National
Rally for sanity, fear packs National Mall
LGBT contingent joins 215,000 for Stewart, Colbert event
(Blade photo by Michael Key)
It was all about encouraging sanity. Or was it stoking fear?
Either way, the National Mall was packed on Saturday with, according to CBS News, an estimated 215,000 devotees of faux news anchor Jon Stewart and faux commentator Stephen Colbert for their “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.”
“If you look at the size of the crowd, you can see the inspiration there,” said C. Dixon Osburn, a gay D.C.-based activist who attended the rally. “The throngs of us have been longing for some clarity and sanity in moving forward.”
The Comedy Central pair approached the joint rally with different agendas. Stewart called for greater sanity in political discourse to transcend the sound bite journalism found on cable news networks.
“I think you know that the success or failure of a rally is only judged by two criteria: the intellectual coherence of the content and its correllation to the engagement of — I’m just kidding — it’s color and size,” Stewart said. “We all know it’s color and size.”
Colbert, however, sold the rally as a promotion of the kind of fear-mongering dialogue from political commentators that he spoofs on his show.
In the song with the refrain “There is no one more American than we,” Stewart and Colbert sang the line “from gay men who like football to straight men who like ‘Glee.'”
Many rally participants carried messages that lampooned previous rallies in D.C. with a more definite political agenda, such as Fox News commentator Glenn Beck’s Tea Party rally or the progressive One Nation Rally.
One held a sign reading “I want my country (ham) back” and another waived a sign stating “This sign contains correct grammar and spelling.” Yet another attendee raised a sheet with the message, “I have a sign.”
Still, others attempted to deliver decidedly liberal messages. Some carried signs that read, “Thank You Obama” and listed the accomplishments of his first two years in office, such as passage of health care reform legislation.
Osburn, director of law and security for Human Rights Watch, participated in the rally with others from his organization by distributing stickers reading “Fight Fear” while wearing chicken beaks.
“It’s part of the Colbert tongue-and-cheek satire of ‘Keep Fear Alive,’ which means being chicken,” Osburn said. “The reality is you’re supposed to fight fear, so we were there armed with facts rather than fear on issues like terrorism and torture and national security issues.”
Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog group, distributed signs reading “Restore Sanity: Fight Fox,” a dig at the news network known for its conservative bent.
A sizeable libertarian presence could be seen at the rally. A few had “Don’t Tread on Me” flags draped on their backs as they watched Stewart and Colbert’s performance.
LGBT people also made up a significant part of the estimated 215,000 in attendance. Osburn said there are “two realities” in the LGBT community: more people are coming out and coming out at an earlier age as a lack of federal protections for LGBT people persists.
“We are finding acceptance in our families and the companies where we work,” he said. “But there’s this disconnect, and that disconnect is in part because of political leadership that continues to try to divide us — rather than unite us — as a country.”
Zack Ford, a gay blogger from Harrisburg, Pa., held a sign saying “Free Hugs from a Military Atheist with a Gay Agenda” and embracing those who approached him.
“People are still scared of homosexuality in the same way they were 40, 50 years ago,” Ford said. “The same myths persist. That’s why I’m out here identifying myself as gay openly and hugging people because I want to help dispel the myth for some people.”
At one point during the rally, Stewart announced awards for those exhibiting a propensity for sanity in moments when the public was paying attention. Stewart also commended others for taking responsibility after acting in less than rationale ways in the past.
Among those he noted was Steven Slater, a gay former flight attendant with JetBlue. In August, he notoriously cursed out a passenger on a plane arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport, grabbed a beer from the galley and deployed an emergency exit slide and fled the plane.
In a video played at the rally, Slater apologized for his actions and admitted he acted in a less than sane manner.
“I could have found a more productive way of expressing my frustration instead of freaking out and cursing out a plane of passengers just trying to get to Pittsburgh,” he said. “Maybe a hug would have solved the whole thing.”
Meanwhile, Colbert offered awards for those who induced fear among others. Among the recipients was the black T-shirt donned by CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper during his coverage of disasters striking various areas throughout the country.
Observing that when Cooper shows up in a neighborhood, it means bad news for the area, Colbert brought one of the anchor’s T-shirt on stage and gave it an award for spreading fear.
“Say ‘hi’ to Anderson’s rock-hard torso for us,” Colbert added.
Some political pundits had speculated that the rally could be an “October surprise” that could motivate people to vote Democratic and mitigate what’s expected to be profound losses for the party on Election Day.
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), a gay lawmaker, hosted a satellite gathering for the rally on Friday in Boulder, Colo., presumably in an attempt to motivate the Democratic base there.
Sean Theriault, a gay government professor at the University of Texas, Austin, said the rally could have some impact on voters, but added that those who think it’ll prevent a Democratic wipeout are “mistaken.”
“It could help turnout a little bit, it could get the base a little bit energized and it could have a huge impact on a couple of races that are pretty close, but I don’t think it’s going to save the Democrats from the impending disaster,” Theriault said.
Similarly, Ford said he thinks the rally is an opportunity to energize those who may not otherwise be engaged in the political process.
“It’s not necessarily just all left, but it’s people from all walks of life, from all states and countries that are interested in American equality and progress,” Ford said. “They’re coming out here just to get energized and to show what’s important to them.”
Closing the rally with a keynote address, Stewart said he wanted to clarify the purpose of the rally, emphasizing it wasn’t intended to suggest times aren’t difficult and Americans have nothing to fear.
“They are and we do,” he said. “But we live now in hard times, not end times, and unfortunately one of our main tools in delineating the two broke.”
Stewart argued that what he called the “country’s 24-hour political pundit perpetual panic inflictinator” isn’t responsible for America’s problems, but said its existence makes solving them harder.
“The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen,” Stewart said. “Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire.”
Still, Stewart said even with such political dialogue taking place, he feels “strangely, calmly good” because he said the uncompromising image of Americans depicted in the media is false.
“We know instinctively as a people that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together,” Stewart said.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Gil Pontes III on his recent appointment to the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors, Fla. Upon being appointed he said, “I’m honored to join the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors at such an important moment for our community. In my role as Executive Director of the NextGen Chamber of Commerce, I spend much of my time focused on economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and the long-term competitiveness of emerging business leaders. I look forward to bringing that perspective to Wilton Manors — helping ensure responsible stewardship of public resources while supporting a vibrant, inclusive local economy.”
Pontes is a nonprofit executive with years of development, operations, budget, management, and strategic planning experience in 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and political organizations. Pontes is currently executive director of NextGen, Chamber of Commerce. NextGen Chamber’s mission is to “empower emerging business leaders by generating insights, encouraging engagement, and nurturing leadership development to shape the future economy.” Prior to that he served as managing director of The Nora Project, and director of development also at The Nora Project. He has held a number of other positions including Major Gifts Officer, Thundermist Health Center, and has worked in both real estate and banking including as Business Solutions Adviser, Ironwood Financial. For three years he was a Selectman, Town of Berkley, Mass. In that role, he managed HR and general governance for town government. There were 200+ staff and 6,500 constituents. He balanced a $20,000,000 budget annually, established an Economic Development Committee, and hired the first town administrator.
Pontes earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
Kansas
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
A new Kansas bill requires transgender residents to have their driver’s licenses reflect their sex assigned at birth, invalidating current licenses.
Transgender people across Kansas received letters in the mail on Wednesday demanding the immediate surrender of their driver’s licenses following passage of one of the harshest transgender bathroom bans in the nation. Now the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit to block the ban and protect transgender residents from what advocates describe as “sweeping” and “punitive” consequences.
Independent journalist Erin Reed broke the story Wednesday after lawmakers approved House Substitute for Senate Bill 244. In her reporting, Reed included a photo of the letter sent to transgender Kansans, requiring them to obtain a driver’s license that reflects their sex assigned at birth rather than the gender with which they identify.
According to the reporting, transgender Kansans must surrender their driver’s licenses and that their current credentials — regardless of expiration date — will be considered invalid upon the law’s publication. The move effectively nullifies previously issued identification documents, creating immediate uncertainty for those impacted.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 also stipulates that any transgender person caught driving without a valid license could face a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. That potential penalty adds a criminal dimension to what began as an administrative action. It also compounds the legal risks for transgender Kansans, as the state already requires county jails to house inmates according to sex assigned at birth — a policy that advocates say can place transgender detainees at heightened risk.
Beyond identification issues, SB 244 not only bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in government buildings — including libraries, courthouses, state parks, hospitals, and interstate rest stops — with the possibility for criminal penalties, but also allows for what critics have described as a “bathroom bounty hunter” provision. The measure permits anyone who encounters a transgender person in a restroom — including potentially in private businesses — to sue them for large sums of money, dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement beyond government authorities.
The lawsuit challenging SB 244 was filed today in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The complaint argues that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a temporary restraining order on behalf of the anonymous plaintiffs, arguing that the order — followed by a temporary injunction — is necessary to prevent the “irreparable harm” that would result from SB 244.
State Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Kansas Legislature, told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday that “persecution is the point.”
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans,” said Monica Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas. “It undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution.”
“SB 244 is a cruel and craven threat to public safety all in the name of fostering fear, division, and paranoia,” said Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police. Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
“SB 244 presents a state-sanctioned attack on transgender people aimed at silencing, dehumanizing, and alienating Kansans whose gender identity does not conform to the state legislature’s preferences,” said Heather St. Clair, a Ballard Spahr litigator working on the case. “Ballard Spahr is committed to standing with the ACLU and the plaintiffs in fighting on behalf of transgender Kansans for a remedy against the injustices presented by SB 244, and is dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights jeopardized by this new law.”
National
After layoffs at Advocate, parent company acquires ‘Them’ from Conde Nast
Top editorial staff let go last week
Former staff members at the Advocate and Out magazines revealed that parent company Equalpride laid off a number of employees late last week.
Those let go included Advocate editor-in-chief Alex Cooper, Pride.com editor-in-chief Rachel Shatto, brand partnerships manager Erin Manley, community editor Marie-Adélina de la Ferriére, and Out magazine staff writers Moises Mendez and Bernardo Sim, according to a report in Hollywood Reporter.
Cooper, who joined the company in 2021, posted to social media that, “Few people have had the privilege of leading this legendary LGBTQ+ news outlet, and I’m deeply honored to have been one of them. To my team: thank you for the last four years. You’ve been the best. For those also affected today, please let me know how I can support you.”
The Advocate’s PR firm when reached by the Blade said it no longer represents the company. Emails to the Advocate went unanswered.
Equalpride on Friday announced it acquired “Them,” a digital LGBTQ outlet founded in 2017 by Conde Nast.
“Equalpride exists to elevate, celebrate and protect LGBTQ+ storytelling at scale,” Equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill said according to Hollywood Reporter. “By combining the strengths of our brands with this respected digital platform, we’re creating a unified ecosystem that delivers even more impact for our audiences, advertisers, and community partners.”
It’s not clear if “Them” staff would take over editorial responsibilities for the Advocate and Out.
Comings & Goings
Kansas passes bathroom bounty hunter bill
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
After layoffs at Advocate, parent company acquires ‘Them’ from Conde Nast
Spring into sold
New book profiles LGBTQ Ukrainians, documents war experiences
PHOTOS: Queen of Hearts
Two very different views of the State of the Union
Va. activists preparing campaign in support of repealing marriage amendment
