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Japan Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Pride & Prejudice: Trump casts shadow on 10 years of gay marriage
When Zach Bolen proposed to his partner Derrick Dobson in 2017, he chose a place that meant a lot to them; the hiking trail where the couple had first met, with a view over their entire home city of Boise, Idaho. "I drove him to the top, claiming it would be a fun last-minute adventure as we had not been there in a while. I proposed with all of our friends and family behind us to surprise him after," said Bolen, 33. Now, the couple's long-awaited wedding plans are uncertain. In January, lawmakers in Idaho passed a resolution urging the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the United States. On June 26, the United States will mark 10 years since that landmark decision. But with LGBTQ+ rights increasingly under fire from President Donald Trump, Bolen is not only considering getting married in another state, but leaving Idaho altogether. "We are not going to be in a place where we are not welcomed," said Bolen, who is on the board of directors for the Boise division of LGBTQ+ advocacy group PFLAG. "It's heartbreaking, because we love our city of Boise and Idaho so much." Since the 2015 decision, the Supreme Court has shifted to the right, and conservative judges now hold a 6-3 majority, heightening concern for the future of marriage equality. At least two sitting justices have indicated they want to revisit Obergefell, among other cases. Along with Idaho, Republican lawmakers in Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, South and North Dakota have all introduced resolutions seeking to reverse Obergefell this year. Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee have also introduced bills to create a type of marriage only open to heterosexuals. "What this political moment has done is really let us know that nothing is safe," Harrison Guy said by phone from Austin, Texas, where he lives with his husband Adrian Homer. "It makes it feel more fragile than we thought originally," said Guy, who is president of a Black, gay fraternity called Delta Phi Upsilon. 'Pride and anxiety' If Obergefell were overturned, the decision of marriage equality would fall to individual states. More than 30 states have laws or constitutional amendments — or both — blocking same-sex marriage. At least one in two Americans has supported marriage equality since 2012, but that approval rating has dipped 3% since 2023, a yearly survey by analytics company Gallup showed. Supporters of same-sex marriage in Washington in 2015 celebrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court following the announcement of the ruling on same-sex marriage. | Doug Mills / The New York Times LGBTQ+ Americans also risk a record run of new anti-LGBTQ+ laws — covering everything from ID laws to child custody rights — being introduced this year. Since January, the Trump administration has also rolled back LGBTQ+ rights on multiple fronts, be it nonbinary recognition or gender-affirming care for under 19-year-olds. Trump said he was "fine" with same-sex marriage during an interview in 2016. As to his opinion now — the White House did not respond to a request for comment. Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals from The Heritage Foundation think tank, said same-sex marriages involved "higher levels of instability" than heterosexual relationships and had "poor behavioral, psychological, or educational outcomes" for children. Trump repeatedly distanced himself from Project 2025 during the presidential campaign, but his administration has since implemented several policies from the 900-page wish list. Nancy Lyons, a tech CEO based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, married her partner Laura in 2018. The couple adopted their son Merrick, now 18, in 2006. "I feel pride and anxiety. There hasn't been a moment in this entire journey that hasn't had some amount of anxiety in it," Lyons said of marriage equality in a video call. "We've made so much progress and yet we live in a time when rights that we thought were settled are being debated all over again." Future families The number of same-sex married couples in the United States has more than doubled since 2015, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. More than half are in states with statutes or constitutional amendments prohibiting marriage equality, it said. Married LGBTQ+ couples were also found to earn 18% more than those who hadn't married. "Being married has improved the health and economic stability of same-sex couples and those raising kids, as it does for other married people," said Mary Bonauto, who was an attorney in the landmark 2015 Obergefell case and is now a senior director for legal rights organization GLAD Law. Bonauto said fears for Obergefell's survival were not "unreasonable." "However, we are going to fight with everything we have to preserve it, and we are confident we will win," she said. The Respect for Marriage Act, which passed in 2022, provides federal recognition to same-sex marriages, as long as they were legal in the states where they were performed. It is intended to serve as a backstop, should Obergefell be struck down — but only protects couples who are already married. "My concern is for the families that don't yet exist," said 35-year-old Jordan Wilson, who is director of Colage, an organization supporting LGBTQ+ parents. "In a lot of states, you are just not eligible to adopt if you're unmarried," said Wilson, who married his partner Cedric last year in part due to anticipation of a second Trump term. "If you're suddenly not able to get married anymore, then you might be locked out of having children."
New York Post
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Anne Burrell was ‘keeping an eye out' for the Green Lady of Brooklyn in sad final photo before death
Celebrity chef Anne Burrell lived her life to the fullest up until the very end. Just five days before the Food Network star passed away on Tuesday, June 17, at the age of 55, Burrell took to Instagram to share what would be her final post – and it included a familiar face. 'I ran into [the Green Lady of Brooklyn] in my neighborhood today!' she wrote on June 12 alongside a photo of her and NYC fixture Elizabeth Eaton Rosenthal. 'I'm not going to lie – I have been keeping an eye out for her.' 6 Anne Burrell's last Instagram post before her shocking death on Tuesday included the celebrity chef with NYC fixture the Green Lady of Brooklyn. chefanneburrell/Instagram 6 'I'm not going to lie – I have been keeping an eye out for her,' Burrell wrote alongside the picture of her and her 'lovely' new friend. Getty Images for PFLAG 'I may or may not have followed her down the street for a minute,' Burrell added. 'She is just lovely!!!' Rosenthal, 84, earned the nickname Green Lady of Brooklyn because she has been devoted to only wearing the color green for over 20 years. Rosenthal responded to Burrell's Instagram post one day later to say that it 'was so much fun meeting' the celebrity chef. 6 The Food Network star sadly passed away on Tuesday, June 17, at the age of 55. Bloomberg via Getty Images She also invited the 'Worst Cooks in America' co-host over to her garden to pick figs. 'Hi Anne, it was so much fun meeting you, see you again soon in the neighborhood, the only thing I make is coffee and fig preserves from my fig tree, love and hugs,' the Green Lady of Brooklyn wrote with several green heart emojis. 'Hi Anne,' Rosenthal added on Sunday, 'I would like to invite you to my garden and pick figs when they are ready, usually beginning to ripen beginning September, and come and visit the garden on a sunny day anyway.' 6 Burrell's loved ones confirmed the news in a statement. Brian Zak/Page Six Rosenthal, who is also known as Elizabeth Sweetheart, returned to Burrell's Instagram page once more on Tuesday following the devastating news of the celeb chef's sudden passing. 'Hi Anne,' she wrote, 'you are such a lovely person just to meet and not knowing you, I just love you and so sorry but come to my garden and visit with all your beauty and love and I will be waiting for you.' Burrell sadly passed away at her home in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning. Her family confirmed the shocking news in a statement to People, but the cause of death was not immediately revealed. 6 The beloved 'Worst Cooks in America' co-host's cause of death was not immediately revealed. Getty Images for NYCWFF 'Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered,' Burrell's loved ones shared. 'Anne's light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world,' they added. 'Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal.' The Food Network also remembered Burrell in a touching statement to The Post. 'Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent – teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring,' a representative for the network said. 6 The Food Network remembered Burrell as a 'remarkable person and culinary talent' in a statement to The Post. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images 'Our thoughts are with Anne's family, friends and fans during this time of tremendous loss,' they added. Burrell is survived by her husband, Stuart Claxton, his son, Javier, her mother, Marlena, her sister, Jane, and her brother, Ben.
National Post
06-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Amy Hamm: FBI completely justified in targeting 'gender-affirming' doctors
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is asking the public for tips on hospitals or practitioners who are performing 'gender-affirming' surgeries on minors. It's illegal, and it's mutilation, says the FBI. Article content Is the FBI fibbing about the law? To an extent. Article content The bureau's announcement follows President Donald Trump's Jan. 28 executive order, 'Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,' which attempted to ban childhood medical transition by defunding any federally supported institution that carries out these procedures. The order was challenged in court, in an ongoing case called PFLAG v. Trump, and an injunction prevents its implementation. Article content This hasn't stopped the FBI's assistant director for public affairs, Ben Williamson, from calling such surgeries illegal — even if they technically are not. On Monday, after Axios published an article about the bureau's interest in 'gender-affirming surgeries,' Williamson responded on X, 'Actually what we said was we would like tips on any hospitals or clinics who break the law and mutilate children under the guise of 'gender affirming care.'' Article content Article content The FBI made a similar post on X that same day: 'Help the FBI protect children. As the Attorney General has made clear, we will protect our children and hold accountable those who mutilate them under the guise of gender-affirming care. Report tips of any hospitals, clinics, or practitioners performing these surgical procedures on children at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Article content Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say the move is all for show, and is not based on current or enforceable laws, despite the fact that many states currently have laws banning pediatric gender transition. These critics certainly have a strong argument — but it is entirely beside the point. Article content Article content The FBI, with its callout for public tips, has taken an extrajudicial moral stance on the worst medical scandal of our time. It was an act of leadership and clarity. And it will be remembered as such in history books. Article content Article content The federal law enforcement agency's statement 'may only be intended to scare medical practitioners away from offering those services,' as per critics who spoke with CNN. That's a fair assessment. The FBI probably is doing just that — and it deserves commendation for it. Article content Swathes of persons within the American medical establishment are ignoring the overwhelming evidence on the harms of 'gender-affirming' care. It is therefore an act of moral valour for the FBI to intimidate physicians and health-care providers from participating in what is now increasingly recognized as an ongoing — though petering — medical scandal. Article content This is the stark reality: children, often gay or autistic — and with limited capacity to consent — are being permanently sterilized and physically altered by major surgeries and cross-sex hormones. Forget the cutesy euphemisms about 'top surgery' (double mastectomies) or 'puberty blocking' (possibly irreversible chemical castration). Forget the lie that this 'care' is a suicide-preventing intervention for youth who were 'born in the wrong body' — two false claims.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘We are not just activists, we're warriors': Pride festivities kick off in Waterloo, Ont.
Waterloo marked the start of Pride Month with a community event celebrating inclusivity. CTV's Karis Mapp has more. People were encouraged to show their true colours under a beautiful, blue sky as a special event kicked off Pride Month festivities in Waterloo. Celebrants gathered in Waterloo Public Square, which was transformed into a dancefloor and vendor market on Wednesday morning. The event was hosted by the City of Waterloo and Uptown Business Improvement Area (BIA). 'We're very excited, as the City of Waterloo, to be celebrating Pride,' Divya Handa, the city's director of reconciliation, equity, accessibility, diversity and inclusion, told CTV News. 'The last few years have been a little bit difficult for our Rainbow community, but we want to show that we are not taking a step back,' Handa said. 'We are not stopping this journey. We are not pausing. We're not considering pausing. We're here for full support.' For some members of the community, those tough times are vivid memories. Jim Parrott, co-facilitator of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and the former executive director of Spectrum, recounts what it was like when he first met his husband back in 2000. The couple persevered through a time when homosexuality was not widely accepted and they became the first same sex couple to legally be married in Waterloo. 'We're not just activists, we're warriors,' Parrott said. 'We have been walking hand-in-hand in public for 25 years. We do get yelled at, but we think it's important to be transparent and to be visible. And we do that because so many people are not able to do that.' Although Wednesday's celebration was all about inclusivity and support, Parrot worried the future may be more uncertain. 'It's wonderful to see all these things happen. But at the same time, I still worry that things might go backwards,' he said. 'It's wonderful to see that we've got the support of the cities and other institutions. So, I'm very happy but also a little bit nervous.' Part of his apprehension stems from divisive attitudes across the border. 'A few years ago, things seemed to be improving. We started to see more and more legislation passed at this phase, but unfortunately, about 6 or 7 years ago, we started seeing things get worse,' Parrott reflected. 'That to some extent was correlated with the rise of Donald Trump in the United States, unfortunately, [we] saw a lot of problems. And the people who are most seriously impacted are trans folks.' Numerous events will be held throughout June to recognize Pride Month in Waterloo Region.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jake Day v. Andy Harris? What we know now about possible 1st District showdown
Could a big showdown be on the horizon in Maryland's 1st District? Here's what we know now about the possibility of Jake Day, current Maryland Secretary of Housing and Community Development, running against longtime GOP incumbent Rep. Andy Harris in the 2026 election. Maryland Matters has reported that Day, who previously served as Salisbury mayor and as president of its City Council, "is beginning to raise money for a possible challenge to U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st.)" Reached for a statement May 8, Day confirmed the Maryland Matters reporting that he has set up an exploratory campaign committee under the Federal Election Commission's 'testing the waters' guidelines for candidate, and is soliciting donations to pay for a poll to gauge his strength in a hypothetical general election against Harris. "I'm flattered by the number of people who have been reaching out asking me about this and to consider it,," Day told Delmarva Now on May 8. "However, I'm focused on my day job helping address Maryland's housing crisis and growing our economy." Stay tuned for all developments on this big race as they develop, and here's more on Jake Day and Andy Harris. PRIDE CROSSWALK HOT TOPIC: 'It's about unity': Salisbury PFLAG responds to mayor's call to repaint rainbow crosswalks Before joining the cabinet of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Day served as president of the Salisbury City Council from 2013-2015 and as the city's mayor from 2015-2023. He was confirmed as Maryland's Secretary of Housing and Community Development on March 2, 2023. Andy Harris has represented Maryland's Eastern Shore for eight terms now, first elected to the U.S. House in 2011. Before that, Harris, the only Republican in Maryland's current congressional delegation, served in the state Senate from 1999-2011. NEW BUSINESSES ALL AROUND: Museum of Ocean City is now open, plus new garden center in Hebron | What's Going There This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Will Jake Day enter 1st District race v. Andy Harris? What we know.
