Glenn Duque Magpantay (born 1969) is the former executive director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, an instructor at Brooklyn Law School and Hunter College/CUNY, and a former civil rights attorney in the role of Democracy Program director for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. [1] In 2023, Glenn D Magpantay was appointed as a Commissioner to the United States Commission on Civil Rights by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. [2] He is chair of the LGBT Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, [3] former co-chair of the Gay Asian & Pacific Islander Men of New York, [4] and recognized as an "authority on the federal Voting Rights Act and expert on Asian American political participation, including bilingual ballots, election reform, minority voter discrimination, multilingual exit polling, and census." [3] He has served as a commissioner on the New York City Voter Assistance Commission. [5] He is also a contributing writer for the Huffington Post . [4] The Glenn Magpantay Leadership Award at his undergraduate alma mater, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is named after him. [6]
Magpantay was born to Dr. Rudolfo I. Magpantay and Dr. Esmeralda Duque-Magpantay. [7] Magpantay earned his bachelor's in Sociology & Social Sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He earned his Juris Doctor from New England School of Law, [4] graduating cum laude. [8]
In 1991, Magpantay worked for Midwest Academy and US Student Association as a GROW grassroots organizing trainer. He transitioned to the role of community organizer at the Long Island Progressive Coalition in 1993, where he also ran its Political Action Committee (PAC). He next served as executive director at the University of California Student Association, [9] then as an immigration law clerk at Catholic Charities Legal Services, Inc. In 1994, Magpantay spoke at the National March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. The same year, he was named one of "25 Leading Men of 2004" by Instinct . [10]
In 2000, he organized the first-ever testimony before the White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. [10] In 2005, the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts bestowed him with their Community Service Award for his work on voting rights in Boston. [11] Starting in 2006, he spent two years at the Asian American Bar Association of New York in the role of Continuing Legal Education Instructor. He then spent 17 years as a civil right attorney and Democracy Program Director at the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund. Overlapping with his tenure, he began as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School in 2007. The same year, he was a featured speaker at CUNY's Conference on Caribbean Asians. [12] In 2009, he began teaching at Hunter College as an adjunct Professor of Law & Asian American Studies where he teaches "Asian American Civil Rights & the Law", "Introduction to Asian American Studies" (aka Asians in the United States), and "Asian American Queerness: An Overview of LGBTQ Asian American / South Asian Issues". [13]
Magpantay joined the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance as executive director in 2015. [14] He previously served as a co-director for the organization. Also in 2015, the New York State Bar Association Committee on Civil Rights honored Magpantay with the Haywood Burns Memorial Award. [15]
In 2016, Magpantay was bestowed with the Gay City News Impact Award. [8]
In 2017, Magpantay began teaching "Asian American Civil Rights and the Law" and "Intro to Asian American Studies" at Columbia University, maintaining his posts at Brooklyn Law School and Hunter. The same year, he was bestowed with an Arcus Leadership Fellowship. [16] The same year, he was a presenter at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit. [17]
In 2019, Magpantay led LGBT-inclusion training of faculty and staff at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He also lobbied the United States House of Representatives for LGBTQ immigrants rights, meeting with 15 congressional offices to support the Reuniting Families Act. [18] [19] In August 2019, Magpantay appeared as a workshop leader and panelist at the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance National Summit Training in Las Vegas, Nevada. [20]
In 2020, Magpantay was a guest speaker alongside the National LGBTQ Task Force's Policy Director, Meghan Maury, for Census Counts's webinar "Engaging AANHPI LGBTQ Communities." [21] He also led the workshop "The Census and LGBTQ Asians, South Asians, Southeast Asians, and Pacific Islanders: What’s at Stake, and How to Keep Safe" in Texas, Washington D.C., and New York. [22]
He is the principal of Magpantay & Associates, a nonprofit consulting and legal services firm. Crain’s NY Business hailed him as a Notable LGBTQ Executive in 2021. [23]
He is known for filing a demand that the FBI open a federal investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice commence a federal prosecution of a white man responsible for the death of Jaxon Sales—a 20-year-old gay Korean/Filipino young man who was found naked and dead in a San Francisco apartment in March 2020, pursuant to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, 18 U.S.C. § 249. [24]
In 2021, Magpantay, was awarded a prestigious "George Soros Equality Fellow" from the Open Society Foundations where he is documenting the history of the LGBTQ Asian American community over the past 25 years. [25]
In February 2023, the United States Senate (majority) appointed him to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his appointment [26] as a Commission in the congressional record [27] on February 13, 2023. At the Commission, Magpantay investigates the enforcement of civil rights and advises Congress and the President on civil rights policy
Magpantay will be the first Commissioner of Filipino heritage since the Commission was created in 1957 and the first openly-gay Asian American Commissioner since the Eisenhower Administration. His appointment was also supported by Congresswoman Grace Meng. [28]
Magpantay helped create the Commission's statutory enforcement report on the Federal Response to Antiracism in the United States (2023). [29] The report covered anti-Asian hate crimes since the onset of the COVID-19. [30]
He ensured that the Commission's report [31] to Congress and the White House on violent crime highlighted the killing of transgender women of color. [32]
Magpantay requested that the U.S. Department of Justice appoint federal observers to monitor poll sites in five states – Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, and Massachusetts – for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act and to guard against minority voter disenfranchisement and intimidation. [33] Soon thereafter Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Department would be sending federal observers to 86 cities in 27 states for the November 5th general election. [34]
Magpantay has held a number of community service roles throughout the years. From 1992 to 1993, he was a board member for the NYC chapter of Citizen Action of New York, a grassroots organization dedicated to social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. [35] Then in 1993, Magpantay joined the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization working towards peace and social justice in the US and abroad. He would serve with them as a Peace Building Committee member for 8 years. [35] Within that time, from 1996 to 1998, Magpantay also acted as an executive committee member for the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a longstanding progressive public interest legal association. [35]
Following these roles, from 1991 to 2001 Magpantay served as a trustee for the Boehm Foundation, a philanthropic organization that provided grant funding to organizations for democratic development and civil rights. [35] After that, from 2001 to 2005 Magpantay acted as a co-chair for Gay Asian and Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY), an enduring all-volunteer community organization dedicated to Queer and Trans Asian Pacific Islanders. [36] Within that time, in 2002 he was also appointed by the New York City Council to the NYC Voter Assistance Commission to support efforts to ensure accessible, accurate, and secure elections. [37]
From 2005 onward, Magpantay served as a chair for the Pro Bono Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York until 2011, [38] then from 2013 to the present day as a chair for the LGBT committee. [39] Within that time, in 2015 he also became a Diversity and Inclusion Committee member for the National Asian Pacific Bar Association, which he continues in the present. [35] Most recently, in 2020 Magpantay began service as a NY Advisory committee member for the United States Commission on Civil Rights, established by the 1957 Civil Rights Act as an independent, bipartisan federal effort to develop civil rights policy and enforce of civil rights laws. [40] [41]
LGBTQ Immigrant's Rights
Asian American representation
Minority Voter Suppression
Defending the Voting Rights Act
Magpantay entered into a same-sex domestic partnership with Christopher Goeken, former director of communications for the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, on September 17, 2005. [79] They were married in a civil ceremony on February 8, 2013 by State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan, who had originally struck down New York's prohibition against same sex marriage in Hernandez v. Robles in 2004.
Goeken and Magpantay amicably divorced in 2020 and co-parent their son Malcolm.
The availability of legally recognized same-sex marriage in the United States expanded from one state (Massachusetts) in 2004 to all fifty states in 2015 through various court rulings, state legislation, and direct popular votes. States each have separate marriage laws, which must adhere to rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States that recognize marriage as a fundamental right guaranteed by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as first established in the 1967 landmark civil rights case of Loving v. Virginia.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2005.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in New Jersey since October 21, 2013, the effective date of a trial court ruling invalidating the state's restriction of marriage to persons of different sexes. In September 2013, Mary C. Jacobson, Assignment Judge of the Mercer Vicinage of the Superior Court, ruled that as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor, the Constitution of New Jersey requires the state to recognize same-sex marriages. The Windsor decision held that the federal government was required to provide the same benefits to same-sex couples who were married under state law as to other married couples. Therefore, the state court reasoned in Garden State Equality v. Dow that, because same-sex couples in New Jersey were limited to civil unions, which are not recognized as marriages under federal law, the state must permit civil marriage for same-sex couples. This ruling, in turn, relied on the 2006 decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court in Lewis v. Harris that the state was constitutionally required to afford the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. The Supreme Court had ordered the New Jersey Legislature to correct the constitutional violation, by permitting either same-sex marriage or civil unions with all the rights and benefits of marriage, within 180 days. In response, it passed a bill to legalize civil unions on December 21, 2006, which became effective on February 19, 2007.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the United States may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents, with civil protections widely varying by state. While the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people remain among the most advanced in the world, the rights of transgender and intersex people have been significantly eroded since the beginning of the second Trump presidency, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2008.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality is legal in Bermuda, but the territory has long held a reputation for being homophobic and intolerant. Since 2013, the Human Rights Act has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Michigan enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Michigan in June 2024 was ranked "the most welcoming U.S. state for LGBT individuals". Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Michigan under the U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage was legalised in accordance with 2015's Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity is unlawful since July 2022, was re-affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court - under and by a 1976 statewide law, that explicitly bans discrimination "on the basis of sex". The Michigan Civil Rights Commission have also ensured that members of the LGBT community are not discriminated against and are protected in the eyes of the law since 2018 and also legally upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022. In March 2023, a bill passed the Michigan Legislature by a majority vote - to formally codify both "sexual orientation and gender identity" anti-discrimination protections embedded within Michigan legislation. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill on March 16, 2023. In 2024, Michigan repealed “the last ban on commercial surrogacy within the US” - for individuals and couples and reformed the parentage laws, that acknowledges same sex couples and their families with children.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Ohio enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Ohio since 1974, and same-sex marriage has been legally recognized since June 2015 as a result of Obergefell v. Hodges. Ohio statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal in 2020. In addition, a number of Ohio cities have passed anti-discrimination ordinances providing protections in housing and public accommodations. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities. In December 2020, a federal judge invalidated a law banning sex changes on an individual's birth certificate within Ohio.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of West Virginia face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT persons. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1976, and same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014. West Virginia statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of New Jersey have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. LGBT individuals in New Jersey enjoy strong protections from discrimination, and have had the same marriage rights as heterosexual people since October 21, 2013.
California is seen as one of the most liberal states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights, which have received nationwide recognition since the 1970s. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the state since 1976. Discrimination protections regarding sexual orientation and gender identity or expression were adopted statewide in 2003. Transgender people are also permitted to change their legal gender on official documents without any medical interventions, and mental health providers are prohibited from engaging in conversion therapy on minors.
The state of Washington is seen as one of the most progressive states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights; with jurisprudence having evolved significantly since the late 20th century. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1976. LGBTQ people are fully protected from discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations; the state enacting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in 2006. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2012, and same-sex couples are allowed to adopt. Conversion therapy on minors has also been illegal since 2018.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Maine have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex marriage has been recognized in Maine since December 2012, following a referendum in which a majority of voters approved an initiative to legalize same-sex marriage. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited in the areas of employment, housing, credit and public accommodations. In addition, the use of conversion therapy on minors has been outlawed since 2019, and joint adoption is permitted for same-sex couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Colorado enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Colorado since 1972. Same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014, and the state enacted civil unions in 2013, which provide some of the rights and benefits of marriage. State law also prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations and the use of conversion therapy on minors. In July 2020, Colorado became the 11th U.S. state to abolish the gay panic defense.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Virginia enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. LGBTQ rights in the state are a relatively recent occurrence; with most improvements in LGBT rights occurring in the 2000s and 2010s. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Virginia since October 6, 2014, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal in the case of Bostic v. Rainey. Effective July 1, 2020, there is a state-wide law protecting LGBTQ persons from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit. The state's hate crime laws also now explicitly include both sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Idaho face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Idaho, and same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since October 2014. State statutes do not address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. A number of cities and counties provide further protections, namely in housing and public accommodations. A 2019 Public Religion Research Institute opinion poll showed that 71% of Idahoans supported anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQ people, and a 2016 survey by the same pollster found majority support for same-sex marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the U.S. state of Alaska have evolved significantly over the years. Since 1980, same-sex sexual conduct has been allowed, and same-sex couples can marry since October 2014. The state offers few legal protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving LGBTQ people vulnerable to discrimination in housing and public accommodations; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. In addition, four Alaskan cities, Anchorage, Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan, representing about 46% of the state population, have passed discrimination protections for housing and public accommodations.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Asia and the Pacific Islands and in the global Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked. Please note: this is a very incomplete timeline, notably lacking LGBTQ-specific items from the 1800s to 1970s, and should not be used as a research resource until additional material is added.
The Equality Act was a bill in the United States Congress, that, if passed, would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit, and jury service. The Supreme Court's June 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County protects gay and transgender people in matters of employment, but not in other respects. The Bostock ruling also covered the Altitude Express and Harris Funeral Homes cases.
LGBTQ+ conservatism in the United States is a social and political ideology within the LGBTQ+ community that largely aligns with the American conservative movement. LGBTQ+ conservatism is generally more moderate on social issues than social conservatism, instead emphasizing values associated with fiscal conservatism, libertarian conservatism, and neoconservatism.