Tag: openly gay

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Senate Armed Services Committee Approves Eric Fanning For Army Secretary

A U.S. Senate committee has advance Eric Fanning that much closer to becoming the first openly gay civilian to lead a U.S. military service by approving his nomination as Army secretary.

From The Washington Blade:

The Senate Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over Fanning’s nomination, approved the nomination by voice vote nearly six months after President Obama announced his choice of Fanning as the next Army secretary.

The committee approves the nomination after it held a confirmation hearing for Fanning in January that went smoothly for the nominee. No member of the committee asked Fanning a question about his sexual orientation or objected to having an openly gay Army secretary.

Although the committee has approved the nomination, Fanning faces difficulties in obtaining confirmation by the full Senate. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) has placed a hold on the nomination, citing comments President Obama made about closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. A Roberts spokesperson told the Blade on Thursday the hold remains in place.

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Openly Gay Acting Army Secretary Eric Fanning Will Step Aside Until Senate Confirmation

Openly gay Eric Fanning will temporarily “step aside” from his current post as Acting Army Secretary until his nomination as permanent Army Secretary is confirmed by the Senate.

From the News Observer:

The Army’s No. 2-ranking civilian, Patrick Murphy, was confirmed as undersecretary last week, and will temporarily double as the acting Army secretary.

The Pentagon announced that Fanning was stepping down “as a show of comity” to Congress. Some members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have expressed concern that his continuing as the acting secretary would violate the Vacancies Act governing requirements for filling openings that require Senate confirmation.

Fanning had been serving as acting Army secretary since the previous holder of the office, John McHugh, stepped down late last fall.

President Barack Obama nominated Fanning in September to succeed McHugh.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay leader of a military service.

Fanning had been serving as acting undersecretary of the Army since June.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a written statement that Fanning agreed to step aside as acting secretary “to focus on achieving confirmation in the near future.”

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Video: Pope Francis Meets Openly Gay Former Student And Partner While In U.S.

CNN reports on the meeting Pope Francis had with an openly gay former student and friend from Argentina, Yayo Grassi and his partner of many years.

“Three weeks before the trip, he called me on the phone and said he would love to give me a hug,” Grassi said.

The meeting between Grassi and the Pope adds another intriguing twist to the strange aftermath of Francis’ first-ever trip to the United States. Since news broke on Tuesday of Francis’ meeting with Davis, conservatives have cheered the seemingly implicit endorsement, while liberals have questioned how much the Pope knew about her case.

In a statement on Friday, the Vatican said that the meeting with Davis was not intended as a show of support for her cause and said “the only real audience granted by the Pope at the nunciature (embassy) was with one of his former students and his family.”

“That was me,” Grassi said.

Grassi said that Pope Francis taught him in literature and psychology classes at Inmaculada Concepcion high school in Sante Fe, Argentina, from 1964-1965.

Grassi said the Pope has long known that he is gay, but has never condemned his sexuality or his same-sex relationship. Grassi said he and Iwan (he declined to disclose his last name due to privacy concerns) had previously met Francis in Rome.

Greeting Iwan with a handshake, Francis says that he recalls meeting him, according to the brief video. At the end the meeting, the Pope hugs both men and kisses them on the cheek.

“He has never been judgmental,” Grassi said. “He has never said anything negative.”

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Mike Huckabee Rants Over Openly Gay Eric Fanning”s Nomination To Secretary Of The Army

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

On Friday, President Obama nominated Eric Fanning, currently serving as acting under secretary of the Army, to be the next secretary of the Army.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called Fanning an “excellent choice” to lead the Army.

The appointment would make Fanning the first openly gay secretary of a U.S. military branch.

GOP White House hopeful and constant opponent of anyone/anything gay, threw a hissy fit on his Facebook page about the nomination:

“It’s clear President Obama is more interested in appeasing America’s homosexuals than honoring America’s heroes.

“Veterans suicide is out-of-control and military readiness is dangerously low, yet Obama is so obsessed with pandering to liberal interest groups he’s nominated an openly gay civilian to run the Army.

“Homosexuality is not a job qualification. The U.S. military is designed to keep Americans safe and complete combat missions, not conduct social experiments.”

What everyone else can see is this: Huckabee has it backwards – Fanning isn’t being appointed because he’s gay.  Fanning, who happens to be gay, has decades of experience at the Pentagon.

He has previously served as Chief of Staff of the Department of Defense, Acting Secretary of the Air Force, and Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy.

THAT’s why he’s being appointed to the position.

Huckabee’s animus to all things gay is getting more and more transparent.

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President Obama Nominates Kenneth Fanning As First Openly Gay Secretary Of The Army

President Obama, in a historic first, has nominated Kenneth Fanning as Secretary of the Army today. Fanning would be the first openly gay Secretary of any branch of the United States’ armed forces.

Fanning would be the 22nd Secretary of the Army, the largest service branch of the U.S. military.

Fanning is currently serving as Acting Under Secretary of the Army and Chief Management Officer since June 30, 2015. He has been a specialist on defense and national security issues for more than 25 years in Congress and the Pentagon.

He has previously served at the Pentagon in many high level positions including deputy under secretary of the Navy under secretary of the Air Force, acting secretary of the Air Force, Pentagon chief of staff and acting under secretary of the Army.

President Obama issued this statement upon Fanning’s nomination:

“Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role.

“I am grateful for his commitment to our men and women in uniform, and I am confident he will help lead America’s Soldiers with distinction. I look forward to working with Eric to keep our Army the very best in the world.”

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Attention: Openly Gay Singer/Songwriter Steve Grand Is Gay

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Someone skipped over a possibly relevant bullet point… lol Today I went on live TV in San Diego to promote the show…Posted by Steve Grand on Saturday, September 12, 2015

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Sam Smith Will Be First Openly Gay Singer To Release James Bond Theme

Grammy Award winner Sam Smith will be the first openly gay singer to release a James Bond theme.

The song, “Writing’s On The Wall,” will be the theme song for the upcoming James Bond flick Spectre. The track will be released on September 25th in advance of the film’s November 6 debut.

Smith shared this statement today: “This is one of the highlights of my career.”

“I am honored to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song. I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations. I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it.”

Then there’s this shot posted to Smith’s Instagram:

A photo posted by Sam Smith (@samsmithworld) on Sep 8, 2015 at 9:34am PDT

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Amtrak Engineer Identified As Gay; Tea People Now Gathering Pitch Forks

According to reports, the engineer of the Amtrak train that derailed Tuesday night near Philadelphia, Brandon Bostian, is openly gay.

For that reason alone, the Tea People are gathering with their pitch forks.

From Heavy.com:

Brandon Bostian was the engineer of an Amtrak train that derailed Tuesday night in north Philadelphia after barreling toward a sharp turn at speeds greater than 100 miles per hour, more than double the speed limit for the area.

The crash killed at least 7 people and injured more than 200, officials said.

The New York resident survived the crash, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, as did the train’s conductor, who has not been named. Bostian was taken to the hospital and received 14 staples to close a laceration on his head, and was initially interviewed by police there, saying he didn’t remember much, according to ABC 6.

He said he moved to New York from San Francisco and had been active in the Proposition 8 fight.

“It’s kind of insulting to have to beg people for my right to marry,” he told the newspaper. “I feel like we shouldn’t even have to have this fight.”

GotNews, which first reported his name, called him a “gay activist,” and many Twitter users have reacted negatively to his sexuality, claiming he may have been a “diversity” hire by the government-funded Amtrak.

Check the tweets from folks that are already on the attack.

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Out News Anchor Thomas Roberts Improves MSNBC Daytime Ratings

As we begin the third week of MSNBC news anchor Thomas Roberts’ run as the host of the network’s 1-3PM slot (previously held by Joy Reid and Ronan Farrow), a look at the ratings shows the left-leaning news network made the right decision.

Ad Week reports:

“Roberts at 1pm ET has increased the hour by +20% in viewers and +37% in the A25-54 demo vs. the final two weeks of Farrow’s show.

“At 2pm ET, Roberts has increased viewership +2% and has grown the demo by +14% compared to the final two weeks of Reid’s show.”

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Russell Tovey Is “Baffled And Saddened” Over Response To “Effeminate” Comments

Russell Tovey, out actor and current star of HBO’s Looking, took to Twitter last night to address a atatement he made in an interview with The Guardian in which he expressed gladness that his father didn’t allow him to attend a famous acting school because it helped “toughen” him up and possibly avoid being “really effeminate.”

“I feel like I could have been really effeminate, if I hadn’t gone to the school I went to. Where I felt like I had to toughen up,” Tovey said. “If I’d have been able to relax, prance around, sing in the street, I might be a different person now. I thank my dad for that, for not allowing me to go down that path. Because it’s probably given me the unique quality that people think I have.”

The statement was heard as an attack on effeminate gays from one of the “straight-acting” gays, which has become a sort of “in-tribe” issue within the LGBT community.

I should add a disclaimer here: I did attend acting school where I did dance (if not “prance”) in the streets (and the Broadway) as I enjoyed a sense of freedom about living out my life exactly who I was and still am. My father never had an issue with me being one kind of person or another, except succeeding at life. I thank MY dad for that.

My personal opinion? I don’t think Tovey meant to disparage gays who may not be as “manly” as he considers himself. I think the statement was inartful, but not hateful.

I do believe that when you live on one side of the spectrum, it’s hard to understand the other side. In his comment it’s clear that Tovey is glad he didn’t turn out “really effeminate.” But the comment comes across as a passive-aggressive swipe at those who are; a lot like some of the joking that goes on regarding “bottom shaming.” As if being masculine (or a top) is preferable or more manly.

When folks put those ideas out there (which they are certainly allowed to do) it becomes a line of demarcation. It separates us. It says “masculine > effeminate.” Or, along the same lines “top > bottom.”

Is Tovey the “worst gay ever?” No. Sadly, we have better (worse?) candidates for that title.

And no, I don’t think this was an intentional slight to gay men less “masculine” than Tovey.

But I do wonder – where exactly is the line that would have clearly defined this as “gay on gay” bullying?

Tovey took to his Twitter account to address the tempest:

I surrender. You got me. I’m sat baffled and saddened that a mis-fired inarticulate quote of mine, has branded me worst gay ever

If you feel I have personally let you down, I’m sorry, that was never my intention

I’m proud to be who I am and proud for others We’re in this together, I want you to know whatever you think I meant, I didn’t

I’m gonna ride this out, and one day we will all look back on this moment with a half smile of fascination and amusement

Until that day I’m gonna carry on being me #lowersflag x