 Hi, I'm Keith Coastland, and I'm Linda Quinlan and welcome to all things LGBTQ It is Tuesday January 24th, and we are taping at Orca Media in Mount Pylia, which we acknowledge as Indigenous land Occupied, unseated. Welcome back to Mizzan! That was a school worm. Sorry for the trouble. That's okay. You are truly bad. Now carry on. It's good to be back and a thousand thank yous to Susan Loin, who did a wonderful job on the show and did a lovely interview with Kim Ward that I encourage you all to watch. During her excellent overview on the last show, she hoped to show Link to the material that she was working with, and so the link will appear now there was a misunderstanding and it's somehow my I, you know, dropped the ball. I blew it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'll come back. So thank you Susan, you're really and I hope you do more interviews and that we see more of you because you're very talented. Okay, I've got all kinds of news stories. And what exciting places are we going to first? Well, let's start with North America and I'd like to thank Linda for this very interesting story from Mexico. A woman assaults hugging gay couple with holy water. So they were sitting near a church on a bench when a woman came over and started spraying them with holy water and berated them verbally. It was caught on video by one of the men and has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times online. Leonardo Hernandez and his partner were hugging near a church in Toluca, which is located about 50 miles west of Mexico City when a woman accused them of tainting children with immorality. Get out right now. I'm going to call the police. She yelled as she sprayed the couple and made the sign of the cross. The confrontation about 400,000 people have seen it on tiktok. After she sprayed them with holy water, she pulled out a cell phone and said she was going to call the police. Incredibly animated. The woman asserts that the couple was trespassing on the church's private property. They are not from here. She yells to the person on the other end of the line who Hernandez says was an officer. They came, she continues, they come from other depraved countries to teach immorality to the youth here. At one point Hernandez takes the phone and talks to the officer who explains that they were just hugging and not doing anything wrong. He added that they'd been respectful to the woman despite her efforts to try to run us out of here in his words. The officer says that Hernandez says he explained to the woman that she was discriminating against them, but the officer asked them to leave to avoid further conflict. Hernandez thanked the person on the call. At one point in the video, Hernandez says it's bad to hate, lady. So that's the news. Thank you, Linda, and let's have some background as we know. And we've said several times with corrections and iterations, Mexico implemented marriage equality nationwide in October. Same-sex couples have been able to wed in Mexico City where they live since 2009. So that's a colorful story from Mexico. A quick note from Australia. Not surprisingly, one in three Australian youth identify as LGBTQ. An adolescent psychologist says she was partly shocked, but also not surprised. The destigmatizing and acceptance of people with those labels has been a massive progressive step. She says I've literally I've literally had children telling me that there are social kudos to be the alternative and partially using and particularly using the pronouns them, which is going to be very popular. So that's news from Australia. Bad news from Kenya, which Susan mentioned, but didn't cover on her when she came went in for me. Involving the murder of a Kenyan activist. I have a picture before you now. His name was Edwin Chaloba. Here he is posing for a selfie in Nairobi. He was murdered and Susan cryptically referred to a metal box. He was his body was discovered 40 kilometers outside the Rift Valley in Eldorot after it was reportedly dumped from a moving car. Members of the community were shocked. Police arrested three more suspects for their alleged role in disposing of the victim's remains. His family says that they are pleased with the investigation so far. His mutilated body was found on a roadside last week stuffed in a metal trunk. Kenyan police are investigating a possible love triangle as a motive for the killing. It was one of a series of hate crimes in Kenya where homosexuality is illegal. A freelance photographer was one of the suspects who said to be a long-time friend of the 25-year-old Chaloba who was a leading activist in Kenya's LGBTQ community. Rights activists say that they are increasingly being targeted and LGBTQ campaigner said the incident of Edwin is not the first. This comes after Sheila Lumumba was killed and others I can't remember. We've also seen increased homophobia, especially online. We've seen a lot of increased violation of incidents among the queer community that is directed toward the LGBTQ community. And as I said, under British colonial era law, homosexuality is illegal in Kenya. And there's another more optimistic story from Africa. Concerned South Africa moving to decriminalize sex work so that women aren't... Easy targets of violent crime and HIV spread can be scrutinized more freely. So, let's go to Asia where I've mixed reviews. Taiwan rule barring registration of cross-national gay couple marriages scrapped. And I've been reporting on this marriage by marriage with foreign nationals where homosexuality is illegal. And the law ordained that these marriages be not be approved, although in three cases they were, so the law set aside, I mean the judges set aside the law, but now the law itself is being scrapped. It's good. It is good. Taiwan, as you know, is the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019. The new, and this is a glitch, the new rule would not apply to same-sex couples with one partner from China where gay marriage is not legalized. Their marriage registration should abide by the anti-act governing relations between the people of the people of the Taiwan area and the mainland area. According to those regulations, same-sex couples should complete their marriage registration in China before they register their marriage in Taiwan, so that's not going to happen. That's going to happen. So even though this clause is regrettable... They probably don't want to antagonize China considering how precarious things are in the country. Exactly. Still, it's a great breakthrough for those couples who have a right to register their marriages in Taiwan. Good news. More good news. From India, I have a picture before you now of gay lawyer Sarabha Kirpal, who has just been confirmed as an openly gay lawyer by... So he's going to be a Delhi High Court judge. The ruling to admit him says that every individual is entitled to maintain their own dignity and individuality based on sexual orientation. Now there was some pushback. The objections were based on his sexuality and his passionate advocacy of LGBTQ rights. The opponents frowned upon his partner being a Swiss national and that they have an intimate relationship and that the lawyer is open about his sexual orientation. The government was also worried that same-sex marriage was not recognized in India, though homosexuality remains decriminalized. However, the court ruled that Mr. Kirpal's ardent involvement and passionate attachment to gay rights did not rule out the possibility of bias and prejudice. The opponent said it did not rule out the possibility, but in response to the government, the Collegium said it doesn't have any bearing on national security. Many persons in high positions, including present and past holders of constitutional offices, have had spouses who are foreign nationals. There can be no objection on the ground that his partner is a foreign national. Switzerland was a friendly nation, the Collegium pointed out. The fact that Kirpal is open about his sexual orientation goes to his credit, they replied. The lawyer's sexual orientation is his constitutionally recognized right. He's never been surreptitious about it. He possesses competence, integrity and intellect and he would be an answer to the Delhi High Court as a judge. If appointed, he would be India's first openly gay judge in the High Court. But they told him, they put a gag on him, they thought it would be best if he now speak to the press during the appointment process. And this has been going on five years. So finally it's looking good. Five years? Looking good for him. We don't want to make a hasty decision here. I know, I know. More good news involving a dignitary from India. The leader of an influential Hindu group backs LGBTQ rights in India. Here's a picture of Mogan Bhagwat, the chief of Hindu nationalist organization RSS. He's come out in support of the gay and transgender community. Days before the government is due to respond to the Supreme Court petitions to legalize same-sex marriage. As we know, India decriminalized homosexuality when it scrapped a colonial era ban on gay sex in 2018. But it remains a taboo topic in the socially conservative country of 1.4 billion. Prime Minister Modi's government has refused to legalize same-sex marriage. But the recent comments of Mogan Bhagwat could force the government to reassess this opposition. Because Mr. Bhagwat is the head of the Fountainhead of the ruling BJP party, which is huge. He cited Hindu scriptures and mythology as the basis of his support. Adding, without much hullabaloo, we have found a way with a humane approach to provide LGBTQ people with social acceptance. So this month, India's Supreme Court started hearing petitions to recognize same-sex marriage after four gay couples. Stated that without legal recognition, they cannot have access to rights such as medical consent, pensions, adoption, or even club membership. So the hearing is set to resume in March. Okay, you should do one more and then we should move on. All right, let's go to Hong Kong. A court there has heard a challenge to a law preventing trans people from using toilets of affirmed gender before surgery. And we have, before you know, a picture of some activists who belong to a trans rights group called Quarks. And they are picketing supporting for the legal challenge at the High Court. And this was Thursday morning. Opponents say that the court should respect a previous court of appeal and not accept any standard lower than full surgery. Because a legal bid was filed by Kay, who identifies as male but was born a woman. The legislation in question currently criminalizes people over the age of five who enter public convenience is allocated for the opposite sex. As Kay has not yet undergone a full sex replacement surgery, the applicant is legally banned from using male toilets. So the current policy only allows transgender people to change the sex indicated on their identity if they've undergone full sex reassignment. So that's, I hope that's overturned. Okay, thank you, Anne. My great pleasure. That's it for me with Asia. Now we can go on to Europe. Yeah, it's not going to be any more uplifting but. No. I know. Okay. So the trivia, since this is award season, and we've made it through the Golden Globes and we've got the Oscar ahead of us. This is considered to be, to have been the first pro gay film anywhere in the world. Anywhere in the world is significant. So moving on, we have events. We have Rainbow Umbrella and the women's discussion group. The book discussion group. Same book or have you moved? We moved. Now we're reading The Unnecessary Woman. Oh, by Robin Amadeed. Yeah. Okay. The Pride Center. There's a number of things going on. First is their rural provider series is continuing in February. And this is a virtual event. And this month they're going to be talking about how do you support LGBTQ plus survivors. And as I shared of the last show from participating, this is just a group of providers coming together, hearing information, talking about issues and working in small groups to be able to more clearly identify how they as a provider can give better services and support to the LGBTQ plus communities. So the other is in April, April 22nd at Vermont technicals college, there is the all day LGBTQ plus healthcare summit. And there was a notice that was sent out this week that said if you would like to present, they're looking for people to do workshops. You can do workshops on an aspect of LGBTQ plus healthcare. And you do not have to be LGBTQ plus identified. You can be an ally provider, but they would like your proposal to be submitted for February 10th. And you can go onto their website and download the application to submit. The conference itself is on April 22nd. It's an all day conference. We're not sending proposals. I don't know. What we know, we can't share in a public forum. But the other real big event happening at the Pride Center is on Sunday, February 12th from 4 to 6 p.m. Please come and say your thank yous and goodbye to Mike Bensel who will be stepping down as executive director. If you are considering going, they are asking for an RSVP. So they have a sense of how many people will actually be attending. Out in the 802, Thursday, February 2nd, there must be a pop-up happy hour at the Lincoln. Yes, there must be. If it's Thursday, there's a queer happy hour happening someplace in Vermont. The Vermont Humanities, they are co-sponsoring Farmers Night on February 8th. This is at the State House. It's a free, open. It's in the well of the house. What is happening on the 8th is Andrew Aiden. Do you know him? Co-author of the March Trilogy which he wrote with John Lewis. And he's coming to talk about what will be the next book in that series which is called Run with an exclamation mark. And he's going to share his experiences working with John Lewis. So that should be fascinating. That's very cool. Okay. And this is going to be a little lengthy. Outright Vermont did a comprehensive posting of all of their Friday night groups. And oh me, oh my, they have been busy people. Every Friday night from 6.30 to 8, there's an online group. However, there is also an in-person group in Burlington every Friday from 6.30 to 8. However, there's also an in-person group the first Friday of every month in Middlebury. The second Friday of each month, there is an in-person Friday night group here in Montpelier. Really? So apparently that has resumed. And the third Friday of each month, this is our youth. Somebody may be showing their Chelsea upbringing. Morrisville. Morrisville, wow. And the last Wednesday of each month, and this is online, is their BIPOC support group, which was something. And the second and fourth Thursday of each month, also online, is their trans support group. So they have really been identifying need, expanding and reaching out to our youth, saying, How do we create safe space for you? And keep all of this in mind when I start talking about some of the legislative stuff going on and what may be some of the impetus behind it. I'll be curious to know. So do you have interesting gossip for me, or are you just going to depress me like Ann did? Well, if there's more to come for me. Yeah, I know. It's a mixed bag. Okay. Well, first we're going to go to Missouri. For State Senator Greg Razor, the only openly gay member of the Missouri Senate, it's been painful to watch his colleagues file an onslaught of bills that attack his community. He wonders about LGBTQ kids in Missouri. It hurts because I was 17 year old suicidal kid. I have to do is make sure that these kids are out there and their parents and the people that love them know that somebody in the Senate is standing up for them. I may not be able to stop everything, but there's going to be a fight. I can guarantee you that Missouri lawmakers have filed the most anti-LGBTQ legislation nationwide. The legislation is a sign that conservatives targeting LGBTQ issues are emboldened as states have successfully passed legislation aimed at restricting gay and transgender rights. And now we'll go to West Virginia. Two West Virginia bills aimed to protect minors from obscene performances and materials, which the bill defines in part as anything that includes exposure to or performance by transgender people. The bills introduced this week by State Senator Michael Azinger, a Republican, would prohibit obscene and sexually explicit material in or within 2,500 feet of the state schools and would bar children from being present for obscene performances or displays. The bill's four-point definition of obscene matter is, for the most part, general and includes material that appeals to others' interest or that is patently offensive. But the fourth part of the definition specifically defines indecent displays of sexually explicit nature in part as any transvestite or transgender exposure performances are displayed to any minor. No other group of people or specific type of performance is included. Advocates in the states say the bills declare transgender people's existence as inherently sexual and harmful to children. They won't be watching any of Ann's clips. Ann, you know, I have a Romanian story coming up and they're taking their cue from the U.S. Of course they are. And then I have a picture of protesters in Arizona Capitol this weekend arguing against what many are calling anti-LGB bills that were proposed in the state legislature. The protest was organized by many in the LGBT community in opposition to those bills. But they decided to host this protest on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision and called Sunday's protest bigger than Roe to highlight the connection between abortion rights and LGBTQ rights in the fight for bodily autonomy. That was my good news. I know. And I see how many pages she has left. And then we have a sad story about a 36-year-old trans woman, Jasmine Starr Mack, was found stabbed to death in northeast Washington, D.C. on January 7th. According to the police report obtained by the Washington Blade, Mack was discovered lying in the street with a stab wound to her right leg. She was pronounced dead at the scene. And a middle school in New Jersey has removed rainbow-themed safe space. Remember that whole safe zone, safe space? Signs from its campus. Superintendent Peter Termanian announced the change at a January 3rd Board of Education meeting. The LGBT Klu Paz affirming signage at Long Valley Middle School in place since 2019 was the result of a student-led effort and inclusiveness. Recent complaints by parents led Termanian, Superintendent for the Washington Township School District, to consult with lawyers. Ultimately, the advice of the legal counsel, like they need new lawyers, was to have them come down. Termanian said of the signs, lawyers characterize parents' concerns over favoritism as appropriate criticism. House Republicans, head by NeverKevin, introduced legislation prohibiting rainbow flags, pride flags being flown outside U.S. embassies in other countries. Don't they have anything else to do? Republicans introduced the so-called Old Glory Only Act in response to State Department officials putting a rainbow flag up over a South American embassy in 2018. One of the acts cosponsors proposed law would only allow U.S. and military flags flown into embassies and diplomatic facilities. The law follows embassies flying. It also follows that they will not allow Black Lives Matter banners and pride flags to be flown. So what do you think of that? And not surprisingly, there was a new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA found that older LGBTQ Americans were affected more negatively by COVID-19 pandemic than their straight peers. And they used data from the census. And so that's not surprising, is it? No. Well, when Curtis, Kimberlin Jr. and his boyfriend Jonathan began planning their trip to Dallas, Texas, they sent a friendly note to a property owner offering his place through the short-term rental service Airbnb. But the propriety, the property, responded with a homophobic question before canceling the couple's reservation request. Hi, Peter, Kimberlin wrote to the property owner, my partner and I are, we'll be flying into town for the weekend and we're really excited. It'll be my first time in Texas and my partner is from Dallas. So he'll be showing me around. The property owner responded by asking, so I'll be hosting two men sleeping together, right? The owner canceled the reservation. Oh my gosh. And Airbnb is looking into it. Well, they better do more than look into it. Yeah, but consider it the state. Well, yeah. And the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating an alleged attack that took place last weekend involving a man who yelled an anti-gay slur and then punched a woman. So hard that he knocked her over. Authorities say that the attack occurred at 120 Circle, Deli in Brooklyn last Friday and was caught on security camera. Police said the man approached the woman in the deli and shouted, faggot at her. Then he punched her in the mouth and she fell to the ground. After he punched her, the man fled the deli and was spotted getting on a nearby train. And let me see a couple of these. I want to get the ones. At least they have pictures. Okay, a gay-owned restaurant in Chicago had a window shattered by a hammer-wielding man in a suspected homophobic attack last night. And here's a picture of that. And let's see. Does everybody know this but me? I didn't know this, but that David Crosby fathered Melissa Ethridge's children? I didn't know that. See, I thought that was gross, but everybody knew it but me, apparently. Licensed therapists, counselors, and social workers in Wisconsin will again be allowed to attempt to change their client's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression after a vote. Thursday by the state legislature, the legislature's joint committee for review of administrative rules voted 6-4 on party lines to suspend the rule, meaning conversion therapy, which was passed in 2020 by the state board that oversees licensed therapists, counselors, and social worker. The board's policy added conversion therapy to the list of unprofessional conduct for those professions, but they put it back. Oh, and then there was also a bar in Florida that was attacked. Police are characterized by its mode of attack. Located in Orlando's Milk District, posted security video to its Facebook page of a man shooting out windows in the Southern Nights Complex. The complex is home to several queer establishments, including District Dive, Southern Craft, and the Southern Nights Night Club. The post on District Dives page said, the complex was a target of a suspected hate crime, and I have a picture of that. And I think I will probably pass on to you now since time is getting really short and you can do a couple of stories. Good. I have a lot to cover, but I want to start with a film just in case we run out of time. And this is a British film called Bend Addiction, and it's old and it's been recommended by friends of ours, and in conversation I've learned it's available everywhere. It's on YouTube, it's on the Kellogg-Covered Library's canopy. Platform. And you can rent it and buy it, and it's about the first World War poet, Siegfried Sassoon. It explores his turbulent life through the eyes of the revered filmmaker, Terence Davies. Sassoon was a complex man who survived the horrors of fighting the First World War and was decorated for his bravery, but who became a vocal critic of the government's continuation of the war when he returned from the service. His poetry was inspired by his experiences on the Western Front, and he became one of the leading war poets of the era. Adored by members of the aristocracy, as well as stars of London's literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality. At the same time, broken by the horror of war, he made his life's journey a quest for salvation, trying to find it within the conformity of marriage and religion. His story is one of a troubled man in a fractured world, searching for peace and self-acceptance, something which speaks as meaningfully to the modern world as it did then. So let's take a look at a clip from Benedictine. Ladies and gentlemen, one of our greatest poets. Mm-mm. Soon, Siegfried. Wrenk. Second left-hand. Disease. I've had some sort of breakdown. Your lot is with the ghosts of soldier's death, and I am in the field where men must fight. Your duty lies in obeying orders. In the face of such slaughter, one cannot simply order one's conscience. Good morning, doctor. We have a house magazine. I'm sure it would welcome a contributor. I'll try to write something light and amusing. There's no need to go that far. Who is this extremely beautiful young man? So soon, Siegfried. Sounds Wagnerian. I'm anxious to meet her distinguished guest, a fine young cannibal. What should I do about my hair? Have you considered topiary? It's one of the inconveniences of the shadow life we lead. Friends may come. Friends may go. Enemies are always faithful. Life goes slowly on. Trying to understand the enigma of other people. You're going to marry her. If the intention wasn't pure, I don't think I could go through with it. Purity is like virginity. As soon as you touch it, it becomes corrupt. Too inhibited. You're not alone. My whole future could depend on you. My fulfillers have been waiting for a catastrophe to happen. Most people live for the moment. You live for eternity. Well, I've got a lot of miserable news from England coming up. I started with the Church of England, which has refused to back same-sex marriage. I've reported on this before. They're going to have special benedictions for gay people and special messages from the pulpit. But they're standing firm on their rejection of same-sex marriage. This Bishop says, I hope it can offer a way for the Church of England publicly and unequivocally to say all Christians, especially LGBTQI people, that you are welcome in a valued and precious part of the body of Christ. So the Church and its bishops plan to issue a formal apology to LGBTQI people for the rejection, exclusion, and hostility they have felt from the Church. So they have this, you know, you can receive this special message. But I'd like to give you the response of an LGBTQ activist and prominent campaigner for the rights of people in the Church. She says the decision was utterly despicable. I cannot believe that five years of pain and trauma have got us here. We have had countless apologies over the years, but no action to stop the harmful discrimination. And so the General Synod of the Church of England is expected to discuss the proposals in detail in their February 6th through 19th meeting. But they stand firm on their refusal to perform same-sex marriages. Do you know what they say about the Church of England? No. Catholics just flunk Latin. Well, they're from the same playbook in terms of... Just say no. Well, let's talk about Scotland's Gender Recognition Reform Bill and the UK's dastardly actions in that regard. The Scottish Parliament passed a bill with cross-party support in December that lowers the age from 18 to 16 at which people can apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate. The bill would also eliminate the need for medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria which can be costly and challenging to attain. Applicants above the age of 18 would be allowed to be recognized once Scotland calls their acquired gender after three months living with it. 16- and 17-year-olds would need to wait six months. That is a change from the status quo which requires applicants to provide two medical reports and live in their acquired gender for two years. The bill as passed would introduce a simpler and fair way for trans men and women to be legally recognized as who they truly are, allowing them to live with the dignity that we all deserve, says a member of the group Scottish Trance. Scotland is the 10th European country to pass such legislation which would bring it closer to the regulations in the US states such as New York where applicants can have their gender identity legally recognized at age 17 without the need for medical diagnosis. Wasn't there some big fight and strong ones like threatening to leave the EU? Yes, that's what I'm getting to. What has happened? The UK has vetoed this Gender Recognition Bill. And they say, you can't do that. It's blocked the Scottish bill that would make it easier. The bill I was just describing. Alistair Jack, the British government's minister for Scotland, told the UK Parliament on Tuesday that proposed legislation would result in two different Gender Recognition Programs in Britain and that it might lead to fraudulent applications. Westminster's move set off an immediate firestorm. Trans rights groups condemned the move and Scottish nationalist politicians branded the decision as undemocratic. Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said her government is likely to challenge the vetoing court. Scotland, which has been part of the UK for over 300 years, has its own elected government that controls matters such as education and justice. But London provides some funds for state spending and is responsible for issues such as the defence as defence. Advocates for Scottish independence who include Sturgeon have grown in prominence in recent years. Here's what you know about transgender rights in Britain. There's potential fallout. The London's decision to halt the Scottish bill could further galvanize the session as sentiment. Shona Robinson, a pro-independent Scottish minister, said the move demonstrated the British government's contempt for devolution. Sturgeon, the Scottish leader, suggested London might seek to similarly overrule Edinburgh on other issues. They're really furious about it. They could have used less intrusive measures such as asking the UK Supreme Court to intervene if it felt Scotland had overreached, says a lawyer. He suggested London instead chose a nuclear option that marks a real deterioration in respect for the ability of people of Scotland to self-determine. Sunday Times poll found that 55% of Scottish respondents opposed the move to lower the age of changing gender. The independence movement suffered a major blow in 2014 when 55% of Scots voted to remain in the UK. But pro-independence advocates say Britain's subsequent vote to leave the EU, which was opposed by a majority of Scots, changed the circumstances. The Supreme Court also ruled in November that Scotland cannot hold a referendum without consent from London, and the British government has repeatedly said it is opposed to a second independence vote. So there's a lot of turmoil. This kind of implies that the end of this article suggests the sessionist movement is stimulated. Will gain some traction, huh? Gaining some traction. Alright, on a good note, Britain has vowed to have a new law to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ people. So it's not all miserable news from England, but close. We should probably move on soon, huh? Okay, three more stories. Dutch Senate expands constitutional ban on discrimination. Right's Court finds Lithuania for putting warning label on the children's book. I've been talking about this children's book for a long time. Europe's top rights court sided with deceased Lithuanian children's book author on Monday in the dispute stemming from the government's view that gay fairytales harm children. So the Lithuanian government has been fined. Unfortunately, the author died in her daughter carried on the suit. It ordered Lithuania to pay the mother of the deceased mother, which this author died at 38. It's terrible. So her mother carried on the suit and she's been awarded 17,000 euros, which is $18,400 in damages. So one more story from Romania. This is a little fast one these two women pulled. Let me show you a picture now of EV 37 and GIA 35. Romanian may follow Russian in banning LGBTQ propaganda, but its first pair of married women have overturned this. It's like a guerrilla action. One of the EVs on the left is transgender and they can't... She can't complete her surgery or anything. So she is technically still a man and so they had this wedding, which was legal and they celebrated it at Budapest Pride, which had 15,000 people. And they did get hassled during this ceremony. Justice of the peace said EV should change into man's clothing and the official also said that they were not allowed to take any photos, but they pulled it off. So there they are celebrating. All right. All right. So we're going to start with the Vermont Supreme Court. Oh, okay. Issued a ruling last Friday that upheld Montpelier allowing non-citizens to vote in its local election. Yes. It is finally over. Here, here. And what was interesting is reading the opinion, the challenge was filed by national Republicans, the state Republican Party, and seven people who don't even live in Montpelier. So there we go. The quick Becca watch, I called her office today saying, so when are you going to post the committee assignments to which the responses, they haven't made them yet? It's going to be at least another one to two weeks. But that Becca has requested for consideration on the financial services committees. So that's in keeping with the work she was doing here as president pro tem with affordable housing, health care, et cetera. So we will be watching. And on a national level, the trolls are after her already. So if people want to send her a little note saying we stand with you, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. So looking at our legislature and I'm going to talk about one particular bill this week. And then on our next show, I'm going to talk about the bill relative to education. Okay. And the reason for that is there's a lot of things percolating right now. And if people are looking at the news, rights and democracy have been working in Randolph with the issue regarding transgender athletes. Right. They're receiving death threats. There's a lot of, there's some pushback. From the state or from all over. They don't know. Okay. I mean, and the person who has been the primary center is denying they have any involvement. But in conjunction with that, there are athletic teams that are refusing to play other specific teams because of racist comments being made to their players, either by other athletes, social posts or by fans. And BFA in St. Albans is banning fans from future games. So, but the bill that by the time this airs on Wednesday and Thursday of this week house judiciary. And the new chair, Martin Lalonde had made a commitment that he was going to talk and committee and create a committee bill. Looking at extending the shield protections to include reproductive rights and gender affirmation. Well, literally last night, a bill got introduced by representative Don Lee who we have interviewed Taylor small and chair Lalonde extending those protections. It is a 24 page bill. It has 97 co-sponsors. That means a hundred members of our house said these are important issues. These are protections to put in place. And what this would do in this work that has been done in other states and glad has been intricately involved in helping to craft the language is if someone were to come to Vermont for services and say, oh, it's a state like Texas or Florida where they're trying to create list of their transgender residents. We're not providing them with any information and we are protecting the providers and the people who referred them for care and treatment. So we are going to be watching that one closely and the and that's happening in the house. The other bill relative to education is going to start in the Senate. So we'll be watching that. Okay. But I was going to say we only have a couple minutes left. Well, on a good note, the civil rights enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of Education is investigating a superintendent of North Texas School District after he was caught ordering librarians to get rid of LGBTQ themes books on a secret recording. Experts say it is the first investigation explicitly tied to the growing movement to ban books that discuss sexuality, gender identity from school libraries. So that was, you know, that's good. I hope they make some inroads there. Unfortunately I read and we'll include it in the story on our next show. There's a superintendent in Massachusetts who is doing the same kind of action. And there's a couple placed their flag on a popular street and it has been the target of anti-LGBTQ people. The first thing that happened was one day he was outside in the back patio and he heard people screaming slurs from their car while passing their house, which is. So where is this? Queen Creek, Arizona. Witnesses say police or a man was shooting anti-gay slurs at a couple in the city's Rogers Park neighborhood afternoon that they followed them. And that was from the Chicago gay bar being attacked. And this is kind of fun because motorists now in North Carolina and you'll be interested in hearing this and can request personalized license plates that include terms related to the LGBT community. After more than 200 previously forbidden terms were removed from the states do not issue lists. License plates with the words gay pride, lesbian or queer were previously not available to purchase. However, now you can. Well, there we go. And Republican legislators in Iowa have introduced their version of don't say gay bill largely mimicking the one that became Laura in Florida and a bill that would essentially out transgender and non-binary students to their parents. And I think that's about it really. Oh, I just wanted to briefly just say before we get our trivia is in and I saw the whale this week. And I sort of give it a thumbs up with a few moments that seemed contrived. However, many critics have called it fat shaming. So if you have any insights, if you've seen it, you can message us on our all g all things lgbtq face page and let us know what you thought about it. So can I also give you comments on the Oscar nominees and who we think should or should not have been. Yes. And on that movie theme. Moving right into the trivia. This was considered this is considered to have been the first pro gay film produced in the world. And it was in 1919 in Germany. It was a silent film. Your thing about Rudolph Valentino wasn't that far off. I was thinking Lawrence of Arabia. Oh, that's entirely different. It was titled different from the others and the plot outline, which and loves to share with you. So I thought I would keep it going is it is a famous violinist who falls in love with one of his male students. And there is this extortionist who is going to expose him. And through a series of flashbacks, they recount this violinist coming to terms with his sexual orientation and being able to move forward. And there is a court case that ensues the judge is sympathetic to and supports the violinist, but the publicity shatters his career. And in the film, he commits suicide and he dies in his lover's arms. And his lover is then looking at, you know, I'm going to join you. I'm going to, you know, death by suicide as well. And a friend steps in and this is the closing narrative of the film. You have to keep living, live to change the prejudices by which this man has been made one of the countless victims. You must restore the honor of this man and bring justice to him and all those who came before him and those to come after him justice through knowledge. 1919 and one of the co-authors and producers of the film was Magnus Hirschfeld who founded the Institute for Sexual Science. Wow. That, well, I just have one question. Oh, we don't really have time to do it. We next time. And in that note, remember to resist.