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To heckle, or not to heckle?

Let’s proceed intelligently in advancing LGBT rights

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Ellen Sturtz, GetEqual, gay news, Washington Blade
Ellen Sturtz, GetEqual, gay news, Washington Blade

Ellen SturtzĀ proceeded to heckle Michelle Obama at a DNC fundraiser. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The issue of LGBT rights got lost in the story last week of Michelle Obama being heckled, which unfortunately turned into a charge of racism by some. We must be cognizant of those sensitivities even when the person heckled lives the life, earned by her accomplishments and marriage, of one of the most elite and entitled persons in the world.

The fight for our civil and human rights must proceed intelligently. We fight because 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT; millions of LGBT citizens still donā€™t have the right to marry; millions are at risk of losing their jobs; and although ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tellā€ has been repealed, gay and lesbian service members still donā€™t have full and equal rights.

We need to use every tool available to us. That includes lobbying Congress, making our case to the American people and stirring the pot when need be. We must donate to candidates that support us, work on their campaigns and be a part of changing Congress. But the fight will also include civil disobedience. Sit-ins in the office of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio); chaining people to the White House gate; or other acts that will attract the attention of the people who can make a difference in our lives.

In the discussion of heckling, the right to work issue got lost. What also got lost was Barack Obamaā€™s 2008 promise to the LGBT community that he would work to protect them from workplace discrimination. His promise to sign an executive order providing workplace protections by federal contractors and to help pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), ending workplace discrimination by all employers. People believed him, donated to his campaign, worked and voted for him.

Five years later, the promise that can be fulfilled with his signature hasnā€™t been. He has supported ENDA legislation but that is something he canā€™t do alone and the LGBT community hasnā€™t been able to generate the support in Congress to pass it.

In 2012, LGBT donors and fundraisers for the president and DNC were told ā€œwait until after the electionā€ for him to sign the Executive Order. We raised money and waited. We are still waiting while being asked to give ā€œtill it hurtsā€ for the next election cycle. ENDA was introduced in the Senate without all Democrats co-sponsoring and no bill has been introduced in the House. LGBT Americans across the nation often still face staying in the closet or potentially losing their jobs.

So the frustration of those in GetEqual, like heckler Ellen Sturtz, is real. Like those in ACT UP who fought for a response to the HIV/AIDS crisis, they believe there is still a place for civil disruption of the status quo. While not a fan of heckling I was surprised when heckling the first lady blew up into an international story.

A Michelle Obama fan, I respect and thank her for taking up the cause of children. There is nothing more important than ensuring healthy and educated future generations. Two columns particularly disturbed me. Anna Holmes in Time wrote, ā€œAnyone who has been paying attention would have recognized in Sturtzā€™s outburst a petulance and sense of entitlement that echoes some of the screechiest, bigoted and most resentful critics of the President himself, who have spent the past 6 years questioning Mr. Obamaā€™s and by extension black Americansā€™ legitimacy to lead, have an opinion, or even exist. (Remember Joe Wilson?)ā€. Might Holmes reconsider after learning that not only did Sturtz support the president but contributed to his campaign?

Anthea Butler, who teaches a class at the University of Pennsylvania every two years on Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X wrote, ā€œChallenging the wife of the president you hope will sign the bill seems an odd way to effect real change for the LGBT community. Challenge the president, not his wife.ā€ This comment appears to denigrate the first lady, who is both brilliant and involved in the politics of the nation.

While we must respect the feelings and sensitivities of all, we can and must use every tool in our arsenal to secure full civil and human rights for ourselves and future generations of LGBT Americans and their families.

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Opinions

DC To Host 1st National TDOV Gala on Easter Sunday

Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) will host the 1st AnnualĀ BlossomĀ Gala at Hook Hall.

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The first International Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) celebration was held 15 years ago, with the goal of addressing the major concern that the only well-known trans-centered day was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which mourned the murders of transgender people but did not acknowledge and celebrate living members of the transgender community. On March 31, Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) will host the 1st AnnualĀ BlossomĀ Gala at Hook Hall, which will serve as the culminating event of their TDOV programming in Washington, DC.Ā 

Dylan Drobish (also known as Dylan B. Dickherson White), National Director at Trans USA, offered the following:Ā ā€œIt is our hope that Blossom will serve as a reminder not just of the battle we face every day but also of the beauty, excellence, intellect, and resilience of transgender Americans. We believe that this event is especially important given the increased backlash and violence against our community in the last few years alone, with nearly 500 anti-trans bills under consideration across 41 states as of March. However, Blossomā€”and TDOV itselfā€”is a celebration held in defiance of the idea that trans lives are only worthy of headlines once they have ended.ā€

Preceded by an impactful, inspiring rally at the national mall (11:00 AM to 3:00 PM) featuring Angelica Ross of Pose and AHSBlossom is a fundraising initiative that blends keynote speakers, a Q&A panel discussion with national leaders in the movement for transgender equality, and the artistry of drag with CHERRY BOMB–an all-trans drag showcase headlined by trans icon, activist, and Drag Race pioneer Monica Beverly Hillz. This pivotal event will also serve as the official public launch of the TRANSform the Vote initiative, which aims to inspire transgender people and allies to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

But make no mistake. Blossom is a celebration, and the event organizers have pulled out all the stops to ensure that ticket prices remain accessible without sacrificing the magic of a true gala experience. For truly gram-worthy ā€œpink carpetā€ photos, all attendees are invited to “dress to impress” with their interpretation of a timely theme that celebrates the beauty of coming into one’s own as a visible member of the trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming community.  

The event comes at a pivotal time for both the community and the organizations seeking to protect it: This summer, NCTE will officially merge with Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) to create Advocates for Trans Equality, doubling their ability to lead the next chapter of the transgender rights movement. This November, Trans USA will welcome over 80 representatives from across the country to their national competition, which will for the first time also feature a national conference and exposition solely focused on the trans and non-binary community. While monumental, these 2024 events come with unprecedented challenges, as many major corporations and grant programs refuse to provide funding related to ā€œcontroversial social or political issuesā€, especially in an election year. 

Despite these challenges, celebratory events like Blossom are, unsurprisingly, now more important than ever, with trans lives having been politicized to such a polarizing extent. Drobish, a former Mr. Trans USA himself offered the following: 

ā€œā€˜Narrative identityā€™ refers to the idea that our identities are formed from the internal stories we tell about ourselves (and our interpretation of them). Organizations like Trans USA and NCTE are here to help rewrite the narrative that gets passed down to the next generation of trans and non-binary folks. My message to anyone involved with Trans USA or the movement in general has always been that you are the author of your storyā€”the story that gives your life meaning and purposeā€”and you get to choose how itā€™s told. Are you the hero or the victim? Are you the agent or the object? Are you the one telling your story, or is someone else doing all the talking? Itā€™s 2024, and itā€™s time to take the pen back. Because true visibility isnā€™t about being seen; itā€™s about making others feel seen. Seen enough to BLOSSOM.ā€ 

Tickets for the Blossom gala start at just $15, but VIP guests ($100) will receive access to a premium open bar fromĀ 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, light hors d’oeuvres, and prime seating, in addition to the 20-entertainer showcase with a Drag Race headliner! While doors open at 4:30 PM for the event, advance purchase online is strongly recommended by the organizers, as only a limited number of these VIP tickets are available.

-Dylan Drobish (National Director, Trans USA National Pageantry; Mr. Trans USA 2022, Mr. Freddieā€™s 2019

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Attacking Jews is latest Trump outrage

Anyone who supports equality and peace must vote for Biden

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(Washington Blade file photo by Christopher Kane)

Calling out the Jewish community in the United States as Trump did, is both dumb, and anti-Semitic. The Jewish community has been a Democratic constituency for many years, and attacking them wonā€™t get them to vote for him.

It is a difficult time for many Jews in the world today. I being one of them. I am a strong supporter of Israel, but support Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who believes there will never be peace in the Middle East as long as Netanyahu and his government are in control. Israel cannot keep annexing West Bank land, which should be part of a Palestinian state if we can get to a two-state solution. In fact, they must draw back the settlements now there. At the same time, like Schumer, I believe both Netanyahu and Hamas have to go. Being anti-Netanyahu is not being anti-Israel, just as being anti-Trump is not being anti-United States, or wanting Hamas to go, is not being anti-Palestinian. 

Attacking Jews is just one more outrageous thing coming out of Trumpā€™s mouth. He is a notorious sexist, racist, homophobic, pig. He is an old man who canā€™t control his mouth and continues to spout nonsense. His apparently limited brain power is tied up in disgusting views of the world and individuals. He mocks those with disabilities like he did to a New York Times reporter, and mocks President Biden for his stutter. There was a recent column in the Washington Post reminding people Trumpā€™s father had Alzheimerā€™s. I think we may be seeing the disease manifest itself in Trump. 

I have written this election is between two older men. I myself am older, and understand one often forgets a name, a date, or an event. Having just written a memoir, which I hope will be published in May, in its preface I say ā€œthese are dates and events as I remember them.ā€ But as neuroscientist Charan Ranganath recently wrote in the Washington Post, that in no way limits how a person can understand complex issues, or in my case work as a consultant and research and write weekly columns. For a president, especially one who is older, it is important for us to know who is surrounding him or her. I am definitely more secure knowing those who will be around and advising President Biden, versus those around Trump. No one person alone, whatever their age, can handle all the issues facing a president.

Whether you are a Jew supporting Israel, a Muslim supporting the Palestinian people, or someone like me supporting both, you are better off with President Biden. If you support the Palestinian people having their freedom, then Trump must strike fear in your heart, after all, he is the one who moved the American embassy to Jerusalem. 

The idea of electing a man convicted of fraud in his business dealings, found liable for sexually mistreating a woman, and who faces another 88 criminal counts, is ludicrous. It actually says as much about the people who would vote for him, as it does about Trump. A man who brags about taking away the right of women to control their own body, and healthcare, doesnā€™t deserve the vote of any woman. A man who opposes equal rights, affirmative action, and saw good people on both sides in Charlottesville, doesnā€™t deserve the vote of any Black American. A man who opposes any forgiveness of student loans, denies climate change, opposes making community college free, doesnā€™t deserve the vote of any young person. 

It amazes me when people compare how things were four years ago to today, and say they were better then. A time you couldnā€™t find toilet paper on grocery shelves, 1,000 people a day were dying of COVID, the Dow Jones was at 19,000 and today itā€™s at 39,000. The country was hemorrhaging jobs and in the last three years 13 million have been created. Wages are higher and unemployment lower. 

Of course, as President Biden says, we need to do more. He is doing it, Trump didnā€™t. Trump gave a $2 trillion tax cut to the wealthy, increasing the national debt. He pledges to do it again. Biden passed a massive infrastructure bill, now creating thousands of jobs building and repairing bridges and roads, in every state. He passed the Chips and Science Act, recently announcing new chip factories in four states, creating thousands of new construction and manufacturing jobs. Those factories will change the U.S. from an importing country, to a producing one. That is some of the real change Biden has brought about. 

Trump talks big, but never produced; Biden is producing for the American people, and will continue to do so.

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

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Letter-to-the-Editor

Banning the Rainbow Flag: the latest act of GOP madness

Prohibition included in government spending bill the president signed

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The Progress Pride flag flies in front of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin on July 22, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The Republican agenda is an obvious one:Ā Distract from real issues by assaulting the most vulnerable. That’s why they have focused their hatred on the LGBTQ+ community. After years of legislating book bans, curriculum censorship, bathroom restrictions and withholding medically needed gender therapy, their latest act is signature Republican cruelty: For a crucial trillion-dollar budget that would prevent a government shutdown, the GOP slipped in a measure to ban the display of Rainbow Flags at U.S. embassies all over the world.

This is not an act of mere symbolism. In too many countries, being queer is punishable by imprisonment or death. Measures like this give a green light to violence and homophobia both at home and abroad. It places more LGBTQ+ people at tangible risk. It is an outrageous abuse of the political process.

This cynical political maneuver is typical of the GOP, the Party of Destruction. But equally egregious is that President Biden and Democrats approved the budget, knowing the poison pill line item that had already been added.

Now, President Biden vows to repeal the embassy flag ban measure. We will hold him to his vow. Will he expend the political capital necessary to make the repeal happens? We must remember that he and the Congress capitulated to a small group of GOP manipulators and, in this instance, saw the global LGBTQ+ community as expendable.

The Democratic Party positions itself as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. They must hold their ground. They must represent and defend all of us. Otherwise, an emboldened GOP, led by Trump, will only escalate their merciless attacks on our vulnerable communities.”

Charles Beal is president of the Gilbert Baker Foundation and the Save the Rainbow Flag Campaign.

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