National
Romney touts work against marriage equality as Mass. guv
‘We fought hard and prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage’
Mitt Romney speaking before attendees at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney touted his work against marriage equality as Massachusetts governor and pledged to continue his opposition to same-sex marriage as president in a speech Friday before a conservative conference in D.C.
Speaking before attendees at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference, Romney said the Massachusetts state supreme court “inexplicably” found a right to same-sex marriage in 2003. The candidate suggested finding such right would be contrary to the intentions of Founder John Adams, the author of the state constitution.
Romney said he pushed for a stay in that decision and called for an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage, which he said lost “by only one vote in the legislature.”
The candidate also touted his resurrection of a 1913 law prohibiting out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts. That law was later repealed under Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick.
“I successfully prohibited out-of-state couples from coming to our state to get married, and then going home,” Romney said. “On my watch, we fought hard and prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage.”
Kara Suffredini, executive director of MassEquality, said Romney is distorting what happened by saying the marriage amendment lost “by only one vote” because a supermajority of lawmakers in the legislature voted to preserve marriage equality and against bringing marriage to the ballot.
It takes the votes of two consecutive legislatures to place a citizen-initiated measure on the ballot. The Romney-backed marriage amendment passed the first time around in January 2007, but failed the second time later that year.
In June 2007, 151 legislators opposed the amendment and 45 supported it, while four legislators were absent or abstained from voting, falling more than one vote short of the 50 votes required to advance the measure to the November 2008 ballot.
“Abstentions don’t count as a ‘yes’; I think it’s fair to say [Romney is] misstating the facts,” Suffredini said. “Opponents of marriage equality and their public face, Gov. Romney, failed to garner even 25 percent support among lawmakers to send a constitutional amendment to repeal marriage equality to the ballot.”
Romney’s remarks generated significance from the applause that packed the hall at the Marriott Woodley Park hotel. The candidate then said he’d continue this opposition to same-sex marriage, pledging to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court and back a Federal Marriage Amendment.
“When I am president, I will defend the Defense of Marriage Act and I will fight for an amendment to our Constitution that defines marriage as relationship between a man and a woman,” Romney said, eliciting even greater applause.
The candidate is among the GOP candidates who’s signed a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage committing himself to defend DOMA in court, support a U.S. constitutional amendment banning marriage equality and establish a commission on “religious liberty” to investigate harassment of same-sex marriage opponents.
Romney added during his speech that he would rollback regulations that President Obama put in place that he said attack religious liberty. While he didn’t mention any LGBT initiative, such measures could include the order mandating hospitals grant visitation rights to same-sex couples.
Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, said his organization is “deeply disappointed” in Romney’s speech.
“Instead of simply saying that he opposed gay marriage, Romney instead chose to play to the ugliest and most divisive impulses in this country,” LaSalvia said. “If he thinks this is the way to appeal to Tea Party conservatives who have reservations about his candidacy, he is dead wrong.”
LaSalvia, who’s personally endorsed Romney, accused the candidate of giving in to a culture war, which he said is the tactic of progressive activists.
“The left wants a culture war, because they can’t defend this president’s record of failure on the economy,” LaSalvia said. “Conservatives shouldn’t give them the fight they want – and that’s exactly what Mitt Romney did today.”
R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the National Log Cabin Republicans, said he spoke with Romney after the speech when the candidate came down from the stage to shake hands with people in the front row of the audience.
“I told Gov. Romney that he ‘gave a solid speech with [the] exception of defending DOMA,'” Cooper said. “He responded ‘I know we disagree on this.’ My response before parting was a reminder that “we will continue to to work to defeat DOMA.”
Watch the video here (via Think Progress)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuDCPhJZwpY&feature=player_embedded
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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