Arkansas State Sen. Jason Rapert (image via Facebook) A virulently anti-LGBTQ lawmaker in Arkansas who decried his state’s face mask mandate as “draconian” has been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus. State Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) has also been diagnosed with pneumonia. ArkansasOnline reports he is in the hospital and responding well to treatment. The 48-year-old self-described social and fiscal conservative criticized Gov. Asa Hutchinson just a week ago when the face mask mandate went into effect. “There is no question that Covid19 is serious and can be very deadly for those with underlying conditions and the elderly,” wrote Rapert on his Facebook page. “But the fact is 99% of our nation has not been afflicted and this pandemic is no worse statistically than other severe outbreaks we have endured without draconian measures isolating the healthy and shutting down our entire economy. Even though he’s told his Facebook followers that “we have all been doing our best to wear a mask,” the senator preached (sans face mask) at the Potsville Assembly of God on July 6 about not being a “slave to fear.”
Jason Rapert preaching about not being a “slave to fear” during a maskless service in arkansas weeks ago. Today he’s in the hospital with COVID-19 and pneumonia https://t.co/IHGUyFgxe0
Earlier this year, Rapert denounced an appearance by openly gay Tony/Grammy/Emmy Award-winner Billy Porter on the children’s television series Sesame Street and called for defunding his state’s PBS affiliate. Rapert promoted an online petition expressing disgust over “Sesame Street’s decision to push drag queens on children,” and demanding that the show drop the episode featuring Porter.
When one commenter asked Rapert if Jesus would “approve of [his] judgment and intolerance,” Rapert dismissed the query saying, “You are totally amiss and you know it. Christians do not support anti-Biblical behavior. The Bible is clear on certain sins — including homosexuality.” Page Six asked Porter about the kerfuffle and the Pose star replied, “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.” “Like, what about me singing with a penguin [on the show] has anything to do with what I’m doing in my bedroom?” Rapert has also called for bombing the Middle East with nuclear weapons, and in 2017 sponsored a resolution calling for a federal constitutional convention to add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In 2015, he claimed Pride parades were held on Sundays to “mock Christians” and “try to intimidate people who believe in the Word of God.” In 2014, the state senator called for impeaching the judge who overturned his state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Rapert is currently the only announced candidate for lieutenant governor in 2022.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov (screen capture via HBO Sports) I expect the Trump administration will tout this as part of its “great record” on LGBTQ issues, but in the end, I’m not sure it actually DOES anything of consequence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that Ramzan Kadyrov, president of the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, has been banned from entering the U.S. under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020. Section 7031(c) “requires the Secretary of State to bar from U.S. entry” foreign officials about whom the Secretary has credible information indicating that they have been involved, directly or indirectly, in “gross violation of human rights.” You’ll note the statute says “requires” so let’s not give Pompeo too much credit here. Today’s announcement also affects Kadyrov’s immediate family members. That said, it’s not clear Kadyrov or his family had any plans to visit the U.S. any time soon. Plus, Section 7031(c) will expire on September 30, 2020, unless Congress extends it by a continuing resolution or restated in a new law. A statement issued by the State Department says this action is being taken “due to Kadyrov’s involvement in gross violations of human rights in the Chechen Republic.” The Department says it has received extensive credible information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous human rights violations including torture and extrajudicial killings. In 2018, the United States joined fifteen other nations in creating a fact-finding mission into “horrific reports of abuses against LGBTI persons” and others who were targeted by Kadyrov. The subsequent report found that “harassment and persecution, arbitrary or unlawful arrests or detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions” had taken place. The State Department says it is now concerned Kadyrov may be “using the excuse of the coronavirus pandemic to inflict further human rights abuses on the people of the Chechen Republic.” Kadyrov, who was appointed president of Chechnya in 2007 by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly denied not only the allegations of torture and murder but that gay people even exist in his country. Human rights activists have been sounding the alarm for years that Kadyrov had launched a series of state-sponsored anti-gay purges across the highly conservative, traditional Muslim country. In May 2017, the Human Rights Watch shared one detainee’s description of the horrific treatment he’d been subjected to in an unofficial prison: “They electrocuted us, beat us with pipes, kicked us, and punched us, they made other inmates beat us, they called us names, spat in our faces.” The U.S. announced sanctions against Kadyrov in December 2017, including visa bans and asset freezes, under the 2012 Magnitsky Act. The BBC reported at the time that Kadyrov responded by “mocking the US move in an Instagram post in which he said ‘a sleepless night is waiting for me.'” He added he was “proud” to be “out of favor with the special services of the USA.” The new film Welcome to Chechnya,which debuted on HBO June 30, documents the horrific persecution of LGBTQ people in Chechnya.
Broadway star Norm Lewis Some news items you might have missed: • What To Watch This Weekend: I’ll definitely be watching Tony Award nominee and all-around super-talent Norm Lewis in concert with SiriusXM’s Seth Rudetsky at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Broadway audiences know the oh-so-handsome Lewis from his performances in Phantom of the Opera, Once on This Island, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Little Mermaid, Les Misérables, Chicago and more. Continue reading “News Round-Up: July 17, 2020”
In this week’s podcast: • For the first time, HIV appears to be eradicated using only medications • Poland’s anti-LGBTQ president squeaks out reelection • White House press secretary raises eye-brows claiming Donald Trump’s “pro-LGBTQ” agenda • Chicago’s Boystown may get a new name All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Jwan Yosef and Ricky Martin (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: International pop star Ricky Martin and husband, artist Jwan Yosef, shared a perfectly up-to-date Pride 2020 kiss pic (above) with the caption, “Happy Pride, everyone!” • Inappropriate Questions: “How did you get pregnant?” In the latest episode from the CBC’s podcast that addresses the questions ‘we all want to ask,’ journalist Freddy McConnell takes the listener through his ups and downs of navigating pregnancy as a trans man and single dad. • Instinct Magazine: Over at my ‘other’ outlet, the powers that be have compiled this list of 10 totally classic LGBTQ anthem to help you dance your way through the last days of Pride Month 2020. Hit the link to see if your favorite made the list 🙂
• BuzzFeed LGBTQ: BuzzFeed is relaunching its dedicated vertical on the BuzzFeed.com site focused on LGBTQ content. Its mission is to elevate new voices and curate content that highlights every aspect of queer life – from the big stories to the small everyday moments, in Pride Month and year-round. Zach Stafford, who recently departed his position as editor-in-chief of The Advocate, will be the Editor-at-Large. • Revry TV: The first LGBTQ+ virtual cable network is 100 percent free, 100 percent queer, and features LGBTQ+ programming for a diverse range of audiences through their app, the web, and platforms like Roku and AppleTV. Revry Premium provides access to the streaming platform’s full library of on-demand titles without commercials for as low as $4.99 a month. Get one month of Premium for free thanks to The Advocate by signing up here and using promo code M201. • Back2Stonewall: Even though flying a rainbow Pride flag violates Russia’s hateful ‘anti-gay propaganda’ law passed in 2013, the American embassy in Moscow is proudly and defiantly displaying the flag for all to see.
(image via US Embassy in South Korea/Instagram) The Trump administration has ordered the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, to remove a rainbow flag hung in support of LGBTQ Pride Month. The instructions to remove the Pride Flag reportedly came from the offices of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has a long history of anti-LGBTQ positions. The embassy in South Korea was also ordered to take down a banner in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. CNN reports the two banners hung from the embassy building’s facade were originally placed there thanks to Ambassador Harry Harris. The Twitter account for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul proudly shared photos of the Pride flag and Black Lives Matter banner prior to their removal. https://twitter.com/USEmbassySeoul/status/1267243731565948928 https://twitter.com/USEmbassySeoul/status/1271745253863649280 The State Department cited the Black Lives Matter movement’s status as a non-profit organization as the reason for removing the BLM banner because “the US government does not encourage contributions to the group or promote any specific organization.” But no reason was given for removing the Pride flag. According to CNN, the Pride flag was removed on Monday just hours before the landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court which affirmed federal protections for LGBTQ Americans in the workplace. You may recall the Trump administration rejected requests from U.S. embassies to fly Pride flags from embassy flag poles last year. At the time, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo had no issue with rainbow flags being flown as long as it wasn’t from the embassy flagpoles. “Secretary has the position that, as it relates to the flagpole, that only the American flag should be flown there,” said Ortagus. The embassy in Seoul worked around the denial in 2019 by hanging the flag on the outside of the building, but clearly, that approach didn’t fly this year. Contrast all this with the Obama years when the government granted blanket permission to fly rainbow flags during June in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month. Additionally, President Obama issued presidential proclamations recognizing June as Pride Month all eight years of his administration. (source: CNN,NBC News)
A vote by the Republican National Committee to leave the party’s 2016 party platform unchanged ahead of the November election has infuriated grassroots activists — including moderates who wanted to streamline its message and social conservatives who sought added language on emerging hot-button topics.
The decision by the party’s executive panel Wednesday means the GOP will maintain positions in the 4-year-old policy blueprint — including opposition to same-sex marriage and a nod to gay conversion therapy — and decline to stake out new positions on topics such as police reform, gender identity and third-trimester abortions.
Party officials and senior Trump campaign aides had previously discussed ways to pare down the 58-page document to a single notecard or abbreviated list of principles, but the effort broke down after several conservative groups registered complaints with the White House.
L-R Donald Trump, Roy Cohn (screen capture) Check out the first trailer for the new documentary Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn, scheduled to debut June 19 on HBO. The film takes an unflinching look at the life and death of infamous, closeted anti-gay attorney, Roy Cohn. From Deadline:
The documentary draws on unearthed archival material and audiotapes to paint a portrait of Cohn’s life from the late 1950s as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy, through to the 1980s when he embedded himself in the Reagan White House as a “rabid anti-homosexuality activist and political mentor” to current U.S. President Donald Trump before dying of AIDS in 1986.
Interviewees include John Waters, Cindy Adams, Alan Dershowitz, Nathan Lane, and Tony Kushner, whose 2018 Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning revival of Angels In America featured Lane as Cohn.
“Roy Cohn made his name prosecuting and pushing for the execution of my grandparents Ethel and Julius Rosenberg,” said director Ivy Meeropol. “Many years later he became Donald Trump’s lawyer, mentor, and close friend. If there was ever a time to reflect on how we got here it is now. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share the film with HBO audiences.”
“One thing I didn’t know until 1988 was that Cohn was gay and had succumbed to AIDS. Learning this about him made me want to know more about this man and the secret life he led. This clash of feelings, hating a man and believing he was evil while simultaneously feeling empathy for that same man who no doubt suffered in the closet, drove my approach in making this film.”
Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic in HBO’s ‘Welcome To Chechnya’ Some news items you might have missed: • Oregon Live: A gay man recently became angry with his mother when she didn’t know how to respond when he introduced his new boyfriend who is HIV-positive. She fears if they stay together and have children the new boo might infect the future/possible kids. She wrote to the popular column ‘Ask Amy’ for advice. • CBS Detroit: A Wisconsin woman who has taken hydroxychloroquine for 19 years to treat lupus has tested positive for COVID-19. The woman, a self-described Trump supporter, says she only left her home to go the grocery store. She told CBS News she thought she would be safe because of what Donald Trump has said about the drug. • HBO: From Academy Award-nominated director David France comes Welcome to Chechnya, a powerful and eye-opening documentary about a group of activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ persecution in the repressive and closed Russian republic of Chechnya.
• Politico: More than 40,000 National Guard members currently helping states during the coronavirus health threat will face a “hard stop” on their deployments on June 24 — just one day shy of many members becoming eligible for key federal benefits like education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI bill and/or early retirement. • Bloomberg News: Researchers are finding evidence that patients who test positive for the coronavirus after recovering aren’t capable of transmitting the infection, and could have the antibodies that prevent them from falling sick again. • AZ Central: Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) dropped four percentage points in a month trailing Democrat Mark Kelly by 13 points, according to the latest tracking poll by OH Predictive Insights. The same poll in April favored Kelly 51% to McSally’s 42%, and now in May, it’s 51%-38%. The poll shows independents breaking more than 2-1 for Kelly. • TikTok: Since the fan on my two-year-old laptop sometimes goes into high gear for no apparent reason, I clicked on this. I had no idea computers could get so filthy inside.
(image via VisitJacksonville.com) For years, the city of Jacksonville, Florida, had a terrible track record when it came to LGBTQ rights in the city. In 2015, for example, the Human Rights Campaign rated Jacksonville a23 out of a possible 100 in terms of LGBTQ rights and protections. Since the city expanded its Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) to include sexual orientation and gender identity in early 2017, the HRC rating has improved to 79 out of 100. But now, Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal has sided with a handful of anti-LGBTQ activists that want to see the HRO reversed on a technicality. Florida Politics reports that the appellate court ruled unanimously 3-0 that the lawsuit filed by virulently anti-LGBTQ law group Liberty Counsel should be allowed to move forward after being dismissed twice by lower courts. Jason Gabriel, the city’s head lawyer in the office of General Counsel, called the decision a “mindboggling” and “bizarre” appeals court ruling against the local LGBTQ protections and vowed to fight to defend the law. “It’s a hyper-technical ruling with some bizarre findings,” said Gabriel. The decision from the three-judge panel mainly hinged on how language was presented in the initial public notices about how the existing HRO would be amended. When the amendments were being considered in 2017, the sections of the local Ordinance Code that would be affected were listed and then followed with instructions to add sexual orientation and gender identity to those sections.
“Section 2. Amending Sections 60.105, 400.101, 400.301, 402.102, 402.107(g)(1), 402.107(g)(3), 402.201, 402.202, 402.203, 402.204, 402.206, 402.210, 402.211, 406.102, 406.104(g)(1), 406.104(g)(3), 406.201, 408.102, 408.204, 408.401, 408.402, 408.403, 408.404, 408.406, and 408.407, Ordinance Code.” “The foregoing sections of the Ordinance Code are hereby amended as follows: wherever protected categories are listed, that sexual orientation and gender identity, as defined in Section 3 below, shall be added to the list.”
The amendments also added specific definitions for “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Sounds pretty straight forward, yes? Everyone concerned understood what and how the changes were to the HRO. But the Liberty Counsel held that all 25 sections of the Ordinance Code that were affected by the amendments should have been written out in full text showing the insertion of the new language. The appellate court agreed on that very narrow legal view saying the process “violated governing principles of notice and due process.” And so, the Liberty Counsel won its reversal on previous rulings and is now allowed to further proceedings in trying to overturn the LGBTQ protections. Mat Staver of the anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel In a press release, the Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver gloated over the ruling writing, “The citizen plaintiffs were injured by the city’s deceptive practice in presenting the HRO for passage, and that this deceptive practice of not revealing the intent and scope of the law invalidates it.” Gabriel disagreed with the appeals court telling Florida Politics that “full text of the rules … was set forth for the Council and the public, both before or after enactment, and was immediately officially published after enactment.” One solution to the issue, according to incoming City Council President Tommy Hazouri, who sponsored the 2017 legislation, is to simply pass the law again. Since the bill passed in 2017 (by a vote of 12-6), the membership of the City Council has not changed. The city is also considering appealing this new ruling to the (currently conservative) Florida Supreme Court. LGBTQ blogger JoeMyGod notes that the Liberty Counsel has been trying to repeal Jacksonville’s LGBTQ protections since they were passed in early 2017.
