National
Gill’s ‘stealthy’ activism to continue under new leader
Fordham maintains contact with former boss Mark Foley
Kirk Fordham (right) with his partner Mike Cevarr and their sons Lukas and Levi. (Photo courtesy Fordham)
The Gill Action Fund’s new leader promises to continue the organization’s brand of stealthy, behind-the-scenes activism.
Kirk Fordham, who was named March 1 as head of the Denver-based organization, said in a Washington Blade interview he envisions a “degree of stealthiness” for Gill Action under his leadership in addition to working openly in efforts to advance LGBT rights throughout the country.
“I think it’ll be a hybrid of some deployment of highly trained gay SWAT teams, as I like to call it, and some of us will just be working very transparently with the existing organizations that are already on the ground,” Fordham said.
One of the advantages of Gill Action compared to other LGBT groups, Fordham said, is being able to deploy small teams of activists to regions where “there may be a gap and there may be a need to effect change on a pretty rapid basis.”
“That will allow us to perhaps go into some areas deep into the heartland of this country where there may not have been a lot of focus and activity to advance either non-discrimination or marriage equality or anti-bullying legislation,” Fordham said.
Gill Action — founded by gay billionaire philanthropist Tim Gill in 2005 — has a reputation for secrecy. Fordham will start in his new position April 16.
The group has played a role, without seeking credit, in passing statewide pro-LGBT legislation in various states, including the marriage equality legislation in New York. After an initial 2009 vote on same-sex marriage in the state failed, Gill Action funded a campaign in the state, called Fight Back New York to unseat state senators opposed to marriage equality, which ultimately unseated three senators.
Asked whether Gill Action would seek greater engagement with the media as it undertakes new initiatives, Fordham said the level of public engagement would “depend on the project” the organization is pursuing.
“There are sometimes where it may be to our community’s advantage not to broadcast exactly what our roadmap and our strategy might be on a particular issue or particular state, but I don’t think there’s a desire to speak sparingly with the press because they don’t trust the press or they have a hostile relationship,” Fordham said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it’s such a strategic decision on perhaps the element of surprise.”
According to a 2008 report in The Advocate, Gill Action in the 2006 election directed $2.8 million in nationwide contributions through its OutGiving program to 68 candidates across 11 states, and 56 of those candidates won. One of the more controversial ads funded by the organization was deployed against former Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, author of the Federal Marriage Amendment. It depicted an actress dressed like her stealing a watch from a corpse in an open coffin, criticizing her for her vote on a tax for funeral homes.
Fordham said Gill Action will take a look at the broader map to determine places other than urban areas and states on the coasts to lay the groundwork “for cementing a better quality of life for LGBT people, even in the most conservative parts of the country.”
“Now that some of the lower hanging fruit has been picked, it’s time to start harvesting in less fertile territory,” Fordham said. “So, I believe, that we have literally millions of people that are living in states that have no protection whatsoever from workplace discrimination, relationship recognition and their schools. And so, I think, we want to start advancing some of those protections in places where they’re most needed.”
Fordham was reluctant to identify any particular areas where Gill Action would focus its attention, saying such decisions haven’t been made yet. But, asked whether Minnesota would be a place where resources could be directed, he said the state would be “high on the list of places that would be on our priority list.”
“My sense is that most Minnesotans are pretty fair-minded folks,” Fordham said. “So I think we’re going to be taking a very close look at that state as a horizon state where there are opportunities to make some progress.”
Assuming the anti-gay marriage amendment that will come before voters in the state in November is defeated, Minesota could be poised to legalize same-sex marriage if the Democrats take control of the legislature. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) has expressed support for marriage rights for gay couples.
Growing up in a Christian and Republican family, Fordham said he also has experience with parents who initially were unhappy about his sexual orientation, but later came to terms with it, and he knows what it takes to change the hearts and minds of people like them.
“When I first came out, they sent me these Focus on the Family books and tapes and magazines,” Fordham said. “They were praying everyday that I would see a path back to heterosexuality. Now that I’ve been with my partner for 23 years, we’ve adopted two kids, they welcome us as part of the family. They’re a perfect case study of how conservative Republicans who happen to be people of faith can come around and change their attitudes.”
Fordham lives in Coral Gables, Fla., with his partner, Mike Cevarr, and their two sons, Lukas and Levi. The family will relocate to Denver when Fordham takes the helm of Gill Action.
A lifelong Republican, Fordham currently serves as CEO of Everglades Foundation, but has had experience working for several GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill, even some with anti-gay records. He also worked for former Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned after a scandal involving male pages in 2006. While still a college student, Fordham worked for James Inhofe of Oklahoma, then a member of the U.S. House. He’s also worked for Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida.
Fordham said he “absolutely” plans on reaching out to Republican lawmakers to influence them on LGBT issues and he knows “how to speak their language.”
“Once you move past the first and second-tier states where you have Democratic legislatures and friendly Democratic governors, the list of options starts to get more difficult, we can either wait and hope that someday, those states will have Democratic elected officials that are friendly, or we can start having a conversation with those currently elected Republican leaders in legislatures that have Republican supermajorities,” Fordham said.
Fordham has received congratulations on his new role across the board from groups like the Center for American Progress, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force as well as praise from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and pro-LGBT Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).
Still, skepticism remains that Fordham will be able to bring change within the Republican Party.
Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, said Fordham is qualified for the position, but questions how effective he can be with Republicans on LGBT issues.
“I take issue with this idea that because he’s a Republican, he can influence Republican votes because that’s utter nonsense,” Besen said. “Republican votes that are not coming our way has nothing to do with the arguments we’re making; it has nothing to do with a lack of effort. It has everything to do with the religious right as the Republicans’ most powerful constituency. They will do what’s necessary to please them.”
Although Fordham has worked for numerous Republicans, his most infamous former employer is former Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, who resigned in 2006 amid media reports he sent inappropriate messages to underage pages on Capitol Hill. Fordham was chief of staff for Foley after having worked on his campaign in 1994. While working for Martinez as the scandal broke, he helped broker agreements with the media on the story and testified before the House Ethics Committee on the issue. Foley later came out as gay.
Reflecting on the Foley scandal, Fordham said it was “one of the great crisis-management experiences” of his life and “a disappointment” because Foley was popular and well-regarded in his Republican caucus.
“It’s a perfect example of how someone through some reckless and irresponsible actions can flush down the toilet a promising political career,” Fordham said.
While working as chief of staff for Foley, Fordham said he had no knowledge of his boss sending inappropriate text and instant messages, but knew that he was engaging with pages and younger staffers.
“What I saw was the same kind of behavior you see among some heterosexual members of Congress: spending time socializing with on the floor of the House or in the halls of the Capitol, paying an inappropriate amount of attention to younger staffers or pages,” Fordham said. “Although that kind of behavior isn’t criminal, it’s certainly something that I thought crossed the line for a member of Congress as far as how they ought to conduct themselves.”
Fordham said he told the Ethics Committee everything and the steps “I took to try to influence my boss’s behavior,” saying the report that was produced in the end was favorable to him. According to media reports, Fordham had informed the staff of then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert about Foley’s behavior, but no action was taken.
Although they didn’t speak for a year after the event, Fordham says he now maintains a personal relationship with Foley and they have periodic phone conversations. Foley is based in West Palm Beach, while Fordham resides near Miami.
“I think he’s trying to rehabilitate himself and he’s now engaged in the community up there,” Fordham said. “We talked about the potential of him running for mayor of West Palm Beach. I gave him my best advice, and in the end, he decided not to run. So, I still hear from him once in a while, but I do believe in forgiveness and redemption for everyone, even when they break the public trust and do things that we consider really bad behavior.”
National
Blade reporters reflect on covering Pulse massacre 10 years ago
Orlando stepped up to comfort and support its LGBTQ community
Friday marks 10 years since a gunman killed 49 people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
The massacre, which, at the time was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, left the LGBTQ community in this country and around the world reeling. It also prompted renewed calls for gun control.
The OnePulse Foundation, which Pulse owner Barbara Poma founded after the massacre, raised upwards of $20 million for a memorial that never materialized.
The city of Orlando in 2023 purchased the Pulse property for $2 million. Crews earlier this year demolished the former nightclub. The city of Orlando has pledged $12 million for a permanent memorial that is scheduled to open in 2027.
Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff and International News Editor Michael K. Lavers reported from Orlando in the days after the massacre. Here are their reflections a decade later.
Describe the scene when you arrived in Orlando. Where did you go first?
NAFF: Most mainstream reporters headed for the Pulse nightclub, but it was already roped off with police keeping bystanders at least a full city block away. Instead, I hurried to The Center, Orlando’s LGBTQ community center, downtown. I expected to find it locked down with tight security but instead the doors were flung open and everyone inside was busy at work. No tears, just dedicated staff and volunteers working the phones to secure visas and free plane tickets for relatives of the victims. The director gave me a tour and in the back storage room were pallets and pallets of bottled water stacked to the ceiling. When I asked what all the water was for, he said the city had issued a call for blood donations and the lines to donate were 1,500 deep in 100-degree heat. So The Center drove around to all the sites to deliver water to all those standing in line.
That scene was so inspiring and a testament to the strength and resiliency of the LGBTQ community. We’d seen tragedy before and knew how to respond.
LAVERS: I arrived in Orlando about 14 hours after the massacre took place. The city was shellshocked.
Equality Florida, the state’s LGBTQ advocacy group, and other organizations held a press conference at The Center shortly after my flight from D.C. landed. I drove there from the airport. Terry DeCarlo, who was The Center’s executive director at the time, along with then-Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith and others spoke on behalf of a community that was reeling. The Center at the press conference handed out business cards that read, “You matter.” I had it in my wallet when I drove to a makeshift memorial that was a block from Pulse — the police had cordoned off the area immediately around the nightclub. A local resident who I interviewed told me that she did not know if her friends who were at Pulse when the gunman opened fire survived. Another person with whom I spoke shared a similar story.
A torrential downpour began shortly after I arrived. The storm was an apt metaphor for the raw emotion of that horrific day.
What’s your most prominent memory of covering the Pulse massacre?
NAFF: I was covering a vigil in downtown Orlando when then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s motorcade arrived unannounced. To that point, he had not addressed the LGBTQ angle and seemed to be downplaying the fact that this was an attack on our community. I hurried to the front row as he held an impromptu news conference. To my dismay, he took only three short questions from TV reporters then rushed away. I grabbed his communications director and insisted that Scott take a question from the LGBTQ media. She agreed and told me to wait next to the SUV. When Scott approached, I asked him, “What is your message to LGBTQ Floridians?”
To my surprise, he sputtered, stammered, and broke into tears before telling me, “This was an attack, what else can you say? This was an attack against the gays, an attack against Hispanics, an attack against our country, our nation and it’s disgusting. The biggest thing we do now is ask how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
It was his first public acknowledgment that the LGBTQ community was the target of the attack.
LAVERS: Two moments stand out for me.
The first moment is when then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Orlando on June 16, four days after the massacre. I was one of the reporters who the White House asked to be part of the local press pool. I was about 50 feet away from Obama and Biden when they placed bouquets with 49 flowers — one for each of the victims — at a makeshift memorial between City Hall and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando. Obama in remarks he made to the press pool mentioned one of the gay victims who had once said, “We cannot be afraid.” The emotions of the last four days simply became too much, and I broke down. Another reporter who was part of the press pool who was standing next to me realized I had broken down. She put her hand on my back to console me.
The second moment came a few weeks later when I was in Puerto Rico to cover the community’s response to the massacre and to interview victims’ relatives. Orlando has a very large Puerto Rican community, and nearly half of those who died at Pulse were of Puerto Rican descent.
I drove to Caguas, a city that is roughly 20 miles south of San Juan, the island’s capital, on July 7, and interviewed Aida Velázquez in her small apartment. Her son, Frankie “Jimmy” de Jesús, died at Pulse. Aida talked about her son, and she showed me pictures of him. Jimmy also danced Jíbaro, a Puerto Rican folk dance. The interview took place less than a month after the massacre — Jimmy’s funeral took place in Caguas less than two weeks earlier.
I sat in my car after the interview and sobbed uncontrollably for nearly five minutes. Nothing can possibly prepare you for interviewing a mother who had just lost her child in the most horrific way possible.
How did the local community respond and what about their response gave you hope or inspiration?
NAFF: In addition to the staff at The Center working to assist victims and their families, everyday Orlando residents stepped up to help however they could. At the downtown vigils, straight mothers and fathers carried signs offering hugs to anyone who needed them. I encountered a group of young teenage males who approached a group of law enforcement officers and appeared to perform for them. When they finished, I asked what they were doing and they told me that they were straight friends who lived in Orlando and wanted to do something to help so they composed an uplifting rap song and walked around performing it for anyone who needed cheering up.
LAVERS: The way that Orlando rallied around the LGBTQ community was simply inspiring.
Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, at a memorial service that took place at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center on June 13 said his organization was “united as Americans when it comes to standing with the LGBT community and their rights to live freely and to practice their lives here.” This comment underscored the outpouring of support that Orlando showed its LGBTQ community after Pulse. It was also a call for the better angels among us to reject hate in all of its forms.
What surprised you most about the experience?
NAFF: I was most surprised — and moved — after talking to Rev. Debreita Taylor of Oasis Fellowship Ministries, an LGBTQ-affirming ministry.
“My message is love. Period. Love. Period. There’s nothing in the word of God that faith leaders can go to that teaches hate,” she told me. “Have faith and believe that evil and hate can be eradicated one person at a time. How do you treat someone? How do you embrace someone who treats you wrong? We all bleed, laugh, hope and have great victories and major defeats. And so, you know me, even if you don’t know my name — I’m you.”
LAVERS: It admittedly took me quite a while to fully process what I experienced in Orlando — I was focused on doing my job as a reporter, which was to cover the story, and, most importantly, show the human impact of what had happened. I suppose one surprising aspect of the time I spent in Orlando was that I found myself feeling more defiant against those who seek to destroy our community. They want us to live in fear, and I refuse to give them that satisfaction.
What, if anything, changed as a result of Pulse?
NAFF: In the immediate aftermath of the attack, queer spaces began rethinking their approach to security, which has served us well in the years since. Sadly, just a year later, Pulse was bumped to the No. 2 deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history when a gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, killing 60 people. Americans and their politicians never learn from these largely preventable tragedies. The carnage continues.
LAVERS: Gun violence remains a shameful scourge in this country. Our community remains vulnerable to violence and discrimination. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other politicians here in Washington, around the country, and overseas continue to use our community to advance an anti-equality agenda. The carnage continues, as my colleague correctly notes, but our community remains strong and defiant. That gives me hope.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
PHOTOS: The Audacity Brunch
D.C. Council approves expanded grant funding for Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Congressional Cemetery hosts Gays & Graves
Baltimore Pride is here
Calendar: June 12-18
Hundreds of thousands expected to attend D.C. Pride events
PHOTOS: Pride Run
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
David Archuleta, Monroe Alise named D.C. Pride parade marshals
