Karine Jean-Pierre named as first Black W.House press secretary

Yahoo – AFP, May 5, 2022 

Karine Jean-Pierre speaks at a briefing in the White House in November
2021 (AFP/MANDEL NGAN) (MANDEL NGAN)

US President Joe Biden on Thursday named Karine Jean-Pierre as the next White House press secretary, the first Black person to hold the high-profile post. 

Jean-Pierre, who will also be the first openly LGBTQ+ person in the role, will replace Jen Psaki, under whom she served as deputy, from May 13. 

Biden in a statement praised Jean-Pierre's "experience, talent and integrity," saying he was "proud" to announce her appointment. 

"She will be the first black woman and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as the White House Press Secretary," Psaki tweeted after the announcement. 

"Representation matters and she will give a voice to many, but also make many dream big about what is truly possible." 

The outgoing press secretary, who said from the outset that she would step down during Biden's term, is due to join MSNBC, according to US media reports. 

Jean-Pierre, 44, worked on both of former president Barack Obama's campaigns in 2008 and 2012 and then on Biden's campaign in 2020 before joining Biden's team at the White House. 

She also served under Biden during his tenure as Obama's vice president. 

Haitian parents 

Jean-Pierre was previously Chief Public Affairs Officer for liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org and worked as a political analyst with NBC and MSNBC, the White House statement said. 

Raised in New York, French-speaking Jean-Pierre was born in Martinique to Haitian parents who emigrated to the United States, where her father drove a taxi and her mother worked as a cleaner. 

It was in New York that she took her first steps into politics before also becoming a leading figure in the non-profit sphere, having graduated from the prestigious Columbia University. 

Jean-Pierre has often said her family's background, emblematic of the "American dream," was a determining factor in her career. 

An advocate for combatting mental health stigma, the new White House spokeswoman has also shared her own stories of being sexually abused as a child and suffering from depression. 

In a book published in 2019, she wrote of "the pressure of growing up in an immigrant household to succeed." 

"That pressure grew so big, and my sense of failure so strong, that I felt like my family would be better off without me. At one point, I attempted suicide," she said in a post published on the MSNBC website. 

"I am everything that Donald Trump hates," said Jean-Pierre, who has a daughter with her partner, a journalist with CNN, in reference to Biden's predecessor in a 2018 video for MoveOn.org. 

"I am a Black woman. I am gay. I am a mom." 

In a Twitter post marking LGBTQ Pride month in June 2021, she said her "journey towards feeling accepted by myself and loved ones wasn't an easy one, but it was worthwhile." 

"No matter where you are in your journey, I see you, we see you and we celebrate you."

Biden names special envoy for LGBTQ rights

Yahoo – AFP, Jessica Stern, June 25, 2021

As Americans celebrated pride month in June 2021, President Joe Biden named
Jessica Stern as his special envoy for LGBTQ rights

US President Joe Biden on Friday named advocate Jessica Stern as special envoy for LGBTQ rights, in a move aimed at increasing global awareness and acceptance of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities. 

Currently the executive director of OutRight Action International -- a group which advocates for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people around the world -- Stern in her new role will be attached to the State Department. 

At a time when LGBTQ persons "are increasingly threatened in all regions of the world," Stern will work with like-minded governments and civil society organizations to uphold dignity and equality for everyone, the White House said in a statement. 

The special envoy will play a "vital" role in leading the implementation of Biden's push to advance the rights of LGBTQ persons worldwide. 

The appointment comes in the middle of pride month, a celebration of gay life in America that Biden will honor in remarks later Friday at the White House. 

The president will also sign into law a bill that designates Orlando's Pulse gay nightclub, scene of a horrific deadly attack, as a national memorial. 

The June 12, 2016 rampage by a gunman who swore allegiance to the Islamic State shocked the nation and the LGBTQ community, in the middle of pride month. 

The Senate unanimously passed the Pulse memorial bill earlier this month, in a rare moment of bipartisanship in Washington.

Pope says supports civil unions for gay couples

 Yahoo – AFP, October 21, 2020 

In the film "Francesco" by Evgeny Afineevsky, which premiered at the 2020 Rome
Film Festival, Pope Francis says that gay people have "the right to be in a family"

Pope Francis defended the right of gay couples to enter into legally recognised civil unions in a documentary that premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday. 

In the film, "Francesco" by Evgeny Afineevsky, the Argentine pope says that gays have "the right to be in a family." 

"These are children of God, they have the right to a family," Francis says in the film, speaking in Spanish. 

"What we have to create is a law of civil union, they have the right to be legally protected. I have defended that," said Francis. 

But the former Jorge Bergoglio has always voiced opposition to gay marriage, saying that marriage should only be between a man and woman. 

"Since the beginning of the pontificate the Pope has spoken of respect for homosexuals and has been against their discrimination," Vatican expert Vania de Luca told Rainews. 

"The novelty today is that he defends as pope a law for civil unions." 

 'No judgements' 

After becoming pope in 2013, Francis took an unprecedented welcoming tone towards homosexuals, launching his famous phrase, "Who am I to judge?" and welcoming gay couples to the Vatican on several occasions. 

The two-hour documentary traces the seven years of his pontificate and his travels. 

Among the most moving moments of the film is the Pope's phone call to a gay couple, parents of three young children, in response to a letter they sent him saying how ashamed they were to bring their children to the parish. 

Francis invites them to continue to go to church regardless of the Judgments of others. 

Chilean Juan Carlos Cruz, an activist against sexual abuse within the church, accompanied the director to the film screening on Wednesday. 

"When I met Pope Francis he told me he was very sorry about what happened. Juan, it is God who made you gay and he loves you anyway. God loves you and the Pope loves you too," says Cruz in the film. 

The Russian-born Afineevsky, who attended the Pope's general audience in the Vatican on Wednesday, was nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy in 2016 for "Winter of Fire" about the 2013-2014 protests in Ukraine. 

In 2018 he received three Emmy nominations for "Cries from Syria" about that country's civil war.

Related Articles:

Pope Francis: Who am I to judge gay people?

"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)

“… Gender Switching

Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."

It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”

US top court rules civil rights law protects LGBT workers

Yahoo – AFP, June 15, 2020

US Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in February 2019 shaking hands with
US President Donald Trump: Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion banning
employers from firing LGBT employees on the basis of their sexual orientation
(AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal protections against workplace discrimination apply equally to sexual orientation, contrary to the position taken by the administration of President Donald Trump.

The landmark decision said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination against employees because of a person's sex, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status.

"Today we must decide whether someone can be fired simply for being homosexual or transgender," the court said. "The answer is clear."

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights (LGBT) activists, as well as Democratic politicians and several major businesses had been demanding that the court spell out that the community was protected by the law.

"This is a huge victory for LGBTQ equality," said James Esseks, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBTQ & HIV Project.

"The court has caught up to the majority of our country, which already knows that discriminating against LGBTQ people is both unfair and against the law," he said in a statement.

Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York state, concurred on Twitter."This #SCOTUS decision is a major victory for #LGBTQ rights," he said

"No one should be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity," he added.

In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage to be legal, a landmark victory for the LGBTQ community.

But rights activists feared that the appointment by Trump of two new conservative judges to the top court could hinder further wins for their cause.

Yet it was one of them, Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority decision, joining with the court's four progressive judges and Chief Justice John Roberts.

"An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids," Gorsuch wrote.

The ruling was a blow for the Trump administration, which had effectively thrown in its lot with employers.

"Sex refers to whether you were born woman or man, not your sexual orientation or gender identity," argued Solicitor General Noel Francisco, representing the government's position before the court. He said it is the job of Congress to update the law, not the justice system.

That position was echoed by Brett Kavanaugh, the other conservative judge appointed by Trump.

Despite his opposition, Kavanaugh wrote in his own separate dissent that the decision still represented an "important victory achieved today by gay and lesbian Americans."

Donna Stephens, the wife of transgender plaintiff Aimee Stephens who died last month, hailed her late partner's struggle for justice after being sacked by a Detroit funeral parlor when she came out.

"For the last seven years of Aimes's life, she rose as a leader who fought against discrimination against transgender people, starting when she was fired for coming out as a woman, despite her recent promotion at the time.

"I am grateful for this victory to honor the legacy of Aimee, and to ensure people are treated fairly regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity," she said in a statement after the court pronounced its ruling.

After homophobic jibes, Buttigieg says US has 'moved on'

Yahoo – AFP, February 16, 2020

US presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (R) and his husband Chasten Buttigieg
(AFP Photo/Joseph Prezioso)

Washington (AFP) - The gay presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg insisted his sexuality would not damage his electoral prospects Sunday, saying the United States had "moved on" as a country, after homophobic jibes by allies of Donald Trump.

The 38-year-old Democrat, who married his partner Chasten Glezman two years ago, said he would not take lectures from supporters of a man who has faced accusations ranging from rape to sleeping with a porn star.

"I am in a faithful, loving, committed marriage. I'm proud of my marriage and I'm proud of my husband and I'm not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral as well as political leader of the United States," Buttigieg told Fox News.

His comments come after veteran radio host Limbaugh told listeners last week that Trump would relish going head-to-head with a candidate who kissed his husband on stage.

"Boy can you see Trump have fun with that?" said Limbaugh, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest civilian honor in the country -- during Trump's State of the Union speech earlier this month.

Sebastian Gorka, another ultra-conservative pundit who used to work in the Trump White House, also weighed in by asking his listeners why was "a homosexual guy lecturing us" about abortion rights.

Fellow Democrats and some prominent Republicans have criticized the comments, while Trump himself has said he thinks there is no reason why America would not elect a gay president.

Although some voters have balked at Buttigieg's candidacy when they realized he is gay, his sexuality has so far not been a major issue on the campaign trail.

"America has moved on and we should have politics of belonging that welcomes everybody -- that's what the American people are for -- and I'm saddened for what the Republican party has become if they embrace that kind of homophobic rhetoric," Buttigieg said.

"This election is not about any of us candidates, it's about voters' lives," added Buttigieg as he recalled how he was re-elected to his former job as a mayor in conservative Indiana with an increased majority after he came out as gay.

Buttigieg has so far racked up the most delegates in the contest to become the Democratic Party's candidate to take on Trump in November, although none of the major states have yet to hold their presidential primaries.

Gay rights across the globe

Yahoo – AFP, October 22, 2019

Same-sex marriage and abortion laws in Northern Ireland were liberalised in a
landmark shift for the province aimed at bringing it into line with mainland
Britain (AFP Photo/Paul Faith)

Paris (AFP) - Thirty years after the first-ever gay civil unions in Denmark, same-sex marriages are today allowed in 28 countries, but homosexuality remains illegal in some parts of the world.

After the liberalisation of same sex marriage came into force in Northern Ireland on Monday, here is an overview of the global situation.

- Europe, gay marriage pioneers -

On October 1, 1989, for the first time in the world, several gay couples in Denmark tied the knot in legal civil unions.

Danish homosexual couples would, however, have to wait until 2012 to be allowed to marry in church.

The right to a religious marriage ceremony was first allowed in The Netherlands in 2001.

Thirteen European countries followed: Belgium, Britain (although originally not Northern Ireland), Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

Austria allowed gay marriage from 2019.

On October 1, 1989, for the first time in the world, gay couples in Denmark tied 

the knot in legal civil unions, but would have to wait until 2012 to be allowed to 

marry in church (AFP Photo/LISELOTTE SABROE)

Some countries allow only gay civil partnerships including Croatia, Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Switzerland.

The Czech government has backed draft legislation that would make the country the first post-communist member of the European Union to legalise same-sex marriage, but its fate is uncertain.

Slovenia also allows civil partnerships but in 2015 rejected in a referendum a proposal to legalise gay marriage.

In 2014 Estonia became the first former Soviet republic to authorise same-sex civil unions.

In Romania a referendum aimed at enshrining a ban on gay marriage in the constitution failed in 2018 because of a low turnout.

Progress in the Americas

Canada was the first American country to authorise same-sex marriage in 2005.

In 2015 the US Supreme Court legalised gay marriage nationwide at a time it was banned in 14 out of 50 states.

In 2015 the US Supreme Court legalised gay marriage nationwide at a time 

it was banned in 14 out of 50 states (AFP Photo/Yana Paskova)

The United States' first gay marriage had actually taken place in 1971, when a Minnesota couple obtained a marriage licence thanks to an overlooked legal loophole. The marriage was officially recognised in March 2019, after a five-decade legal battle.

In Latin America five countries allow same-sex marriages: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, joined by Ecuador in June 2019.

Mexico's federal capital authorised gay civil unions in 2007 and marriages in 2009. Half of its 32 states have followed.

Chile legalised gay civil unions in 2015.

Costa Rica's Supreme Court in 2018 ruled that a ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional and gave parliament 18 months to amend the laws.

Cuba left out of its new constitution adopted in February 2019 changes that would have paved the way for legal same-sex marriage. The definition of marriage will be left to a new Family Code which will be put to a referendum.

While much of Asia is tolerant of homosexuality, Taiwan became in May 2019

the first in the region to allow gay marriage (AFP Photo/Sam YEH)

Taiwan, first in Asia

While much of Asia is tolerant of homosexuality, Taiwan became in May 2019 the first in the region to allow gay marriage.

In the Middle East, where homosexuality is repressed, Israel leads the way in terms of gay rights, recognising same-sex marriages that are performed elsewhere although not allowing such unions in the country itself.

Several countries in the conservative region still have the death penalty for homosexuality, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Australia (2017) and New Zealand (2013) are the only places in the wider Asia-Pacific region to have passed gay marriage laws.

- Africa: marriage in one country -

South Africa is the sole nation on the African continent to allow gay marriage, which it legalised in 2006.

Around 30 African countries ban homosexuality, with Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan having the death penalty for same-sex relations.

Mayor of Canadian capital city Ottawa comes out as gay

Yahoo – AFP, August 17, 2019

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson (left) speaks to CNN journalist Anderson Cooper
in October 2014 (AFP Photo/Mike Carroccetto)

Montreal (AFP) - The mayor of Ottawa revealed Saturday that he is gay, an announcement that comes on the eve of gay pride week in the Canadian capital city.

"I'm gay. There -- I said it; or rather, wrote it. Those two words took me almost four decades to utter, but as they say, 'Better late than never,'" Jim Watson wrote in a letter published in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

The 58-year-old, who has served as mayor since 2010, recalled being a shy teen who moved and changed schools frequently, preventing him from making friends.

It was the 1970s, a time when "there were virtually no resources to seek for guidance or help, or just to talk."

After graduating from university, Watson said he threw himself into his work. A provincial MP from 2003 to 2010, he also served as city councillor and provincial cabinet minister.

"As I look back over my life, and in hindsight, not coming out sooner was a big mistake on my part," he wrote.

"My reluctance has not allowed me to live my life as full of love and adventure as my gay friends who were bolder and braver than I ever was."

He urged gay people who are in the closet not to feel rushed to come out -- "but don't wait 40 years either."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed Watson's "brave words," saying they would "inspire Ottawans -- and all Canadians -- to feel free to be themselves."

Ottawa's week-long Capital Pride event kicks off Sunday, celebrating the area's LGBTQ community.

Britain's Prince William: 'fine by me' if children gay

Yahoo – AFP, June 26, 2019

Prince William's comments came during a visit to a charity dedicated to helping
young people made homeless due to their sexual orientation (AFP Photo/Jonathan Brady)

London (AFP) - Britain's Prince William said Wednesday it would be "fine by me" if his children came out as homosexual, but worried about the pressures it could place on them.

William and his wife Kate have three children: five-year-old Prince George, Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, who turned one in April.

William, 37, is second in line to the throne after his father Prince Charles, with George third in line to become king.

His comments came during a visit to the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), a charity dedicated to helping young people made homeless due to their sexual orientation.

During a discussion with people being supported by the organisation, William was asked how he would react if one of his children came out.

The Duke of Cambridge replied: "You really don't start thinking about that until you are a parent, and I think -- obviously absolutely fine by me.

"The one thing I'd be worried about is how they, particularly the roles my children fill, is how that is going to be interpreted and seen."

Message for society

Due to the monarchy's hereditary nature, William's children, in time, will become key figures in the royal family -- above all George.

The sovereign is the supreme governor of the Church of England and separately head of state of 16 countries around the world.

"It is something I'm nervous about, not because I'm worried about them being gay or anything -- it's more about the fact that I'm worried about the pressures... that they're going to face and how much harder their life could be," William said.

"I wish we lived in a world that it was... really normal and cool, but particularly for my family, and the position that we are in, that's the bit I am nervous about.

"I fully support whatever decision they make, but it does worry me from a parent point of view, how many barriers, hateful words, persecution, all that, and discrimination that might come.

"That's the bit that really troubles me.

"But that's for all of us to try and help correct and make sure that we can put that to the past."

AKT chief executive Tim Sigsworth, who is gay, said the prince's words would make a "massive difference".

Leaked report calls indigenous women's deaths a 'Canadian genocide'

Yahoo – AFP, May 31, 2019

Indigenous leaders participate in a protest against the expansion of Texas-based
Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline project in Burnaby, British Columbia
on March 10, 2018 (AFP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Ottawa (AFP) - A public inquiry report leaked to Canada's public broadcaster Friday called the disappearances and slayings of possibly thousands of indigenous women over recent decades a "Canadian genocide."

The report concluded that through "state actions and inactions rooted in colonialism and colonial ideologies" indigenous women and girls faced a disproportionately high level of violence.

"We do know that thousands of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual) have been lost to the Canadian genocide to date," said the report, titled "Reclaiming Power and Place."

"The fact that First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples are still here and that the population is growing should not discount the charge of genocide."

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls's 1,200-page final report is set for public release Monday at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- who has made reconciliation with Canada's 1.6 million indigenous peoples a government priority -- and families of the victims.

CBC said it contains more than 230 recommendations.

The inquiry was the culmination of years of lobbying by native leaders, activists and victims' families seeking to know why possibly thousands of indigenous women were murdered or have gone missing over the past three decades.

Indigenous women represent four percent of Canada's population but accounted for up to 16-24 percent of homicide victims during the period, said the report's authors.

According to official estimates, almost 1,200 women and girls went missing or were killed between 1980 and 2012.

But inquiry commissioners have said that figure is probably too low.

The commissioners held 24 hearings across Canada over the past 2.5 years and heard from more than 2,000 witnesses, including family members of missing or murdered women, survivors of violence, experts and officials.

After two and a half years of hearings, a Canadian inquiry Monday released its final report on the disappearance and death of hundreds, if not thousands of indigenous women, victims of endemic violence it controversially said amounted to "genocide" https://t.co/6Vt7ZqDu14

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 3 juni 2019

Buttigieg impact felt in US beyond his White House dream

Yahoo – AFP, Michael Mathes, May 5, 2019

South Bend Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (L) speaks
beside husband Chasten Glezman in South Bend, Indiana on April 22, 2019
(AFP Photo/KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI)

Washington (AFP) - The unprecedented campaign of Pete Buttigieg, with husband and potential first gentleman Chasten at his side, is shaking up politics and promises to change perceptions of same-sex marriage -- and what it means to be a family in America.

The Buttigiegs are the most visible same-sex couple of the moment, riding a wave of popularity as Pete, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, seeks the Democratic presidential nomination and the right to challenge Donald Trump in 2020.

Should the improbable become reality, Buttigieg would serve as America's first openly gay commander in chief, and his 29-year-old husband of 11 months would become the first-ever US first gentleman.

Together they would challenge expectations of what the first couple could or should be.

While that remains a far-off dream 18 months from election day, experts say the pair is already having substantial cultural impact.

Millions of Americans have now watched Buttigieg's televised town halls, seen the candidate and his husband in person on the campaign trail or viewed their television interviews.

This week's Time magazine profile boldly titled "First Family" features a cover photo of the couple standing outside their home, sleeves rolled up -- an unremarkable image capturing a remarkable cultural moment.

"Pete and Chasten are so... normal and American and relatable," Annise Parker, the former mayor of Houston and one of the first openly gay mayors of a major American city, told AFP.

Because of heightened media coverage during Buttigieg's rising star campaign -- he was virtually unknown weeks ago but now polls in the top tier among 21 candidates -- "it's driving this mainstream middle-American image of a young happily married couple," said Parker, who now heads Victory Fund, which supports LGBTQ candidates.

"It's hard to discriminate against someone you can relate to so strongly."

The Buttigiegs are the most visible same-sex couple of the moment, riding a wave of 

popularity as Pete, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, seeks the 

Democratic presidential nomination and the right to challenge Donald Trump 

in 2020 (AFP Photo/SCOTT OLSON)

The average American's position on gay marriage has evolved rapidly, said Brian Powell, a sociology professor at Indiana University who studies same-sex marriage.

In 2003, his research showed, a traditional husband-wife-children view of family dominated. By 2015, the "inclusionist" ideal prevailed, and marriage equality was the law of the land.

Much of that shift was attributable to television, notably shows like "Will and Grace," which helped normalize same-sex households to millions of viewers.

But the real-life Buttigiegs could put even more Americans at ease.

People are "seeing it in a very visible public figure," Powell said. "That can have a transformational effect."

Buttigieg came out as gay during his mayoral re-election campaign, and three years after the Supreme Court struck down state bans on same-sex marriage, he and Chasten tied the knot.

During his campaign launch speech in South Bend, Buttigieg offered thanks to "Chasten, my love, for giving me the strength to do this and the grounding to be myself as we go."

Contrast with Trump

Buttigieg, according to The Atlantic, is "a model of conventional, bourgeois gay domesticity."

He is a military veteran, a monogamous intellectual by all accounts, quick to show off their two dogs.

Much has been made of the contrast with the twice-divorced Trump, accused by multiple women of sexual assault or harassment, and whom Buttigieg has branded as operating a "pornstar presidency."

Buttigieg came out as gay during his mayoral re-election campaign, and three years 

after the Supreme Court struck down state bans on same-sex marriage, he and

Chasten tied the knot (AFP Photo/Eric BARADAT)

"If the public portrayals of the marriages are accurate, then I would say more American families are like the Buttigieg family than they are like the Trump family," Powell said.

For under-40 millennials, sexual orientation is just another human trait, like race or gender, and "is not in any way a disqualifier" for the presidency, said University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire associate professor of sociology Peter Hart-Brinson.

Not all are on board, particularly conservatives. Many in the LGBTQ community view Trump himself as hostile to their rights, and several states still allow employers to fire workers for being gay.

Buttigieg is an Episcopalian with an abiding faith in God, but Christian evangelist Franklin Graham denounced him by name last week.

"As a Christian I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized," Graham tweeted.

"The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman—not two men, not two women."

By many accounts, the Buttigieg marriage is storybook, a symbol of what is politically achievable today.

Chasten, sitting with his husband, told CBS News last week that they quarrel over who does the laundry or takes out the trash, just like most American couples.

"I do enjoy going out there with Pete and showing people that gay marriage is just like a straight marriage," he said.

US top court to weigh in on gay, transgender rights

Yahoo – AFP, April 22, 2019

The US Supreme Court is to take up a gay and transgender rights case (AFP Photo/
Eric BARADAT)

Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court said Monday it will take up the question of whether gay and transgender workers are protected by federal law that bars discrimination in the workplace.

The nation's highest court is considering three related cases, one involving a funeral home worker who was fired after telling her employer she was a transgender woman and would be wearing women's clothing at work.

In the other two cases, gay workers said they were fired by their employers because of their sexual orientation.

The court will decide whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, also applies to sexual orientation and gender identity.

In the absence of a ruling from the top US court, lower courts have issued contradictory decisions.

The case is likely to be heard in the fall with a ruling issued next year.