National
Former Italian lawmaker reportedly arrested again at Olympics
Reports say Vladimir Luxuria shouted “gay is ok” before hockey game
Imma Battaglia of the Gay Project, an Italian LGBT advocacy group, told the Washington Blade that four police officers took Vladimir Luxuria and two members of the television crew who were with her into custody as they tried to enter the an arena where a semifinal match between the Canadian and Swiss women’s hockey teams was about to take place.
Initial reports indicate officers asked Luxuria, who was wearing a rainbow suit, not to show a rainbow flag with “being gay is ok” written onto it. Luca Possenti of Famiglie Arcobaleno, a group that advocates on behalf of Italian LGBT parents and those who want to have children, told the Blade that officers arrested Luxuria after she began shouting the slogan in front of cameras.
Battaglia, who has spoken with Luxuria several times since she arrived in Sochi, told the Blade authorities took “them away” in separate cars to an unknown location.
This reported incident took place less than 24 hours after Luxuria said she was arrested in Sochi after she unfurled a rainbow flag that said “gay is ok” in Russian.
Battaglia told the Blade that authorities released Luxuria late last night after Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino intervened. The Associated Press reported Luxuria visited a gay bar in Sochi after her release.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AloLD8BrrVw
The 2014 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee earlier on Monday referred the Blade to the aforementioned AP story in which police officials denied Luxuria’s claims she was arrested. Spokesperson Alexandra Kosterina stressed the same point during a Sochi press briefing.
“We’ve talked to police and they have told us there is no record whatsoever to any detention or arrest,” said Kosterina as the AP reported.
The two reported incidents took place less than two weeks after authorities in Moscow and St. Petersburg took 14 LGBT rights advocates into custody hours before the games officially opened.
Elena Kostynchenko told the Blade during a Feb. 8 interview that officers took her and nine other activists into custody after they sang the Russian national anthem near Moscow’s Red Square while holding Russian and rainbow flags. Kostynchenko said authorities threatened to sexually assault her and beat and choked two other activists before they released them.
Putin said during an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos last month those who protest his government’s LGBT rights record during the Olympics would not face prosecution under his country’s controversial law that bans gay propaganda to minors. The International Olympic Committee repeatedly said before the games it has received assurances from the Kremlin that gays and lesbians will not suffer discrimination while in Sochi.
“Vladimir is fighting against the Putin anti-gay law,” Battaglia told the Blade on Monday after reports the police had arrested Luxuria for a second time began to emerge. “She doesn’t want to accept to eliminate the rainbow flag from her dress.”
Luxuria spoke to La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, after she said authorities released her.
“If tomorrow I don’t have the opportunity to have a flag with written it’s okay to be gay, I will shout it,” she said.
Luxuria served in the lower house of the Italian Parliament from 2006-2008 as a member of the Communist Refoundation Party.
The Blade will have further details as they become available.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.


National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.

The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.

