Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Senator wants 1950s anti-gay blackmail, suicide case investigated

Senator Tammy Baldwin

It is actions like this which make Tammy Baldwin a wonderful Senator and and a genuine leader in the lgbt community.

From Yahoo:

In the wake of disclosures in a Yahoo News documentary , the Justice Department is facing new calls to investigate a Cold War-era antigay blackmail plot that led to the 1954 suicide of Wyoming Sen. Lester Hunt.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin — the first openly lesbian member of Congress — asks Attorney General Loretta Lynch in a letter to “help shine a light on a dark chapter in the history of the Senateby investigating the roles that three U.S. senators played in hounding Hunt to his death by exploiting his son’s arrest for soliciting gay sex in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House.

The death of Hunt has been shrouded in mystery and controversy ever since the Wyoming Democrat went to his office on June 19, 1954, with a rifle and killed himself. Although the details were covered up for years, the event became the inspiration for the 1959 bestselling novel “ Advise and Consent,” later a popular Hollywood movie that had a huge cultural impact due to its frank depiction of the ways in which homosexuality was used as a political weapon at the time.

 “While decades have passed since this tragic incident, it remains a troubling example of the misdeeds of the McCarthy era and the role homophobia and bigotry has played in the history of our nation, including at the highest levels of federal government,” Baldwin wrote in a letter to Lynch last week. (A Justice Department spokeswoman said officials had not yet had a chance to review the letter and therefore couldn’t comment.)

I support this entirely. Looking into our past is something that the lgbt community has not done with as much fervor as we celebrate our present victories. Remember, someone paid dearly for what we have. We owe it to them to always remember their stories so that we never take anything for granted.

3 comments:

Greg said...

A Death Untold: The Suicide of Wyoming Sen. Lester Hunt

http://trib.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/a-death-untold-the-suicide-of-wyoming-sen-lester-hunt/article_68e7c2e9-cec0-557b-bf53-1b5db00ea88e.html

Connie said...

Off topic - I've been following your blog for a long time; meaning I've grown attached and want what is best for you. Concerning the rains - Oh my freaking goodness. An inch an hour for 17 hours and it's still raining? I'm in Colorado and you all got in a day what it takes us most of a year to accrue. My mind is boggled.

I hope all is well with you and you are able to stay dry.

Connie

BlackTsunami said...

Hi Connie,

Thank you for your support and words of concern. Thankfully, my apt has been untouched by the flooding but it has still been chaos around here. I am also amazed at how things went. When I first heard about it on Friday, I never anticipated just how crazy it would be. Some of the pictures you probably saw were from areas close to us and my mind just boggled over how close dangerous it has been.