QUEER QUOTE: Nation's Largest LGBT Group Rescinds Kirk Endorsement Over Racist Remark

Well, well! The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT political advocacy organization, has rescinded its endorsement of incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois)  over a shocking racist remark Kirk made in a debate with his opponent U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth last week.

An excerpt from the open letter HRC head Chad Griffin released explaining the organization's action is today's Queer Quote:

“After careful consideration, HRC’s Public Policy Committee of the Board of Directors has taken the unprecedented step -- a first in our 36-year history -- of revoking an endorsement. We are a bipartisan organization and our staff and board make endorsement decisions based on a proven record of LGBTQ equality and a candidate’s ability to drive legislative change. We will not continue to make progress and pass the Equality Act without Republican support. It’s vitally important that we continue to build bipartisan coalitions so that we may continue to move equality forward. We endorsed the sitting senator, Mark Kirk, because he has been a strong supporter of our cause time and again, scoring a 100 percent on HRC’s most recent Congressional Scorecard. But events this week have gone beyond the pale for our standards of leadership.

“Leadership is about more than the legislation one sponsors and the votes one casts. On Thursday night, Senator Kirk's comments about his opponent's heritage were deeply offensive and racist. His attempt to use Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth’s race as a means to undermine her family’s American heritage and patriotism is beyond reprehensible. Yesterday, Senator Kirk tweeted an apology that failed to adequately address the real harm and magnitude of his words. So today, following a vote by our board’s committee, the Human Rights Campaign withdrew our support of Senator Kirk.

“Attacking someone because of her race and ethnicity is inexcusable for anyone, but especially for a sitting U.S. Senator. The diversity of our movement is our greatest strength, and Senator Kirk’s remarks were an affront to our most fundamental values. We have therefore voted to endorse Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, who has been a strong LGBTQ ally in the House of Representatives, and HRC has contributed the maximum amount to her campaign. We look forward to working with her in the Senate to secure full federal equality for all LGBTQ Americans."

I have refused to donate money to HRC ever since they endorsed the odious Alfonse D'Amato over Charles Schumer in the 1998 U.S. Senate race from New York. The fact that they finally did the right thing by rescinding the endorsement when their chosen candidate made an explicitly racist remark is a sign that things may be changing at HRC.

QUEER QUOTE: VP Biden Calls Out Homophobic GOP Presidential Candidates

Vice President Joe Biden appeared as the keynote speaker at the Human Right Campaign's National Gala last night and in his speech reiterated and explained his support for full LGBT equality. This excerpt is today's Queer Quote:

“I strongly support the equality act and it will pass. The American people think the law already prevents an employer from  firing someone because they are LGBT The American people already think it’s illegal to deny you housing. the American people already think what the act calls for. The problem is, they don’t know that it’s still legal in so many places, so the one way, if you could change this overnight, would be to infuse in every mind in America that there are still 31 states that can deny you employment, and housing, etcetera….Let them know! The American people are already with you.”

“There are still homophobes left. Most of them are running for president I think.”

Interestingly, a few hours before Biden's speech, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made some news of her own in an address to staffers and volunteers at HRC by obliquely calling out homophobes Kim Davis and Mike Huckabee.

“We assure [gay youth] it gets better, but it can still be really hard to believe that especially when you turn on the TV and you see a Republican candidate for president literally standing in the courthouse door in Kentucky calling for people to join him in resisting a Supreme Court ruling, celebrating a Kentucky clerk who’s breaking the law by denying other Americans their constitutional rights.”

Hat/tip to TowleRoad

QUEER QUOTE: Boy Scouts Rescind Homophobic Ban On Openly Gay Adult Troop Leaders

The Boy Scouts of America announced on Monday that their board of directors had voted to lift their blanket ban on openly gay scout leaders, simultaneously allowing individual chapters sponsored by religious groups to maintain their own separate bans on openly LGBT scout leaders.

Both LGBT groups and the Mormon church are unhappy with the Scouts announcement. Their responses are excerpted below and are today's Queer Quote.

Zach Wahls of Scouts for Equality said:

“While we still have some reservations about individual units discriminating against gay adults, we couldn’t be more excited about the future of Scouting. We look forward to collaborating with our supporters, progressive faith partners, allied non-profit organizations, and the Boy Scouts of America to ensure a fully inclusive Scouting movement.”

Human Right Campaign's Chad Griffin said:

"[I]ncluding an exemption for troops sponsored by religious organizations undermines and diminishes the historic nature of today's decision.  Discrimination should have no place in the Boy Scouts, period. BSA officials should now demonstrate true leadership and begin the process of considering a full national policy of inclusion that does not allow discrimination against anyone because of who they are."

But the heterosexual supremacists of the Mormon Church were not happy either, and intimated they might sever their relationship with the Boy Scouts over the move:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote by the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board. In spite of a request to delay the vote, it was scheduled at a time in July when members of the Church’s governing councils are out of their offices and do not meet. When the leadership of the Church resumes its regular schedule of meetings in August, the century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined. The Church has always welcomed all boys to its Scouting units regardless of sexual orientation. However, the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America. As a global organization with members in 170 countries, the Church has long been evaluating the limitations that fully one-half of its youth face where Scouting is not available. Those worldwide needs combined with this vote by the BSA National Executive Board will be carefully reviewed by the leaders of the Church in the weeks ahead.

There ya go!

QUEER QUOTE: Mormon Church Expresses Grudging Support For LGBT Non-Discrimination

Today's Queer Quote comes from an unlikely source, Elder Dallin Oaks of the Mormon Church, discussing the Church of Latter-Day Saints new position in support of LGBT non-discrimination, with the HUGE caveat that it allow exemptions for "religious beliefs." I have previously blogged about several Utah politicians' willful ignorance of civil rights law (namely Gov. Gary Hebert and Dallin Oaks himself) and this latest move by the Church reflects this misapprehension.

"We call on local, state and the federal government to serve all of their people by passing legislation that protects vital religious freedoms for individuals, families, churches and other faith groups while also protecting the rights of our LGBT citizens in such areas as housing, employment and public accommodation in hotels, restaurants and transportation — protections which are not available in many parts of the country."

However, what this means in practice does not sound or look like what most LGBT people would call civil rights protections. Instead, what it looks like to Andrew Rosenthal at The New York Times is that the Mormon Church wants "The Freedom To Discriminate."

“Mormon leaders still want to hire and fire workers based not only on religious beliefs, but also on behavior standards known as honor codes that require gays and lesbians to remain celibate or marry someone of the opposite sex. The church also wants legal protections for religious objectors who work in government and health care, such as a physician who refuses to perform an abortion, or provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.”

As the Human Rights Campaign points out, this position is not faithful to the principles of equal rights for all.

“We share the church’s commitment to freedom of religion. We embrace the principles of the First Amendment and believe churches do and should have the right to make determinations about who fills their pews. But non-discrimination protections only function when they are applied equally. It should be stated that there are countless LGBT Mormons, and Mormon allies, who support equality, not in spite of their faith but because of it. All Americans should have the right to be employed, receive housing and services in environments free of discrimination. We await the day the church embraces that fully, without any exceptions or exemptions."

It shall be interesting to see how this develops...

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) Endorses Marriage Equality; 4th Sitting GOP Senator To Do So

Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins became the fourth sitting Republican Senator to endorse marriage equality on Wednesday. Collin, Republican of maine, joins her colleagues Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Collins told the Portland Press-Herald:

On Wednesday, however, her campaign issued a statement that many in the gay-rights community had expected much earlier from a lawmaker who is viewed as one of Congress’ friendliest Republicans on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. 

“A number of states, including my home state of Maine, have now legalized same-sex marriage, and I agree with that decision,” Collins said in the statement. “Today, same-sex couples can be legally married in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 44% of Americans live in a state where same-sex couples can be legally married, and I believe this number will only continue to grow.” 

Earlier Wednesday, Collins was endorsed once again by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy organization.

Many Democratic LGBT observers (like myself) are dismayed that HRC is endorsing a Republican who had not endorsed marriage equality yet when her opponent is someone who was a champion for marriage equality in Maine as head of the local chapter of the ACLU. Shana Bellows issued a statement in response to the news of the endorsement:

"I've been proud and very privileged to be a leader in the LGBT equality movement for many years. As executive director of the ACLU of Maine, I spent every day bringing Republicans and Democrats together to expand civil liberties and strengthen equal protection under the law. I believe in taking strong stances in favor of Constitutional protections and equal rights even when they're unpopular. Remaining silent on some of the biggest civil rights issues of our generation, even after the voters have spoken, isn't leadership, and it isn't how Maine became one of the most inclusive states in the country for LGBT rights. 

"My opponent, Republican Susan Collins, had the chance to speak up in favor of marriage equality in 2012 or any time in the previous decade. Two years after her constituents made their feelings known at the ballot box, she has refused to break her silence. I believe Mainers need, want and deserve more proactive representation on equal rights -- on allowing LGBT students to learn without fear of bullying, on applying for jobs and going to work without fear of discrimination, and on much more. I'm running for Senate to provide that proactive representation and to expand Constitutional protections for our LGBT community.

I understand that HRC feels like it needs to endorse Republican incumbents over Democratic challengers, but I disagree with the lack of political principle involved. The largest LGBT political organization in the country should make its endorsements based on which candidate actually has the best pro-LGBT record. By endorsing a Republican, HRC is endorsing someone who will vote for Mitch McConnell to be Senate Majority Leader, which will mean absolutely no legislative progress on LGBT rights while Republicans control the Senate.

Important Deadline Passes To Appeal Landmark LGBT Equality Case

The Human Rights Campaign noticed that today was the deadline for the appeal to be filed in the landmark case of Abbott Laboratories v. SmithKline Beecham in which the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that laws that classify based upon sexual orientation require heightened scrutiny.

Abbott is an incredibly significant ruling that already has had immediate impacts on the lives of LGBT citizens. As a direct result of the issuance of this ruling the Attorneys General of Nevada and Oregon declined to continue to defend their state's marriage licenses.

It is hard to see how marriage laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation survive judicial review anywhere in the 9th Circuit as long as Abbott is good law.

Juror Discrimination Case Will Not Be Appealed
Ninth Circuit's Application of Heightened Scrutiny for Sexual Orientation Will Stand
WASHINGTON – In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in a pharmaceutical contract dispute, Abbott Laboratories v. SmithKline Beecham, that it violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection to exclude someone from jury service because of his or her sexual orientation.  In doing so, the court also concluded that discrimination based on sexual orientation should be subject to heightened scrutiny, a higher standard of judicial review that requires a stronger justification for laws and policies that treat gays and lesbians differently.  Only days after the Ninth Circuit's decision, the Attorney General of Nevada ended the state's defense of its marriage ban in another case before that court, concluding that Nevada's justifications for excluding same-sex couples from marriage could not withstand that higher level of review.  

Yesterday, the deadline passed for AbbVie (the pharmaceutical spin-off of Abbott Laboratories that is a party in this litigation) to seek review of the January decision by a larger panel of the Ninth Circuit.  Furthermore, HRC has learned that AbbVie will not seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.     

 “AbbVie’s decision not to appeal this ruling may turn out to be a pivotal moment in the quest for marriage equality in every state in this country and greater constitutional protections for all LGBT Americans,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.  "We thank the company for standing on the right side of history."   

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

###

WWJD: HRC Calls For Veto Of AZ LGBT Segregation Bill

What will Jan Do? LGBT people in Arizona and all over the United States are wondering what Jan Brewer will do with the discriminatory legislation (called SB1062) heading to her desk. Will she prevent it from becoming law, or will she allow her state to be associated with the imposition of legal segregation based on sexual orientation or gender identity?

HRC Calls on AZ Gov. Jan Brewer to Veto License to Discriminate Law

Deeply flawed legislation harms LGBT and other communities

WASHINGTON – Following the Senate passage of Arizona’s so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin released the following statement:

“This bill is bad for business, bad for the LGBT community and bad for all Arizonans.  Governor Brewer, who herself described it as very controversial, must veto it and send a strong message that legally sanctioned discrimination has no place in Arizona.

“Religious groups have a long established first amendment ability to operate according to their own beliefs.  However, when individuals or businesses go out into the commercial market, they must abide by legal non-discrimination provisions.

“When providing a service to the public, a business owner shouldn’t pick and choose who they want to provide a service to and who they want to deny.  Instead of protecting religious liberty, this bill gives license for discrimination to run rampant across the state.”

Americans overwhelmingly believe that businesses should not be able to deny services to someone because they’re gay or lesbian:

• According to a poll by Third Way and the Human Rights Campaign 69 percent of Americans don’t think a business owner should be allowed to refuse to provide products or services to an individual because that person is gay or lesbian, compared to an incredibly small 15% that do. And when asked about small business owners in particular, a full 68% of Americans don’t think they should be able to refuse service to gays or lesbians, regardless of their religious beliefs. This supermajority included 55% of Republicans, 75% of Independents, 67% of people without college degrees, and 68% of Christians.
• When asked specifically about wedding-related services, like catering, flowers, or cakes, being provided by small businesses, 64% of voters were still opposed to new laws that would allow small businesses to deny wedding-related services based on their religious beliefs, compared to 31% in favor.

Because the language is so broad, any individual, corporation, institution, or business organization may be able to justify discrimination against LGBT individuals by claiming a religious belief. Potential examples include:

• Undermining local non-discrimination ordinances protecting LGBT individuals.
• Interfering with licensing organizations that have professional regulations protecting LGBT individuals.
• Employees may potentially bring litigation against employers who are enforcing internal nondiscrimination policies, including employer provided benefits for same-sex spouses (health insurance, retirement) and LGBT non-discrimination policies.
• Pharmacists could potentially refuse to provide HIV and hormone replacement therapy drugs.
• Restaurants, inns/hotels could potentially turn away same-sex couples celebrating an anniversary, adoption or pregnancy.
• Wedding garment shops, bakeries, photo studios, and reception halls could close their doors to same-sex couples planning their weddings.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

# # #

Oscar Nominee Ellen Page Comes Out At LGBT Youth Conference

Ellen Page, 26, is best known for her Oscar nominated role in Juno but you may also remember her from her appearance in Christopher Nolan's Inception. Page made news this weekend when she gave a keynote address at HRC's Time To Thrive conference for LGBT youth in Nevada and promptly came out of the closet herself.

The video of her speech has been viewed more than 3 million times since it was posted to YouTube on Friday.

AG Holder Reaffirms Married Same-Sex Couples Eligible For ALL Federal Benefits

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

United States Attorney General Eric Holder told an audience at a gala dinner of the nation's largest LGBT advocacy organization that the Justice Department is fully implementing the landmark Supreme Court decision United States v. Windsor that invalidated the defense of marriage act, resulting in more tangible federal benefits for legally married same-sex couples throughout the country.

A summary of the policy changes is:

Each of the changes is related to the way the Justice Department handles recognition of married same-sex couples. They range from rights in civil and criminal cases, rights as inmates and access to benefits programs:
• The Justice Department will recognize that same-sex spouses of individuals involved in civil and criminal cases have the same legal rights as straight married couples, including the right to decline to give testimony that might incriminate a spouse.
This new rule applies in non-marriage equality states. The government won't object to couples in same-sex marriages invoking this right if they marry in another state, but their current jurisdiction doesn't recognize their union.
• In bankruptcy cases, the U.S. Trustee Program will take the position that same-sex married couples should be treated in the same manner as opposite-sex married couples. Consequently, same-sex married couples will be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly; certain debts to same-sex spouses or former spouses will be excepted from discharge; and domestic support obligations should include debts, including alimony, owed to a former same-sex spouse.
• Federal inmates in same-sex marriages will be entitled to the same rights and privileges as inmates in opposite-sex marriages. These rights include spousal visitation; inmate furloughs to be present during a crisis involving a spouse; escorted trips to attend a spouse’s funeral; correspondence with a spouse; and compassionate release or reduction in sentence if an inmate’s spouse is incapacitated.
• The Justice Department will recognize same-sex couples for the purposes of a number of benefits programs it administers, such as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
Also among these programs is the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program, which provides death benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, who suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries while on duty.

This is not surprising since the Social Security Administration and the Defense Department have already announced that they are fully implementing the Windsor decision as well. However, this is good news that the nation's "top cop" is strongly supportive of eliminating discrimination against legally married same-sex couples by the federal government.

This Yearbook Picture Violates "Community Standards" In Texas. Why?

It is becoming clearer that the next frontier for LGBT equality is in the area of public accommodations for transgender people. This story about Jeydon Loredo caught my eye. The school board of La Feria High School in La Feria, Texas is refusing to allow Jeydon to appear in his yearbook picture wearing a tuxedo, saying that it offends "community standards."

A major milestone in life would be summed up in one image: Jeydon in a crisp tuxedo with his hair neatly combed. As time passes, this may be the only image his classmates have to remember him by.

That’s why Jeydon, a transgender student, was upset to learn from the school district’s superintendent that his photo would not appear in the yearbook because it supposedly violated “community standards.” Jeydon, while he grew up female, is now a young man. He is transgender, meaning that his gender identity is different from what he was assigned at birth.  District Superintendent Rey Villarreal told his mother that Jeydon’s photograph would be included only if he wore stereotypically feminine attire, such as a drape or blouse.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve grown up with the kids here,” Jeydon said. “I’ve seen those in my community go through troubles, and denying my tuxedo photo would be a way for the district to forget me and everything I’ve brought to this community. The yearbook is for the students, not the faculty or the administration. It is a way for us to remember each other.”

The Human Rights Campaign and the Southern Poverty Law Center are fighting for Jeydon's right to appear in the senior yearbook picture that his family paid for and have sent the La Feria School Board a strongly worded letter explaining why the school board's (in)action is discriminatory.

HRC and SPLC are encouraging people to contact the school board.

WATCH: Hillary Clinton Endorses Marriage Equality

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is officially endorsing full equality for LGBT Americans, including "marriage for gay and lesbian couples" in a new video released through the Human Rights Campaign's American for Marriage.

The key excerpt from her nearly 5-minute statement is this paragraph:

LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones, and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law, embedded in a broader effort to advance equality and opportunity for LGBT Americans and all Americans.

Hillary 2016, anyone?

Bipartisan Respect For Marriage Coalition Launches

A new bipartisan coalition of prominent political organizations and individuals has launched called the Respect for Marriage Coalition. They are also launching a multi-million dollar media campaign that includes full-page ads in major newspapers as well as a television ad that features the voices of former First Lady Laura Bush, former Secretary of State (and Joint Chief of Staff) Colin Powell, former Vice President Darth Vader Dick Cheney and President Barack Obama.


Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed has the screenshots from the ad as well as the image to be used in the full page newspaper ads:

This is just another sign of how the heterosexual supremacists are losing the kulturkampf over LGBT equality that they started some twenty-plus years ago. Right now, incorrectly, marriage equality is viewed as a partisan issue, where Democrats overwhelmingly support the freedom to marry while Republicans overwhelmingly oppose it. But this partisan divide is falling, as more and more Republicans realize that giving more people the individual freedom to have legal recognition of the person they love is an ultimately conservative position.

Hopefully this campaign and coalition will accelerate the increase in bipartisan support for marriage equality and LGBT rights.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

WATCH: HRC's National Marriage Equality Ad

Human Rights Campaign is launching a national advertising campaign promoting marriage equality. The ad is narrated by Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman, and says:

America stands at the dawn of a new day.Freedom, justice and human dignity have always guided our journey toward amore perfect union.Now across our country, we are standing together for the right of gay andlesbian Americans to marry the person they love.And with historic victories for marriage, we¹ve delivered a mandate forfull equality.The wind is at our back. But our journey has just begun.Join us.

The text is slightly problematic, since there is a somewhat unclear antecedent of the use of "we." One can interpret it to mean "We Americans" or one could also see it as "We Human Rights Campaign" since the ad ends with their logo and website. One would have thought HRC would have been more sensitive to multiple interpretations and made the connection between "We" and "America" tighter. (Or maybe they were trying for ambiguity.)

The ad overall is quite effective and affecting, with images of past civil rights advances (Martin Luther King, Jr, women's suffrage) and also has images of a diverse group of same-sex couples. You can watch it here.

DIRTY TRICK: Anti-Gay, Anti-Obama SMS Spam

Things that make you go hmmmm! 6 days before the presidential election the dirty tricks are already beginning, with apparently thousands of people are starting to receive spam SMS text messages with anti-Obama, anti-gay messages. The texts say things like "Obama supports same-sex relationships. Voting for him will destroy the sanctity of marriage" and "Obama supports transgender marriage in America. Obamas values are just wrong." (This second text message is really just amusing and bizarre--bad punctuation and completely clueless. "transgender marriage"? What the heck is that?)

The largest LGBT political organization in the country, Human Rights Campaign, has filed an official complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The anonymous texts, which may be a violation of federal law, have prompted HRC to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. 

"It's unsurprising that our opponents are employing such underhanded tactics and trying to attack equality from behind shrouds of secrecy," said HRC Vice President of Communications Fred Sainz in a statement announcing that the nation's largest LGBT-rights organization would ask the FCC to investigate the incident. 

"HRC is filing a complaint with the FCC so that these types of organizations know there are consequences for their actions," Sainz added. "It's unacceptable to launch these types of despicable attacks from dark corners, and it’s incredibly irresponsible to send out unsolicited messages to people who have no desire to receive this type of vitriol."

Although it is illegal to send spam text messages, apparently the texts originated as emails, and using email-to-text technology, the perpetrators may be exploiting a loophole in federal law.

LGBT Groups Issue Joint Trayvon Martin Statement

Several national LGBT groups issued a joint statement on the Trayvon Martin case yesterday:

An Open Letter: Standing Alongside Trayvon Martin’s Family and Friends

The tragic killing of Trayvon Martin is a national call to action. Our hearts go out to Trayvon’s family and friends for the loss they have experienced. We stand in solidarity with them as they demand answers and justice. We represent organizations with diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constituencies.

Many in our community have been targets of bigotry and bias. We have a great deal of experience grappling with the role bias plays in violent crimes against our communities. We well know the stories of young people targeted for violence just because of who they are: Rashawn Brazell, Lawrence King, Ali Forney, Deoni Jones, Brandon White, Matthew Shepard, Angie Zapata, Sean Kennedy and countless others.

Trayvon’s killing is a wakeup call to the enduring cancer of racism and racial profiling. The pain his family continues to endure transcends communities and unites us all. Every person, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, must be able to walk the streets without fear for their safety.

Trayvon’s killing is tragic and the stark reality that racial bias played a role in his death has alarmed our nation. Questions must be asked. Answers must be sought. And justice must be served. We join our voices to the chorus of so many others to demand that local and federal authorities find those answers. We stand in solidarity with Trayvon’s family and friends as they seek justice for his killing. In the timeless words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

The letter was signed by

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers  

Equality Federation 

Family Equality Council 

Freedom to Marry 

GLAAD 

Human Rights Campaign 

Immigration EqualityInternational Federation of Black Prides

Lambda Legal 

LGBT Progress at the Center for American Progress 

National Black Justice Coalition 

National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) 

National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) 

National Coalition for LGBT Health 

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

National Stonewall Democrats

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates

PFLAG National 

Pride at Work 

Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN)

The Trevor Project 

UNID@S

Hat/tip to TowleRoad. It is good to see LGBT groups stepping up and responding to this tragic situation whihc has captured the nation's attention.

AFER Head Chad Griffin Named HRC Head

Chad Griffin, 38, is board president and founder of the American Foundation
 for Equal Rights, the group that organized the Proposition 8 federal lawsuit

The Advocate is reporting that 38-year-old political consultant Chad Griffin, the force behind the Los Angeles-based group which is shepherding the original Perry v Schwarzenegger federal legal challenge to Proposition 8 (American Foundation for Equal Rights or AFER) has been named the new head of the Human Rights Campaign, the most prominent LGBT advocacy position in the United States:

A major fundraiser for the Obama campaign who began his career in the early days of the Clinton White House, Griffin will replace current president Joe Solmonese at the helm of the $40 million organization on June 11, HRC announced Friday following a board of directors vote. Solmonese, who joined HRC as president in 2005 and said in August that he would leave after his contract expires at the end of this month, will continue in his role until June. Solmonese was named a national co-chair for the Obama campaign last month. 

In its pick of Griffin as president, HRC has chosen someone who was shaped from an early age by Washington political culture yet who is not defined by it, having spent the vast majority of his career outside the Beltway. Griffin, 38, is a fervent supporter of President Obama with personal ties to White House officials, but has pushed the bipartisan case for marriage equality, notably hiring former George W. Bush solicitor general Theodore Olson to co-lead the Prop. 8 suit and aligning with conservatives including gay former Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman, who has raised money for the legal effort. Griffin has been openly critical of the president’s evolving position on marriage equality, calling Obama’s indicated support for states' rights on deciding who can marry “a step backwards.” And, central to the job, Griffin has a proven ability to be a formidable fundraiser.

“While there’s no doubt that we’ve made tremendous progress on the road to equality, we must not forget that millions of LGBT Americans still lack basic legal protections and suffer the consequences of discrimination every day,” Griffin said in a statement. “Today's generation of young people, and each generation hereafter, must grow up with the full and equal protection of our laws, and finally be free to participate in the American dream. As HRC president, I’ll approach our work with a great sense of urgency because there are real life consequences to inaction.”

This is very big news and should raise the profile of marriage equality even higher in the nexus of LGBT issues that enter into the mainstream political consciousness of the 2012 political campaigns.

It will be interesting to see what impact Griffin's selection will have on the other issues which America's largest LGBT advocacy organization is also responsible for advancing, such as trans-inclusive national employment non-discrimination legislation, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, passing the Uniting All Families Act, and the multiple statewide pro-gay and anti-gay ballot measures around the country (just to name a few).

In larger terms, the question of how the movement for LGBT equality will interface with other progressive movements like comprehensive immigration reform, the pro-choice movement, the labor movement and people of color civil rights organizations when the players involved are becoming more bipartisan in nature will be important to watch. Griffin is known for defying "Gay, Inc." orthodoxy in the past and is clearly comfortable working across party lines, having personally recruited David Boies and Ted Olson to be the superlawyers leading the Perry lawsuit to strike down California's same-sex marriage ban.

U.S. Senate DOMA Repeal Hearing Tomorrow!

Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is conducting a hearing on July 20th on the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the Respect for Marriage Act (S. 598/H.R. 1116), which would repeal the 1996 federal law which bans the recognition of legally same-sex married couples by the federal government, among other things.

The hearing will be split into two panels. TowleRoad has the details

Panel 1

* Susan Murray, who lives in Ferrisburgh, Vt., with her spouse, Karen Murray. An attorney with the Burlington office of Langrock, Sperry & Wool, Murray was the co-counsel in the lawsuit Baker v. Vermont, which established civil unions in Vermont in 2000.

* Andrew Sorbo, a Cheshire, Conn., resident who was married to Colin Atterbury. Before dying of pancreatic cancer in 2009, Atterbury was a retired Veterans Affairs hospital administrator and professor of medicine at Yale University. Sorbo, now retired, worked for 35 years as a history teacher and principal. 

* Ron Wallen, an Indio, Calif. resident, who married Tom Carrollo in 2008 after being together for 55 years. In March, Carrollo lost his battle to cancer. After Carrollo's death, Wallen's income was compromised because DOMA prohibits him from receiving his spouse's Social Security payment. Wallen would have been able to receive these payments had he been in an opposite-sex marriage. According to the hearing notice, Wallen is unable to make payments on his family home and is faced with selling the residence, after just losing his spouse.

Thomas Minnery, Senior Vice President for Public Policy, Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO.

Panel 2

Joe Solmonese, President, The Human Rights Campaign, Washington, DC.

David Austin R. Nimocks, Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund, Washington, DC.

Edward Whelan, President, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, DC 

Evan Wolfson, Founder and Executive Director, Freedom to Marry, New York, NY

Although I don't usually agree with Dan Choi on many things, I do agree that the lack of diversity at this hearing is shameful. 7 White guys and 1 white woman? Come on, now!

UPDATE 07/19/2011 04:57PM PST:


According to Karen Ocamb the updated witness list now includes some color (Congressman John Lewis of Georgia):

UPDATED Witness List

Hearing before the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
On

“S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families”
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216
9:45 a.m.

Panel I

The Honorable John Lewis
United States Congressman
State of Georgia

The Honorable Jerrold Nadler
United States Congressman
State of New York

Panel II

Ron Wallen
Indio, CA

Thomas Minnery
Senior Vice President for Public Policy
Focus on the Family
Colorado Springs, CO

Andrew Sorbo
Cheshire, CT

Susan M. Murray
Ferrisburgh, VT

Panel III

Joe Solmonese
President
The Human Rights Campaign
Washington, DC

David Austin R. Nimocks
Senior Legal Counsel
Alliance Defense Fund
Washington, DC

Edward Whelan
President
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Washington, DC

Evan Wolfson
Founder and Executive Director
Freedom to Marry
New York, NY

President Bill Clinton Endorses NY Marriage Equality

Human Rights Campaign released a statement today from former President Bill Clinton in which he endorses marriage equality in the state of New York.

Our nation’s permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’ – deepening the meaning of freedom, broadening the reach of opportunity, strengthening the bonds of community. That mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied them. Every time we have done that, it has strengthened our nation. Now we should do it again, in New York, with marriage equality. For more than a century, our Statue of Liberty has welcomed all kinds of people from all over the world yearning to be free. In the 21st century, I believe New York’s welcome must include marriage equality.

The Big Dog had endorsed the concept of marriage equality publicly way back in 2009, some 13 years after he (in)famously signed the odious Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into law.

The momentum for a vote in the New York State Senate is building as Governor Andrew Cuomo has become increasingly vocal about expending his political capital to get marriage equality enacted sooner rather than later.

VIDEO: New Yorkers United For Marriage Equality

DRAMA! EQMD Head Fired After Major Legislative Setbacks

Morgan Meneses-Sheets

The executive director of Equality Maryland, Morgan Meneses-Sheets, who lead the organization while it suffered two defeats this year at enacting gender identity non-discrimination and full marriage equality has been abruptly fired by the board of directors, it was revealed on Friday.

Metro Weekly's Yusef Najafi has the complete statement from Meneses-Sheets:

It is with a heavy heart that I share that today will be my last day as the Executive Director of Equality Maryland. While it is not my choice to leave, it is my choice to make my voice heard as I exit. 

I've spent the last eighteen months at the helm of EQMD and this time has held some of the most rewarding moments of my career, but it has also been extremely difficult. In particular the past few months have been tough to bear. Not because of the hard work which I welcome and felt honored to be part of, but because of the forces within the organization and external politics that created additional and unnecessary obstacles to our forward movement and success. 

As I move on, I will not focus on the negative or destructive forces that created this untenable situation, instead I will look back at the many proud moments along the way. 

During my first months, Equality Maryland lead the successful efforts to protect the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s policy providing transgender Marylanders the opportunity to update their driver’s license to appropriately reflect their gender. This policy undeniably makes a difference in people’s lives. When you go to a grocery store and pay with a check or buy a glass of wine, you are asked for identification, and to have it match how you present yourself to the world protects you against discrimination and violence. I am proud of this success. 

I am proud that we have built a strong grassroots network throughout the state. I am proud that we identified new supporters, had more young people involved and created a diverse, thriving volunteer program. I am proud of our efforts during the 2010 elections, in particular our work to protect pro-equality Delegate Kris Valderrama and to oust Senator Alex Mooney who had a 0% voting record on LGBT issues. 

I am also extremely proud that together with the staff, our volunteers, our partners and many passionate and dedicated legislative allies that this year we got further than ever before in the goals to amend our state’s anti-discrimination laws to include protections on the basis of gender identity and to enacting full marriage equality. These are what many people call the “civil rights causes of our day” and it has been a privilege to be part of the movement to realize these incredibly important goals. 

I know that many in our community, myself included, were disappointed that we did not get to the finish line, but having done this work for many years I know that progress can take time. We created a strong foundation for future efforts. I look forward to celebrating continued success in Maryland’s fight for equality. 

Looking back, there are things that I could do differently, but lessons I learned I will always have with me. Know that I worked hard and I did my best with the tremendous staff alongside me. Together, we were able to move the organization further legislatively than ever before. 

I am sad that I will not be part of the team advancing critical protections for jobs, housing, credit and public accommodations for transgender Marylanders. I am disappointed that I was not provided the opportunity to continue to build and enhance the efforts to end the exclusion of loving and committed gay and lesbian couples from marriage. 

As a Marylander, as a lesbian, as a parent, as someone with many loved ones who are transgender, and as someone who believes in social justice I sincerely hope that Equality Maryland will succeed in their future endeavors to ensure that our state lives up to the promise of equality for all of its citizens. This will require significant changes, but it is possible. I hope that those who worked hard with my team will continue to be part of these endeavors so that we may also see a better future. 

I am excited to spend more time with my family as I have given up many precious hours with them to wage this battle. I am also excited for the opportunities that lay ahead for me.
I thank those who stood by my side. I am grateful to have met and worked with so many incredible people, many who I will continue to count as friends as I take the next steps in my journey.

I'm sure this will make some trans advocates happy, who were displeased that Equality Maryland agreed to move forward with HB 235, a bill that did not include public accommodations protections, but would have banned discrimination statewide on the basis of gender identity in education, housing and credit.