Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

In this morning's Detroit News, column Deb Price profiles SLDN's new executive director, Aubrey Sarvis. Price begins by telling a pre-SLDN moment in Aubrey's career, when he convinced the chairman of Verizon to speak out on Capitol Hill in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA): Imagine flying on Bell Atlantic's private jet in 1997 as the telecom giant's chief congressional lobbyist. You're the sole traveling companion of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Raymond Smith. With your incredible access, you casually mention that you assume Smith knows you're gay and you'd very much appreciate it if he'd testify before the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee in favor of banning anti-gay job discrimination. Smith does testify, saying savvy corporations support such workplace protections because "no company can afford to waste the talents and contributions of valuable employees as we compete in a global marketplace." Treating gay workers fairly "is good business andgood citizenship," he adds. If you're Aubrey Sarvis, it doesn't take imagination to envision that scenario: He starred in it. Sarvis enjoys amazing access, thanks to four decades in the corridors of power -- as chief counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee, at Bell Atlantic-turned Verizon, and as the head of his own lobbying firm. He's proven he's willing to pull strings to help those of us who're gay. Now Sarvis has been recruited to lead the charge for ending anti-gay employment discrimination by one of the nation's largest employers, the U.S. military. . . . . . . Over the years, SLDN's groundbreaking reports have educated the nation about the damage Don't Ask does to patriotic young gay Americans and to national security: Polls now show most Americans agree that gays should be able to serve openly. . . . . . . SLDN made a smart tactical move in picking a seasoned Washington insider who enlisted at 17 in the Army and served for three years, much of it in Korea. Public opinion hasn't yet gotten the ban lifted. But connections forged over decades at Washington cocktail parties and on private flights may be just what it takes to get the job done. To read Deb's full column, click here. - Steve Ralls