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U.S. opposes boycott of Sochi Olympics
Growing number of activists have urged athletes to skip games
New laws prohibiting the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ have been enacted in Russia. (Photo by YAB994 via Wikimedia Commons)
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki on Friday said the U.S. does not support a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, over the country’s LGBT rights record.
“That’s certainly not what we’re calling for,” she told reporters during her daily press briefing.
Psaki’s comments come a day after reports emerged of Russian ultra-nationalists torturing gay teenagers whom they met through fake accounts they set up on a social media network.
A growing number of American LGBT rights advocates have urged the U.S. to boycott the Sochi games in response to laws banning so-called gay propaganda and same-sex couples from adopting Russian children that Vladimir Putin recently signed. Several gay bars in Seattle, Chicago, London and other cities have also stopped serving Russian vodka in response to growing anti-LGBT discrimination and violence in the country.
The State Department has repeatedly spoken out against LGBT-specific human rights abuses in Russia, but Psaki told the Washington Blade she didn’t have “any conversations to read out or predict” that may take place between Secretary of State John Kerry and Putin and his Russian colleagues.
“The U.S. of course places great importance on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people–including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” Psaki said in response to the Blade’s question on the issue. “Human rights in general is certainly an issue that comes up regularly and is a priority for the U.S. and our relationship with Russia and many other countries. He does bring up the issues broadly and I’m sure will moving forward.”
Psaki’s comments also come less than a week after authorities in the Russian city of Murmansk arrested four Dutch LGBT rights advocates under the country’s anti-gay propaganda law.
“We’d certainly call on Russia to uphold its international commitments regarding freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression now and in the future,” Psaki said. “That’s a message I’m certain we will continue to convey.”
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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