The National LGBT Bar Association (LGBT Bar) – the country’s largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally legal professionals – is proud to announce the introduction of the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2018.
The bill, introduced by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) this week, would do away with the use of the gay and trans ‘panic’ defenses, which use a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression as legal rationale for violent assault and murder. The bill is supported by the American Bar Association, the Matthew Shepard Foundation, the American Unity Fund, and Equality California.
A gay and trans ‘panic’ defense is employed when a defendant cites their victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression as cause for their violent and even deadly actions. These defenses have a long and dark history. They were used in high profile cases such as the murders of Matthew Shepard, Ahmed Dabarran, and Gwen Araujo, and have been successful in allowing violent offenders to walk free.
“Gay and trans ‘panic’ defenses have long stood as a symbol of dangerous and outdated thinking,” said D’Arcy Kemnitz, Executive Director of the LGBT Bar. “An individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression should never justify a violent attack or murder. To say otherwise sends a message to the LGBT community that their lives are inherently less valued. The continued allowance of these defenses is a failure of the justice system.”
The LGBT Bar has worked to ban such defenses for over a decade and was instrumental in the passage of the 2013 American Bar Association Resolution calling for an end to this practice in court. Similar legislation passed in California in 2014 and Illinois in 2017. New Jersey, Washington, Washington DC, and Rhode Island currently have similar legislation pending that would protect LGBT victims of violence from discrimination in the courtroom.
The LGBT Bar is hopeful that the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2018 will bring an end to this heinous defense.
David Richardson, currently serving in the Florida State House of Representatives, is running to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 27th District. If he succeeds, Richardson will be the first openly gay man elected to Congress from Florida.
David Richardson is a bold progressive running for US Congress in order to advocate for responsible and forward-thinking solutions to the problems we face on the local, state and national levels. Upon winning election to the Florida House of Representatives in 2012, David became the state’s first-elected openly gay state legislator. In Tallahassee, he quickly earned the respect of his colleagues thanks in part to his groundbreaking work on criminal justice and prison reform, support for sensible gun violence prevention measures, promotion of traditional public schools, and steadfast commitment to equal rights for the LGBTQ community. In Washington, David will stand up to the Trump Administration by fending off its assaults on our progress while offering sensible alternatives to the extremist Republican agenda.
He’ll work to implement a single-payer healthcare system, reinstate the Paris Climate Accord, reform our prison and criminal justice systems, and protect as well as expand upon the great strides we have made in this country on the rights of women, Hispanics, African Americans, the LGBTQ community and other minority groups.
David is exactly the kind of fierce and tenacious Democratic lawmaker we need in DC right now. His candidacy presents us with our best opportunity in the entire country to send a courageous and principled progressive to Congress, to flip a Republican district blue, and to fight back against a president who lacks the moral authority to lead.
In 1999, Melissa Sklarz broke new ground as the first transgender person to hold an elected office when she was elected as a judicial delegate in the 66th Assembly District. In 2004 Sklarz made history again, this time as New York state’s first transgender elected delegate to the DNC. Now, she is poised to break another barrier by becoming the first transgender person elected to the New York State Assembly. Sklarz is running in the Democratic Primary for the District 30 Assembly seat, an area where she has lived and been politically active for more than a decade.
Melissa currently serves as Secretary for the Northern Regular Democratic Club and is a member of the Powhatan Democratic Club, which honored her in 2013 her work on civil rights. She previously served as president of the Stonewall Democrats of New York City. Melissa is also a member of the U.S. Electoral College, serving as a delegate during the 2016 Democratic National Convention (DNC) and in 2008, as a member of DNC Rules Committee.
Melissa stated on her facebook page: “After the 2016 election, I realized that now, more than ever, my years of experience in Albany and NYC advocating for equality will be put to good use representing the voters in my district. With our transportation network in crisis, the Trump budget assault on New Yorkers, and women still lacking proper representation in all sectors, I will make sure all voices are heard in Albany.”
You may also remember Sklarz from her appearance in the 2015 film, Transamerica, starring Felicity Huffman.
Alexandra Chandler has earned the endorsement of Trans United Fund in her run to be the next Congresswoman representing the third District in Massachusetts.
From their endorsement by their Board Co-Chair, Hayden Mora stated:
“Trans United Fund is proud to endorse Alexandra Chandler for U.S. Congress. Alexandra has a progressive vision for her district where trans people – and all people – can truly thrive. She’s a leader with a deep understanding of and commitment to racial and economic justice for all people. She brings policy expertise with a track record of getting things done. She’s tackled some of the toughest problems in the world, including weapons smuggling to terrorist groups and WMD proliferation, and she’s a champion Massachusetts families can count on.
I’m particularly proud of the endorsement because I grew up in a working class family in East Boston, MA. I’m grateful to have a fighter like Alexandra in Congress to fight for people like my family of origin and my chosen family of trans and gender expansive people.”
Trans United Fund provided expertise and resources that helped transgender candidates win historic victories last month, including the election of Virginia Delegate-elect Danica Roem, and Minneapolis City Councilmembers-elect Phillipe Cunningham and Andrea Jenkins.
LGBT activism is alive and well in Jackson, Michigan. This year saw the launch of the Jackson Pride Center, which opened their first space in the basement of John’s United Church of Christ. Following this success Nikki Joly, Director of the Jackson Pride Center, and the growing LGBTQ community in Jackson, set their sites on organizing their first ever Jackson Pride Event.
Nikki is a nurse, a veteran, and a respected employee of the local Red Cross; the perfect candidate to lead the effort alongside many local activists in Jackson. A small but vocal opposition, however, was determined to stand against this progress, and that opposition included threats of violence. PrideSource.com reports that Jackson Area Landlord Association’s President Robert Tulloch warned members of the city council via e-mail stating: “I saw something on a site about marching to Blackman Park and raising a flag? I hope they are not planning to raise a gay flag. That is an in your face declaration of war and will be met with a violent response. This IS the queer agenda.”
Despite the threats, Jackson Pride took place on August 5th. Just a few days after, however, an act of arson destroyed the home of Nikki Joly and his partner Chris Moore. Accelerants were used in the arson which caused the house to quickly go up in flames, claiming the lives of their two dogs and three cats. Their home and their belongings were completely destroyed in what is now being investigated as a hate crime.
I had the opportunity to meet Nikki at the recent CenterLink Summit, an annual gathering of LGBT community center leaders from around the country. I was truly inspired by the work Nikki is doing. Nikki is tenacious, and I know beyond all doubt that he will continue this incredibly important work.
A fund has been established to help Nikki and his partner Chris rebuild their lives. I just made a donation to support them, and I ask you to do the same. Just follow the link below:
Washington, DC—The leadership of the National Black Justice Coalition announced today that David J. Johns has assumed the role of Executive Director as of September 1, 2017. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS. NBJC’s mission is to end racism, homophobia, and LGBTQ bias and stigma.
“Growing up as a little Black boy in Inglewood, California, I did not meet or see people who showed up in the world like me—strong Black men who are equally proud about their Blackness as they are about being same gender loving (SGL),” stated David J. Johns. “I want people to see me, to know that I exist—that we, as a community, refuse to hide or check parts of who we are at the door, shrink or otherwise fail to show up in our fullness—knowing who we are and whose we are. I assume this responsibility, in part, because it’s important for me to show up for younger people the way I wish adults had shown up for me—fully, honestly and without apology.”
In 2013, Johns was appointed as the first executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans by President Barack H. Obama and served until the last day of the Obama Administration in January, 2017. The Initiative worked across federal agencies, and with partners and communities nationwide, to produce a more effective continuum of education and workforce development programs for African American students of all ages.
Prior to his White House appointment, Johns was a senior education and workforce development policy advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) under the leadership of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Before working for the Senate HELP Committee, under the leadership of Tom Harkin, Johns served under the leadership of the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). In addition, Johns has been a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellow in the office of Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY). Johns has worked on issues affecting low-income and minority students, neglected youth, early childhood and k-12 education, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) among others. His research as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow served as a catalyst to identify, disrupt and supplant negative perceptions of black males—both within academia and society.
Johns has been featured as an influential politico and advocate by several publications and outlets, including TheRoot.com, CNN, NBC, BET, EBONY and The Washington Post.
“During my tenure, I plan to focus deeply on the empowerment of the Black family, which includes the families we are born into as well as those we create—while honoring the opportunity to remain a central repository for advocating for and responding to the needs of Black LGBTQ/SGL individuals and communities. Critical to this work is engaging all Black people in transformative dialogues that honor the diversity of Black families and the roles that Black LGBTQ/SGL people continue to play—in both family and community—and advancing policies that ensure civil rights for Black LGBTQ/SGL people,” Johns continued.
Johns succeeds Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, who led NBJC for eight years. Lettman-Hicks will continue her role as the Chief Executive Officer of NBJC and focus on board development, infrastructure and long-term sustainability.
“I had the pleasure of working directly with David Johns when I was appointed to serve on the Commission of the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for African Americans, where David served as the Executive Director,” Lettman-Hicks said. “David’s mere presence fills a room. His intellectual prowess, compassionate heart, and deeply-rooted knowledge of public policy and the plight of underserved and marginalized communities—especially the African American experience—gives me more than hope for our work and future leadership in Black America. He defines excellence and leaves no challenge unanswered. Johns is exactly the right person to articulate our needs and understand our connectedness to our families.”
Johns added, “As the Executive Director of NBJC, I will lead aggressive campaigns that disrupt and supplant deleterious stereotypes about Black LGBTQ and same gender loving people. These campaigns and related activations will, among other things, highlight more of the diversity that exists within and makes our community strong.
David J. Johns Named Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition
Over the last few months, GetEQUAL’s Board of Directors and Staff have gone through a process of self-reflections, strategic evaluation, and connecting with leaders across intersecting movements. The goal was to identify individuals with the talent, vision, passion, and skill to lead GetEQUAL into the future of this current political moment. With the culmination of this process, the GetEQUAL family is excited to announce that Gaby Garcia-Vera has been selected to serve as Executive Director, and Aaryn Lang as our Movement Building and Campaigns Manager.
Aaryn hails from Columbus, Ohio and got her start organizing with the Transwomen of Color Collective in the spring of 2014. She has been working to build power for Black and LGBTQIA liberation, and to uplift the leadership of Black trans women ever since. Aaryn said, “I am honored and excited to add my vision to GetEQUAL’s legacy of intentional action for the most marginalized bodies within our LGBTQIA movement. The road has been long, and struggle shall persist, but we will not be bought or swayed. Our goal is liberation, and I have nothing but confidence in the work our team and community partners will continue to do to combat the violence we are facing in this moment of intense political and ideological difference.”
Gaby Garcia-Vera has been a part of the GetEQUAL family since 2012 and brings a wealth of experience fighting for immigrant rights, reproductive justice and Queer & Trans liberation across the state of Florida and around the country. In 2016 he cofounded the Coqui Language Collective a Florida based collective working to create language justice in Florida through interpretation and translation services. Before joining the staff of GetEQUAL Gaby served as the Field and Advocacy Manager at the Florida Latina Advocacy Network an extension of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health where he oversaw organizing LatinX communities around Reproductive Justice. Formerly he’s served as Programs and Development Coordinator at Pridelines, and served on the Trevor Project’s National Youth Advisory Council in 2013 to combat stigma surrounding mental health and suicide prevention amongst LGBTQ youth.
Vera Garcia said, “I am excited and honored to have been selected to steward the organizing and vision of this amazing organization. The road that lay before us with the current political climate is one filled with violence, hatred, and fascism but in the wake of those things I know that our community is resilient, strong, and unwavering in its commitment to liberation. My dream is that together we can create sustainable communities where we are all free to create and construct our families in the way we see fit, free of violence and policing.”
Outgoing Executive Director, Angela Peoples, said “this transition marks the beginning of an important and exciting time for GetEQUAL and our movements’ collective fight for liberation. Our community needs strong leadership that can fight the threat of fascist, racist, and political ideology while also carrying a bold, aspirational vision for liberation. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Gaby and Aaryn over the last few years and I’m confident that they will unite our movement and continue GetEQUAL’s work to build a grassroots movement toward liberation that reflects the values, experiences and needs of community.”
This Follow Friday features eight amazing LGBTQ individuals who are powerful advocates for People with Disabilities. This eclectic group includes activists, poets, speakers, and writers. Most of these folks however, inhabit several of these roles.
Tyler Vile is the author of Never Coming Home (Topside Press, 2015), a novel-in-verse. Also a spoken word poet and a disability advocate, Vile is vocal about her experience as a transwoman with cerebral palsy, and her work has been featured online in Gadfly and Bluestockings Magazine, among other publications.
Tyler is also the author of Hassidic Witch Murderer: The Official Videogame of the Poems, an interactive poetry zine made through twine. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland and serves on the Leadership Team for the Baltimore Trans Alliance.
As the CEO and Chief Disabled Officer of 2Gether-International, Diego Mariscal utilizes communication technology to engage disabled and nondisabled youth into several disability issues ranging from Education and Employment to Police Violence and Sexuality.
Diego has been listed as s one of the 30 under 30 leaders in social entrepreneurship by Forbes magazine, and invited to the first United Nations World Humanitarian Summit, held in Istanbul. Born with cerebral palsy in New Orleans but raised in Monterrey, Mexico, Diego also represented Nuevo Leon in the Mexican National Paralympics from 2004-2009.
Natalie E. Illum is a poet, disability activist, and singer living in Washington DC. She was a founded board member of the mothertongue, a DC women’s open mic and poetry organization that lasted 15 years. She competed on the National Poetry Slam circuit for 5 years and was the 2013 Beltway Grand Slam Champion. Her work has appeared in Word Warriors: 35 Women of the Spokenword Revolution (Seal Press) and Full Moon on K Street (Plan B Press), as well as in Feminist Studies, Breath & Shadows, Kaleidoscope, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, Beltway Quarterly, Button Poetry and on NPR’s Snap Judgment. Natalie has two poetry chapbooks Ground Lover (2004) and On Writer’s Block and Acrobats (2006), as well as Spastic, a one-woman show forever in progress. She has been featured in The Huffington Post, oxJane and Salon Magazine. She will be the writer-in-residence at the ARGS Residency (October 2017) and will be staying in their ADA compliant-yet-historic property working on a mixed-genre sequence on body shaming and body acceptance, specifically from the lens of the physically and/or mentally dis/abled body.
Heidi Case is a disability rights advocate and activist. She has served as the Co-Chair of the National Organization for Women’s Disability Rights Task Force and was a co-author of a paper on the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls with disabilities for the Center on Women’s Policy Studies.
Heidi has been an advocate for older LGBTQ adults, working with SAGE. Ms. Case also speaks Spanish and Sign Language and has a B.A. in Special education from the University of Arizona.
Ngọc Loan Trần is a Việt/mixed-race immigrant, queer and gender weird disabled writer, storyteller and aspiring educator. loan was born in southeast asia and came to the United States with their family in the mid-90’s.
Loan’s justice work over the past few years has been centered around racial and im/migrant justice, queer and trans liberation, economic justice and an end to all kinds of interpersonal violence.
Loan’s writing, social commentary, and interviews have appeared in the GLSEN Blog, New York Times, Teen Vogue, Teaching Tolerance, the Advocate, and NPR among others.
Mia Mingus is a writer, educator and community organizer for disability justice and transformative justice. She is a queer physically disabled Korean woman transracial and transnational adoptee from the Caribbean. Mia is a founding and core-member of the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective (BATJC), a local collective working to build and support transformative justice responses to child sexual abuse that do not rely on the state (i.e. police, prisons, the criminal legal system).
Her writings can be found in numerous places including her blog, Leaving Evidence. In 2013, along with 14 other activists, Mia was recognized by the White House as an Asian and Pacific Islander women’s Champion of Change in observance of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Mia was honored with the 2008 Creating Change Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Nathan Say is a Spoken Word Artist based out of San Diego, California who is taking the Southern California poetry scene by storm as he skillfully blends poems on disability and sexuality together with bone chilling ruthlessness and raw honesty.
Originally from Hawaii working previously within the Disability and Queer community with youth and young adults, Nathan Say gave up every comfort he had to pursue his artistry. Nathan tackles his daily confrontations with Cerebral Palsy, learning impairments and psychiatric illnesses like most breath in and out: quickly and easily, surprising most bystanders in the process.
Andy Arias is an actor, comedian, and advocate for people with disabilities. Andy is known for the film Election (2008) and also appears in the forthcoming My Next Breath.
Advocating for people with disabilities has been a lifelong passion for Andy. In 2016, he came to Washington DC to work for the Department of Labor. Andy currently serves as a policy adviser in the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, where one of his main responsibilities is Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act implementation and guidance. Andy also facilitates a monthly meetup for LGBTQIA people living with disabilities that meets at the DC Center for the LGBT Community.
An estimated 15,000 Transgender Americans are Veterans or Active Service Members in the U.S. Armed Forces (Williams Institute). This Follow Friday is an opportunity to meet just a few of them. Follow these committed and brave activists and share their stories with your friends. It’s important to put some names and faces to the conversations that are currently happening about trans service.
Drill Seargant Ken Ochoa joined the Army in 2010 and began his transition in 2014, long before it was allowed. Ken has been serving openly as a transgender man for more than year.
Ken was planning to re-enlist in the Army this year. In a recent article in BBC News, however, he states:
“”Now I don’t even know if I can do that,” he said. “It just seems like chaos, so many unknowns.”
Jamie Lee Henry joined the Army at the young age of seventeen and currently serves as a doctor and major in the Army’s Medical Corps. She also is a transgender woman.
Jamie Lee Henry came out in May 2015 in a Buzfeed article written by Chris Geidner
Jamie is the first known active-duty Army officer to come out as transgender. The Army granted her request to officially change her name and gender. Jamie gives credit to her commanding officer for supporting her during this time, telling Buzzfeed News: “My commander said, ‘I don’t care who you love, I don’t care how you identify, I want you to be healthy and I want you to be able to do your job.”
Evan Young is the President of the Transgender American Veterans Association, which works to ensure that transgender veterans will receive appropriate care and advocate for transgender veterans with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. Evan graduated from basic training in 1929 eventually rising to the rank of Major before his retirement in 2013.
Karen Kendra Holmes works for the Corporation for National & Community Service. She is also, however a Staff Sergeant with the Maryland Defense Force
In 2012 she received the Soldier of the Year Award from the by the Maryland State Guard Association, and in 2013 she received the National Soldier of the Year Award from the State Guard Association of the United States.
Karen volunteers her time with a wide variety of organizations including PFLAG Metro DC, the American Red Cross, and Equality Maryland.
Brynn Tannehill graduated from the Naval Academy with a B.S. in computer science in 1997. She earned her Naval Aviator wings in 1999 and flew SH-60B helicopters and P-3C maritime patrol aircraft during three deployments between 2000 and 2004. She served as a campaign analyst while deployed overseas to 5th Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain from 2005 to 2006. In 2008 Brynn earned a M.S. in Operations Research from the Air Force Institute of Technology and transferred from active duty to the Naval Reserves.
In 2008 Brynn began working as a senior defense research scientist in private industry. Brynn serves on the Board of Directors for Trans United. Brynn and her wife Janis currently live in Springfield, VA, with their three children.
Shane Ortega is an American Soldier who served with both the U.S. Army and the U.S Marines. Ortega has served three hostile fire combat tours, two in Iraq, one in Afghanistan.
Ortega has used to his personal experience to become a powerful advocate for transgender service members. Now retired, Ortega pursues a wide variety of interests. He is a sought after public speaker, community activist, a professionally ranked body-builder, and a brand ambassador with #ILoveGay.
Laila Ireland served in the Army as a combat nurse. An Iraq veteran and transgender woman, her service included three combat tours.
Laila is married to Logan Ireland, an openly trans man who currently is serving in the Airforce.
As members of SPARTA, Laila and her husband have been powerful advocates for the transgender community. Find out more about Laila and Logan in this recent article.
Kristen Beck is a retired United States Navy SEAL who gained public attention in 2013 when she came out as a trans woman. She published her memoir in June 2013, Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL’s Journey to Coming out Transgender, detailing her experiences.[1]
Beck served in the U.S. Navy for twenty years and is the first openly transgender former U.S. Navy SEAL.
Unjust: LGBTQ Youth Incarcerated in the Juvenile Justice System examines how LGBTQ youth who are incarcerated in juvenile detention and correctional facilities face bias in adjudication, and mistreatment and abuse in confinement facilities. LGBTQ youth also lack supportive services when leaving the criminal and juvenile justice systems, often forcing them back into negative interactions with law enforcement.
Given that nearly 40% of incarcerated girls in identify as LGB and 85-90% of incarcerated LGBTQ youth are youth of color, it is crucial that any effort to change the way youth in the United States engage with the juvenile justice system must consider the unique experiences of LGBTQ youth. This spotlight report highlights the experiences of LGBTQ youth incarcerated in the juvenile justice system.
Click below to download the full report written by Movement Advancement Project, Center for American Progress, and Youth First
