News
Georgian prime minister seeks marriage amendment
LGBT rights advocates describe proposal as ‘homophobic’ and ‘cynical’
Georgian LGBT rights advocate Irakli Vacharadze. (Photo courtesy of Irakli Vacharadze)
Identoba, a Georgian LGBT advocacy group, noted Garibashvili announced “the homophobic intention of his government” to amend the country’s constitution as he spoke about an anti-discrimination measure his administration sent to the Georgian Parliament. The organization added the proposed amendment “can only be seen as a homophobic move” because Georgian law already bans same-sex marriage.
“If the amendment is successfully initiated, it will directly violate universal equality of single parents, LGBT community and many others who do not live in nuclear families,” said Identoba. “Alarmingly, this homophobic and cynical move ultimately kills the very spirit of equality protection of the incoming Anti-Discrimination Law.”
Identoba Executive Director Irakli Vacharadze told the Washington Blade he feels Garibashvili introduced the proposed marriage amendment as a way to mobilize “hater-voters” ahead of local elections that are slated to take place in June.
“They are [the] majority,” said Vacharadze. “Even if it doesn’t go to Parliament, the damage is already done: The ‘attack them’ message is out. Everyone in the coalition said they’d vote in favor of the change.”
Georgia, which continues to seek closer ties with the European Union and NATO, has been a member of the Council of Europe since 1999.
Croatian voters last December approved a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Hungary, Latvia and other E.U. countries also prohibit gay nuptials.
Same-sex couples can currently marry in Iceland, England, Wales, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal. Irish voters next year are scheduled to vote on whether gays and lesbians can exchange vows in their country.
Georgia’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The former Soviet republic’s anti-employment discrimination statute also includes gay-specific protections.
“Constitutional bans are highly symbolic measures to enshrine discrimination in law and to prevent debates on recognition for same-sex couples,” said ILGA-Europe Executive Director Evelyne Paradise in response to Garibashvili’s proposed marriage amendment. “These bans are largely tools used by those who oppose equality for LGBTI people to institutionalize discrimination against LGBTI people.”
Anti-LGBT violence remains a serious concern for Georgian advocates.
Thousands of people attacked a few dozen LGBT rights advocates who tried to stage a rally in Tbilisi, the country’s capital, last May as they tried to commemorate the annual International Day Against Homophobia.
Vacharadze told the Blade that Georgian authorities have yet to arrest anyone connected with the aforementioned violence. He also noted lawmakers in neighboring Russia on Wednesday announced they plan to amend the Russian constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
“One should really [not] try to look worse than Russia in this regard,” said Vacharadze. “Georgia has managed to do it.”
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
Pam Bondi ousted as attorney general
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