National
Gay cancer patient struggles to bring partner to U.S.
White House, immigration officials mum on case
Roi Whaley, right, and Aurelio Tolentino are seeking a special waiver from the U.S. government so the bi-national couple can be together. Whaley suffers from terminal cancer. (Photo courtesy of Immigration Equality)
An immigration advocacy group is appealing to the White House and U.S. immigration officials on behalf of a gay man in Gulfport, Miss., who is desperately trying to bring his Philippine partner into the U.S. to care for him as he struggles with terminal cancer.
Gulfport resident Roi Whaley, 46, and Aurelio Tolentino, 39, have been a couple since 2004, when the two met while Tolentino, a nurse, worked in the U.S. on a special work visa. Although in good health, Tolentino was forced by U.S. authorities to leave the country in 2007 when they discovered he was HIV positive.
Congress and the Obama administration have since lifted the longstanding U.S. ban on HIV positive immigrants and visitors, which led to Tolentino’s forced departure from the country. But due to other immigration restrictions, Tolentino, who moved to Canada, remains barred from returning to the U.S.
“Were Roi and Aurelio a married heterosexual couple, Roi would be eligible to apply to sponsor Aurelio for residency in the United States,” said Steve Ralls, a spokesperson for Immigration Equality, an LGBT advocacy group. “Because they are a gay couple, however, that option is not available to them.”
Immigration Equality is helping Tolentino apply for a special waiver known as a “humanitarian parole” that could allow him to return to the U.S. to assist Whaley for up to one year.
Ralls said his group is preparing the detailed paperwork needed for Tolentino’s humanitarian parole application, which must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He said Immigration Equality has also contacted the White House about the case.
Ralls and representatives of other LGBT advocacy groups view Whaley and Tolentino’s plight as yet another compelling example of why Congress should pass a pending bill that would give foreign partners of U.S. citizens the same immigration rights that heterosexual married couples enjoy. Under current law, a foreign national who marries an opposite sex U.S. citizen is automatically eligible for U.S. residency.
The Uniting American Families Act, which has been stalled in Congress for more than 10 years, enjoys the support of President Obama. But similar to nearly all other LGBT-related bills, congressional leaders have yet to schedule a vote on the measure, and most political observers say a vote on the gay immigration measure is unlikely to take place this year.
Meanwhile, Canadian authorities recently denied Tolentino’s application for residency in that country, putting him in jeopardy of being deported to the Philippines in the near future. Whaley talked to the Blade this week by phone from Tolentino’s home, saying he was fearful that this could be his last visit with his partner of five years unless U.S. immigration authorities grant Tolentino the humanitarian parole.
A White House spokesperson said it was referring all inquires about the matter to the Department of Homeland Security, which processes humanitarian parole applications. DHS spokesperson Matt Chandler said federal privacy law prohibits him from commenting on pending cases. But he said the DHS actively considers all applications for humanitarian paroles on a “case-by-case basis.”
Whaley said he feels “let down” by the Obama administration, saying the White House has not responded to several letters he has sent seeking assistance.
According to Whaley, his admiration for Obama was so strong that he persuaded an emergency medical crew to hold off taking him to the hospital on Inauguration Day in January 2009, when he collapsed from a “headache” that was later diagnosed as a brain tumor. He also suffers from lung and pancreatic cancer.
“I was on an ambulance gurney on a 911 call and I wouldn’t let them take me out of the house until I saw that man raise his hand and say ‘so help me God.’ That’s how much hope I had in him. And I’m feeling really let down, kind of betrayed by my own country,” Whaley said.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
Federal Government
Republican state AGs challenge Biden administration’s revised Title IX policies
New rules protect LGBTQ students from discrimination
Four Republicans state attorneys general have sued the Biden-Harris administration over the U.S. Department of Education’s new Title IX policies that were finalized April 19 and carry anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in public schools.
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday, which is led by the attorneys general of Kentucky and Tennessee, follows a pair of legal challenges from nine Republican states on Monday — all contesting the administration’s interpretation that sex-based discrimination under the statute also covers that which is based on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The administration also rolled back Trump-era rules governing how schools must respond to allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, which were widely perceived as biased in favor of the interests of those who are accused.
“The U.S. Department of Education has no authority to let boys into girls’ locker rooms,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement. “In the decades since its adoption, Title IX has been universally understood to protect the privacy and safety of women in private spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms.”
“Florida is suing the Biden administration over its unlawful Title IX changes,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on social media. “Biden is abusing his constitutional authority to push an ideological agenda that harms women and girls and conflicts with the truth.”
After announcing the finalization of the department’s new rules, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told reporters, “These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights.”
The new rule does not provide guidance on whether schools must allow transgender students to play on sports teams corresponding with their gender identity to comply with Title IX, a question that is addressed in a separate rule proposed by the agency in April.
LGBTQ and civil rights advocacy groups praised the changes. Lambda Legal issued a statement arguing the new rule “protects LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and other abuse,” adding that it “appropriately underscores that Title IX’s civil rights protections clearly cover LGBTQ+ students, as well as survivors and pregnant and parenting students across race and gender identity.”
Indian election heats up
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Blade Summer Kickoff Party returns to Rehoboth
Andy Cohen coming to D.C.
Want to dance for a good cause?
HHS reverses Trump-era anti-LGBTQ rule
4th Circuit rules gender identity is a protected characteristic
Pride season has begun
New World Bank US executive director: LGBTQ rights are human rights
