National
Log Cabin close to decision on Romney endorsement
Gay GOP group seeks meeting with campaign, support for ENDA
Log Cabin Republicans are seeking to meet with GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Leaders of the Log Cabin Republicans are inching closer to a decision on endorsing Mitt Romney for president and a final announcement could come this week pending the outcome of a meeting Log Cabin is seeking to have with the Romney campaign, according to a source familiar with the process.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Log Cabin wants to talk to the campaign about Romney’s views on LGBT issues and to seek his support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in particular.
The source said the Romney campaign “has expressed a lot of interest” in sitting down with Log Cabin to address these issues, although the meeting remains unscheduled. According to the source, the endorsement decision process should be “all wrapped up in the next week or so.”
“We do think that once there’s that conversation that we will be able to move forward with the endorsement and actually feel good about it,” the source said, adding that if the board were to vote today, its members would likely support Romney for president.
R. Clarke Cooper, the group’s executive director, acknowledged in an email to the Washington Blade on Monday that his organization seeks “clarity on workplace non-discrimination” from the Romney campaign.
It’s not a secret Log Cabin has been asking Romney to come out in favor of ENDA. In an Aug. 13 op-ed for the Daily Caller, Cooper called on Romney to voice support for ENDA as well as commit to signing an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT people.
“Romney has said that he opposes workplace discrimination,” Cooper wrote. “By vowing to sign an executive order preventing federal contractors from firing people for being LGBT, and joining Paul Ryan in support for ENDA, Romney can draw a favorable contrast between himself and the president.”
While running as a U.S. Senate candidate against the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, Romney pledged in a letter to the Massachusetts chapter of the organization to co-sponsor ENDA “and if possible broaden to include housing and credit.” But in later years, Romney abandoned that position. He’s said he no longer supports ENDA, but hasn’t yet addressed the legislation during the 2012 campaign — largely because mainstream media reporters haven’t questioned him about the legislation.
The Romney campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Blade on the candidate’s position on ENDA.
The “Mitt Gets Worse” campaign against Romney — co-founded by Rick Jacobs, chair of the Courage Campaign, and David Brock, founder of American Bridge 21st Century — have called on Log Cabin to withhold the endorsement. However, some gay Republicans — including D.C. Chair of the Republican Party Bob Kabel and former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, have said they’d like to see the organization back Romney.
In 2004, Log Cabin withheld its endorsement from then-President George W. Bush because of his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment — a position that’s shared by Romney. But the organization in 2008 backed Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who voted against the amendment in the U.S. Senate.
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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