An urgent ‘Yes’ on Prop 3 Protecting marriage
equality in California
By TROY MASTERS
As California voters prepare for Election Day, they have a critical opportunity to address a potentially dangerous inconsistency in the state’s constitution regarding the rights of samesex couples to marry.
Proposition 3, the Right to Marry and Repeal Proposition 8 Amendment, seeks to remove outdated language from the Prop 8 era, a ballot initiative that successfully defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman.
Although federal court rulings have rendered this language unenforceable, it has lingered in California’s Constitution since 2008.
Proposition 3 would not only eliminate this vestigial language but also establish a constitutional right to marriage regardless of gender or race.
The history of Prop 8 is a complex and contentious chapter in California’s past. Passed in the 2008 state election, Prop 8 effectively banned same-sex marriage, following a California Supreme Court ruling that had declared a previous ban (Proposition 22 from 2000) unconstitutional. Prop 8 added language to the state constitution stating that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
The passage of Prop 8 shocked many who viewed California as a bastion of progressive values, highlighting a divide within the state and igniting intense debate and legal battles. Religious organizations, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and the now somewhat repentant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, played significant roles in supporting Prop 8, with the LDS Church notably contributing more than $20 million to the campaign and mobilizing volunteers for door-to-door canvassing.
The legal journey of Prop 8 has been long and complex. Initially upheld by the California Supreme Court in 2009, it was later challenged in federal court. In August 2010, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment. This decision was upheld by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2012, albeit on narrower grounds.
The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court in “Hollingsworth v. Perry” (2013). However, rather than ruling on the merits of same-sex marriage, the Court decided that the proponents of Prop 8 lacked legal standing to defend the law in federal court. This effectively upheld Walker’s 2010 ruling, paving the way for the resumption of same-sex marriages in California.
The current Proposition 3 arises from recent concerns about the stability of LGBTQ rights at the federal level. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested reconsidering other precedents, including the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. This potential threat prompted California legislators to act proactively to safeguard marriage equality at the state level.
Moreover, 2024 has seen a surge of anti-LGBTQ legislation across the nation and in Congress. “Extremist lawmakers in Congress failed in their hateful attempts to add anti-LGBTQ+ provisions to must-pass spending bills. These measures would have restricted medically necessary health care for transgender
people, allowed taxpayer-funded discrimination against married same-sex couples, and further stigmatized the LGBTQ+ community,” said a spokesperson from Equality California.
Strong bipartisan negotiations led to the removal of 51 of 52 anti-LGBTQ riders, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Congressional Equality Caucus and the relentless advocacy of LGBTQ organizations. Speaker Mike Johnson — considered the most anti-LGBTQ speaker in history — attempted to slow the appropriations process with these “poison pill” amendments, leading the country to the brink of a government shutdown multiple times.
Despite his failures, Johnson is attempting to claim victory by highlighting a limited provision that prohibits the flying of Pride flags on embassy buildings, which imposes no limits on other displays of the flag. “While we are disappointed in the passage of this provision, it is important to consider it in the context of the overwhelming defeat of other measures. The Speaker’s attempt to use this as a symbol of victory is as laughable as his dysfunctional term as Speaker has been,” the spokesperson added.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has sent shockwaves through the legal community, particularly among LGBTQ advocates. The decision raised alarms about the vulnerability of other civil rights protections, including marriage equality. Legal experts are now grappling with unprecedented questions about how to secure these rights amid a shifting judicial landscape.
The fragility of un-enumerated rights — those not explicitly written in the Constitution but granted through Supreme Court interpretation — has become increasingly apparent. Marriage equality, like abortion rights, falls into this category and has been upheld through the 14th Amendment’s due process clause. However, Thomas’s opinion in the Dobbs case hints at a willingness to reexamine these precedents.
A significant concern for marriage equality advocates is the idea that rights relying on due process must be “deeply rooted in this nation’s history and tradition.” Since nationwide marriage equality is only seven years old, it lacks the historical foundation that might protect it from future challenges.
If Obergefell were overturned, the U.S. could revert to a patchwork of marriage laws reminiscent of the pre-2015 era. According to the Movement Advancement Project, as many as 32 states could potentially revert to banning same-sex marriages. This scenario would create a stark divide across the country, with some states recognizing LGBTQ marriages while others outlaw them.
Such a reversion would have far-reaching implications for hundreds of thousands of couples who have married since Obergefell. While it’s unlikely that existing marriages would be invalidated, the legal status of these unions could become uncertain. This potential outcome underscores the urgency of enshrining marriage equality in state constitutions and laws.
While some lawmakers have expressed interest in codifying marriage equality at the federal level, legal experts are divided on whether Congress has that authority. Traditionally, marriage laws have fallen under state jurisdiction, complicating efforts to establish federal protections.
This uncertainty adds pressure to state-level efforts to protect marriage equality. In states with existing bans, securing
marriage rights would require constitutional amendments or ballot measures, necessitating extensive public education campaigns and grassroots organizing.
Despite California’s progressive reputation, the state constitution still contains language that could be used to restrict same-sex marriages if federal protections were overturned. This highlights the importance of Prop 3.
Currently, 35 states maintain constitutional or statutory bans on same-sex marriage. Although these bans are unenforceable due to the Obergefell decision, they could be reactivated if the Supreme Court were to overturn that ruling. California, despite its forward-thinking values, is among these states due to the lingering effects of Prop 8.
Without the passage of Prop 3, California could face a situation where existing same-sex marriages remain valid, but new marriages could be denied. This potential legal limbo underscores the urgency of updating the state constitution to explicitly protect marriage equality.
By passing Prop 3, California would not only eliminate discriminatory language from its constitution but also create a robust state-level protection for same-sex marriages. This proactive approach would ensure that, regardless of future federal court decisions, the right to marry would remain secure for all Californians.
The journey to this point reflects a remarkable shift in public opinion. In 1996, 68 percent of Americans opposed legalizing same-sex marriage. By 2023, that figure had flipped, with 71 percent supporting marriage equality. This change crosses party lines, with a majority of Republicans now in favor. The trend is particularly strong among younger voters, indicating a generational shift toward greater acceptance and equality.
The importance of Prop 3 extends beyond its practical effects. While same-sex marriages are of course recognized in California, enshrining this right in the state constitution provides an additional layer of protection against potential future challenges. Moreover, it represents a formal acknowledgment of past mistakes and a clear statement of California’s values of equality and inclusion.
Critics of Prop 3 have raised concerns about its potential to open doors for challenges to laws against polygamy or underage marriages. However, those arguments are misleading. Constitutional rights are not absolute and can be limited by compelling state interests, as seen with other fundamental rights like freedom of speech.
This situation highlights the ongoing nature of the struggle for equal rights and the importance of vigilance in protecting hard-won freedoms. Prop 3 represents an opportunity for California to lead by example, demonstrating how states can take concrete steps to safeguard the rights of their LGBTQ+ citizens in an uncertain legal landscape.
As the November election approaches, California voters can align the state’s constitution with the prevailing values of equality and inclusivity. By voting yes on Prop 3, Californians can eliminate the last remnants of discrimination from their constitution and send a clear message that bigotry has no place in California’s fundamental laws.
In a time when LGBTQ rights face renewed challenges across the nation, California has the chance to reaffirm its status as a progressive leader and to correct a long-standing injustice in its constitution.
Prop 3 is not just about changing words in a document; it’s about enshrining the principle that love and commitment deserve equal recognition under the law, regardless of who you are or whom you love.
YES ON PROP 3 COMMUNITY TOWNHALL
MONDAY, OCTOBER28
7-8:30PM
What you missed at the CD-14 debate between Ysabel Jurado and Kevin De León
LGBTQ candidate faces off against opponent evin e Leon on community forum on Wednesday
By BRENDA VERANO
Los Angeles Council istrict 1 C -1 candidates Ysabel Jurado and Kevin de León sparred over their qualifications in what could have been their last in-person debate before the ovember election.
Wednesday s C -1 debate, a district home to approximately 2 5,000 people, 70 of them Latin American, offered the public a chance to hear from both candidates and their stand on issues such as homelessness, public safety and affordable housing, among other things.
CAL ews was one of the media outlets that were present inside olores Mission Catholic Church in Boyle eights, where the debate was held. Below are our reporter’s main takeaways.
People showed up and showed out. More than 300 people attended the debate, which was organi ed by Boyle eights Beat and Proyecto Pastoral. More than 2 0 people gathered inside the church and the rest watched via a livestream projected on the church’s patio.
The debate was bilingual, with translation services available for all, honoring the many Spanish speakers that live in the district, as Brendan P. Busse, pastor of the church, said in the opening statement.
As part of the event guidelines, Busse also shared that no applause or booing was to be permitted, a rule that was broken within the first ten minutes of the forum. “Where you are tonight is a sacred place. People who are in need of shelter sleep here and have for the last 0 years, he said when referring to the church transforming into a homeless shelter at night for over 30 adults. “Power and peace can live in the same place. That was the most peaceful and serene moment throughout the two-hour forum.
What followed was traded insults and competing visions from both candidates.
ne of the first stabs occurred when e León accused Jurado of wanting to “abolish the police and when urado reminded the public of e Leon’s “racist rhetoric, referring to the 2022 scandal over the secretly recorded conversation with Gil Cedillo and ury Mart ne where they talked about indigenous Mexicans, axacans, the Black and LGBTQ communities and councilman Mike Bonin’s adopted son.
“ made a mistake, and took responsibility. have been apologi ing for two years, De León said. “ ust as in the traditions of
the esuits, love, reconciliation and peace, one must choose if we are going to be clinging to the past or move forward. choose to move forward.
When urado was asked about her stance on police, she said she had never said she wanted to abolish the police. “Don’t put words in my mouth, she told e León. “ have never said that, she said. “We put so much money into public safety into the LAP yet street business owners and residents in these communities do not feel safer. The safest cities invest in communities, in recreation and parks, in libraries and youth development.
De León and urado also discussed their plan to work with the homeless population, specifically during the 2028 lympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles County, an estimated 75,312 people were experiencing homelessness, as stated in the 202 homeless count. or C -1 the issue of homelessness takes a higher level as it is home to Skid ow, which has one of the largest homeless populations in the .S.
“We should continue to house our unhoused, De León said. e followed this by saying that under his leadership, C -1 has built the most interim housing than “in any other place in the entire city of L.A. e made a reference to the Boyle eights Tiny ome illage and 1 0 Bailey, both housing projects in C1 .
“We need safety when the lympics come, he added. Jurado said De León’s leadership has fallen short in his years in office, specifically when it comes to the homeless population and said that housing like the tiny homes is not sufficient for people in the district to live comfortably.
“My opponent has governed this district, Skid ow, for over 20 years. as homelessness in this district gotten better We can all agree that it hasn’t, she said. “County Supervisor ilda Sol s put up 200 units that are not just sheds they have bathrooms, they have places and they have support services. Why hasn’t C -1 gotten something better than these tiny homes ne of e León’s repeating arguments in various of his answers was the fact that urado has never held public office before. “I’ve dedicated my whole life to public service, to the benefit of our people. My opponent, to this day, has not done one single thing, De León said in the first few minutes of the debate.
n one of the questions about low-income elders in the district, he listed some of his achievements when helping this population, including bringing free vaccines for pets of seniors of this district and food distributions, which, as e León noted, help people with basic food needs, including beans, rice and chicken. “The same chicken sold in Whole oods, he said. urado defended herself against the reality of never holding public office and said her work as a housing rights attorney and affordable housing activist have given her the tools and experience to lead the district in a different direction than the incumbent, De León. “We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results, urado said. ‘We need long-term solutions, she said.
Last month, The L.A. Times also reported on urado’s past po-
litical experience, including working on ohn Choi’s unsuccessful 2013 run for City Council, as well as her work as a scheduler in Mayor ric Garcetti’s office and how she was appointed by Garcetti to the uman elations Commission in 2021.
She later added that she was proud to already have the support of some of the L.A. City Council members, such as unisses ern nde , ithya aman and ugo Soto-Mart ne , which e León later referred to as the “socialist council members.
After the debate, CAL ews talked to both candidates and asked how they thought the debate went.
“ t was a spirited debate, no question about it, De León said. “Sometimes elections can take a real ugly twist that is very similar to Trump-ian characteristics. Like onald Trump just says whatever he wants to say, no matter how outlandish or inaccurate it is.
When asked the same question, urado said, “ think my opponent said a bunch of lies and said that he has plans for this district when he’s had four years to execute all of them. t’s really disappointing that only now he suddenly has all these ideas and plans for this district.
Both candidates told CAL ews they will continue working until election day and making sure C -1 residents show up to vote.
“But think past the debate s , it’s just about keeping your nose to the grindstone, working hard, and taking nothing for granted, knocking on those doors and talking directly to voters, De León said.
urado said she still has a couple other events that she and her team are hosting before election day. “ ’m out here talking to voters. We want to make sure that people know who am and that they have other options. People are disappointed. We’re going to keep folks engaged and make sure that they turn out to the polls, she said.
orge am re , 3, from Lincoln eights, said he has been supporting e León since his time in the State Senate and said he will continue to vote for him because he doesn’t know much about his opponent. “ e is the type of person we need. e’s done a lot for immigrants, he said. “The other person, we don’t know much about her and she’s not very well known. She doesn’t have much experience in this field.
Alejandra S nche , whose daughter goes to school in Boyle eights and lives in l Sereno, said she believes C -1 has been in desperate need of new leadership and worries that many people will vote for e Leon just because he is who they have known for so long. “It’s very powerful to see a woman leader step in... t’s been an incredible year to see a woman president elected in Mexico, a woman running for president in the .S. and a woman also running for leadership here in our community,’ she said. “That’s part of the problem... we are afraid to think about something new, about the new leadership of someone doing things differently.
General election day will take place on Tuesday, ovember 5, 202 . arly voting began on ctober 7. ou can register to vote or check your registration status online on the California nline oter egistration page.
KEVIN DE LEON and YSABEL JURADO face of in CD-14 forum discussion at the Dolores Huerta Mission Catholic Church in Boyle Heights. (Photo by Brenda Verano for CALÓ News)
California forbids bans on LGBTQ+ books with new law
Book titles containing subject matter on LGBTQ and communities of color made up 7 percent of reported targeted censorship attempts between 2022 and 2023
By GISSELLE PALOMERA
The California reedom to ead Act will now require public libraries to adopt a written and publicly available policy to forbid a governing body from banning the circulation of materials because of the content in those materials.
The chaptered bill forbids public libraries that receive their funding from the state, from banning books or other materials on account of the topics, ideas, views or opinions in them. The public libraries can no longer ban books in a way that discriminates against race, disability, political affiliation, socioeconomic status, gender identity or sexual orientation.
The bill will also now require state-funded public libraries across all cities – including charter cities – to develop and publicly implement a collection development policy, which now includes how the public can challenge library materials.
The bill was authored by Assembly member Al Muratsuchi and co-authored by Assembly member’s awn Addis, and Chris Ward, as well as State Senators ave Min and
“ nfortunately, there is a growing movement to ban books nationwide, and this bill will ensure that Californians have access to books that offer diverse perspectives, said Assembly member Muratsuchi. “Those diverse perspectives include books containing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQ and communities of color.
According to the American Library Association, the number of reports challenging the circulation of books rose to 5 percent from 2022 to 2023, reaching the highest level recorded by the ALA.
Book titles containing subject matter on LGBTQ and communities of color made up 7 percent of reported targeted censorship attempts.
“Learning and engaging with diverse ideas is foundational to any healthy democracy, said the ACL California Action’s legislative advocate, Cynthia alencia. “The recent call by some to limit access to books does more than suppress the subject matter it also disregards the lived experiences and identities of authors and readers.”
Supreme Court begins fall term with major gender
affirming
care case on the docket
Justices rule against Biden admin over emergency abortion question
By CHRISTOPHER KANE
The U.S. Supreme Court’s fall term began on Monday with major cases on the docket including .S. v Skrmetti, which could decide the fate of 24 state laws banning the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors.
irst, however, the justices dealt another blow to the Biden-Harris administration and reproductive rights advocates by leaving in place a lower court order that blocked efforts by the federal government to allow hospitals to terminate pregnancies in medical emergencies.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had issued a guidance instructing healthcare providers to offer abortions in such circumstances, per the federal mergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which kicked off litigation over whether the law overrides state abortion restrictions.
The U.S. Court of appeals for the 5th Circuit had upheld a decision blocking the federal government from enforcing the law via the S guidance, and the .S. epartment of Justice subsequently asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
The justices also declined to hear a free speech case in which parents challenged a memo instructing officials to look into threats against public school officials, which sparked false claims that parents were being labeled “domestic terrorists” for raising objections at school board meetings over, especially, C policies and curricula and educational materials addressing matters of race, sexuality, and gender.
Looking to the cases ahead, .S. v. Skrmetti is “obviously the blockbuster case of the term, a Supreme Court practitioner and lecturer at the Harvard law school litigation clinic told P .
The attorney, eepak Gupta, said the litigation “presents fundamental questions about the scope of state power to regulate medical care for minors, and the rights of parents to make medical decisions for your children.”
The ACL , which represents parties in the case, argues that Tennessee’s gender affirming care ban violates the qual Protection Clause of the 1 th Amendment by allowing puberty blockers and hormone treatments for cisgender patients younger than 18 while prohibiting these interventions for their transgender counterparts.
The organi ation notes that “leading medical experts and organi ations — such as the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics — oppose these restrictions, which have already forced thousands of families across the country to travel to maintain access to medical care or watch their child suffer without it.
When passing their bans on gender affirming care, conservative states have cited the Supreme Court’s decision in obbs v. ackson Women’s ealth rgani ation 2022 , which overturned constitutional protections for abortion that were in place since oe v. Wade was decided in 1 73.
The ACL notes “ .S. v. Skrmetti will be a major test of
how far the court is willing to stretch obbs to allow states to ban other health care” including other types of reproductive care like and birth control.
Also on the docket in the months ahead are cases that will decide core questions about the government’s ability to regulate “ghost guns, firearms that are made with build-ityourself kits available online, and the constitutionality of a Texas law requiring age verification to access pornography.
The latter case drew opposition from liberal and conservative groups that argue it will have a chilling effect on adults who, as P wrote, “would realistically fear extortion, identity theft and even tracking of their habits by the government and others.”
Susan Talamantes ggman.
(Image created by Gisselle Palomera, using stock images — courtesy of Canva)
The Supreme Court as composed June 30, 2022 to present. (Photo Credit: Fred Schilling, The Supreme Court of the U.S.)
Detroit teen arrested in fatal stabbing of gay man
Prosecutor says defendant targeted victim from online dating app
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com
A 17-year-old Detroit man has been charged with first-degree murder for the Sept. 24 stabbing death of a 64-year-old gay man that prosecutors say he met through an online dating app.
A statement released by the Wayne County, Mich., Prosecutor’s ffice says Ahmed Al-Alikhan allegedly fatally stabbed Howard Brisendine inside Brisendine’s home in Detroit before he allegedly took the victim’s car keys and stole the car.
The statement says police arrived on the scene about 4:04 p.m. on Sept. 29 after receiving a call about a deceased person found in their home. Upon arrival police found Brisentine deceased in his living room suffering from multiple stab wounds, the statement says.
“It is alleged that the defendant targeted the victim on an online dating app because he was a member of the LGBTQ community,” according to the prosecutor’s statement.
“It is further alleged that on Sept. 24, 2024, at the victim’s residence in the 6000 block of Minock Street in Detroit, the defendant stabbed the victim multiple times, fatally
injuring him, before taking the victim’s car keys and fleeing the scene in his vehicle, it says.
t further states that Al-Alikhan was first taken into custody by police in Dearborn, Mich., and later turned over to the Detroit police on Oct. 1. The statement doesn’t say how police learned that Al-Alikhan was the suspected perpetrator.
n addition to first-degree murder, AlAlikhan has been charged with felony murder and unlawful driving away in an automobile.
“It is hard to fathom a more planned series of events in this case,” prosecutor Kym Worthy said in the statement. “Unfortunately, the set of alleged facts are far too common in the LGBTQ community,” Worthy said. “We will bring justice to Mr. Brisendine. The defendant is 17 years and 11 months old – mere weeks away from being an adult offender under the law.
She added, “As a result of that and the heinous nature of this crime, we will seek to try him as an adult.”
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s of-
fice said the office has not designated the incident as a hate crime, but said regardless of that designation, a conviction of first-degree murder could result in a sentence of life in prison. The spokesperson, Maria Lewis, said the prosecutor’s office was not initially disclosing the name of the dating app through which the two men met, but said that would be disclosed in court as the case proceeds.
The BC affiliate station in etroit, W TV, reported that Brisendine was found deceased by Luis Mandujano, who lives near where Brisendine lived and who owns the Detroit gay bar Gig’s, where Brisendine worked as a doorman. The NBC station report says Mandujano said he went to Brisendine’s house on Sept. 29 after Brisendine did not show up for work and his car was not at his house.
Mandujano, who is organizing a GoFundMe fundraising effort for Brisendine, states in his message on the GoFundMe site that Brisendine worked as a beloved doorman at Gigi’s bar.
“We will do what we can to honor Howard’s life as we put him to rest,” Mandujano
states in his GoFundMe message. “He left the material world in a volatile manner at the hand of a monster that took his life for being gay. Let’s not allow hate to win!”
In response to a Facebook message from the Washington Blade, a spokesperson for Gigi’s said the money raised from the GoundMe effort will be used for Brisendine’s funeral expenses and his “remaining bills.”
The spokesperson, who didn’t disclose their name, added, “Any leftover money will be donated to local LGBTQ nonprofit groups to combat hate.”
The GoFundMe site can be accessed here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/standagainst-hate-remember-howard-brisendine?cdn-cache=0
Baldwin attacked over LGBTQ rights support as race narrows
As her race against Republican challenger Eric Hovde tightens, with Cook Political Report projecting a toss-up in ovember, .S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin -Wis. is fielding attacks over her support for LGBTQ rights.
Two recent ads run by the Senate Leadership Fund, a superPAC that works to elect Republicans to the chamber, take aim at her support for gender affirming care and an LGBTQ center in Wisconsin. Baldwin was the first openly LGBTQ candidate elected to the Senate.
The first ad concerns her statement of support for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’s veto of a Republican-led bill to ban medically necessary healthcare interventions for transgender youth in the state.
Treatments require parental consent for patients young-
er than 18, and genital surgeries are not performed on minors in Wisconsin.
The second ad concerns funding that Baldwin had earmarked for Briarpatch Youth Services, an organization that provides crucial services for at-risk and homeless young people, with some programming for LGBTQ youth. Baldwin’s victory is seen as key for Democrats to retain control of the Senate, a tall order that would require them to defend a handful of vulnerable incumbents. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, an Independent who usually votes with the Democrats, is retiring after this term and his replacement is expected to be the state’s Republican Gov. Jim Justice.
CHRISTOPHER KANE
Jean-Pierre becomes Biden’s 4th LGBTQ senior adviser
Following White House Press Secretary Karine JeanPierre’s promotion to a top role on Monday, four of the 10 officials serving as senior advisers to President Joe Biden are openly LGBTQ.
The other LGBTQ members of the president’s innermost circle are White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt, senior adviser to first lady Jill Biden Anthony Bernal, and White House Director of Political Strategy and Outreach Emmy Ruiz.
Jean-Pierre became the first Black and the first
LGBTQ White House press secretary in May 2022. She spoke with the Washington Blade for an exclusive interview last spring, shortly before the two-year anniversary of her appointment to that position.
“Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration,” Biden said in 2022 when announcing her as press secretary.
Breaking the news of Jean-Pierre’s promotion on Monday, ABC noted the power and influence of the
White House communications and press office, given that LaBolt was appointed in August to succeed Anita Dunn when she left her role as senior adviser to the president.
As press secretary, Jean-Pierre has consistently advocated for the LGBTQ community — pushing back forcefully on anti-LGBTQ legislation and reaffirming the president and vice president’s commitments to expanding rights and protections.
CHRISTOPHER KANE
U.S. Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.) (Blade photo by Michael Key)
ffi ials sa AHMED AL-ALIKHAN allegedly fatally stabbed HOWARD BRISENDINE (Photo of Al-Alikhan courtesy of the Detroit Police Department; photo of Brisendine via GoFundMe)
Murdered Israeli hostage’s cousin describes family’s pain
Carmel Gat killed in the Gaza Strip in late August
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com
TEL AVIV, Israel — Carmel Gat on Oct. 6, 2023, traveled to Be’eri, a kibbutz near the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip where she grew up, to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah with her parents, brothers, and extended family.
Gat and her brother, Alon Gat, planned to go for a run at around 6:30 a.m. the next morning.
“At 6:29, the bombing and the alarms started and the whole family went into the safe room,” her cousin, Shay Dickmann, told the Washington Blade on Monday. “We have this last picture of Carmel with her running clothes on, in which she was later kidnapped, reading a book to Geffen her young niece.
“It is just typically Carmel in this moment of distress when there are rockets around, the rumors start running that there are terrorists inside the kibbutz, she just had the inner power and stability to take care of others and help her niece, her 3 and 1/2 year old niece, try and calm her down,” said Dickmann.
Dickmann said Gat’s mother, Kinneret Gat, left the safe room at about 10:30 a.m. to get some food and water. Her father, Eshel Gat, went to the bathroom.
Dickmann said Kinneret Gat saw Hamas militants from her kitchen window.
“The last thing she managed to do was to warn her husband, shel, from the terrorists and shush him with her finger on her lips and she signaled him to go back to the toilet and hide himself,” recalled Dickmann. “She didn’t know at that point she saved his life.”
Dickmann said the bathroom in which Eshel Gat was hiding was the one room in the house the militants did not search.
“He was safe, but from the window of the toilet he saw his family taken one-by-one by the terrorists,” Dickmann told the Blade.
She said the last time Eshel Gat saw his wife she was bending down in the kitchen, “and she was the first to be taken by the terrorists.”
“They came into the kitchen, and they took her,” she said. “They tied her hands and walked her through her own kibbutz barefoot with a bunch of people from Kibbutz Be’eri.”
The militants then put Carmel Gat in a car with two teenagers who were brother and sister.
“The car was moving, driving through the point where Carmel saw her mother lying down on the sidewalk, her head shot and she realized that she saw her mother dead and this is the last thing that Carmel saw when she was taken hostage into Gaza, her beloved one dead,” said Dickmann.
She said her cousin did not know what happened to the rest of her family: Her father, her two brothers, her sister-in-law, arden oman-Gat, and her niece Geffen. er younger brother, Or Gat, had already left the kibbutz.
The Blade has previously reported the militants placed Roman-Gat, Alon Gat, and their daughter into a car.
Roman-Gat and Alon Gat jumped out of it with their daughter as it approached Gaza. Roman-Gat handed her daughter to her husband because he was able to run faster.
Alon Gat hid with his daughter for 18 hours before they reached Israel Defense Forces soldiers at Be’eri. He told Gili Roman, his brother-in-law who lives in Tel Aviv and is a member of the Nemos LGBTQ+ Swimming Club, he last saw his wife, Roman’s sister, hiding behind a tree to protect herself from the militants who were shooting at her.
“My brother saw a video on Telegram of Kinneret lying down on the sidewalk with a pool of blood next to her head, said Dickmann, recounting how she and her family learned the militants had murdered Kinneret Gat.
“We started looking for Carmel and for Yarden and for 50 days we didn’t know anything about them,” added Dickmann. “Just imagine we were worried sick and not even knowing if their body might be found here or were they kidnapped alive.”
amas on the second day of a week-long ceasefire in November released the two teenagers who had been kidnapped alongside Carmel Gat.
“It was amazing to see how 13 children and women are coming back to us and their families, and they were among them,” said Dickmann. “Unfortunately they discovered that their mother was murdered and at the time they were informed that their father was kidnapped. Today we know that their father was murdered as well. They are orphans.”
The teenagers confirmed that Carmel Gat was alive.
“Carmel was with them since the moment that they were put into the car taking them into Gaza and until the moment they were released and they say she was their guardian angel,” Dickmann told the Blade. “She was just keeping them sane in captivity, supporting them. She was handling a diary, writing down songs and sentences to bring their spirits up and she was practicing yoga with them in captivity.”
“This was the most amazing thing that we learned, just having that inner power in this situation. We know that they were starved. We know that they experienced violence there, that they were held in an apartment, in a baby’s room, having to lay on the floor, given one pita bread a day they had to share, and being held against their will, far from their families, not knowing if they are alive or not, but she had the powers to give to others and knowing that Carmel is there, being Carmel, choosing to live, it gave so much hope, and to this hope we were holding on, day-byday, in the hope that the next day she would be on the list of people realized.”
Hamas on Nov. 29, 2023, released Roman-Gat, along with 11 other Israelis and four Thai nationals. She reunited with her family a short-time later at an Israeli hospital.
“On the fourth day Yarden came back,” said Dickmann. “I can’t even describe the feeling.”
Hamas was supposed to release Carmel Gat on the
eighth day of the ceasefire, but it only lasted seven days.
“Carmel was supposed to be freed on the eighth day , and she wasn’t, and she was left behind,” Dickmann said. “For us it was devastating, but we also knew that Carmel is holding on to hope, and we were holding on to her hope and we did it in her way.”
Carmel Gat’s family every Friday practiced yoga, “inspired by her, and giving power to others.” They invited other hostage families to speak about a loved one who was in Gaza.
“We did it for weeks, week after week, 40 weeks, that we spoke about the hope, that we were holding the hope, that she was surviving there, waiting for this moment, for the deal that will free her,” said Dickmann.
The Israeli government on Sept. 1 announced Hamas had killed Carmel Gat and five other hostages — ersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Eden Yerushalmi — in a tunnel beneath Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that borders Egypt. The hostages “were shot at close range” by militants on Aug. 29 or Aug. 30 before the IDF could rescue them.
“Carmel survived for 328 days,” Dickmann told the Blade. “She survived, until the day that she was brutally executed by her captors. She survived everything. She survived the tunnels.”
Dickmann said she and her family received a video that showed where the militants killed Carmel Gat and the five other hostages.
“The conditions were horrible,” said Dickmann. “They were 20 meters underground, suffocating, moist. t was moldy. They had very little food. The six bodies were found thin and starved.”
The video also showed bottles filled with urine and blood alongside the tunnels. Dickmann said the bodies also showed signs they had been tied up.
“She survived it all, but she couldn’t survive the bullet in her head, and her life was finished in a tunnel, shot, 328 days from her mother’s same destiny, but Carmel we could save, for 328 days we could save her,” said Dickmann. “We could have made a deal that could have brought her back home alive.”
A poster with CARMEL GAT’s face on it inside a replica of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip that was built in Hostage Square in el i srael amas militants illed her and e other hostages in late August. (Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
FREEDOM TO MARRY GLOBAL and COUNCIL
FOR GLOBAL EQUALITY advocate for marriage equality in countries around the world.
Around the world, campaigns for marriage change hearts and minds
Reducing homophobia and leading to greater acceptance
Right now, there are active campaigns to secure the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in dozens of countries around the world – spanning every continent and a wide variety of political contexts. While each of these campaigns is rooted in unique cultural and political dynamics, they have in common the potential to harness the power of marriage as both a goal and a strategy – leveraging the marriage conversation to change hearts and minds about LGBTQ people. Public campaigns for the freedom to marry are a unique opportunity to demonstrate that LGBTQ people are part of families and have the same need for family recognition as everyone else – helping to bring the needs and rights of LGBTQ people into a more familiar context for the broader public.
Not only does changing public attitudes toward LGBTQ people and their families have immediate, tangible impacts for the community, marriage campaigns have proven to yield an array of long-term benefits for LGBTQ civil society and democratic participation including increasing overall support for LGBTQ causes, strengthening civic organizations, testing the implementation of new strategies to engage decision makers, training new generations of LGBTQ leaders, and instilling belief in activism, the rule of law, and effecting democratic change.
By familiarizing the public with LGBTQ couples and families and lifting the voices of allies, campaigns for the freedom to marry reduce homophobia and transphobia, leading to greater acceptance. The public conversation about the freedom to marry is uniquely centered on the resonant values of love and family, as well as freedom and dignity, helping non-gay people better understand gay people as individuals with loving relationships and families, just like everyone else. Also, unlike other policy changes, the legalization of marriage for same-sex couples is typically accompanied by strong media attention that magnifies the campaign’s potential to shift public attitudes. Even after securing the freedom to marry, polling data shows that public support for LGBTQ people continues to accelerate, creating a more inclusive society and enabling political progress on several other fronts, especially those most important to LGBTQ people.
or example, after Costa ica in May 2020 became the first Central American country to affirm the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, a poll conducted by international research firm Borge Asociados found an 18% increase in support for civil marriage for same-sex couples, as well as an increase in support for LGBTQ people more broadly. Nearly 40% of poll respondents reported personally developing a more positive opinion of gay and lesbian people in the previous 12 months and support for adoption and transgender nondiscrimination grew strongly after securing the freedom to marry. Costa Rica went on to enhance hate crimes and second parent adoption laws shortly after the marriage victory.
After Taiwan in 201 became the first government in Asia to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, support grew significantly. According to government polling, only 37. percent of country residents had previously reported that they believed same-sex couples should be able to marry. However, by May 2023, four years after the marriage victory, the same agency reported that support for marriage had increased to strong majority support (62.6%), an increase of 25.2 percentage points. By 2024, support had climbed an additional 6.5 percentage points to reach an alltime high of 69.1%.
Even in countries that have not yet achieved victory, marriage campaigns are making an impact. In Romania, advocacy organization Asociatia ACCEPT launched a public education television ad in late 2023 that featured parents and their LGBTQ children. Months later, polling demonstrated a 26% swing in support for legally protecting same-sex couples, with a growth of 13% while opposition to protections decreased by 13 compared to 2021. Parents the target audience of Accept’s paid media campaign - showed significant increases in support, with 55% now saying that if their child were gay they would like the law to allow them marry like anyone else, an 11 point increase. Demonstrating impacts beyond the issue of relationship recognition, the overall visibility of LGBTQ people in Romanian society has increased, with the number of people who know or interact with an LGBTQ person, from 19% in 2021 to 29% in 2024 as a result of a large-scale public education campaign centering LGBTQ people, their families, and marriage.
Similarly, Panama’s 2023 polling showed a 15.3 increase in support for protections for same-sex couples after two years of their “Sí Acepto” marriage campaign. Support for legal protections among Catholic Panamanians rose to 7 .5 and, when asked about specific protections, such as visiting their partner in the hospital or making legal decisions together, Catholic Panamanians supported gay and lesbian couples at 84.3%. While the goal of achieving marriage may be a longer journey in countries like Romania and Panama, campaigns for the freedom to marry can still drive significant achievements in public opinion, paving the way for eventual victories. Research shows similar gains in other countries where marriage campaigns are active. or instance, behind the efforts of Marriage for All Japan, support for marriage in Japan is now at an all-time high of 72 , rising 7 in two years. The C ech epublic also reached 72 support for marriage in 2023, months before the sme r campaign won the passage of civil partnership, representing an increase of nearly 25 points in four years of active campaigning. Pew research showed 60% support for marriage in Thailand in 2023, one year before the Thai legislature passed marriage legislation with a wide bipartisan majority.
Experience gained from working on marriage campaigns trains campaign leaders to achieve advancements on other issues. Once marriage was secured, Taiwan’s Marriage quality Coalition, the campaign organization, was re-formed as the Taiwan Equality Campaign. Using strategies implemented to win marriage, TEC led successful advocacy efforts in 2023 to allow same-sex couples to adopt children to whom they are not biologically related. The large-scale campaign for the freedom to marry strengthened Taiwanese civil society, enabling sustainable, ongoing progress and paving the way for future victories. Government leaders now cite marriage for same-sex couples as a key indicator of Taiwan’s democratic society.
Achieving victory in a change campaign invites civil society organizations to empower leaders and supporters to engage in the democratic process, hold elected leaders accountable, and build the political power they need to make change. Marriage campaigns have encouraged leaders to learn and deploy key (and for some countries, new) tactics such as engaging business or faith voices, monitoring and publici ing elected officials’ stands and evolution, and promoting voter engagement. Freedom to Marry Global has worked with advocates to share best practices from around the
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globe and support local leaders as they test and implement these strategies in ways that suit the local context. This type of coordination and skill-sharing among LGBTQ groups within and across regions is exactly what our LGBTQ movement needs more of to succeed and not reinvent the wheel campaign by campaign.
Additionally, each campaign victory sends a positive message of momentum to neighboring countries. As the first-ofits-kind public education campaign in Latin America, Costa ica’s S Acepto served as a model for the region. Leaders of S Acepto collaborated to export the materials and success-
es to other Latin American countries working to implement the nter-American Court of uman ights Advisory pinion C-2 . As a result, the impact of the S Acepto campaign is felt far beyond the borders of Costa ica with similarly styled campaigns now active in Guatemala, Panama, Bolivia, and Peru. Progress is powerful and radiates in powerful ways beyond national borders.
While the freedom to marry and the critical protections and fundamental freedom and dignity that marriage brings to LGBTQ couples and their families are important ends in themselves, the public campaigns to secure marriage deliv-
er much more. Marriage is important not just for the tangible and intangible meanings and protections it entails, but also as a strategy to fundamentally change the perception of LGBTQ people, generate momentum and support for further gains, and empower leaders with the skill and political muscle to continue making progress for their communities and their countries. Campaigning for the freedom to marry and the marriage conversation yield meaningful economic and democratic dividends for everyone. Love wins and we all win.
By Freedom to Marry Global & Council for Global Equality
We owe future generations so
much better
than Trump
ote for arris and reject the racist, sexist, homophobic pig
The Washington Post recently had two columns relating to Black voters. One column was ‘Harris is trying to reverse a steep decline in Black turnout in Wisconsin;’ and the second column was ‘Obama admonishes Black men for hesitancy in supporting Harris.’ In the column about Obama the former president talks about some Black men who are uncomfortable voting for a woman, and are coming up with excuses. Both these columns could actually be about other groups Trump has insulted over the years, and many men. n the column about Wisconsin the first lines read, “Like many voters here, amar Carter has been inundated with political ads and campaign literature from amala arris and onald Trump. But Carter, , the owner of an herbal supplements store, can’t shake the feeling that his vote won’t really matter. Carter has voted for both epublicans and emocrats in the past but didn’t cast a ballot in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, part of a sharp plunge in Black turnout in the state since 2012, when President Barack Obama ran for reelection — the largest such drop anywhere in the country.”
So, my question is what got an African-American man to vote for a epublican, and then in 2016, to not vote. Does he not know how Trump treats and talks about minorities, the poor, and even the middle class assume Carter is not a rich man. e didn’t get the tax cut Trump gave to his rich friends or big corporations. He was most likely struggling with C , and trying to find a test, when Trump secretly sent those valuable tests to his friend ladimir Putin in ussia. oes he not know Trump is opposed to the ohn . Lewis voting rights act, and trying to keep African Americans from voting? Does he not know Trump was cited in New York for refusing to rent his apartments to African Americans? ow Trump is a convicted felon, and found liable for sexual assault. What more does amar need to know about him to understand he would be an unmitigated disaster for the country, and for him?
My argument is not only directed to amar and the African-American community. The same could be said to anyone who is a member of any minority, a woman, a member of the LGBTQ community. rom the day Trump came down his gold escalator in Trump Tower in 2015 to announce he was running for president, he has been out for only one person, himself. He saw running as a way to enhance his brand and make money. Now in his third try, he adds to that, seeking vengeance. He said he would be a dictator on day one. Believe him! He has no interest in helping people. Everything he did, and will do if elected again, is to help his rich, white, friends. So, if you are not one of them, you lose. And if you are a rich, white friend, and happen to be gay, you also lose.
f you are not happy with your life now, it will only get worse with Trump and his MAGA cult in charge. The insane thing is most of his cult will also lose. He couldn’t care less about them except to dupe them into buying his Bibles, printed in China, and which he has never read; or his hats and other things he hawks. He got them to invest in his social media platform, and they have now lost nearly every dime they invested. He raises money from them to pay for his personal legal bills. ow he says he will put tariffs on all goods coming
PETER ROSENSTEIN
is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.
into the country as if that will help consumers. It will not. It will cost every person in the country about ,000 more a year. We will be paying higher prices for everything. Small business owners will be paying more to stock their stores. Instead, think of what Harris wants to do. She will ask Congress to vote for a ,000 child credit to help parents with their child’s first year of life. She wants to give small businesses a 50,000 tax credit to help get their business off the ground. Trump wants to give more tax breaks to the rich and large corporations — his friends.
Women already know what Trump has done to them. He brags about it. He took away their right to control their own body, and healthcare. The LGBTQ community knows Trump opposes the quality Act. That he is fine with the 37 states where you can be married on Sunday, and fired and thrown out of your home on Monday. And we are not sure what his far-right judges may do about marriage equality. The LGBTQ community may be next for the Supreme Court to screw.
Then, if you are a Palestinian, or supporter of freedom and safety for the Palestinian people, which I am, you must know Trump doesn’t want an independent Palestinian state. e moved the American mbassy to erusalem, and his company is now negotiating for Trump hotels in erusalem and Tel Aviv. ou may not like everything the Biden administration has done, but they support a free and independent Palestinian state. Trump will be much worse for the Palestinian people. f you are Latino, you hear yourself getting swept up in Trump’s diatribes on immigrants, and he is now going after legal immigrants, Haitians in Ohio. You could be next, and you could get rounded up in his promised mass deportations. He is against giving ‘Dreamers’ any rights. If you are a union member, remember he told lon Musk how great it was he was willing to fire all those who would strike for better wages and working conditions. He has never done a thing for any union, or union member. Then there are some ews who are supporting Trump. o you forget when he said about neo- a is and white supremacists in Charlottesville, “there are good people on both sides?” My grandparents were killed in Auschwitz by the Nazis, and my parents escaped from them. How can Trump think there are any good ones?
So, what makes some people still support this charlatan? A man who lost an election, and tried to stage a coup. A man who claims no one was hurt in his attempted coup, when 1 0 police officers protecting the Capitol were injured, and some died. A man who when told his vice president was threatened with being hung said, “so what This is the pig some people will vote for. How sad for our nation, and for them.
can only hope when amala arris wins, these Trump voters will take a moment to rethink their priorities. To see the storms and floods in lorida and orth Carolina, and realize Trump would do nothing about them but see them get worse as a climate change denier. Because of him what we are seeing today will be so much worse for our children and grandchildren.
We all owe ourselves, and future generations, so much better than Donald Trump.
‘Witches’ unveils supernatural powers we get from growing up gay
Tim Murray’s dinburgh ringe hit musical comedy winning fans across America
By ROB SALERNO
Whether it’s “Hocus Pocus” or “Sabrina” or “Agatha All Along,” gay men have always had an affi nity for witches, and comedian Tim Murray’s one-man show “Witches dissects our love of powerful female outcasts while telling his own hilarious stories about growing up gay in the Midwest.
“Witches, which Murray describes as part stand-up, part drag, part musical comedy, debuted at the prestigious dinburgh ringe estival where it got rave reviews, and now Murray’s taking it on his biggest tour yet, with 26 dates across the United States, Canada, and the . The show played at Los Angeles’ lysian Theatre ct. 15.
“ think there’s something special about all queer people that just feels like we are not part of the norm, Murray says. “ was like literally the only boy in my whole junior high school who wasn’t on the football team. So, we look for the stuff that we think is unique and special on the outside, and usually those are villains in movies or T shows. r witches.
Murray says there are close parallels between the gay experience and the classical presentation of witches who have to hide their supernatural nature or withdraw from society.
“They need to hide, and actually that thing they think they need to hide is what makes them special. And they fi gure that out when they fi nd their other witches, their coven,” he says.
“There’s a whole universe that we get to unlock with our gay friends. ur sexuality is diff erent than it is in straight culture, Murray says. “We do kind of have this extra power. We have like a pop culture knowledge that most straight people don’t have. And think there’s like a resilience factor that you get. There’s a way to relate to other gay people that is like a communal coven that not everybody gets.
“ used to think, h God, would give anything to not be this way,’ as a kid. Like would give anything to not be gay. But now really do feel like there’s a whole cavalcade of things can do and talk about as a stand-up comedian because ’m gay.
“But think in an even simpler way, we love women. We love women with long hair and fi erce nails. Gay men are so attracted to powerful women because they saved us growing up. ou know, the girls on the playground who would like play with us when we didn’t want to do the masc’ stuff .
Murray grew up in Sandusky, hio, where he says, “ t felt like being gay was like the worst thing you could be.
“ love Sandusky. t was an ama ing place to grow up and it’s an ama ing place to live. love going back there. The community is so supportive of me. But growing up in a small town in the Midwest in the 0s was, for a gay person, like what you’d think it would be like. didn’t know any gay people.
“ defi nitely learned how to code-switch and try to pass as straight, which is kind of a big theme of the show. ou want to hide what makes you special and hide your powers because people don’t understand it. That is something ’ve had to unlearn and honestly doing this show helps me heal from that.
But code-switching and passing aren’t Murray’s only gay superpo wers.
His gay coven has come in handy as Murray has taken off on his rocket ride to success over the past couple of years. Aside from witches, he’s co-headlined a comedy tour with ouTube sensation Michael enry, appeared on the B comedy The ther Two, racked up hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and nstagram, and next year, he’ll be starring in a new queer sketch comedy T show with enry and produced by Trixie Mattel called Wish ou Were Queer.
“ lived in ew ork for a long time, and I cut my teeth well there, but there’s always kind of a bit of a part of me that has this idea myself as, you know, a theater artist and through hanging out with other successful people and through therapy just have really gotten over my block around that and just been like, okay, just keep putting stuff out there until it touches fi re.’
“When Michael enry and fi rst started doing our stand up together, did have this like imposter syndrome, and then just started to really lean in. f a video did well, would just use that same format and just try to write new jokes for it.
“Like it’s okay to have a brand. t’s okay to have this like Los Angeles marketing side of your brain and of your career work like use what’s working. on’t fi ght it.
As he brings Witches across the country, Murray says he’s discovering that now he’s become thee powerful witch that queer audiences are craving.
“People are very much like, Thank you so much for coming here. We don’t get this kind of thing that often,’ which is so cool. ou know, it’s awesome to go to a city like enver or ancouver or Louisville. t just feels really special to see these queer people and these towns.
“The people who really love with witches just feel so attached to it, which is ama ing. n Chicago, a girl made buttons with my face on them and handed them out to everyone in the audience. The response has been cra y.
TIM MURRAY stars in ‘Witches.’ (Photo by Andrew Max Levy)
utting o wat hing onsters ou re missing out etflix hit about
Menende killings is awards-worthy T
By JOHN PAUL KING
ou know it’s there. t’s been lurking in your etflix queue for weeks now, taunting you, beckoning you with its sure promise of sexy, lurid thrills, but you’ve been holding back and we can’t say we blame you. After all, that “ ahmer show was pretty hard to watch.
or many etflix viewers, there have been no such qualms though yan Murphy’s “Monsters The Lyle and rik Menende Story debuted nearly a month ago, it’s currently the platform’s 3 most-watched series in the .S., despite mixed reviews from critics and controversy over the way the show’s narrative depicts the facts of the notorious 1 8 murder that put the two brothers in the national spotlight through two highly publici ed trials. ven if killing their wealthy parents put the Menande brothers into prison for life, it also put them into the upper echelon of “True Crime superstars, and that makes anything dealing with their story “must-see T for a lot of people.
f you’re one of those who have resisted it so far, it’s likely your reasons have something to do with the very things that make it so irresistible to so many others. t’s hard to imagine a more sensational or more gruesome crime story than the tale of Lyle and rik icholas Alexander Chave and Cooper och , who killed their wealthy parents with multiple shotgun blasts in their Beverly ills mansion, claimed the deaths were the result of an organi ed crime “hit, and then went on an extravagant spending spree with their multi-million-dollar inheritance. ven knowing just the surface details, it’s brimming with circumstances that conjure deep and troubling questions, not least about how two abundantly fortunate young men Lyle was 21 at the time of the killing, rik only 18 could possibly have become capable of such a horrific act their claim they acted in fear, after years of sexual and psychological abuse from their parents, offers answers that only leads to more questions. t’s easy to see how a morbid fascination could develop around the case and the perpetrators, who at the time were each charismatic, handsome, and somehow boyishly adorable in spite of the silver-spoon detachment they seemed to exude in a society endlessly fascinated by the dirty secrets and bad behavior of rich, beautiful people.
That, of course, makes the Menende saga a natural fit with yan Murphy’s brand of television, which embraces the sensationalism of whatever subject it tackles as we’ve seen from the transgressively macabre twists of “American orror Story to the scandal-icious celebrity backbiting of “ eud to the campy noir-flavored psychopathy of “ atched. is “American Crime Story anthology has delivered its true-life dramas with an equal eye toward creating those “WT moments that inevitably have social media bu ing with both glee and outrage the morning after they drop. The “Monster franchise is a natural progression, using Murphy’s shrewd knack for cultural provocation to unearth the underlying social dysfunctions that help create an environment in which such killers can be created.
With the inaugural installment, “Monster The effrey ahmer Story, it can be argued that he crafted a chilling masterpiece of binge-able long-form storytelling that not only took viewers into the unspeakable horrors that took place in the killer’s apartment, but into the mind of the man who committed them. et while the show proved successful, earning an impressive tally of critical accolades, it was met with a harsher tone much of it from families of ahmer’s real-life victims for capital i ing on his crimes. or “Menende , the reception has been predictably similar, though its critical reception has not been quite as warm, with many reviewers taking issue with Murphy’s signature slicked-up style and the show’s overt homoeroticism. Controversies, however, have come along as expected objections over the extremely unflattering portrayal of os and itty Mende the ill-fated parents, played here with star-power intensity by avier Bardem and Chlo Sevigny , and of the incestuous bond alleged between the title characters themselves, have arisen alongside complaints about the distortion of facts to support a narrative favoring the boys’ version of events that Murphy who cowrote the series as well as produced it wants to advance.
t’s certainly fair to claim that Murphy plays fast and loose with facts his purpose here is not to transcribe events, like a docuseries, but to interpret them. e and his fellow writers craft “Monsters theatrically, with bold strokes and operatic moments they mine it for black humor and milk it for emotional intensity the series plays up the
brothers’ pretty-boy charms, caressing their sculpted bodies with the camera and frequently showing them in various states of near or total nudity it seems to fixate on the messy, petty, and ignoble traits of its characters, and illuminate the messy personal motives driving their public agendas it even employs a “ ashomon -esque approach in which it variously portrays different versions of the same events depending on the character describing them. n short, it’s not a show that is looking for factual truth it’s searching for a more complex truth behind the facts.
That truth, perhaps, has a lot to do with the shame, stigma, and silence around abuse the tendency to disbelieve the victims especially when they are male a prosecutor during the trials famously argued that a male “couldn’t be raped the cultural homophobia that further complicates the dynamic when the abuse comes from someone of the same sex. oes such abuse warrant absolution for murder, especially when the murder is as excessively brutal as the killing of os and itty Menende That’s a question Murphy and crew leave up to the viewers.
Such moral ambiguity is surely part of the reason that shows like “Monsters and its predecessor are met with such hostility from some viewers they offer no easy comfort, no straightforward moral order to reassure us that our perceptions of good and evil are just or fair or even correct and if you’re looking for a hero to step forward and make sense of it all for us, you’re not going to find one.
f that’s too bleak a prospect for you, or if the notion of criminals as celebrities is something you’re just not comfortable with enough to make allowances for artistic intention, then “Monsters may not be for you.
or anyone else who has hesitated to watch, however, it’s a show worthy of your time. Though it might seem uneven, even disjointed at times, it paints an overall picture of the Menende case that is about something much more than the murders or the murderers themselves. The performances are all accomplished, well-tuned together to a sort of elevated authenticity, with special note to a jaw-dropping star turn by och monologuing his way through a one-shot full-length episode filmed in a single take.
The latter alone is enough to make “Monsters an awards-worthy piece of television. While it may not be the right show for every taste, it’s not “trash T either. t’s a bold and challenging work from one of our most prolific and dedicated queer showmen, and if it leaves you feeling sorry for monsters, is that really such a bad thing
COOPER KOCH and NICHOLAS ALEXANDER CHAVEZ star in ‘Monsters.’
Thom Gunn bio explores joys, complexities of modern gay life
‘A Cool Queer Life’ presents author’s humanity, poetic genius
By CHARLES GREEN
A confession: Until reading “Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life,” I hadn’t known much about the accomplished, controversial gay poet’s life or read many of his poems. But this first biography makes me feel like I know him and his large body of work intimately. Michael Nott, coeditor of “The Letters of Thom Gunn,” draws on interviews with friends and family, as well as Gunn’s letters, notebooks, and diaries, to tell the triumphs and tragedies of his life.
Born in England in 1929 to journalist parents, when he was 15, he and his younger brother Ander found their mother dead from suicide. He would not discuss this tragic event in his poetry for years, including one of his last poems “My Mother’s Pride.” He published his first book of poems, “Fighting Terms,” while still an undergraduate at Cambridge University.
At Cambridge, Gunn met his life-long partner, Mike Kitay, an American studying theater. Gunn followed Kitay to America, studying poetry under Yvor Winters at Stanford University. At one point, Kitay, doing his military service, was investigated as part of suspicion of homosexuality among his unit. Gunn wrote to friends of his worry both of what might happen to Kitay as well as to himself. While nothing happened, the event reminds us of the precarious state in which gay men lived until recently.
Eventually, they settled in San Francisco, which Gunn loved. Even when he became worldwide famous, he enjoyed the anonymity of the city’s gay bars, where he could pick up men. He taught at UC Berkeley for 40 years, one term every year so he could concentrate on his poetry. His and Kitay’s home was filled with friends and sex partners, usually of Gunn. This arrangement seems common for many gay men of the time, reminiscent of Dan Savage’s idea of “monogamish,” where committed gay couples might have other side partners.
In San Francisco, Gunn discovered leather and drugs, both of which he took to readily. He caused a stir by appearing in his British publisher’s conservative club in leather gear. Toward the end of his life, he became a crystal meth addict, frequently using with other addicts whom he also slept with. In 2004, his housemates found him dead from substance abuse.
He explored leather, drugs, and gay sexuality frequently in his poems. His collection “Moly” (named after the drug in The Odyssey protecting from the witch Circe’s magic), looked at the appeal and downfall of drugs. The Man with Night Sweats, perhaps his most famous collection, dealt with the AIDS epidemic, the painful death of so many friends and lovers. He won the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant afterwards.
The biography presents Gunn in all his humanity, from his poetic genius to his insecurities. After each book came out, he struggled with writer’s block, which led to hookups and drug use. As he aged, he worried about finding “gerontophiles” who would sleep with him. I hope this book encourages readers to discover or revisit his work, filled with the joys and complexities of modern gay life.
‘Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life’
By Michael Nott c. 2024, Farrar, Straus and Giroux | $40 | 720 pages
By Daniel Goldstein
Don’t
Recommended for ages 16+
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Photo: Charles Bush
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