Watermark Publishing Group is a member of the National Gay Media Association, a group of the leading LGBT newspaper publishers in the United States.
The Washington Blade, a member of the NGMA and D.C.’s LGBT newspaper, is providing coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions for Watermark and our readers.
Rocky start for Democratic convention; Sanders supporters irate over WikiLeak dump
By Chris Johnson
PHILADELPHIA Fanned by nearly 100-degree heat, tensions ran high during the first day of the Democratic National Convention as Bernie Sanders supporters booed Hillary Clinton at an event designed to promote her candidacy.
After she took the podium at the Wells Fargo Arena, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), chair of the convention, said she’s “excited” to elect to Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine to the White House.
The delegates responded with cheers and chants of “Hil-lar-y! Hil-lar-y!” — but also audible boos from Sanders supporters not willing to back the candidate.
“I am going to be respectful of you and I want you to be respectful of me,” Fudge said. “We are all Democrats and we need to act like it.”
The rocky start to the convention followed controversy in which Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation as a result of an email dump on WikiLeaks revealing the organization favored Clinton in the primary as opposed to staying neutral.
Wasserman Schultz announced she would have a limited role at the convention and gavel in the event, but even that was eliminated as the day progressed. Her role at the convention was completely cut and the convention gaveled in without her.
Speaking at an event earlier in the day, Sanders himself was booed when he told supporters to vote for Clinton, even though he admonished them with the message, “This is the real world that we live in.”
Wellington Webb, a former mayor of Denver, sought to calm things down by saying both Clinton and Sanders are good candidates and telling supporters three times in a row, “They both deserve our praise.”
In an attempt to mitigate the disunity, the DNC issued an apology to Sanders supporters for the way their candidate was treated in the primary. The Sanders campaign texted supporters urging them not to boo Clinton during the convention.
Diane Russell, a Maine delegate pledged to Sanders, took the stage and appeared to mollify Sanders supporters. She urged delegates to ratify the unity commission, which seeks to reform the Democratic primary process. Among other things, the commission is pledged to reduce the number of superdelegates by two-thirds.
Russell said Democrats are working to make reform within the party and led the audience in a chant of “Not-for-sale! Not-for-sale!”
“Working together, it is supposed to be hard work, but we can definitely do more as a party to ensure a fairer, more open process that places everyday voters at the center,” Russell said.
Jose Nabarrate, a 22-year-old gay delegate from California pledged to Sanders, expressed anger to the Washington Blade over the revelations in the WikiLeaks email dump and problems he has with Clinton.
“A lot of people are passionate about Bernie Sanders,” Nabarrate said. “And ever since we started receiving this kind of information especially from WikiLeaks, and everything that we learn about Hillary’s past, we decided we want to go with someone we trust and know is going to get us there, and in a truthful manner.”
Nabarrate said he’s unsure of whether he’ll vote for Clinton in the general election and that the remainder of the convention will inform his decision.
Despite the ruckus at the convention, a recent poll found 90 percent of Democrats support Clinton in the general election, undercutting the notion the base isn’t willing to support her.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia), a gay Clinton supporter in attendance at the convention, but not a delegate, denied the discontent reflected any disunity within the party.
“Honestly, I think what we’re seeing on the floor is in many ways a classic example of American Democracy,” Sims said. “We, as a party, have great candidates to select from that people were passionate about, they did fire people up, and they’ve brought that passion to the convention and they’re going to use that passion to select the candidate that best exemplifies all of us.”
Referring to the Republican convention, Sims said, “Yeah, passions are flaring, but it’s better than anger and hate flaring.”
LGBT events to take place during Democratic National Convention
By Michael K. Lavers
PHILADELPHIA A number of LGBT-specific events are scheduled to take place in Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention.
The Philadelphia-based Equality Forum has organized a series of events that will take place alongside the convention.
Jim Obergefell, Roberta Kaplan and National Center for Lesbian Rights Litigation Director Shannon Minter are among those who are expected to take part in a legal panel on Monday. Gay Colorado Congressman Jared Polis, Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory Angelo, Gill Foundation Vice President of Public Policy GautamRaghavan and former White House advisor Mira Patel will take part in a separate event on Tuesday.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin, Melissa Harris-Perry of Wake Forest University’s Pro Humanitate Institute, Arcus Foundation Executive Director Kevin Jennings and former Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson on Thursday will take part in an LGBT rights movement panel that Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff will moderate on Thursday. Gay U.S. Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.,) Florida state Rep. David Richardson (D-Miami Beach) and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on Wednesday will participate in a separate panel that Victory Fund President Aisha Moodie-Mills will moderate.
Equality Forum on Thursday will honor House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Obergefell at a reception before the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
Bowser to attend anti-LGBT discrimination forum
Mayors Against Discrimination, a coalition that formed earlier this year in the wake of the passage of anti-LGBT laws in North Carolina and Mississippi on Wednesday will hold a forum on the Federal Equality Act at Philadelphia City Hall. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee and gay U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) are among those who are scheduled to speak.
HRC and Everytown for Gun Safety on Wednesday will hold an event in support of gun control efforts at District N9NE in Philadelphia. The National Black Justice Coalition, the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, Unión=Fuerza Latino Institute, the Center for Black Equity and the League of United Latin American Citizens have organized a policy briefing and mixer for LGBT people of color that will take place at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Center City on Thursday.
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black on Wednesday will speak at the unveiling of a historic marker at the Arch Street Meeting House that will commemorate the location in which 300 activists planned the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker on Tuesday will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony to unveil a second historic marker outside the Philadelphia house in which Barbara Gittings and Kay Lahusen lived.
The Washington Blade will provide additional updates on LGBT-specific events in Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention as they become available.
