National
Rising Democratic star delivers fiery speech at HRC dinner
Booker suggests he would sign marriage equality into law as governor
Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Newark Mayor Cory Booker suggested he’d pursue a gubernatorial run in New Jersey and — if elected — sign marriage equality legislation into law during a fiery keynote speech Saturday evening at the 16th annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner.
“I’m going to declare right now that the state of New Jersey — with all of the fiber of my being, with my allies left and right — that we will ensure that marriage equality is signed into law in the state of New Jersey,” Booker said. “And when that bill is signed, I may have a very good seat for it.”
It’s not the first time Booker has hinted at a possible gubernatorial run and that he’d lead the way for marriage equality as governor. During the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Booker made almost identical comments while addressing a caucus meeting of LGBT delegates.
Earlier this year, the New Jersey legislature approved legislation that would legalize marriage for gay couples, but that bill was vetoed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie. LGBT advocates are seeking to override his veto in the legislature.
Booker also told more than 3,000 attendees in attendance at the dinner — held at the Washington Convention Center — that their “spirit” is the same as the spirit that filled others creating social change in the United States, including those that founded the country, led the Underground Railroad that guided slaves to freedom and organized bus boycotts in the South.
“It is the unconquerable spirit that when some of us in our nation were told you aren’t good enough, this spirit stood and said, ‘Yes I am,'” Booker said.
Booker, who gained renown for reducing crime in his city and for personally rescuing a woman in April from a house fire, is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. The Newark mayor was co-chair of the 2012 Democratic platform committee, which approved for the first time a marriage equality inclusive platform.
Sue Fulton, a lesbian West Point graduate who’s a founding board member of the LGBT military group known as OutServe, attended the dinner and expressed confidence that Booker has a bright future in the party.
“As a New Jerseyan married to a native New Jerseyan, I think Cory Booker is the real deal,” Fulton said. “And what he said tonight — he brought people to their feet, he brought people to tears because he believes down in his bones in real equality in this country and that is so inspiring to me, I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next.”
Also on stage and providing the introduction to Booker was Chad Griffin, who spoke at the national dinner for the first time in his capacity as president of the nation’s largest LGBT organization.
“We can choose to step back, look at our recent successes, place our trust in the whims of public opinion and simply wait until the institutions of power finally open their doors to our community — or we can choose to be bold, we can choose to fight, fight for the laws we know we need and the welcoming country our families deserve,” Griffin said.
Prior to coming to HRC, Griffin served as board president of the California-based American Foundation for Equal Rights, the organization behind the federal lawsuit against Proposition 8. Others were on the stage from the organization, including the plaintiffs challenging the same-sex marriage ban — a lesbian couple, Kristin Perry and Sandra Steir, and a gay male couple, Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo — as well as Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, an AFER board member.
Black delivered a highly personal speech at the dinner in which told the story of his coming out to a Mormon, military family as well as the coming out story of his gay elder brother, who died just weeks before the lawsuit spearheaded by AFER led the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that Prop 8 was unconstitutional.
“I just wanted to race to the phone and call my big brother and say, ‘My God, we are one step away, we are one step away from the U.S. Supreme Court where my freedom will be your freedom, where my hope is your hope, my liberation is yours, but I couldn’t,” Black said. “I couldn’t because two weeks earlier my brother lost his battle to cancer and he died, and he will never know that feeling of liberation.”
Human Rights Campaign President and CEO Chad Griffin and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Following Black’s speech, HRC raised at least $390,000 in under 20 minutes by calling on attendees to donate to a campaign for the pro-gay side in the four states where marriage will be on the ballot in November: Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington State. The final numbers were still being tabulated before the article was posted.
HRC gave two awards to special guests at the dinner. The National Equality Award was given to Ben Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for his work that led to 103-year-old organization’s board to endorse marriage equality. The Ally for Equality Award was given to Oscar-winning actress Sally Field.
Sam Greisman, who’s gay and Field’s son from her second marriage, introduced his mother prior to her accepting the award on stage. During her speech, Field discussed how her son found success even though “nature” made him different from his two brothers.
“Sam was given colors and innate perceptions that his big brothers simply don’t have,” Field said. “He’s a gentler nature, and it is a gift. Nature made Sam.”
Among the guests at the dinner who weren’t on stage were gay members of the administration — John Berry, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and Fred Hochberg, director of the Export-Import Bank — as well as Brian Bond, DNC national constituency outreach director, and Jamie Citron, Obama for America LGBT National Vote Director.
The 2012 HRC National Dinner is the first one to take place under President Obama in which no one from the administration addressed the audience from the stage. In 2009 and 2011, Obama addressed attendees, while in 2010, Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to Obama, was the keynote speaker.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, an HRC spokesperson, said no one from the administration spoke on stage because high-level officials were involved with the campaign one month before Election Day, although he said his organization had hoped the president or the first lady would have addressed the crowd.
“We certainly appreciate that the president has joined us for two of the last three national dinners,” Cole-Schwartz said. “While we had hoped he or Mrs. Obama would have been available again this year, between campaigning and their own family responsibilities, it was not possible. We were thrilled to have Obama campaign surrogate Mayor Booker speak and talk about the administration’s many accomplishments for our community.”
Florida
Gay Fla. Democrat Elijah Manley sees opportunity in Trump’s second term
State’s 20th Congressional District’s includes Broward, Palm Beach Counties
Just over two and a half miles from President Donald Trump’s primary residence lies one of Florida’s most reliably Democratic congressional districts. There, a 27-year-old progressive is mounting a campaign centered on resisting what he calls the Trump-Vance administration’s attacks on civil rights, immigrants, and LGBTQ Americans.
Elijah Manley, an openly gay Democrat, sat down with the Washington Blade to discuss why he is running for Florida’s 20th Congressional District, why he believes this moment calls for a new generation of leadership, and what he hopes to accomplish if elected to Congress.
Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale’s historic Sistrunk neighborhood — the city’s oldest African American community — Manley was raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet. His family experienced housing insecurity and, at one point, homelessness, experiences he says continue to shape both his politics and his policy priorities.
For Manley, those experiences are precisely what he believes Congress is missing.
“I think now the country is in need of somebody like me, with my story, my lived experience, the struggles I’ve been through in my life. We’re going through a really dark time in the country with the Trump administration coming for our civil rights and an economy that is not working for everybody. In a time where we have MAGA fascism, we need progressive leadership, and we need people who are really going to do the work of fighting back and resisting and obstructing Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans’ agenda in Congress.”
Manley said his campaign is also about ensuring people from marginalized communities — those without wealth, political connections, or institutional backing — have a voice in Congress.
“I think my story sets me aside from everyone else. I’m the only one in this race who has a story to tell voters that lines up with their lived experiences and their struggles. Growing up in poverty and experiencing homelessness was instrumental in developing my worldview and how I fight for people, and I think that’s something that’s absent on Capitol Hill.”
He argues that lived experience offers a perspective often missing on Capitol Hill.
“There are too many lawyers and people coming from professional and political backgrounds. Then you have somebody like me who is rooted in the story of this district. That’s what sets me apart from everyone else in this race.”
According to his campaign website, Manley’s interest in public service dates back to childhood. He cites the election of President Barack Obama as a defining moment that inspired him to pursue politics.
“He was inspired by Barack Obama’s historic election, igniting his passion for public service. He began writing to elected officials, speaking at school board and city council meetings, and advocating for issues affecting his community,” the website states. It goes on to describe his involvement in criminal justice and law magnet programs, Navy JROTC, and hundreds of hours of volunteer service while in high school.
As an openly gay candidate running during Trump’s second administration, Manley said Congress must take a far more aggressive approach to protecting LGBTQ Americans, particularly as Republican-led states continue passing restrictions targeting transgender people.
“I think we need to bring the hammer down on some of these states. I’m not one of these states’ rights people — Congress has the power to preempt laws that states pass through the Supremacy Clause. There’s never been a more important time in our history when we’re seeing fascism, we’re seeing an administration out of control, and we need Congress to act.”
His campaign has also drawn criticism from both Republicans and establishment Democrats for his positions on Gaza, immigration, and his call to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Manley said abolishing ICE does not mean eliminating immigration enforcement altogether.
“I’m not saying there should be no immigration laws. We want laws around immigration, but we want dignity. We don’t need a hypermilitarized, paramilitary group chasing people through the streets, terrorizing communities, churches, schools, and families.”
His personal experiences also inform his healthcare agenda.
“When we talk about healthcare, my experience growing up on Medicaid is seeing the failure of the government to expand Medicaid here in Florida, and now we’re seeing cuts from the Trump administration. I’m not just looking at statistics or numbers on paper — this is based on lived experience. I know how the people in this district are going to be hurt by these policies because I’ve lived it.”
California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who has generated early buzz as a potential 2028 presidential contender for his “progressive capitalist” approach to governing, has endorsed Manley’s campaign, giving the first-time congressional candidate one of his highest-profile endorsements.
Manley faces six other Democrats in the primary, including U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and former U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, along with four Republican candidates in the general election field. Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress ahead of a potential expulsion and is running again while facing federal criminal charges.
Despite running as the youngest candidate in the field, Manley said he hopes voters leave the race remembering one thing above all else.
“I want people to remember bold and authentic leadership. I want them to know I’m running because I’ve been through what people are going through right now — and it’s not that I’ve been through it, I’m actually still going through it. We need bold people who are going to fight for everybody and stand up for what’s right, and that’s what I hope voters see when they go to the polls.”
Florida
Former Fla. gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum arrested on drug charges
Democrat narrowly lost to DeSantis in 2018, later came out as bisexual
Andrew Gillum, the former Democratic nominee for governor of Florida and former mayor of Tallahassee, was arrested on drug possession charges in Alabama last week.
Police in Daphne, Ala., said they pulled Gillum over for erratic driving and found marijuana and methamphetamine in his vehicle. He was charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to the Daphne Police Department. Jail records show he was arrested on July 2 and released on July 3, the Associated Press reports.
Gillum, the first Black nominee of a major political party for governor in Florida, lost the 2018 election to current Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in a highly contentious race.
Once considered a rising star in national politics, Gillum served in Tallahassee’s local government, first as a city commissioner and then as mayor of Florida’s capital from 2014- 2018.
The Daphne Police Department said officers stopped Gillum’s vehicle around 10:45 p.m. and initiated a probable cause search after one officer noticed a glass pipe on the center console.
During the search, officers found several rolled marijuana cigarettes and three packages containing a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, police said.
The day after his arrest he was charged with possession of dangerous drugs, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.
In 2020, Gillum was involved in a similar incident when he was found in a Miami Beach, Fla., hotel room with a man identified as an escort who had apparently overdosed on drugs. Police also found three bags of suspected crystal methamphetamine in the room. The man survived, and no one was ever charged with a crime.
Later that year, Gillum came out as bisexual during an appearance on “The Tamron Hall Show,” where he discussed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction and his decision to seek treatment following the 2020 incident.
In the same interview he shed light onto this, saying his substance use was a byproduct of the emotional struggles he experienced after losing the 2018 gubernatorial race to DeSantis.
This is not the first time Gillum has faced legal scrutiny.
During his 2014 mayoral campaign, he faced allegations of misconduct after hiring private equity investor Adam Corey as his campaign treasurer, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest. However, the FBI ultimately concluded there was no conflict of interest.
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia murder suspect remains at large
Two killed, one injured in attacks motivated by victims’ sexual orientation
Police seek the public’s support in finding a suspect wanted in connection with three Philadelphia shootings, including two murders, who may have targeted his victims because they were gay. All three shootings took place near Hunting Park Recreation Center between May 29 and June 26.
The suspect is 21-year-old Jahylin Melchur, who has not been located by police and is not in police custody as of July 7. Police seek the public’s support in tracking down the suspect, whose image was captured on surveillance cameras. Previous reporting underlined that Melchur should be considered armed and dangerous.
Each of the victims was found partially clothed between 10 and 11 p.m.
On May 29, a 55-year-old in Juniata Park was found two miles from the rec center. The victim, who survived the encounter with critical injuries, said a man approached him and announced his intention to rob him, before shooting him in the elbow and torso.
Martin Higgins, 45, was pronounced dead on the bleachers of the rec center’s baseball field on June 20, suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Sharef Holman, 29, was found near the basketball courts on June 26, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Temple University Hospital but died shortly thereafter.
Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore declined to answer the Philadelphia Inquirer’s question regarding whether the victims may have met Melchur on a dating app, citing the ongoing investigation. Sources told the Philadelphia Inquirer that investigators are exploring this possibility
Although robbery may be at least part of the motive in the first shooting, other movies are unclear.
NBC10 reported that law enforcement sources told the station all three victims were targeted because they were gay, but the Philadelphia Police Department did not confirm this.
The Philadelphia Police Department replied to PGN’s questions with an email stating, “This remains a very active investigation, and investigators are looking at all aspects of the case, including underlying motivations for committing these crimes.
“At this point, we can confirm that Melchur is wanted for two homicides by shooting and one non-fatal shooting, all of which occurred in the Hunting Park area.
“The investigation has not established that the victims were specifically targeted because of their sexual orientation.”
The Philadelphia Police Department is urging anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or submit an anonymous tip by calling the PPD Tip Line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
(This story is republished with permission of the Philadelphia Gay News.)
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