How Trump is fighting marriage equality
Of course it involves a layer of xenophobia.
Happy Mueller Day! Trump was pretty angry this afternoon given his claim that it was a bad day for Mueller and his (false) insistence that he was exonerated. Did you watch? Here’s the LGBTQ news you might have missed while you were!
Xenophobia as a weapon against marriage equality
The Trump administration is chipping away at marriage equality in a subtle but alarming way. The State Department told a same-sex couple in Georgia that their daughter, born to a surrogate in London, was not eligible for citizenship because only one of the men was biologically related. In short, these two U.S. citizens were treated as if their marriage was not valid when it came to recognizing their child. They are now suing.
This isn’t the first such case. Another same-sex couple had to turn to the courts after the State Department determined that only one of their twins born in Canada was an American citizen. The twins were conceived using each of their sperm, but only one of them is an American citizen, and the State Department actually wanted to subject them to DNA tests to determine the biological connections. A judge ruled their entirely family deserves to be recognized, but the administration is still fighting back with an appeal.
Catholic adoption agency fights for right to discriminate
Catholic Social Services has been fighting with the city of Philadelphia after losing its contracts because of its anti-LGBTQ policies, which violate the city’s nondiscrimination protections. The agency argues that is should be able to continue receiving city support while refusing to serve same-sex couples. In April, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city, and now CSS is asking the Supreme Court to grant it a special licenses to discriminate.
Gay ambassador flies Pride Flag after Trump says not to
Richard Grenell is a brash, Islamophobic gay Republican, in addition to being Trump’s ambassador to Germany. Grenell notably invented Trump’s campaign to decriminalize homosexuality abroad months before Trump even heard about it. (Funny, leaders from Qatar and Pakistan both visited this month and the issue didn’t come up!)
Last month, the administration mandated that embassies could not fly the Pride Flag as part of Pride Month. Vice President Pence specifically said that “when it comes to the American flagpole, and American embassies, and capitals around the world, one American flag flies. “ But Grenell decided to buck that, flying the flag at the U.S. embassy in Germany in anticipation of Berlin Pride.
The Advocate points out that Grenell may have gotten around the policy by flying the Pride flag on a separate pole.
A race-baiting candidate
A candidate for city council in St. Petersburg, Florida believes being gay is a choice and that LGBTQ progress comes at the expense of the black community. Chico Cromartie wrote on Facebook last month, “Too [sic] hell with gay pride & their flag.” And he doesn’t shy away from his homophobia:
The idea that the homosexuals should be considered to receive taxpayer dollars, based on the fact that they choose to be a homosexual, to me is not fair to the other citizens who choose not to be homosexual. And if I'm elected, I'm going to dismantle all those policies.
Oklahoma LGBTQ center vandalized
A mural honoring gay playwright Lynn Riggs was vandalized outside an LGBTQ center in Tulsa, OK, including being scrawled with the word “abomination.” Oklahoma law does not protect against anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.
Anti-gay TN lawmaker resigns after being outed on Grindr
Tennessee state Rep. Bill Sanderson (R), who has a history of opposing LGBTQ equality, resigned this week, citing the need to tend to his business and a son-in-law who has throat cancer. It’s surely just a coincidence that he made the announcement the same day he was credibly accused of consorting with much younger men on Grindr.
Puerto Rico governor to resign… or not?
Following a scandal that included the use of a lot of sexist and homophobic language and increasing protests, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló was expected to announce his resignation today. But, it seems that’s not the case…
And now there’s talk of impeachment.
More Israeli homophobia
We just had the whole brouhaha over Israeli’s new education minister supporting conversion therapy, and now Jerusalem’s chief rabbi has said that homosexuality “can be overcome.” In a sermon last week, he called homosexuality a “wild lust” that can be “overcome” — not with conversion therapy, but by being “God-fearing.”
So much for the gay soccer player
For a few weeks now, an anonymous Twitter account promising to be a gay player on an English Championship professional soccer team has been teasing that he’d be coming out publicly. On Sunday, he announced that today would be the day. But last night, he changed his mind, saying, “I thought I was stronger. I was wrong,” then deleting the account. Many now suspect the whole thing was a hoax.
A queer relationship in the Bachelor universe
I have never watched any of the Bachelor shows, nor do I plan to, but it’s about to have an important queer milestone. After 23 seasons of The Bachelor, 15 seasons of The Bachelorette, 3 seasons of Bachelor Pad, and 5 seasons of Bachelor in Paradise that were all totally hetero-nonsense (except for one bi character who had no same-sex connections on the show), the franchise will finally show a participant — Demi Burnett — in a same-sex relationship.
I’m honestly not sure if this is the kind of progress we want or not! Fighting for inclusion on The Bachelor wasn’t exactly at the top of my list, but that’s just me. Hopefully the visibility makes an impact!
Until next time, stay platinum!
(Mize-Gregg family photo credit: Immigration Equality.)