Ukrainian MP introduces bill to recognize same-sex couples

A Ukrainian MP has introduced a bill that would extend legal recognition to same-sex couples.

Inna Sovsun in a series of tweets notes 56 percent of Ukrainians “support same-sex partnerships” and she hopes “the majority of the Parliament, including [President Volodymyr Zelenskyy)’s party will take the lead from the people.”

“Ukrainians can no longer wait for equality,” said Sovsun. “We must do it immediately. LGBT Ukrainians deserve to have a family. Every day can be their last. Just like for any other Ukrainian. There is no time for hesitation. Let’s legalize samesex partnerships in Ukraine already this year.”

Russia on Feb. 24, 2022, launched its war against Ukraine.

“Every day, Ukrainian LGBT military personnel put themselves in danger protecting us,” said Sovsun. “Yet if they are in relationships, the state does not recognize those. This means that their partners do not have the same benefits as partner

(sic) in heterosexual relationships.”

“This includes some very unsettling sitaution (sic),” she added. “If (an) LGBT military person is wounded, his/her partner would not be able to make decisions about his/her medical treatment.”

Zelenskyy last summer said he supports a civil partnerships law for same-sex couples.

Ukrainian lawmakers late last year unanimously approved a media regulation bill that bans hate speech and incitement based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova during a Jan. 26 event in D.C. that highlighted LGBTQ and intersex servicemembers in her country applauded Kyiv Pride and other advocacy groups. Markarova acknowledged “not everything is perfect,” but added Ukraine is “moving in the right direction.”

“We together will not only fight the external enemy, but also will see equality,” she said.

Ruslana Hnatchenko, funding manager of the Sphere Women’s Association, a Kharkiv-based group that promotes LGBTQ and intersex rights in Ukraine, last month told the Washington Blade during a Zoom interview from the Hungarian capital of Budapest that conservative politicians, prominent figures within the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Churches and many Ukrainians themselves remain opposed to LGBTQ and intersex rights. Hnatchenko said she believes Zelenskyy “believes in human rights,” but the landscape to advance LGBTQ and intersex rights in her country remains complex.

“[Zelenskyy] is kind of between a rock and a hard place in that sense, but I believe that human rights in Ukraine will overcome, especially after our victory,” said Hnatchenko. “We will make progress.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Sohn withdraws nomination for FCC commissioner

President Joe Biden’s nominee for commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission withdraw her candidacy on Tuesday following a long and contentious battle for her confirmation in the U.S. Senate.

“When I accepted his nomination over 16 months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies,” Gigi Sohn said in a statement.

“The unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks on my character and my career as an advocate for the public interest have taken an enormous toll on me and my family,” she said. The campaign against Sohn, who would have been the FCC’s first gay commissioner, included allegations last month by media outlets like Fox News, the Daily Mail, Breitbart, that she opposed measures to fight sex trafficking, accusations that were widely condemned as homophobic smears.

Sohn withdrew her nomination for the post hours after U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced he would not support her, citing “her years of partisan activism, inflammatory statements online and work with far-left groups.”

During a Q&A with reporters following Tuesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We appreciate Gigi Sohn’s candidacy for this important role. She would have brought tremendous talent, intellect, and experience, which is why the president nominated her in the first place.”

Jean-Pierre continued, “We also appreciate her dedication to public service, her talents, and her years of work as one of the nation’s leading public advocates on behalf of all Americans.”

The LGBTQ Victory Institute addressed Sohn’s decision on Twitter, writing: “Thank you, @gigibsohn, for your leadership and deep commitment to our country. We know public service is not simply a job but who you are at your core — and we are here to support whatever your next chapter brings.”

Equality Caucus slams proposed federal ban on trans athletes

The U.S. Congressional Equality Caucus has come out against a proposal from House Republicans to ban transgender student athletes.

“This is not about girls’ and women’s sports; it’s about attacking trans kids,” Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said in a press release Monday. “This sports ban is just the opening salvo in their larger efforts to limit the rights of and demonize the LGBTQI+ community, and the Equality Caucus will do everything it can to defeat it,” he said.

The caucus’ issuance of the press release comes ahead of the bill’s scheduled mark-up on Wednesday by the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee.

The legislation would bar any participation in school sports by trans athletes, stipulating that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” for purposes of compliance with Title IX.

Introduced by Republican Rep. Gregory Steube (Fla.) on Feb. 1, the bill’s 43 GOP co-sponsors include U.S. Reps. Ken Buck (Ohio), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Nancy Mace (S.C.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Jim Banks (Ind.) and George Santos (N.Y.), the scandal beleaguered gay congressman who faces multiple investigations over alleged financial crimes.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus joined the Equality Caucus in registering their opposition Monday ahead of the mark-up

“We will not let anti-LGBTQI+ Republicans — who have refused to work with us on addressing real gender equity issues — use ‘protecting women’ as an excuse to attack trans youth,” said U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus.

Groups like the Women’s Sports Foundation and National Women’s Law Center support full and equal access and participation for trans student athletes.

CPAC speaker: ‘Transgenderism must be eradicated’

The Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor saw the annual gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference known as CPAC wrapping up Saturday with twice-impeached former President Donald Trump as its closing speaker.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis an undeclared potential candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, and who is considered Trump’s biggest threat in a primary, took aim at America’s transgender community in his speech.

Trump defended his administration’s ban on trans enlistment in the U.S. Armed Services.

“We banned transgender insanity from our military,” he said, among other policies that President Joe Biden revoked upon taking office.

“We will keep men out of women’s sports,” Trump said. “How ridiculous. That will take place on day one.”

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) made similar comments during his remarks on Thursday. Democrats, Scott said, have sought to “allow public schools to ignore parents and talk to very young children about sexuality.”

The senator also claimed the U.S. military has been made to care more about “pronouns” than intimidating our enemies.

Trump was among numerous CPAC speakers taking aim at the culture war over LGBT equality and rights, specifically trans rights.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

be eradicated from public life entirely.” Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire said.

Knowles’ assertion was echoed by his fellow Daily Wire host Matt Walsh who tweeted: “He is of course completely right about this. Trangenderism as a concept and an ideology is false, poisonous, and destructive to both the individual and society. It needs to be destroyed entirely. The fight to save children from this lunacy is but one phase in the overall war.”

As outrage built online after Knowles’ assertion, Walsh on Sunday tweeted: “Trans activists have worked for years to fundamentally restructure human society to affirm their deluded self-perceptions. They have censored, silenced, indoctrinated and manipulated. They have harmed children. Now the pushback is finally here in and they cry victim.”

Trump, who overwhelmingly won CPAC’s conference straw poll for presidential contenders, garnering 62 percent support from attendees compared to 20 percent for

“The problem with transgenderism is not that it’s inappropriate for children under the age of nine. The problem with transgenderism is that it isn’t true. If [transgenderism] is false, then for the good of society … transgenderism must

Walsh also asserted on Twitter: “Of course all of the hysterical idiots calling this language ‘genocidal’ would certainly not be saying that if he has called for the eradication of capitalism or conservatism or some other -ism they don’t like. In that case they’d easily recognize that working to defeat an ideology is not the same as eradicating individuals. This is a distinction any intelligent person can understand. Gender ideology (i.e. transgenderism) is just that: An ideology. And that is what we are fighting.”

CHRISTOPHER KANE