A Light in Very Dark Days: Nancy Pelosi and AIDS; The New York Times, November 7, 2025

 Adam Nagourney, Heather Knight, Kellen Browning and Laurel Rosenhall, The New York Times ; A Light in Very Dark Days: Nancy Pelosi and AIDS

"Ms. Pelosi, the new member of Congress representing San Francisco at the time, asked the nurses if they had what they needed and if any patients were up for a bedside visit. Then she would slip into their rooms alone.

“Early on, it was not seen as a wise or popular thing to do, to champion people with AIDS, of all things,” Mr. Wolf, 74, recalled. “You didn’t want to align yourself too closely, but she didn’t care. We were her constituents, and she went to bat for us over and over and over again.”...

Ms. Pelosi, who announced on Thursday her plans to retire from Congress, is known nationally as a Washington leader praised by Democrats for standing up to President Trump and derided by Republicans as a symbol of the radical excesses of the left. But back home, her reputation was shaped by how she stepped forward at the earliest and most terrifying moment of a local crisis and how she fought to help her constituents deal with the AIDS epidemic and fight for L.G.B.T.Q. rights.

The public side of this is by now well-known: How over decades spent in Congress she fought for money for AIDS research and treatment or invited prominent AIDS and gay rights activists to be at her side at the State of the Union address and other events. But much of it took place away from the public eye. It’s those moments many of her gay constituents in San Francisco talk about as she approaches the end of her congressional career."

After Orlando, Gay Rights Moves off Diplomatic Back Burner; New York Times, 6/14/16

Somini Sengupta, New York Times; After Orlando, Gay Rights Moves off Diplomatic Back Burner:

"Sexual orientation was one of those subjects burdened with too many cultural sensitivities. American officials, even if they wanted to advance it on the diplomatic agenda, were wary of offending their allies, not least in the Islamic world.

The attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., moved the needle.

In its aftermath, the United States corralled an unlikely group of countries to support a United Nations Security Council statement that condemned the attack for “targeting persons as a result of their sexual orientation.” Even Egypt and Russia — not known for embracing their gay and lesbian citizens — signed on, after what diplomats called intense consultations...

The attack in Orlando on Sunday enabled the United States to elevate the issue on the diplomatic agenda. On Monday morning, as the world was still absorbing the news of the attack, the alternate United States ambassador to the United Nations, David Pressman, told the 193-member General Assembly that condolences were not enough.

“If we are united in our outrage by the killing of so many — and we are — let us be equally united around the basic premise of upholding the universal dignity of all persons regardless of who they love, not just around condemning the terrorists who kill them,” Mr. Pressman said."

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Highlights the Struggle for Acceptance; New York Times, 5/15/16

Jenna Wortham, New York Times; ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Highlights the Struggle for Acceptance:

"Chi Chi DeVayne, a sweet Louisiana queen with a thick, country-fried accent, praised Bob the Drag Queen, a gifted, tenderhearted New York comedian, on her work in support of marriage equality.

“I wish that I had the guts to stand up for gay rights,” she said wistfully (the contestants often use male and female pronouns interchangeably).

Bob smiled and replied, “Go do it, you can start anytime.”

Ms. DeVayne, dazzling in full makeup and a fuchsia ball gown, shook her head firmly. “You can’t do it in Shreveport,” she replied. “They’ll blow your head off.”

That exchange reflected the cultural significance of “Drag Race,” for this particular moment in time.

Queer and gay culture has been so widely co-opted and incorporated into mainstream popular culture that it can feel commonplace, embraced by default. On the surface, that feels like a positive thing — queer narratives, like those featured in “Carol,” “The Danish Girl,” “Modern Family” and “Transparent” go a long way toward humanizing difference. We may live in troubled times, but this visibility suggests people are finding their way.

Yet, pop culture has barely started grappling with more complex and ugly contemporary narratives, ones that make clear that universal acceptance is still a fantasy — like North Carolina’s law limiting bathroom access to transgender people. This is what makes “Drag Race,” which airs its Season 8 finale on Monday night, so valuable."

Book Ban in Venice Ignites a Gay Rights Battle; New York Times, 8/18/15

Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times; Book Ban in Venice Ignites a Gay Rights Battle:

"Tracing the origins of the reading list, Ms. Seibezzi explained that education research suggested that such prejudices were “consolidated at 3 years of age.”

She added, “So we said, ‘Let’s start there,’ ” to foster inclusiveness and respect for others...

Books that challenge the status quo are seen as eroding the church’s hold over social issues, said Francesca Pardi, the author of “Piccolo Uovo,” or “Little Egg,” the other book still on the forbidden list.

Her book, the tale of an unhatched egg that sees happiness in various family configurations, won the prestigious Andersen Prize in 2012, Italy’s top nod for children’s literature, even as a popular Catholic magazine cited it as a book to avoid.

“In Italy, it’s as if morality is the prerogative of the church,” Ms. Pardi said, “and so some principles are never put into discussion.” A book that shows that there is “room for all becomes very threatening, especially because it’s told in a simple language that shows there is nothing to be afraid of,” she said.

The book was “breaking down a taboo,” she added.

“Education isn’t about teaching how or what to think, but to pass values,” she said. “Kids won’t become gay if they read a book about two moms, but they will be happier if that is their family situation.”"

Obituary: Elsie Hillman, philanthropist and GOP pillar, dies at 89; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/4/15

Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Obituary: Elsie Hillman, philanthropist and GOP pillar, dies at 89:

"Though she would never run for public office, she worked quietly behind the scenes. Throughout the 1960s, Mrs. Hillman was expressing concern about the lack of African-American voices in politics — particularly in the Republican Party. She connected representatives of Pittsburgh’s black community to chief executive officers of major corporations and expanded political outreach beyond the tradition of the black churches.

“You didn’t know if she was a Democrat or a Republican,” said Jackie Dixon, an African-American woman from Fox Chapel who was elected to the Carlow University Board of Trustees with Mrs. Hillman’s support. “She was a truthful, good-hearted person, and you have to respect people who stand for principles.”

The pull of Mrs. Hillman’s politics was driven by her push for people. During the 1980s, when the stigma of AIDS had many people scared beyond caring, she delivered food baskets to dying victims and stayed to eat with them. She established the Republican Future Fund to promote centrist policies and female candidates to state office. And she was a staunch supporter of reproductive rights, a position that frequently caused friction in the party.

“While we are traditionally the party of limited government intrusion and personal responsibility, the social extremist wing of the Republican Party has taken over and made abolishing choice a focus for the party,” she complained in a 2009 letter to the Post-Gazette...

Terry Miller, director of the university’s Institute of Politics, hailed Mrs. Hillman for the time, effort, money and influence she invested in people and causes — including rights for women, minorities and gays — often when the stands were not popular...

While Mrs. Hillman remained dedicated to her convictions, she watched with dismay as her party shifted to the right, with hard-line stands on the Equal Rights Amendment, gay rights and abortion."

Still Against Gay Marriage? Read This!; Huffington Post, 7/1/15

Steve Siebold, Huffington Post; Still Against Gay Marriage? Read This! :

"If someone's beliefs tell them that gay marriage is wrong, that's fine because that's what you believe and after all, this is America and you have the freedom to believe what you want. But leave it at that. We should all be allowed the opportunity and freedom to live life on our own terms as long as we aren't hurting anyone else in the process. There's no reason to go on a hate parade and start slamming other people with bigotry, hatred and discrimination. It's wrong and won't be tolerated.

- Have we not learned our lesson from the past? America has a long history of discrimination that includes blacks, Native Americans, and women. Lincoln freed the slaves and it still took another 100+ years for blacks to be treated like equals. Some people claim racism is still alive and well in modern day America. For all of our country's claims of exceptionalism, we have some pretty shoddy history as it relates to human rights. Remember not too long ago when blacks and whites couldn't live in harmony? Gay rights will be the same way. While it's legal now, and while some people still refuse to accept it, 50 years from now it won't even be an issue.

- The Supreme Court decision and legalizing gay marriage everywhere is a huge step for America. It shows there are enough independent thinkers out there. If we're truly going to evolve on these important social issues, we can't be a nation of drones programmed to believe everything in The Bible or take the word of anyone no matter who they are or what kind of power they hold. Just like the airplane has evolved from the time of The Wright Brothers, or mail has evolved into email, it's no different with gay rights. In time things are supposed to get better, not worse, and the only way that will happen is if enough free thinkers push back and question the old ways of doing things.

To all my LGBT friends and Americans, this is your time. Congratulations! The bullies and bigots will kick and scream like the small minded manipulators they are, but it hasn't been enough to prevent Americans from doing the right thing."

George Takei Is Still Guiding the Ship; New York Times, 6/13/14

Michael Schulman, New York Times; George Takei Is Still Guiding the Ship:

"Given Mr. Takei’s cheeky advocacy, it is hard to believe that he came out publicly just nine years ago. For that, his admirers can thank Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, when he was governor of California, vetoed a marriage-equality bill. Watching the news on TV at home, Mr. Takei felt his blood boil.

“We agreed that I had to speak out, which meant my voice had to be authentic,” he said in an interview with his husband in their Midtown Manhattan apartment."

Sponsors of Sochi Olympics find themselves drawn into battle over gay rights in Russia; New York Times via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/28/14

Stuart Elliott, New York Times via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Sponsors of Sochi Olympics find themselves drawn into battle over gay rights in Russia:

“We’re a brand that has always been about inclusion and diversity,” Katie Bayne, president for North America brands at the Coca-Cola North America unit of the Coca-Cola Co., said in a telephone interview Monday. “We’re convinced, as we talk about Coke standing for inclusion, it’s the best way to go.”...

“We are aware that some activists are targeting Olympic sponsors to voice their concerns regarding the Russia LGBT legislation,” the statement continued. “McDonald’s supports human rights, the spirit of the Olympics and all the athletes who’ve worked so hard to compete in the Games. We believe the Olympic Games should be open to all, free of discrimination, and that applies to spectators, officials, media and athletes.”

The activists do not seem mollified. On Twitter on Monday, Queer Nation NY expanded its efforts to appropriate #CheersToSochi to include sponsors like Procter & Gamble and Visa. The organization posted a photograph of Russian protesters being arrested with the comment “Use @Visa for your bail!”

Antonio Lucio, chief brand officer at Visa, said in a recent interview that Visa executives “support the highest ideals of the Olympic movement, which include inclusion.”"

Supreme Court Bolsters Gay Marriage With Two Major Rulings; New York Times, 6/26/13

Adam Liptak, New York Times; Supreme Court Bolsters Gay Marriage With Two Major Rulings: "In a pair of major victories for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits and, by declining to decide a case from California, effectively allowed same-sex marriages there."

Stonewall? Explaining Obama's Historic Gay-Rights Reference; NPR, 1/22/13

Liz Halloran, NPR; Stonewall? Explaining Obama's Historic Gay-Rights Reference: "From the Stonewall uprising came activists groups, gay-rights organizations, and in 1970, the first Gay Pride marches in New York and other major American cities on the anniversary of the first night of the riots. In 1999, the Stonewall Inn building, and the small streets around it, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. M. John Berry, then the assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior, told The New York Times that Stonewall was the "first such historic site recognizing the national significance and contributions of lesbians and gay men." "Even those of us who became active immediately after Stonewall never dreamed that even 40 years later there would have been enough progress to be noteworthy," Duberman said. "We would never have dreamed that a president would mention Stonewall in the same breath as Selma.""

A Map of Human Dignity; New York Times, 1/21/13

Frank Bruni, New York Times; A Map of Human Dignity: "Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall. The alliteration of that litany made it seem obvious and inevitable, a bit of poetry just there for the taking. Just waiting to happen. But it has waited a long time. And President Obama’s use of it in his speech on Monday — his grouping of those three places and moments in one grand and musical sentence — was bold and beautiful and something to hear. It spoke volumes about the progress that gay Americans have made over the four years between his first inauguration and this one, his second. It also spoke volumes about the progress that continues to elude us. “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall,” the president said, taking a rapt country on a riveting trip to key theaters in the struggle for liberty and justice for all."

Obama HRC Speech 2011: President Talks Gay Rights At Human Rights Campaign Dinner; HuffingtonPost.com, 10/1/11

Amanda Terkel, HuffingtonPost.com; Obama HRC Speech 2011: President Talks Gay Rights At Human Rights Campaign Dinner:

""We don't believe in standing silent when that happens. We don't believe in them being silent since. You want to be commander in chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it's not politically convenient. We don't believe in a small America. We believe in a big America -- a tolerant America, a just America, an equal America -- that values the service of every patriot."...

"I need your help to fight for equality, to pass a repeal of DOMA, to pass an inclusive employment non-discrimination bill, so that being gay is never again a fireable offensive in America," said Obama. "And I don't have to tell you, there are those who don't want to just stand in our way, but want to turn the clock back, who want to return to the days when gay people couldn't serve their country openly. Who reject the progress we've made. Who ... want to enshrine discrimination in state laws and constitutions -- efforts that we've got to work hard to oppose, because that's not what America should be about. We're not about restricting rights and restricting opportunity."

Obama also cited the White House summit he held to fight youth bullying, saying it was an issue his administration would continue to press."