National
Does Obama’s Cabinet lack diversity?
Black Caucus criticizes makeup; LGBT advocates still looking to smash glass ceiling
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says Obama values LGBT status as a element of diversity (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney declined to comment Tuesday on media reports indicating President Obama won’t appoint an openly LGBT person as part of his second-term Cabinet, but maintained sexual orientation and gender identity are “absolutely” elements of diversity the president values at the highest levels of the administration.
“I certainly am not confirming any speculation in the press about possible announcements the president might make,” Carney said under questioning from the Washington Blade. “I would refer you, again, to what I said and what the president has said about the value he places on diversity, and encourage you to assess the diversity of his appointments once they’ve all been made.”
According to media reports, Obama is close to making nominations for two vacancies in his Cabinet. His reported choice for labor secretary is Thomas Perez, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The president is also reportedly poised to nominate as commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, a Chicago hotel mogul and finance chair for his presidential campaign.
LGBT advocates had asked Obama to make the first-ever openly LGBT Cabinet appointment in history. If Obama makes his nominations in accordance with those reports, LGBT advocates will have to wait for another vacancy for that to happen.
Gay California Assembly Speaker John Perez was reportedly on the short list for labor secretary. In December, an administration official told the Blade that Fred Hochberg, who’s gay and chair of the Export-Import Bank, was being looked at for the role of commerce secretary.
The questioning from the Blade came after inquiries from American Urban Radio’s April Ryan about a letter from Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marsha Fudge (D-Ohio) saying Obama has an insufficient number of black appointees in his Cabinet. In response to that question, Carney said Obama is “deeply committed to diversity in his Cabinet.”
“He believes that having a diverse Cabinet and a diverse set of advisers enhances the decision-making and deliberation process for him and for any president,” Carney said. “And so he values it greatly and that’s why he has pursued it both in his first term and continues to pursue it in his second term.”
Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, affirmed that Obama should consider sexual orientation and gender identity when making decisions about diversity in his administration and reiterated the call to appoint an openly LGBT Cabinet official.
“Sexual orientation and gender identity should absolutely be considered when the goal is diversity,” Dison said. “President Obama has appointed more openly LGBT Americans to his administration than all previous presidents combined, but nobody from the LGBT community has ever served in the Cabinet. We hope this president takes the historic opportunity to destroy that glass ceiling once and for all.”
It should be noted that Thomas Perez has a strong record on LGBT issues at the Justice Department. In 2009, Perez testified before the Senate on behalf of the administration in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. He’s also overseen the implementation and execution of the hate crimes protections law signed by Obama in 2009.
Additionally, Perez has spoken out against anti-gay bullying and had a role in the settlement that the Obama administration reached with Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota over anti-gay school bullying.
A partial transcript of the exchange between Carney and the Blade follows:
Washington Blade: I just want to follow up on April’s questioning there. There are new reports that the President is close to making his nominees for the labor and commerce secretary. There was a lot of hope within the LGBT community that the President would take the opportunity with those vacancies to appoint the first-ever LGBT Cabinet member. But it looks like it’s not going to happen now. And you just mentioned how the President values diversity, and I’m just wondering if that excludes LGBT people. Does the President not believe that sexual orientation and gender identity are elements of diversity that you want to see at the highest levels of the administration?
Jay Carney: Again, Chris, I have no personnel announcements to make. I certainly am not confirming any speculation in the press about possible announcements the President might make. I would refer you, again, to what I said and what the President has said about the value he places on diversity, and encourage you to assess the diversity of his appointments once they’ve all been made.
Blade: But is sexual orientation —
Carney: Again, I think — I don’t have any — you’re asking me to make a statement about appointments that haven’t been made and I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to get ahead of the president.
Blade: But I’m asking you to make a statement on value.
Carney: The President values diversity.
Blade: And is sexual orientation and gender identity part of that diversity?
Carney: Absolutely. And the president values diversity.
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
