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Biden on Pride Month: ‘Accept nothing less than full equality’

WH proclamation issued after practice ignored during Trump years

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President Biden issued the first formal proclamation of his administration recognizing Pride Month on Tuesday, telling LGBTQ people both at home and abroad they should “accept nothing less than full equality.”

Biden’s proclamation kicks off Pride Month by remembering the 1969 riots at Stonewall Inn that started the modern LGBTQ movement, which he said was a “call to action that continues to inspire us to live up to our nation’s promise of equality, liberty, and justice for all.”

“Pride is a time to recall the trials the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community has endured and to rejoice in the triumphs of trailblazing individuals who have bravely fought — and continue to fight — for full equality,” Biden writes. “Pride is both a jubilant communal celebration of visibility and a personal celebration of self-worth and dignity.”

Biden issues a Pride Month proclamation after the practice was abandoned under President Trump, who largely ignored the occasion except for a solitary tweet in 2019. In contrast, former President Obama issued a Pride proclamation each of his eight years in office.

Obama also had a practice of holding an annual reception at the White House with LGBTQ leaders to commemorate Pride Month. The Biden White House, at a time when the nation is reemerging after the coronavirus pandemic, hasn’t said one way or the other whether it will hold a reception.

Biden’s proclamation also ticks off several of the LGBTQ community’s achievements, citing “historic Supreme Court rulings” that brought workplace protections and marriage equality as well as the enactment of the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which expanded hate crimes protections under federal law.

Estimating nearly 14 percent of the 1,500 agency appointees in the Biden administration  identity as LGBTQ, Biden writes the LGBTQ community is now represented “in nearly every level of public office — in city halls and state capitals, governors’ mansions and the halls of the Congress, and throughout my administration.” Among his LGBTQ appointees are Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rachel Levine, assistant secretary of health.

At a time when states have enacted laws against transgender kids’ access to school sports and transition-related health care, Biden writes states have “chosen to actively target transgender youth through discriminatory bills that defy our nation’s values of inclusivity and freedom for all.”

Following the announcement his State Department would make LGBTQ human rights a priority, Biden writes he’s committed to LGBTQ rights both in the United States and overseas, closely tying two global movements to protect and advance democracy.

“LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, which is why my administration has reaffirmed America’s commitment to supporting those on the front lines of the equality and democracy movements around the world, often at great risk,” Biden writes. “We see you, we support you, and we are inspired by your courage to accept nothing less than full equality.”

Biden also name-checks the Equality Act, federal legislation that would expand the prohibition on discrimination against LGBTQ people under federal law, although the legislation is all but dead as it continues to languish in Congress.

“I will not rest until full equality for LGBTQ+ Americans is finally achieved and codified into law,” Biden writes. “That is why I continue to call on the Congress to pass the Equality Act, which will ensure civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people and families across our country.”

Concluding his proclamation, Biden says Pride Month is a time to recognize “the resilience and determination of the many individuals who are fighting to live freely and authentically.”

“In doing so, they are opening hearts and minds, and laying the foundation for a more just and equitable America,” Biden writes. “This Pride Month, we affirm our obligation to uphold the dignity of all people, and dedicate ourselves to protecting the most vulnerable among us.”

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India

India broadcast authority asks TV station to delete video deemed offensive to LGBTQ community

Activist Indrajeet Ghorpad filed complaint

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(YouTube screenshot)

India’s News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority on Feb. 28 asked a television station to delete a video that contained objectionable remarks against the LGBTQ community. 

The India Today video report’s headline was “Nudity sparks outrage at USA Pride parades: How India’s LGBTQ+ lead responsibly.” The clip reportedly contained factual inaccuracies, spread fear and demonized the LGBTQ community.

NBDSA has asked India Today to remove all hyperlinks to the video from every one of its platforms. The regulatory agency has issued guidelines for broadcasters about the LGBTQ community and asked to circulate it among all its editors and members. The broadcasting authority announced the directives after hearing a complaint that Indrajeet Ghorpad, an LGBTQ rights activist, filed.

Ghorpad said the program did not comply with the principles of “accuracy, neutrality, objectivity, good taste, decency and others.” Ghorpad also said it portrayed Pride parades in the U.S. in a negative light and unfavorably compared them with India’s LGBTQ community.

The NBDSA had received several complaints on the community’s portrayal. It issued five guidelines to sensitize and bring objectivity when covering the LGBTQ community in India, apart from the existing code of ethics and broadcasting standards.

The NBDSA on March 1 issued guidelines on how to report on issues faced by the LGBTQ community with accuracy, objectivity and sensitivity, and further said that non-sensitive and inaccurate reporting regarding the community has serious social repercussions.

The guidelines say “reporting should not sensationalize or create panic, distress or undue fear among viewers.” They also state broadcasters must avoid broadcasting any news that sensationalizes the issues related to the LGBTQ community, perpetuates stereotypes or creates fear in respect of the community.

The recommendations say broadcasters should refrain from using any expression or slur that may be construed as “hate speech” against the LGBTQ community. They also note broadcasters while covering any issue concerning the LGBTQ community must ensure their reporting does not promote homophobia or transphobia, or negative stereotypes about the LGBTQ community.

The guidelines say broadcasters must respect the privacy of LGBTQ people and not disclose personal information, including gender identity or sexual orientation of a person without their consent. The guidelines further state broadcasters should use inclusive and gender-neutral language, and respect the individuals’ preferred pronouns and names. Broadcasters, according to the guidelines, must strive for diverse representation in their coverage of the LGBTQ community and ensure voices from different segments of the LGBTQ community are provided a platform to express their views.

The incident is not a first Indian media. 

TV9 Telugu, a Telugu language television station, in 2011 did a sting operation on LGBTQ members of a gay dating site, over which the news channel faced the community’s wrath in Mumbai, India’s financial capital. The channel at that time broadcasted the operation all over the country and released profiles and pictures of the site’s users. 

The LGBTQ community protested outside the channel’s office in Mumbai by wearing condoms on their middle fingers.

NBDSA in April 2022 sanctioned TV9 Teluguand Sakshi TV, another Telugu-language 24-hour news channel, for sensationalizing a police raid in Hyderabad after neighbors complained of loud noise. The two channels broadcasted visuals of the party and individuals attending it, violating privacy and highlighting their sexual orientation without their consent.

Negha Shahin, a transgender Indian actress, told the Washington Blade that social media today has become an unsafe, toxic and hate-spreading tool with regards to trans and queer people.

“Mocking LGBTQIA+ folks is becoming a new trend. Content creators are creating content against queer folks, dangerous things are getting attention and triggering homophobia and transphobia,” said Shahin. “Meanwhile TV media like India Today is playing major part and considered as responsible news network. If they did not follow the guidelines then how will the society will follow? Journalists, politicians, actors, police, lawyers whoever addressing issues related to (the) minority community in India, should mind the glossary. They cannot be transphobic or homophobic. They cannot oppress, misgender, following stereotypes and creating false statement or news in the media.”

Shahin said news channels in India that do not following the guidelines are showing their hatred against the LGBTQ community. She said these incidents remind everyone that uprooting stereotypes and homophobia from society in every form is important.

Harish Iyer, a prominent equal rights activist in India, told the Blade that accepting different sexuality is not a Western or Indian concept, but rather a scientific one that cuts across geographies and sex.

“If channels are broadcasting this, they are not doing against gender or sexuality but against science and humanity,” said Iyer. “More than expunging and deleting the video, the corrective actions like watchdogs will ensure corrective actions are required. The guidelines are in sync with what the Supreme Court of India and the Constitution of India stand for. With a name like India Today, they stand against the very tenet of Indianism which is enshrined in the constitution that provides equal opportunity and equal protection of the law against any discrimination regardless of gender and sexuality, so I think, India Today, should not have the India in their name because that goes against the tenet of Indian constitution and the Supreme Court’s verdict as well. There should be something mandatory for the news channels, and not just the guidelines.”

India Today did not respond to the Blade’s multiple requests for comment.

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion. 

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Virginia

Arlington church seeks to offer LGBTQ-affirming senior housing

Project by Clarendon Presbyterian faces opposition from residents

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Clarendon Presbyterian Church (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

Leaders and members of the Clarendon Presbyterian Church, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary on April 13, have said they decided to continue to fulfill their mission of religious faith by using the land on which their church is located in the Clarendon section of Arlington, Va., to develop a new, larger church building to include LGBTQ affordable housing for seniors along with an independently run childcare center that currently operates in the church.

“In line with the church’s deep history of supporting affordable housing, LGBTQ communities, and seniors, in 2021, the church relaunched a visioning process of how we might invest our most valuable physical resources, our church property, for the good of the community,” church leaders said in a Feb. 9, 2024, statement describing the project.

The statement says that in 2022, the congregation voted to partner with the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), a real estate development company that specializes in affordable housing projects. Through that partnership, the statement says, the two partners in June of 2023 applied to the Arlington County government for a zoning change that would allow the construction of a building that could accommodate as many as 92 residential apartments for seniors 55 or 62 and older.

Among other things, the project calls for demolishing the current church building and constructing a new, larger building that would include a smaller version of the church space for its religious services as well as space for 40 to 58 children ages two through six at the Clarendon Child Care Center, which has operated at the church for more than 60 years.

Rev. Alice Tewell, the current pastor at Clarendon Presbyterian Church, told the Washington Blade another important factor contributing to the decision to redevelop the church property is the high cost of maintaining a 100-year-old building and its aging infrastructure that was becoming less and less affordable for the church’s budget. And like many churches across the country, the membership of Clarendon Presbyterian Church has declined over the years, making it no longer necessary for a worship service space as large as that in the current church building, Tewell said.

The statement describing the development plan says that without a major redevelopment project, the church could no longer afford to remain in the current building, forcing it to move to another location outside of Clarendon and possibly outside of Arlington. 

According to Rev. Tewell, the redevelopment decision came after several years of internal discussion, meetings with longtime church allies, including members of the LGBTQ community and other community groups.

“And after all these conversations, we came to where we could serve Christ, which is part of our faith, and where we could be good neighbors in Arlington – would be to tear down our entire property and rebuild so it would include senior affordable housing as LGBT welcoming, a new church space, which we also plan to turn into a community space, and the new space for our preschool center,” Tewell told the Blade.

She noted that the church’s location at 1305 N. Jackson St. is walking distance to the Clarendon Metro station and many local amenities such as restaurants and retail stores, making it a convenient location for the senior residents in the redeveloped space. 

She also points out that church members have consulted with the New York-based LGBTQ seniors advocacy organization SAGE, which informed them of the great need for LGBTQ welcoming senior housing, including in Northern Virginia.

But news of the church’s redevelopment project, especially reports that it would include a proposed 92-unit apartment building, prompted many nearby residents to raise strong objections and to call on the Arlington County Board, which must make a final decision on a zoning change, to deny the zoning change request.

Most of the opposition comes from residents of single-family houses, who point out that the church is located in a largely low-density residential neighborhood with just a few nearby low-rise apartment buildings. In August of 2023, a group of nearby residents created an online petition that gathered at that time more than 1,000 signatures calling for the county to turn down the church development project.

“We, the concerned residents of Arlington, Virginia, stand united in opposition to the proposed destruction of the historic, over 100-year-old, Clarendon Presbyterian Church (CPC) and the subsequent construction of a massive 6-story apartment building having 100 units within our cherished residential neighborhood,” the petition states. “We believe that this development project will have serious detrimental effects on our community’s character, quality of life, and historic heritage,” it says.

The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, or APAH, the development company working in partnership with the church, submitted an official application on June 29, 2023, for a Special General Land Use Plan Study calling for the needed zoning change for the church project with Arlington County Zoning Administrator Arlova Vonhm. APAH officials have said the initial application was the first of a multi-step process seeking final approval of the project.

Garrett Jackson, APAH’s Director of Resource Development and Communications, told the Blade that APAH on behalf of the church asked the Zoning Administrator to put the application on hold while the church and APAH consider revisions for the project.

“We are currently working with our architect, engineer, and construction management team to assess the feasibility of different development options while also considering feedback we have received from the county and the community,” Jackson told the Blade in a March 15 email.

In a phone interview with the Blade on March 21, Jackson and APAH officials Mitchell Crispell and Brian Goggin, said the decision to put the project on hold did not come as a result of an informal message from the Zoning Administrator that the project was about to be turned down. 

“So, we were the ones that put it on hold,” said Crispell, APAH’s Director of Real Estate Development. “It wasn’t the county that said no to us at all. We wanted to kind of pause for a minute and consider our options, the feasibility of different options and the development plans,” he said.

Crispell noted that the decision to put the project on hold came last fall, a few months after the application was submitted in June and after strong opposition to the project surfaced by nearby residents. Crispell, Jackson, and Goggin pointed out, however, that opposition to development projects is a common phenomenon in Arlington and other jurisdictions and that ongoing dialogue between developers and concerned residents often leads to a resolution to the objections.

“We understand the back and forth that it takes to get these projects to fruition,” Jackson said. “So, you’ve got to rest assured that this is very much a part of the very thorough process that both APAH and the county go through regularly to make sure that we’re getting the absolute best product in the actual building that will go up for Clarendon Presbyterian Church and for the future residents,” Jackson points out.

Jackson and his two APAH colleagues said they couldn’t immediately predict when they will resubmit the application for the zoning change. Spokespersons for the Zoning Office, the Arlington County Board, and Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz didn’t immediately respond to a request by the Blade for comment on the church project and the likelihood of the county approving the project.

Among those supporting the church project is James Fisher, a longtime Arlington LGBTQ rights advocate and longtime church member. Fisher and Arlington gay civic activists Jay Fisette, a former elected member of the Arlington Board, and longtime Arlington resident Bob Witeck, who support the project, told the Blade they believe many nearby residents also support the church development project.

Fisette and Witeck said they do not believe anti-LGBTQ bias is a significant factor, if a factor at all, in the opposition to the church project.

“I personally observe this as disquiet about building a larger and taller presence in a space that abuts residential neighbors unsure of the implications or stresses that might come,” Witeck said. “I’m no Pollyanna, but really believe that with time, this change will be smoother than people fear or imagine,” he said.

Fisette said the church project comes a short time after the Arlington County Board adopted an “Expanded Housing Options” policy that allows for larger residential buildings in some areas originally zoned for low-density, single-family homes. This change drew objections among many residents in areas similar to where Clarendon Presbyterian church is located.

“I would say the LGBTQ elements of the proposal are likely more of a plus than a minus,” Fisette told the Blade. “I expect 99 percent of any resistance-anxiety relates to density  and the real-feared impacts of that density,” he said.

Tewell told the Blade the church’s support for the LGBTQ community dates back to the 1980s, when church members voted in support of a then-controversial proposal to allow the D.C.-based Whitman-Walker Clinic, which had a Northern Virginia outreach, to use space in the church for a support group for people with HIV/AIDS and for HIV caregivers.

“And that started changing the church to becoming a church that was very welcoming to LGBTQ people,” she said, adding that the church subsequently opened its door for LGBTQ community events, some of which were organized by gay church member James Fisher. Among those using the church now is IMPACTO LGBT, a Spanish-speaking LGBT church that holds its worship services at Clarendon Presbyterian Church.

“This is how we are living out our faith in the world,” Tewell said. “We worked out what does God’s embodied love look like for the world? And how do we embody God’s grace, justice, and love? And we really feel that it is through housing for seniors that is welcoming to LGBTQ+ people,” she added. “And to transform our church space so it’s better equipped to welcome the community.”

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Obituary

Joe Lieberman dies at 82

Former senator, vice presidential nominee championed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal

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Then-U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) being interviewed in his Hart Senate Office Building suite in February 2012. (YouTube screenshot)

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who had served first as a longtime Democratic senator and then declared himself an independent winning reelection in 2006, died Wednesday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital due to complications from a fall. He was 82 years old.

The announcement of his death was released by Lieberman’s family and noted “his beloved wife, Hadassah, and members of his family were with him as he passed. Senator Lieberman’s love of God, his family and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest.” 

Lieberman, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with former Vice President Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election and who almost became Republican John McCain’s running mate eight years later, viewed himself as a centrist Democrat, solidly in his party’s mainstream with his support of abortion rights, environmental protection, gay rights and gun control, the Washington Post reported.

The Post added that Lieberman was also unafraid to stray from Democratic orthodoxy, most notably in his consistently hawkish stands on foreign policy.

Lieberman was first elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in 1988. He was also the first person of Jewish background or faith to run on a major party presidential ticket.

In 2009 he supported the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was passed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 on Oct. 22, 2009, and then was signed into law on the afternoon of Oct. 28 by then-President Barack Obama.

Lieberman, who served in the Senate for more than two decades, alongside with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), were the original co-sponsors of the legislation in the successful effort to repeal the Pentagon policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which barred open service by gay and lesbian servicemembers in 2011.

Lieberman said the effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in Congress was one of the most satisfying and thrilling experiences he’s had as a senator.

“In our time, I think the front line of the civil rights movement is to protect people in our country from discrimination based on sexual orientation — all the more so when it comes to the United States military, whose mission is to protect our security so we can continue to enjoy the freedom and equal opportunity under law,” Lieberman said.

In an statement to the Washington Blade on Wednesday, Human Rights Campaign Vice President for Government Affairs David Stacy said:

“Senator Lieberman was not simply the lead Senate sponsor of the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ — he was its champion, working tirelessly to allow lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to serve in the military as their authentic selves. The nation’s first Jewish vice presidential nominee, Lieberman had a historic career and his unwavering support for lesbian, gay and bisexual military servicemembers is a powerful legacy. Our hearts go out to his family and friends as they grieve a tremendous loss.”

In September 2011, during a press conference marking the repeal of the Pentagon policy, questions emerged about how to extend greater benefits to LGBTQ service members.

In addition to the legislation that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” reporters asked lawmakers about legislation in the Senate known as the Respect for Marriage Act which was aimed at the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited same-sex marriage. Collins and Lieberman weren’t co-sponsors of that legislation.

Collins had left the news conference at the start of the question-and-answer period. In response to a question from the Blade, Lieberman offered qualified support for the Respect for Marriage Act.

The Connecticut senator said he had issues with the “full faith and credit” portion of the Respect for Marriage Act enabling federal benefits to flow to married gay couples even if they live in a state that doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.

“I do support it in part — I think we’ve got to celebrate what we’ve done today — I certainly support it in regard to discrimination in federal law based on sexual orientation,” Lieberman said.

That issue became a mute point after June 26, 2015, when in a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, Obergefell v. Hodges, justices ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Lieberman by that time however, had retired from the U.S. Senate. He announced he would not seek another term on Dec. 12, 2012, and left the Senate the following year. He was succeeded by Democratic Congressman Chris Murphy.

Following his retirement from the Senate, Lieberman moved to Riverdale in the Bronx and registered to vote in New York as a Democrat. 

In 2024 Lieberman was leading the search to find a presidential candidate for the third-party group No Labels to run against former President Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden, with whom he had served with in the Senate. 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) former President Barack Obama paid tribute to Lieberman:

“Joe Lieberman and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but he had an extraordinary career in public service, including four decades spent fighting for the people of Connecticut. He also worked hard to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and helped us pass the Affordable Care Act. In both cases the politics were difficult, but he stuck to his principles because he knew it was the right thing to do. Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to Hadassah and the Lieberman family.”

Lieberman’s funeral will be held on Friday at Congregation Agudath Sholom in his hometown of Stamford, Conn. An additional memorial service will be announced at a later date.

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