Politics

Salt Lake has its first openly gay city council member, reports KTVX-TV. On Monday afternoon, Stan Penfold (pictured) took the oath of office, in both a historic and emotional day. Penfold told ABC 4: “I was a little surprised I got kind of choked up. I wasn’t planning on that.” But the tears were mixed […]

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the front-runner in the Republican primary election for U.S. Senate, finds himself the object of an unusual attack ad from one of his lesser-known opponents, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Andy Martin, who has run for numerous elective offices over the last three decades in Illinois, Florida and Connecticut, taped a commercial […]

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, widely regarded as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012, seems to be clarifying past positions, lest he be mistaken for supporting LGBTQ rights. In a recent interview with Newsweek’s Howard Fineman, Pawlenty expresses his regret for having voted in favor of a 1993 state bill, the first of its kind […]

Five members of the U.S. Congress are calling on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject proposed anti-gay legislation that imposes harsh penalties, including execution, for certain acts of homosexuality. The five representatives — Chris Smith, Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts, Trent Franks and Anh “Joseph” Cao (all Republicans) — have written a letter to Mouseveni pressing […]

In a recent interview with Bolomberg’s Al Hunt, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said he cringes at the idea of an openly gay president. “It would be bothersome to me just personally because I consider it immoral,” DeMint said. The South Carolina Republican, who has become the face of the Republican purity movement, goes right on […]

Annise Parker has been elected mayor of the nation’s 4th largest city, making Houston the largest U.S. city to ever have an openly gay individual serve as mayor. Recognizing the significance of her victory to the LGBTQ community nationwide, Parker said, “I acknowledge that. I embrace that.” “I know what this win means to many […]

Houston voters head to the polls Saturday to vote on several runoff races, and final polls indicate they could elect the city’s first openly gay mayor. City Controller Annise Parker is a lesbian who has never made a secret or an issue of her sexual orientation. If she wins, Houston will become the largest U.S. […]

Houston’s openly gay city controller has pulled ahead in the race to be mayor of the nation’s fourth largest city, just two days before a runoff election, according to a new poll — despite a wave of anti-gay attacks. [fbshare] It’s believed if Annise Parker wins Saturday’s runoff, it would make Houston the nation’s largest […]

Assemblyman John Pérez, an openly gay Latino Democrat from Los Angeles, made history Thursday when he was unanimously chosen by the California Assembly’s Democratic Caucus as the lower house’s leader, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Pérez, a freshman lawmaker who is expected to be formally voted in as the 68th Assembly Speaker in January, will […]

Democratic Assemblyman John Perez of Los Angeles is about to become the California’s first openly gay speaker of the Assembly. The position will make Perez the highest-ranking gay politician in California history. The speaker is generally considered the second or third most powerful position in state politics, after the governor and the Senate president pro […]