The Bilerico Project

Let's Talk About "Key Priorities"

Jerame Davis — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Some activists have been pressing hard recently for a Cabinet appointment of an openly LGBT person. An admirable goal to be sure, but with only one remaining open Cabinet position, it's increasingly unlikely that this wish is going to come true. In a recent Washington Post story, an HRC representative was quoted as calling this a "failure" of the Obama administration and that getting an LGBT Cabinet appointment was a "key priority" for HRC.

An openly LGBT Cabinet Secretary would be another milestone for LGBT inclusion and an important symbol of pride for our community. But let's be clear, this should not be a key priority for our community. Moreover, the idea that this would be a mark of failure on the part of the President doesn't sit well with me. In addition to the myriad policy advances he has delivered for our community, President Obama has already appointed hundreds of openly LGBT people throughout his administration.

To me, a "key priority" for our community should be something tangible that actually advances our equality or improves our lives through policy or action. Symbolic wins are important for morale and to show momentum, but with six new marriage equality states since November, a host of politicians coming out in support of the freedom to marry, and the continued attention to LGBT issues by this Administration and many key lawmakers, we aren't short on good news to keep up our spirits.

A much-needed executive order barring LGBT discrimination by federal contractors is something tangible with real policy outcomes that this president could provide and that would positively impact our community. In 29 states, it is still perfectly legal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. If the President doesn't sign this executive order, when nearly a quarter of the country's workforce could be protected at the stroke of a pen, that might be considered a failure on the part of this Administration. But the lack of an openly gay Cabinet member hardly rises to that level.

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HRC Apologizes: Can We Get Back to Winning Now?

Jerame Davis — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:30:00 -0500

Last week, I gave my account of incident with the trans flag and HRC at the United for Marriage rally on the steps of the Supreme Court during Wednesday's DOMA hearing. Today, HRC corrected their previous statement and issued a public apology for that incident and another incident that occurred with an immigration equality speaker who was asked to hide his immigration status while addressing the rally:

Human Rights Campaign Statement on March 27 Events
From Fred Sainz

In the midst of a tremendously historic week for our community, two unfortunate incidents at the United for Marriage event at the Supreme Court last week have caused pain in the community. In one case, a trans activist was asked to remove the trans pride flag from behind the podium, and in another, a queer undocumented speaker was asked to remove reference to his immigration status in his remarks.

HRC joined in a coalition statement on Friday apologizing for these incidents and the individuals involved have personally offered their apologies to those affected. But to be perfectly clear, HRC regrets the incidents and offers our apologies to those who were hurt by our actions. We failed to live up to the high standard to which we hold ourselves accountable and we will strive to do better in the future.

More after the break.

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My View: HRC & the Trans Flag Incident

Jerame Davis — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:00:00 -0500

UPDATE: The United for Marriage coalition released a joint statement and I've added it to the end of this post.

On Wednesday, I attended the United for Marriage rally at the US Supreme Court building. It was a great rally that went off, mostly, without a hitch. But after reports of an incident between HRC and a person waiving a transgender equality flag came to light yesterday - and HRC denied the reports in a statement - I feel the need to set the record straight.

Wednesday morning, fellow Bilerico blogger, John Becker, and I arrived on the scene together around 9:30am and made our way through the crowd toward the podium. As we crossed through the ring of volunteers into the speakers' area we stopped to talk with a few folks and then made our way to the area just to the right behind the podium. As we got close, we noticed two people having a less-than-friendly discussion. I recognized one of the people as an HRC staffer, but I was not acquainted with the other person.

Through the bustle and the crowd, I could discern that the HRC staffer was discussing the transgender equality flag the young man was waving. It was clear the staffer wanted him to move or to stop displaying the flag. It was also clear that the young trans man holding the flag was at the edge of his training (and his wits) in dealing with the situation as was the staffer. The HRC staffer moved on just as we got within speaking distance, so we asked the man with the flag what had happened.

He told us that the staffer had been harassing him about his flag and that he wasn't going to move. He told us the staffer had stopped on three occasions to ask him to move or stop displaying the flag. He also mentioned that the staffer had denigrated trans issues in some manner, but I know this staffer and I cannot imagine they have any sort of anti-trans animus, so I chalked that up to a misunderstanding.

I have no doubt this young man was offended and that something had been said that he took to mean differently than it may have been intended. This happens all the time and can spiral out of control quickly in an environment like the one at the rally on the steps of the Supreme Court.

In any case, we assured him that, if the staffer returned and tried to run him off again, we would be there and back him up. No further incidents occurred while I was there.

The next day, after the story was posted on Facebook and started getting traction, HRC put out a press release that, in my opinion and experience, is very misleading. Here's the release in full:

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Mom & Me at the White House

Jerame Davis — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:30:00 -0500

On Tuesday, I had the honor and privilege to take my mom to the White House for a Holiday celebration. She had the time of her life and she made sure to smuggle plenty of napkins emblazoned with the presidential seal out in her purse to take back home. We had a great laugh the next day when she saw on The View that Barbara Walters brought the rest of the show's cast gifts from her visit to the White House to tape her Holiday special and the first thing out of the bag was a stack of those napkins.

It's such a rare treasure to attend a function at the White House and I'm so glad I was able to share it with my mom.

If you'd like to see more pictures, including the amazing Holiday decorations at the White House, check out this album I created on Facebook.

Mitt Romney's Disgusting Embrace of the Right

Jerame Davis — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:00:00 -0500

I continue to be amazed at the lengths to which Mitt Romney will go in his quest to demonstrate his fealty to the far right wing of his party. His latest display of "severe conservatism" will play out Saturday at Liberty University when Romney delivers the commencement speech for the 2012 graduating class.

Romney is still frantic to shore up the conservative base that has repeatedly eschewed him. Even before he caved to the extreme wing of his party by refusing to defend his only openly gay staffer, this would be a problem for Mitt Romney.

As Romney makes his pilgrimage to Lynchburg, LGBT voters should ask themselves - how many of Liberty's extremist views will Mitt Romney adopt? How many of those views does he already hold?

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Tell Log Cabin: No Anti-LGBT Candidates!

Jerame Davis — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:30:00 -0500

No candidate should get the support of any gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender organization if they have pledged to deny equality to our community. Some gay conservatives seem to think otherwise and they need to hear from us loud and clear: no anti-LGBT candidates allowed!

Three of the four leading Republican candidates have staked out decidedly anti-LGBT positions. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum have each signed a pledge authored by a certified hate group promising to:

Support an amendment to the US Constitution banning marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Nominate federal judges who oppose equality for LGBT Americans.
Return to defending the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act in court.
Establish a presidential commission to initiate McCarthy-style investigations into the LGBT community with the pretext of protecting "religious liberty".
Meddle with the home rule of District of Columbia residents to attempt to overturn marriage equality in our nation's capitol.

In 2004, Log Cabin Republicans took a principled stand and refused to endorse George W. Bush for his support of a federal marriage amendment alone. These candidates have pledged to go farther than President Bush ever considered. Will Log Cabin Republicans follow its own precedent and refuse to endorse anti-equality politicians?

Recent stories in the media suggest they may actually be willing to overlook the anti-LGBT pledges GOP candidates have taken against our community.

Sign the petition and tell Log Cabin Republicans they should never endorse anti-LGBT candidates who pledge to deny us equality.

Don't forget - once you've signed the pledge to share it on Facebook and encourage your friends and family to sign as well - we have to send a message that anti-LGBT rhetoric is not acceptable on either side of the aisle.

Clarifying My Role with Bilerico Project

Jerame Davis — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:00:00 -0500

Most regular Bilerico Project readers know that I have accepted a position as the Executive Director of National Stonewall Democrats. I'm honored to serve for an organization I've admired and supported for years.

My start with Stonewall Democrats was in Indiana. I helped to rebuild the Indiana Stonewall Democrats affiliate and served various roles, most recently as its vice president. Working with some wonderfully dedicated people, I've spent years working both inside and outside the Indiana Democratic Party on behalf of LGBT rights. When I was able to take the next step of working for the NSD, I jumped at the opportunity.

At the same time, I've spent the past thirteen years alongside Bil doing some form of online advocacy or another. Whether it was his original homepage (when we used the site for the web's first gay direct action campaign), as an Indiana politics blog, or now as an award winning LGBT news and analysis blog, bilerico.com has been a constant part of my life too.

I realize that some folks may not know the exact roles Bil and I play with Bilerico, so it seems like now is the time to make things explicitly clear; my new role in both politics and the LGBT equality movement require that.

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Honoring Veteran's Day

Jerame Davis — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:00:00 -0500

I posted this on the National Stonewall Democrats Facebook page today, but since no one has written about Veteran's Day here on Bilerico, I thought I'd post it here too.

Today we honor our veterans for their service and sacrifice to protect our freedom and ideals. This Veteran's Day is particularly important as it is the first for which gay and lesbian servicemembers can mark the day openly with their loved ones. To all those who serve, we thank you.

I'm particularly proud of President Obama, Congressional Democrats, and our community for the way we all worked together to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. Today, we can celebrate all veterans.

(Full disclosure: I am the interim Executive Director of National Stonewall Democrats.)

Declaration from Occupy Wall Street

Jerame Davis — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:00:00 -0500

It's a pretty detailed and damning list of grievances and a simple demand. What do you think?

I Am Sad: Insanely So

Jerame Davis — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Steve Jobs was my Elvis, JFK and moon landing all wrapped into one. What he created - the company, the products, the way of thinking - profoundly and undeniably changed my life. I am who I am today because Steve Jobs thought differently.

The first time I laid my hands on an Apple computer in elementary school, it changed my life. That is not an overstatement - I knew the first time I played Oregon Trail on an Apple II that this was what I wanted to do.

I really didn't know what this meant, but I knew those devices would eventually be capable of so much more - and I wanted to be part of that in whatever way I could.

The trajectory of my life changed. I'd always known I didn't want to be a doctor, a lawyer or any of the things kids normally aspired to - but computers, especially those nifty Apple computers, made my heart sing. Every week at school, the trip to the computer lab was the most special and memorable time. The awe I felt the day my teacher opened up the magic box to how us what was inside is forever etched in my mind - how could it do all that with so little inside?

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California Sunshine: Prop. 8 Tapes to be Released

Jerame Davis — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:00:00 -0500

Today, US District Judge James Ware ruled that the video of the Prop. 8 trial will be released to the public. Of course, the proponents of Prop 8, who fought to keep the trial from being televised originally, aren't very happy. From Variety's Wilshire and Washington blog:

Ware wrote that he found "no compelling reasons" to continue sealing the tapes.

He wrote, "Foremost among the aspects of the federal judicial system that foster public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the process are public access to trials and public access to the record of judicial proceedings. Consequently, once an item is placed in the record of judicial proceedings, there must be compelling reasons for keeping that item secret."

The order will be effective September 30, barring intervention from a higher court based on the inevitable appeal.

Chad Griffin, American Foundation for Equal Rights Board President said, "This is a significant victory for the American people, who will soon be able to see the evidence put forward by both sides in this historic federal trial. Unlike political campaigns, in a court of law, the truth and facts are all that matter." AFER was the sole sponsor of the Perry lawsuit.

You can read the judge's full decision [pdf] courtesy of AFER.

Lap Dances for HIV

Jerame Davis — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:00:00 -0500

Every time I think I've seen the limits of human shallowness, I'm proven wrong in the worst way. This morning, as I was doing my morning news run, I saw this story about a DC-based HIV/AIDS non-profit that used part of the money from a $10 million grant from the city to rehab a strip club.

Yes, you read that correctly. These asshats used money that was appropriated for HIV/AIDS services to make repairs and renovations to a DC strip joint. From the DCist:

Earlier today, the District's attorney general, Irv Nathan, announced that the city was filing suit against Miracle Hands, an organization which stands accused of taking $329,653 of that $10 million in grants and spending it on construction of a nightclub. (The investigation was prompted at the request of At-Large Councilmember David Catania.) The organization, the A.G. says, billed the city for renovations made at two warehouses which were to be used to house HIV/AIDS patients; one of those warehouses has the same address as Stadium Club.

Seriously, what kind of depraved, soulless, pathetic people spend money intended to care for the sick and indigent on fixing up a tittie bar? I guess those "Miracle Hands" aren't always for healing, huh?

(img src)

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) Supports Marriage Equality

Jerame Davis — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:00:00 -0500

Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) has been a champion of equality for years, but until now, he's never spoken out publicly on his position on marriage equality. This past Saturday, he spoke with blogger and friend of the Bilerico Project, Sunnivie Brydum at the One Colorado Ally Awards and stated his support of marriage equality.

Sen. Udall was very active around the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and is a sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act. For the 111th Congress, he was awarded a 96% on HRC's congressional equality index.

The Top 10 Most Democrat & Republican States

Jerame Davis — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:00:00 -0500

What states do you think are the most heavily Republican or Democrat? You might be surprised. For example, Texas doesn't make the list of most Republican states and the most Democratic state isn't really a state at all (it's our nation's capital.)

The results - as ranked by Gallup - are after the break.

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Comment of the Week: Paige Listerud on UK Riots

Jerame Davis — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:00:00 -0500

Earlier this week, Adam Polaski wrote a piece to discuss the riots in the U.K. and what they could mean for the U.S. and the LGBT community. Some folks seemed to think Adam was endorsing riots as something we should be doing here, but he later explained in a comment that he was simply trying to say he saw the riots as a warning to the U.S. because the same underlying sentiments were boiling here as well.

After some lively discussion, Paige Listrud left this comment (quoting Emma Goldman and Hannibal Lecter) that sums up the U.K. riots nearly perfectly:

I think Emma Goldman said it best:

"I know that in the past every great political and social change, necessitated violence... Yet it is one thing to employ violence in combat as a means of defence. It is quiet another thing to make a principle of terrorism, to institutionalise it to assign it the most vital place in the social struggle. Such terrorism begets counter-revolution and in turn itself becomes counter-revolutionary."

Not that most of the youths on the streets of Tottenham, Birmingham, Liverpool, etc., are familiar with Emma Goldman. Their actions are more understandable than justifiable. But I fear they have really only sowed seeds for a backlash, a backlash they won't understand any more than they currently realize that immolating businesses in their own neighborhoods, owned by petty bourgeois who are barely making it in this economy, themselves, and who are not in control of the policy-makers in government, would not effectively change the conditions of their lives.

At best, their moment expression of rage might only provide temporary emotional relief against a lifetime of powerlessness.

Instead, I turn to another, darker source for the psychological basis for the attack on their own neighborhoods, Hannibal Lecter:

"He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? . . . No. We begin by coveting what we see every day."

Hence, the looting of jeans and sneakers, iPods and wedding dresses--things that they see every day and have no legitimate means to acquire. Mind you, I'm not making any moralistic judgement on the rioting youth of London. They don't covet any more than the rest of us. We all covet--and our consumeristic culture encourages our covetousness through advertising. But if we're white, middle class and employed, we've got the means to acquire the things we see every day. Plus, our middle class status gives us a modicum of respect from the police and the more money you make, the more property you own, the more respect the police show you and the more willing they are to protect you.

I'm really not sure what it means when Emma Goldman and Hannibal Lecter are the two pieces of wisdom used to describe the situation - but it sure fits.

What do you think? Did our covetous ways lead the rioters astray? Is this the beginning of a "Western Spring"? Or just some random unrest that will go away when the next season of UK Idol starts?