National
DNC 2012: LGBT delegates greeted by Jill Biden, Rep. Frank
Second Caucus meeting focuses on ‘energizing base’
Minn. Sen. Al Franken addresses the LGBT delegates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Democratic National Convention’s LGBT Caucus was courted by high-level Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and Democratic Party luminaries on Thursday in its second of two meetings during the week of the convention.
DNC’s LGBT Caucus was courted by high-level Obama administration officials Thursday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden; Jim Messina, chair of the Obama re-election campaign; Hilda Solis, the U.S. Secretary of Labor; and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic Party, urged caucus members to help energize the Obama base — voters who support the president but who may need some prodding and reminders to turn out to the polls in November.
“I want you to know how much Joe and I and Barack and Michelle appreciate all that you are doing for this campaign all across this country,” Biden told the more than 500 LGBT delegates, alternate delegates and convention committee members who make up the LGBT Caucus.
“So much is at stake in this election. You know that, and especially for the LGBT community,” she said. “We’ve got to make sure we keep moving forward on gay rights so that we can continue the progress we’ve made.”
She added, “We have the first president and vice president in history to affirm support for gay marriage. Joe and Barack believe that no matter who you love everyone should have the same rights in this country.”
Messina, who served as White House Chief of Staff for Operations from 2009 to 2011 before heading the Obama re-election campaign, noted that he and gay White House aide Brian Bond worked closely together to push for passage of a federal hate crime law that includes gays and transgender people and for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the law that prohibited gays from serving openly in the military.
“I’m so proud to be part of this effort,” he said. “You have a president who stands for justice, fairness and equality.”
In a gesture that drew laughter and applause, Messina told LGBT Caucus members, “I just need two things from you in the next 61 days — all your time and all your money.”
Sec. of Labor Hilda Solis. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Solis disputed claims by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney that the U.S. economy remains stalled, saying large numbers of private sector jobs have been created during the president’s tenure in office.
Similar to Kathleen Sebelius, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services who spoke to the LGBT Caucus on Tuesday, Solis listed what she called the Obama administration’s unprecedented number of executive branch initiatives on LGBT rights, including a ban on employment discrimination against transgender people in the federal workforce.
Like Sebelius, she said a Romney presidency would likely roll back most if not all of those advances.
Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who spoke before the full convention later in the day on Thursday, created a stir among leaders of the gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans when he repeated to LGBT Caucus members a remark he made about Log Cabin in a radio interview earlier in the day with gay talk show host Michelangelo Signorile.
In the interview, Frank criticized Log Cabin for continuing to support Republican members of Congress who oppose LGBT rights legislation.
“For 20 years now I’ve heard Log Cabins say they were going to make Republicans better, but they’ve only gotten worse. I now realize why they call themselves Log Cabin: Their role model is Uncle Tom.”
Log Cabin President R. Clarke Cooper issued a statement denouncing Frank for hurling “bile” at gay Republicans in an effort to “demonize them.” Cooper noted that Log Cabin filed a lawsuit seeking to have “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” overturned by a court on constitutional grounds. He said the group worked with Republican members of Congress to line up Republican votes that made it possible to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“As far as Log Cabin Republicans are concerned, it’s a badge of honor to be attacked by a partisan hack like Barney Frank,” Cooper said.
Frank couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Cooper’s statement.
During his remarks before the LGBT Caucus, Frank said he understood and respected Log Cabin members who say they support the Republican Party and many of its leaders because they agree with them on non-LGBT issues like national defense and economic policy.
But Frank said the Republican Party’s overall positions on LGBT issues have gotten worse over recent years and he was troubled that Log Cabin members appear to be rationalizing assertions that the party’s stance on LGBT issues is improving.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Other speakers at the Thursday’s LGBT Caucus meeting included Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker; Delaware Gov. Jack Markell; U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats from Minnesota; and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Doug Wilson.
Wilson, who is gay, invited LGBT caucus members who are veterans or members of the military to join him on the stage where he spoke. More than 30 caucus members walked on stage, drawing a loud, prolonged applause from the audience.
He then told of his experience meeting U.S. troops at Fort Hood, an Army base, in an effort to determine how active duty military members would react if “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were repealed.
According to Wilson, the head of the base arranged for him to meet and speak with five solders assigned to an Army tank, where some military officials believed it would be difficult for an out gay soldier to work “in close quarters” with straight soldiers.
Wilson said he asked the four men assigned to the tank how they would react if “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed and they find out one of their compatriots assigned to the tank is gay.
“The first one said my brother is gay. And the second one said my cousin is gay,” Wilson told the caucus meeting. “The third one said I have all kinds of gay friends from high school and it doesn’t matter to me. And the fifth one said if this tank is burning I want someone to pull me out of there and I don’t care if they’re gay or straight.”
Wilson said stories like that were what convinced most U.S. military leaders and a majority of members of Congress to pass legislation repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He credited President Obama with setting in motion the chain of events that eventually led to the repeal.
Tennessee
Tenn. lawmakers pass transgender “watch list” bill
State Senate to consider measure on Wednesday
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill last week to create a transgender “watch list” that also pushes detransition medical treatment. The state Senate will consider it on Wednesday.
House Bill 754/State Bill 676 has been deemed “ugly” by LGBTQ advocates and criticized by healthcare information litigators as a major privacy concern.
The bill would require “gender clinics accepting funds from this state to perform gender transition procedures to also perform detransition procedures; requires insurance entities providing coverage of gender transition procedures to also cover detransition procedures; requires certain gender clinics and insurance entities to report information regarding detransition procedures to the department of health.”
It would require that any gender-affirming care-providing clinics share the date, age, and sex of patients; any drugs prescribed (dosage, frequency, duration, and method administered); the state and county; the name, contact information, and medical specialty of the healthcare professional who prescribed the treatment; and any past medical history related to “neurological, behavioral, or mental health conditions.” It would also mandate additional information if surgical intervention is prescribed, including details on which healthcare professional made a referral and when.
HB 0754 would also require the state to produce a “comprehensive annual statistical report,” with all collected data shared with the heads of the legislature and the legislative librarian, and eventually published online for public access.
The bill also reframes detransitioning as a major focus of gender-affirming healthcare — despite studies showing that the number of trans people who detransition is statistically quite low, around 13 percent, and is often the result of external pressures (such as discrimination or family) rather than an issue with their gender identity.
This legislation stands in sharp contrast to federal protections restricting what healthcare information can be shared. In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, requiring protections for all “individually identifiable health information,” including medical records, conversations, billing information, and other patient data.
Margaret Riley, professor of law, public health sciences, and public policy at the University of Virginia, has written about similar efforts at the federal level, noting the Trump-Vance administration’s push to subpoena multiple hospitals’ records of gender-affirming care for trans patients despite no claims — or proof — that a crime was committed.
It has “sown fear and concern, both among people whose information is sought and among the doctors and other providers who offer such care. Some health providers have reportedly decided to no longer provide gender-affirming care to minors as a result of the inquiries, even in states where that care is legal.” She wrote in an article on the Conversation, where she goes further, pointing out that the push, mostly from conservative members of the government, are pushing extracting this private information “while giving no inkling of any alleged crimes that may have been committed.”
State Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), the bill’s sponsor, said in a press conference two weeks ago that he has met dozens of individuals who sought to transition genders and ultimately detransitioned. In committee, an individual testified in support of the bill, claiming that while insurance paid for gender-affirming care, detransition care was not covered.
“I believe that we as a society are going to look back on this time that really burst out in 2014 and think, ‘Dear God, What were we thinking? This was as dumb as frontal lobotomies,’” Faison said of gender-affirming care. “I think we’re going to look back on society one day and think that.”
Jennifer Levi, GLAD Law’s senior director of Transgender and Queer Rights, shared with PBS last year that legislation like this changes the entire concept of HIPAA rights for trans Americans in ways that are invasive and unnecessary.
“It turns doctor-patient confidentiality into government surveillance,” Levi said, later emphasizing this will cause fewer people to seek out the care that they need. “It’s chilling.”
The Washington Blade reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, which shared this statement from Executive Director Miriam Nemeth:
“HB 754/SB 676 continues the ugly legacy of Tennessee legislators’ attacks on the lives of transgender Tennesseans. Most Tennesseans, regardless of political views, oppose government databases tracking medical decisions made between patients and their doctors. The same should be true here. The state does not threaten to end the livelihood of doctors and fine them $150,000 for safeguarding the sensitive information of people with diabetes, depression, cancer, or other conditions. Trans people and intersex people deserve the same safety, privacy, and equal treatment under the law as everyone else.”
National
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence to take place April 10
Campaign began as student-led protests against anti-LGBTQ bullying, discrimination
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence will take place on April 10.
The annual Day of Silence began as a student-led protest in response to bullying and discrimination that LGBTQ students face. It is now a national campaign for the LGBTQ community and their allies to come together for LGBTQ youth.
It takes place annually and has multiple ways for supporters to get involved in the movement.
Glisten, originally GLSEN, champions LGBTQ issues in schools, grades K-12. Glisten’s mission is to create more inclusive and accepting environments for LGBTQ students through curriculum, supportive measures, education campaigns, and engagement, such as the Day of Silence.
There are three main ways for the community to get involved in the Day of Silence.
Glisten has a Day of Silence frame, a series of pictures used as profile photos across social media that feature individuals holding signs. The signs allow for personalization, by providing a space to put the individual’s name, followed by filling in the prompt “ … and I am ENDING the silence by…”
Participants are encouraged to post the photo on social media and use it as a profile picture. The templates can be found on Google Drive through this link.
Using #DayOfSilence and #NSCS, as well as tagging Glisten’s official Page @glistencommunity, is another way to participate in the Day of Silence.
Glisten also encourages participants to tag creators, friends, family and use a call to action in their caption, to call attention to the facts and stories behind the Day of Silence.
“Today’s administration in the U.S. wants us to stay silent, submit to their biased and hurtful conformity, and stop fighting for our right to be authentically ourselves,” said Glisten CEO Melanie Willingham-Jaggers. “We urge supporters to use their social platforms and check in with local chapters to be boots on the ground to help LGBTQ+ students feel seen, heard, supported, and less alone. By participating in the ‘Day of Silence,’ you are showing solidarity with young people as they navigate identity, safety, and belonging. Our voices matter.”
South Carolina
Man faces first S.C. ‘hate intimidation’ charge
Timothy Truett allegedly shot at gay club in Myrtle Beach on April 1
A South Carolina man remains in custody on a more than $300,000 bond after he allegedly opened fire at a Myrtle Beach nightclub on April 1, according to WMBF.
Reports say 37-year-old Timothy James Truett Jr., of Clover, S.C., was detained by the Myrtle Beach Police Department after the April 1 incident outside Pulse Ultra Club. He was later arrested and charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime, discharging a firearm into a dwelling, discharging a firearm within city limits, malicious injury to real property valued over $5,000, and assault or intimidation due to political opinions or the exercise of civil rights.
At 10:57 a.m. on April 1, officers responded to a call about a possible shooting at Pulse Ultra Club, located in the 2700 block of South Kings Highway.
In an affidavit released later, the club’s owner, Ken Phillips, said he was doing paperwork that morning when he heard “five or six” gunshots. He went outside and found a window and the windshield of his SUV shattered by bullets. An SUV with blue plastic covering one window was left at the scene.
Police later reviewed footage that showed a silver vehicle stopping in the middle of the road. The video appeared to capture muzzle flashes coming from the passenger-side window.
According to the affidavit, an officer later pulled over a vehicle driven by Truett and found spent shell casings in the back seat, along with a gun.
Documents do not detail why Truett was ultimately charged under the state law covering assault or intimidation tied to political opinions or the exercise of civil rights.
As of April 1, records show Truett is being held in Horry County on a combined bond of more than $312,000.
WMBF spoke with Phillips after the incident and asked whether there was any prior conflict that might have led to the shooting.
“I don’t know if it’s personal, I don’t know if it’s related to being gay, I don’t know if it’s related to the bar issues,” Phillips told WMBF. “Anybody with a mindset of pulling out a weapon in broad daylight is not right.”
“My primary concern has and always will be the safety of my community and my customers,” he added. “It’s given me great concern … as to how far people will go.”
WMBF also spoke with Adam Hayes, vice chair of Myrtle Beach’s Human Rights Coalition, who was involved in pushing for the ordinance. He said that while the incident itself is troubling, it shows the policy is being put to use.
The ordinance is intended to deter “crimes that are motivated by bias or hate towards any person or persons, in whole or in part, because of the actual or perceived” identity, in the absence of a statewide hate crime law.
“It’s nice to see that something we put into policy is not just a piece of paper, that it’s actually being used,” said Hayes.
He said the shooting underscores the need for a statewide hate crime law in South Carolina and added that the incident has left the local LGBTQ community shaken.
South Carolina and Wyoming are the only two states in the U.S. without a comprehensive statewide hate crime law.
Truett remains in jail as of publication.
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