National
New calls for ENDA directive as White House reception approaches
Will Obama be heckled by attendees seeking workplace protections?
President Obama is facing renewed calls for an ENDA executive order. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The absence of federal LGBT workplace non-discrimination protections continues to rile advocates as the White House prepares to welcome members of the LGBT community for a Pride reception.
LGBT advocates told the Washington Blade days before the event they had a singular desire for what they want President Obama to say to attendees — that he’ll sign an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers.
Fred Sainz, vice president of communications for the Human Rights Campaign, recalled Obama’s words during the 2008 presidential campaign as he called on him to announce he’ll sign the executive order.
“It’s been five long years since he made a promise to sign it and it’s long past time it gets done,” Sainz said. “This president has done virtually everything right on issues of LGBT equality. He’s been a steadfast ally. That’s why it’s so frustrating to see time go by without his signature on an EO that would protect millions of LGBT workers nationwide.”
The executive order is considered a campaign promise based on a “yes” response that then-candidate Obama gave on a questionnaire to the Houston GLBT Political Caucus indicating he supports a non-discrimination policy for all federal contractors based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Pride reception comes as the LGBT workplace non-discrimination issue has gained prominence — even in mainstream media. Last week, Ellen Sturtz, a lesbian activist affiliated with GetEQUAL, made headlines when she confronted first lady Michelle Obama at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in D.C. and heckled her about the executive order.
Given the media interest in the confrontation last week, it’s possible advocates would pursue the same strategy — this time at an event where the president is slated to appear and one geared specifically for the LGBT community.
Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL, said her organization is planning “an action” for this week when asked whether her organization is doing something for the Pride reception. She declined to elaborate.
Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, offered few details via email when asked what Obama intends to say at the Pride reception.
“On Thursday, the President will deliver remarks at the LGBT Pride Month celebration at the White House,” Inouye said.
Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, took the liberty of crafting a speech for Obama.
“When I first campaigned for president, I promised – in writing – to take executive action preventing federal contractors like ExxonMobil from wasting taxpayer money by discriminating against LGBT Americans,” Almeida said he hoped Obama would say. “For five years you’ve waited for me to do what’s right – sometimes patiently and sometimes not. … I’m sorry we’ve moved too slowly on this promise, but the good news is I brought a pen with me today.”
As pressure mounts on Obama to sign the executive order, members of the LGBT community from across the country are slated to make an appearance at the Pride reception on Thursday.
In a statement on June 3, Daryl Justin Finizio, mayor of New London, Conn., announced on his Facebook page he was set to attend the reception along with his spouse, Todd Ledbetter.
“My partner and I are moved by this invitation and are very grateful to President Obama for doing so much to support equal rights for all Americans,” Finizio said. “We’re proud to attend and represent our progressive city and its broad and diverse community of people from different nationalities, religions and genders.”
Also slated to attend the reception is the first gay couple legally married in Michigan, according to MLive.com. Gene Barfield and his spouse, Tim LaCroix, were married in March in the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians reservation after being together 30 years. Their marriage isn’t recognized by the state itself, which has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Barfield, who marched on the White House and returned his service medals from his time in the U.S. Navy in protest of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” reportedly said he was shocked to receive the invitation.
“We’re always going to be in shock about this,” Barfield said. “The fact that there is going to be an LGBT celebration at the White House, times change, times change.”
According to Los Angeles Times, also planning to attend the reception is Rev. R. Guy Erwin, who was recently elected the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s first openly gay bishop. Bishop-elect Erwin was elected last month to a six-year term in the church’s Southwest California Synod, which includes the greater Los Angeles area.
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force said she wants the president to announce at the reception he’ll issue a directive to protect LGBT employees.
“We want to see him honor Pride month by ending the daily fear experienced by millions of Americans of losing their livelihoods because of who they are or who they love,” Carey said.
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
HHS reverses Trump-era anti-LGBTQ rule
4th Circuit rules gender identity is a protected characteristic
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New World Bank US executive director: LGBTQ rights are human rights
