This time last year, Hollywood – as well as the LGBT community – was all abuzz about the lofty number of LGBT programs that were coming to network TV. It was a record high.
A year later, that bubble has been burst. Most of those high-profile shows are now gone, having fallen one by one. CBS’s “Partners” with Michael Urie was canceled quickly. “The New Normal” lasted a little longer but still bit the dust at NBC, which also canned the acclaimed “Go On,” with Julie White in a supporting role as a lesbian.
Brighter than the “super moon” that was out on the same night, Atlanta’s LGBT community shined in record numbers at Atlanta Human Rights Campaign Gala at the Hyatt Regency Saturday evening. In keeping with this year’s theme of “25 Years of Fighting for Equality,” activists from the past and present were honored.
The event raises money for the Human Rights Campaign’s national fight for LGBT rights. It began with a rousing performance by Grammy nominee Frenchie Davis. She was followed by an uplifting video montage showing just how far the LGBT community has come since the first Atlanta HRC Dinner was held 25 years ago. The crowd of over 1,100 roared with approval when hometown hero U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) was shown in the clip.
“I’m moved that the people appreciate what I’ve tried to do over the years. I feel so blessed,” Lewis told GA Voice, asked how it felt to hear the room erupt into such applause at the mere mention of his name.
On "Meet the Press" this morning, Vice President Joe Biden told host David Gregory he believed gay couples deserve full marriage equality.
Administration officials, however, are slow-stepping what Biden said to say that Biden's intent was to say he and Obama agree on this issue — all loving couples deserve "all the civil rights, all the civil liberties" — whether gay or straight, said progressive political blog Think Progress.
"I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men marrying women are entitled to the same exact rights. All the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly I don’t see much of a distinction beyond that. […]," Biden said this morning.
Actor Sean Hayes, who played way-gay Jack McFarland on the groundbreaking sitcom "Will & Grace," will be honored at the Atlanta HRC Dinner, set for May 5 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
Hayes, currently starring in "The Three Stooges," joins U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), the first openly gay person elected to Congress, to add star power to the line-up for the 25th Atlanta Dinner. He will receive the HRC Visibility Award at the event.
"This award is given to an LBGT member of our community who brings positive and wide-spread visibility to our cause. These attributes align with HRC’s mission of creating a country that inspires and engages all Americans to work toward ending discrimination against LGBT citizens and realizing a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all," organizers said in a press release tonight announcing Hayes' appearance.