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Should Religious Leaders Be Held Responsible For Oppressing LGBTQ People? Major Christian Adoption Agency Will Stop Rejecting LGBTQ Parents LGBTQ Nightlife Relief Fund Aims to Save Queer Venues Across the US HIV Researchers Find Rare Group Of ‘Elite Controllers’ “Queen of the Universe” Singing Competition Headed to Paramount+ Jodie Foster Kisses Her Wife In Golden Globe Acceptance Speech Here Are The 10 Gayest Cities In The U.S. & The List Will Surprise You ‘Taco & Tequila Festival’ Is Coming To Jacksonville In May Twitch Tried To Be Inclusive Using The Term “Womxn” Ritchie Torres Is Proposing Legislation That Will Include LGBTQ Businesses In Credit Regulations
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religious liberty. Asserting her disapproval of the Act, Rep. Yvette Herrell Should Religious Leaders Be (R-NM) said Held Responsible For on the House Oppressing LGBTQ People? By Barbara Wilson floor that the bill would The House of Representatives “force churches in the public passed critical legislation square to do things that yesterday prohibiting counter their deeply held discrimination on the basis of beliefs” and result in an sex, sexual identity, and intrusion by the federal gender identity and expression. government into private life. It now goes to the Senate. They even claim the Act would This legislation, the Equality give transgender athletes an Act, amends the landmark Civil unfair advantage and would Rights of 1964, which banned ultimately breakdown discrimination based on race, constitutional freedoms. color, religion, and national Though religious liberties are origin to include safeguards in fully protected by existing laws, terms of public and every person in our nation accommodations, has the right to hold any beliefs transportation, education, and they choose, the conservative government-funded programs. Heritage Foundation, which Currently, 28 states do not vehemently opposes the bill, ensure such protections. released a diatribe as a call to The House of Representatives action on its website in the form passed similar legislation in of a conspiracy theory: May 2019, but it died in the “The proposed Equality Act of Senate, which was controlled 2021 (H.R. 5) would make then by Republicans. mainstream beliefs about The Supreme Court, in its marriage, biological facts about ruling last June in Bostock v. sex differences, and many Clay County, covered sincerely held beliefs employment protections to punishable under the law. The LGBTQ U.S.-Americans. The Equality Act makes Equality Act would extend discrimination the law of the these safeguards beyond the land by forcing Americans to workplace. conform to governmentmandated beliefs under the Controversy has swirled threat of life-ruining financial around this bill and earlier and criminal penalties. iterations for many years. Presented as a bill with Opponents claim that the commonsense and decent Equality Act infringes upon protections against
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discrimination, H.R. 5 is anything but. The Equality Act politicizes medicine and education and demolishes existing civil rights and constitutional freedoms.” Challenging Conservative Bigotry and Oppression The prime stimulus keeping oppression toward LGBTQ+ people locked firmly in place and enacted throughout our society are the destructive doctrines radiating from primarily orthodox and fundamentalist religious communities. Fortunately, however, there exists no monolithic conceptualization of religion, for other faith communities’ policies and values are progressively welcoming toward LGBTQ+ people, our sexuality and relationships, and our gender identities and expressions. These communities are working tirelessly to abolish the yoke of oppression directed against us. Throughout the ages, however, individuals and organizations have employed “religion” to justify the marginalization, harassment, denial of rights, persecution, oppression, and murder of entire groups of people based on their social identities. At various historical periods, people have applied these texts, sometimes taken in tandem, and at other times used selectively, to establish and maintain hierarchical positions of power. Such texts related to same-sex sexuality and gender nonconformity include but are
certainly not limited to: -Jewish Bible: Leviticus 18:22: Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination. -In Orthodox Judaism, samesex sexuality, including malemale anal sex, is in the category of yehareg ve’al ya’avor, “die rather than transgress.” -Christian Bible: Romans 1:26: In consequence, God has given them up to shameful passions. Their women have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural. -Christian Bible: Romans 1:27: Likewise, the men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. -Christian Bible: Timothy 1:10: For whoremonger, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. -Christian Bible: 1 Corinthians 6-9: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. -Roman Catholic Catechism 2357: “…Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They
are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life [reproduction]. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”
Anyone can believe anything they wish, whether others find those beliefs laudable or offensive. When, however, the expression of those beliefs denies other individuals or groups their full human and civil rights, a critical line has When religious leaders preach been crossed, for they have their damaging interpretations entered the realm of of their sacred texts on issues oppression. of same-sex relationships or We are seeing individuals and identities and gender nonentire denominations framing conformity within and outside themselves as the victims their respective houses of whenever we challenge their worship, they must be held religious justifications in their accountable and responsible attempts to perpetuate their for aiding and abetting those already pervasive religious who target and harass, bully, hegemony and social physically assault, and murder privileges, and their people perceived as lesbian, characterizations of others. gay, bisexual, or trans. An entire movement has In addition, they must be held developed around the accountable as accomplices in positioning of Christians as the suicides of those who are victims in the white the targets of these abusive supremacist so-called actions, and who grow up in “Christian Lives Matter” religious denominations and movement, for example. larger societies that teach them My critique, however, does not to deny, to hide, and to hate themselves. www.cityxtramagazine.com 07
amount to a simple theological disagreement. This is not a “disagreement” at all! It speaks to issues of power and control; it goes to who has the power to define “the other,” and who has the power and control to define “the self”: the individual and members of social identity groups, or rather, religious denominations. Therefore, we have a right, no, an obligation to counter this destructive and, yes, oppressive discourse, and to stand up, to transform ourselves from bystanders into empowered upstanders taking with us our voices, our energy, our unity, our intelligence, our righteous indignation, and all the love of which we are capable. Repressive regimes around the world currently and throughout history have scapegoated,
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oppressed, and murdered LGBTQ+ people. The time has long since passed that we speak out against repression in all of its forms. I am not naïve enough, however, to believe that we will soon witness general human and civil rights policies or legislation enacted by orthodox religious denomination or in authoritarian theocracies anytime soon. Though certain religious denominations may continue in their attempts to define us, they will fail. A central tenet of liberation is the right of people to self-define, to maintain their subjectivity and agency over the course of their lives. With our loving allies within progressive religious communities in addition to those unaffiliated with religious
denominations, we are taking back the discourse and demanding that religious institutions curb their offensive dogma and take their interpretations of scripture off our bodies. Furthermore, we will not accept their framing themselves as the victims of “religious bigotry” when we challenge their Medieval, hateful, fearinspiring, cruel, and yes, oppressive interpretations of our lives, interpretations targeted to perpetuate their domination and control. Passage now by the Senate and signing by President Biden – which he promises to do immediately after it is placed on his desk – will go far in ensuring the equality we as LGBTQ+ people in the United States deserve.
Major Christian Adoption Agency Will Stop Rejecting LGBTQ Parents By Deborah Joshlin
One of the biggest adoption agencies in the U.S., Bethany Christian Services, has agreed to start working with LGBTQ parents to help place children in homes, after a previous policy statement that said they don’t work with potential parents who are same-sex couples. “We will now offer services with the love and compassion of Jesus to the many types of families who exist in our world today,” said Chris Palusky, president of the organization, in an email to about 1500 staff members. “We’re taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach where all are welcome.” The Protestant adoption agency has long refused to work with same-sex couples, although their policy was only officially stated in 2007 when Bethany adopted a position statement that said, “God’s design for the family is a covenant and lifelong marriage of one man and one woman.” But in January, the organization adopted a new policy statement that says: “Christians of mutual good faith can reasonably disagree on various 09 www.cityxtramagazine.com
doctrinal issues, about which Bethany does not maintain an organizational position.” It also eliminated the 2007 statement. The organization is huge, with offices in 32 states. It facilitated over 1100 adoption and 3400 foster placements in 2019.
In 2019, the organization agreed to work with LGBTQ parents in Michigan when that state said that it would end contracts with adoption agencies that discriminate. “It got to a point where it became really untenable to In 2018, the organization was caught refusing to work with a have this patchwork of practices,” said Bethany Senior lesbian couple who wanted to Vice President Nathan Bult. be foster parents in “Bethany was ready and Philadelphia. The city Christians are ready.” investigated and suspended their contract with Bethany until Some in the organization also they agreed to comply with the worry that the new policy will city’s non-discrimination make it harder to recruit ordinance. Catholic Social potential parents in Services (CSS), another conservative churches. Philadelphia adoption agency “We’re opening the door to that refused to work with more families and more LGBTQ people, also faced churches,” board member consequences for Susanne Jordan told the NY discrimination. Times. “We recognize there are Bethany agreed to comply, but people who will not be happy. CSS challenged the city’s We may lose some donors. But non-discrimination ordinance in the message we’re trying to court. They took their case to give is inviting people the Supreme Court and a ruling alongside of us. Serving is expected later this year. children should not be controversial.” But Bethany faced backlash; the organization’s Mississippi Religious adoption agencies branch even left the national have become one of the organization over the decision primary battlefields for LGBTQ in Philadelphia. equality over the last several
years, as Christian conservatives argue that they should not be required to treat LGBTQ people equally since their religious ideology teaches that LGBTQ people are not equal. Christian conservatives often cite the threat of adoption agencies closing their doors as a reason to oppose antidiscrimination legislation like the Equality Act. But Bethany is showing that even Christian adoption agencies can learn how to stop discriminating against LGBTQ people. “To use a Christian term, this is good news,” said Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons of the Center for American Progress. “For too long the public witness of Christianity has been antithis or anti-that. Today the focus is on serving children in need.” But some Christians are denouncing the decision, including Southern Baptist Convention President Russell Moore. “I am disappointed in this decision, as are many,” he said in a statement. “This move will harm already existing efforts to enable faith-based orphan care ministries to serve the vulnerable without capitulating on core Christian convictions.”
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LGBTQ Nightlife Relief Fund Aims to Save Queer Venues Across the US GoBy Max Smith
With so many LGBTQ+ venues fighting for their survival, GayCities has teamed up with GoFundMe to establish a LGBTQ Nightlife Relief Fund. Queer spaces can be dispropotionately impacted by the economic toll of the past year, in part because of historic discrimination that makes it harder for LGBTQ+ proprietors to qualify for loans or find other financial support. But what makes the loss of so many queer clubs and bars so devistating is their legacy as refuges for LGBTQ+ people to mingle and form community. When queer venues close, especially those that have been open for three, four, or more decades, the queer community loses a part of its history, and risks getting pushed out of traditionally gay neighborhoods. With so many businesses running out of cash and the means to pay rent or cover business expenses, help is necessary to save queer bars and clubs across the US. That’s where GayCities’ LGBTQ Nightlife Relief Fund on 12 www.cityxtramagazine.com
FundMe (https:// www.gofundme.com/f/ savequeerspaces) is hoping to help make a difference. “This is not only about preserving historic LGBTQ venues, it’s about saving these spaces for future generations to come,” Scott Gatz, CEO of Q.Digital said in a written statement, "For many, queer bars and clubs are the first safe space they found where they could meet people and find irreplaceable community. We need to step up to save these important venues.” Through GoFundMe.org, the nonprofit and charitable arm of GoFundMe, tax-deductible donations to the Fund will help LGBTQ+ bars and clubs across the country stay afloat by offering financial support to their employees and paying for ongoing business expenses. Until the fund is depleted, donations will be paid out as one-time $500 matching grants to qualifying LGBTQ+ venues. Grindr has contributed to the effort by donating advertising space on their platform to promote the LGBTQ Nightlife Relief Fund.
Support LGBTQ+ venues across the country with a tax-deductible donation here. To qualify for a $500 matching grant from the GayCities' LGBTQ Nightlife Relief Fund: -New or existing GoFundMe fundraisers must be for clubs or bars that are at least 51% owned, operated and/or controlled by one or more persons identifying as LGBTQ -The club or bar must complete this form (https:// support.gofundme.com/hc/enus/requests/new? ticket_form_id=360001397812) Fundraiser must raise at least $500 -New fundraisers launched must contain #savequeervenues in their fundraiser story. Pre-existing fundraisers will need to edit their story to add #savequeervenues. -Verify that the venue has been negatively impacted by a government mandate due to the COVID-19 pandemic Must be independently owned and operated, and must not be nationally dominant in the field of operation -Recipients must intend on using the funds to help care for employees or pay ongoing business expenses
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HIV Researchers Find Rare Group Of ‘Elite Controllers’ Who Could Be A Key To Unlocking New Treatments By David Vandygriff
Researchers found an “unusually high number of people” in the DRC who have tested positive for HIV antibodies but show no signs of the live virus – without the use of treatments. The researchers referred to these people as HIV elite controllers. According to the researchers, the finding of these elite controllers could help uncover new HIV treatments and even potentially vaccines. The scientists found that the prevalence of HIV elite controllers was between 2.7 to 4.3 per cent of the group of 10,457 people studied in the DRC. Globally, elite controllers make up between 0.1 to 2 per cent of cases. Tom Quinn, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health and chief of the international HIV/AIDS research section of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the finding of a large group of HIV elite controllers in the DRC is “significant” considering HIV is a “life-long, chronic condition that typically progresses over time”. “There have been rare instances of the infection not 14 www.cityxtramagazine.com
progressing in individuals prior to this study, but this high frequency is unusual and suggests there is something interesting happening at a physiological level in the DRC that’s not random,” Quinn said. The researchers hope future study of this group could help uncover links between natural suppression of HIV and future treatments as scientists worldwide work towards a cure. Carole McArthur, a professor of oral and craniofacial sciences at the University of Missouri — Kansas City and director of residency research in pathology at the Truman Medical Center, said every new HIV discovery is “another piece in the evolutionary jigsaw puzzle”.
million people have died from HIV/AIDS. Around 38 million people worldwide were living with HIV at the end of 2019. In 2019 alone, 690,000 people died from HIV-related illnesses. The WHO said Africa remains the most severely affected region with nearly one in every 25 (3.7 per cent) adults living with HIV. This group also accounts for more than twothirds of people living with HIV worldwide. In 2014, researchers confirmed that the HIV pandemic originated in the DRC in the 1920s. Researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Leuven found its source with “a high degree of certainty” – with its ‘family tree’ McArthur added: “Each of these pieces helps us see a bit leading to Kinshasa in the 1920s. more clearly as to where we need to look next and The new study on HIV elite contributes to the knowledge controllers in the DRC, bank that all researchers will published in the journal turn to in the next phase of our eBioMedicine, was from a team work.” including Abbott, Johns Since the beginning of the HIV/ Hopkins University, National Institute of Allergy and AIDS epidemic, 76 million people have been infected with Infectious Diseases, University of Missouri – Kansas City and the virus. the Université Protestante au The World Health Organization Congo. (WHO) estimates that about 33
“Queen of the Universe” Singing Competition Headed to Paramount+ By David Vandygriff
Today, ViacomCBS announced that 36 new original titles, some of them involving beloved franchises from the ViacomCBS vaults, will premiere on its new streaming platform, Paramount+ (a rebranding of CBS All Access). Some of the shows spotlighted in the presentation included a Frasier revival, a reunion of the OG Real World New York cast titled The Real World Homecoming: New York, a revival of Road Rules, and a new series from the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Forget lip-syncs — now, queens will have to sing for
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their lives on Queen of the Universe. The one-of-akind series will feature drag queens from all over the world going wig-to-wig in a singing competition to see who will be crowned the ultimate Queen of the Universe. The series is from World of Wonder, the fierce production company behind the Emmy-winning franchise, RuPaul’s Drag Race. As if that wasn’t enough to get your engines revving, Paramount+ will also be the home of the upcoming sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, set to premiere later
this year. In addition to these new titles, Paramount+ will also be the place to watch originals previously found on CBS All Access, including The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek Discovery. Paramount+ will add more than 5,000 episodes of reality series from the ViacomCBS library and will offer plenty of movies, live sports, and programs from CBS News. Paramount+ launches March 4.
Jodie Foster Kisses Her Wife In Golden Globe Acceptance Speech By By Nancy Sutherland
Out actor Jodie Foster kissed her wife during her Golden Globe acceptance speech last night.
press. This is awesome. What a night.” Foster came out publicly in Appearing on the prestigious 2013 when she received the awards show in bed, in her Cecil B. Demille Award at the pajamas, with her wife Golden Globes that year, and Alexandra Hedison, and their she has been married to dog Ziggy. Hadison since 2014. She was one of five nominees This is the third Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in that she has won – she won a Motion Picture for her work in Best Actress in a Motion The Mauritanian. When she Picture in 1989 for The won the award, she leaned Accused and in 1992 for The over and kissed her wife. Silence of the Lambs. “I’m a little speechless,” she Other LGBTQ winners at the said. “I just never expected to 2021 Golden Globes include ever be here again.” the hit Canadian series Schitt’s “I love my wife, thank you Alex Creek, which won Best Musical/Comedy Series. Catherine and Ziggy and [Green Bay O’Hara won Best Television Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers and the whole foreign Actress in a Musical/Comedy Series for her work on that
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show. Chadwick Boseman won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom about the titular, bisexual blues singer. Andra Day won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her work in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, playing the legendary bisexual jazz singer. Foster thanked Rodgers because, apparently, he thanked her when he was named the NFL’s MVP earlier this month, and she promised to return the favor.
Here Are The 10 Gayest Cities In The U.S. & The List Will Surprise You By Jason Bennett
The Census Bureau has released a report on same-sex couples in the United States, which included a list of the metro areas and the states with the most same-sex couples. The report uses data from the 2020 American Community Survey, which asks respondents to list the people who live in their household and state their relationships to them. The survey found just 980,266 same-sex couples – married or unmarried – living together in the U.S., about 1.5% of the total number of couples. Using data about where participants live, the Census Bureau was able to find the metro areas with the highest concentration of same-sex couples. San Francisco-Oakland, CA Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA Seattle-Tacoma, WA Orlando, FL Austin, TX
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Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL Boston, MA Denver, CO Phoenix, AZ Baltimore, MD It’s surprising that a few metro areas with large LGBTQ populations aren’t on the list – like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago – but those sprawling metro areas are huge and that dilutes the concentration of same-sex couples, who are more likely to be found in city centers. Moreover, this list is just about same-sex couples, not about LGBTQ people generally. LGBTQ people who were single or who were in relationships with someone of the opposite sex weren’t counted. The Census Bureau also found 11 states that had more same-sex couples than average. With a few
exceptions, they’re blue states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington state. Washington D.C. was included as a state and also made the list. About 47% of the same-sex couples were male and 53% were female. Same-sex couples were much more likely to be unmarried, too: 58% of cohabiting samesex couples were married, whereas 88% of opposite-sex couples who live together were married. Married opposite-sex couples were about twice as likely to have children under 18 than married same-sex couples.
‘Taco & Tequila Festival’ Is Coming To Jacksonville In May By James Tucker
Taco and tequila lovers, rejoice! Get ready, because “Jacksonville Taco & Tequila Festival” is officially a thing! The event, held Sunday, May 2, from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., will reside under the Fuller Warren Bridge at the Northbank Riverwalk Artist Square (same location as the Riverside Arts Market). The event is described as a “culinary experience and fundraiser featuring Mexican cuisine from over 10 restaurants and food trucks, as well as tequila stations, craft margaritas, local makers, games, live music, and more!” It’s going to be the ultimate Cinco de Mayo celebration! A limited amount of General Admission Experience tickets as well as VIP Sip & Savor Passes will be available for
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purchase but are expected to sell out due to limited capacity. The festival is a fundraiser for The Wagoner Foundation, Chemo Noir, Fur Sisters, The Jacksonville Jaycees, and several other Jacksonville nonprofits. General Admission Experience Tickets: $15 NOW | $30 DAY OF (LIMITED AVAILABILITY) ONE complimentary beer, craft cocktail or margarita A wristband for access to purchase food and drink from all participating restaurants and beverage stations. Souvenir Face Mask VIP Sip & Savor Passes: $65 NOW | $95 DAY OF (LIMITED AVAILABILITY) -Access to the private VIP Experience Area -Sample a flight of top shelf tequilas
-Sample craft cocktails & margaritas -Taste & vote on ALL the tacos from participating restaurants -Private restrooms & seating areas -Souvenir Face Mask + Cup + more Capacity in this area will be limited & there will be two sampling time frames: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. (Please make sure when purchasing to double check your time slot) Click here for more information. Our mouths are watering already! Mark your calendar! For other questions or if you’re interested in volunteering or being a sponsor or vendor, please email JaxTacoFest@Gmail.com
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Twitch Tried To Be Inclusive Using The Term “Womxn” By Ginger Williams
Video game streaming platform Twitch tried to prove how inclusive they are of women for Women’s History Month. Instead, they had to issue an apology. The Amazon-owned platform “originally wanted to use a word that acknowledges the shortcoming of gender-binary language,” and landed on “womxn” instead of saying “women.” But after backlash, the company acknowledged that “we will be using the spelling ‘women’ moving forward” because LGBTQ people called the neologism “othering.” Twitch initially tweeted on March 1, “Join us in celebrating and supporting all the Womxn creating their own worlds, building their communities, and leading the way on Twitch.” The spelling and origin of womxn “stems from a longstanding objection to the word woman as it comes from man,” Dr. Clara BradburyRance told the BBC. It’s similar to the term Latinx, which is used as opposed to the gender -associated terms Latino or Latina, and is sometimes used as a more gender-neutral 24 www.cityxtramagazine.com
version of the word “woman” to included non-binary femme people.
plained they won’t use “womxn” because “we would generally just write ‘women’ in the usual The use of Latinx has its own similar criticisms that say it has way because we feel it’s important for people to recognize the opposite effect it is that trans women are women,” intended to have. then chair Jennie Kermode However, in online culture, said. “womxn” is often used by “We want to assure you that we transgender exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) who have, and will continue to, work wish to keep trans women and with the LGBTQIA+ community. We’re still cis women separate, even in learning,” Twitch said on descriptors and introductory Twitter. language. But others have been critical of “Trans and NB women are the team behind Twitch before WOMEN, not womxn,” one and weren’t so confident. person pointed out. “With womxn you’re just separating “THOUSANDS of your them more, you’re not being community members asked for inclusive, you’re excluding a trans tag, detailing why it’s them from women.” important. Listen to them,” Jeff BBC correspondent Ben Hunte Brutlag said in a reply to the apology. noted that “whilst Twitch was attempting to be more inclusive “How many times are you with this initiative, the language going to ‘do better,'” asked alienated LGBT people and Twitch partner @iambrandon. caused a wave of criticism.” Hunte also noted that the BBC found employees of Twitch who reported that “everyone” had an inkling that using the term was a bad idea, but it was approved anyway. The U.K.-based Trans Media Watch has previously ex-
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to adopt a certification program for LGBTQ enterprises,” referring to the recent change enacted in Ritchie Torres Is Proposing Legislation New York City That Will Include LGBTQ Businesses In earlier this Credit Regulations year. By Daniel Terry He pushed Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), the the Big Apple to include first out gay Afro-Latinx LGBTQ businesses, and he member of Congress, is introduced a legislative prointroducing legislation that will posal in 2019 as a member of explicitly include LGBTQthe New York City Council to owned businesses in federal that effect. Now, the city offiregulations for financial cially recognizes businesses institutions regarding data and owned by LGBTQ people as other information they compile. part of their minority & womenThe LGBTQ Business Equal owned business enterprise Credit Enforcement and (MWBE) programs, allowing Investment Act seeks to amend them to access billions of section 1071 of the Equal dollars in city contracts, Credit Opportunity Act, which contract procurements and requires financial institutions to opportunities, in addition to maintain information on credit accessing priceless resources applications submitted by for historically-disadvantaged minority and women-owned enterprises. small businesses to the This legislation he is preparing Consumer Financial Protection to introduce serves as “a Bureau (CFPB). This is how natural complement to the the Bureau and other Equality Act,” the landmark government entities enforce fair pro-LGBTQ legislation that will lending rules and track include gender identity and business and community sexual orientation in antidevelopment. discrimination laws if adopted If Torres’ proposal passes, the into law, such as those that bureau will extend those uses outlaw discrimination in credit for LGBTQ-owned businesses and financial services. as well. Torres says “that’s a floor, Torres told NBC News, “I rather than a ceiling.” partnered with the LGBT “We have to see to it that Chamber of Commerce to LGBTQ enterprises have their persuade America’s largest city fair share of access to capital.” Similar legislation was 26 www.cityxtramagazine.com
proposed by former Rep. Harley Rouda (D-CA) in 2019, amidst the last session of Congress, but he lost reelection and the proposal was not bought to the floor. Torres is happy to pick up the battle. “Without the kind of rigorous reporting required by my legislation, we have no enforceable means of holding the financial system accountable for serving the credit needs of LGBTQ enterprises,” he explained. “The logic here is simple: Transparency will strengthen the incentive for the financial community to extend capital to LGBTQ businesses.” Torres won the election to represent New York state’s 15th Congressional District, which encompasses the South Bronx, in November. He was sworn in as one of the first Black LGBTQ members of Congress, along with Mondaire Jones. Torres overcame homophobic and anti-LGBTQ attacks both during the competitive Democratic primary and the general election. “It’s one thing to have a representative in the gayborhoods of NYC & the United States. It’s another thing to have an LGBTQ representative in the places you might least expect it,” Torres told in an interview last spring.
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