News
IOC faces renewed criticisms over Russia
LGBT rights advocates blasted Olympic official’s comments on anti-gay law
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) speaks about Russia’s LGBT rights record during a Council for Global Equality reception at the Rayburn Building in D.C. on Sept. 30, 2013. (Photo courtesy of Gabriella Boffelli)
The International Olympic Committee has faced renewed criticism from LGBT activists over its apparent reluctance to challenge Russia’s gay rights record ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Associated Press reported that IOC Coordination Commission Chair Jean-Claude Killy said during a Sept. 26 press conference in Sochi, Russia, the Olympic body is “fully satisfied” the Russian law that bans gay propaganda to minors does not violate the Olympic charter. An IOC spokesperson later sought to clarify Killy’s comments to the Washington Blade.
“That is clearly not expressing any view on the law itself,” the IOC said. “Mr. Killy made it abundantly clear that the IOC never comments on national legislation.”
The IOC added it will “continue to work to uphold the Olympic Charter, which allows all participants, from spectators to athletes, to attend the games regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.” IOC President Thomas Bach reiterated this point on Sunday before the lighting of the Olympic flame in Greece.
“The Olympic Torch Relay will be a messenger for the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect without any form of discrimination,” he said.
The IOC has repeatedly said the Kremlin has assured them the gay propaganda ban will not affect athletes and others who plan to travel to Sochi, even though Russian officials have said the statute will apply to those who go to the games.
“The safety of millions of LGBT Russians and international travelers is at risk,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in response to Killy’s comments. “And by all accounts the IOC has completely neglected its responsibility to Olympic athletes, sponsors and fans from around the world.”
Members of COC Nederland, a Dutch LGBT advocacy group, on Sept. 17 met with members of the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands to discuss their concerns over the safety of LGBT athletes who will compete in Sochi and others who will travel to the games. They also requested a meeting with Dutch IOC member Camiel Eurlings to further discuss the aforementioned issues.
“This conclusion is unheard of,” COC Nederland President Tanja Ineke said in response to Killy’s comments. “The European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations and numerous governments have all clearly stated that this law is discriminatory and an infringement of the human rights of LGBT people. The IOC disregards these conclusions and instead chooses to be the accomplice of the homophobic Russian government.”
President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) are among those who have publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government’s LGBT rights record. Actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein, author Dan Savage, Cleve Jones and other gay activists have called for a boycott of the Sochi games and Russian vodka over the issue.
Olympic skier Bode Miller on Monday described the gay propaganda law as “embarrassing” as he spoke during the U.S. Olympic Committee media summit in Park City, Utah. USA Today reported figure skater Ashley Wagner also spoke out against the statute during the same event.
“I have such a firm stance on this that we should all have equal rights,” she said.
U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun in August told RIA Novosti, an online Russian newspaper, that American athletes should comply with the laws of the countries in which they compete. USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky later sought to clarify Blackmun’s comments by tweeting Russia’s gay propaganda law is “inconsistent with fundamental Olympic principles” and the American Olympic body has “shared our view with the IOC.”
Blackmun on Tuesday told reporters the USOC would support efforts to bolster anti-discrimination provisions within the Olympic charter
“We are not an advocacy organization or a human rights organization,” he said as Reuters reported. “What we can do is advocate for change within our group.”
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.,) who met with Russian LGBT advocate Igor Kochetkov and two other activists from Ukraine and Georgia last month, told the Blade earlier this week she feels the USOC has not done enough to challenge Russia’s gay rights record.
“The U.S. Olympic Committee has been complicit in this act of aggression because they say we respect Russia’s right to do this,” the Florida Republican said after she spoke at a Council for Global Equality reception on Capitol Hill. “That is not worthy of Olympic standards.
Ros-Lehtinen and gay California Congressman Mark Takano continue to seek additional signatories for a letter they plan to send to the USOC that asks it to explain the steps it plans to take to ensure the safety of American athletes who plan to compete in the Sochi games. She applauded both Obama and Kerry for publicly criticizing Putin over his government’s LGBT rights record, but she suggested to the Blade they can do more to respond to concerns over athletes and others who will travel to Russia for the games.
“It’s up to the U.S. to step up,” Ros-Lehtinen told the Blade.
The USOC did not respond to the Blade’s request for comment on Ros-Lehtinen’s criticisms.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
Puerto Rico
The ‘X’ returns to court
1st Circuit hears case over legal recognition of nonbinary Puerto Ricans
Eight months ago, I wrote about this issue at a time when it had not yet reached the judicial level it faces today. Back then, the conversation moved through administrative decisions, public debate, and political resistance. It was unresolved, but it had not yet reached this point.
That has now changed.
Lambda Legal appeared before the 1st U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston, urging the court to uphold a lower court ruling that requires the government of Puerto Rico to issue birth certificates that accurately reflect the identities of nonbinary individuals. The appeal follows a district court decision that found the denial of such recognition to be a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
This marks a turning point. The issue is no longer theoretical. A court has already determined that unequal treatment exists.
The argument presented by the plaintiffs is grounded in Puerto Rico’s own legal framework. Identity birth certificates are not static historical records. They are functional documents used in everyday life. They are required to access employment, education, and essential services. Their purpose is practical, not symbolic.
Within that framework, the exclusion of nonbinary individuals does not stem from a legal limitation. Puerto Rico already allows gender marker corrections on birth certificates for transgender individuals under the precedent established in Arroyo Gonzalez v. Rosselló Nevares. In addition, the current Civil Code recognizes the existence of identity documents that reflect a person’s lived identity beyond the original birth record.
The issue lies in how the law is applied.
Recognition is granted within specific categories, while those who do not identify within that binary structure remain excluded. That exclusion is now at the center of this case.
Lambda Legal’s position is straightforward. Requiring individuals to carry documents that do not reflect who they are forces them into misrepresentation in essential aspects of daily life. This creates practical barriers, exposes them to scrutiny, and places them in a constant state of vulnerability.
The plaintiffs, who were born in Puerto Rico, have made clear that access to accurate identification is not symbolic. It is a basic condition for moving through the world without contradiction imposed by the state.
The fact that this case is now being addressed in the federal court system adds another layer of significance. This is not a pending policy discussion or a legislative proposal. It is a constitutional question. The analysis is not about political preference, but about rights and equal protection under the law.
This case does not exist in isolation.
It unfolds within a broader context in which debates over identity and rights have increasingly been shaped by the growing influence of conservative perspectives in public policy, both in the United States and in Puerto Rico. At the local level, this influence has been reflected in legislative discussions where religious arguments have begun to intersect with decisions that should be grounded in constitutional principles. That intersection creates tension around the separation of church and state and has direct consequences for access to rights.
Recognizing this context is not an attack on faith or religious practice. It is an acknowledgment that when certain perspectives move into the realm of public authority, they can shape outcomes that affect specific communities.
From within Puerto Rico, this is not a distant debate. It is a lived reality. It is present in the difficulty of presenting identification that does not match one’s identity, and in the consequences that follow in workplaces, schools, and government spaces.
The progression of this case introduces the possibility of change within the applicable legal framework. Not because it resolves every tension surrounding the issue, but because it establishes a legal examination of a practice that has long operated under exclusion.
Eight months ago, the conversation centered on ongoing developments. Today, there is already a judicial finding that identifies a violation of rights. What remains is whether that finding will be upheld on appeal.
That process does not guarantee an immediate outcome, but it shifts the ground.
The debate is no longer theoretical.
It is now before the courts.
Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
The ‘X’ returns to court
LGBTQ community explores arming up during heated political times
Risking it all for love during World War II
D.C. is the place for the Democratic Socialists of America
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