National
Ros-Lehtinen, Hayworth among picks for pro-gay GOP PAC
Group started by Republican businessman Paul Singer
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is among the new endorsements of the American Unity PAC (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A political action committee that aims to elect pro-LGBT Republicans to Congress this week announced that Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) are among its final round of endorsements for candidates eligible for at least $2.25 million the group is spending on the 2012 election.
In a statement dated Oct. 24, the American Unity PAC announced its endorsement of Ros-Lehtinen and Hayworth as well as two candidates in Connecticut: U.S. House challenger Andrew Roraback and U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon. Based on numbers provided in the statement, the group is spending a total of $760,000 on these four congressional hopefuls.
The new endorsements mean the PAC is backing a total of eight candidates in the election. The announcement this week follows the PAC’s initial endorsements of Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) and Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) in June. Last week, the group announced it was allocating $530,000 to gay U.S. House candidate Richard Tisei in Massachusetts.
The statement highlights what the PAC is doing to help each of the candidates the group supports, including the four new endorsements.
For Ros-Lehtinen:
On October 24, AUPAC launched a $110,000 cable television campaign bolstering pro-freedom Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. The ad highlights her commitment to the values of freedom, her leadership for small business and her efforts to fight wasteful spending and balance the budget. The ad also draws attention to Ros-Lehtinen’s strong support for seniors and firm stance defending our ally Israel. Ros-Lehtinen is the most pro-freedom Republican member of Congress and the first to stand up for the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian Americans.
Ros-Lehtinen — who has a transgender son, Rodrigo Lehtinen — is a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus. She’s the only Republican co-sponsor of legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and is a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Ros-Lehitnen was among five Republicans who voted for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in May 2010 even before the Pentagon report was issued on implementing open service. In July, she told the Washington Blade she’s a supporter of marriage equality.
For Hayworth:
On October 26, AUPAC plans to launch a $260,000 cable television advertising campaign protecting pro-freedom Congresswoman Nan Hayworth. The ad, “Home”, details Hayworth’s hard work protecting the Hudson Valley’s environment and natural beauty, which has earned her one of the best environmental records in her party. The ad also highlights Hayworth’s work to build bridges between the parties as a founder of the Common Ground Caucus. Hayworth is a leading Republican cosponsor of legislation to eliminate the tax penalty applied to domestic partner health benefits and has fought mean-spirited amendments aimed at denying same-sex couples any federal recognition.
Hayworth — who has a gay son, Will Hayworth — is a freshman member of Congress who’s also a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus. She hasn’t endorsed marriage equality, but is another ENDA co-sponsor and has voted against amendments brought to the House floor by Republicans to reaffirm the Defense of Marriage Act. Hayworth is facing a close race this election against gay Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney.
For the Connecticut candidates Roraback and McMahon:
On October 25, AUPAC plans to launch a $260,000 broadcast and cable television campaign in the 5th Congressional District drawing a distinction between the divisive partisanship of Elizabeth Esty and Chris Murphy and the independent problem-solving of Andrew Roraback and Linda McMahon. Both the House and Senate races are neck-and-neck in the polls. Roraback stood up for the freedom to marry as a state legislator, and McMahon recently became the country’s first credible pro-marriage Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
Following a debate with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Chris Murphy, McMahon announced that she’s changed her position on DOMA and would vote to repeal the anti-gay law if she were elected and such a measure would come to the Senate floor.
The ads the PAC is funding are available to watch online here.
Jeff Cook, senior adviser to the American Unity PAC, said in a statement his group is endorsing these candidates because they’re among the “independent-minded, fiscally responsible and socially inclusive leaders” who should be elected to office.
“These pro-freedom Republicans are the best our party has to offer – principled fiscal conservatives who embrace the values of freedom and believe every American deserves a shot at the American dream,” Cook said. “All of these outstanding candidates face hyper-partisan opponents who offer little more than the same divisive politics that have gotten our country into such a mess in the first place.”
According to a June report in the New York Times, the initial $1 million that started American Unity PAC came from Republican businessperson Paul Singer, a prominent backer of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney as well as same-sex marriage.
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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