Openly gay assemblyman could become Speaker of California's state house?

Wow! This would be awesome!

First-term Assemblyman John Perez, an ally of organized labor and cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, has launched a campaign to capture the Assembly speakership, and many members of the house are quickly rallying behind his bid.

Perez entered the race after a number of his Assembly colleagues mounted an effort to draft him as a speakership candidate. Capitol sources said if Perez is able to secure a majority of his caucus, the vote on a new speaker could come by next week, when the Assembly reconvenes to vote on education legislation.

One of those involved in the Draft Perez movement was Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. Huffman told Capitol Weekly Tuesday, "I believe John now has the votes. I think it's over."

Read the full article at Capitol Weekly, the newspaper of California government and politics.

AIDS Silence - David Kaufman's excellent article on Huffington Post

David Kaufman had a great article on the Huffington Post today about the sweeping-under-the-rug of HIV/AIDS issues.

Take a looksie by clicking here.

Have you heard about the new movie "Outrage"?

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A documentary called "Outrage" argues that closeted homosexual U.S. politicians who vote against the interests of gays and lesbians should be "outed" because their hypocrisy has slowed the progress of gay rights.

Written and directed by Kirby Dick, the film relies on interviews with people who claim to have had gay relationships with politicians who vote against gay marriage, hate crime legislation, gays in the military, and funding for HIV/AIDS research.

"Outrage" premiered at this week's Tribeca Film Festival in New York and opens on May 8 in select U.S. cities.

"My film is not about outing gay politicians. It is about reporting on hypocrisy," Dick told Reuters. "When a politician is in the closet and voting anti-gay with a very consistent record, he's acting hypocritically and I think it's completely appropriate for me to report on that."

Follow this link to read the rest of the article about this movie or click on the video clip above to view the movie's trailer.

So what do you think about outing elected officials? Are they all fair game? If not, are those with anti-gay voting records fair game? Or should all be entitled their privacy, even when they are acting in a hypocritical manner? Speak out by posting a comment!