination claim and retaliated against TerVeer because he sought to and ultimately did file a discrimination claim, the suit says.
āThe work environment became too hostile for TerVeer to continue working under Mech or Christopherās supervision, and his requests for transfer were denied,ā the lawsuit says. āTerVeer was constructively terminated on April 6, 2012 because he was unable to return to a workplace where he had to confront constant discriminatory treatment from Mech and Christopher.ā
The suit calls for injunctive relief, including reinstatement and an āorder restraining defendant from engaging in further discriminatory conductā¦ā
It calls for back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, including for emotional distress, and reimbursement for attorneysā fees and other court related costs. The suit doesnāt seek a specific dollar amount for damages and compensation and other costs, saying the amounts would be determined at trial.
Oklahoma
Medical examine releases final autopsy on Nex Benedict’s death
Okla. high school student died by suicide in February
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office released the full report Wednesday on the results of its investigation into the death of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old transgender teen whose death has become a hot button topic in ongoing national discourse over transphobic and homophobic bullying in public school settings.
Earlier this month the medical examiner’s office released the first page of the report stating that Benedictās death was caused by an overdose of Benadryl and Prozac, and ruled the death a suicide.
Owasso Police Department Lt. Nick Boatman said in a statement to the media at the time of the release of the initial finding: āFrom the beginning of this investigation, Owasso Police observed many indications that this death was the result of suicide. However, investigators did not wish to confirm that information without the final results being presented by the Oklahoma Medical Examiners Office.ā
The Owasso Police Department released body cam footage from the interview conducted by the Owasso High School resource officer taken at the emergency room, investigating the attack on Benedict by three other female juveniles earlier that day in a school bathroom.
Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler released a statement last week that said no criminal charges will be filed in the death of the 16-year-old Owasso High School trans student.
In part the district attorney said because the finding by the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner precluded the possibility that the death was caused directly from the physical altercation at the school the day prior to the teen’s dying.
According to the district attorney, Benedict had written notes talking about suicide but did not reference the fight or incidents at school. Kunzweiler stated that the notes are personal to Benedictās family and will not be released.
The report also detailed injuries sustained in the fight from the day before, including several small cuts and bruises on their face and body. Benedict also had a 4×3 inch bruise on his chest from resuscitation efforts. The medical examiner also found yellowing bruises on Benedict’s arms, legs and torso that were healing before the time of the fight. The medical examiner’s office also found evidence of self-inflicted wounds on the arm.
Several Oklahoma-based LGBTQ organizations responded to the release of the full autopsy report along with national LGBTQ advocacy groups GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign and the Rainbow Youth Project.
āAs our community continues to grieve and remember Nex, itās clearer than ever that everyone from Oklahomaās State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to Owasso High School staff members to the Owasso Police Department, Tulsa District Attorney, and unaccredited-since-2009 state medical examinerās office failed to deliver justice for Nex Benedict and Nexās loved ones,” said Nicole McAfree, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma.
“A harm doubled by the continued lack of respect for the tribal law enforcement who should be involved in a case that involves the death of an Indigenous person on reservation land. As we approach the end of the Oklahoma legislative session, lawmakers should take the opportunity to send a message of adamant opposition to anti-2SLGBTQ+ legislation and policies; and support for measures that enable more empathy, kindness and compassion, not less. Nex should be alive, and the very least we can do in Nexās memory is demonstrate our commitment to building a better world that makes it impossible for this heartbreaking tragedy to happen again,ā McAfree added.
Oklahoma Pride Alliance President Kylan L. Durant said; āTodayās news is the latest disappointing development in Nex Benedictās tragic story. The best way to honor Nexās memory now is by taking tangible steps to secure meaningful policies and platforms that make life better for all LGBTQ and 2STGNC+ youth. All Oklahomans deserve to live in a world that treats us with full dignity and respect, and where we can access spaces that allow us to live as our honest, authentic selves. We will never stop advocating for equality and justice in honor of Nex and too many others who left us too soon.ā
The Rainbow Youth Project reported an uptick in crisis calls from Oklahoma since Benedictās death:
- 1,097 calls from Oklahoma in February.
- 824 calls from Oklahoma in March so far.
- Note that the average for the state is 357 per month.
- Oklahoma youth reaching out to Rainbow Youth Project reported experiencing anti-LGBTQ bullying and specifically called out Walters:
- 82 percent reported bullying.
- 62 percent cited anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from Walters.
More than 350 organizations signed a letter one month agoĀ calling for the Walters’ removal following his long history of leadership failures and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
āSince Nexās death, the crisis lines at the Rainbow Youth Project continue to increase in calls and outreach from young people who feel discouraged and hopeless. Itās incumbent upon all of us to secure safety and well-being for young people, especially those who are most at risk of being bullied and singled out,” said Christopher Sederburg, leader of the Rainbow Youth Project’s Transgender Action Committee. “Itās hard enough to be a young person in the world today without worrying about doing something as simple as attending school safely. Nexās death is a tremendous loss and we must do everything in our power to prevent similar tragedies from taking place in the future. Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma Department of Education must enact change and do right by all students.ā
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement released after the report was made public said:
“This report cannot be seen as a conclusion of the investigation into the death of a teenager who should still be here today. Oklahoma’s supposed leaders must still provide answers to the public about the state-sponsored bullying by legislation, the inadequate response to violence in a school bathroom, and all the failures to keep Nex safe that continue to endanger LGBTQ and 2STGNC+ people in Oklahoma. GLAAD continues to call for an independent investigation to resolve the systemic failures that led to Nexās death. Our hearts remain with Nexās family, with Oklahomaās incredible 2STGNC+ and equality advocates and all LGBTQ youth who deserve to grow up in peace and safety.ā
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, released the following statement:
āThe full report does little to fill in the gaps in information about that day or the more than a year of bullying and harassment that led up to it. It does not answer the questions of so many in Oklahoma and across the country. We continue to support the calls from Nexās family for an independent investigation.
Young people in Oklahoma and across the country deserve to be safe and respected in school. This includes young people who may dress differently, speak differently, or identify differently from you. Whatās clear from Nexās death, and from what weāve heard from so many students and parents in Owasso and across the state, is that this is not the case. Instead, we have seen the very adults who should be working to protect Oklahomaās kids actively foster the hostile environment that makes students unsafe.
The release of todayās report does not change the fact that LGTBQ+ students in Oklahoma are not safe at school. And it does not change our continued calls for justice and accountability. We reiterate our call for a full and complete investigation into the district, state Supt. Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and into their response after Nex was attacked.ā
On March 1, the U.S. Department of Education informed Robinson that the department will open an investigation in response to HRCās letter regarding Owasso Public Schools and its failure to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment that may have contributed to the tragic death of Benedict.
This investigation was triggered by a formal complaint made last week by Robinson, who wrote to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and asked his department to use the enforcement mechanisms at its disposal to prevent similar tragedies from taking place in the future and to help hold accountable those responsible for Benedictās tragic death.
Rainbow Youth Project USA Executive Director Lance Preston echoed his fellow non-profit CEOs at GLAAD and HRC, telling the Washington Blade:
“In a unified effort with Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD, Rainbow Youth Project USA is calling for an independent autopsy to ensure a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the youth’s death.
Rainbow Youth Project USA, demands that educational institutions in Oklahoma and across the country take immediate action to address the pervasive issue of bullying and harassment faced by LGBTQ+ students.
Statistics reveal that 58 percent of LGBTQ+ youth in Oklahoma feel unsafe at school, painting a grim picture of the challenges these individuals face on a daily basis. “Schools must be safe and inclusive environments for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is unacceptable that a significant number of LGBTQ+ students are experiencing bullying and harassment.”
Rainbow Youth Project USA, based on recent data, received 1,097 crisis calls from Oklahoma in February alone. Nearly 86 percent of these callers reported instances of being bullied within the state’s schools, highlighting the urgent need for improved support and protection for LGBTQ youth.
In a conversation with the Blade on Wednesday, investigative journalist T.J. Payne reflected on the report:
“I canāt help but feel a sickness around all of it. As a trans person, reading a trans childās autopsy is really fucked. Referring to their various insides as normal, intact, not usual. If only we described trans people the same way externally. Just like everybody else in the world trying to survive.”
Federal Government
National Security Council meets with Ugandan LGBTQ activist
Frank Mugisha met with the NSC on Monday
The U.S. National Security Council met with Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist Frank Mugisha on Monday, according to a spokesperson who reaffirmed America’s opposition to civil rights abuses against LGBTQ people in the East African country.
Last year, Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, a law that criminalizes, with prison sentences, identifying as gay or lesbian and imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”
The Biden-Harris administration has repeatedly denounced the legislation and called for its repeal.
“There have been increased reports of evictions, vigilante attacks, and police harassment, abuse, and detainment of individuals who are or are perceived to be LGBTQI+, including reports of the Ugandan police subjecting individuals to forced anal examinations ā an abusive, degrading practice that serves no investigative or public health purpose,” the White House wrote in a December 2023 fact sheet.
In a post on X about the meeting with Mugisha, Adrienne Watson, special assistant to the president and National Security Council senior director for press and spokesperson, wrote that the “United States continues to have zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or harmful activities.”
The United States continues to have zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or harmful activities, including the horrific practice of forced anal examinations and the criminalization of LGBTQI+ persons. pic.twitter.com/umr4rXBr8a
— Adrienne Watson (@NSC_Spox) March 26, 2024
Mugisha, who is gay, is one of the most prominent LGBTQ advocates in Uganda, winning the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for his work in 2011. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
District of Columbia
D.C. events to commemorate International Transgender Day of Visibility
Monica Beverly-Hillz to attend Blossom Gala at Hook Hall
Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality will hold a series of events in D.C. on Sunday in commemoration of the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
The TRANSform the Vote rally will take place on the National Mall.
Organized by the Queer Equity Institute and NCTE, the event aims to celebrate trans liberation, combat violence and promote civic engagement. Elected officials, activists and artists are expected to participate.
Queer Equity Institute Executive Director Leigh Finke and NCTE Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen discussed the rally and how it will empower the trans community and promote advocacy.
āFrom restricting access to medically necessary healthcare to denying trans students the opportunity to participate in sports, we have seen nationwide efforts to exclude trans people from society,ā said Heng-Lehtinen. āTRANSform the Vote presents a historical moment for us to empower our community ā casting our votes and participating in democracy is just one of many ways our community can advocate for the issues that matter to us.ā
Finke, Minnesotaās first openly trans lawmaker who wrote the stateās groundbreaking trans refuge bill, echoed Heng-Lehtinen.
“Over the past few years, weāve watched again and again as ‘jokes’ became hate speech, hate speech became bills, bills became laws; and all the jokes, hate speech and laws created an environment where transgender people are assaulted, beaten and murdered,” said Finke. “Some of the most important tools we have to fight back against these attacks is to change the culture through voting, running for office and creating art and music that shift society. This rally is meant to highlight and encourage folks to use those tools in their communities.”
Confirmed speakers and participants aside from Finke and Heng-Lehtinen include:
- Minnesota state Rep. Alicia āLiishā Kozlowski, who is one of the countryās foremost activists for Indigenous trans and two-spirit people.
- Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins.
- Angelica Ross, a Buddhist artist and human rights activist.
- Visual artist Cassils
The first annual Blossom Gala will take place at Hook Hall (3400 Georgia Ave., N.W.) and will feature keynote speakers, a Q&A panel discussion featuring national leaders in the trans rights movement and drag performances. Cherry Bomb, which will cap off the event, is an all-trans drag showcase.
Mr. Trans USA 2020 Eddie Broadway; Miss Trans USA 2020 Bianca Nicole and Candi Stratton, a world-renowned Cher illusionist, are among those who are expected to perform. Other participants will include Miss Trans USA 2023 Anya Marino, Mr. Trans USA 2023 Trey C. Michaels and NCTE National Organizer Sybastian Smith.
Monica Beverly-Hillz from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will also participate.
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