Controversial ex-NBA player known for anti-LGBTQ+ views wins primary, set to challenge pro-LGBTQ+ Sen. Amy Klobuchar

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

He is accused of spending thousands of campaign funds at a strip club and has been criticized for derogatory remarks towards his critics, calling them “beta cuck f-gs.”

Royce White, a former NBA player known for his conspiracy theories and use of homophobic slurs, won the primary election for the U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota, defeating his opponent, Joe Fraser. White will now compete against incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) in the general election this November.

Despite suspicions of potential campaign finance violations, including allegations that he spent thousands of donor dollars at a strip club, the Minnesota Republican Party endorsed White in May.

According to CBS News, Joe Fraser was anticipated to win the race but secured only 29% of the votes. Royce White emerged victorious with 38%.

Royce White, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and a vocal critic of LGBTQ+ rights, is known for his offensive posts on X (formerly Twitter). His account has been described by The Daily Dot as “littered with derogatory statements and offensive slurs,” including multiple instances of homophobic language.

White has specifically targeted several news outlets with derogatory remarks, referring to The Guardian, The Washington Post, Mother Jones, and The Star Tribune as “beta cuck f-gs” and accusing them of being “foot soldiers of the New World Order.”

A Federal Election Commission complaint has been filed against White for allegedly misappropriating over $157,000 from his 2022 campaign funds, including expenditures at a strip club. Additionally, he reportedly owes tens of thousands of dollars in childcare payments.

White frequently appears on Alex Jones’s Infowars, which promotes anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theories. He recently made headlines for criticizing Vice Presidential presumptive nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) after Walz called conservatives weird. White retorted, “You freaks support Pride festivals where grown men are getting p**sed on and sucking each other off in public. You’re a clown and you’re lucky your term wasn’t up or I would’ve run against you. The People Are Coming! You communists are exposed.”

White first gained attention in 2022 when he ran against Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), but lost the Republican primary to Cicely Davis. During that campaign, he made anti-Semitic remarks, which he later attempted to dismiss by referencing Jesus, who was Jewish.

Despite his high-profile controversies, White’s chances of winning the Senate seat are slim. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who won over 60% of the vote in her 2018 reelection, has nearly $19 million in campaign funds, compared to White’s $85,000.

August 21, 2024 0

JD Vance’s foreword to the Project 2025 founder’s book describes Democrats as “wolves” that need to be eliminated

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

He also claims that “liberals” have contaminated America’s foundation.

Vice presidential candidate JD Vance addressed supporters at a rally held inside Middletown High School on Monday, July 22, 2024. The Ohio senator is running as the vice presidential candidate alongside former President Donald Trump.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) likened Democrats and left-leaning liberals to “wolves” that need to be eliminated and to gardeners who have poisoned American soil in his foreword to Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America, authored by Kevin Roberts. Roberts employs similarly violent and dehumanizing language throughout the book.

Roberts, president of the right-wing Heritage Foundation and the architect of Project 2025—a blueprint for dismantling federal agencies and reversing longstanding civil rights under a potential second term for Donald Trump—drives the book’s controversial message.

Vance opens his 1,091-word foreword to Roberts’ book by referencing Pulp Fiction, a 1994 Quentin Tarantino film known for portraying its three gay characters as violent kidnappers, rapists, and BDSM enthusiasts.

Near the end of his foreword, Vance writes, “We need an offensive conservatism, not merely one that tries to prevent the left from doing things we don’t like.” He then employs a garden metaphor to vilify liberals as gardeners who have poisoned American soil, echoing Trump’s claim that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

Vance describes his analogy: “Imagine a well-maintained garden in a patch of sunlight. It has some imperfections, of course, and many weeds… In an effort to eliminate the bad, a well-meaning gardener treats the garden with a chemical solution. This kills many of the weeds, but it also kills many of the good things. Undeterred, the gardener keeps adding the solution. Eventually, the soil is inhospitable.”

In this analogy, Vance explains, “modern liberalism is the gardener, the garden is our country, and the voices discouraging the gardener were conservatives. We were right, of course: in an effort to correct problems—some real, some imagined—we made a lot of mistakes as a country in the 1960s and 1970s.”

While Vance does not specify these mistakes, it’s notable that the 1960s marked the height of the first U.S. Civil Rights Movement, leading to landmark legislation that outlawed segregation, discriminatory voting practices, and workplace, educational, housing, and public accommodation discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The era also saw significant anti-war, pro-worker, women’s liberation, and LGBTQ+ rights movements, as well as the introduction of birth control pills, which gave women greater control over their reproductive rights.

Vance returns to his garden metaphor, stating, “To bring the garden back to health, it is not enough to undo the mistakes of the past… It needs to be recultivated. The old conservative movement argued if you just got government out of the way, natural forces would resolve problems—we are no longer in this situation and must take a different approach.”

He continues, “As Kevin Roberts writes, ‘It’s fine to take a laissez-faire approach when you are in the safety of the sunshine. But when the twilight descends and you hear the wolves, you’ve got to circle the wagons and load the muskets.’”

Vance emphasizes Roberts’ violent rhetoric with urgency, writing, “We are now all realizing that it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets. In the fights that lay ahead, [Roberts’] ideas are an essential weapon.”

While some might interpret Vance’s pioneer imagery—referring to covered wagons and old-timey firearms—merely as historical references, the metaphor of wolves as deadly predators poses a more primal threat. Vance is aware of the right-wing’s affinity for gun rights, and similar imagery has been used by other conservatives to “defend” traditional values.

Roberts himself has called for a “Second American Revolution,” a modern-day repeat of the historic conflict that resulted in significant American casualties. Though Roberts describes this revolution as “bloodless,” he adds it will only be so “if the Left allows it to be.”

Roberts’ suggestions have generated such controversy that Trump has denied any association with Project 2025, while the Heritage Foundation has claimed to have shut it down, despite ongoing recruitment for a second Trump administration. Roberts’ ideas have become so unpopular that he has postponed his book’s release until after the election.

August 20, 2024 0

Red Sox’s Jarren Duran Suspended for Two Games After Using Anti-Gay Slur Toward Fan

This blog originally appeared at THEM.

The salary Duran forfeits due to his suspension will be donated to PFLAG.

Boston Red Sox player Jarren Duran was suspended for two games without pay on Monday after directing a homophobic slur at a fan. The incident occurred during Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park when the 27-year-old outfielder was at bat and was being heckled by a fan.

“Tennis racket!” the fan shouted, according to the Associated Press. “You need a tennis racket!”

In response, Duran turned around and yelled, “Shut up, you fucking faggot!”

After the game, the Red Sox released a statement in which Duran apologized for his actions.

“During tonight’s game, I used a truly horrific word when responding to a fan,” Duran said, apologizing to “the entire Red Sox organization, but more importantly to the entire LGBTQ community.”

“Our young fans should be able to look up to me as a role model, but tonight I fell far short of that responsibility,” he continued. “I will use this opportunity to educate myself, my teammates, and to grow as a person.”

In an August 12 statement, the Red Sox announced that, in consultation with Major League Baseball (MLB), Duran has been issued a two-game unpaid suspension starting with Monday night’s game against the Texas Rangers. His salary from the suspension — amounting to $8,172, according to ESPN — will be donated to the LGBTQ+ organization PFLAG, previously known as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

This isn’t the first time an MLB player has been suspended for using an anti-gay slur. In 2017, the league banned Toronto Blue Jays star Kevin Pillar for two games after he directed a homophobic slur at Atlanta player Jason Motte. That same year, Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce was also suspended for two games after using a slur toward a fan. Back in 2012, Blue Jays player Yunel Escobar received a three-game suspension for wearing eye-black strips with a Spanish anti-gay slur written on them.

August 19, 2024 0

Beloved 20-Year-Old Trans Woman Dylan Gurley Tragically Killed in Texas

This blog originally appeared at THEM.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, Texas is responsible for over 10% of all trans murder victims.

Dylan Gurley, a young transgender woman who was just shy of her 21st birthday on August 18, was tragically killed in Texas on July 23.

As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, police discovered Gurley with “traumatic injuries” at a residence in Denton, Texas around 11 p.m. that evening. She was rushed to the Medical City Denton hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries about 40 minutes later. According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, Gurley’s official cause of death was “blunt and sharp force injuries with strangulation,” indicating that she may have been beaten, cut, and strangled.

Few details have emerged about her death, other than that she was unhoused at the time, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). A suspect has yet to be identified. An online obituary states that Gurley was born in Arlington, Texas, and is survived by her parents, step-parents, grandparents, and siblings. “Many other family members and friends loved Dylan,” the obituary reads.

Dylan’s sister, Senica Ciarallo, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds “to give Dylan the memorial she wanted and deserved.” The money will be used for urns, bracelets, and necklaces to hold her ashes for those closest to Gurley. The family is also planning a special event to honor what would have been her 21st birthday.

August 16, 2024 0

Imane Khelif Takes Legal Action Against J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk for Alleged Cyberbullying

Khelif’s complaint claims that she has been subjected to “moral harassment” on a “widespread” and “coordinated” level.

Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif has filed a harassment complaint in France against Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling, and other public figures, alleging their involvement in a “massive” cyberbullying campaign. The complaint accuses them of labeling her as a predatory and abusive “biological male.”

The controversy began during the women’s 66 kilogram boxing competition at the Paris Olympics earlier this month. Khelif’s opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, forfeited their match after just 46 seconds, claiming that Khelif’s punches were the hardest she had ever experienced. This incident, combined with claims from the International Boxing Association—now disaffiliated from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)—about a 2023 “gender test,” sparked a social media uproar. Rowling joined the fray, accusing Khelif of being a “biological male” who was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s [sic] just punched in the head.”

Khelif’s complaint, which has not been publicly disclosed but was reviewed by French newspaper Le Monde this week, alleges that she is the target of “moral harassment” on a “massive” and “coordinated” scale. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to Variety that the complaint was received on Monday. Rather than naming specific individuals, the complaint is filed against X (formerly Twitter), a common legal strategy in France that enables investigators to identify potential responsible parties, according to the Associated Press.

Rowling, one of the most prominent social media figures named in the complaint, had not posted on X since August 7 at the time of writing. X owner Elon Musk is also named in the complaint due to a post he shared from anti-trans athlete Riley Gaines, who stated that “men don’t belong in women’s sports,” to which Musk responded, “Absolutely.” The complaint also cites statements from far-right politicians globally, including Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, the Republican candidates for U.S. president and vice president. Trump leveraged the controversy to reaffirm his commitment to “keep men out of women’s sports” during a campaign event in Montana, while Vance referred to Khelif as a “biological man” who “pummeled” Carini. The complaint also notes that Khelif was targeted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and right-wing French politicians Philippe Vardon and Gilbert Collard, according to Le Monde.

“What we’re asking is that the prosecution investigates not only these individuals but anyone deemed necessary,” Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, told Variety. “If the case goes to court, they will stand trial.” Boudi added that the prosecutor’s office has the authority to “target personalities overseas” in cases of online harassment, pointing out that there are prison sentences in some French cyberbullying cases.

Khelif has never publicly identified as intersex and resides in Algeria, where being gay or transgender is illegal. Reports about her having high testosterone levels or XY chromosomes are based solely on an IBA statement from last year, which accused Khelif and Chinese boxer Lin Yu-ting of failing gender eligibility tests. Earlier this month, the IBA issued a statement to clarify the testing process, timeline, and findings. However, the IOC no longer recognizes the IBA as an international boxing authority, partly due to allegations of prize- and match-fixing.

In an interview with SNTV, the sports affiliate of the Associated Press, Khelif condemned cyberbullying and said that misinformation about her gender “harms human dignity.”

“I urge everyone to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter and to avoid bullying athletes, as it has profound effects,” Khelif said in Arabic. “It can destroy people, undermine their spirit and mind, and create divisions. For these reasons, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”

August 15, 2024 0

Controversial MAGA pastor exploits social media to attack LGBTQ+ youth and educators

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

Family members and associates of former President Donald Trump are increasingly aligning with Tim Thompson, a Southern California pastor known for his attacks on LGBTQ+ teachers and his derogatory comments about public education, which he has labeled as ‘Satan’s playground.’ Through his Inland Empire Family political action committee (PAC), Thompson is mobilizing Christian conservatives to oppose public education.

As the leader of 412 Church Temecula Valley, Thompson uses his platform to support Christian conservative candidates for school boards and protests against schools that employ LGBTQ+ educators. In one instance, he voiced objections to a man ‘dressed as a woman’ teaching young children.

Thompson has labeled the LGBTQ+ rights movement as ‘a religion’ intent on indoctrinating students, advocating for parents to withdraw their children from public schools and opt for homeschooling if they truly care about them. Recently, the Colorado Republican Party echoed a similar message to its members.

Thompson has utilized his Our Watch video streaming platform to host controversial figures like anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and to criticize public schools, including sharing videos of disturbing content such as ‘laser beams into their anus.’

In April, Thompson posted a video condemning Riverside High School’s Pride Week activities—featuring a drag performance, a scavenger hunt, and pronoun buttons—urging viewers to call the school to voice complaints. The school subsequently canceled the drag performance.

In his video, Thompson questioned, ‘Who’s the pervert that’s allowing this to happen on campus?’ He suggested that anyone approving such activities is a ‘pervert’ and called on Christian men to take action against it.

Thompson has also targeted individual educators. In one instance, he criticized two trans middle school students he accused of ‘boys … dressing out in the girls locker room.’ In May 2023, he denounced high school drama teacher Greg Bailey as a ‘perverted groomer’ for assigning the play Angels in America—a piece addressing the AIDS epidemic—as optional reading. Bailey faced a three-month leave due to the backlash.

In 2022, Thompson publicly named and shamed a Murrieta Elementary School teacher who started a ‘unity club’ to support bullied students. He accused the teacher of being a ‘groomer’ and criticized her for promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The club was disbanded after Thompson’s complaints, and the teacher was investigated by the school district. The teacher reported receiving aggressive threats online, with some followers of Thompson’s urging violence against her.

Thompson has also made appearances at events such as Turning Point USA’s gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and a 2020 ‘Freedom Rally’ against lockdowns, where he wore insignia of the Three Percenters anti-government militia.

In March, he urged conservatives to run for local school boards, framing the situation as a battle against ‘Satan’ and efforts to ‘indoctrinate children into filth.’ His PAC played a role in shifting the Temecula Valley Unified School District board to a right-leaning majority in 2022, leading to policies requiring teachers to disclose transgender students’ identities to their parents and rejecting a social studies book for mentioning gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Queer-affirming pastor Rachel Dennis criticized Thompson, stating that he is ‘destroying people in our town’ and accusing him of pursuing an extreme agenda supported by figures like Eric Trump and other MAGA affiliates. Thompson has welcomed Trump attorney Alina Habba to speak at his events and will host a fundraiser featuring Eric Trump and former Trump administration official Kash Patel.

Thompson claims that the Trump family is ‘very well aware’ of his activities. Maddy Ziegler, a staff attorney with the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), has complained to the IRS about Thompson’s alleged illegal partisan campaigning. Thompson responded defiantly on his talk radio show, inviting the IRS to take action, which he claims has not occurred.

August 12, 2024 0

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem mandates university employees to remove pronouns and tribal affiliations from their email signatures

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

Megan Red Shirt-Shaw and her husband, John Little, who both work at the University of South Dakota, have long included their pronouns and tribal affiliations in their email signatures. Red Shirt-Shaw expressed that, “The ability to share my tribal affiliation as well as gender pronouns signals that I am a person who values the lived experiences of others.”

In March, they received a written warning from the University of South Dakota, informing them that their email signatures were in violation of a new policy introduced by the South Dakota Board of Regents in December.

John Little told the Associated Press, “I believe the exact wording was that I had ‘five days to correct the behavior.’ If my tribal affiliation and pronouns were not removed after those five days, administrators would then decide whether I would be suspended (with or without pay) or immediately terminated.”

The move follows South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s directive to the Board of Regents to combat what she views as “liberal ideologies” on college campuses. Her requests included removing all references to preferred pronouns from school materials and banning drag shows. Notably, Gov. Noem appointed all nine members of the Board of Regents.

This latest policy change, which removes the ability for South Dakota public university employees to express their tribal affiliations and gender identity, adds to a series of controversial actions by Gov. Noem. Many South Dakota tribes have restricted her access to their lands due to her claims that tribal reservations are harboring drug cartels and neglecting children.

Critics argue that the policy represents a double erasure of queer Indigenous individuals, including two-spirit people. Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the ACLU South Dakota, noted, “Maybe their intent was to suppress pronoun usage in email signatures, but as is often the case with any limitation or suppression of free speech, there’s always unintended consequences. There is also a component here of double erasure. There are plenty of queer Indigenous folks in South Dakota.”

Paulette Grandberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, expressed that while the policy was not surprising given the current climate, it marks a troubling trend. “Quite frankly, this is the first I’ve heard of a state university using branding standards to eliminate what had become a practice of including pronouns and tribal affiliations in emails… it is a steady progression [towards the right]. This comes in the form of communications and branding standards. Is that going to be the next frontier in sanitizing the realities of our differences?”

A spokesperson for the University of South Dakota declined to comment on whether administrative or faculty leadership had reviewed the policy before its implementation, referring questions instead to the Board of Regents. Shuree Mortenson, a spokesperson for the Board, stated that while the decision could be reviewed by the six universities under the regents’ board, it was ultimately made by the Board itself. Mortenson did not provide details on whether other staff or faculty had received similar warnings or if tribal leaders were consulted.

John Little remarked, “It was clear that they had not considered that this would impact Native employees.”

On social media, Red Shirt-Shaw criticized the policy as further erasure of Native people in South Dakota. Both she and Little have now included their tribal affiliations and pronouns in the body of their emails, which the university currently permits.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/05/kristi-noem-forces-university-employees-to-drop-pronouns-tribal-affiliations-from-email-signatures/?utm_id=top_story&utm_term=headline&utm_content=usa&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2024528%20LGBTQ%20Nation%20Daily%20Brief&utm_content=2024528%20LGBTQ%20Nation%20Daily%20Brief+CID_a7bcfd8ee94a73adb1594d5d175806ee&utm_source=LGBTQ%20Nation%20Subscribers&utm_term=Kristi%20Noem%20forces%20university%20employees%20to%20drop%20pronouns%20%20tribal%20affiliations%20from%20email%20signatures

August 9, 2024 0

Ohio’s Gender-Affirming Care Ban Upheld by Judge; Civil Rights Group Announces Plan to Appeal Immediately

This blog originally appeared at AP News.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — On Tuesday, a county judge ruled that an Ohio law restricting gender-affirming health care for minors can go into effect.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has announced plans to file an immediate appeal.

The law prohibits transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for individuals under 18, except for those already undergoing such treatments where discontinuation could pose a risk, as determined by a doctor. It also imposes limitations on the types of mental health services available to minors.

Passed by state lawmakers in January, the law also bans transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports, following an override of a veto by Republican Governor Mike DeWine.

In his ruling, Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook stated that the ban “reasonably limits parents’ rights to make decisions about their children’s medical care” in line with the state’s legitimate interest in regulating medical practices and treatments.

The organizations challenging the law argue that it denies essential health care to transgender youth and specifically discriminates against their access to such care. The lawsuit also contends that combining the two bans breaches Ohio’s single-subject rule for legislation.

“This decision is not only a blow to our courageous clients but also to countless transgender youth and their families throughout the state who depend on this essential, life-saving health care,” said Freda Levenson, Legal Director at ACLU of Ohio.

In response, the office of Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost stated that “this case has always centered on the legislature’s authority to enact laws aimed at protecting children from making irreversible medical and surgical decisions about their bodies.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine vetoed the law at the end of 2023 after visiting children’s hospitals and speaking with families affected by gender dysphoria. DeWine described his decision as thoughtful, limited, and “pro-life,” highlighting the suicide risks associated with not receiving appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria.

DeWine also announced plans to implement an administrative ban on transgender surgeries for individuals under 18 and to enhance state regulation and monitoring of gender-affirming treatments for both children and adults. He hoped these measures would address concerns from Republican colleagues in the Ohio Statehouse. However, the administration quickly abandoned this plan after transgender adults expressed significant worries about how such regulations could impact their lives and health.

Following DeWine’s veto, Ohio lawmakers remained resolute, successfully overriding it and making Ohio the 23rd state to enact a ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.

August 8, 2024 0

Youngkin Completes MAGA Transformation of Virginia’s Public Colleges and Universities

This blog originally appeared at AUGUSTA FREE PRESS.

One of the privileges of a Virginia governor is the authority to appoint members to the boards of visitors at the state’s public colleges and universities.

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s second and final round of appointments, announced on Friday, marks his last opportunity to replace appointees from his Democratic predecessors, Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam.

With these new appointments, the boards directing policy at Virginia’s public colleges and universities now all have conservative Republican supermajorities.

Consider this your reminder of the importance of elections.

BOARD OF VISITORS OF CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY

Kevin J. Callanan MA, CFRE, of Stephens City, Principal, CES, LLC
Jennifer Dunn of Yorktown, Vice President of Communications, Newport News Shipbuilding
Keith Windle of Midlothian, Senior Vice President of Administrative Services, Dominion Energy

BOARD OF VISITORS OF COLLEGE OF WILLIAM & MARY

The Honorable John Brownlee of Great Falls, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
Robey W. Estes of Richmond, CEO, Estes Express Lines
Taylor Franklin of Virginia Beach, CEO, Franklin Group
Jennifer Tepper Mackesy of Bronxville, New York, Minority Owner, Gotham Football Club/Chelsea FC; former Vice President, Lord & Taylor
The Honorable Jill Holtzman Vogel of Upperville, Attorney and Managing Partner Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak; Principal, 50 to 1; Principal, The Vogel Group; former member, Virginia State Senate, 27th District

BOARD OF VISITORS OF GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

The Honorable Kenneth L. Marcus of Great Falls, Founder and Chairman, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law; former US Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights
Jon M. Peterson of Fairfax Station, Chief Executive Officer, Peterson Companies
Nina S. Rees of McLean, Senior Fellow, George W. Bush Institute
Marc Short of Arlington, Partner, Advance Strategies; former Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence

BOARD OF VISITORS OF JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY

Larry W. Caudle, Jr. of White Stone, Attorney, Kraftson Caudle PLC
Joanie Eiland of Staunton, President, Elk Trucking and Elk Brokerage
Thomas Galati of Penn Laird, Founder, StageBio
Dave Rexrode of Fredericksburg, President, Bluestone Strategies & Consulting Group
Nikki Thacker of Richmond, Government Relations, Reed Smith LLP

BOARD OF VISITORS OF LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY

Kathleen Early of Richmond, Corporate Secretary, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and Affiliated Companies
Charles E. “Chuck” Fagan III of Manakin Sabot, President and CEO, Velera
David Rose of Richmond, Senior Vice President and Manager, Davenport and Company, LLC

BOARD OF VISITORS OF NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY

Edward Sanders of Washington, DC, Director, Gloucester Institute; Relationship Manager, United Negro College Fund
The Honorable Lionel Spruill, Sr. of Chesapeake, former member, Virginia State Senate, 5th District; former member, Virginia House of Delegates, 77th District

BOARD OF VISITORS OF OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

Brian E. Campbell of Richmond, Senior Advisor External Affairs, Medicines for All Institute at VCU
Stanley Goldfarb of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Bruce Thompson of Virginia Beach, CEO, Gold Key | PHR
Claire Wulf Winiarek of Arlington, Health Care Policy Director, Amazon

BOARD OF VISITORS OF RADFORD UNIVERSITY

Dale S. Ardizzone, Esq., of Charlotte, North Carolina, COO, INSP, LLC, and Imagicomm Communications
The Honorable Betsy D. Beamer of Henrico, Director of Planning and Organization, McGuireWoods Consulting
Callie Dalton of Roanoke, Realtor, Callie Dalton & Associates, Long & Foster
William C. Davis of Blacksburg, retired Historian, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Jonathan Sweet of Pulaski County, County Administrator, Pulaski County

BOARD OF VISITORS OF UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON

Virginia Gentles of Arlington, Director, Education Freedom Center, Independent Women’s Forum
Tim Pohanka of Fredericksburg, Chief Operating Officer, Pohanka Automotive Group
Terris E. Todd of Woodbridge, Senior Advisor to the President, Kingdom Builders Worldwide

BOARD OF VISITORS OF UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA AND AFFILIATED SCHOOLS

Daniel M. Brody of Albemarle County, President, Health Data Services, Inc.
Marvin W. Gilliam, Jr., of Bristol, Owner, MAM Development LLC
David Okonkwo, MD, PhD of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Professor of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh
David F. Webb of Virginia Beach, Vice Chairman, CBRE, Inc
Porter Wilkinson of Bethesda, Maryland, Counselor and Chief of Staff, Smithsonian Institute Board of Regents

BOARD OF VISITORS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY

The Honorable Siobhan Dunnavant, MD, FACOG, of Henrico, former member, Virginia State Senate, 12th District
Ken Lipstock, MD, of Richmond, Owner and Medical Director, Lipstock LASIK and Cataract Center
Randolph N. Reynolds, Jr., of Louisa County, Principal, Reynolds Holdings, LLC
J. Sailor of Chesterfield, Director of Faith Partnerships, Stand Together Foundation

BOARD OF VISITORS OF VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

Kate Comerford Todd of McLean, Attorney, Torridon Law PLLC
Quintin Elliott of Urbanna, Owner and CEO, QE2 Consulting
Clifford Foster of Richmond, Manager, Raymond James & Associates
The Honorable William R. Janis of St. Petersburg, Florida, former member, Virginia House of Delegates, 56th District

BOARD OF VISITORS OF VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY

Starlette Barker Johnson of Dallas, Texas, Board Chair, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory; Board Member, Jack’s Family Restaurant Group
The Honorable Ryan D. McCarthy of McLean, the 24th Secretary of the Army
Jim Miller of Waterford, CEO, Quantum Leap
Pearson of Fort Myers Beach, Florida, Executive Chairman, Vehicle Accessory Inc.
Jeanne H. Stosser of Blacksburg, President, President and CEO, CMG Leasing/ SAS Construction

BOARD OF VISITORS OF VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY

Robert E. Denton, Jr., of Blacksburg, W. Thomas Rice Chair Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Communication, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Peter McPherson of Arlington, President Emeritus, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities; President Emeritus, Michigan State University
Verndell Robinson of Prince William County, Associate Broker, Coldwell Banker
Robert Thompson of Chesterfield, Multi-Unit Franchisee Eggs Up Grill
General Dennis Via, Ret., of McLean, Executive Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

EASTERN VIRGINIA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER AT OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

Robert “Bob” Aston, Jr., of Portsmouth, Chairman of the Executive Board, TowneBank
Ted Chambers of McLean, Medical Director, Montgomery Vascular Care

STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES

David L. Elmore of Waynesboro, President, Financial Management Inc.
Tony Miller of Damascus, retired Project Controls Manager, Appalachian Power
Alethea “AJ” Robinson of Bluefield, Director of Communications, Tazewell County
Jeremy Satterfield of Halifax, TechSpark Manager, Microsoft

STATE COUNCIL OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR VIRGINIA

Jeffrey Brown of Richmond, Headmaster, The Hunter School
Lindsay Fryer of Falls Church, President and Founding Principal, Lodestone DC
Delceno Miles of Virginia Beach, founding President and CEO, The Miles Agency
John Olsen of Alexandria, Chief Executive Officer, Teaching Strategies
Carlyle Ramsey, PhD, of Alton, former President, Danville Community College
Steven Taylor of Barboursville, Director and Senior Fellow of Postsecondary Education, Stand Together Trust

August 7, 2024 0

Donald Trump’s “Agenda 47” is equally harmful to LGBTQ+ individuals as Project 2025.

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

In recent weeks, as awareness of Project 2025 has grown, Donald Trump has attempted to distance himself from this concerning set of policies, developed by the far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ Heritage Foundation, for a potential second term. On July 6, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, claiming he knew nothing about Project 2025. He said he disagrees with some of its proposals and considers others “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”

Given Trump’s well-documented history of dishonesty and misinformation, it’s hard to take his claims about Project 2025 at face value. This plan, among other radical proposals to reshape the federal government in a far-right, Christian nationalist image, includes efforts to dismantle federal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Trump attempts to distance himself from Project 2025—the far right’s agenda for a second term.
Biden recently condemned the plan, which is closely tied to several former Trump officials.

However, even if we were to take Trump’s word on Project 2025, his own proposed agenda for a second term remains equally troubling for LGBTQ+ Americans.

The Trump campaign has outlined many of its anti-LGBTQ+ plans under “Agenda 47” on its website, including videos of Trump detailing his proposals. Among these plans, Trump promises to pass a federal law banning what he calls “child sexual mutilation” (despite gender-affirming surgeries rarely being performed on minors) and to push Congress to permanently halt federal funding for such procedures.

He also vows to seek a congressional bill defining genders as strictly male and female, assigned at birth, and to instruct the Department of Education to enforce severe consequences on states and school districts if any teacher suggests to a child that they might be in the wrong body. This could include potential civil rights violations for sex discrimination and loss of federal funding.

Additionally, Trump pledges to eliminate federal DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs, which he inaccurately describes as enforcing “racist and woke sexual ideology” throughout the federal government.

His “Plan to Save American Education and Give Power Back to Parents” includes cutting federal funding for schools or programs promoting Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other content he deems inappropriate. It also proposes adopting a “Parental Bill of Rights” for full curriculum transparency and keeping men out of women’s sports.

This is merely the beginning. As noted by many observers, Trump would enter a second term with a much stronger position to implement his far-right, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-democratic agenda. Whether it’s through Project 2025, Agenda 47, or a combination of both, the consequences would be dire

August 6, 2024 0