Connect with us

News

Fund established to help gay speed skater qualify for Olympics

Blake Skjellerup to wear Pride pin in Sochi

Published

on

Blake Skjellerup, speed skating, Olympics, Sochi 2013, gay news, Washington Blade
Blake Skjellerup, speed skating, Olympics, Sochi 2013, gay news, Washington Blade

Blake Skjellerup (Photo by Joni Anderson)

LGBT advocacy groups have backed a fund designed to help a gay speed skater from New Zealand raise money to help him qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Outsports.com, GLAAD, Athlete Ally and the Federation of Gay Games are among the organizations that support the effort to help Blake Skjellerup raise at least $15,000 he will use to help pay for his and his coaches’ travel expenses to compete in Olympic qualification events in China, South Korea, Italy and Russia in the coming months. The fund has raised $15,810 as of deadline since its launch on Monday.

“So far it’s going really, really well,” Skjellerup, 28, told the Washington Blade during an interview from Calgary, Alberta, on Monday where he continues to train. “I’m just excited and really… humbled and honored to see that so many people are willing to support me.”

FIND MORE OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE SPORTS ISSUE HERE.

Skjellerup, who competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, told the Blade he remains committed to taking part in the Sochi games in spite of mounting outrage over Russia’s LGBT rights record.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in June signed a broadly worded law that bans gay propaganda to minors.

The International Olympic Committee has repeatedly said it has received assurances from the Kremlin the law will not affect gay athletes and others who travel to Sochi, even though Russian officials have said they plan to enforce the statute during the games. Putin last week signed a decree that bans demonstrations and other public gatherings in Sochi between Jan. 7 and March 21.

Skjellerup last month announced he will wear a Pride pin during the games if he qualifies for the Olympics.

“It’s been a positive reaction so far,” he told the Blade. “Everybody is behind the idea and are excited to see that I am proud of who I am and that I’m going to show that in Sochi.”

Skjellerup applauded the way he feels the Canadian Olympic Committee has responded to what he described as the “atrocity that is going on in Russia at the moment” with regards to LGBT rights. He added he is not concerned about any potential repercussions he could face by wearing his Pride pin in Sochi.

“I’m wearing a pin as an Olympian,” Skjellerup told the Blade. “It’s an Olympic pin, so I don’t think there’s any, I guess, legal taking place as I am an Olympian competing in the Olympics.”

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Maryland

Md. governor signs Freedom to Read Act

Law seeks to combat book bans

Published

on

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (Public domain photo/Twitter)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday signed a bill that seeks to combat efforts to ban books from state libraries.

House Bill 785, also known as the Freedom to Read Act, would establish a state policy “that local school systems operate their school library media programs consistent with certain standards; requiring each local school system to develop a policy and procedures to review objections to materials in a school library media program; prohibiting a county board of education from dismissing, demoting, suspending, disciplining, reassigning, transferring, or otherwise retaliating against certain school library media program personnel for performing their job duties consistent with certain standards.”

Moore on Thursday also signed House Bill 1386, which GLSEN notes will “develop guidelines for an anti-bias training program for school employees.”

Continue Reading

Mexico

Mexican Senate approves bill to ban conversion therapy

Measure passed by 77-4 vote margin

Published

on

(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The Mexican Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the country.

Yaaj México, a Mexican LGBTQ rights group, on X noted the measure passed by a 77-4 vote margin with 15 abstentions.  The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico’s congress, approved the bill last month that, among other things, would subject conversion therapy practitioners to between two and six years in prison and fines.

The Senate on its X account described conversion therapy as “practices that have incentivized the violation of human rights of the LGBTTTIQ+ community.”

“The Senate moved (to) sanction therapies that impede or annul a person’s orientation or gender identity,” it said. “There are aggravating factors when the practices are done to minors, older adults and people with disabilities.”

Mexico City and the states of Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Jalisco and Sonora are among the Mexican jurisdictions that have banned the discredited practice. 

The Senate in 2022 passed a conversion therapy ban bill, but the House of Deputies did not approve it. It is not immediately clear whether President Andrés Manuel López Obrador supports the ban.

Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, France, and New Zealand are among the countries that ban conversion therapy. Virginia, California, and D.C. are among the U.S. jurisdictions that prohibit the practice for minors.  

Continue Reading

The White House

Four states to ignore new Title IX rules protecting transgender students

Biden administration last Friday released final regulations

Published

on

March for Queer and Trans Youth Autonomy in D.C. in 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

BY ERIN REED | Last Friday, the Biden administration released its final Title IX rules, which include protections for LGBTQ students by clarifying that Title IX forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

The rule change could have a significant impact as it would supersede bathroom bans and other discriminatory policies that have become increasingly common in Republican states within the U.S. 

As of Thursday morning, however, officials in at least four states — Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina — have directed schools to ignore the regulations, potentially setting up a federal showdown that may ultimately end up in a protracted court battle in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.

Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley was the first to respond, decrying the fact that the new Title IX regulations could block teachers and other students from exercising what has been dubbed by some a “right to bully” transgender students by using their old names and pronouns intentionally. 

Asserting that Title IX law does not protect trans and queer students, Brumley states that schools “should not alter policies or procedures at this time.” Critically, several courts have ruled that trans and queer students are protected by Title IX, including the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a recent case in West Virginia.

In South Carolina, Schools Supt. Ellen Weaver wrote in a letter that providing protections for trans and LGBTQ students under Title IX “would rescind 50 years of progress and equality of opportunity by putting girls and women at a disadvantage in the educational arena,” apparently leaving trans kids out of her definition of those who deserve progress and equality of opportunity. 

She then directed schools to ignore the new directive while waiting for court challenges. While South Carolina does not have a bathroom ban or statewide “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law, such bills continue to be proposed in the state.

Responding to the South Carolina letter, Chase Glenn of Alliance For Full Acceptance stated, “While Supt. Weaver may not personally support the rights of LGBTQ+ students, she has the responsibility as the top school leader in our state to ensure that all students have equal rights and protections, and a safe place to learn and be themselves. The flagrant disregard shown for the Title IX rule tells me that our superintendent unfortunately does not have the best interests of all students in mind.”

Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz also joined in instructing schools not to implement Title IX regulations. In a letter issued to area schools, Diaz stated that the new Title IX regulations were tantamount to “gaslighting the country into believing that biological sex no longer has any meaning.” 

Governor Ron DeSantis approved of the letter and stated that Florida “will not comply.” Florida has notably been the site of some of the most viciously anti-queer and anti-trans legislation in recent history, including a “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law that was used to force a trans female teacher to go by “Mr.”

State Education Supt. Ryan Walters of Oklahoma was the latest to echo similar sentiments. Walters has recently appointed the right-wing media figure Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok to an advisory role “to improve school safety,” and notably, Raichik has posed proudly with papers accusing her of instigating bomb threats with her incendiary posts about LGBTQ people in classrooms.

The Title IX policies have been universally applauded by large LGBTQ rights organizations in the U.S. Lambda Legal, a key figure in fighting anti-LGBTQ legislation nationwide, said that the regulations “clearly cover LGBTQ+ students, as well as survivors and pregnant and parenting students across race and gender identity.” The Human Rights Campaign also praised the rule, stating, “rule will be life-changing for so many LGBTQ+ youth and help ensure LGBTQ+ students can receive the same educational experience as their peers: Going to dances, safely using the restroom, and writing stories that tell the truth about their own lives.”

The rule is slated to go into effect Aug. 1, pending any legal challenges.

****************************************************************************

Erin Reed is a transgender woman (she/her pronouns) and researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker.

******************************************************************************************

The preceding article was first published at Erin In The Morning and is republished with permission.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Sign Up for Weekly E-Blast

Follow Us @washblade

Advertisement

Popular