USAID Cuts Cripple Global Queer Rights | This Way Out Radio Episode #1942
- This Way Out
- Jun 17
- 8 min read
In the aftermath of the Elon Musk chainsaw gutting the United States Agency for International Development, LGBTQ+ people around the world were robbed of more than a hundred programs geared to promote their health, safety and human rights. UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute senior fellow and director of international programs Ari Shaw worries that the days of U.S. leadership on global queer rights are over (interviewed by David Hunt).
And in NewsWrap: the Czech Republic’s sterilization pre-requisite for a transgender or nonbinary person seeking to change their legal gender is condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, researchers find young bisexual women leading the way in the surging numbers of Australians over the age of 15 who openly identify as “L-G-B-plus,” World Pride 2025 climaxes with a joyous parade and a defiant International March on Washington for Freedom, Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ Pride is canceled in expectation of retaliation for Israel’s airstrikes against Iran, 52 U.S. Congressional Democrats demand proof of life for renditioned gay Venezuelan make-up artist Andry José Hernández Romero, U.S. Air Force veteran Gina Ortiz Jones becomes the first out LGBTQ candidate to be elected Mayor of San Antonio, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor).
All this on the June 16, 2025 edition of This Way Out!
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Complete Program Summary
for the week of June 16, 2025
USAID cuts cripple global queer rights
NewsWrap (full transcript below): The European Court of Human Rights rules that it is unlawful for the Czech Republic to require trans and nonbinary people seeking legal gender change to first be sterilized … a major university study reveals that the number of people over the age of 15 in Australia openly identifying as LGB+ is mushrooming … delegates at the annual conference of the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Dallas, Texas this year, call for the repeal of marriage equality … World Pride, being held in Washington, D.C. this year, wraps up after three weeks of concerts, exhibitions, parties, forums, a three-day Human Rights Conference drawing some 800 activists from around the world, and a massive celebratory but politically defiant Pride Parade [intro’d by audio from the Parade kick-off and sounds of the celebration] … Tel Aviv authorities cancel June 13th’s scheduled LGBTQ Pride Parade after Israel and Iran begin exchanging deadly airstrikes … more than 50 Democratic lawmakers write to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding proof of life for asylum-seeking gay Venezuelan make-up artist Andry José Hernández Romero, who was falsely accused of being a member of his homeland’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang and sent months ago to an infamous maximum security prison in El Salvador … lesbian U.S. Air Force veteran Gina Ortiz Jones becomes the first out queer candidate to be elected Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, the country’s seventh-largest city [with excerpts from her victory speech] (written by GREG GORDON and LUCIA CHAPPELLE, produced by BRIAN DeSHAZOR, reported this week by MICHAEL TAYLOR GRAY and SARAH MONTAGUE).
Feature: In the aftermath of the Elon Musk chainsaw gutting the United States Agency for International Development, LGBTQ+ people around the world were robbed of more than a hundred programs geared to promote their health, safety and human rights. UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute senior fellow and director of international programs Ari Shaw worries that the days of U.S. leadership on global queer rights are over (interviewed by David Hunt). (with intro music by DIANA ROSS with ASHFORD & SIMPSON and internal music by CTRL S).
[Williams Institute https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/]
NewsWrap
A summary of some of the news in or affecting
LGBTQ communities around the world
for the week ending June 14th, 2025
Written by Greg Gordon and Lucia Chappelle,
reported this week by MICHAEL TAYLOR GRAY and SARAH MONTAGUE,
produced by Brian DeShazor
The Czech Republic’s sterilization pre-requisite for a transgender or nonbinary person seeking to change their legal gender has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg-based court ruled on June 12th that the mandate violates privacy guarantees in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Plaintiff Taylor H. was assigned male at birth but identifies as female. She has fought for more than a decade for the right to change her legal gender and associated personal identification number.
Taylor H. first challenged the sterilization requirement in 2012. The case went all the way to the Czech Constitutional Court in 2021, where she lost. The EuroCourt of Human Rights offered her last opportunity to change the law.
Meanwhile, the sterilization requirement was struck down by the Czech Constitutional Court last year in a separate case filed by a transgender man. The justices delayed enforcement of the ruling until July 1st of this year to give the government time to replace the law, but the legislature failed to act.
Taylor H. called the decision “a great day for non-binary and trans people.” She said, “It’s essential that Europe follows a path of dignity, equality, and human rights — especially amid global efforts to roll back trans rights.”
The number of Australians over the age of 15 who openly identify as “L-G-B-plus” has mushroomed according to a new university study. Researchers at the prestigious Charles Darwin University in the country’s Northern Territory report that the number grew from 3.3 per cent in 2012 to 5.8 per cent in 2020. Young women who identify as bisexual were the biggest driver of growth over that eight-year period.
Researcher Fiona Shalley noted that the increase mirrors growing social acceptance of queer people, capped by the public vote approving marriage equality in 2017.
The upcoming 2026 Census will ask a question about sexual orientation for the first time. Those results will provide an even clearer picture of Australia’s L-G-B-plus population.
The Southern Baptist Convention has come out in support of the repeal of marriage equality in the U.S. A huge majority of the more than 10,000 voting “messengers” at the denomination’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas approved the collection of resolutions in a declaration called “Restoring Moral Clarity Through God’s Design for Gender, Marriage and the Family.”
The June 10th declaration was the Baptists’ way of commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Obergefell marriage equality ruling. They call for the institution to be limited to “one man and one woman.” They believe that equality laws not only “defy God’s design for marriage and family,” they also undermine what they think is the “biological reality” that there are only two genders. Moreover, they foster “willful childlessness,” “gender confusion,” and the “undermining [of] parental rights.” The resolution package also includes calls for bans on pornography and gambling on sports.
The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Delegates to this week’s conference represented close to 50,000 churches and some 12.7 million members, as of 2024. Their consistent opposition to marriage equality of course means that those churches do not solemnize same-gender relationships.
President of the denomination’s Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood Denny Burk told the New York Times, “We know that we’re in a minority in the culture right now, but we want to be a prophetic minority.”
[SOUND: World Pride Parade kick-off, crowd sounds]
World Pride 2025 climaxed with a joyous June 7th parade and a defiant June 8th International March on Washington for Freedom in the U.S. capital. The three preceding weeks of events included parties, exhibitions, workshops and a three-day Human Rights Conference that attracted more than 800 activists.
Hundreds of thousands of celebrants were drawn to the nearly six-hour parade led by marchers carrying a 1,000-foot rainbow flag. The second of a two-day festival followed the parade, featuring hundreds of people staffing booths ranging from commercial ventures to nonprofit organizations. Free concerts during the celebration featured Cynthia Erivo, Doechii, Khalid, David Archuleta, Kristine W, Troye Sivan, RuPaul, Kim Petras, Jennifer Lopez, and Reneé Rapp. Periodic rain failed to dampen the festivities. Then it was on to the Lincoln Memorial the following day.
There were not as many international visitors attending World Pride this year, thanks to the anti-immigrant and anti-queer policies of the Trump administration. Those from the global South were particularly impacted.
Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ Pride was canceled by authorities on June 13th after Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. The festivities were scheduled to begin that day. A mass protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that had been scheduled for the following night was also cancelled amid concerns for security.
Tel Aviv has hosted one of the region’s largest Pride celebrations, and up to a quarter-of-a-million people were expected this year. Highly controversial pro-Trump transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner was to have been the guest of honor.
This was the second consecutive cancellation of Tel Aviv Pride. Last year’s parade was called off by authorities and activists due to the on-going hostage crisis and war in the Gaza Strip.
Jerusalem’s annual Pride parade took place without serious incident on June 5th.
Is Andry José Hernández Romero still alive? Fifty-two U.S. Congressional Democrats have demanded proof of life for the renditioned 31-year-old Venezuelan make-up artist. Hernández Romero had applied for asylum based on threats to his life for being gay in his homeland. Immigration officials detained him based on some of his tattoos in a sweep of alleged members of his country’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang. His defenders say the tattoos were not in any way gang related. He’s believed to be in the infamous maximum-security CECOT prison in El Salvador.
A June 9th letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio was written by out Congress members Robert Garcia, Sarah McBride, Mark Takano, Becca Balint and Ritchie Torres. They asked for “a wellness check on Mr. Hernández Romero,” and for Secretary Rubio to “facilitate his access to legal counsel and [immediate release].”
Garcia told The Advocate, “Pride Month is an opportunity to highlight his story even more. … The more folks learn about it, the more they’ll put pressure on the administration and Homeland Security to do the right thing.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has already directly rebuffed Garcia’s request for intervention. There’s no reason to believe that Secretary Rubio will respond any differently.
Finally, U.S. Air Force veteran Gina Ortiz Jones has become the first out LGBTQ candidate to be elected Mayor of San Antonio, Texas. She defeated Trump acolyte and ally of anti-queer Republican Governor Greg Abbott Rolando Pablos in a run-off election on June 7th.
Jones will become the third female mayor in the nation’s seventh-largest city. She previously served as Under Secretary of the Air Force during the Biden administration, where she managed a 173-billion-dollar budget and led 600,000 people. The victorious Filipino American promised during her campaign to open early-childhood education to more kids and to increase affordable housing and work programs for unskilled workers.
Jones told supporters at a victory celebration:
[SOUND: Jones]
It was my name on the ballot, but you and I know decency was on the ballot, kindness was on the ballot, compassion was on the ballot, and San Antonio showed up and showed out.
Jones will be sworn in on June 18th for a four-year term. She honored one of her volunteers with a promised appointment:
[SOUND: Jones]
I want to highlight Brandon because Brandon is from San Antonio … transgender man … drill instructor in your United States Air Force [cheer] … but unfortunately is getting kicked out because of the Executive Orders. I’m very proud that Brandon is going to stay in San Antonio. It’s unfortunate that the United States Air Force is not going to benefit from your talents because of bigotry, but Brandon, we’ll find a spot for you. [cheer]
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