New Jersey-born homo-politico Barney Frank offers favorite places in DC. He also offers some frank talk on the GOP’s gay ways: “There’s a very large gay staff presence on Capitol Hill. And it’s larger than people would think on the Republican side. But most of them have to be closeted. Not necessarily in their offices — they’ll say, “Oh, my boss knows and they’re very proud.” But the boss doesn’t want anybody in the district to know.” [PlanetOut]

Lane Hudson and Matt Foreman know a little something something about the gay rights movement. As the outgoing leader of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Foreman has helped spearhead a number of movements in Washington, New York and throughout the rest of the United States. The activist tells us he caught the activist bug after witnessing the atrocities of West Virginia’s coal mining industry and only later got involved in the nascent gay rights movement. Foreman later got caught up in the more progressive, grass roots-oriented gay rights movement. Hudson, meanwhile, has been involved in activism since his wee years, when political active family members informed his social consciousness. The former Human Rights Campaign staffer gained notoriety after exposing Mark Foley’s inappropriate exchanges with congressional pages. He lost his job for his involvement in that scandal and now works as an independent gay rights activists and contributes to Huffington Post. Just in case you didn’t know…

The editorial union of these men counts as the first in a sporadic series called “Homo Encounters,” during which our editor moderates a conversation between two notable homos from various fields. Today’s one super Tuesday, so we thought Hudson and Foreman could offer some interesting thoughts on where the gay movement remains today - and where it’s meant to go tomorrow. We don’t want to give too much away, but be prepared for the pros and cons of incrementalism, how the Democrats can shape up (or ship out), why the federal level ain’t the shit and which political enemies should be our mentors - after the jump, naturally.
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A Jesus loving church goer doesn’t love the gays…

Can you be queer and work for the State Department? Yes, but not on equal ground.

Washington DC’s LGBT center decided to join the blogosphere. If you’re from the DC area, in the DC area or want to read about people in the DC area, head on over to the ingeniously entitled The DC Center.

While the NY Times editorial board approves of the President’s hypodermic turnaround, the journalists expect more from the Bush administration: Congress and President Bush have done the right thing, lifting a disastrous nine-year ban that prevented Washington from using locally raised tax dollars on needle-exchange programs that help fight the spread of AIDS. Unfortunately, that still leaves in force an even broader and more damaging law that prohibits the use of federal funds for needle-exchange programs in the United States or abroad.

That ban must also be rescinded.
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First enacted by Congress 20 years ago, the prohibition against using federal dollars for these crucial needle-exchange programs has hobbled AIDS prevention efforts both in … Continued…

DC-resident “Nathanial” had a shittastic Friday night. The DC-resident says a gang of “faggot” flinging men attacked him in a metro station, leaving him bruised, shaken and stirred.

DCist paraphrases the Fox News video: As the doors closed at Metro Center, the group surrounded and beat Nathaniel, kicking him as he fell to the floor and yelling “faggot”.

Nathaniel managed to get off the train at the Smithsonian station, and he ran up to the station manager’s booth to report the incident. He said Metro Transit Police would not drop him off at his house, only to another Metro station.

He believes that the attackers targeted him for money and their realization that … Continued…

Washington DC leads America’s HIV/AIDS pack. One in twenty people in our nation’s capital carry the deadly retrovirus. Many of you are probably wondering, “How in the world could our government allow such disgraceful numbers?” Activist Nicole Styles has her suspicions.

Via ABC:
Styles thinks that when these staggering numbers were announced, a state of emergency should have been declared. Instead, she and many others in D.C. suspect that the government’s seeming indifference is because 80 percent of those infected are black and most of the others are gay.

Styles believes that if the disease affected white heterosexuals at a rate of one in 20, the city and federal government would have … Continued…

A DC-based gay couple got more than they bargained for during a recent Rite Aid trip: Jay Hill and Mike Browne went into the store at 13th and U streets NW last Friday to make a purchase, and they embraced as they browsed an aisle. Hill told MW the manager walked by, saw them and did a double take. The manager then asked the security guard on duty to get them to leave. When Hill asked the guard why they were asked to leave, the guard said, “I don’t know, that’s just what the manager said. This is private property so y’all got to go.” But, seriously, Hill and Browne have a lot of nerve. … Continued…

As Washington insiders duke it out over whether to include trans folk in discrimination, DC-coppers are getting a trans-friendly reminder.

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier issued an interdepartmental memo reminded officers to be 100% respectful when dealing with trannies: D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier issued a departmental general order today directing her officers how to deal respectfully with transgender people. The order “sets the highest standards in the nation,” according to the DC Trans Coalition, made up of members of the District’s transgender community.

Among the directives are that officers will refer to transgender people by the gender they have “expressed or presented.” Officers are also ordered to write “at risk” indicating when an inmate … Continued…

An intern for the Human Rights Campaign found himself on the wrong side of anti-gay fists Saturday. The unnamed man had been leaving a DC bar when three men reportedly followed him, taunted him with homophobic epithets and hit him.

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty promised a full investigation and lamented the violent, hateful attack:
This has got to be a city where intolerance is not tolerated. You never want to think, especially in the nation’s capital, that somebody could be targeted for a crime based on their sexual preference, their race, their age, anything.

That’s why we’re going to take it extremely seriously, investigate it and prosecute it as soon as we can bring somebody into … Continued…

Our national, judicial nightmare’s over:
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington. If only he’d done this months ago…

It seems Eleanor Holmes Norton fancies herself a health activist. The DC Representative hosts a “frank discussion” next Monday during which women can come and chat about how sexually transmitted diseases threaten so-called normal relationships. In a letter addressed to someone named “Sister,” Norton implores: Please come to my Women’s Town Hall Meeting on “Sex in the City: STDs, Relationships and Today’s Woman”… The only featured guest is YOU. There is no “program,” only what you have to say about how women are living and should live their lives in an era when marriage among African American’s [sic] has sharply declined. Black women outnumber Black men and STD’s [sic] and AIDS are a threat to normal … Continued…

Remember when Bill O’Reilly and his token black friend, the improbably named Rod Wheeler, took to the screens to scream about the lesbian gang pandemic?

Well, now that their story has made the rounds - and been ridiculed, Mr. Wheeler took it upon himself to apologize for all the homophobic-colored comments.
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Senator David Vitter found himself in the hot seat after his number appeared in a D.C. madam’s phone records.

So, what does Vitter have to say for himself? This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there _ with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way. Perhaps all that cheating on his wife with a whore made … Continued…