National
Politicians, celebs follow Obama on marriage
A growing list of elected officials and celebrities have followed President Obama’s lead and endorsed marriage equality since last week
Bob Kerrey, Will Smith, Lincoln Chafee, Pat Quinn, James Clyburn, Harry Reid, Jack Reed, Jay-Z, and Steny Hoyer have all come out in favor of same-sex marriage since the President's announcement last week
A growing list of elected officials and celebrities have followed President Obama’s lead and endorsed marriage equality since last week. Some highlights below.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), May 9: I’ve been thinking and deliberating about this for many, many months. …I believe it’s appropriate to support same-sex marriage and as a result to support the Respect for Marriage Act.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), May 9: “My personal belief is that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Reid said in a statement. “But in a civil society, I believe that people should be able to marry whomever they want, and it’s no business of mine if two men or two women want to get married.
Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), May 10: “I know that many good people disagree with me on this issue. …However, as occurred with former Vice President Dick Cheney, all of us are acquiring increased awareness of the struggle of gay and lesbian Americans.”
Gov. Pat Quinn (D-Ill.), May 10: “Gov. Quinn joins with President Obama in supporting marriage equality and looks forward to working on this issue in the future with the General Assembly,” Quinn spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), May 11: “Because I believe that equal treatment is a central tenet of our nation, I believe that extending the definition of marriage to committed relationships between two people, irrespective of their sex, is the right thing to do and will not, in any way, undermine the institution of marriage so important to our society nor impose a threat to any individual marriage. It will, however, extend the respect due to every one of our fellow citizens that we would want for ourselves and our children.”
Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I-R.I.), May 14: “We’re overdue, way overdue,” Gov. Chafee told an audience after ordering out-of-state same-sex marriages recognized equally in Rhode Island.
House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.), May 14: “I, like the president, have evolved to a point of marriage equality. … I have not always been there. I grew up in a parsonage, a fundamentalist Christian parsonage, and I grew up with that indoctrination. And I have grown to the point that I believe that we have evolved to marriage equality.
Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn, May 14: While saying he would make pushing a same-sex marriage bill a priority in the next legislative session, Gov. Quinn said, “I don’t think we want to wait on courts. …I think in Illinois, we are able to show the nation that we are a state that believes in respecting everyone. Everyone has dignity and rights.”
Actor Will Smith, May 14: “If anybody can find someone to love them and to help them through this difficult thing that we call life, I support that in any shape or form.”
Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, May 13: “I’ve always thought of it as something that was still holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business, and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination, plain and simple.”
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.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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