National
Puerto Rico Senate approves non-discrimination bill
Passage seen as turning point in island’s LGBT rights movement
Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force testifies in support of a Puerto Rico adoption bill on Friday, May 17. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—LGBT rights advocates here last week celebrated the passage of a sweeping bill that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in the U.S. territory.
The 15-11 vote in the Puerto Rico Senate on May 16 took place after lawmakers for several hours debated Senate Bill 238 that Sen. Ramón Nieves Pérez of San Juan introduced in January.
“The country, you and I are sick and tired of the marginalization,” Sen. Mari Tere González López of Mayagüez said.
Sen. Thomas Rivera Schatz of San Juan is among those who spoke against the bill.
“This Senate speaks of tolerance but discriminates against those who don’t have the same political ideology,” he tweeted during the debate.
A triumphant Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force greeted dozens of LGBT rights advocates and other supporters who had gathered outside the Capitol after the vote. Singer Ricky Martin and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn are among those who also applauded SB 238’s passage.
“We are celebrating this victory,” Serrano told the Washington Blade outside the Capitol, noting Rivera has previously referred to him as a “faggot.” “The people are celebrating with us. It is an extraordinary step forward.”
Senators approved SB 238 three days after San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz issued two executive orders that banned discrimination against the city’s LGBT municipal employees and mandated the Puerto Rican capital’s police department to equally investigate domestic violence cases regardless of the alleged victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. She was also inside the Senate chamber when lawmakers approved the measure.
The historic vote took place less than four years after the November 2009 murder of gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado sent shockwaves across Puerto Rico.
Serrano, Quinn and others repeatedly criticized then-Gov. Luís Fortuño for his failure to publicly speak out against rampant anti-LGBT violence on the island in the months after the crime. They also noted Puerto Rican prosecutors remained reluctant to convict anyone under the territory’s hate crimes law that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
The Puerto Rico Senate in late 2011 approved a proposal that would have eliminated LGBT-specific protections from the aforementioned statute.
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court in February narrowly upheld the island’s ban on gay second parent adoptions.
Dr. Carmen Milagros Vélez Vega, whose partner of 25 years, Dr. Ángeles Acosta Rodríguez, sought to adopt their 12-year-old daughter she conceived through in vitro fertilization, on May 17 testified in support of a bill that González introduced earlier this year that would extend second-parent adoption rights to gays and lesbians on the island.
Vega received a standing ovation from Senate Bill 437 supporters who attended the Senate Judiciary, Security and Veterans Committee hearing after she finished her testimony.
“Us three are a Puerto Rican family, one among many,” she said as Acosta and their daughter, Juliana María Acosta Vélez Vega, sat next to her. “We are here, not for the sake of receiving special treatment, nor to seek a privilege, but to present ourselves as citizens and daughters of this country and to ask for that which is granted to Puerto Rican families and children, the right to a family and the protections that that includes.”
The SB 437 hearing took place hours before thousands of people took part in an LGBT rights march from La Fortaleza, the governor’s official residence in Old San Juan, to the Capitol that coincided with the annual International Day Against Homophobia.
Yulín, who unfurled a gay Pride flag from the balcony of City Hall with Nieves during the march, spoke to marchers from the Capitol steps as she stood with members of the Butterflies Trans Association, a transgender advocacy group, while wearing a white headband that said “equity.”
“I say from the bottom of my heart to those who are listening to us — all of Puerto Rico; we are all equal,” she said.
Optimism despite death threats
FBI agents on May 17 arrested Joseph Joel Morales Serrano at his San Juan home for allegedly threatening to kill Serrano at the IDAHO march in a tweet that referenced the Boston Marathon bombings he posted earlier this month.
The Primera Hora newspaper reported Serrano had been planning to attend the march, but he returned to New York City where he lives to accept an award from the Latino Commission on AIDS. His mother, Alicia Burgos, spoke on his behalf.
“We are marching against homophobia,” she said.
Eduardo, who traveled to San Juan from Ponce on Puerto Rico’s southern coast with a group of nearly 150 people, expressed a similar message.
“We are here because we want equality,” Eduardo told the Blade. “We want the same equality that everybody else has.”
The Puerto Rico House of Representatives had been expected to vote on the non-discrimination and the gay second-parent adoption bills on Thursday. A third bill introduced in the chamber in January would add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the island’s anti-domestic violence laws.
“It’s just about basic human rights,” Bayamón resident Héctor Maldonado told the Blade as he waived a rainbow flag across the street from the Capitol before senators approved SB 238.
Gov. Alejandro García Padilla supports both the non-discrimination and adoption measures.
“Puerto Rico is on the brink of history,” Serrano said, noting polls that indicate the majority of the island’s residents support expanded rights for LGBT Puerto Ricans. “LGBT rights are advancing and we will have two bills become law in the next few days.”
National
Lou Chibbaro Jr. documentary wins award from NLGJA
‘Lou’s Legacy’ produced by D.C.’s Mattachine Society
“Lou’s Legacy: a Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade,” a documentary produced by The Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., will receive an Excellence in Journalism Award from NLGJA, the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.
The film premiered on WETA PBS in D.C. and Maryland Public Television (MPT) in June of 2025. The documentary’s Emmy-nominated director and producer Patrick Sammon will accept the award for Excellence in Local Television on Sept. 11 at NLGJA’s National Convention in San Francisco.
“Lou’s Legacy” was produced in association with the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., a non-profit LGBTQ history society dedicated to conducting original archival research. Aside from Sammon, the NLGJA is recognizing other members of the film’s production team including Producer Julianne Donofrio, Editor Amir Jaffer, Executive Producer Charles Francis, and Executive Producer Pate Felts.
“Lou’s Legacy” tells the story of two D.C. icons — legendary Washington Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. and beloved drag performer Donnell Robinson, known to generations of Washington audiences as “Ella Fitzgerald.” Through Lou’s nearly five-decade career at the Blade and Ella’s return to the stage after a three-year hiatus following COVID, the 29-minute documentary explores the history of Washington’s LGBTQ community and today’s rising backlash against LGBTQ rights, including laws targeting drag performers.
“All students of journalism can learn a lot from the story of Lou Chibbaro, Jr. Lou has chronicled nearly five decades of LGBTQ+ life and the community’s struggle for equality in Washington, D.C. Lou’s work and the role of the queer press has been essential in covering stories the mainstream media would often ignore or erase,” said Ryan Levi, president of the D.C. chapter of the NLGJA.
“We are thrilled to receive this award from the NLGJA,” said the film’s director Patrick Sammon. “Lou Chibbaro’s nearly five decade career at the Washington Blade demonstrates the essential role LGBTQ journalism plays in telling our community’s stories and documenting its history. This recognition from journalists who follow in Lou’s footsteps is particularly meaningful to me and the rest of our production team.”
Arizona
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime
Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.
Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.
The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.
Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.
“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”
According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.
“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”
“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”
Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.
The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.
“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”
A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.
Congress
HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH
Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.
Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.
We’re hitting the pavement across New Hampshire to fight for a freer, fairer future for everyone.
Glad to have Human Rights Campaign President @KelleyJRobinson join us for a canvass launch in Manchester today. pic.twitter.com/XWCEaQxy4o
— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) August 30, 2026
Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.
Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.
A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.
The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.
Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.
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