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Trump brings up global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality at U.N.

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In a surprise move, President Trump included in his speech before the United Nations on Tuesday his administration’s global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality in the more than 70 countries where it remains illegal.

“My administration is working with other nations to stop criminalizing of homosexuality,” Trump said. “And we stand in solidarity with LGBT people who live in countries that punish, jail and execute people based upon sexual orientation.”

The remarks mark the first time ever outside of Twitter Trump has acknowledged the global initiative, which is being spearheaded by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-ranking openly gay person in the Trump administration.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere echoed the President’s message in response to the Washington Blade’s request seeking background on the decision-making that led to the inclusion of those words in Trump’s speech and what comes next.

“It was an opportunity to deliver an important message to world leaders and a global audience that the U.S. will not stand for the criminalizing of homosexuality,” Deere said.

It’s not the first time a U.S. president has brought up LGBT rights in a speech before the United Nations. That distinction belongs to President Obama, who included gays and lesbians in a speech addressing the General Assembly in 2011.

ā€œNo country should deny people their rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere,ā€ Obama said.

In 2011, Hillary Clinton gave an entire speech before United Nations delegates in Geneva devoted to U.S. solidarity with LGBT people across the globe. A notable line in the speech was Clinton saying, ā€œGay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”

Trump’s speech, however, was likely the first time a U.S. president has explicitly brought up the decriminalization of homosexuality in remarks before the United Nations.

The inclusion of the LGBT initiative in Trump’s speech was one component of more than 30-minute speech before the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which heavily focused on nationalism, denouncing socialism, and criticizing Iran and China.

“Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first,” Trump said. “The future does not belong to the globalists; the future belongs to the patriots.”

Charles Moran, managing director of Log Cabin Republicans, heaped praised on Trump for including the global initiative in his speech.

“President Trump is fulfilling on his initiative to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe,” Moran said. “We are thankful that he will use this moment while addressing the world to call for the end of senseless persecution of LGBTQ individuals. President Trump is keeping his promises to the the LGBTQ community, and for standing up for American values.”

Echoing that praise at Log Cabin was board chair Bob Kabel, who said Trump “challenged the world to do better concerning LGBTQ protections.” Log Cabin endorsed Trump last month.

“In over 71 countries, it is still illegal to be gay. President Trump’s leadership on this issue is heartening during a time when our LGBTQ brothers and sisters abroad still face life-threatening discrimination,” Kabel said. “We are looking forward to working with the administration to promote policies that will project America’s leadership on this issue.

Trump includes the remarks in speech as LGBT groups have criticizing him building an anti-LGBT record. Among other things, the Trump administration has implemented a transgender military ban, excluded LGBT people from enforcement of civil rights laws and sought to enable anti-LGBT discrimination in the name of religious freedom.

Just last month, the Trump administration submitted legal briefs before the Supreme Court arguing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination on the basis of sex, doesn’t apply to cases of anti-LGBT discrimination. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in the landmark case Oct. 8.

Moreover, a growing number of Democrats are calling for the impeachment of Trump over recent reporting that suggests he threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine unless the country investigated Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Biden, Trump’s potential opponent in the 2020 election.

David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement Trump including the administration’s global initiative to decriminalize same-sex relations in his speech pales in comparison to the rest of his record.

“Trump has no credibility to speak about LGBTQ human rights abroad when he has done so much to damage them here at home, from banning trans people from the military to proposing that medical providers can deny care to LGBTQ patients and permitting federal contractors to fire employees for being LGBTQ,” Stacy said.

Jessica Stern, executive director of OutRight International, noted Trump’s emphasis on nationalism in his speech and said he can’t have it both ways with a global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality.

“Throwing in a reference to opposing the criminalization of same-sex relations while at the same time stating that the national supersedes the international, and that tradition and culture are sacred, is one more example of President Trumpā€™s hypocrisy,” Stern said. “LGBTIQ people across the world, including in the U.S., do not feel safe or protected within their borders and are often attacked under the guise of tradition. In all too many places, international standards have been the only avenue for LGBTIQ people to have our rights recognized, to seek remedy for crimes committed against us, and for pushing nations to accept that human rights belong to all, including, explicitly, LGBTIQ people”

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District of Columbia

Death of D.C. gay robbery victim ruled a homicide

Police pursuing additional charges against two juveniles

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D.C. police announced on Feb. 15 that the death of gay DJ and hairstylist Bryan Smith, 39, who police say was assaulted and robbed Oct. 27, 2024, in the 500 block of T Street, N.W., has been ruled a homicide.

Police said Smith was found unconscious at about 5 a.m. on the street where they believed he was assaulted and robbed and taken to a D.C. hospital. A short time later he was transferred at the request of family members while in a coma to a Northern Virginia hospital, where he died on Nov. 7.

ā€œOn Thursday, February 13, 2025, the Northern Virginia Medical Examinerā€™s Office advised that the cause of death for the victim was blunt force trauma and the manner of death a homicide,ā€ the D.C. police statement says.

The statement notes, as the Washington Blade and other media outlets have reported, that D.C. police on Nov. 14, 2024, arrested two juvenile males, 14 and 16 years of age, on robbery and assault charges in connection with the assault and robbery of Smith.

 At the time of the arrest, police said they had evidence showing the two juveniles were implicated in three other assault and robbery incidents that occurred on the same night as the assault and robbery of Smith in nearby locations.

According to the statement, D.C. police detectives are working with the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, which prosecutes crimes committed by juveniles, to determine whether ā€œadditional chargesā€ should be brought against the two juveniles following the determination that Smithā€™s death was a homicide.

The arrest of the two juveniles was announced by D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith at a Nov. 15  press conference near the site where Smith was attacked.

ā€œWe are here today to announce the arrest of two suspects responsible for a series of robberies in this community on Sunday, Oct. 27, including the robbery of 39-year-old Bryan Smith, who was walking home in the 500 block of T Street, N.W.,ā€ Chief Smith told reporters attending the press conference.

ā€œOn behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department as well as myself, I send my deepest condolences to Mr. Smithā€™s family as well as his friends,ā€ Chief Smith said. ā€œWhile nothing can undo this senseless loss, we hope todayā€™s arrests are of some measure of justice and a step toward healing,ā€ she said.

Chief Smith also said that police investigators had no evidence to indicate the assault and robbery of Bryan Smith was ā€œmotivated by hate or bias.ā€

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India

Indian state proposes sweeping LGBTQ policy

Judge calls for one set of Tamil Nadu guidelines

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(Washington Blade photo by Ernesto Valle)

The government of Tamil Nadu in southern India has proposed a policy that is designed to improve the lives of LGBTQ and intersex people in the state.

The Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission introduced the “Draft Policy for the Welfare of LGBTQIA+ Persons” in July 2023. Key provisions include a 1 percent quota for transgender and intersex people in education and employment. Progress to implement the policy has been hindered because of the governmentā€™s fragmented approach of developing separate policies for different groups within the community.

The Madras High Court in January 2024 acknowledged Tamil Naduā€™s proposed policy and commended the stateā€™s efforts. 

The court highlighted key recommendations, such as establishing a State Commission for Sexual and Gender Minorities and introducing quotas, while stressing the need to combat discrimination and violence. The court this month, however, raised concerns about the governmentā€™s separate policies for trans people and the broader LGBTQ community.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh stressed the need for a single, unified policy to effectively address the challenges the LGBTQ community faces. He directed the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department to submit a separate proposal for trans people and a consolidated LGBTQ one by Feb. 17 that would allow stakeholder input and improvements.

The Madras High Court has been actively guiding the Tamil Nadu government towards formulating a unified and comprehensive policy for the LGBTQ community, rather than separate policies for different groups within the community.

Tamil Nadu’s proposal offers several advantages aimed at promoting inclusivity and equality. It would provide healthcare inclusion, recommending the extension of the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme to cover trans-specific medical procedures, such as gender-affirming surgeries, to ensure essential healthcare is accessible. The proposal calls for nondiscrimination policies in all government departments and public authorities that seek to protect LGBTQ people from bias and violence.

The proposal calls for educational institutions to adopt policies that raise awareness and address issues of violence, abuse, and discrimination against students with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. It also suggests the creation of bodies like the Tamil Nadu Council for LGBTQ Persons and District Level LGBTQ Welfare and Justice Committees to coordinate efforts across government departments.

ā€œTamil Nadu is the first state in India to develop a unified policy covering sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics, based on a recent Madras High Court directive,ā€ said L. Ramakrishnan from SAATHII, an organization that works to create an inclusive healthcare system, and a member of the policy drafting committee. ā€œThis is important because critical sensitization interventions for inclusive education, healthcare and employment require understanding of sexual, sexuality, and gender diversity,ā€Ā 

ā€œAt the same time, recognizing the added vulnerabilities of trans and intersex individuals, provisions such as horizontal reservations and free land allocation are proposed only for transgender and intersex individuals,ā€ added Ramakrishnan.

The proposal, among other things, calls for gender-neutral bathrooms and hostels. It also seeks to protect LGBTQ people from family violence and from corrective rape and so-called conversion therapy that medical providers and faith healers carry out.

The proposed policy would also acknowledge and support relationships outside the traditional marriage framework. It proposes a Deed of Familial Association that would legally recognize queer relationships as the Madras High Court ruled in a case of a lesbian couple who sought protection from harassment. While the deed would offer protection from family and societal harassment, it would not extend legal status or rights associated with marriage or civil unions. 

The Indian Supreme Court on Oct. 17, 2023, ruled against marriage rights for same-sex couples.

ā€œWe have long been working and sensitizing the government for a policy,ā€ said Kalki Subramaniam, a trans activist and artist who founded the Sahodari Foundation, an organization that supports trans people in India. ā€œIt seems to be happening. We, the trans community, demand a separate policy for us because we are the most marginalized and poorest community in the entire LGBTQI spectrum.ā€ 

ā€œI insist on two different policies: One for us, trans and intersex persons, and the other for the LGB community. Practically, it is very much possible,ā€ added Subramaniam. ā€œThe state government, months ago, held public meetings with the trans community in all districts, and the communityā€™s overall demand is a separate policy. I welcome the commission and insist it should have representatives from trans women, trans men, and intersex communities.ā€

She told the Washington Blade the proposed policy is something for which the community has been waiting for years, and is happy to see it on the table. Subramaniam noted the quota, in particular, will ensure equal opportunities in jobs and education.

ā€œTamil Nadu governmentā€™s laudable efforts in building equity for the LGBTQIA+ community stands as a magnificent beacon of hope,ā€ said Harish Iyer, an Indian LGBTQ activist. ā€œIn times of absolute disregard across the world, this effort puts not just the queer community, but India in the forefront of humanitarian efforts.ā€

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District of Columbia

Dancing protesters denounce Trumpā€™s Kennedy Center takeover

ā€˜This is an attack, not only on free speech, but on artistsā€™

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Protesters demonstrated at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Waiting in the windy cold of a 45-degree February day in Washington, Tara Hoot stood in Washington Circle wearing a canary yellow dress, heels, and a rainbow feather boa. Hoot was waiting, along with about 100 others, although most of them were wearing layers of clothes, for a protest to begin.

ā€œI am here because, well, I’m angry at the situation we find ourselves in,ā€ Hoot told the Blade amid a growing crowd of pro-drag and pro-LGBTQ protesters who gathered behind her. ā€œI’m just so annoyed that this sitting president is attacking a marginalized population. It’s a distraction for the country when everything’s falling apart. The cost of eggs is up there, and inflation is rising, and he’s here attacking a marginalized population in D.C.? It’s like, go do your job, right? It’s immoral what he’s doing, and it’s weak to attack the marginalized population. He’s just showing his own weakness.ā€

Last week President Trump promised followers that he would remove anyone that ā€œdo not share our vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” specifically targeting drag performers at the Kennedy Center. On Wednesday he made that goal a reality by removing the 18 Democratic members on the formerly bipartisan Kennedy Center board, replacing them with Trump loyalists. 

This raised questions of the legality of removing the board, and his seeming attempt to silence First Amendment rights. As a result, the Kennedy Center issued a statement following Trumpā€™s post. 

ā€œPer the Center’s governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Center’s board members,ā€ the statement read. ā€œThere is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.”

Of the newly appointed board members, all have stood behind the twice impeached president as he continues to slash the federal government. These loyalists include Richard Grenell, a gay man who served as Trumpā€™s ambassador to Germany in his first term; Usha Vance, the second lady of the United States; Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; and Patricia Duggan, a philanthropist and top GOP donor.

The newly appointed board then elected Trump as chair. 

When asked what Hoot, a local drag icon who has performed at the Kennedy Center, would say to the current board, she was quick with an answer.

ā€œWell darling, they missed their chance!ā€ Hoot said. ā€œI was running for board president of the Kennedy Center, the people’s princess, I would say. Art is gorgeous and diverse and beautiful, and it’s a way that we all tell our stories. The board needs to keep the heart of the Kennedy Center in mind, no matter who their board chair is. They actually need to have a spine and push back when these ideas that art has to be one thing or another, the board needs to push back and keep the Kennedy Center a people’s place for art.ā€

Brooke N Hymen, a self-described ā€œprofessional crossdresserā€ and trans person explained that to them, the changes in public attitude is more than a silencing of free speech, but an erasure of trans people. 

ā€œI find that attacks on drag are not just an attack on my heart, my livelihood, but also a veiled attack on trans people,ā€ Hymen said. ā€œThey want to code trans people and what they do in their daily expression as drag as a way to ban trans people. So if we don’t stand up against these attacks on drag, trans people are the first people that will be harmed.ā€ 

Hymen went on to say there are clear and simple ways that the board could offset these actions that directly and negatively impact the LGBTQ community.

ā€œMore drag programming, more queer artists, more queer musicians, and more queer casts,ā€ they said. ā€œTara Hoot was running for board of the Kennedy Center. I don’t know how possible that is under Trump, but I think that it’s a lovely sentiment and something that we should all push for.ā€

Putting Hoot back in the Kennedy Center was also on the mind of other participants of the protest dance party. John Borstel, a former arts administrator, also said that appointing someone like Hoot to the board would be beneficialā€”if only to ensure that someone would speak out at the Kennedy Center.

ā€œGet out and let the bipartisan board back in,ā€ Borstel said. ā€œGet out and get people who know the arts back in. Let Tara Hoot in here! The drag queen who’s performed at the Kennedy Center. She’s been outspoken about this. She’s gone on record where the Biden appointed and ousted board members won’t even make a public statement about what happened. They’re afraid for themselves. We’ve got drag queens speaking out. The bureaucrats won’t speak up.ā€

His sentiment regarding the lack of response from former Kennedy Center officials was echoed in his grievances with other established members of the arts community who didnā€™t show up at the protest. It did make him proud in a unique way though. 

ā€œI have never been prouder than I am tonight, to be a gay man, to be queer, because it’s the queers who have come out to protest it ā€” but it’s affecting everybody,ā€ Borstel said. ā€œHe’s going to cut it all down. Everybody should be out here. I worked in the arts sector for over 30 years here. Where are those folks? But the queers are here. And they’re dancing!ā€ 

Bennett Shoop (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Bennett Shoop, one of the protest organizers with the Claudia Jones School for Political Education, told the crowd at Washington Circleā€”just before their march down New Hampshire Avenue to the front of the Kennedy Centerā€”that drag is deeply intertwined with Washingtonā€™s history and that ignoring it means erasing that history.

ā€œDrag is really important to D.C. and it’s important to D.C. history,ā€ Shoop said to the diverse and growing crowd of people listening. ā€œWilliam Dorsey Swann was the first drag queen in the United States, an enslaved person who called themselves ā€œthe queen of drag,ā€ who threw drag balls right here in this city. Drag is a D.C. institution, one that Trump has decided is going to be one of his top targets for his fascist administration. But it’s not just about drag performers at the Kennedy Center. This administration wants to remove all kinds of gender non-conformity and LGBTQ people at large from public life, just like the Nazis did at the Hirschfeld Institute when they burned all of those books.ā€ 

ā€œThis is D.C.,ā€ he continued as the crowd cheered him on. ā€œD.C. is the queerest city per capita in the United States. We may not have representation in the federal government, but we do have a fighting spiritā€¦He could pass all the executive orders and do all of the fascist takeovers that he wants, but queer and trans people will still be here. You know, we will still dance, and that dance will long outlive them.ā€

One of those members of the LGBTQ community who resisted oppression through dance and protest, Shoop explained as he concluded his speech, could be credited with sparking the modern gay rights movement.

ā€œLet us never forget that it was none other than drag king StormĆ© DeLarverie who inspired the Stonewall uprising that led to the gay liberation revolution of the ā€˜70s. Drag was a part of our revolution then, and it must be a part of our revolution now. I just want to end with a quote from the namesake of our school, Claudia Jones, who once said ā€˜that a people’s art is the genesis of their freedom.ā€™ So like our predecessors, let this be the genesis of ours.ā€

Following speeches by the other organizing groups, the group of 200 or so walked in the middle of the road toward the Kennedy Center singing and occasionally stopping to dance. Onlookers from apartments along the road opened windows waving at the group, occasionally screaming words of support from stories up.  

One of those marching in protest was Jennifer Ives of Germantown, Md. She was bundled up in a coat and hat while holding a sign, dancing along the protest route.

ā€œIā€™m here because I want to support the trans and gay communities,ā€ Ives told the Blade. ā€œI believe that soldiers should get their hormone treatment, their therapy, their pills. I believe that Trump should get out of the Kennedy Center. I believe that right now, there’s an assault on the trans community, and we just can’t stand for it. So we gotta protest, and we gotta dance.ā€

Another participant, dressed in full dragā€”from voluminous black and red hair to a sparkly, tinsel-covered suit and thick white heelsā€”emphasized that no matter what executive orders are signed or what bans pass through state legislatures, LGBTQ people have always been here and always will be.

ā€œThe main reason is to show that even though these actions have been taken, and though they want to strip us of our power, that we’re still here,ā€ said drag performer Rhiannon LLC. ā€œI think an important thing that stuck with me after the election, even though we lost, Kamala Harris, her main message was, we’re not going back. And if we let that message die, then we kind of go along with it. So to be here and to be out, it’s awesome.ā€

They continued, saying that if they had the ability to say one thing to the Kennedy Center board, it would be two words: ā€œHave integrity. Although Trump may be there for the next four years, you are there after. These actions will follow you, and your job right now is to support the arts. So support the arts.ā€

One of the last speeches of the night was delivered directly in front of the Kennedy Center, its marble walls and gold columns providing a final backdrop for the protest. Pussy Noir, another local drag legend, was handed a mic to wrap up the night. 

ā€œThis is an intense time for all of us,ā€ said Noir, who currently has a residency with the Kennedy Center REACH program and performs in drag across the city. ā€œI don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m the main drag queen that brought drag to the Kennedy Center, and with many other drag queens in this city, helped establish it as a real art form.ā€

Noir took a moment to look out at the crowd, their faces illuminated by the glow of the Kennedy Center, before finishing with a message of resilience and solidarity for all drag artists ā€” those currently protesting in front of the Kennedy Center and those performing in hole-in-the-wall gay bars across the country.

ā€œSo no matter what anyone says, If you are a drag performer, you are an artist. If you support drag, you are supporting artists. Right now this is an attack, not only on free speech, but on artists, on small business owners, and I think that’s something that everyone in this country can understand. We must be supportive of each other and kind to each other. More than anything, that is the only way that we can fight this.ā€

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