GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Perry Signs The Family Leader Anti-Gay Pledge, Georgia Supreme Court Rules Congregation That Broke Away Over Ordination Of Openly Gay Bishop Must Relinquish Historic Building To Episcopalian Church, First Openly Gay Candidate Elected In Northern Virginia Says Sexuality Never Was And Never Will Be An Issue

A few days after appearing at a Family Leader forum, Texas Governor Rick Perry is the latest GOP presidential candidate to sign the group’s controversial marriage pledge, reports The Des Moines Register. The pledge advocates several issues, including the Defense of Marriage Act, personal fidelity to the signee’s spouse, appointment of “faithful constitutionalists” as judges, and reformation of anti-marriage elements in divorce, tax and welfare laws. Family Leader head Bob Vander Plaats has said signing the pledge will be a prerequisite for the group’s endorsement, one coveted among candidates seeking to win the evangelical vote. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have both signed the vow. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has indicated he would sign it if he could make a few modifications. Family Leader spokeswoman Julie Summa said that while Perry has signed the pledge, it still needs to be shipped to the group. She’s unaware if Perry has made any modifications. Perry’s signing is the candidate’s latest bid to land well with Iowa’s social conservatives amid the candidate’s single digit poll numbers.

The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that a Savannah congregation of a 278-year-old church that revolted over the affirmation of a gay bishop will have to give up the historic building to the national Episcopal church, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Christ Church was founded in 1733, when English General James Oglethorpe designated the land on which the church stands as a place of worship. The church received title to the building by land grants from the royal government in 1758 and post-Revolution state legislature in 1789. In 1823, Christ Church co-founded the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia and formally joined the national Episcopal Church. In 2007, after the national Episcopal Church affirmed its first openly gay bishop in New Hampshire, 87 percent of the Savannah congregation voted to cut off its affiliation with the Georgia Diocese and join an Anglican diocese in Uganda. The Georgia Bishop recognized the minority faction, including its rector, wardens and vestry, as the rightful leaders of Christ Church who named themselves “Christ Church Episcopal.” However, the majority faction, which called themselves “Christ Church in Savannah,” refused to give up the property. The Georgia Diocese and national Episcopal Church then sued the local congregation, seeking a court declaration that the church’s historic building and property on Bull Street, worth nearly $3 million, as well as three other parcels of property titled in the name of Christ Church, were held in trust for the benefit of the national church. Lower courts had ruled in favour of the national organization, with the state Court of Appeals pointing out that Episcopalians have a hierarchical denomination ruled by bishops rather than one controlled by congregations. The 45-page decision was written by Justice David Nahmias. Superior Court Judge Phillip Brown of Macon, filling in for Justice George Carley, was the only dissenter.

Michael Sutphin is not only the first openly gay man elected to the Blacksburg Town Council but is being recognized as the first openly gay candidate elected in the state outside of Northern Virginia. Sutphin, 27, is a 2006 graduate of Virginia Tech and a public relations worker assigned to the university's veterinary college. He finished second among five candidates on November 8, earning one of three open council seats. Sutphin identified himself as gay during the election in an interview with Tech's student-run radio station WUVT, and listed on his campaign materials his service on the board of directors of the pro-gay rights group Equality Virginia. But it didn't come up during his door-to-door campaigning, reports The Roanoke Times. "I didn't campaign on sexual orientation," Sutphin said. "I campaigned on economic development, regional cooperation, neighbourhood issues and ... smart growth." But, Sutphin said, diversity is important for representative government. He pointed to the fact that the Blacksburg council now has more women than men, including Krisha Chachra, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from India. Sutphin has tweeted and posted to Facebook about the likelihood that he is the only openly gay candidate elected in the state outside of Northern Virginia, a status confirmed by Denis Dison of the Washington, D.C.-based Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. In recent years, a handful of gay and lesbian candidates have been elected in the northern part of the state, which borders D.C., Dison said. But none are known to have run in other parts of the state. The Victory Fund tracks openly gay and lesbian candidates in local, state and national races, as well as endorsing and offering campaign support to some who apply to the organization. On the local level, such wins are largely symbolic, as sexual orientation rarely matters in debates over land use, taxes and budgets. But they can be a powerful encouragement for gays and lesbians to participate in the political life of a community, Dison said. And, when issues affecting gays and lesbians do come before boards with openly gay members, there is better representation, Dison said. In Charlotte, North Carolina, LaWana Mayfield beat an incumbent on Nov. 8 and became the first openly gay candidate to ever win a city council race there, Dison said. "There's no non-discrimination ordinance there," Dison said. "Now she can spearhead that." As the issue is debated, Dison said, Mayfield can "sit down with colleagues and say, 'This is what it means. We're talking about my life here.'" Blacksburg's equal employment opportunity statement already includes protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the town's workplace anti-harassment policies include a ban on harassment based on sexual orientation, human resources manager Elaine Gill said. Those protections have been in place in Blacksburg for several years. But the town does not offer domestic partner health benefits to either heterosexual or homosexual couples. Gill said the town's health insurance is offered through a large consortium and covers only legally married couples. Same sex marriage has not been legalized in Virginia. Any change to the town's health benefits would have to be approved by all members of the consortium, Gill said. Governor Bob McDonnell has stated that he expects all state and local government entities, including public colleges and universities, to avoid employment discrimination on any basis other than job performance. He has also stated that harassment should not be tolerated. But because the General Assembly has consistently rejected legislation to ban discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation, such policies cannot be legally enforced. Sutphin said he doesn't expect his council service will change discrimination laws. But, he "can be a role model for LGBT people," he said. Since his council win, Sutphin said he's received only positive response, including a postcard from a man in Norfolk "thanking me for my victory on behalf of LGBT people." Nationally the number of openly gay and lesbian candidates has grown significantly in recent years, Dison said. The Victory Fund identified 50 openly gay candidates running 20 years ago at all levels across the country. Dison said this year the organization identified more than 500.