Florida Agenda

By JOE HARRIS

The late Hunter S. Thompson would have felt comfortable lurking in the wings of Ybor City’s Honey Pot nightclub last Tuesday night, with a surreal, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”-esque vibe to the gay bar and the several hundred Republicans-and-their-besties who had gathered for a night of “booze” (in the words of co-organizer Jimmy LaSalvia, who noted that, “This is the largest event hosted by a gay group at a Republican convention, not that size matters.”) and talking points.

To underscore just exactly who was “coming to dinner” (or in this case, drinks), the RSVP email was clear: “Homocon 2012 is not a clothing optional event! We don’t care what you wear, but you do have to wear clothes.” LaSalvia, who co-founded GOProud, a group for gay conservatives, orchestrated Homocon 2012 to be an evening of strippers (who honestly weren’t all that stripped-down—in deference, I’m sure, to the Romneys, who were just down the road) and party stalwarts. And even if Ann Coulter wasn’t in attendance (as she had been in 2010), former Romney foreign policy spokesman Richard Grenell (who was reportedly squeezed out of his Team Mitt gig because of pressure from social conservatives) was.

LaSalvia’s GOProud is the only gay group thus far to endorse the Romney-Ryan ticket. The larger Log Cabin Republicans have yet to give the running mates their blessing, although the organization’s DC chapter voted last week to endorse the ticket and recommended that the national organization do likewise, with acknowledgment made for the group’s differences with Romney over points of LGBT civil rights, including marriage equality.

But for LaSalvia, it was a Big Gay Tent, with same-sex marriage taking a back seat to matters of economic policy. “Before you can get married, you have to have a date,” noted LaSalvia, perhaps a little too glibly. “And everyone knows you can’t get a date without a job.” In keeping with the upbeat dynamic, LaSalvia—perhaps with diplomacy in his mind—failed to note that GOProud itself was prohibited from attending this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (C-PAC).

There was also no mention made that after the Obama administration announced that it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court, it was Republican House leaders (under Speaker John Boehner) who took up the slack, with gusto and glee (no pun intended). Nor that the 2012 GOP Platform calls for enshrining DOMA as an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, forever defining marriage between a man and a woman.

By way of e x p l a n a t i on—or possibly apologia– Sarah Longwell of Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry told NPR, “Well, the main thing that we want to communicate is that the freedom to marry is really consistent and in line with the conservative ideology of individual liberty, personal responsibility, family, and freedom. And so I think that conservatives tend to respond to that language. They understand that they do want to minimize government’s role in people’s lives, maximize freedom.”

Maybe they’ll be more responsive— and more inclined to “maximize freedom”—in 2016.

By Nick Stone

I’ll admit it. I’m one lucky bastard. Because of my active role in our local and statewide Republican Party, I was fortunate enough to be selected to be an alternate delegate to the Republican Convention in Tampa next week. I could easily have a say in the future of our party, and—if we win—the future of our country. But whether or not I’m selected to vote, I’ll be there on the inside.

I’ll be talking with the deciders. I’ve been given a voice. One of the things I look forward to most while I’m in Tampa is the opportunity to meet Paul Ryan.

Ryan’s entry into the race inspires both excitement and fear in the gay people I talk to, mostly because he is an unknown quantity (except to us political nerds).

People wonder aloud, Will he take our kids away? Will we ever get the right to marry? Is my Medicare saved or destroyed by his budget plan? Can he really cut the deficit without killing the economy? These questions deserve answers, which history suggests we will see at the convention.

When I see Romney/Ryan in Tampa, I’ll be wearing a rainbow elephant, both figuratively and literally. I’ll stand with the growing number of pro-equality Republican officeholders and candidates, and if given a moment with the candidates, I will remind them of our growing number, in the GOP and across America. Will I single-handedly move the dial on equality?

Who knows? But I know I’m doing more good on the inside than I would by hollering and rioting from the outside. There is little doubt that recent pandering to the LGBT and Latino communities has assured President Obama a support among minorities that once looked shaky.

My gay friends are happily misadvised that “pandering” equals “policy,” and I often tease them to go and rent a chapel, and send me an invitation to their Obama approved weddings. Do you suppose those invitations all got lost in the mail?

Maybe they realize the truth: President Obama’s positions are hollow. His progress on gay issues is only due to a bipartisan will to move forward, or at least move on. Single-issue LGBT voters are being taken for a ride on the U.S.S. Barack, but it is a sinking ship. President Obama’s anti-coattails will sweep in a Republican House, and Senate to boot. Fortunately, Mitt Romney is probably the most pro gay Republican presidential nominee— in record, if not always in rhetoric—that America has ever seen. There is no need for gays to fret the coming change in the White House.

When I meet Paul Ryan in Tampa, I’ll be standing with a champion for our party and our country. This young, gay, conservative, pro-equality Republican is ecstatic about the Romney/Ryan ticket, and I will be proud to cast my votes in favor of America’s Comeback Team, both at the convention and at the ballot box.

Mitt Romney will make a great president, and he—and we—will be well served with Paul Ryan at his side.

Nick Stone is Vice President of the Broward County Young Republicans, the former Vice President of Sunshine Republicans GOProud and campaign manager for Scott R. Herman for State Representative, District 94.

By Ed Cook

There is no way I can express why I am a Republican in a few short words. Yet I know that many will express hate and anger at me. I’m used to it. Yet because of FREEDOM, I’m not offended or discouraged. Gay isn’t who I am, and it is far from defining what I am. I am a father of four children. A grandfather. A salesman. A Christian. A friend. A Republican. A conservative. A trainer. I am Old Superman. A bodybuilder. I am partner to a man with who I’m madly, deeply, and completely in love. Coming out as a Conservative Republican has garnered me more hatred by far from my LGBT friends than coming out of the closet did from my straight friends and family!

Frankly, I was surprised at the hate, anger, and lack of tolerance from my LGBT friends. I have been “un-friended” on Facebook for merely expressing my views. I have been called names, and been treated with intolerance. Some have totally cut me off, and want nothing to do with me. For a community that asks for tolerance, I was taken aback by the lack of tolerance from many. In 2004, the Log Cabin Republicans [took the Federal government to court] over Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell [DADT], not the Democrat leadership.

Perhaps Jimmy LaSalvia, the executive director of gay conservative group GOProud, said it best: “The gay left would have you believe that gay conservatives don’t exist. Now we see that almost a third of self-identified gay voters cast ballots for Republican candidates for Congress in this year’s midterm. This should be a wake-up call for the out-of-touch so-called leadership of Gay, Inc. in Washington, D.C., which has become little more than a subsidiary of the Democrat Party.”

Conservative gays are pro life for the most part. Why? Because we believe life should be protected and respected. Isn’t it ironic that if you destroy an eagle egg in the wild, you will be fined $250,000 and serve jail time? Yet kill a human baby because of inconvenience—as 90 percent of all abortions are performed for birth control reasons, and only 1 percent because of the mother’s health—and that’s “OK?” I can also tell you when science discovers the LGBT genes or threads—and mark my words, it will— who do you think is going to abort babies who are genetically set to be LGBT? Who? Yes. It will be the liberals who will. They are the ones who believe in abortion, and that life in general is fallible and needs to be controlled and corrected.

Gay marriage is the least of our problems at this time of our crisis. If the country would accept gay marriage, would that have an impact on national security? Jobs? Our economy? No, it won’t. Everyone needs a job, whether gay or straight. We all know that the younger generation doesn’t care who marries whom. We all know it is only a matter of time when gay marriage will be accepted. Right now though, jobs, the economy, and borders are the issue.

I don’t see the Democratic Party doing anything to help. Nor is there anything in the Democratic Platform to change it.

Ed Cook is a motivational speaker, personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder. A former Fort
Lauderdale resident, he attended Brigham Young University, and lives in North Carolina.

  By NICK STONE

FORT LAUDERDALE – The Angry Left doesn’t have conservative commentator and author Andrew Breitbart to kick around anymore. I’m sorry to admit I never considered the legendary blogger a hero until he was gone. But his absence hit me and the country with a deafening thud.

Breitbart dedicated himself to the cause of bringing to light the hypocrisy and vulgarity of the so-called “progressive” left.

He wasn’t about to let them get away with pretending to be open-minded and accepting of individuality. He knew the dark history of the Left and its members’ penchant for the politics of division. Thanks to his work, many of us know the truth, too.

Sometimes Breitbart got it wrong when breaking a story. With his flair for the dramatic, he would occasionally overplay a nugget of truth as though he had the scoop of the century. But along the way, he did uncover some doozies and got Americans talking about some previously unspoken political truths. Beyond muckraking, he used his larger-than-life personality to rally unlikely groups to the conservative brotherhood.

Breitbart was a man of inclusion. He served on the advisory council of the gay Republican group GOProud and was known to have many gay, liberal, and minority friends. While this fact rarely caused right wing outrage, it did spark a meltdown on the left.

The rumor mill spat vile epithets at Breitbart, accusing him of being a closeted gay, predicting that he would die of AIDS, rot in hell, etc. In his lighthearted fashion, Andrew would re-tweet the messages as an homage to and reminder of the true nature of the left.

Breitbart urged conservatives from all walks of life to keep focused on opposing the radical (read: entire) Left, rather than each other. At a recent gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), he admonished the GOP faithful to rise above personal differences for the urgent cause of defeating the political opposition.

“The Republican Party and the conservative movement is not what ABC and CBS puts up on the screen,” Breitbart announced. “They try to portray you in the worst possible light. And when I walk through CPAC or I travel through the United States and I meet people in the Tea Party who care–black, white, gay, and straight–anyone who’s willing to stand next to me to fight the progressive Left, I will be in that bunker.

And if you’re not in that bunker because you’re not satisfied with this candidate, [then] more than shame on you. You’re on the other side.”

In some strange way, Breitbart made it “cool,” or at least acceptable to be conservative.

Was he a gay hero? For those of us who want to see both parties fighting for inclusion and equality, maybe he should have been. The truth is that the world at large was a much, much better place with him in it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is the second GOP presidential contender to officially embrace same-sex marriage, making the announcement during a recent town hall hosted by the pro-gay Republican group, GOProud.

According to Think Progress, Johnson said that as a believer in individual freedom and keeping government out of personal lives, he simply cannot find a legitimate justification for federal laws, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage. He said that the definition should be left to religions and individuals

and not government. He feels that government’s role when it comes to marriage is one of granting benefits and rights to couples who choose to enter into a marriage contract. He said that he has examined this issue, consulted with folks on all sides and views it through the lens of individual freedom and equal rights.

G.O.P. Candidates Sign NOM’s Marriage Pledge

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three Republican presidential candidates, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, have signed the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) Marriage Pledge. NOM’s marriage pledge was offered to all serious announced candidates for the G.O.P. nomination. An opportunity to sign the Marriage Pledge will be extended to Texas Governor Rick Perry and other major candidates, if and when they enter the race.

In signing the pledge, the candidates swear to: support and send to the states a federal marriage amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman, defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, appoint judges and an attorney general who will respect the original meaning of the Constitution, appoint a presidential commission to investigate harassment of traditional marriage supporters and support legislation that would return to the people of D.C. their right to vote for marriage.

Gay Man Wins Right to  Be an Ordained Minister

MADISON, WI – Openly gay Scott Anderson, 56, won the right to be ordained by the USA Presbyterian Church. Anderson is believed to be the first gay person in a long-term same-sex relationship to be approved for ordination by the denomination.

The church’s judicial commission  dismissed a case against Anderson by opponents of gay ordination. Opponents brought the case last year, arguing Anderson could not be ordained because he was in an open relationship with a man. At the time, church rules required clergy members to live in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. However, a shift in thinking earlier this year happened when a majority of the church’s regional bodies voted to allow openly gay men and women in a same-sex relationship to be orda

ined.

Another Indian Tribe Approves Same-Sex Marriage

SEATTLE, WA – A second American Indian tribe has adopted a law recognizing same-sex marriage. The Suquamish Tribal Council of Washington state voted to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The new law gained the support of more than 100 tribal leaders in their most recent meeting.

The law permits the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, regardless of their gender, as long as they’re at least 18 years old and one of the people is a member of the tribe.

Same-sex marriage is illegal in the State of Washington, but the state legislature has approved a measure stating they will recognize same-sex marriages that took place in other jurisdictions and other nations. The legislature has also approved a bill called “Everything But Marriage,” which grants same-sex couples many of the same rights as married couples except for using the word “married”.

The Coquille Indian Tribe in southern Oregon is the only other tribe that recognizes same-sex marriage.

New Data Shows Annual HIV Infections in U.S. Relatively Stable

ATLANTA, GA – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s first multi-year estimates from its national HIV incidence surveillance find that, overall, the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States was relatively stable at approximately 50,000 each year between 2006 and 2009.  However, HIV infections increased among young men who have sex with men (MSM) between 2006 and 2009, driven by alarming increases among young, black MSM – the only subpopulation to experience a sustained increase during the time period.

The new estimates were published online in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.  The incidence estimates are based on direct measurement of new HIV infections with a laboratory test that can distinguish recent from long-standing HIV infections.

“More than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, about 50,000 people in this country still become infected each year. Not only do men who have sex with men continue to account for most new infections, young gay and bisexual men are the only group in which infections are increasing, and this increase is particularly concerning among young African American MSM,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D. “HIV infections can be prevented. By getting tested, reducing risky behaviors, and getting treatment, people can protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Warner Brothers Sets November for Release  of J. Edgar

HOLLYWOOD, CA – Warner Brothers Studios has set November 9th as the release date for the film, “J. Edgar,” a biopic on the first director of the F.B.I. being produced by Clint Eastwood. The motion picture completed filming in February.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and was written by Dustin Lance Black; the timing of the release will make it eligible for nomination for next year’s Academy Awards. In addition to DiCaprio, the cast includes Armie Hammer (from The Social Network) as Hoover’s assistant and closeted lover, Clyde Tolson; Josh Lucas as aviator Charles Lindbergh; Ed Westwick as Agent Smith, an operative gifted with writing skills; Damon Herriman as Bruno Hauptmann, the man convicted of kidnapping and killing the Lindbergh baby; Judi Dench as Hoover’s mother; Naomi Watts as Helen Gandy, a Justice Department file clerk who ended up being Hoover’s personal secretary; Ken Howard as lawyer and jurist Harlan F. Stone; Jeffrey Donovan as Robert F. Kennedy and Stephen Root as Arthur Koehler, a wood specialist at Forest Product Laboratories who uses his expertise to help Hoover investigate the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby by tracing the origins of the ladder used by the perpetrator.

Major Psychology Group Comes Out to Support Gay Marriage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The policy-making body of the American Psychological Association (APA) voted unanimously to approve a resolution to support full marriage equality, a move that observers say will have a far-reaching impact on the debate. This was the world’s largest organization of psychologists’ strongest stand to date in support of same-sex marriage and cited new research in their decision.

The group, with more than 154,000 members, has long supported full equal rights for gays, based on social science research on sexual orientation. Now, the nation’s psychologists, citing an increasing body of research about same-sex marriage, as well as increased discussion at the state and federal levels, took the support to a new level.

The resolution points to numerous recent studies, including findings that many gay men and lesbians, like their heterosexual counterparts, desire to form stable, long-lasting and committed intimate relationships and are successful in doing so.

Rupert Murdoch to Cash in on Gay Marriage

NEW YORK, NY – According to Gay City News, Rupert Murdoch’s New Corp is ready to cash in on same-sex marriage with a new magazine, Wedding Pride: The Magazine for Gay and Lesbian Wedding Planning. The first issue will hit newsstands this September with an initial 35,000 copy run, which will likely remain confined to the gay-friendly communities of Chelsea, Park Slope, Fire Island, Montclair, South Orange and Asbury Park.

Murdoch’s News Corp. is most famous for its other publications, such the New York Daily News and its cable Fox News Channel.

“Glee” Star to Replace Daniel Radcliffe in  “How to Succeed”

NEW YORK, NY – The producers of the 50th anniversary production of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical comedy “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” announced last week that Darren Criss, of Fox’s Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning hit television show, “Glee,” will make his Broadway debut as J. Pierrepont Finch, performing a strictly limited three week engagement from January 3, through January 22, 2012. He will replace Daniel Radcliffe, who will play his final performance on Sunday, January 1, 2012.

Criss plays Blaine Anderson, Chris Colfer’s love interest on “Glee”.

Esurance Donates $50K  to The Trevor Project

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Esurance, the online car insurance company, announced that the company donated $50,000 to The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBT youth.
Esurance recently launched the charitable giving campaign on its Facebook page. For each new “Like,” the company donated $10 to The Trevor Project to help support the Trevor Lifeline, a 24/7 crisis intervention phone hotline offering free and confidential suicide prevention counseling to youth nationwide.

With Twitter and Facebook support from The Trevor Project itself, and the mentions from celebrities such as Perez Hilton, Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block, and others spreading the word, Esurance quickly reached its stated goal of $50,000.

Ann Coulter to Serve  as Honorary Chair of GOProud’s Advisory Council

WASHINGTON, D.C. – GOProud, a national organization of gay conservatives, announced that Ann Coulter was joining the organization’s Advisory Council as Honorary Chair. Coulter’s official title will be “Honorary Chair and Gay Icon”.

“Ann Coulter is a brilliant and fearless leader of the conservative movement, we are honored to have her as part of GOProud’s leadership,” said Christopher Barron, Chairman of GOProud’s Board in a written statement. “Ann helped put our organization on the map. Politics is full of the meek, the compromising and the apologists – Ann, like GOProud, is the exact opposite of all of those things. We need more Ann Coulters.”

Coulter responded with “I am honored to serve in this capacity on GOProud’s Advisory Council and look forward to being the Queen of fabulous.”

Coulter joins Margaret Hoover, Grover Norquist, Andrew Breitbart, Liz Mair, Chuck Muth, Lisa De Pasquale, Christian Josi, Roger Stone, Andrew Langer, Kathryn Serkes and Bob Carlstrom on the GOProud Advisory Council.

Coulter is the author of “Demonic: How the Liberal Mob is Endangering America,” as well as seven other New York Times bestsellers: “Guilty: Liberal Victims and Their Assault on America,” “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans,” “Godless: The Church of Liberalism,” “How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must),” “Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism,” “Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right” and “High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton”.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – National conservative gay organization, GOProud, is urging Congress to include personal savings accounts in any reform proposals of Social Security.

“Personal savings accounts would provide gay and lesbian couples with the same opportunities as other Americans to provide for their retirement security,” said Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud. “Personal savings accounts are not just good for gays and lesbians; by creating wealth, empowering individuals to control their own retirement and improving the American economy, they are good for all Americans.”

LaSalvia went on to say that under the current discriminatory practices of the Social Security System, gay and lesbian couples are prohibited from leaving their benefits to their same-sex partners and that personal savings accounts are private property of the individual.