News
Attack at Zimbabwe LGBT party leaves dozens injured
Incident took place on Dec. 19
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe Director Chester Samba (Photo courtesy of Chester Samba)
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe in a press release said three vehicles at around 11:20 p.m. “forced their way” into a club near its office where the event was taking place and demanded that security personnel allow them to attend.
The group notes a man in one of the vehicles threatened the guards with a pistol after they refused to allow him inside the venue. Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe said between 12 and 15 men proceeded to enter the club and began punching those inside.
The group said the assailants attacked people with logs, iron bars and empty beer bottles. Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe in their press release further noted the men also demanded money and electronics from its members as they attacked them.
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe said more than 35 people were injured. The men also attacked five of the organization’s staffers and a female cashier who was working the bar during the party.
“Members sought refuge in a nearby bush, with some seeking refuge in private homes by way of jumping over fences and walls,” said Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe in a second press release on Dec. 21.
Zimbabwe president: Gays have no rights
Activists, the Obama administration and others in recent years have sharply criticized Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe, the country’s long-time president, over its LGBT rights record.
Mugabe in May described homosexuality as “inhuman” and said gays “have no human rights.” He told supporters during a July 2013 rally ahead of his re-election that authorities should arrest gays and lesbians who don’t conceive children.
Authorities have also frequently targeted members of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe.
Police in August 2012 arrested more than 40 members of the organization inside their office in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe claimed that authorities a few days earlier confiscated computers and pamphlets.
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe said five men with hammers “violently” entered their offices in June 2013 and disrupted a meeting that was taking place. Authorities arrested the alleged perpetrators, but prosecutors have yet to charge them in connection with the incident.
“Whilst the existence of LGBTI people in Zimbabwe cannot be disputed anymore, thanks largely to the powerful help of President Mugabe’s rhetoric, this has created a climate and culture of impunity and lawlessness as evidenced by the actions of these thuggish men to hunt down LGBTI people in our communities, vicinities and homes to inflict harm,” said Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe in their Dec. 21 press release.
The organization said it has “reason to believe” club patrons who are affiliated with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party may have asked the men to attack its members because the venue was closed for their event. Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe said it heard reports that some of those who took part in the incident suggested the Movement for Democratic Change, an opposition party, hosted the party.
“We are deeply troubled by reports of brutality against LGBT community members at a private end-of-year party,” said Noel Clay, a spokesperson for the State Department. “We urge the government of Zimbabwe and police authorities to investigate the reports thoroughly and to respond appropriately.”
Chester Samba, director of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, told the Washington Blade on Tuesday that those who were attacked are still filing police reports.
“We need to give the police time to investigate,” said Samba.
Gavin Reid of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, which works with Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, urged Zimbabwean officials to investigate the attack and prosecute those who committed it.
“It’s the duty of the Zimbabwean government to protect and promote the rights of all its citizens and to ensure that all Zimbabweans are able to enjoy their full constitutional rights including the right to life, to personal security, to freedom of assembly and association and to freedom from torture,” said Reid.
Clay agreed.
“We urge the government of Zimbabwe and police authorities to investigate the reports thoroughly and to respond appropriately,” he told the Blade. “We encourage respect for rule of law and call on the government of Zimbabwe to uphold its international obligations to protect the human rights of all Zimbabweans.”
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
VIDEO: Gay journalist detained for booing Trumps at ‘Chicago’ opening night
Idaho Gov. signs harshest anti-trans bathroom bill in the country
‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar
‘Jonah’ an undeniably compelling but unusual memory play
The Oscar-losing performance that’s too good to miss
Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ protests in D.C.
