Zach Wahls just won a senate seat in the US state of Iowa.
The 27-year-old, who went viral in a video in 2011 defending his lesbian moms, took to Twitter last night (6 November) to announce his victory.
He tweeted: ‘We won. Thank you, Iowa.’
Zach Wahls, who ran as a Democratic candidate, received 78% of the vote.
He will be one of the youngest people to ever serve in the state senate.
The young senator campaigned on issues like affordable health care, education, improved workers’ rights and gun control.
‘I hope tonight marks a fresh start for Iowa,’ he said in a statement last night. ‘We must all come together to bring real reform to our health care system, restore a tradition of excellence to our public education system and raise incomes for Iowa’s working families.
‘It’s time to start thinking about the future of our state again,’ he added.
Zach Wahls said his viral video in 2011 inspired him to run for office.
He said in his announcement at the end of last year: ‘Two quick notes about how we’re going to run this campaign.
‘FIRST, I am incredibly conscientious of the fact that I am a straight white guy running in the #MeToo moment.
‘I am running because I believe all Iowans need a seat at the table. That absolutely means more women running, it means more young people, it means more people of color.
‘This is an all hands on deck situation that is going to determine the future of our state for generations to come — and all hands means all hands.
‘I am going to listen to women.
‘I am going to hold myself and the men around me accountable for our behavior. For our generation, this is a basic qualification, but I feel it is one that is important to name and to say out loud,’ he tweeted.
Watch his viral video, with more than 19 million views:
Malcolm Kenyatta was among the many LGBTI candidates celebrating success in the US midterm elections yesterday.
Kenyatta, 27, won the 181st District of Pennsylvania in the states house. He is the second openly gay Representative, joining fellow Democrat Brian Sims. Sims has been in office since 2012 and yesterday enjoyed re-election.
Kenyatta, of North Philadelphia, is also the first black, gay man elected to statewide office in Pennsylvania. Following his success, he told News One, ‘As I said to my team and supporters last night, this was a victory for all those who believe we should raise wages, send our kids to fully funded schools, and keep seniors in their homes.
‘I’m grateful to North Philly for this resounding and historic win. I’m ready to get to work.’
He tweeted a photo, saying: ‘NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
I’m so humbled to be the next State Representative for the 181st District of Pennsylvania. Together we made history!’
Kenyatta overcome homophobic campaigning during his campaign to achieve success. On the day of the primaries in May, he discovered flyers plastered around his neighborhood featuring a photo of him and his now ex-husband on their wedding day. Across the flyers was written the message: ‘SAY NO’ to ‘MALCOM KENYATTA.’
However, the last-minute attempt to stir up anti-gay hate failed.
Kenyatta not only won his primary, but he yesterday cruised to success, taking over 95% of the vote. He polled 20,722 votes, against Republican opponent Milton Street’s 1,014. Kenyatta replaces his older cousin: Democrat W. Curtis Thomas, who held the seat since 1989 but chose to retire.
Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, LGBTI candidates for the House of Representatives had mixed results. Although Kenyatta and Sims were successful, Kristin Seale (D) narrowly failed to dislodge Representative Christopher Quinn in the 168th District, and Daniel Smith Jnr (D) failed to take the 12th District.
Jared Polis is a history-maker in today’s midterm elections in the United States. He is officially the first openly gay man elected a state governor.
Polis ran as the Democratic candidate in Colorado’s gubernatorial race. He was declared the victor with 52% of the votes after 57% of the precincts reporting.
He ran opposing Republican candidate Walker Stapleton, who took 44.9% of the votes. Third-party candidates Scott Helker (Libertarian) and Bill Hammons (Unity Party of Colorado) took 2.4% and 0.9% of the votes, respectively.
‘Tonight, Colorado rejected the Trump-Pence administration’s politics of bigotry and fear by choosing bold pro-equality champion Jared Polis, the nation’s first openly gay man elected governor,’ said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin.
‘For nearly a decade in Congress, Jared Polis fought to advance fairness and equality in Colorado and across America. He is a proven leader who will take his commitment to securing full equality to the governor’s mansion and fight to make Colorado a stronger and more inclusive state.’
Polis has served as the representative from Colorado’s 2nd congressional district since 2009.
He is a vocal supporter of numerous progressive issues, including LGBTI rights and education reform. During his career, he sponsored bills for both improvements to school lunches, as well as funding special education.
He also advocates for safer campuses and altering disciplinary processes regarding accusations of rape and sexual assault.
Civil Rights icon and House of Representatives member John Lewis endorsed Polis in his bid for governorship.
‘Jared and I have worked together for years to expand civil rights and to make healthcare more affordable to millions,’ Lewis said.
‘I’m proud to call Jared my friend. He has the courage to be a great governor for Colorado.’
Tom Stacha on a stretcher going into the ambulance | Photo: Video/Chicago Tribune
1 November 2018 20:32 GMT
A police officer in Chicago is currently under investigation for allegedly beating a gay couple outside a club.
Two friends of Sgt. Eric Elkins, as well as a friend of the victims, implicated Elkins in the attack on 29 September. According to reports, the friend of the victims identified Elkins ‘immediately and without hesitation’ from a lineup of photos of suspects.
So far, Elkins faces no official charges. On Wednesday (31 October), however, Anthony Guglielmi, a Chicago police spokesman, described Elkins as a ‘person of interest’.
He also added the investigation is ongoing.
A lawsuit filed by Attorney Timothy Cavanagh identifies the victims as longtime partners John Sherwood and Tom Stacha.
Sherwood suffered a compound leg fracture, while Stacha was admitted to the hospital with broken cheekbones and a perforated trachea.
The night of 29 September, the couple was out with friends. They went to @mosphere, a popular gay dance club, when they reportedly ran into Elkins and his group.
The suit alleges Elkins and his friends attacked Sherwood, Stacha, and their friends first. A friend of Elkins’, however, said Sherwood instigated the alteracation.
Sherwood’s group left the club and then Sherwood said Elkins came out and began attacking them.
‘I went instinctively into the fetal position, and they kept kicking and punching my head,’ he described.
Three other men were named as defendants in the lawsuit, including an Oak Park police officer identified as Elkins’ boyfriend.
Cavanagh said no action has been taken against Elkins because he’s a police officer.
‘They had probable cause to arrest (Elkins) weeks ago. But because it’s a Chicago police sergeant, nothing,’ he said.
At the time of the altercations, Elkins had been on paid desk duty for over three years due to sexual assault allegation in his Michigan hometown.
The Michigan State Police records reveal accusations against Elkins for inappropriately touching four teenage boys in 2015. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges and faced a fine, as well as a year of probation.
Before that, in 2003, he faced charges of sexually abusing a male student during his time as a patrolman. A judge eventually acquitted Elkins and he became sergeant in 2007.
In his 20 years on the force, Elkins also accrued 35 citizen complaints.
GSN reached out to the Chicago Police Department for further comment.
Commissioners in Orange County, Florida, have approved $10million (€8.8million) in funding towards a Pulse Museum and memorial. The project will commemorate the lives lost at LGBTI nightclub, Pulse, in June 2016.
The approved funding will come through hotel tax revenue. Orange County commissioners unanimously agreed the payments Tuesday. They will be spread over three years.
Barbara Poma, the owner of the Pulse nightclub and founder of onePULSE Foundation, welcomed the news.
She said afterwards the museum and memorial will be historic landmarks, and hence deserving of funding from the tourism tax.
‘We are not the first tragedy in our country. You don’t go to 9/11 to think it’s a tourist attraction. You go there to make pilgrimage and pay our respect and to bear witness, and that’s exactly what the Pulse sites will be.’
Pulse tragedy
Gunman Omar Mateen attacked Pulse nightclub on 12 June 2016. The LGBTI club in Orlando was hosting one of its regular Latin nights. In total, 49 people were killed and 53 people were injured – predominantly LGBTI. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting by a sole gunman in US history.
Mateen was shot and killed in a stand-off with police.
The OnePULSE Foundation tweeted about news of the funding.
‘We are grateful to have been awarded Tourism Development Tax funding by @OrangeCoFL Board of County Commissioners for land acquisition & design for the #Pulse Museum. Thank you to our community for making this possible.’
The funding will go towards the acquisition of land and the designing of the museum and memorial. Further funding will be needed to see the projects through to completion.
Nine potential sites have been earmarked as locations for the museum and memorial.
The proposed sites for the future, permanent Pulse memorial and museum (Image: onePULSE Foundation)
An interim memorial opened in May. It has been visited by over 41,000 people since that time, according the One Pulse Foundation.
Midterm elections are taking place today (6 November) in the US and many are thrilled with the several LGBTI candidates running for office.
However, not everyone is happy with this ‘rainbow wave’ that could change the political scenario.
Some of these crucial candidates’ opponents and their supporters have whipped up prejudice against them with anti-LGBTI flyers.
A Republican on his gay opponent ‘and the man he calls his “husband”‘
The mailer targeting Smith Jr. (right) and his husband (center).
As the Pittsburgh Current reported in early November, Republican Daryl Metcalfe currently serving Butler County, Pennsylvania, highlighted in a series of flyers that his Democratic opponent, Daniel Smith Jr. is gay.
Smith Jr. is indeed an out gay man. Looking at the mailers sent to voters seems that Smith Jr.’s sexual orientation is the only argument Metcalfe’s supporters have.
‘Smith Jr. endorsed by liberal gay activist groups and unions,’ the flyer reads in bold.
Moreover, Metcalfe belittled Smith Jr.’s marriage.
A picture of Smith Jr. with his husband and Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf at Pittsburgh PrideFest is on another mailer, as reported by The Daily Beast.
The caption reads: ‘Smith Jr. and the man he calls his “husband.”‘
Metcalfe, endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), has a track record of opposing LGBTI equality.
He was against Philadelphia’s program to market the city to LGBTI tourists.
Furthermore, after the Supreme Court in 2013 ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, openly gay state representative Brian Sims tried to make a speech in the Pennsylvania House supporting the decision. Metcalfe was one of several representatives who blocked Sims from speaking. He labeled Sims’s speech as ‘open rebellion against what the word of God has said’.
Several other episodes of LGBTI discrimination
This is only the latest incident targeting an LGBTI candidate.
The Conservative Republicans of Harris County sent out some mailers in Houston. They asked voters to ‘remember when the Democrats wanted to allow men to enter into women’s public bathrooms’.
The line is a reference to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), an LGBTI nondiscrimination measure that has been repealed.
The mailer also features a picture of a drag queen next to a crying baby captioned ‘Help me!’ It warned that ‘Democrats Support A Drag Queen Story Hour (For Kids)’.
Houston Public Library hosts a monthly Drag Queen Storytime event. According to the organizers, ‘these vibrant Queens will help to instill a sense of love and acceptance in our children while encouraging them to be true to themselves’.
Trans candidates are constantly misgendered
Rodney Garcia’s mailer targeting his trans opponent Amelia Marquez.
Trans candidates have to deal with the frustration of being misgendered by their opponents.
Amelia Marquez might become the first transgender person elected into Montana’s House of Representatives.
In an interview with the Missoulian Independent, her opponent Rodney Garcia repeatedly referred to Marquez by her birth name.
When the reporters reminded him of her legal name, he said he deadnamed her out of ‘respect and courtesy’.
He then added: ‘I just got a door hanger on my door and it says [Amelia] too, but I go by her given name.’
A pro-Garcia mailer also accused Marquez of supporting the statement ‘Men should be allowed to use the women’s restrooms.’
‘Get ready to win’
Trans Democratic representative for Virginia Danica Roem reminded trans candidates in the midterm elections of her journey.
‘2017: The Republican Party of Virginia paid for two transphobic mailers against me. I then won by 8%,’ she wrote.
‘2018: RPV launched another transphobic web attack against me. And then we expanded Medicaid,’ she continued.
She then said: ‘To candidate putting up with this garbage: get ready to win.’
The House and Senate are red. The Trump Administration is directly targeting the LGBTQ+ community on a weekly basis. Your. Vote. Matters.
With midterms just around the corner, it is not only important to vote, but be an informed voter as well. Democrats across the nation have seen a swell of LGBTQ+ candidates running for various positions.
“I think candidates are running because they see it’s possible,” Victory Fund President Annise Parker said. “They see the need for more LGBTQ candidates to get involved in the process. But they now see clear evidence that we can win at the very highest levels of government.” Victory Fund is agroup endorses viable LGBTQ candidates.
Currently, there are only six out LGBTQ House members and one lesbian senator. There will be at least 22 LGBTQ+ candidates on the ballot for House seats, several in highly competitive districts that will determine control of the House. Among the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red To Blue” candidates – those with a good chance at flipping a GOP-controlled House seat, as reported by NPR – is Katie Hill (D), running for the U.S. House of Representatives, CA-25.
In October, President Barack Obama endorsed Hill, who is bisexual, and 21 other openly LGBTQ-identifying candidates.
“President Obama is endorsing candidates who are passionate about public service and committed to making a positive difference in people’s lives, so it is unsurprising so many of our LGBTQ candidates are on the list,” Parker said. “The experiences and struggles of LGBTQ leaders make them authentic, values-driven candidates who understand the pain and difficulties so many are facing right now. We are part of every community and every constituency – women, people of color, immigrants and religious minorities – and that diversity strengthens and refines our perspectives. LGBTQ people are running for office in historic numbers not just because our community needs us, but because America needs us.”
According to Victory Fund data, a total of 430 openly LGBTQ+ candidates have run for office at every level of government this year. The Midterm Elections are on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Seven days … to turn out in masses to flip the House and the Senate and elect pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot! In this final countdown, it’s crucial to make sure your friends and family are committed to voting, too — and that when they get to their polling place, they’re voting for candidates and initiatives that support the LGBTQ community.
Talk to them about issues that matter to you … help them learn what’s on their ballot … even offer to go with them or give them a ride. Lending a helping hand to those important people in your life can make all the difference!
HRC President Chad Griffin has travelled to more than 30 key districts in 18 states over the past several weeks to drum up support in must-win races. And in the wake of last week’s explosive New York Times report revealing the administration’s secret plans to “erase” transgender people and exclude LGBTQ people from federal civil rights protections, he recorded a message about how we can use Election Day to counter this latest attack.
Few senators currently serving in public office are as scary as Ted Cruz and, this year, we are going to send him packing. Cruz has spent his career undermining the rights of LGBTQ people for his own political gain — he is a true enemy of equality, and a Trump-Pence follower who has to go. HRC is proudly supporting his opponent, Beto O’Rourke — and working hard to shut down Cruz come election day.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin made history in 2012 as both the first openly LGBTQ senator in U.S history and the first woman senator from Wisconsin. Now, we need to keep her there! Republicans are using every weapon in their arsenal — vicious attack ads, influential conservative donors and hateful rhetoric about her record — to ensure she loses her seat. So, it’s on us to work harder and smarter to turn out Wisconsin voters for her reelection.
Not in the “going outside” kind of mood? You can make a difference right from your house by making calls for key candidates! Sign up here.
Our team has made a real commitment to this election … with more than 145 HRC staff on the ground leading GOTV efforts in 23 states, training hundreds of local organizers and volunteers across the country and educating voters.
“I wanted to make a difference and volunteering with HRC gave me that opportunity.”
Feeling fired up and want to help at this critical time?Contribute to HRC’s election work through HRC’s Equality Votes PAC. We’re on the front lines, fighting tooth and nail to elect pro-equality candidates — but with billionaires backing our opponents, we need more grassroots support.
The Democratic Party hopes to paint Congress in blue at the midterm elections—but there is more than one colour in the spectrum of candidates hoping to win political office on November 6.
LGBT+ people are severely underrepresented across all levels of politics in the US. The 21 openly LGBT+ candidates running for the House of Representatives, the two in the run for Senate seats, and the four hoping to win their state’s gubernatorial race could be about to break barriers on November 6.
In a sign of the extreme political divide on LGBT+ issues, all 27 of the out LGBT+ candidates are Democrats, with no Republican candidates running for major political office publicly identifying as LGBT+.
University of North Carolina politics professor Andrew Reynolds, an expert on LGBT+ representation in politics, is however cautious in predicting widespread electoral success for the Rainbow Wave, telling PinkNews that “small increases” in LGBT+ representation are the most likely outcome.
For several LGBT+ candidates, their close-fought races continue to hang in the balance ahead of election day. PinkNews took a look at the most closely-watched races.
Tammy Baldwin (Senate, Wisconsin)
US Democratic Senator from Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay senator (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty)
The Human Rights Campaign notes that Vukmir “has repeatedly taken extreme positions far outside the mainstream,” and has derailed efforts to pass common sense protections for LGBT+ people in the state, including protections for LGBT+ youth facing discrimination and bullying at school.
Baldwin said: “As more members of the LGBTQ community are elected and become public servants, [our] voices will become louder.
“But for now, we must do everything we can to promote tolerance and fight discrimination. We have work to do until we achieve full acceptance and equality.”
An NBC News/Marist poll on October 3 has Baldwin with 54 percent of the vote, 14 points ahead of Vukmir on 40 percent.
Her opponent, Republican Martha McSally, has supported Trump’s ban on transgender troops in the military and backed ‘freedom to discriminate’ laws.
During her time in Congress, Sinema has co-sponsored the Equality Act, which would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to also ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Annise Parker of LGBTQ Victory Fund, a PAC seeking to support LGBT+ elected officials, said that this race is important ”not just for the Democratic party and for the LGBTQ community, but for all Americans who demand an end to the political divisiveness that Martha McSally embodies.”
She added that the result in the race will be a “defining moment” for the ‘Rainbow Wave,’ and will further “the evolution in how Americans view LGBTQ people and candidates.”
Polling shows the vote on a knife-edge. A CBS News/YouGov poll on October 5 showed Sinema leading McSally by 47 percent to 44, but a New York Times poll on October 19 showed her trailing by 46 percent to 48, firmly within the poll’s margin for error.
Kate Brown (Governor, Oregon)
Oregon Governor Kate Brown (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
Victory Fund, which is backing Brown, praised her work to date in advancing legislation that improves the lives of LGBTQ veterans and trans people.
It added: “When she wins in November, Governor Kate Brown will remain a strong leader for equality and inclusion in Oregon, and that is why Victory Fund is thrilled to endorse her for reelection.”
Brown has a lead over lead over Republican Knute Buehler, with an OPB/DHM poll on October 11 showing her with 40 percent to Buehler’s 35.
Christine Hallquist (Governor, Vermont)
There are currently no transgender politicians in federal or statewide office across any of the 50 states, with the sole example of trans representation in American politics limited to Virginia lawmaker Danica Roem.
But Christine Hallquist, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Vermont, is hoping to change that.
If elected, Hallquist could become the first openly transgender politician in the US. She faces an uphill battle against incumbent Republican Governor Phil Scott, but Vermont has a reputation for picking outsiders—not least one Senator Bernie Sanders, who was first elected as an Independent in 2006 and was re-elected in 2012.
Speaking to The Hill, she said: “I told the campaign team right in the beginning that if we’re successful and the more successful we get, the more hatred, the more vitriol and more death threats would occur.
“I think it’s a natural outcome of where our country is today. We are a divided country… I land that squarely at the administration in Washington.
“I should tell you, it doesn’t scare me at all (…) We lay our lives on the line for a healthy democracy.”
An October 14 Braun Research poll had Scott on 42 percent of the vote, ahead of Hallquist on 28, with 22 percent still undecided.
But Democratic candidate Lupe Valdez has picked up momentum in her challenge against anti-LGBT Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, as the red state turns a deep shade of purple thanks to increased support for Democrats.
Her campaign could be buoyed by a surge in support for Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic challenger for the state’s Senate seat against incumbent Ted Cruz, who is up for election on the same day.
O’Rourke has led a fiery challenge against anti-LGBT Senator Cruz, with a surge in popular support bringing a competitiveness not generally seen in Texas races.
If elected, Valdez would become one of the first out LGBT+ official in Texas.
Speaking at a rally, Valdez said: “We’re going to make it happen. A stronger and fair Texas. A tolerant and diverse Texas. A Texas where the everyday person has a voice and a shot just as I did.”
Addressing the odds at the same event, she said: “Please tell me when I didn’t have an uphill battle… I am getting darn good at uphill battles, and I’m not done yet.”
A CNN poll on October 13 shows Valdez trailing Abbott by 18 points, with 39 percent of the vote to his 57 percent.
Jared Polis (Governor, Colorado)
Jared Polis in 2014 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
Polis has been one of the leading lights for LGBT+ rights in the House of Representatives, co-chairing the LGBT Equality Caucus and co-sponsoring the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which federally recognises anti-LGBT hate crimes.
He is now running to become governor of Colorado, and if successful would be the first openly gay man elected governor in the United States.
Polis said: “I think it really gives Colorado an opportunity to stick a thumb in the eye of Mike Pence, whose view of America is not as inclusive as where America is today.”
He faces Republican candidate Walker Stapleton.
Victory Fund praised the work of Polis in Congress, adding that he is “someone we can all count on to fight and win the tough battles.”
The organisation said: “Whether as an entrepreneur creating hundreds of jobs, a superintendent at a school for vulnerable kids, or a representative fighting on the front lines for LGBTQ equality, Jared’s entire career has been defined by turning bold ideas into real results for Americans from all walks of life.
“We will be proud to stand by him when he becomes the first openly gay person to be elected governor.”
A Magellan poll on October 10 showed Polis on 47 percent, seven points ahead of Stapleton on 40 percent.
Gina Ortiz Jones (House, Texas-23)
Jones is the Democratic candidate for Texas’s 23rd congressional district in the House of Representatives, challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Will Hurd.
The Air Force veteran could become the first openly gay woman of colour from Texas elected to Congress.
Her opponent’s seat is one of the most vulnerable in Texas in the event of a Democratic surge, with Hurd having retained the seat in 2014 and 2016 by fewer than 3,000 votes—lower than the number of votes attracted by third-party candidates.
Hurd has a poor record on LGBT+ rights, scoring 48 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional scorecard.
Equality PAC Chair Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) said that Gina Ortiz Jones is “exactly the kind of candidate we need to gain a pro-equality majority in 2018.”
Takano explained: “Gina bravely served our country in uniform under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and knows first hand the corrosive effect of anti-LGBT policies.
“Her voice and perspective will be an invaluable addition to not just debates on equality, but military readiness, national security, health care policy, and all the myriad issues members of Congress face every day.”
New York Times polling on October 18 showed Ortiz Jones with 38 percent of the vote, trailing Hurd with 53 percent.
The political hopeful worked on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, before serving as a White House Fellow under President Barack Obama.
Yoder has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign for his LGBT+ rights voting record, opposing same-sex marriage.
However, Davids has an uphill battle, given the district’s strong Republican leaning.
Victory Fund’s Parker said: “Sharice’s commitment to smart public policy that addresses the real concerns of constituents makes her the best candidate for Kansas’ 3rd congressional district. When she wins [in] November, Sharice will become a vital LGBTQ voice.”
A New York Times poll on October 17 shows Davids with a health lead in the race. She is on 48 points, ahead of Yoder on 39 percent.
Katie Hill (House, California-25)
Katie Hill (Katie Hill for Congress)
Homelessness charity boss Katie Hill is the Democratic candidate for California’s 25th congressional district in the House of Representatives.
Knight was behind a 2016 plot to pass a law permitting sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination in all federal agencies by attaching it to a defence spending bill.
He was accused of “catering to right wing extremists who would turn back the clock on equality” with the proposal to exempt religious contractors from anti-discrimination rules.
Annise Parker of Victory Fund said that the race is a key battle between a “positive, solutions-oriented vision” and the “politics of hate and destruction.”
Parker added: “Steve Knight and his family made careers out of attacking LGBTQ people and working to rollback equal rights. Now, voters have an opportunity to defeat him with an openly bisexual woman who has pledged to represent all her constituents.”
The Republican narrowly won the seat in 2014 and 2016, and polling shows the race is on a knife-edge between the two.
An October 4 UC Berkeley poll has Hill on 50 percent, ahead of Knight on 46 percent, but a New York Times/Siena poll on September 19 showed Knight with a two-point lead, on 47 percent to Hill’s 45.
Norman Goldwasser, by day, is an Orthodox Jewish therapist at Horizon Psychological Services who compares homosexuality to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and misleads clients by claiming that their sexual orientation can be changed with his special brand of quack therapy, which is rejected by every respected medical and mental health association. By night, an undercover investigation by Truth Wins Out has found, he solicits sexual partners on Manhunt, a gay dating App, using the profile “Hotnhairy72.” During our operation, Goldwasser, going by the pseudonym “Dave”, offered to meet for sex with our operative, “Brandon,” at a Fort Lauderdale motel room. Goldwasser also had a profile on Bear Nation by the same name.
This latest scandal comes as the new movie Boy Erased (Starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, and Russell Crowe) has brought a renewed spotlight to the issue of the harm caused by “ex-gay” programs.
“Norman Goldwasser’s double life of unconscionable lies highlights the rank hypocrisy and predatory nature of the fraudulent ‘ex-gay’ industry,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “We urge every state to ban the scourge of conversion therapy that attacks the mental health of LGBT youth and puts them in harms way.” Besen is the author of Anything Bust Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth.
According to the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Born Perfect Campaign, 14 states and the District of Colombia have laws that prohibit conversion therapy for minors. Unfortunately, there is a loophole for religious groups to abuse minors with their companion “pray away the gay” programs.
Truth Wins Out does not engage in the outing of people participating in ex-gay programs unless there is overwhelming hypocrisy, exchange of commerce, and the threat of harm to LGBT youth. The Goldwasser outing passes all three tests.
“Goldwasser can’t claim his personal life is none of our business when trying to ‘cure’ LGBT people is his business,” said Besen. “Here is a case where a charlatan is committing consumer fraud by misleading clients and adversely affecting their mental health. We are particularly concerned when Goldwassser’s scam preys on young people susceptible to his charade.”
Linked to the disgraced and now defunct Jewish “ex-gay” organization, Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), Goldwasser is controversial, once having a speaking appearance cancelled in Australia after people learned of his intolerant views. He is a signatory of the deeply homophobic “Declaration of the Torah Approach to Homosexuality,” which proclaims that recent acceptance of LGBT people is due to public relations efforts. According to the Declaration: “A propaganda blitz has been sweeping the world using political tactics to persuade the public about the legitimacy of homosexuality.”
A star of the conversion therapy movement, Goldwasser co-wrote a paper in 2006 with notorious conversion therapy proponent David Matheson, “Holistic Therapy: A Comprehensive, Clinical Approach to the Treatment of SSA.” The term SSA is used as shorthand in conversion therapy circles for “Same Sex Attraction.” The paper is gratuitously anti-gay and extremely offensive, habitually confusing crass stereotypes with actual science. In one section, homosexuality, which is not a mental health disorder or disease, is casually pathologized and compared to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:
“Individuality/Uniqueness – Each person has his/her own unique individuality – there are no two person who are exactly alike. Two people with SSA can be completely different in every other aspect of their lives and psychological makeup and cannot be grouped solely based on their common challenge. Similarly, OCD can manifest itself in countless different variations, subtypes, and combinations. Describing a group of individuals only in terms of OCD compromises and distorts the comprehensive and accurate clinical picture of each individual.”
Goldwasser has also funneled clients into the predatory and ineffective Journey into Manhood (JIM) program, where gay men are taken into the woods to participate in what are considered “manly” activities to change their sexual orientation from gay to heterosexual. They are also falsely diagnosed as having become gay because of poor parental relationships or not participating in sports. The program is controversial, because some who have attended JIM say the program includes bizarre and inappropriate cuddling sessions. The fact that Goldwasser was caught on Manhunt, highlights why Truth Wins Out has frequently referred to the JIM program as “Journey into Manhunt.”
In a 2015 talk delivered by Goldwasser in Israel, he falsely conflated homosexuality and sexual abuse, and joked with the audience about a client who lived on gay-friendly Miami Beach saying, “…do you know what South Beach is? Do you know what the connotation of South Beach is?”
Founded in 2006, Truth Wins Out is a nonprofit think tank and advocacy organization that fights against right wing extremism and anti-LGBT prejudice and discrimination.
Colombia have laws that prohibit conversion therapy for minors. Unfortunately, there is a loophole for religious groups to abuse minors with their companion “pray away the gay” programs.
gay men are taken into the woods to participate in what are considered “manly” activities to change their sexual orientation from gay to heterosexual. They are also falsely diagnosed as having become gay because of poor parental relationships or not participating in sports. The program is controversial, because some who have attended JIM say the program includes bizarre and inappropriate