News
Cruz floats report Planned Parenthood shooter ‘transgendered’ activist
2016 hopeful rejects link between videos and attacker
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called Robert Dear a “transgendered leftist activist.” (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks in Newton, Iowa, when asked about Robert Dear, who allegedly on Friday shot a police officer and two civilians dead at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs. A reporter asked about the potential connection between Dear and the inflammatory — but highly edited — Planned Parenthood videos that have stirred the pro-life movement.
The U.S. senator from Texas responded by saying the “vicious rhetoric” has in fact come from progressive activists against the pro-life movement in the aftermath of the attack.
“We don’t fully know the motivations of the this deranged individual,” Cruz said. “We know that he was a man who registered to vote as a woman. The media promptly wants to blame him on the pro-life movement when at this point, there’s very little evidence to indicate that.”
When a reporter pointed out a report Dear said something about “baby parts” while being apprehended, Cruz was again dismissive.
“It’s also been reported that he was registered as an independent and a woman and a transgendered leftist activist, if that’s what he is,” Cruz said. “I don’t think it’s fair to blame on the rhetoric on the left. This is a murderer.”
Setting aside Cruz’s use of a objectifying pejorative for transgender people, Cruz appears to refer to a report on the conservative website The Right Scoop on the voting records of Dear, which reportedly identifies him as female.
The Blade couldn’t immediately find any other evidence or reporting indicating Dear is transgender, nor that he was motivated allegedly to kill three people based on transgender activism.
Cruz invocation of dubious conservative media reports Dear was acting on behalf of transgender rights is consistent with Republican presidential candidates dismissing the link between the anti-abortion Planned Parenthood videos and the Black Friday shooting.
On Sunday, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said on CNN the incident was “domestic terrorism,” but he doesn’t know of any pro-life leader who’s “suggested violence toward Planned Parenthood personnel or some act of violence toward their clinics.” Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said the attempt to link the attack to the pro-life movement are “typical left-wing tactics.”
Senegal
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
Man sentenced to six years in prison on April 10
A Senegalese court has issued the first conviction under a new law that further criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations.
The Associated Press notes the court in Pikine-Guédiawaye, a suburb of Dakar, the Senegalese capital, on April 10 convicted a 24-year-old man of committing “acts against nature and public indecency” and sentenced him to six years in prison.
Authorities arrested the man, who Senegalese media reports identified as Mbaye Diouf, earlier this month. The court also fined him 2 million CFA ($3,591.04).
Lawmakers in the African country on March 11 nearly unanimously passed the measure that increases the penalty for anyone convicted of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations from one to five years in prison to five to 10 years. The bill that Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko introduced also prohibits the “promotion” or “financing” of homosexuality in Senegal.
MassResistance, an anti-LGBTQ group based in the U.S., reportedly worked with Senegalese groups to advance the bill that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye signed on March 31.
“This prison sentence is unlawful under international law,” said Human Rights Watch on Wednesday. “Senegal is bound by treaty obligations that protect every person’s right to dignity, privacy, and equality.”
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
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