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Biden says he gets ‘more credit for marriage equality than I deserve’

Democratic candidate says Equality Act is ‘the first bill I want to sign’

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Joe Biden, gay news, Washington Blade, Democratic Presidential candidates
Former Vice President Joe Biden (Screen capture via YouTube)

Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Biden told an LGBT audience Saturday night he gets “more credit for marriage equality than I deserve,” according to a campaign pool report.

Biden made the comments after reflecting on his words in favor of same-sex marriage on “Meet the Press” in 2012, which preceded the conclusion of President Obama’s in favor of same-sex marriage and wins for marriage equality at the ballot box that year.

ā€œI get more credit for marriage equality than I deserve,” Biden told the crowd of about 200 people at the fundraiser, which was hosted by gay philanthropist Tim Gill and his spouse Scott Miller.

Reflecting on his position on marriage equality, Biden said, ā€œI didn’t have to evolve very much.” (In 1996, Biden as a U.S. senator from Delaware was one of 85 senators to vote in favor of the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriage.)

Much of Biden’s speech, according to the pool report, consisted of stories he told in the past about his experience with LGBT people, including the story about his father warning him in high school not to be bigoted against gay people.

“I told the president I wouldn’t get out ahead of him, but if I got asked the question I couldn’t keep quiet,” Biden said. “I wasn’t going to be silent on it.ā€

In terms of LGBT policy, Biden reiterated his support for the Equality Act, saying he wants the legislation to be the “first bill I want to sign.”

ā€œThe first bill I want to sign is the Equality Act because today you can be married in a number of states on Saturday and be fired on Monday when you go into work,” Biden said. “And it’s gotta change. And most people don’t even know that. If we let them know that, we can change the law across the country.ā€

Other components of Biden’s remarks included condemnation of Trump’s rhetoric, free community college and training programs for displaced workers and Amazon leading to the elimination of retail jobs across the country.

Gill, who supports Biden, emphasized Biden’s record at the fundraiser and said ā€œAmerica needs a president with that experience,” according to the pool report.

ā€œAnd experience matters,” Gill said. “The ability to craft and pass legislation matters. The ability to rally people to your cause matters.ā€

The Washington Blade has placed a request in with the Biden campaign seeking comment on the amount raised at the fundraiser and the cost of a ticket.

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Virginia

Youngkin calls on gay Va. GOP LG candidate to exit race over alleged ‘porn’ scandal

John Reid denounces ‘fabricated internet lie’ as anti-gay smear campaign

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John Reid (Photo courtesy of John Reid)

Less than a week after John Reid, the conservative gay radio talk show host from Richmond secured the Republican nomination for the office of lieutenant governor in Virginia, sensational allegations have surfaced, which he strongly denies, that he allegedly posted pornographic photos on social media.

According to the Virginia Mercury newspaper, the allegations surfaced when Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office released a statement saying Youngkin contacted Reid on Friday, April 25, and asked him to withdraw his candidacy over reports that a social media account with Reid’s username included ā€œpornographic contentā€ that was ā€œsharedā€ with others.

ā€œThe governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content,ā€ the Virginia Mercury quotes a Youngkin spokesperson as saying. ā€œFriday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the governor asked him to step down as the lt. governor nominee,ā€ the spokesperson is quoted as saying.

Reid responded to the allegations in an early Friday evening video he posted on his campaign’s Facebook page, calling the allegations ā€œa totally fabricated internet lieā€ motivated by anti-gay bias.

ā€œI can tell you that’s not my account and anyone on the internet can open accounts with the same or similar names as other people,ā€ he stated in his video. ā€œIt’s predictable,ā€ he added.

ā€œBut what I didn’t expect was the governor I have always supported to call and demand my resignation without even showing me the supposed evidence or offering me a chance to respond,ā€ Reid states in his video.

He said he will not drop out of the lieutenant governor’s race and called the allegations against him just the latest in what he said was an ongoing effort by some in the Republican Party, especially conservative Christians, to force him out of politics.

ā€œLet’s be honest,ā€ he said. ā€œit’s because I’m openly gay. And I have never backed down to the establishment, and will not,ā€ he continued in his video message. ā€œWhat happened today is another coordinated assassination attempt against me to force the first openly gay candidate off of a Virginia statewide ticket.ā€

Reid added, ā€œIt’s shameful, and I won’t back down, even though I know the plan is for the attacks to continue in this overt effort to make me toxic.ā€

Reid secured the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor last week after his only rival in the Republican primary, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race for health reasons.

By securing the nomination Reid became the first known openly gay candidate, Republican or Democrat, to be nominated for a statewide office in Virginia.

In an interview with the Washington Blade earlier this week Reid pointed out that he came out as gay in 1996 or 1997 on National Coming Out Day in his role as TV news anchor in Richmond, where he worked for 10 years.

Following that, Reid worked as a radio talk show host for the next eight years, promoting his ideas as a gay conservative Republican, up until shortly before he announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor, he told the Blade.

Reid’s video responding to the accusations against him can be accessed here.

Reid’s campaign website and statements he has released to the media acknowledge his status as a gay candidate but point out he has a long record of support for conservative Republican positions on a wide range of issues that are against the positions of most mainline LGBTQ rights organizations.

ā€œI’m not a diversity hire,ā€ he stated in a press release issued at the time he announced his candidacy in January. ā€œI’m the most conservative and proven candidate running, and I’ve boldly stood up for our beliefs in a way that should make my personal life a total nonissue,ā€ he stated.

A statement on his campaign website states ā€œJohn is uniquely positioned to take the fight to the radical progressives head on as he continues his fight against boys in girls’ sports and the extreme trans agenda being forced upon our children.ā€

His campaign website statement on transgender issues concludes by saying, ā€œAnd we must be blatant in saying that it is factually impossible for biological men or women to personally decide to change their gender. John believes in the right for grown adults to live their lives as they see fit, but not if they impose restrictions and obligations on others and not if any of their behavior sexualizes or grooms children.

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Politics

George Santos sentenced to 87 months in prison for fraud case

Judge: ‘You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.’

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Former U.S. Rep. George Santos (Washington Blade photo by Christopher Kane)

Disgraced former Republican congressman George Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison on Friday, after pleading guilty last year to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. 

ā€œMr. Santos, words have consequences,ā€ said Judge Joanna Seybert of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. ā€œYou got elected with your words, most of which were lies.ā€

The first openly gay GOP member of Congress, Santos became a laughing stock after revelations came to light about his extensive history of fabricating and exaggerating details about his life and career.

His colleagues voted in December 2023 to expel him from Congress. An investigation by the U.S. House Ethics Committee found that Santos had used pilfered campaign funds for cosmetic procedures, designer fashion, and OnlyFans.

Federal prosecutors, however, found evidence that “Mr. Santos stole from donors, used his campaign account for personal purchases, inflated his fund-raising numbers, lied about his wealth on congressional documents and committed unemployment fraud,” per the New York Times.

The former congressman told the paper this week that he would not ask for a pardon. Despite Santos’s loyalty to President Donald Trump, the president has made no indication that he would intervene in his legal troubles.

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Maryland

A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center

Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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Tavish Forsyth, a queer artist and educator, posted a nude video on YouTube in protest of the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.

So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.

ā€œF—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,ā€ a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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