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Perry shakes up GOP presidential race

Texas guv — subject of gay rumors — opposes marriage equality

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Bachmann

Rep. Michele Bachmann won an Iowa straw poll, barely edging out Rep. Ron Paul. She was later grilled on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ but evaded a question about whether she would hire an openly gay member to her administration. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Since he officially announced his candidacy for president on Aug. 13, Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) has reminded Republican voters of his support for a U.S. constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Perry, who has emerged as one of the three leading GOP presidential contenders, has also reminded conservative party activists that he played a lead role in helping to pass a 2005 Texas constitutional amendment banning both same-sex marriage and civil unions.

Political observers have said Perry appears to be pushing his credentials as a same-sex marriage opponent following criticism he received from social conservative leaders last month, when he said the New York State Legislature’s approval of a same-sex marriage bill could be defended on the principle of states’ rights.

“Our friends in New York six weeks ago passed a statute that said marriage can be between two people of the same sex,” Perry told an audience in Aspen, Colo. “And you know what? That’s New York, and that’s their business, and that’s fine with me,” he said.

“That is their call,” he added. “If you believe in the 10th Amendment, stay out of their business.”

Perry’s comments about the New York marriage bill drew an immediate outcry from anti-gay groups, including the Family Research Council. But in a subsequent interview with Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins, Perry noted that among his core beliefs is the view that marriage can only be between one man and one woman.

While he remains a strong supporter of states’ rights, Perry told Perkins that the approval of same-sex marriage laws in states like New York could eventually lead to a situation where all states would have to recognize those marriages.

“Indeed to not pass the federal marriage amendment would impinge on Texas and other states not to have marriage forced upon us by these activist judges and special interest groups,” he said.

Rumors that have surfaced in Texas over the past decade about Perry having an affair with a male member of his administration, and his concern over the unconfirmed reports, may explain why Perry hasn’t been as outspoken against LGBT issues as the other GOP candidates in the race, according to Michael Mitchell, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats.

The weekly Austin Chronicle, along with various state blogs, have reported on the rumors, some of which have questioned Perry’s sexual orientation. Perry’s supporters have called the rumors scurrilous, saying no evidence has ever surfaced to give them any credibility.

Perry announced his candidacy on the same day that U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) won the Iowa straw poll among GOP presidential contenders, elevating her position in the eyes of most political pundits as one of the three “top tier” Republican presidential candidates based on polling numbers, fundraising capability and other factors.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who didn’t compete in the Iowa straw poll, remains at the head of the pack of GOP presidential candidates, according to the pundits and polls. Perry is considered the other member of the top three.

Romney and Bachman have each come out strongly for a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Bachmann, whose husband operates a discredited “ex-gay” counseling practice, captured 29 percent of the nearly 17,000 votes cast in the Ames, Iowa, straw poll.

Libertarian U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), came in second with 28 percent of the vote. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty came in third with 14 percent, prompting him to drop out of the presidential race.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum finished fourth with 10 percent, while businessman Herman Cain came in fifth with 9 percent.

Bachmann, Paul, Santorum, Cain, and Pawlenty have each expressed opposition to same-sex marriage. Pawlenty came under fire from conservative activists when he said he supported civil unions for same-sex couples.

Dennis Coleman, executive director of the statewide LGBT group Equality Texas, said LGBT leaders in the state have yet to meet with Perry during his nearly 11 years as governor.

Perry won election as lieutenant governor in 1998 and assumed office as governor in 2000 when then-Gov. George W. Bush resigned after winning election as president. Perry won election to full terms as governor in 2002, 2006, and 2010.

Coleman said Perry this year signed two bills considered to be beneficial to the LGBT community, an anti-bullying measure and a suicide prevention measure. But Coleman noted that both bills enjoyed strong bipartisan support and did not include specific language mentioning LGBT people, even though the bills benefit LGBT youth who are subjected to bullying and susceptible to suicide.

According to Coleman and Mitchell, Perry has opposed nearly all LGBT-related bills introduced into the state legislature during his time as governor, including legislation to ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Mitchell said Perry nevertheless has not been as outspoken in his opposition to LGBT-related issues as many of the other GOP presidential candidates, especially Bachmann and Santorum.

Christian Berle, deputy executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, a national LGBT group, praised Perry’s record in Texas on economic issues and his support for the anti-bullying and suicide prevention bills.

“We look forward to seeing Gov. Perry keep his commitment to states’ rights and the 10th Amendment when it comes to respecting the decisions of states to recognize relationships,” Berle said.

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National

Comings & Goings

Ted Lewis named director of Rainbow Families

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Ted Lewis

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]

The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success. 

Congratulations to Ted Lewis M.ED. on being named executive director of Rainbow Families. On their appointment they said, “Right now, when we are facing tremendous opposition to our very existence, is the time to build up our community and our community resources. LGBTQ+ families are innovative, supportive, loving, and resilient and we will need all those tools and more in this moment. My hope as Rainbow Families’ Executive Director is to expand our membership and welcome the vast community resources, expertise, and lived experiences to support new family formation and new parents. I hope to bring education, advocacy and support to LGBTQ+ families, parents, and prospective parents when we are worried about our rights disappearing. I’m also excited to join the joyous and thriving community at Rainbow Families and expand on fun events that bring families together from our weekend camping trip, to picking pumpkins at Cox Farms, and dancing at family parties. It is within a beloved community that we can both prepare for challenges ahead and celebrate our fabulousness together.”

Prior to this, Lewis served as director of Youth Well-Being for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Lewis served as project manager for Project THRIVE, a multi-year campaign with 30+ national organizations committed to the thriving of LGBTQ youth resulting in industry specific resources and professional development on LGBTQ best practices. Lewis was also founder and CEO of Ted Lewis Consulting, advising K-12 school districts, Fortune 500 companies, higher education institutions, and non-profits on LGBTQ inclusive practices. They also served as assistant director for Sexual/Gender Diversity, UNC Charlotte, responsible for LGBTQ student programming as well as Men’s & Women’s programming for the institution. Lewis has presented on numerous panels including: “Othermuvas: How Black LGBTQ+ Chosen Families Provide Support to Black LGBTQ+ Youth” National Mentoring Summit, 2025; “Addressing the Issues of LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency, Parity and Inconsistency” Richmond Bench-Bar Conference, 2019; and “The Unmasking: Race & Reality in Richmond” Richmond Magazine Panel, 2017. Lewis was named in Style Weekly’s 40 Under 40, in 2018; and received the VA Pride Firework Award in 2019.

Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in English and History, University of Mary Washington; Master of Education, University of South Carolina, and an Education Master Certificate in Women & Gender Studies, University of North Carolina, Charlotte. 

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Federal Government

Garcia writes to HHS Secretary about the dismantling of HIV programs in Trump’s second term

Out congressman was elected top Democrat on House Oversight on June 24

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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appears on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" in April 2024. (Screen capture via YouTube)

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter on Thursday to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding answers about the Trump-Vance administration’s “systematic” elimination of programs to fight HIV in the U.S. and around the world.

Also signed by Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the letter requests information about cuts to federal support for HIV research, including vaccine development efforts, the shuttering of the HIV prevention division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the defunding of programs providing HIV treatment and prevention services since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The lawmakers requested responses by or before the end of July.

“It is shameful that HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and the Trump Administration are working to dismantle our HIV research, care, and prevention programs aimed at eradicating the disease across the world,” Garcia said. “This decision is absolutely reckless and puts millions of lives at risk.  Oversight Democrats refuse to let Secretary Kennedy’s reliance on conspiracy theories and misinformation threaten the health and safety of our public health.” 

“The Trump Administration’s reckless decision to gut HIV prevention and research programs is not only scientifically indefensible—it’s morally unconscionable. These cuts jeopardize the health of millions, both at home and abroad, and reverse decades of bipartisan progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” Krishnamoorthi said. “We’re demanding answers because the American people, and the global community, deserve better than politically motivated neglect of public health.”

Echoing warnings from HIV and public health experts, the congressmen in their letter stressed that backsliding in efforts to fight the disease at home and abroad come just as advancements in treatment and prevention have finally put some of the most ambitious goals to end the epidemic within reach.

The letter suggests that Kennedy’s embrace of misinformation about HIV might explain, to some extent, his dismantling of programs to end the epidemic at home and abroad, specifically, pointing to the secretary’s history of challenging the overwhelming and longstanding scientific and medical consensus about the causal relationship between HIV and AIDS.

The congressmen also detailed many of the real-world consequences of health policy concerning HIV in Trump’s second term. For example, they note experts anticipate there will be millions of excess new HIV infections and hundreds of thousands of excess HIV-related deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa in just one year.

The letter also warns that “President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for domestic HIV program calls for a $1.5 billion reduction in funding,” which “could lead to more than 143,000 additional HIV cases in the United States within five years and about 127,000 additional deaths from HIV and AIDS-related causes.”

Garcia’s leadership of Oversight Dems will be closely watched

If Democrats recapture a majority of seats in the House next year, Garcia becomes chair of the committee and has access to far more powerful tools to exercise oversight — like the authority to issue subpoenas (unilaterally or by majority vote) compelling witnesses to testify or requiring officials to turn over documents.

Leadership positions, especially coveted spots leading the most powerful committees in Congress, are typically awarded based on seniority. When the House Democratic caucus elected Garcia on June 24, it marked the first first time in more than a century that a second-term member was selected for the role.

During his brief time in Washington, the congressman, who is openly gay and formerly served as mayor of Long Beach, has emerged as arguably one of the strongest communicators in the House Democratic caucus and one of his party’s most vocal critics of the second Trump administration.

Thursday’s letter, which comes less than a month after his election as ranking member, may signal how Garcia will approach fact finding missions and investigations, or where he will focus the committee’s work, under the vastly expanded powers that might be available to him after the midterms.

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National

Trump threatens Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship

Comedian responds with post linking him to Epstein

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Rosie O'Donnell (Screen capture via The Late Late Show/YouTube)

Donald Trump threatened to revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship last weekend amid his administration’s pattern of targeting people with whom he has publicly disagreed.

The actress and comedian, known for her roles in major motion pictures like “A League of Their Own” and “Harriet the Spy,” was singled out by the president on his social media app Truth Social, where he called the lesbian entertainer a “Threat to Humanity.”

“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump also posted. “[She] should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In response to the post—which reignites a decade-old feud between the two—O’Donnell shared a collage of photos from her time in Ireland, along with an old photo of Trump with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“The president of the usa has always hated the fact that i see him for who he is – a criminal con man sexual abusing liar out to harm our nation to serve himself,” the former talk show host posted on Instagram. She continued, “this is why i moved to ireland – he is a dangerous old soulless man with dementia who lacks empathy compassion and basic humanity – i stand in direct opposition [to] all he represents – so do millions of others – u gonna deport all who stand against ur evil tendencies – ur a bad joke who cant form a coherent sentence.”

Trump’s threat is both irregular and constitutionally unsound. The Supreme Court has ruled over multiple decades that stripping someone of their citizenship violates the Constitution—and the 14th Amendment.

Three Supreme Court cases in particular—Trop v. Dulles (1958), Afroyim v. Rusk (1967), and Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)—have all affirmed that once legally obtained, citizenship is not something that can simply be revoked, even if the president disagrees with what a person says or does. In Afroyim v. Rusk, the Supreme Court wrote: “In our country the people are sovereign and the Government cannot sever its relationship to the people by taking away their citizenship.”

This authoritarian threat echoes Trump’s broader efforts to undermine birthright citizenship, which has been a foundational part of the U.S. Constitution since the ratification of the 14th amendment.

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