(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.
Michael Brown (screen capture via YouTube) Anti-LGBTQ activist Michael Brown scolds Anderson Cooper for having a child in an op-ed on CharismaNews.
Dear Anderson,
Isn’t it an amazing feeling to be a father? To know that the precious little baby that you hold in your arms is, in a real sense, your own flesh and blood? That in a unique way, he carries part of you in his very life and soul? Yet when I saw the announcement of his birth, I felt sadness more than happiness. Sadness for him and for you.
Anderson, a boy deserves his mother, yet if I understand your plan correctly, your son will not be raised together by her and by you. That’s what saddens me the most.
To be clear, I don’t believe that you simply chose to be gay one day. I don’t believe that any more than I “chose” to be straight.
And I don’t mean that you won’t try to be an amazing dad. And a devoted dad. And a caring dad.
[snip]
In many ways, you are a private person, and I’m not trying to intrude in your life. And you may simply write me off as a hateful gay basher.
But it is love that compels me to write. What is best for Wyatt Morgan Cooper?
Brown has a longtime antagonistic history with the LGBTQ community. From railing at Netflix because the streaming company wouldn’t let a so-called ‘straight pride’ organization use their logo for advertising, to calming evangelicals that Donald Trump still hates gays even though he tweeted about Pride Month, to leading a hate march during Charlotte, North Carolina’s Pride Parade. So, yeah, I’m definitely writing him off as “a hateful gay basher.” Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck… (h/t JoeMyGod)
(image via Pexels) A police officer in Nigeria was attacked, stripped naked, and beaten by a group of young vigilantes for having consensual sex with another man in private. Constable Chibuike Ukazu, who is reportedly married, and another man only identified as Yellow, were confronted in a private residence in Orlu, Imo, last Tuesday. An unnamed source told The Nation the two men were “caught red-handed having anal sex.” “Immediately we entered the house, the police officer took down his trousers and pulled off his shirts, bend over and the yellow guy, started having annal sex with him,” said another man who is a part of the vigilante group. “Immediately our men broke in and arrested them and took them down to the community hall.” A police spokesman, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the incident saying the youths “pounced” on the men and “beat them to stupor” before taking them to the palace of the community leader. It was there that police took the men into custody as they were being jeered by the vigilantes for “practicing sodomy.” The spokesman also seemed to express more concern that the vigilantes had roughed up a fellow police officer more than the assault itself. “The command, therefore, wishes to warn members of the public to desist from taking laws into their hand by resorting to self-help especially on infractions by the members of the Police or other security agencies, all are advised to report all grievances to the nearest Police station for prompt and decisive action,” said Ikeokwu. “However, investigation into the matter has commenced with a view to unravel what actually transpired and if found culpable will face the wrath of the law.” In a country with some of the most virulently anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, Ukazu and his partner face up to 14 years in prison if convicted. When the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act was signed into law in 2014, polling showed 92% of Nigerians supported the legislation. The act not only bans gay marriage but also criminalizes homosexual clubs, associations, and organizations. Another poll by Pew Research showed 98% of Nigerians didn’t feel homosexuality should be accepted by society. That is the highest percentage of disapproval of LGBTQ people recorded by Pew Research.
In this week’s podcast: • The FDA issues new guidelines regarding gay and bisexual men donating blood • A new report shows anti-LGBTQ hate groups are on the rise in the U.S. • Get ready to live-stream a global Pride celebration this June • Sean Hayes reflects on saying goodbye to Will & Gracea second time All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Conor Climo (screen capture) A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty Monday to a federal weapons charge after plotting violent attacks on an LGBTQ bar, a synagogue, and the Anti-Defamation League. Conor Climo, 24, signed the plea agreement that was filed in January in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the agreement reads, in part, “Defendant stated that he wanted to do more against the groups he hated by carrying out violent attacks against them.” “Defendant admitted to discussing plans for violent attacks online against the Anti-Defamation League, a local Las Vegas synagogue, and a local bar,” continued the document. In the agreement, Climo admitted the unnamed bar catered to an LGBTQ clientele. Climo was arrested in August last year after being monitored communicating via encrypted internet chat with individuals identified as white supremacists. He reportedly told an undercover FBI informant he was “scouting places to attack.” In his communications with the undercover agent, Climo sent a satellite image of the synagogue he planned to target which highlighted a possible escape route. Climo also used homophobic language and spoke about surveilling an LGBTQ bar in downtown Vegas in the encrypted chats. When the investigators arrived at Climo’s home with a search warrant, they found “hand-drawn schematics and component parts of a destructive device” which included oxidizing agents, flammable liquids and circuit boards. An AR-15 assault-style weapon and a bolt-action rifle were also confiscated during the search, according to NBC LA. He was charged with possessing an unregistered firearm in the form of the component parts of a destructive device. A statement from the U.S. attorney’s office said, “Climo would regularly use derogatory racial, anti-Semitic and homosexual slurs.” Appearing in court wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit on Monday, the Review-Journal writes, “Climo stood with closed fists at a podium, mostly answering ‘yes, your honor’ and ‘no, your honor,’ to a series of standard questions.” AsI reported in August, Climo made headlines in 2016 for ‘patrolling’ his neighborhood wearing battle gear and carrying an assault-style rifle and survival knife. At the time, he told local ABC News affiliate KTNV, “I’ll pretty much stay within constitutional bounds when I’m doing this.” ‘Pretty much stay within constitutional bounds???’ He also told the reporter he would be looking for ‘suspicious activity,’ which he defined as “people outside when they’re not supposed to be.” In the interview, Climo admitted he had no formal training in patrolling, policing, or dealing with possibly tense situations. CNN reports Climo will return to court on May 14 where he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the plea deal, he will also be required to undergo mental health treatment and be monitored via an electronic device upon his release from prison. Climo’s story is especially chilling as Las Vegas was the site of the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, when 58 people were killed and more than 500 hurt in October 2017. Here’s the 2016 report from KTNV:
Adolfo Martinez (mugshot via Story County) Adolfo Martinez, of Ames, Iowa, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for ripping down a church’s pride flag and burning it outside of a strip club. A jury in Story County found Martinez guilty last month of a hate crime, third-degree harassment, reckless use of fire as a habitual offender. The Des Moines Registerreports Iowa sentencing guidelines called for “a maximum of five years in prison for the hate crime and arson charge and a maximum of a year and month for the other two charges.” Martinez’s status as a habitual offender allowed for him to be sentenced to a longer prison term. According to Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds, this case was the first incidence of a hate crime going before a jury in Story County. On June 11, Martinez was reportedly “making threats and acting out” at a gentlemen’s club named Dangerous Curves located at 111 Fifth Street. The police were called but Martinez had been ejected from the premises by the time they arrived. Martinez reportedly came back that night and told a bar employee he was going to burn the bar down. He added that he planned on burning a Pride flag hanging in front of the Ames United Church of Christ nearby. He returned with the flag in hand, poured lighter fluid on it and set the banner on fire in front of the nightclub according to the police report. He was arrested later that day. Ames Police Cmdr. Jason Tuttle told the Ames Tribune that the 30-year-old confessed to tearing the flag down and burning it while in custody. Adolfo Martinez (screen capture) In a stunning interview with local TV station KCCI, Martinez admitted he was guilty of the charges and acknowledged his actions stemmed from his hostility to the LGBTQ community. He added that it was “an honor and a blessing” to stand up for “the word of the Lord.” “I’m guilty, I’m guilty as charged,” he proudly announced. “I’ll say it on camera as well. Live! Let it be known. I’m guilty as charged plain and simple. Knowingly, willingly, and intentionally did I do that. Yep. It’s my honor.” “It is a judgment and it is written to execute vengeance on the heathen and punishments upon the people… and it is my honor to do so. That was an honor to do that. It’s a blessing from the Lord to be able to stand for his word firmly against all odds, plain and simple.” The TV interview was played at his trial as evidence. (source: Des Moines Register)
(stock photo via Depositphotos) Two gay men in Zambia were arrested for having gay sex in a private hotel room, and the High Court of Zambia has now sentenced the men to 15 years in prison for being intimate behind closed doors. The south-eastern African country, which retains its colonial-era laws, offers no legal protections for LGBTQ people. The men, Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba, booked the room in 2017. According to reports, a female worker peeked through a window and saw the men being intimate. Last week, a judge dismissed an appeal against their convictions for crimes against the order of nature (the legal term for gay sex in Zambia) sentencing them both to 15 years in prison. The U.S. ambassador to Zambia, Daniel Foote, said in a statement: “I was personally horrified to read about the sentencing of two men, who had a consensual relationship, which hurt absolutely no one.” Foote implored the government of Zambia to review the case but received a fervent backlash for speaking out. In an official embassy statement, Foote announced he was forced to cancel attending World AIDS Day events due to threats against him. “I was shocked at the venom and hate directed at me and my country, largely in the name of “Christian” values, by a small minority of Zambians,” wrote the ambassador. “I thought, perhaps incorrectly, that Christianity meant trying to live like our Lord, Jesus Christ. I am not qualified to sermonize, but I cannot imagine Jesus would have used bestiality comparisons or referred to his fellow human beings as “dogs,” or “worse than animals;” allusions made repeatedly by your countrymen and women about homosexuals.” Foote’s official statement also made mention of the $500 million in annual assistance Zambia receives from the United States saying, “In these countries were we contribute resources, this includes partnering in areas of mutual interest, and holding the recipient government accountable for its responsibilities under this partnership.”
In an interview with Sky News, President Lungu defended his country’s homophobic laws saying, “Even animals don’t do it, so why should we be forced to do it?…because we want to be smart, civilized and advanced and so on.” “If there are such countries which will allow bestiality, let them do it but not here,” he added. Ah, yes – the old ‘compare being gay to having sex with animals’ argument. How fresh, how new… Zambia’s president told Sky News his government will officially complain to the Trump administration over Foote’s remarks. (source: Sky News)
(stock photo via Depositphotos) Imagine being arrested for having consensual sex in the privacy of your hotel room while on vacation. That’s the situation two Vietnamese tourists found themselves in during a trip to Malaysia. The New Straits Timesreports Tang Van Duc, 22, and Lee Vu Linh, 29,were arrested by the State Immigration Department in their hotel room in Penang for participating in “immoral acts” with an undercover officer on November 12. The couple pleaded guilty to the charges in court, and Judge Norhayati Mohd Yunus ordered each of them to pay a fine of about $240 (RM1000). They also faced the embarrassment of their photo being posted by local news media. The men had been visiting the country since October 18 on tourist visas.
#NSTnation: The duo – a gay couple – was arrested by the State Immigration Department in the hotel room while participating in an “immoral act” with an “agent provocateur” at about 9.30pm on Nov 12.https://t.co/eYBd85Qi7f
I’ve reported on the grim situation for LGBTQ people in Malaysia many times in recent years. Malaysia provides no legal protections for LGBTQ individuals, and those arrested for same-sex encounters face severe penalties – up to 20 years in prison as well as fines and public whippings. Earlier this month, five men in Kuala Lumpur were sentenced to at least six months in prison and being whipped with a cane in public for “attempting to have gay sex.” In August 2018, police raided a gay bar in the same city saying the arrests were an attempt to “stop the spread of LGBTQ culture in society, according to Pink News. The next month two Malaysian women were caned for “attempting lesbian sex in a car.” Duc and Linh enjoy a better legal situation in their own country of Vietnam. Same-sex relations are legally permitted, gay/bisexual people are allowed to openly serve in the military, and a 2016 survey found rising support – up to 45% at the time – for marriage equality in Vietnam.
Do we believe them? Chick-fil-A has had a rough relationship with the LGBTQ community for years thanks to donations by the popular fast-food chain to anti-LGBTQ organizations like the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. But in a statement today, Chick-fil-A says it will end those donations in favor of a new tact. A representative for Chick-fil-A says the company “made multi-year commitments to both organizations” and “fulfilled those obligations in 2018.” The eatery says it will now focus charitable donations to “a smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of education, homelessness, and hunger.” But should we be buying this? The restaurant chain’s CEO, Dan Cathy, made a similar promise back in 2011. And in 2016, the company told Think Progress that it was ending contributions to such groups, but earlier this year the news site found Chick-fil-A had donated $1.8 million to discriminatory groups in 2017. Drew Anderson, the director of campaigns at GLAAD, the national LGBTQ advocacy group, didn’t sound very convinced as he issued a statement saying in part, “Chick-fil-A investors, employees and customers can greet today’s announcement with cautious optimism, but should remember that similar press statements were previously proven to be empty.” There have been protests across the U.S., Canada and the UK over proposed openings of the fast food restaurant. Earlier this year, the San Antonio city council said no to a franchise being opened at the local airport. And the UK shopping center where Chick-fil-A opened its first storefront across the pond announced after just a week that the lease on the newly-opened location would not be renewed due to protests.
Vice President Mike Pence Vice President Mike Pence made an appearance at a National Adoption Month event held by the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday where he praised Donald Trump for proposing a rule that would allow taxpayer-funded faith-based adoption agencies to deny LGBTQ people child placement in their homes. The Washington Blade reports Pence told the crowd that he “couldn’t be more proud” of the rule he said demonstrates the Trump administration’s understanding of “the role that communities of faith play in adoption.” “We’ve reversed the rule implemented in the closing days of the last administration that jeopardized the ability of faith-based providers to serve those in need by penalizing them for their deeply held religious beliefs,” said the Vice President. “We will stand for the freedom of religion and we will stand with faith-based organizations to support adoption.” He also commended HHS Secretary Alex Azar and his staff for “promulgating the new rule that respects the freedom of religion of every American, but also recognizes the vital role that faith-based organizations play in adoption in this country.” Pence ended his remarks saying, “And I’ll make you one more promise: Child welfare providers will never be forced to choose between their faith and serving those in need — not on our watch.” The HHS proposal would reverse a regulation implemented in the last months of the Obama administration prohibiting recipients of federal grants from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Pence noted statistics that claim “four out of five families have pointed to faith and church support as a factor in successful fostering.” But what Pence failed to mention is that same-sex couples are “four times more likely to be raising an adopted child and six times more likely to be raising foster children than heterosexual couples,” according to AmericanAdoptions.com. “The Trump-Pence White House has proposed a horrific federal regulation that would permit discrimination across the entire spectrum of HHS programs receiving federal funding,” Human Right’s Campaign President Alphonso David said in a statement when the rule was announced. Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, told Out, “Research has shown LGBTQ families provide the same kind of love, protection, and support as other families, and no child should be denied that kind of environment.” Ellis added, “The Trump Administration has once again demonstrated how they prefer to prioritize the gross work of anti-LGBTQ activists over the safety and well-being of our children.” (source: Washington Blade)
As I 
The U.S. ambassador to Zambia, Daniel Foote, said in a 
