POLITICS
Homophobe Chaim Deutsch Eyeing Congressional Race
Southern Brooklyn councilmember has consistently opposed queer rights
BY MATT TRACY
Term-limited Brooklyn
Councilmember Chaim
Deutsch appears ready
to take his local brand
of bigotry to the national stage —
and he wants to take out a member
of his own party in the process.
The conservative Southern
Brooklyn Democrat, armed with
an extensive anti-LGBTQ voting
record and a history of disturbing
homophobic comments, is said to
be launching a primary bid against
Brooklyn Representative Yvette
Clark in the Ninth Congressional
District, according to an elected offi
cial who spoke to Gay City News
on the condition of anonymity.
Deutsch has informed at least
one other elected offi cial of his
plans and discussed the run during
an event on December 5, the
source said.
Deutsch has yet to fi le with the
Federal Election Commission and
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/ EMIL COHEN
Can Brooklyn Councilmember Chaim Deutsch
bring his homophobia and transphobia to Nancy’s
Pelosi’s House in Washington?
he did not immediately return requests
for comment. The congressional
primary election takes place
in June of next year.
Deutsch’s foray into national
politics would represent a test of
conservative politics in a district
that spans as far north as the
Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn
and extends down to Sheepshead
Bay. Parts of Clarke’s district
overlap with Deutsch’s City
Council district.
Clarke, who is the daughter
of Jamaican-born former Councilmember
Una Clarke, an early
leader in Caribbean-American
politics in the city, also did not
immediately return calls seeking
comment.
Clarke eked out a victory in a
tight primary contest during the
last election cycle, beating leftleaning
challenger Adem Bunkeddeko
— a one-time Working
Families Party organizer, whose
parents fl ed war-torn Uganda —
by fi ve percentage points, or less
than 2,000 votes. Bunkeddeko is
again competing for the seat as a
progressive alternative to Clarke,
while Deutsch would presumably
occupy the conservative lane in
that primary race.
Deutsch is vying for the promotion
to Capitol Hill while he continues
to show patterns of resistance
to queer causes, with his most
recent slight coming last month
when he voted against bills intended
to make it easier for loved ones
to visit Hart Island, home to numerous
individuals lost to AIDS.
But his blatant homophobia and
transphobia runs much deeper
than that , beginning in 2013 when
he was running for his fi rst term
in Southern Brooklyn’s 48th District.
He attacked an opponent,
Theresa Scavo, during a Democratic
primary debate for that seat
because an LGBTQ-friendly group
supported her.
“I have to say that, Theresa, you
have the National Organization
for Women’s endorsement, which,
I don’t know how you could rep-
➤ CHAIM DEUTSCH, continued on p.11
LGBTQ Vets Seek Changes to NYS Law Aiming to Aid Them
Advocates say Restoration of Honor Act shuts out many former service members
BY MATT TRACY
New Yorkers celebrated
a new law aimed at restoring
state benefi ts
for veterans unfairly
discharged from the military due
to sexual orientation, gender identity,
sexual trauma, traumatic
brain injury, or post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), but some
LGBTQ veterans are holding their
applause because they say it is far
too limited.
And yet, one elected offi cial who
championed the bill appears to be
blowing off that concern and another
is offering only ambiguous
support when asked whether the
Legislature will actually fi x the lingering
issues.
The Restoration of Honor Act,
which was signed into law last
Out gay military veteran James Fitzgerald (right), seen here in Afghanistan, says New York’s Restoration
of Honor Act leaves out many former service members who need help.
month by Governor Andrew Cuomo,
was viewed as an important
step forward in righting the wrongs
FACEBOOK/ JAMES FITZGERALD
of the US military’s treatment
of LGBTQ service members who
were denied honorable discharges
due to their sexual orientation or
gender identity. Only the federal
government can make decisions
about military discharges, but the
measure at least allows veterans in
New York the opportunity to apply
for state benefi ts afforded to other
former service members.
But the rosy picture painted by
the lawmakers who carried the bill
— Assemblymember Didi Barrett
of Dutchess and Columbia Counties
and out gay West Side Senator
Brad Hoylman — does not tell
the whole story, according to out
gay military veterans like James
Fitzgerald, who is among those demanding
two amendments to the
legislation. Other queer military
veterans who spoke off the record
to Gay City News echoed similar
➤ LGBTQ VETERANS continued on p.19
December 19, 2019 - January 1, 2 10 020 | GayCityNews.com
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