The openly gay two-term mayor of Lexington, Ky., has announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for the state’s 6th Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R).
Gray previously ran for Senate against Sen. Rand Paul (R) in 2016, but was unsuccessful in his bid. However, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Gray won a majority of votes in the counties that comprise the 6th District. The district leans nine point more Republican than the nation as a whole, but Democrats were able to hold onto the seat as recently as 2010.
Were he to be successful, Gray would become the first out LGBTQ member of Congress from the state.
Gray faces two other candidates seeking to become “firsts”: former Marine Corps fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who would become the first woman elected to Congress from Kentucky as a Democrat, and State Sen. Reggie Thomas (D-Lexington), who would become the first African-American elected to Congress from the Bluegrass State.
Gray hopes to run on his experience in both the public and the private sector, incorporating lessons from his experience running his family’s company, Gray Construction, as well as from his time as mayor, to prove he can get things accomplished in a Congress often criticized for its inaction.
As an openly LGBTQ elected official, Gray was involved in efforts advocating for the passage of pro-LGBTQ ordinances in Lexington and in several other Kentucky towns or cities. In total, eight municipalities have adopted such ordinances. In June, Gray wrote a letter to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra asking him to exempt Lexington from a ban on state-funded travel to states, including Kentucky, with laws that discriminate against LGBTQ people.
“Our city realizes that inclusive and welcoming values translate into good business and economic prosperity,” Gray said in the letter.
The United States is now seeing over 200,000 syphilis cases annually, the highest figure since the 1950s.
Imagine the voice of Golden Girls’ Sophia Petrillo saying, “Picture it, United States 1951, I Love Lucy was kicking off its first season, super glue had just been invented, and there were 140,000 syphilis cases reported across the country.”
By 2000, however, decades of public health advocacy and medical advancements, such as the use of antibiotics in early treatment, had cut down cases to just 32,000 per year.
So, what happened? Why are the numbers worse now than they were 24 years ago?
Police arrested a former Jackson Police Department officer who allegedly killed his ex-boyfriend in a bloody attack at a Jackson, Mississippi apartment complex.
Police mounted a search for 33-year-old Marcus Johnson in connection with the murder of 25-year-old Carlos Collins, a registered nurse who hailed from Yazoo City.
Collins was killed on April 9 at the Tapestry Northridge Apartments, off Parkway Drive near Old Canton Road, in the northeastern part of Jackson.
According to WAPT, members of Collins family said police told them that Collins succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained during the attack, and that an axe was used during the murder.
Leo Varadkar, Ireland's youngest, first openly gay, and first multiracial prime minister, announced on March 20 that he is stepping down from office.
Varadkar resigned as leader of the Fine Gael political party and will resign as prime minister -- or taoiseach -- once a successor is named.
Standing on the steps of the Government Buildings in Dublin, the 45-year-old said he was stepping down for "personal and political" reasons, "but mainly political," reported The Guardian.
"I believe this government can be re-elected," Varadkar said. "I believe a new taoiseach will be better placed than me to achieve that -- to renew and strengthen the top team, to refocus our message and policies, and to drive implementation. After seven years in office, I am no longer the best person for that job."
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