Del. Emmett Burns, right, cheers on Maryland Marriage Alliance head Derek McCoy (center) and National Organization for Marriage spokesperson Bishop Harry Jackson (left).

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo joined many Marylanders for Marriage Equality by posting a video endorsement last October. Ten months later, rabidly anti-gay state Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. (D) has decided to retaliate, writing to Ravens owner Steven Disciotti on Maryland House letterhead that Ayanbadejo should be sanctioned for speaking out:

I find it inconceivable that one of your players, Mr. Brendon Ayanbadejo would publicly endorse Same-Sex marriage, specifically as a Raven Football player. Many of my constituents and your football supporters are appalled and aghast that a member of the Ravens Football Team would step into this controversial divide and try to sway public opinion one way or the other.

Many of your fans are opposed to such a view and feel it has no place in a sport that is strictly for pride, entertainment and excitement. I believe Mr. Ayanbadejo should concentrate on football and steer clear of dividing the fan base.

I am requesting that you take the necessary action, as a National Football League Owner, to inhibit such expressions from your employees and that he be ordered to cease and desist such injurious actions. I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing.

Burns is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage allied with the campaign to overturn Maryland’s new marriage equality law, which is being challenged at the ballot this year through Question 6. Last year, he was already trying to organize a coalition against the proposed bill. Burns has said that same-sex marriage has “nothing to do with discrimination,” but is merely the promotion of the “gay and lesbian agenda.” He also predicted that President Obama would lose the 2012 election for supporting marriage equality: “I love the president, but I cannot support what he has done.”

Ayanbadejo is hardly the first NFL to take a position on a social issue. In January, six players, including quarterbacks Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears) and Rex Grossman (Washington Redskins), came out against proposed right-to-work legislation in Indiana. Several Green Bay Packers players urged Wisconsin voters to recall Gov. Scott Walker (R) because of his opposition to unions. And of course, Tim Tebow ran anti-choice ads in 2010 in partnership with Focus on the Family. Just last month, the San Francisco 49ers released an “It Gets Better” video, showing their own public support for LGBT teens.

Burns is wrong; sports are not strictly for “pride, entertainment, and excitement.” Sports stars can also be heroes and role models, and Ayanbadejo’s support same-sex families is a perfect example of speaking out on behalf of those treated unfairly in society. Burns just seems to be bitter that his anti-equality campaign doesn’t have an NFL spokesperson. Watch Ayanbadejo’s video:

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R), who has an extensive anti-gay record, employs a political director who is now attacking Senate opponent Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) for being a lesbian. Brian Nemoir sent an email and a tweet Wednesday deriding Baldwin’s “heartland values” and linking to a video of her dancing with the disco band VO5 at the 2010 Wisconsin Capital Pride Rally. Nemoir claims he sent the gay-baiting message on his own to a “handful of select contacts” — namely: conservative political bloggers in Wisconsin. He has no regrets about making an issue of the video:

NEMOIR: I think there are issues in this race that are extremely significant that will be generated on a day-to-day basis and I look forward to coverage of those issues. [...] There are no shortages of issues to talk about in this campaign. That’s really what we should be talking about.

Apparently, Nemoir believes Baldwin’s sexual orientation is “extremely significant,” seeing as how he wants the media to discuss it, even if his gay-baiting was not conducted in his official capacity with the Thompson campaign. It’s unclear whether his use of such petty identity politics will compromise his future employment running Thompson’s public relations. Perhaps dancing and having a good time are simply anathema to Thompson’s “values.”  Here’s the delightful video:

(Photo via Housing Works.)

There isn’t a lot of talk about Medicaid in gay and transgender politics. Most are familiar with LGBT issues that have gotten enough attention to make the Democratic platform and the reactionary hit list: marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination, anti-bullying policies, immigration rights for bi-national couples, and an end to HIV and AIDS. But when it comes to Medicaid, the LGBT movement is too often at a loss for words about a program that provides lifesaving health care to more than 50 million of the poorest Americans — including gay and transgender people.

Despite common stereotypes, unemployment and poverty are higher among gay and transgender communities, particularly communities of color, than for the general U.S. population. Lesbian and bisexual women are more likely than straight women to experience poverty, transgender individuals make $10,000 a year or less at twice the national average, and gay men earn on average between 10 and 32 percent less than straight men.

The consequences of employment discrimination against gay and transgender people don’t stop with lower wages. The United States health insurance system is based on the presumption that most people can get insurance coverage through their employers or their spouse’s employer. But unemployment, lower-wage jobs that don’t come with benefits, and laws denying legal recognition to same-sex couples all mean that traditional routes to health insurance coverage are closed to many gay and transgender people.

This is why Medicaid matters for gay and transgender communities.

Medicaid was created more than 40 years ago when our nation decided that it is immoral to abandon people who cannot get private health insurance to a high-stakes struggle to get the health care they need. Medicaid now covers more than 50 million people, and more than half of Americans have a personal connection to the program either because they have received benefits themselves or because they know someone who has. Medicaid coverage is low-cost and high-quality, and it makes a huge difference in people’s lives.

The health reform law opens the possibility of Medicaid coverage for an additional 16 million people with annual incomes below $15,000. As a result, many gay and transgender adults will become eligible for the program, and people with HIV will no longer have to wait for a disabling AIDS diagnosis before they can qualify for coverage.

But while the importance of Medicaid doesn’t get much airtime in discussions of gay and transgender priorities — or in the national news — behind closed doors, conservatives are sharpening their knives for the program. The Romney/Ryan campaign wants to slash federal funding for Medicaid and convert these funds to block grants too small to support existing state Medicaid programs. As funding gets squeezed, states will increasingly look for ways to kick current beneficiaries off the Medicaid rolls, and the eligibility expansion under health reform will wither before it even has a chance to get off the ground.

It’s not too late to save Medicaid. To ensure LGBT people do not lose this essential protection, everybody must understand why Medicaid matters to all communities across the country.

In 2007, Paul Ryan cast the lone pro-gay vote of his career, voting for a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would have made it illegal to fire an employee just for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual. But he refused to support the bill if it included similar protections for transgender Americans.

The vice-presidential nominee was one of 35 Republicans in the House to vote for the bill (after voting to kill the measure moments before in a procedural vote), but did so only after transgender protections had been removed from the measure. According to a 2010 Roll Call article, Ryan pushed the bill’s sponsor — Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) — to exclude protections based on gender identity and expression:

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) also said he would likely vote against the legislation with transgender protections, and he said he’s told Frank as much.
“It makes it something you can’t vote for,” Ryan said. “I think ENDA’s the right thing to do,” but transgender language “changes the equation.”
Ryan declined to detail his objections, saying he wanted to read the final package.

According to a Task Force survey, 90 percent of transgender Americans have experienced “harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job or took actions like hiding who they are to avoid it.” The same survey showed 47 percent had been fired, not hired, denied a promotion, or experienced a similar adverse job outcome based on their gender identiy or expression. At present, 34 states offer no legal protection for transgender citizens who experience workplace discrimination.

By refusing to support an fully-inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Ryan helped perpetuate the very real discrimination that transgender Americans face — because he thought that protecting them was something “you can’t vote for.”

A new study presented this week at the European Symposium of Suicide and Suicidal Behavior examines the suicide attempt rate among Israeli youth, finding that it was much higher than reported in official statistics. Among LGBT youth, 20 percent reported suicide attempts, 112 times the rate of the general population in Israel. In particular, those who were particularly religious had the highest rates. Study director Dr. Chana Bar Yosef explains the phenomenon:

YOSEF: This is a sector that does not get enough notice, and it is a hotbed for suicides that you later hear about after the fact. The suicide rate among the religious homosexuals is the highest because they experience more distress when confronting their families.

Indeed, here in the United States, the Family Acceptance Project has thoroughly documented how family rejection of LGBT youth contributes significantly to suicide attempts, substance abuse, and homelessness:

California Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D)

Last night’s speakers at the Democratic National Convention once again included many mentions of the LGBT community. Boston Mayor Tom Menino (D) boasted, “You know what we call same-sex couples? Our friends. Our brothers and sisters.” Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) called out conservatives: “From marriage equality to voting rights, someone will fight against expanding the rights enjoyed by some Americans to all Americans.” And California Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D), who is openly gay, identified that many LGBT people still experience employment discrimination across the country:

PÉREZ: In too many states, even some folks who have a job wake up every morning worrying that they may lose their job simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. We fight for them. [...]

[Obama] helped repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ giving LGBT Americans the opportunity to openly and proudly serve our nation in uniform. And he’s standing up for the right of those of us in LGBT community to say, ‘I do.’

Watch it:

Though many convention speakers have recognized the LGBT community, Pérez was the first to identify transgender people by name.