Washington state bans gay and trans “panic” defense for homicide

Washington state bans gay and trans “panic” defense for homicide

The legislation is named teenager Nikki Kuhnhausen, who was killed last year
The legislation is named teenager Nikki Kuhnhausen, who was killed last year (Photo: Facebook)

Lawmakers in Washington state have overwhelmingly passed legislation banning the so-called “gay panic” defense. This is when someone accused of a murder could claim the sexuality or gender identity of their victim was partly to blame for their actions.

Although commonly called “gay panic defense”, it has been used across the LGBTQ spectrum. Washington’s legislation is named the Nikki Kuhnhausen Act. It’s been named after a 17-year-old trans woman, who was killed last year.

Related: Gay panic defense banned in New Jersey

The suspect in her killing has pled not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and malicious harassment, with his trial set for July. He told police that when Kuhnhausen told him she was trans, it made him “really uncomfortable” and “disturbed him”.

Washington state Senate approved the new legislation by 46-3. It was approved previously in the house by 90-5.

The legislation will now go to Gov. Jay Inslee for signing. This is expected to happen in the next few weeks.

Among those lobbying for the legislation in Washington was Kuhnhausen’s mother, Lisa Kuhnhausen-Woods, 52, who lives in the state.

Nikki Kuhnhausen was reported missing on June 10, 2019. Her body was eventually found in a forest in early December.

Related: Trans teen’s alleged murderer gets shockingly low bail

Her mom told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, “Nikki didn’t deserve this … it was a hate crime. I don’t feel there’s any justification in the panic defense.

“It’s not going to help Nikki’s case but it will help future families. There are other beautiful transgender children out there that need to be protected.”

Washington’s move comes after nine other US states implemented similar legislation: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey New York and Rhode Island.

www.queerty.com/washington-state-bans-gay-trans-panic-defense-homicide-20200228?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Donald Trump Jr. Says Dems Hope Coronavirus ‘Kills Millions’ to End President’s ‘Streak of Winning’ (WATCH)

Donald Trump Jr. Says Dems Hope Coronavirus ‘Kills Millions’ to End President’s ‘Streak of Winning’ (WATCH)

Shortly after midnight Friday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to accuse Democrats of blaming him for the coronavirus.

So, the Coronavirus, which started in China and spread to various countries throughout the world, but very slowly in the U.S. because President Trump closed our border, and ended flights, VERY EARLY, is now being blamed, by the Do Nothing Democrats, to be the fault of “Trump”.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020

Hours later, appearing on Fox and Friends, Donald Trump Jr. went a step further.

Don. Jr was just on Fox & Friends accusing Democrats of hoping coronavirus “comes here and kills millions of people so that they can end Donald Trump’s streak of winning.”

Absolutely insane. pic.twitter.com/Fq5eAUIsnq

— Lis Power (@LisPower1) February 28, 2020

“For them [Democrats] to try to take a pandemic, and hope it comes here and kills millions of people so they can end Donald Trump’s streak of winning is a new level of sickness,” Trump Jr. said.

Meanwhile, Trump’s chief of staff claimed the media has been ignoring coronavirus until now because they were preoccupied with the impeachment “hoax.”

Here’s Mike Mulvaney at CPAC characterizing coronavirus coverage as “an attempt to bring down the president” and blaming the media for the stock market stump pic.twitter.com/a747Inf2ky

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 28, 2020

“The reason you’re seeing so much attention to it today is, they think this is going to be what brings down the president,” Mick Mulvaney said Friday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

The post Donald Trump Jr. Says Dems Hope Coronavirus ‘Kills Millions’ to End President’s ‘Streak of Winning’ (WATCH) appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Donald Trump Jr. Says Dems Hope Coronavirus ‘Kills Millions’ to End President’s ‘Streak of Winning’ (WATCH)

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: February 28, 2020

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: February 28, 2020

HRC PRESIDENT ON BLOOMBERG’S APOLOGY FOR TRANSPHOBIC COMMENTS: “HRC called on Mayor Bloomberg to apologize, and we are glad he did. He took the time to engage members of the transgender community and it’s heartening that he has realized his comments were unacceptable,” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid). “Today, Mayor Bloomberg and his campaign rededicated themselves to pursuing a safer, more inclusive future for the LGBTQ community, and for transgender people specifically. Our focus, alongside all the pro-equality candidates, remains on mobilizing the 57 million Equality Voters around the country to defeat Donald Trump and Mike Pence and reverse their administration’s many attacks on our community.” More from NewNowNext

ICYMI — HRC LEGAL DIRECTOR SARAH WARBELOW (@SarahWarbelow) TESTIFIED YESTERDAY BEFORE THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE ON TRUMP-PENCE ADMIN’S ASSAULT ON LGBTQ RIGHTS: More from HRC and Washington Blade

“This is about protecting the most vulnerable among us.” – @HRC Legal Director @SarahWarbelow pic.twitter.com/iiG5xSw7xN

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 28, 2020

FRIDAY FEELING — AS BLACK HISTORY MONTH COMES TO A CLOSE, SLAVE PLAY PLAYWRIGHT JEREMY O. HARRIS WRITES ON WHAT THE MONTH MEANS TO HIM: Read Harris’s (@jeremyoharris) piece from HRC

ERICA SAUNDERS (@revericagrace) IS THE FIRST OPENLY TRANSGENDER PERSON IN THE U.S. TO BE ORDAINED IN THE BAPTIST FAITH AND LEAD A CONGREGATION IN A FORMAL CAPACITY: Read more of her story from Nico Lang (@Nico_Lang) at NewNowNext

IN THE STATES

TWO ALABAMA LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES APPROVED A TRANSPHOBIC BILL EARLIER THIS WEEK: The bill would block trans and non-binary youth from accessing medically necessary, gender-affirming care. Said HRC Alabama State Director Carmarion D. Anderson: “Anti-trans legislators in Alabama are once again targeting transgender and non-binary youth, spreading misinformation and using vicious, harmful rhetoric to advance an extremist agenda.” More from the Associated Press

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

LONDON TO HOLD FIRST-EVER LGBTQ MUSLIM PRIDE FESTIVAL IN APRIL: More from PinkNews

DESPITE PROMISES FROM GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN ENGLAND TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO PREP BY APRIL, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REMAINS UNCLEAR: More from PinkNews

GLOBAL MOMENTUM IS GROWING TO PROTECT LGBTQ PEOPLE FROM THE HARMFUL PRACTICE OF ‘CONVERSION THERAPY’: Nine countries are currently considering banning the practice. More from Openly

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break! 

The Advocate reports on new NBC musical dramedy “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”; LGBTQ Nation features 10 Black LGBTQ YouTubers you should know

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-february-28-2020?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Ugandan LGBTQ leaders cry for support after media attacks on affirming church

Ugandan LGBTQ leaders cry for support after media attacks on affirming church

Red Pepper

GLAAD joined up with The Fellowship for Affirming Ministries (TFAM) to call attention to continued violence against LGBTQ people in Uganda, and call on the Trump administration to live up to its loud promises to protect LGBTQ people and people of faith. 

On February 21, TFAM Uganda became a target of public persecution by a premeditated media campaign seeking to erase the pro-LGBTQI ministry. Two Ugandan newspapers, Trumpet News and the Red Pepper published photos and video falsely claiming that the ministry was officiating the wedding of a same-sex couple. Bishop Joseph Tolton, TFAM’s Global International Minister, stated the young couple was only testifying their relationship before the ministry. Following the publication of the articles, the couple fled to Nairobi, Kenya out of safety.

Many LGBTQ spaces and gatherings in Uganda have been swiftly shut down by authorities, and TFAM was one of few spaces left that offered the LGBTQ community a safe space to worship and express themselves. The ministry has not been able to meet over the past week, due to safety concerns. “The church had become a place of healing, one of the few spaces where the LGBTQ community can come together and worship freely,” said Bishop Tolton. 

The past year saw a number of documented murders, arrests, and violent attacks against LGBTQ Ugandans. Local politicians have been reintroducing the “Kill the Gays” Bill. The bill was signed into law in 2014 before being struck down by Uganda’s Constitutional Court. Identifying as LGBTQ resulted in life in prison, and those who were associated with a LGBTQ person(s) received harsh prison sentences. Although one of the Trump Administration’s foreign policy initiatives was to target countries criminalizing LGBTQI peoples, Uganda’s situation has received silence from The State Department. Sexual Minorities Uganda’s Executive Director, Frank Mugisha, stated, “It is not a secret that US involvement has greatly reduced ever since the Obama administration. Now, we are seeing partnerships from our government and US politicians with extreme conservative views”.

Discrimination against LGBTQI peoples does not occur within a vacuum. Bishop Tolton stated, “The LGBTQI Issue must be understood within the broader concerns of the undermining of human rights, particularly in Uganda. The specter and shadow of violence looms in a very real way because in 2019, we had several murders within the community”. Following the incident, TFAM launched the Our Freedom is Your Freedom campaign. The campaign seeks to connect progressive activists in the US and elsewhere to uphold democratic values and norms that are globally under threat. Pastor Simon Mpinga summed it up, “The freedom that the Americans are fighting for is connected directly to our freedom [in Uganda].” 

February 28, 2020
Issues: 

www.glaad.org/blog/ugandan-lgbtq-leaders-cry-support-after-media-attacks-affirming-church

Trump Administration Sides with Anti-Gay Photographer Who Likens Same-Sex Marriage to Polygamy

Trump Administration Sides with Anti-Gay Photographer Who Likens Same-Sex Marriage to Polygamy

The Trump administration is siding with an anti-gay photographer in Kentucky who has compared same-sex marriage to polygamy and a “zombie-themed wedding” — but who would gladly participate in a ceremony between a homosexual man and a woman.

Chelsey Nelson filed a lawsuit last year challenging Louisville’s LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance, saying the law puts her at risk of “limitless damages” if she even mentions her anti-gay views on her website. Although Nelson has not been asked to photograph a same-sex wedding, she apparently brought the suit out of an abundance of caution, as a “pre-enforcement challenge.” She is represented by — you guessed it — the so-called Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-LGBT hate group.

NBC News reports: The DOJ’s “statement of interest,” filed this week in federal court, asserts that the photographer, Chelsey Nelson, is likely to succeed in her claim, because requiring her to photograph a “ceremony that violates her sincerely held religious beliefs” — in Nelson’s case, a same-sex wedding — “invades her First Amendment rights.” Nelson sued Louisville officials in November, arguing that the city’s ordinance violates her First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion. According to the lawsuit, her Christian views, which include the belief that “God created marriage to be an exclusive covenant between one man and one woman,” shape “every aspect of her life,” including “her business, her art, and her creativity.” “Chelsey would decline any request for wedding celebration services or boutique editing services for a same-sex wedding, polygamous wedding, or an open marriage wedding because creating artwork promoting these events would violate Chelsey’s religious and artistic beliefs,” the suit explains. … Nelson has not, according to court records, been forced to photograph a same-sex wedding. But while she is opposed to providing her services to two brides or two grooms, her lawsuit states that she would “happily work with and provide her wedding celebration services for a wedding between a homosexual man and a woman.”

Nelson defended her position in an op-ed published by USA Today in November.

“This means I wouldn’t be the best person to photograph every wedding,” Nelson wrote. “Of course, I serve everyone regardless of who they are. I just don’t photograph every wedding requested of me. For example, I can’t celebrate a wedding that devalues how seriously I take marriage — like a heavily themed Halloween or zombie-themed wedding.

“Yet, as I began expanding my business, I realized a Louisville, Kentucky, law threatens me with damages if I stay true to my beliefs about marriage,” she added. “Actually, the law won’t even let me explain some of my religious beliefs about marriage, whether on my studio’s website, social media or directly to couples who may want to work with me.”

The City of Louisville says Nelson has no cause to challenge the ordinance, and is seeking dismissal of her lawsuit. The ACLU filed a brief in support of the city.

“At its core, Nelson Photography’s objection is not to a particular message requested by any particular customer, but to providing a service to an entire class of customers who are not heterosexual,” the ACLU brief said. “Nelson Photography must know who a prospective customer is before deciding whether it will refuse to serve that person. That is identity-based discrimination, not an objection to the provision of a specific product.”

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Trump Administration Sides with Anti-Gay Photographer Who Likens Same-Sex Marriage to Polygamy