Opinions
Cruising the high seas: from Italy to the U.S.
Adventures abound on Celebrity ASCENT
Blade contributor Peter Rosenstein is crossing the Atlantic on the Celebrity ASCENT. He filed these dispatches from his journey.
Blog # 1- 2025 Celebrity ASCENT transatlantic cruise
Spent two great days in Rome. I don’t sleep on planes so the first morning was kind of a blur. I had arranged for a taxi from the airport, which worked well, and arrived at my hotel, the Nuova Nord, near the train station, about 10:00am. Check in time is officially 4:00pm but I lucked out, and got into my room by 10:30. This just added to my feeling good about the hotel, along with the $115 a night cost, including breakfast. So put my suitcase in the room and headed out to walk around Rome. My first stop as usual in Rome was the Trevi Fountain, which I love. Once there, did what I always do to get a great picture. Headed across the street from the fountain to the second floor of Benetton. They still have one window that remains clear, and you get the best picture above the crowds. Then I kept walking past the Coliseum, and eventually over toward the Vatican. I had made plans in advance to have dinner with Samantha Basar the new staff addition to My Lux Cruise travel agents, and Jill Lotenberg. Jill is an amazing professional photographer, and documents the cruises we go on. We had a nice early relaxed dinner, and after walking it off, I was back at my hotel before 8:00pm for a good night’s sleep.
The next morning met a D.C. friend, John, who just happened to be in Rome visiting his parents. John’s mom is Italian, and I was surprised to find he speaks the language fluently. We went for coffee at 11:00am at a café he likes near the Pantheon. He swore by their coffee and pastry, and he was right, it was really good. Then we spent a few hours walking the city, and ended up at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore to see the tomb of Pope Francis. There was a long line but it moved really fast, and the tomb is like the former Pope, very simple, but truly impressive. After that John found a scooter to ride back to meet his parents. I think it took a lot of guts to ride a scooter into Rome traffic. I spent a little more time walking around. It was going to be an early night with some pizza for dinner.
The next morning, I headed over to the UNA hotel, just a couple of blocks away, to meet the bus arranged to take my group to Civitavecchia, the port about an hour out of Rome, where we boarded the Celebrity ASCENT, our home for the next thirteen days. That all went really smoothly, and I was onboard, in my stateroom, before 11:00 AM. Then it was meeting my butler, yes, I have one, as does everyone in the Retreat, and also met my very charming room attendant, who had made sure my bedding was all hypoallergenic. Then walked around the ship to see if there were any changes since my cruise last year. There didn’t seem to be any. Then at 4:30 headed to the sail-away party Dustin and Scott, my favorite travel agents, had prepared for our group in their suite, the Iconic Suite, to meet old and new friends. We left port a little late as there apparently was a medical emergency even before we left port, and an ambulance was called to take someone off the ship. Turned out it was a member of our group, but thankfully he is ok. When we finally set sail, we all headed to the first of the nightly, listed in the daily newsletter, as the LGBTQIA+ get togethers, in the Eden lounge. There were more people there than we expected, and it was nice to meet more new cruisers from both the States and Europe. Then it was off to my first dinner onboard, at the Rooftop grill, with Michael Magee and his friends, most of them new to me. It was a nice evening, and the baked cookie with vanilla ice cream, the main reason to eat at that restaurant, didn’t disappoint. Then it was back to my cabin for some sleep as I had an early tour booked the next morning in Cagliari, Sardinia.
Day 2 began in an interesting way. Hope it doesn’t portend anything, but early morning the Captain announced we would be getting to Cagliari about 30 minutes late as there was another medical emergency on the ship, and he had to divert closer to shore to let the Italian Coast Guard take the person off the ship. Hopefully he/she will be ok.
We finally docked in Cagliari, and I headed to meet the bus for my tour. It was a four-hour City Highlights tour. We drove around the Island and then had some time to walk the city center. It included stops at the museum, and we saw some beautiful old churches. It is a beautiful city. The tour guide was a very nice woman but talked incessantly, never feeling the need to take a breath, lol, and her voice was a little hard to take in our ears from the little gizmos we each had. I kidded about it with two nice guys I met on the tour from Vancouver, Canada, who agreed with me. Then it was back to the ship and some relaxing time on the Retreat sundeck, a cappuccino in the retreat lounge, and then the second LGBTQIA+ happy hour. Then dinner with Scott, Dustin, and Rick, in Luminae restaurant, the Retreat restaurant. Not an auspicious start for their menu, as the steak was close to inedible. But the charming staff, and chocolate desert, made up for that. Then it was off to the day after Halloween party the ship threw, and saw some incredible costumes. Then to bed after a great first full day, day two according to Celebrity, of the cruise.
Blog # 2- 2025 Celebrity ASCENT transatlantic cruise
Day 3 was a sea day. We were heading from Cagliari to Gibraltar. It is days like this why I go on my transatlantic cruises. I love being on the water. Spent some time in the morning writing and then headed to the gym for the first time. I hope to go there for at least an hour each day. A half hour on the lifecycle and then another thirty minutes with some weights and machines. It is great to sit on the lifecycle looking out at the ocean, instead of the wall I look at when using it at my home gym. I then headed to the Retreat lounge for my cappuccino and then up to the sun deck. It was very windy but I found a place out of the wind to sit and read. Then back to the Retreat lounge where I am having this running argument with the retreat managers, trying to get them to help me with my WIFI. Seems this year the powers that be don’t want to give me access to my phone and the computer, at the same time, without an extra charge. Just typical of what we are seeing on the cruise by Celebrity, think it may also be on other lines, of the nickel-and-diming of passengers. Other than that, things have been good, LOL. Then headed down to deck 4 and Café al Bacio, where I enjoy going for a light lunch.
They have these great little sandwiches, and some more good cappuccino. By this time, I am getting the decaffeinated kind. I met Jill Lotenberg there, our group photographer. She is a professional photographer who is related to Scott, my travel agent, and joins us on the cruises to document them. She is so fun to chat with. Also there, sitting somewhere else, was Samantha. The day went by lazily and then it was time for the LGBTQIA happy hour. There I met Michael Magee, and some other friends, and we decided to do Luminae for dinner, and the late show in the theater. It was Bridges. I had seen it before on a previous cruise, and it was just as great. Incredible talent on the ship. Before the show the Captains, yes there are two, and they are brothers. Celebrity assigned them both to the ASCENT as a PR gimmick when the ship was launched. They just happened to be together on this cruise heading back to the states. They spoke to the audience, and could make good money as a comedy act if they get tired of being captains. They are both charming and funny. After the show I walked around the ship for a bit, heading to the Martini bar just to look around and then it was off to my stateroom for a good night’s sleep.
Day 4 dawned nice and as usual I was up early with coffee delivered to the room. We were going to be docking in Gibraltar by 9:00am. I had a decision to make as to whether I would head into town after we docked, or just stay on the ship. Since I have been to Gibraltar a few times before, enjoying the monkeys there, I decided to stay on the ship. It’s always nice when the ship empties out. After a couple of hours of writing I headed to the gym and it was totally empty. So, no wait for a lifecycle or any other equipment today. Then it was off to the Retreat lounge and my cappuccino. The weather was great so headed to deck 17, the upper deck of the Retreat sun deck, found a nice lounge chair, and kicked back with my kindle and relaxed for a couple of hours. Then back to the stateroom to write for a bit, and get ready for the happy hour. Scott and Dustin had arranged for us to get early access to The Club to see the early show there, Smoke and Ivories. Again, have seen it before, but it is great and will see it again later in the cruise. I sat next to a gentleman who was saving two seats for friends. After a bit I began chatting with him and found out his son was in the show. His son is the dance captain, and an amazing tap dancer. His name is Britton, and I hope to interview him later during the cruise. He is only twenty-one and has been dancing professionally for three years. He was just given another year contract with Celebrity so will be on its newest ship, the XCEL, when I am on it for my 2026 transatlantic cruise. After the show a few of us headed to Luminae for dinner. Then there was a Pride Party in the Eden lounge to end the day on a great note. Now I could look forward to the next six days at sea as we head to Bermuda.
Blog #3 2025 Celebrity ASCENT transatlantic cruise
Day 5 dawned sunny but windy and the ship was rocking a little. I am lucky that it doesn’t really bother me too much at this time. Hoping it doesn’t get much worse. But again, not a day to sit on the sundeck. So, my usual coffee and breakfast delivered to the room, and a few hours of writing. Today I was drafting the column I would submit to the Blade tomorrow morning, after I saw the results of the election. Tuesday was going to be an important election in a number of states including Governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey, the vote on proposition 50 in California, votes on Supreme Court Justices in Pennsylvania, the Mayor’s race in New York, and some statewide races in Georgia. My draft took the position that Democrats would win them all, might as well be positive. Then I headed to the gym for my hour of penance for all that I am eating. After that I got in touch with Cheryl and Jeff, childhood friends, who I knew would be on this cruise. We met at 1:00pm at the buffet for lunch and sat and talked until 4:00, it was great. Hope to get together with them again for dinner during the cruise. After that it was time to head back to the stateroom, shower and get ready for happy hour. We hung out there longer because Rick told us there was an entertainer named Tom who would be playing at 7:00pm. Turned out he had the wrong Tom. So, a group of us headed to dinner at Raw on Five, the sushi bar. Always good to eat there before too late in the cruise for the fresher fish. The company was great, but unfortunately couldn’t say the same for the food which I thought was not as good as on past cruises. After dinner I headed back to the stateroom and prepared to be up late waiting for election results. We are now four hours ahead of D.C. time, we have been setting our clocks back an hour a night on the ship for the past two days. So, Virginia polls closed at 7:00pm and I could start seeing results sometime after 11:00. They were coming in fast after that and all being great. So, my draft was right on target. I finally turned off the light at about 2:00am. Day 6 dawned rockier than yesterday. I was up early and finalizing my column to send to Kevin Naff at the Blade for Friday’s issue. It felt good to be sending such a positive column to him as Democrats had won big in all the key elections. I thought of last year when I was on a cruise when the felon won the White House and how depressed I was. After sending the column I headed to the gym. I had booked a behind the scenes tour of the theater and that was fun. I met Britton and his dad there. Britton had brought his dad for the tour and told me he would be dancing on the main stage on the XCEL. From there headed to Café al Bacio for a light lunch and then tired from lack of sleep last night, just went back to the stateroom and relaxed all afternoon until it was time for happy hour. Britton reminded me he and the Eden production cast would be performing in the Eden lounge this evening in the show, Wonder at Eden: Allure. I was hoping the ship wouldn’t be rocking too much for the show to go on. I actually felt sick at dinner, but think it was from something I ate at. I went back to the stateroom for an your but then felt better and headed to the show in Eden. It was great. It revolved around an artist who did a painting during the show with the cast at times holding his canvas. His name is Paris and he is amazing. I hope to chat with him more in the coming days. Then it was back to the stateroom and a good night’s sleep.
Day 7 dawned windy but warm. It was going to be a really lazy sea day. My favorite kind of day. Coffee delivered to the room, then the gym, then cappuccino in the retreat lounge. I headed to the sundeck but it was a little to windy to stay long. So some more writing, finally getting a start on my next book. I was working on the introduction to what the draft title is, From Camelot to Fascism in 65 short years. I then drafted a column on Jill Lotenberg our group photographer, but who is so much more than that. At 4:00pm headed to the iconic suite for Scott and Dustin’s second party of the cruise. This one was even larger as they invited people beyond our group and it was really nice. After that my plans for the evening included meeting Denis and Jonathan to head to the early show at the theater. It was Karen Grainger who is a great singer and is able to assume the voices of so many other singers like Cher and Streisand. Then it was of to Eden for a wonderful dinner. Celebrity will do away with this restaurant on the new XCEL.
That is sad as many think it is actually the best restaurant on the ship. After that it was off to sleep. We weren’t going to be setting our clocks back an hour as we had the past few nights.
Blog #4 2025 Celebrity ASCENT transatlantic cruise
Day 8 dawned grey and very rocky. The room was making all kinds of noises. But life on the ship remains the same for me, at least for my morning routine of having coffee delivered to the room, and then sitting down to write. I felt like I may be getting the beginning of a slight cold so would wait awhile till I decided if I could skip the gym for the day. No rush, as there was nothing else on the agenda.
In general, the sea days for me, as they say, are rinse-and-repeat. Turned out I did go to the gym, and then headed to the 2:30 show in the theater which was take two on Karen Grainger. She really is quite good and this afternoon she did her impressions of a new group of singers. As she says, she is an impressionist, not an impersonator. I think the show could be improved if she had pictures of the women in whose voice she is singing on the big screen behind her. There were clearly some in the audience who weren’t quite sure, especially of the women whose voices are not as distinctive. Now there was no mistaking when she sang in the voice of Cher, Streisand, or Janice Joplin. Again, she is really good. One of the members of our group, Michael Magee, had planned a caftan bar crawl. Dress up in a caftan, and stop at a series of the bars on board, and drink at each. I did pass on that, not really a costume person, or a big drinker, but did meet up with them at the LGBTQ happy hour and they looked great, and happy after all the booze. Then it was dinner at Luminae, and for me, an early night. On my way back to my cabin I bumped into Paris, the artist from the show at Eden the night before, and we reconfirmed we would get together with in the next couple of days for coffee. The daily newsletter on my bed when I got back to my cabin confirmed we gained another hour tonight so by the morning we would only be two hours ahead of the East Coast.
Day 9 dawned a little cloudy but a little less rocky. I was able to spend some time on the Retreat sundeck in the afternoon and had lunch there. Based on the daily newsletter there were two events I wanted to go to during the day. I first went to the gym to sit on the lifecycle, actually peddling while sitting there. Then I went to the afternoon show in The Club, A Tribute to Adele, by Molly Kane. She is great. Molly is part of the cast in the main theater, but based on this show she should be a headliner all on her own. Darren, the Cruise Director, gave her this opportunity and it was the smart thing to do. He is clearly a good judge of talent. Then at 5:00 I headed back to The Club for a Senior Officer Party, for Elite status guests. I have that status based on how many cruises I have been on. It doesn’t get me much, but the most important benefit is free laundry. From there it was off to the LGBTQ happy hour in the Eden lounge and then dinner in Luminae. After dinner most of my dinner companions headed to their cabins, but I went back to the Eden lounge for the 10:15 show, Wonder at Eden: Shimmerbox, with the Eden show cast. It was really good, and all the dancers, including dance captain, Britton, are great. There was a funny scene there with a woman who has her dog with her, saving seats and pretending the people were just in the bathroom. Well after an hour I spoke to her and she wasn’t happy I said something about not being able to reserve seats for that long. Then another woman went and removed her bag and sat down and got an ovation from a big part of the crowd. After the show it was back to my cabin. Still fairly early as we turned our clocks back another hour this evening. So now when I wake up will only be one hour ahead of D.C. time. Tomorrow is another sea day, and then Monday, we reach Bermuda.
Blog #5 2025 Celebrity ASCENT transatlantic cruise
Day 10 dawned gray, warm, with pretty smooth seas. A nice start to the last of the six sea days from Gibraltar to Bermuda. I have enjoyed each of them. We gained another hour last night so even though I got back to my cabin around 11:30 still had a good night’s sleep before coffee was delivered early.
I edited, and sent my regular weekly column to the Blade, and then edited the first four of my blogs, and sent them off as well. That felt really good. Then got ready for another relaxed day. I headed to the gym for my time on the lifecycle, and a few weights, and then to the Retreat lounge for my cappuccino. I bumped into Kenny Silverman there who was working and planned to head to the sundeck. But slowly the clouds moved in and the rain began. So that ended my immediate plans. Just stayed longer in the lounge reading and then headed to Café al Baccio for lunch. Those little sandwiches and a piece of marble poundcake hit the mark. The day was going to be reading and writing, and I admit, an afternoon nap. Life is so hard on the ship. Then it was off to the LGBTQ happy hour and a glass of wine. Four of us decided we would try to go to Blue restaurant. I had never eaten there in all my cruises. It was really good. Clean and healthy food. I had a great roasted turkey salad, and it was better than either of the steaks I had tried at Luminae. I followed that with chocolate and praline ice cream, what could be better. After that we headed to the theater to see Awaken on the main theater stage. It was great. The cast is so uniformly talented. Then for me it was back to the cabin ending a great day. We were now heading to Bermuda, and land, for the first time in days. The weather forecast was for nice sunny weather, but windy.
Day 11 dawned mostly clear and sunny. We were close to Bermuda when I got up at sunrise at 6:30 am. We docked at The Royal Naval Dockyard at 8:00am, right on time. The sun was out, it was 75 degrees, and thus far, much less windy than predicted. I got my coffee delivered and sat down to write. I had not booked any excursions for the day as I had been to Bermuda three times before. As I kidded friends, unless I was invited to Bloomberg’s or Oprah’s home, there was nothing really new, I hadn’t seen on the Island. It is a beautiful place. Hamilton, the capital is great. I ended up deciding to go to the gym around 10:30 and it was empty. There were only two other people there. So, I did my lifecycle and then some weights. Then decided to leave the ship and walk around the dock for an hour and look at some of the shops, and get more steps in. It was beautiful and sunny, but the wind was picking up, but nice none-the-less. Then got back on the ship and headed to Café al Baccio where I ran into Mark and Jay. They went for a drink, and I had my cappuccino. There was an early sail-away party at Scott and Dustin’s Iconic suite at 3:30. It was really nice, and Jill took her usual group picture. Met a couple of people I hadn’t met before.
Then it was off to the LGBTQ happy hour, and the hard decision of the day. What show to see, and should it be before, of after, dinner. After much angst, a group of us including Michael Magee, Denis and Jonathan, Mark and Jay and Diane, decided to go to dinner first at Luminae, they were serving lobster, and a later show. Michael, Denis, and I, decided to go see the 9:15 show at The Club, Smoke and Ivories. We had to line up by 8:15 to get front row seats, which Denis and I did. I had seen the show before but it was just as great the second time. After the show I headed back to my cabin for the evening. We would now look toward two more sea days as we head to Ft. Lauderdale.
Blog #6 2025 Celebrity ASCENT transatlantic cruise
Day 12 dawned fairly warm, but with a little bit rocky sea, and it got worse in the next few hours. As usual, I had my coffee delivered, and relaxed on the couch watching MSNBC. It is one of the channels available. Others include FOX, and the BBC. Watching MSNBC during the cruise reinforces my reasons for never watching it at home. It is Veterans Day and I thought about all my friends who have served our nation, and put a post on FB thanking them. I thought about my dad who had served in WW II, where he earned a Bronze Star. Like so many of his generation he never spoke of his time in the service.
It was going to be a lazy day. Writing, gym, eating, happy hour, eating again, and some entertainment. The tough life of the cruise passenger on the Celebrity ASCENT. I had gotten my laundry back last night, so had a clean t-shirt for the gym. Again, one of the only benefits of Elite status I use is the free bag of laundry. The sea got rockier as the day went on, so not all that comfortable walking around. I went to the LGBTQ happy hour, where Jill took a group photo. I went to dinner at Luminae with Jay and Mark, and it was fun with great conversation. They are really interesting guys and live fulltime in Las Vegas. After dinner I walked around a little but it was still rocky so ended up heading back to the cabin early. Hoping tomorrow will be smoother sailing.
Day 13. Well, the Captain kept his promise, and it was smoother sailing for our last day at sea, on the way to Ft. Lauderdale. I had coffee delivered, but then went to the buffet at 9:30 to meet my friends Cheryl and Jeff. After that, made my last visit to the ship’s gym to sit on the lifecycle and do a few weights. Then it was off to the Retreat lounge for my cappuccino. The rest of the afternoon would be lazy. I packed before I headed to LGBTQ happy hour and met nine friends there who I joined for dinner at the Rooftop Garden Grill. Can’t leave without another baked chocolate chip cookie and vanilla ice cream. After dinner some of us headed to the theater for the final show, Residency. I was not overly impressed. The cast individually was good, but the production wasn’t anything special. Then back to the cabin to close up my suitcases and get a few hours of sleep. My alarm is set for 5:30 and will head to the Fine Cut Steakhouse at 6:15am to walk off the ship, taking my own luggage, and head to the airport. I lucked out, and my flight was on time, and even arrived back in DC fifteen minutes early.
It was another great trip with great friends. Generally, the crew is amazing. They can’t do enough for you, and always have a smile on their face. They work really hard. The only cog in the wheel for me who blogs, and writes, from the ship was the intransigence of not allowing me to have both my phone and computer connected to WIFI at the same time. That has never been an issue before. But I found the Hotel Director on the ship for this crossing, Danuta Nosidlak, was both rude, and then when she said she would look into it, I never heard from her. When I confronted her, she asked, “didn’t someone contact you?” and when I said no, she appeared not to care. It may seem minor, but when you pay for two people at the Retreat price, and are only one in the cabin, and give a lot of publicity to Celebrity as I have over the years, I do expect at least a little more courtesy. Again, that didn’t take away from how great the Celebrity ASCENT is as a ship. The captains, brothers, were great, and kept every one entertained throughout the cruise. They could make money as a comedy act. So now I wait for next year, when my transatlantic cruise will be on the Celebrity XCEL out of Barcelona, on October 23rd.
Republican representatives in the Kansas Legislature recently passed a bill that bans people from using restrooms in government buildings that do not align with their sex assigned at birth. The bills SB 224 and HB2426 initially focused on rewriting legislation surrounding driver’s licenses but after amendments, the bill would not only stop trans people from updating their gender on these driver’s licenses but force people to surrender their existing licenses. These bills also carry the most severe anti-trans bathrooms ban of any state.
According to Erin Reed for Erin In The Morning (EITM), “the measures would now even empower private citizens to act as bounty hunters — entering private business to search for transgender people in bathrooms and sue them for alleged violations.”
The bills would allow anyone to report any people who utilize any bathrooms that do not align with their gender assigned at birth. Anyone who believes that someone has entered a restroom not in alignment with their gender assigned at birth can complain and pursue $1,000 in damages. The first time that someone complains about a person using the “wrong” bathroom, that person can face a written warning for their first violation. The second violation would require them to pay a $1,000 fine, and with each additional violation, they could receive a misdemeanor resulting in another fine or up to six months in jail.
The Kansas Attorney General’s office is then responsible for determining whether the person has to pay the fine. Allowing people to police bathroom spaces is reminiscent of Florida’s bathroom law that allows transgender people to face criminal penalties, but even more dangerous, the bills extend this enforcement from “government-owned buildings” to private spaces.
Government entities that manage bathrooms and locker rooms at public schools and universities, highway rest areas, and public parks are now required to assign a gender designation to multi-occupancy private facilities or face a $25,000 fine for the first violation and a $125,000 fine for any additional violations.
There is a section, Reed notes, that creates a “private right of action,” making it the first law to penalize trans people directly for using the restroom and would extend bathroom bans into private spaces. “Without the option of single-person or family alternatives, this essentially forces trans people out of public life by denying us the right to even relieve ourselves or wash up,” Isaac Johnson of Trans Lawrence Coalition told EITM.
“Denying access to basic public amenities doesn’t just inconvenience people; it relegates them to second class citizenship,” Allison Chapman of Lawyers for Good Government told EITM.
The legislation flew through the Kansas Congress (and by using procedural maneuvers, Republican lawmakers ensured that there was no public input on the bill). The bill is now heading to the Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk for signature. Thankfully, Kelly, a Democrat who has consistently vetoed anti-trans legislation, vetoed it, but even so, it could be passed if Kansas Republicans get the support of two-thirds of lawmakers in both chambers.
The quick passage of these bills, and using the “gut-and-go” measure to ensure people had no opportunity to provide feedback after the bathroom elements were added, has drawn swift criticism.
The bills themselves have deeply unsettling historical parallels to slave catcher laws that allowed “bounty hunters” to track down and return escaped enslaved individuals to their enslavers for a cash reward. Federal laws, like the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850, enabled “bounty hunters” to operate even in free Northern states. These “bounty hunters,” also known as “slave catchers” or “kidnapping clubs” frequently kidnapped free Black people and sold them back into slavery, in what has been called the “Reverse Underground Railroad.”
Both of these acts provided little to no protection to free Black Americans; in fact, these acts aided and abetted this violence by incentivizing the kidnapping and sale of people of color into slavery. Even if free people had official “freedom papers,” many kidnappers destroyed these documents, and even free people of color typically could not testify in court. Free and previously enslaved Black children who had escaped to the North were especially vulnerable to “slave catchers” because they often did not know how to assert their rights.
In fact, ICE’s kidnapping of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos echoes this long history of child snatching in the U.S., from bounty hunters capturing and selling Black children into slavery.
This legislation also reeks of Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), enacted in September 2021, that allowed private citizens to sue anyone who aids or performs an abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, around six weeks of pregnancy. At the time, this was the most severe anti-abortion legislation on the books. It has remained there for five years, leading to a number of Rule 202 petitions that aim to collect more information that would provide a person who has violated SB 8.
Just this past month, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Sadie Weldon v. The Lilith Fund, a case where a private Texas citizen sought to depose Neesha Davé, deputy director of the Lilith Fund, a nonprofit that supports people seeking abortions. The case will not rule on SB 8’s constitutionality but would open a path to challenge the law.
Bathrooms have long been a battleground to police people’s bodies, and this new Kansas soon-to-be law is no different. Think of segregation in the Jim Crow South between the 1890s and the mid-1960s when some White people acted as vigilantes ensuring that Black people remained out of “white-only” restrooms and other “white-only” spaces.
Just as Rep. Susan Hemphries, a Wichita-based Republican who brought the bill to the House floor said that the legislation is about the privacy for and safety of women, bathroom segregation was often justified by painting Black male sexuality as a threat to white women.
This even extended to the perceived threat of Black women in white women’s restrooms, with one group of white women in Detroit going on strike to protest the order prohibiting discrimination of people working in government and defense industries. These white women argued that they would contract syphilis from sharing toilet seats with Black women.
These new bills and all other anti-trans bathroom legislation, as many have argued, are the continuation of these racist bathroom restrictions.
There is deep historical precedence not only for policing public (and private) bathroom access but also enabling private citizens to act as bounty hunters. This form of bounty hunting threatens not just trans women but all women who anyone does not “assume” is cisgender who may be subject to legal complaints. As Orien Rummler reported for the 19th and them, anti-trans legislation and rulings threaten the rights of all women, especially cis women of color. And as science has long proved, gender is not binary–so it raises the question of how intersex people will be policed in these restrooms.
And by commodifying the bounty, it emboldens anti-trans violence, and misogynistic violence writ large, in the most intimate of public and private spaces.
Emma Cieslik is a museum worker and public historian.
Opinions
Criteria for supporting a candidate in D.C.
We deserve statehood and mayoral control of our National Guard
Choosing a candidate to support for office in D.C. is a little different than choosing one in other places. As everyone knows, D.C. isn’t a state; though apparently not everyone understands what that means.
D.C. was granted home rule in 1974, but the legislation gave us only partial control of our government. Congress retained the right to review all legislation and budgets for 30 days. During that time, it can reject legislation fully or just make changes. Recently, Congress has used that power to turn down legislation when the Council revised our criminal code and screwed with legislation regarding how we tax our own residents. Congress has messed with our budgets as well. We saw what happened when the felon in the White House took control of the MPD for 30 days, allowed under the home rule legislation, and how he has full control over the D.C. National Guard and the implications that has had.
We have no representation in Congress, just a delegate. That person has been given a vote in committees when Democrats controlled the House, but even then, no vote in the full House. That all has severe implications for our elected officials. They must be aware of these things when they speak out, and when they propose and pass legislation. I personally saw that close up when we fought for marriage equality in the District. Those of us leading the charge worked with the Council on legislation to first recognize gay marriages from other states. Only after that legislation went through the review period without being stopped did the Council move to pass marriage equality in the District. Then we held our breath for the 30-day review period. There have been other instances where Congress stopped crucial legislation and put amendments onto our bills, like stopping us from spending certain money on needle exchange during the height of the AIDS crisis and stopping us from spending federal money on abortions.
So, when deciding who to support I want to be sure a candidate understands the implications if they attack Congress and the president, especially when Republicans are in charge. The fact is we have been screwed even by some Democrats. In today’s world, until we get rid of the felon, and Democrats take back both houses of Congress, all of our elected officials, but particularly our mayor, will be walking a tightrope. Beating your chest and attacking what they are doing is not the way to go. Again, we are not in the same position as cities like Portland, Minneapolis, or LA. We saw that again when the courts said the National Guard had to leave those cities, the president couldn’t send them in, but D.C. was exempt from that decision because he can send them here. The president, not the mayor, controls the National Guard in D.C.
Once I am comfortable a candidate understands all that, my criteria for supporting them of course includes many other things. I am a liberal, born in New York City. I taught public school in Harlem and was a member of the teacher’s union. Then went to work for progressive Congresswoman Bella S. Abzug (D-N.Y.). After that, I served as Coordinator of Local Government for the City of New York, during the time of the financial control board there. Then came to D.C. in 1978 to work for the Carter administration. I have been an activist all my life in the areas of civil rights, women’s rights, disability rights, and finally LGBTQ rights. I am a community and Democratic activist. All this impacts my decisions regarding candidates. I want to hear consistency from them. I don’t have a problem with people changing their mind on issues based on principle but do have a problem when it seems like they do so based on which way the wind is blowing. Like those who screamed ‘Defund the Police’ until the community they thought wanted to hear that in D.C. actually told them they wanted more police, not less. They simply wanted them better trained, held more accountable, and more community oriented.
I want a candidate to support statehood for D.C., but while fighting for that, they should speak out for budget and legislative autonomy. They must support mayoral control of the DC National Guard, and a full 4,000 member, well trained, MPD. They must understand how MPD works with federal law enforcement like the FBI, park police, capitol police, and the secret service. They need to reject working with ICE. They need to support more affordable housing, but not city owned housing, which has proven to be a failed experiment. They need to pledge to work to end homelessness providing decent, and available, shelters around the city for both individuals, and families in need. I want a strong education Mayor who supports teachers, and works to expand accountability for charter schools, holding them to the same standards as the public schools. We must have strong programs for both college bound students, and those who want another path, including internships and apprenticeships. Strong support for UDC, healthcare both affordable and available for all, and rental and food assistance when needed. There needs to be a strong focus on reducing the cost of childcare. A focus on the ARTS, libraries, and recreation centers, across all wards of the city. A focus on the environment, and affordable and accessible transportation. Of course, for me it’s a given they must support, and speak out, for the full panoply of rights for the LGBTQ community.
Looking at that list clearly means the city needs to raise the money to pay for all of it. Any candidate running for office who says they don’t support a strong, and vibrant, business sector, is either naïve, or just dumb, and will not have my support. A vibrant business community provides jobs, and in the long run the taxes that pay for the things we all want government to provide.
Once again D.C. is in a different place. We don’t collect taxes from those who work here but live in Maryland or Virginia. So, we have to be smart about the businesses we encourage to locate here and encourage them to hire D.C. residents, who then will pay taxes here. D.C. has developed a strong sports economy. That will be enhanced by the new RFK site, and includes the teams at the Capital Center, Audi Field, and Nats Stadium. Together they bring millions of people into D.C., who spend their money here. When groups like the Working Families Party, who suggest they are anti-business, endorse a candidate, I am wary of that candidate. We can’t be anti-business in D.C. I look at some candidates trying to replicate Mamdani’s victory in New York City by promising the moon. What they don’t seem to realize, or pretend not to, but voters must understand, is we in D.C., our Council and mayor, can’t promise what a New York City mayor does, hoping the governor and Albany, will help him out. In D.C. we don’t have an Albany to help us out. There is no governor coming to the rescue, it’s just us, and what we can negotiate with our Albany, which unfortunately consists of the president and Congress. Some may remember in 1995 we had the Control Board foisted on us. It was lucky at the time the president was a Democrat, Bill Clinton, and he named the board and chair, first Andrew Brimmer, and then the incredible Alice Rivlin. Can you imagine if Congress did that today who Trump would name to control our city?
So, we can’t only dump on them, and attack them, at least the mayor can’t, as she/he/they have to often ask them for help, and stave off their gratuitous attacks. As a columnist, and private citizen, I can attack the felon and his Republican sycophants in Congress all I want, I do and will continue to do so. But those we elect need to understand some constraint. The need to understand sometimes they are walking that tightrope when dealing with the White House and Congress.
I urge everyone to look closely at all the candidates, and then when you decide who you want, make sure you VOTE!
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.
Opinions
The global cost of Trump’s foreign aid ideology
Expanded global gag rule polices people’s identity
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Jan. 23 announced the new Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance Policy. This policy, which has nothing to do with flourishing, is part of the Trump administration’s effort to weaponize U.S. foreign assistance to enforce ideological conformity, to police people’s identity, and to suppress dissent — both at home and abroad.
One of the policy’s three pillars advances a discriminatory framework that denies transgender people’s existence and seeks to censor organizations that affirm transgender people and their rights.
The new policy expands the Mexico City Policy, also known as the global gag rule, which has restricted U.S. foreign aid to non-U.S. civil society organizations providing abortion care under every Republican administration since 1984. What is new — and unprecedented — is the expansion of this rights-restricting logic to efforts addressing gender identity and, more broadly, nondiscrimination efforts.
The new policy also applies to more categories of aid recipients, including multilateral organizations such as UN agencies.
With the expanded global gag rule, the Trump administration seeks to make transgender people invisible globally, as it has within the U.S. Whether it is threatening steep tariffs for countries that resist Trump’s appetite for Greenland, or withholding funds for organizations that refuse to toe the ideological line, the chilling message is clear: standing in the way of the administration’s political or ideological goals will come at a high cost.
Under this rule, organizations risk losing U.S. funding if their activities are seen to fall under the spurious concept of “gender ideology.” Organizations are not allowed to provide, refer for, or support access to gender-affirming care. Neither can they offer accurate information, counseling, or public-facing support for transgender people. The restrictions even apply to cultural activities such as “drag queen workshops, performances, or documentaries.”
Organizations that receive any foreign aid from the U.S. will need to censor themselves, even if their own national or regional laws enable — or oblige — them to speak up for human rights.
This new policy comes after the Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has for decades provided the bulk of U.S. international development and humanitarian assistance.
To be clear, LGBT people, regardless of where they are, do not depend on the United States to organize, advocate, and stand up for their rights. And foreign aid is not the answer to undoing global inequity. But the sharp reversal of U.S. foreign policy will have wide-ranging consequences.
For years, protecting the rights of LGBT people had been a core tenet of the U.S. commitment to human rights. U.S. embassies often functioned as safe havens for human rights defenders in places where governments stoked homo- and transphobia for political gain. For LGBT people in the 65 countries that still criminalize same-sex intimacy, civil society-run clinics, supported with U.S. funds, became life-saving spaces — people could get HIV and other care there without fear of being turned away, ridiculed, or reported to the police.
Much of this is progress is now at risk. As a result of the U.S. funding cuts, organizations that directly provided health care and other services for LGBT people were forced to stop services abruptly, cutting off people’s access to chronic medication often without alternative care in place.
The impact extends beyond individual harm. Public health programs by definition are more likely to fail when stigma and fear are institutionalized. Transgender people are among the groups most at risk for ill health precisely because of discrimination and violence.
By prohibiting organizations, from local civil society groups to multilateral organizations like UNAIDS, from affirming transgender identities or addressing these underlying conditions, the expanded global gag rule actively undermines the foundations of effective public health programs.
Under the new and expanded gag rule, organizations face a terrible choice for accepting any U.S. funding. They can either self-censor and stop all work related to transgender people’s rights and needs. Or they forego U.S. funds and risk jeopardizing their organizational survival in an increasingly tough economic and funding climate.
This matters because civil society is one of the few effective counterweights to the global rise of populist and authoritarian governance. Alongside a coordinated global backlash against women’s and LGBT people’s rights are efforts to concentrate power, erode accountability, and close civic space.
Civil society organizations are crucial in exposing and resisting the authoritarian creep and in supporting marginalized groups. Gagging organizations into silence, or hollowing them out through funding cuts, accelerates civic space closure, and strengthens authoritarian governance.
Where the U.S. retreats and bullies, other countries and communities need to step up to offset the funding shortfalls and reduce organizations’ dependency on ideologically restricted U.S. foreign aid.
They need to support marginalized groups, increase funding for civil society groups, and commit funds to bolster multilateral mechanisms such as the Global Fund, which supports funding to combat HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. They should clearly and consistently affirm everyone’s human rights, without exception.
Alex Muller is the director of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program.
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