News
Carney won’t say if Olympics delegation a signal on LGBT rights
White House maintains Obama has already been clear about opposing Russia’s anti-gay law
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney wouldn’t say whether the U.S. delegation to the Olympics was meant as a signal on LGBT rights (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas).
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney refused to say on Wednesday if the composition of the U.S. delegation to the Russian Olympics was meant as a response to the anti-LGBT atmosphere in the country.
In response to a question from NBC News’ Chuck Todd about whether the selection — which includes two out lesbians — was meant as a signal on gay rights, Carney maintained the composition reflects the diversity of the country.
“I think that this delegation represents the diversity that is the United States,” Carney said. “Every member of that delegation is extremely accomplished, either in government service, or in civic activism, or, most especially, in sports. So, [President Obama] is very proud of the delegation and the diversity it represents, and he looks forward, as every American does, to the competition and the effort that American athletes will demonstrate when they compete in Sochi.”
On Tuesday, the White House announced the 10-member U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Unlike the games in either 2010 or 2012, the delegation doesn’t include any member of the Obama or Biden family. Instead, the White House named two out lesbians: tennis legend Billie Jean King and ice hockey Olympian Caitlin Cahow.
The selection of the U.S. delegation was of strong interest to the White House press corps during the news briefing and second only in terms of questioning to the upcoming report on the National Security Agency. A total of three new organizations asked questions about the delegation — NBC News, ABC News and Yahoo! News — and NBC News and ABC News asked follow-up inquiries on the delegation’s implication for LGBT rights.
Todd initiated his questioning by asking how Russian Vladimir Putin could see the selection as anything but a snub. In response, Carney dodged and read aloud a White House statement previously provided to the Washington Blade and other media outlets, saying Obama is proud of U.S. athletes, but his schedule doesn’t permit him to attend the Olympics.
Pressed on whether he’d wave off the interpretation of the selection as a signal against Russia’s anti-gay climate, Carney said Obama has already made his opposition to that law clear prior to the announcement of the delegation.
“That’s not a message we would wait to send through this manner,” Carney said. “We have been very clear, the president has been very clear that he finds it offensive — the anti-LGBT legislation in Russia, for example — and we take very clear and strong stands on that issue as well as the curtailment of civil society in Russia, as well as the harassment caused to those who protest corruption in Russia.”
But in a response to another question from Todd on whether the White House wants to draw attention to LGBT issues in Russia with the naming of delegation, Carney reverted back to saying the selection “draws attention to the remarkable diversity of the United States.”
“The president’s proud to have this delegation — both to the opening and to the closing ceremonies — represent our nation and our government at a games that will obviously, as they always do, have the attention of the world,” Carney said.
More questions on the delegation came from ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, who asked Carney if he’s suggesting there wasn’t a message on LGBT issues with the delegation.
“I’m suggesting that in the selection of this delegation, we’re sending the message that the United States is a diverse place, and this delegation represents that diversity, not because of the issues on which we disagree with Russia alone, but because of the remarkable accomplishments of every individual in that delegation,” Carney said.
When Karl pointed out the highest ranking member of the delegation is the assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for policy, Carney touted the credentials of others in the selection.
“There is a former Cabinet Secretary, homeland security Cabinet secretary, who’s also now in a very big job [at the University of California],” Carney said.
Pressed by Karl if the White House was thinking about Russia’s notorious anti-gay propaganda law when making the selection for the delegation, Carney said the administration has already “made no bones” about its opposition to the law.
“We’ve made very clear, have not pulled any punches in talking about the fact that we expect Russia to conduct Olympics games in Sochi that demonstrate full respect and regard for the participants in those games from all over the world and from all walks of life,” Carney said.
Asked by Karl if the Obama would encourage members of the U.S. delegation to speak out against the Russia’s anti-gay policies, Carney said he doesn’t expects the delegation to act differently than ones to previous Olympics.
“The president has publicly expressed his disapproval of those policies,” Carney said. “I don’t expect that this delegation will comport itself any differently than previous delegates have, or delegations are expected to comport themselves.”
Toward the end of the briefing in response to a question from Yahoo! News’ Olivier Knox, Carney also he has no knowledge of whether the U.S. delegation to the Olympics would visit the White House before departing, but would make that information public if such plans are made.
Maryland
What Anne Arundel County school board candidates think about book bans
State lawmakers passed Freedom to Read Act in April
BY ROYALE BONDS | Parents’ efforts to restrict content available to students in school libraries has become a contentious issue in Maryland. Conservative parent groups, such as Moms for Liberty, have been working to get books they believe are inappropriate removed from libraries in Carroll and Howard counties, sparking protests, new policies, and even a state law.
The Freedom to Read Act, passed in April, sets standards that books cannot be removed from public and school libraries due to an author’s background. Library staff that uphold the standard are protected under this act. The law, however, does not prohibit removing books deemed “sexually explicit,” the stated reason local Moms for Liberty chapters challenged school library books.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner website.
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member proposes change for Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Parker also seeks increased funding for LGBTQ programs in FY 2025 budget
D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only LGBTQ member, has asked his fellow Council members to support a proposal to change the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to become a “stand-alone entity outside the Executive Office of the Mayor to allow for greater transparency and accountability that reflects its evolution over the years.”
In an April 30 letter to each of his 12 fellow Council members, Parker said he plans to introduce an amendment to the city’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Support Act to make this change for the LGBTQ Affairs Office.
His letter also calls for adding to the city’s FY 2025 budget two specific funding proposals that local LGBTQ activists submitted to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser that the mayor did not include in her budget proposal submitted to the Council. One calls for $1.5 million to fund the completion of the build out and renovation for the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Community’s new building in the city’s Shaw neighborhood and $300,000 in subsequent years to support the LGBTQ Center’s operations.
Parker’s second budget proposal calls for what he said was about $450,000 to fund 20 additional dedicated LGBTQ housing vouchers as part of the city’s existing program to provide emergency housing support for LGBTQ residents and other residents facing homelessness.
“The Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs currently manages about 90 vouchers across various programs and needs,” Parker said in his letter to fellow Council members. “Adding an additional 20 vouchers will cost roughly $450,000,” he wrote, adding that dedicated vouchers “play a crucial role in ensuring LGBTQ+ residents of the District can navigate the complex process of securing housing placements.”
In her proposed FY ’25 budget, Bowser calls for a 7.6 percent increase in funding for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which amounts to an increase of $132,000, bringing the office’s total funding to $1.7 million.
“To be clear, I support the strong work and current leadership of the Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs,” Parker says in his letter to fellow Council members. “This push for change is in recognition of the office’s notable achievements and the significant demands being placed on it, which require a greater level of accountability.”
Parker told the Blade in an April 30 telephone interview that he believes Japer Bowles, the current director of the Office of L|GBTQ Affairs is doing an excellent job in operating the office, but he believes the office would be able to do more for the LGBTQ community under the change he is proposing.
“Making it a stand-alone office versus it being clustered within the Community Affairs division of the mayor’s office, it will get more attention,” Parker told the Blade. “The leadership will have greater flexibility to advocate for the interest of LGBTQ residents, And we will be able to conduct greater oversight of the office,” he said, referring to the Council’s oversight process.
Parker noted that other community constituent offices in the mayor’s office, including the Office of Latino Affairs and the Office of Veterans Affairs are stand-alone offices that he hopes to bring about for the LGBTQ Affairs Office. He said Council member Brianne Nadeau, who chairs the Council committee that has oversight for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, has expressed support for his proposal.
Also expressing support for Parker’s proposal to make the LGBTQ Affairs Office a stand-alone office is the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission Rainbow Caucus. Vincent Slatt, the caucus’s chairperson, submitted testimony last week before the D.C. Council Committee on Public Works and Operations, which is chaired by Nadeau, calling for making the LGBTQ Affairs Office a stand-alone office outside the Executive Office of the Mayor.
Slatt also stated in his testimony that the office has a “chronic staffing shortage” and recommended that at least three additional staff members be assigned to the office.
Daniel Gleick, the mayor’s press secretary, told the Blade the mayor’s office is reviewing Parker’s budget proposals, including the proposed change for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
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.”
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