National
RNC 2012: Romney pledges to ‘honor the institution of marriage’
GOP candidate accepts party’s nomination in convention speech
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney accepts his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention (Blade photo by Michael Key)
TAMPA, Fla. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney officially accepted his party’s nomination for president Thursday evening while pledging to “honor the institution of marriage” if elected.
During his speech before the Republican National Convention, Romney alluded to marriage in a brief portion of his speech that apparently was intended as a broader signal of support to social conservatives.
“As president, I will protect the sanctity of life,” Romney said. “I will honor the institution of marriage, and I will guarantee America’s first liberty: the freedom of religion.”
As with references to marriage in speeches earlier in the week from GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Romney didn’t explicitly say that his vision for marriage excluded same-sex couples. But Romney’s opposition to marriage equality is well known, including his support for a U.S. constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage throughout the country.
Romney’s reference to marriage could also be a knock against President Obama, who has come out in favor of marriage equality, dropped defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court and advanced an array of pro-LGBT policies while in office.
But for the most part, Romney’s speech consisted of narrating personal accounts of his family and business career, laying out a basic vision for where he wants to take the country and criticizing Obama for his decision-making over the past three-and-a-half years.
Romney articulated a five-step plan that he said would create 12 million new jobs — although he offered few details for each of these steps in his proposal.
The plan involved 1) making America energy independent by 2020 through expanding oil, coal and gas and renewable domestic energy production; 2) giving parents the option of school choice and every child a chance in the education system; 3) forging new trade agreements and punishing countries that cheat in trade; 4) cutting the deficit to put the country on track to a balanced budget; and 5) encouraging small business growth by reducing taxes and regulations as well as repealing health care reform.
Romney also called out to voters who supported Obama in the 2008 election but had become disaffected with his presidency because of the stagnant economy, saying, “I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division.”
“Tonight I’d ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama?” Romney said. “You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”
In an apparent attempt to reach out to women voters, Romney noted that women are now more likely to start their own businesses and devoted a significant portion of his speech to talking about the important role his wife Ann Romney played in raising their family as well as the bid of his mother, Lenore Romney, to become a U.S. senator in 1970.
“I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, ‘Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?’ Romney said. “I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Gov. Mary Fallin, Gov. Nikki Haley, Gov. Susana Martinez, Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.”
Republican National Convention attendees cheer Mitt Romney. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Delegates to the Republican convention and others on the floor were exuberant. Before taking the stage, Romney came out from the wings of the forum and shook hands with attendees standing near the aisle as if he were preparing for a State of the Union address while the audience chanted “Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!” Those in the audience held up signs saying, “Believe!” and “We Believe in America!”
David Rappel, a gay Republican delegate from Los Angeles, said Romney “did an amazing job” with his speech and predicted the candidate would eventually change his position on same-sex marriage.
“His speech was wonderful,” Rappel said. “The Republican Party will evolve just like Obama seemed to do. Nothing is done over night.”
Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of the gay conservative group GOProud, also praised Romney for his speech while touting that his organization is the only national LGBT group to endorse the candidate.
“Tonight, [Romney] reminded us of exactly why this endorsement was such an easy one for our organization,” LaSalvia said. “Simply put, Mitt Romney has the experience and vision necessary to lead our country, especially in these difficult economic times.”
In contrast, Jerame Davis, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, drew attention to Romney’s reference to marriage — in addition to anti-gay language in the Republican Party platform — as a reason why LGBT voters should be wary of his candidacy.
“Mitt Romney’s speech capped a bizarre and meandering GOP convention with shallow references to ‘defending’ or ‘honoring” marriage,” Davis said. “What they’re not saying in primetime is that this Romney-Ryan ticket comes with the most reactionary anti-LGBT platform in politics. Gay Republicans had to admit defeat in their attempts to moderate the GOP at this year’s convention; Democrats, however, have the most pro-LGBT platform and presidential candidate in history.”
But Romney’s wasn’t the only high-profile speech that was delivered on Thursday before the Republican National Convention. Other speakers included former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who talked about the need for choice in the education system and holding teachers accountable.
Sen. Marco Rubio (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had the distinction of introducing Romney to attendees at the convention while articulating his own vision for the country in remarks that didn’t shy from religion.
“We are special because we’ve been united not by a common race or ethnicity,” Rubio said. “We’re bound together by common values. That family is the most important institution in society. That almighty God is the source of all we have.”
One prepared video included footage of Romney with his children as they were growing up in addition to his family life. One portion lampooned his frugality at home as one of his sons showed how he covered up an oversized lightbulb in the kitchen with duct tape.
But what immediately followed were remarks by actor and director Clint Eastwood, who, in addition to being a surprise guest at the convention, spoke without the aid of a teleprompter. In an apparent ad-lib, Eastwood spoke to an imaginary Obama seated in a chair next to him while questioning and criticizing him. The exchange was widely panned and seen as the most bizarre moment of the evening.
Personal remarks came from Romney’s son, Craig Romney, as well as others who’d worked with him in setting up the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, running Bain Capital and administrating the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during his tenure as governor.
Craig Romney delivered a portion of his remarks in Spanish, and another video played touting Republican Latino public officials, including pro-LGBT Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) — an apparent outreach to Hispanic voters.
Former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, who served with Romney while he was governor, said based on the experience of working with Romney, he “won’t just talk about family values, he will live them.”
As governor of Massachusetts, such adherence to family values included opposition to a court ruling in 2003 that made the Bay State the first in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. Romney called for a state constitutional amendment overturning the decision. Additionally, Romney abolished a commission for LGBT youth, prompting state lawmakers to create a replacement panel in its stead.
Whether Romney’s speech will encourage more voters to support him as Election Day grows closer remains to be seen, although polls currently show him in a close race with Obama.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Thursday suggests the convention has given Romney a slight lead. Polling at the start of the week had Obama leading Romney 46-42, but on Thursday it showed Romney ahead of Obama 44-42.
Federal Government
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD
A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.
The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.
The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.
“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”
GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”
Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.
“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”
“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.”
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.
“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”
The White House
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.
Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.
Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Federal Courts
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.
Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.
The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”
Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.
“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.
Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.
The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.
Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”
Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.
“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”
“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.
Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.
Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.
The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.
Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.
A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.
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