Tweet Of The Day - Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

This is the first tweet from Giffords' account since the shooting and was surely made by a staffer, but it's very nice nonetheless.

Gay Hero Daniel Hernandez To Attend State Of The Union With Michelle Obama

Openly gay Arizona shooting hero Daniel Hernandez and his father will be seated with the First Lady at Tuesday's State Of The Union address.

"I'm both honored and excited to have the opportunity to travel to our nation's Capitol for a once in a lifetime event. Also the chance to bring my father along for his first trip to Washington, D.C. The State of the Union is a pivotal moment because it is our opportunity to find where we are and where we will be going as a nation in this upcoming year," Hernandez said.

Tuesday is also Hernandez' 21st birthday. That's quite a present.

Daniel Hernandez Speaks At Memorial For Victims Of Tucson Shooting

Openly gay student intern Daniel Hernandez delivered a terrific and humble speech tonight at the memorial for the victims of the Tucson shooting. He may disavow all the accolades, but the president later said it for all of us: "Daniel, we've decided. You ARE a hero."

(Via - AmericaBlog)

FRC Hails Daniel Hernandez

From yesterday's dispatch from the Family Research Council.

Congresswoman Giffords, who appears to be the shooter's main target, is "holding her own," doctors say. Her survival is thanks, in large part, to the brave response of Giffords's new intern Daniel Hernandez. After just five days on the job, Hernandez--who was trained as a nurse's assistant--rushed to the Congresswoman's side and helped her sit upright, putting pressure on the head wound until the emergency teams arrived. When they did, Daniel stayed by her side "making sure she knew someone was with her and she wasn't alone," he said. Since the shooting, people have called Hernandez a hero--a title he's quick to shrug off. "The real heroes," he says, "are people like Congresswoman Giffords, who have dedicated their lives to public service and helping others." A resolution to honor his boss, and the fallen, is scheduled for Wednesday.

Something tells me Tony Perkins and crew don't yet have the full story on Daniel Hernandez. After all, according to Family Research Council doctrine, as a gay man Hernandez is inherently mental ill, prone to pedophilia, undeserving of serving in the military, and should be rounded up with his fellow queers and shipped out of the country. How can someone like THAT be a hero?

Los Angeles Times on Gay Heroes

Today an editorial in the Los Angeles Times compares Arizona shooting hero Daniel Hernandez with Oliver Sipple, the semi-closeted gay man who in 1975 wrestled a gun away from Manson family member Sara Jane Moore, saving the life of President Gerald Ford. Sipple's outing as a gay hero, to his mind, ruined his life. Thankfully, it's a different world for Daniel Hernandez.

Sipple was known to San Francisco’s gay community, where he had taken part in some events, but he was not "out" to his family or to the larger world. News reports, including some in this paper, discussed his sexuality -- perhaps disclosed, some speculated, with a nudge from gay activist and future San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk (who would himself be assassinated in 1978).

Milk also opined that Sipple’s sexuality got him only a letter of thanks from Ford, rather than an invitation to the White House. The Times quoted Milk in 1989 about Sipple’s actions: "For once, we can show that gays do heroic things, not just all that ca-ca about molesting children and hanging out in bathrooms." Sipple sued the San Francisco Chronicle’s Herb Caen and several newspapers for invasion of privacy, but his case was dismissed. By taking the action he did, the courts found, Sipple, and thus his sexual orientation, had become news. Sipple’s mother never spoke to him again, and Sipple died in 1989.

Daniel Hernandez wasn’t even born when Oliver Sipple died. His heroism, too, is incontestable -- and this time, his sexuality is apparently uncontroversial, which may be one of the few hopeful things to come out of these murders and attempted murders. At least we won’t add character assassination to the actual ones.

While Hernandez' sexuality is indeed "uncontroversial" in 2011, to my mind it's important that we keep his gayness as an integral part of the story.

Vermonters Really Earned Their Freedom To Marry Today

Today's victory in Vermont didn't materialize out of thin air - it took years and years of tireless work by local and national activists who had to sit down over and over again with legislators, business leaders, and clergy to educate them about our issues.

At the top of the "Thank You" list should be Vermont Freedom To Marry. How about a nice email to VFTM Chair Beth Robinson? Write her here: brobinson@langrock.com.

LGBT Hate Crimes Memorial Launches

Towleroad has the exclusive story about the launch of a traveling memorial to the LGBT victims of hate crimes.

Scott Hall, longtime activist Frank Kameny, US. Representative Barney Frank and Amazing Race winner and activist Chip Arndt are spearheading the launch of Gay American Heroes, a national memorial to honor LGBT people murdered because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Supporting them are a large number of gay and straight public figures who have lent their names to the project.

The memorial is expected to be completed in December 2007 with an ultimate goal of establishing a permanent exhibit in Washington, DC. Hop over to Towleroad for the details.