National
GOP at a crossroads as conservatives meet
Some optimistic party will evolve, embrace marriage equality
Jimmy LaSalvia and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) are urging the GOP to undertake greater outreach to the LGBT community. (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
As conservatives from across the country prepare to descend on D.C. for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, some Republicans are urging the party to reach out and welcome the LGBT community.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) — perhaps the most pro-LGBT Republican U.S. House member and co-sponsor of legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act — said in a statement to the Washington Blade that she hopes the Republican Party will reach out to the LGBT community.
“I am optimistic that the GOP will see the value of being more inclusive,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “More of my House colleagues need to come to the realization that establishing positive working relationships with the LGBT community in their districts is the right thing to do.”
It would be quite a turnaround for the Republican Party. The party lost the presidential election and seats in both chambers of Congress in 2012 after the standard-bearer in the election, Mitt Romney, campaigned on a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and said he opposed not only marriage equality, but civil unions.
Gay GOP groups have worked to spread the message that victory for the Republican Party means taking a more inclusive, “big-tent” approach.
Gregory Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, said if the GOP doesn’t evolve to engage more with the LGBT community, the party will “hit a wall” and be unable to secure the support of not only gay conservatives, but young voters.
“What we’re looking at is a matter of addition-multiplication that can benefit the movement as opposed to subtraction-division, which will harm it, and ensure that we continue to lose elections,” Angelo said.
Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, said the Republican Party needs to address gay issues because so many Americans know gay people and don’t want to cast votes for a party that opposes their interests.
“The gay issue is something that cuts across all demographic groups because politics is personal and everybody has a gay person in their lives, and so they think about how issues affect gay people,” LaSalvia said.
In last 13 years, LaSalvia counted two instances in which the leader of the Republican Party sought input from LGBT people: then-Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush’s meeting with the “Austin 12” in 2000 and then-GOP nominee John McCain’s interview with the Washington Blade in 2008. In October, Log Cabin also met with Romney at a Virginia farmhouse just before Election Day to discuss LGBT issues, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
The Republican National Committee is set on Monday to make public an internal review of Election 2012 and make recommendations going forward. It’s unknown whether the report will address the party’s relationship with the LGBT community.
Sean Spicer, a Republican National Committee spokesperson, expressed a sentiment similar to Log Cabin’s on the importance of inclusion, but took note of the party’s 2012 platform, which endorses a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
“While the issues of our party are clear in our platform, Chairman Priebus recognizes that in order to grow our party we need to be a party of addition and multiplication rather than subtraction and division,” Spicer said.
On its face, CPAC represents the image of the Republican Party that has yet to embrace LGBT people. This year, an estimated 10,000 people are expected to attend the convention, which will take place from Thursday to Saturday at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
Speakers at the event include rising Republican stars such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who’s expressed opposition to same-sex marriage and voted against LGBT-inclusive reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act as well as former Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, who campaigned last year in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage throughout the country.
Others include Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who gained notoriety recently for his 13-hour filibuster in the Senate over Obama’s use of drones and authority to use them in the United States, as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Neither GOProud, which was banned from the event in 2011, nor Log Cabin will be co-sponsors of the event, although social conservative groups, such as The Heritage Foundation and Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink will be in attendance.
Both groups told the Blade they didn’t actively seek to participate as sponsors during the event, but they also weren’t invited to attend. Angelo said Log Cabin was invited to participate in other CPAC-related events throughout the week, but opted not to attend.
Gregg Keller, executive director of the American Conservative Union, said in a statement to the Blade that GOProud — along with John Birch Society, an advocacy group supporting limited government — were barred in 2011 for reasons other than gay identity.
“The ACU Board voted in 2011 to not invite two groups to sponsor CPAC because of past disrespectful behavior toward conservatives and event attendees and that policy remains in place,” Keller said. “Although these organizations are not able to participate as sponsors, their members and supporters are welcome to purchase tickets and attend.”
LaSalvia responded by saying ACU’s stated reason for GOProud’s exclusion from CPAC is untrue.
“For two and half years we were under attack from anti-gay forces on the ACU board to keep us out of CPAC because we are gay,” LaSalvia said. “One of our board members called one of those anti-gay ACU board members a ‘bigot.’ He apologized, and they have used that incident as their reason to exclude us when the truth is they kicked us out because we are gay.”
Still, an unofficial event will be held on Thursday in the same building as CPAC that will highlight gay conservatives and tolerance, titled, “A Rainbow on the Right: Growing the Coalition, Bringing Tolerance Out of the Closet.” It’s hosted by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and will begin at 6 pm.
Speakers on the panel include LaSalvia as well as CEI Chair Fred Smith; Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large for The National Review; CNN contributor and noted supporter of marriage equality Margaret Hoover; and the Washington Post’s conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin.
Despite the prominent anti-gay speakers at the event, CPAC is hosting no official panel with a specific anti-gay bent, or even one against same-sex marriage.
LaSalvia said he thinks social conservatives “are an important part of the coalition” that make up the Republican Party, but he doesn’t know what the future holds for conservatives who demonize gay people.
“And I’m not talking about people who oppose gay marriage; I’m talking about the ‘anti-gay-for-pay’ crowd,” LaSalvia said. “Because most Americans have gay people in their lives, they know that gays aren’t destroying America, they know that gays aren’t destroying civilization because gay people are in their families, and so they know better.”
Perhaps the most striking signal that the GOP is reconsidering its position on LGBT issues is a legal brief signed by 131 prominent Republicans calling on the Supreme Court to overturn California’s Proposition 8.
Signers of the brief, which was circulated by gay former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman, included Ros-Lehtinen as well as her House colleague Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.). The brief also included many individuals who worked on the Romney campaign — including David Kochel, Romney campaign’s Iowa strategist, who’s said support for marriage equality is “emerging as a mainstream issue” in the GOP — as well as Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, who campaigned in support of Prop 8.
Angelo said the brief “really crystalized” a greater acceptance of gay individuals in the conservative movement that he said “has been happening for years.”
“There have been people who have been elected officials at the grassroots level — and people who have been prominent staffers — who have been personally supportive of gay individuals in the past,” Angelo said. “What’s happening now is they’re becoming more outspoken in that support, and there is a true debate that’s happening within the conservative movement on this issue, specifically of marriage equality.”
Additionally, the 2012 election — in which three states legalized same-sex marriage and another rejected a constitutional amendment banning it — has shaken up presidential candidates’ views on same-sex marriage.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Mormon, expressed support for same-sex marriage in an op-ed for the American Conservative, while former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich reportedly told The Huffington Post the Republican Party must accept the reality of same-sex marriage.
In a recent Fox News interview, Romney said he continues to believe marriage is for one man, one woman, but he’ll “respect” other views on the issue.
These new views have led observers to believe that positions on marriage could divide Republican candidates when the compete in primaries for the nomination to run for the White House in 2016.
Angelo said 2016 is a “long way away” and thinks how the marriage issue will play out among the Republican candidates will become more apparent depending on the Supreme Court’s upcoming rulings on Prop 8 and DOMA.
“Will Republicans breathe a sigh of relief if DOMA is overturned and Proposition 8 is overturned because the issues are off the table, or is it going to be something that the Republican Party continues to pursue?” Angelo said. “Any presidential candidate that the party would put forth would have to deal with these issues as a political reality.”
Angelo said the debate within the Republican Party on LGBT rights is the result of an absence of negative consequences after the legalization of same-sex marriage in nine states and D.C.
“I know a lot of people would rather that there would be no debate at all and the movement go from completely opposing same-sex civil marriages to completely embracing it, but that’s not how these things happen,” Angelo said. “I’m definitely a realist in that regard, but things are definitely moving in the right direction.”
UPDATE: This article has been updated to include a comment from the Republican National Committee and a response from Jimmy LaSalvia on ACU’s stated reason for excluding GOProud from CPAC.
U.S. Supreme Court
Activists rally for Andry Hernández Romero in front of Supreme Court
Gay asylum seeker ‘forcibly deported’ to El Salvador, described as political prisoner
More than 200 people gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday and demanded the Trump-Vance administration return to the U.S. a gay Venezuelan asylum seeker who it “forcibly disappeared” to El Salvador.
Lindsay Toczylowski, president of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a Los Angeles-based organization that represents Andry Hernández Romero, is among those who spoke alongside U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Human Rights Campaign Campaigns and Communications Vice President Jonathan Lovitz. Sarah Longwell of the Bulwark, Pod Save America’s Jon Lovett, and Tim Miller are among those who also participated in the rally.
“Andry is a son, a brother. He’s an actor, a makeup artist,” said Toczylowski. “He is a gay man who fled Venezuela because it was not safe for him to live there as his authentic self.”
(Video by Michael K. Lavers)
The White House on Feb. 20 designated Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, as an “international terrorist organization.”
President Donald Trump on March 15 invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the Associated Press notes allows the U.S. to deport “noncitizens without any legal recourse.” The Trump-Vance administration subsequently “forcibly removed” Hernández and hundreds of other Venezuelans to El Salvador.
Toczylowski said she believes Hernández remains at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT. Toczylowski also disputed claims that Hernández is a Tren de Aragua member.
“Andry fled persecution in Venezuela and came to the U.S. to seek protection. He has no criminal history. He is not a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Yet because of his crown tattoos, we believe at this moment that he sits in a torture prison, a gulag, in El Salvador,” said Toczylowski. “I say we believe because we have not had any proof of life for him since the day he was put on a U.S. government-funded plane and forcibly disappeared to El Salvador.”
“Andry is not alone,” she added.
Takano noted the federal government sent his parents, grandparents, and other Japanese Americans to internment camps during World War II under the Alien Enemies Act. The gay California Democrat also described Hernández as “a political prisoner, denied basic rights under a law that should have stayed in the past.”
“He is not a case number,” said Takano. “He is a person.”
Hernández had been pursuing his asylum case while at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.
A hearing had been scheduled to take place on May 30, but an immigration judge the day before dismissed his case. Immigrant Defenders Law Center has said it will appeal the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which the Justice Department oversees.
“We will not stop fighting for Andry, and I know neither will you,” said Toczylowski.
Friday’s rally took place hours after Attorney General Pam Bondi said Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who the Trump-Vance administration wrongfully deported to El Salvador, had returned to the U.S. Abrego will face federal human trafficking charges in Tennessee.
National
A husband’s story: Michael Carroll reflects on life with Edmund White
Iconic author died this week; ‘no sunnier human in the world’
Unlike most gay men of my generation, I’ve only been to Fire Island twice. Even so, the memory of my first visit has never left me. The scenery was lovely, and the boys were sublime — but what stood out wasn’t the beach or the parties. It was a quiet afternoon spent sipping gin and tonics in a mid-century modern cottage tucked away from the sand and sun.
Despite Fire Island’s reputation for hedonism, our meeting was more accident than escapade. Michael Carroll — a Facebook friend I’d chatted with but never met — mentioned that he and his husband, Ed, would be there that weekend, too. We agreed to meet for a drink. On a whim, I checked his profile and froze. Ed was author Edmund White.
I packed a signed copy of Carroll’s “Little Reef” and a dog-eared hardback of “A Boy’s Own Story,” its spine nearly broken from rereads. I was excited to meet both men and talk about writing, even briefly.
Yesterday, I woke to the news that Ed had passed away. Ironically, my first thought was of Michael.
This week, tributes to Edmund White are everywhere — rightly celebrating his towering legacy as a novelist, essayist, and cultural icon. I’ve read all of his books, and I could never do justice to the scope of a career that defined and chronicled queer life for more than half a century. I’ll leave that to better-prepared journalists.
But in those many memorials, I’ve noticed something missing. When Michael Carroll is mentioned, it’s usually just a passing reference: “White’s partner of thirty years, twenty-five years his junior.” And yet, in the brief time I spent with this couple on Fire Island, it was clear to me that Michael was more than a footnote — he was Ed’s anchor, editor, companion, and champion. He was the one who knew his husband best.
They met in 1995 after Michael wrote Ed a fan letter to tell him he was coming to Paris. “He’d lost the great love of his life a year before,” Michael told me. “In one way, I filled a space. Understand, I worshiped this man and still do.”
When I asked whether there was a version of Ed only he knew, Michael answered without hesitation: “No sunnier human in the world, obvious to us and to people who’ve only just or never met him. No dark side. Psychology had helped erase that, I think, or buffed it smooth.”
Despite the age difference and divergent career arcs, their relationship was intellectually and emotionally symbiotic. “He made me want to be elegant and brainy; I didn’t quite reach that, so it led me to a slightly pastel minimalism,” Michael said. “He made me question my received ideas. He set me free to have sex with whoever I wanted. He vouchsafed my moods when they didn’t wobble off axis. Ultimately, I encouraged him to write more minimalistically, keep up the emotional complexity, and sleep with anyone he wanted to — partly because I wanted to do that too.”
Fully open, it was a committed relationship that defied conventional categories. Ed once described it as “probably like an 18th-century marriage in France.” Michael elaborated: “It means marriage with strong emotion — or at least a tolerance for one another — but no sex; sex with others. I think.”
That freedom, though, was always anchored in deep devotion and care — and a mutual understanding that went far beyond art, philosophy, or sex. “He believed in freedom and desire,” Michael said, “and the two’s relationship.”
When I asked what all the essays and articles hadn’t yet captured, Michael paused. “Maybe that his writing was tightly knotted, but that his true personality was vulnerable, and that he had the defense mechanisms of cheer and optimism to conceal that vulnerability. But it was in his eyes.”
The moment that captured who Ed was to him came at the end. “When he was dying, his second-to-last sentence (garbled then repeated) was, ‘Don’t forget to pay Merci,’ the cleaning lady coming the next day. We had had a rough day, and I was popping off like a coach or dad about getting angry at his weakness and pushing through it. He took it almost like a pack mule.”
Edmund White’s work shaped generations — it gave us language for desire, shame, wit, and liberation. But what lingers just as powerfully is the extraordinary life Ed lived with a man who saw him not only as a literary giant but as a real person: sunny, complex, vulnerable, generous.
In the end, Ed’s final words to his husband weren’t about his books or his legacy. They were about care, decency, and love. “You’re good,” he told Michael—a benediction, a farewell, maybe even a thank-you.
And now, as the world celebrates the prolific writer and cultural icon Edmund White, it feels just as important to remember the man and the person who knew him best. Not just the story but the characters who stayed to see it through to the end.
District of Columbia
In town for WorldPride? Take a D.C. LGBTQ walking tour
Scenes of protest, celebration, and mourning
As Washington welcomes the world for WorldPride, it’s essential to honor the city’s deep-rooted LGBTQ history—an integral part of the broader story of the nation’s capital. The following locations have served as cornerstones of queer life and activism in D.C., shaping both local and national movements for LGBTQ rights. So take a walk around “the gayest city in America” and check out these sites.
DUPONT CIRCLE AREA
Dupont Circle
Central hub of LGBTQ life since the early 20th century, hosting Pride parades, Dyke Marches, and cruising culture. A long-standing site of protests and celebrations.
Washington Hilton – 1919 Connecticut Ave NW
Hosted D.C.’s first major hotel drag event in 1968 and the iconic Miss Adams Morgan Pageant. Protested in 1978 during Anita Bryant’s appearance.
Lesbian Avengers – 1426 21st St NW
Formed in 1992, the group empowered lesbians through bold direct actions. They met in Dupont Circle and launched the city’s first Dyke March.
Lambda Rising Bookstore (former) – 1724 20th Street NW
D.C.’s first LGBTQ bookstore and the birthplace of the city’s inaugural Pride celebration in 1975.
Women In The Life (former office) – 1623 Connecticut Ave NW
Founded in 1993 by Sheila Alexander-Reid as a safe space and support network for lesbians of color.
17th Street NW Corridor – Between P & R Streets NW
Core of the LGBTQ business district, home to the annual High Heel Race in October and the June Block Party celebrating the origins of D.C. Pride.
CAPITOL HILL / SOUTHEAST
Tracks (former) – 80 M St SE
Once D.C.’s largest gay club, famous for inclusive parties, RuPaul shows, and foam nights from 1984 to 2000.
Ziegfeld’s / The Other Side – 1345 Half Street SE
Legendary drag venue since 1978, hosting famed performers like Ella Fitzgerald.
Club 55 / Waaay Off Broadway – 55 K Street SE
Converted theater central to D.C.’s early drag and Academy pageant scenes.
Congressional Cemetery – 1801 E Street SE
Resting place of LGBTQ figures like Sgt. Leonard Matlovich and Peter Doyle. Offers queer history tours.
Mr. Henry’s – 601 Pennsylvania Ave SE
LGBTQ-friendly bar since 1966 and the launching stage for Roberta Flack’s career.
The Furies Collective House – 219 11th Street SE
Home to a 1970s lesbian feminist collective that published “The Furies.” Members included Rita Mae Brown.
ARCHIVES / PENN QUARTER
Archives Metro & Center Market Site – 7th St & Pennsylvania Ave NW
Where Walt Whitman met Peter Doyle in 1865, commemorated by a sculpture linking Whitman and poet Fernando Pessoa.
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS / PETWORTH
Palm Ballroom (former) – 4211 9th Street NW
Mid-20th century venue for Black drag balls and LGBTQ events during segregation.
NATIONAL MALL AREA
National Mall / Washington Monument Grounds
Historic site of LGBTQ activism and remembrance, including the 1987 display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and a mass same-sex wedding. Hosted major civil rights marches in 1979, 1987, and 1993.
NORTHWEST DC
Dr. Franklin E. Kameny House – 5020 Cathedral Ave NW
Home of gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny and the Mattachine Society of Washington; now a national landmark.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE / WHITE HOUSE
Lafayette Park – Pennsylvania Ave & 16th St NW
Historic gay cruising area and epicenter of government surveillance during the Lavender Scare.
Data from: SSecret City by James Kirchick, The Deviant’s War by Frank Kameny, Brett Beemyn, The Rainbow History Project, NPS Archives, Washington Blade Archives.
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