Survey: Acceptance Of LGBTs Declines Among Young

The Stonewall Inn where some say the battle for LGBT
rights officially began.

In what ought to be disturbing news to all in the LGBT community and certainly LGBT rights organizations, a survey shows that for the second year in a row the percentage of Americans accepting of members of the LGBT community declined.  The decline included the younger Americans who heretofore have been more accepting.  The survey did not come to any set conclusion for the decline although references were made to the general normalization of hate and intolerance that has been a hallmark of the Trump/Pence regime and its pro-Christofascist, anti-gay policies. Personally, I believe fault also lies with organizations like Human Rights Campaign ("HRC") and Equality Virginia ("EV") here in Virginia.  In the case of EV, when not shaking down gay and lesbian Virginians for money, burning bridges with top pro-LGBT officeholders, EV's main activities are focused on the transgender community to the seeming exclusion of the rest of the LG and B components of the community. I am not anti-transgender, but other than the general need for non-discrimination laws, the issues of the transgender community are not synonymous with those of gays and lesbians. In an era where many now feel comfortable being open white supremacists, having LGBT rights organizations pretending that they are the same does a disservice to all of the involved groups. LGBTQ Nation looks at the disturbing survey findings:

A new survey shows that young people’s support for LGBTQ people has dropped for the second consecutive year.

The Harris Poll and GLAAD just released the results of their yearly survey in their Accelerating Acceptance report.

The survey was conducted this past January and involved 1970 respondents, including 1754 non-LGBTQ respondents. They were asked about whether they would be comfortable with an LGBTQ person in various situations, like having an LGBTQ doctor, their kid having an LGBTQ teacher, or a family member coming out.

Among non-LGBTQ people, 49% were comfortable in all the situations, the same percentage as last year. Two years ago, though, 53% of non-LGBTQ people were comfortable in all situations, a drop that coincided with the start of the Trump administration.

But the drop was more pronounced among 18- to 34-year-olds. 63% were comfortable in all the situations two years ago, 53% last year, and 45% this year.  Young men’s drop in support was even more dramatic. 62% were comfortable in all the situations two years ago, but now only 35% are. Support for LGBTQ people in each individual situation either stayed the same or dropped since two years ago. 34% of straight people said that they would be uncomfortable if their child learned about LGBTQ people at school. This year, 39% said they would be uncomfortable.

Among 18- to 34-year-olds, 39% said that they were uncomfortable in that situation, up from 27% two years ago. Young adults were 50% more likely to say that they would be uncomfortable if a family member came out this year compared to 2016.

“So it is surprising to see a notable erosion of acceptance for the LGBTQ community, which counters many of the assumptions we make about their values and beliefs. In this toxic age, tolerance – even among youth – now seems to be parsed out.”

“The sharp and quick rise in divisive rhetoric both in politics and in culture is now having a negative influence on younger Americans and coinciding with an alarming pattern of anti-LGBTQ violence and discrimination,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of GLAAD.

“As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, LGBTQ people and allies must urgently address today’s cultural crisis by being visible and vigilant.”

New strategies and efforts are needed - as is new leadership at leading LGBT rights organizations, particularly Equality Virginia to which I have ceased all financial support.  I stopped giving to the even more out of touch HRC years ago.

The LGBT Community Is Often Its Own Worse Enemy

Like the Democrat Party as a whole, the far left of the LGBT community is often the community's worse enemy since it continually wanders off into the political weeds, utterly clueless to the need of (i) pushing candidates with a realistic chance of winning, and (ii) stop pushing radical agendas that a majority of Americans simply either do not want or find outright fearful. Worse yet, these elements have embraced the Democrat circular firing squad model of demanding total perfection in politicians from birth with no forgiveness ever for past mistakes even if they occurred decades ago. A case in point here in Virginia is Equality Virginia which has burned its bridges with Governor Northam, Lt. Governor Fairfax and Attorney General Herring, all of whom were dis-invited from the Commonwealth Dinner last month and told they were unwelcome. Lost in what I can only view as delusion, members of the EV board think they still have a "great relationship" with these powerful Democrats who they have insulted and scorned. With this type of clueless leadership, it's no wonder EV has managed to pass so little legislatively. 

On the national level, similar cluelessness is coming from far left elements in the LGBT community who are attacking Pete Buttigieg for being a white male rather than being ecstatic that a gay candidate for the first time ever has been deemed credible at the presidential level. Even if Buttigieg doesn't win the Democrat nomination, he is opening minds and generating much needed conversations, but for the circular firing squad crowd, they cannot forgive him for being white and male.   A piece in Huffington Post looks at this self-destructive phenomenon.  Here are highlights:

Pete Buttigieg has a shot at becoming the first openly gay president in American history. But his candidacy is already exposing tensions in the LGBTQ community between gay white men, who benefit from the economic and social privileges of being white men, and all the other queer people who don’t.

“Is Buttigieg a run-of-the-mill white male candidate, or does his sexuality set him apart? That mammoth question can be broken down into smaller ones that get at why diversity matters,” Slate’s Christina Cauterucci wrote in March. “Has Buttigieg faced setbacks or barriers to success because he’s gay? … Would a win for Buttigieg be as historically significant and culturally meaningful as a win for a member of an underrepresented race or gender?”  “In a primary for the overwhelmingly pro-gay Democratic Party, Buttigieg can be more accurately lumped in with his white male peers than with anyone else,” she concluded.

Cauterucci’s piece drew immediate criticism, primarily by white men, for dismissing Buttigieg as not being gay enough. “Ludicrous,” wrote Drew Goins, assistant editor of The Washington Post opinions section. “It’s the Oppression Olympics at its worst: In a battle to prove that one community is more discriminated against than another, we tear each other apart rather than unite in common cause,” wrote John Aravosis, editor of AMERICABlog.

The LGBTQ community is obviously not monolithic. It has the same fault lines of race, gender, class and economics that persist in the rest of American culture. But some of these disparities may have been obscured under President Barack Obama, who helped unite queer people around his pro-LGBTQ agenda. And President Donald Trump has certainly given queer people a common purpose in fighting his assault on LGBTQ rights.

At a time of historic diversity among Democratic presidential candidates, Buttigieg ― a white, upper-class, Ivy League-educated, Midwestern man of faith ― is exciting LGBTQ rights groups as much as making them confront more complicated questions about the best person to represent the interests of someone who is, say, transgender, black and female.

“As a black, same-gender-loving man, hearing a white, gay, Democrat political leader introduce new ways of having conversations about political identity and religion and intersections is exciting,” said David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition. “But we need to pause to think about not only how gayness exists as a political identity for gay white men, but how LGBTQ gains have worked over the last few years.”

Johns said the priorities of prominent LGBTQ rights groups have largely been driven by gay white men, from fights to allow domestic partnerships in various states, to ensuring that financially comfortable gay and lesbian couples can adopt children, to fights over banning gay conversion therapy. . . . . “Not only is the world set up to benefit them, but shifts in political and social environments have allowed them to enjoy additional privileges. While those gains have been made, there hasn’t been parallel progress or investment in black communities or black LGBTQ communities.”

Some LGBTQ rights groups didn’t seem to want to talk about Buttigieg’s candidacy exposing these fractures. The National Center for Transgender Equality declined to comment for this story. The National LGBTQ Task Force did not respond to a request for comment.

Human Rights Campaign spokeswoman Sarah McBride said LGBTQ people all over the country are inspired by Buttigieg’s candidacy.

“Throughout his campaign for president, Mayor Pete has made a point of emphasizing LGBTQ equality, including the urgent need to fight for the rights and dignity of transgender people,” said McBride. “The unprecedented field of pro-equality candidates running for president will ensure that LGBTQ rights are a central part of the 2020 debate, and it’s clear that LGBTQ voters will play a decisive role in both the primary and the general election.”

“No single candidate can represent the diversity of the LGBTQ community, and Buttigieg undoubtedly enjoys advantages because of his gender and race,” added Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “But he is also a compelling candidate who has shown tremendous courage, including by challenging the harms inflicted on LGBTQ people by officials and leaders who misuse religion to justify discrimination and bigotry. We can acknowledge the impact of sexism and racism on our national politics without diminishing Buttigieg’s importance or well-deserved success.”

To be clear, all of the LGBTQ rights advocates HuffPost talked to ― some spoke on the record, some spoke privately ― said they are thrilled that Buttigieg is a candidate. But some felt torn about yet another white man getting so much attention in a race full of women and people of color, particularly after Hillary Clinton came so close to winning in 2016.

“Do we think it will end up causing some fault lines within our community? I’m sure it will. Mostly among women, from our corner,” said Stephanie Sandberg, the executive director of LPAC, which helps elect LGBTQ women. “But we now have more than 20 people in the race. We have plenty of time. I hope [Buttigieg] does as well as he can and continues to pave the way. It’s fantastic.”

For his part, Buttigeg seems fully aware that he can’t speak for the entire LGBTQ community. But he’s made efforts to embrace the causes of it.

The reality for Buttigieg, though, is that his most enthusiastic LGBTQ supporters so far are affluent gay white men. He “rarely goes more than a few days” between private events hosted by prominent gay donors, The New York Times reported Wednesday, including gatherings in New York City and Beverly Hills hosted by composer Stephen Sondheim, Bravo host Andy Cohen and former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe.

Johns said he’s waiting to see who Buttigieg surrounds himself with and the diversity of perspectives he’s willing to consider before deciding if he can get behind him.

Sadly, individuals like Johns seemingly would rather by default re-elect Trump than recognize that politics is about what is possible and will get the support of a majority of voters. That is objective reality - something lost on too many in the far left of the LGBT community. As for complaints about the issues pushed by many LGBT rights organizations, another reality is that most are disproportionately funded by white gay males who, by default set priorities. 

Anti-Gay House of Delegates Speaker Cox to Be Targeted in November Elections

Anti-gay Speaker Kirkland Cox

The Washington Post is reporting that the, in my view, utterly toothless Equality Virginia ("EV"), is planning on targeting House Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) and Majority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) for defeat in November after Virginia Republicans yet again killed all non-discrimination protections for LGBT Virginians.  Yes, Cox and Gilbert need to be defeated, but don't hold your breath waiting for EV to pull it off, especially if the Democrats do not field top quality candidates to oppose them.  Meanwhile, if EV had placed more focus on securing passage of these bills and less time attacking Governor Northam, the strongest ally EV has ever had in the governor's mansion, and riling up its own donor base in the process, perhaps the bills might have succeeded this legislative session. EV also needs to grasp that with Republicans, bipartisanship doesn't work.  They only understand the threat of electoral defeat,  

Democrats will be headed into the November elections suffering from self-inflicted wounds, thanks to national Democrats who butted into Virginia's affairs and self-aggrandizing organizations like the Human Rights Campaign which I suspect talked EV into attacking Northam.  Personally, I've had enough and I have stopped my monthly donations to EV and will likely end up going to the Commonwealth Dinner in April - we had already bought tickets before EV's attacks on Northam - solely so the husband and I can give the EV board members and Democrat elected officials in attendance a piece of our minds face to face.  Here are excerpts from the Post story:

Gay and transgender activists, fed up with four consecutive defeats in trying to ban discrimination in housing and government employment, say they will now turn to the ballot box, targeting GOP leaders who have failed to support them. “No one has taken a more bipartisan approach than we have,” said James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia, which lobbied for the bills that passed the Senate but died in a House subcommittee. . . . The only solution we see now is new leadership.”

State Republicans hold a two-seat majority in the Senate and a three-seat majority in the House, with one seat open for a special election in a district previously held by a Democrat. A federal court approved a new redistricting map Thursday that is expected to favor Democrats.

Equality Virginia says it will work to unseat House Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) and Majority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) because it blames those leaders for blocking a full committee hearing of the bills.

The bills would have prohibited discrimination in all state and local government jobs on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and barred housing discrimination against people in those same groups, with exceptions for rentals in single-family homes, property owned by religious organizations or private clubs.

Advocates thought they had a better-than-average chance for passage this year given the Republicans’ determination to try to win back seats in November and attract suburban swing voters, who are more open to supporting gay and transgender people than some constituencies within the Republican Party.

“We don’t live in 1980 anymore, and it’s time for us to get past this and not discriminate against a community when most people don’t have a problem with this community,” Del. Roxann L. Robinson (R-Chesterfield), who sponsored the legislation, said earlier this year.

Conservative groups, including the Virginia Catholic Conference and the Family Foundation [Virginia's leading hate group], opposed the effort. . . . “Once again, the speaker and majority leader said ‘nope, under our watch this is not going to happen,’ ” Parrish said.

Cox “is only the speaker because his name was drawn out of a bowl,” he said, referring to how state officials broke a tied legislative race and handed control of the House of Delegates to Republicans. “He did not have a mandate . . . Now we will pivot, look at the new maps. Speaker Cox is in a very different district this year. That will be a priority of ours.”

Why Ralph Northam Should Not Resign

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This will be the last post on this topic hopefully for a while.  A great column in the New York Times lays out why the Democrats' insane, "no forgiveness ever" policy needs to be put on the trash heap.  Yes, the subject of the column is Ralph Northam, who the husband and I truly count as a personal friend - not just someone I name drop as some have alleged in nasty comments on Facebook - but the overall premise is, to me, 100% on point and needs to be heeded by both Democrats and Republicans if we are not to find ourselves in a dark place where one's entire life is ruined by foolish mistakes in the past.  And let's be honest as the column reminds us, most of us are guilty of some act or statement that under the Democrats' insane standard would damn us for life.  We've merely been lucky and not publicly exposed since we are not in the public eye.  It also reminds us that he/she who is totally without any sin is the only one fit to cast the first stone.  (Sadly, these concepts were lost on Equality Virginia which joined the rush to judgment and has perhaps permanently lost my support as a result, if I apply the no forgiveness ever standard EV embraced)  Here are column excerpts:

It’s probably for the best that Ralph Northam seems determined not to resign as governor of Virginia. He may have done something ugly and dumb many years ago, when he was a young man and prevailing notions of socially permissible behavior were uglier and dumber than they are today.

In the 35 years between those two points he has, by all appearances, lived an upstanding life without a hint of racial bias. If we are going to embrace a politics where that’s not enough to save a sitting governor accused of no crime, we’re headed toward a dark place.

I write this as someone who isn’t a Democrat and doesn’t share many of Northam’s views. Nor do I think he covered himself in glory when he accused his Republican opponent, Ed Gillespie, of “racist rhetoric” during the 2017 gubernatorial race, while an advocacy group allied to his campaign ran an ad that made out Gillespie supporters to be homicidal bigots intent on harming minority kids. What goes around comes around, and the temptation for schadenfreude is great.

Then again, each of us might want to perform an internal audit before we join the cast-the-first-stone coalition.

Ever told — or laughed at — a bigoted joke? I have, and I cringe today at what I once found funny. Ever used one of the more common ethnic or sexist slurs — “gypped,” for instance, or “bitch” — or dropped the f-word as it commonly refers to gay people? I’ve been guilty of this too, to my shame. Have ugly generalizations or snap judgments based on ethnic stereotypes perambulated through your mind, even if they didn’t fall out of your mouth? Guilty again.

I admit to all of this not as a form of moral — or immoral — exhibitionism, but because I think it’s true of the overwhelming majority of people irrespective of their race or gender. (If you don’t agree, audit yourself twice.) Few of us are proud of these lapses. Many of us are trying to be considerably more mindful about them. But most of us don’t rip ourselves to pieces over them, either.

That’s because we believe that our worst moments and dumbest utterances shouldn’t define us. That our youthful behavior is more of a reflection of what is around us than a representation of what’s inside. That we deserve to be judged by the decency of our intentions and the totality of our deeds. That we are entitled to a presumption of innocence, a measure of forgiveness, a sense for our times, and multiple opportunities for redemption.

Should Jesse Jackson’s entire life come down to the anti-Semitic words “Hymietown,” uttered by him in 1984 (and comically immortalized by Eddie Murphy)? Should Prince Harry forever be remembered as the royal who dressed as a Nazi? What about Joy Reid’s virulently homophobic blog posts, or Joe Biden’s racially condescending description of Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean”?

As I said, this is taking us to a dark place. It is hard enough for ordinary, decent people, aware of their shortcomings and capable of shame, to contemplate a career in politics; why would they ever do so if the statute of limitations on past indiscretions never expires? And if they won’t run, aren’t they just ceding the field to those with no shame?

Ralph Northam needs to clear up just who’s in that photo, so Virginians won’t think he’s lying. And he has an opportunity to speak powerfully about the legacy of a casual racism that tainted his generation of Virginians, and about the need for repentance and redemption. The best way for him to do so is as governor.

Trump Lauds "Christian" Adoption Agencies for Refusing Same Sex Couples

While the Human Rights Campaign ("HRC") and Equality Virginia ("EV") have foolishly injected themselves into the current chaos of Virginia politics, Donald Trump reminded everyone not overcome with political correctness of where these organizations ought to be focusing their efforts.  Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning, Trump openly endorsed anti-LGBT discrimination by foster and adoption agencies receiving tax payer funds.  This sort of bigotry ought to be a reminder that 29 states still have no employment non-discrimination protections despite many years of HRC and EV shaking down supporters for money both organizations have failed to deliver on these basic legal protections. Now, in Virginia they have attacked one of their strongest allies. In my view, major changes in their leadership is needed.  But back to Trump and his lauding of bigotry.  Here are highlights from Think Progress:

Donald Trump openly endorsed discrimination by foster and adoption agencies, speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning.

After welcoming Chad and Melissa Buck, a couple from Michigan who he applauded for having adopted five children, he said, “Unfortunately, the Michigan adoption charity that brought the Buck family together is now defending itself in court for living by the values of its Catholic faith.”

“We will always protect our country’s long and proud tradition of faith-based adoption,” he added. “My administration is working to insure that faith-based adoption agencies are able to help vulnerable children find their forever families while following their deeply held beliefs.”

The case Trump referred to is a lawsuit the ACLU brought on behalf of two same-sex couples challenging Michigan’s law granting adoption agencies a license to discriminate, even if they receive state funding.

One of the couples behind the suit, Kristy and Dana Dumont, sought adoption services from St. Vincent Catholic Charities in July 2016 and again in March 2017. The agency told them it did not work with same-sex couples.

During a February 2015 Michigan House hearing on legislation that would protect adoption agencies from being punished for discriminating, St. Vincent’s director of clinical services defended the bill, testifying that the agency would be affected otherwise, as it employed such discriminatory practices. “If they let us know that they’re unmarried, or they’re gay or lesbian, we immediately recommend, make a referral to another agency,” they said.

But the ACLU didn’t sue St. Vincent or any other particular agency that was taking advantage of the law. It sued state officials directly, seeking to overturn the law altogether. The agency, along with the Bucks, chose to intervene in the case to help defend the discriminatory law for which it had previously advocated. If the same-sex couples’ case succeeded, the agency claimed, it would be forced to shut down.

Trump’s assurances at Thursday’s prayer breakfast come weeks after his administration granted a waiver to a South Carolina foster care agency, granting them license to ignore an Obama administration rule prohibiting discrimination. Miracle Hill, an evangelical protestant agency, not only refuses to serve same-sex families but had also refused to place children with a Jewish family.

Anti-LGBTQ groups have prioritized passing more of these laws allowing child placement agencies to discriminate across the country while still receiving public funding in recent years. An effort to chip away at marriage equality, these campaigns demonize same-sex parents, provide special privileges to Christian agencies, and normalize subsidizing discrimination with taxpayer money.

GOP Operatives Succeeding in Causing Virginia Democrat Party to Implode

Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported today as follows:

The website [Big League Politics] that broke the story of the racist yearbook photo that is imperiling the governorship of Virginia Democrat Ralph Northam is a scrappy, pro-Trump outfit backed by Republican operatives, part of a growing wave of low-cost, ideologically driven news publishers.

The same site reportedly leak a story about Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax alleging he was involved in a sexual assault some years back.  

The goal of both stories?  To send the Virginia GOP into chaos and weaken the party before the crucial elections in November, 2019, which will determine which party controls the the Virginia General Assembly.  So far the gambit has worked amazingly well.  Rather than taking a deep breath and taken the time to know all of the facts, the political correctness obsessed Democrats from Mark Warner and Tim Kaine on down have by played like trained circus dogs and have done exactly what the far right elements of the GOP wanted. They have rushed to judgment and demanded Northam resign and some have wondered out loud if Fairfax has a problem as well.  

Sadly, the knee jerk rush to judgment has not been confined to elected officials.  A number of self-styled leaders of the Virginia LGBT community - e.g., Equality Virginia and locally the LGBT Life Center - have joined the stampede of lemmings and signed an anti-Northam statement notwithstanding that Northam has been one of the strongest allies they have ever had.  And never mind that many in the LGBT community still strongly support Northam and do not want him to resign. 

Long term, this apparent from conception forward "zero tolerance"standard is going to make it very difficult for the Democrats to recruit candidates in the future.  Anyone who has anything in their history that might offend someone in one of the Democrats' special preferred classes is on notice that they can be drummed out of the party should that information ever surface.  

As the Washington Post reported, some seem to be realizing that the rush to judgment has been ill-advised and may have consequences those rushing to jettison Northam failed to take into consideration.  Here are key quotes:

But there is also a quieter concern that the party has come to react too quickly. Some of Franken’s supporters are still bitter over how the end of his career played out, and several senators have said they regretted pushing him to leave office.

The new atmosphere can catch even the most seasoned politician off guard. The accused feel denied any sense of due process. Supposed allies quickly turn into enemies. And, they argue, Republicans are refusing to play by the same rules.

I think there’s a rush to judgment that is unfair to him,” Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential nominee, said Monday on CNN about Northam. “One, he says he wasn’t in that picture. Two, I think we ought to fairly ask him, did he know the picture was on his page of that yearbook. And then three, really, he ought to be judged on the context of his whole life.”

“I think he deserves a chance to prove what really is his essence,” he added. “Not to rush him out of office, unfortunately for political reasons.”

But Lieberman is in the distinct minority in a party newly animated by women and nonwhite candidates and voters, who have provided the ballast for swift decisions.

Yet a party that is moving swiftly to oust anyone with suggestions of racism or sexism could soon confront more questions: Virginia’s Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who would take over if Northam resigns, held a news conference on Monday to deny allegations that he sexually harassed a woman in 2004.

I believe the Democrats have opened a Pandora's Box for themselves and that in their eagerness to pander to one group of voters, they are alienating many others.

I left the GOP years ago because of what I saw is the unfairness and ruthlessness of the Christian Right and those who pandered to them.  Now the Democrats are acting just as bad but on the opposite end of the spectrum.  The husband and I are definitely rethinking who we support and what candidates and organizations deserve our financial support.   By their rush to judgment on Northam, a number of would be Democrat presidential candidates have shown they do not have the calm and steady analysis for the White House.

Poll: Majority of Virginia Republicans Back LGBT Protections

As the Washington Blade reports, a new poll indicates that a majority of Virginia Republicans support the enactment of LGBT non-discrimination protections.  Sadly, that does not guarantee passage at long last of such protections by the Virginia General Assembly.  Why? Because the Virginia GOP remains under the control of The Family Foundation, Virginia's leading hate group, and Christofascist extremists like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, Jr. Of course, at the national level, Trump has sold his soul - if he has one, which I doubt - to a who's who of Christofascists even as Mike and Karen Pence celebrate anti-LGBT discrimination as they play their false false Christian martyr roles.  Time will tell if the pending non-discrimination bills survive the GOP controlled House of Delegates.  The best solution long term is to flip control of both the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates to Democrats come November 2019. Here are excerpts from the Blade article:

A new poll finds a majority of Virginia Republicans support efforts to ban anti-LGBT discrimination.

Mason-Dixon Polling between Jan. 7-9 asked Republicans voters in Virginia whether they supported protections for LGBT individuals in housing and public employment. The survey found 53 percent of Republicans would support “legislation at the General Assembly this year that would update Virginia’s nondiscrimination laws to protect gay and transgender people from discrimination in housing.” And 63 percent would support similar legislation in public employment.

These results come 11 months after The Tarrance Group, a Republican polling firm, conducted a similar survey. The February 2018 survey found 55 percent of Republican voters believed discrimination against gay and transgender people in housing should be illegal and 59 percent believed similar discrimination in public employment should be forbidden.

The Republican Party of Virginia’s 2016 platform makes no mention of LGBT people or protections. It explicitly opposes same-sex marriage and “condemns” the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the Windsor and Obergefell cases that paved the way for same-sex marriage across the nation. And in its discussion of religious liberty, it implies that businesses should be able to discriminate against LGBT people.

The idea that a majority of Republican voters in any state would support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people would be ludicrous based on this document alone, but many are saying they expected these survey results.

“This is a trend we’re seeing across the country. Voters simply have no appetite for discrimination and want to be sure that their friends and neighbors are protected the same way they are,” said Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “The ground really has shifted on these issues of discrimination against the LGBTQ community. There is much more support for these anti-discrimination efforts.”

Winterhof noted legislation in most states hasn’t caught up to this new level of public support.

Virginia is one of 31 states that lacks protections for LGBT people in housing and public employment. “The ground has shifted, but lawmakers … didn’t get that memo, and we’re certainly trying to educate and share more of that information,” said Winterhof.

[James] Parrish [of Equality Virginia] said Republican support for LGBT equality has lagged behind that of the general public but that “support for LGBT issues among all Americans has been inching up for decades.” In Virginia specifically, Parrish pointed to two instances from the past five years that he believes led to a shift in attitudes toward LGBT issues.

In Bostic v. Schaefer, a U.S. district court ruled the Marshall-Newman Amendment in Virginia’s Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2014 decision, and in October of that same year, the Supreme Court refused to take up the case. Bostic v. Schaefer legalized same-sex marriage in Virginia before it was permitted in much of the rest of the country.

Danica Roem, the first openly transgender member of the state House of Delegates, in 2017 defeated consistently anti-LGBT Bob Marshall who Parrish noted introduced “quite a number of bills to harm our community.”

“That also brought change,” said Parrish. Equality Virginia has focused some of its recent efforts on gathering favor for LGBT protections among Republicans.

Trump has banned transgender individuals from serving in the military, and Vice President Pence recently defended his wife’s decision to take a job at a school that forbids LGBT employees and students. As an entity, the GOP remains staunchly opposed to any legislation that would advance LGBT equality. Individual politicians may be changing their tune, but the Republican Party’s official stance looks to be set in stone for at least the next two years and likely longer.

Richmond Times Dispatch Prints Anti-LGBT Ad

image via William Mccormack/Facebook

The Richmond Times Dispatch has long been viewed as a "conservative" newspaper - the paper's former right wing editorial columnist James Kilpatrick was even ridiculed on for years Saturday Night Live for his bigotry - but in recent years the paper seemed to be belatedly coming into the 21th Century.  Apparently, such was not the case given that the newspaper recently published an ad by a Christian extremist group attacking LGBT rights and pushing deliberate lies against the LGBT community.  Richmond has made great strides towards becoming a modern, progressive city.  It is a shame that its newspaper continues to lag behind.  One can only wonder if an ad by white supremacists or Neo-Nazis will be next. Perhaps no coincidentally, the ad was run shortly before Equality Virginia's Commonwealth Dinner that takes place this coming Saturday in Richmond.  Gay RVA looks at the disturbing ad that should never have been published by a reputable newspaper.  Here are highlights:

There’s hate speech in today’s paper. It’s right there in black and white, in the Richmond Times Dispatch. Headlined “Homosexuality (LGBTQ) & Culture Change,” there is a small line of text above the black-bordered essay that reads “Paid Advertisement.” But what follows is a clear-cut attack on LGBTQ rights and reproductive freedom, written in the kinds of hateful terms that any reputable publication should think twice about printing — even if they did get paid for it.

The advertisement was paid for by the Virginia Christian Alliance, and the essay it contains is attributed to Greene Hollowell, listed on Virginia Christian Alliance’s Board Of Directors page as Founder and Web Editor of the group.

Painting the struggle for LGBTQ rights as a sinister plot, the essay says that “the homosexual community saw how the culture was changed by using slogans like ‘a woman’s right to health care’ and ‘choice’… they organized and have been very successful in changing people’s minds by demonstrations, appeals for ‘fairness,’ comparisons to the African-Americans’ fight for freedom, and again, the Supreme Court’s rulings” At this point, things go from dog-whistle implications to outright anti-LGBTQ propaganda. “This has occurred despite the universal feeling of the not-so-distant past that the acts were so gross that they were referred to as ‘unmentionables.’ Through the years, it has been referred to as sodomy, homosexuality, gay, and now LGBTQ.” That’s right, folks — the newspaper just told you and everyone who cares about you that attempting to treat LGBTQ people fairly is a sure path to burn in the fires of hell. Either that, or they’re saying that supporting the LGBTQ community will straight-up get you killed — that last line could really be read either way. Regardless, not the sort of thing anyone wants to read in their hometown’s biggest and best-known print publication.

Virginia Christian Alliance previously grabbed headlines when they sponsored a 2015 bill introduced by the unlamented former delegate, Bob Marshall. The bill, 2015′s HB 1414, was known as a “conscience clause” bill, and was intended to allow for discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community under the guise of “religious freedom.” These sorts of bills continue to bedevil the LGBTQ community in this state and others to this day, though thankfully none have yet been passed here in Virginia.

LGBTQ people and their allies who read the Richmond Times-Dispatch today got to hear about how they were courting damnation. I hope the money that paid for that ad was worth risking a loss of support from the significant majority of Americans who support marriage equality (64 percent according to a 2017 Gallup poll). Maybe they were just hoping we wouldn’t notice.

Shame on the Times Dispatch.  Hopefully, the Virginian Pilot and Daily Press will not participate in publishing lies and hate-based propaganda if such an ad is submitted to them.  

STUDY: Millennials Most Likely to Be LGBT or Accepting

Keeping his promises made to a who's who of Christian extremists in June, 2016, Der Trumpenführer is waging war on the LGBT community and has erased the LGBT community from the 2020 census, has rolled back discrimination protections put in place by President Obama, and has promised to sign the foul "First Amendment Defense Act" which would allow Christian extremists to discriminate at will against LGBT individuals, women who have had abortions, cohabitation unmarried couples, and potentially those who use contraception.  The good news is that many are not giving up the struggle for LGBT equality as exemplified by the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner this past weekend. Even better news comes from a recent study (which can be found here) that found the Millennial s are the most pro-LGBT generation ever.  Indeed, 20% identified themselves as LGBTQ.  This contrasts sharply with aging white Christians who are anti-LGBT, but who are literally dying off.  The message?  Time is on the side of LGBT rights and, if the Republican Party continues its anti-LGBT jihad, the electoral consequences could be significant.  Here are highlights  from a piece in The Advocate:

Millennials are more likely to identify as LGBTQ and be accepting of LGBTQ people than older generations, yet overall lack of comfort with LGBTQ people remains substantial, according to a new GLAAD study.

The findings come in GLAAD’s third annual Accelerating Acceptance report, conducted for the organization by Harris Poll. Based on an online survey of 2,037 adults done in November, it was released Thursday.

It found 20 percent of Millennials — people age 18-34 — identify as LGBTQ, compared with 12 percent of Generation Xers (35-51), 7 percent of Baby Boomers (52-71), and 5 percent of Elders (72 and older). Millennials were more likely than others to use terms outside “gay/lesbian” or “man/woman” binaries, reporting they know people who identify as bisexual, queer, pansexual, or gender-fluid.

Among non-LGBTQ people, Millennials were the most likely to be allies. The study counted people as allies if they reported being very or somewhat comfortable with LGBTQ people in all situations. The figure was 63 percent for Millennials, 53 of Gen Xers, 51 percent of Baby Boomers, and 39 percent of Elders.

Thirty-four percent of respondents said they would be uncomfortable learning their child had a lesson on LGBTQ history in school, and 29 percent said they were uncomfortable seeing a same-sex couple holding hands. There was about the same level of discomfort with learning their doctor, their child’s teacher, or a family member was LGBTQ.

Still, there was much good news in the study, and acceptance among young people bodes well for the future, said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “As the [Trump] administration begins to fulfill its pledges to move the country backwards, many are concerned about progress made in recent years for the LGBTQ community,” she said in a press release. “However, this report shows a remarkable new era of understanding and acceptance among young people — an inspiring indication of the future. Though laws can be unwritten, hearts and minds in America have been changed for the better — and that is a reality less easily unraveled.”

Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner - Reflections

This weekend has been largely non-stop.  Hence the lack of posts today.  We drove to Richmond yesterday morning, settled into our friend's home that was on loan, went out to lunch and then more or less socialized non-stop other than sleeping and driving back from Richmond today.   The Commonwealth Diner was, as always a great time.  This year, too my surprise and humility, I was selected to be one of the "Outstanding Virginians" of 2017.  Besides seeing many friends, I had the surprise pleasure of seeing a former law school roommate and, of course, got to share the stage with six other amazing people who were similarly honored, including my friend Gavin Grimm.  As has been the norm for many of the more recent years, the event included a who's who of elected officials - at least Democrats since Republicans sadly still act as if LGBT individuals were lepers - and I had the privilege of having my award handed to me by our friend, Lt. Governor, Ralph Northam.  

After staying up way too late last night, the husband and I hosted a brunch in Richmond before heading back to Hampton and an event at the Hampton Yacht Club for new members and their sponsors (we sponsored a friend).  It will truly be early to bed this evening!  Some photos are above and below.  Yes, the husband and I did dress a bit over the top, :)

The take away from the weekend?  Now, more than ever it is critical that LGBT individuals "come out" and witness to others who they are.  Our enemies find it easy to demonize some theoretical stereotype.  But when faces and stores are connected to what our foes strive to label as the "other," suddenly anti-LGBT propaganda falls flat and is far less effective.  Living "out" and proudly is one of the highest forms of activism. 

2017 "Outstanding Virginian" - An Unexpected Honor

Each year for the last eight years Equality Virginia ("EV") - Virginia's leading LGBT advocacy group - honors individuals at its Commonwealth Dinner gala in Richmond that it describes as "Outstanding Virginians"  EV describes the designation as follows:

Statistics show that knowing someone within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community increases support for LGBT rights. This positive correlation makes coming out a critical component of the LGBT movement’s future progress.

OUTstanding Virginians are  lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied individuals or organizations that are taking the lead in moving equality forward across the commonwealth.In light of the importance of being out to the LGBT movement, each year Equality Virginia recognizes leaders who have represented the community with distinction.

The 2017 OUTstanding Virginians will be honored at the 14th Annual Commonwealth Dinner on April 1, 2017.

Much to my amazement I am  one of the seven (7) honorees for 2017.  The portion of the initial announcement that pertains to me reads as follows (a more detail bio and description will soon appear on the EV website):

Michael Hamar, Norfolk: Michael is an ardent advocate for LGBT rights locally and throughout the state. He writes an internationally read blog on political and LGBT issues, and articles for Veer and Unity magazines, and supports many LGBT and progressive political organizations and leaders. In 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast, he worked to find safe housing and support in Virginia for LGBT residents who lost their homes. He also created an endowment in his late parents' names to help LGBT students attend college.

I am very humbled to have been chosen for this award.  I hope that readers in Virginia will consider attending the Commonwealth Dinner on April 1, 2017 at the Richmond Convention Center. Details on the dinner and how to purchase tickets can be found here (the husband and I are table hosts, so sign up to be at one of our tables).  Each year 1200-1500 people attend and the event is usually heavily attended by politicos and some celebrities.   Hope to see you in Richmond!!

"

2016 Commonwealth Dinner

Last evening the husband and I attended the 2016 Commonwealth Dinner in Richmond.  It was an amazing event and coming to Richmond also gave us an opportunity to see friends - lunch at Can Can, a great French restaurant in Carytown and brunch today at another fun spot - and help support the effort to drag Virginia into the 21st century. We are fortunate that a friend let us use her beautiful, historic home in the Fan District for the weekend while she was out of town.  The photo above is as we headed off to the event with a friend who lives in Richmond.

A highlight of the evening was when out friend Charles Ford was recognized as an Outstanding Virginian.  Among his many activities, Charles has written a book:

A spin-off of his recent research is a pictorial history of LGBT life in Hampton Roads — written with his research partner, Dr. Jeffrey Littlejohn of Sam Houston State University, in Texas, and published in March 2016. It features images of local people and early public events. “It just scratches the surface of available pictures from local archives,” says Charles. Charles used some of these images, blown up to poster size, to celebrate local LGBT history in an exhibition for last year’s Norfolk Pride event, which also featured some panels from the AIDS quilt. As part of the exhibition, Charles led a tour of LGBT history sites in downtown Norfolk. “Most of the actual buildings are gone,” he says, “but it’s interesting to imagine LGBT life in Norfolk in the middle and late twentieth century when Norfolk lived to its long-standing reputation as the ‘wickedest city in America.’”

Again, it was a great evening!

Join Us at the Commonwealth Dinner

Each each year with few exceptions, the husband and I attend The Commonwealth Dinner in Richmond.  The event is the largest fundraising event for Equality Virginia ("EV") which continues to push for full LBGT equality in Virgina and also works to oppose the ugliest legislation proposed by Republican extremists and religious extremists who want to keep LGBT Virginians forever inferior under the law. The event is a lot of fun and is an opportunity to meet many politicians and supporters of equality from across the state.

This year's Commonwealth Dinner is April 16, 2016, and we wanted to let you know some of the details.  First, the keynote speaker will be actor and comedian Carol Leifer.  In addition, EV has also announced the OUTstanding Virginians for 2016 who will be honored at the Dinner.  Locally, our friend Charles Ford – a history professor at Norfolk State University who has done considerable research on local LGBT history and recently published a book on the subject - is among this year's honorees.

Registration is open now and early bird rates end February 28.  I hope you will join us to show your support for EV and your support for LGBT equality.  As one friend noted, "if you’ve never attended the Dinner it is truly a celebratory affair, and it’s encouraging to be in a space with so many people who care about these issues."

To purchase your ticket for the Dinner, click here and when you do be sure to choose us as your table host!  We hope to see readers at the event.  The husband will be sporting a new over the top tuxedo jacket purchased on our most recent trip to Ft. Lauderdale. :)

The Problem of Ageism In the LGBT Community

SHOW SOME F*CKING RESPECT!
Something I think all gay men need to hear...
Posted by Davey Wavey on Friday, January 29, 2016

I came out in mid-life and was struck by the emphasis on youth and beauty in the gay community.  Indeed, I felt  like a "has been" before I got out of the gate.  Sadly, the problem of agism within the LGBT community has not gotten any better since I came out.

I make no claim to have been among the earlier warriors for gay equality, but over the last 15 years, I have tried very hard to make life for LGBT Virginians through involvement with Equality Virginia (Legends committee for 6 years and monthly supporter), founding and supporting Hampton Roads Business OutReach ("HRBOR"), active political involvement, including donating to gay friendly politicians, writing a monthly LGBT column in VERR Magazine, and providing substantial financial support for HR Pride.  My husband has been there right beside me as have many of my friends in the LGBT community of my generation.  I am not trying to brag or blow my own horn. The reality is that in Hampton Roads to a large extent, it is always the same people writing the checks, fighting the fight and putting themselves out there to change minds and hearts.

Yet, meanwhile many young gays do nothing to support the larger LGBT community and take for granted the much improved world in which they now live and seem oblivious as to who and what got us to where we are today.  Worse yet, they show no respect for older gays who fought in the trenches to make things better for all of us. The above video posted by Davey Wavey struck a cord with me has a message that some in the younger generations really needs to hear.

Ann Dearsley-Vernon: Saying Good Bye to a Legend

Ann Vernon

On December 13, 2015, Ann Dearsley-Vernon, a fixture in the local arts community died of a stroke after a night at the symphony.  Due to the holidays and family members living out of the country, her memorial service was postponed until tonight at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk where she worked for 28 years after being hired by Walter Chrysler himself.   The arts and equality were two constants in Ann's life.  I first met her in the summer of 2006, when I first got involved in Equality Virginia's Legends Gala committee - a committee I served on for a number of years and co-chaired in 2008 (meetings used to be held in my Norfolk law office conference room). Ann was the first Legends honoree and was always an inspiration and a true lady in the most positive sense of the word.   At  the memorial service tonight, at Ann's request, any donations received were to be divided between Equality Virginia, the Chrysler Museum and Hope House, a local charity that aids individuals with disabilities to enable them to live independently to the maximum extent possible. A piece from WVEC-TV 13 looked at Ann's early ground breaking efforts in promoting equality and civil rights.  Here are highlights:

In 1960, when America was embroiled in the Civil Rights movement, Ann and a couple of friends from Greensboro Women's College walked into a Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina up to the lunch counter to eat.  Ann was a graduate student in fine arts.

They noticed African-American students were not being served. Ann and her friends gave up their seats to African-American students.

This incident went down in the history books as helping to launch the sit-in movement -- a series of non-violent protests at other eateries across the South that refused to serve African-Americans. It rejuvenated Civil Rights efforts led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We had no idea it would be so important,"Ann said. "We thought it was the right thing to do."

Ann and her friends were yelled at and were threatened by people who were angry at what they did. Ann says someone even pressed a knife against her back. . . . She and her friends were escorted out of Woolworth by a group of African-American student-athletes from the NC A&T football team, who linked arms to protect them.

Doing what is right can be scary and can put one at risk.  Ann never seemed to show fear and she was as ardent in her support for LGBT equality as she was for civil rights in the 1960's.  I feel blessed to have known her and been counted among her friends.   The husband and I last saw her at a fund raiser event on the first Saturday in December and enjoyed her always charming company.  May I always be as fearless in doing what is right as Ann was daily.

Ann at left in 1960

Sunset at the doors of the Chrysler Museum tonight

2015 Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner

Last night the husband and I attended the 12th Annual Commonwealth Dinner, the largest fundraiser of the year for Equality Virginia, and one of the largest gathering of activists and their supporters in the state each year.   We drove up yesterday and had lunch with a friend and his boyfriend at a great restaurant on West Cary Street, before relaxing at the home of a friend (she was out of town and loan us use of her home in the historic Fan District - see image above) before dressing for the event which was held at the Richmond Convention Center.  The event as always was great fun and we saw many friends that we often see once a year at the event.  There was a large contingent from Hampton Roads as is always the case.  We also had the opportunity to chat with politicians we know, including the Lt. Governor, Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and Congressman Bobby Scott.  I also had a chance to talk with U.S. Senator Tim Kaine. Here are some photos:

Dressed up and headed to the Dinner

Lt. Governor Ralph Northam

The husband and Mark Herring

We ended the evening at an LGBT bar called Babe's in Carytown.  I could see us living in the Fan area and the West Cary Street eateries and shops are wonderful.  Richmond is truly a fun place to visit and there is so much history if one is into that (which we are).  One advantage that Richmond has over Hampton Roads is that it is one central city as opposed to seven splintered cities that rarely cooperate for the larger good of the region. 

Carytown

Virginia Republicans Kill Bill to Ban "Conversion Therapy"

I mentioned recently that two bills had been introduced in the current session of the Virginia General Assembly to ban the use of so-called "conversion therapy" on minors.   At the time I speculated that in deference to the Christofascists at The Family Foundation, the de facto ruler of the Virginia GOP, Senate Republicans would kill the bill introduced by Sen. Louise Lucas, while theie counterparts in the House of Delegates kill Del. Hope's bill.  Today, members of the Senate Education and Health Committee in a straight party line vote with Republicans in the majority killed the bill by tabling it indefinitely.  Here's a breakdown of the vote:

YEAS--Martin, Newman, Smith, McWaters, Black, Carrico, Garrett, Cosgrove--8.
NAYS--Saslaw, Lucas, Howell, Locke, Barker, Petersen, Lewis--7.

Thus, yet again Republican members of the State Senate proved themselves to be worse than tawdry whores when it comes to prostituting themselves to the demands of the Christofascists at The Family Foundation.  Never mind that every legitimate medical and mental health association in America condemns "conversion therapy." The Washington Blade has more details.  Here are highlights:

A Virginia Senate committee on Thursday struck down a bill that would have banned “conversion therapy” to minors in the commonwealth.

Members of the Senate Education and Health Committee by a 7-8 vote margin tabled Senate Bill 988 that state Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) introduced on Jan. 12. 

“It is extremely disappointing that our lawmakers cannot come together in support of a bill that would protect Virginia’s LGBT youth,” said James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia, a statewide LGBT advocacy group, in a statement. “We cannot continue to allow our youth to be put through this so-called ‘treatment’ that can cause depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior. At best, allowing this harmful treatment on our youth is irresponsible, and at worse, it could contribute to the unthinkable.”

The House Health, Welfare and Institutions Subcommittee earlier in the day heard testimony for and against House Bill 1385, an identical measure that state Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington County) introduced last month.

 
Representatives of the Family Foundation of Virginia and the Virginia Catholic Conference spoke against the bills alongside a Baptist minister.