 Hi, I'm Linda Quinlan. And I'm Kim Ward. Welcome to All Things LGBTQ. Today is Tuesday, May 18th, and we are filming in Montpelier, Vermont. And as always, we want to acknowledge that we are filming and standing on seeded indigenous land. So today we are going to start with Linda. Hi, everybody. Ann is still not feeling well, so I'm going to do her headlines. And I hope she'll appreciate the way she sees them. The first of her headlines is, first openly gay person running for Vietnam National Assembly says he represents the young. Leong Hu is 33. And here's a picture of him. So-called honor-killing in Iran, Ali Fazali, Monfered 20. Here's a picture of him. And 100 German priests in the Vatican this week. Bless same-sex couples. Poland left questions police textbook that list LGBT as social pathology. New Zealand weightlifter set to be the first transgender Olympian. And there's their picture. And their name is Laurel Hubbard, 43. Lesbian mothers flood German courts with demands for parenting rights. Uncertain future for LGBTQ plus rights in Uganda as controversial bill is passed. Another transgender woman's murder sparks renewed outrage in El Salvador. Outpouring of grief after alleged murder of Leading Tongan LGBTQI activist, Polakale Po Kufu, 41. And we have gay penguins form couples at London Aquarium ahead of mating season. And there is their pictures. And then we have a small clip that we're going to show. And it's called Mofi. And it depicts a gay man's life in the apartheid era in the South African army. So here's that clip. The most important single factor in the South African army, the soldier. All our efforts are directed at equipping him physically and otherwise with the defense of our country. Thank you all for being with us, to send off my first born. To do his military service. Jeff, you'll be OK, son. Show them what you made of. I don't have anyone anymore. I have a gun. And I have a job to try to kill a gunman. Gunmen! Black barbarians! I have a gun. Mofi has a gun. Cover sympathy! I will not be killed! No, I won't! It's time to be seen. And to stay invisible. I'm not like you. OK. So I am standing in for Keith today, who is home taking care of a sick horse and chasing around, I think, a very energetic... Doberman. Doberman. I thank him for collecting news for me. He has absolutely given us a trivia question, which I will give you and give the answer to later, of course. We have some news out of Hinesburg, which there are a couple of stories going on there about some homophobic stuff that's going on. I think both stories are quite intertwined, so I'll tell you about that. And, of course, we have bills, which have been being followed in the state house. There is some information on H-428, the bill which removes maliciously intended from existing bias and hate crime statute. We also have H-183. This bill defines the circumstances under which consent cannot be given in sexual encounters, such as if you are unconscious or intoxicated beyond consciousness. Then there is bill H-360, which will substantially increase funding and advance the expansion of broadband in Vermont. Bill JRH-2 is a joint resolution originating in the house introduced by Representative John Kalaki. The resolution makes a formal apology for those impacted by the eugenics policies previously practiced in Vermont. After that, we have what I would call Prop 5. Some people have heard it called Prop 5 or PR5. It's a proposal which would amend the Vermont Constitution to ensure all Vermonters have a right of personal reproductive liberty. At the end of my stories, I do have JRH-6, the joint resolution declaring racism of public health emergency in Vermont. And a little bit about the Racial Justice Alliance, which has gathered statistics and created a website which is tracking disparities in the BIPOC population. So those are all the stories I'll be working on. And now I've got to get back to page one. These are all one-sided. Here we are. So shall you go next? And when I'm ready, I'll give the trivia thing for you all. All those bills are really good. And the reproductive one too, especially since what's gonna happen to it, the Supreme Court is taking up that case. And so I think it's gonna be important for the states that can to keep it alive. So. And I have Riley Loudermilk and Annie Weiss made history at Ohio King's High School, the lesbian couple were crowned king and queen of their high school class. A gay couple got married in front of an erupting volcano in Iceland. Sumalalia and John were engaged in 2017. And here is their picture of them getting married in front of the volcano. It's really a great picture. I've always wanted to go to Iceland. I haven't gone, but with his time. Rapper Little Mama says she's starting a heterosexual rights movement. The 31 year old rapper, reality TV personality and former American best dance crew judge wants to start an anti-LGBT campaign. And what she means by that is she wants to stop bullying by the queer community. And that by the queer community, which she feels is directed towards straight people. So. LGBTQ students harassed in an incident at Bucknell University. We'll talk about that a little more. For gays and lesbians in the 50s, Cherry Grove was the one place where they wouldn't get in trouble. We'll have more about that. If you can, FX has a docu-series which chronicles six decades of LGBTQ activism. Our friend Carla J is in the third episode and our friend Ian Northrop of Gay USA is in later episodes. So the first three have been on, but you can get it by going to FX and asking for it. Basketball legend, Simone August retires from WNBA. Don't say I don't do sports. Two teens receive short sentences after an attack on a gay man, we'll have more about that. A Miami drag club is getting death threats. We'll talk about that. And sadly, again, two trans women of color were murdered on the same day as violence continues against trans women of color. Sophie Vasquez and Danny Hansen, both trans women were murdered. Their deaths remain unsolved and no suspects are in custody. The house passes a bill to designate the Pulse nightclub, a national memorial. So that's good news. And man stabs another man while yelling homophobic slurs because the man changed seats away from him on the train. The incident took place on the D train in Manhattan. So there you go. Those are my headlines. New York, New York. Yes. Okay. All right, so we're gonna start with this week's trivia question. I'm gonna give you the question and toward the end we'll give you the answer. In recognition of May being Asian Pacific Island or Heritage Month, we're gonna talk about this. This person is credited as being the public face in the effort to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. So do you know who that is? No, I don't. You'll know soon. All right, that's the question. And so shall I do state news for you now? Why don't I do that? All right, so in local news, you may have heard about a homophobic meme which was shared by Heinsberg fire chief Al Barber on April 2nd. Barber's post was a photo with some homophobic content and it was taken down and he also apologized after he got called out on it. He said he had not read the post clearly and if he had, he would not have posted it. Heinsberg resident Karen Tronsgard-Scott, executive director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, however, said that in a letter to the editor, published in The Citizen, that the post has led her and her family to question their safety in Heinsberg because it is clear that our chief harbors hatred toward members of the LGBTQ community. The Scott admin, oh, and now we have to go to the right page. This is what you don't do when you're doing a story for someone. There we go. Tronsgard-Scott called Barber's response inadequate. She suggested a list of further actions the town could take, including an assessment of the town departments in a creation of social media policy for all members of the town, employees of the town. I am not calling for the dismissal of Chief Barber because I am ever hopeful that we can unite as a community even if one of our leaders has caused harm, Tronsgard-Scott said. Joy Dubin Grossman, Heinsberg town assistant, assistant town manager, will now oversee diversity, equity, and inclusion work in the town. And the town manager, Todd Audit, said, he has already begun to research how committees focused on intolerance in other towns have operated. Audit also plans to attend the next meeting held by the Heinsberg Racial Equity Group. Some criticism on social media has focused on the fire department's response to the situation, suggesting that it was pretty dismissive. Others have defended Barber, including his daughter, Katie Charbonneau, and EMT of the department. Anyone who knows my dad knows how absolutely ludicrous this situation is. She wrote on Facebook on April 22nd. She said her father is honestly the most gentle and welcoming soul that I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, that's what she said. You can find out more about the story on vtdigger.com. There were other things that her father had posted that really read as xenophobic. And I think, although he may be a gentle person, he, I agree with what this person said. Let's not fire people, let's make them aware. Let's teach people, so I think that's important. Well, that's certainly a good place to start. It's absolutely. And the other story that I'll start by telling you about before I pass back to Linda is, in Heinsberg, they also had some LGBTQ artwork that was made by students, vandalized, and this was after the post. So they're thinking they may be connected. The artwork could be seen only sort of if you were driving and parking and dropping off kids, it couldn't be seen from the street. And some say that the vandalism certainly could be connected to that. The police had identified three subjects in the case who might have been the perpetrators, but they didn't say whether they were connected to the school. But later, the administration did send an email to staff from the school saying to students, to people, to students who defaced the artwork over the weekend had been talked to, consequences have been assigned. And now their focus is on helping the two students learn from their actions. And I think this is key in all of these stories. What do we do to help bridge that gap? There's a disconnect going on. So on Monday afternoon, the school staff committee on diversity, equity, and inclusion met to discuss the incident. What are their next steps? They also held an optional staff-wide meeting to discuss healing and strengthening the community. The Heinsberg Racial Equity Group is also, it includes some students who are formerly from the Heinsberg Community School. And their members were pretty devastated by this. And they said, we must all work to end hate in all forms. The group wrote in an email to V.T. Digger. This includes memes, microaggressions, vandalism, and violence. So these are all, I think, intimately linked. Yeah, it seems like they're taking a good approach, but you think in this day and age, I mean, you must really think that you're right about what you're saying if you're willing to put it up on social media. I think a lot of people don't think before they put things on social media. They're just like, aha, that's funny, and they repost. And then they're like, oh. And sometimes I post things that have incorrect facts in them, and my friends will say, oh, nope. So really being sure when you post to look at something, consider it, and maybe take a minute before you hit post. I think that's important. Yeah, because you know. It's really clear to me, if you read the Vermont Digger article, which I'm not gonna repeat what he posted, it wasn't completely heinous, but it's just not clear to me how he could not have thought that it was a homophobic comment. Yeah. But you know, in his mind, he might think it's not, or whatever. Yeah, he might not have. So I think it's good that they're just trying to make reparations and move forward. So we have LGBTQ students were harassed in an incident at Bucknell University. It's clear from the many accounts that the students violated physical space and the residence space sense of safety. Bucknell is in Lexington, Pennsylvania. The incident took place at Tower House, France House, and Infinity House, which houses LGBTQ friendly, gender-neutral students. A group of male students appeared at the residence and harassed and intimidated residents while attempting to enter the building. It also seems clear from what happened from people's statements that the public safety response was lacking and these students felt really threatened. For gays and lesbians in the 50s, Cherry Grove was the one place they wouldn't get in trouble. And this sounds really good. I'm looking forward to it if I get to New York anytime in the near future. A new exhibit in New York features rarely seen photos of the LGBT community enjoying themselves at Cherry Grove, one of America's first gay beach towns. In the summer of 53, 23-year-old Audrey Hartman heard about the beach town on Fire Island. When she arrived there, what she saw is on display at the New York Historical Society. She would eventually go there to live. There are 70 photos and I'm gonna show you two of them now. That sounds like it would have been really fun. And basketball legend, Simone August Retires. She's an eight-year all-star and has won four WMBA titles in the Minnesota, with the Minnesota Lynx. She will be an assistant coach for the Sparks. She's originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was, for a time, engaged to La Tea of Honor and they married in 2015, however they are no longer together. The league has few women head coaches and even few lesbians, so that will be good. Two teens receive short sentences after an attack on a gay man. This is really outrageous. The two are convicted for anti-LGB attack in Maryland. The 18-year-old was sentenced for a first-degree crime and was given a 15-year sentence. However, the judge suspended 11 years and credit for time served, which means that for this brutal assault, he will only get like maybe two and a half years in prison. These two attacked a 23-year-old man at a house party. When the victim tried to leave, they began physically attacking him. He was unconscious. He was knocked unconscious three times. A Miami Dre club is getting death threats after a QAnon congresswoman says they sexually abuse children. Angela Staten, king, went to this venue and accused them of exploiting and sexualizing children and, of course, put it up on social media, et cetera, and that led to our favorite, Monterey Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia and others to arrest the club. And it just has to stop. The Palace Bar is in South Beach, Miami, Florida. King is a failed Republican candidate for Congress. And the granddaughter of Elverda King, the anti-LGBTQ and the right-wing niece of Reverend Martin Luther King. I know. And let's see, I think that's all I have right now. So do you want to finish your stories? And maybe if we have time, we'll have a review. Yeah. So we're going to move on to talking a little bit about house bills in Vermont. H-428, the bill that removes maliciously intended phrase from existing bias hate crimes is out there. Testimony from the Office of Attorney General and State's Attorney supported the removal. Use of maliciously intended phrase created criteria that has been difficult to prove. The House version included provision requiring data collection, but this was removed by the Senate and was not restored when the House moved to concur with the Senate version. The bill awaits the governor's signature. H-183, this bill defines the circumstances under which consent cannot be given in a sexual encounter, such as under intoxication or being unresponsive. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill to include a definition of what would constitute consent. The bill has just been sent back to the House for review of amendments. The House is expected to concur with this. Bill H-360 is the next one. It will substantially increase funding and advance the expansion of broadband in Vermont. And I think all of us can definitely agree that lack of broadband affects people who are BIPOC more, who are LGBTQIA more, and who are in these lower income brackets who can't, we all know from going through the pandemic that if you can't access broadband, you really can't access work or even unemployment. There's so many things, school. So there are different versions of this bill coming out of the House and Senate. There's not an agreement on the final version, but if you're interested, check out the Vermont State House website. The committee is conferring to be assigned. They're gonna work on a compromise bill. Do you think there's like, the reason why we don't have broadband is because people like Comcast or other people just don't wanna go to rural areas because there's no money to be made? Is that the issue? The problem is that the bringing in the infrastructure for this broadband costs a lot of money, and so the municipalities have to pay for it. So you're in the middle of Montpelier, Vermont. It's a city, it's a capital city. It's got the money to get that broadband. And I think that's a big piece of it. And you have to remember, when the internet first started, it wasn't even Wi-Fi, right? It's not about whether there's a satellite or a tower. It's about lines and wires, and that costs a lot of money. And people, for instance, in Orange County, don't even have the proper cell phone reception. And I guess a lot of people don't wanna put it in because it's not gonna make any money. They're not gonna make money back on it because it's a lower population. So that's why the state, I think, has to really... It has to finance this because... Find the money to support that, absolutely. It's an excellent question. They really need it, I mean, go ahead. They do, that's an absolutely perfect question, yeah. So we will keep our eye on that, and we hope that you will as well. So another bill, JRH-2, is a joint resolution which was originating in the House. It was introduced by Representative John Kalaki. The resolution makes a formal apology for those impacted by the eugenics policies that were created by Act 174 in 1931. This was an act for human betterment by voluntary sterilization. It was a scary thing, and there's a lot in the Vermont History Museum, the Vermont Historical Society has a lot on this, so I would check it out. And there was that statue, too, that they took down right in at Burlington, at Vermont Call? Yeah, so the UVM professor, Henry Perkins, was the person who introduced this Act 174, and he, I think, truly thought he was doing a good thing, but he was very misinformed. The eugenics policies targeted poor people, persons with mental and physical disabilities. It also, these same policies also targeted individuals, families, and communities whose heritage was documented as either French-Canadian, French-Indian, or of other mixed ethnic or racial composition. And persons whose extended families have, in successive generations, finally come to say, look, we are abnaki, we are part of indigenous tribes, and one of the big problems was people had to hide who they were, or they were afraid of being sterilized. It wasn't, there's nothing voluntary about it. Right. Yeah, the Senate has proposed amendments, and the House has yet to concur. As has been stated by members of the abnaki nation, acknowledging what has been done and making a formal statement of apology is the first step in healing. There remains many questions about reparations to the community. And did they gather our people, or did they go to people's houses, and went to how they did this, you know? Yeah, I think you should check it out. There are some really fascinating, I think PBS has a document, you know, what's the word, documentary. Yes. Yes, one of those, a documentary about it. And they also did it through registration, through schools, I believe. I mean, that's unfortunately a part of that. So check it out. And also your doctor, you'd go to your doctor. And the historic society, right? And the historical society also has some great information. Yeah, okay, good. The last couple of things I have would be Prop 5. It's been proposed that a constitutional amendment that ensures all Vermonters are right of personal reproductive liberty be added to the amendment, to the constitution. This amendment passed both the Senate and House during the most recent legislative session, but it must again pass both Senate and House during the biennium. So that would be in the 2022 elections, they would have to basically take it off the shelf and vote again with the next group of people for it to become permanently a part of the constitution of Vermont. Governor Phil Scott's established a proclamation of inclusion for the state. The proclamation declares that Vermont seeks to achieve equality and equity and to create a culture in which racial, ethnic, and other cultural disparities are openly acknowledged and addressed and where no one person is more likely to experience society's benefits or burdens than any other person. I think that's huge. Similar decorations have been approved in nine Vermont municipalities, including Brandon, Franklin, Middlebury, Moretown, Pittsfield, Pittsburgh, Waterbury, Woodstock Village, and Rutland City. Burlington's currently considering a similar declaration as working on the municipal director of racial equity and inclusion and belonging as working with them on that. Websites for the city of Montpelier and Berry do not include this statement yet. So if you're interested in that happening, reach out to your people. And the Scott administration has told the LGBTQIA Alliance of VT, the liaison team, that going forward, they expect this to be an annual gubernatorial proclamation. And so other than these last, do you want me to do my last two? I have JRH6. JRH6 is a joint resolution declaring racism as a public health emergency. On Tuesday, May 11th, it was introduced by Representative Taylor Small, Progressive Democrat from Winooski, who I'm sure you've heard of before on the show. They say that these statements are the first step, as these statements put a focus on systems and structures rather than dismissing the inequalities as a fault of individuals. Last but not least, the Racial Justice Alliance has gathered statistics and has created a website for tracking progress and disparities. And I have to then move into my millennial mode to look at that information. I thought there were some really significant percentages listed in the Vermont Digger article, which was something like 4% of people of color in Vermont are affected by COVID, whereas they make up less than 1% of the state, so there's a real disparity. And more of these statistics are at their website, vtracialjusticealliance.org. So check that out. We'll do. And when shall we reveal the answer to the trivia question? At the end. We'll wait. Okay, we're going to wait. Anticipation bills. Yes. All right. And I was just going to add, and I know that Zach has already put up a picture of the penguins, but maybe you could do it again, because I thought I might talk a little bit about these little cute little penguins. So, and I found them in Ann's notes. Excellent. Oh, four penguins at Sea Life Aquarium are preparing to hatch eggs together. A London Aquarium will have a particularly special attraction for visitors when it opens next week. Two same-sex penguin couples. Sea Life London Aquarium announced that four female penguins have formed two same-sex couples. Marmalade and Chickpea. And Marama and Rocky. Nice. Ahead of the bird's annual mating season. According to BBC News, the penguins gift a pebble to a potential mate. And this forms part of their nest for their eggs. The aquarium said that same-sex pairings are commonly in penguins, which couples adopting eggs that have been abandoned by the other birds. Without a doubt, our Gento penguins are one of our most loved creatures and we're so blessed to have been able to reopen our doors in time for guests to be able to witness their amazing courtship rituals. Sea Life Manager Catherine Pritchard said, Gento penguins are the ultimate romantics and their dating techniques are truly unique. So much that as humans, we could certainly learn a thing or two from their passion and commitment to finding mates. So, just put that. That's awesome. That's great. So, we have time. We have time, I think, if you want, if you're into, if you... We're into it. Yeah. Yeah. So, although Anne is not here in person today, we are gonna read a bit of a review. I'm like, this book is here. So, we're gonna read this review. Polly Murray, a personal and political life, which was written by Troy R. Saxby. And so, Anne had see how many things I can drop behind the camera and had a story review of this book published in the Gay and Lesbian Review, the May, June issue. So, we're gonna read from that. So, the title of the article, Only the Facts About a Complex Life. So, the recent Sundance premiere of a Betsy West and Julie Cohen documentary, My Name is Polly Murray, has returned this groundbreaking figure to the public eye. Although Murray is already the subject of two respected biographies, academic Troy R. Saxby has undertaken a third, a volume that purports to highlight the interplay between the activist's personal life and her considerable cultural achievements. Let me state on the outset that I use the female pronoun advisedly in recognition of the fact that in early life, Murray regarded herself as a man trapped in a woman's body. Had she lived today, she may have opted for another pronoun and transgender activists may rightly claim Murray as a forebear, but in the interest of historical authenticity, I have elected to use the only pronoun available to Murray during her lifetime. This consideration points to one of the many complexities facing a biographer hoping to shed light on this subject's private life. That Saxby fails to ponder pronoun use suggests greater failings in his discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity. To its credit, this biographies spotlights an often overlooked feminist scholar and legal activist. Arising from humble beginnings in North Carolina, Murray fought racism, gender bias, and unspoken but palpable homophobia to become the first African-American individual to get a Yale law doctorate and the first African-American woman to become an Episcopal priest. Murray blazed trails well in advance of more celebrated civil rights actions. She tried to integrate southern schools long before Little Rock, organized stool-sitting protest at segregated restaurants 17 years before the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins, and helped plan a journey of reconciliation to southern states 13 years before the freedom rides. As a legal scholar and activist, Murray was credited by Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the thinker who first applied the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause to women, a concept that redefined women's legal status and laid the foundation for important decisions promoting women's rights. That Murray practiced deliberate obfuscation about her relationships with women during her lifetime is not in doubt. Thus, interrogation into her sexual orientation and gender identity presents a challenge to a biographer aiming to explore Murray's private life. Still, even allowing for this difficulty, Saxby falls short. Let's start with his persistent use of the expression sexual preference. When discussing Murray's same-sex attractions and affairs, his use of this outdated term points to a lack of awareness of its distasteful implications for people inside and outside the LGBT community. Another difficulty is his tendency to over-speculate from too little concrete evidence, conjectures about what Murray must have felt that an event may have reminded Murray of something or that childhood fears must have been awakened, work to undermine Saxby's narrative authority. In addition, the book could have benefited from a firmer structure to organize a life of outstanding accomplishment, but also considerable complexity. The events of Murray's life make for a compelling reading, but Saxby offers so much detail that a reader risks getting bogged down in minutia. Needed is more evaluation and synthesis of all this information. Without that, Saxby's objective to provide a sense of what life was like for this remarkable individual remains only partially fulfilled. Still, one can hope that future biographers will build on Saxby's exploration of the human side of Polly Murray so that she can take her place in the pantheon of LGBT thinkers and activists. Thank you. What a nice article. So we still get to hear from Anne today. Yes, that's good. Now I think we have trivia. We have trivia, so we will ask this question in recognition of, of course, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Who is the person that was considered the public face of the effort to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell? And the answer is, in 2009, Korean American Dan Choi, he publicly came out as gay on the Rachel Maddow show despite being an active member of the National Guard at the time when openly gay people were still not allowed to serve in the military. Choi rapidly became the public face of those negatively affected by Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and his fearless advocacy helped bring this discriminatory policy to an end. Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed, if you remember, September 20th, 2011, which is not that long ago. No. So that is great. I also remembered, as we were speaking, that I want to acknowledge that yesterday was international day against homophobia, biphobia, transphobia. So I tend in my brain to think of it as, May 17th is a day to celebrate those people who are allies and who are against these phobias of our community. And tomorrow is National Agender Pride Day. So it's something to think about. There's a lot of celebrations coming down the pike May and June. Really? You mentioned June, the paltz. Yeah, yeah. And paltz, Remembrance Day is coming up in June, along with, of course, June is the month of Pride, so. And it's Stonewall month. Stonewall month, Harvey Milk Day. So there's a lot of interesting celebrations. And we might be able to get out to see it this year. We might be able to get outside. I mean, we're sitting in the same room with no mask on, so yeah. Well, I guess that's gonna end our show. We're a little early. We're sorry about that, but with unexpected circumstances, we have two, but thank you, Kim, for coming and helping out. Thanks for asking me, too. And as usual, what do we do? What do we have to do? Well, we resist. We resist.