News
Cicilline touts Equality Act as House’s new senior gay member
Cicilline talks Equality Act in new role as senior LGBT House member
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) will become the most senior openly gay member of the U.S. House as Democrats take the majority this week. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) will become the most senior openly gay member of the U.S. House as Democrats take the majority this week, but he’s more excited about the growing ranks of openly LGB people who will serve in Congress alongside him and finally being able to move long-awaited legislation to ban anti-LGBT discrimination.
Asked by the Blade during an interview in his office Dec. 20 about his new distinction as the most senior out gay member of the House with outgoing Rep. Jared Polis leaving to become governor of Colorado, Cicilline said he’s “very proud” the chamber will have a net gain of two out LGB members in the 116th Congress and talked about the Equality Act.
“It’s a great privilege to be a part of that group,” Cicilline said. “I think this year will be an opportunity for us to finally move forward on the Equality Act, which I think is the single most important piece of legislation to our community in terms of, once and for all, prohibiting discrimination against members of the LGBT community as a matter of federal law. And so, I’m honored to be the senior most member and really excited about the new colleagues that are joining this caucus.”
(Although Cicilline is now the most senior openly gay person in the House, he’s not the most senior openly gay person in Congress. That distinction belongs to Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin who was first elected to the House in 1998, but moved to the Senate and won re-election last year.)
The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to ban anti-LGBT discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, education, federal programs and credit.
The bill also seeks to update federal law to include sex in the list of protected classes in public accommodation in addition to expanding the definition of public accommodations to include retail stores, banks, transportation services and health care services. Further, the Equality Act would establish that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — a 1994 law aimed at protecting religious liberty — can’t be used to enable anti-LGBT discrimination.
Although the ongoing government shutdown will likely be the first priority for the Democratic majority, Nancy Pelosi said advancing the Equality Act would be a personal goal and the legislation will receive a bill number between 2 and 10.
And the lawmaker who’ll spearhead that legislation is Cicilline, who introduced the comprehensive non-discrimination measure in the previous two Congresses with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). For the first time, Democrats will introduce the Equality Act while controlling at least one chamber of Congress, which presents an opportunity for a floor vote on the legislation.
Cicilline said the timing for introduction for the Equality Act in the 116th Congress is yet to be determined, although it’ll definitely coincide with Merkley’s introduction of the legislation in the Senate. The Rhode Island Democrat said conversations with Democratic leadership on the timing for the legislation haven’t yet taken place “other than knowing we’re moving forward on it.”
“I know that the incoming speaker had made public statements about our intention to make the Equality Act a priority, which I’m delighted to hear,” Cicilline said.
Cicilline said he expects committees with jurisdiction over the Equality Act — such as the Judiciary Committee and the Education & the Workforce Committee — to hold hearings on the legislation before moving forward in accordance with regular order before the floor vote.
The next iteration of the Equality Act will have “pretty much” the same language as its previous iterations, Cicilline said. He added every time he reintroduces a piece of legislation “it’s another occasion to kind of look at the bill and see if there’s anything to change.”
“So we’ll go through that process, but it’ll be essentially the same bill,” Cicilline added.
Asked whether he had anything in mind that would make the Equality Act not the same in the 116th Congress, Cicilline replied, “No.”
In the previous Congress, all members of the Democratic caucus were co-sponsors of the legislation, except for two lawmakers: Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), whom LGBT groups sought (unsuccessfully) to oust during the Democratic primary last year for not backing LGBT rights, and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio).
Cicilline said he expects the same level of support in the Democratic caucus as it takes the majority in the 116th Congress.
“I’ve talked to a number of my new colleagues about the Equality Act, a number of them have already contacted me about wanting to be co-sponsor, so I expect will have the same kind of overwhelming Democratic support,” Cicilline said. “Hopefully, every Democrat will be a co-sponsor.”
Republicans however, are a different story. Only two Republicans co-sponsored the Equality Act in the last Congress. One of them is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), known for being the most pro-LGBT House Republican, who retired after 24 years in Congress. The other Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.), was voted out of office in the Democratic “blue” wave.
Cicilline said he’s had conversations on the Republican side of the aisle about the Equality Act and is “going to continue those because I want to do everything I had to make it bipartisan.
“I think it’ll be really important to have some of our Republican colleagues, but I don’t have any yet that are committed to it,” Cicilline added.
Asked whether there were any Republican possibilities he could name, Cicilline demurred.
“If I name them, they become less possible,” Cicilline said. “I’m going to explore with as many Republican colleagues as I can and get them on board.”
But the Equality Act also faces concerns among civil rights supporters. Many civil rights groups, including the Leadership Council on Civil & Human Rights, have said they support the goals of the Equality Act, but have stopped short of a full endorsement of the bill.
Fudge, who was considering a leadership challenge to Pelosi after Democrats won their majority, has expressed concerns about opening the Civil Rights Act to amendments on the House floor, where the landmark legislation could be watered down.
“What I opposed was including the Equality Act in the current Civil Rights Act,” Fudge said in a statement. “The Civil Rights Act is over 50 years old and isn’t even adequate to protect the people currently in it. I want us to do a new and modern civil rights bill that protects the LGBTQ community and updates protections for this era. I do not believe it is appropriate to open and relitigate the current Civil Rights Act.”
Cicilline said the Leadership Council on Civil & Human Rights made “a very strong statement of support of equality for our community” in regards to the Equality Act. As for Fudge’s concerns, Cicilline said he understands them, but doesn’t share them.
“I understand the argument advanced by Congresswoman Fudge,” Cicilline said. “I disagree with it. I think that we can’t have full equality by having a separate but equal civil rights bill.”
Cicilline said barring discrimination against LGBT people by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has significant benefits that a different bill couldn’t accomplish. Among these benefits is applying more than 50 years of jurisprudence of the landmark law to anti-LGBT discrimination.
“Really the only way to do it is to include it in the existing civil rights architecture, so you have the benefit of all that jurisprudence whenever exemptions exist, whenever other kinds of tests need to be applied,” Cicilline said. “There’s significant jurisprudence on it, and so it saves kind of litigating all these things again. So, I think there’s real value legally and real value in terms of making a strong statement that we need for equality.”
Cicilline pointed out that every other member of the Congressional Black Caucus was a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, including civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), whom Cicilline said was “one of the early champions of the bill, and he’s a respected leader in that community.”
After the Equality Act passes the House, the game changes. Instead of a new Democratic majority, the U.S. Senate under Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has an expanded Republican majority. Moreover, President Trump would need to sign any legislation for it to become law.
But Cicilline denied passage of the Equality Act in the House is the end of the story. In fact, he called it the “beginning of the story” because the campaign to pressure Republicans to support LGBT rights will begin.
“We will work hard to get it passed in the Senate,” Cicilline said. “I think this is one where it’s very critical for outside groups to play a role in identifying who are the key senators who are at least willing to consider supporting the Equality Act and that they hear from constituents in their districts from the LGBT community and allies about the importance of this, and we begin a real campaign to persuade them to do it.”
Referencing polls showing the American public opposes discrimination against LGBT people, Cicilline said the issue “is one where the American people are way ahead of us overwhelmingly.”
“I think part of our challenge is to catch up to where the American people are,” Cicilline said. “They understand fundamentally that discrimination is wrong. It’s antithetical to the fabric that is this country. And when you give them the examples of the kind of discrimination we’re talking about they’re opposed to it. So I think this is about kind of Congress basically catching up to where the rest of the country is and making certain that qualified people cannot be fired from their jobs, cannot be kicked out of housing.”
Cicilline also wouldn’t rule out Trump supporting the Equality Act, recalling an interview Trump gave in 2000 to The Advocate in which he said he likes the idea of adding sexual orientation to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Trump hasn’t said whether he still holds that position.
“It’s hard to know that he’ll continue to maintain that position, especially when you think of the ways the administration has behaved, but if we bill pass the bill soon, that’s our next effort,” Cicilline said.
The third branch of the U.S. government may also have a chance to weigh in on anti-LGBT discrimination. Two petitions are pending before the Supreme Court calling on justices to affirm anti-gay discrimination amounts to sex discrimination under current law, and another petition seeks clarification on whether anti-trans discrimination is sex discrimination.
For decades, courts have more or less consistently found anti-trans discrimination is sex discrimination. Court rulings finding anti-gay discrimination is sex discrimination are a relatively new development, but a growing number of them are reaching that conclusion.
In the event the Supreme Court decides to take up these cases, Cicilline said either way justices would come down, it wouldn’t change the need for the Equality Act.
“It’s one tiny piece of this bill,” Cicilline said. “So it would answer that question, but if it was answered and said it is covered that would be great because we have some partial coverage, partial protection against discrimination for one part of the community but it doesn’t solve the problem and it would still, I think, wouldn’t in any way undermine the necessity of passing and enacting the Equality Act. If they rule against it, then it just affirms the emergency of passing the Equality Act. So, I don’t know that it has a big impact.”
The Equality Act isn’t the only LGBT issue Cicilline has spearheaded. Last year, when the nation was horrified over the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy that separated asylum-seekers from their children, Cicilline pointed out the LGBTQ youth in immigration detention facilities have no legal protections.
Cicilline said “there may, in fact, be some implications of the Equality Act” in the context of immigration detention in terms of if there were educational facilities or it was considered a public accommodation.
“They did not have in place any protocols or systems,” Cicilline said. “They acknowledged that when issues arise related to the sexual orientation or gender identity of youth they deal with it on a case-by-case basis, whatever that means. But it was clear there aren’t established protocols that protect this vulnerable population. This is one of many, many shortcoming in the current immigration detention proceedings.”
The treatment of LGBT youth in immigration detention facilities, Cicilline said, will be the subject of congressional oversight with the House under Democratic control.
“I think you’ll see a lot of oversight hearings on this when we take the majority in January,” Cicilline said.
That isn’t the only LGBT issue facing expected congressional oversight for Cicilline, who identified other areas he predicts will come under scrutiny.
“The same things that exist in the immigration system context exist in the criminal justice system, so protections are in place for the people in our community who are incarcerated,” Cicilline said. “There’s lots of work that needs to be done in terms of protecting students, particularly with Betsy DeVos’ rollback of some key protections.”
One LGBT issue that has reemerged is reports of anti-gay human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of gay people in concentration camps, in the Russian semi-autonomous Republic of Chechnya. Last month, the State Department promoted a report from the Organization for Security for Cooperation in Europe corroborating those reports and finding Russia “appears to support the perpetrators rather than the victims.”
Cicilline said the report “confirmed what we suspected from the beginning” and found an earlier Russian investigation that found no abuse “was not legitimate.”
“We have attempted in a variety of different ways to raise that issue both by introducing and passing a resolution in Congress condemning that action as well as leading a letter to the president and secretary of state urging him to raise this issue with — abuse of LGBT people in Chechnya — with the Russian officials,” Cicilline said. “So this confirms what we have attempted to do and sadly is just another example of people from our community suffering violence and discrimination and brutality and really unforgiveable circumstances.”
The Trump administration has sanctioned Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov under the Magnitsky Act and supported the OSCE report, but Trump himself has said nothing about the abuses, unlike other world leaders such as Justin Trudeau, Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel.
Asked what the Trump administration or new House majority should do, Cicilline said “we just have to continue to press for human rights,” raising the possibility of legislation and sanctions.
“I think there’s some legislative stuff we can do,” Cicilline said. “I think we should continue to bring attention to these issues, continue to express condemnation when appropriate with sanctions, etc. So I think there’s a whole range of options available to us, but raising our voices and making sure that America continues to be a country that speaks out against violence against the LGBT community is really important.”
Asked what would need to happen to trigger sanctions, Cicilline said “we have current mechanisms,” but other proposals are in the works through the legislative process.
With a Democratic majority taking control of the House, Cicilline said the distinction between Democrats and Republicans on LGBT rights will exemplify the new tone in Washington.
“I think the contrast is really stark and, I think people have a right to expect that the Democrats who take the House back that LGBT equality and protecting the LGBT community from discrimination will be an important priority for us and, I think, the community should be excited about having at least one chamber that fundamentally respects who we are and is committed to fighting for our equality,” Cicilline said.
Although the House is just one chamber of Congress and Trump still occupies the White House, Cicilline said the distinction between Democrats and Republicans on LGBT rights will shine a light for the American public in time for the 2020 election.
“So this is a big change and we’re either going to get the Equality Act passed in the Senate after it passes the House and have equality, or we’re not,” Cicilline said. “And we’re going to be able to demonstrate who stopped our fight for equality, and those people will be on the ballot in two years.”
Cicilline added, “Our community will work to elect people who do support equality, so this is an important one, but the work isn’t done, so we got a lot of work ahead of us. Fights for equality are never easy, even though they seem obvious to us.”
Congress
White House finds Calif. violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes in school sports
Education Department threatens ‘imminent enforcement action’
The Trump-Vance administration announced on Wednesday that California’s Interscholastic Federation and Department of Education violated federal Title IX rules for allowing transgender girls to compete in school sports.
In a press release, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights threatened “imminent enforcement action” including “referral to the U.S. Department of Justice” and the withholding of federal education funding for the state if the parties do not “agree to change these unlawful practices within 10 days.”
The agency specified that to come into compliance; California must enforce a ban excluding transgender student athletes and reclaim any titles, records, and awards they had won.
Federal investigations of the California Interscholastic Federation and the state’s Department of Education were begun in February and April, respectively. The Justice Department sued Maine in April for allowing trans athletes to compete and refusing a similar proposal to certify compliance within 10 days.
Broadly, the Trump-Vance administration’s position is that girls who are made to compete against trans opponents or alongside trans teammates are unfairly disadvantaged, robbed of opportunities like athletics scholarships, and faced with increased risk of injury — constituting actionable claims of unlawful sex discrimination under Title IX.
This marks a major departure from how the previous administration enforced the law. For example, the Department of Education issued new Title IX guidelines in April 2024 that instructed schools and educational institutions covered by the statute to not enforce categorical bans against trans athletes, instead allowing for limited restrictions on eligibility if necessary to ensure fairness or safety at the high school or college level.
Sports aside, under former President Joe Biden the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.
Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.
A number of high profile Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have recently questioned or challenged the party’s position on transgender athletes, as noted in a statement by Education Secretary Linda McMahon included in Wednesday’s announcement.
“Although Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions.”
News
Drama unfolds for San Diego Pride ahead of festivities
A letter sent to the current Board of Directors earlier this month outlines serious issues like lack of transparency, erosion of SD Pride’s advocacy work and weakening of staff
Over two dozen community leaders, program leaders, current and former volunteers, board members and staff have issued an urgent open letter to San Diego Pride’s board of directors, calling for accountability and transparency from higher leadership, citing patterns of alleged systemic dysfunction.
The letter was sent earlier this month, outlines serious issues, including lack of transparency, erosion of SD Pride’s advocacy work and weakening of staff. Those who have signed the letter are calling for immediate governance reforms, transparent leadership selection processes and an independent audit of the organization’s internal culture.
The letter states: “The current condition of Pride reflects not just instability but a profound crisis in leadership, direction and community trust. The Board’s inaction, lack of transparency and repeated failures of accountability have left the organization weakened, its values compromised and the broader community confused, disappointed and alarmed.”
With three weeks left until the planned festivities, the letter signed by 30 community-based individuals states that the organization is a “hollowed-out” version of what it once was. The letter also states that the identity of the organization has been “blurred”, the staff has been “depleted” and where the “historic commitment to year-round advocacy, inclusion and leadership development” have been abandoned.
The letter highlights the following eight key grievances
- Resignation of fifth Executive Director in under two years
- Unexplained and unannounced departure of senior staff within the past 18 months, including the Director of Education and Advocacy, leaving no plan to sustain or rebuild critical education programs
- Erasing Pride Staff and Board directory from their public website
- The cancellation of She Fest and LGBTQIA+ Survivor Task Force “due to deep misalignment with the current leadership’s values and actions”
- Decline of full-time staff from over 30 full-time employees, to fewer than ten
- Lack of response, dismissiveness, retaliatory behavior and hostility from board members when volunteers, leaders, staff and others bring up concerns
- Non-responsiveness to media inquiries
- Repeated stonewalling
San Diego Pride is also facing other issues with outside sponsors due to the lack of leadership and decision-making within the organization.
Other news outlets have reported that San Diego Pride has lost major sponsors over headlining artist Kehlani and her outspoken support of Palestinians. Harrah’s Resort Southern California, a major financial supporter of the SD Pride Parade, pulled its sponsorship from the upcoming festival, which takes tens of thousands of dollars away from the festivities. Other groups such as University of California, San Diego; and University of California San Diego Health have also withdrawn sponsorship.
A coalition of Jewish organizations decided to boycott the festival and parade, citing safety concerns related to the comments made by Kehlani, citing the music video critics suggest makes a reference to violence against Jewish people.
San Diego Pride issued a statement regarding the sponsors decision to pull support, stating that it “does not endorse or adopt the political positions of any individual performer” and that they honor “the value of artistic integrity, the importance of free expression and the role that artists play in shaping culture, challenging systems and amplifying voices while respecting each other’s differences.”
Kehlani responded to the accusations by stating that they are“not anti-semetic, nor anti-Jew” they are “anti-genocide…anti-extermination of an entire people… anti-bombing of innocent children, men, women,” in a social media video.
Colombia
Colombia avanza hacia la igualdad para personas trans
Fue aprobado en Comisión Primera de la Cámara la Ley Integral Trans
En un hecho histórico para los derechos humanos en Colombia, la Comisión Primera de la Cámara de Representantes aprobó en primer debate el Proyecto de Ley 122 de 2024, conocido como la Ley Integral Trans, que busca garantizar la igualdad efectiva de las personas con identidades de género diversas en el país. Esta iniciativa, impulsada por más de cien organizaciones sociales defensoras de los derechos LGBTQ+, congresistas de la comisión por la Diversidad y personas trans, representa un paso decisivo hacia el reconocimiento pleno de derechos para esta población históricamente marginada.
La Ley Integral Trans propone un marco normativo robusto para enfrentar la discriminación y promover la inclusión. Entre sus principales ejes se destacan el acceso a servicios de salud con enfoque diferencial, el reconocimiento de la identidad de género en todos los ámbitos de la vida, la creación de programas de empleo y educación para personas trans, así como medidas para garantizar el acceso a la justicia y la protección frente a violencias basadas en prejuicios.
Detractores hablan de ‘imposición ideológica
Sin embargo, el avance del proyecto no ha estado exento de polémicas. Algunos sectores conservadores han señalado que la iniciativa representa una “imposición ideológica”. La senadora y precandidata presidencial María Fernanda Cabal anunció públicamente que se opondrá al proyecto de Ley Integral Trans cuando llegue al Senado, argumentando que “todas las personas deben ser tratadas por igual” y que esta propuesta vulneraría un principio constitucional. Estas declaraciones anticipan un debate intenso en las próximas etapas legislativas.
El proyecto también establecelineamientos claros para que las instituciones públicas respeten el nombre y el género con los que las personas trans se identifican, en concordancia con su identidad de género, y contempla procesos de formación y sensibilización en entidades estatales. Además, impulsa políticas públicas en contextos clave como el trabajo, la educación, la cultura y el deporte, promoviendo una vida libre de discriminación y con garantías plenas de participación.
¿Qué sigue para que sea ley?
La Ley aún debe superar varios debates legislativos, incluyendo la plenaria en la Cámara y luego el paso al Senado; pero la sola aprobación en Comisión Primera ya constituye un hito en la lucha por la igualdad y la dignidad de las personas trans en Colombia. En un país donde esta población enfrenta altos niveles de exclusión, violencia y barreras estructurales, este avance legislativo renueva la esperanza de una transformación real.
Desde www.orgullolgbt.co, celebramos este logro, invitamos a unirnos en esta causa impulsándola en los círculos a los que tengamos acceso y reiteramos nuestro compromiso con la visibilidad, los derechos y la vida digna de las personas trans. La #LeyIntegralTrans bautizada “Ley Sara Millerey” en honor de la mujer trans recientemente asesinada en Bello, Antioquia (ver más aquí); no es solo una propuesta normativa: es un acto de justicia que busca asegurar condiciones reales para que todas las personas puedan vivir con libertad, seguridad y respeto por su identidad.
Health
APLA opens eighth location in LA County
The WeHo location is named after Dr. Michael Gottlieb, the groundbreaking physician and researcher who in 1981 co-authored the first medical report identifying AIDS
The Michael Gottlieb Health Center is latest APLA facility to open, making it the eighth location in L.A. County to offer accessible healthcare services.
APLA Health recently opened its brand new the Michael Gottlieb Health Center in West Hollywood with a glitzy ribbon-cutting featuring a bevy of local politicians and community leaders on Friday, June 13. The new location, APLA’ eighth facility, will help the organization provide dedicated LGBTQ-inclusive health services to its more than 22,000 patients.
The new health center boasts 10 exam rooms offering primary, HIV and sexual health care, as well as mental health services. It also includes APLA’s first pharmacy and headquarters for the Alliance for Housing and Healing.
The WeHo location is named after Dr. Michael Gottlieb, the groundbreaking physician and
researcher who in 1981 co-authored the first medical report identifying the illness that
would later become known as AIDS. He later spearheaded important research on the
progression and treatment of HIV/AIDS and co-founded the American Foundation for
AIDS Research. He spent the last four years of his career at APLA, retiring in 2023.
“I’m honored to help dedicate this health center with my name on it,” Gottlieb told a
packed audience in the new center’s waiting room. “The center is named for someone
who is not of the community, but I’m proud to have my name up there, and grateful for a
community that has confided in me and trusted in me for decades now, and I continue
to stand with you in these difficult times in all the issues you’re facing.”
All of the speakers at the opening ceremony noted the difficult political climate for queer
people, immigrants, and health care under the new Trump administration in Washington.
APLA has already been forced to lay off its PrEP Navigation Team from its
Baldwin Hills location, as the federal government has terminated all contracts on HIV
and STD prevention with providers in LA County.
West Hollywood Mayor Chelsea Byers says this moment is an opportunity for the
community to come together to build a strong response.
“We have this opportunity to understand what we are able to do as a local community
against the backdrop of an administration like you had in the 80s,” said Byers. “I wasn’t totally there that whole time. But this link between past experience and present moment is really critical. It’s heartening to see so many community leaders. It’s a really amazing moment we have as a community. At a time when care is needed to be extended to more than ever
before I’m grateful to APLA for making such a beautiful space where care can shine so
bright in our city.”
U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (CA-30) agreed with that sentiment.
“We have seen this administration deliberately demonize members of our community.
They have demonized immigrants, minorities, our trans community members. They’ve
turned their back on the LGBT community, cruelly cutting funding for AIDS prevention
and STDs. And yet, coming into West Hollywood and this community, and into this
room, we see there’s a tremendous amount of caring and love,” said Friedman. “That is
how we change things in this country, by living those values every day.”
“At a time when the federal government is no longer a partner in anything medical, this
facility is going to provide an incredible and needed safety net for patients,” she said.
Despite these threats, APLA Health CEO Craig Thompson says the organization is
committed to serving everyone who needs care.
“The need for people for health care is going to continue regardless of what the federal
government does around funding, and we’re committed to being there to provide that
health care in all the different ways we possibly can,” he says.
One of the new ways APLA’s new facility will improve service to its patients is through
its new in-house pharmacy.
In addition to fostering closer connection between a patient’s doctor and pharmacist, APLA will offer free delivery at no charge to patients and will help consolidate prescriptions to make it easier for patients to receive and take their medicine.
“We’ve been wanting to close the loop on comprehensive care and offer a pharmacy for
our patients, that way they can get all the support withing one organization,” says Rich
Kowalski, APLA director of pharmacy.
Arts & Entertainment
King of Drag competition series hosts premiere party in West Hollywood
Tune in to see history in the making with TV’s first-ever drag king competition show, King of Drag every Sunday on RevryTV
“King of Drag” hosted its premiere at Beaches Tropicana in West Hollywood on Sunday, June 22, uniting kings from all across the land, far and near.
The TV reality show premiere brought in a packed house with guest appearances, famous drag kings in their full regalia and guests who were more than eager to see the first episode in the historic series.
The series was created by Damian Pelliccione and Christopher J. Rodriguez and hosted by Murray Hill, who bring together a significantly underrepresented group of performers from all across the United States for a competition show on more than just looks and their ability to beat their faces. This diverse group of kings represent various cultures, inspire different communities and bring their unique skills and personalities to compete against each other for the title of king.
And the 10 kings are:
Buck Wyld from Dallas, Texas
Alexander the Great from Austin, Texas
Perka $exxx from Charlotte, North Carolina
Pressure K from Atlanta, Georgia
Dick Von Dyke from Minneapolis, Minnesota
King Molasses from Washington D.C.
Charles Galin King from Los Angeles, California
Tuna Melt from Queens, New York
Henlo Bullfrog from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Big D from Bellingham, Washington
The prizes
Crown and scepter from Fierce! Drag Jewels
Custom suit courtesy of Sharpe Suiting
Talent Management from Queer Up Agency
Round-trip flight to Seattle to headline the Emerald City King’s Ball
One year’s worth of e.l.f cosmetics and e.l.f skin products
$10,000 in cash
Kings Court
The battle for king has to be judged by the first and foremost kings, queens and icons of all the land. The Kings Court was made up of Tenderoni, the Puerto Rican King of Charisma,;
Sasha Velour, Brooklyn drag icon, author of “The Big Reveal,” and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race; Wang Newton, from New York City; legendary director Paul Feig and last, but not least, executive producer and judge of the GLAAD award-winning series “Drag Latina,” and queer style icon, Damian Pelliccione.
Episode One
The first episode’s theme was none other than: sports.
The first challenge was “The Weenie Challenge,” where contestants had to pose for player cards, with only five minutes to suit up in semi-used sports gear. The photoshoot was judged by Chicago-based king Tenderoni and WNBA all-star Layshia Clarendon.
The second challenge brought teams together to write and record a verse, while also coming up with the choreography for a performance. The teams assembled and got to planning — prizes all in mind.
Tuna Melt (Teo Pactong) became the first king to be eliminated from the competition in the series premiere episode. Pactong, who runs the Hause of Melt, a production brand — was voted off after a singing and dancing competition and sports photoshoot during the first episode.
Pactong has been doing drag for four years after being introduced to drag by their drag father Theydy Bedbug. Before doing drag, they held music industry positions at Youtube Music and Google.
In the episode, Pactong opens up about their identities.
Pactong says that in the process of finding their drag king persona Tuna Melt, they found Theo. In their cameo, they explain that when they came out as trans, they didn’t feel like they fit in the world of music tech anymore.
“For the longest time, I never felt like a girl and I also never felt a hundred percent a man,” said Pactong. “It’s always been this spectrum of existence.” When Pactong was put up for elimination, they also opened up about their family background and how that influences their passion for this competition.
“I’m Asian, I’m Latin [American], I’m transgender. I come from a family of immigrants.” they said. “My mother instilled in me that I had to work two times harder than everybody else.”
In the first round of eliminations, it was Henlo Bullfrog and Tuna Melt who ended up in the bottom two, facing off against each other in a final redemption round.
Each week the kings will fight for a last chance during “The Final Thrust” round, and this time it was a breakdancing battle.
In the end, it was Tuna Melt who was voted off by the majority of the Kings Court.
Each week, we will be interviewing the kings as they get eliminated. Stay tuned for more!
Where To Watch
King of Drag is now available to stream on RevryTV, an LGBTQ streaming platform for queer movies, TV shows, music and more — all for free. New King of Drag episodes will premiere weekly on Sundays.
Congress
Garcia elected top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee
Gay Calif. lawmaker vows to hold Trump-Vance administration accountable
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Tuesday was elected top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in a vote that signaled the conference’s overwhelming support for a newer voice on Capitol Hill who will play a key role taking on President Donald Trump.
With a margin of 150-63, the 47-year-old openly gay congressman defeated U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), alongside U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) who exited the race after the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee backed Garcia.
Serving only since 2023, the congressman has had a remarkably quick ascent leading up to his election this week as ranking member of one of the most powerful House committees, awarded a leadership position serving under House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and selected as a co-chair of former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Democratic members began jockeying for the top seat on the oversight committee this spring after the late-U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia stepped away amid news that his esophageal cancer had returned. He died in May.
Connolly last year fended off a challenge from one of the most well known House Democrats, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), though with a narrower margin that signaled intra-party tensions over whether leadership roles should still be awarded based on seniority.
Garcia positioned himself as a bridge between the two camps — a consensus candidate with executive managerial experience as the former mayor of Long Beach. At the same time, particularly since the start of Trump’s second term, the congressman has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the new Republican regime.
In a statement on X Tuesday, Garcia thanked his colleagues and promised to “hold Donald Trump and his administration accountable.”
I'm honored to have been elected by @HouseDemocrats to serve as Ranking Member on @OversightDems.
— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) June 24, 2025
We will hold Donald Trump and his Administration accountable for their corruption – and work to make our government more effective for the American people.
Let's get to work.
If Democrats win control of the House next year, the oversight committee will be able to exercise powers that are now available only to Republicans under the chair, U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), which include the authority to investigate virtually any matter across the federal government, to issue subpoenas, and to compel testimony.
In the meantime, Garcia on Monday promised that Democrats on the committee would “vigorously fight” Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s (La.) plans “to dismantle the Government Accountability Office.”
News
Getty Center opens new exhibitions on queer history
The exhibition brings together over 270 works that include queer vintage prints, books, magazines and even the latest trend in photography
This Pride month, the Getty Center has opened two new photography exhibitions that highlight queer and trans history in moments, glimpses and memories frozen in time.
“Queer Lens: A History of Photography” and “$3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives” are now open to the public at the Getty Center in Los Angeles from now through September 28.
“Queer Lens”, the featured exhibition curated by Paul Martineau, features photography prints that span two centuries, capturing LGBTQ life through various lenses and perspectives.
“‘Queer Lens’ takes a theme that is often hidden and gives it a high level of visibility,” said Timothy Potts, the Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “The exhibition explores how, despite multiple forms of discrimination, LGBTQ+ individuals have shaped art and culture in innumerable ways, and how photography was and continues to be a powerful tool in the representation of the queer experience.”
The exhibition brings together over 270 works that include vintage prints, books, magazines and even the latest trend in photography — portraits created using Artificial Intelligence. The exhibition highlights photography’s unique role in preserving the lives and experiences of queer and trans people from the 19th century to present day.
Guests take photos at the opening reception of “Queer Lens” and “$3 Bill” at the Getty Center on Monday, June 16, 2025.
(Photo credit Gisselle Palomera)
“Queer Lens” features eight chronological sections that shape, trace and highlight the dynamic intersection of LGBTQ life and image creation during pivotal moments in history such as the AIDS crisis, the rise of the Gay Liberation Movement and many other historical moments.
The eight sections are titled: “Homosocial Culture and Romantic Relationships”, “Language and Identity”, “The Pansy Craze”, “Hiding in Plain Sight”, “Rise of the Gay Liberation Movement”, “The AIDS Crisis”, “Friends of Dorothy”, “Things are Queer” and “The Future is Queer”.
The exhibition was designed to take viewers on a journey through not only time and space, but also through the struggles and tribulations that queer photographers and their queer subjects had to endure throughout centuries. Many of the subjects in the photos placed in the exhibition have their faces covered, or have been posed in a way that purposely hides their identities during a time where it was illegal and unacceptable to be queer or trans. Many of the earlier photographs also have other clever forms of concealing the identity of their subjects by either using makeup, double exposures, layered media or other creative processes.
“$3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives” celebrates the contributions of LGBTQ artists from the past century through an exhibition highlighting the journey of resilience, pride and power. This exhibition is meant to openly acknowledge the complex history of the word “queer” and the reclamation of the word by and for the LGBTQ community. The goal here is to offer and embrace a different, more empowering context of the word.
Viewers are meant to understand the historical moments in the photographs and the journey that queer and trans people have taken throughout time to get to where we are now. Though it is still not illegal here in the U.S. to be queer or trans, we are now again facing moments and events that feel eerily similar to many of those historical moments immortalized in the exhibition. Those moments drove queer and trans ancestors to revolutionize and to take matters into their own hands to make change happen.
The exhibitions will be open throughout summer and are both offered in English and Spanish.
Along with the exhibitions, the Getty Center will also be hosting film screenings of “The Watermelon Woman” and “Tongues Untied”, as well as conversations on Ancient Greek Homoeroticism and Modern Queer Beauty, and an Artists POV conversation by queer, LA-based photographers.
For more information on the events or exhibitions, visit the Getty Center’s homepage.
a&e features
A king rises in Vico Ortiz’s new solo show
With a little bit of ‘astrology woo-woo-ness, a little bit of magic woo-woo-ness, drag and fabulosity,’ they tether together the story of the relationship between them and their mother
Nonbinary, Puerto Rican icon, comedian, actor and activist, Vico Ortiz, 33, binds and weaves awkward childhood moments, family expectations, Walter Mercado and the love of their life embodied by a household mop, to tell the story of the rise of a king.
During the peak of Pride month, Ortiz gifted the Los Angeles queer and trans communities with a spectacularly queer, solo show featuring themself in their quest of self-discovery, a profound sense of connection and reconnection with their femininity and masculinity through growing pains and moments of doubt. This is a show that Ortiz describes as “wholesome, but burlesque.”
King Vico Ortiz rises
The show, which premiered on June 12, details Ortiz’s childhood, vignetting and transforming through their most formative years and through canon events that led them to their gay awakening, such as watching Disney’s Mulan (in Spanish) and the moment Ortiz cut their hair in honor of the scene where Mulan cuts hers off. Ortiz took the audience on a journey through their inner monologue during the moments in their childhood and into adulthood, where they not only come to terms with their identity, but also learn to understand the internal battle their parents went through as they watched their king rise.
Though Ortiz mostly only acted prior to writing and producing their first solo show, they finally took their opportunity to do things a little differently. Last June, their friend Nikki Levy, who runs a show called Don’t Tell My Mother, coached Ortiz to dredge up childhood memories and tether them in a way that could be told and understood by an audience as a show about queerness and self-discovery.
“[Levy] started asking me those questions that dig deeper into the emotional journey of the story, not just ‘hehe’ ‘haha’ moments, but there’s something a little deeper happening,” said Ortiz in an interview with the L.A. Blade. This is when they asked Levy to help coach them through the process of putting the story together in a way that Ortiz imagined it, but also in a way that made sense to the audience.
Ortiz says that with a little bit of ‘astrology woo-woo-ness, a little bit of magic woo-woo-ness, drag and fabulosity,’ they tether together the story of the relationship between them and their mother.
“Astrology had a huge influence in my life growing up from the get-go,” said Ortiz. “I was born and [my mother] printed my birth chart.” The Libra sun, Sagittarius rising, Scorpio moon and Venus in Virgo, says they have always known their chart and that not only did astrology play a huge role in their life growing up, but so did astrologer-to-the-stars Walter Mercado.
The solo was partly influenced by their mother and partly influenced by the iconic, queer, androgynously-elegant Mercado, who famously appeared on TV screens across homes in Latin America and the United States for a segment on that day’s astrological reading.
Seeing Mercado on that daily segment shaped Ortiz’s view of gender and began to understand themselves in a new-found light — one in which they saw their most authentic self.
“Seeing that this person is loved and worshipped by all these people who are like: ‘we don’t care that Walter looks like Walter, we just love Walter,’” said Ortiz. This is when they realized that they too, wanted to be loved and adored by the masses, all while fully embracing their masculinity and femininity.
Closing Night of ‘Rise of a King’
The closing night show of ‘Rise of a King’ was a reminder of how unpredictable life can be and how darkness comes in on some of our brightest moments. Ortiz brilliantly pulled off an improv monologue during a 15-minute power outage. Though it was unpredictable, it was on theme. Ortiz owned the stage, going on about childhood memories that shaped them into who they are today and how they have reconnected with the imaginative child that once told the story of a half-butterfly, half-fish.
The rest of the show went according to plan, immersing the audience in a show that took us straight into the closet of Ortiz’s parents and where Ortiz not only discovered, but learned to embrace who they truly are — to the first moments they embraced the king within and outwardly began to show it to audiences, and eventually their mother.
The set, designed by Jose Matias, functioned as a walk-in closet that transforms throughout the show against the backdrop of drawings of Ortiz and their family memories projected on a big screen on the stage.
Ortiz’s original, solo-show had its world premiere at FUERZAfest in New York City, then its west coast premiere at L.A.’s own Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Follow @puertoricanninja for more updates on their upcoming work.
National
FDA approves new twice-yearly HIV prevention drug
Experts say success could inhibit development of HIV vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 18 approved a newly developed HIV/AIDS prevention drug that only needs to be taken by injection once every six months.
The new drug, lenacapavir, which is being sold under the brand name of Yeztugo by the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences that developed it, is being hailed by some AIDS activists as a major advancement in the years-long effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. and worldwide.
Although HIV prevention drugs, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis medication or PrEP, have been available since 2012, they initially required taking one or more daily pills. More recently, another injectable PrEP drug was developed that required being administered once every two months.
Experts familiar with the PrEP programs noted that while earlier drugs were highly effective in preventing HIV infection – most were 99 percent effective – they could not be effective if those at risk for HIV who were on the drugs did not adhere to taking their daily pills or injections every two months. Experts also point out that large numbers of people at risk for HIV, especially members of minority communities, are not on PrEP and efforts to reach out to them should be expanded.
“Today marks a monumental advance in HIV prevention,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the D.C.-based HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute, in a statement released on the day the FDA announced its approval of lenacapavir.
“Congratulations to the many researchers who spent 19 years to get to today’s approval, backed up by the long-term investment needed to get the drug to market,” he said.
Schmid added, “Long-acting PrEP is now not only effective for up to six months but also improves adherence and will reduce HIV infections – if people are aware of it and payers, including private insurers, cover it without cost-sharing as a preventive service.”
Schmid and others monitoring the nation’s HIV/AIDS programs have warned that proposed large scale cuts in the budget for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the administration of President Donald Trump could seriously harm HIV prevention programs, including PrEP-related efforts.
“Dismantling these programs means that there will be a weakened public health infrastructure and much less HIV testing, which is needed before a person can take PrEP,” Schmid said in his statement.
“Private insurers and employers must also immediately cover Yeztugo as a required preventive service, which means that PrEP users should not face any cost-sharing or utilization management barriers,” he said.
In response to a request by the Washington Blade for comment, a spokesperson for Gilead Sciences released a statement saying the annual list price per person using Yeztugo in the U.S. is $28,218. But the statement says the company is working to ensure that its HIV prevention medication is accessible to all who need it through broad coverage from health insurance companies and some of its own support programs.
“We’ve seen high insurance coverage for existing prevention options – for example, the vast majority of consumers have a $0 co-pay for Descovy for PrEP in the U.S. – and we are working to ensure broad coverage for lenacapavir [Yeztugo],” the statement says. It was referring to the earlier HIV prevention medication developed by Gilead Sciences, Descovy.
“Eligible insured people will get help with their copay,” the statement continues. “Gilead’s Advancing Access Copay Savings Program may reduce out-of-pocket costs to as little as zero dollars,” it says. “Then for people without insurance, lenacapavir may be available free of charge for those who are eligible, through Gilead’s Advancing Access Patient Assistance Program.”
Gilead Sciences has announced that in the two final trial tests for Yeztugo, which it describes as “the most intentionally inclusive HIV prevention clinical trial programs ever designed,” 99.9 percent of participants who received Yeztugo remained negative. Time magazine reports that among those who remained HIV negative at a rate of 100 percent were men who have sex with men.
Time also reports that some HIV/AIDS researchers believe the success of the HIV prevention drugs like Gilead’s Yeztugo could complicate the so-far unsuccessful efforts to develop an effective HIV vaccine.
To be able to test a potential vaccine two groups of test subjects must be used, one that receives the test vaccine and the other that receives a placebo with no drug in it.
With highly effective HIV prevention drugs now available, it could be ethically difficult to ask a test group to take a placebo and continue to be at risk for HIV, according to some researchers.
“This might take a bit of the wind out of the sails of vaccine research, because there is something so effective in preventing HIV infection,” Time quoted Dr. David Ho, a professor of microbiology, immunology, and medicine at New York’s Columbia University as saying.
California
Williams Institute reports impact of deportations on LGBTQ immigrants
Latest report suggests transgender, nonbinary and intersex immigrants face significantly higher safety risks
Williams Institute at UCLA has released its latest report, highlighting the intersection between LGBTQ and immigration issues and the impact of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) raids across Los Angeles on LGBTQ people.
According to the brief, LGBTQ immigrants who hold legal status, but who are not naturalized citizens may also face challenges to their legal right to reside in the U.S.
Recent reports indicate that non-citizens with legal status are being swept up in immigration operations and several forms of legal status which were granted at the end of the Biden administration are being revoked. Those include: Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some Venezuelan immigrants, as well as those from Afghanistan and Cameroon, while Haitian nationals are now facing shortened protection periods, by up to six months.
The Justice Department has proposed a new rule which grants the government border authority to revoke green card holders’ permanent residency status at any time. This rule is currently under review by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which could significantly affect non-citizens who are currently documented to reside in the county legally.
Supervisorial District 1, under Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, and Supervisorial District 2, under Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell would particularly be affected as it contains the city center of Los Angeles and nearly 29,000 LGBTQ, noncitizens would face the harshest impact. Those two districts contain many of the county’s historically Black, Latin American and Asian, Pacific Islander neighborhoods.
For transgender, nonbinary and intersex immigrants arrested or detained by ICE, there are additional impacts regarding how federal law defines biological sex and gender identity. The Trump administration has signed an executive order which redefines “sex” under federal law to exclude TGI individuals. This adds an extra thick layer of possible violence when TGI individuals are placed in detention centers or in holding that does not correspond to their identity.
According to the report, ‘transgender, non-binary, and intersex immigrants must navigate an
immigration and asylum system without information about how federal agents will respond to their gender identity and with the risk of greater violence if placed in detention centers, given the effects of this executive order.’
The brief estimates the number or foreign-born adults in Los Angeles County who will be potentially affected by the Trump administration’s executive orders on mass deportations.
Graphic courtesy of Williams Institute at UCLA.
Using previous data from other Williams Institute Studies and reports from the University of Southern California Dornsife Equity Research Institute and data from the Pew Research Center, the latest brief states that there are over 1.35 million LGBTQ-identifying people across the U.S., with 30% of them residing in California.
The report further points to 122,000 LGBTQ immigrants who reside within LA County specifically, making Los Angeles County home to about 10% of all LGBTQ adult immigrants in the U.S.
While 18% of those Angelenos are foreign-born, only around 7%, or 49,000 of them do not hold legal status.
Using research from the Pew Center and applying an estimate, that means that there are approximately 23,000 undocumented LGBTQ across LA County and the remaining 26,000 LGBTQ immigrants in the county have some form of legal status.
Among the LGBTQ population of adult immigrants in California, approximately 41,000 are transgender or nonbinary. That figure also points toward approximately 5,200 of them residing in LA County. According to the proportions applied for this estimate, the Williams Institute approximates that around 3,100 transgender and nonbinary immigrants in LA County are naturalized citizens, over 1,100 have legal status and just under 1,000 are undocumented.
According to a brief released in February by the Williams Institute, ‘mass deportations could impact 288,000 LGBTQ undocumented immigrants across the U.S.
Two new books on dining out LGBTQ-style
Latina Turner comes to Bring It To Brunch
‘White Lotus,’ ‘Severance,’ ‘Andor’ lead Dorian TV Awards noms
White House finds Calif. violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes in school sports
I’m a queer Iranian Jew. Why I stand with Israel during this conflict
I’m a queer Iranian Jew. Why I stand with Israel during this conflict
APLA opens eighth location in LA County
White House finds Calif. violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes in school sports
Colombia avanza hacia la igualdad para personas trans
Drama unfolds for San Diego Pride ahead of festivities
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Congress3 days agoWhite House finds Calif. violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes in school sports
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a&e features2 days agoLatina Turner comes to Bring It To Brunch
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