The first in a series of year-in-review stories on local, national and world news, entertainment and activism.
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It was a very good political year for gay and lesbian Americans. Perhaps with time we will even come to see 2001 as a pivotal milestone in the struggle for full equality.
January found many apprehensive about the pending inauguration of George W. Bush as President. Some feared a rollback of legal and administrative gains achieved during the Clinton administration and, at the very least, disappearance of Clinton's schmoozing of the community. His symbolic gestures provided a balm to soothe the often more limited accomplishments.
Many gay organizations joined with liberal allies to vigorously oppose the nomination of John Ashcroft to be Attorney General. While most Democrats in the Senate voted against the nominee, they were not willing to mount a filibuster in opposition to him. Log Cabin Republicans saw the controversy as an opportunity to open a dialog with Ashcroft and were the first group to officially meet with him after he was sworn into office. That was seen as a sign of inclusiveness by the new administration.
Much of the fear of the Bush administration largely dissipated over the ensuing months. Existing nondiscrimination protections remain in force, there have been no rollbacks. While the photo opportunities have disappeared, the door has remained open on issues of substance, albeit often at a lower level.
Perhaps the most visible acknowledgment of the community came with the April appointment of Scott Evertz to head up the Office of National AIDS Policy, the first time that an openly gay man has led that office. Other openly gay and lesbian appointees have chosen not to make public statements of their orientation. First lesbian Mary Cheney, daughter of the Vice President, was highly visible at the inauguration but has since disappeared from public view.
In September, Michael E. Guest was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Romania in a ceremony conducted by Secretary of State Colin Powell. At Guest's side was his partner of six years, Alex Nevarez, a teacher, who has accompanied Guest to Romania. Powell acknowledged their relationship in his remarks. The 43-year-old career diplomat is only the second openly gay person to serve as a U.S. Ambassador.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is still the rule for the military, but the brass seems to be getting serious about training people to enforce it equitably, that's a step in the right direction. The Bush administration has made it quietly clear to commanders that they do not want to see antigay harassment blow up in the press and the best way to prevent bad press is to end the harassment.
The Senate changed hands in June when Jim Jeffords ( R-Vermont ) became an independent and voted with the Democrats to organize that body. It was the first time in history that such a switch occurred during a legislative year.
A political firestorm erupted in July when the Washington Post reported that the White House had made a "firm commitment" to revise regulations to allow the Salvation Army and other religious groups to practice hiring discrimination against gays when using federal funds. The administration denied the report and the Salvation Army later said it must have misunderstood. Regardless of who really said what, the effort was quashed.
It was all tied in with Bush's "faith-based initiative," rammed through the House later that month by the Republican leadership. The bill contained a provision that would exempt religious organizations from complying with state and local civil rights laws when they hire staff under contracts to provide social services. It would apply to federal, state, and local funds.
A revolt of House Republican moderates was headed off only when conservative Rep J.C. Watts ( R-Oklahoma ) , the lead sponsor of the bill, promised to "more clearly address this matter [ of a religious exemption ] in conference" with the Senate. He indicated that the Senate version of the legislation likely will not include this language and the House will accept that. The Democratic Senate has yet to address the initiative.
The religious right was able to get some of its pet antigay provisions adopted by Congress, such as an affirmation of the Boy Scouts of America. But its successes were largely symbolic, with few real teeth. And it lost a big one in September as their nine-year effort to block implementation of domestic partner legislation in Washington, DC crumpled in a House vote of 226 to 194.
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, New York Gov. George Pataki issued an executive order that included gay and lesbian partners as qualifying for survivor benefits and other government programs. Initial comments on issues of fairness indicate that Kenneth R. Feinberg, appointed as Special Master to distribute $11 billion in federal funds, will adopt a similar inclusive standard.
Three arch-nemesis decided to take a powder. Sen. Jesse Helms ( R-North Carolina ) announced in August that he would not seek reelection, and House Majority Leader Dick Armey ( R-Texas ) , he of "Barney Fag" fame, did the same in December. Pat Robertson's resignation from the Christian Coalition came in December between those two political bookends. Both he and Jerry Falwell had earned the antipathy of most Americans when they tried to blame the 9/11 terrorist attacks on gays and liberals.
Maryland became the 12th state to pass a gay civil-rights bill, in May. Members of the religious right began a petition effort to send it to a voter referendum, but gay-rights advocates found that they violated the legal process in gathering those signatures, and the law took effect in November. Approximately 40 percent of Americans are now covered by similar state or local ordinances.
Texas passed a hate-crimes act. California passed domestic-partners legislation that confers many of the benefits of marriage to same-sex partners. Vermont's experiment with gay "civil unions" continues to be carried out as people adjust to that new reality.
Three antigay ballot measures in Michigan went down to defeat in the November elections, while one barely passed in Houston, and two pro-gay measures breezed through in Miami Beach. Another antigay petition failed to qualify in Miami and some of the leaders of that effort are being investigated for violation of election regulations.
Republican candidates for major office whose campaigns were tainted by antigay activities were routed in off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey, putting another nail in the coffin of that failed tactic. The poor showing contributed to the departure of Gov. Jim Gilmore from the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee after only a year in that position. His successor is Marc Racicot, who had a record of inclusiveness on gay issues as Governor of Montana.
The number of gay and lesbian elected officials continues to grow incrementally. Democrat Cathy Woolard pulled in 55 percent of the vote citywide to defeated the son of local legend Julian Bond to become the first woman and the first openly gay person elected Atlanta City Council President. In New York City, reelected councilman Phil Reed is maneuvering to be chosen by his peers in January as speaker of that body.
