National
Exclusive: Democracy for America to ask members to support state marriage campaigns
The Vermont-based organization claims more than a million members
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at a recent D.C. fundraiser for Marylanders for Marriage Equality (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade has learned that Democracy for America will ask its supporters to donate to the four statewide same-sex marriage campaigns.
“It happens that marriage equality’s not simply just an issue for progressives or sort of a lefty kind of issue anymore—it’s now become really more of a mainstream issue,” said DFA executive director Arshan Hasan in an exclusive interview on Thursday. The political action committee that former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean founded after his 2004 presidential campaign claims more than a million members across the country. “The people who stand opposed to it are becoming sort of a smaller and smaller and narrower and narrower group of people. It’s important for DFA to stand up for fairness and for equality.”
Hasan, who co-managed the canvassing program against the ultimately successful 2009 referendum that struck down Maine’s same-sex marriage law that state lawmakers had passed earlier that year, noted recent polls in both the Pine Tree State and Maryland that indicate a majority of voters would back nuptials for gays and lesbians at the ballot box. A SurveyUSA poll last month showed Washington’s same-sex marriage referendum leads by a 56-38 percent margin. A Star Tribune Minnesota Poll in late September indicated the campaign over a proposed state constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman remains a statistical dead heat.
“Even if it weren’t this close, I think it would still be imperative for DFA to get involved and help out,” said Hasan. “Especially in the case of Minnesota, but in all of these cases I hope that our contribution will be enough to sort of push them over the edge. We’re not going to take it for granted that we’re doing well in Maine. We won’t take it granted that we’re doing well in Maryland too. We think that every little bit will help. We think for each of these campaigns more than a little bit. So I think it will get us closer to our goal.”
Josh Levin, campaign manager for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, welcomed DFA’s support.
“We’re thrilled at DFA’s endorsement of Maryland’s Question 6,” he said. “While we have the momentum, this will be a close race. We need a full-court press by all those who support fairness and equality under the law. Let’s make Maryland the first state in the nation to win marriage equality by popular vote.”
Other statewide same-sex marriage campaign managers agreed.
“Minnesotans United for All Families is thrilled to welcome DFA to our broad coalition working to defeat this amendment,” said Richard Calrborn of Minnesotans United for All Families. “The momentum we have seen to defeat this amendment in Minnesota is incredible, with more than 650 businesses, faith communities, nonprofits, political organizations and community leaders standing united to say ‘no’ to limiting the freedom to marry in our state.”
“We’re very grateful for DFA’s endorsement,” added Matt McTighe, campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage. “Its commitment to grassroots organizing is exactly in line with the heart of our campaign, one-on-one conversations about why marriage matters to all Maine families. DFA joins a diverse group of more than 155 coalition partners, working to win the freedom to marry in Maine.”
DFA earlier this year supported the campaign against North Carolina’s Amendment 1 that banned nuptials for gays and lesbians. The group also donated $30,000 in direct and in-kind contributions to the 2009 campaign against efforts to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Gil Pontes III on his recent appointment to the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors, Fla. Upon being appointed he said, “I’m honored to join the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors at such an important moment for our community. In my role as Executive Director of the NextGen Chamber of Commerce, I spend much of my time focused on economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and the long-term competitiveness of emerging business leaders. I look forward to bringing that perspective to Wilton Manors — helping ensure responsible stewardship of public resources while supporting a vibrant, inclusive local economy.”
Pontes is a nonprofit executive with years of development, operations, budget, management, and strategic planning experience in 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and political organizations. Pontes is currently executive director of NextGen, Chamber of Commerce. NextGen Chamber’s mission is to “empower emerging business leaders by generating insights, encouraging engagement, and nurturing leadership development to shape the future economy.” Prior to that he served as managing director of The Nora Project, and director of development also at The Nora Project. He has held a number of other positions including Major Gifts Officer, Thundermist Health Center, and has worked in both real estate and banking including as Business Solutions Adviser, Ironwood Financial. For three years he was a Selectman, Town of Berkley, Mass. In that role, he managed HR and general governance for town government. There were 200+ staff and 6,500 constituents. He balanced a $20,000,000 budget annually, established an Economic Development Committee, and hired the first town administrator.
Pontes earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
Kansas
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
A new Kansas bill requires transgender residents to have their driver’s licenses reflect their sex assigned at birth, invalidating current licenses.
Transgender people across Kansas received letters in the mail on Wednesday demanding the immediate surrender of their driver’s licenses following passage of one of the harshest transgender bathroom bans in the nation. Now the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit to block the ban and protect transgender residents from what advocates describe as “sweeping” and “punitive” consequences.
Independent journalist Erin Reed broke the story Wednesday after lawmakers approved House Substitute for Senate Bill 244. In her reporting, Reed included a photo of the letter sent to transgender Kansans, requiring them to obtain a driver’s license that reflects their sex assigned at birth rather than the gender with which they identify.
According to the reporting, transgender Kansans must surrender their driver’s licenses and that their current credentials — regardless of expiration date — will be considered invalid upon the law’s publication. The move effectively nullifies previously issued identification documents, creating immediate uncertainty for those impacted.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 also stipulates that any transgender person caught driving without a valid license could face a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. That potential penalty adds a criminal dimension to what began as an administrative action. It also compounds the legal risks for transgender Kansans, as the state already requires county jails to house inmates according to sex assigned at birth — a policy that advocates say can place transgender detainees at heightened risk.
Beyond identification issues, SB 244 not only bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in government buildings — including libraries, courthouses, state parks, hospitals, and interstate rest stops — with the possibility for criminal penalties, but also allows for what critics have described as a “bathroom bounty hunter” provision. The measure permits anyone who encounters a transgender person in a restroom — including potentially in private businesses — to sue them for large sums of money, dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement beyond government authorities.
The lawsuit challenging SB 244 was filed today in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The complaint argues that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a temporary restraining order on behalf of the anonymous plaintiffs, arguing that the order — followed by a temporary injunction — is necessary to prevent the “irreparable harm” that would result from SB 244.
State Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Kansas Legislature, told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday that “persecution is the point.”
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans,” said Monica Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas. “It undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution.”
“SB 244 is a cruel and craven threat to public safety all in the name of fostering fear, division, and paranoia,” said Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police. Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
“SB 244 presents a state-sanctioned attack on transgender people aimed at silencing, dehumanizing, and alienating Kansans whose gender identity does not conform to the state legislature’s preferences,” said Heather St. Clair, a Ballard Spahr litigator working on the case. “Ballard Spahr is committed to standing with the ACLU and the plaintiffs in fighting on behalf of transgender Kansans for a remedy against the injustices presented by SB 244, and is dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights jeopardized by this new law.”
National
After layoffs at Advocate, parent company acquires ‘Them’ from Conde Nast
Top editorial staff let go last week
Former staff members at the Advocate and Out magazines revealed that parent company Equalpride laid off a number of employees late last week.
Those let go included Advocate editor-in-chief Alex Cooper, Pride.com editor-in-chief Rachel Shatto, brand partnerships manager Erin Manley, community editor Marie-Adélina de la Ferriére, and Out magazine staff writers Moises Mendez and Bernardo Sim, according to a report in Hollywood Reporter.
Cooper, who joined the company in 2021, posted to social media that, “Few people have had the privilege of leading this legendary LGBTQ+ news outlet, and I’m deeply honored to have been one of them. To my team: thank you for the last four years. You’ve been the best. For those also affected today, please let me know how I can support you.”
The Advocate’s PR firm when reached by the Blade said it no longer represents the company. Emails to the Advocate went unanswered.
Equalpride on Friday announced it acquired “Them,” a digital LGBTQ outlet founded in 2017 by Conde Nast.
“Equalpride exists to elevate, celebrate and protect LGBTQ+ storytelling at scale,” Equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill said according to Hollywood Reporter. “By combining the strengths of our brands with this respected digital platform, we’re creating a unified ecosystem that delivers even more impact for our audiences, advertisers, and community partners.”
It’s not clear if “Them” staff would take over editorial responsibilities for the Advocate and Out.
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