News
Patricia Nell Warren, author of ‘The Front Runner,’ dies at 82
Patricia Nell Warren was noticeable anywhere.
That shock of curly white hair crowning the famous Montana-born lesbian was a beacon for nervously thrilled gay men to find the writer holding court at whatever event she attended. “You saved my life,” they told “The Front Runner” author over and over until the day before her death, according to her close friend Gregory Zanfardino. He and his best friend Darryl Davis were with Warren when she died on Saturday, Feb. 9 at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica after an almost three year struggle with lung cancer.
Warren was 82.
“She was an amazing friend. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for her,” Zanfardino told the Los Angeles Blade by phone. “Up until her last moments, she was very clear. And she was constantly getting emails all the time from young people and older people who literally told her ‘The Front Runner’ saved their lives. That book still, to this day, inspires people.”
“The Front Runner” was a landmark gay novel published in 1974, five years after the Stonewall riots, one year before California officially decriminalized homosexuality; the first to print the word “gay” on the cover and the first to make the New York Times bestseller list.
But while it is often tagged as a “gay love story of Coach Harlan Brown and his Olympic runner Billy Sive” in the 1970s, as publisher William Morrow first framed it, Warren intended it to be broader in scope.
The Front Runner is really about how closeted, masculine, conservative Vietnam Marine veteran Harlan Brown, 39, gave up his own dream of running in the Olympics, of coaching prospective Olympic athletes at a prestigious college, of quelling his own humanity out of fear of being exposed as gay. When he and gay distance runner Billy Sive, 22, fall in love at a small New England college, the world of sports rears up against Sive representing the US in the Olympic, where he meets with a horrific end.
“[T]he book’s prose had to be the voice of a conservative ex-Marine veteran who is at war with himself. He knows he’s gay and attracted to men, but he refuses to let himself feel, to let himself be that person he knows he is, because of his repressive Bible-taught family upbringing and military background,” Warren wrote for TheFrontRunnerMovie.com. “When Harlan finds himself falling secretly in love with Billy Sive, the conflict only intensifies and almost drives him mad, until he is finally “human” enough to give in and let himself be in love.”
After Billy is murdered in a hate crime on live TV, how can Harlan Brown go on? What becomes of him?
“One big reason why I wanted to paint the story so broadly, yet so personally, was that I hoped non-gay people would read the book as well as gay people,” Warren wrote. “When the book was written, as well as today, stereotypes of gay males as limp-wristed liberals is embedded in people’s minds. Harlan is a crusty gay ex-Marine, a drill-sergeant kind of guy. I wanted to confront readers with the inner reality of such a man because I know they exist.”
In fact, Zanfardino tells the Los Angeles Blade, Warren’s wish came true. Shortly before her death, Warren received an email from a straight woman who told her homophobic husband to read the book from beginning to end. Afterwards, he confessed that he never realized how people like him can hurt people. The book was a glimpse into the lives of two men who only wanted to love each other and do sports.
“The book touched hearts,” says Zanfardino.
In 2011, Warren told The Bay Area Reporter that Sive was “inspired in part by distance runner Steve Prefontaine, as well as a few closeted runners that I got to know while being involved in open distance running myself.”
Prefontaine, who was straight, helped inspire the “running boom” of the 1970s. He died tragically in a car accident when he was 24. A movie about his life starred Jared Leto, who one critic suggested is “almost too pretty an actor to play the masculine, cocky runner.”
“I loved “The Front Runner,” Proteus Spann told the Los Angeles Blade during a discussion about his effort to get E. Lynn Harris’ “Invisible Life” made into a movie, noting that E. Lynn’s most famous character, Basil, was a professional football player.
“We’re all humans until society or we put up our flags and put a name on it. I knew of a former NFL player who frequented the Dupont Circle bars in DC. He was outed by a journalist in the early 90’s. He was cut from the team and this guy was massively masculine, great football player, star running back,” Spann said. “Was he still not a man even though he was gay? I think we get confused on the issue of masculinity and sexual identity.”
While Warren’s legacy is “The Front Runner” and the power of presenting gay men as masculine athletes and former fighting Marines, Warren’s life was more than just that book. In fact, she was her own version of an activist.
Patricia Nell Warren was born in 1936 and grew up on the Grant Kohrs cattle ranch near Deer Lodge, Montana. She started writing professionally in her teens in the 1950s, moving to New York in 1955 to attend Manhattanville College. She worked first as a copy editor, then a book editor at Reader’s Digest from 1959-1980. She married a Ukrainian emigre writer in 1960 and wrote four books of Ukranian poetry while stationed in Spain. She also wrote her first gay novel about a Spanish bullfighter’s relationship with a peasant under Franco’s fascism. “The Wild Man” would be published in in 2001 with an opening set in the gay West Hollywood bar, Numbers. Warren divorced her husband in 1973, according to a summary accompanying her papers at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives.
Warren started jogging while in Spain. “For me, at age 32 in 1968, distance running started out as a personal female challenge. Indeed, the runner’s need to reach deep inside and ‘find more’ spurred my self-discovery as a woman and my consciousness-raising concerning women’s rights,” she wrote in The Advocate in Aug. 1998.
“Only then, through running, could I finally catch up with those long-festering questions about sexual orientation. It dawned on me that sports are a major arena in which American society hard-wires ‘traditional’ notions about gender roles and orientation into its citizens,” she wrote.
The “Supreme Court Photo” with Robert Arthur, Ivy Bottini, Quentin Crisp, Morris Kight, and Patricia Nell Warren taken at home of Victor Burner. 1994. (Photographer unknown; photo courtesy ONE Institute)
Warren took that consciousness-raising seriously. In 1969, she and 11 other women “outlaws crashed the Boston Marathon and ran the race without numbers, another fist was raised” in protest in the “athletes’ rights movement” that was “battling antiquated and hypocritical rules that still ran U.S. sports,” she wrote.
Warren was part of a cadre of women athletes and distance runners intent on forcing the Amateur Athletics Union to change the discriminatory rules under which women were permitted to run.
“Women had been barred from road races since 1961, as experts claimed distance running was damaging to their health and femininity. Some officials infamously warned that a woman’s uterus might fall out should she attempt to run such distances,” according to a story in the New York Times about the women runners who broke and changed the rules.
This was around the same time when proudly sexist 55-year old Bobby Riggs challenged 29-year old tennis star Billie Jean King to a nationally televised tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in 1973 known as “The Battle of the Sexes.” When King won, suddenly women athletes were taken more seriously—though King’s main issue of pay equity was still a battle.
Warren fought battles off the running course, as well. She was the plaintiffs’ spokesperson for Susan Smith v. Reader’s Digest, a landmark case that resulted in a class-action victory for women.
“I was one of 18 women who filed Title VII charges against the Reader’s Digest,” Warren told Gay Today in 2003. “It was one of several major lawsuits against the media in the 1970’s. The media were full of talented and ambitious women who had been blatantly discriminated against—the very media that kept America informed on news from the civil-rights movement!”
The Digest tried to dismiss the class-action aspect of the case. “But the federal judge – who was a woman! – didn’t buy their arguments. If the Digest had succeeded, it would have set a disastrous precedent for class actions,” she said.
Warren also worked on behalf of LGBT youth.
In 1994, she volunteered as a teacher at the West Hollywood-based EAGLES Center, a program for at-risk LGBT high school students. In 1996, she served on the LAUSD’s school Gay & Lesbian Education Commission and then in 1999, joined the Human Relations Education Commission. As a commissioner, she supported Project 10 and helped organize Youth Lobby Day, which became key in pressuring legislators during the knock-down fight for State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s AB222, the Dignity for All Students Act.
“I didn’t have a close relationship with her,” Project 10 founder Dr. Virginia Uribe tells the Los Angeles Blade. “But I admired what she did. ‘The Front Runner’ was a big influence on a lot of young people. When it came things like that, she was definitely a pioneer.”
Artist Windon Newton chats with Patricia Nell Warren at Friends of Project 10 fundraiser in Altadena. (Photo courtesy Lance Webster)
Gail Rolf, Uribe’s wife and the Education Director for the non-profit arm of Project 10, tells of how “The Front Runner” saved a student’s life.
Rolf was teaching at Alexander Hamilton High School and leading a Project 10 support group when she got word of a special education 12th grader who had attempted suicide just before Spring Break.
“He was very sweet and very conflicted about his sexuality. We sent him to see someone at Didi Hirsch (Mental Health Services) and then he came to the Project 10 support group,” Rolf says. “I had ‘The Front Runner’ paperback on the shelf so I gave it to him and told him to read it and keep the book as long as needed and then we’d talk about it. He came back weeks later with the pages folded—the book was ruined. He said, ‘This is the most fabulous book I’ve ever read. This book saved my life!”
He graduated and two years later came back to Models of Pride to say he’d come out and he was happy, Rolf says.
“We’ve lost an important voice for LGBT youth with the passing of Patricia Nell Warren. She was a fierce advocate for our youth. Her novels and many of her other work reflected that advocacy. Her writing also explored the complexity of youthful LGBT sexuality,” says Terry DeCrescenzo, former founder and executive director of Gay & Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS). “Her death silences an important voice.”
“When I came out as a gay man in 1990, my aunt gave me a copy of the Front Runner & I immediately read it. It was so influential for me & was part of my transition to fully embracing who I am. Patricia Nell Warren’s contribution to our community is a permanent one,” tweeted State Sen. Scott Wiener after Warren’s death was announced.
“It was one of the earliest books I read as a young lesbian. It was hard to find anything reflecting positively LGBTQ relationships when I came out in 1980-81. This was a jewel. Godspeed to Patricia Nell Warren,” State Sen. Toni Atkins tweeted.
Warren and Wildcat Press, the small publishing house she operated with then-business partner Tyler St. Mark, joined other plaintiffs in ACLU v. Reno and ACLU v. Reno II against the Justice Department “over right-wing federal legislation designed to promote censorship on the Internet and impede the online sale of gay and lesbian content,” her longtime friend Lance Webster says.
Webster and Warren worked with Senate Majority Leader Richard Polanco to write and pass SB1796, the Political Expression Protection Act to protect the rights of peaceful, non-violent protesters, based on an article she wrote entitled “Just Dissent.” Though the State Legislature overwhelmingly passed the bill, it was vetoed by Gov. Gray Davis.
During this time Warren not only continued to write articles, columns and books but she also joined the national LGBT site Bilerico as a blogger.
“When Patricia and I talked about our plans, she quickly volunteered to be our first new contributor. She was excited at the idea of speaking to a younger audience she didn’t know already and on issues that weren’t solely related to sports,” Bilerico co-founder Bil Browning tells the Los Angeles Blade, noting that her involvement enticed other contributors.
“Without her quiet voice of guidance and reassurance, I surely wouldn’t have been able to handle all of the responsibilities and attention that came with running a large site,” he says. “Her biggest commandment was to always respond to fan mail because it would make both the reader and the writer connect a little more closely.”
In 2007, Warren ran for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council. Though it was a long shot, she nonetheless did the due diligence producing astute policy analysis. That included a white paper on developing a true, single-payer comprehensive Universal Healthcare Coverage plan, as published by Smart Voter.
In it, she scrutinized the progressive healthcare system created by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom—which she compared unfavorably to SB 840, legislation proposed by out Sen. Sheila Kuehl, Chair of the Senate Health Committee.
The Lambda Literary Foundation’s 25th anniversary of Outwrite! in April 2013 recognizing literary pioneers Rev. Malcolm Boyd, Lillian Faderman, Katherine V. Forrest, John Rechy and Patricia Nell Warren. (Photo by Karen Ocamb)
Warren also had an impact on her fellow writers. Anne Stockwell, former editor in chief of The Advocate and a cancer activist, visited Warren in a Glendale rehab facility a few months ago.
“She also told me she had cancer but didn’t make a big deal of that. She was sitting up in bed with her laptop, typing away on her fourth novel in The Front Runner series—which she apparently finished a couple weeks ago,” Stockwell says.
“Patricia really lived the values of her Montana childhood,” Stockwell adds. “She didn’t wait for permission to create or publish or act. She took the heat and led. She was an extraordinary American—we say that about a lot of people, but in her case it was true—and her vision of proud gay love helped to save a lot of lives, including mine.”
Rev. Malcolm Boyd and Patricia Nell Warren (Photo by Karen Ocamb)
Steven Reigns, West Hollywood’s first official Poet Laureate, was also impacted by Warren.
“There is still a struggle for LGBTQ representation and it was especially acute in 1974 when Warren published The Front Runner,” Reigns tells the Los Angeles Blade, who discovered the book at the St. Louis public library in 1994. “I was far from athletic and yet I identified and empathized with Billy. It also felt subversive to read this gay novel by a lesbian who, at one point, edited my mother’s favorite publications—Reader’s Digest. The book illuminated for me that we were everywhere.”
And, he noted, “Though her imagination, she gave us mainstream representation and modeling,” including the creation of “Frontrunners” clubs worldwide.
One of the disappointments of Warren’s life was not having “The Front Runner” made into a movie. There have been so many rumors about the ups and downs of that endeavor—especially around actor Paul Newman as the first to option the work in 1975—that Warren and Zanfardino created a website devoted to the story, the history of the movie project and the prospect of having it finally produced in the near future.
The final entry on the movie history timeline reads: “2019 – February 9th, Patricia Warren loses her battle with cancer. Literary rights (print, film and television) of all her books are now handled by her estate and are available for option, sale and production. Interested parties should contact the executor of her estate Gregory Zanfardino patricianellwarrenestate@gmail.com.
Patricia Nell Warren (Photo courtesy Lance Webster)
Making the movie was very much an imperative when Warren spoke with the Los Angeles Blade in Aug. 2017.
“I think it’s a good moment for a movie like that; the way the country is going, probably the timing is better than ever,” Warren said. “I’m really concerned about all the negativity about LGBT people that is going forward in the country right now, and that certainly will rebound into what we do in sports, so, I’m still hoping that it will happen.”
Events
LGBTQ+ community will gather to celebrate life of beloved publisher
Join us for a celebration in honor of Troy Masters, founder and publisher of Los Angeles Blade
On Monday, Feb. 10 from 7pm to 9pm, friends and colleagues of Troy Masters will gather at The Abbey in West Hollywood to celebrate his life and legacy as founder of the Los Angeles Blade.
Masters was a resident of WeHo and he was a deeply respected and well-known person for his work in the LGBTQ+ community and coverage of queer issues in Los Angeles and New York City. In the years he was a journalist, he built a network of people that truly stood behind the work he felt passionately about.
The celebration will feature guest speakers who worked closely with Masters s Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, senior contributing writer for the LA Blade Karen Ocamb, CEO of the Trans Latin@ Coalition Bamby Salcedo and co-owner of the Washington Blade Kevin Naff.
Master’s work and legacy go as far back as the late 1980s where he got his first taste of activism working as an ad representative for the gay and lesbian activism publication, Outweek.
According to the obituary written by his close colleague Ocamb, the publication only lasted 18 months before founder, record producer and ACT UP supporter Bill Chafin passed away due to AIDS. The magazine was the first glossy gay and lesbian magazine published in New York City featuring news, culture, and events during a time where the AIDS Second Wave was peaking and Masters felt like he had to step in to speak up for the issues that were not only affecting his community, but also contributing to a higher death toll during the epidemic.
He successfully launched the bi-weekly newspaper Lesbian and Gay New York, which ran from 1994 to 2002 and then re-launched it as Gay City News. After many other career moves and a move across the country to Los Angeles in 2015, he found himself at a work place that included voices who were openly supportive of Trump and his policies.
This gave him the kick he needed and he gathered the tools to establish what is now the Los Angeles Blade, SoCal’s LGBTQ+ News Source. In short, Masters was a caring advocate for his communities and his tireless work brought together many LGBTQ+ community members.
Now is the time to celebrate not only his life-worth of accomplishments, but to honor and more importantly, carry on his legacy.
The Abbey will be providing small bites and the Trans Corus of L.A will honor Masters with a performance.
Please join us on Monday, Feb. 10 from 7pm to 9pm to honor Troy Masters. RSVP at the Eventbrite link here.
News
Latest update on weather conditions and how to prepare
LGBTQ+ people are nearly twice as likely to be displaced by disaster than cis-hetero counterparts
Most recently, the County of Los Angeles issued a warning to take action and prepare homes and loved ones for another round of extreme wind and fire weather starting Monday afternoon.
“LA County asks the public to prepare for the dangerous Santa Ana winds and extreme fire weather,” reads one statement. Another statement by LA County also points out peak wind speeds in the coasts and valleys of 50 to 70 mph and 60 to 100 mph in the mountains and foothills.
Most recently, the U.S. Census Bureau collected national data on the LGBTQ+ community in relation to disaster displacement and through an analysis discovered that LGBTQ+ people are nearly twice as likely than the general public to be displaced after disasters.
A recent news article by The 19th points to the connection from previous research that many faith-based organizations and bias in disaster response could be the reason. Regardless of the reason, people in the LGBTQ+ community have always existed in the margins and will likely continue to face the burden of getting timely and necessary treatment and assistance.
The past week has been a challenging time for many people affected by the wildfires that ravaged through Los Angeles. Many community members, leaders and organizers lost their homes and were permanently displaced. Some long-standing businesses are being forced to close due to financial burden and many in our community face a long road to recovery. In the midst of tragedy, grief and loss, thousands of people in Los Angeles are coming together to provide resources and assistance to those affected by the wildfires – particularly those of the QTBIPOC communities.
How to prepare
Sign up for emergency alerts at alert.lacounty.gov
Check evacuation zone statuses and make a plan to evacuate if ordered to do so
Pack essentials in a go bag including medications, and vital documents such as passports, birth certificates, marriage licenses, and any other government issued documents
Prepare for possible Public Safety Power Shutoffs that can last anywhere from several hours to several days
Report any signs of smoke or fire by calling 911
What to consider
If you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community, there are a few extra steps and documents to keep in mind as you evacuate.
Considering how imminent the threats are from the new administration, it is especially important to consider packing any gender-affirming paperwork such as doctor’s notes, medications lists and any other government documents that provide proof of medical needs. It is also worth noting that business and marriage documents are even more crucial to keep copies of as an LGBTQ+ person due to the pushback many receive when it comes to proving their marital status or ownership of business.
Many working class and older Black and Latin American families have lost their multi-generational homes to the Eaton Canyon fire. Queer, women-owned and BIPOC businesses like June Bug and Cafe De Leche were on the direct path of the fire that burned through parts of Altadena and Pasadena, leaving behind only remnants, rubble and devastating scenes of the aftermath.
Thousands of homes and businesses were lost to the fires and the displacement, grief and loss will have a long-lasting impact on our communities – many of whom already struggled to thrive in the margins.
Check out our other coverage to stay on top of events and other updates on the fires and mutual aid coverage.
News
LA’s lesbian fire chief under fire by bigots and blazes
Trump, Musk and other conservatives have placed the blame on out Fire Chief Crowley and her DEI measures
Though climate change and electrical systems are the biggest culprits behind the fires in the Greater Los Angeles area, the alt-right is pointing the finger of blame to LGBTQ+ people – particularly toward lesbian Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and her DEI measures.
While L.A braces itself for ‘critical to extremely critical,’ weather conditions that will pick up again on Monday evening, the LGBTQ+ communities of L.A brace themselves for how they will continue to be used as political pawns at the peak of disaster.
Alt-right accusations
Megyn Kelly accused Chief Crowley of ‘focusing on diversity instead of planning for disaster,’ on The Megyn Kelly Show. The former Fox journalist was referencing the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion measures that Chief Crowley advocated for in a strategic plan for 2023 to 2026.
Kelly slammed Chief Crowley saying ‘…who gives a sh-t if the fire chief is gay, I’m sorry but who gives a flying fig about who she sleeps with.”
Elon Musk and Bill Ackman both took to social media to attack the DEI initiatives – with little to no evidence. Musk boldly stated on X that “DEI means people DIE,” but never posted anything that backed up that correlation.
In 2022, Crowley took the position as LAFD Chief and during that same year, established a DEI bureau. Musk and Ackman shared the video of Kelly alleging that Crowley is at fault for the fires and have not acknowledged the evidence from multiple reports that point the finger of blame toward the city’s Department of Water and Power.
At a news conference, the department said that “3 million gallons of water were available when the Palisades fire started,” but the demand was four times greater than they had ever seen in their system.
Janisse Quiñones is the chief executive and chief engineer of the LADPW stated that they pushed their system ‘to the extreme,’ for 15 hours straight, which in-turn significantly lowered the water pressure.
The rapidly-growing list of critics speaking against Chief Crowley are not only leaving themselves open to defamation lawsuits, but also spreading misinformation that turns the attention from the real culprits like climate change and infrastructure failures by the Department of Water and Power.
Climate change
Strong Santa Ana winds and drought in Los Angeles have produced the deadly conditions for what many in the region are calling an apocalyptic disaster. The Greater Los Angeles area had a total of five fires burning simultaneously since strong winds picked up on Tuesday, spanning a total of 39,862 acres – and counting.
Multiple studies done across the United States suggest that climate change is a direct link to increases in North American fires because global warming leads to drought and other extreme weather in the West.
A 2016 analysis, suggests that “anthropogenic climate change will continue to chronically enhance the potential for western U.S. forest fire activity while fuels are not limiting.”
Fire Chief Crowley’s action
On Oct. 30 2023, Chief Crowley submitted the 2024-25 fiscal year annual budget request, outlining a total budget request of over $1.1 billion dollars to cover funding for trainings, adding dispatchers, funding for resources in response to the 2023 Standards of Cover deployment analysis, continuation of the wildfire suppression, land fuel management support through the continuing implementation of a paid Hand Crew civilian program, continuation of reimbursable mutual aid sworn overtime, and staffing resources and expenses for Air Operations support, among many other demands. The budget outlines the many efforts and demands that Chief Crowley laid out in an effort to expand department resources and get more hands-on assistance.
On Dec. 17, 2024, a month before the fires spread across L.A, killing nearly a dozen people and displacing over 100 thousand others, Chief Crowley sent a memo to the office of Mayor Karen Bass, stating the concerns she had in regards to the “challenges due to the elimination of critical civilian positions and a $7 million reduction in Overtime Variable Staffing Hours,” reads the memo.
Number one on Crowley’s list of goals outlined in her Strategic Plan, is to “deliver exceptional public safety and emergency services,” while other goals also mentioned providing a safe and healthy work environment and embracing technological advancements.
“These budgetary reductions have adversely affected the Department’s ability to maintain core operations such as technology and communications infrastructure, payroll processing, training, fire prevention and community education,” continues the memo signed by Chief Crowley.
In an interview on Friday, Chief Crowley answered the question about the budget cuts, saying “Yes, it was cut and it did impact our ability to provide service.”
Shortly following that interview, a petition calling for the resignation of Mayor Karen Bass started to circulate. The petition quickly gained traction, getting over 100 thousand signatures.
Mayor Bass then summoned Chief Crowley to her quarters at City Hall for a long meeting, where it was rumored that the fate of Chief Crowley’s career was on the line. Bass even missed the nightly media brief of the wildfires where she was due to be a featured speaker.
The Daily Mail reported that Bass had fired Crowley, but the Fire Department issued a statement stating that it was not true and that ‘it is important to note that the Fire Chief was not dismissed and is in full command of the LAFD.’
Mayor Bass stated in a wildfire briefing that they “are both focused on [their] urgent needs to mitigate the devastating wildfires.”
Chief Crowley remains committed toward using the resources available to combat the fires still running amok throughout Greater Los Angeles, such as the Pacific Palisades fire and the Eaton Canyon fire, which have burnt through 23,713 acres and 14,117 acres, respectively.
News
Emmett Brock, innocent man beaten by LASD, is on path toward justice
Ex-deputy Joseph Benza III due back in court on Jan. 17
(Editor’s note: Some details about this case might be triggering for some readers.)
In early 2023, a young trans man was driving home from his job as a high school teacher,
when he was pulled over by a Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputy in the City of Whittier. Though at
first, it seemed like a routine traffic stop, the confrontation escalated quickly and ended in the
violent arrest of Emmett Brock, who was then charged with two misdemeanors that included
resisting arrest and battery against an officer.
Now, the ex-deputy who admitted to using excessive force on Brock, will make an
appearance in court on Jan 17, following the decision last month to charge him with one felony
count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
According to court documents and video footage, Brock suffered a concussion,
contusions, and abrasions as a result of the excessive force.
The story later unfolded to include details about the incidents leading up to the traffic
stop. Brock told the LA Times that he had driven past Joseph Benza III, 36, now an ex-LASD
Sheriff’s deputy, and flipped him off, thinking he wouldn’t notice.
Benza then followed Brock to a 7-Eleven, where he pulled up behind him and lunged at
Brock as he was stepping out of his vehicle. It was later revealed that Benza weighed twice as
much as Brock and had made contact for back-up prior to the encounter with Brock, alerting
other deputies that he was planning on using force.
In last month’s court filings, prosecutors said Benza abandoned a domestic disturbance
call to pursue action against Brock.
The ex-deputy was recorded by nearby cameras wrangling Brock to the ground while
Brock called out for his life. Around July of that year, the video from the 7-Eleven where the
incident took place, surfaced. The footage captured the moment when Benza arrested Brock,
inflicting blows to the face and head, and wrangling him to the ground before cuffing him. The
LGBTQ+ community stood by Brock, as it was seen and heard in the video when he yelled for
his life, fearing the excessive force inflicted on him and fighting to breathe.
“You’re going to f–ing kill me,” he shouted in the audio, while also calling out for help.
After being arrested, Brock was taken to the Norwalk sheriff’s department where the staff
allegedly asked him to show them his genitals before making a decision on what cell to hold him in. Brock was later released on $100,000 bail after being charged with three felonies – mayhem, resisting arrest and obstruction – as well as a misdemeanor charge of failure to obey a police officer.
“Mr. Benza abused his position of authority to assault an innocent citizen, then dissembled to cover his actions during the subsequent investigation,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI prioritizes the protection of civil rights and will pursue prosecution when warranted.”
Last summer, more than a year after the life-changing incident, Brock was declared
factually innocent by a judge and then went on to pursue a legal case against L.A. County and
the members of the LASD involved in the incident, seeking $10,000 in damages.
Regardless of being declared factually innocent, Brock still lost his teaching job.
Ex-deputy Benza was fired over the case and has pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights
violation for using excessive force against Brock after a year’s-long investigation. Pleading
guilty to the felony civil rights offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
After making his initial appearance in federal court in December, he was let go along
with seven other deputies who assisted Benza in allegedly lying to the FBI regarding details of
the incident.
“The video speaks for itself. He was pounding at the kid’s head,” Brock’s attorney
Thomas Beck told the Los Angeles Blade last year. “He was diagnosed with a concussion later
after he was released. This guy committed multiple felonies against my client, and he’s gotten
away with it so far.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Benza admitted to preparing a false incident
report to cover up his civil rights violations. The false report omitted any reference to Brock
flipping Benza off and instead reported that Benza pulled him over because of an air freshener
hanging off of his rear-view mirror — a low-level offense that has led to other violent and deadly arrests by police forces in the United States, such as Daunte Wright’s case in 2021.
The false report also stated that Brock tried to bite Benza, citing him with criminal
mayhem.
Benza also allegedly engaged in additional obstructionist conduct, which included
speaking to, and instructing the other deputies to delete the text messages about the incidents
from their personal phones and discussing the false statements they would tell federal authorities regarding the details of the incident.
“It is deeply troubling that a member of our department, who has since been relieved of
duty, violated the trust placed in them to uphold the law by abusing their authority,” said L.A.
County Sheriff Robert G. Luna in a statement.
This is an ongoing case the Los Angeles Blade will continue to cover.
Health
How will California’s new IVF law impact LGBTQ+ families?
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill 729 into law on Sunday, giving California families unobstructed coverage for fertility treatments, in vitro fertilization and other family planning through major insurance plans and policies.
Senator Caroline Menjivar introduced the bill last spring and since then, Republicans have amassed an attack toward IVF and fertility treatments.
“California is a proud reproductive freedom state – and that includes increasing access to fertility services that help those who want to start a family,” said Gov. Newsom. “As Republicans across the country continue to claw back rights and block access to IVF – all while calling themselves ‘the party of families’ – we are proud to help every Californian make their own choices about the family they want.”
This is a landmark move for California – a state that, although progressive – still used archaic standards and language to refer to a family dynamic and determine eligibility for family planning until this bill was signed into law.
The law now requires health plans to cover treatments starting July 1, 2025. An estimated 10 million Californians will now have full access to treatments and have the opportunity to become parents regardless of past sexual history, relationship status, medical history.
The new law will not apply to Medi-Cal managed care health care service plan contracts or any entity that enters into a contract with the State Department of Health Care Services for the delivery of health care services pursuant to specified provisions.
Earlier this year, a study found systematic barriers to fertility prevention for LGBTQ+ people on the path to becoming parents. This bill will now remove those systematic barriers for all families, including LGBTQ+ and interracial family dynamics.
Last week, Equality California announced on an Instagram post that Grindr was the latest organization to join their efforts in urging Governor Newsom to sign the bill.
Grindr’s CEO made a statement regarding the support, using his own surrogacy journey as an example.
“I have two kids from surrogacy. They don’t tell you when you go to the IVF clinic how difficult it’s going to be. We’re lucky, because it’s very expensive, but it worked out really well” said Grindr’s CEO George Arison. “When I took on this role, one of the things that was obvious to me is that I think a lot more gay men would have children if the cost was more affordable…”
National
Vermont GOP Governor signs law banning ‘gay panic defense’
With the Governor’s signature Vermont becomes the 14th state to enact a similar ban.
MONTPELIER, VT. – Vermont Republican Governor Phil Scott signed legislation Wednesday that bans use of the ‘gay panic defense” by criminal defendants.
H.128, prevents a defendant at trial or sentencing from justifying violent actions by citing a victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
With the Governor’s signature, Vermont becomes the 14th state to enact a similar ban. (See Table from Wikipedia)
The LGBTQ+ “panic” defense strategy is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is to blame for a defendant’s violent reaction, including murder.
It is not a free-standing defense to criminal liability, but rather a legal tactic used to bolster other defenses. When a perpetrator uses an LGBTQ+ “panic” defense, they are claiming that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explains—but excuses—a loss of self-control and the subsequent assault. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBTQ+ victims, this defense implies that LGBTQ+ lives are worth less than others.
One of the most recognized cases that employed the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense was that of Matthew Shepard. In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student, was beaten to death by two men. The men attempted to use the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense to excuse their actions. Despite widespread public protest, the defense is still being used today.
At the Federal level, Senate Bill 1137, a bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit gay and trans panic defenses has been introduced in Congress on Apr 15, 2021. This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process. It will typically be considered by in this case the Senate Judiciary Committee next before it is possibly sent on to the House or Senate as a whole. The legislation is sponsored by Senator Edward “Ed” Markey, (D- MA).
Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed into law Wednesday a ban on using the LGBTQ “panic” defense in court cases. Vermont is the 14th state to enact the ban. https://t.co/wfu6680R9c
— VTDigger (@vtdigger) May 5, 2021
National
South Carolina’s capital city considers ban on conversion therapy
Conversion therapy has been banned in 20 states and more than 70 municipalities across the United States.
COLUMBIA, SC. – The city council in a unanimous vote Tuesday granted initial approval to a new ordinance that bans the practise of conversion therapy — sometimes referred to as reparative therapy or ex-gay therapy.
The ordinance, put forward by City Councilmember Tameika Isaac Devine, defines conversion therapy as “treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.”
The ordinance however does leave stipulations that allow “counseling that provides support and assistance to a person undergoing gender transition.”
According to The State, the ordinance would make it unlawful “for any provider to provide conversion therapy or reparative therapy to a minor within city limits if the provider receives compensation for such services.” The penalty would be civil, not criminal, and would carry a $500 fine.
Devine told The State’s journalist Chris Trainor that a prohibition on conversion therapy for minors is recommended by the national Human Rights Commission and leading LGBTQ organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, and PFLAG.
“We felt like this was very important as we talk about equality within the city,” Devine told The State. “It’s not just racial equality, it cuts across all lines. We wanted to move forward with this.”
The City’s Council passed the ordinance on its first reading on the item on Tuesday, with final approval likely to be considered later this month.
The Williams Institute estimates that 698,000 LGBT adults in the U.S. have received “conversion therapy,” 350,000 of whom suffered the experience as adolescents. Most medical and psychological professional associations strongly oppose “conversion therapy” as illegitimate.
The American Psychological Association has opposed the practice since 1998, arguing that there is “no credible evidence” such procedures proffered by adherents of the so-called therapy could change sexual orientation.
Conversion therapy has been banned in 20 states and more than 70 municipalities across the United States. California was first to do so in 2012.
Health
Born This Way Foundation and Harris Poll find youth of color receiving less kindness
According to the survey’s research results, there is an undeniable link to how kindness contributes to many aspects of mental wellness
BOSTON, MA. – The Born This Way Foundation announced Monday the results of a survey of over 2,000 young people ages 13 to 24 in the United States, exploring how young people define kindness and the impact on their mental wellness.
The survey, which ran from January 29, 2021 to February 12, 2021, had results showed that nonwhite and LGBTQ+ youths are less likely to hear kind words and thoughts or actions than their cisgender white peers — even from themselves.
According to the survey’s research results, there is an undeniable link to how kindness contributes to many aspects of mental wellness, from helping young people feel safe, confident, and less alone to changing the trajectory of their day and even their desire to stay alive.
They also reveal that based on one’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and financial security, young people experience and witness kindness in varying frequencies, which could have further implications on their respective mental wellness.
Key findings of the survey include:
- Most young people say experiencing more kindness would improve their mental wellness—be it from others (73%), themselves (74%), or observed in the world around them (71%).
- The acts of kindness young people most commonly say would have the biggest impact on their mental wellness are having someone who: listens when they have a problem (85% say it would have a big/moderate impact), believes in them and encourages them to do their best (83%), and checks in on them or asks if they’re doing OK (80%).
- White youth are more likely than Black, Indigenous, and youth of color to say they experience certain acts of kindness. White youth are far more likely to have someone who believes in them and encourages them to do their best, goes out of their way to show they care, or listens when they have a problem.
- Transgender and non-binary youth* say that the act of introducing yourself using pronouns is among the top acts that would have a big improvement on mental wellness. (*Note: Small sample size [n=45]. Results should be interpreted as qualitative in nature.)
- Three quarters of young people are coping very (19%) or somewhat well (56%), and those who are, are much more likely than those who are not to say they regularly experience and witness acts of kindness, have people in their life who care about them, understand them, or that they can talk to if they have problems, say they have a place they can go (in real life or online) where they feel like they belong, and have found ways to thrive in the past year, ultimately giving insight into the keys to coping with crisis.
The Born This Way Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 by American musical singer-songwriter artist and LGBTQ/Human Rights activist Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta.
The full report is available below:
https://www.slideshare.net/btwfoundation/kindness-is-action-report
National
Lambda Legal, ACLU, and ACLU of Alabama to Challenge State Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
The bills are an effort to block potentially lifesaving health care for transgender young people
MONTGOMERY, AL. – In a joint statement released Wednesday afternoon, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, and Cooley LLP announced their plans to file a legal challenge to proposed legislation in Alabama that, as currently written, would criminalize medical professionals who provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth with up to 10 years in prison.
The bills are an effort to block potentially lifesaving health care for transgender young people. With the legislative session soon coming to a close, SB10 is one of several bills the House is still considering, and if passed would come on the heels of another anti-trans bill, HB391, which Governor Kay Ivey signed into law.
“The proposed legislation is unconstitutional in multiple respects, as we will forcefully argue in court,” said Kathleen Hartnett of Cooley LLP.
Two companion bills, House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 10, are pending in the Alabama Legislature. Both bills would criminalize doctors or medical professionals who provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth under 19 years, carrying severe criminal penalties that could result in fines and even require jail time.
“If Alabama lawmakers insist on passing this cruel, dangerous, and unconstitutional legislation into law, the state will immediately have a lawsuit to deal with,” said Carl Charles, staff attorney for Lambda Legal. “The Alabama Legislature and Governor Kay Ivey need to consider the time and resources they will invest, not to mention the stain of discrimination that often means lost opportunity and investment and ask themselves if targeting the health care of children is truly worth it because we are prepared to make that investment in order to protect transgender youth, their families, and their doctors, in Alabama.”
The bills as drafted are also so broad that they can be read to include criminal penalties for parents and guardians who support transgender young people. SB10 is on the House calendar for this Thursday, and if passed, would come less than a week after Governor Kay Ivey signed another anti-trans bill HB391 into law.
“If passed and signed into law, Alabama will have the most deadly, sweeping and hostile law targeting transgender people in the country,” said Chase Strangio, deputy director for Trans Justice with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Science and medicine are clear: That the way to reduce harm to trans youth is to provide them with gender-affirming health care where it is medically indicated. This bill takes that life-saving treatment option off the table and makes it a felony. Moving forward with this bill will be deadly for trans youth, push doctors out of a state that has a shortage of medical providers, hurt Alabama’s economy, and subject the state to costly litigation.”
Medical organizations and doctors have consistently opposed these bills. Studies consistently show that transgender children who receive gender-affirming care such as puberty-delaying medication, hormones, or both when they are young have better mental health outcomes and report fewer cases of depression, self-harm, and suicide or attempted suicide.
“The Alabama Legislature has been down this road before, wasting taxpayer time and money to pass unconstitutional bills that they know will get taken to court. This year seems to be no different,” said Kaitlin Welborn, staff attorney for ACLU of Alabama. “Transgender youth have the constitutional right to access necessary healthcare, just like everyone else. If the state tries to take that healthcare away, we’ll see them in court.”
National
Biden nominates a lesbian and a transwoman to high-ranking Pentagon posts
Biden is set to nominate two members of the LGBTQ community with a background in LGBTQ rights
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is set to nominate two members of the LGBTQ community with a background in LGBTQ rights for high-ranking civilian positions at the Defense Department, the White House announced on Friday.
Brenda Sue Fulton, a lesbian activist who fought for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and transgender military service, is set to obtain the nomination as assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs, which would make her an adviser for U.S. military personnel affairs.
Shawn Skelly, a transgender national security expert who served on Biden’s transition team after the inauguration is on the other hand set to obtain the nomination of assistant secretary of defense for readiness, which overseas U.S. military force and health affairs.
Skelly, who served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for 20 years as a Naval Flight Officer, is also co-founder of Out in National Security, an affinity group for LGBTQ national security experts and officials,
Luke Scheusener, a fellow co-founder of Out in National Security, hailed the news of Skelly’s nomination in a statement.
“Shawn is first and foremost a public servant,” Scheusener said. “She has dedicated her life to serving the United States in and out of uniform. That extends to her decision to co-found and President of ONS. She has been a stalwart advocate for our community and for LGBTQIA+ national security professionals.”
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