National
Carney: No list of LGBT promises for 2012 election
W.H. spokesperson says Obama remains committed to 2008 pledges
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (Blade photo by Michael Key)
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday he doesn’t expect President Obama to issue a list of promises to the LGBT community as part of his re-election campaign as he did during the 2008 election season.
During a news conference, Carney made the remarks in response to a question from the Washington Blade on whether Obama would publish a list of objectives he wanted to achieve for the LGBT community during the second term of his administration.
“Well, I don’t anticipate reissuing a list,” Carney said. “I think his position on a number of issues has been clear and his accomplishments on a number of issues have been clear. So as is true with a number of the goals he set forward during his campaign and in the first two-plus years of his administration, he remains [committed to] those that are unfinished.”
Carney noted the president has been “saying a lot lately we still have a lot of work to do, and we’re not done yet” and maintained Obama “will remain committed to a number of policy objectives that haven’t been achieved yet.”
In 2008, Obama published an open letter to the LGBT community for the month of Pride listing the objectives he would advocate for on behalf of the LGBT community upon election.
Some promises in the letter have come to fruition. For example, then-Democratic presidential nominee Obama said he would “place the weight” of his administration behind passage of hate crimes protections legislation. Congress enacted such a statute in 2009 as part of the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill. Additionally, Obama has signed legislation allowing for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, although certification implementing open service has yet to take place.
But other promises in the 2008 letter remain unfulfilled. Obama pledged to work to pass an Employment Non-Discrimination Act to provide protections in the U.S. workforce on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, but Congress has yet to pass such a statute. The president also said he would seek complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, but the anti-gay law remains on the books.
Obama’s position on same-sex marriage has marginally changed since he issued the letter. In the missive, Obama says he believes civil unions “represent the best way to secure that equal treatment” for same-sex couples, stopping short of an endorsement for gay nuptials. The president has since suggested his position could evolve on the issue and that he’s wrestling with the idea of same-sex marriage. Advocates have been pressing Obama to issue an outright endorsement of marriage equality.
During the news conference, Carney said Obama remains committed to the outstanding promises to the LGBT that were made during the 2008 election.
“Well, I think you know that we’ve taken a pretty significant action on DOMA,” Carney said. “And on the other issues, I think he remains committed to the agenda on a variety of issues that he laid forward.”
Carney was referring to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement on Feb. 23 that Obama determined that DOMA was unconstitutional and that the Justice Department would no longer defend the anti-gay law in court. U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has since directed the House general counsel to take up defense of DOMA following a party-line 3-2 vote in March by the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group.
The exchange between the Blade and Carney follows:
Washington Blade: Jay, a question on the president’s 2012 reelection campaign. Back in 2008, the President outlined to the LGBT community a litany of objectives he wanted to achieve over the course of his administration. Do you expect that as we get closer to November 2012 that he’s going to reissue some sort of list of what he wants to achieve with the LGBT community in the second term of his administration — perhaps making new promises?
Jay Carney: Well, I don’t anticipate reissuing a list. I think his position on a number of issues has been clear and his accomplishments on a number of issues have been clear. So as is true with a number of the goals he set forward during his campaign and in the first two-plus years of his administration, he remains [committed to] those that are unfinished. As he’s been saying a lot lately we still have a lot of work to do and we’re not done yet. And so I think that he will remain committed to a number of policy objectives that haven’t been achieved yet.
Blade: Just to be clear, just to be clear — two major promises that he made to the LGBT community back in 2008 remain unfulfilled. That’s passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and full legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. Do you still see those happening in the course of the Obama administration?
Carney: Well, I think you know that we’ve taken a pretty significant action on DOMA. And on the other issues, I think he remains committed to the agenda on a variety of issues that he laid forward.
Arizona
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime
Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.
Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.
The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.
Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.
“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”
According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.
“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”
“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”
Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.
The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.
“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”
A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.
Congress
HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH
Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.
Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.
We’re hitting the pavement across New Hampshire to fight for a freer, fairer future for everyone.
Glad to have Human Rights Campaign President @KelleyJRobinson join us for a canvass launch in Manchester today. pic.twitter.com/XWCEaQxy4o
— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) August 30, 2026
Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.
Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.
A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.
The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.
Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.
National
Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK
ICE arrested far-right provocateur in New Orleans on Thursday
Editor’s note: The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the U.K.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday arrested far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
A DHS spokesperson in a statement sent to the Washington Blade said ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, who they described as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom,” at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos “legally entered the country” in New York on May 14, 2019.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” said the spokesperson.
The DHS spokesperson said an immigration judge on July 22 “issued a final order of removal” for Yiannopoulos “after failing to show up for his immigration hearing.” The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans on Friday reported Yiannopoulos is being held at an ICE detention center in Alexandria, La., which is about 200 miles northwest of the Crescent City.
“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” said the DHS spokesperson.
Yiannopoulos has, among other things, repeatedly targeted transgender people and Muslims.
The American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conversative Political Action Conference, in 2017 disinvited Yiannopoulos from speaking at that year’s CPAC after a video in which he appeared to condone sex between adults and underage boys emerged. Yiannopoulos subsequently resigned from Breitbart News, a far-right news website, where he had been a senior editor.
Yiannopoulos later that year married his boyfriend in Hawaii. The far-right provocateur in 2021 claimed he was an “ex-gay.”
The Australian government in 2019 banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country “on character grounds.” Yiannopoulos was also banned from Facebook, Twitter (now X), and other social media platforms.
The Times-Picayune reported Yiannopoulos “most recently worked for” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
The controversial rapper is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who is close to President Donald Trump, has called for Yiannopoulos’s deportation. Loomer on Friday wrote on X that she “reported him to ICE and the FBI” after he “called for me to be assassinated.”
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