News
Romney needs time to determine impact of marriage equality
Former GOP presidential contender says it could take ‘generations’
Mitt Romney said on “Meet the Press” it could take “generations” to determine the impact of marriage equality. (Screenshot via NBC News).
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney reiterated his opposition to marriage equality on Sunday, saying it will “take a long, long time” to determine whether the advancement of same-sex marriage will have an impact the way children are raised.
Romney, who lost the election to President Obama in 2012, when asked by host David Gregory on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an appearance to discuss the 2014 Winter Olympics whether the legalization of same-sex marriage throughout the country has had a negative impact on society.
Gregory pointed to a 2004 op-ed that Romney wrote for the Wall Street Journal in opposition to same-sex marriage, titled, “A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting Marriage.” Romney wrote it nearly ten years ago while governor of Massachusetts after the State Supreme Court legalized marriage equality, making the Bay State the first in the country to afford marriage rights to gay couples.
At first, Romney dodged in his response to Gregory’s question on whether he has found negative impact of same-sex marriage since that time, reiterating his previously stated talking points that he believes marriage should be limited to one man, one woman.
“Well, I think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman, and I think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where there’s a father and a mother,” Romney said. “Now there are many other different settings that children are raised in, and people have the right to live their life as they want to, but I think marriage should be defined in the way that it has been defined for several thousand years, and if gay couples want to live together, why that’s fine as well. That’s their right.”
But when Gregory pressed Romney to evaluate whether marriage equality has had a negative impact, the former Massachusetts governor said it’s too soon to tell and it may take “generations” before the consequences are known.
“I think it’s going to take a long, long time to determine whether having a gay marriage make it less likely for kids to be raised in settings where there’s a mom and a dad,” Romney said. “That’s not going to happen overnight. It’s something which happens over generations, in fact. Again, I think the ideal setting is whether there’s a mom and a dad that can invest their time and their resources in supporting the development of a child.”
Despite Ronmey’s concerns, major psychological and family groups have disputed the notion that gay parents aren’t as fit as straight parents in raising children. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics came out in support of same-sex marriage.
Romney also refused under further questioning to characterize the issue of same-sex marriage as an Republicans have lost, saying it’s playing out across the country.
“I think, in this case, it continues to be an issue that people find relevant and important, and it’s something which is being considered in various states across the country,” Romney said.
Following numerous court rulings in favor of marriage equality and expectations the issue once again reach the U.S. Supreme Court, the former Republican presidential contender added he believes the issue of marriage equality should be decided by the people, not judges.
“I do believe, by the way, that it’s best decided by the people, rather than by the courts,” Romney said. “I think when the courts step in and make a decision of this nature, they’re removing from the people something which they have the right to decide themselves.”
In 2012, Romney campaigned not only in opposition to same-sex marriage, but signed a pledge with the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage to support a U.S. constitutional amendment that would ban gay nuptials throughout the country and defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
David Gregory: Lemme talk to you about politics, and of course, the issue of gay rights around the world, particularly in Russia, has been part of the backdrop of these games, and you think about the issue of same-sex marriage in America. Ten years ago, almost to the month, it was Massachusetts when you were governor that really set same-sex marriage rights into motion.
You wrote about it at the time rather pointedly, where you said, after that decision by the court, “The definition of marriage is not a matter of semantics. It will have lasting impact on society.” Ten years later, as you’ve seen same-sex marriage now in 17 states and the District of Columbia, has it had a negative impact on society in your judgement?
Mitt Romney: Well, I think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman, and I think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where there’s a father and a mother. Now there are many other different settings that children are raised in, and people have the right to live their life as they want to, but I think marriage should be defined in the way that it has been defined for several thousand years, and if gay couples want to live together, why that’s fine as well. That’s their right.
Gregory: But lemme just follow up, do you think it’s actually had a negative impact on society that you have so many states now recognizing it?
Romney: Oh, I think it’s going to take a long, long time to determine whether having a gay marriage make it less likely for kids to be raised in settings where there’s a mom and a dad. That’s not going to happen overnight. It’s something which happens over generations, in fact. Again, I think the ideal setting is whether there’s a mom and a dad that can invest their time and their resources in supporting the development of a child.
Gregory: As you look at the progression of this issue, as a Republican do you think Republicans have lost the fight politically over this?
Romney: I don’t know that you have to worry about who wins and who loses a particular fight. I think if you stand for various principles, you communicate those to the American people, and they either support those or not. Sometimes, if something is lost, why, you move on to the next issue. You wish you would have won that one, but you move on. I think, in this case, it continues to be an issue that people find relevant and important, and it’s something which is being considered in various states across the country.
I do believe, by the way, that it’s best decided by the people, rather than by the courts. I think when the courts step in and make a decision of this nature, they’re removing from the people something which they have the right to decide themselves.
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Congratulations to RODRIGO HENG-LEHTINEN on his new role as Trevor Project Senior Vice President of Public Engagement Campaigns. On accepting the position, he said, “My mission has long been to stop LGBTQ, and especially trans, people from being perceived as political footballs and start getting us seen as real people – your friends, your families, your neighbors. Now I get to focus on that 100% at The Trevor Project.”
Prior to this, he was executive director, Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), where he co-led the merger of two national transgender rights organizations, NCTE and TDLEF, to create the new organization. He had served as executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, leading that organization through a period of growth, restoring organizational size and stability. He had served as deputy executive director prior to that. Previously he served as vice president of Public Education, Freedom for All Americans, where he led a successful campaign for transgender nondiscrimination protections in New Hampshire. He oversaw a full range of legislative lobbying, field organizing, and communications strategies and oganized a leadership coalition, established structure, and divided roles for key committees of 17 state and national partner organizations and local activists.
Heng-Lehtinen conducted English-language interviews with outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and Politico. He planned a Transgender Leadership Summit for the Transgender Law Center and served as Development & Donor Services Assistant, Liberty Hill Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Brown University.
Local
D.C., Va., Md. to commemorate World AIDS Day
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle will hold a Mass, candlelight prayer vigil
The D.C. area will observe World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 through a variety of community events.
Established by the World Health Organization in 1988, World AIDS Day aims to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and honor the individuals affected by the epidemic. The global theme for 2025 is “overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.”
Washington
DC Health will host a World AIDS Day event at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library from noon to 9 p.m on Dec. 1. Attendees can expect live performances, free food and free HIV testing.
The all-day event will also feature community resources from DC Health, DC Public Library, DC Health Link, Serve DC, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
The Lily and Earle M. Pilgrim Art Foundation is partnering with Visual AIDS, a New York-based non-profit that uses art to fight AIDS, to reflect on World AIDS Day with a film screening on Dec. 1.
The David Bethuel Jamieson Studio House at Walbridge in Mount Pleasant will premiere “Meet Us Where We’re At,” an hour-long collection of six videos. The free screening highlights the complexity of drug use in intersection with the global HIV epidemic.
The videos, commissioned by artists in Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, Puerto Rico and Vietnam, showcase the firsthand experience of drug users, harm reduction programs, and personal narratives. The program intends to showcase drug users as key individuals in the global response to HIV.
In addition to streaming the videos, the event will include an evening potluck and conversation led by Peter Stebbins from 6-8 p.m.
The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle will hold a 5:30 p.m. Mass and candlelight prayer vigil at 6 p.m. in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. The event is open to all and includes a subsequent reception at 6:30 p.m.
The Capital Jewish Museum is hosting a speaker series on Dec. 2 from 6:30-8 p.m. that explores the response to AIDS within the Jewish community. Speakers include LGBTQ psychiatrist Jeffrey Akman, physician assistant Barbara Lewis and Larry Neff, lay service leader at Bet Mishpachah, a synagogue founded by LGBTQ Washingtonians. Heather Alt, deputy director of nursing at Whitman-Walker Health, will moderate the event.
The program is free for museum members. General admission is $10 and Chai tickets, which help subsidize the cost of general admission, are $18. Tickets include access to LGBT Jews in the Federal City, a temporary exhibition that collectively explores Washington, Judaism, and LGBTQ history. The exhibition is on view through Jan. 4, 2026.
Virginia
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins and local residents will commemorate World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 at the Lee Center.
The event, which is free to attend, will include music, choir performances, educational moments and more. The commemoration will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Maryland
The Frederick Center will host talks, tabling and a raffle in honor of World AIDS Day. The Frederick County Health Department will conduct free HIV testing.
The event, which is free to attend, will be held on Nov. 30 from 1-4 p.m. The Frederick County Health Department always offers free, walk-in HIV testing on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will host a community day of awareness in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 6 from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event will feature free, confidential HIV testing, private talks with medical professionals and health workshops.
The event will be held at Suitland Community Center in Forestville and will include breakfast and snacks.
Damien Ministries is commemorating World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 through the grand opening of the We the People Community & Wellness Collaborative. The event, held at 11:30 a.m. at 4061 Minnesota Avenue, N.E., is free to attend.
Damien Ministries is a faith-based non-profit committed to supporting those with HIV/AIDS.
Begin Anew, a Baltimore non-profit that provides education, outreach and resources to improve public health, wellness and economic stability, is hosting its 4th Annual World AIDS Day Community Celebration on Dec. 1 alongside community partners.
Hosted at the University of Maryland BioPark from noon to 3 p.m., the program will feature keynote speaker Jason E. Farley of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The celebration will also dedicate awards to local heroes focused on fighting HIV/AIDS and promoting health equity.
The free event includes lunch, live entertainment and networking opportunities with health advocates and partners.
District of Columbia
Bowser announces she will not seek fourth term as mayor
‘It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a longtime vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community, announced on Nov. 25 that she will not run for a fourth term.
Since first taking office as mayor in January 2015, Bowser has been an outspoken supporter on a wide range of LGBTQ related issues, including marriage equality and services for LGBTQ youth and seniors.
Local LGBTQ advocates have also praised Bowser for playing a leading role in arranging for widespread city support in the city’s role as host for World Pride 2025 in May and June, when dozens of LGBTQ events took place throughout the city.
She has also been credited with expanding the size and funding for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which was put in place as a Cabinet level office by the D.C. Council in 2006 under the administration of then-Mayor Anthony Williams.
It was initially called the Office of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Affairs. At Bowser’s request, the D.C. Council in 2016 agreed to change the name as part of the fiscal year 2016 budget bill to the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Affairs.
As she has in numerous past appearances at LGBTQ events, Bowser last month greeted the thousands of people who attended the annual LGBTQ Halloween 17th Street High Heel Race from a stage by shouting that D.C. is the “gayest city in the world.”
In a statement released after she announced she would not run for a fourth term in office; Bowser reflected on her years as mayor.
“It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor,” she said. “When you placed your trust in me 10 years ago, you gave me an extraordinary opportunity to have a positive impact on my hometown,” her statement continues.
“Together, you and I have built a legacy of success of which I am immensely proud. My term will end on Jan. 2, 2027. But until then, let’s run through the tape and keep winning for D.C,” her statement concludes.
Among the LGBTQ advocates commenting on Bowser’s decision not to run again for mayor was Howard Garrett, president of D.C.’s Capital Stonewall Democrats, one of the city’s largest local LGBTQ political groups.
“I will say from a personal capacity that Mayor Bowser has been very supportive of the LGBTQ community,” Garrett told the Washington Blade. “I think she has done a great job with ensuring that our community has been protected and making sure we have the resources needed to be protected when it comes to housing, public safety and other areas.”
Garrett also praised Bowser’s appointment of LGBTQ advocate Japer Bowles as director of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs,
“Under the leadership of the mayor, Japer has done a fantastic job in ensuring that we have what we need and other organizations have what they need to prosper,” Garrett said.
Cesar Toledo, executive director of the D.C. based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth, credits Bowser with transforming the Office of LGBTQ Affairs “into the largest and most influential community affairs agency of its kind in the nation, annually investing more than $1 million into life-saving programs.”
Toledo added, “Because of the consistent support of Mayor Bowser and her administration, the Wanda Alston Foundation has strengthened and expanded its housing and counseling programs, ensuring that more at-risk queer and trans youth receive the safety, stability, and life-saving care they deserve.”
Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein is among those who have said they have mixed reactions to Bowser’s decision not to run again.
“I am sorry for the city but happy for her that she will now be able to focus on her family, and her incredible daughter,” Rosenstein said.
“She has worked hard, and done great things for D.C,” Rosenstein added. “Those include being a stalwart supporter of the LGBTQ community, working to rebuild our schools, recreation centers, libraries, gaining the RFK site for the city, and maintaining home rule. She will be a very hard act to follow.”
Local gay activist David Hoffman is among those in the city who have criticized Bowser for not taking a stronger and more vocal position critical of President Donald Trump on a wide range of issues, including Trump’s deployment of National Guard soldiers to patrol D.C. streets. Prior to Bowser’s announcement that she is not running again for mayor, Hoffman said he would not support Bowser’s re-election and would urge the LGBTQ community to support another candidate for mayor.
Bowser supporters have argued that Bowser’s interactions with the Trump-Vance administration, including her caution about denouncing the president, were based on her and other city officials’ desire to protect the interests of D.C. and D.C.’s home rule government. They point out that Trump supporters, including Republican members of Congress, have called on Trump to curtail or even end D.C. home rule.
Most political observers are predicting a highly competitive race among a sizable number of candidates expected to run for mayor in the 2026 D.C. election. Two D.C. Council members have said they were considering a run for mayor before Bowser’s withdrawal.
They include Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who identifies as a democratic socialist, and Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who is considered a political moderate supportive of community-based businesses. Both have expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community.
The Washington Post reports that Bowser declined to say in an interview whether she will endorse a candidate to succeed her or what she plans to do after she leaves office as mayor.
Among her reasons for not running again, she told the Post, was “we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish.”
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