Oct 30, 2009  |  By: Staff & Wire Reports  | COMMENTS     

Rick Rosendall is one of Washington’s most dedicated and determined gay activists — a wearer of many hats who has worked for years to advance LGBT issues in the District. Rosendall, 53, was born in D.C. and raised in nearby Wheaton, Md. His first foray into gay activism was as treasurer of the Villanova Political Union in 1978 when he out-maneuvered a conservative dean at Villanova University to bring the gay iconoclast Frank Kameny to campus for a debate on gay rights.

Rosendall started with D.C.’s Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance (then just Gay Activists Alliance) in 1979 in the midst of a campaign to place “someone in your life is gay” posters on Metro buses. In 1981, Rosendall co-founded the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington in which he was active for years as a singer, in public relations and in building the choir’s first web site. Rosendall returned to regular involvement with GLAA in 1988 and served as its president from 1996 to 1999. He’s been the group’s webmaster since 1996 and principal blogger in a new forum section since June.

Now serving as vice president for political affairs, Rosendall has been instrumental in fighting for same-sex marriage rights for D.C. He quit singing in 1999, hoping to carve out more time to write. He now blogs and pens columns for a number of gay web sites and magazines. He’s an I.T. specialist by trade and lives in Dupont Circle. He met his partner, Patrick Amipi, in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2001. Amipi lives in England now but the two see each other several times per year. Rosendall likes movies, theater and reading and relaxes by singing, taking a walk or having a drink.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell? Thirty-one years. The straight guy I was in love with.

Who’s your gay hero? Britain’s Peter Tatchell, who, among other things, twice attempted a citizen’s arrest of Robert Mugabe.

What is Washington’s best nightspot, past or present? My first, the old Lost & Found.

If gay marriage were legal, would you tie the knot? Yes, as soon as DOMA would not threaten my foreign partner’s immigration chances.

What non-gay issue are you most passionate about? Defending the First Amendment.

What historical outcome would you change? One, prevent the Holocaust; two, save the Library of Alexandria.

What has been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime? When Barbara Cook put down the mic and sang “Anyone Can Whistle.”

On what reality TV show would you fare best? “Survivor: City Hall”

What item of clothing has been in your closet since high school? I gave away or burned all that stuff ages ago.

If your life were a book, what would the title be? “Caught in the Middle”

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do? Nothing. The ability to appreciate beautiful men is a gift I would never exchange.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world? I believe the spiritual is bound up with the physical and does not outlast it, but I hope I’m wrong. I think Gore Vidal is right that “God is a convenient fiction.”

What would you order for your last meal? Veal saltimbocca with a glass of Marsala, followed by tiramisu and Sambuca.

What would you walk across hot coals for? Nothing — I’m not into macho stunts.

What gay stereotype annoys you most? The one where because I am gay, I automatically must know that Michelle Obama wore a sleeveless aubergine Narcisco Rodriguez dress to her husband’s first speech to Congress.

What is the best gay film ever made? Either “Brokeback Mountain” or “For a Lost Soldier”

What is the most overrated social custom? Going to bed with someone just to avoid being rude. No, wait ...

What trophy or prize do you most covet? A wedding ring from Patrick.

What’s your advice for gay teens? Learn the history of the brave and remarkable people who came before you, think for yourself and get in touch with your inner fabulousness.

Why Washington? Aside from being born here, the beauty of the place and the people from all over the world.