Rep. Steve Scalise
Once again, an LGBT person is credited with saving the lives of elected officials. Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner, who is lesbian, is one of the heroes of the shooting at a baseball field in Virginia yesterday.
Griner was one of two officers who was at the field where Republican congressmen were practicing for tonight’s game when a gunman began shooting at Republican congressmen. GOP House Whip Steve Scalise remains in critical condition after the shooting, but everyone on the field agreed the scene would have been a bloodbath without Griner’s heroic action when she and another officer charged the gunman.
From a White House pool report: “The first couple also met with Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner and her wife. They got the second bouquet of flowers.”
In 2011, a gay man is credited with saving the life of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. In that incident, intern Daniel Hernandez Jr., who is openly gay, was accompanying Giffords in her district where she was meeting constituents. When she was shot, Hernandez actions were credited with saving her life.
In 1975, gay man is credited with saving the life of President Gerald Ford. Thanks to Windy City Times publisher Tracy Baim for the research:
From Wikipedia: “Oliver Wellington ‘Billy’ Sipple (November 20, 1941 – February 2, 1989) was a decorated US Marine and Vietnam War veteran. On September 22, 1975, he bumped Sara Jane Moore as she fired a pistol at US President Gerald Ford in San Francisco, causing her to miss. The subsequent public revelation that Sipple was gay turned the news story into a cause célèbre for LGBT rights activists, leading Sipple to unsuccessfully sue several publishers for invasion of privacy.”