National
Locals rally around Murphy
D.C. gays plan Pa. trip to help champion of ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, lead House sponsor of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal, trails his GOP opponent by 14 points in a recent poll. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Local LGBT Democratic activists are making plans to travel to Pennsylvania to help the champion of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in the U.S. House in a challenging re-election campaign.
The National Stonewall Democrats and D.C.’s Gertrude Stein Democratic Club are collaborating in an effort dubbed “Stein Storm” to bring local supporters of U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) to his district to help with his campaign.
The organizations plan to bus Murphy supporters from D.C. to Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district on the weekends of Oct. 15 and Oct. 22.
Linsey Pecikonis, a Stonewall spokesperson, said Murphy’s leadership on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal makes him one of the “strongest heroes here in the LGBT community.”
“Right now when we’re struggling as a community to have our voice represented in Congress, we can’t lose our heroes,” she said. “And so, the LGBT community needs to come out and show support for our strongest allies and Patrick Murphy is one of those.”
Murphy, who’s straight, has been praised by LGBT advocacy groups for taking the lead in repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the House.
An Iraq war veteran, Murphy assumed sponsorship last year of legislation that would repeal the statute when the bill had about 150 co-sponsors and gradually built support for the measure.
In May, Murphy introduced an amendment to major defense budget legislation that would lead to repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The measure passed, 234-194.
Jeffrey Richardson, president of the Stein Club, said his organization is planning to assist Murphy because of this work on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“We don’t have a lot of allies — particularly on the national level — these days, so when you have a strong ally like Rep. Murphy, we as a community have to stand up and do all that we can,” Richardson said. “We can’t sit on the sidelines.”
Although Richardson said he doesn’t have a final count on the number of local supporters who will travel from D.C. to help with Murphy’s campaign, he said he already has the commitment of about 10 to 15 volunteers.
Planned activities include phone banking and canvassing the district as well as giving Murphy more visibility in upcoming rallies planned in Pennsylvania.
Stonewall’s efforts go beyond helping to transport people from the D.C. area to Murphy’s district. The organization has one paid organizer working with the Murphy campaign to help with his re-election.
Additionally, Pecikonis said all Stonewall staffers will be spending time in Murphy’s district.
Murphy is among 12 Democratic candidates that Stonewall has endorsed as part of its “Elect Equality” initiative. Others in this group include Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), who’s facing a difficult re-election campaign, and Ed Potosnak, a gay schoolteacher who’s seeking to unseat Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.).
In a statement, Murphy said, “it’s been a honor” to have the support of LGBT people and to “work with them to advance pro-equality legislation and lead the fight to repeal the military’s discriminatory and outdated ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.”
“When I served in Baghdad as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne, we didn’t care about the sexual orientation of the guy next to us, but rather whether he could do his job,” he said.
Murphy is facing a challenging re-election campaign. He’s running in what pundits expect to be a Republican year and against a GOP candidate he narrowly unseated in 2006 during a surge in Democratic popularity.
Mike Fitzpatrick, now an attorney, is challenging Murphy to regain the House seat he once held. Murphy defeated Fitzpatrick in 2006 by less than one percentage point.
Pecikonis warned that Republicans view Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district as a potential pickup and are devoting considerable efforts to defeat Murphy.
“We see that Republicans feel that his seat is one of the most vulnerable seats in the House and they’re dumping millions of dollars into his opponent’s campaign,” she said.
Fitzpatrick opposes “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.
In response to an inquiry about the Senate’s recent failure to move forward with legislation that would end the law, Darren Smith, a Fitzpatrick spokesperson, was quoted as saying Democrats were forcing the issue too soon by not waiting for the completion of a Pentagon study due Dec. 1.
“What Congress has essentially done here is prejudged the outcome of that study,” Smith reportedly said. “If we ask the military to figure something out, why are [Senate Democrats and the White House] taking action now?”
Murphy said Fitzpatrick once held the view that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should be repealed and criticized him for what he said was changing his position on the issue.
“As far as I’m concerned, every day that goes by with this policy still in place is a disservice to all our troops and harms our national security,” he said.
Recent polling data confirms that Murphy won’t have an easy path to re-election this year. A poll published last month by Franklin & Marshall College found that he trails Fitzpatrick by 14 points among likely voters in the district.
The poll is based on phone interviews conducted between Sept. 14-19. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
But Murphy dismissed the poll and noted the same dire predictions were made by the same polling firm in the days before he defeated Fitzpatrick in 2006.
“Some polls have me up, others down,” Murphy said. “This was always going to be a tough race and I’m taking nothing for granted. National pundits like the Cook Report have cited my leadership on [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] repeal as the reason I’m in a tough fight, but I don’t give a damn what they say — what’s right is right.”
Richardson said the poll is “concerning” but also called the numbers a “rallying cry” for Murphy supporters.
“The reality is we can’t sit on the sidelines and just sort of sit back and say, ‘Well, he’s down in the polls. Well, OK,'” Richardson said. “We have to step it up and put our boots on the ground and try to do all that we can to get him back in Congress.”
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
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