Brian Vines Of BRIC TV On The Future Of LGBTQ+ Civil Rights, Orlando, And More

Moderator Brian Vines (Courtesy Instagram/Brian Vines.)

In light of the massacre in Orlando on June 12, we spoke with Brian Vines of BRIC, host of the #BHeard panel entitled “Pride 20/20: LGBTQ Civil Rights” at 7pm on June 14 at the BRIC Arts Media House (647 Fulton Street) that we previewed last week. Our conversation touched on a number of issues raised by the attack.

(Courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Beyond My Ken)

“Fully two weeks ago, we were talking about pronouns and people using the restroom that best comports with their identity. Now, that wedge issue that had been fabricated has been relegated to the back because real lives are at stake,” said Vines, as he prepared for the panel he’ll be moderating.

The event comes just days after the terrorist attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando which killed 50, a year after the historic Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges decision in which same-sex marriage was legalized across the fifty states, and nearly half a century after the Stonewall protests.

Vines said that the panel hadn’t been changed, but that it would acknowledge the horror that took place in Orlando. The panel’s guests come from across the country as well as around Brooklyn. They are:

New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres of District 15 in The Bronx
Meredith Talusan, Buzzfeed News’ LGBT staff writer
Professor Katherine Franke, the director of the Columbia University Center for Gender & Sexuality Law
Kiara St. James of Housing Works and the New York Trans Advocacy Group
Kenyon Farrow, the US & global health policy director at Treatment Action Group,
Carl Siciliano, the executive director of the Ali Forney Center

Vines emphasized the way in which the many issues facing the panel, especially in the aftermath of the attack in Orlando, will intersect with each other.

“Is this about gun violence? Terrorism? Hate crimes against LGBTQ community? The answer is yes, and none of it is in a vacuum,” said Vines. Moreover, Vines hopes that the tragedy in Orlando only serves to sharpen the focus on the problems that still afflict much of the LGBTQ community. He said he was acutely aware of the kind of “othering” which too often occurs.

“It’s the sort of casual homophobia and injustice that allow the larger things to happen,” said Vines, who added that he wants to make sure that “we maintain our focus on all of the lives that don’t rise to the level of national news coverage.”

Vines emphasized that, as an example of the way these issues intersect, for African-American males in Brooklyn, HIV rates are significantly higher than the national average. Vines also discussed how the easy access to guns was part of this equation, pointing out that new AR-15’s — the weapon used in the Orlando massacre — cost little more than $1,000 on average, “it’s barely rent for a month in a New York apartment to have a weapon that can do such destruction.”

“When we had town halls on money in politics, or youth violence, or race and policing, all of those subjects resonate with me just as this does,” said Vines, as he discussed the preparation for the event.

“The point is that we have the space and the mandate and the responsibility to have the conversation, and anybody who can get within the sound of our broadcast can engage,” added Vines.

If you’re interested in attending the 20/20 Pride town hall discussion, click here to RSVP.