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Chad Griffin named HRC president

AFER chief to lead nation’s largest LGBT org

Published

15 years ago

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Chad Griffin, gay news, gay politics dc

Chad Griffin at an AFER event. (Photo courtesy Matt Baume)

The founder and president of a high-profile California-based LGBT rights group has been named as the new president of the Human Rights Campaign.

HRC announced Friday that Chad Griffin, board president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, will succeed Joe Solmonese as president after his contract expires.

According to the organization, Griffin’s appointment followed a six-month search by board members, who considered more than one hundred candidates. Griffin is set take on his new role on June 11, 2012 and Solmonese will continue to lead the group until that time.

In a statement provided by HRC, Griffin said he was honored to take on the role as head of the nation’s largest LGBT organization, which has an annual budget of $40 million a year.

“All over this country in big cities and small towns, there are families and young people who long to be accepted for who they are, and who want be treated with the same dignity and respect as everyone else,” said Griffin. “I’m honored by the board’s confidence in my ability to lead HRC. While there’s no doubt that we’ve made tremendous progress on the road to equality, we must not forget that millions of LGBT Americans still lack basic legal protections and suffer the consequences of discrimination every day.”

Griffin gained notoriety after he founded AFER in 2009 and secured Ted Olson and David Boies as attorneys in litigation against Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Last month, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the ban was unconstitutional as a result of this lawsuit.

But Griffin has had an extensive career fighting for progressive causes. According to his bio on AFER’s website, Griffin is founding partner of political and communications strategy firm Griffin-Schake, and taken on the tobacco and oil industry while pushing forward with issues such as equal rights, clean energy, universal health care, stem cell research and early childhood education.

His bio states he was responsible for spearheading Proposition 87, California’s Clean Alternative Energy Initiative; Proposition 10, which provides $600 million each year to early childhood education; and Proposition 71, which enables billions of dollars to flow to stem cell research.

HRC co-chair Tim Downing and HRC Foundation co-chair Sandra Hartness issued a joint statement on behalf of their colleagues on the Board of Directors regarding the selection of Griffin.

“We’re ecstatic to have someone of Chad’s caliber as our next president,” the co-chair said. “His superior credentials and achievements, both as a visionary and strategist, make him uniquely qualified to lead this organization forward. Chad has a proven track record of consistently delivering results during his career. That’s something that our community rightly expects and deserves.”

The Los Angeles-based activist has roots both in Hollywood and Washington. During the Clinton administration, Griffin became the youngest staffer ever to serve in the White House. He was also an executive producer of the 2009 film “Outrage,” which discusses the hypocrisy of closeted individuals in power who promote anti-gay policies.

Hilary Rosen, a D.C.-based Democratic activist and former interim head of HRC, said she’s “thrilled” with the selection of Griffin because he’s “entrepreneurial and visionary.”

“He anticipated how not just that Prop 8 needed to be overturned, but the right way to do it,” Rosen said. “That was both be smart legally as well as galvanize the best cross-section of allies. He built an organization to do that.”

Rosen said Griffin’s top challenges over the next couple years will be determining the best way to “maintain the momentum in all the above strategy that is our struggle for equality.”

“There are ballot measures, there’s legislation federally, there’s legislations statewide,” Rosen said. “How you weave that together in the national conversation and where you choose to devote resources and bring out new allies, I think, that’s the challenge.”

Rosen added Griffin has “all the right instincts and all of the right experience” to take on these challenges.

“I think that this job is a perfect job for him, and he’s perfect for the community,” Rosen said. “And that’s a nice combo.”

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the National Log Cabin Republicans, said Griffin’s selection of Olson, a U.S. solicitor general under former President George W. Bush, and Boies for his legal team shows he’s willing to work on a bipartisan basis. The two attorney represented opposite sides in the case of Bush v. Gore.

“The campaign for equality is not a partisan matter, it is about doing what is right for all LGBT Americans,” Cooper said. “By selecting Chad Griffin as their new President, the Human Rights Campaign has selected a leader who knows achieving victory will require advocacy and champions on both sides of the aisle.”

Mark Glaze, a principal of the Raben Group, which works on LGBT issues, said Griffin is “a great choice” for the role.

“He’s smart, he’s strategic, he has the kind of sizzle that you’d want in a movement,” Glaze said. “His work on AFER has been a model of effective advocacy, which isn’t easy given the crowded field of groups doing LGBT work.”

Congratulations for Griffin also came from the White House. Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, issued a statement after his appointment was announced.

“The president appreciates the work that the Human Rights Campaign has done with us and we congratulate Chad on his new position as President of HRC,” Jarrett said. “We look forward to working with him.”

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National

Lou Chibbaro Jr. documentary wins award from NLGJA

‘Lou’s Legacy’ produced by D.C.’s Mattachine Society

Published

2 days ago

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September 2, 2026

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“Lou’s Legacy: a Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade,” a documentary produced by The Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., will receive an Excellence in Journalism Award from NLGJA, the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. 

The film premiered on WETA PBS in D.C. and Maryland Public Television (MPT) in June of 2025. The documentary’s Emmy-nominated director and producer Patrick Sammon will accept the award for Excellence in Local Television on Sept. 11 at NLGJA’s National Convention in San Francisco. 

“Lou’s Legacy” was produced in association with the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., a non-profit LGBTQ history society dedicated to conducting original archival research. Aside from Sammon, the NLGJA is recognizing other members of the film’s production team including Producer Julianne Donofrio, Editor Amir Jaffer, Executive Producer Charles Francis, and Executive Producer Pate Felts.  

“Lou’s Legacy” tells the story of two D.C. icons — legendary Washington Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. and beloved drag performer Donnell Robinson, known to generations of Washington audiences as “Ella Fitzgerald.” Through Lou’s nearly five-decade career at the Blade and Ella’s return to the stage after a three-year hiatus following COVID, the 29-minute documentary explores the history of Washington’s LGBTQ community and today’s rising backlash against LGBTQ rights, including laws targeting drag performers. 

“All students of journalism can learn a lot from the story of Lou Chibbaro, Jr. Lou has chronicled nearly five decades of LGBTQ+ life and the community’s struggle for equality in Washington, D.C. Lou’s work and the role of the queer press has been essential in covering stories the mainstream media would often ignore or erase,” said Ryan Levi, president of the D.C. chapter of the NLGJA.  

“We are thrilled to receive this award from the NLGJA,” said the film’s director Patrick Sammon. “Lou Chibbaro’s nearly five decade career at the Washington Blade demonstrates the essential role LGBTQ journalism plays in telling our community’s stories and documenting its history. This recognition from journalists who follow in Lou’s footsteps is particularly meaningful to me and the rest of our production team.”

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Arizona

Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead

Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime

Published

3 days ago

on

September 1, 2026

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The shooting happened outside Venture-N bar in Tucson, Ariz. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.

Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.

The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.

Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.

Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.

“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”

According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.

Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.

“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”

“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”

Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.

The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.

“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”

A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.

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Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

4 days ago

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August 31, 2026

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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

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