National
LGBT-inclusive domestic violence bill passes Congress
Vote marks first time pro-gay bill has passed under Boehner


The U.S. House passed an LGBT-inclusive version of the VAWA reauthorization. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Republican-controlled House on Thursday made history by passing an LGBT-inclusive version of a bill aimed at preventing domestic violence and aiding its victims.
It’s significant because passage of the legislation marks the first time the House has passed an LGBT-inclusive bill since U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) took control of the chamber at the start of 2011.
The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act β a law first signed into law in 1994 β passed the House by a vote ofΒ 286-138 early Thursday afternoon. The entire caucus of 199 House Democrats voted for the measure as well as 87 Republicans, providing the necessary majority support for passage.
Earlier this month, the Senate approved this version of VAWA on a bipartisan basis by a vote ofΒ 78-22. Passage in both chambers of Congress means President Obama’s signature is the last remaining step before the bill becomes law.
In a statement, President Obama commended the House for passing the Senate version of the legislation, taking particular note of the protections it affords LGBT people.
“Over more than two decades, this law has saved countless lives and transformed the way we treat victims of abuse,” Obama said. “Todayβs vote will go even further by continuing to reduce domestic violence, improving how we treat victims of rape, and extending protections to Native American women and members of the LGBT community.”
An earlier Republican version of VAWA reauthorization that lacked LGBT inclusion failed to pass on the House floor on the same day just prior to passage of the more inclusive bill. That measure failed by a vote 166-257.
The VAWA reauthorization bill passed by the House has language that aims to help LGBT victims of domestic violence in three ways:
β’ First, the legislation mandates all programs or activities that receive funding under VAWA provide services regardless of a personβs actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
β’ Second, it explicitly includes the LGBT community in the largest VAWA grant program, the βSTOP Grant Program,β which provides funding to care providers who collaborate with prosecution and law enforcement officials to address domestic violence.
β’ Finally, the bill sets up a grant program specifically aimed at providing services and outreach to underserved populations, including programs that provide care specifically for LGBT people.
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, called House passage of the bill “a huge victory” for the millions of people affected by domestic violence and noted these victims include LGBT people.
“A survivor’s distress should not be compounded by a lack of proper response from service providers or law enforcement,” Carey said. “Imagine being assaulted, scared and in pain β and then also being turned away from the care you need simply because of who you are or who you love. This legislation will better ensure that does not happen.”
Data exists showing LGBT people who are victims of domestic violence suffer from discrimination when seeking help at shelters. According toΒ a 2010 reportΒ from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 44.6 percent of LGBT domestic violence survivors were turned away by a shelter and 54.4 percent of LGBT survivors seeking an order of protection were denied help.
Gregory Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, commended the 87 House Republicans for Β joining with Democrats to vote in favor of the measure.
“Codifying law to acknowledge the reality that gays and lesbians can be the unfortunate victims of domestic abuse just as their straight counterparts is an issue of basic fairness, and we applaud those Republicans in the House who demonstrated the importance of equal protection under the law with their votes today,” Angelo said.
Asked by the Washington Blade whether passage of LGBT-inclusive domestic violence legislation could indicate that the chamber would support a pro-LGBT bill like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Angelo was optimistic.
“Today’s vote certainly indicates that there is an appetite among some in the House Republican caucus for LGBT-inclusive legislation that codifies equal protection under the law,” Angelo said.
It should be mentioned that the House under the 112th Congress more frequently has passed language with anti-gay language, such as a version of the defense authorization bill banning same-sex marriages on military bases and other legislation containing language that reaffirms the Defense of Marriage Act.
Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), pushed back on the notion that Republicans deserve credit for passing an LGBT-inclusive bill, saying Republican leaders were forced to bring up the legislation.
“To give them credit for ‘allowing’ this to pass is ridiculous,” Hammill said. “House Dems and advocates turned up the heat and made this too hot to handle. They lost control of this and are in disarray. [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor had tried to find a different path and failed miserably.”
Florida
Over 100 LGBTQ-themed books in a Florida school district labeled with advisory warning
They warn: βthis book has been identified by some community members as unsuitable for students.β

A southwest Florida district put parental βadvisory noticeβ on over 100 books, many of which are race or LGBTQ-themed.Β
A great number of books in Collier County Public Schools, either digital or physical, now have warning labels writing βAdvisory notice to parents,β according to an NBC report,
The label, tweeted by nonprofit free-speech-promoting group PEN American, states, βThis Advisory Notice shall serve to inform you that this book has been identified by some community members as unsuitable for students. This book will also be identified in the Destiny system with the same notation. The decision as to whether this book is suitable or unsuitable shall be the decision of the parent(s) who has the right to oversee his/her childβs education consistent with state law.βΒ
The labels appear digitally in the library records & physically on the books. They warn: βthis book has been identified by some community members as unsuitable for students.β Apparently, a lot is βunsuitableβ. Even Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers & illustrated by @MarlaFrazee. pic.twitter.com/wA5fT5fjLr
— PEN America (@PENamerica) August 5, 2022
Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, which means to fight book banning, told NBC that she had a call from Elizabeth Alves, the associate superintendent of teaching and learning for Collier County Public Schools. In the call, Alves told her that the district added the labels starting in February.Β
These measures, which Alves described as a βcompromise,β happened after the districtβs legal representative talked with the Florida Citizens Alliance, a conservative group which initiated a βPorn in Schools Reportβ project last year. The report included a list of books that βpromote gender self-identification and same-sex marriageβ as well as titles that include βindecent and offensive material,β as the group explained.
Chad Oliver, the Collier County Public Schools spokesperson, on the other hand offered a different story.
Oliver sent an email to NBC News and said, “Based upon advice from the General Counsel, we placed advisory notices on books about which parents and community members had expressed concern and in accordance with the recently passed Parents’ Bill of Rights Law (HB 241).”
The law referred by Oliver is also known as the βDonβt Say Gayβ law.
According to PEN America, there are 110 labeled books in total, and the list greatly overlaps with the one Florida Citizens Alliance inquired about with Collier County Public Schools.Β
National
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney introduces bill to make monkeypox testing free
Health insurers would be required to cover costs

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), amid the ongoing monkeypox affecting gay and bisexual men, has introduced legislation in the U.S. House seeking to make testing for disease free to the public.
Maloney, one of seven openly gay members of Congress and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement the measure, called the No Cost for Monkeypox Testing Act, would testing amid the monkeypox outbreak would be accessible to all.
βIt is critical that we eliminate cost as a barrier to testing for monkeypox to ensure we can identify cases and prevent further spread,β Maloney said. βThis legislation takes the lessons we learned from past public health emergencies and protects those at risk of contracting monkeypox by making tests accessible to everyone.β
The legislation would require private health insurers as well as Medicare and Medicaid to cover the costs of monkeypox testing at no expense to the patients, either through deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance.
The bill introduction comes the week after the Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency and the same it has issued new guidance to enhance to the accessing of existing vaccines doses amid criticism federal officials were too slow in distributing shots.
The Washington Blade has placed a request in with the Centers for Disease Control seeking comment on the legislation. Secretary of Health & Human Services Xavier Becerra said Tuesday the federal government has the capacity to conduct an estimated 80,000 tests each week.
Maloney has been representing New York’s 18th congressional district, but after redistricting is now seeking re-election in the 17th district. Amid controversy over a potential showdown between Maloney and Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), who’s Black, another openly gay member of Congress and the current representative of that district, Jones has since opted to run for re-election in the New York’s 10th congressional district. Maloney is now running unopposed in the 17th.
National
Biden administration shifts monkeypox vaccine approach amid shortage
Health experts sees new guidance as mixed bag

The Biden administration, amid criticism it was slow to act on the monkeypox outbreak and still not meeting the demand for vaccines as the number of cases continues to grow, has announced a shift in guidance for implementation of the shot in an effort to enhance availability.
As the estimated number of monkeypox cases in the United States reaches 8,900, top health officials announced the new move on Tuesday as part of a decision by Secretary of Health & Human Services Xavier Becerra to issue a determination under Section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to justify emergency use authorization of vaccines. The announcement follows up on the Biden administration’s announcement last week declaring the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.
Becerra said in a conference call with reporters the 564 determination and change in approach to vaccines would “boost and strengthen” the Biden administration’s response to monkeypox, which has overwhelmingly affected gay and bisexual men, and “safely accelerates and multiplies our supply of effective vaccines by up to fivefold.”
“Today’s action also reaffirms HHS and this administration’s commitment to using all available resources and capabilities to end the monkeypox outbreak and provide the best possible care to those suffering from the virus,” Becerra added.
The new vaccine approach, which may may be considered minor to non-medical observers, would change injections of the JYNNEOS vaccine from the subcutaneous route (delivery of the vaccine under the fat layer underneath the skin) to the intradermal route (delivery of the vaccine into the layer of skin just underneath the top layer). In theory, that would allow for greater accessibility of monkeypox vaccines as it increases the number of doses from each vial of vaccine.
The change was made amid criticism the Biden administration failed to meet the demand for vaccines during the outbreak and geographic inequity as certain metropolitan areas of the country have more access to vaccines than other places.
As The New York Times reported last week, the Biden administration has faced criticism for not moving quickly enough in acquiring and distributing vaccines, including bulk stocks already owned by the U.S. government manufactured in Denmark by Bavaria Nordic now being given to other clients.
“The government is now distributing about 1.1 million doses, less than a third of the 3.5 million that health officials now estimate are needed to fight the outbreak,” the Times reported. “It does not expect the next delivery, of half a million doses, until October. Most of the other 5.5 million doses the United States has ordered are not scheduled to be delivered until next year, according to the federal health agency.”
Biden officials, nonetheless, touted the numbers of vaccines and tests in response to monkeypox as a positive, acknowledging the 1.1 million vaccines being made available as well as delivery of more than 620,000 of those doses, deployment more than 15,000 courses of the monkeypox treatment and increasing the country’s capacity to administer tests on a weekly basis to around 80,000. Meanwhile, officials also promoted the change in approach in vaccines as means to allow greater accessibility to the shots.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, promoted during the conference call the use of intradermal injections and said they’re “often used for TB skin tests and have been used for other types of vaccines.”
Although Walensky conceded some health care providers “may not be as familiar with intradermal administration” as they are with subcutaneous injection, she said CDC would make additional guidance materials available, including a clinician alert message to the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials, outreach to key clinician partners and an education resource video. The change in guidance, Walensky said, is for vaccine implementation in adults, but children β where single digit monkeypox cases have been reported β would continue to receive vaccination in the traditional subcutaneous approach.
But health experts aren’t responding with overwhelming praise to the decision to change the guidance on vaccine implementation from subcutaneous injections to intradermal injections, expressing concerns the new approach may be insufficient.
Jennifer Kates, director of global health & HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, was among those saying the change in guidance on vaccine approach was a mixed bag and told the Blade more data is needed to evaluate the effectiveness.
“As we saw with COVID, using these authorities in the context of public health emergencies is an important strategy,” Kates said. “In this case, this step will significantly expand access to vaccines for those most at risk. However, there remain questions about the effectiveness of this approach β real world studies are needed β and challenges to translating vaccines into vaccinations.”
Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research (CBER) at the Food & Drug Administration, was asked during the conference call with reporters to respond to concerns the change in guidance was insufficient and downplayed the novelty of implementing the vaccines through the intradermal route as “not at all new.”
“In fact, the reason why the Bavaria part of this equation comes from the fact that in Germany, this vaccine was given intradermally originally, in an effort to replicate the original version of the smallpox vaccine,” Marks said. “It’s been given to thousands of people intradermally, so this isn’t the first time it’s been done.”
Walkensky said the intradermal vaccine approach has been implemented amid policies among localities to implement a one-dose approach to the JYNNEOS vaccine through the subcutaneous route. (The D.C. government is one of the jurisdictions that had enacted a one-dose approach amid a vaccine shortage.) There is not data, Walkensky said, to support that approach and “in fact, if anything, there are data saying that that is not protective enough.”
“So by using this alternative strategy of intradermal dosing, not only do we have more doses, but we actually allow people to get two doses in a way that shows immunologic response that’s superimposable from the subcutaneous dosing,” Walkensky said. “So we have more doses, and in fact, we have the ability to doubly vaccinate people so that they get the protection that they need.”
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