State Department
U.S. demands more access to Brittney Griner in Russia
Out WNBA star detained in Moscow in February
U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan on Tuesday said Russian officials have denied consular visits to detained WNBA star Brittney Griner three times this month.
“For the third time in a month, Russian authorities have denied an embassy visit to detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner,” said Sullivan in a statement the U.S. Embassy in Moscow posted to its Twitter account. “This is unacceptable. We call on @mfa_russia (Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry) to provide timely consular access, in line with Russia’s international and bilateral obligations.”
#AMBSullivan: āÆFor the third time in a month, Russian authorities have denied an Embassy visit to detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner. This is unacceptable. We call on @mfa_russia to provide timely consular access, in line with Russiaās intl & bilateral obligations.
ā ŠŠ¾ŃŠ¾Š»ŃŃŃŠ²Š¾ Š”ŠØŠ Š² Š Š¤/ U.S. Embassy Russia (@USEmbRu) May 17, 2022
Griner ā a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist who is a lesbian and married to her wife ā was taken into custody at Moscowās Sheremetyevo Airport in February. Russian officials said customs inspectors found hashish oil in her luggage.
The State Department earlier this month determined Russia āwrongfully detainedā Griner.
A Russian court on May 13 extended her detention for another month. The Women’s National Basketball Players Association, a union that represents WNBA players, has endorsed a Change.org petition that urges the Biden administration to “prioritize” Griner’s release.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday told reporters during his daily press briefing that a consular official “was able to speak with” Griner “on the margins of her court proceedings” on May 13.
“That consular official came away with the impression that Brittney Griner is doing as well as might be expected under conditions that can only be described as exceedingly difficult,” said Price.
“But sporadic contact is not satisfactory,” he added. “It also may not be consistent with the Vienna Convention, to which Russia has subscribed. That is why we continue to urge the Russian government to allow consistent, timely consular access to all U.S. citizens detained in Russia, in line with those very legal obligations, and to allow us to provide consular services for U.S. citizens detained in Russia.”
Price on Tuesday also said Secretary of State Antony Blinken “had an opportunity in recent days to speak with” Griner’s wife.
Blinken spoke with her on May 14.
“He conveyed once again the priority we attach to seeing the release of all Americans around the world, including Brittney Griner in the case of Russia, Paul Whelan in the case of Russia ā those are Americans who we consider to be wrongfully detained,” said Price.
State Department
Russian activist meets with US global LGBTQ, intersex rights envoy
Aleksander Voronov visited the State Department last week
A Russian activist last week met with the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights at the State Department.
Jessica Stern on March 29 posted to her X account a picture of Aleksandr Voronov of Coming Out, an LGBTQ advocacy group that was previously based in St. Petersburg.
“I was honored to host Coming Out activist Aleksandr Voronov at the State Department,” said Stern. “Russia’s transgender ban and designation of the so-called ‘LGBT movement’ as extremist undermines the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Russians. We stand with all LGBTQI+ persons.”
I was honored to host @comingoutspb activist Aleksandr Voronov at the State Department. Russiaās transgender ban & designation of the so-called āLGBT movementā as extremist undermine the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Russians. We stand with all LGBTQI+ persons.š³ļøāš pic.twitter.com/4GpZGzBwoc
— Special Envoy Jessica Stern (@US_SE_LGBTQI) March 29, 2024
Voronov told the Washington Blade he “gave her an update on the situation with LGBTQ rights in Russia.” Voronov said Stern “was very supportive and unbelievably kind.”
The Kremlin over the last decade has cracked down on LGBTQ rights.
The Russian Supreme Court last November ruled the “international LGBT movement” is an extremist organization and banned it. The Moscow Times on March 31 reported authorities in Orenburg, a city near the country’s border with Kazakhstan that is roughly 900 miles south-southeast of Moscow, arrested a gay bar’s owner and charged him with “extremism.”
Voronov fled Russia and now lives in Lithuania.
“Most of the organizations and public activists, such as me and the organization I lead, were forced to leave the country, but continue working ‘in exile,'” Voronov told the Blade. “Most openly queer-places were closed during last months; but there are still lots of activists, organizations and of course ordinary LGBTQ individuals in Russia who are still there, and will be staying there. And we try to support them as much as we can.”
State Department
Sean Patrick Maloney confirmed as next OECD ambassador
Former N.Y. congressman lost to Mike Lawler in 2022
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed former New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney to become the next American ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Maloney, the former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who was also former President Bill Clinton’s White House staff secretary, in 2012 became the first openly gay person elected to Congress from New York. Maloney in 2022 lost to now U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) after the state redrew its congressional districts.
Biden last May nominated Maloney for the ambassadorship. The Senate approved it by a 63-31 vote margin.
“Thank you, all,” said Maloney in a short X post after the vote.
Michael Carpenter, the current U.S. ambassador to the OECD, is gay.
State Department
State Department criticizes passage of anti-LGBTQ bill in Ghanaian Parliament
‘Limiting the rights of one group in a society undermines the rights of all’
The State Department on Wednesday criticized the passage of a bill in Ghana that would further criminalize LGBTQ people and make advocacy on their behalf illegal.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement said the U.S. “is deeply troubled by the Ghanaian Parliamentās passage of legislation, officially called the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which would threaten all Ghanaians’ constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, press and assembly.”Ā
“The bill seeks to criminalize any person who simply identifies as LGBTQI+, as well asĀ any friend, family, or member of the community who does not report them,” said Miller. “Limiting the rights of one group in a society undermines the rights of all.Ā The United States echoes the call by those Ghanaians who have urged a review of the constitutionality of the bill to protect the rights of all individuals in Ghana.”
Miller noted the bill “would also undermine Ghanaās valuable public health, media and civic spaces and economy” and stressed “international business coalitions have already stated that such discrimination in Ghana would harm business and economic growth in the country.”
“GhanaāsĀ tradition of tolerance, peace and respect for human rights is a source of stability and prosperity that has long served as a model for countries around the globe,” he added.Ā “This legislation is inconsistent with these values and will, if it becomes law, undermine this laudable tradition.”Ā
Ghanaian MPs approved the bill on Wednesday, and it awaits President Nana Akufo-Addo’s signature.
“I am saddened because of some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT,” said U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Virginia Palmer in a post on the embassy’s X account. “The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press.”
“It will be bad for public order and public health,” she added. “If enacted, it will also hurt Ghanaās international reputation and Ghanaās economy.”
"I am saddened because some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT. The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom ofā¦ https://t.co/DgCJ7qkpPl
— U.S. Embassy Ghana (@USEmbassyGhana) February 29, 2024
Lawmakers champion drug policy reforms at National Cannabis Policy Summit
Norfolk transgender resource center vandalized
The High Road – Walking the Pathway to National Cannabis Legalization
Canna Get An Amen! Coming Out as a Gay Cannabis Advocate for 420
PHOTOS: Crush
Congolese lawmaker introduces anti-homosexuality bill
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Boosting your rental propertyās curb appeal
Kansas governor vetoes ban on health care for transgender youth
