National
National news in brief: April 20
Spitzer renounces 2001 study, Illinois marriage bill dead, LAPD new trans policies, and an airman discharged under DADT to be reinstated
Anthony Loverde will be reinstated in the Air Force after settling with the government following the repeal of DADT. (Photo courtesy SLDN)
LAPD to house trans detainees separately
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department has adopted a policy of housing transgender detainees separately from other prisoners, according to Frontiers LA.
The changes, which dictate that transgender detainees be transported to the new women’s module of the downtown Detention Center, rather than to local jails, come as part of a major overhaul of policies regarding LAPD interaction with trans individuals.
“You know, there is no down side for the police department,” said LA Police Chief Charlie Beck. “All this does is build trust. All this does is ensure that we do what we say which is: … treat people equally, apply the law equally.”
The new policies also include guidelines for using appropriate gender pronouns, for using a detainee’s preferred name, giving detainees access to clothing of their preferred gender and barring officers from frisking a detainee for the sole purpose of determining gender.
Discharged service member to be reinstated
SACRAMENTO — Staff Sgt. Anthony Loverde, discharged in 2008 under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” will be reinstated to the U.S. Air Force and will return to active duty, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which represented him in his lawsuit against the armed forces.
“I am honored and humbled to return to the service of my country and the job I love,” said Loverde, who will take the oath in Sacramento in May and be assigned to 19th Operations Squadron at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas. “I am grateful to my legal team and all of those in the armed forces who helped to facilitate this reinstatement. I am eager to take the oath and get to work.”
Loverde was one of three plaintiffs represented by SLDN in the case Almy v. U.S. He is only the second member of the armed forces discharged under DADT since its repeal, the first being his co-plaintiff, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jase Daniels, who was reinstated as a Navy linguist in December. The third plaintiff, Air Force Major Mike Almy, expects a resolution soon.
Illinois marriage bill dead for the year
CHICAGO — Gay Illinois Assembly member, Greg Harris, tells LGBT website Chicago Phoenix the votes “aren’t there,” for a bill he authored that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in that state.
“They call it a struggle for equality for a reason,” The Phoenix quoted Harris, whose civil unions bill passed in 2010. “I look at the roll call for the civil union bill and the people that voted at that time. Nearly a quarter of the people in the senate and a third of house are gone. We have a whole new group of legislators that have to be educated to get back to that original level of support.”
Civil unions offering many of the same benefits as marriage have been available to same-sex couples in Illinois since June 2011, but across the western state line, same-sex couples in Iowa have been able to marry legally since 2009.
Psychologist renounces his 2001 ‘ex-gay’ study
NEW YORK — In an interview with American Prospect magazine, influential clinical psychologist, Dr. Robert Spitzer, renounced a 2001 study he conducted that supporters of “ex-gay” reparative therapy have used to justify their tactics for more than a decade.
Spitzer was the driving force behind removing “homosexuality” as a mental illness from the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnosis manual, but later upset the psychology world with his study of patients who claimed success of “ex-gay” therapy methods.
“In retrospect, I have to admit I think the critiques [of my study] are largely correct,” Dr. Spitzer told the American Prospect. “The findings can be considered evidence for what those who have undergone ex-gay therapy say about it, but nothing more.”
Spitzer says he made several attempts to convince the editor of the Archives of Sexual Behavior to print a retraction, but this was denied.
Spitzer asked the American Prospect to print a retraction for him, “So I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
‘Equality’ riders arrested in Colorado
LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Five members of Soulforce’s “Equality Ride” and a member of the Denver community were arrested Tuesday at Colorado Christian University as they attempted to engage the campus community in a discussion of LGBT tolerance.
The riders were arrested for attempting to engage in a Bible study after the university declined to meet with the riders over concerns that LGBT students on campus faced a difficult climate. Other members of the ride distributed “affirming” materials at the campus entrance. The riders were expected to be released by Tuesday evening.
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
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.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
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.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
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.”
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Miyares joins efforts to fight Title IX changes
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
What property should I purchase if I’m not sure how long I’ll be in D.C.?
Comings & Goings
Pride season has begun
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Kenyan court bars homophobic protests
As You Are bar closes temporarily, citing problems with building
