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| Ryley Niemi, a far-right influencer (right) tricked a gay couple into being interviewed and then began peppering them with questions while implying that they were endangering their son. It did not end well for him. |
Two incidents took place the past weekend which piqued my interest so much that I couldn't spotlight just one. One involved a much-needed court victory for the trans community, while the other could be seen as a bit more complicated.
Item 1 - From The Advocate:
A federal judge in Oregon on Saturday forcefully struck down Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempt to impose far-reaching restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, ruling the policy unlawful and blocking its enforcement in the states that challenged it.
In a final judgment dated April 18, U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai vacated the so-called "Kennedy Declaration," finding it exceeded the administration’s authority, violated federal rulemaking requirements, and conflicted with existing law. The court held that federal officials "lack the authority to unilaterally establish standards of care" for gender-affirming treatment and cannot exclude providers from Medicare or Medicaid for offering care consistent with accepted medical guidelines.
Judge Kasubhai also permanently enjoined the federal government from enforcing the declaration or any similar policy against providers in the plaintiff states, ordering agencies to halt enforcement and notify officials within seven days.
To say that Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai simply went off against RFK, Jr and his attempt to restrict gender-affirming care for trans youth would be an understatement. Judge Kasubhai made it very clear where he stood:
“Unserious leaders are unsafe. There is nothing more serious than our leaders’ dedication to the rule of law so that we might maintain the integrity of our constitutional democracy,” Kasubhai wrote. “This case highlights a leader’s unserious regard for the rule of law,” the judge continued, adding that such disregard “does not merely result in an abstract infraction” but “causes very real harm to very real people.”
. . . The opinion sharply criticized the policy's rollout, noting that Kennedy “unlawfully issued a declaration threatening to cut federal funding” to medical providers and failed to follow required rulemaking procedures. If the administration had acted lawfully, the judge wrote, “there might have been ample time and opportunity” for providers, families, and children — “all people and institutions of our great nation” — to adjust or seek alternatives. Instead, the abrupt threat of enforcement “caused chaos and terror for all those people and institutions of our great nation.”
I have no doubt that the Trump Administration will appeal this decision . . . after it is done licking its wounds.
Now to Item 2 and it is controversial.
From LGBTQNation:
A gay dad of an infant has been charged with a felony after an altercation with a right-wing media personality who questioned his and his husband’s ability to raise a baby without a mother. Video circulating on social media shows Anthony Vulin, a member of West Hollywood’s Business License Commission, and his husband, David Vulin, being interviewed by anti-LGBTQ+ commentator Ryley Niemi. Anthony Vulin told the WeHo Times that the interview team lied to the couple and told them they were from CNN.
“We were walking home on Santa Monica Boulevard,” he said. “There were four guys – three of them had cameras and one of them had a suit on and a mic. They said they were from CNN and wanted to talk to us about our baby.” But it soon became clear the interviewer was not from CNN as he began to ask them hostile and homophobic questions.
Feel free to read the rest of the article or see the above footage. Long story short - After Niemi implied that the couple were predators "buying children," one daddy held the child while the other "took care of business." While I am not one for violence except for in the case of self-defense, I stand with the father. Completely, wholeheartedly, and unapologetically.
The funny part of it all is while Niemi is trying to generate support and pity for what happened to him, a lot of folks on social media - on the left, middle, AND right support the gay couple.
Unfortunately, though:
David Vulin was arrested for assaulting Niemi but released after about 12 hours, according to Anthony Vulin. He was ultimately charged with a felony for “vandalism with loss valued equal or greater than $400” for allegedly damaging a camera. Anthony Vulin told the WeHo Times he did no such thing.
Both the Vulins and Niemi have launched GoFundMe campaigns. I will not link to Niemi's site but go here if you want to help the Vulins.
And I want to make a general comment about the incident.
In the past months, there has been an acceleration on social media attacking same-sex families. Far-right commentators such as Matt Walsh have been attacking our families, while far-right influencers have been pushing out-of-context videos to denigrate gay parents. They seek to create a narrative that gay parents are rich men "buying children" via surrogacy in order to treat the children like accessories or, even worse, attain the children for sexual purposes.
We all know this is a lie, but we also know how those on the far-right will constantly repeat a lie in order to drown out the truth. I anticipate that we are going to see more stunts like Niemi's and more ugly lies told about our families in the near future. And while our responses need not be as violent as Mr. Vulin, an aggressive tone is very suitable.
In other words, DO NOT F@K with our families.
