NEW YORK (AP) — Organizers of New York City’s Pride events said Saturday they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual parade until at least 2025 and will also seek to keep on-duty officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ people and history.
In their statement, NYC Pride urged members of law enforcement to “acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”
“The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” the group said.
It will also increase the event’s security budget to boost the presence of community-based security and first responders while reducing the police department’s presence.
Police will provide first response and security “only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials,” the group said, adding it hoped to keep police officers at least one city block away from event perimeter areas where possible.
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Word of the ban came out Friday when the Gay Officers Action League said in a release it was disheartened by the decision.
The group called the ban an “abrupt about-face” and said the decision “to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful.”
The parade is scheduled for June after the coronavirus prevented many Pride events worldwide last year, including in New York which instead hosted virtual performances in front of masked participants and honored front-line workers in the pandemic crisis.
The disruptions frustrated activists who had hoped to collectively mark the 50th anniversary of the first Gay Pride parades and marches in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in 1970.
Those marches came a year after the 1969 uprising outside Manhattan’s Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in response to a police raid. The uprising is largely credited with fueling the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
Pride season occurs this year amid activism inspired by the response to racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death last year at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
Pride NYC’s announcement Saturday follows a division among organizers in recent years in planning for celebrations of LGBTQ pride in New York City.
In 2019, there were two marches in Manhattan after some in the community concluded that the annual parade had become too commercialized. The Queer Liberation March aimed for a protest vibe, saying the main Pride march was too heavily policed by the same department that raided Stonewall a half century earlier.
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The New York Police Department commissioner apologized for the raid during a briefing in 2019, calling it “wrong, plain and simple.”
Detective Sophia Mason, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department, said on Saturday the department’s “annual work to ensure a safe, enjoyable Pride season has been increasingly embraced by its participants.”
She added: “The idea of officers being excluded is disheartening and runs counter to our shared values of inclusion and tolerance. That said, we’ll still be there to ensure traffic safety and good order during this huge, complex event.”
The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, May 15, 2021. There are 1,318,399 confirmed cases in Canada. _ Canada: 1,318,399 confirmed cases (73,420 active, 1,220,110 resolved, 24,869 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers. There were 5,987 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 193.18 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 45,233 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 6,462. There were 44 new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 340 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 49. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.13 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 65.44 per 100,000 people. There have been 33,260,624 tests completed. _ Newfoundland and Labrador: 1,179 confirmed cases (90 active, 1,083 resolved, six deaths). There were six new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 17.24 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 52 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is seven. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 1.15 per 100,000 people. There have been 253,188 tests completed. _ Prince Edward Island: 190 confirmed cases (nine active, 181 resolved, zero deaths). There were two new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 5.64 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of four new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people. There have been 152,547 tests completed. _ Nova Scotia: 4,524 confirmed cases (1,537 active, 2,915 resolved, 72 deaths). There were 117 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 156.94 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 933 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 133. There was one new reported death Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of two new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is zero. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.03 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 7.35 per 100,000 people. There have been 700,729 tests completed. _ New Brunswick: 2,045 confirmed cases (117 active, 1,887 resolved, 41 deaths). There were five new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 14.97 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 57 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is eight. There were zero new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there has been one new reported death. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is zero. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.02 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 5.25 per 100,000 people. There have been 319,739 tests completed. _ Quebec: 361,820 confirmed cases (7,653 active, 343,142 resolved, 11,025 deaths). There were 838 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 89.25 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 5,604 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 801. There were eight new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 51 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is seven. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.08 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 128.58 per 100,000 people. There have been 8,771,778 tests completed. _ Ontario: 504,533 confirmed cases (28,069 active, 468,033 resolved, 8,431 deaths). There were 2,362 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 190.5 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 18,310 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 2,616. There were 26 new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 195 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 28. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.19 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 57.22 per 100,000 people. There have been 14,499,910 tests completed. _ Manitoba: 44,189 confirmed cases (4,163 active, 39,024 resolved, 1,002 deaths). There were 491 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 301.83 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 3,252 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 465. There were zero new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 15 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is two. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.16 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 72.65 per 100,000 people. There have been 734,904 tests completed. _ Saskatchewan: 44,159 confirmed cases (2,075 active, 41,569 resolved, 515 deaths). There were 227 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 176.04 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 1,464 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 209. There were two new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 13 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is two. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.16 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 43.69 per 100,000 people. There have been 811,303 tests completed. _ Alberta: 216,626 confirmed cases (23,873 active, 190,616 resolved, 2,137 deaths). There were 1,433 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 539.88 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 11,511 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,644. There were five new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 31 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is four. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.1 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 48.33 per 100,000 people. There have been 4,364,960 tests completed. _ British Columbia: 138,304 confirmed cases (5,717 active, 130,953 resolved, 1,634 deaths). There were 494 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 111.06 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 3,963 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 566. There were two new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 32 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is five. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.09 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 31.74 per 100,000 people. There have been 2,607,123 tests completed. _ Yukon: 84 confirmed cases (one active, 81 resolved, two deaths). There were zero new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 2.38 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of two new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 4.76 per 100,000 people. There have been 9,129 tests completed. _ Northwest Territories: 115 confirmed cases (38 active, 77 resolved, zero deaths). There were zero new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 84.14 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 16 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is two. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people. There have been 21,427 tests completed. _ Nunavut: 618 confirmed cases (78 active, 536 resolved, four deaths). There were 12 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 198.21 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 65 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is nine. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 10.16 per 100,000 people. There have been 13,811 tests completed. This report was automatically generated by The Canadian Press Digital Data Desk and was first published May 15, 2021. The Canadian Press
LGBTQ advocates and police union members called for the resignation of the City Council president and police commissioner in Long Beach on Long Island during a protest in support of flying the rainbow Pride flag on the city boardwalk over the weekend. The city said it will consider a defamation lawsuit after officials were called “homophobic and discriminatory.”
David Kilmnick, executive director of the LGBT Network of Long Island, said city officials politicized the Pride flag that was flown outside a local restaurant on public property and told its owner to take it down.
“The rainbow flag is not going to be in the back of the bus. It is not going to be behind everything else. We are not putting it in the closet,” Kilmnick said. “It is going to be where it should be.”
Authorities said the flag was being flown on public property in violation of the city code. They said it has nothing to do with what the flag stands for.
“I knew nothing about this until a bogus press release was issued,” City Council President John Bendo said in a statement. “It is appalling that the LGBT Network is allowing its reputation to be damaged in this way.”
The Long Beach Police Benevolent Association joined the protest after the union voted no-confidence in city Police Commissioner Ronald Walsh last month.
Kilmnick’s nonprofit has been at odds with Long Beach after the network refused to pay $70,000 for services during several Pride on the Beach festivals on the city boardwalk. The network said it withheld payment because other organizations that hold annual events do not have to pay for these services.
The network’s chief legal counsel, Robert Agostisi, is also being sued by the city after a state Comptroller’s investigation found alleged fraud. The city said Agostisi, the former acting city manager, and other employees “violated the public trust” in the uncovered payout scheme. The city seeks to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The city said Walsh and Bendo deserve an apology from Kilmnick or face potential legal action.
In a statement on its social media accounts, the Log Cabin Republicans of Tennessee refer to state representative Jeremy Faison as a “total Daddy.” (Photo Credit: Love letter by Ylanite Koppens via Pexels and Faison by Ncrawford604 via Wikipedia)
The Tennessee chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans has come out with two separate statements to openly mock and diminish anyone that doesn’t share its values in an attempt to get the love of the Republican Party while trying to act like it’s a part of the LGBTQ community. The first came in the form of a press release posted to its Twitter account on May 6 and the second was an editorial written by Joshua Herr, the Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans of Tennessee, for the Tennessean on May 10.
The former statement addressed the backlash over Tennessee State Representative Jeremy Faison’s refusal to get on board with a resolution to honor T.J. Osborne of the duo Brothers Osborne after he came out as gay. In the statement, it reads:
“Look, maybe Faison just thought coming out as gay isn’t newsworthy enough for resolution. Maybe Osborne has other accomplishments to his name besides fondness for strong jawlines and a fabulous taste in drapery. And besides, none of us got resolutions when we came out- and we were a lot younger than Osborne. Don’t expect rainbow confetti and a ticker tape parade just liking boys, hunty. Shut up and sing.”
The Twitter statement goes on to name other “queens” in country music after denigrating Osborne by saying, “T.J. may be the biggest, but he surely is not the first.” The statement concludes with the Log Cabin Republicans of Tennessee’s adulation for Faison:
“We heard you’re having a lunch kiki with Rep. Faison. Can’t blame you; he’s a total Daddy. But in the meantime we’ll set up brunch with our girls and find out if they’d pass a resolution that’s a little less sappy and…gay.”
(Credit: Log Cabin Republicans of Tennessee Official Twitter Account)(Credit: Log Cabin Republicans of Tennessee Official Twitter Account)
“LGBT leftists tend to hate us because we put our principles first. We believe in religious liberty, free speech, God-given human dignity, limited government, and economic opportunity.
For that reason we frequently oppose radical gender theory and leftist policies like the Equality Act. We support a nuanced, science-based approach to transgender policy issues.
We recently spoke out in support of the legislature’s initiative to keep youth sports organized according to biological sex — we find the effort to let biological males play girls’ sports anti-science and offensive.”
Herr also claims that the Log Cabin Republicans of Tennessee were kicked out of Nashville’s LGBT Facebook group because the administrators of the group hate them and use this as well as how the ‘LGBT leftists’ treat them to “demonstrate(s) our conservative bona fides.”
Yet as much as Herr said the Log Cabin Republicans were in favor of the legislation to prevent trans-girls from playing in girls’ sports, it opposes HB1182/SB1224, which would publicly identify private businesses that make accommodations for transgender people. Herr calls the bill “misguided” and details why he thinks the bill is flawed:
“First, as conservatives who believe in liberty and in supporting small businesses, we do not think that government should single out businesses for special public censure if they do not enforce the government’s current social views.
Second, the bill is counterproductive. We understand that the legislature wants to give parents peace of mind that their daughters will not use the same restroom as biological males. Parents want to make sure their kids are safe — this is a completely reasonable concern. But forcing trans women to use the same restroom as young boys can be more disturbing and disruptive to businesses.”
Herr ends the editorial by urging Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to veto the bill.
Let us know what you think in the comments or on social media accounts.
Here they are, this week’s winners and losers in LGBTQ sports! They’re able to go around mask-free now because they’re fully vaccinated. Anyone refusing to be vaccinated, sorry: you’re with this week’s losers.
NCAA HQ.
The NCAA responded to GLAAD and Athlete Ally with more banalities.
The heads of GLAAD and Athlete Ally teamed-up to challenge NCAA governors to “do what’s right” for transgender athletes.
A fan’s perspective on why this league has survived and thrived.
Steve Kornacki.Screenphoto/NBC Sports
A well-deserved promotion for a media star who is also openly gay.
At least nine trans athletes are hoping to earn a spot in Tokyo as the first-ever group of out trans Olympians and Paralympians.
Scott Strough.
‘Being out … has allowed me to truly find a community within the game of tennis,’ Scott Strough says.
Toronto Six president and head coach Digit Murphy.Twitter: @ForbesSports
Toronto Six Head Coach Digit Murphy drops her support of the Working Group after pushback from trans inclusion advocates.
In an interview, Mewis and Williams reflected on previous conversations about gay pride with their teammates on the North Carolina Courage.
Bodybuilder Siufung Law, left, and Amazin LeThi
Amazin LeThi is hosting a series of Outsports Instagram Live conversations for AAPI Heritage Month.
Clarendon says they want to allow their child to chart their own path in life.
Charlie Martin.
Charlie Martin and Jack Fabby put up a first-race podium at a soggy Snetterton, but a race 2 melee dented a strong effort.
Megan Rapinoefubo Sports Network
The out lesbian soccer star tells Caitlyn Jenner: “You were an exceptional athlete. You’re not an exceptional politician.”
Portland, Chelsea, and Barcelona all won big last weekend.
Donald CerroneDavid Dermer-USA TODAY Sports
During the UFC on ESPN 24 media day on Wednesday, Cerrone referred to former UFC fighter Diego Sanchez and Sanchez’s coach, Joshua Fabia, as ‘gay lovers’ pejoratively.
That’s all for this week! I’ll bring you another list of winners and losers next Saturday, and we promise to put Caitlyn Jenner “on mute” for as long as we can. Got a name I missed, or want to challenge my choices? Comment here or on Facebookor Instagram,tweet at us, message me via any social media, or just plain email me at outsports@gmail.com Thanks!
Sacramento’s loss to Memphis on Thursday did more than just hand the Spurs a spot in the West’s play-in tournament. It also made it easier for Gregg Popovich to leave the team to attend Tim Duncan’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
With the Spurs locked into 10th place and set to face the ninth-place team on the road Wednesday, Popovich skipped Saturday’s game to travel to Uncasville, Conn., for the ceremony honoring the class of 2020.
Popovich is expected to return in time to coach the Spurs in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Suns, set for 1 p.m. at the AT&T Center.
Assistant coach Mitch Johnson was acting head coach in Popovich’s absence. Popovich handed the reins to Johnson because he scouted the Suns.
Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon became the first woman to coach an NBA team when she took over for Popovich on Dec. 31 this season after he was ejected during a game with the Los Angeles Lakers. Popovich said afterward he went with Hammon because she had scouted the Lakers.
Saturday’s game marked the first full game Popovich has missed since March 3, 2020, when Duncan, then an assistant coach, guided the Spurs against the Hornets in Charlotte while Popovich was attending to personal business.
“We (the coaching staff) approach it the same way we always do — we collaborate, work as a team, approach the game as a group as to what can help the guys and put them in positions to be successful,” Johnson said before Saturday’s game.
“Obviously, it’s different today with Pop not here, as he is our leader and head coach. But we have dealt with it a time or two the past year or so. He is not getting kicked out of the game or anything, so we had a little bit more time to plan for it.”
Johnson said he appreciated the chance to guide the team. He was promoted to assistant coach in November 2020 to replace Duncan, who returned to retirement after a one-season stint on the bench next to Popovich.
“I’ve had a lot of firsts in my time with the Spurs, and they have all been great opportunities,” Johnson said of his head-coaching debut. “That’s one thing Pop and the organization has been great about — not just developing the players, but everybody else in the organization. I am excited about it, but at the end of the day, it’s Game 71, just trying to continue to get the guys better.”
If the Spurs win Wednesday, they will play the loser of the clash between the seventh- and eighth-place teams on the road Friday, with a berth in the playoffs as the No. 8 seed at stake.
Williams sorry
to miss ceremony
Suns coach Monty Williams, who counts Duncan as one of his best friends after playing and coaching with the Spurs, applauded Popovich’s decision to attend the induction ceremony.
“He and Tim are such a wonderful partnership and combination. … I am thankful and happy (Pop) is going,” Williams said.
Williams said he “toyed” with the idea of attending the ceremony had Saturday’s game been scheduled to start at night rather than 1 p.m. and had the induction started earlier in the day rather than late in the afternoon.
“I was working it out in my mind how to rent a jet, which I’ve never done before, so I could get up there and just hug Tim and come right back,” Williams said.
Williams’ final season as a player with the Spurs was Duncan’s rookie season of 1997-98.
“I’m pretty bummed they didn’t move (the ceremony) to later in the year or maybe did it over (the) All-Star break or something, although that would have been tough too because it was in the middle of COVID,” Williams said. “So there is no right answer. I just wanted to be there for my friend. You miss a lot of stuff with your kids doing this job, and then you miss stuff like this for people you care about.”
Seven sit out
against Suns
The Spurs faced the Suns without four starters and three other players, leaving them with just eight available players.
Small forward DeMar DeRozan (rest), center Jacob Poeltl (rest), point guard Dejounte Murray (sore lower back) and shooting guard Derrick White (sprained right ankle) were the starters who sat out. The missing reserves were Rudy Gay (sore right heel), Trey Lyles (sprained right ankle) and Luka Samanic (broken left finger).
Johnson started Patty Mills and Lonnie Walker IV in the backcourt and Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Drew Eubanks in the frontcourt. It was Mills’ first start since Nov. 20, 2019, and just his third in the past three seasons.
“All year we have had injuries, COVID, circumstances, crazy schedule, so with that and being a young team, there have been a lot of opportunities for young guys with development and development through meaningful minutes, and today is no different,” Johnson said.
After a 15-year hiatus, Disney is bringing back the beloved “The Proud Family” series, but this time with a major pro-LGBT twist. The reboot of “The Proud Family” tagged “Louder and Prouder” will feature a gay mixed-race couple who are parents to a teen activist.
Disney’s revamp of the children’s cartoon will include mixed race, same sex parents Barry and Randall Leibowitz, who will be voiced by gay actor Zachary Quinto of “Star Trek” and Billy Porter, a style icon and TV personality who was the first openly gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys.
“The Proud Family” first aired between 2001 and 2005 but its reboot, tagged “Louder and Prouder,” is set to air on Disney Plus in 2022, Entertainment Weekly reported. The media giant unveiled the addition of its same-sex parents after they announced that actress Keke Palmer will voice the new character Maya, a 14 year old activitist who is the daughter of same-sex parents Barry and Randall.
The upcoming reboot’s executive producers are Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, who led the original 2001 series. As with the original, the reboot will also feature the show’s original characters, Penny Proud, Oscar Proud, Trudy Proud, Uncle Bobby Proud, and Suga Mama.
As of late, Disney has been catering to the pro-LGBT crowd, adding more LGBT characters in its content. In fact, “The Proud Family” reboot will feature series character Michael Collins, Penn’s best friend who is described as a “a non-conforming trendsetter.”
Faithwire reported that Disney’s cartoon series “The Owl House” will feature a 14-year-old Dominican-American girl who is bisexual. In 2020, the Disney-Pixar film “Onward” featured the company’s “first self-identified LGBT character in an animated movie” in Officer Cyclops. But the transformation of Disney’s content into full-blown pro-LGBT woke propaganda is not sitting well with conservative parents and Christian leaders.
Pastor John MacArthur of California condemned the media’s choice to include pro-LGBT woke propaganda in their content for children, saying thay they are creating “characters that are transgender to seduce children into accepting wickedness as normal.”
“Children are under a relentless assault by all the forces of evil, and they are defenseless,” Pastor MacArthur argued. “We have a society and a culture that wants to make sure that those who are pumping out this destruction are free to keep doing it without restraint.”
Disney’s woke propaganda is not only evident in their media content, but also in Disney World and its employees as well. The Kansas City Star reported this week that Disney faced major backlash when they decided to remove the “wench auction” in the popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride and revamped its Splash Mountain flume ride to skip the story line surrounding “Song of the South,” which talks of post-Civil War plantation life. The company was also found to have released new guidelines for its employees about cultural sensitivity and wokeness, causing major backlash among employees and conservative parties.
Campaigners demand gay “conversion therapy” is banned immediately as a Sunday People probe lifts the lid on the hateful practice.
In the Queen’s Speech the Government said it would outlaw the “treatment”, which tries to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
But experts are appalled by the likely delay in a ban and the possible loopholes a new law may leave for the practice to continue.
A letter from Boris Johnson to the Evangelical Alliance told church leaders “non-coercive” support for gay people – including praying over their sexuality – will escape a ban.
Crispin Blunt, of Parliament’s group on global LGBT rights, accused the PM of “breaching” the trust of LGBT people.
One campaigner said LGBT conversion therapy is comparable to torture because it leads to self-loathing and many people subjected to it consider killing themselves.
The practice has also been called ineffective, unethical, and potentially harmful by professional bodies.
We launched our investigation after three advisers quit the Government’s LGBT advisory panel in March.
They were frustrated by a lack of action to ban the practice. There were also claims ministers were “ignorant” about gay rights issues and had created a “hostile environment” for LGBT people.
Have you or someone you know gone been subjected to conversion therapy? If so email webnews@reachplc.com
Matthew Grech, speaking with Daniel, claims to have ‘helped people overcome same sex attraction’ (Image: Ian Vogler/Sunday Mirror)
Our reporter Daniel Harding, who is gay, posed as confused Joe Willis, seeking guidance after being secretly attracted to men all his life.
He had a video call with Matthew Grech, co-director of Christian fundamentalist charity Core Issues Trust, which claims to have helped people “overcome same-sex attraction” and, in some cases, “leave homosexuality behind”.
Ahead of the Zoom session, Grech told Joe men keen to reduce same-sex attraction “normally have to work on things like being more assertive, being less shy… and receiving male friendships in a healthy way”.
During the video call Grech, a contestant in 2018’s X Factor Malta, said: “I do have friends around me who say, ‘Matthew, I once identified as exclusively gay and now I am married and I have children and I completely overcame same-sex attraction’.”
Grech quizzed Joe about his childhood, relationships with his dad and male friends and asked if there was “a history of sexual abuse”.
He said: “I come from an understanding that is not based on ideology but on science – that nobody is born with same-sex relations. The majority of the influence lies in environmental factors.
“Our minds form patterns which can be changed to create new ways of thinking… so that we can take authority over our thoughts and train ourselves in a new way.
“Everyone who embarks on this journey will say to you at least that their same-sex attraction has decreased.”
Grech appearing on X Factor in Malta
When Joe asked why he is attracted to men, Grech replied: “I honestly think that you didn’t really fit what you perceived to be the stereotype in boys your age… I believe a misunderstanding took place that led to confusion.
“What that confusion does is it brings manipulation – it manipulates your desires.
“And then that manipulation causes frustration, causes irritation and it violates your relationship with other men.”
He said Joe would need to “go back to the root” of his feelings and deal with them but warned it is harder later in life once thoughts have “taken root”.
Asked how he could stop fancying men, Grech told Joe “master your body” and said: “We need to manage our hunger and thirst for connection in an appropriate way… and then work on seeing ourselves as equal to other men.”
Grech claimed some people might say Joe was “born that way, blah blah blah,” but said: “We just don’t listen to that stuff because they’re misguided”.
When Joe said he wanted marriage and children, Grech told him homosexuality “robs [gay people] of family as God intended family to be” and said there are “a lot of repercussions”.
When Joe asked if Grech thought he was gay, he replied: “No… what you feel is not who you are… If tomorrow I feel like I’m a woman, does that make me a woman?”
He claimed even the label “gay” is damaging as it “teaches people to make their feelings their identity”.
Core Issues Trust was still advertising this week. It’s website describes CIT as a “non-profit Christian ministry supporting men and women with homosexual issues who voluntarily seek change in sexual preference and expression” and states: “We’d love to hear from you and support your journey!”
Jayne Ozanne, a key member of the government’s LGBT+ Advisory Panel, resigned from her role in protest
In 2018, then Prime Minister Theresa May promised to end conversion therapy but before legislation is brought in there will be a consultation period to consider religious freedoms and how to protect accredited professionals.
Campaigners fear further delays will put more LGBT people at risk.
Nancy Kelley, head of LGBT charity Stonewall, said: “We don’t need a consultation to know all practices that seek to convert, suppress, cure or change us are dangerous, abusive and must be banned.
“Lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex and ace communities have been waiting almost three years for the UK Government to follow through on their promise to ban all conversion practices, and any delay leaves us at further risk of abuse.”
Jayne Ozanne, a founding member of the Archbishops’ Council charity, is gay and had a decade of conversion therapy that led to a mental breakdown.
She said: “Those who continue to practise conversion therapy inflict enormous harm by feeding off an individual’s internalised homophobia and shame.
“They undermine core family relationships by blaming them for a person’s “same-sex attraction”, stubbornly refusing to accept that our sexuality is something to be celebrated and true happiness can only be found when we embrace the truth about who we are. The damage to a person’s sense of self and dignity is immense.
“It is why it has been called torture, leading to a lifetime of self-loathing, which sadly leads many to contemplate suicide.”
She is “relieved” the Government plans to ban it but said: “I am deeply concerned that they may leave a legal loophole open for these harmful religious practices to continue.
“The Government’s failure to understand how damaging these religious practices are, and how young LGBT people of faith are groomed to agree to go through them, was one of the primary reasons I felt I had to resign from the Government’s LGBT advisory panel.”
She is director of the Ozanne Foundation which, in a 2019 survey, found that one in ten of 4,613 LGBT respondents had tried to change sexual orientation. Of these, over half had suffered mental health issues and a third attempted suicide.
Grech reached the judges’ houses stage of Malta’s X Factor, which was criticised for airing a pre-audition interview in which he claimed people of the same sex can be friends, but “everything else is a sin”.
After the Zoom session, Daniel, 34, said: “It felt like I was venturing into a cult. It’s atrocious and should be stopped immediately.
“I felt sad for Matthew, the information he shared and believed and for people who approach thinking they will be helped when in fact it will hinder them. I also felt anger at being told my feelings are mistaken.”
More than 370 senior figures from 35 nations, representing 10 religions, have signed a declaration calling for a global ban on conversion practices.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists backs a full legislative ban. A spokesman said the practice has no scientific basis and was shown to be harmful.
CIT founder Mike Davidson said it supports those “failed” by mental health services, claiming they “abandoned individuals in conflict over their sexuality, agreeing to offer gay-affirming therapies only.
“Banning therapeutic choice – the real purpose of ‘conversion therapy’ bans – is a violation of the basic human rights of belief and association.”
He also said a ban would restrict freedom of speech and reduce or impede religious freedoms.
‘I was made to feel like an abomination’
Gay Jayne Ozanne spent thousands of pounds and ten years on conversion therapy in her 30s after being made to feel “deeply ashamed” about her sexuality.
Now 52, she said: “You tell a religious leader you’re suffering from ‘same sex attraction’ they will come along and pray. Praying sounds benign. It is anything but.“
The ex-member of the Government’s LGBT advisory panel said: “People you trust will go through every aspect of your life to find any reason to explain why you’re not gay. You start praying more desperately and when you say it’s not working you are told you don’t have enough faith or you’re not praying enough.
“I was told I would have to be single and celibate for life. I was made to feel deeply ashamed, like an abomination.
“This led me to try and find more extreme healing in the UK and overseas – exorcisms or visiting deliverance ministries – those who feel they have a specific gift in this area. I found myself being sick, I’d be encouraged to cough up demons and look in the mirror and my eyes would pop.
“I remember one guy hitting me because they believed the devil was inside of me. You are never charged a fee – it is suggested you give what God is telling you to give. I gave thousands as I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Years of therapy took her to a “very dark place”, and in her late 30s Jayne was hospitalised after suffering a breakdown.
In 2009 she came out to family and fell in love with a woman. “It transformed me,” she said.
Now, she campaigns to ensure inclusion of all LGBT people of faith, particularly in churches, through the Ozanne Foundation and is part of the Ban Conversion Therapy coalition.
‘People would yell at me to release my demons’
One woman told how she hid her sexuality for 20 years and attempted suicide after undergoing conversion therapy, aged 17, in Berkshire.
Sam, 39, not her real name, became a Christian in her late teens, and recalls being told that homosexuality is a sin when she said she was gay.
She said: “Nobody called it conversion therapy – I was told someone would pray with me. I was told I’m not gay as God would never make people that way.
“Instead I was probably demon possessed and had childhood trauma that made me think I was gay and I needed to be set free. There was shouting, yelling at demons to release me and I was made to confess my sins, repent and apologise so God could forgive me.”
Sam went into denial about her sexuality and even married a man, but her mental health suffered and in 2009 she made an attempt on her life. She feels “huge relief after coming out last year”.
“My old church still offers this sort of thing and it makes me angry. Young people processing their sexuality need to be protected. It’s not gay rights verses Christian rights – it’s a human rights issue.”
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran (Image: Philip Coburn)
MPs call for fast action
Equalities Minister Liz Truss said that the Government has “always been committed” to ending conversion therapy.
Ms Truss said: “We want to make sure that people in this country are protected, and these proposals mean nobody will be subjected to coercive and abhorrent conversion therapy.
“Alongside this legislation, we will make new funding available to ensure that victims have better access to the support they need.” But Shadow Equalities Secretary Marsha de Cordova dismissed this as “yet another example of words but no action”. She accused the Government of failing to provide “specific legislation”.
She added: “Instead of yet another consultation we need to see concrete action to ban these despicable practices.
“Delay only causes further harm to LGBT+ people.”
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said: “Almost three years since ministers promised to ban conversion therapy, the Government is still dragging its feet, insisting we need another consultation before legislation in this week’s Queen’s Speech.
“What LGBT+ people need is change now.”
Stonewall – part of the Ban Conversion Therapy coalition – want a full Bill published now, with a clear timeline for its implementation.
(NEW YORK) — Police will be banned from participating in NYC Pride events, including its signature LGBTQ march, until 2025, the organization announced Saturday.
NYC Pride is also working to reduce the New York Police Department’s security and first responder presence at its events, the organization said.
André Thomas, co-chair of Heritage of Pride, which produces NYC Pride, told ABC News it was a difficult decision that’s “not going to please everyone.”
“We know many LGBT cops,” Thomas said. “But what the institution represents sometimes to a person of color or trans person is violence, and that doesn’t make you feel safe. So that’s the perspective we’re coming from. And it’s a difficult place to be. But we know that’s what our community expects of us at this time.”
Typically, about 200 NYPD members would participate in NYC Pride’s march, held in the month of June, organizers said. That includes members of the Gay Officers Action League, or GOAL, a fraternal organization that was formed in 1982 to address the needs of LGBTQ officers.
GOAL called Heritage of Pride’s decision “shameful,” and found its statement, which did not mention GOAL by name, “demoralizing” and “dehumanizing.”
“Heritage of Pride is well aware that the city would not allow a large scale event to occur without police presence. So their response to activist pressure is to take the low road by preventing their fellow community members from celebrating their identities and honoring the shared legacy of the Stonewall Riots,” GOAL President Brian Downey said in a statement.
The NYPD also said it found the officers’ exclusion “disheartening.”
“Our annual work to ensure a safe, enjoyable Pride season has been increasingly embraced by its participants,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “The idea of officers being excluded is disheartening and runs counter to our shared values of inclusion and tolerance. That said, we’ll still be there to ensure traffic safety and good order during this huge, complex event.”
The move comes as LGBTQ activists have debated the role uniformed police officers should have at Pride marches, which formed as a response to a violent police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, in 1969. The calls have been renewed in recent years amid Black Lives Matter protests against police misconduct.
In 2017, Pride Toronto started barring police from participating in its march, amid demands from the local Black Lives Matter chapter. In 2019, Sacramento and St. Louis announced similar policies, but reversed them following pushback.
The debate was renewed after the death of George Floyd last year while in police custody in Minneapolis, which sparked widespread protests against police brutality.
LGBTQ advocacy group, New York City Anti-Violence Project, wrote a letter to Heritage of Pride last June demanding the organization divest from the NYPD.
“Pride marches don’t want to celebrate and create a platform for the police as marchers,” Audacia Ray, director of community organizing and public advocacy for the group, told ABC News. “That’s a thing that I think we’ll start to see more of.”
She said she has heard mixed thoughts on keeping police out of the Pride march within the LGBTQ community.
“I talk to people who do not feel that police presence makes them feel safer, it makes them feel threatened. From what we’ve heard from older, white cisgender members of the community, they do feel a sense of reassurance and safety when police is there,” Ray said. “So there’s just a really intense rift there around gender and race and class. So that’s something within the community we need to continue to talk about, about how we keep the most vulnerable members of our community safe and what does that look like.”
NYC Pride did not hold its Pride march last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, though a pride rally was held by the activist group Reclaim Pride. LGBTQ advocates were critical of the NYPD response then, after officers were filmed assaulting a group of protesters and using pepper spray on them during an arrest.
Heritage of Pride said it plans to shift first response and security to trained private security and provide volunteers with de-escalation training. “NYPD will provide first response and security only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials,” the organization said. It also plans to keep police officers at least one city block from the event perimeter areas “where possible.”
Additionally, NYC Pride is not mentioning law enforcement in its social media.
In 2025, NYC Pride will review its policy on police participation, organizers said. “It is a matter of when the people in our community say hey, we feel safe,” Thomas said.
These steps don’t go far enough for some LGBTQ activists. Ray said the New York City Anti-Violence Project was pushing to have law enforcement completely removed from NYC Pride, and was concerned about the use of private security.
“Most private security companies hire off-duty officers or former police officers, so we think it’s the same mentality,” Ray said. “We’re pushing more for them to start to shift (traffic enforcement) to working with the Department of Transportation instead of the NYPD.”
Thomas said it will come down to training and setting clear standards with private security beforehand.
GOAL also provides training to new NYPD recruits to “(educate) future officers on the unique challenges facing our community,” the organization said, as it pushed back against the ban.
“There are many partners for change throughout law enforcement,” GOAL said in its statement. “For them to succeed, they need to be supported by leading LGBTQIA+ groups, not excommunicated by them.”
Much of this year’s NYC Pride festivities during Pride Month in June will once again be virtual due to the pandemic. The organization said it wanted to make the announcement now to start the process.
“A lot of this work we know has been geared towards a return to higher crowd sizes,” Thomas said. “That’s really what we can hopefully prepare for.”
All 17 types of anime scene stickers, tiger cane, Gojo, Fushiguro, and Nailzaki are rare hologram specifications / UHA Mikakuto.
Jujutsu Kaisen x UHA Mikakuto “High Concentration Vitamin C Throat Lozenge Jujutsu Kaisen ” 2nd
On May 17, UHA Mikakuto will release the second “High Concentration Vitamin C Throat Lozenge Jujutsu Kaisen ” with the popular anime ” Jujutsu Kaisen ” sticker. 217 yen including tax. “High concentration of vitamin C throat lozenge ” refers to a bag Vitamin C 300 was 0mg blended candy. In addition to being able to take “1 tablet” of 100 mg ( Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japanese Dietary Intake Standards 2020 Edition), which is the recommended daily dose for adults, it also contains vitamin B1 and vitamin B2. The taste is a mandarin orange flavor using Satsuma mandarin produced in Wakayama prefecture. The package includes the anime ” Jujutsu Kaisen ” “Kyoto Sister School Exchange Meeting”
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The throat lozenge contains one ” Anime Famous Scene Original Sticker ” in one bag. A character sticker appears when you flip the sticker on the upper layer, and there are 17 types in total. Among them ” Japanese knotweed YuHitoshi ” (Polygonum cuspidatum Yuji), ” Megumi Fushiguro ” (Fushiguro Megumi ), ” Kugisaki ‘Roses ” (Kugisaki ‘ Roses ), ” Satoru Gojo four” (Satoru Gojo), the hologram of the specification Rare seal.
Jujutsu Kaisen High Concentration Vitamin C Throat Lozenge ” Anime Famous Scene Original Sticker ” (17 types in total)
It should be noted that the animation ” magic around the war ” is ” Weekly Shonen Jump in” 2018 popular of the series is Akutami Mr. common people (Akutamigege) from March dark fantasy comic work was originally a. It depicts the battle between the ” magical spirit” born from the negative emotions of human beings and the ” magicians ” who worship it.
Shueisha of April 21 According to the announcement, comics ” magic around the game of” series total circulation of 45 million parts ( digital topped including version). June 4, the comics in order to launch the latest Volume 16, further growth is expected. 2021 In the winter, the day before Tan hit the Comics ” magic around game 0 Tokyo Metropolitan magic vocational high school was a movie a”, ” theater version magic around game 0 ‘s public schedule is.”
In 1993, when he was 18, Randall Menges had consensual sex with two other teenage boys at a camp in Idaho.
Mr. Menges was charged by state prosecutors with “crimes against nature” — a charge since ruled unconstitutional that was used to prosecute people who engaged in sodomy or oral sex — and served seven years in prison, according to federal court documents.
Mr. Menges, who has been rejected from jobs, lost friends and even contemplated suicide because of his status, said he cried when he was told about the decision. One of his lawyers, Elizabeth Ehert, said the ruling would allow him to rebuild a life that “has been utterly destroyed by the homophobic laws that made gay sex illegal.”
But his fight to remove himself from the list is not over.
Almost immediately after the ruling, the Montana attorney general, Austin Knudsen, a Republican, said he planned to appeal it.
In a statement, Emilee Cantrell, a spokeswoman for Mr. Knudsen, said the ruling “weakens our state’s sex-offender registry law, making kids and families less safe.”
“Montana law is clear: If you are required to register as a sex offender in another state, you must also register here,” she said.
Mr. Menges, 45, who lives in Butte, Mont., said in an interview that prosecutors were willing to “discard him so that they can have stronger laws.”
They were created to warn communities about sexual predators who have been released from prison, but they have been criticized by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and criminologists for pushing people to the margins of society while doing little to keep the public safe.
The registry “thoroughly ruins someone’s life to the point that it almost discourages rehabilitation for some folks,” Mx. Ehret said. “But in Randy’s case it’s been more horrifying.”
Mr. Menges’s legal battle also comes amid a larger struggle over laws that have historically been used to discriminate against L.G.B.T.Q. people.
Many states, including Montana, eliminated broad laws against sodomy and oral sex in the 1990s. Then came the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said such laws were unconstitutional and failed to recognize that same-sex couples were “entitled to respect for their private lives.”
Today, eight states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books but only three states — Idaho, Mississippi and South Carolina — have laws requiring sex offender registration for people convicted of sodomy, said Matthew Strugar, one of Mr. Menges’s lawyers.
Last September, Mr. Strugar, along with the A.C.L.U. of Idaho, filed a federal lawsuit challenging Idaho’s law on behalf of Mr. Menges and another man who was forced to register as a sex offender because he was convicted 20 years ago in another state for performing oral sex on his wife.
Prosecutors in Montana argued that until the Idaho case was resolved, Mr. Menges had no right to file a complaint in Montana.
But on Tuesday, Judge Dana L. Christensen, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said that the Montana statute that required Mr. Menges to register as a sex offender had caused him “significant” hardships, like being denied housing and employment.
Judge Christensen said that the harm Mr. Menges suffered under Montana’s statute outweighed the public’s interest in keeping his name on the registry.
“Under Montana’s constitutional scheme, having consensual intimate sexual contact with a person of the same sex does not render someone a public safety threat to the community,” he wrote. “Law enforcement has no valid interest in keeping track of such persons’ whereabouts.”
The ruling applies only to Mr. Menges’s case, but Anthony Johnstone, a professor at the University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law, said it could serve as a road map for people convicted under similar circumstances.
“The decision suggests that states cannot require sex-offender registration based on convictions under outdated and now unconstitutional ‘crimes against nature’ laws,” he said.
In 1993, Mr. Menges was living in a foster program at a ranch in Gem County and stayed on as an employee when he turned 18. Two months later, the police learned that he had had sex with two other teenagers, both 16, at the ranch. The age of consent in the state was 16.
“The Gem County police reports reflect that the sex was consensual,” according to Mr. Menges’s lawsuit. Still, he was charged with one count of a “crime against nature” and sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.
“I was in prison for something that I didn’t even realize or know was a crime,” Mr. Menges said.
When he was released, people inevitably found out he was on the registry. When he explained the circumstances behind his conviction, they did not believe him, Mr. Menges said.
“Everybody thought there had to be more to the story,” he said.
Mr. Menges said he had been shut out of homeless shelters and had to sleep on the streets.
Recently, a woman offered him a job transporting horses. He would have made nearly $100,000 a year, but she rescinded the offer after she found his name on the registry. Mr. Menges said she told him she was too worried about losing customers.
Except for his dog, Mr. Menges said that he had been “totally, literally alone.”
Mr. Menges said he hoped to be removed from the list so he can run his own business transporting horses.
“Being single and so used to being alone, it’s fine with me,” he said. “I’d rather be on the road in a truck with horses than living in a house, in a way.”
Gigi Hadid responded to a social media user’s accusation that she made an anti-Semitic comment.
On Saturday (May 15), the supermodel shared a screenshot of two comments that questioned if she was anti-Semitic along with her response.
One person wrote, “Another anti-Semitic celebrity.” Another user added, “We gonna stay in Israel, no matter how much u try to kill us it’s our land and our country and we don’t give up on her.”
Gigi responded to the second comment and reminded people that her father, Mohammed Hadid, was born in Palestine. She confirmed that she condemns anti-Semitism.
“‘I’ am not trying to kill you, nor would I ever want that. I do not wish any more deaths upon Israelis, just as I feel about Palestinians,” she wrote.
Gigi continued, “What I do want is equal rights for Palestinians. There are also Jewish Palestinians and Christian Palestinians, as there was, coexisting, with my father’s Muslim Palestinian family when he was born in Palestine in 1948. I wish you peace.”
Last week, Gigi shared a quote on Instagram that some believed was anti-Semitic.
“One cannot advocate for racial equality, LGBT and women’s rights, condemn corrupt and abusive regimes, and other injustices yet choose to ignore the Palestinian oppression. It does not add up. You cannot pick and choose whose human rights matter more,” the quote read.
Similarly, Gigi’s sister Bella was also accused of making an anti-Semitic comment. Bella has since deleted the Instagram post.
“There is NO place for this!!! Especially in 2021!!!! it has always been #freepalestine. ALWAYS,” Bella wrote according to Fox News. “I have a lot to say about this but for now, please read and educate yourself. This is not about religion. This is not about spewing hate on one or the other. This is about Israeli colonization, ethnic cleansing, military occupation and apartheid over the Palestinian people that has been going on for YEARS.”
“The Bubble,” “Walk on Water,” and “Yossi and Jagger” director Eytan Fox returns to the terrain of gay introspective dramas with the new film “Sublet,” which opens on June 11 in theaters from Greenwich Entertainment. It will also be available on demand on July 9. The film offers a sort of Israeli spin on “Weekend,” with a writer arriving in Tel Aviv to reflect on life and love with a younger man. John Benjamin Hickey and Niv Nissim star. Watch the trailer below.
Michael (Hickey), a travel columnist for The New York Times , goes to Tel Aviv to write an article after suffering a tragedy. He is still grieving and the loss has caused problems between him and his husband. He just wants to do his research and go home. But when he sublets an apartment from Tomer (Nissim), a young film student, he finds himself drawn into the life of the city.
The movie is written by Eytan Fox with Itay Segal. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn reviewed the film positively last year when it premiered virtually as part of the shuttered Tribeca Film Festival: “With ‘Sublet,’ Fox continues this exploration by widening his lens, with an intimate look at the contrasting values of gay men from different generations that uses the specifics of Israeli culture to explore more universal ideas. The result is a minor-key variation on Andrew Haigh’s ‘Weekend,’ with two men from different walks of life spending their limited time together talking through opposing values and finding out why they can’t click. The dynamic between them unfolds in subtle moments and sudden bursts of sentimentalism that threaten to simplify the drama, but its leads bring such tender detail to the story to keep their evolving dynamic engaging throughout.”
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He added, “With a third-act journey to Tomer’s family kibbutz, the full nature of Michael’s struggles finally come out, and his introversion falls into place. The touching, understated finale eschews a clear resolution in favor of small-scale progress: It’s a fleeting glimpse of dueling generations and cultures appreciating some common ground, even if it can’t last forever.”
Watch the trailer for “Sublet” in the video below.
Right now, as you know, state legislatures are being flooded with anti-trans rhetoric, bills, and opposition. It is an unfortunate reality that political attacks against inclusive LGBTQ+ equality have moved from marriage for LGBTQ people to now squarely and explicitly targeting transgender and non-binary people. We see things such as rhetoric surrounding bathroom panic, trans kids in sports, and even academia. This is why we’re hosting an event for our transgender/gender non-conforming/ and gender non-binary friends that are interested in a future where federal nondiscrimination protections exist for us.
On May 17th from 6:30pm ET – 8:30pm ET, The National LGBTQ Task Force with our partners is co-hosting an exciting panel discussion featuring transgender and gender non-conforming/non-binary leaders from across the country. We will be touching on topics such as discrimination, personal stories, and what inclusive protections would mean for the trans and GNC community. Following the panel discussion, The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund along with the National Equality Action Team will host an action event after our panel to get us engaged and activate supporters across the country to get folks talking about the need for federal nondiscrimination protections.
Liz Truss originally planned to remove the requirement of a gender dysphoria diagnosis. (Getty)
Tory equalities chief Liz Truss was planning proper reforms to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) and had Boris Johnson’s support – but changed her mind and scrapped reforms after input from the NHS’s National Advisor for LGBT Health.
The revelation is contained in evidence submitted by the Government Equalities Office (GEO) about the behind-the-scenes wrangling over GRA reform in the first half of 2020 to a judicial review at the Northern Ireland High Court into the need for medical evidence in legal gender recognition.
In the written judgment from the High Court judicial review, it has been revealed that Liz Truss was “minded to remove the requirement for a gender dysphoria diagnosis” from the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) as of 11 June, 2020.
The GRA provides the mechanism by which adult trans men and women can change their legal gender, by applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate that can be used to obtain a new birth certificate in the correct sex.
Applicants must have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, be able to prove they’ve lived in their “acquired gender” for at least two years and intend to live as such for the rest of their lives.
Two separate medical reports must also be obtained by applicants: one containing details of the person’s gender dysphoria diagnosis – which is a psychiatric diagnosis, meaning it can’t be made by a GP and has to come from a gender specialist – and one containing details of any medical transition the person has gone through or is planning.
Given the lengthy waiting lists for an NHS gender clinic, it can take as long as five or six years to get a gender dysphoria diagnosis on the NHS. The process of having to get a psychiatric diagnosis before being able to access legal gender recognition was described by human rights groups as “dehumanising” and reinforced the view that trans people are mentally ill. LGBT+ groups called for this requirement to be removed from the Gender Recognition Act in the 2018 consultation.
But the GEO’s court documents show Truss was told that Dr Michael Brady, National Advisor for LGBT Health, said there wasn’t “any stigma attached” to including a gender dysphoria requirement in legal gender recognition .
Dr Brady – who is also medical director at the Terrence Higgins Trust and a sexual health and HIV consultant for Kings College Hospital – had earlier provided “helpful insight”, in May 2020, that “removing the diagnosis of gender dysphoria… would be an impractical step”.
“It has become clear from our discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the helpful insight provided by the National Advisor on LGBT Health, Dr Michael Brady, that removing the diagnosis of gender dysphoria while maintaining a medical aspect to this process would be an impractical step,” officials said.
“For those seeking medical support to change their gender, the NHS would continue to provide a diagnosis of gender dysphoria or gender incongruence even if we removed this requirement from the GRA process.
“The view of the DHSC and NHS England officials and advisors was that such a change would create confusion and uncertainty among clinicians and so they do not currently support such a change.”
According to the High Court judgment, it was the view of DHSC that the decision to remove the diagnosis of gender dysphoria from the GRA should be “clinician-led”.
There was “no evidence” submitted to the court to suggest that the views of clinicians were considered other than Dr Brady.
Gender dysphoria and stigma
Documents were submitted to the court which refer to a meeting between GEO officials, DHSC officials and Dr Brady on 12 May 2020.
The meeting notes quote Dr Brady as saying that: “Gender dysphoria is the accepted terminology (although there is a move towards using gender incongruence)” and adds that “he had not been advised by trans people that the diagnosis or label was stigmatising; but felt that the process overall was stigmatising and that the issue of stigma should be seen in that context.”
In May 2019, the World Health Organization stopped classifying being trans as a disorder by moving from a diagnosis of “gender identity disorder” under its mental health disorders chapter to a description of “gender incongruence” under its sexual health chapter.
WHO officials said at the time that this change was made to “reduce stigma”. The Human Rights Watch said governments should “move swiftly” to reform “laws that require this now officially outdated diagnosis”.
But Brady’s view, as per meeting documents submitted to the court, was that it didn’t matter “where the diagnosis was categorised (whether under mental health or sexual health): it remained a diagnosis but was not perpetuating a mental health stigma”.
According to the meeting notes involving Dr Brady: “The National Advisor on LGBT Health did not appear keen on assessing psychological readiness or ‘fitness to proceed’, the additions of which he considered would further medicalise the process and more intrinsically link gender recognition to medical treatment.
“Ultimately, [Brady] recommended ‘using the terminology that is used in the medical community, and that is gender dysphoria’.
“However, it is also recorded that he ‘wondered how the LGBT sector would receive this; thought there would also be kick back from clinicians’.”
Liz Truss originally planned full reform, including a Gender Recognition Act Reform Bill
Liz Truss had been planning on reforming the Gender Recognition Act and scrapping the gender dysphoria diagnosis requirement since at least 3 March 2020.
At this time, GEO officials had prepared a draft statement for Truss on the government’s response to the Gender Recognition Act consultation “on the basis of ‘Option A’ (a GRA Reform Bill accompanied by non-legislative reforms) ‘given your previous steers on this issue’”.
“It is clear from the content of this submission, that [Liz Truss] had discussed the issue generally with ‘Number 10′,” Mr Justice Scoffield said in the High Court judicial review judgment. “The then current lead option was to take forward reforms to the 2004 Act, accompanied by some wider non-legislative reforms.
“The [GEO] officials understood that one of the key legislative reforms that both the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister’s Office wanted to include in a Bill related to the need for medical reports and the required diagnosis of gender dysphoria.”
Both Truss and Johnson were “keen to move away from the diagnosis of gender dysphoria required by the current legislation” while retaining the need for trans people to provide some supporting medical evidence in their application for legal gender recognition as an “important safeguard” that would “deter vexatious applications”.
“It is clear that there was an eagerness to move away from a diagnosis of gender dysphoria being required,” Scoffield said.
On 29 May 2020, GEO officials wrote to Truss letting her know that they’d encountered some difficulties in their communications with the Department of Health and Social Care around removing the requirement for a gender dysphoria diagnosis – specifically, Dr Brady had said it would be “impractical”.
After this, Truss’ “previous enthusiasm for removal of the requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria hung in the balance”, the High Court said, “in light of concerns expressed by […] the government’s National Advisor on LGBT Health [Dr Brady]”.
As of 22 June, Truss had changed her mind – she now wanted to “amend the existing legislation to remove reference to the diagnosis of gender dysphoria and replace it with a diagnosis of gender incongruence”.
“The ‘final’ draft government response to the consultation which was attached to the 22 June 2020 submission now, again, proposed removal of the requirement for applicants to provide a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and replacing it with gender incongruence,” the documents say. “GEO’s position was that this reform should still be taken forward.”
But by 2 July, Truss and Johnson had agreed to “keep the current legislation as it stands” and make an oral statement about Gender Recognition Act reform – scrapping their original plan from just months before to publish a GRA Reform Bill.
In September 2020, Truss announced that she wouldn’t reform the Gender Recognition Act. Instead, the process of legal gender recognition would be moved online and the application fee reduced. LGBT+ groups condemned her decision as a “shocking failure of leadership” by not bringing about more meaningful reforms for trans people.
Last month, the fee was reduced from £140 to £5.
A Government Equality Hub spokesperson said: “The current legislative system allows people to change their legal sex in a safe and fair way.
“Following the consultation on the Gender Recognition Act, we are delivering on our promise to modernise the process of applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate and make it fairer and kinder by reducing the cost to £5 and moving the application online.”
NHS England, on behalf of Dr Michael Brady, declined to comment.
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