National
Paul latest to surge as Iowa caucuses approach
Romney, Gingrich remain at top of national polls
The GOP presidential race continues to twist and turn two weeks before the Iowa caucuses as libertarian Rep. Ron Paul surges and hopes to win the first in the series of contests that will determine who will take on President Obama in 2012.
Paul, who’s represented Texas in the U.S. House since 1997, has risen to the top of the pack in the most recent polls asking Iowa Republicans which candidate they prefer as the caucuses approach on Jan. 3.
According to an InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research poll published Sunday, Paul has support from 23.9 percent among Iowa Republicans who say they’ll vote in the caucuses. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney comes in second with support from 18.2 percent, followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 15.5 percent and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 12.9 percent.
A victory for Paul in Iowa could complicate matters for other Republican presidential candidates who are enjoying support nationwide.Ā According to a national CNN/ORC International poll published on Monday, Romney and Gingrich are tied for the lead at 28 percent, while Paul comes in third at 14 percent.
Paul’s record is distinctive among other Republicans in the race as being more pro-LGBT than others.
The lawmaker voted on two separate occasions in 2004 and 2006 against a Federal Marriage Amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage throughout the country. Paul was among the five Republicans who voted for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal on the House floor in May even before the Pentagon released its report in November 2010.
Paul has also been unique among his fellow GOP candidates on the issue of same-sex marriage by saying the federal government should get out of the business of regulating marriage ā in keeping with his libertarian views. He is one of a few who hasn’t signed the National Organization for Marriage’s pledge to oppose same-sex marriage as president ā much to the consternation of the organization.
According to the Boston Globe, Paul articulated his thoughts on marriage on Wednesday while speaking to students at Straight A Academy, a small non-traditional private school in Manchester, N.H., in response to a question from the audience.
āWhy should the government be telling you what marriage is all about?ā Paul was quoted as saying. āYou might have one definition. I have another definition.ā
Paul reportedly said he personally believes marriage is between one man and one woman, but said regulations involving marriage should be up to the states. He then advocated creating a secular agreement for relationship recognition in which, “you can go to court to resolve the differences and the arguments over it.” A Paul spokesperson later clarified no federal benefits would be conferred as a result of these contracts such as tax benefits.
But Paul has expressed support for the Defense of Marriage Act and has been been critical of the Obama administration’s decision to no longer defend the anti-gay law in court. Paul issued a statement condemning the announcement when it was made in February.
āTodayās announcement that the Obama administration will abandon its obligation to enforce DOMA is truly disappointing and shows a profound lack of respect for the Constitution and the Rule of Law,” Paul said in a statement at the time.
The lawmaker has also voted against hate crimes protections legislation. Paul didn’t vote on a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act when it came to the House floor in 2007.
R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, said Paul’s positions on LGBT issues are “founded on his perspective of states’ rights.”
“For him, it’s more of the principle that people should be able to live their lives as they choose without the government impeding on that,” Cooper said.
But Jerame Davis, interim executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, said Paul’s “constant refrain of states rights” is what is most troubling about his candidacy.
“States don’t have rights in and of themselves ā they are just another division of government that derives their power from the people,” Davis said. “The states rights argument has been used to perpetrate some of the worst aspects of American history. It scares the hell out of me to hear someone running for president use this refrain, especially when you consider Ron Paul’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act was based, at least partially, on this notion.”
Anti-gay Iowa leader endorses Santorum
In related news, a leading anti-gay activist in Iowa threw his support behind Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum in an endorsement on Tuesday ā a decision that may give the trailing candidate a boost in the polls.
Bob Vander Plaats, CEO of FAMiLY LEADER, said during a news conference that Santorum could be āthe Huckabee in this race,” referring to the former Arkansas governor and social conservative favorite Mike Huckabee who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008.
āI saw him as a champion for the family in the U.S. House, I saw him as a champion for the family in the U.S. Senate. I saw him as a champion for the family on the campaign trail,”Ā Vander Plaats said. “So today, I, as an individual, am going to endorse Rick Santorum. I’m going to mobilize whatever resources that I have at my disposal to advocate for him.”
Vander Plaats, who ran unsuccessfully for Iowa governor in 2010, has been working against marriage rights for same-sex couples in Iowa since the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of such rights in 2009. The activist led the successful effort to unseat three justices who ruled in favor of marriage equality during a 2010 referendum.
Chuck Hurley, who heads the FAMiLY LEADER’s Iowa Family Policy Center, also endorsed Santorum. TheseĀ endorsements are personal and not on behalf of FAMiLY LEADER, they both have said. During the news conference, Vander Plaats said the board “reached unanimity” that the organization wouldn’t endorse any particular candidate during the Iowa caucuses.
Troy Price, executive director of the pro-LGBT group One Iowa, said Vander Plaats’ endorsement of Santorum “comes as no surprise” and demonstrates he’s “out of touch” with what voters want.
“Both Santorum and Vander Plaats have built their careers attacking loving and committed gay and lesbian couples, and the fact is that Vander Plaats caved to the extreme social conservative agenda,” Price said. “With poll numbers lagging, it is clear Rick Santorum does not have a chance against President Obama in November, and Vander Plaats has endorsed a losing candidate.”
According to the Des Moines Register, Santorum was eating a cinnamon roll in Pella, Iowa after a campaign stop when he found out about Vander Plaatsā and Hurleyās endorsement.
āThereās a lot of good people out here running, and Iām sure it was a tough decision. I think it shows that weāre the candidate right now that has the momentum, that has the message thatās resonating to the people of Iowa,ā Santorum said.
Santorum has had a long history of anti-gay views and positions, even during the course of his time representing Pennsylvania in the Senate from 1995 to 2006. Santorum was one of the architects of the Federal Marriage Amendment. In an interview with the Associated Press, Santorum made notorious comments equating homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia.
“In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality,” Santorum was quoted as saying. “That’s not to pick on homosexuality. It’s not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality.”
Following the remarks, Dan Savage, a Seattle-based gay activist, launched an effort to coin the word “santorum” as a sexual neologism. That definition remains the No. 1 result of “santorum” when the word in entered into Google.
Over the course of his campaign, Santorum has been emphasizing anti-gay views and his opposition to same-sex marriage perhaps more than any other presidential candidate.Ā In addition to pledging to reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,”Ā SantorumĀ said “our country will fail” as a result of same-sex marriage. He also raised eyebrows in August when he said same-sex marriage is like “saying this glass of water is a glass of beer.”
Santorum is also among the candidates who has signed a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage committing himself to, among other things, backing the Federal Marriage Amendment and defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
Despite Vander Plaat’s endorsement, Santorum trails the other candidates. The CNN/ORC International poll revealed Santorum has support from just 4 percent of Republicans nationwide. The candidate is one of only a few candidates in the Republican field who hasn’t experienced a surge sometime over the course of his campaign.
The polling results are similar in Iowa, despite the strong presence of evangelical voters in the state. The InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research found that Santorum has support from just 3.8 percent of registered Republicans who are set to vote in the caucuses.
National
TransTech Social removing barriers to trans success
āTechnology was the key to my freedomā
It is common knowledge that women earn 84% of the average worker. Less common knowledge? Trans women earn 60% of the average worker. Trans men and non-binary people come in at around 70%, while 16% of all trans people make less than $10,000 annually.Ā
E.C. Pizarro was lucky, and he knew it. He had a BFA in graphic design and had taught himself how to code. As a stealth trans man in a corporate job, he had access to a stable wage and good benefits. āPeople that do not have experiences in corporate America or with equitable employment don’t realize [these things] are privileges that a lot of people don’t have access to.ā
He wanted to give back and was gearing up to bring more volunteer work into his life by participating in a fraternity for trans men. When he went to a TransTech event and learned about the educational and career resources for trans people who face barriers to entering the workforce, he knew he had found his place.
At the event he met, Angelica Ross. Yes, that Angelica Ross, of āPoseā and āAmerican Horror Story.ā
Before she was Candy, Ross was a self-taught coder. She went from posing for an adult website to doing its back-end coding to teaching her trans siblings how to succeed in tech.Ā
āTechnology was the key to my freedom,ā Ross said in an interview with The Plug. āTechnology took me from being exploited on someoneās website to building my own websites and to building websites for other people and getting paid to do so.ā
Pizarro was impressed and wanted to help. āI went up to Angelica and I was like āHey, I’m a trans man. These are my skills. I’m down to volunteer and do any type of workāthe one caveat is that I’m stealth. You can’t tell anybody that I’m trans.āā
For four years, Pizarro helped from mostly behind the scenes, sometimes getting side-eyed since people thought he was a cis man in trans spaces. āI was still stealth as the Director of Social Media and Communications for the National Trans Visibility March in 2019,ā Pizarro says, chuckling a little.
But by that point, Ross ā who headlined the 2019 march ā was overextended trying to balance being a world-famous actress, advocate, and businesswoman.
She needed someone to step in as executive director of TransTech and looked to the group of dedicated volunteers. Pizarro was elected by his peers to take the reins of the organization.
This was a turning point for Pizarro. āI’m very passionate about tech and for me a small sacrifice of being open with my trans experience to liberate other trans people,ā he said. āI felt like if that’s something I got to do, then I’m gonna do it.ā
And he did it. The infrastructure Ross put together worked: with mentorship, education, community, and networking with trans-accepting employers, trans people were gaining financial security and independence.
So, Pizarro focused on expanding TransTech as widely as possible. āWe have grown exponentially over the last three years,ā he says. āWhen I took over in 2021, we had about 800 members based in the United States. Now we support over 6,700 members across 50 countries.ā
TransTech is filling a demonstrated need within specifically the trans community. New research from LGBT Tech found that 68% of transgender adults use the internet to find LGBTQ-friendly employment (compared to 38% of cisgender LGBTQ+ adults). More than 70% of all LGBTQ adults use the Internet to access educational content.
Accessibility is central to the TransTech programming. Despite the growth, everything remains free. āThereās no membership fee. All of our programming is free. All of the certifications and educational resources are free,ā Pizarro says.
They know the financial burden the trans community faces ā 29% of trans adults live in poverty. āIf weāre asking anyone to up-skill [for a cost] and these are the things they are going through, we are asking them to invest in their future versus their meal today.āĀ
Pizarro believes that accessibility is more than just making the training free. He wants the community to understand that tech work is something they are innately capable of doing.
āTransTech was built on the foundation of nontraditional tech. It’s not always coding. It’s graphic design. It’s social media. It’s video editing. It’s anything that uses a piece of technology and nowadays almost everything uses a piece of technology,ā says Pizarro.
He emphasizes to participants: āYou’re in tech and you don’t even know it,ā pointing out how many already utilize tech skills like marketing and monetization with their social media accounts.
Some people involved in the programming are nervous about entering the ātech worldā because of headlines about tech layoffs. He makes sure to emphasize that unlike in some other jobs, tech companies often pay generous severance packages, which gives employees ābreathing room.ā Pizzaro explains that āonce you have experience with one tech company, you can go someplace else and make a substantial amount of money as well.ā
While TransTech is designed for the gender-diverse community, the programming is open to everyone Pizarro explains. āWe just ask that you don’t be transphobic.ā (Or any of the other -phobics too, he says, listing them off.) He also emphasizes that this allows trans members who are not out to comfortably participate.
Pizarro wants everyone to understand that they donāt just belong in tech, but they make tech better. āTech is most profitable when you have diverse people building the tech and using the tech,ā Pizarro says. āThere is an intentional funding as well as support to diversity tech because they understand how that impacts the product.ā
He also reminds participants that they have developed transferrable skills in every part of their lives. āI like to tell people if you can manage your life as a trans person in the United States or anywhere you can manage a project.ā
District of Columbia
Fire by arson forced temporary shutdown of Glorious Health Club
Spa and art gallery catering to gay
men expects to reopen in August
In a little noticed development, D.C.ās Glorious Health Club, which bills itself as a spa, art gallery, and community center catering to gay men, was forced to close on May 19 after one or more unidentified suspects ignited a fire inside the club that D.C. fire department officials have ruled an act of arson.
Robert Siegel, the clubās owner, told the Washington Blade that he and investigators with the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department believe one or more yet unidentified suspects broke into the kitchen of the former warehouse building where the club is located at 2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E.
According to Siegel, investigators with the fire departmentās arson squad believe a flammable liquid was used to start the fire in the kitchen and in two other locations within the building.
āThree separate fires were started,ā Siegel said. āThey started one on a staircase and one on the upstairs storage area,ā he said in addition to the one in the kitchen. He said about 40 patrons were in the club at the time the fire started, and all were able to leave without injury.
Siegel said the fire caused $500,000 worth of damage to his building, with some of the damage caused ā understandably he said ā by fire fighters who had to rip open doors and break through the roof to gain access to the flames that engulfed parts of the interior of the building. He said he arranged for repair work to begin after the fire was extinguished.
āI expect weāll be reopening in about a month from now,ā he said. āAnd weāll be a bigger and better place.ā
Fortunately, Siegel said, most of the artwork and art exhibits located in the club were not damaged.
āIt was basically the kitchen, patio, and the roof,ā he said, adding that much of the solar panels he had on the roof were destroyed by the fire or by firefighters seeking to gain access to the building.
āAnd the fire was so hot it did structural damage to the roof,ā he said. āIt actually melted steel. Weāre talking about 50-foot steel beams that have to be replaced,ā he told the Blade. āThatās $100,000 right there.āĀ
Vito Maggiolo, a spokesperson for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, said the fire was āruled incendiary/arsonā and isĀ āunder active investigation.āĀ
It could not immediately be determined if one or more people responsible for the fire targeted the Glorious Health Club because itās a gay community establishment.
National
House Republicans propose steep cuts in federal AIDS budget
Advocacy groups say move would eliminate āEnding HIV Epidemicā initiative
The Republican-controlled U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved a spending bill on June 26 that calls for cutting at least $419 million from federal AIDS programs that AIDS activists say would have a devastating impact on efforts to greatly reduce the number of new HIV infections by 2030.
The subcommitteeās proposed bill, which includes billions of dollars in cuts in a wide range of other federal health, education, and human services related programs, is scheduled to be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee on July 10. Officials with AIDS advocacy groups say they are hopeful that the full committee, like last year, will refuse to approve the proposed cuts in the AIDS budget.
The proposed GOP cuts would eliminate $214 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionās HIV prevention programs, $190 million from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, and $15 million from the Department of Health and Human Services Secretaryās Minority HIV/AIDS Program.
Activists say the impact of those cuts would kill the federal governmentās Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which among other things, calls for reducing the number of new HIV infections in the U.S. by 75 percent by 2025 and by 90 percent by 2030. The activists point out that ironically the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative was launched during the administration of President Donald Trump.
āInstead of providing new investments in ending HIV by increasing funding for testing, prevention programs, such as PrEP, and life-saving care and treatment, House Republicans are again choosing to go through a worthless exercise of cutting programs that the American people depend on and will never pass,ā said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute.
āWhile we vigorously fight these cuts, we look forward to working with the entire Congress in a bipartisan fashion on spending bills that can actually become law,ā Schmid said in a statement.
Schmid noted that the bill also includes provisions known as āpolicy ridersā that would take away rights and protections from women, such as access to birth control and abortion, and for minorities, including LGBTQ people.
According to a statement released by the office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who is the ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Committee, one of the policy riders would āblock the Biden administrationās policies to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.ā The statement says another policy rider would āprevent policies or programs intended to promote diversity, equality, or inclusion.ā
Most political observers believe the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate would also kill the GOP proposed policy riders and cuts in the AIDS budget if the full Republican-controlled House were to approve the budget bill passed by the appropriations subcommittee.
Rep, Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who serves as chair of the full House Appropriations Committee, released a statement on June 27 defending the subcommitteeās bill and its proposed spending cuts. āThe bill provides appropriate and fiscally responsible funding to ensure these departments can continue to perform their core missions while also acknowledging the fiscal realities facing our nation,ā he said.
āImportantly, the bill pushes back on the Biden administrationās out-of-touch progressive policy agenda, preventing this White House from finalizing or implementing controversial rules or executive orders,ā Cole said in his statement. āIt also preserves long standing bipartisan policy provisions protecting the right to life.ā
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