Freedom To Marry Head Evan Wolfson: We've Reached Critical Mass On Marriage

Gay Activist Richard Socarides Talks About His "Ex-Gay" Advocate Father

Former Clinton White House advisor and LGBT activist Richard Socarides has made a video about his father, Dr. Charles Socarides, the co-founder of NARTH who is widely considered the creator of "ex-gay therapy."

Via I'm From Driftwood:

Dr. Charles Socarides didn’t just believe that homosexuality could be cured; he was one of the most sought-after therapists for people who wanted to become straight. And for Richard, that hit a little too close to home. In his twenties, at the insistence of his sister and his therapist, Richard decided it was time to tell the very man who is known for curing gay people that his own son is gay. Watch the video below to see how Richard’s coming out experience unfolded.

"Ex-Gay" Advocate Pastor Joel Osteen: I Didn't Choose To Be Heterosexual

Quote Of The Day - Richard Socarides

"Last night in Charlotte, the Democratic Party made history as the first national party to offer a platform endorsing marriage equality for all Americans. The move followed, of course, President Obama's personal endorsement of same-sex marriage in May. Both were important moments for me, here as a delegate for New York, and many others at the convention who have fought for full equality for gays and lesbians over many years. It was a completely different scene in Tampa last week.

"When Ann Romney spoke about her own 'real marriage' at the Republican National Convention, I wondered if this admittedly likable woman auditioning for a role as first lady would someday try to stand in the way of my marriage. I thought: can Mitt Romney stop gay marriage? Does he even want to? [snip]

"I asked Evan Wolfson, President of the group Freedom to Marry and the founder of the marriage equality movement nationally, whether he though Mitt Romney could stop marriage equality or if he thought Romney even cared. 'He has staked out a position, whether sincerely or otherwise, to the right of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush'” said Wolfson. 'We have no reason to think he's not serious.'

So while I welcome my pro-equality friends in the GOP to the cause—they see the future—I'm happier in Charlotte than I would have been in Tampa. And I hope that the country sticks with the president it's got." - Former Clinton White House advisor Richard Socarides, writing for the Daily Beast.

Read the full article.

At Charlotte's LGBT Welcome Party

Last night I attended Unity Charlotte, a rather swank welcoming party for the hundreds of LGBT delegates and activists attending the DNC. In the house were many boldface names such as former HRC head Joe Solmonese, former Empire State Pride Agenda executive director Brian Ellner, Clinton White House advisor Richard Socarides, New York Assemblyman Harry Bronson, Q Notes editor Matt Comer, and Stonewall Democrats president Jerame Davis and his partner, Bilerico founder Bil Browning.

We were welcomed by Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, who opened by denouncing Amendment One before ticking off Charlotte's accomplishments in LGBT rights, including the recent adoption of domestic partner benefits. Entertainers included disco queen Kristine W, lesbian comic Suzanne Westenhoefer, the Charlotte Pride Woodwind Quintet, and the local gay chorus. Great night and I got to meet a lot of JMG readers! Big thanks to my longtime San Francisco pal Ron Vereen for fetching me from the wilds of rural South Carolina. Hit the slideshow for more names and faces. Full screen photos here.

Richard Socarides And Wayne Besen Discuss Marriage Equality And SCOTUS

Richard Socarides On DOMA Ruling

"It now looks like it will be this case, rather than the more famous Perry case being litigated by Ted Olson and David Boies, that will reach the Supreme Court first. It’s a bit of inside baseball, but this is the result favored by the old guard of gay-rights litigators who prefer a more incremental strategy of Supreme Court review. (Although they will not like the language in today’s decision that suggests that states can decide on a case-by-case basis who can get married; but this is the risk of incrementalism.)

"In this case, a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would not require any kind of finding that there exists a hitherto-unrecognized constitutional right to same-sex marriage—only that the federal government must recognize marriages validly preformed in states that choose to do so. But whatever happens next, there is no question that this decision is another big step in the march toward full equality for gay and lesbian Americans." - Former Clinton White House aide Richard Socarides, writing for the New Yorker.

HomoQuotable - Richard Socarides

"Barack Obama’s self-described 'evolution' on same sex marriage appears likely to end with a strategically timed (if low-key) pre-election announcement of his support for marriage equality. [snip] Having the President publicly endorse marriage equality will be an important symbolic and substantive turning point. It would likely accelerate the pro-equality shift in public opinion, including in minority communities. It will make it easier for federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, to rule in favor of gay rights in the face of arguments that doing so is out of the mainstream of American political thought. And it might just help get President Obama reelected." - Former Clinton adviser Richard Socarides, writing for the New Yorker.

Richard Socarides On DOMA Battle

NEW YORK: Marriage Activists Buoyed After Meeting With Governor Cuomo

New York marriage equality activists say they have renewed hope after yesterday's private meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Paul Schindler reports at Gay City News:

“I’ve been to lots of meetings where presidents or governors call people in to say that they’re with them, and this one was really extraordinary,” said Richard Socarides, the executive director of Equality Matters, a new LGBT-focused effort of the progressive watchdog Media Matters. During the Clinton administration, Socarides, an attorney, was the White House liaison to the LGBT community. “What was clear to me from the meeting is that the governor is very committed to this,” Socarides continued. “He is prepared to do what it takes to get it done. He’s going to work on it and his team is going to work on it as soon as they get the budget done.” Acknowledging that Cuomo did not put it in so many words, Socarides said if the budget is completed on or close to the April 1 deadline, with both Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats reasonably content about that process, “I think he will turn to this, and it will be his top priority.” Socarides was not alone in his glowing assessment. Another participant, who did not wish to be identified, said, “The governor is really, really focused on this. He is putting the smartest people in his office on it.”

The New York Assembly has approved same-sex marriage three times and would doubtlessly do so again. The problem, as always, is in the state Senate, where even when Democrats held a slim majority, marriage failed. Today the GOP holds a 32-30 lead, meaning at least five or six GOP votes are needed to overcome the remaining traitorous Democrats. How the governor intends to achieve that is unclear.

Richard Socarides & Pat Buchanan On Barack Obama And DOMA

Socarides, who is now with the Media Matters affiliate Equality Matters, says that today's move "will definitely help Obama with gay groups." Understatement.

LAUNCHED: Equality Matters

Media Matters has launched Equality Matters, a new LGBT activism site meant to serve as a "communications war room for gay equality."

It will be run by Richard Socarides, a former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton who has been deeply critical of President Obama’s record on gay rights. A well-known gay journalist, Kerry Eleveld, the Washington correspondent for The Advocate, will leave that magazine in January to edit the new group’s Web site, equalitymatters.org, which is to go online Monday morning. “Yesterday was a very important breakthrough,” Mr. Socarides said in an interview on Sunday, “and President Obama’s comments, especially following the vote, were very significant, where he for the first time connected race and gender to sexual orientation under the banner of civil rights. “But we will celebrate this important victory for five minutes, and then we have to move on, because we are the last group of Americans who are discriminated against in federal law and there is a lot of work to do.”

Among the major backers of Media Matters is billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The homocon teabaggers are already whining.

HomoQuotable - Richard Socarides

"Can President Obama, who once supported gay marriage, only to oppose it now, change his position again? The answer is yes — and he in fact has no choice. People understand that most public officials who now support gay marriage once opposed it. It wasn’t until after they left office that Bill Clinton and Al Gore (and, most recently, Laura Bush) said that they favored marriage equality. As Nate Silver recently wrote on his blog FiveThirtyEight.com: “Does anyone really believe, in a country that is becoming close to evenly divided on gay marriage, that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Kerry are among the half who oppose it? “

"The sooner Obama changes his answer on this most important equal-rights issue of the day, the better off he will be. The Perry ruling provides the right opportunity to shift his emphasis and provide real leadership, reminding people that in this country, we look to the courts for direction on what our Constitution requires. It might also help the president’s popularity with those that elected him, and it puts him and his party on the right side of the equality question, where he, of course, belongs and presumably wants to be." - Former Clinton White House adviser Richard Socarides, writing for Politico.

SLIDESHOW: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand LGBT Fundraiser In NYC

Last night NY Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, Pam Spaulding, and Jeremy Hooper joined me at Hell's Kitchen's Therapy Lounge for an LGBT fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, an event put together by Out For Kirsten's Todd Beeton. Dropping by were SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile, activist Corey Johnson, former Clinton White House adviser Ricard Socarides, and other homo-politicos. Great night! Full-screen version of the below photos can be found here.

Richard Socarides And Oscar Winner Dustin Lance Black Discuss Obama's Memo