Candace Gingrich (; born June 2, 1966) is an American
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
rights activist at the
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
. Candace is the half-sibling of former
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
.
[Seelye, Katharine]
Speaker's Sister Now Speaking Out
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', March 6, 1995. Retrieved on February 29, 2020.
Biography
Candace Gingrich was born to Robert and Kathleen (Daugherty) Gingrich
[(September 25, 2003)]
Kathleen Gingrich: Mother of former house speaker
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
'' on June 2, 1966. Gingrich attended high school at
Central Dauphin East High School in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
,
[(April 20, 1996)]
Newt and Sister Agree to Disagree
''York Daily Record
The ''York Daily Record'' is a newspaper and news publisher serving York, Pennsylvania, United States, and the surrounding region. Its news publications are the ''York Daily Record'' and ''York Sunday News''. The newspaper's circulation is 37,32 ...
'' ("The Central Dauphin East High School graduate is fighting to implement what ...") and graduated from
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The univ ...
in 1989.
[Foreman, Chris (October 12, 2004)]
Candace Gingrich argues gay rights are about equality
, ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although it transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, it rem ...
''
Professional work
Although Gingrich's sexual orientation was publicly reported on as early as 1994,
[(November 24, 1994)]
Gingrich Opts for Gay Tolerance
''Eugene Register Guard'' (Associated Press story) they first gained significant press attention in 1995 as a spokesperson for
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
.
[May, A.L. (March 6, 1995)]
Gingrich's lesbian half-sister speaks
''Spartanburg Herald-Journal
The ''Spartanburg Herald-Journal'' is a daily newspaper, the primary newspaper for Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States.
History
The origins of the paper lie with ''The Spartan'', a weekly paper reportedly first printed in about 1842†...
'' (Cox News Service story)[(March 7, 1995)]
Gingrich: I don't mix family and politics
''Reading Eagle
The ''Reading Eagle'' is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania. A family-owned newspaper until the spring of 2019, its reported circulation is 37,000 (daily) and 50,000 (Sundays). It serves the Reading and Berks County region of Pe ...
'' (Associated Press story)[ Isikoff, Michael (March 12, 1995)]
Gingrich: Newt's Gay Sister Gets Out Front
''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' They served as the Human Rights Campaign's National
Coming Out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
Project Spokesperson for 1995 and were named one of ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
s "Women We Love" and "Women of the Year" for ''
Ms.
Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
'' magazine. They are currently the Senior Manager of the Human Rights Campaign's Youth & Campus Outreach, as well as the Human Rights Campaign's HRC University Internship Program coordinator.
[Wynne, Sharon Kennedy (June 23, 2005)]
A Conversation with Candice Gingrich
'' St Petersburg Times'' Their autobiography, ''Accidental Activist: A Personal and Political Memoir'', was released in 1996.
[Harlan, Megan (September 13, 1996)]
The Accidental Activist: A Personal and Political Memoir (review)
''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''
Public appearances
Gingrich has guest-starred on the television sitcom ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' in January 1996, in which they officiated over a commitment ceremony for two recurring characters in the episode "
The One With the Lesbian Wedding".
[Stewart, Richard (January 21, 1996)]
'Friends' episode preempted due to lesbian wedding
'' Observer-Reporter'' (reprint of Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
story) They also appeared on the debut of
Al Franken's TV program ''
Lateline'' in 1998.
[ Shales, Tom (March 20, 1998)]
Test run of 'lateline' sitcom attempts satire about media and politics
'' The Ledger''
Gingrich endorsed President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in 2012, despite Newt Gingrich's candidacy for the
Republican nomination.
Personal life
Gingrich married playwright Rebecca Jones in 2009. The Gingrich-Joneses lived in
Hyattsville, Maryland, where Gingrich played
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
with the Washington Furies. The couple initiated their divorce in 2013.
In 2017, Gingrich married
Kelly Cassidy
Kelly Cassidy (born 1967/1968) is an American politician from Chicago. She is a Democrat and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. She was appointed to represent the 14th district, on Chicago's North Side, in April 2011 following inc ...
, a member of the
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...
.
Gingrich is
genderqueer
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
and a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
and goes by
they/them pronouns
Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentence ...
.
See also
* Gingrich appears in ''
A Union in Wait
''A Union in Wait'' is a 2001 documentary film about same-sex marriage directed by Ryan Butler. It was the first documentary about same-sex marriage to air on national television in the United States.
Summary
Susan Parker and Wendy Scott are me ...
'', a 2001 documentary film about same-sex marriage.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gingrich, Candace
1966 births
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
Activists from Pennsylvania
American humanists
American memoirists
American bloggers
American lesbian writers
LGBT people from Maryland
LGBT people from Pennsylvania
LGBT rights activists from the United States
Genderqueer people
Living people
Newt Gingrich
Writers from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
People from Hyattsville, Maryland
Writers from Maryland
Non-binary writers
Non-binary activists