Local
Rewind: Week of Feb. 5
Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was remarkable not only for paving the way for the despicable law’s demise, but for showcasing the two routes conservatives can take moving forward.
One path is that taken by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It took him a number of years to get to this juncture, but he has chosen to be on the right side of history, be in touch with the majority of Americans, and do what is right by his fellow soldiers. Mullen, who had been nominated to his post by George W. Bush in 2007, told the Senate committee that he believes “allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.” He confessed, “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.” He explained that it’s a matter of integrity — “theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.” He clearly meant his own integrity as well.
Then there is the way taken by Sen. John McCain. The Arizona Republican reneged on an earlier promise to heed the military’s top brass on the matter of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Now that both the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are telling us it’s time to repeal the discriminatory law, McCain throws a hissy fit and refuses to budge. Once known for his “maverick” and independent streak, it appears that he has lost his better qualities. Is he pandering to social conservatives to ensure more years in Washington? Or has he yet to accept his defeat to that young upstart, Obama? Or is he simply clinging on to an order that is fast disintegrating — one in which he and other privileged, wealthy and heterosexual white men hold sway?
McCain, joined by a few of his ilk, defiantly displayed how out of synch he is with most of us. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, in particular, uttered inanity that only underscored how divorced these men are from reality. He protested that repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would open the flood gates to “alcohol use, adultery, fraternization, and body art” in the military. I believe it’s a bit too late for that.
In other news, at the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday, Obama finally addressed the maniacal and murderous anti-LGBT fervor gripping Uganda and other African Nations. He said, “We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are — whether it’s here in the United States or, as [Secretary of State] Hillary [Clinton] mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda.”
Clinton, who gave the keynote address, had stressed that the administration is “looking to take on religious discrimination and violations of human rights. But we are also standing up for girls and women, who too often in the name of religion are denied basic human rights. And we are standing up for gays and lesbians, who deserve to be treated as full human beings.”
On Monday, newly minted Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced that he had decided to shelve his predecessor’s proposal to allow same-sex partners to be covered under the state’s employee health plan. The proposal had been developed by outgoing Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine weeks before the god-fearing McDonnell took over the reins of the Old Dominion State. It would have expanded benefits to qualified adults — straight and gay partners, roommates, caregivers, children and other family members — who live in the same house as an insured state employee.
The following day, in neighboring D.C., Republican Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah and eight other GOP senators introduced legislation that would require the District to subject marriage equality to a referendum before issuing marriage licenses to lesbian and gay couples next month. In response, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said that the Republicans are “disregarding the most basic of American self-government principles.” She argued that “marriage is a fundamental state’s right in the District as elsewhere in America, not a political football to be used or abused to score points back home at the expense of the people of the District, and of democratic principles.”
And while many of us were riveted on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” hearing, the U.S. Tax Court quietly issued a long-awaited decision in a case that has very positive consequences for transgender people. In O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the court ruled that treatment for gender identity disorder qualifies as medical care under the Internal Revenue Code, and that medical treatments for GID, including surgery and hormone therapy, are therefore deductible.
Karen Loewy of Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, which represented the plaintiff, celebrated the verdict.
“This decision treats Rhiannon O’Donnabhain the way she deserves to be treated — like any hard-working American taxpayer with medical expenses.” She pointed out that “this has been a no-brainer. Every mainstream medical authority from the American Psychiatric Association to the National Institutes of Health recognizes the legitimacy of providing medical care for transgender people. Dismissing these medical expenses as illegitimate and not deductible was discrimination, pure and simple.”
On Wednesday, Maryland lawmakers rejected an effort by their own to prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages lawfully performed elsewhere. Del. Emmett Burns Jr., a Democrat and minister, had proposed the bill as a pre-emptive strike against an anticipated legal opinion the state’s attorney general has been working on. It has been predicted that the attorney general will allow same-sex marriages to be recognized in Maryland, following the state’s legal tradition of recognizing unions, including common-law marriages, which are illegal in Maryland but lawful elsewhere. Same-sex marriage is still not legal in the state.
Finally this week, thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans activists and straight allies gather in Dallas for Creating Change 2010, the National Conference on LGBT Equality organized by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. In attendance are young and old activists and advocates, organizers and activists of color, public officials and other LGBT leaders. Its primary goal is “to build our movement’s political power from the ground up to secure our overarching goal of full equality, social justice and dignity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States.”
Unlike McCain and his friends, these people are not wealthy, privileged and powerful men cocooned in Washington, shaking their fists against welcome change. These ordinary Americans are acting with more wisdom, courage and integrity than the senators, leading the way to our shared future in which the next generation of conservatives, liberals and independents will wonder what the fuss was all about.
Erwin de Leon blogs for DC Agenda. You can follow him on Twitter at @ErwindeLeon.
District of Columbia
D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case
Victim threatened with assault, called ‘faggot’ as he left Capitals game
D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera after he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs and threatened to assault a man at 6th and H Streets, N.W. on March 20 at about 9:54 p.m.
A police report says the victim told police the incident took place shortly after he exited the nearby Capital One Arena where he had attended a Washington Capitals hockey game.
The police report says the incident began when the victim saw the suspect yell a racist slur at a person behind the victim and started to berate a valet operator.
“Suspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a ‘faggot’ among other homophobic slurs,” the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and “snatching” the phone from the victim’s hand.
“Suspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,” the report continues. “Suspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed ‘if you keep recording, I’m going to kick your ass.’” The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.
It lists the incident as a “Threats To Do Bodily Harm” offense that is a suspected hate crime.
“Anyone who can identify this suspect or has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099, or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411,” according to a separate police statement released April 23.
The statement says police currently offer an award of up to $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.
D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the case has been under investigation since the incident occurred on March 20. He said the video image of the suspect, most likely obtained from a security camera from a nearby business, was released to the public as soon as it was obtained and processed through the investigation.
District of Columbia
Wanda Alston Foundation names new executive director
Longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Cesar Toledo to succeed June Crenshaw
The Wanda Alston Foundation, the D.C.-based organization that has provided housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth since its founding in 2008, announced it has appointed longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Cesar Toledo as its new executive director.
In an April 22 statement, the organization said that as part of a planned leadership transition launched in November 2024, Toledo will succeed June Crenshaw, who Alston Foundation officials and LGBTQ community activists say has led the organization with distinction in her role as executive director for the past nine years.
In a statement released last November, the foundation announced Crenshaw was stepping down from her role as executive director after deciding to “to step into her next chapter.”
“June’s leadership has been truly transformative,” said Alston Foundation Board Chair Darrin Glymph in the group’s April 22 statement. “We are immensely grateful for her dedication and equally excited for the energy and experience that Cesar brings to lead us into this next chapter,” Glymph said.
“A seasoned LGBTQ+ advocate, Cesar brings over a decade of experience leading national campaigns, shaping public policy, and building inclusive communities,” the statement released by the group says. “Most recently, he served as the National LGBTQ+ Engagement Director for the Harris for President Campaign and has built a career focused on advancing equality and equitable education,” it says.
Biographical information about Toledo shows that immediately prior to working for the Harris For President Campaign, he served since April 2023 as deputy director for Democrats for Education Reform DC (DFER DC), a political group that helps to elect candidates for public office committed to quality education for all students, including minorities, people of color and LGBTQ youth.
Before joining DFER DC, Toledo served as political director for the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, where he assisted in electing out LGBTQ candidates to all levels of public office across the U.S.
“I’m really excited about joining the Wanda Alston Foundation,” Toledo told the Washington Blade. “After a decade of working at the intersection of politics and policy and advancing political candidates and equitable education here in D.C., I wanted to shift my career to direct services to the most vulnerable folks in the LGBTQ+ family and our homeless youth,” he said.
Among other things, he said he would push for increasing the Alston Foundation’s visibility and mainlining its services for LGBTQ youth at a time when the national political climate has become less supportive.
A statement on its website says the Alston Foundation was founded in 2008 “in memory of Wanda Alston, a fierce LGBTQ+ activist, national advocate, and government official who was admired by District residents.”
The statement adds, “The foundation opened the first housing program in the nation’s capital in 2008 providing pre-independent transitional living and life-saving support services to LGBTQ+ youth.”
In a separate statement, the Alston Foundation announced it would hold a “thank you” celebration of appreciation for June Crenshaw from 6-8 p.m. on May 20 at Crush Dance Bar located at 2007 14th Street, N.W. in D.C.
“Let’s come together to celebrate her dedication and commitment for everything she has done for the LGBTQIA homeless youth population,” the statement says.
Virginia
Gay talk show host wins GOP nom for Va. lieutenant guv
John Reid becomes first out gay nominee for statewide office in state
John Reid, a conservative gay radio talk show host in Richmond for many years, this week secured the Republican nomination for the office of lieutenant governor in Virginia, becoming the first known openly gay person to be nominated for a statewide office in that state.
Reid secured the nomination after his only rival in the Republican primary, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race this week for health reasons.
Herrity’s decision to withdraw from the race finalized the GOP nominees for Virginia’s three statewide contests in the November general election in what political observers are calling an unusually diverse GOP slate.
Current Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Black woman, captured the GOP nomination for governor without a GOP opponent. Jason S. Miyares, a Hispanic man, is running for re-election as Virginia attorney general without a GOP rival. And Reid, a gay man, is the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor.
Reid will face one of six Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor who are competing in the June 17 Democratic primary.
The Blade spoke with Reid on Tuesday. Below is a partial transcript of that interview.
Blade: Is there a message you have for LGBTQ voters in Virginia, including Democrats, for why you think they should vote for you?
Reid: Well, the thing that I would say to gay voters who are looking and examining the candidates, is that I was out of the closet as a gay Republican publicly in very difficult rooms where people weren’t accepting of gay men – long before Donald Trump said I don’t care about this stuff.
And long before polite society said this was OK. So, in the ‘90s I came out on television and said on Oct. 11 – it was on National Coming Out Day. It was probably in 1996 or 1997. I started at the TV station in 1994. So, it was a couple of years into it.
I came out and said you never know your news anchor could be gay on National Coming Out Day. And everyone was appalled. How can you say this? You’re not supposed to say something like that. So even though I’m a Republican I know some people in the LGBT community are reflexively hostile to Republicans.
I took that step in public, and I think I helped change a lot of minds within the Republican Party and within central Virginia, which continues to be a pretty conservative place by being true to who I am. I spoke out in meetings around Republican staff and legislators and said I think we are not doing the right thing by being hostile to gay marriage.
We talk about the importance of family – Republicans talk about the importance of family, the importance of marriage as a fundamental building block of society. And a gay marriage is a net positive. Is it biblical to people who are following traditional Christian theology? No. But is it good for our society to have people in committed relationships? I think yes.
When we were going through the debate over gays in the military I said I see no reason that someone who is qualified to be in the military and can meet every single standard that everyone else is asked to meet, why should they not be in the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, West Point? Or serving as a grunt in active duty. Why would we exclude those people?
And those were very unpopular positions within the Republican Party.
Blade: Your campaign website says you have supported civil unions for same-sex couples. I could have missed seeing it, but I didn’t see an expression of support for gay marriage. Are you saying now that you support full same-sex marriage?
Reid: You know, you’re right. There is a distinction. And I think marriage is completely legitimate. Civil unions – if you want to go and sign paperwork at the courthouse – that’s great. If you want to be married and if a church wants to marry you if you find a church and religious leader and group that wants to bless that – that’s what I hope to do with my partner now.
Sometime in the near future I hope we will be married. And it’s very important to me as a Christian to be married in a church. So, that’s interesting. Most people would not draw that distinction. I appreciate that you’re drawing a distinction. I’m supportive of both.
Blade: Did you say you worked for a member of Congress? Can you say who that was?
Reid: George Allen, the senator from Virginia. And, of course, you and I – I know you’ve covered so many stories like this that you’ve brought together. But it was a very difficult position. When I started with Sen. Allen, he had a very libertarian attitude about this. The [Virginia State] constitutional amendment was not necessary. There was no need to go down that road.
And of course President Bush – George W. – was very assertive during the 2004 campaign. And then the issue continued to bubble up and you know we wound up with this amendment in the Virginia Constitution that banned gay marriage until the Supreme Court decision. And I was not supportive of that. And I voted for my boss, my senator, who I respected and still do respect.
Blade: Your website shows that your support for the gay community does not extend to the transgender community.
Reid: Yeah, I hate this. But I do think that our current focus on trans issues is where the gay rights movement has jumped the shark. And I think we’re losing support that we worked very diligently for decades to build with the average person. And I’m puzzled that the former leaders of the Human Rights Campaign had presidents when Elizabeth Birch and others – I don’t know what their stance is today.
I do recall that all of us who talked about gay rights issues focused on normalcy and that we would meet every standard that everyone else met. That all the vile things that were said about gays being pedophiles and grooming children – that simply was not true.
And I think we have stumbled into a very unfortunate and dangerous territory where we’re almost taunting the average person with an insistence that they accept drag queen story hour and the provocative books and provocative media that the average person would say, ‘You told us you were normal. – quote unquote normal – and now you are peddling an agenda which we don’t agree with and you’re being really aggressive about it.
And that’s really a difference. I know you’ve been covering it for a long time. I don’t know if you agree with this. I think we are peddling a very different political agenda today than the gay community was 20 years ago. And I think we should restrain ourselves and be cautious about that. And I think we’re in dangerous territory with the general population. And I’d urge caution about that.
Blade: Online reports show that there are as many as six Democratic candidates competing for the lieutenant governor’s position in the June 17 Democratic primary. Do you know any of them?
Reid: I’m familiar with most of them. Some are from the Richmond area. And I believe they are all very supportive of gay rights, which is I think a good thing. My reason for challenging them as a Republican – and I think there are other places where there is a lack of appropriate leadership and good judgment. And so, I don’t expect the gay issue would be a real issue. The trans issue may be a point of contention in the race.
But I don’t think the gay issue – and I do draw a distinction between the two — I don’t think that will be a real dividing line with those Democrat[ic] candidates.
Blade: So unlike when you were a TV news anchor, on your radio talk show were you able to offer more opinions and commentary?
Reid: That’s correct. There was a lot of opining, no script. So, I was able to tell stories about how I traveled to Miami, and I went to Washington. I went to the Kennedy Center and shared some of my life and lifestyle as appropriate with the audience.
Blade: Well, thank you for this interview.
Reid: I’m happy to talk to you. One of the reasons I called you back is that the political consultants have always told me don’t talk to anybody that might disagree with you. And I reject that. I have already lived 30 years as an out gay man. And it has been very difficult. And I would like to make it easier for the next generation to live their authentic selves. … Calling you and talking to you against the advice of all these people who say never do that, I’m hopeful that my willingness to engage and be candid will ultimately be well received, I hope.
Opposition from religious groups prompts Indian Pride group to cancel annual parade
On Pope Francis, Opus Dei and ongoing religious intolerance
D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case
Brad’s Story: An Unexpected Diagnosis
Wanda Alston Foundation names new executive director
David Hogg’s arrogant, self-indulgent stunt
Federal judge blocks Trump passport executive order
HHS to retire 988 crisis lifeline for LGBTQ youth
‘Pronoun Trouble’ reminds us that punctuation matters
