14th Day of Women's History Month: Candace Gingrich-Jones

Today's woman is Candace Gingrich-Jones.  Born in 1966, Candace is the half-sister of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  Candace Gingrich-Jones is fond of saying that she thinks her brother, the so-called leader of the conservative revolution, is more concerned about her being a Democrat who favors abortion rights and gun control than about her being a lesbian. It was because of just such a comment that the Human Rights Campaign Fund executive director, Elizabeth Birch, decided to talk to Candace about becoming a spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign.   "When the American people come into direct contact with or have a family member who is gay or lesbian, they are far more likely to support our issues," Ms. Birch said. Clearly Gingrich-Jones agreed with the sentiments of that statement, because since 1995, Candace has served as a key advocate for issues of importance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Although she isn’t an officeholder, Gingrich-Jones has involved herself in the world of politics, and has toured the country to spearhead HRC's voter mobilization project, urging Americans to register to vote and participate in the political process. Furthermore, she has led some of the Human Rights Campaign's seminars on political training. She also recognizes the power of the youth vote; as senior youth outreach manager, Gingrich-Jones works to empower and engage GLBT and allied youth in the fight for equality.  During part of her speeches to the youth throughout the country, Gingrich-Jones addresses the proposed Marriage Amendments of various states and the U. S. Constitution.  She says:  “They want to take this to the ultimate extreme. If we go by the history of amendments to the Constitution in this country, it's only…been done to give more rights to people, not to take rights away. That's why this is particularly heinous.”

Happily, due to the efforts of many, many, many Indiana citizens, our State Constitution will not have such an amendment added to it.  

I love this, from Candace's blog--dated December 20, 2012 (just after Pres. Obama was elected to a 2nd term:

"For pretty much my whole adult life there have been very few political issues on which my brother and I agree. But in an interview that The Huffington Post did with my brother, there were actually multiple items that had me nodding my head when usually it would be shaking in exasperation. He stated that the Republicans could no longer ignore the shift in public opinion on marriage equality. Agreed! The percentage of Americans who support marriage equality is the highest it has ever been; in fact, support for marriage equality has increased by 21 percent in just the last eight years, and Gallup's recent poll showed 53 percent of Americans supporting marriage equality.

This support is a direct result of the second thing in the interview that I agree with: "It is in every family. It is in every community." HRC's Coming Out Project has stated for years that people who know someone LGBT are changed by it. Today, more people know same-sex couples, and that has helped them understand the need to legally recognize our relationships. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that of those opposing marriage equality, 60 percent said they didn't know (or didn't know they know!) a gay or lesbian person.

Eureka! There is a third thing I agree with: In the near future there will be more states that vote to recognize marriage equality for same-sex couples. Already we have heard from elected leaders in Rhode Island, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota and Delaware that there will be a push for marriage equality in their states. And when DOMA is struck down as unconstitutional, another barrier to recognizing the relationships of gay and lesbian couples will have fallen."

I chose Candace for a few reasons:  1) She works so hard for the rights of LGBT people, and yet so few know who she is, 2) The work she does is so important to young LGBT people, who are still getting the message that they are horrible and will burn in hell and all the other things people say that young people internalize.  Candace helps them understand they are loved and good and all the things they need to know if they are to become productive, healthy adults, and 3) I too have a half-brother who is over 20 years older than I am.  But unlike Candace and Newt, I have not spoken to him in over 20 years.  He stopped communicating with me when he learned I was no longer going to a Christian Church.  Needless to say, I'm pretty sure the way the rest of my life has turned out would not sit well with him either. 

So, today we celebrate a hard-working woman,a great communicator, and someone who gives me hope for the future!  Thank you, Candace!