Latest news with #DanielTrotta
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
WorldPride gathers in Washington as Trump rolls back LGBTQ+ rights
By Daniel Trotta WASHINGTON (Reuters) -LGBTQ+ people from around the world gather in Washington this week for a parade, a political rally and cultural performances marking WorldPride to channel joy in sexual and gender diversity as well as outrage over the Trump administration's rollback of their rights. WorldPride, which takes place in a different city around the world every two years, has been running for weeks and will continue until the end of June, bringing hundreds of thousands of demonstrators nearly to President Donald Trump's doorstep. The WorldPride parade will march within a block of the White House grounds on Saturday, and the rally will be held on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, the site of Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. Trump is certain to be the target of protests. He has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people as part of a campaign to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. His actions have been applauded by conservatives. As many as three million people, including two million from outside the region, could attend, according to the non-profit travel and trade group Destination DC, even as some potential attendees have suggested a boycott in protest of Trump policies or have raised concerns about safety given the U.S. political climate. The White House did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. It has said its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces such as domestic abuse shelters and workplace showers, and has described DEI as a form of discrimination based on race or gender. Proponents of DEI consider it necessary to correct historic inequities. Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, which is leading WorldPride coordination, said many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer people "fear for their security, their safety, their mental health, and don't see a lot of hope right now." That makes this "the year that we need to ensure that we remain visible and seen so folks know that there's a place for them, that there are people fighting for them," he said. The African Human Rights Coalition, which offers humanitarian services and protection for LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers, called for a boycott of WorldPride because it said the United States was "governed now by an antagonistic fascist regime which presents distinct dangers to foreign LGBTQ+ attendees." "This is not business as usual and not a time for celebration but rather the time for resistance," it said. 'DEFIANT, UNITED AND UNSTOPPABLE' Politics and concerns about crossing the border during Trump's immigration crackdown are expected to contribute to a 7% decline in international travel spending in the U.S. this year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Toronto's Purple Fins, a self-described "gender free" swim club of non-binary and transgender athletes, made the difficult decision to skip the World LGBTQIA+ Aquatics Championship being held in Washington. Brandon Wolf, a spokesperson for Human Rights Campaign, the largest pro-LGBTQ+ organization in the U.S., said queer people "rightly feel nervous and afraid" but that WorldPride will be "an opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community to make clear that it's not going anywhere, that we cannot be bullied back into the closet." "I'm really buoyed by the fact that the LGBTQ+ community seems to be saying loudly and clearly that pride is, and always has been, a protest, and that they intend to show up defiant, united and unstoppable," Wolf said. But transgender people said they feel targeted by the Trump rhetoric and state laws passed around the country that have banned transgender healthcare services for minors. Backers of those laws say they are attempting to protect minors from starting on a path they may later regret. Susan Stryker, author of the 2008 book "Transgender History" and a distinguished visitor at Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research, said that framing the Trump agenda as anti-DEI or anti-LGBTQ+ was a "misnomer." "It's very specifically transgender people that they are coming after," Stryker said. "The public discourse has been weaponized around trans issues." Marissa Miller, a transgender activist in Chicago who is traveling to Washington with the National Trans Visibility March, said the location of WorldPride events will empower demonstrators in their resistance. Sydney hosted WorldPride in 2023. Washington was chosen to host in November 2022, before Trump's reelection. "The universe is ready to showcase us," Miller said. "And I think that if it were going to be in any other place, that the consideration should have been to move it to Washington."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
WorldPride gathers in Washington as Trump rolls back LGBTQ rights
By Daniel Trotta WASHINGTON (Reuters) -LGBTQ people from around the world gather in Washington this week for a parade, a political rally and cultural performances marking WorldPride to channel joy in sexual and gender diversity as well as outrage over the Trump administration's rollback of their rights. WorldPride, which takes place in a different city around the world every two years, has been running for weeks and will continue until the end of June, bringing hundreds of thousands of demonstrators nearly to President Donald Trump's doorstep. The WorldPride parade will march within a block of the White House grounds on Saturday, and the rally will be held on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, the site of Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. Trump is certain to be the target of protests. He has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ people as part of a campaign to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. His actions have been applauded by conservatives. As many as three million people, including two million from outside the region, could attend, according to the non-profit travel and trade group Destination DC, even as some potential attendees have suggested a boycott in protest of Trump policies or have raised concerns about safety given the U.S. political climate. The White House did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. It has said its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces such as domestic abuse shelters and workplace showers, and has described DEI as a form of discrimination based on race or gender. Proponents of DEI consider it necessary to correct historic inequities. Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, which is leading WorldPride coordination, said many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer people "fear for their security, their safety, their mental health, and don't see a lot of hope right now." That makes this "the year that we need to ensure that we remain visible and seen so folks know that there's a place for them, that there are people fighting for them," he said. The African Human Rights Coalition, which offers humanitarian services and protection for LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers, called for a boycott of WorldPride because it said the United States was "governed now by an antagonistic fascist regime which presents distinct dangers to foreign LGBTQ+ attendees." "This is not business as usual and not a time for celebration but rather the time for resistance," it said. 'DEFIANT, UNITED AND UNSTOPPABLE' Politics and concerns about crossing the border during Trump's immigration crackdown are expected to contribute to a 7% decline in international travel spending in the U.S. this year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Toronto's Purple Fins, a self-described "gender free" swim club of non-binary and transgender athletes, made the difficult decision to skip the World LGBTQIA+ Aquatics Championship being held in Washington. Brandon Wolf, a spokesperson for Human Rights Campaign, the largest pro-LGBTQ organization in the U.S., said queer people "rightly feel nervous and afraid" but that WorldPride will be "an opportunity for the LGBTQ-plus community to make clear that it's not going anywhere, that we cannot be bullied back into the closet." "I'm really buoyed by the fact that the LGBTQ-plus community seems to be saying loudly and clearly that pride is, and always has been, a protest, and that they intend to show up defiant, united and unstoppable," Wolf said. But transgender people said they feel targeted by the Trump rhetoric and state laws passed around the country that have banned transgender healthcare services for minors. Backers of those laws say they are attempting to protect minors from starting on a path they may later regret. Susan Stryker, author of the 2008 book "Transgender History" and a distinguished visitor at Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research, said that framing the Trump agenda as anti-DEI or anti-LGBTQ was a "misnomer." "It's very specifically transgender people that they are coming after," Stryker said. "The public discourse has been weaponized around trans issues." Marissa Miller, a transgender activist in Chicago who is traveling to Washington with the National Trans Visibility March, said the location of WorldPride events will empower demonstrators in their resistance. Sydney hosted WorldPride in 2023. Washington was chosen to host in November 2022, before Trump's reelection. "The universe is ready to showcase us," Miller said. "And I think that if it were going to be in any other place, that the consideration should have been to move it to Washington."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Missouri Supreme Court allows abortion ban to continue
By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) -The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a pair of lower court rulings that had blocked the state's strict abortion ban, once again putting the ban in place at least for now. The state's high court ordered a circuit court judge to vacate her injunctions against the abortion ban, saying the judge had applied the wrong standards. The Supreme Court said one of its prior rulings had established "a more rigorous standard" when blocking a state law. But the Supreme Court also ordered Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang to re-evaluate her rulings "in light of this standard," raising the possibility that Zhang could reissue the injunctions on a different legal basis. The underlying lawsuit challenging the law has yet to go to trial. For now Missouri's abortion ban, which kicked in when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, will once again take effect. Missouri voters in November passed a ballot measure to ensure abortion rights by amending the state constitution that guarantees a "right to reproductive freedom" up until fetal viability, generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy. That prompted the state's Planned Parenthood organizations to file a lawsuit seeking strike down the state abortion ban, which led to Zhang's rulings. In December Zhang ruled the abortion ban violated the constitution but left in place some licensing requirements that prevented many abortions from resuming. Then in February she ruled the licensing requirements were discriminatory, enabling Planned Parenthood to resume abortions. The state attorney general challenged those rulings, leading to Tuesday's Supreme Court decision. Republican lawmakers have also approved a new ballot measure, either in November 2026 or possibly sooner if a special election is held, that would seek to repeal the amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, which voters approved by 3 percentage points last November.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California governor urges cities to 'take back the streets' from homeless
By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) - California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday urged localities to "take back the streets" from homeless encampments, proposing language for every city and county to use in a local ban on camping in public. Newsom, a Democrat often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate for 2028, has taken a harder line on homelessness as California's unhoused population has grown to 180,000. His stance has alienated some liberal allies who advocate affordable housing over crackdowns. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a year ago it was legal to ban camping in public even when there is no shelter space available, 42 of California's 482 cities and two of its 58 counties have passed some form of a camping ban, according to the National Homelessness Law Center. Nationwide, some 160 cities and counties have passed similar bans in response to increasingly visible homelessness, with people pitching tents on sidewalks and public spaces. "It is time to take back the streets. It's time to take back the sidewalks. It's time to take these encampments and provide alternatives," Newsom, who filed a brief before the Supreme Court last year supporting camping bans, told a press conference. While urging compassion and dignity, Newsom's model ordinance would ban camping or semi-permanent structures on public land and allow city officials to remove them provided they notify the unhoused at least 48 hours in advance. The proposal requires city officials to "make every reasonable effort" to provide shelter for those affected. An introduction to the proposal states, "No person should face criminal punishment for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go." The announcement drew criticism from homeless advocates who said it fails to address the root cause of housing shortages and soaring housing costs. "This is a problem that built up through years and years of under investment, and it's going to take some level of consistency and commitment to the problem to actually make headway," said Alex Visotzky, a fellow at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, urged California to follow the example of Republican-led states that have passed laws allowing them to sue cities that fail to clear encampments. "This approach is far more effective in ensuring that cities are not derelict in their duties to protect the homeless and the public alike," said Devon Kurtz, public safety policy director for the Cicero Institute.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Filipino 'caring culture' hit hard by Canada truck-ramming that killed 11
By Daniel Trotta VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The election eve truck-ramming that killed 11 people and injured dozens more in Vancouver sent waves of grief across Canada's Filipino community, integral to Canada in part through many members' roles as caregivers. A man drove through a crowded pedestrian zone during a Filipino cultural festival on Saturday. Officials have arrested a suspect they said had a significant history of mental health issues, and said there was no evidence of terrorism in the attack that struck just before Monday's election to choose a prime minister. The victims ranged in age from 5 to 65, officials said. Five-year-old Katie Le was killed with both her parents, Richard Le, 47, and Linh Hoang, 30, according to a Go Fund Me page that raised $250,000 for the family. Also among the dead was Kira Salim, a teacher and counselor at a middle school and secondary school, education officials announced. Nearly 1 million of Canada's 40 million people identify as being of Filipino ethnic origin, and more than 172,000 Filipino Canadians are in British Columbia, according to the 2021 census. Their influence extends across Canada as caregivers. Many Filipinas have carved out their place in Canada by raising other people's children. Still others tend to the elderly, or have found careers as nurses or medical technicians. "This is what we do best," said Christina, 58, a Filipina who attended a candlelight vigil for the victims and asked not to be identified by last name. "We're just such a caring culture. We always say we're willing to give." David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, acknowledged their role in comments on Canadian television on Sunday when he pledged to support them "just like they support us." "It's their turn to get care from us," Eby said. The provincial government has pledged that victims and their families will have access to support. The truck-ramming came during a celebration honoring Datu Lapu-Lapu, the Filipino chieftain who defeated Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan in 1521 and became a national hero. Filipino Canadians see the government of British Columbia's 2023 official recognition of April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day as acknowledgement of the cultural contributions of their community, one of the largest immigrant groups in the province. "We've been here a really long time," said Jonathan Tee, 30, a second-generation Filipino born in Canada. "We don't need to earn a place here. We are here." Some 75,000 people from the Philippines became permanent residents of Canada through the Live-in Caregiver Program between 1992 and 2014. The program offering a path to permanent residency has been modified since 2014. VULNERABLE TO EXPLOITATION Women fleeing poverty in the Philippines and living in the homes of their Canadian bosses needed to maintain employment in order to gain permanent residency, leaving them vulnerable to extreme working conditions and abuse. "It was deeply exploitative because of the closed permit tied to a particular employer," said Geraldine Pratt, a professor at the University of British Columbia whose studies on the subject underpinned the stage play "Nanay," depicting the lives of live-in caregivers. "Most of us have some connection to the Filipino community. And it's not just childcare. It's care for seniors, it's hospitals, when you go for a mammogram or to get your blood tested," Pratt said. Many immigrants from the Philippines are highly educated and overqualified for the jobs available to them, according to a 2023 Canadian census report. More than 40% of Filipinos held a bachelor's degree or higher but were underrepresented in jobs requiring such a degree, the report said. The overqualification rate of 41.8% was nearly double the rate of the Chinese population and was nearly three times the rate of 15.5% among the total population, the report said. "One factor in overqualification and job mismatch was that over one-third (34.0%) of Filipino immigrant women immigrated as principal applicants through the caregiver program, which recruits them to work in personal care occupations," the report said. About 36% of Filipinas who earned nursing degrees back home instead worked as nurse aides, orderlies or patient service associates in Canada, while 13% worked in sales or service jobs, the census report said. Maki Cairns, 26, who advocates for the rights of women in the Philippine diaspora as an activist with the group Gabriela BC, said many have chosen to remain silent in the face of abuse so that they can bring their own children to Canada. "Why do they have to be separated from their families and raise children that are not their own?" Cairns said. "They hardly ever get to see their children in the Philippines."
