News
Gay reporter files police report after being licked on live TV
Chris Glover says he is ‘deeply disturbed’ by the incident
CBC reporter Chris Glover has filed a police report after comedian Boyd Banks licked him without his consent on a live broadcast.
Glover, who is gay, was reporting from the Comedy Bar in Toronto when Banks came up behind him. Banks begins to lick Glover’s ear and nuzzle his shoulder. Glover laughs nervously and tries to keep reporting but eventually uncomfortably wraps up his segment.
āThings are getting a little awkward out here, so Iām going to pass it back to you, Dwight,ā Glover tells anchor Dwight Drummond.
Drummond responds: āYeah, thatās a little strange. Itās really unnecessary. Just move away from that gentleman.ā
The clip went viral as people sympathized with Glover and condemned Banks’ behavior.
Glover has since filed a police report.
āI, as a journalist, was just trying to do my job,ā Glover told Global News. āI feel deeply disturbed by what happened. I still feel like it was completely uncalled for. The whole thing just really made me feel really awkward and uncomfortable and embarrassed.āā
Banks has issued an apology stating: āThere is no excuse for my behavior last night. Iām guilty of everything. I am an idiot. I want to apologize to the standup community in Canada and of course the reporter, who was doing his job.ā
Gary Rideout, the owner of the Comedy Bar, has said Banks is now banned from the club for “displaying reprehensible behavior that I canāt condone in any way.ā
The U.S. has granted asylum to a Guatemalan LGBTQ activist who fled his country in 2019.
Estuardo Cifuentes and his partner ran a digital marketing and advertising business in Guatemala City.
He previously told the Washington Blade that gang members extorted from them. Cifuentes said they closed their business after they attacked them.
Cifuentes told the Blade that Guatemalan police officers attacked him in front of their home when he tried to kiss his partner. Cifuentes said the officers tried to kidnap him and one of them shot at him. He told the Blade that authorities placed him under surveillance after the incident and private cars drove past his home.
Cifuentes arrived in Matamoros, a Mexican border city that is across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, in June 2019. He asked for asylum in the U.S. based on the persecution he suffered in Guatemala because of his sexual orientation.
The Trump administration forced Cifuentes to pursue his asylum case from Mexico under its Migrant Protection Protocols program that became known as the “remain in Mexico” policy.
Cifuentes while in Matamoros ran Rainbow Bridge Asylum Seekers, a program for LGBTQ asylum seekers and migrants that the Resource Center Matamoros, a group that provides assistance to asylum seekers and migrants in the Mexican border city, helped create.
The Biden-Harris administration in January 2021 suspended enrollment in MPP. Cifuentes entered the U.S. on March 3, 2021.
“We are profoundly relieved and grateful that my husband and I have been officially recognized as asylees in the United States,” Cifuentes told the Blade on Monday in an email. “This result marks the end of a long and painful fight against the persecution that we faced in Guatemala because of our sexual orientation.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is among those who have said discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation are among the root causes of migration from Guatemala and other countries in Central America.
Cifuentes is now the client services manager for Lawyers for Good Government’s Project CorazĆ³n, a campaign that works “hard to reunite and defend the rights of families impacted by inhumane immigration policies.” He told the Blade he will continue to help LGBTQ asylum seekers and migrants.
“In this new chapter of our lives, we pledge to work hard to support others in similar situations and to contribute to the broader fight for the rights and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ migrant community,” said Cifuentes. “We are hopeful that our story will serve as a call to action to confront and end persecution based on gender identity and sexual orientation.”
West Virginia
Appeals court strikes down W.Va. transgender athlete ban
Ruling finds law violates studentsā constitutional rights, Title IX
BY LORI KERSEYĀ | The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down West Virginiaās ban on transgender athletes, finding the law violates trans studentsā rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the constitution and Title IX, a federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education programs.
The case, B.P.J. vs. the West Virginia Board of Education, was filed in May 2021 on behalf of Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 13-year-old trans middle school student and track athlete who would be barred from participating if the ban is upheld. Pepper-Jackson is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia and Lambda Legal.
In April 2021, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed into law a bill prohibiting trans women and girls in the state from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. The U.S. Court of Appeals in February 2023 blocked the state from removing Pepper-Jackson from her schoolās track and field team as legal advocates appealed a lower courtās ruling upholding the ban.
In Tuesdayās ruling, Judge Toby Heytens wrote that offering Pepper-Jackson the āchoiceā between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is not a real choice.
āThe defendants cannot expect that B.P.J. will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches and even opponents as a boy,ā the judge wrote.
āBy participating on boys teams, B.P.J. would be sharing the field with boys who are larger, stronger, and faster than her because of the elevated levels of circulating testosterone she lacks,ā he wrote. āThe Act thus exposes B.P.J. to the very harms Title IX is meant to prevent by effectively āexclud[ing]ā her from āparticipation inā all non-coed sports entirely.ā
In a statement Tuesday, Joshua Block, senior staff attorney for the ACLUās LGBTQ and HIV Project, called the courtās ruling āa tremendous victory for our client, transgender West Virginians and the freedom of all youth to play as who they are.ā
āIt also continues a string of federal courts ruling against bans on the participation of transgender athletes and in favor of their equal participation as the gender they know themselves to be,ā Block wrote. āThis case is fundamentally about the equality of transgender youth in our schools and our communities and weāre thankful the 4th Circuit agreed.ā
āWe hope todayās ruling sends a message of hope to the trans youth of West Virginia,ā Aubrey Sparks, legal director of the ACLU of West Virginia, said in the statement. āAnd a message of warning to politicians who continue to dehumanize this vulnerable population.ā
West Virginia is one of 21 states that have banned trans student-athletes over the last three years, according to the ACLU.
In a statement Tuesday, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey vowed to defend the ban and said he is ādeeply disappointedā in the decision.
āThe Save Womenās Sports Act is āconstitutionally permissibleā and the law complies with Title IX,ā Morrisey said. āI will keep fighting to safeguard Title IX. We must keep working to protect womenās sports so that womenās safety is secured and girls have a truly fair playing field. We know the law is correct and will use every available tool to defend it.ā
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Lori Kersey is a reporter with a decade of experience reporting in West Virginia. She covers state government for West Virginia Watch.
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The preceding article was previously published by the West Virginia Watch and is republished with permission.
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West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, the nationās largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
News
News is Out, Word In Black and Comcast NBCUniversalĀ welcome 16 journalism fellows to cover Black and LGBTQ+ communities
The fellows will receive best practices, learnings and mentorship from journalists and media professionals at News is Out, Word In Black and NBCUniversal.
Today, News is Out and Word In Black, together announced the 16 fellows selected for The Digital Equity Local Voices Lab, a new initiative powered by Comcast NBCUniversal to place journalists at 16 Black and LGBTQ+ serving news publications across the country. During the year-long fellowship, the group will receive the training and resources needed to tell stories within marginalized communities through media and technology and celebrate the work being done by Black and LGBTQ+ leaders in their communities.
āThrough Project UP, we are proud to donate $1 million to launch this unique, first-of-its-kind program that will support coverage of Black and LGBTQ+ topics in the media as well as emerging journalists with a passion for reporting on issues of importance to these communities,ā said Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation and President, Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation.
āComcast is one of the earliest corporate leaders in LGBTQ+ inclusion, so it should come as no surprise that they understand the value of local LGBTQ+ media,ā said Mark Segal, founder of the Philadelphia Gay News and member of News is Out. āTheir investment in our growth is also an investment in the future leadership of LGBT media and intersectional LGBTQ+ media.ā
The fellows will receive best practices, learnings and mentorship from journalists and media professionals at News is Out, Word In Black and NBCUniversal.Ā In addition, they will report on stories of Black and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and creatives in their communities, share training and resources on using technology more in their daily lives, report on policy related to technological access and connectivity, and share the work being done to advance digital equity.
āI am excited to be a part of a fellowship that is specifically geared toward the promotion of diversity, inclusivity and intersectionality,ā said Davi B. Ulloa-Estrada, News is Out and Philadelphia Gay News fellow. āWe are missing such crucial and different perspectives on world issues, so I look forward to being a part of this project.ā
āThis fellowship program is the epitome of what journalism means to me ā using innovation and creativity to fuel a passion for multimedia storytelling and uplift the voice and perspective of the overlooked,ā said Word In Black and Washington Informer fellow, Jada Ingleton. āIt means so much to know that Iāll be in a position to produce stories that could enact change and affect lives the same way generations of journalists impacted mine.āĀ
The Local Media Foundation (LMF) is managing the fellowship and Lab and facilitating content creation to reach diverse audiences between the 16 publishers, Comcast NBCUniversal andĀ NBCU Academy. Word In Black and News is Out are collaboratives that were launched by LMF.Ā
The 16 fellows are:
- Megan Sayles, AFRO News (Baltimore)
- Menra Mapfumo, The Atlanta Voice (Atlanta)
- J.L. Odom, Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco)
- Melissa Whitler, Dallas Voice (Dallas)
- Marlissa Collier, Dallas Weekly (Dallas)
- ReShonda Tate, Houston Defender (Houston)
- Ebony āJJā Curry, Michigan Chronicle (Detroit)
- Leah Mallory, New York Amsterdam News (New York City)
- Davi B. Ulloa-Estrada, Philadelphia Gay News (Philadelphia)
- Christine Shelby, The Sacramento Observer (Sacramento)
- Kira Doyle, Seattle Medium (Seattle)
- Devored Horton, The St. Louis American (St. Louis)
- Victoria F. Vega, Tagg Magazine (National)
- Henry Carnell, Washington Blade (Washington, D.C.)
- Jada Ingleton, The Washington Informer (Washington, D.C.)
- Lu Calzada, Windy City Times (Chicago)
In February, the three organizations announced the launch of The Digital Equity Local Voices Lab and application period. The Lab is part of Project UP, Comcastās $1 billion initiative to connect people to the Internet and advance digital equity and economic mobility through programs and community partnerships that open doors for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers, and creators across Comcast, NBCUniversal, and Sky.
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