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Carney mum on Obama reaction to Md. marriage bill

Spokesperson says he has no info on timing for POTUS marriage support

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White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (Blade photo by Michael Key)

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was tight-lipped on Monday about any reaction from President Obama on the recent failure of same-sex marriage legislation to advance in Maryland or whether the president would soon make an announcement in support of marriage equality.

Under questioning from the Washington Blade, Carney said he had no new information on the president’s position on marriage since the president’s announcement in December that he’s “wrestling” with the issue.

“Chris, the presidentā€™s position on gay marriage is well known,” Carney said. “He addressed this in December at the press conference and I donā€™t have anything new for you on that.”

Pressed on whether the president is unconcerned about the failure of the marriage bill to advance in Maryland, Carney replied, “I donā€™t have anything for you on that either.”

Last week, the Maryland House of Delegates by voice vote recommitted to committee a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the Free State after proponents felt that they didn’t have the 71 votes necessary for passage. Backers of the bill said they would make another attempt to bring it to the floor in 2012.

Carney has previously said Obama is “grappling” with the issue of same-sex marriage. In an interview withĀ The Advocate late last year, Obama said he’s “wrestling” with the idea of marriage equality, but isn’t yet in a position to support it.

ā€œLike a lot of people, I’m wrestling with this,ā€ Obama reportedly said. “I’ve wrestled with the fact that marriage traditionally has had a different connotation. But I also have a lot of very close friends who are married gay or lesbian couples.ā€

But Carney on Monday wouldn’t say whether this struggle would end in the president endorsing marriage rights for gay couples. Asked whether the president would come out in favor of same-sex marriage before efforts start again to legalize gay nuptials in Maryland in 2012, Carney replied, “I donā€™t have any timing for you on that either.”

In related marriage news on Monday, a total of 31 celebrities, athletes and leaders in the technology field in conjunction with Freedom to Marry sent a letter to President Obama urging him to endorse same-sex marriage in the wake of his decision to defend no longer the Defense of Marriage Act in court. Among the signers are lesbian talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her spouse Portia; gay singer Rufus Wainwright; straight actress Anne Hathway; gay media mogul David Geffen; and Freedom to Marry executive director Evan Wolfson.

“Mr. President,Ā marriage matters,” the letter states. “In law, in love, in life, marriage says ‘we are family’ in a way that nothing else does. Marriage is the coming together of two lives, marked by a public promise of love and responsibility in front of friends and family. And marriage brings not only public respect and personal significance, but also a safety net of legal protections, rights, and responsibilities for which there is no substitute.”

The letter says that the issue of whether to “end discrimination in marriage” is a problem that America has faced before and that “clarity from the president” is needed to move forward.

“You can offer hope to millions of young gay and lesbian Americans who are facing discrimination,” the letter states. “You can tell them that their future is bright, that they, too, will be able to grow up and marry the person that they love, that the pursuit of happiness truly belongs to all of us.”

Freedom to Marry is asking other supporters of same-sex marriage to sign the letter online. As of Monday afternoon, the letter had more than 10,000 signers.

Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, said in response to the letter that Obama is committed to offering same-sex couples the same rights as married opposite-sex couples.

ā€œThe president has long said that gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights and benefits as straight married couples, and his administration has already taken steps towards that end and will continue to do so,” Inouye said.

The partial transcript of the exchange between Carney and the Blade follows:

Washington Blade: Ā Last week, the Maryland statehouse recommitted a bill legalizing same-sex marriage to committee because proponents didnā€™t feel like they had enough votes for passage.Ā  The measure is effectively dead for this year even though Democrats have control of the chamber.Ā  By not supporting same-sex marriage, is the President, as head of the Democratic Party, giving cover to Democrats in that chamber who donā€™t support the bill?

Jay Carney:Ā  Chris, the Presidentā€™s position on gay marriage is well known. He addressed this in December at the press conference and I donā€™t have anything new for you on that.

Blade: So is the President not concerned that this measure failed to progress in that chamber?

Carney:Ā  I donā€™t have anything for you on that either.

Blade: One last question, one last question. The proponents of this bill said theyā€™re going to try again in 2012. You said heā€™s grappling with the issue of same-sex marriage. The president said heā€™s wrestling with it.Ā  Is he going to pin down support for marriage equality and make an announcement before next year in time for these efforts —

Carney:Ā  I donā€™t have any timing for you on that either.

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National

Trump refers to Anderson Cooper as ā€˜Allisonā€™

Crude insults continue in effort to attract male voters

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Donald Trump is referring to CNNā€™s Anderson Cooper as ā€˜Allison.ā€™

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump referred repeatedly over the weekend to CNNā€™s Anderson Cooper as ā€œAllison Cooper.ā€

Cooper, one of the nationā€™s most prominent openly gay television anchors, moderated a town hall last week with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump last Friday called Anderson ā€œAllisonā€ in a social media post, then used the moniker again at a Michigan rally.

ā€œIf you watched her being interviewed by Allison Cooper the other night, heā€™s a nice person. You know Allison Cooper? CNN fake news,ā€ Trump said, before adding, ā€œOh, she said no, his name is Anderson. Oh, no.ā€

Trump repeated the name during another Michigan rally on Saturday, according to the Associated Pres, then followed it up during a reference in Pennsylvania. ā€œThey had a town hall,ā€ Trump said in Michigan. ā€œEven Allison Cooper was embarrassed by it. He was embarrassed by it.ā€

Describing Anderson Cooper as female plays into offensive and stereotypical depictions of gay men as effeminate as Trump continues to pursue the so-called ā€œbro vote,ā€ amping up crude and vulgar displays in an effort to appeal to male voters.

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Pennsylvania

Transgender Honduran woman canvasses for Harris in Pa.

Monserrath Aleman is CASA in Action volunteer

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Monserrath Aleman, a transgender woman in Honduras, has canvassed in Pennsylvania for Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic candidates. (Photo by Phil Laubner/CASA in Action)

A transgender woman from Honduras has traveled to Pennsylvania several times in recent weeks to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic candidates.

Monserrath Aleman traveled to York on Aug. 31 and Lancaster on Sept. 21 with a group of other volunteers from CASA in Action. 

They door-knocked in areas where large numbers of African Americans, Black, and Latino voters live. Aleman and the other CASA in Action volunteers urged them to support Harris, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and other down ballot Democratic candidates.

Aleman will be in Harrisburg on Nov. 2, and in York on Election Day.

“We achieved the goal that we had in mind and that we wanted to achieve,” she told the Washington Blade on Oct. 22 during a Zoom interview from Baltimore. “We knocked on doors, passed out flyers.”

Aleman cited Project 2025 ā€” which the Congressional Equality Caucus on Thursday sharply criticized ā€” when she spoke with the Blade.

“We know that there is a Project 2025 plan that would affect us: The entire immigrant Latino community, the LGBTI community, everyone,” said Aleman. “So that’s why I’m more motivated to go knocking on doors, to ask for help, for support from everyone who can vote, who can exercise their vote.”

She told the Blade that she and her fellow volunteers “did not have any bad response.”

Aleman grew up in Yoro, a city that is roughly 130 miles north of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

She left Honduras on Nov. 25, 2021.

Aleman entered Mexico in Palenque, a city in the country’s Chiapas state that is close to the border with Guatemala. The Mexican government granted her a humanitarian visa that allowed her to legally travel through the country.

Aleman told the Blade she walked and took buses to Ciudad JuƔrez, a Mexican border city that is across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.

She scheduled her appointment with U.S. Customs and Border Protection while living at a shelter in Ciudad JuĆ”rez.Ā Aleman now lives in Baltimore.

“Discrimination against the LGBTI community exists everywhere, but in Honduras it is more critical,” said Aleman.

Aleman added she feels “more free to express herself, to speak with someone” in the U.S. She also said she remains optimistic that Harris will defeat former President Donald Trump on Election Day.

“There is no other option,” said Aleman.

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National

HRC rallies LGBTQ voters in 12 states ahead of Election Day

10 Days of Action campaign targets pro-equality candidate

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Human Rights Campaign headquarters (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Human Rights Campaign said it filled 1,426 new volunteer shifts and held 174 events across key swing states between Oct. 10-20 as part of its 10 Days of Action campaign.Ā 

The LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group is working to mobilize and turn out voters in support of pro-equality and LGBTQ candidates, including the Harris-Walz ticket, on Election Day.

HRC reported exceeding its recruitment goals, noting the strong response across the 12 states as a ā€œclear and resounding messageā€ that LGBTQ and allied voters are energized to back the Harris-Walz ticket. 

To kick off the 10 Days of Action, Gwen Walz, the spouse of Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, spoke at a Philadelphia event that HRC and the Out for Harris-Walz coalition hosted on Oct. 10.

Walz highlighted her husbandā€™s long-standing support for LGBTQ issues, such as his role in fighting to repeal “Donā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell” in Congress and banning so-called conversion therapy as governor, according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.Ā 

Other events launched canvassing efforts for Senate candidates, such as U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), along with House candidates, such as Will Rollins and Mondaire Jones in California and New York respectively. 

A virtual organizing call on Oct. 11 that the Out for Harris-Walz coalition hosted featured prominent figures, including actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Andy Cohen, U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), and Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride, who is running for Congress.

To close out the 10 Days of Action, HRC President Kelley Robinson canvassed with LGBTQ organizers in Phoenix on Oct. 20. 

In a statement, Robinson said the campaignā€™s work is ā€œfar from over.ā€

ā€œWe plan to spend every day until the election making sure everyone we know is registered to vote and has a plan to vote because no one is going to give us the future we deserve ā€” we have to fight for it and show America that when we show up, equality wins,ā€ she said. ā€œTogether, we will elect pro-equality leaders like Vice President Harris and Governor Walz who value our communities and are ready to lead us forward with more freedom and opportunity.ā€

A September HRC poll found that LGBTQ voters favor Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in the presidential race by a nearly 67-point margin.

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