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09 Mar 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on on LGBTI rights
Articles
Governor of Massachusetts joins Boston Mayor in boycott of St Pat’s Day parade
by Pink News, 08 Mar 2017
The Mayor of Boston and the Governor of Massachusetts have both said they won’t march in the city’s St Patricks’ day parade after a gay veterans group was banned. OutVets on Facebook said they were excluded from the South Boston parade on 19 March. Writing on the social media site, the group said: “While the reason for our denial is unclear, one can only assume it’s because we are LGBTQ”. The ban came as a surprise as OutVets has been allowed to march in the parade for the past two years. According to CBS, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which organises the St Patrick’s Day event, voted 9-4 to exclude the group. Marty Walsh, the Mayor of Boston said in a statement: “I will not tolerate discrimination in our city of any form. We are one Boston, which means we are a fully inclusive city. I will not be marching in the parade unless this is resolved. Anyone who values what our city stands for should do the same.” Governor Charlie Baker added that he would not march if the group is excluded. He said: “Veterans’ groups should be allowed to march in the parade. If veterans’ groups aren’t allowed to march in that parade, I will probably do something else. I won’t march. The decision to ban the group has been widely condemned, including by Congressman Seth Moulton who said the decision was “outrageous”. Moulton said: “Let’s just be clear, these are men and women who courageously put their lives on the line for our country.”
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Torture and Killing of Transgender Woman Stun Brazil
by The New York Times, 08 Mar 2017
The killing of a transgender woman who was beaten, tortured, shot and then bashed on the head with a big stone has horrified and transfixed Brazil, training attention on the violence and discrimination suffered by transgender people in South America’s most populous nation. The victim, Dandara dos Santos, 42, was killed in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará, on Feb. 15, but the case has gained international attention as a cellphone video documenting her abuse has circulated on YouTube and other social media. The police in Brazil have arrested three teenagers and two men in connection with the torture and killing. Officers said that the video had helped them identify the suspects but that they were still looking for others. “Every and any attack on life has my deepest repudiation,” the governor of Ceará, Camilo Santana, wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. The grisly video shows Ms. dos Santos sitting on the ground, covered in dust and blood, being kicked in the face, beaten with a plank of wood and forced into a wheelbarrow. According to the authorities, she was later taken to a nearby street, shot twice in the face and then bludgeoned; the killing is not shown in the video. “This was a very cruel crime and it shocked us,” said Bruno Ronchi, a police officer who is leading the investigation.
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Gov. Rick Scott Honored Pulse But Never Mentioned LGBT People
by Advocate, 08 Mar 2017
Florida Gov. Rick Scott invoked the Pulse massacre in his annual State of the State address Tuesday but never used the terms “LGBT,” “LGBTQ” or “Latinx” to describe victims of the mass shooting, the deadliest in modern U.S. history. Equality Florida quickly called out the oversight. “While we are glad the governor spotlighted the Pulse tragedy, we are deeply disappointed that when talking about the worst anti-LGBTQ attack in our nation’s history, our governor failed to acknowledge the LGBTQ community in any way,” said Equality Florida public policy director Hannah Willard in a statement. “Governor Scott spoke about the horror our state experienced in the wake of the attack, the heroism of Orlando’s first responders, and the pain of families who lost loved ones. What we didn't hear was any mention of the LGBTQ community targeted in this murderous rampage, which occurred on Latin night.” Scott, a close ally of President Trump, is the likely Republican challenging Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in next year’s U.S. Senate race. The governor described the attack as terrorism, erasing the queer or racial implications. Scott recalled the days in the aftermath of the Pulse shooting, which he said would “always be with me.” But he focused concern on the threat of terrorism, labeling shooter Omar Mateen, who was killed by law enforcement at the scene, a “terrorist inspired by ISIS.” He also proposed budgeting $5.8 billion for counterterrorism efforts, citing the attack. Scott never referenced the attack as a hate crime or an assault on the LGBT or Latinx community. He appeared to acknowledge at least one same-sex relationship, referencing a recovering victim who had been protected for a time from news of his partner’s death.
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Grimm Case Vacated, Sessions Sets Back Trans Rights at Supreme Court
by Advocate, 06 Mar 2017
Transgender Americans were anxiously awaiting the day later this month when their rights would be considered in a case before the Supreme Court. But thanks to President Trump, they’ll be waiting longer. It looked like Virginia high school student Gavin Grimm was going to get transgender kids their day in court, with the Supreme Court having already set a date to hear his case — March 28. Then Jeff Sessions was named attorney general of the United States. Sessions moved quickly to undo the Obama administration’s guidance that said transgender students must be treated according to their gender identity, which had meant trans kids like Grimm couldn’t be forced into single-occupancy bathrooms or other inappropriate facilities. Grimm's school board had prevented him from using the boys' restroom and required him to use an inconvenient, single-occupancy one. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case after a three-member panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in Grimm’s favor, citing both the Obama guidance and the federal Title IX law. When Sessions undid the Obama guidance, trans activists — and the Gloucester County School Board, which was being sued — had hoped the justices would still move ahead and decide whether transgender people are included in Title IX’s protections against gender-based discrimination. Today, the hobbled court, with only its eight justices instead of nine, vacated the case. That means it not only didn’t take the case — which would’ve meant Grimm’s win at the lower court had stood — but also that the justices undid the appeals court ruling and asked it to start again. This doesn't necessarily mean Grimm's case won't still end up at the Supreme Court. But the change in law initiated by Sessions and Trump now means the case must be decided only on Title IX. From the perspective of Sessions and opponents of trans rights, that’s the best possible outcome. They’re hoping a do-over comes with a different outcome.
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