Nation In Brief

Staff Reports

NOM Attacks LGBTQ Activist Transgendered Son Of House Republican Backer Of DOMA Repeal

MIAMI, FLORIDA -- The National Organization for Marriage's president, Brian Brown, blamed Rodrigo Lehtinen, transgendered son of U. S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, as the reason his mother became the first Republican cosponsor of the House version of the Defense of Marriage Act repeal bill.

"Transgendered daughter of marriage flip-flopper Rep. Ros-Lehtinen played part in decision to abandon DOMA?" Brown tweeted Wednesday morning.

Rodrigo Lehtinen currently works as a a field organizer for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. This past February Mr. Lehtinen was a trainer at the National Conference on LGBT Equality, better known as the "Creating Change" conference. His mother, although having originally voted for the DOMA law in 1996, has been building a steady resume of pro LGBTQ equality rights that included votes in favor of repealing "don't ask, don't tell," opposition to a bill to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in 2006, and vocal opposition to a ban on equality rights regarding same-sex marriage in her home state of Florida in 2008.

In his tweet, Brown linked to an article citing conservatives in her district attacking Ros-Lehtinen saying "this isn’t what they signed up for."

In an interview with the Miami-Herald, the congresswoman said:

"They think of it as a Neanderthal way of thinking not to accept someone because of their sexual orientation. My kids just say, 'So and so is gay.' It's like, 'He likes chocolate ice cream.' It's a total mind shift among generations. ... As new generations raise up, a lot of taboos will be laid to rest."

She acknowledged that she has learned a good deal about LGBTQ equality rights from her kids.

San Francisco's Bay Area Reporter Newspaper Endorses City Supervisor Bevan Dufty In Mayor's Race

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- The editorial board of the Bay Area Reporter newspaper has formally endorsed the candidacy of San Francisco City Supervisor Bevan Dufty, to become the city's next mayor.

The editorial board stated:

We're not endorsing Dufty just because he is gay. But political recommendations are part of our responsibility as the leading LGBT newspaper and it would be significant for America's gayest city to have an out mayor. It's important to us that one day San Francisco have a gay mayor and Dufty is as qualified as anyone else in the field.

Supervisor Dufty's campaign has reached out to embrace more than just the city's LGBTQ residents, in his interview with the editorial board, Dufty was insistent in talking about the future of the African American community in San Francisco according to BAR's editors – and he remains the only major candidate who is doing that. Dufty, whose godmother was Billie Holiday, said that being mayor means making the diversity of San Francisco "real, meaningful, and true." The black community is "in crisis" here, he said, noting the high unemployment rate, among other concerns.

LGBTQNation op-ed columnist Alvin McEwen had noted in column in reference to Dufty's first campaign television ad which features him and his daughter Sidney riding on Muni;

The footage shows Dufty playing with his daughter on the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI), while he says in a voice over: “I ride MUNI everyday. I enjoy it most when I’m with Sidney.”

So why does this commercial scare Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins and the rest of the religious right?

Simple. Because it shows truth.

It shows that the loving and raising of children is not something strictly owned by the heterosexual community or a stereotypical nuclear family.

And it proves that all of the money, lies, and propaganda can’t hide basic truth regarding the gay community.

The paper agrees saying that Dufty is also a parent, which is another important aspect of his life. Gay and lesbian parents are becoming increasingly visible in ways that once didn't seem possible – on the playground, in parent groups, and at their kids' schools.

The editors also opined:

The LGBT community needs someone like Dufty, who is committed to using his personal story to build bridges between the black and LGBT communities. He wants to expand opportunities for city workers, for black-owned businesses, and for LGBT-owned businesses as well.

In terms of public transit, Dufty supports the Central Subway project and thinks it is an important extension for Muni. In fact, if elected, Dufty said he would be a mayor who focuses on getting results, and vowed to improve Muni in part by making connections with bus drivers, encouraging them not to miss work on Mondays, for example, which would save Muni money.

Dufty has an innovative idea about social services and would like to explore so-called wet housing, where chronic, homeless alcoholics can be housed and drink on the premises. A project in Seattle has proven successful and Dufty thinks a similar program might help reduce the millions of dollars the city spends on ambulance runs to the emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital by chronic alcoholics. There are about 225 "high flyers," Dufty said, and the city spends about $60,000 on each of them a year.

Dufty is attuned to the importance of public safety – in fact, all the mayoral candidates we interviewed pledged to keep Greg Suhr as chief of police – and he continues to take heat for the decision to end Halloween in the Castro in the wake of several violent incidents. That's the thing with Dufty, if a situation isn't working out, he will make changes.

This year's mayor's race is an opportunity to usher in new leadership and bring about change. We believe Bevan Dufty is the best candidate for the job.