National
DNC 2012: Gay speakers, issues pervade convention
Delegates approve platform backing marriage equality
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro dinged Mitt Romney at the Democratic National Convention for his opposition to marriage equality (Blade photo by Michael Key)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The first official day of the Democratic National Convention showcased the party’s solidarity with the LGBT community as speakers — including several openly gay Democrats — took to the podium to voice support and delegates approved for the first time a platform that endorses marriage equality.
Capping off the evening were high-profile speeches from San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who’s considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and possibly a contender for the next governor of Texas, and first lady Michelle Obama. Both mentioned LGBT rights in their speeches to attendees at the Time Warner Cable Arena.
Castro made a reference to marriage equality when reciting a list of issues supported by Democrats, but opposed by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The GOP candidate is against same-sex marriage and has endorsed a Federal Marriage Amendment.
“When it comes to getting the middle class back to work, Mitt Romney says, ‘No,'” Castro said. “When it comes to respecting women’s rights, Mitt Romney says, ‘No.’ When it comes to letting people marry whomever they love, Mitt Romney says, ‘No.'”
Castro continued that Romney also says “no” to expanding access to health care for all Americans, but noted Romney originally said “yes” to that — an allusion to the health care reform Romney helped pass into law as the Massachusetts governor. Castro added, “Gov. Romney has undergone an extreme makeover, and it ain’t pretty.”
The San Antonio mayor’s speech was a hit among attendees at the convention, who held up signs reading “Opportunity” and “Oportunidad” as he spoke.
First Lady Michelle Obama (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Michelle Obama delivered a speech that was more personal, emphasizing her husband’s commitment to his family despite her concerns upon taking office about the sacrifices about what being president meant for their two daughters.
“But today, I have none of those worries from four years ago about whether Barack and I were doing what’s best for our girls,” Michelle Obama said. “Because today, I know from experience that if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and all our sons and daughters … then we must work like never before, and we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward, my husband, our president, President Barack Obama.”
Michelle Obama also hit on her husband’s support for LGBT rights during her remarks when she spoke of his commitment to the people of diverse backgrounds, saying “Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it — and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love.”
The first lady’s speech was widely seen as successful. Attendees at the convention held up slim, vertical signs reading, “We love Michelle Obama” and cheered as she spoke.
Jerame Davis, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, noted Michelle Obama’s speech when talking about how Tuesday night at the Democratic convention strongly contrasted with “last week’s Republican hate-fest” in Tampa.
“First Lady Michelle Obama was inspirational and gave us a glimpse of the love she has for her family,” Davis said. “She is the heart and soul of the first family and that was on full display tonight.”
In a historic development, the 5,963 delegates to the convention approved a Democratic platform that for the first time includes a plank supporting marriage equality. Language in the platform also rejects the Defense of Marriage Act and affirms support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, a co-chair of the platform committee, said prior to the final approval the manifesto embodies the principles of the Democratic Party, including the notion that individuals should be able to pursue the American dream regardless of, among other factors, whom they love.
“This platform of big and practical ideas sets forth an emboldened pathway toward the historic hope which has driven generations of Americans forward,” Booker said. “It is our most fundamental national aspiration—that no matter who you are, no matter what your color, creed, how you choose to pray or who you choose to love, that if you are an American — first generation or fifth — one who is willing to work hard, play by the rules and apply your God-given talents—that you should be able to find a job that pays the bills.”
Delegates approved the platform by a loud voice vote when Democratic National Committee Chair and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked for “yays” and “nays” to accept the manifesto. No one was heard voicing objection to the platform when Villaraigosa asked for the “nays.”
In addition to the high-profile speeches at the end of the evening, at least four openly gay speakers were among those delivering remarks from the podium. Democratic National Committee Treasurer Andrew Tobias, Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Stephen Kerrigan and Service Employees International Union Mary Kay Henry and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) delivered remarks.
A primetime speaking slot was awarded to Polis, who is slated to become the most senior openly gay member in the lower chamber of Congress upon the start of next year after Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) finish their final terms as U.S. House members.
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Polis wasn’t shy about talking about his sexual orientation during his speech. He declared he was gay among other things upon taking the stage, saying, “My name is Jared Polis. My great-grandparents were immigrants. I am Jewish. I am gay. I am a father. I am a son. I am an entrepreneur. I am a congressman from Colorado. I am always an optimist. But first and foremost, I am an American.”
The first openly gay parent to serve in Congress, Polis mentioned his partner, Marlon Reis, by name while emphasizing respect for diversity — for people who may identify as LGBT and others who hold views that are either conservative or progressive.
“So tonight, I don’t just ask my fellow Americans to respect my relationship with my partner Marlon and my role as a father to our son,” Polis said. “I also ask them to respect the Christian family concerned about decaying moral values and crass commercialism. I ask them to respect the difficult decision of a single mother to bring a child into this world, because of her heartfelt beliefs.”
Polis mentioned some of Obama’s pro-LGBT initiatives that he said demonstrates the president’s understanding that progress can only be achieved by working together.
“It is why he repealed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ so that no person is prevented from serving the country they love because of whom they love,” Polis said. “And it is why Barack Obama became the first sitting president in American history to show his personal support for same-sex marriage.”
Democratic National Committee Treasurer Andrew Tobias (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Tobias, who spoke earlier in the day, said his speech marked the fourth time he’s addressed a Democratic National Convention and noted each time he’s made an address he talks about two things: money and equality.
Praising Obama for his work over his first term, Tobias said the administration has “dramatically improved” the lives of millions of LGBT Americans and “at no cost” to anyone else.
Tobias also offered a personal anecdote about being gay as a way to demonstrate the tremendous progress that has been made on LGBT rights in the past few decades.
“In college, I thought I was the only guy in the world who liked other guys,” Tobias said. “Later I found there was someone else like me, our 26-year-old resident tutor. He and I never talked about it at the time. No one talked about being gay back then. People killed themselves over being gay. Tragically, some kids still do.”
Tobias later revealed the identity of that resident tutor, saying he wed another man at a wedding just eight weeks ago, where love that was “unspeakable” nearly a half-century ago was celebrated “by hundreds of people — straight and gay, surfers and senators.”
“In a way, it was a wedding that married my two topics — money and equality — because that young tutor had grown up to become the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee: Barney Frank,” Tobias said.
Kerrigan, who was charged with managing the convention, made no explicit mention of his sexual orientation or LGBT issues during his speech and instead talked about the opportunities at the convention and access through digital media. Neither did SEIU’s Henry, who focused on labor issues while criticizing Romney, saying “Time after time, working families have paid the price for Mitt Romney’s success.”
Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Many other speakers throughout the evening also hit on LGBT rights as they praised President Obama. They include U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine, who said Obama kept his commitment to “fair treatment for LGBT Americans.” Recognition of Obama’s push to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” came in addition to Polis from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; platform committee co-chair and first woman to reach the rank of three-star general in the Army, retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy; U.S. House candidate Tammy Duckworth; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama’s sister; and actor and former White House official Kal Penn.
Richard Socarides, a gay delegate from New York City and former adviser to President Clinton on LGBT rights, said the developments at the convention added up to “a historic night” for the LGBT community and “a great night for our party.”
“Our platform plank was adopted plus every speaker seemed so proud to be the party of all America, including us,” Socarides said. “I thought — we are part of this party’s vision of America.”
The pro-LGBT developments came in stark contrast to last week’s Republican National Convention, when no openly speaker was at the podium and speakers advocated for traditional marriage. Delegates in Tampa also approved a platform limiting marriage to one man, one woman and endorsing a Federal Marriage Amendment.
Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of the gay conservative group GOProud, nonetheless was dismissive of what happened on the first night of the Democratic convention.
“Nothing that they could put in the platform would do anything to cover up President Obama’s disastrous record on jobs and the economy,” LaSalvaia said. “All the openly gay speakers and wonderful feel-good platform language won’t change the fact that, just like everyone else in America, gay people aren’t any better off than they were four years ago.”
Democratic National Convention (Blade photo by Michael Key)
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.
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