Open thread and news
January 11, 2021
– The Washington Blade reports that the outgoing Trump administration has gotten rid of regulations that prohibited grantees of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from discriminating against people who are LGBT. The new regulation “will have far-reaching implications in health services, allowing anti-LGBTQ discrimination in HIV and STI prevention programs, opioid programs, youth homelessness services, health professional training and substance-use recovery programs,” even including adoption and foster care services.
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31 Comments
1.
VIRick | January 11, 2021 at 2:38 pm
Estonia: Parliament Must Now Debate Marriage Equality
Per LGBT Marriage News:
Prior to the midnight deadline on Sunday, 11 January 2021, 35,805 signatures were added to the Estonian Green Party's petition to change the Family Law to allow for same-sex marriage. The petition will now be considered by the Riigikogu. The petition was launched on the Citizen Initiative Portal, rahvaalgatus.ee.
Within the first few days of the petition (Petitsioon perekonnaseaduse muutmiseks) launching at the end of October 2020, it had gathered more than 30,000 signatures, making it the most-signed petition in the portal's history. The aim of the Greens' petition is to change the current Family Law, which says marriage is between a man and a woman, to include a broader definition that would allow same-sex marriage in Estonia.
It was created in reaction to EKRE's proposal to hold a referendum on the concept of marriage which seeks to add a definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman to the constitution.
https://news.err.ee/1236436/greens-family-law-pet…
2.
VIRick | January 11, 2021 at 2:41 pm
Guatemala: Trans Activist Dies from COVID-19
Fallece Activista Trans en Guatemala
Ciudad De Guatemala — Debby Linares, reconocida activista guatemalteca que luchó por los derechos de la población LGBTQ en su país, con énfasis en mujeres trans, falleció el 25 de diciembre del 2020 por complicaciones relacionadas al coronavirus. Linares es reconocida por haber sido fundadora del movimiento trans en Guatemala y de la Organización Trans Reinas de la Noche (OTRANS Guatemala).
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2021/01/11/fallec….
Guatemala City – Debby Linares, a renowned Guatemalan activist who fought for the rights of the LGBTQ population in her country, with an emphasis on trans women, died on 25 December 2020 due to complications related to the coronavirus. Linares is recognized for having been the founder of the trans movement in Guatemala and of the Organización Trans Reinas de la Noche (OTRANS Guatemala).
3.
ianbirmingham | January 11, 2021 at 7:45 pm
House to vote Wednesday as Pelosi gets the votes to impeach Trump
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/11/house-tr…
4.
VIRick | January 12, 2021 at 1:50 pm
Sheldon Adelson, Top Trump Donor, Has Died
Adelson's Las Vegas Sands company announced Tuesday, 12 January 2021, that the Republican power broker had died at age 87 from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Adelson and wife Miriam were the largest Trump political donors, and since 2010 donated more than $525 million to federal political campaigns and committees, according to OpenSecrets.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sheldon-a…
5.
ianbirmingham | January 12, 2021 at 3:13 pm
Justice Department Warns It's Coming For Those Involved In Capitol Violence
Last week's storming of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob has already resulted in charges against 70 people, according to the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, who said he expects the number "will grow into the hundreds." Sherwin added, "The gamut of cases and criminal conduct we're looking at is really mind-blowing."
https://www.npr.org/2021/01/12/956083079/justice-…
6.
VIRick | January 12, 2021 at 3:16 pm
Luxembourg: Trump Is A Criminal
Luxembourg is among Europe's smaller nations but that is not stopping its leaders from speaking their minds about recent events in the US. On Tuesday, 12 January 2021, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled a trip to Europe at the last minute after top diplomats and European Union officials refused to meet with him.
Luxembourg's foreign minister appeared to be leading the charge in this regard, per Reuters. Allies were reportedly too "embarrassed" to meet with America's top diplomat. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn had skewered Trump over the riot at the US Capitol in an interview on 7 January, making it clear that any visit from Pompeo could prove awkward.
"Trump is a criminal, a political pyromaniac who should be sent to criminal court. He's a person who was elected democratically but who isn't interested in democracy in the slightest," Asselborn said in the interview with RTL Radio, per France 24 reporter Philip Crowther. "The 6th of January 2021 was a 9/11 attack on democracy itself, and Trump was the one who egged it on. The people who are truly responsible are Trump and members of the GOP. People like Ted Cruz and other elected Republicans are responsible because they acted like Trump's poodles," Asselborn added.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/luxembourg-c…
7.
ianbirmingham | January 12, 2021 at 5:00 pm
House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney & 2 more Republican lawmakers will vote to impeach Trump
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the third-ranking House Republican, said Tuesday she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump, as at least three GOP lawmakers will move to charge the president from their own party with high crimes and misdemeanors.
She is the highest-ranking Republican to call for the president’s impeachment in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly Capitol Hill riot, which Trump helped incite with lies and incendiary rhetoric.
Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., earlier said he would support impeachment after the president stirred up a mob that attacked the Capitol last week while Congress counted President-elect Joe Biden’s presidential win. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., later joined Cheney and Katko.
More Republicans could join Cheney, Katko and Kinzinger in backing the effort. No House Republicans voted to impeach Trump in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/12/trump-impeachment…
8.
VIRick | January 12, 2021 at 6:39 pm
Sinaloa: First Reading of New Marriage Equality Bill in State Congress
LGBT Marriage News:
Today, 12 January 2021, the Sinaloa state congress gave its first reading to another marriage equality bill after one failed last year on an 18-20 vote:
Dan primera lectura a iniciativa de matrimonio igualitario en Sinaloa. En la sesión de este martes, se leyó en el Pleno del Congreso de Sinaloa una iniciativa para permitir que parejas del mismo sexo puedan contraer matrimonio en el estado.
https://www.noroeste.com.mx/publicaciones/view/da…
The first reading to the initiative on marriage equality in Sinaloa was given. In the session this Tuesday, an initiative to allow same-sex couples to marry in the state was read in the full Sinaloa Congress.
9.
VIRick | January 12, 2021 at 7:10 pm
UK Privy Council: Dates Set for Hearing Final Appeals of Bermuda/Cayman Marriage Equality Rulings
Per LGBT Marriage News:
On 3-4 February 2021, the Privy Council in the UK will hear the Bermuda government's final appeal of the Bermuda Court of Appeal's marriage equality ruling.
On 23 February, it will then hear the Caymanian couple's challenge, that of Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden Bush, to the Cayman Court of Appeal’s ruling on marriage equality.
https://www.caymancompass.com/2021/01/12/privy-co…
10.
VIRick | January 12, 2021 at 7:47 pm
Colorado Supreme Court Expands Common-Law Marriage to Include LGBTQ Couples
Per LGBT Marriage News:
From several very recent Colorado Supreme Court rulings, one of the biggest changes acknowledges LGBTQ common-law couples, especially those who began their marriages before the 2015 US Supreme Court ruling to legalize marriage for couples of all gender combinations. Two of the cases, "Edi L. Hogsett v. Marcia E. Neale" and "Dean LaFleur v. Timothy Pyfer," debated the common-law status of LGBTQ couples seeking to split up.
When a statute is struck down, in a legal sense, it is like it never existed. Following Monday’s rulings, 11 January 2021, if a gay couple were in a common-law marriage before it became legal, their marriage was retroactively validated when the the US Supreme Court struck down bans on gay marriage in "Obergefell v. Hodges" in 2015. The Colorado Supreme Court rulings also removed gender-specific language from common-law marriage criteria.
https://coloradosun.com/2021/01/12/colorado-supre…
11.
VIRick | January 12, 2021 at 7:58 pm
North Carolina: Moratorium on Providing for LGBT Protections Is Dead
Per LGBT Marriage News:
The first North Carolina municipalities are acting to expand LGBT rights again, a month after the expiration of a moratorium on non-discrimination ordinances which had been agreed to several years ago as a compromise to do away with the state’s “bathroom" bill.
The governing board of Hillsborough, a town of 7,000 about 40 miles northwest of Raleigh, voted unanimously on 11 January 2021 to approve new protections for people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and other differences. Those rules make it unlawful, punishable by a misdemeanor and $500 fines, for businesses or other entities within the town limits to discriminate on these and other characteristics in employment and in offering goods and services to the public, including lodging and dining. Hillsborough’s ordinance marks the first by a North Carolina town or city since the 3 1/2-year ban expired on 1 December 2020.
Two other towns in Orange County planned discussions on largely similar ordinances, starting Tuesday, 12 January, in Carrboro and Wednesday, 13 January, in Chapel Hill, home to the University of North Carolina’s flagship campus. The city of Durham, with 275,000 people, will consider such protections next week, according to gay-rights groups.
http://www.therepublic.com/2021/01/12/us-lgbt-rig…
Hillsborough has become the first town in North Carolina to adopt LGBTQ-inclusive anti-discrimination protections since the state’s ban on doing so expired. The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners passed the ordinance Monday night, TV station WTVD reports. Hillsborough is a town of about 7,000 near Raleigh, the state capital.
Commissioner Matt Hughes led the effort. “It’s very important to me as a member of the LGBTQ community,” he said, according to the station. “Growing up, I didn’t even know that I could even hold the office that I hold because of the fact that I was LGBTQ. Could someone see voting for a young gay biracial guy?”
https://www.advocate.com/politics/2021/1/12/north…
12.
ianbirmingham | January 13, 2021 at 12:50 am
GOP Rep. Fred Upton will vote to impeach Trump
https://www.fox17online.com/news/politics/gop-rep…
13.
ianbirmingham | January 13, 2021 at 1:42 pm
House Impeaches Trump A 2nd Time
Ten Republicans broke party ranks to vote in favor of impeachment.
The House voted 232 to 197 to re-impeach the Orange Trumpanzee.
https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-ef…
14.
ianbirmingham | January 13, 2021 at 1:48 pm
Re-impeached, the Orange Trumpanzee is now likely barred from issuing any pardons related to the impeachment charges, either for himself or anyone else.
The President has the power to grant pardons "except in cases of impeachment".
https://web.archive.org/web/20210113204820if_/htt…
15.
ianbirmingham | January 13, 2021 at 2:29 pm
Trumpanzee Aaron Mostofsky (son of Brooklyn Supreme Court judge Shlomo Mostofsky) sheds a bucket of tears while facing justice before US Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara
Mostofsky, who was pictured inside the Capitol wearing a fur pelt and a stolen bulletproof police vest and toting a stolen riot police shield, faces around 10 years in prison for his crimes: theft of government property, unlawful entry, knowingly impeding government business, and disorderly conduct.
Mostofsky was released on a $100,000 bond, subjected to GPS monitoring, and ordered to live with his brother.
https://meaww.com/judges-son-aaron-mostofsky-who-…
16.
ianbirmingham | January 13, 2021 at 2:39 pm
The Ten House Republicans Who Voted 'Yes' For Re-Impeachment
Liz Cheney – Wyoming
Adam Kinzinger – Illinois
John Katko – New York
Fred Upton – Michigan
Jaime Herrera Beutler – Washington
Dan Newhouse – Washington
Peter Meijer – Michigan
Tom Rice – South Carolina
Anthony Gonzalez – Ohio
David Valadao – California
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9144375/…
17.
Mr Domain | January 13, 2021 at 6:04 pm
Donald Trump became the first US president to be impeached twice after a bipartisan majority in the US House of Representatives voted to accuse him of instigating a riot attack on Capitol Hill last week.
18.
ianbirmingham | January 14, 2021 at 2:59 pm
Trumpanzees Kevin Seefried, who carried the Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol, and his son Hunter Seefried are both being arraigned today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Seefried said his son had helped clear out broken glass in a window in the Capitol, after which they and others rioters entered the building.
A dramatic photo captured 50-year-old Kevin Seefried with the Confederate battle flag outside the Senate chamber, in front of a portrait of the late abolitionist senator from Massachusetts Charles Sumner.
Both Seefrieds were charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and one count of depredation of government property.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/14/kevin-seefried-wh…
19.
ianbirmingham | January 14, 2021 at 4:07 pm
Arizona GOP wants to censure Cindy McCain over gay marriage, Biden support
The proposal, which seeks to “dissolve any connections whatsoever” between McCain and the state GOP, says she “has supported leftist causes such as gay marriage, growth of the administrative state, and others that run counter to Republican values, a Republican form of government, and the U.S. Constitution.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/arizona-g…
20.
VIRick | January 14, 2021 at 4:51 pm
Estonia: Referendum Banning Same-Sex Marriage Is Dead
LGBT Marriage News:
On 13 January 2021, the resignation of the Prime Minister, Jüri Ratas (Center), caused the proposed referendum banning same-sex marriage to be scrapped; instead, the outgoing Prime Minister said that it may finally be time to pass the civil union implementing bill, technically the implementation bill for the Registered Partnership Act, stalled since 2016.
https://news.err.ee/1608072778/outgoing-prime-min…
This resignation caused the current governing coalition, composed of Center, Isamaa, and EKRE, to collapse. EKRE, a hard right-wing populist grouping, had been proposing said referendum to ban marriage equality, creating friction with other coalition partners.
The new Prime Minister will be Kaja Kallas (Reform) who will form a 71-member coalition (of 101), composed of Reform, Center, and possibly Isamaa, but leaving EKRE in the wilderness. Both Kallas and the liberal Reform party, the single largest party in Estonia, have been pro-marriage-equality.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1212708.sh…
Note: The Registered Partnership Act, passed in 2016, grants legal recognition to non-married, cohabiting couples, both same-sex and opposite-sex, but its implementing legislation has foundered since then.
21.
ianbirmingham | January 14, 2021 at 5:31 pm
Latvia: Constitutional Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage Proceeds To Legal Affairs Commission
On Thursday, January 14, the Saeima (Latvia's Parliament) transferred to the Legal Affairs Commission a proposal from the National Alliance political grouping to amend Section 110 of the Constitution, to stipulate that the concept of a 'family' is based on a union between a man and a woman. 47 deputies voted for this proposal, 25 against, 21 did not vote, and 7 deputies were absent.
The proposal is a response to a ruling last year by the Constitutional Court that said parents in a family can also be same-sex when it comes to Labor Law.
National Alliance leader Raivis Dzintars told Latvian Radio Thursday morning that the Constitutional Court had exceeded its powers, creating a "definition of a family that is not acceptable to the general public in Latvia".
https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/saeima/saeima…
22.
VIRick | January 14, 2021 at 6:19 pm
In Latvia, this proposal by the right-wing National Alliance has been shuffled off to committee where it will most likely die a quiet death. In reading this same news article from Latvian Public Broadcasting, further along in it, please note:
The proposal by the National Alliance is a response to a ruling last year by the Constitutional Court that said parents in a family can also be same-sex when it comes to Labor Law.
The introduction of amendments to the Constitution requires the support of two-thirds of the 100 Saeima members (which will not be obtained because an entire 21-member left-wing bloc, the Social Democrats, refused to vote and is calling for discussions on how to protect the Latvian Constitution from discriminatory amendments).
Both activists and a number of theology professionals and clerics have already spoken against the amendments. In addition, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said that this is not the time for discussions on amendments to the Constitution.
On the other side, various NGOs including family groups, motorcycle enthusiasts, religious groups, a car drifting team, the Latvian Cultural Fund in Ireland, an association of army veterans, and a bobsledding group expressed support for the proposed discriminatory amendments.
https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/saeima/saeima…
One supposes that we can be glad that the motorcycle enthusiasts, a car drifting team, Latvians in Ireland, and the bobsled group all duly had their "learned" say.
23.
ianbirmingham | January 14, 2021 at 7:50 pm
Trumpanzee Peter Stager is charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer for beating a Washington, D.C., cop at an entrance to the U.S. Capitol with a flagpole which was flying the American flag
https://www.thedailybeast.com/capitol-rioter-pete…
24.
ianbirmingham | January 15, 2021 at 1:28 am
Poll: Just 8 percent of Republicans support Trump's impeachment and removal
By party, 89 percent of Democratic voters believe Trump should be impeached and removed from office, compared with just 8 percent of Republican voters. Independents are split, with 45 percent in support and 53 percent in opposition.
The poll also finds a majority of voters — 57 percent — believing that last week’s protests resulting in rioters overtaking the U.S. Capitol was an act of terrorism, versus 40 percent who disagree. 90 percent of Democratic voters call it an act of terrorism, compared with only 27 percent of Republican voters.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/n…
25.
VIRick | January 15, 2021 at 6:37 pm
Alabama: Required Gender-Affirming Surgery Violates Equal Protection Clause
Per Gabriel Arkles and Equality Case Files:
On 15 January 2021, in "Corbitt v. Taylor," Judge Thompson of the federal District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Northern Division (Montgomery), ruled that Alabama's policy of requiring transgender individuals to have genital surgery before being able to change the gender marker on their state-issued ID/driver's licenses violates the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution, and thus is unconstitutional.
The Opinion is here:
https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/corbitt-v-tay…
The ACLU press release on this decision is here:
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court…
Gabriel Arkles is senior counsel for the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.
26.
VIRick | January 15, 2021 at 8:51 pm
Estonia: Riigikogu to Process Bill Equating Marriage and Registered Partnerships
Per LGBT Marriage News:
On Friday, 15 January 2021, the Riigikogu board initiated proceedings for a bill presented by 19 MPs that would equate a registered partnership contract to that of a marriage union. The bill was presented by 10 Center MPs and nine of the 10 opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE) MPs.
The bill would subsume registered partnership contracts, implemented from 9 October 2014 (and in effect from 1 January 2016), and regulated by the Registered Partnership Act, into the Family Law Act, rendering the Registered Partnership Act, also known as the cohabitation act, off the statute books.
The bill follows the scrapping of a planned referendum on the definition of marriage, which in turn fell by the wayside largely due to the resignation of Jüri Ratas as prime minister earlier in the week, and consequently the exit of the Center-EKRE-Isamaa coalition.
https://news.err.ee/1608074197/riigikogu-to-proce…
Note: In Estonia, registered partnerships can be contracted by either a same-sex couple or by an opposite-sex couple. With the passage of the above proposal, such registered partnerships would become equal to that of marriage (minus the provision for adoption).
27.
VIRick | January 18, 2021 at 1:54 pm
Maryland: Name-Change Bill Re-Introduced
On Friday, 15 January 2021, the Maryland House of Delegates’ Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a bill that would waive the publication requirement for name-change petitions and protect the privacy of transgender Marylanders and domestic violence survivors.
State Del. Emily Shetty (D-Montgomery Country) re-introduced House Bill 39 during the opening week of the 2021 legislative session. The measure unanimously passed the House of Delegates last session only to fail to reach a vote in the state Senate due to the session’s early pandemic closure.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2021/01/18/maryla…
28.
Randolph_Finder | January 20, 2021 at 12:32 am
I'd be *highly* surprised if this ran into any speed bumps beyond those that COVID has put on any bill not directly related to COVID prevention. It will pass the Senate (*may* get one or two no votes, but doubt it) and Gov Hogan isn't going to get in the way either.
29.
ianbirmingham | January 19, 2021 at 3:17 pm
Joe Biden pledges to restore Obama’s trans bathroom protections on day one of his presidency
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/01/19/joe-biden-o…
30.
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31.
Top Blower | May 28, 2022 at 11:42 pm
Donald Trump became the first US president to be impeached twice after a bipartisan majority in the US House of Representatives voted to accuse him of instigating a riot attack on Capitol Hill last week.
Donald Trump became the first US president to be impeached twice after a bipartisan majority in the US House of Representatives voted to accuse him of instigating a riot attack on Capitol Hill last week.
CordlessLeafBlower