News
GOP congressional hopeful says ENDA is ‘segregation’
Democrats demand apology for ‘disgusting remarks’
Nevada Assemblyman Cresent Hardy says ENDA is “segregation” (Photo public domain).
A Republican candidate running for Congress in Nevada said he opposes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because the pro-LGBT measure would amount to “segregation” under the law.
Cresent Hardy, a Nevada Assembly member, expressed opposition to ENDA in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday — the same day he launched his congressional bid.
“When we create classes, we create that same separation that we’re trying to unfold somehow,” Hardy was quoted as saying. “By continuing to create these laws that are what I call segregation laws, it puts one class of a person over another. We are creating classes of people through these laws.”
The long-sought measure, passed by the U.S. Senate and pending in the U.S. House, would prohibit employers from discriminating against or firing someone because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
As an Assembly member, Hardy voted against a state law extending job protections to transgender workers before it was signed in 2011 by Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican.
Meanwhile, Rep. Steve Horsford (D-Nev.), the Democratic incumbent Hardy is challenging, is among the 201 sponsors of ENDA in the U.S. House. Both U.S. senators from Nevada, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), voted for ENDA on the Senate floor late last year, where it passed on a bipartisan basis.
In addition to expressing opposition to ENDA, Hardy, a Mormon, also reportedly expressed opposition to same-sex marriage based on his religious beliefs, saying the issue should be left to the states.
I will always vote against same sex marriage because of my religious beliefs, the way I was raised,” Hardy was quoted as saying. “For me to vote for it would be to deny the same God that I believe in.”
Hardy is the middle of a primary fight for the Republican nomination to represent Nevada’s 4th congressional district in the U.S. House. He’s facing a challenge from Tea Party activist Niger Innis. The primary is set for June 10.
Zach Hudson, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party, criticized Hardy for expressing opposition to ENDA despite widespread public support for the measure, calling on the candidate to apologize for the remarks.
“Only months after Nevada Republicans cheered at the prospect of minorities not voting and said they would vote to legalize slavery if their constituents wanted it, Cresent Hardy piled on yesterday and compared the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to ‘segregation,’” Hudson said. “The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would end employment discrimination based off sexual orientation, yet somehow Cresent Hardy thinks it is comparable to a discriminatory practice that the Supreme Court rightly ruled unconstitutional decades ago. Cresent Hardy clearly needs a history lesson, and, more importantly, Nevadans deserve an apology for his disgusting remarks.”
UPDATE: Following the publication of this posting, Hardy issued a statement via his campaign to the Washington Blade to clarify his position on ENDA.
“I believe in advancement through performance,” Hardy said. “There is no room for discrimination in the workplace at any level and I strongly oppose laws to hold back, or advance, a person strictly based upon a label or grouping. Political spin doctors will twist that comment in ways that benefit those that fund their activities. The truth is, I support workplace laws that reward those who do the best job regardless of who they are. Any suggestion otherwise is simply not true.”
The campaign also pointed to a subsequent article published by the Las Vegas Sun with the full transcript of the interview. Although Hardy did suggest ENDA amounts to “segregation” under the law, he also said “you shouldn’t discriminate against anybody.”
United Nations
UN Human Rights Council extends LGBTQ rights expert’s mandate
29 countries voted for resolution
The U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday extended the mandate of the United Nations’ independent LGBTQ rights expert for another three years.
The resolution passed with 29 countries (Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, South Korea, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and Vietnam) voting for it and 15 countries (Algeria, Bangladesh, Burundi, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malawi, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, and Sudan) voted against it.
Benin, Ghana, and Kyrgyzstan abstained.
The U.S. in February withdrew from the Human Rights Council. The Trump-Pence administration in 2018 pulled the U.S. from it. The U.S. in 2021 regained a seat on the Human Rights Council.
Graeme Reid has been the UN’s independent LGBTQ rights expert since 2023. The South African activist, among other things, previously ran Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program.
Maryland
Maryland’s oldest rural gay bar — and one of the last — is a log cabin in the woods
The Lodge is a Boonsboro watering hole resembling a log cabin
By SAPNA BANSIL | In the woods of a conservative Western Maryland town of fewer than 4,000 people is an unlikely landmark of state LGBTQ history.
The Lodge, a Boonsboro watering hole that resembles a log cabin, is Maryland’s oldest rural gay bar — one of a few remaining in the country, according to historians.
For about four decades, the Washington County venue has offered safety, escape and community to queer people far from large, liberal cities. Starting Friday night, The Lodge will close out Pride month with one of its biggest parties of the year: a weekend of dancing, drinking and drag in celebration of Frederick Pride, held about 20 miles away in the area’s largest city.
The rest of this article the Baltimore Banner published on June 27 can be read on its website.
South Africa National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza on June 17 swore in lesbian feminist Palomino Jama as a new MP.
Jama joins other LGBTQ legislators — including Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson; Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dion George; and Deputy Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities Minister, Steve Letsike.
Jama said she will work hard and excel as MP.
“What a great moment to be alive. Thank you youth of 1976, thank you Simon Nkoli, Phumi Mthetwa, Paddy Nhlaphos, Vanessa Ludwig, and others for what you did for the LGBTI people in the 80s and 90s. Lastly, for the fierce fist of the Jamas to always hit where it matters for the people of this country,” said Letsike.
Embrace Diversity Movement, a local LGBTQ organization, said Jama’s inauguration came at an appropriate time, during Pride month.
“Her swearing-in took place during a month of profound significance in June, which marks both international Pride Month and Youth Month in South Africa,” said the group. “Palomino is a seasoned queer activist and dedicated community builder with a distinguished record of leadership and service.”
“The EDM proudly supports Palomino in her deployment to parliament, her presence meaningfully advances youth and queer representation in public office,” added the Embrace Diversity Movement. “We are confident that she will serve the people of South Africa with integrity, courage, and distinction.”
South Africa is the only African country that constitutionally upholds LGBTQ rights. There are, however, still myriad challenges the LGBTQ community faces on a daily basis that range from physical attacks to online abuse.
Letsike in May faced a barrage of online attacks after she released a scathing statement against popular podcaster Macgyver “MacG” Mukwevho, who during a podcast episode in April insinuated that the reason behind popular socialite Minnie Dlamini’s “unsuccessful” relationships were probably due to the bad odor from her genitals.
Letsike, who viewed MacG’s comments as offensive, called for the podcaster to be summoned before parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities and criticized the local television station that aired the podcast.
X users and other social media subscribers bombarded Letsike with anti-lesbian comments. She, however, was unphased.
Letsike continues to face anti-lesbian comments, even though MacG apologized and the television station on which his podcast had aired cancelled its contract with him.
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