National
GOP touts opposition to marriage equality at anti-gay summit
Speakers vow to preserve traditional marriage, attack Obama for pro-LGBT policy
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Republican public officials — including the No. 2 person on the GOP presidential ticket — weaved opposition to same-sex marriage into their speeches during an annual social conservative conference in D.C. as they criticized President Obama’s policies and reaffirmed traditional values.
Speakers at the the 2012 Values Voters Summit, which was hosted at the Omni Shoreham Hotel by the anti-gay Family Research Council, addressed an estimated 2,500 attendees who cheered references to prohibiting marriage rights for gay couples and making abortion illegal.
Perhaps the most high-profile speech at the three-day summit came from GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, who made a reference to marriage when touting the values of the candidate at the top of the ticket: Mitt Romney.
“We can be confident in the rightness of our cause, and also in the integrity and readiness of the man who leads it,” Ryan said. “He is a solid and trustworthy, faithful and honorable man. Not only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best. Not only a fine businessman, he’s a fine man, worthy of leading our country and ready to lead the great turnaround we have spent four years waiting for.”
Ryan’s description of Romney as a “defender of marriage” directly lifts from the vice presidential candidate’s speech at the Republican National Convention when he gave Romney an identical distinction.
But the reference to marriage didn’t make up a significant portion of Ryan’s remarks. Abortion and the Obama administration’s decision to mandate birth control as part of health insurance policies were more salient.
“In the Clinton years, the stated goal was to make abortion safe, legal and rare,” Ryan said. “But that was a different time and a different president. Now, apparently, the Obama-Biden ticket stands for an absolute, unqualified right to abortion at any time, under any circumstance, and even at taxpayer expense.”
Twice during Ryan’s speech, protestors interrupted and shouted at the vice presidential candidate. The second protestor said something about Romney’s now infamous remarks that “Corporations are people, my friend” before being escorted out of the room. In a YouTube video posted after the speech of one of the protesters being taken away, she was shown decrying the corporate influence over the national political parties.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was also among the speakers at the summit and touted Republicans support “traditional marriage” because of the institution’s ability to keep people out of poverty.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
“That is why we believe in traditional marriage, because marriage, more than any government program ever has or ever will, has lifted up people out of poverty, even those who felt there was no hope,” Cantor said. “Marriage has proven to be that formula which has been more successful at allowing for that pursuit of happiness. And that is why we stand tall and stand proud for traditional marriage.”
Cantor is among the members of House Republicans who sits on the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group and voted to take up defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the law.
Romney didn’t make a live appearance at the Values Voter Summit, but spoke to attendees via a recorded video. During the video, Romney talked about his commitment to social issues, saying his administration “will defend marriage, not try to redefine it.”
But Romney’s name didn’t often come up in speeches during the day — except for anomalies such as Ryan’s speech and the vice presidential nominee’s introduction by conservative pundit Bill Bennett — as others took the opportunity on stage to criticize Obama without praising the alternative candidate.
Wayne Besen, who’s gay and executive director of the Truth Wins Out, was in attendance at the summit and took note of the general absence of Romney.
“You’d think that Ronald Reagan was running with Paul Ryan,” Besen said. “There’s almost no mention of Romney except in Bennett’s speech. They’re really not enthusiastic at all.”
Besen also said the emphasis on defending marriage and supporting traditional marriage were coded ways for speakers to communicate to conservatives they don’t support the LGBT community.
“I wouldn’t call it quite red meat, I would call it perhaps a red meat appetizer,” Besen said. “[They’re] talking about supporting traditional marriage, but it’s not outright gay bashing. They’re clearly sending signals to their voters, but … they don’t want to look like they’re attacking LGBT people, and they’re intolerant.”
LGBT and progressive groups decried the event and said public officials were participating in a conference hosted by an extreme right-wing organizations. Earlier this week, several groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, sent a letter to public officials urging them not to attend, although the calls didn’t seem to have an impact on the schedule.
Michael Keegan, president of progressive advocacy group called People For the American Way, said in statement Ryan “sends a clear message” by participating in the summit that he’s “decided to embrace the entrenched bigotry advocated by the farthest of the far right.”
“The Family Research Council and the American Family Association are not mainstream groups,” Keegan continued. “The FRC frequently and falsely links homosexuality to pedophilia. The AFA has claimed that gay men were responsible for the Holocaust. Both have defended laws at home and abroad that criminalize homosexuality. These are not innocent differences of opinion; they are full-scale efforts to smear and denigrate LGBT Americans.
Affirmations of against same-sex marriage and attacks on Obama for his opposition to DOMA and support for same-sex marriage were a prominent feature of many other speeches.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas)
Rep. Tim Hueslkamp (R-Kansas), a freshman Tea Party lawmaker who this year submitted a DOMA amendment to the House floor, had stern words for the Obama administration over its refusal to defend the anti-gay, misstating the action the administration took by telling his audience Obama isn’t enforcing the law anymore.
“They’re using your taxpayer money to undermine marriage in court, after court, after court,” Hueslkamp said. “Last time I checked, the Constitution doesn’t allow a president to pick and choose … what law to enforce. They’re using those dollars, your taxpayer money, to undo your very values.”
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, co-chair of the Republican Party platform drafting committee, praised how the Republican Party includes language opposing same-sex marriage and his own state’s decision to adopt a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, saying the concept seems “foreign” to the Obama administration.
“We were very clear that we strongly disagree with a president who will not enforce the DOMA law to be able to protect traditional marriage,” McDonnell said. “We’ve already adopted that in the constitution of Virginia; in fact, every state – I think 30 of them now – that have actually voted in their states to protect traditional marriage have done so. And so embracing that concept as a national idea should not be a foreign concept, but it appears to be to this administration.”
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an anti-gay lawmaker who also introduced an amendment to House floor reaffirming DOMA, decried the administration’s decision to no longer defend the anti-gay law in court and its decision to allow same-sex weddings on military bases.
“They’re having them on bases throughout the world in places … same-sex marriage in direct offense to the Defense of Marriage Act,” King said. “This is an undermining of our Constitution, and the rule of law and the separation of powers.”
Members of the LGBT activist group GetEQUAL protest outside of the Omni Shoreham Hotel during the Values Voter Summit. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Outside the hotel after the first day of conference, a group of LGBT protesters affiliated with the group GetEQUAL demonstrated against the conference over its anti-gay message.
In addition to a banner reading, “Your Values Are Killing Us,” protesters held up photos of gay youths who died in recent years in incidents related to their sexual orientation: Lawrence King, a gay California who was shot at age 15; Justin Aaberg, a gay Minnesota youth who killed himself at age 15; and Seth Walsh, a gay California youth who killed himself at age 13.
Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, a gay Tampa, Fla., resident and national field director for GetEQUAL, said protesters intended to demonstrates that the “values” espoused at the conference are responsible for the death of gay youths across the country.
“We’re opposed to all of the anti-LGBT equality beliefs that they have, including that in therapy and other things that not only hurt us, but really drive our youth to suicide,” Sousa-Rodriguez said.
National
Trans Lifeline CEO apologizes for botched online lottery to recruit hotline operators
Applicants compare debacle to ‘Hunger Games,’ and Ticketmaster
Job hunters by the thousands expressed disappointment, frustration, and anger Wednesday over the process to submit online applications for three lucrative but challenging positions as remote telephone operators for the nation’s only transgender-led crisis hotline, Trans Lifeline. One applicant complained on Instagram that their experience was akin to “The Hunger Games.”
But it turns out, the odds were never in their favor.
The CEO of the San Francisco-based nonprofit — kai alviar horton, who joined Trans Lifeline in July 2024 and does not capitalize any letters in his name — admitted on social media late Wednesday that their organization was not prepared for the sheer number of applications, which he said was anticipated to number 100, over 48 hours.
“We know now that our impact has caused so many of you hurt and further distrust in us,” horton wrote in the letter posted on Instagram, acknowledging that Trans Lifeline had endured “many storms of instability and harm.”
“The process we strived towards landed in ways that did not build accessibility,” they wrote. “This process hurt you, and we are genuinely sorry. We are committed to learning to do better.”
The job posting still appears online at a portal called levels.fyi offering an annual salary of $63,000, “generous paid time-off benefits” and “100% employer-paid health care premiums” as well as retirement benefits and more. Given that studies by the Williams Institute have shown the significant challenges trans people face in the workplace, from discrimination to harassment, especially in comparison to cisgender employees and candidates, Trans Lifeline’s offer was a beacon in the darkness to many.
“You know better than most how hard it is for trans people to get work, especially with decent pay,” wrote @terfhunter420. “I hope you’re reading the impact this application process has had on people here and consider making some big changes for your next batch of hiring. Something less like trying to score concert tickets on the radio.”
“To our surprise,” horton wrote, “we received over 2,500 applications before the submission window even opened,” which was at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday. He said his team then “did our best to reach out to every single applicant to let them know to submit again within the window we outlined in the job posting.”
But when that window opened at 10 o’clock in San Francisco Wednesday, horton said his team was suddenly flooded with more than 1,200 submissions, “in just the first five minutes.”
The instructions to apply noted that in addition to a resume, candidates had to also submit a five-minute long, detailed self-made video, in lieu of a cover letter. The site indicates this was intended to “simplify the process.” But many frustrated candidates noted in their comments online that this particular requirement added a significant extra burden of time and energy, “only to have it all go to waste due to technical failures,” wrote @astoldbyjae.
Adding insult to injury is that untold thousands of potential candidates are left to wonder if their submissions were even received or would ever be seen, given that the portal was set up to be limited to accepting no more than 100 submissions on the first day; When hit with more than ten times that many applications, many job hunters reported getting error messages, and shared the pain of that experience in the comments on horton’s post.
“I’m heartsick myself right now,” wrote @zorro_nova. “I tried in that first minute only to get my own error message.” Another wrote: “I won’t lie I was definitely surprised to see how the hiring process was handled, it was almost like watching a Ticketmaster sale of a Taylor Swift concert more than a job listing.” @mistersister2024 added: “As someone who made the 5-minute video, carefully edited it, and then didn’t even get to submit it, this process was very frustrating.”
“We were devastated,” wrote @jennakjirsten. “I think it was hard not even being able to submit the form, even if it had been one of a thousand. We also worry that by only accepting the quickest to apply, you may have missed out on some very qualified applicants.”
As of press time, horton has not responded to an inquiry by the Blade about what if anything they will do for candidates who received error messages, or exactly how many applications they have on hand.
But in his online letter, horton did announce that so many submissions were received that to process them all, Trans Lifeline has postponed selection of candidates to be invited to interview for the three open positions until April 7, instead of March 24.
He also revealed the org has just two employees dedicated to reviewing all the applications received on Wednesday.
“Shout out to the two trans people in hiring who have to read 3,000 applications individually or else they get canceled,” wrote @jaki_riot. “Y’all some MVPs because the response to this situation feels a bit unreasonable.”
Several commenters praised horton for his apology and for their transparency.
“Imo, Trans lifeline has done SO much to earn that benefit of the doubt,” wrote @kingofyarn. “And seeing the backlash made me sad, because it’s as if y’all haven’t worked incredibly hard to earn that trust. I love this heartfelt apology and of course, transparency with a strong moral code.”
As horton acknowledged in his letter, Trans Lifeline has survived crises before now. Founded in 2014, the nonprofit’s two founders left the organization two years later amid accusations of corruption. An internal investigation found “there had been significant spending of Trans Lifeline funds outside the scope of the current budget” that “ran afoul of Trans Lifeline’s obligations to the 501(c)(3) tax laws.” A report in December 2023 by PBS indicated a downturn in donations forced the nonprofit to reduce the number of hours the hotline was available and slash its budget.
At that time, PBS reported the organization employed as many as 45 people, with around 200 volunteers who help, according to Adam Callahan, director for the hotline program. Every hotline operator identifies as either trans or nonbinary.
As of press time, the careers page on the Trans Lifeline site indicated “Staff Hotline Operator applications are closed.”
“We are so grateful for the overwhelming interest in our Hotline Operator positions—1,000 applications within the first two minutes! Thank you to each person who took the time to apply. We’ve received a fantastic pool of candidates and have now closed the application process. We are working diligently to review the first 100 complete applications received and aim to notify everyone of their status by Friday, March 21st. If you have not heard from us, be assured we are still actively considering your application. Please keep an eye on your inbox for our email. We will respond to everyone who has applied. We appreciate your understanding and enthusiasm.”
State Department
US withdraws from OAS LGBTI Core Group
Decision ‘in line with the president’s recent executive orders’
A State Department spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed the U.S. has withdrawn from the Organization of American States’ LGBTI Core Group.
The U.S., along with Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay, co-founded the Core Group in 2016 during that year’s OAS General Assembly that took place in the Dominican Republic.
“We look forward to deepening our collaboration at the OAS on issues impacting LGBTI persons so as to enhance dialogue, cooperation, and the sharing of best practices at regional and multilateral levels, recognizing also the various efforts and developments undertaken by and in member states,” reads a joint statement the countries issued on June 15, 2016. “Furthermore, we encourage and welcome the participation of other interested OAS member states in the membership and activities of the Core Group.”
“We also look forward to collaborating with civil society organizations and other social actors as we seek to further shared goals,” it adds. “Our commitment in these areas is firm and will remain so.”
President Donald Trump since he took office on Jan. 20 has signed a number of executive orders that have specifically targeted the LGBTQ and intersex community. These include the “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” directive that, among other things, bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers.
A directive that Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued bans embassies and other U.S. diplomatic institutions from flying the Pride flag. (Former President Joe Biden in March 2024 signed a government spending bill with a provision that banned Pride flags from flying over U.S. embassies.)
“In line with the president’s recent executive orders, we have withdrawn from the OAS LGBTI Core Group,” the State Department spokesperson told the Washington Blade.
The U.S. last month withdrew from the U.N. LGBTI Core Group, a group of U.N. member states that have pledged to support LGBTQ and intersex rights.
State Department
Rubio: 83 percent of USAID contracts have been cancelled
State Department will administer remaining programs
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said 83 percent of U.S. Agency for International Development contracts have been cancelled.
“The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” said Rubio on X.
Rubio added “the remaining 18 percent of programs we are keeping (approximately 1,000)” will “now be administered more effectively under the State Department.”
Rubio on Jan. 24 directed State Department personnel to stop nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending for 90 days in response to an executive order that President Donald Trump signed after his inauguration. The Washington Blade has previously reported programs in Kenya and other countries the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funds have been forced to suspend services and even shut down because of a lack of U.S. funding, even though Rubio issued a waiver that allowed PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during the freeze.
The Trump-Vance administration also moved to dismantle USAID.
A statement the White House issued on Feb. 3 said the organization “has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight.” The statement also contains examples of what it described as “waste and abuse” that included $2 million for “sex changes and ‘LGBT activism'” in Guatemala, $1.5 million to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities,” and $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia.”
LGBTQ+ Victory Institute Executive Director Elliot Imse told the Blade last month his organization has lost around $600,000, which is two-thirds of its entire global program budget. Imse said the global LGBTQ rights movement is set to lose more than $50 million because of the suspension of U.S. aid.
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