News
Trump calls O’Rourke a ‘wacko’ for proposing to tax anti-LGBT churches
2020 hopeful made remarks at anti-LGBT forum
President Trump is the latest to see an opening against Democrats for supporting for LGBT rights, criticizing Beto O’Rourke for proposing to lift the tax-exempt status on churches that oppose same-sex marriage.
Trump laid into O’Rourke, calling him a “wacko,” during a marathon speech at the Values Voter Summit, an annual summit hosted by the anti-LGBT Family Research Council, without explicit referring to the presidential candidate by name.
“As you know, just a few days ago, a Democrat running for president proposed revoking the tax-exempt status of many churches and religious groups,” Trump said. “And you why, and you know it is. He’s a wacko.”
Trump, touting his commitment to religious liberty (which in the circles of the Values Voters Summit means anti-LGBT discrimination), presented an alternative view.
“I will never allow the federal government to be used to target, harass or punish communities of faith and I will never allow the IRS to be used as a political weapon, as it has been and it is currently being used,” Trump said. “It has been used so viciously, so violently against many people in the room.”
O’Rourke comments on lifting the tax-exempt status for churches and religious organizations opposed to same-sex marriage has caused a firestorm among conservatives, who see it as an attack on their values and government intrusion on faith.
The candidate made the comments Thursday in Los Angeles during a LGBT forum hosted by CNN and the Human Rights Campaign when moderator Don Lemon asked O’Rourle if “religious institutions — like colleges, churches, charities — should they lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage.”
The 2020 candidate — perhaps sensing an opportunity to distinguish himself from Cory Booker, who dodged a similar question — responded, “Yes.”
The audience, which was made up of LGBT rights advocates largely affiliated with the Human Rights Campaign, responded with applause.
“There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us,” O’Rourke said. “And so as president, we’re going to make that a priority and we are going to stop those who are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans.”
In the conservative backlash that has followed, an O’Rourke spokesperson, Kolby Lee, told the Washington Blade the candidate’s views are being misrepresented.
“To clarify, Beto was referring to religious institutions who take discriminatory action,” Lee said. “The extreme right is distorting this for their own agenda.”
Congress
Sens. Butler, Smith introduce Pride in Mental Health Act to aid at-risk LGBTQ youth
Bill is backed by Democrats in both chambers
U.S. Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the Pride in Mental Health Act on Thursday, legislation that would strengthen resources in mental health and crisis intervention for at-risk LGBTQ youth.
“Accessing mental health care and support has become increasingly difficult in nearly every state in the country,” said Butler, who is the first Black LGBTQ senator. “Barriers get even more difficult if you are a young person who lacks a supportive community or is fearful of being outed, harassed, or threatened.”
“I am introducing the Pride in Mental Health Act to help equip LGBTQ+ youth with the resources to get the affirming and often life-saving care they need,” she said.
“Mental health care is health care,” said Smith. “And for some LGBTQ+ youth, receiving access to the mental health care they need can mean the difference between living in safety and dignity, and suffering alone through discrimination, bullying, and even violence.”
The Minnesota senator added that data shows LGBTQ students are experiencing “an epidemic” of “anxiety, depression and other serious mental health conditions.”
For example, a 2023 study by The Trevor Project found that 54 percent of LGBTQ youth reported symptoms of depression, compared to 35 percent of their heterosexual counterparts.
Joining the senators as cosponsors are Democratic U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Bob Casey (Penn.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Cory Booker (N.J.), and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.). Baldwin was the first LGBTQ woman elected to the House in 1999 and the first LGBTQ woman elected to the Senate in 2013.
Leading the House version of the bill are LGBTQ Democratic U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (Kan.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), along with 163 other House members.
Organizations that have backed the Pride in Mental Health Act include the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association (NEA), National Center for Transgender Equality, Seattle Indian Health Board, PFLAG National, The Trevor Project, American Psychological Association, Whitman-Walker Institute, InterACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, National Alliance on Mental Illness, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Mental Health America, and Center for Law and Social Policy.
District of Columbia
D.C. mayor honors 10th anniversary of Team Rayceen Productions
LGBTQ entertainment, advocacy organization praised for ‘vital work’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser today issued an official proclamation declaring Monday, March 18, 2024, as Team Rayceen Day in honor of the local LGBTQ entertainment and advocacy organization Team Rayceen Productions named after its co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis.
“Whereas Rayceen, along with Team Rayceen Productions co-founder, Zar, have spent 10 years advocating for the Black LGBTQI+ community using various forms including in-person events, social media, and YouTube,” the proclamation states.
The proclamation adds that through its YouTube Channel, Team Rayceen Productions created a platform for “Black LGBTQIA+ individuals to discuss various topics including spotlighting nonprofit organizations and small businesses, voter registration and participation, the state of LGBTQIA+ rights and resources in D.C, gender equality and equity, and the amplification of opportunities to bring the community together.”
It also praises Team Rayceen Productions for its partnership with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in helping to produce “exciting events like the District of Pride talent showcase held each June and the iconic 17th Street High Heel Race celebrated in October.”
“Whereas I thank Team Rayceen Productions for its vital and necessary work and am #DCProud to wish you all the best as you continue to support Black LGBTQIA+ residents across all 8 Wards,” the proclamation continues.
“Now, therefore, I, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., do hereby proclaim March 18, 2024, as TEAM RAYCEEN DAY in Washington, D.C. and do commit this observance to all Washingtonians,” it concludes.
“We thank Mayor Bowser for this special proclamation, which highlights where it all began, with the Black LGBTQIA+ community of Washington, D.C,” Team Rayceen Productions says in a statement. “Starting with The Ask Rayceen Show, Reel Affirmation, and events with D.C. Public Library to Art All Night, Silver Pride by Whitman-Walker, and events with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we are #dcproud of what we have accomplished in the Nation’s Capital,” the statement says.
“For TEAM RAYCEEN DAY, we thank the diverse group of individuals who have made everything we have done possible by volunteering their time and talents over the past decade – as online co-hosts, event staff, performers, DJs, photographers, and more,” says the statement.
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court declines to hear case over drag show at Texas university
Students argue First Amendment protects performance
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a First Amendment case over a public university president’s refusal to allow an LGBTQ student group to host a drag show on campus.
The group’s application was denied without the justices providing their reasoning or issuing dissenting opinions, as is custom for such requests for emergency review.
When plaintiffs sought to organize the drag performance to raise money for suicide prevention in March 2023, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler cancelled the event, citing the Bible and other religious texts.
The students sued, arguing the move constituted prior restraint and viewpoint-based discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment. Wendler had called drag shows “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,” adding that “a harmless drag show” was “not possible.”
The notoriously conservative Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who former President Donald Trump appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ruled against the plaintiffs in September, writing that “it is not clearly established that all drag shows are inherently expressive.”
Kacsmaryk further argued that the High Court’s precedent-setting opinions protecting stage performances and establishing that “speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend” was inconsistent with constitutional interpretation based on “text, history and tradition.”
Plaintiffs appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is by far the most conservative of the nation’s 12 appellate circuit courts. They sought emergency review by the Supreme Court because the 5th Circuit refused to fast-track their case, so arguments were scheduled to begin after the date of their drag show.
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