National
Fla. primary could yield gay milestones
State could elect gay state rep, member of Congress
Primary elections set for Tuesday could yield two milestones if Florida voters elect a gay candidate to Congress and another man to become the first openly gay member of the state’s legislature.
Scott Galvin, a North Miami City Council member, is seeking to represent Florida’s 17th congressional district in Congress. Galvin told the Blade last week he’s “feeling very excited” about his prospects.
“We had a wonderful debate last night that went very well and we had a nice article in the Miami Herald yesterday talking about our chances in being able in win,” he said. “We’re just invigorated out knocking on doors and raising money.”
Galvin is among nine Democratic candidates seeking the nomination in next week’s primary. No Republican candidate has filed to run in the general election in this Democratic-safe seat, so the winner of the primary is the presumptive U.S. House member in the district.
Galvin’s campaign achieved additional notoriety last month when vandals defaced several of his campaign signs in North Miami by spray-painting the word “fag” on them. Galvin said the incident had a mixed impact on his campaign.
“There were those who found out that I was gay for the first time and weren’t aware and there were those who obviously didn’t care and were actually motivated more by it,” Galvin said.
Galvin said his campaign has seen further acts of vandalism, where campaign materials were vandalized, but none of those acts held such a clear anti-gay bias.
Still, Galvin said he’s feeling optimistic about his campaign and noted the difference between the first-place candidate to the fifth-place candidate could be “as much as two to three percentage points.”
Meanwhile, Justin Flippen, a tourism project coordinator for the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. area, is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for a state legislative seat representing a district in South Florida.
Flippen, who’s vice mayor of the city of Wilton Manors, said he’s interested in pursuing the seat to bring more effective Democratic representation to the Florida state capital.
“We need a strong Democratic representative from District 92 in Tallahassee that represents all of the communities of the district, including the LGBT community most particularly,” Flippen said.
He’s running against incumbent Democratic legislator Gwyndolen Clarke-Reid for the party nomination, whom he said has “not at all” been faithful to Democratic principles in her seat as a state representative.
Among Clarke-Reid’s votes that Flippen criticizes are her votes for school vouchers and utility rate hikes for power companies. Flippen also took issue with Clarke-Reid’s lack of sponsorship of any state pro-LGBT legislation and her opposition to same-sex marriage, which he noted isn’t consistent with the national Democratic Party platform.
“I was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2008,” Flippen said. “I voted on the platform. I think we said that everyone’s included in the fabric of American society, particularly the LGBT community.”
The Clarke-Reed campaign didn’t respond to the Blade’s request to comment for this article.
Flippen said Clarke-Reed’s lack of support for pro-LGBT bills isn’t representative of her district because so many LGBT people live there. He estimated that the same-sex couple households comprise about one-third of the district’s population.
“You would think that the district — with such a large proportion of GLBT same-sex households — would have a state representative that is very much in step with the GLBT community,” he said. “In fact, we do not have that. That will be changed in this election cycle.”
Noting that he would be the first openly gay person elected to the Florida state legislature, Flippen said he thinks his voice will be important when LGBT issues come before lawmakers.
“There needs to be a voice in the state legislature that stands for a community that has never had a voice before,” he said. “I will be there at every opportunity to stand up for equality and the equal rights for everyone, which we’ve not seen with great fervor in the state legislature.”
Flippen said his chances of winning the seat in November are “very good” and that he’s received important endorsements, including from Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl.
“I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think we had a better than good chance,” he said. “I’m pleased that we have walked over 60 percent of this entire district by foot and met with more than 5,000 voters in over 2,500 households.”
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
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Comings & Goings
Pride season has begun
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Kenyan court bars homophobic protests
As You Are bar closes temporarily, citing problems with building
