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Senate panel advances two gay judicial nominees

McShane, Quinones reported out favorably by voice vote

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Nitza QuiƱones, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Washington Blade, gay news
Nitza QuiƱones, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Washington Blade, gay news

Nitza QuiƱones Alejandro nomination as a U.S. judge was approved by Senate panel (Image courtesy of the United States Senate)

Following a call from the White House to fill vacancies on the federal court, a Senate panel on Thursday approved two openly gay nominees to the floor en banc as part of a group of six pending appointments.

The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out by voice vote the nominations of Michael McShane, nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, and Nitza Quinones Alejandro, nominated for a seat U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Both nominees were named by President Obama in the previous Congress and renominated again at the start of this year.

McShane, whose nomination was recommended by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), has served on theĀ Multnomah CountyĀ Circuit CourtĀ since 1997, where he handles civil, criminal and family court cases.Ā If confirmed, he would be the first openly gay federal judge in Oregon.

Quinones, whose nomination was recommended by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), serves as a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, where she has presided since 1991 over civil and criminal matters. A Puerto Rico native,Ā Quinones would be the firstĀ out lesbian Latina to serve as a federal judge.

The committee has advanced the nominees as the Obama administration is ramping up public pressure on the Senate to confirm judicial appointments.Ā On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney offered a three-slide presentation on vacancies remaining in the federal judiciary — notingĀ the average wait time for an Obama judicial nominee to get a floor vote is three to four times longer than it was during the Bush administration.

“This is a problem that needs to be resolved for the sake of our judicial system, for the sake of a carrying out of justice in our country in an expedited and deliberate manner,” Carney said.

It should be noted the committee votes onĀ Quinones andĀ McShane were scheduled before Carney offered his remarks on Tuesday during the White House briefing.

Carney particularly emphasized the importance of confirmingĀ Caitlin Halligan, another nominee,Ā to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. But the following day, Senate Republicans succeeded in filibustering the nomination. President Obama in a statement afterward said he was “deeply disappointed” because he believes Halligan is highly qualified for the role.

But earlier this week, the Senate confirmed by voice vote the nomination ofĀ Pamela Ki Mai Chen, a lesbian, for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She’s the first openly gay Asian-American confirmed to the federal bench.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.

According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.

The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.

The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.

In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.

The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first ā€œGay Pride Marchā€ in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.

New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.

ā€œAfter decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,ā€ the lesbian lawmaker said on X. ā€œGuns are a problem despite the NRA BS.ā€

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.

The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”

“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.

Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”

His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.

“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”

“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free

Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

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The U.S. Supreme Court as composed June 30, 2022, to present. Front row, left to right: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Back row, left to right: Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Photo Credit: Fred Schilling, the U.S. Supreme Court)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.

The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.

An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.

They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.

Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.

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