The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Membership, led by longtime homosexual rights activist Allen Roskoff, spearheaded the decision for a boycott Friday, sending out a message urging LGBTQ teams and people to keep away from the celebration scheduled for Tuesday at Gracie Mansion.
Within the message, the membership argued Adams is “in bed with Donald Trump” and displaying nothing however “silence in the face of attacks on our community” from Trump’s administration. Amongst numerous different actions, Trump has sought to roll again entry to gender-affirming look after transgender folks, issued an government order searching for to ascertain it as a “biological truth” that there are solely two genders, ousted transgender service members from the U.S. navy and tried to ban trans ladies from taking part in sports activities in accordance with the gender with which they determine.
“The Trump administration’s intention is to erase us … Yet not a word of criticism from Eric Adams, who dines with Trump and tells staff not to criticize the president,” the Jim Owles message says.
Adams has mentioned he’s publicly refraining from criticizing Trump so as to cope with him privately as an alternative.
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket through Getty Photos
Allen Roskoff speaks after Mayor Eric Adams made an announcement with LGBTQ+ advocates at Metropolis Corridor in 2022. (Lev Radin / Pacific Press / LightRocket through Getty Photos)
“History will remember him as a pawn to Donald Trump,” Roskoff mentioned, a reference to the Trump Division of Justice’s controversial dismissal of Adams’ federal corruption indictment. “Mayor Adams is not our ally. He is our enemy.”
Adams’ workplace didn’t instantly return requests for remark.
Mayor Eric Adams participates within the annual Satisfaction March into the West Village on June 30, 2024 in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Alex Kent/Getty Photos)
After Roskoff’s missive, Equality New York, one other main native LGBTQ membership, introduced its members may even boycott Tuesday’s occasion at Gracie.
“Adams has failed from the beginning of his tenure as mayor to invest in the LGBT community, including appointing leaders in his administration with homophobic and transphobic histories,” Equality New York Government Director Amanda Babine mentioned, a reference to the mayor’s controversial 2022 resolution to faucet a trio of pastors with histories of anti-gay rhetoric to prime jobs in his administration. “He hasn’t taken feedback about that and even more recently we see him aligning with Trump, making it clear where he stands.”
A 3rd main LGBTQ group, the Lambda Unbiased Democrats of Brooklyn, mentioned it doesn’t contemplate itself a part of any formal boycott. Nevertheless, Lamda President Joseph Jourdan mentioned his group may even shun Tuesday’s occasion since Adams has “abandoned” the Democratic Occasion and “his queer constituents” amid his ties to Trump.
The Stonewall Democrats, one other main LGBTQ membership within the metropolis, has participated in boycotts of Adams’ Satisfaction Month occasions in previous years.
This 12 months, Stonewall Democrats President Gabriel Lewenstein mentioned his group received’t take part within the boycott. He mentioned he as an alternative desires to let members make “their own individual decisions,” although he affirmed his membership stays adamantly anti-Adams.
“We’ve called on the mayor to resign several times, so any members going should not be construed as political support,” mentioned Lewenstein, whose group has endorsed Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as its prime choose for mayor this 12 months.
Initially Revealed: Could 30, 2025 at 5:05 PM EDT
