A New Day Dawns In Congress, Though Not Bright Enough

With the new Congress settling in, Jeremy Peters of the New York Times today discusses how gay and lesbian lawmakers are slowly emerging from the shadows, an illustration of society's own evolution. But things are far from perfect.

Congress has never been an accurate reflection of the country it serves. It remains far whiter, wealthier and more male than the nation’s population. But as their numbers in Congress gradually increase, there is a sense among these newcomers that they are forcing some of their colleagues to rethink gay rights and homosexuality.

The presence of openly gay men and women and their families was a factor that many believe was decisive in turning the tide for states where same-sex marriage was legalized by legislatures. Seeing them helped put a human face on a concept that many legislators had thought about only in the abstract.

Yet even with the opportunities gay men, lesbians and bisexuals say their membership in Congress presents, their reception has not been a completely warm one. One of the first acts of the Republican-controlled House was to set aside funds to defend the 1996 law that prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages because the Obama administration has stopped supporting it. And not everyone seems completely comfortable with their presence, like members of a Christian prayer group who seemed taken aback at a recent Congressional retreat when one noted he was married to a man. But in some ways the most telling sign of the gay lawmakers' advancement in Congress is the fact that their presence is now a little more routine.

The fact of the matter, though, is that gay and lesbian lawmakers are still a little over 1 percent of Congress, and the bulk of the GOP-controlled House remain obstinate on equality. Only 184 members have come out for LGBT rights, according to HRC; 220, a majority, are opposed.

Openly Gay, and Openly Welcomed in Congress [nyt]

Senator Tammy Baldwin on Hagel: 'I Want to See If His Apology is Sincere and Sufficient' - VIDEO

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) appeared on Andrea Mitchell Reports today to speak about the Chuck Hagel nomination as Defense Secretary and the pushback it has received from some LGBT rights advocates.

Said Baldwin:

“I do not know Chuck Hagel...I do want to speak with him, particularly about his comments 14 years ago, to see if his apology is sincere and sufficient. I want to hear how he’s evolved on this issue in the the last 14 years because the significance to the post to which he's been nominated is the respect for now openly gay members of the military who because of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell can serve openly and we need to see that implemented successfully..."

Mitchell also asks Baldwin if she has any concerns about how Obama's cabinet is shaping up given that he has thus far assembled a white male team of top foreign policy advisers.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Tammy Baldwin Sworn In, is First Out Gay U.S. Senator: VIDEO

The U.S. has its first openly gay Senator, Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

150 Game Changing Wins that Made 2012 the Gayest Year Ever

A remarkably short four decades ago, the Stonewall Revolt of 1969 opened the flood gates for LGBT rights. The closet, so sturdy for so long, started being swept away in a rush of pride. Still, LGBT Americans lived in a culture of "tolerance," a popular euphemism for enduring.

There have been momentous years since then — both Barney Frank's 1987 coming out and the 2003 Supreme Court ruling overturning anti-sodomy laws come to mind — but when we look back in twenty years time or ten or even five, 2012 will be remembered as quantum leap for LGBT rights in the United States of America. It's the year that equality went from being a far-off dream to becoming an inevitable, immutable and irreversible reality. Even Newt Gingrich agrees!

This was the year of equality, the year the American dream came into sharper focus and the nation crossed from begrudgingly tolerating gays, and sometimes even acknowledging their relationships, to demanding our inclusion in the greater American family. Coming out is for the large part no longer a big deal, which is a big deal in and of itself.

There have never been as many out and proud elected officials; never before has Wall Street embraced us with such force; never before have so many conservatives admitted they need to shift gears on marriage equality and embrace change. This was a year of "never before" and "never again."

AFTER THE JUMP, 150 reasons why 2012 was a year of permanence for LGBT Americans, a year that the next wave of rights began its swoop across the purple mountain majesty and above the fruited plain.

And for more of our 2012 Year in Review, be sure to read "I'm Gay: 50 Most Powerful Comings Outs of 2012" HERE.

Tammy Baldwin Assigned Seats on Senate Panels with Jurisdiction Over Key LGBT Bills

Senator-elect Tammy Baldwin has been assigned to several key panels, the Washington Blade reports:

In a notice published Wednesday, the Democratic Steering Committee announced it has selected Baldwin, who’ll be the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate, to sit on four committees: the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee; the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee; the Senate Special Committee on Aging; and the Senate Budget Committee.

The Senate HELP Committee has jurisdiction over a key piece of pro-LGBT legislation — the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — as well as the measures that would address school bullying known as the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act.

Meanwhile, the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over a pro-LGBT bill that Baldwin has long championed in the U.S. House — the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act — which would extend health and pension benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees.

More at the Blade...

House committee assignments have yet to be assigned.

News: Lindsay Lohan, Mitt Romney, Mercury, Scorpio Sky

Senator-Elect Tammy Baldwin, US Rep-elect Mark Takano and Ambassador David Huebner, all of whom are openly gay, will speak at the Victory Fund’s LGBT Leaders 2012 Conference, which starts today.

Mitt Romney stopped by the White House for a 70-minute lunch with President Obama. The campaign rivals had turkey chili and reportedly talked about "America’s leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future." The White House says the men "pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future." I have the same arrangement with summer camp friends from 1994.

According to Dr. Sylvia Rhue, her family history proves that Abraham Lincoln was gay and had an affair with William Herndon, his law partner.

David Petraeus wrote to a friend about his recent fall from grace, "I screwed up royally. I paid the price (appropriately) and I sought to do the right thing, at the end of the day... [But] Team Petraeus will survive though have obviously created enormous difficulty for us. Holly is however once again demonstrating how incredibly fortunate I was to marry her."

Rebel Wilson's on top of the world, and actually deserves to be there.

Low level pro-wrestler Scorpio Sky knows "faggot" is offensive, which is why he uses it early and often.

Sure, Jude Law, you're not as young as you used to be, but you still look pretty darn good.

NYU student Blake Pruitt talks to gay men about gay men.

Sigh. Lindsay Lohan, an actress I really wanted to see have a comeback, was arrested after getting into a bar brawl in New York City. That brawl was reportedly over Max from the band The Wanted.

Meanwhile, Lohan also faces charges for lying about a car accident in Los Angeles.

George Zimmerman is selling autographs to fund the team defending him for Trayvon Martin's murder.

Ellen DeGeneres shares road signs warning wheelchair-bound citizens of incline-assisted alligators and other out-of-the-ordinary public alerts.

Britney and Will.i.am, "Scream and Shout," the video.

Braison Cyrus, brother of Miley and son of Billy Ray, makes his modeling debut in the February edition of Troix magazine.

NASA's Messenger rover found enough ice at Mercury's poles to fill the Dead Sea.

Democratic Rep. Jackie Spier introduced a "Stop Harming Our Kids" resolution today that aims to stop "ex-gay therapy" for minors. "Any effort to change sexual orientation is not medicine, it’s quackery, and we should not be supporting it with taxpayer dollars," said Spier.

Terrible: 60% of youth infected with HIV in 2010 are African-American. "Nearly 29,000 new cases of HIV, the AIDS-causing virus, were attributed to gay and bisexual males in 2010, and 82 percent of those cases occurred in large cities," US News and World Report reports.

With marriage equality set to become the law of the land, Washington state is considering gender-neutral language for marriage and divorce certificates. "Our fight for marriage equality is in part a fight for gender equality, not just for the gay and lesbian community. It is a fight for equality of sexes and the idea that marriage does not in itself mean that women are subjugated to men," said State Rep. Jamie Pedersen.