On the NBC show Meet the Press, President Obama defended U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel from criticism for anti-gay remarks Hagel made in 1998, according to Advocate.com . In 1998, Hagel called James Hormel (then-President Bill Clinton's nominee for ambassador to Luxembourg) "openly, aggressively gay"; Hagel recently apologized for the comment. Obama told Meet the Press host David Gregory, "With respect to the particular comment that you quoted, he apologized for it. And I think it's a testimony to what has been a positive change over the last decade in terms of people's attitudes about gays and lesbians serving our country."
Speaking of Hagel, retiring U.S. Rep. Barney Frank spent part of his last day in office criticizing Hagel, Gay Star News reported. In a statement, the openly gay Frank said, "Then-Senator Hagel's aggressively bigoted opposition to President Clinton's naming the first openly gay Ambassador in U.S. history was not, as Sen. Hagel now claims, an aberration. He voted consistently against fairness for LGBT people."
The head of National Log Cabin Republicans, R. Clarke Cooper, has stepped down, and an interim executive director is replacing him, according to the Washington Blade. Gregory Angelo, chair of Log Cabin Republicans of New York state, will serve as interim chief. Cooper said he informed the board he would depart the organization at the end of 2012 during an Oct. 20 meeting at the California Republican Party headquarters.
Chelsea Clinton, who works with NBC News, recently sat down with controversial minister the Rev. Rick Warren, according to Gay Star News. Among the topics were Warren's views against homosexuality and marriage equality. At first, Warren said, "I'm commanded by Jesus Christ to love everybody. I'm commanded to treat them with respect." When Clinton pressed him, Warren reportedly became irritable, saying, "We're in a democracy, Chelsea. So nobody wins all the time. And gay marriage might become the rule someday. That doesn't mean I think it's right. I do not favor the redefinition of marriage."
The Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Illinois' Jewish bar association, is backing marriage equality. According to a press release, Decalogue President Michael Strom said, "because Decalogue fundamentally believes in respect for others and condemns all types of discrimination, we support passage of HB5170 [the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act] to ensure that all Illinois couples and their children have equal access to the status, benefits, protections, rights, and responsibilities of civil marriage."
Terrell Smith, a young gay man from Gary, Ind. who was active in Chicago LGBT organizing, died Dec. 16 after he was gunned down in Gary, Ind., according to Windy City Times; Smith was 25. The Northwest Times of Indiana reported that he died after suffering two gunshot wounds. Smith had been a member of Chicago-based LGBTQ organization National Youth Pride Services (NYPS). In a remembrance posted on the NYPS website, the organization recalled Smith's enthusiasm for community activism.
In the latest in a series of flip-flops for a district considering transgender protections, Illinois' East Aurora school district dissolved an ad hoc committee charged with drafting a transgender policy, effectively ending that effort. The Dec. 17 decision marked a third reversal for the district, which implemented transgender protections, revoked them days later, installed a committee to re-write a policy and, finally, disbanded the committee. LGBT youth organization the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance said in a statement that the board has displayed an inability serve youth and Aurora residents.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has appointed Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz to replace the late Daniel K. Inouye in the U.S. Senate—even though Inouye reportedly wanted Rep. Colleen Hanabusa to succeed him, according to the L.A. Times. Some state Democrats apparently favored Schatz, 40, because of his youth, positioning him to gain seniority over the course of multiple terms, as Inouye had done. The pro-gay Inouye died of respiratory complications Dec. 17 at the age of 88. Schatz participated in the "It Gets Better" project last year, urging LGBT children to believe that things do get better for LGBT individuals, according to the New Civil Rights Movement.
The number of people who have signed a petition to the White House asking for it to label the notorious Westboro Baptist Church a hate group is approaching 300,000, according to Politico.com . The petition—aimed at the Kansas church known for picketing military funerals and other events with signs declaring "GOD HATES FAGS"—is believed to be the most popular cause ever on the White House's "We the People" petition site. The church as picketed the funerals of military members killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as ceremonies for of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
An iPhone app supposedly allows groups of LGBT people to unofficially take over a space at any bar or event, according to SouthFloridaGayNews.com . The app known as The Welcoming Committee (TWC) has the motto "Turning places gay. For one night only." TWC Founder Daniel Heller told dot429 that "[it's] critical mass to any space that brings a unique comfort for gay people that exists in straight places. ... [The app] creates an event and if there are more than 15 people, it's usually positive."
CNN talk-show host Piers Morgan has stirred controversy by calling for an "amendment" to the Bible to allow for same-sex marriage, according to the Huffington Post. While interviewing Rev. Rick Warren, Morgan said, "Both the Bible and the Constitution were well intentioned but they are basically, inherently flawed. Hence, the need to amend it." Several thousand people have already signed an online petition asking that Morgan be deported because of his stance on gun control.
The gay group Log Cabin Republicans took out a full-page ad in The New York Times labeling that former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel—who has been on President Obama's short list for defense secretary—as "wrong on gay rights," the Times reported. In 1998, Hagel said of James Hormel (a San Francisco philanthropist nominated by then-President Bill Clinton to be ambassador to Luxembourg), "I think that it is an inhibiting factor to be gay—openly, aggressively gay like Mr. Hormel—to do an effective job." Hagel recently apologized for the remark.
In an interview with PBS Newshour, retiring U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said he wishes he could have come out of the closet before 1987, according to On Top Magazine. When asked if he regrets not coming out until 1987 amid allegations from Stephen Gobie that he ran a prostitution ring out of Frank's basement apartment, Frank said, "No. ... I wish I could have come out earlier. I don't think it would have been possible."
In Connecticut, former state Sen. Andrew J. McDonald has become the first openly gay man to be nominated to the state's supreme court, according to Gay Star News. McDonald, 46, was nominated by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, with whom he has worked closely with for two decades. McDonald was co-chairman of the state Senate's Judiciary Committee in 2005 when the legislature passed a civil-unions law.
Mark Hundahl—CEO of Frontiers Media, which is publisher of Frontiers, Southern California's largest-circulation gay magazine—died Dec. 26 of lung cancer, according to WeHoVille.com . Hundahl and partners Bob Craig and David Stern launched gay publication IN Los Angeles in 1997; in 2007, he and Stern bought Frontiers. Frontiers, which claims a biweekly circulation of 35,000 copies, is distributed from Los Angeles to San Diego.
In Maryland, the owner of Discover Annapolis Tours has decided to stop providing wedding rides instead of serving same-sex couples, according to the L.A. Times. Wedding vendors elsewhere who refused to accommodate same-sex couples have faced discrimination lawsuits, and lost; Discover Annapolis Tours sidesteps legal trouble by avoiding all weddings. Voters upheld Maryland's marriage-equality law during the Nov. 6, 2012, elections; same-sex weddings became legal Jan. 1, 2013.
Professional baseball player Torii Hunter said that a player coming out would make him "uncomfortable," according to Advocate.com . Hunter, who plays with the Detroit Tigers, said that a gay player would divide a Major League Baseball team. He added, "For me, as a Christian … I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it's not right."
Lillian Miles Lewis—the wife and political advisor of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.—died Dec. 31 at Emory University Hospital at the age of 73, according to AJC.com . Lewis met her future husband when he was already a civil-rights icon, and she played a key role in his transition to a career in politics. In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said, "When Congressman Lewis argued passionately against the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 ... he knew from his life with Lillian just how essential the bond of marriage can be."
On the heels of Minnesotans voting against a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, state Sen. John Marty will push for full marriage equality with the introduction of a bill to the state senate in January, according to Queerty.com . In addition, Minnesotans United for All Families will turn into a lobbying group to urge Minnesota lawmakers to pass the bill. Although Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton supports signing such a measure, he and other top Democrats have been reluctant to openly endorse a gay-marriage push, citing the state budget deficit as a greater priority.
Raymond Bell, pastor of the Cowboy Church of Virginia, claims that touching horses can cure homosexuality, according to Gay Star News. Bell claimed to Gay Star News that the use of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP), or sessions involving the stroking of horses, can aid in the "curing" of homosexuality, which he says is an addiction and is not genetic: "EAP can help any person who is living the homosexual lifestyle or involved in it in any way."
PolicyMic.com has listed the five worst states for LGBT rights, with Virginia leading the pack. The commonwealth has several laws regulating lovers, including lewd and lascivious cohabitation, fornication, and crimes against nature; in addition, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (who is running for governor next term) advised state universities to remove LGBT-specific provisions from their non-discrimination policies. The other states listed are Tennessee, Michigan, Mississippi and California.
