Friday, December 28, 2012

Huffington Post: Most Compelling LGBT People of 2012

The Huffington Post has compiled a list of 30 "Most Compelling LGBT People of 2012."

I like the list, so here are a few I whole-heartedly agree with.  Check out the rest of the list here.

Tammy Baldwin: The general election on Nov. 6 was a historic one for LGBT people. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) was a part of that history when she became the first openly gay senator in the nation to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.

"I am honored and humbled and grateful, and I am ready to get to work -- ready to stand with Barack Obama, and ready to fight for Wisconsin's middle class," Baldwin said at her victory party.





Shane Bitney Crone: In May, Shane Bitney Crone got everyone's attention with his tragic, alarming and thought-provoking YouTube video, "It Could Happen To You," which went viral and has garnered over 3 million views to date.

The video highlights the many inequalities LGBT people face in the U.S., using his relationship with and loss of his longtime boyfriend as an example, and urges people to take a stand for marriage equality.

Since the video's debut, Crone has become a fervent LGBT-rights activist, making another video in a plea for full equality called "No Freedom Until We Are Equal" in November.





Edie Windsor: Edie Windsor and her late wife Thea Spyer spent more than 40 years together and were married in 2007 in Canada. Spyer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and passed away from the disease in 2009.

Because the U.S. doesn't recognize their marriage, Windsor, now 83, was forced to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate tax on her partner's estate and this inequality, courtesy of the Defense Of Marriage Act, caused her to sue the federal government in 2010.

In July, Windsor petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case and now, after historic news in December that Proposition 8 and DOMA would be addressed by the high court, Windsor's petition will be granted with a decision due in June 2013. 





Orlando Cruz: In October, Puerto Rican featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz made history when he announced that he is a "proud gay man," which made him one of the first active professional athletes -- not just boxer -- to do so.

The 31-year-old told USA Today: "I've been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career."

Cruz won his first fight after coming out about two weeks later.

"I was very happy that they [the fans] respect me. That's what I want — them to see me as a boxer, as an athlete and as a man in every sense of the word," he said.






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