News
White House: ‘Religious freedom’ EO will affect churches, not LGBT people
Advocates raised fears measure under imperil LGBT rights
An expected “religious freedom” order from President Trump will address the tax-exemption status of churches as opposed to undermining LGBT rights, according to multiple media reports of a White House background briefing.
On the call Wednesday night, a White House official said the executive order would work to fulfill Trump’s promise to repeal Johnson Amendment ā a 1954 that prohibits 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, such as churches ā from making political endorsements, according to Buzzfeed. Repealing the Johnson Amendment was among the campaign promises of Trump, who said he’d “destroy” the measure.
But amid widespread fear among LGBT rights supporters the executive order would allow discrimination against LGBT people, the White House official reportedly said the directive won’t pertain to those issues.
Jennifer Jacobs, a White House reporter with Bloomberg, posted on Twitter a one-page memo outlining the executive order, which will be timed with the celebration of the National Day of Prayer at the White House.
Here’s the one-pager White House aides handed out in briefing room tonight on tomorrow’s religious liberty executive order. pic.twitter.com/Bd8KF1KCbL
ā Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) May 4, 2017
The one-pager indicates the order would also highlight the Trump administration’s support for religious freedom and provide “regulatory relief for religious objectors to Obamacare’s burdensome preventive services mandate, a position supported by the Supreme Court decision in Hobby Lobby.”
Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was tight-lipped under questioning from the Washington Blade on the nature of the “religious freedom” executive order and whether it would enable anti-LGBT discrimination.
The White House’s characterization of the executive order stands in contrast to a draft āreligious freedomā executive order that has circulated among federal advocacy groups and would enable discrimination on the basis of religious objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion and transgender identity. The proposed measure would gut former President Obamaās 2014 executive order barring anti-LGBT workplace discrimination against federal contractors, which the White House said Trump planned to keep intact.
The White House hasn’t yet made public the text of the executive order. After speaking out against the “religious freedom” measure at a rally on Wednesday, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin on Twitter called on Trump to make the draft public to verify it won’t discriminate against LGBT people.
.@realDonaldTrump spox denies his executive order is motivated by discrimination — then show us the text.
ā Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) May 4, 2017
Rehoboth Beach
Former CAMP Rehoboth official sentenced to nine months in prison
Salvator Seeley pleaded guilty to felony theft charge for embezzlement
Salvator āSalā Seeley, who served as an official with the Rehoboth Beach, Del., CAMP Rehoboth LGBTQ community center for 20 years, was sentenced on April 5 by a Sussex County Superior Court judge to nine months in prison and to pay $176,000 in restitution to the organization.
The sentencing took place about five weeks after Seeley pleaded guilty to a charge of Theft in Excess of $50,000 for allegedly embezzling funds from CAMP Rehoboth, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Justice told the Washington Blade.
Seeley’s guilty plea came shortly after a grand jury, at the request of prosecutors, indicted him on the felony theft charge following an investigation that found he had embezzled at least $176,000 from the nonprofit LGBTQ organization.
āSalvatore C. Seeley, between the 27th day of February 2019 and the 7th day of September 2021, in the County of Sussex, State of Delaware, did take property belonging to CAMP Rehoboth, Inc., consisting of United States currency and other miscellaneous property valued at more than $50,000, intending to appropriate the same,ā the indictment states.
āThe State recommended a sentence of two years of incarceration based on the large-scale theft and the impact to the non-profit organization,ā Delaware Department of Justice spokesperson Caroline Harrison told the Blade in a statement.
āThe defense cited Seeleyās lack of a record and gambling addiction in arguing for a probationary sentence,ā the statement says. āSeeley was sentenced in Superior Court to a nine-month prison term and to pay a total of $176,000 in restitution for the stolen funds,ā Harrison says in the statement.
Neither Seeley nor his attorney could immediately be reached for comment.
At the time of Seeleyās indictment in February, CAMP Rehoboth released a statement saying it first discovered āfinancial irregularitiesā within the organization on Sept. 7, 2021, āand took immediate action and notified state authorities.ā The statement says this resulted in the investigation of Seeley by the state Department of Justice as well as an internal investigation by CAMP Rehoboth to review its āfinancial control policiesā that led to an updating of those policies.
āAs we have communicated from day one, CAMP Rehoboth has fully cooperated with law enforcement,ā the statement continues. āAt its request, we did not speak publicly about the investigation while it was ongoing for fear it would jeopardize its integrity,ā according to the statement. āThis was extremely difficult given our commitment to transparency with the community about day-to-day operations during the recent leadership transition.ā
The statement was referring to Kim Leisey, who began her job as CAMP Rehobothās new executive director in July of 2023, while the Seeley investigation had yet to be completed, following the organizationās process of searching for a new director. It says Seeley left his job as Health and Wellness Director of CAMP Rehoboth in September of 2021 after working for the organization for more than 20 years.
āMr. Seeleyās actions are a deep betrayal to not only CAMP Rehoboth but also the entire community we serve,ā the statement says.
Maryland
Christian Siriano to serve as grand marshal of Annapolis Pride Parade
Fashion designer is an Annapolis native
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | Heās conquered fashion week. His designs have slayed the red carpet during award season. And now Christian Siriano is coming home.
The Annapolis native will serve as grand marshal and keynote speaker June 1 for the annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival,Ā which is a major coup as the event enters its fourth year.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
The queer community in Kenya can breathe a sigh of relief after a Mombasa court on Monday ruled clerics, politicians, and anti-LGBTQ groups cannot hold homophobic protests or engage in incitement.
The Mombasa High Court’s ruling, however, is temporary until July 24 when the court in Kenya’s second-largest city determines a petition on the issue.
Two petitioners ā Mr. JM and the Center for Minority Rights and Strategic Litigation ā last October sued Police Inspector General Japhet Koome for allowing religious leaders and lobby groups to hold homophobic protests whenever a court rules in favor of the LGBTQ community.
The petitionersā effort to demand a ban on anti-LGBTQ protests in Kenya was in response to a series of homophobic demonstrations, particularly in Mombasa, after the Supreme Court last September affirmed an earlier decision that allowed the National Gay and Lesbian Rights Commission to register as an NGO.
Mombasa High Court Judge Olga Sewe in her Monday ruling also directed the petitioners and the respondents, who include Koome, two anti-LGBTQ activists and a national lobby group dubbed the āAnti-LGBTQ Movementā that organized protests, to file their witness lists and counter statements within 14 days of the July hearing.
āPending the hearing and determination of this petition, this Honorable Court (does) hereby issue a conservatory order restraining the 2nd and 5th Respondents from calling on or inciting members of the public to carry out extra-judicial killing, lynching, punishing, stoning, forcible conversion, or any other means of harming LGBTQ+ identifying persons and their homes,ā Sewe stated.
She also stopped the “Anti-LGBTQ movement,” Koome and any state agency from any attempted āexpulsion from Kenya or any party of Kenya of LGBTQ+ identifying persons or closure of organizations serving LGBTQ+ identifying persons.ā
The courtās directives come after the Center for Minority Rights and Strategic Litigation led a protest on April 11 against the “anti-LGBTQ Movement”‘s invasion of Mvita Clinic in Mombasa that “hateful misinformation” reportedly sparked because the facility also serves queer people.
āMvita Clinic, like all healthcare providers, serves the entire community,” CMRSL stated. “Targeting them for LGBTQ+ inclusion is discriminatory and an attack on the basic right to health. Everyone deserves access to healthcare, and we urge an end to the spread of lies. Let’s promote inclusivity and ensure Mvita Clinic remains a safe space for all.ā
CMRSL in response to Oseweās ruling said it was a āmajor win for safety and equality in Kenyaā because it allows the LGBTQ people to live with āgreater peace of mind.āĀ
The Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, an LGBTQ rights group, meanwhile lauded the courtās decision as a reprieve to homophobic attacks on the queer community.
āThere is some reprieve given the security incidents we witnessed during the protests on Sept. 15 last year,ā INEND Communications Officer Melody Njuki told the Washington Blade.
āWe had rescued LGBTQ+ folks in Mombasa, Kilifi, and Lamu, due to security incidents caused by the hatred the anti-LGBTQ movement mongered and the calling of violence towards people associated with the queer group and those identifying as members,ā she added.
PEMA Kenya, a Mombasa-based gender and sexual minority organization, also applauded the courtās temporary injunction, describing them as timely in protecting the LGBTQ community against all forms of homophobic attacks.
āWe welcome the ruling and we believe it will impact our members who for some time felt robbed of the freedom to express themselves,ā PEMA Kenya director Ishmael Baraka told the Blade.
The Nature Network, a rights organization for refugees living in Kenya, also welcomed the Monday ruling which it termed āa positive step showing the courtsā commitment to upholding human rights for all.ā
“Anti-LGBTQ Movement” Chair Salim Karama, however, declined to respond to the Bladeās questions about the ruling until determination of the petition’s status. He noted the organization is waiting for their lawyer to speak with them about the decision and the filing of counter statements that Sewe ordered.
As LGBTQ rights groups seek the queer communityās protection in Kenyan courts, parliament, on the other hand in is set to consider a petition that notes what it describes as the proliferation of homosexuality in the country.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangāula on Feb. 27 referred the petition to the relevant parliamentary committee for inquiry after MP Ali Mohamed, a member of the ruling party and a vocal LGBTQ rights opponent, presented it in the National Assembly, the lower house of the Kenyan parliament, on behalf of a group of more than 70 Kenyans and religious organizations opposed to homosexuality.