CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Alphonso David, 48, Named President Of HRC, Largest LGBT Lobby In The USA

Alphonso David, a 48-year-old Liberian refugee and civil rights attorney who served as counsel to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been named the next president of the Human Rights Campaign, America's largest LGBT political advocacy organization.


I haven't given HRC a red cent since they endorsed a Republican senator (Al D'Amato) instead pf a Democratic challenger (Liz Holtzman) in 1992! This decision may cause me to reconsider my boycott.

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Openly Gay MacArthur "Genius" Fellow Gregg Gonsalves

The 2018 MacArthur Fellows were announced yesterday and at least one of the "genius grant" winners is openly gay: Gregg Gonsalves, a well-known HIV/AIDS activist who was instrumental in the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) in the 1990s. More recently he has become a global health advocate and received  a Ph.D. in epidemiology from Yale University in 2017.

The official summary of Dr. Gonsalves' work from the MacArthur Foundation is:

Gregg Gonsalves is an epidemiologist and global health advocate integrating his experiences as a community activist with quantitative analysis and operations research to improve responses to global public health challenges. For nearly three decades, Gonsalves was an HIV/AIDS activist, working with domestic and international organizations such as AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa. His efforts to connect the HIV/AIDS community with top-tier researchers and scientists were a critical catalyst to fundamental advances in scientific knowledge of the disease. These experiences deeply informed his later training in epidemiology and current efforts to optimize the effectiveness of health programs for epidemic diseases, particularly within poor and marginalized communities. 

Using a variety of quantitative approaches and operations research modeling, Gonsalves has determined how to identify hot spots for HIV testing in real time in order to maximize identification of undiagnosed HIV-positive persons; shed light on ways to minimize dropout of HIV-positive patients at key points in the care continuum; and assessed the epidemiological costs of emerging epidemics of HIV in the United States due to intravenous drug use and lack of needle exchange programs. In another line of research, Gonsalves examined the link between high rates of sexual violence against women living in informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa, and the lack of indoor sanitation—the remote location of facilities left women vulnerable to attacks. He developed a mathematical model that determined the optimal number of new facilities and demonstrated that sanitation investments by the city would significantly reduce instances of sexual violence as well as their associated costs. 

Gonsalves co-founded the Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP), an interdisciplinary initiative between the schools of law and public health at Yale University, to further advance human rights and social justice perspectives in public health and legal research, practice, and teaching. Working in cooperation with local nongovernmental organizations, GHJP mobilizes research and evidence around pressing health issues and translates that evidence into action. For example, GHJP and colleagues in South Africa documented the failure of mining companies and the South African government to compensate families for tuberculosis (TB) and silicosis acquired in the mines, and they continue to advocate for policy reform based on their comparative research. Currently, GHJP is working with organizations in Brazil to investigate the role of the war on drugs and high incarceration rates on the community burden of TB as well as advocacy for wider availability of hepatitis C treatment in U.S. prisons. Through these initiatives, Gonsalves is training a new generation of researchers who, like himself, work across public health and human rights sectors, scholarly research, and activism to correct disparities in global public health.

Congratulations!

#IDAHOT: May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia

Today is May 17, the day selected to celebrate sexual and gender diversities. Officially it is known as the "International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia" or #IDAHOT.

May 17 is chosen to commemrate the anniversary of the date in 1990 when the World Health Organization declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder.

SATURDAY POLITICS: Corey Johnson May Become Next NYC Council Speaker

Corey Johnson has been an openly gay city councilperson in New York City representing the 3rd district which includes the gayborhoods of Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and the West Village along with parts of the Upper West Side since 2013. He replaced former openly lesbian NYC City Council speaker Christine Quinn who lost a Democratic primary for Mayor to Bill De Blasio.

This week comes news that Johnson, who is 35-years-old, openly gay and HIV-positive, may be following in Quinn's shoes to become the Speaker of the New York City council, the 2nd most important and powerful political position in the nation's largest city. Recently re-elected to a second term, Mayor de Blasio tweeted his support for Johnson's bid to become Speaker:

Congratulations to the next speaker of the @NYCCouncil, Corey Johnson. He’s been a force for the people of his district and I know he will bring that same commitment, passion, and energy to the speakership. I look forward to working with him on a progressive agenda for NYC.

The New York Times also reported that Johnson has the votes in the 51-member council to be elected Speaker in January.

Congratulations @CoreyinNYC!

QUEER QUOTE: Executive Director Rachel Tiven Discusses Lambda Legal

Wow! I don't know how I missed this news when it came out in early May (must have been distracted by the end of the 2015-16 academic year, moving across the country and starting a new job with the federal government) but Lambda Legal has named a new executive director, and it is someone I know quite well, Rachel Tiven, the former executive director of Immigration Equality.

I found out about the change from this article by Kerry Eleveld at Daily Kos where she interviews Rachel.

Kerry Eleveld: What do you see as Lambda Legal's biggest growth opportunity over the next five years?Rachel Tiven: Visibility! We are the oldest and largest LGBT civil rights organization, but for too long we have been the movement’s quiet authority.  Our obligation is to become better known, and assert more influence on the public conversation.  Post marriage equality, the country is increasingly discussing what it means for LGBT people to be part of public life, to go to work, to get health care, to be safe in our homes. Lambda Legal’s perspective is critical to those conversations.
We need every LGBT and HIV-positive person in America to know that they can call Lambda when they have a legal problem.  Everyone who contacts us gets an accurate, respectful, free-of-charge answer from our amazing Help Desk—and those inquiries are how we stay two steps ahead of what our community needs.  The best advocacy is directly tied to service, which is why we are committed to expanding our Help Desk in the years ahead.

Definitely feel more confident about the future of the LGBTQ movement with people like Rachel Tiven at the helm of one of its key resources, Lambda Legal.

VIDEO: EQCA Encourages LGBT Community To Vote In June 7 California Primary

It's exactly two weeks until California's 2016 Statewide Primary Election on June 7th. Equality California, the state's largest LGBT political advocacy organization, is urging the LGBT community to vote, and will be running PSA on television in important markets like Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs.

ACTION: Advocate For A U.S. Stamp Honoring Black LGBT Hero Bayard Rustin!

The National LGBTQ Task Force is promoting an action which
encourages people to advocate for a U.S. postage stamp recognizing  Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Bayard Rustin.

They are encouraging people to write letters to the U.S. Postal Service which advocate for the creation of a stamp that would honor the life and work of this openly gay, African-American civil rights pioneer.

As the Task Force puts it:

Bayard Rustin was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, who was an openly gay man and an LGBTQ activist. In 2013, Rustin was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In awarding the medal, the President said, “For decades, this great leader, often at Dr. King’s side, was denied his rightful place in history because he was openly gay.”

Here is a sample text of a letter that you can contribute to the campaign::

(Insert your address)

Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
C/O Stamp Development 
US Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300
Washington, DC 20260-3501

To whom it may concern,

I write to commend one of the most significant and yet unsung heroes of the civil rights movement for the honor of a commemorative US postage stamp.

This person is Bayard Rustin, the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, who was an openly gay man and an LGBTQ activist.

In 2013, Rustin was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In awarding the medal, the President said, "For decades, this
great leader, often at Dr. King's side, was denied his rightful place in history because he was openly gay."

No we have the chance to help right this wrong. With this commemorative stamp, we can give Rustin and his legacy the public
awareness and recognition they deserve. 

It’s time to honor a true hero of the on-going fight for civil rights.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours faithfully,

I'm going to write a letter, are you?

QUEER QUOTE: Nike Severs Ties With Manny Pacquiao After Homophobic Remarks

Hmmm! After another homophobic outburst from boxing champion Manny Pacquiao Nike has responded by severing their business relationship with him, calling his marks "abhorrent."

Nike's statement is today's Queer Quote:

We find Manny's Pacquiao's comments abhorrent. Nike strongly oppose discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for rights of the LGBT community. 

We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao.

What did Pacquiao say? Oh he just claimed to be quoting the Bible that gay people are worse than animals:

“It’s common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female?“The animals are better. They know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals.”

Hmmmmm, obviously Pacquiao hasn't seen this video!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Sam Simon, co-creator of The Simpsons and activist atheist, is dead

If you are a fan of The Simpsons like I am you will recognize the name Sam Simon as one of the co-creators and executive producers of the long-running animated sitcom. Simon was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012 and given 3-6 months to live. He died at the age of 59 this week but used that time to give away his millions to causes he believed in, like American Atheists.

“I’m an atheist, but there’s a thing called tithing that a lot of religions do. Ten percent was the minimum you were supposed to give to charity every year. And I always outdid that,” Sam explains.…
“People say I’m trying to buy my way into heaven, which I don’t believe in. So that can’t be true,” Sam says. He paid for those atheist billboards that make news from time to time. Like the one by the Lincoln Tunnel, in New York, that read, IT’S A MYTH, on a picture of the stars over Bethlehem.

Yet another reason to like The Simpsons! And another example that one can be godless and still do good in the world.

QUEER QUOTE: Science Publishes Response To Image Of Transgender Sex Workers

A few weeks ago the most prestigious science journal in the world, Science, published a special issue with numerous articles about HIV/AIDS in conjunction with the 20th International AIDS Conference being held in Melbourne, Australia. The July 11th issue used a cover of "transgender sex workers in Jakarta, Indonesia" although none of the articles in the issue had anything to do with this community.

The National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals NOGLSTP) wrote a letter to the editor ebuking Science for the ill-advised cover, which they published in the August 15 issue and Dr. Marcia McNutt (Science's first female editor in its 200-plus year history) responded.

Here is the text of Shelley Diamond's letter to the editor, which is today's Queer Quote:

I am Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) that encompasses lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. On behalf of NOGLSTP, an AAAS affiliate since 1994, I wish to register our indignation with the 11 July cover of Science showing transgender sex workers from Jakarta. The cover, a misguided attempt to pique interest in reading the special section on HIV/AIDS, has provoked many readers, including many members of our organization, to express their dismay at Science's lack of decorum and lack of sensitivity to a much maligned and misunderstood community. The scant attention the magazine paid to the transgender sex worker community makes these omissions all the more important. With one inappropriate picture, you have managed to stereotype all transgender women as sex workers and vectors of disease, as well as hyper-sexualize women of color in general. NOGLSTP applauds the articles presented in this issue, but we question why the cover explicitly shows transgender sex workers when there is no actual content in the articles about HIV prevention, care, or treatment efforts in these transgender communities. 

To avoid the kind of hurtful misunderstanding and atmosphere of disrespect that has been generated by this dehumanizing and insensitive decision, NOGLSTP leadership would have been happy to facilitate discussion between science and engineering leaders in the trans community and the editorial staff of Science regarding appropriate content as it relates to transgender sex workers and the struggles they face, of which HIV infection is but one. 

This incident should be used as a teachable moment to correct the prejudices of those who are insufficiently familiar with LGBTQ communities and their concerns. We exist in all cultures, ethnicities, and walks of life. We are proud scientists, engineers, mathematicians, doctors, and technologists who are part of the Science readership. The cover photo is unworthy of Science and AAAS. The LGBTQ communities, including in particular the trans community in this instance, deserve more respect than you have offered. The ethic of science demands that we regard all minds and people equally. 

Prejudice has no place in our endeavors. 

Rochelle DiamondChair, NOGLSTP Board of Directors, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.E-mail: rd-chair@noglstp.org

And the response from the editor of Science, apologizing for using the image:

We deeply regret the harm done by the ill-considered choice of cover. Dr. Diamond, in her letter, has made constructive suggestions to help our organization prevent further misunderstandings with the LGBTQ communities, become more sensitive to their issues, and repair damaged relations. We are already in discussions on how to follow up on those recommendations. Many thanks to other leaders in the LGBTQ and other communities who have also graciously stepped forward with offers of help. 

Marcia McNuttEditor-in-Chief

I am a big fan of NOGLSTP (full disclosure: they gave me an award in 2011) and am glad to see that discussion about the image used in Science and an ackowledgement i print that LGBTQ people are part of the readership of Science. I personally was not offended by Science magazine's use of the photo to promote its special issue on AIDS but I can see how many people could have been offended and do agree that it was an "ill-considered choice."

It will be interesting to see how Dr. McNutt follows up with her letter. Perhaps some coverage of NOGLSTP's Out to Innovate summit in November 2014 or at the very least some discussion of the role of LGBTQ people in science would seem like reasonable actions.

QUEER QUOTE: Obama: "Are You Gay?" Dude At Counter: "Only When I Have Sex." Fist Bump!

President Barack Obama was in Austin Texas last week when he went into the famous Franklin Barbecue for lunch and walked up to the counter. Then this happened:

As the president approached, [Daniel Rugg] Webb threw his hand down and slapped the counter dramatically. "Equal rights for gay people!""Are you gay?" the president asked."Only when I have sex.""That's when he laughed and said, 'Bump me,'" Webb says.

That's pretty cool. But what is not cool is that Webb could be fired for being openly gay at work in more than half the states in the Union, including Texas.

Hat/tip to Huffington Post

Major LGBT Groups Withdraw Support For ENDA in Wake of Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby Decision

Ruh-Oh! Things have started to come off the rails for the current version of the "federal LGBT rights bill," also known as ENDA or the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The problems is that the current version of the bill (which passed the United States Senate last year) includes an "overly generous" religious exemption that would allow discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in certain settings where the equivalent discrimination on the basis of race or sex.

In light of the recent 50th anniversary of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision focusing more attention on religious exemptions and how they apply to federal statutes, a number of mainstream LGBT organizations have taken the unusual step of coming out to oppose legislation that they have previously supported, legislation which would expand prohibitions on discrimination for millions of workers in the United States, but would also codify a religious exemption to discriminate against LGBT people.

Joint Statement on Withdrawal of Support for ENDA and Call for Equal Workplace Protections for LGBT People

The following national LGBT legal organizations have signed onto the below statement: American Civil Liberties Union; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; Lambda Legal; National Center for Lesbian Rights; and Transgender Law Center. 

The provision in the current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that allows religious organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity has long been a source of significant concern to us. Given the types of workplace discrimination we see increasingly against LGBT people, together with the calls for greater permission to discriminate on religious grounds that followed immediately upon the Supreme Court's decision last week in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, it has become clear that the inclusion of this provision is no longer tenable. It would prevent ENDA from providing protections that LGBT people desperately need and would make very bad law with potential further negative effects. Therefore, we are announcing our withdrawal of support for the current version of ENDA. 

For decades, our organizations have challenged anti-LGBT workplace discrimination in the courts and worked for the passage of inclusive non-discrimination laws at the local, state, and federal level. We do this work because of the devastating toll workplace discrimination has had, and continues to have, on the lives of LGBT people. It is unacceptable that in the year 2014, men and women are forced to hide who they are or whom they love when they go to work. 

The current patchwork of legal protections at the state and local level has left LGBT people vulnerable to discrimination. For this reason, we have supported federal legislation to explicitly protect LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace, and have urged President Obama to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. 

ENDA's discriminatory provision, unprecedented in federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, could provide religiously affiliated organizations - including hospitals, nursing homes and universities - a blank check to engage in workplace discrimination against LGBT people. The provision essentially says that anti-LGBT discrimination is different - more acceptable and legitimate - than discrimination against individuals based on their race or sex. If ENDA were to pass and be signed into law with this provision, the most important federal law for the LGBT community in American history would leave too many jobs, and too many LGBT workers, without protection. Moreover, it actually might lessen non-discrimination protections now provided for LGBT people by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and very likely would generate confusion rather than clarity in federal law. Finally, such a discrimination provision in federal law likely would invite states and municipalities to follow the unequal federal lead. All of this is unacceptable. 

The Supreme Court's decision in Hobby Lobby has made it all the more important that we not accept this inappropriate provision. Because opponents of LGBT equality are already misreading that decision as having broadly endorsed rights to discriminate against others, we cannot accept a bill that sanctions discrimination and declares that discrimination against LGBT people is more acceptable than other kinds of discrimination. 

Our ask is a simple one: Do not give religiously affiliated employers a license to discriminate against LGBT people when they have no such right to discriminate based on race, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. Religiously affiliated organizations are allowed to make hiring decisions based on their religion, but nothing in federal law authorizes discrimination by those organizations based on any other protected characteristic, and the rule should be the same for sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Religious organizations are free to choose their ministers or faith leaders, and adding protections for sexual orientation and gender identity or expression will not change that. 

These concerns are not hypothetical. Increasingly, this is what employment discrimination against LGBT people looks like. Take the example of Matthew Barrett. In July 2013, Matthew was offered a job as food services director at Fontbonne Academy, a college prep high school in Milton, Massachusetts that is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. Fontbonne Academy has employees and admits students of various faiths. Yet, two days after Matthew listed his husband as his emergency contact on the standard employment paperwork, and despite twenty years of work in the food services industry, his job offer was rescinded. Although nothing about the food services job involved religious rituals or teaching, Matthew was told by an administrator that the school was unable to hire him because "the Catholic religion doesn't recognize same-sex marriage." The current version of ENDA would authorize this sexual orientation discrimination. 

As the national outcry against SB 1062 in Arizona (and similar proposals in numerous other states) demonstrates, the American people oppose efforts to misuse religious liberty as an excuse to discriminate against LGBT people. It is time for ENDA (and the LGBT non-discrimination executive order for federal contractors) to reflect this reality. Until the discriminatory exemption is removed so that anti-LGBT discrimination is treated the same as race, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information under federal workplace laws, we think ENDA should not move forward in Congress. In addition, we will oppose any similar provisions at the state and local level. We are hopeful that the many members of Congress who support this historic, critically important legislation will agree that singling out LGBT people for an unequal and unfair exemption from basic workplace protection falls unacceptably short of the civil rights standards that have served our nation well against other types of discrimination for fifty years. We stand ready and eager to work with them to achieve the long-sought goal of explicit, effective federal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people.

That's pretty deep!

QUEER QUOTE: Gov. Brewer (R-AZ) Vetoed Anti-Gay Bill SB 1062!

Governor Brewer vetoed SB 1062 last night, a bill that attempted to expand religious freedom to the point where "sincerely held religious belief" could be used to deny services to groups not protected under federal anti-discrimination law, most notably, LGBT people. The measure was widely condemned by LGBT groups and opposed by even senior Republican politicians like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, John McCain and Jeff Flake.

Brewer said she vetoed SB 1062 because:

"I have not heard one example in Arizona where a business owner's religious liberty has been violated. The bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences."

There ya have it! Interestingly, the brou-ha-ha over Arizona's measure resulted in the death of several similar "license to discriminate" measures in other states like Mississippi, Georgia and Ohio.

QUEER QUOTE: Barbados PM Responds Positively To LGBT Rights Inquiry

After the horrible news of the passage of virulently anti-gay legislation in Uganda that could lead to sentences of life imprisonment for homosexuality, it is nice to report some good news from another part of the world where people of color predominate.

In Barbados, which is one of the 77 countries which still has a sodomy law, Prime Minister Freundel J. Stewart has responded respectfully and positively to an inquiry from one of the few organized LGBT advocacy groups in the Eastern Caribbean country.

The following excerpt from his letter is today's Queer Quote:

I wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 5, 2013. In your letter,  you requested that Barbados, in the person of the Prime Minister, seek at this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka to have included in the agenda of the Meeting in 2015, an item on the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons. 

Although matters of State did not allow me to attend the 2013 meeting, I wish to assure you that Barbados remains committed to the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and will continue, therefore, to lend its voice to calls both regional and international fora for the elimination of all forms of discrimination including discrimination against persons of differing sexual orientation.

This response is reminiscent of the letter the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago wrote last year expressing her "personal" support for LGBT rights.

Anyway, it is indicative of a modicum of progress on LGBT rights in the region. Perhaps in addition to calling for an end to discrimination in regional and international fora PM Stewart might want to insure that his country has enacted legal prohibitions against LGBT discrimination.

Jus' sayin'.

Entire Senate Democratic Caucus Now Supports ENDA; Vote Next Week

Well that was quick! All members of the entire Democratic caucus in the United States Senate has announced that they will vote for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal LGBT rights bill. Just yesterday I blogged about Sen. Bill Nelson's co-sponsorship of ENDA meant that there were only two holdouts in the Democratic caucus: Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). Today comes word that the entire 55-member Democratic caucus is united in support of S. 815, which means that if you count the support of Republican co-sponsors Mark Kirk and Susan Collins and include the support of Orrin Hatch and Lisa Murkowski who voted for it in committee the measure has 59 votes, just one shy of a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

First Openly Transgender Billionaire Identified

James Pritzker has announced a name change to Jennifer Natalya Pritzker

Forbes magazine is the primary source for information about the world's billionaires and recently they have identified a milestone: the existence of the first openly transgender billionaire, Jennifer Natalya Pritzker.

Jennifer Natalya Pritzker, formally known as James, is one of 11 billionaire members of the extended Pritzker family on the FORBES list. They sold a majority stake in industrial conglomerate Marmon Holdings to Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway  for $4.5 billion in 2007 and continue to control publicly-listed Hyatt Hotels. The heiress has an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion. 

[...] 

Pritzker is a retired Army lieutenant colonel with 11 years active duty, followed by 16 years in the U.S. National Guard. Earlier this year, she gave $1.35 million to the Palm Center to create the Transgender Military Service Initiative. The goal of the project is “to sponsor state-of-the-art scholarship on transgender military service, and to enhance the quality of public dialogue.”

As far as I can tell, there are only three known openly gay billionaires: David Geffen ($5.5b), Peter Thiel ($3b) and Jon Stryker ($1.2b). Regardless, this is an interesting milestone representative of the diversity of the LGBT community. "We are everywhere, indeed!"

Saturday Politics: President Obama Highlights Need For ENDA On Social Media

President Barack Obama posted on Twitter  and Facebook last night a link to the above image of the 29 states that right now have no statewide legal protections against being fired for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The name of the pending federal legislation that would protect LGBT people everywhere in the United States from employment discrimination is called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA and it is expected to come to a vote in the United States Senate by the end of the year. However, it is not expected to become law any time soon because the measure is opposed by the vast majority of Republicans, especially those who are in control of the United States House of Representatives.

Here's the exact tweet:

It's 2013, and millions of LGBT Americans still lack basic protection from discrimination under the law. http://t.co/sMoKVqELMV #ENDA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 6, 2013

It is interesting to see the President (or more accurately, the president's outside organizing arm, called Organizing for Action) using social media to call attention to and promote ENDA in this way.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Coalition Launched To Fight Indiana Marriage Equality Ban

A bipartisan coalition of individuals and organizations called Freedom Indiana was launched this week to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment (or min-DOMA) to prohibit marriage equality in the Hoosier state. The Republican-controlled legislature has passed the measure once and needs to do so again in order to get the discriminatory amendment on the November 2014 statewide ballot.

From the press release:

Freedom Indiana campaign to oppose marriage amendment

Bipartisan statewide organization to support the integrity of the Indiana Constitution, promote liberty and fairness for all Hoosiers 

INDIANAPOLIS -- A coalition of Indiana businesses and groups today announced the formation of Freedom Indiana, a bipartisan statewide organization that opposes the amendment that would permanently alter the Indiana Constitution to define marriage and could potentially affect hundreds of rights under current Indiana law. 

Marriage already is strictly defined as between a man and woman under Indiana law.

Freedom Indiana will immediately undertake a grassroots campaign focused on the 2014 legislative session, where Indiana lawmakers can choose either to table or vote down the amendment or send it to voters for a statewide referendum next November. Freedom Indiana is committed to protecting the Indiana Constitution by defeating the amendment should it appear on the ballot.

Coalition partners include Eli Lilly and Company, Cummins, Indiana Equality Action, Freedom to Marry, Gill Action, American Unity Fund, American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Human Rights Campaign.

“The goals of Freedom Indiana are aligned with Lilly’s long-held position that HJR6 is bad for business and bad for our state,” said Robert Smith, director of corporate responsibility for Eli Lilly and Company. “As a global biopharmaceutical company that must retain and attract the very best talent in the world, embedding this proposed amendment into Indiana’s constitution will produce difficult and unnecessary challenges. We’re happy to partner with Cummins and several other important organizations to address our common goal of keeping Indiana a welcoming state for everyone.”

"Cummins has a long history of commitment to diversity and treating all people with dignity and respect," stated Marya Rose, Chief Administrative Officer for Cummins.  "We feel strongly that this amendment, which is unnecessary given Indiana law today, will enshrine inequality into the Indiana Constitution and negatively impact the thousands of Cummins employees who live and work in Indiana as well as harm our efforts to retain and attract the best talent here. Diversity is a core company value at Cummins and we are pleased to join the other partners of Freedom Indiana to ensure that we treat all people in Indiana with dignity and respect."

A study earlier this year by students at the IU Maurer School of Law found a significant number of rights and obligations related to marriage that could be permanently denied under the proposed amendment.

"We will make sure lawmakers and voters know that we shouldn't be tinkering with the Indiana Constitution to deny freedoms to certain individuals," said Indiana Equality Action president Chris Paulsen. "We're Hoosiers, and our core values include liberty and fairness. This amendment runs counter to both and may also create a litany of unintended legal consequences."

Freedom Indiana is run by an independent board of directors headed by Indiana Equality Action executive director Rick Sutton. The coalition includes Indiana businesses, community, civil rights and faith leaders, advocates for fairness, former and current lawmakers and Hoosiers who believe we must take a strong stand for freedom if we want our state and its residents to prosper.

The Indiana Freedom campaign is managed by veteran political operative Megan Robertson, who has worked for the Indiana Republican Party, Marion County Republican Party and on two GOP presidential campaigns. She managed Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's successful 2011 campaign.

“Indiana has always been a welcoming community known for our ‘Hoosier Hospitality’,” Robertson said.  “This amendment directly contradicts the reputation that has helped us recruit jobs and economic investment for our state.  The Freedom Indiana campaign brings together those who have an interest in preserving our freedoms and moving our state forward regardless of political affiliation.”

The campaign currently is headquartered in Indianapolis with plans to establish regional headquarters in the coming months. 

Freedom Indiana is a bipartisan statewide organization that champions liberty for all Hoosiers. The organization is opposed to an amendment that would permanently alter the Indiana Constitution to define marriage and could potentially affect hundreds of rights related to marriage under current Indiana law. Freedom Indiana launched in August 2013.

If the good guys can stop an anti-gay marriage amendment in Indiana that would probably mean the demise of the anti-gay marriage movement and would signal that all future action in this area would most likely be positive, which would be somewhat of a surprise and perhaps increase momentum towards the day when marriage equality is a nationwide reality.

TV Star Wentworth Miller Comes Out, Rejects Russian Invite

Wentworth Miller is best known as the smouldering sexy star of the Fox hit television series Prison Break from a few years ago (2005-2009). Now 41, Miller is making headlines this week for coming out as a gay man as he publicizes his declination of an invitation to visit Russia in protest of its notoriously homophobic and unwelcome atmosphere for openly LGBT individuals.

Miller wrote a letter which GLAAD publicized on its blog:

August 21, 2013

Re: St. Petersburg International Film Festival / "Guest of Honor" Invitation

Dear Ms. Averbakh:

Thank you for your kind invitation. As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes.

However, as a gay man, I must decline.

I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.

Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I'll be free to make a different choice.

Until then.

Wentworth Miller

Member, HRC
Member, GLAAD
Member, The ManKind Project

It will be interesting to see if this move by Miller will encourage other closeted celebrities to come out of the closet to publicize the extreme homophobia being exhibited in Russia.

OBITUARY: Sean (from MTV's The Real World) Is Dead

Remember Sean from MTV's The Real World? His full name is Sean Sasser and he was Pedro Zamora's boyfriend in the show and in real life. Pedro was the first HIV-positive person very many Americans got to know through his appearance on the hit MTV reality series in the mid-1990s. (They appeared in the 3rd season of the show, the one set in San Francisco in 1994). Zamora died the day after the last episode of the show in which he appeared aired, and he and Sasser held a commitment ceremony on the show which was broadcast on MTV. Even though same-sex marriage was legal nowhere in the world at the time, the desire and need for governmental recognition of same-sex couples' relationships was made very clear by the event to many of those who saw the episode.

According to Joe.My.God and other press reports, Sean Sasser died of cancer-related causes this week at age 44. Sasser and Zamora were one of the first gay and HIV-positive couples to appear on television and had an impact on how countless Americans viewed these marginalized groups.

The Root analyzes the impact of Sasser's life:

But the time when discrimination based on sexual orientation and HIV status was the national norm was not so long ago: Such bias was alive and well 19 years ago, when the third season of MTV's The Real World: San Francisco introduced a gay couple, both of whom were HIV positive.  

One half of that couple was Sean Sasser, who became engaged to Pedro Zamora, a Real World cast member, during the show's run. Sasser, who was black, and Zamora, who was Hispanic, became one of the first high-profile gay and HIV-positive couples -- and one of the first gay power couples of color -- represented in mainstream media. Their presence on the show sparked powerful discussions and debate on HIV awareness and education, same-sex marriage and a host of other issues that are regular parts of the national discourse today but were not in 1994. 

When I was growing up in a conservative part of Texas, Sasser and Zamora represented my first exposure to seeing a gay couple living their lives just like everybody else. I know I'm not the only one. Watching them strive to build a life together is one of my earliest memories of beginning to contemplate the idea that same-sex couples would want the same things that most couples do.

It's great to see another appreciation of that season of the The Real World: San Francisco and to see the names Pedro and Sean again.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God.