With the US Presidential race tightening, Barack Obama is stepping up his efforts to reach out to the LGBT community.

Hailing what it describes as a "significant expansion" of their national and grassroots LGBT team, the Obama campaign has announced that out Representative Tammy Baldwin, the Chair of Hillary Clinton’s National LGBT Steering Committee, and Tobias Wolff, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who chaired Obama’s LGBT Policy Committee during the primary season, will serve as the co-chairs of the campaign’s new National LGBT Steering and Policy Committee.

"I am proud to support Barack Obama for President and work hard for his election because we share a commitment to equality for all Americans. This is our quest and our common goal," said Congresswoman Baldwin.

"From now through November, we will reach out aggressively to our fellow LGBT Americans to ensure that they know there is only one candidate in this race who will stand up for equal rights and build a coalition that can deliver the change that we desperately need," Baldwin continued.

In addition to Baldwin and Wolff, other grassroots leaders who held leadership positions in both Obama and Clinton’s primary campaigns have joined forces to lead the national grassroots mobilization of LGBT voters.

Obama Pride, as the effort will be called, hopes to organize networks of activists in all fifty states who are committed to identifying, registering and turning out Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered voters for Senator Obama in November.

There will be five national co-chairs of Obama Pride. In alphabetical order, they are:

Marsha Botzer who served as co-chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Board of Directors during 2005-6.

Mandy Carter, a member of Hillary Clinton’s North Carolina LGBT Steering Committee, who has been organizing North Carolina African Americans and LGBT people for years, and has served as a member of the DNC.

Jesse Garcia, President of the Dallas Stonewall Democrats who served on Hillary Clinton’s National LGBT Steering Committee.

Campbell Spencer, an active supporter of Hillary Clinton’s campaign this year, who is now President of Boost Strategies in Washington DC.

Eric Stern, lead organizer of LGBT support for John Edwards during the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, who has served in a leadership role in Obama’s LGBT organizing efforts since February of this year.

© 2008 GayWired.com;

The Rawhide Kid: Changing The Face Of Comicbooks

Years ago, superheroes weren't the only game in town. Pirates, cowboys, monsters, lovers, and gangsters all made the rounds as popular comic book characters. But with the advent of the Comics Code Authority and increased public scrutiny of the content of "funny books", these other styles eventually fell by the wayside. Fans have always fondly remembered them, however. So, when Marvel announced the return of one of the most popular Western heroes of yesteryear, The Rawhide Kid, why wasn't there more excitement from fans?

Oh, that's right. He's Gay.

With the news that the new series would take a tongue-in-cheek look at the Western genre and that the Kid would be coming out of the closet, fans reacted in a number of ways. Some were outraged that Marvel would disrespect a classic character by using him in a cheap publicity stunt. Others just thought it sounded like a bad story idea period. A few adopted a wait-and-see attitude, giving Marvel the benefit of the doubt and deciding to read the book before judging it. And, as always, some people just didn't care.

For better or for worse, the comic book community is pretty much fixed and insular. Comics cater to a mostly male audience. The industry doesn't attract many new readers, and usually the people who read comics today are the same people who've been reading for years.

Anything that attracts a hardcore and mostly male audience, be it comics, sports, or Star Trek, doesn't react well to change. Sexuality is one of those very touchy subjects that are very personal. While this writer can't presume to know the inner thoughts of every comic fan out there, surely many people felt threatened by the Kid's "alternative lifestyle". Maybe they really meant it when they said it was disrespectful to the character's legacy, but maybe (read: probably) it just made them uncomfortable. If Captain Picard revealed his secret love for Riker, more than a few feathers would be ruffled at the next Star Trek convention. And Dennis Rodman made more headlines, and angry people, with his gender-bending public personality than for anything he ever did on the court.

Regardless of fans' reactions, they were taking notice, and that was most certainly Marvel's goal. It was attention they wanted, and attention they got, and the mainstream media picked up on it quickly. Any publicity is good publicity, as they say. On CNN's Crossfire Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition squared off against Stan Lee to debate the issue.

And isn't the hype a bit much anyway? It is loudly proclaimed as the first Gay title character in a mainstream comic. Is that such a big deal? The wildly popular The Authority featured two very prominent Gay superheroes, Apollo and the Midnighter. And Alan Moore's legendary Miracleman comic featured a Gay hero roughly 20 years ago. Television shows like Six Feet Under, OZ, Will and Grace, and Queer as Folk brought homosexual characters to the forefront, and they have mainstream popularity. Are comics just behind the times?

Well, controversy and hype aside, what about the book? Written by Ron Zimmerman, Rawhide Kid doesn't try to hide its conceit. From the opening pages, it is clear that the writer is taking an irreverent look at the Western genre. And The Kid's sexuality is anything but subtle. His speech, demeanor, and fashion are exactly what one thinks of as stereotypically Gay. The jokes come quickly, but most just fall flat. It has a few entertaining moments, but they are almost lost in a sea of dull jokes. The characters all talk in an overly self-aware, anachronistic style which makes it clear that Zimmerman is too aware that he's writing a comedy. Rather than let the humor happen, he shoves it in the reader's face, and it just doesn't work for the most part.

The series does have its good points, though. Marvel managed to wrangle John Severin, artist from the original series, for the art chores here. The result is a classic Western look that really adds to the authenticity of the book. And while Zimmerman won't be getting any high praise from the Gay community for advancement of mainstream acceptance of homosexuality, he does shatter one stereotype quite brutally. In most film, television, and literature, Gay characters are usually victims of prejudice and/or violence. The Rawhide Kid is anything but a victim. He may be fancy, but he can kick butt with the best of them.

So, what is Rawhide Kid? It is a publicity stunt that certainly garnered some attention, but probably didn't garner many new readers. It is a comedy that isn't really funny. And finally, The Kid is a pretty stereotypical gay character who wears chaps. He's no John Wayne, and he's no Clint Eastwood. He's a gunslinger, a brawler, and a damn snappy dresser.