News
Croatian voters approve same-sex marriage ban
LGBT activists criticize referendum
(Photo by Petr Hubík; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
The Associated Press reported the referendum passed by a 65-34 percent margin.
“Marriage is the only union enabling procreation,” said Croatian Cardinal Josip Bozanić, according to the news agency. “This is the key difference between a marriage and other unions.”
Other European opponents of marriage rights for same-sex couples also applauded the vote.
“This is very good news,” said Ludovine de la Rochère, president of La Manif Pour Tous, a group that led efforts against France’s same-sex marriage law that took effect in May. “We are very happy for Croatians who are going to set in stone man-woman marriage.”
The National Organization for Marriage praised the referendum’s outcome on its blog.
“Despite the usual cries from the left that this vote evinces an animus against gay and lesbian persons, the reasoning for those supporting the initiative is the same common-sense value system that has led to marriage victories in so many states here in America,” the organization wrote.
The AP reported several hundred LGBT rights supporters marched in the Croatian capital of Zagreb on Nov. 30 against the proposed constitutional amendment.
President Ivo Josipović also voted against the proposal.
“The referendum result must not be the reason for new divisions,” he said as the AP reported. “We have serious economic and social problems. It’s not worth it to focus on such issues.”
ILGA-Europe, which held its annual conference in Zagreb in late October, criticized Croatian parliamentarians who allowed the same-sex marriage referendum to take place.
“We believe human rights and issues concerning minority groups cannot and should not be subjected to the popular vote in the first place,” said Gabi Calleja, co-chair of the ILGA-Europe Executive Board. “In a democracy, elected officials have a clear responsibility to safeguard human rights of everyone and not to allow democratic tools to be abused to restrict the rights of minority groups.”
Portugal, Spain, Iceland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are among the other European countries that have extended marriage rights to gays and lesbians.
Same-sex couples will be able to legally marry in England and Wales next year.
A bill that seeks to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in Scotland on Nov. 20 cleared its first hurdle. Irish voters in 2015 will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow gay nuptials in the country.
Croatia, which officially joined the European Union in July, bans anti-LGBT discrimination. The country’s hate crimes law also includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
The AP quoted Josipović as saying his government will seek to extend legal benefits to same-sex couples who live together. He said in a video message to those who attended the ILGA-Europe conference in Zagreb that human rights “imply the right of every human being to achieve his or her potential in that which he or she is.”
District of Columbia
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
‘This is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on March 20 signed a bill approved by the D.C. Council that requires health insurance companies to cover the costs of HIV prevention or PrEP drugs for D.C. residents at risk for HIV infection.
Like all legislation approved by the Council and signed by the mayor, the bill, called the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act, was sent to Capitol Hill for a required 30-day congressional review period before it takes effect as D.C. law.
Gay D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) last year introduced the bill.
Insurance coverage for PrEP drugs has been provided through coverage standards included in the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. But AIDS advocacy organizations have called on states and D.C. to pass their own legislation requiring insurance coverage of PrEP as a safeguard in case federal policies are weakened or removed by the Trump administration, which has already reduced federal funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs.
Like legislation passed by other states, the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act requires insurers to cover all PrEP drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Studies have shown that PrEP drugs, which can be taken as pills or by injection just twice a year, are highly effective in preventing HIV infection.
“I think this is a win for our community,” Parker said after the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve the bill on its first vote on the measure in February. “And this is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post Thursday, following growing criticism over how she and the Department of Justice handled a range of issues, including matters related to sex offender and Trump ally Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump announced Bondi’s removal on Truth Social, where he also said Todd Blanche will serve as acting head of the Justice Department.
“Pam Bondi is a great American patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year,” Trump wrote on the platform. “Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown on crime across our country, with murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900.”
Trump was seen as recently as Wednesday with the now-former attorney general at a Supreme Court hearing on citizenship.
The decision contrasts with Trump’s previous public praise of Bondi, the 87th U.S. attorney general and former 37th attorney general of Florida, who served in that role from 2011-2019 before joining the Trump-Vance administration. He has frequently lauded her loyalty and said he speaks with her often. Bondi was also one of president’s defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
Privately, however, Trump had grown frustrated that Bondi was not “moving quickly enough” to prosecute critics and political adversaries he wanted to face criminal charges, according to multiple sources. The New York Times reported that her inability to charge former FBI Director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James with any crimes is a large factor in the president’s choice to fire her from the government’s primary law enforcement agency.
The move comes as Trump has sought to minimize public turmoil within his administration, avoiding the perception of a revolving-door Cabinet that defined his first term.
Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who unsuccessfully ran for governor, has emerged as a leading contender to lead the Justice Department. He has been one of Trump’s most reliable allies.
“He’s our secret weapon,” Trump said of Zeldin in February during a White House event promoting the coal industry, adding, “He’s getting those approvals done in record-setting time.”
Bondi has also growing faced scrutiny from Congress.
The House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed her to testify about the department’s handling of certain files, where she declined to answer key questions during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in February.
The Tampa native has a long history of opposing LGBTQ rights through her roles in government. As Florida attorney general, she fought against the legalization of same-sex marriage, arguing it would cause “serious public harm,” pushing forward a legal battle that cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. She also asked the Florida Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
More recently, Bondi established a “Title IX Special Investigations Team” within the Justice Department focused on restricting transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams and accessing facilities aligned with their gender identity. She also told Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to turn over the medical records of anyone under 19 who received gender-affirming care.
Her removal follows Trump’s decision last month to oust another controversial female Cabinet figure, Kristi Noem.
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
JD Vance to travel to Hungary next week
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