California became the first state in the nation to officially outlaw gay "conversion" and "reparative" therapy for minors after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed the historic legislation into law on Saturday.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported late Saturday that Brown signed the bill into law, which prohibits children younger than 18 from undergoing "sexual orientation change efforts" at the hands of licensed therapists seeking to "cure" them of homosexuality.

"This bill bans non-scientific 'therapies' that have driven young people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery," Brown said in a statement, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Therapists who do practice therapy that attempts to turn gay youth straight can now lose their licenses under the state's ban, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2013. Although the new law bans licensed therapists from administering ex-gay therapy, it does not affect religious groups or ministers.

Nevertheless, supporters of the ban immediately lauded the move by Brown, calling it a landmark victory for the broader LGBT-rights movement.

In a statement released Sunday, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin commended Brown for "standing with California's children."

"LGBT youth will now be protected from a practice that has not only been debunked as junk science, but has been proven to have drastically negative effects on their well-being," said Griffin, adding that HRC will continue to fight against "this kind of child abuse" in other states.

Earlier this week, more than 48,000 people signed an HRC petition urging Brown to sign the bill. In late August, Griffin also sent a letter to Brown encouraging him to sign the bill in order to "safeguard the most vulnerable among us."

Another key player behind the bill was the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which co-sponsored the bill authored by state Sen. Ted Lieu (D).

In a statement, NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell said Brown had sent a "powerful message of affirmation and support to LGBT youth and their families."

"This law will ensure that state-licensed therapists can no longer abuse their power to harm LGBT youth and propagate the dangerous and deadly lie that sexual orientation is an illness or disorder that can be 'cured,'" Kendell added.

The bill had been awaiting Brown's signature for about a month after the State Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, approved the legislation 52-22 on Aug. 28. The State Senate concurred with the lower chamber's version of the bill, voting 22-12 along party lines to send the bill to Brown's desk for final approval.

While Republicans argued that conversion therapy should be something decided by medical boards and raised concerns that the bill infringes on the rights of parents to choose what is in the best interests of their children, opponents said conversion therapy amounted to abuse.

Opponents also argued that the bill would erect barriers for gay youth seeking treatment that the state has now deemed harmful and dangerous.

In an email sent to the Los Angels Times after the bill's passage, Christopher Rosik, a therapist for the dubious National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), said there was no scientific basis for the ban.

"As is plainly evident, should SB 1172 become law, licensed therapists in California who would otherwise be willing to assist minor clients in modifying their unwanted same-sex attractions and behaviors will be seriously jeopardizing their professional livelihoods," Rosik wrote.

The ban comes four months after 80-year-old psychiatrist Dr. Robert Spitzer retracted a controversial 2001 study that stated gay people who are sufficiently motivated can change their sexual orientation. The study had been cited by many who practice "conversion therapy" as proof that being gay is a choice that can be overcome. After his retraction, Spitzer also issued an apology to his former patients and the LGBT community.

[Photo: Jerry Brown (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit heard the latest arguments against the Defense of Marriage Act yesterday as lesbian widow Edith Windsor's suit against the 1996 law reached the federal court.

At 83-years-old, Windsor has become the most visible face in the legal battle against Section 3 of DOMA, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Windsor has been challenging DOMA since 2009, following the death of her wife, Thea Spyer. Windsor is suing to recoup about $363,000, federal estate tax she was forced to pay on her inheritance from Spyer. The federal government does not tax inheritances that pass from one spouse to the other, but because of DOMA the federal government has refused to recognize Windsor and Spyer's marriage. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been assisting Windsor with the case, payment of the federal estate tax is one of the most damaging impacts of DOMA.

Living most of their lives in New York City's Greenwich Village, Windsor and Spyer married in Canada in May 2007, 50 years into their relationship. Nevertheless, as Windsor's lawyers explain, the federal government still views them as legal strangers.

Windsor's case reached the 2nd Circuit Appeals Court after a federal judge sided with Windsor in June, ruling that the government must refund the more than $363,000 in taxes paid by Windsor. Windsor's attorneys have argued that DOMA violated the equal — protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), which is controlled by House Republican leadership and has been defending the constitutionality of DOMA since the Obama administration stopped doing so in February 2011, appealed the ruling.

Speaking to reporters outside the Appeals Court yesterday, Windsor said DOMA was blatant in its discrimination against gay people.

"Not only is it illegal, as my lawyers argued today, but it refutes, it really challenges the basic principles on which this country was founded: fairness and equality," Windsor said, according to The Guardian.

Although the case will continue to be heard in the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the coming months, it is also one of four DOMA challenges that have been petitioned to the U.S. Supreme Court. Windsor’s lawyers argue that because of their client’s age and health conditions, the high court should take up the case before a ruling by the appeals court.

"The constitutional injury inflicted on Edie should be remedied within her lifetime," said Windsor’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, in July.

According to Brian Moulton, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, it would not be the first time the Supreme Court has taken a case before an appeals court has issued a ruling.

"It's not unheard of, but it’s certainly not the usual practice of the court in most cases," Moulton told Metro Weekly. "It makes things a little more interesting."

The Windsor case was the only DOMA challenge on the justices' conference calendar for Sept. 25. Although it was not announced earlier this week whether the court will take up the challenge this term, the Supreme Court will issue on Monday, Oct. 1, a list of all of the cases they are not considering.

Some predict the Supreme Court will wait to consider all four DOMA cases together along with the challenge to California's Proposition 8, which amended the state's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage after granting that right to gay couples. If the Supreme Court does decide to wait, an announcement from the court on which marriage-equality cases they will hear this term may not come until well into the fall.

[Photo: Edith Windsor]

[Editor's note: As originally posted, this entry misidentified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit as the New York Court of Appeals.] 

A day before the Sept. 25 criminal hearing for gay rights – and environmental – activist Lt. Dan Choi, accused of failing to obey an officer’s order and of unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct during a 2011 Keystone XL pipeline protest, the judge in the case recused herself.

Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Wingo recused herself due to a motion made by Choi’s lawyer, Capt. James Pietrangelo II, regarding government misconduct. Metro Weekly was not able to confirm the exact reason for Wingo’s recusal.

As part of Choi’s defense, Pietrangelo has subpoenaed more than 30 government officials, including former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, to testify about their political roles in two separate protests outside the White House – one, in 2010, related to the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, and another in 2011 regarding the Keystone XL pipeline.

Both times, Choi was arrested and charged with failing to obey an order given by a law enforcement officer. But unlike in the Keystone XL protest, where Choi and others were charged in D.C. Superior Court, Choi was charged with failing to obey an order in federal District Court after he refused to move from the ledge of the White House fence during the 2010 DADT protest.

Choi, one of 14,000 servicemembers forced out of the military under the now defunct DADT policy, has maintained that the Obama administration has tried to silence him because he has been critical of the president. In the course of Choi’s trial related to his arrest at the DADT protest, Choi and his former lawyers Robert Feldman and Norman Kent argued that the government engaged in selective or vindictive prosecution of Choi when it charged him in federal court, rather than D.C. Superior Court – as was the case with other DADT protesters, and was the case when Choi was arrested during the Keystone XL protest.

Following Wingo’s recusal in the Keystone XL case, Choi’s Sept. 25 hearing was vacated and canceled, prompting Pietrangelo to remark, “There is something very wrong here. We subpoenaed White House officials, and all of a sudden the hearing is canceled.”

The case was later handed over to D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna. Appearing in court Sept. 26, Pietrangelo filed an emergency motion to continue subpoenas against the government officials. At the hearing, McKenna scheduled both a subsequent motion hearing and trial for Nov. 5. In the meantime, McKenna will review the facts of the Keystone case and allow Pietrangelo to submit motions to aid his client.

In addition to the Keystone XL case, Choi’s trial for the DADT protest has not yet been resolved. He has been scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court for that case on Oct. 17.

That trial, stemming from the DADT protest – as well as Choi’s defense strategy – was halted after Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth, U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia, issued a writ of mandamus ordering presiding U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola not to allow Choi’s lawyers to argue “vindictive prosecution” as a defense, or the idea that the government singled out Choi for prosecution because it did not like his criticism of the Obama administration and its slowness on repealing DADT.

This means that, when trial resumes, Facciola or another presiding judge cannot take into account whether prosecutors were treating Choi differently because he was openly gay and protesting DADT at the time of his arrest. 

[Photo: Pietrangelo, at left, with Choi, outside of court in 2011.]

Poll data released Wednesday has more good news for supporters of marriage equality.

The poll of 813 registered voters, conducted by Annapolis-based Gonzalez Research & Marketing Strategies Inc. between Sept. 17 and 23, finds that a majority of Maryland voters support Question 6, the ballot referendum that would allow the Civil Marriage Protection Act, which allows same-sex couples to civilly marry, to take effect Jan. 1, 2013.

The question put to poll participants asked: “Question Six is a referendum that allows gay and lesbian couples to obtain a civil marriage license; protects clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs; and affirms that each religious faith has exclusive control over its own theological doctrine regarding who may marry within that faith. If the election were held today, would you vote for this referendum or against this referendum?”

Fifty-one percent of respondents said they would vote for the referendum, 43 percent were opposed, and 6 percent were undecided. The new data mark a slight, but important, shift – with marriage-equality opposition losing more ground than marriage-equality support gained – from Gonzales’s January poll, which found 49 percent of voters supporting marriage equality and 47 percent opposing it. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Pollster Patrick E. Gonzales said he could not release geographic demographics, though the poll did provide breakdowns for gender, race and political party identification.

Among women, 57 percent support Question 6 while 38 percent oppose it, while men oppose Question 6 by a 48-44 margin. White Marylanders support the measure, 53 percent to 40 percent, and African-Americans oppose it, 52-44. But Gonzales noted that the level of support among African-Americans has increased 11 points since the firm’s last poll in January, when only 33 percent supported marriage equality. 

Almost two months after Democrats on Capitol Hill urged the Obama administration to recognize in writing binational same-sex relationships with regard to deportation proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security has announced it will do so.

"In an effort to make clear the definition of the phrase 'family relationships,' I have directed [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to disseminate written guidance to the field that the interpretation of the phrase 'family relationships' includes long-term, same-sex partners," DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano wrote in a Sept. 27 letter sent to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the 83 other Democrats asking for the recognition.

The announcement was immediately met with praise from congressional Democrats and LGBT advocates.

Pelosi applauded the response from Napolitano, stating it would provide clarity to those facing separation in immigration cases.

"From supporting marriage equality to seeking fairness in our immigration laws, the Obama Administration has embraced progress for LGBT families – progress that will and must continue," Pelosi said in a statement. "Our nation is served when loving families are kept together."

Rep. Jarrold Nadler, who also signed the July letter encouraging the DHS to provide written guidelines for immigration cases dealing with same-sex couples, said the written guidelines will finally provide federal immigration officials with the direction need "to make responsible and compassionate decisions on family ties in immigration cases."

The July letter was the second attempt by congressional Democrats since September 2011 to persuade the Obama administration to make official what the administration promised in August: that gay couples would be given the same protections as straight couples in deportation cases.

In their second attempt to push the Obama administration for clarity, the 84 members of Congress wrote, "By issuing written guidance, DHS can keep LGBT families from being separated and thus prevent the irreparable, permanent harm to families that is caused by the so-called Defense of Marriage Act — discrimination the Department of Justice has determined to be unconstitutional."

Under the Defense of Marriage Act, immigrants in relationships with Americans of the same-sex are denied various protections, including eligibility for green cards, because the federal government does not recognize such relationships.

According to Family Equality Council Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler, there are more than 36,000 binational same-sex couples living in the United States today. Nearly half of them are raising children.

"No parent in our country should be forced to make the heart-wrenching choice of whether to leave their spouse and children behind or whether to uproot their children from their schools, friends, community and extended families to settle in another country with more welcoming immigration laws," Chrisler said in a statement.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have also tried to bypass the administration with legislation to ensure protections for binational same-sex couples. The Uniting American Families Act has support from many Democrats and would add the term "permanent partner" to several sections of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

Although Pelosi praised the move by the Obama administration, she added that further steps, like passing the Uniting American Families Act, must still be taken.

"We have more to do: we need to pass the Uniting American Families Act and the Reuniting Families Act, to relegate DOMA to the dustbin of history, and to fight discrimination in all of its forms," Pelosi said. 

Chrisler agreed, describing the news as "one step" toward ensuring these families be treated with respect.

The Uniting American Families Act has gained traction, as well as its first supporter from across the aisle. Last week, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins broke with her party to become the first Republican senator to co-sponsor the bill, which would grant binational same-sex couples the same rights enjoyed by straight couples, including the ability for gay Americans to sponsor their partners for citizenship.

In a statement released last week, Collins said the bill would "help prevent committed, loving families from being forced to choose between leaving their family or leaving their country."

READ the letter from Napolitano here.

[Photo: Janet Napolitano (Courtesy of FEMA).]

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) is facing criticism from the LGBT community after announcing his administration will appeal a federal court's ruling earlier this month that the state must pay for sex-reassignment surgery for a transgender prison inmate.

In September, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark Wolf ruled that Michelle Kosilek is entitled to the surgery under the Eighth Amendment protecting her from cruel and unusual punishment.

"This fact that sex reassignment surgery is for some people medically necessary has recently become more widely recognized," Wolf wrote in a 129-page ruling issued on Sept. 4. Moreover, he ruled it was the "constitutional duty" of the Department of Corrections to grant her the surgery.

But according to the Patrick administration, Kosilek, who has been given hormone treatments, has already been provided adequate medical treatments.

"Following a thorough review of the decision, we believe the court failed to give due deference to the fact that the Department has and continues to provide adequate medical treatment to address inmate Kosilek’s gender identity disorder," said Diane Wiffin, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, according to The Boston Globe. "We also found the opinion improperly discredits the legitimate safety concerns trained correctional professionals testified will arise if sex reassignment surgery is performed."

The 63-year-old Kosilek legally changed her name from Robert to Michelle in 1993 after being convicted of strangling her wife to death in 1990. She has been serving a life sentence without parole in a prison for males since January 1993.

Kosilek sued the Massachusetts Department of Correction in 2000 on the grounds that refusing her gender reassignment surgery as recommended by her doctors was equal to cruel and unusual punishment. According to court documents obtained by CNN, Kosilek previously tried to castrate herself and has twice attempted suicide.

Twelve years after Kosilek first filed suit, Wolf agreed, ruling that the Department of Correction had violated Kosilek’s Eighth Amendment right protecting her from cruel and unusual punishment.

"Denying adequate medical care because of a fear of controversy or criticism from politicians, the press, and the public serves no legitimate penological purpose," Wolf wrote. "It is precisely the type of conduct the Eight Amendment prohibits."

Although the historic ruling was applauded by LGBT advocates, it immediately faced criticism from many politicians in the state.

In the high-profile Senate race between Republican Sen. Scott Brown and his opponent Elizabeth Warren, who hopes to reclaim the Senate seat once occupied by Ted Kennedy for the Democrats, both candidates rebuked the district court’s ruling.

"I have to say, I don't think it's a good use of taxpayer dollars," Warren told a Boston radio station, agreeing with Brown, who called the ruling "an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars." Brown also argued that the ruling should be overturned.

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank (D), the longest-serving out gay member of the House of Representatives, declined to comment on the case.

Now that Patrick’s administration has said they will appeal the decision, transgender-equality advocates are crediting misperceptions about gender identity for the lack of support for the ruling, particularly from Democrats who are usually the LGBT community’s strongest allies.

In a statement released Wednesday, Sept. 26, Jennifer Levi, Transgender Rights Project director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, said there was no legal ground for the appeal.

"Constitutional rights belong to everyone, even the least loved, least popular people among us," Levi said. "Prisoners have a right to necessary medical care, and this is indisputably medical care, as the very strong district court decision established."

Joining in Levi's criticism was Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. Scott said he was "very disappointed" in Patrick's decision.

"Care that is medically necessary for prisoners cannot be denied based on public opinion," Scott added.

Nevertheless, the Democratic governor is standing behind the appeal. In a radio interview with WTKK-FM, Patrick echoed the statement made by the Department of Corrections yesterday.

"It's not a reflection of a point of view about gender-identity disorder," Patrick said. "Apparently, that is a real disorder. And, indeed, Kosilek has been getting treatment for that disorder. The question is whether it should go all the way to surgery, and what the implications are for the safety of Kosilek and other inmates, in that event."

[Photo: Gov. Deval Patrick (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).]

Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition of labor, religious and community groups seeking to uphold Maryland's marriage-equality law by approving the Question 6 referendum at the ballot box Nov. 6, is increasing outreach to groups considered key to securing marriage equality with the release of a new Web ad aimed at reaching observant Catholics and Eastern Shore voters.

The latest Web ad, released earlier today, features Pat and Jenny Nugent of Cambridge, Md. The heterosexual couple has been married for 48 years and describes themselves as "cradle Catholics." The Nugents talk openly about their faith and the active role they take in their parish, serving as parish council members, lectors and co-chairs of their church’s social justice committee.

The Nugents also share a story about their son, Kevin, who is gay, and the life they want for him. Telling the story of how Kevin came out to them, Jenny Nugent says, "I want him to have the same sense of security and fidelity in a relationship, where you know there’s one person you can always rely on.

"I also want for him to be able to say, to the world, this is who I love, this is who I'm committed to, and this is who is committed to me. And that they can do that publicly, like all of our other kids."

The commercial concludes with Pat Nugent saying, "I'm going to vote my conscience and vote for QuestionNo. 6 in November."

If approved, Question 6 would allow a marriage-equality law passed earlier this year to take effect. The measure also provides specific protections for clergy, churches and religiously affiliated organizations and reiterates their right not to recognize or perform marriages that violate their religious beliefs.

The Nugents' ad touches on common themes that have been repeated by marriage-equality advocates, particularly Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who is also a Catholic. In a Sept. 24 conference call with reporters and activists, O’Malley repeatedly stressed the need to balance "equal protection under the law for all residents" and religious liberty.

The ad also marks an attempt by the coalition to reach out to areas outside of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region. When the marriage-equality bill passed the General Assembly in February, it did so largely relying on support from lawmakers from urban and suburban areas such as Montgomery, Howard and Prince George's counties and Baltimore City. No Eastern Shore lawmaker in either chamber voted for the bill, and Del. Galen Clagett (D-Frederick Co.) and Sen. Ronald Young (D-Frederick, Washington counties) were the only lawmakers from the state’s western panhandle region to vote in favor of it.

In other news, the Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign announced that Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D), a supporter of marriage equality, would be helping phone bank tonight in an effort to reach supporters and sway undecided voters to support Question 6.

Rawlings-Blake is one of several prominent African-Americans, particularly from the Baltimore area, who have been outspoken on their support for Question 6, even cutting an advertisement for the Marylanders for Marriage Equality coalition. The coalition has been active in courting and engaging African-Americans to speak out in favor of marriage equality in an effort to blunt possible attempts by opponents to "drive a wedge between gays and blacks" by playing on misperceptions that being gay is a "white" phenomenon.  

[Image: Screen shot from Marylanders for Marriage Equality Web ad, featuring Pat and Jenny Nugent.]

Legislation introduced last week by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) seeks to bring nondiscrimination language to the court system, prohibiting the exclusion of individuals from serving on a federal jury because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Jury ACCESS Act would amend title 28 of the United States Code to specifically forbid discrimination against LGBT Americans in the jury-selection process.

"The Jury ACCESS Act would move us one step closer to equality for every citizen," Shaheen said in statement. "The bill needs strong support of those committed to advancing equality."

Already the proposed legislation has received bipartisan support and sponsorship. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island have both signed on as co-sponsors.

Last week, Collins also signed onto the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), becoming the bill's first Senate Republican co-sponsor. The bill would grant binational same-sex couples the same immigration rights enjoyed by straight couples, including the ability for gay Americans to sponsor foreign partners for citizenship.

While many minorities are protected from discrimination during jury selection, LGBT Americans are not.

"We now have explicit protections in place to prevent striking jurors on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin and economic status," said Shaheen. "The question really is: how is it that in 2012 members of the LGBT community are not included on this list?"

The National LGBT Bar Association worked with Shaheen's office during the drafting process and applauded the bill's introduction last week.

"Extending federal jury non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity is truly a step forward for the LGBT movement and a notable achievement for the entire LGBT community," D'Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of National LGBT Bar Association, said in a statement. "We applaud the Senator's efforts for bringing equality to the forefront of the judicial process."

In May, The American Independent documented discrimination that persists against LGBT jurors. In one case in 2000, a California prosecutor asked that a potential juror not be selected for jury duty on the grounds of gender identity.

"I believe that people who are either transsexuals or transvestites — I don't know what the proper term is — traditionally are more liberal-minded thinking people, tend to associate more with the defendants because, obviously, they have been either ridiculed before or are feeling in a position of being in a microscope all the time and are outcasts which lends themselves to associating more with the defendant," said the prosecutor.

California has since passed a non-discrimination act for jury selection of their own. However, such discrimination would be illegal nationwide if the Jury ACCESS Act becomes law.

It remains to be seen what traction the bill, which has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, will receive in the weeks before the general election. Although Democrats, who have historically supported nondiscrimination bills, control the Senate, Republicans are hoping to secure a majority in the upper chamber this November. Republicans already control the House of Representatives.

The Obama administration has not indicated whether it supports the ban on jury discrimination.

[Photo: Jeanne Shaheen (Courtesy of the U.S. Senate).]

The Southern Poverty Law Center is following up on the group's July warning to the Falls Church-based Public Advocate of the United States and the group’s president, Eugene Delgaudio, a Loudon County Board supervisor, announcing that SPLC is moving forward with a lawsuit.

At issue is a same-sex couple’s engagement photo, appropriated by the anti-gay Public Advocate group for a Colorado campaign letter.

The photographed couple, Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere, of New York, and the photographer, Kristina Hill, contacted SPLC after finding their photo being altered to attack a Republican Colorado state senator who voted in favor of civil unions, according to The Colorado Independent.

"Public Advocate, a group identified as a hate group by the SPLC, used the couple's personal engagement photo without permission and altered the image to include anti-gay propaganda to attack Colorado state lawmakers including Sen. Jean White, who supported Colorado's civil union legislation," reads a statement from SPLC indicating that the suit will be filed tomorrow, Sept. 26, in U.S. District Court of Colorado. 

[Photos: SPLC posted these images of Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere's original image (top right) and the altered version.]

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan said those still wishing to overturn the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" need to "move on" in an interview that aired Sunday.

During an appearance with WPTV, a local television station in Miami, the Wisconsin representative said attempts to reinstate the ban on out gay servicemembers would be a mistake.

"Now that it's done, we should not reverse it," Ryan said. "I think that would be a step in the wrong direction, because people have already disclosed themselves."

Ryan's view that the repeal of DADT, which marked its one-year anniversary Sept. 20, should remain largely mirrors the position of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, although Romney has been less declarative in his assessment.

In December 2011, Romney told the editorial board of The Des Moines Register, "I'm not planning on reversing [the repeal] at this stage."

Despite assessments by the Defense Department and an academic study by the Palm Center that all agree the repeal of DADT has had zero negative impact on the military, some Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to rail against the repeal one year later.

In July, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) sought to ban same-sex weddings on military bases, arguing that Obama was violating the Defense of Marriage Act by allowing military chaplains to perform such weddings at military installations. On Sept. 11, Republican Sens. Jim Inhofe (Okla.) and Rodger Wicker (Miss.) introduced legislation that would ban same-sex weddings on military bases.

Although Ryan was one of 160 Republicans and 15 Democrats to vote against the repeal, he said he has no plans to reverse that decision.

"I think this issue is past us. It's done. And I think we need to move on," Ryan said.

One key Republican figure who has remained silent on the anniversary of the repeal of DADT is Sen. John McCain.

The Arizona Republican and former prisoner of war was one of the discriminatory ban's fiercest defenders. In December 2010, when the repeal was before the Senate for a final vote that seemed all but assured to pass, McCain declared it to be a "very sad day."

"I hope that when we pass this legislation that we will understand that we are doing great damage," a visibly indignant McCain told the chamber, adding that there would be "high-fives over all the liberal bastions of America" after the repeal's passage.

Three years earlier while running for president, McCain had said he would be in favor of ending the ban if top military leaders thought the time was right. With nearly all top military brass advising that the time had come to end DADT, McCain's last stand on the Senate floor was considered by many in the gay community to be the height of hypocrisy.

One year after the repeal's implementation and nearly two year's after his speech to the Senate, McCain has issued no comment on the implementation of the repeal or indicated whether he would support its reversal.

Metro Weekly made numerous attempts to ask McCain whether he thinks the repeal has harmed the military and to assess its implementation, with no response from McCain's office.

The Supreme Court announced it would take up six cases in an order issued this morning, but made no announcement on the marriage equality cases before the court.

The nine Supreme Court justices returned from their summer break yesterday to meet in conference and consider several cases that have been petitioned for a hearing before the high court.

Although the case challenging California's Proposition 8, Hollingsworth v. Perry, and one of four cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, Windsor v. U.S, were distributed at the conference, the justices did not indicate whether they would be take up the cases during this term.

The high court will issue its next list of cases on Oct. 1 indicating all those cases they will not consider. Opponents of Proposition 8, which amended California's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage four years ago after the state had already granted that right to gay couples, hope the case will be among those not being heard by the high court. If the justices decline hearing the Proposition 8 case, the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down Proposition 8 will stand and same-sex nuptials could resume in California in a matter of weeks. However, if the justices do hear the case, oral arguments are unlikely to begin until spring 2013 with a decision coming sometime in June.

Justices could also decide to holdover the Proposition 8 case for another conference later in the term in order to consider it with all of the DOMA challenges petitioned before the court. Although only Windsor was presented to the justices yesterday, there are three other DOMA challenges that have been petitioned but not yet distributed to the justices.

Backers of out gay congressional candidate Richard Tisei will host a fundraiser for the Massachusetts Republican at a private reception near Washington Circle in Foggy Bottom tonight.

Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown will join Tisei at the event, which will be hosted at the home of Michael Wascom, managing director of international and government affairs for American Airlines.

Tisei, who has served in the Massachusetts State Legislature for 26 years and has garnered the coveted enorsement of the Victory Fund, is hoping to unseat Democrat Rep. John Tierney. Tierney has held his 6th District seat in Congress since 1997.

If elected, Tisei would become the first out gay Republican freshman elected to Congress in American history and the first Massachusetts Republican elected to the House in 15 years.

Tisei is a moderate Republican who supports marriage equality and is pro-choice, but supports conservative fiscal policies. Although running in a heavily Democratic state, his moderate social views and record of working across party lines have propelled his campaign against Tierney, who has faced scrutiny for the October 2010 conviction of his wife for tax fraud.

Although Brown supports Tisei and voted for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," he still believes marriage should remain between a man and woman only and that marriage equality be left to states to decide. Brown himself is facing a high-profile race against Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren, who hopes to reclaim Brown's seat in Congress, once occupied by Ted Kennedy, for the Democrats. Warren supports marriage equality.

Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans R. Clarke Cooper will attend the fundraiser as will former Arizona Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe, who, in 1996, became the second out Republican to serve in Congress. Tim Day, an out African-American Republican who has twice run for the D.C. Council, and out chairman of the D.C. GOP, Bob Kabel, will also attend, according to an event email from LCR.

Although Tisei has been endorsed by the Victory Fund, which works to elect qualified LGBT public officials through increased strategic, technical and financial support, he did not garner the endorsement of one of the gay-rights movement's most central figures: Rep. Barney Frank.

The Massachusetts Democrat put his support behind Tierney instead, stating that Tisei's election would do nothing more than secure a Republican majority in the House of Representatives and thus block gay-rights legislation.

Nevertheless, Victory Fund has defended their endorsement, stating that Tisei's election would further efforts to add gay perspectives to the Republican Party. 

The fundraiser tonight is one of two pro-gay Republican fundraisers being held this week.

On Thursday, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and journalist David Frum will host a cocktail reception at his home in Wesley Heights in support of marriage equality in Maryland. The fundraiser will benefit Marylanders for Marriage Equality, as well as Maryland for All Families, a group of conservatives and libertarians who support Maryland's same-sex marriage law.

[Photo: Richard Tisei (L) and Scott Brown.]

The Supreme Court's nine justices return from their summer break today with a number of cases that could have strong implications for marriage equality awaiting their consideration.

Although the high court's new term does not formally begin until next Monday, Oct. 1, the justices will meet in conference today to consider which of the hundreds of petitioned cases will be heard. Those cases the court will definitely hear arguments on are expected to be announced tomorrow

Among those is the challenge to California's Proposition 8, which amended the state's constitution four years ago to ban same-sex marriage, just months after the state had granted that right.

That case arrives at the Supreme Court after being struck down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Supporters of Proposition 8 petitioned the case after the court of appeals refused to rehear the case in June and hope that the Supreme Court will reverse the lower court's decision and keep the amendment intact.

The appeals court ruled in February that California could not take away rights that the state had previously granted to residents. That ruling came after a U.S. district court also struck down Proposition 8 on the grounds that no state could deny same-sex couples the right to marry.

Whether the Supreme Court decides to hear arguments on Hollingsworth v. Perry could have an immediate impact on gay Californians. If the Supreme Court immediately announces it will hear arguments on the Proposition 8 case, a ruling would likely not come until summer 2013. However, if the court decides not to hear the case same-sex nuptials could resume within days.

Attorneys for opponents of Proposition 8 have asked the Supreme Court not to consider the case.

Although the plaintiffs opposing Proposition 8, including lead attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies, grant the case is an "attractive vehicle" for resolving constitutional questions surrounding marriage equality, they argue the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down Proposition 8 does not warrant review because it does not conflict with any Supreme Court decision or any other court of appeals.

Moreover, they argue that each day gay Californians' right to marry is denied "is a day that can never be returned to them — a wrong that can never be remedied."

Olson, the former solicitor general for President George W. Bush and a conservative lawyer, upset some in the LGBT community earlier this month when it was revealed he was helping Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan prepare for his debate with Vice President Joe Biden. Nevertheless, he has been applauded for his involvement in what he has described as "one of the last major civil rights battles of our country."

If the Supreme Court decides not to hear the Proposition 8 case, then the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which encompasses several Western states, stands and the appeals court would be left with the final task of issuing a mandate declaring the case closed. With Proposition 8 declared unconstitutional, same-sex weddings could resume in California before the end of October.

Although many advocates will be anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court's Sept. 25 announcement, it will not be definitively known if the court is not considering the Proposition 8 case until Oct. 1 when the court officially announces those cases not being considered.

Fred Sainz, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, cautions, however, that there is no certainty the Supreme Court will make an announcement in either regard, meaning the case could stay on the court's calendar for a number of weeks.

"It could be they want to receive briefs on [the Defense of Marriage Act] cases before they consider Perry," Sainz said during a conference call with reporters earlier this month.

Indeed, the court now has the opportunity to consider a number of challenges to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which forbids the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and has been declared unconstitutional by courts across the country.

Only one of four DOMA challenges is on the justices' conference calendar for today. However, the high court has been asked to consider three cases that have not yet gone to any court of appeals.

While the implications of the Proposition 8 case may be more immediate if the case is not taken up by the court, many legal scholars predict the Supreme Court will take up at least one DOMA challenge and rule on the federal law's constitutionality before the end of this term, June 2013.

According to Brian Moulton, legal director for HRC, oral arguments are unlikely to start on one of the DOMA cases until the spring.

During a speech at the University of Colorado in Boulder last week, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also said she thought at least one DOMA case would be heard by the high court this term, stating, "I think it's most likely that we will have the issue before the court toward the end of the current term."

UPDATE: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court made no announcements on the Propsition 8 or DOMA cases. Read more here.

[Photos: Supreme Court of the United States and Ted Olson.]

"I kind of shy away from political events and issues -- not because I don't have my own opinions, but because I find it to be a very sensitive thing," says Adam Lambert. "And quite frankly, I'm a little bit frustrated with politics in this country. From somebody who hasn't gotten super involved, it seems like a lot of mudslinging and B.S. to me."

Yet Lambert agreed without reservation to be the headliner at a fundraiser concert benefiting Marylanders for Marriage Equality this Tuesday, Sept. 25, at D.C.'s legendary 9:30 Club. The surprise benefit was announced last Wednesday by at the club's co-owner, I.M.P. chairman Seth Hurwitz. "Knowing that I am a Maryland resident, both Governor O'Malley and Council President Berliner called to see if we could help raise funds for this landmark cause," Hurwitz said in a statement. "Although the 9:30 Club is in D.C., it's the natural and best place to achieve what we wanted to with the least expense. All of the profits will be going to the campaign. Although we historically don't get involved in political causes, on this issue I cannot stand by. People's personal opinions should not affect fairness and equality for all."

Lambert, an American Idol veteran and the first openly gay mainstream pop artist to debut at number one on the Billboard album chart with his newest release "Trespassing," agrees.

"Ideally, that's what being an American is -- that we all have a shot [at marriage]. I hear a lot of arguments against it, where [gay activists] say, 'We should be focusing on economic issues and not human rights issues, for the election.' There's some value in that. But I also think, 'You know what? This is an economic issue for gay people. We should have the same right as a straight couple to have a tax exemption.... We should be able to raise a family that's equally protected under the law."

Lambert, who spoke with Metro Weekly by phone late Friday afternoon, is thrilled to lend his efforts to support Marylanders for Marriage Equality and its push to get out the vote for Question 6, a referendum on Maryland's Civil Marriage Protection Act. "Question 6 isn't something that's asking me whether or not you're a Democrat or a Republican," says Lambert. "It's just a direct human rights question."

Asked if he thinks more of his straight colleagues should lend their efforts to the marriage equality cause, Lambert responds, "I think it's baby steps.... We have to keep in mind that it's difficult for people to sidestep into territories they're not comfortable in. I'm a singer, I'm an entertainer. I'm not a politician. But this is an issue that affects me because it supercedes politics.

"In the entertainment community," he continues, "people are doing what they can. If you look at this fall season of television, there's a couple shows that are coming on with very honest, gay characters portraying real gay lives in relationships. I think that's a huge step forward. There's things that we're all doing to try to make people comfortable and to help people understand, to help erase some of the stereotypes. And that's the hardest part, that balance of celebrating who we are and our eccentricities and also trying to help people that are on the outside understand who we are.

"The hurdle I'm always kind of running into, is that the movement for a while has been about us trying to display how we're the same as opposed to how we're different. I recognize that as a very important part of us blending together. But it's not my style," says the singer known for his glam-rock flamboyance. "I'm somebody who likes to be weird and different and outrageous. That's who I am as an entertainer. And so, sometimes I might not fit in with what's best for the community as far as us progressing with society. But you've got to also give a voice to those [of us] who want to be outrageous and different and rebels."

"I'm about freedom of expression more than anything else," he says. "I like to push buttons a little bit -- buttons that are kind of perverse or contrary. I like to take the other side and challenge things. It's just who I am. It's part of my personality."

The Marylanders for Marriage Equality benefit show featuring Adam Lambert is this Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. General admission tickets are $125. VIP Tickets, which include early admission, a commemorative poster signed by Lambert and a special VIP viewing area, are $175. Premium tickets, which include a pre-show Adam Lambert meet and greet VIP reception with food and drinks and Premium viewing area, are $250. All proceeds benefit Marylanders for Marriage Equality. Doors are at 7 p.m., the show begins at 8 p.m. The Premium Meet and Greet is at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available starting Fri., Sept. 21 through Ticketfly.com or at the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion box offices.

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Log Cabin Republicans rallied their supporters at a fundraising event yesterday evening, but remained mum on the organization's presidential endorsement.

With less than two months to go before the general election, the organization of LGBT Republicans has yet to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, fueling speculation that the group could abstain from issuing an endorsement, as was the case in 2004.

According to LCR Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper, such speculation is unfounded.

"We are wrapping up our endorsement slate in the next week, before the October debates start," Cooper told Metro Weekly.

Cooper added that any delay isn't reflective of qualms with Romney's candidacy, but LCR's increased involvement with House and Senate races.

A theme throughout LCR's Spirit of Lincoln Awards Dinner, held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, was shifting support within the Republican Party for gay people.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) keynoted the dinner and lauded LCR for fighting for a more inclusive party that adheres to conservative values of limited government and freedom.

"We are now witnessing a new kind of revolution and it's a peaceful revolution," Ros-Lehtinen said.

A year ago, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, the law barring any federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The only Republican member of Congress to openly endorse marriage equality, Ros-Lehtinen said she believes her party is slowly catching up on the issue.

"We have a core group that's very conservative in their social values, and so there's a lot of conversations that are taking place at kitchen tables throughout America," Ros-Lehtinen told Metro Weekly after her speech.

The Florida Republican said there was a growing sense of awareness of LGBT issues within the GOP caucus.

"It's getting better every day," she said. "We're not sliding back. We're going forward."

Author David Lampo, whose recent book, A Fundamental Freedom, argues for Republican support of marriage equality, cited numerous polls that show growing support for marriage equality among party faithful.

"Most of our fellow Republicans are already with us, despite what bigots like Rick Santorum on the right, and blowhards like Barney Frank on the left tell us," Lampo said to cheers from the crowd, referencing, respectively, the former Pennsylvania Republican senator and the Democratic Massachusetts congressman, who is gay.

It was a sentiment echoed by other speakers, including tax activist Grover Norquist and the conservative lawyer behind the challenge to California's Proposition 8, Ted Olson, who delivered a video statement. Cooper, who described Republicans who support marriage equality but remain silent as one of the most frustrating aspects about the issue, told Metro Weekly that many Republican lawmakers oppose DOMA, but have their fingers crossed that it will be sorted out by the courts rather than by a floor vote.

"It's known in Republican circles that House and Senate Republican leadership doesn't want this issue to go to the floor," Cooper said.

There was little talk about the presidential election, although out gay Rep. Frank's recent feud with LCR, in which he described the group as "Uncle Toms," appears to have provided a rallying cry for the organization. Cooper said LCR, along with Republican House and Senate leadership, have welcomed the fight with Frank, who will retire at the end of this term.

Nervetheless, Romney's opposition to marriage equality and LCR's forthcoming decision whether to endorse the Republican candidate remained in the background.

Although Ros-Lehtinen does not agree with Romney's position on marriage equality, she said the prevailing issue in the 2012 election is the economy.

"Even though I'm not in favor of his position on immigration or marriage equality or a host of other things," she added, "I think that he's going to be a reasonable guy with whom we can communicate."

President Barack Obama issued a statement commemorating the one year anniversary of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" earlier today, describing the end of the ban on out gay servicemembers as upholding fundamental American values.

Obama, who signed the bill that repealed the 18-year-old anti-gay law on Sept. 20, 2011, said that by allowing gay and lesbian troops to serve openly the military remains as strong as ever.

The statement reads:

A year ago today, we upheld the fundamental American values of fairness and equality by finally and formally repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Gay and lesbian Americans now no longer need to hide who they love in order to serve the country they love. It is a testament to the professionalism of our men and women in uniform that this change was implemented in an orderly manner, preserving unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness. As Commander in Chief, I've seen that our national security has been strengthened because we are no longer denied the skills and talents of those patriotic Americans who happen to be gay or lesbian. The ability of service members to be open and honest about their families and the people they love honors the integrity of the individuals who serve, strengthens the institutions they serve, and is one of the many reasons why our military remains the finest in the world.

The struggle for the media spotlight is on – on both sides of the Potomac – when it comes to marriage equality. 

Today, a group of African-American clergy opposed to marriage equality announced they will be holding a press conference tomorrow, Sept. 21, that directly conflicts with a similar event supporting marriage equality.

The initial press conference, set for 11 a.m. Friday at the National Press Club in D.C. and featuring leading African-American pastors such as former presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton, has been called to show support for Maryland's Question 6, a measure that would allow same-sex couples to obtain a marriage licenses in the state. The other event, also set for 11 a.m. Friday, but in Arlington, Va., will be announcing the "Swing State Tour" of African-American pastors – including Alveda King, niece of the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. – opposing President Obama and Democratic Party’s support for marriage equality.

The conflicting events illustrate the fight to gain the higher ground when it comes to rallying the African-American religious community regarding marriage. 

In addition to Sharpton, the Rev. Delman Coates is expected speak of his support for Question 6 Friday. Coates, senior pastor of the Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md., has been an outspoken proponent of marriage equality in the Free State, testifying in favor before both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly.

"We are urging Marylanders to vote 'Yes' on Question 6, and to make sure all couples and their families are treated fairly and equally under the law," the marriage-equality-minded pastors said in a statement announcing their conference. "The impression that all African-American pastors are fundamentally opposed to the idea of marriage equality is wrong. This event will display just a small cohort of influential African-American clergy voices who support the issue of civil marriage protection for gay and lesbian couples."

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney courted Latino voters on Wednesday during an appearance at a forum broadcast on the Spanish-language Univision channel.

Held at the University of Miami in Florida, Romney addressed a number of campaign issues, including same-sex marriage.

Asked what Romney's advice would be if he discovered one his children were gay, Romney, who supports a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, said he would be surprised since each of his five sons are married.

However, talking about his 18 grandchildren, Romney said he would want them to be happy.

"Individuals should be able to pursue a relationship of love and respect and raise a family as they choose," Romney said, adding that he would like the term marriage to continue to be associated between one man and one woman.

Romney said that definition of marriage would not stop a same-sex couple from having a domestic relationship with certain benefits.

WATCH Romney's remarks here:

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins broke with her party today when she became the first Republican senator to co-sponsor a bill that would grant binational same-sex couples the same rights enjoyed by straight couples, including the ability for gay Americans to sponsor their partner for citizenship.

Collins's support comes as many Democrats have signed onto the Uniting American Families Act. The bill would allow American citizens and permanent residents to file a visa petition on behalf of their non-American, same-sex partner in order to avoid deportation.

Republicans have traditionally opposed the bill for fear it would lead to immigration fraud.

"This legislation would simply update our nation's immigration laws to treat bi-national couples equally," Collins said in a press release. "This important civil rights legislation would help prevent committed, loving families from being forced to choose between leaving their family or leaving their country."

According to a study by the Williams Institute, there are about 28,500 binational same-sex couples in the U.S. today. Including the nearly 11,500 same-sex couples in which neither partner is an American citizen, they are raising about 25,000 children. Current immigration policies threaten to tear many of these families apart because a same-sex partner's inability to apply for permanent residency.

The Uniting American Families Act hopes to change that.

The news of Collins's endorsement was met with praise by Log Cabin Republicans. LCR Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper said the group is “grateful to Senator Collins for continuing to be the tip of the spear as a Republican fighting for LGBT families.”

"With no ability to sponsor their partners, Americans are being forced abroad, taking their tax base, their talent, and enterprise to the more than 25 countries that offer residency for lesbian and gay partners," Cooper added. "The Uniting American Families Act would allow Americans to sponsor their permanent partners for residency, benefiting both these American citizens and the companies which employ them."

Former Arizona Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe, who, in 1996, became the second out gay Republican to serve in Congress, also praised Collins's sponsorship.

"As an individual whose own relationship would be personally affected by the adoption of this legislation, I am hopeful Senator Collin's sponsorship will encourage other Republicans in the House and Senate to add their names as co-sponsors," Kolbe stated.

The announcement from Collins marks another pro-LGBT stance from the Maine Republican, who has voted against a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality and in favor of expanding hate crime laws to encompass sexual orientation. She is also a supporter of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act.

Some of the biggest corporations in America have donated millions of dollars to the Boy Scouts of America, including those with policies against giving to groups that discriminate against LGBT people.

According to an investigation by The American Independent, 23 of the top 50 charitable corporate foundations gave at least $10,000 each to the BSA in 2010 for a grand total of $3.6 million.

Among those corporations, the Verizon Foundation gave $300,000 and Bank of America and Wells Fargo each gave more than $100,000.

BSA's biggest 2010 donation came from the Intel Foundation, which gave about $700,000. According to the report, both the Intel Foundation and the Verizon Foundation have policies that specifically state that they will not donate to organizations that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

Intel Foundation Executive Director Wendy Ramage-Hawkins told The American Independent that the foundation will ask the BSA for the first time for a statement of agreement with their nondiscrimination policy during the next grant cycle.

The revelation comes after the 102-year-old BSA reaffirmed their membership ban on "individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals." The BSA continues to face fallout for the July decision, which was reached by a secret 11-member committee.

Today, Scouts for Equality founder Zach Wahls launched a petition urging Intel to pull their funding from the Scouts. 

"Until the Boy Scouts of America removes this hurtful policy that is inconsistent with its own principles, they do not deserve the financial backing of companies that strive for workplace equality -- especially innovators like Intel," Wahls wrote.

Both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have said the organization is wrong to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

Several petitions opposing the exclusionary policy have been circulated since the July announcement, most recently by Greg Bourke of Kentucky.

Bourke was forced to resign as assistant Scoutmaster for his son's troop because he is gay, despite receiving multiple honors for his dedication to the Scouts, including recognition by the Kentucky House of Representatives. The father of two, who has been partnered for 30 years, has garnered more than 3,000 signatures from individuals who oppose the BSA's discriminatory policy.

To make matters worse, the BSA was slapped with another public relations nightmare on Sunday after the Los Angeles Times published a shocking exposé alleging that for more than 20 years the group covered-up cases of child molestation.

According to the newspaper, a review of 1,600 confidential files dating from 1970 to 1991 show that "Scouting officials frequently urged admitted offenders to quietly resign — and helped many cover their tracks."

The Los Angeles Times reports that many cases of abuse are contained in confidential "perversion files" that date back to 1919. BSA lawyers have fought to keep the files secret, which "blacklist" alleged molesters from rejoining the group. The files show in more than 100 cases in a two-decade period the BSA actively sought to cover up allegations of abuse from police, parents and the public.

Bob Ross, president of the Prince George's County, Md., branch of the NAACP, has filmed a Web ad showing his support for Maryland's Question 6, a measure on the November ballot that asks voters to approve Maryland's recently passed marriage-equality law.

"Question 6 gives gays and lesbians the right to obtain a marriage license," Ross says in the ad, released on YouTube earlier today. "It doesn’t force the church, clergy or anyone to marry them. It is the fair thing to do for all citizens in the state of Maryland."

Ross's endorsement in his official capacity as president of a branch of a national civil rights organization, in the county with the largest percentage of African-Americans in Maryland, adds yet another prominent African-American figure from Prince George's County to the growing list of supporters of Question 6, including U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D), Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Prince George’s Co.) and the Rev. Delman Coates of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church. Four other African-American state delegates representing Prince George's County also voted in favor of the marriage-equality law when it passed the House in February.

According to figures from the 2010 Census, 64 percent of Prince George's County residents are African-American.

By announcing support for the ballot measure and the underlying marriage-equality law, the Prince George’s County NAACP joins the Baltimore, state and national branches of the organization, which have also come out in support.

The release of the Web ad featuring Ross comes just days before an event, set for Sept. 21 at the National Press Club in Washington, which will feature several prominent African-American clergy members who also support Question 6.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan addressed the Values Voter Summit today, aligning their candidacy with the strict social-conservative positions of the Family Research Council.

Echoing his stump speech from the campaign trail, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan spoke at length about the economy and fiscal issues, largely shying away from the controversial social issues the Values Voter Summit, organized by the Family Research Council, has become known for.

Although Ryan did not mention his opposition to marriage equality, the Wisconsin congressmen did note Mitt Romney's opposition in an apparent attempt to sell Romney's candidacy to social conservatives.

"We can be confident in the rightness of our cause, and also in the integrity and readiness of the man who leads it," Ryan said in reference to Romney. "He is a solid and trustworthy, faithful and honorable man. Not only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best. Not only a fine businessman, he's a fine man, worthy of leading our country and ready to lead the great turnaround we have spent four years waiting for."

Social conservatives have been hesitant to warm to Romney, who once said he would be better on gay rights than Ted Kennedy, despite the fact that he now supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and is opposed to civil unions that offer same-sex couples the same rights as marriage.

Ryan gave the crowd his best pitch for a Romney presidency, describing the man who plucked the 42-year-old Ryan from Congress for the VP slot as a "modest man with a charitable heart."

Although Ryan did not speak at length about LGBT issues, he did double down on his criticism of the Obama administration's support for Israel and abortion rights.

Ryan said Obama’s claim that "we're all in this together" sounds "hollow" coming from "a politician who has never once lifted a hand to defend the most helpless and innocent of all human beings, the child waiting to be born." Ryan also accused the Obama administration of treating Israel with "indifference bordering on contempt." Both lines received thunderous applause from the audience.

While Romney did not attend the conference because of commitments on the campaign trail, he did deliver a video statement.

Romney told the conference that America needs a president who respects "traditional values" and said he would "defend marriage, not try to redefine it." He also vowed to protect American culture.

Several congressional Republicans, including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) also spoke.

Cantor declared his support for "traditional marriage," stating that social conservatives oppose marriage equality because "the way for us to allow the pursuit of happiness is through individual effort."

"That is why we believe in traditional marriage, because marriage, more than any government program ever has or ever will, has lifted up people out of poverty, even those who felt there was no hope," Cantor said. "Marriage has proven to be that formula which has been more successful at allowing for that pursuit of happiness."

LGBT organizations were quick to pounce on Ryan's appearance at the Values Voter Summit.

In a statement released before Ryan even took the stage, Michael Keegan, president of People For the American Way, released a statement declaring Ryan's appearance a "stamp of approval to bigotry."

"By speaking at the Values Voter Summit, Paul Ryan sends a clear message: a Romney-Ryan administration has decided to embrace the entrenched bigotry advocated by the farthest of the far right," Keegan stated.

Keegan called out previous claims by the FRC and the American Family Association, a cosponsor of the summit: "The FRC frequently and falsely links homosexuality to pedophilia. The AFA has claimed that gay men were responsible for the Holocaust. Both have defended laws at home and abroad that criminalize homosexuality. These are not innocent differences of opinion; they are full-scale efforts to smear and denigrate LGBT Americans."

In a separate statement, Family Equality Council, Log Cabin Republicans and the National Stonewall Democrats joined in calling on the FRC and summit attendees to stop hiding behind veiled anti-gay language like the term "traditional family values."

"I say enough. It's time for fair-minded Americans to reclaim the term family values and use it in a way that unites our country instead of dividing it," said Family Equality Council executive director Jennifer Chrisler. "We can disagree on some things, but we must agree to respect all American families."

Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper echoed Chrisler's comments, declaring that the freedom to marry is in line with Republican values, including less government, individual freedom, religious freedom, personal responsibility and the importance of family.

Said Cooper, "Family values means valuing all families."

Out gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) continued his campaign against gay Republicans yesterday when he voiced his support for the Democratic opponent of a gay Republican running for Congress in Massachusetts.

Frank put his support behind incumbent Democratic Rep. John Tierney, whose 6th District seat in Congress, which he has held since 1997, is being challenged by out gay Republican Richard Tisei.

Although Tisei, who has served in the Massachusetts state Legislature for 26 years, has garnered the coveted endorsement of the Victory Fund, Frank said his election would do nothing more than secure a Republican majority in the House of Representatives and thus block gay-rights legislation.

"The fact that Richard Tisei is openly gay is a good thing," Frank said, according to the Associated Press. "The problem is that it is of no use to us."

Tisei is a moderate Republican who supports marriage equality and is pro-choice, but supports conservative fiscal policies. Although running in a heavily Democratic state, his moderate social views and record of working across party lines have propelled his campaign against Tierney, who has faced scrutiny for the October 2010 conviction of his wife for tax fraud.

In a statement following Frank's remarks, Tierney affirmed his support for LGBT-rights, stating, "I have continually supported equal rights of all Americans and although we have made significant strides toward equality, we still have a long way to go. I will keep fighting to end discrimination against LGBT Americans."

The Victory Fund, which works to elect qualified LGBT public officials through increased strategic, technical and financial support, dismissed Frank's assertion that Tisei's election would hurt gay-rights legislation and focused on the broader significance of his candidacy.

"The Victory Fund was proud to endorse Richard Tisei, and we stand with him as he seeks to represent the people of the 6th District in Washington," said Victory Fund President Chuck Wolfe in a statement. "We need authentic and courageous voices like his and Barney Frank's challenging both parties to change, and advocating for the freedoms all LGBT Americans deserve."

Wolfe acknowledged Frank's significance to the broader gay-rights movement, having become the first member of Congress to willingly come out, in 1981. However, Wolfe said change can only come by bringing LGBT voices to the table on both sides of the aisle.

"Just as Congressman Frank was able to help persuade Democrats to turn away from an anti-LGBT record over the more than 25 years he served as an openly gay member of the House, we believe Richard Tisei's personal influence in the Republican caucus has the potential to change the hearts and minds of colleagues," Wolfe said. "That is how real change begins."

If elected, Tisei would become the first out gay Republican freshman elected to Congress and the first Massachusetts Republican elected to the House in 15 years.

Frank's endorsement comes after he stood by his controversial labeling of Log Cabin Republicans as "Uncle Toms" earlier this week. LCR has branded Frank a bully for his remarks and sought to capitalize on Frank's unpopularity among conservatives in fundraising emails, asking for donations in order to "send a clear message to the Barney Franks of the world."

Earlier this week, Tisei repudiated the Republican Party's national platform, describing the document, which opposes marriage equality and supports the Defense of Marriage Act, as espousing "beliefs that exclude many from our party, including myself."

In a letter to the chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, Tisei said that as a "live-and-let-live" Republican, he believes the government should "get off our backs, out of our wallets, and away from the bedroom."

Last night, the Massachusetts party took note and voted to stick with its state platform, which does not mention marriage or abortion, and table consideration of the national platform until after the election.

[Photo: Richard Tisei]

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was found in violation of a federal law on Wednesday for comments she made at a Human Rights Campaign event in February.

According to federal investigators, Sebelius violated the Hatch Act when she advocated for President Barack Obama's re-election while attending an event in her official capacity as a cabinet officer. Federal law prohibits certain employees of the executive branch from using their office to engage in partisan political activity.

During her appearance at the HRC event in Charlotte, N.C., earlier this year, Sebelius warned that progress made on LGBT rights under the Obama administration would be "wiped out in a heartbeat" if the president is defeated in November.

"One of the imperatives is to make sure that we not only come together here in Charlotte to present the nomination to the President, but we make sure that in November he continues to be President for another four years because this effort has just begun," Sebelius said, according to a report by the Office of Special Counsel.

Investigators said Sebelius, the former Democratic governor of Kansas who was sworn in as HHS secretary in April 2009, violated the more than 70-year-old law by making "extemporaneous political remarks" and referred the case to Obama for "appropriate action."

After the February event, Sebelius's office quickly reclassified the trip from "official" to "political" in order to remedy the situation. The Democratic National Committee also reimbursed the government for the cost of the trip. 

Sebelius took issue with the charges against her, which were spearheaded by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and asked the Office of Special Counsel to investigate Sebelius's comments.

Although Sebelius acknowledged that her comments were a mistake, in a Sept. 7 letter to the Office of Special Counsel Sebelius stated any violation was "technical and minor."

"These are not the type of violations that the Hatch Act is intended to address," Sebelius wrote.

Republicans were quick to pounce on the report, including Sen. Orrin Hatch. According to The Hill, a spokesperson for the Utah Republican said Sebelius's violation of federal law was "disturbing, but hardly a surprise."

"Since almost day one, this administration has had a singular focus on politicking — not governing — that's borne out by the secretary ignoring a strict prohibition on electioneering while working for federal taxpayers," the spokesperson said.

However, it appears unlikely Obama will take further action against Sebelius. In a statement provided to Metro Weekly, White House spokesperson Eric Schultz said the Obama administration holds itself to the "highest ethical standards" and defended Sebelius.

"As the Office of Special Counsel has noted, these were extemporaneous remarks, the Health and Human Services Department has since reclassified the event to meet the correct standard, the US Treasury has been reimbursed, and Secretary Sebelius has met with ethics experts to ensure this never happens again," Schultz said. "This error was immediately acknowledged by the Secretary, promptly corrected, and no taxpayer dollars were misused."

As the saying goes, the best defense is a strong offense.

The Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign today issued a memo to media outlets that preemptively pushes back against myths and misinformation expected to be used by marriage-equality opponents in the run-up to the November election when Question 6, a measure asking voters to approve the state’s recently passed marriage-equality law, will appear on the ballot. As signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) in March, the law does not take effect until Jan. 1, 2013.

The memo outlines three major arguments that groups opposing same-sex marriage – such as the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) – have used to convince voters in other states.

The first strategy, mentioned in a 2009 NOM document leaked to the press, involves exploiting racial divisions or, as the memo reads, "drive a wedge between gays and blacks … fanning hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8."

California's Proposition 8 was a 2008 ballot measure that successfully rescinded marriage equality.

Because black voters make up about a quarter of the Maryland electorate, marriage-equality supporters fully expect opposition groups such as the Maryland Marriage Alliance to engage in race-based tactics.

To proactively counter any such move, the Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign has been highlighting the support of prominent African-Americans, including Ravens football player Brendon Ayanbadejo; Julian Bond, former chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Baltimore-born actress Mo'Nique; the Murphy family of Baltimore, known for their work on civil rights; and African-American labor leaders and ministers such as the Rev. Delman Coates, who has been a proponent of the marriage-equality law.

The second strategy outline in the memo – used in California, Maine and New York and already hinted at in Maryland – involves telling voters that same-sex marriage will be taught in schools if legalized. In August, the Rev. Derek McCoy, the president of the Maryland Marriage Alliance, issued a statement warning, "Maryland parents who send their children to public schools are immediately asking how does this [same-sex marriage] affect what is taught in schools."

But the Marylanders for Marriage Equality memo advises media outlets that such claims have already been debunked by the nonpartisan, independent fact-checking site Politifact and were ruled "false" when NOM sent mailers to Rhode Island voters last year in an attempt to scuttle efforts to pass marriage equality through that state's legislature. The pro-equality memo also quotes Marc Mutty, who ran the campaign against marriage equality in Maine in 2009, as admitting the charge isn't true, saying, "We all use a lot of hyperbole and I think that’s always dangerous. You know, we say things like, 'Teachers will be forced to (teach same-sex marriage in schools)!' Well that’s not completely accurate and we all know it, you know?"

The campaign also points out that in Maryland, school curriculum is decided by local school districts. "Teachers and parents decide what is taught in the classroom, and no state law – including the marriage question on the November ballot – changes that."

The last strategy is to make voters think they’re being duped, particularly regarding the protections for religious freedom that were included – including a provision that exempts religious institutions from having to marry anyone they don’t want to – when the state Legislature passed the law.

The wording of Question 6 as it appears on the ballot reads: "Establishes that Maryland’s civil marriage laws allow gay and lesbian couples to obtain a civil marriage license, provided they are not otherwise prohibited from marrying; protects clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs; affirms that each religious faith has exclusive control over its theological doctrine regarding who may marry within that faith; and provides that religious organizations and certain related entities are not required to provide goods, services or benefits to an individual related to the celebration or promotion of marriage in violation of their religious beliefs."

According to the memo, the three arguments have been used by the NOM in other states to "inundate voters with deceptive ads and sound bytes," in an effort to influence undecided voters.

NOM is the biggest financial backer of the Maryland Marriage Alliance. According to financial disclosure reports from the Maryland Marriage Alliance, NOM President Brian Brown is listed as a founding director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance. Frank Schubert, NOM's political director, is the visible national operative leading the charge to defeat Question 6.

Following the release of that ballot language, the Maryland Marriage Alliance called syntax a "ploy" and urged voters to be "inherently suspicious." The Maryland Catholic Conference reacted similarly.

But the Marylanders for Marriage Equality memo has a response for that as well: "This is one of those areas where religious freedom is either protected in the language, or it’s not. There’s no gray area. It’s protected." 

In remarks delivered on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at the National Press Club, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins kicked off one of the most high-profile conservative events of the year by equating gay people to drug users.

Asked if he would disown his child for being gay, the father of five said that he would never disown one of his children, but that as a parent he has a responsibility for the environment in which they are raised.  

"We can do our very best job as a parent and still something may happen, whether they end up in drugs or whether they end up in some other lifestyle that they end up in," Perkins told the audience and C-SPAN cameras. "They're our children. We'll always love them, but we don't necessarily condone what they do. And if we really love them, we'll be wiling to tell them the truth that the choices that they have made to continue in what they are doing are both destructive to them personally and to society as a whole.” 

Perkins added, "I would never encourage a parent to disown the child because of something like that that occurred to them. Love them compassionately. Pray for them. But don't condone and enable that behavior, whatever it might be."

The controversial remarks came late during the social conservative's hour-long appearance and were met with silence by the audience.

Perkins appeared at the National Press Club as thousands of social conservatives flock to Washington for the annual Values Voter Summit, which is organized by the FRC and will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel from Sept. 14 to 16. Since its launch in 2006, the conference has become one of the conservative movement's most high-profile and controversial events of the year.

In 2011, every Republican candidate for president except Jon Huntsman attended the event during the Republican primaries. This year, dozens of conservative leaders will speak at the event, including Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

Last week, seven LGBT-rights organizations sent a letter to 15 elected officials who are among the nearly 70 confirmed speakers urging them not to attend because of credibility their political stature would lend to some of the more outlandish attendees.

"Public officials should not lend the prestige of their office to groups that spread demeaning and false propaganda about other people," stated Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, in a conference call Sept. 11.

The SPLC has faced criticism from Perkins for labeling his group, which has linked homosexuality to pedophilia, as a "hate group." Perkins has placed blame for a shooting that injured a security guard at FRC headquarters last month – in which the suspected gunman was a volunteer at the The DC Center, the city's LGBT community center – directly with the rhetoric used against his organization by the SPLC and the Human Rights Campaign.

In his remarks delivered yesterday, Perkins reaffirmed that position and called on the SPLC and HRC to "cease their bitter characterization of FRC as a hate group."

"This language is meant to inflame, not inspire," Perkins said, "It is meant to poison, and not to persuade." Perkins adding that such language "fosters an environment of violence."

Nevertheless, the SPLC and HRC have shown no sign of backing down. During the Sept. 11 conference call, HRC vice president Fred Sainz doubled down on the HRC's criticism of the FRC.

"The Family Research Council isn't some policy shop that attempts to find constructive solutions to problems facing our society," Sainz said. "The only thing FRC advocates for is the demonization of those who do not fit into their narrow worldview. They are a hate group that actively spreads blatant lies about LGBT people – with absolutely no regard for the impact of their harmful rhetoric."

The FRC has not indicated that any of the previously confirmed speakers have canceled their appearance because of the letter. In an email to Metro Weekly, a spokesperson for Cantor confirmed he will speak as planned.

WATCH Perkin's full remarks here:

More than 40 LGBT organizations and leaders have joined the fight for immigration reform in a fundraising effort to help pay for work permits for young undocumented LGBT immigrants.

Having raised more than $75,000 so far, the groups hope to assist LGBT immigrants pay for the nearly $470 application fee for President Barack Obama’s "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" program. Under the new program, which took effect last month, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children can apply for two-year renewable work permits in order to avoid deportation.

The fund was established by the Los Angeles-based Liberty Hill Foundation, which works to advance social justice and will oversee distribution of the funds to qualified applicants.

The Human Rights Campaign, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Freedom to Marry and the National Center for Lesbian Rights are among the 46 groups and leaders that have contributed to the fund so far. Organizers have set a fundraising goal of $100,000.

Obama's deferred deportation program comes as the Democratically-backed DREAM Act, which would help put young undocumented immigrants on the path to citizenship, remains stalled in Congress due to Republican opposition.

In an email to Metro Weekly, HRC director of communications Michael Cole-Schwartz emphasized the importance of immigration reform, stating, "HRC stands with the coalition on comprehensive immigration reform because so many are deeply disadvantaged by our nation’s immigrations laws including same-sex couples, and because undocumented LGBT people are incredibly vulnerable, with neither legal status nor protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity."

According to NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, the message behind the fund is at the heart of the broader gay rights movement.

"This fund is at the core of what our movement is about — standing together and making a difference in the lives of people who are part of our diverse community," Kendell said in a statement. "We need these hardworking, talented youth to build a stronger future, and they need and deserve a chance to stop living in fear and on the margins."

According to Liberty Hill's website, the application process will go live on Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. Pacific time.

Here's the full list of contributors:

• Aaron Belkin, Executive Director of the  Palm Center
• Center on Halsted (Chicago)
• The Center/GLBT Community Center of Colorado
• The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada
• Centerlink
• Equality Federation
• Family Equality Council
• Freedom to Marry
• Gay City Health Project (Seattle)
• Gay Community Center of Richmond
• Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC)
• Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
• Greater Palm Springs Pride
• GSA Network
• Horizons Foundation
• Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
• Immigration Equality
• Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council
• L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
• Lambda Legal
• LGBT Center of Central PA
• LGBT Center of Raleigh
• LGBT Project of the ACLU
• Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition
• MassEquality
• Mautner Project Board and Staff
• Metropolitan Charities
• National Center for Lesbian Rights
• National Coalition for LGBT Health
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund
• National Stonewall Democrats
• The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (New York City)
• One Colorado
• Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
• The OUTreach Center (Madison, WI)
• Pride Foundation
• Pridelines Youth Services (Miami Shores, FL)
• Q Center (Portland, OR)
• Rainbow Community Center (Contra Costa, CA)
• Ruth Ellis Center, Inc. (Detroit)
• San Diego LGBT Community Center
• Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
• Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN)
• San Francisco LGBT Community Center
• Transgender Law Center
• True Colors

[Photo: Kate Kendell (Courtesy of NCLRight.org).]

Four LGBT candidates claimed victory Tuesday night in a series of primary wins in Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut.

While a success for the LGBT community, the primary wins were also another victory for the increasingly powerful Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBT public officials through increased strategic, technical and financial support. All four winning candidates on Tuesday were endorsed by Victory Fund.

Out gay Rep. David Cicilline secured the nomination of his party for another term in his first bid for reelection to Congress. The Rhode Island Democrat is one of only four out gay members of Congress and was first elected in 2010.

Cicilline overwhelming defeated Anthony Gemma in the Democratic Party for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district with 62 percent of the vote. Gemma was also one of Cicilline's opponents in 2010.

Victory Fund president and CEO Chuck Wolfe said Cicilline's win will give Rhode Island voters a clear choice in November between a supporter and opponent of marriage equality. Cicilline will face Republican Brendan Doherty, former head of Rhode Island State Police, in the general election.

"Now voters will face a clear choice this November between a persistent champion for LGBT equality, and an opponent who supports the Defense of Marriage Act, which makes life harder for so many American families," Wolfe said.

Although Cicilline's renomination appeared a given, he has faced increased criticism during his first term after the city of Providence, which he oversaw as mayor before being elected to Congress, discovered a $110 million budget shortfall. As mayor, Cicilline painted an optimistic picture of the city's financial situation.

Nevertheless, Cicilline is polling ahead Doherty 49 to 43 percent, according to a poll provided to The Hill.

On the local level in Delaware, two LGBT candidates also secured the nominations of their party and took another step closer to becoming Delaware's first first out LGBT legislators.

Andrew Staton won the Democratic primary for a new district that encompasses Rehoboth Beach and surrounding areas.

Also claiming victory was Marie Mayor, who spent much of her career as an educator in the Baltimore area. Mayor is running for a seat in the Delaware House of Representatives.

According to Wolfe, their victories signal an "important step toward achieving full equality."

In New Hampshire, state Rep. David Pierce successfully won his Democratic primary for the state Senate as well. Serving his third terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Pierce was a key advocate for marriage equality in 2009 when the state legalize same-sex marriage.

Tiffany Muller, vice president of political operations at Victory Fund, said Pierce's win is part of a larger effort across the country to send at least one LGBT lawmaker to every state house in America.

Says Muller, "We're working to make sure every state legislative chamber has at least one openly LGBT voice–someone who can speak authentically about our lives when it matters most."

[Photo: David Cicilline (top left), Andrew Staton, Marie Mayor, David Pierce.]

Less than a week after he equated Log Cabin Republicans to "Uncle Toms," out gay Rep. Barney Frank reaffirmed his comments in a statement released on Tuesday.

The Massachusetts Democrat elaborated on his reasoning for equating the group of gay Republicans to the slave character from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

According to Frank, he is not surprised members of LCR are offended by his comments, but he said "they are no more offended than I am by their campaigning in the name of LGBT rights to elect the candidate and party who diametrically oppose our rights against a President who has forcefully and effectively supported our rights."

In an email to Metro Weekly, LCR executive director R. Clarke Cooper said equality can only be achieved through bipartisanship:

"Congressman Frank, of all people, should understand the importance of perseverance when working within a party to achieve change - after all, it was not so long ago his party was indifferent at best when it came to respecting gay families. Leaders committed to LGBT equality know that every victory our community has achieved has required bipartisan advocacy and bipartisan votes, and winning support from Republicans will only be more important in the days ahead. Come January, Republicans will maintain a majority in the House and likely secure a majority in the Senate. Without Log Cabin Republicans working with fellow conservatives, LGBT Americans would be left without a credible voice within the GOP. Barney Frank's denial of Log Cabin Republicans success, particularly on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal and the freedom to marry in New York, is sad but unsurprising. It is time for him to pass on the baton to leaders better suited to a world where equality is not a partisan issue."

Frank also pulled GOProud into his fight with LCR, describing the group of gay conservatives as "oddly named" and LCR's "even more outlandish cousins."

GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia was direct in his response to Frank's statement, declaring, "I don't give two shits what that asshole thinks about GOProud."

"We don't represent him. We represent gay conservatives and our allies. I'll just be glad to see him out of office because his policies have hurt our country," LaSalvia told Metro Weekly, describing Frank as an "embarrassment to the gay community."

Read Frank's full statement here:

I am not surprised that members of the Log Cabin Republicans are offended by my comparing them to Uncle Tom. They are no more offended than I am by their campaigning in the name of LGBT rights to elect the candidate and party who diametrically oppose our rights against a President who has forcefully and effectively supported our rights.

That is the first reason for my admittedly very harsh criticism. This election is clearly one in which there is an extremely stark contrast between the two parties on LGBT rights. The Democratic President and platform fully embrace all of the legal issues we are seeking to resolve in favor of equality. The Republican candidate for President and the platform on which he runs vehemently oppose us in all cases. On the face of this, for a group of largely LGBT people to work for our strong opponent against our greatest ally is a betrayal of any supposed commitment to our legal equality.

But my use of “Uncle Tom” was based not simply on this awful fact that they have chosen to be actively on the wrong side of an election that will have an enormous impact on our right to equality, both in fact and in the public perception of the popularity of that cause. If the Log Cabin Republicans – or their even more outlandish cousins, the oddly-named GOProud –were honestly to acknowledge that they let their own economic interests, or their opposition to strong environmental policies, or their belief that we need to be spending far more on the military or some other reason ahead of any commitment to LGBT equality, and on that ground have decided to prefer the anti-LGBT candidate to the supportive one, I would disagree with the values expressed, but would have no complaint about their logic.

The damaging aspect of the Log Cabin argument, to repeat the most important point, is that they may mislead people who do not share their view that tax cuts for the wealthy are more important than LGBT rights into thinking that they are somehow helping the latter by supporting Mitt Romney and his Rick Santorum platform.

It is a good thing for Republicans to try to influence other Republicans to be supportive of LGBT rights. The problem is when they pretend to be successful when they haven’t been, and urge people to join them in rewarding the Republicans when they have in fact continued their anti-LGBT stance. I have been hearing the Log Cabin Republicans proclaim for years that they were improving the view of that party towards our legal equality. In fact, over the past 20 years, things have gotten worse, not better. Most recently, on DOMA, when the House Republicans offered an amendment to reaffirm it, they voted 98% in favor of it, while Democrats voted more than 90% against the amendment. And it is not surprising that they have not been successful. Giving strong political support to people who are maintaining their anti-LGBT stance is hardly an effective strategy for getting them to change it.

The argument Mr. Cooper and the others in the Log Cabin Republicans have put forward in their defense is that they have succeeded in getting the Republicans to reduce the extent to which they denounce us, and, in Mr. Cooper’s phrase, the fact that Paul Ryan is “willing to engage” with gay Republicans. That is where Uncle Tom comes to mind. They are urging people to vote for the anti-LGBT candidate over the most supportive LGBT candidate and platform imaginable because the “antis” are calling us fewer names and are willing to talk to some of us. It is this willingness to acquiesce in a subordinate status as long as the masters are kinder in tone, although in substance, that emulates Uncle Tom.

I note Mr. Cooper points to a couple of Republicans as reasons for supporting that party and helping advance its anti-LGBT crusade. As to Representative Ryan, in addition to his “willingness to engage with them,” Mr. Cooper cites his vote for the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. In fact, Paul Ryan has an overwhelmingly anti-LGBT voting record, including opposition to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and a transgender-inclusive hate crimes bill, and support for a constitutional amendment not just to ban future same-sex marriages but to dissolve existing ones. It is true that on one occasion he voted for ENDA, but he did so only after voting minutes before for a Republican procedural maneuver – a motion to recommit the bill – which falsely invoked the specter that passage of ENDA would compel same-sex marriage and which, if it had passed, would have killed the bill. In other words, Paul Ryan has always voted against us, except for one occasion when he voted for us only after first trying to make the bill he theoretically supported inoperative.

Mr. Cooper also cites Susan Collins. She was very good on the question of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But the argument that supporting Susan Collins advances LGBT rights ignores the fact that Senator Collins has twice defeated Democrats who were far more supportive of our issues than she was. And an example of that is the current referendum in the state of Maine on marriage. We have a very good chance of winning in Maine, and winning a referendum is important both for the substantive rights of the people in Maine and for the political point that it demonstrates. Unlike the two Democratic Representatives from Maine, Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud, Susan Collins has been stubbornly silent. That is, in a state where marriage is on the ballot, and in a year in which she is not up for reelection, Senator Collins is withholding her support from us, unlike any Democrat who would have run against her. And remember, these are the best that the Log Cabin Republicans can cite.

Some have complained that in comparing the Log Cabin Republicans to Uncle Tom, I was ignoring the fact that they are nice. I accept the fact that many of them are nice – so was Uncle Tom – but in both cases, they’ve been nice to the wrong people.

ADDENDUM

Recent headlines in the Washington Blade make the point as clearly as I did. In the August 10th issue, a headline proclaims that the “Log Cabin seeks to purge anti-gay language from Republican [platform] document.” In the August 31st issue, another headline states that “Republicans affirm anti-gay views in platform, speeches.” In the September 7th issue, a third headline reports that “Democrats embrace marriage; hundreds of LGBT delegates take part.”

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) announced today that John C. Cheeks, an Independent candidate for D.C. City Council chair, will not appear on the ballot for a Nov. 6 special election coinciding with regular Election Day races.

John C. Cheeks

In a Sept. 11 release, DCBOEE said the board determined that Cheeks was ineligible. Cheeks’s removal from the ballot means that Phil Mendelson (D), incumbent At-Large councilmember and interim Council chairman, will face off against Democrat Calvin Gurley in the race to fill the remaining two years of former Council Chairman Kwame Brown’s (D) unexpired term.

Brown resigned June 6 after being charged with bank fraud. He later pleaded guilty to a related felony charge, and to a separate misdemeanor charge of violating District campaign finance laws. One week later, Mendelson was elected chairman by his fellow councilmembers, 11-1. District statutes require that the chairman’s seat be filled by one of the Council’s four At-Large members.

Cheeks also ran in an April special election to replace former Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. Thomas, who resigned his seat just before pleading guilty to embezzlement and tax fraud. Cheeks lost that election to Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. 

During his campaign for the Ward 5 seat, Cheeks told Metro Weekly in an interview that as a Roman Catholic he supports the beliefs of his church and would have voted against the law that granted marriage for same-sex couples. Cheeks also expressed reservations about requiring police officers to take cultural-sensitivity training, citing costs.

Michael Brown

Unlike Cheeks, Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At-Large), who is running for re-election, has qualified for the ballot, DCBOEE also announced. The challengers for his At-Large seat, as well as the one held by Councilmember Vincent Orange (D-At-Large), are Republican Mary Brooks Beatty, Independents David Grosso, A.J. Cooper and Leon Swain Jr., and Statehood Green Party nominee Ann Wilcox.

A spokesman for DCBOEE was not immediately available for comment regarding why Cheeks was declared ineligible.

[Photo: Councilmember Michael Brown, from michaelbrownatlarge.com.]

Almost a year after the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a new study has found that the end of the discriminatory ban on out gay servicemembers has had no negative impact on the military.

Published today by the Palm Center of the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles, School of Law, it is the first academic study of the repeal of DADT and it shows that the repeal has not resulted in any consequences for military readiness, cohesion, recruitment, retention, assaults, harassment or morale.

The study comes almost a year after DADT was repealed Sept. 20, 2011, and four months after the Defense Department confirmed through their own report that repeal of DADT had not hurt the military. Originally enacted in 1993 under the Clinton administration, more than 13,000 gay men and women were discharged under the ban.

According to Aaron Belkin, in a release announcing the study, of which he was the lead author, "The U.S. Military has set an international standard with the smooth transition to openly gay service."

Only two service members, both of whom were chaplains, have left the military as a result of the repeal. Moreover, the study states that both unit morale and readiness remain unfazed.

In the lead up to the repeal of DADT under President Barack Obama, opponents made bold statements that such a move would threaten the very foundation of the American military.

In March 2009, 1,167 retired generals and admirals signed a statement that claimed, among other things, repeal of DADT "would undermine recruiting and retention, impact leadership at all levels, have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service, and eventually break the All-Volunteer Force."

Researchers began their study by contacting 553 of those 1,167 retired generals and admirals. Of those 553 contacted, 13 participated in the study. Researchers also conducted interviews with other opponents and dozens of active-duty servicemembers.

Although the study found previous claims that repeal of DADT would "break the All-Volunteer Force" to be unfounded, they did still find homophobia to be a problem for out servicemembers.

A Pentagon spokesperson told researchers that she was unaware of a single act of violence related to the repeal, but that incidents of anti-LGBT discrimination still persist. According to the study, 11 percent of respondents mentioned such incidents, including one in which an officer was told not to engage in public display of affection with the officer's partner during a promotion ceremony.

Moreover, the report states that in an April, "a female officer was dancing with her girlfriend, another officer, at a military ball, when a squadron commander told the women to stop. The situation escalated and the Command Sergeant Major swore at the women, called them an 'abomination,' and shoved one across the floor." 

Despite those findings, the study found no service-wide patterns of harassment as a consequence of repeal. Some servicemembers also said it was now easier to resolve conflicts because they could speak more freely about cases of harassment.

According to the study, "greater openness and honesty resulting from repeal seem to have promoted increased understanding, respect and acceptance."

[Photo: President Obama signing the repeal of DADT.]

Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and 144 other House Democrats filed a brief on Friday arguing that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

The brief was filed in the case of Edith Windsor, an 83-year-old lesbian widow who sued the government after she was taxed more than $363,000 on assets that passed to her after the death of her wife in 2009 because the government did not recognize their marriage.

The two women first met in 1963 and were married in New York in 2007 after a more than 40-year engagement.

Windsor's case has reached the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and been petitioned to the Supreme Court for review.

The brief dissects arguments made by the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), instructed by House Republicans to defend the constitutionality of DOMA in court after the Obama administration refused to do so in February 2011, and argues that the Court of Appeals should uphold a New York District Court's June ruling that DOMA violates the Constitution.

Pelosi was joined by Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in signing the amicus brief, which voluntarily offers information to the court. According to the brief, there is no legitimate federal interest in denying same-sex couples the rights that come with marriage.

"It is impossible to believe that any legitimate federal interest is rationally served by depriving a widow like [Edie] Windsor of the marital deduction that allows married couples to pass property to the surviving spouse without penalty, thus maximizing the survivor's financial well-being," the document reads.

New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D), who represents Windsor in Congress, was among the main sponsors of the brief. Although 145 House Democrats signed the brief, 45 did not.

The brief comes after 133 House Democrats filed a similar brief challenging DOMA in Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management in July. That case has also been petitioned for review by the Supreme Court.

Among those House Democrats who did not sign the Golinski brief but added their names to the Windsor brief are John Carney (Del.), Bill Pascrell (N.J.), Albio Sires (N.J.), Russ Carnahan (Mont.), Allyson Schwartz (Pa.), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Kathy Castor (Fla.), Ron Barber (Ariz.), Al Green (Texas), Ed Perlmutter (Colo.), Silvestre Reyes (Texas), Norman Dicks (Wash.) and Corrine Brown (Fla.).

In both briefs, House Democrats argue that because LGBT people are a minority group lacking sufficient political representation they require increased protection through heightened judicial review.

According to a statement released by Pelosi's office, she and the other main sponsors of the brief "intend to participate in each of the cases where the BLAG has intervened as each case reaches the relevant federal court of appeals."

READ the full brief here. 

With a speech that was both a call to arms to the Democratic base and a direct response to Republican critics, President Barack Obama brought the Democratic National Convention to a close on Thursday night.

As he formally accepted the nomination of his party for a second term, Obama asked voters not to cave into cynics who claim the hope and change of the 2008 campaign was simply empty rhetoric.

"If you turn away now — if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn't possible, well, change will not happen," Obama told the packed Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. "Only you have the power to move us forward."

"Forward" has been a theme throughout Obama’s reelection campaign as he tries to convince voters one term alone is not enough time to accomplish the change he promised in 2008.

Obama addressed the LGBT community directly three separate times during his speech, which ran 40 minutes — 10 minutes less than former President Bill Clinton's speech the previous night.

"If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void," Obama warned, including the voices of "Washington politicians who want to decide who you can marry."

Obama also chided Republicans for using gay people as scapegoats.

Speaking to Republican critics who believe government is always the problem, Obama said government isn't the source of all our problems "any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we’re told to blame for our troubles."

Ticking off a list of accomplishments, the president highlighted his repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" as well.

"You're the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she's ever called home; why selfless soldiers won't be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love; why thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who served us so bravely: 'Welcome home.'"

Democrats put much emphasis on the military throughout the three day convention in an apparent attempt to contrast Mitt Romney who failed to mention Afghanistan in his convention speech, becoming the first GOP nominee since 1952 not to mention war in his acceptance speech.

In many ways, Obama's speech was far more restrained than the soaring rhetoric that catapulted him to the presidency four years ago, a fact that Obama seemed to acknowledge himself during his speech.

"I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention," Obama stated. "The times have changed, and so have I. I'm no longer just a candidate. I'm the President."

While Obama may have attempted to quell some of the high expectations that have left some disappointed in his presidency, his speech left delegates on their feet and some in tears.

On Twitter, Obama's speech generated 52,757 tweets-per-minute compared to 14,289 tweets-per-minute during Romney's speech last week. The Democratic National Convention alone generated 9.5 million related tweets over three days. The Republican National Convention generated 4 million tweets.

Although the Democratic Party's support for the gay community was on display throughout the last day of the convention, after Obama's speech Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of New York, offered the closing prayer to the convention with veiled language that appeared to criticize the Democratic Party's support for marriage equality.

"Show us anew that happiness is found only in respecting the laws of nature and of nature's God," Dolan said. "Empower us with your grace, so that we might resist the temptation to replace the moral law with idols of our own making, or to remake those institutions you have given us for the nurturing of life and community."

Dolan, who also delivered the benediction at the Republican National Convention last week, opposes marriage equality. After Obama announced his support for marriage equality in May, Dolan said he would continue to pray that Obama "act justly to uphold and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman."

Nevertheless, Obama's speech and its multiple nods to LGBT voters were the culmination of what many perceive as the most gay-friendly political convention by a major party in American history.

WATCH Obama's convention speech here:

The Democratic Party wore their support for the gay community on their sleeve Thursday as the party's national convention came to a close.

On the final day of the three day convention, several high profile figures in the gay rights movement spoke to delegates in Charlotte, N.C.

Out gay Rep. Barney Frank addressed the convention early in the evening. Pointed in his criticism of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Frank said there are two Romneys — Mitt Romney and "Myth" Romney. The Massachusetts Democrat, who will retire in 2013, also blasted Romney's record on LGBT issues.

"There are a number [of issues] that interest me, like why it is that so many Republicans are afraid that my marriage will threaten theirs," Frank said, before quickly veering from his prepared remarks to discuss the financial crisis that catapulted Obama to the presidency.

"There's the Romney who was going to be better on gay rights than Ted Kennedy," Frank said. "And now there's the Romney who checks with Rick Santorum on that issue."

Frank's speech came hours after he doubled-down on his criticism of Log Cabin Republicans. Speaking before the 500 members of the Democratic LGBT caucus in Charlotte earlier this afternoon, Frank again repeated his assertion that Log Cabin Republicans are like "Uncle Toms."

"When they tell us that they're happy to be Republicans because they're getting acceptance and civility, I gotta say that I am again inclined to think that they're called the Log Cabin club because their role model is Uncle Tom," Frank said to the caucus, according to BuzzFeed.

Also addressing the convention was Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who hopes to become the first out gay member of the U.S. Senate this November.

Baldwin shied from the historical significance of her candidacy, but did applaud Obama's repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don't Tell." Baldwin also slammed Romney and the Republican Party's support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

"Republicans want to write discrimination into our Constitution. But the Wisconsin I know believes that with each passing year and each generation, our country must become more equal, not less. Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, Tommy Thompson — they think they're the only ones who speak for Wisconsin," Baldwin said.

Baldwin's speech came the same day a staffer for her Republican opponent, Tommy Thompson, reportedly questioned Baldwin's "heartland values" in an email and tweet accompanied by a video of Baldwin dancing at a gay pride parade.

One of the youngest speakers to address the convention was 21-year-old Zach Wahls, the son of lesbian mothers who became an Internet sensation in January 2011 after testifying against an Iowa constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.

Wahls, who is straight and an Eagle Scout leading the fight against the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay members, addressed the convention after a campaign video documenting Obama's support for gay rights. Wahls applauded Obama for putting his political future on the line to do what was right when he endorsed marriage equality.

"Governor Romney says he's against same-sex marriage because every child deserves a mother and a father," Wahls said. "I think every child deserves a family as loving and committed as mine. Because the sense of family comes from the commitment we make to each other to work through the hard times so we can enjoy the good ones. It comes from the love that binds us; that's what makes a family."

Wahls added, "Mr. Romney, my family is just as real as yours."

The speeches were just three of several delivered in Charlotte, N.C. this week that directly embraced LGBT voters, standing in stark contrast to the tone of the Republican National Convention last week.

Although speakers at the GOP convention only briefly touched on LGBT issues, those comments that were made were largely negative.

Also read: Obama Expresses Support for Gay Community in Convention Speech

[Photo: Rep. Barney Frank (left), Rep. Tammy Baldwin, and Zach Wahls.]

Longtime civil rights figure Dr. Julian Bond is speaking out in favor of marriage equality in an op-ed in the Afro-American newspapers, which has both Baltimore and Washington editions, ahead of November’s referendum on Maryland’s recently passed marriage equality law.

The referendum, know as Question 6, was placed on the ballot after opponents of same-sex marriage, led by the Maryland Marriage Alliance, a local organization largely funded by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM), collected more than twice the number of petition signatures to force the law onto the ballot. 

In an op-ed titled “Why Marriage in Maryland Matters” on Sept. 5, Bond cuts right to the heart of a polarizing issue that, until recently, most African-Americans overwhelmingly opposed for cultural and religious reasons.

“Let’s face it: Marriage for gay and lesbian couples is often perceived as a White issue,” Bond writes. “Yet, there are thousands of African-Americans – our brothers and sisters, cousins, neighbors, and co-workers – who are gay, in committed relationships, and want to marry. ... So it’s probably time the country started talking about the issue in more diverse terms – and time the African-American community started, well, talking about it.”

Noting that a quarter of the Maryland electorate is black, Bond cites polling showing the referendum to uphold the law holding a 14-point lead over those who want to overturn the law, with African-Americans evenly divided over the issue, compared to most opposing it just a year before, momentum that Bond credits to the endorsements of marriage equality by President Obama and the NAACP.

In his editorial, Bond also pushes back against the religious arguments sometimes used to deny same-sex couples the right to join in a civil marriage ceremony, and against what he labels efforts by NOM and their partner organizations to use the black community for their own interests and “drive a wedge between gays and blacks,” referring to a quote from a leaked internal memo from the organization that talked about strategies to deny same-sex couples the right to be civilly married.

“Rev. Delman Coates of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Maryland’s Prince George’s County is a strong local voice who is always reminding people, especially his fellow ministers, that religious freedom is protected,” Bond writes. “Translation: no gay people will be walking down the aisle in a church unless that church agrees with it.”

To close, Bond, the former chairman of the NAACP and a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the earliest civil rights organizations, also quotes Coretta Scott King, the wife of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and encourages readers to support the marriage equality law.   

“All of this is to say that I think the message of my late neighbor and friend, Coretta Scott King, is sinking in – in all communities,” Bond writes. “’Homophobia,’ she said, ‘is like racism and anti-Semitism...in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.’”

Bond, a longtime LGBT ally, has been active in the Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign, even cutting a 30-second ad for the coalition of groups seeking to pass and uphold the marriage equality law. In response to his editorial, the campaign thanked him for his work helping promote marriage equality.

“We’re eternally grateful for everything Mr. Bond has done on the issue of marriage equality,” Kevin Nix, spokesman for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, said in a statement. “People sit up and listen when Julian Bond talks about equality and fairness. His voice carries a lot of weight.”

[Photo: Screenshot of Dr. Julian Bond, courtesy of Marylanders for Marriage Equality's video. Go to www.mdfme.org for more information.]

Out gay Rep. Barney Frank slammed Log Cabin Republicans today, equating them to "Uncle Toms" in a highly charged interview on the last day of the Democratic National Convention.

"I'll be honest: For 20 years now I've heard how the Log Cabins are going to make Republicans better, but they've only gotten worse,” Frank told The Huffington Post's Michelangelo Signorile. "I now understand why they call themselves Log Cabin: their role model is Uncle Tom."

Frank's comments garnered a quick response from Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans R. Clarke Cooper, who dismissed Frank's comments, stating that they simply divide, distract and deceive.

"As far as Log Cabin Republicans are concerned, it's a badge of honor to be attacked by a partisan hack like Barney Frank," Cooper said in a statement. "We expect this kind of bile from Barney, especially when it plays into the Obama campaign's efforts to divide, distract and deceive the American people."

"Frank calls us 'Uncle Toms' and pretends that Log Cabin hasn't been on the front lines of the fight for equality. The truth is, by speaking conservative to conservative about gay rights, Log Cabin Republicans are doing some of the hardest work in the movement, work that liberals like Barney are unwilling to do and couldn't do if they tried," Cooper added.

The Massachusetts Democrat's fiery comments come a week after LCR attended the Republican National Convention, which nominated Mitt Romney as president, and participated in committee hearings responsible for drafting the GOP's national platform. Although LCR had hoped the party would adopt more inclusive language in the platform, it instead reinforced the party's opposition to marriage equality and support for the Defense of Marriage Act.

Albeit for different reasons, LCR has faced criticism for their focus on a party platform by GOProud, a rival gay conservative group. Whereas GOProud Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia criticized LCR for elevating the party platform to a "public fight with a very public body slam," Frank believes LCR is wasting their time fighting for equality in a party that does not accept them.

According to Frank, "Mr. Cooper said, 'Well at least they're not saying bad things about us.' That's just extraordinary. Again, 30 years ago when we were emerging from the vice of prejudice, I understood that. But no, we shouldn't be accepting a kind of second class citizenship, [and saying], 'You can treat us badly as long you don’t yell at us.'"

Cooper, however, disagrees, and accuses Frank and not the Republican National Committee of engaging in tactics meant to bully his group into silence.

"Gay liberals like Barney, however, are trying to silence us, calling us names and ganging up like schoolyard bullies," Cooper stated. "While Barney bashes his fellow LGBT Americans, we'll continue our work building a stronger, more inclusive GOP - and someday soon, we'll win, because inclusion always wins."

Frank, who became the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out in 1987 and will retire at the end of his term in 2013, is expected to address the Democratic National Convention tonight in Charlotte.

Equality Virginia, the major nonpartisan LGBT rights organization in the commonwealth, praised the election of former Alexandra City Councilman K. Rob Krupicka to the Virginia House of Delegates in a Sept. 4 special election.

According to returns from the Virginia State Board of Elections, Krupicka, a Democrat, defeated Republican Timothy T.C. McGhee with nearly 76 percent of the vote. McGhee earned 20 percent of the vote and Libertarian nominee Justin Malkin earned a little more than 3 percent. Just more that 8,000 of the 45th District’s 67,000 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.

“Residents of the 45th District continue to vote for fairness and equality,” Equality Virginia Executive Director James Parrish said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have a friend in our corner and a straight ally in the General Assembly to help move the Commonwealth forward.”

Krupicka will replace Del. David Englin (D-Alexandria), who resigned in August to “focus on rebuilding my marriage and my family” after announcing he would not run for re-election in April because of an extramarital affair. Englin was considered a strong ally of the LGBT community.

This was not the first time that Krupicka and McGhee had run for political office. Krupicka, who is straight but supports marriage equality and equal opportunity for LGBT citizens as part of his platform, ran in 2011 against then-Del. Adam Ebbin (D-Arlington), now Virginia’s first out gay state senator, but lost by less than 3 percent in a three-way Democratic primary.

McGhee, who was Ebbin’s opponent in the general election, created some controversy after he made comments at a forum hosted by the Arlington Gay & Lesbian Alliance (AGLA) that were perceived as anti-gay.

McGhee told the group “I’m not here for your vote, I’m here for you,” before adding, “You are a group of people who believe it is better to be hated for what one is than loved for what one is not.” He also made further comments that seemed to imply LGBT people were “frustrated” with or refused to believe in God, and that God had “committed them to disobedience” in order to show his mercy. He later apologized for the comments, telling Metro Weekly in an interview that he never meant to offend people and was trying to focus on God’s mercy.

In that Virginia Senate race, Ebbin defeated McGhee by a margin of 65-35.

After Englin announced he was resigning, Krupicka jumped into the 45th District race, where he faced political newcomer Karen Gautney, who was seeking to become the first out lesbian member of the General Assembly. She had been endorsed by Englin.

But Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, announced the special election on July 25 and told the parties they would have to nominate a candidate by the first week of August, forcing the Democrats to scramble and hold a caucus instead of a primary to determine their nominee. Krupicka prevailed at the caucus, besting Gautney by a margin of 63-37.

By Matt Comer/QNotes 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Fresh off his trip to Tampa, Fla., for the Republican National Convention, Jimmy LaSalvia, co-founder and executive director of the Republican LGBT group GOProud, says he's come to the Democratic National Convention to refocus attention on the issues he says are most important to Americans, gay or straight.

"We're going to see three days of the Democrats talking about everything they can except the Obama Administration's failed record on jobs and the economy," LaSalvia said while visiting the Charlotte Convention Center on Tuesday. "They are going to be trying to make it seem like the Republicans hate everybody – they hate the gays, they hate the blacks, they hate immigrants. I'm here to really just tell the truth and to rebut some of the things that you'll hear from the podium the next few days."

The economy, LaSalvia said, outranks other concerns highlighted at the convention this week, including the much-talked-about marriage equality plank in Democrats' party platform.

"There's nothing that Democrats can put in their platform that will hide the failed record of the Obama Administration on jobs and the economy," he said. "They're talking about everything but what's important to the American people."

The LGBT community's concerns on the economic recession aren't any different from other Americans, said LaSalvia.

"We're talking about people's survival here," he said. "Obama has had four years and it's time to realize that he's a failed president and it's time to replace him."

LaSalvia declined to specifically address the contrast between the Democrats' platform and that of the Republican Party, which calls marriage rights for same-sex couples an "an assault on the foundations of our society."

Democratic National Convention coverage provided by Metro Weekly and QNotes, the leading LGBT community newspaper of North Carolina, based in Charlotte.

The Democratic Party embraced its liberal base last night, the first night of the Democratic National Convention, openly acknowledging their support for key social issues, including gay rights.

References to the LGBT community pervaded throughout the remarks of several gay and straight speakers during Day One of the convention.

The night culminated with an electrifying speech by first lady Michelle Obama focusing on President Barack Obama's character that brought some delegates in Charlotte, N.C., to their feet and left others in tears.

"Today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are – no, it reveals who you are," Michelle Obama said to cheers from the audience.

Among the issues the first lady touched on was her husband's recent support for marriage equality.

"Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it," she said. "He wants everyone in this country – everyone – to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we're from, or what we look like, or who we love."

Obama talked at length about the "American Dream," noting both her and the president's humble roots. At her speech's climax, Obama also noted the courage of gay Americans, prompting many delegates to stand and applaud.

"If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire, if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores, if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote, if a generation could defeat a depression and define greatness for all time, if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream and if proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love – then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream," she declared.

According to Twitter, this final portion of Obama's speech drove a higher tweets-per-minute peak than Mitt Romney's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last week, with 28,003 tweets-per-minute during Michelle Obama's speech compared to 14,289 during Romney's.

Moreover, Twitter noted that the first night of the Democratic National Convention had already garnered more than 3 million related tweets compared to the 4 million tweets sent throughout all three days of the Republican National Convention.

Among those tweeting about the first lady's speech was gay CNN newsman Anderson Cooper, who declared he had "never heard such a well delivered speech by a first lady ever."

Michelle Obama was one of several speakers to mention gay Americans in her remarks to delegates.

Earlier in the evening, out Colorado Rep. Jared Polis declared diversity to be America's strength.

Noting President Obama's vision for a united country, Polis said that vision was why Obama had repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," so "no person is prevented from serving the country they love because of whom they love."

"And it is why Barack Obama became the first sitting president in American history to show his personal support for same-sex marriage," Polis added. "So tonight, I don't just ask my fellow Americans to respect my relationship with my partner Marlon and my role as a father to our son," Polis said. "I also ask my fellow Americans to respect the Christian family concerned about decaying moral values and crass commercialism."

Out treasurer of the Democratic National Committee Andrew Tobias spoke about growing up gay and declared, "The Democratic Party under the leadership of Barack Obama has dramatically improved the lives of millions of lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual Americans and at no cost to anyone else."

The keynote speaker of the convention was Mayor Julián Castro of San Antonio. Speaking before Michelle Obama took the stage and channeling a similar delivery style employed by then-U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama in 2004 when he delivered the keynote, Castro led the crowd in chants of "Mitt Romney says 'No!'"

"When it comes to letting people marry whomever they love, Mitt Romney says 'No!'" Castro chanted among a list of issues Romney opposes.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who officiated over Rep. Barney Frank's marriage to his longtime partner in July and who has a gay daughter, lauded Obama's repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and declared he would not let Obama be "bullied out of office."

Also speaking last night was Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who successfully spearheaded marriage equality legislation in Maryland earlier this year and has faced much speculation about a presidential run in 2016.

Despite the fact that both same-sex marriage legislation and a state version of the DREAM Act, which would grant in-state tuition for some undocumented immigrants, will appear on the ballot in Maryland this November, O'Malley made no mention of the two key Democratic issues playing out in his state.

WATCH Michelle Obama's speech here:

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer speaks with a blogger at Charlotte's Democratic National Convention

(Photo by Matt Comer/QNotes)

By Matt Comer/QNotes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was a "high priority" today during an impromptu question and answer session with independent media and bloggers attending the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

"I think [ENDA is] a high priority," Schumer remarked. 

He blamed partisan division for the hold-up in getting the act passed, which would protect employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

"In the old days, we had some Republican support when there was such a thing as a moderate Republican," he said.

"I think time is on our side," he added. "I believe in much shorter time than we imagine, we'll be able to pass ENDA."

Democratic National Convention coverage provided by Metro Weekly and QNotes, the leading LGBT community newspaper of North Carolina, based in Charlotte.

A new pro-Romney super PAC ad running in North Carolina during the Democratic National Convention takes direct aim at President Barack Obama's support for marriage equality.

In the 30-second commercial entitled "New Morning," a couple is portrayed as former Obama supporters who have become disillusioned by the president's declaration in May that he supports the right of same-sex couples to marry.

"That's not the change I voted for," says the woman, who then asks her husband what they can do about it.

"We can vote for someone with values," the man in the ad responds.

The ad is produced by Campaign for American Values, which is connected to evangelist and former Family Research Council President Gary Bauer. Bauer ran for president in 2000 and supported Rick Santorum during the Republican primaries. He posted the ad on his YouTube page.

According to Federal Election Commission documents, the Campaign for American Values had $762,291 in the bank at the end of August.

WATCH the ad here: