National
Pelosi defends Obama’s HIV/AIDS record
Nancy Pelosi among those who attended amfAR’s awards ceremony in D.C.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Blade Photo by Michael Key)
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday defended President Obama’s response to HIV/AIDS.
“The president has been great,” she told the Blade as she arrived at the American Foundation for AIDS Research’s awards ceremony at the Kennedy Center. “He’s built on everything that has gone before in terms of prevention, care and research. He has been very substantial in terms of the kind of money to put toward this, and that’s what it takes as well as respect for the people who have been affected by it, and that’s important too.”
Pelosi’s comments came a day after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released $80 million to eliminate AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting lists.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby, former President Bill Clinton and former first lady Laura Bush are among those scheduled to speak at the International AIDS Conference this week at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Obama addressed delegates in a short video message as part of what a White House press release described as “continuing his personal commitment engagement on the issue.”
Pelosi again defended the White House’s response to HIV/AIDS.
“I’m proud of the president for what he has done, as I was proud of President Bush for what he did,” she told the Blade.
The California Democrat also reflected upon the epidemic’s early impact as she spoke with reporters at the Kennedy Center.
“In the early 80s in San Francisco we learned that there was something occurring,” said Pelosi, referring to University of California-San Francisco doctors and others who responded to some of the country’s first cases of what became known as AIDS. “It was almost like something from the middle ages, symptoms that were so horrifying. It was something that took a terrible toll. We were going — some of us — to two funerals a day for our loved ones and friends. And we had to deal with not only the challenge medically and scientifically, but the discrimination and the denial that went with it.”
Pelosi’s first speech on the floor of the House of Representatives after she arrived on Capitol Hill in 1987 was about AIDS. She also helped secure the necessary permits from the National Parks Service to show the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall later that year – she also sewed a patch for the flower girl in her wedding who lost her battle to the virus.
“Never did I think then that 25 years later there would still not have a cure, but the advances in science and technology that helps the science of such that we have more reason to be hopeful now,” said Pelosi.
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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