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King drops out of U.S. delegation to Olympics

Lesbian tennis legend cites mother’s health as reason for inability to attend

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Billie Jean King, tennis, sports, gay news, Washington Blade
Billie Jean King, tennis, sports, gay news, Washington Blade

Billie Jean King will no longer be part of the U.S. delegation to the Olympics. (Photo by Andrew Coppa Photography)

The lesbian tennis legend whom President Obama tapped to represent the United States as part of the delegation at the upcoming Olympics won’t make the journey to Russia.

Billie Jean King announced in a statement provided to the Washington Blade that she’s unable to attend because her mother’s health is failing.

ā€œWith my mother in failing health, I will not be able to join the U.S. Presidential Delegation at this weekā€™s opening ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics,” King said. “It is important for me to be with my mother and my brother at this difficult time. I want to thank President Obama for including me in this historic mission and I look forward to supporting our athletes as they compete in Sochi.ā€

Obama had selected King, who was outed as a lesbian in 1981, to represent the United States as part of the 10-member delegation accompanying Team USA. Other openly gay members of the delegation to the Olympics are ice hockey Olympian Caitlin Cahow and figure skater Brian Boitano.

Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, said Obama extends his thoughts and prayers to King and her family.

“The president appreciates the willingness of Caitlin Cahow, originally named as a member of the delegation in the closing ceremonies, to instead serve as a member of the delegation for the opening ceremonies,” Inouye said. “Ms. Cahow, along with former Secretary Napolitano, Ambassador McFaul, Mr. Nabors and Mr. Boitano, will represent us well.”

Observers had seen the selection of King and other LGBT members of the delegation to the Olympics as a statement against Russia’s controversial anti-gay propaganda law. Obama, who’s expressed opposition to the law, said the composition of the delegation “speaks for itself” and wouldn’t provide additional comment about its message.

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District of Columbia

Activists hold chalk art protest at McDonaldā€™s after anti-gay assault

Police say victim attacked, beaten by 15 people for not saying ā€˜excuse meā€™

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Local gay activist Joey Minervini and two others drew supportive messages in chalk at the site of an anti-gay attack. (Photo courtesy of Joey Minervini)

Local gay activist Joey Minervini and two others used chalk to draw LGBTQ supportive messages on the sidewalk outside the McDonaldā€™s restaurant at 14th and U Streets, N.W. at 9 a.m. Sunday Nov. 3, one week after D.C. police say a gay man was attacked and assaulted by 15 men and women at that McDonaldā€™s while shouting the word ā€œfaggot.ā€

Police say they are investigating the Oct. 27 assault against Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarro, 22, that Lascarro has said began inside the McDonaldā€™s at about 1 a.m. when one of the attackers, a woman, criticized him for not saying ā€œexcuse meā€ when he walked past her.

ā€œHe ignored her, and he walked away,ā€ Lascarroā€™s husband, Stuart West, told the Washington Blade. West said his husband told him the woman then called him a faggot and her friends, who were mostly men, blocked the exit door at the McDonaldā€™s, preventing Lascarro from leaving and about 10 of the attackers began to punch him repeatedly in the face and body.

He was taken by ambulance to Howard University Hospital, where he was treated for multiple cuts and bruises before being released the next day.

Minervini released a series of photos he took of the Nov. 3 chalk protest, a few of which show the words ā€œEXCUSE ME We All Belongā€ drawn in rainbow colored chalk on the sidewalk in front of the McDonaldā€™s entrance. Other messages they drew on the sidewalk included, ā€œWe all belong here,ā€ and ā€œD.C. For You And Me,ā€ with a drawing next to it with fingers making the peace sign.

Joining Minervini for the protest was D.C. artist and muralist Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, who operates a local chalk art and mural business called CHALK RIOT, Minervini told the Blade. He said one of his friends, Darren Pierre, also participated in doing the chalk art drawings.  

Minervini said most passersby, including customers entering and leaving the McDonaldā€™s, appeared to be supportive of the protest, with some taking pictures of the chalk drawings.

ā€œThe vibe there was positive,ā€ he said. ā€œSome people were unaware of what we were doing, so I explained to them a gay man was attacked for apparently not saying ā€˜excuse me.ā€™ So, thatā€™s why we were chalking the words ā€˜excuse meā€™ to reclaim the phrase,ā€ Minervini said. ā€œWe were doing it there to reclaim the space a little bit.ā€

He said he did not see any of the McDonaldā€™s employees come out to look at the drawings up until the time the three ended their chalk art action about 10:15 or 10:30 a.m. Minervini said he and a friend walked past the McDonaldā€™s around 5 p.m. Sunday evening and the chalk drawings were still on the sidewalk.

D.C. police have listed the attack against Lascarro as a suspected hate crime. But they have not provided an update on their investigation, including whether investigators have interviewed McDonaldā€™s employees who were present during the attack or whether they have requested video footage from the security cameras at the McDonaldā€™s.

West, Lascarroā€™s husband, said the ambulance took Lascarro to the hospital before police arrived and police officers first spoke to Lascarro about the attack at the hospital rather than at the scene of the assault.  

ā€œThankfully, he has been recovering from his injuries, the scrapes, cuts, bruising and swelling have all started to heal, but I fear the real damage canā€™t be seen,ā€ West said in an updated message in a GoFundMe posting he set up to help defray the costs of Lascarroā€™s medical expenses.

ā€œUnfortunately, after this incident, heā€™s battling with many emotions including anxiety, depression, fear of leaving the house and worse, questions whether D.C. is the right fit for him,ā€ West says in his posting.

West told the Blade Lascarro, who goes by his middle name of Thomas, is a recent immigrant from Colombia who has permanent U.S. resident status. He said Lascarro had been at the nearby gay bars Crush and Bunker before stopping at the McDonaldā€™s on his way home.

(Photo courtesy of Joey Minervini)
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World

Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Asia, Canada, and Europe

Tokyo High Court Japanā€™s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

JAPAN

The Tokyo High Court ruled that the countryā€™s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court ruling. This is the second High Court ruling favoring same-sex marriage after the Sapporo High Court came to a similar conclusion earlier this year, and more High Court rulings are expected over the next few months. 

The court found that laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples “are not based on reasonable grounds” and lead to “discriminatory treatment (of people) based on their sexual orientation,” according to the ruling.

The rulings donā€™t immediately create a right to same-sex marriage in Japan, but they add pressure on the government to address the unconstitutionality. These cases will likely find their way to the Supreme Court next year.

Same-sex marriage is not currently legal anywhere in Japan, and the government has long asserted that Section 24 of the post-war constitution rules out same-sex marriage. Section 24 states ā€œmarriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.ā€

However, equal marriage supporters point out that Section 24 was not intended to deal with same-sex marriage, but rather to assert the right of individuals to marry the person of their choice, rather than traditional arranged marriages. 

A series of recent court victories have gradually opened up recognition of equal rights for same-sex couples in Japan. Five lower courts have found that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution, while only one lower court has upheld the ban as constitutional. 

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court found that same-sex couples are entitled to survivorsā€™ benefits for victims of crime. 

Additionally, 450 municipalities and 30 of Japanā€™s 47 prefectures have instituted partnership registries for same-sex couples. Although these registries have little legal force, they have helped couples access local services and demonstrate growing recognition of same-sex couplesā€™ rights.

This weekā€™s High Court ruling comes at a time of flux in Japanese politics. During last weekā€™s parliamentary election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its governing majority, while the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, which supports same-sex marriage, made huge gains.

Anglo Nippon Politics reports that a very narrow majority of newly elected legislators have expressed support for same-sex marriage, but that the dynamics of the new parliament may make it difficult for the LDP, which hopes to hold onto power with support for smaller conservative parties, to advance controversial issues.

CANADAĀ 

The Alberta government under United Conservative Party Premier Danielle Smith introduced four pieces of anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender legislation last week, prompting protests in the capital Edmonton and in the provinceā€™s largest city Calgary.

Smith had initially announced the legislation in February, amid a general hysteria about transgender youth and school inclusion policies that had swept through conservative parties across Canada. 

The four bills ban gender care for trans youth, require parental notification and consent if a trans student wishes to use a different name or pronoun in school, bars trans women from competing in sports in schools and colleges, and requires parental notification and ā€œopt-inā€ if sexual orientation, gender identity, or human sexuality will be discussed in classrooms.

Opponents criticized Smith for the legislation, which critics said was timed to help Smith in a leadership review held this weekend. Smithā€™s leadership was upheld with more than 91 percent of the vote at the UCP convention in Red Deer on Saturday.

More than 1,000 people showed up at Calgary City Hall to demonstrate against the bills on Saturday, as well as against the UCPā€™s priorities for Alberta, while hundreds more turned up in front of the provincial legislature in Edmonton.

Rowan Morris, an organizer with Trans Rights YEG, told the Edmonton Journal that the bills had galvanized opposition from across the political spectrum, recalling a conversion he had with a conservative supporter.

ā€œ[She said], ā€˜My whole family is here, weā€™re all conservatives, we will all be conservatives for the rest of our lives, but we recognize that bodily autonomy is a freedom we need to uphold for all Albertans. Whether we agree on how you live your life or not, the government does not have a place in your private medical decisions with your doctor,ā€™ā€ Morris said.

Because of the UCPā€™s majority in the provincial legislature, there is little chance the bills wonā€™t pass. Voters next go to the polls in Alberta in October 2027.

Voters in Canada have had a chance to weigh in on anti-trans policies this year, and the results have been mixed. In Manitoba and New Brunswick, voters turfed conservative parties from government after they introduced or announced anti-trans policies, while in British Columbia, voters kept the governing New Democrats in office after the opposition Conservatives had announced several similar anti-trans policies.

Last month, voters in Saskatchewan returned its conservative government to power after it introduced a parental notification and consent policy in violation of Canadaā€™s Charter of Rights and pledged to introduce a ban on trans students accessing change rooms and bathrooms in schools if reelected.

GERMANY

The Gender Self-Determination Act came into force on Friday, marking a historic advancement for trans rights in Germany. 

Under the new law, anyone will be able to change their legal name and gender by making a simple application at their local registry office. 

The new law replaces the Transsexuals Act, which dates from the early 1980s, and required anyone wishing to change their legal gender to get permission from a judge after submitting two psychological assessments. 

The law allows name and gender changes for minors. Children under 14 can have the process done by their parents, while those over 14 can do so with parental permission. Youth will also have to submit a declaration that they have sought advice from a psychologist or from a youth welfare specialist.

Also included in the law is a new protection that makes it a criminal offense to out a trans person without their consent.

Gender self-determination is increasingly the norm in Western European countries. Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark have all introduced similar legislation in recent years. Additionally, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, India, Pakistan, as well as several provinces and states of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico allow gender self-determination.

SWITZERLANDĀ 

The Swiss canton of Vaud became the latest place in Europe to ban so-called conversion therapy, as legislation to ban the discredited practice of attempting to change a personā€™s sexual orientation or gender identity nationwide has stalled in the federal parliament.

Vaud is the third of Switzerlandā€™s 26 cantons to ban conversion therapy, following Neuchatel last December and Valais earlier this year. Vaud is Switzerlandā€™s third-largest canton, home to more than 800,000 people. 

In 2022, the lower house of the Swiss parliament passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a conversion therapy ban, but the motion was rejected by the upper house earlier this year.  Legislators at the time said they wanted to wait for more information from the Federal Council, which was due to report on conversion therapy over the summer. 

In the meantime, several other Swiss cantons have begun debating local bans on conversion therapy, including Geneva, Bern, and Zurich. 

Doctors and therapists are already prohibited from practicing conversion therapy in Switzerland by their professional associations, but much conversion therapy is carried out by unlicensed individuals.

Conversion therapy has already been banned across much of Western Europe, including France, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Iceland. It has also been banned in Mexico, Ecuador, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan, and in many U.S. and Australian states.

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Kenya

Kenyan court awards two gay men $31K

Couple subjected to genital examination, given HIV tests after ā€˜unnatural sexā€™ arrest

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(Image by Bigstock)

A Kenyan court has awarded two gay men charged with ā€œunnatural sexā€ for engaging in consensual sexual relations a total of Sh4 million ($31,000) in compensation.

This is after the Magistrates Court in the coastal city of Mombasa ruled the authorities violated the menā€™s rights in obtaining evidence.

During the arrest, the two men were forcefully subjected to genital examination and HIV tests against their constitutional rights to privacy and the rights of an arrested person, including being allowed to speak with a lawyer.

Section 162 of Kenya’s penal code criminalizes consensual same-sex relations with a 14-year jail term. Prosecutors wanted the court to find the two gay men, who were arrested in 2021, guilty of the offense.

In a ruling issued on Oct. 24, the court, while awarding each of the men Sh2 million ($15,600) in compensation, faulted prosecutorsā€™ unlawful extraction of evidence.

The Center for Minority Rights and Strategic Litigation, a local LGBTQ rights organization, last year petitioned the court not to admit the evidence for having been obtained unlawfully, to stop the hearing, and for the accused to be compensated.   

In the petition, CMRSL cited infringement on the gay menā€™s right to human dignity: A ban on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, the rights to privacy and a fair trial, rights of an arrested person, and violation of their freedom and security as the constitution and international law mandates.

ā€œThis provision (Section 162 of the penal code) has historically been used by the State to target and harass LGBTQ+ persons based on their gender identity and sexual orientation,ā€ CMRSL Legal Manager Michael Kioko told the Washington Blade.

The High Court in 2019 declined to decriminalize sections of the penal code that ban homosexuality in response to queer rights organizationsā€™ petition that argued the State cannot criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations between adults. The constitutionality of laws that criminalize homosexuality is still contested in the appeals court, based on the argument they infringe on the rights to privacy and human dignity.

CMRSL termed the latest ruling ā€œa crucial step toward dignity and human rights for allā€ while noting that the case was critical in its legal representation efforts to protect the fundamental rights of queer people in Kenya. 

The Oct. 24 decision affirms the Mombasa appeals court’s 2018 ruling that struck down the use of forced anal testing in homosexuality cases by terming it as unlawful. Kenyaā€™s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission brought the case.

The appeals court verdict stemmed from a 2015 case where police in Mombasa obtained a court order to force two gay men to undergo anal examinations and HIV testing at a local clinic after authorities arrested them and charged them with unnatural sex.

NGLHRC, in challenging the court order, argued forced anal examinations are cruel, inhuman, degrading, and breached local and international medical ethics and human rights. 

The latest ruling exonerating the two gay men from prosecution is among numerous cases in which CMRSL has represented queer people in court to defend and protect LGBTQ rights in the country.

The case against a gay man in Mombasa charged with an unnatural act (a same-sex affair) and represented by CMRSL in court saw the matter dropped last September. The court last June acquitted transgender women in Lamu charged with committing gross indecent acts between males against provisions of the penal code.

CMRSL represented the trans women.

The group has deployed community paralegals and field monitors to monitor, document, and report queer rights violations. 

ā€œThey (field monitors) work closely with LGBTQ+ community paralegals to link survivors to justice by providing legal support and connecting those to pro bono lawyers and legal aid services,ā€ Kioko said. ā€œOn average, our monitors handle around 10 cases each month, ensuring that violations are addressed and survivors receive the necessary legal pathways to seek justice.ā€  

CMRSL in partnership with several queer lobby groups, is also challenging the Kenya Films Classification Board in court for banning a movie titled ā€œI Am Samuelā€ on the pretext it contained gay scenes that violate Kenyan law.

The Kenya Films Classification Board in 2018 also banned the ā€œRafikiā€ because it contains lesbian-specific content. Petitioners who challenged the ban in court argue the decision violates freedom of expression and other constitutional provisions.

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