The top national and world news since last issue you should know

BY CRAIG OGAN

Senator Baldwin goes for three

That lovable lesbian, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., announced she is running for reelection to a third term in Congress. Baldwin made history in 2012 when she became the first out gay senator in the nation and the first woman senator from Wisconsin. In 2018, she won her first reelection bid against an anti-LGBTQ+ opponent. Baldwin spearheaded the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act, federally protecting interracial and same-sex marriages. No one has, yet, announced a campaign against her.

Billy Porter to Play Baldwin James Baldwin, one of the giants of 20th Century American literature, was an outspoken gay Black writer. He was born in Harlem in 1924, and his work focused on Black identity, sexuality, and culture. “Pose” star Billy Porter will produce and appear as Baldwin in a biopic of the life of the renowned writer and activist. Porter will also co-write the script based on “James Baldwin: A Biogra- phy” by David Leeming. Porter, who has won an Emmy, Tony, and Grammy, quoted the literary and civil rights icon during his 2019 Emmy speech, “As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness, I find myself, like James Baldwin said, ‘in a rage all the time.’ I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders.” Baldwin’s works include “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Notes of a Native Son,” “Another Country,” and “The Fire Next Time.”

Don’t say, do, or be gay in Uganda

The parliament in Uganda passed a law making some homosexual acts punishable by death. All but two of the 389 legislators voted to criminalize gay sex or promote equality for gays, including capital punishment and life imprisonment sentences for “repeat offenders.”

Marketing news, stand by your brand

NASCAR driver Zach Herrin, a gay man, recently returned to racing after a 10-year absence. NASCAR is famous for the many logos adorning cars, uniforms, and pit crew tools, but Herrin has had trouble attracting major sponsorships. His team was told by various brands that Herrin doesn’t “fit” within many companies’ multimillion-dollar marketing budgets. So, for his race at Florida’s Daytona Speedway, he teamed up with Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization which has supported gay and lesbian people for many years. On his uniform and car, Herrin featured the Lambda Legal logo and spoke to the media about Lambda’s mission and the dangers of “don’t say gay.”

BUD LIGHT, a brand of Budweiser Brewing, sponsored Tik Tok personality Dylan Mulvaney, in a social media spot during the NCAA Basketball finals. Mulvaney identifies as a girl in his transgender-promoting, “365 Days of Girlhood” program on social media. Mulvaney feigned ignorance of basketball and the NCAA in the video. A Bud Light VP said they used Mulvaney to freshen an iconic brand and reach an audience different from the male-dominated customers who seemed to like “Fratty Humor.” Since the launch and some controversy, Budweiser stock has dropped 7 percent in value, and beer distributors (who say they did not know this was coming) are seeing a drop in Bud Light sales in the West, Midwest, and South, and Kid Rock posted a video of him shooting (and missing) a case of Bud Light. Nike also hired Mulvaney to promote women’s sports attire. Mulvaney appeared in workout leggings like they used in a Tiktok video showing how to tuck a penis to wear tight shorts. The actor, who has had facial surgery to look more feminine but has not “had top surgery, yet” also modeled a sports bra. Nike responded to criticism from women athletes about them being “not able to find a real woman” by asking its customers and others to “be nice.”

GLAAD TV report

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s annual “Where We Are on TV” survey, in its 27th year, analyzed the number of LGBTQ+ regular and recurring characters on scripted series on prime-time broadcast and cable as well as eight major streaming platforms. This year there were 596 regular and recurring LGBTQ+ characters, a decrease of 6.4 percent from the previous year’s 637. Women were 53% and men 44% of LGBTQ+ characters. Among other findings: Bisexual characters dropped to 25% from 29%. There were eight asexual characters, up from two in the previous year. Twenty-seven LGBTQ+ characters were portrayed as having a disability. The 32 transgender characters represented a decrease of 10 from last year. See the full survey at glaad.org.

Florida classroom regs may jump grades

Florida is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades. The policy was initially meant for grades K–4. The proposal, which would not require legislative approval, is before the State Board of Education.

Drag fundraiser canceled, called blackface

West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler canceled a student-run drag show, arguing that the art form is offensive to women and comparing it to blackface. He wrote in an email, “Drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood. He wrote the university would not support ‘blackface’ performances, “Even if the performance is a form of free speech or intended as humor. It is wrong.” The event was a fundraiser for The Trevor Project, a youth suicide prevention and crisis program.” Students protested with rainbow-colored posters that said, “Don’t drag us down” and “Women who love drag.”

Historic AMA President The first openly gay person to lead the American Medical Association is Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld. He is an anesthesiologist, Navy combat veteran, and father of two young children. While “physician pocketbook” issues remain a big focus, AMA won widespread praise for announcing a plan to dismantle structural racism within the U.S. medical establishment

Velma’s Voice Honored

A National Medal of Arts was presented to Mindy Kaling, an actor, writer, and producer. She is the executive producer of “Velma” a spin-off from the cartoon dog show, “Scooby-Doo.” Kaling also voices the cartoon character, Velma, who this year was portrayed as a lesbian. The cartoon on HBO Max has been criticized for featuring sexual and gender themes, nudity, gore and IMDB reports viewership is very low.

Bisexual-themed opera

Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer and jazz musician Terence Blanchard penned an opera, which will be part of New Yorl’s Metropolitan Opera season this year. “Champion,” called an “opera in jazz,” is based on Hall of Fame boxer Emile Griffith’s life. Griffith, who revealed he was bisexual before his death, tragically beat an opponent so badly in 1962 that the opponent died days later. In “Champion” Blanchard recounts how an environment of hyper-masculinity and homophobia led to the fatal fight at Madison Square Garden and how Griffith was haunted by it for the rest of his life.

Same-sex couples and IPV

A new study from Rutgers University found a significant increase in intimate partner violence in same-sex relationships during the COVID pandemic and shutdown. IPV grew most in same sex couples reporting IPV before the pandemic. Couples in the South reported higher depression and IPV than other regions. The study said IPV was reported by 61% of bisexual women, 43% of lesbian women, 37% of bisexual men, and 26% of homosexual men compared to 35% of heterosexual women and 29% of heterosexual men.

Tennessee ground zero

The mayor of Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb 30 minutes outside Nashville, cast the tie-breaking vote to approve a permit for the municipality’s Pride festival this year. In other years there was never much controversy. This year the state has seen a lot of controversy and tragedy with an LGBTQ+ theme. The state banned minors from receiving hormonal and surgical therapies for the purpose of “gender-change.” A mass shooting at a school was perpetrated by a former student who has been reported to be in “gender transition.” Police have not released the shooter’s “manifesto” which may have explained the motive of the shooter or confirmed the transition. The state legislature passed and the governor signed a ban on drag shows in public. That law has been stayed by a court, but Franklin Pride organizers decided, because of all the controversy, not to feature drag performances at this year’s festival.