News
Will U.S. delegation to Russian Olympics include LGBT leaders?
Pressure builds on U.S. to respond to Putin’s anti-gay crackdown
Groups are calling for LGBT-inclusion in the U.S. delegation to the Olympic games. (Photo by Ben Dauphinee; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Several advocacy groups are calling on the White House to include LGBT leaders and athletes as part of the U.S. delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia amid concerns over an ongoing anti-gay crackdown in the country.
Joining Human Rights First in its call for LGBT inclusion are the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force as well as U.S. groups that work on international LGBT issues: the Council for Global Equality and All Out.
Fred Sainz, HRC’s vice president of communications, added the name of the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy group on Monday to the voices calling for LGBT inclusion in the U.S. delegation via an email to the Washington Blade.
“We do believe that LGBT participation in the delegation is essential,” Sainz said. “We’ve recommended to the White House in the strongest of ways that LGBT representation sends a potent message about the American culture of an inclusive democracy.”
The calls for LGBT inclusion in the U.S. delegation to Sochi follow multiple developments that have earned Russia a reputation as being hostile to human rights generally — and LGBT rights in particular.
Among the concerns regarding LGBT rights is the law passed unanimously by the State Duma banning pro-gay propaganda to minors and another law prohibiting the adoption of Russian children by couples from countries with marriage equality.
Reports of anti-LGBT violence in the country also continue to emerge. The Moscow Times reported on Sunday that Moscow’s largest gay club sought protection from the Russian government against repeated attacks, including one on Saturday in which 100 people seized the attic of the building and fully dismantled the roof.
Late last month, the U.S.-based group Human Rights First sent a letter to Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, asking the White House to include LGBT people as part of the as-yet unnamed U.S. delegation to Russia to signal support for LGBT rights.
Shawn Gaylord, advisory counsel to Human Rights First, said he believes the request is being taken seriously based on meetings last week at the White House and the State Department in which the organization brought Russian activists to meet with administration officials .
“The questions around the delegation came up at those meetings as well,” Gaylord said. “We were able to basically reiterate our ask in those meetings — that’s pretty much it — and it was clear they were aware of our request.”
Among the LGBT individuals that LGBT advocates have mentioned to the Blade as possibilities for inclusion in the delegation are any of the openly gay U.S. ambassadors or an openly gay member of Congress, such as Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
LGBT athletes have also been named as potential individuals who could be included as part of the U.S. delegation to Russia. Among them is Greg Louganis, a gay former Olympic diver who has called for protests of Russia’s anti-gay laws during the Olympics, and lesbian tennis player Martina Navratilova. Lesbian singer Melissa Etheridge told the Blade she’d go to Sochi “with bells on” to attend the Olympics.
Joe Mirabella, director of campaigns for the LGBT international grassroots group All Out, said the U.S. delegation to the Olympics should include LGBT people not just as a symbolic gesture against Russia’s anti-gay climate, but also to reflect the diversity of Americans.
“If Russia were a perfect-case scenario and everybody was treated equally, I still think that LGBT people should be included,” Mirabella said. “But it’s particularly important, given the crackdown on human rights, that the United States and other countries show leadership in this area.”
It’s unclear when the White House will announce the delegation to the Olympics. Even though the games are two months away, no announcements have been made. The situation was different prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, when the White House announced first lady Michelle Obama would lead the U.S. delegation four months ahead of time.
In the past week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has faced questions on the composition of the delegation during each of three consecutive briefings. On Monday, he wouldn’t explain why a delegation has yet to be named when asked about the apparent delay by Buzzfeed’s Evan McMorris-Santoro.
“I don’t have any updates on the answer I gave to that question last week, which is that when we have a delegation to announce, we’ll announce it, but no new information to provide today,” Carney said.
Mark Bromley, chair of the Council for Global Equality, predicted an announcement would happen in January, saying his group has told the administration the delegation should consist of a strong representation of minorities, including LGBT people.
“We also hope to see the inclusion of LGBT athletes in the delegation, who could speak athlete-to-athlete to Olympians in Sochi, and of course, we would be delighted to see LGBT officials participate in the delegation,” Bromley said.
At the same time that calls are being made to include LGBT people in the U.S. delegation, leaders in countries have said they’re skipping the Olympics altogether. A number of European officials have already signaled they won’t attend the games amid concern over Russia’s human rights record.
Without explaining the decision further, French President Francois Hollande and other French officials announced they wouldn’t attend the Olympics. German President Joachim Gauck and European Union commissioner Viviane Reding earlier made similar announcements.
It’s possible that any LGBT person selected to attend the games would face criticism and accusations their attendance gives the appearance of tacit approval of the anti-gay atmosphere in Russia.
Gay singer Elton John was criticized for making a concert appearance in Russia as was gay MSNBC news anchor Thomas Roberts for hosting the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. During an event last week on Capitol Hill, Louganis lashed out at both of them and told the Blade they were a “feather in Putin’s cap.”
John Aravosis, editor of AMERICAblog, said endorsing the idea of LGBT people going as part of the U.S. delegation to Russia was a “tough call” and added that no one from the Obama family should attend.
“I’m not sure anyone should be attending,” Aravosis said. “Certainly not anyone with the last name Obama, nor anyone who has aspirations to be our next president in 2016. If there’s a delegation at all, it’s not a terrible idea to have someone on it who’s gay or trans and outspoken about Russia. We don’t need another Johnny Weir, and Thomas Roberts has hardly been a profile in courage either.”
Human Rights First’s Gaylord said the situation with the U.S. delegation is different because unlike with Roberts or John, someone has to represent the United States at the Olympics — even though they may face criticism.
“There may be people who take that viewpoint,” Gaylord said. “We certainly at Human Rights First didn’t criticize, or really take a position on something like the Miss Universe pageant. One difference may be there does need to be a delegation named, and so in that context, having an LGBT person in that delegation, at least one LGBT person, makes a lot of sense.”
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said LGBT inclusion in the U.S. delegation to Russia would send an important message about American values.
“As Putin tries to marginalize Russian LGBT people with his outrageous policies and laws, it’s important that LGBT voices are represented in our nation’s official delegation to the Olympics,” Carey said. “This speaks volumes about U.S. leadership, how much progress we’ve made to deliver freedom and justice for LGBT people, and offers hope to those who are facing the most appalling oppression in Russia and other parts of the world.”
UPDATE: This article has been updated after it was posted to include a comment from Rea Carey of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.
Poland
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Poland ‘must comply with European Union law’
Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court on March 20 ruled the country must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other European Union states.
The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland’s refusal to recognize their German marriage.
The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.
“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court clearly demonstrates that Poland, as a member state of the European Union, must comply with European Union law,” said Przemek Walas, advocacy manager for the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Polish LGBTQ advocacy group, in a statement. “The Supreme Administrative Court rightly upheld the interpretation of the Court in Luxembourg and indicated that the only way to implement this ruling is to allow the transcription of a foreign marriage certificate.”
“This ruling is a significant step towards marital equality, but certainly not sufficient,” added Walas.
Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia, Malta, Greece, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia are the EU countries that have extended full marriage rights to same-sex couples. Poland — along with Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia — are the four EU countries with no legal recognition of same-sex couples.
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary gala draws ‘sold out’ crowd
D.C. elected officials, mayoral candidates praise LGBTQ Democratic group
A sold-out crowd of 186 people, including D.C. elected officials and candidates running for D.C. mayor, turned out Friday, March 20, for the Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary celebration.
Among those attending the event, held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery building next to the city’s Chinatown neighborhood, were seven D.C. Council members and four Democratic candidates running for mayor.
But at the request of Capital Stonewall Democrats leaders, the Council members, most of whom are running for re-election, and mayoral contenders did not give campaign speeches. Instead, they mingled with the crowd and focused on the accomplishments of the LGBTQ Democratic group over the past 50 years, with some presenting the group’s special “honor” awards to about a dozen prominent LGBTQ Democratic activists.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who was initially expected to attend the event, did not attend.
The mayoral candidates attending included D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) and former At-Large Council member Kenyan McDuffie, an independent turned Democrat, who are considered the leading mayoral contenders in the city’s June 16 Democratic Primary. Both have strong, longtime records of support for LGBTQ rights issues.
The other two mayoral candidates attending the event were Gary Goodweather, a real estate manager, and Rini Sampath, a cybersecurity consultant. Sampath told the Washington Blade she self-identifies as queer. Both have expressed strong support on LGBTQ-related issues.
The D.C. Council members attending the event included Lewis George; Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large); Anita Bonds (D-At-Large); Robert White (D-At-Large); Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3); Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member; and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6).
“Tonight we celebrate not just 50 years of history but 50 years of showing up,” Howard Garrett, Capital Stonewall Democrats immediate past president, told the gathering in opening remarks. “Showing up when it was easy, showing up when it wasn’t popular,” he said, adding, “This work only continues if we continue to show up.”
He noted that the deadline for joining the organization in time to be eligible to vote on its endorsement of candidates running in D.C.’s 2026 election was midnight that night. He urged attendees who were not members to go to two tables at the event to join.
The group’s current president, Stevie McCarty, thanked the group’s longtime members who he said played a key role in what he called its historic work in building political support for the D.C. LGBTQ community. Among those he thanked was Paul Kuntzler, 84, one of the group’s founding members in January 1976, when it was initially named the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.
Members voted to rename the group the Capital Stonewall Democrats in 2021.
Among the LGBTQ advocates who were honored at the event was Rayceen Pendarvis, the longtime host of a D.C. LGBTQ online interview show that included interviews of candidates for public office. Pendarvis also served as emcee for the Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary event.
“Thank you everyone in this room who has done the work to make this world a better place,” Pendarvis said in opening remarks. “To all our prestigious activists in the room, all of our amazing politicians in the room who are doing the work, we love you and we honor you.”
Among the honorees in addition to Pendarvis was Malcolm Kenyatta, the Democratic National Committee’s vice chair who became the first openly LGBTQ person of color to win election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.
Other honorees included Parker; Earl Fowlkes, founder of the International Federation of Black Prides; Vita Rangel, a transgender woman who serves as deputy director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; and Philip Pannell, longtime LGBTQ Democratic activist, Ward 8 civic leader, and longtime Capital Stonewall Democrats member.
The 50th anniversary event included an open bar and refreshments and entertainment by three drag performers.
The Washington Blade on Wednesday spoke with Max Polonsky, a queer American who lives in Israel, about the Iran war and its impact on the country.
“It’s been tiring,” Polonsky told the Blade during a telephone interview from his home in Jaffa, an ancient port city with a large Arab population that is now part of Tel Aviv.
Polonsky grew up in Cherry Hill, N.J. He lived in D.C. for eight years before he moved to Israel in March 2022.
Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 launched airstrikes against Iran.
One of them killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran in response launched missiles and drones against Israel and other countries that include Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus.
An Iranian missile on March 1 killed nine people and injured 27 others in Beit Shemesh, an Israeli town that is roughly 20 miles west of Jerusalem. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile that struck a hair salon in Beit Awa, a Palestinian town in the West Bank, on Wednesday killed four women and injured more than a dozen others.
An Iranian drone that hit a command center in Kuwait on March 1 killed six U.S. soldiers: Sgt. Declan Coady, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien. Another American servicemember, Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, died on March 8, a week after Iranian drones and missiles targeted the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Iranian drones and missiles have damaged hotels, airports, oil refineries, and other civilian and energy infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and elsewhere. Israel on Wednesday attacked Iran’s South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf.
The Associated Press notes roughly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Gas prices in the U.S. and around the world continue to increase because the war has essentially closed the strategic waterway to ship traffic.
The war also left hundreds of thousands of people who were traveling in the Middle East stranded.
The Blade on March 6 spoke with Mario, who had stopped in his native Lebanon while traveling from the U.S. to India for work.
Mario was about to board a flight at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Feb. 28 when the war began and authorities closed the country’s airspace. Mario is now back in the U.S.
Polonsky told the Blade there were “alarms all day … sometimes multiple alarms an hour, sometimes every hour, every two hours” on Feb. 28.
Israel’s Home Front Command typically issues warnings about 10 minutes ahead of an anticipated Iranian missile attack. Sirens then sound 90 seconds before an expected strike.
People in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and in other cities in central Israel have 90 seconds to seek shelter if a rocket or missile is fired from Lebanon or the Gaza Strip. (Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia militant group in Lebanon that Israel and the U.S. have designated a terrorist organization, launched rockets at the Jewish State after Khamenei’s death. Israel, in turn, continues to carry out airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, killed upwards of 1,200 people when they launched a surprise attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip.) People who live close to Lebanon and Gaza have 15 seconds to seek shelter.
Polonsky has a safe room — known as a “mamad” — in his apartment. Polonsky also uses it as his home office and a second bedroom.
He told the Blade the alerts in recent days have become less frequent.
“We’ll get maybe a handful of alarms during the day, maybe some at night,” said Polonsky.
Israel on June 12, 2025, launched airstrikes against Iran that targeted the country’s nuclear and military facilities. The subsequent war, which lasted 12 days, prompted the cancellation of Tel Aviv’s annual Pride parade. An Iranian missile destroyed Mash Central, the city’s last gay bar.
Iran on Oct. 1, 2024, launched upwards of 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. This reporter arrived in Israel three days later to cover the first anniversary of Oct. 7 and the impact the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip had on LGBTQ Israelis and Palestinians.
‘Iranian regime was bad’
Polonsky admitted he doesn’t “know what to think” about the latest war against Iran.
“I don’t know what I think about the war,” he said. “Ultimately what happens is just not in my personal control: whatever Donald Trump, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, the ayatollah, whoever is running Iran are going to organize and launch attacks and reach any deals is not anything I personally have any control over, so I try to just kind of let that aspect of it go as I’m living my life.”
Polonsky told the Blade he understands “there are very serious questions about how” the war started, and Congress’s role in it.
“Those are serious and valid, important questions,” he said. “And at the same time, the Iranian regime was bad.”
Polonsky noted Iran has supported and funded Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and other groups “who were attacking Israel.” Polonsky added the Iranian government has “terribly oppressed their people.”
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
Reports indicate Iranian authorities killed upwards of 30,000 people during anti-government protests that began late last year. Sources with whom the Blade spoke said LGBTQ Iranians are among those who participated in the demonstrations.
“I’m not sad to see them pressured,” said Polonsky, referring to the Iranian regime.
He also described Khamenei as “a bad guy.”
“Him not being there is better,” said Polonsky.
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