Sunday, February 5, 2012

Could Mich. Congressman Face a Gay Challenger in November?


Will Michigan Congressman Justin Amash face a gay challenger in November?

DownWithTyranny! reported on Saturday that Trevor Thomas is considering a run against the first-term incumbent Republican. Thomas, a former communications director for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, was a former producer and reporter for WGVU and WOOD in Grand Rapids before he worked on former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's communications team. He is also a former Human Rights Campaign and Equality Matters staffer.

The blog said that Thomas has hired consultant Mark Mellman to gauge whether he would have enough support in the district if he were to announce his candidacy. DownWithTyranny! further reported that Thomas has been meeting with local elected officials since November. Thomas also noted on his Facebook page that at least 200 people attended a meeting at the Grand Rapids Teamster Hall yesterday morning about “how we’ll win the 3rd Congressional District.”

“I’m still deciding... no official announcements coming from me yet,” Thomas told Boy in Bushwick earlier today.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

LGBT Activists Protest Outside National Prayer Breakfast


Roughly two dozen LGBT activists protested outside the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., earlier on Thursday.

Members of GetEQUAL, Occupy Washington and the American Civil Liberties Union were among those who gathered outside the Washington Hilton to highlight what they describe as the Fellowship's global anti-LGBT agenda. While the number of activists who protested was noticeably smaller than the dozens who gathered outside the hotel last February; organizers maintained they sent a powerful message to President Barack Obama and other politicians and dignitaries who attended the 60th annual gathering.

"We’re protesting the fact that the Family is holding a National Prayer Breakfast attended by senators, representatives, the president and the vice president--specifically because of the Family and the Fellowship's role in supporting anti-gay legislation across the world," said Heather Kronk, managing director of GetEQUAL.

Activists specifically highlighted the secretive organization's ties of Ugandan Parliamentarian David Bahati, who introduced a so-called Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would impose the death penalty upon those found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts. This protest also comes a little more than a year after Ugandan gay activist David Kato was murdered in his Kampala home.