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==LGBTQ activism==
==LGBTQ activism==
Calling themselves a "survivor" of conversion therapy, Brinton was the first such individual to testify before the [[United Nations Convention against Torture]] regarding their experience in November 2014.<ref>{{cite news|last=Margolin|first=Emma|date=November 13, 2014 |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gay-conversion-therapy-un-committee-msna458431|url-status=live|title=UN panel questions gay conversion therapy in US|publisher=MSNBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213015848/https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gay-conversion-therapy-un-committee-msna458431|archive-date=February 13, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref> Brinton was the advisory committee co-chair of the [[National Center for Lesbian Rights]]' ''#BornPerfect'' campaign. Brinton held the position until at least September 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brinton|first=Sam|date=September 2, 2015 |url=https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/09/02/op-ed-real-ramifications-rentboy-raid|url-status=live|title=Op-ed: The Real Ramifications of the Rentboy Raid|website=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|publisher=Pride Publishing Inc.|access-date=December 10, 2022}}</ref>
Calling himself a "survivor" of conversion therapy, Brinton was the first such individual to testify before the [[United Nations Convention against Torture]] regarding his experience in November 2014.<ref>{{cite news|last=Margolin|first=Emma|date=November 13, 2014 |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gay-conversion-therapy-un-committee-msna458431|url-status=live|title=UN panel questions gay conversion therapy in US|publisher=MSNBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213015848/https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gay-conversion-therapy-un-committee-msna458431|archive-date=February 13, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref> Brinton was the advisory committee co-chair of the [[National Center for Lesbian Rights]]' ''#BornPerfect'' campaign. Brinton held the position until at least September 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brinton|first=Sam|date=September 2, 2015 |url=https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/09/02/op-ed-real-ramifications-rentboy-raid|url-status=live|title=Op-ed: The Real Ramifications of the Rentboy Raid|website=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|publisher=Pride Publishing Inc.|access-date=December 10, 2022}}</ref>


Brinton in 2016 founded the #50Bills50States campaign with the goal of prohibiting the [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] practice of [[conversion therapy]] throughout the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2017 |title=50 Bills 50 States |url=https://50bills50states.org/ |website=50bills50states.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001132833/https://50bills50states.org/ |archive-date=October 1, 2017 |url-status=usurped |access-date=November 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Compton 2017">{{cite news|last=Compton|first=Julie|date=January 19, 2017 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-lgbtq-activist-fights-end-conversion-therapy-n708816|url-status=live|title=OutFront: LGBTQ Activist Fights to End Conversion Therapy|publisher=NBC News|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220211/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-lgbtq-activist-fights-end-conversion-therapy-n708816|archive-date=February 11, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Brinton in 2016 founded the #50Bills50States campaign with the goal of prohibiting the [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] practice of [[conversion therapy]] throughout the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2017 |title=50 Bills 50 States |url=https://50bills50states.org/ |website=50bills50states.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001132833/https://50bills50states.org/ |archive-date=October 1, 2017 |url-status=usurped |access-date=November 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Compton 2017">{{cite news|last=Compton|first=Julie|date=January 19, 2017 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-lgbtq-activist-fights-end-conversion-therapy-n708816|url-status=live|title=OutFront: LGBTQ Activist Fights to End Conversion Therapy|publisher=NBC News|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220211/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-lgbtq-activist-fights-end-conversion-therapy-n708816|archive-date=February 11, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
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From 2017 to 2019, Brinton was the head of advocacy and government affairs at the non-profit LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization [[The Trevor Project]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":8" />
From 2017 to 2019, Brinton was the head of advocacy and government affairs at the non-profit LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization [[The Trevor Project]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":8" />


Journalist and gay activist [[Wayne Besen]] has expressed skepticism about Brinton's description of their childhood conversion therapy experience.<ref name="queerty" /><ref name="too good">{{cite web |date=December 7, 2022 |title=Has Sam Brinton's story always been too good to be true? |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/12/sam-brintons-story-always-good-true/ |work=LGBTQ Nation}}</ref> Besen has noted inconsistencies in Brinton's retelling of events, as well as Brinton's being unable to remember the therapist's name despite having had two years of sessions with him.<ref name="too good" /> In the aftermath of 2022 allegations of luggage theft against Brinton, Besen reiterated his concerns and accused various people and groups of failing to heed "clear warning signs" and of making decisions to accept Brinton's recounting of their experience without confirming its veracity as "sloppy, ethically negligent, and shockingly unprofessional" behavior that had given conservative groups and media a talking point to help them denigrate the LGBTQ+ community.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Riley |first=John |date=2022-12-13 |title=Department of Energy: "Sam Brinton is No Longer a DOE Employee" |url=https://www.metroweekly.com/2022/12/department-of-energy-sam-brinton-is-no-longer-a-doe-employee/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=[[Metro Weekly]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
Journalist and gay activist [[Wayne Besen]] has expressed skepticism about Brinton's description of their childhood conversion therapy experience.<ref name="queerty" /><ref name="too good">{{cite web |date=December 7, 2022 |title=Has Sam Brinton's story always been too good to be true? |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/12/sam-brintons-story-always-good-true/ |work=LGBTQ Nation}}</ref> Besen has noted inconsistencies in Brinton's retelling of events, as well as Brinton's being unable to remember the therapist's name despite having had two years of sessions with him.<ref name="too good" /> In the aftermath of 2022 allegations of luggage theft against Brinton, Besen reiterated his concerns and accused various people and groups of failing to heed "clear warning signs" and of making decisions to accept Brinton's recounting of their experience without confirming its veracity as "sloppy, ethically negligent, and shockingly unprofessional" behavior that had given conservative groups and media a talking point to help him denigrate the LGBTQ+ community.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Riley |first=John |date=2022-12-13 |title=Department of Energy: "Sam Brinton is No Longer a DOE Employee" |url=https://www.metroweekly.com/2022/12/department-of-energy-sam-brinton-is-no-longer-a-doe-employee/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=[[Metro Weekly]] |language=en-US}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==

Revision as of 12:58, 5 January 2023

Sam Brinton
Official portrait, 2022
Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy
In office
June 19, 2022 – December 11, 2022
Personal details
Born
Samuel Otis Brinton

1986 or 1987 (age 37–38)[1]
NationalityAmerican
EducationKansas State University (B.S.)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.Sc.)
OccupationNuclear engineer
Known forLGBTQ activism, youth suicide prevention

Samuel Otis Brinton[1] is an American nuclear engineer and LGBTQ activist. They served as the deputy assistant secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy from June to mid-December 2022.[2][3][4] Brinton left the position after being charged with luggage theft twice.[4]

Brinton was the first openly genderfluid individual in federal government leadership, and uses singular they pronouns.[5]

Early life and education

Brinton was raised in Perry, Iowa and is the child of two Southern Baptist missionaries. Brinton came out as bisexual to his parents in the early 2000s.[6] According to Brinton, Brinton's parents disapproved of Brinton's attraction to a male friend from school, and sent the then-middle school student for conversion therapy, an experience Brinton later described as "barbaric" and "painful" in a New York Times op-ed.[7]

Brinton remarked that physical abuse at the hands of his parents became far more common in Brinton's life as he began to express his identity. Furthermore, the physical abuse was not limited to his parents: During one particularly extreme conversion therapy session, Brinton reported that he was bound to a table while ice, heat, and electricity were applied to their body, all while being forced to watch film clips of gay intimacy, in an attempt to repulse them to his attraction.[6] Eventually, Brinton said it was clear that conversion therapy had not affected his sexuality, so he was effectively disowned by his parents, with Brinton's father threatening to shoot Brinton in the head if Brinton ever returned home.[8]

Brinton graduated from Perry High School in 2006 and from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering and vocal music in 2011.[9][10] While attending the university, they organized its first pride march in 2010.[11] He has a dual Master of Science degree in nuclear science and engineering (technology and policy program) in 2013 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[11][9][10]

LGBTQ activism

Calling himself a "survivor" of conversion therapy, Brinton was the first such individual to testify before the United Nations Convention against Torture regarding his experience in November 2014.[12] Brinton was the advisory committee co-chair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights' #BornPerfect campaign. Brinton held the position until at least September 2015.[13]

Brinton in 2016 founded the #50Bills50States campaign with the goal of prohibiting the pseudoscientific practice of conversion therapy throughout the U.S.[14][15]

In 2016 and 2018, Brinton was the principal officer for the Washington DC chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBTQ charity and human rights group.[16] At events, such as the organization's 40th anniversary, Brinton performed in drag under the name "Sister Ray Dee O'Active".[1][17]

From 2017 to 2019, Brinton was the head of advocacy and government affairs at the non-profit LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization The Trevor Project.[5][18]

Journalist and gay activist Wayne Besen has expressed skepticism about Brinton's description of their childhood conversion therapy experience.[8][19] Besen has noted inconsistencies in Brinton's retelling of events, as well as Brinton's being unable to remember the therapist's name despite having had two years of sessions with him.[19] In the aftermath of 2022 allegations of luggage theft against Brinton, Besen reiterated his concerns and accused various people and groups of failing to heed "clear warning signs" and of making decisions to accept Brinton's recounting of their experience without confirming its veracity as "sloppy, ethically negligent, and shockingly unprofessional" behavior that had given conservative groups and media a talking point to help him denigrate the LGBTQ+ community.[20][21]

Career

In 2016, Brinton was a senior policy analyst for the Bipartisan Policy Center, lobbying for updated regulations so nuclear waste can be used to power advanced nuclear reactors.[22] In February 2020, the website of Deep Isolation, a Berkeley, California nuclear waste storage and disposal company,[23] listed them as Director of Legislative Affairs[24][25] and in May 2022 they were Director of Global Political Strategy.[26] In 2022, Brinton's profile at the Department of Energy (DOE) indicated previous work with the Breakthrough Institute, the Clean Air Task Force, and Third Way.[3]

Brinton in 2022

In 2022, Brinton became deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition in DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, serving in the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition.[27] South Florida Gay News reported that, according to Brinton, while they were "welcomed with open arms" at all levels of the organization, others reacted to their appointment with hatred and disgust, some making death threats against them.[28][3]

In February 2022, an unidentified Department of Energy employee filed allegations of hiring malpractice with the Office of the Inspector General due to concern regarding Brinton's qualifications for a Senior Executive Service (SES) level position, i.e. "the class of federal career officials who rank just below top presidential appointees in seniority".[27]

Brinton supports the use of interim siting for radioactive waste to determine which sites and storage methods are best suited for future permanent repositories.[29]

In November 2022, Brinton was placed on leave by the Department of Energy after they were charged with theft of luggage at an airport.[1][30] On December 12, 2022, after a second similar charge for a July incident, a Department of Energy spokesperson confirmed that Brinton was no longer a DOE employee.[4]

Theft allegations

In October 2022, Brinton was charged with felony theft after allegedly stealing a woman's suitcase from a Minneapolis–St. Paul Airport baggage carousel on September 16. The criminal complaint alleged that Brinton did not have any checked luggage, and placed the suitcase's baggage tag in their handbag before leaving with the suitcase.[1][31] Brinton was due to appear in a Minneapolis court on December 19, 2022; the appearance was continued to February of 2023.[32][33] In the case of a conviction the charges could carry a five-year sentence.[34]

A July 2022 incident resulted in a second arrest warrant, issued on December 8, 2022, for grand larceny after investigators matched Brinton to security camera footage of the theft.[32][35][36] The case had been closed for lack of an identifiable suspect until news broke about Brinton's Minneapolis arrest.[37][20] Brinton had been on the same flight into Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas as the woman who reported her luggage missing.[38][35] In the case of a conviction, the charges could carry a ten-year sentence.[34] Brinton appeared before a Las Vegas court in mid-December where they did not enter a plea but posted $15,000 bail; a reappearance was scheduled for January.[39]

Personal life

Brinton is bisexual and uses singular they pronouns.[1][5][7] According to a 2017 Washington Blade local events article, Brinton resided in Washington, D.C., was a singer in the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., and was engaged to Kevin Rieck.[18]

Publications

  • Brinton, Samuel; Tokuhiro, Akira (2008). "An Initial Study on Modeling the United States Thermal Fuel Cycle Mass Flow Using Vensim". 16th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Volume 2: Fuel Cycle and High Level Waste Management; Computational Fluid Dynamics, Neutronics Methods and Coupled Codes; Student Paper Competition. ASME. pp. 867–876. doi:10.1115/ICONE16-48571. ISBN 978-0-7918-4815-9.
  • Brinton, Samuel; Passerini, Stefano; Kazimi, Mujid (June 2013). "Nuclear Fuel Cycle Analysis and Optimization with the Code for Advanced Fuel Cycles Assessment (CAFCA)". Transactions of the American Nuclear Society. 108 (1): 131–133.
  • Brinton, Samuel; Kazimi, Mujid (October 2013). "A nuclear fuel cycle system dynamic model for spent fuel storage options". Energy Conversion and Management. 74: 558–561. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2013.03.041.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Allen, Nick (November 29, 2022). "Gender-fluid US official accused of stealing woman's suitcase at airport". The Telegraph.
  2. ^ Forgey, Quint; Ward, Alexander (January 11, 2022). "Inside Biden's secretive weapons shipment to Ukraine". Politico. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Sam Brinton | Department of Energy". October 9, 2022. Archived from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Sands, Geneva; Vazquez, Maegan; Diamond, Jeremy (December 13, 2022). "Top Energy Department official no longer employed after luggage theft accusations". CNN. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Fitzsimons, Tim (September 4, 2019). "'Doesn't surprise me': Conversion therapy survivors on another ex-therapist coming out". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Gash, Alison L.; Tichenor, Daniel J. (2022). Democracy's Child: Young People and the Politics of Control, Leverage, and Agency. Oxford University Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0-19-758166-7.
  7. ^ a b Brinton, Sam (January 24, 2018). "Opinion | I Was Tortured in Gay Conversion Therapy. And It's Still Legal in 41 States". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b Villarreal, Daniel (October 10, 2011). "The Mystery Surrounding "Driftwood's" Tortured Ex-Gay Survivor". Queerty. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Samuel Brinton, M.S." Kansas State University. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Perry native suspected in summer luggage thefts | ThePerryNews". December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Sam Brinton". LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Margolin, Emma (November 13, 2014). "UN panel questions gay conversion therapy in US". MSNBC. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  13. ^ Brinton, Sam (September 2, 2015). "Op-ed: The Real Ramifications of the Rentboy Raid". The Advocate. Pride Publishing Inc. Retrieved December 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "50 Bills 50 States". 50bills50states.org. October 1, 2017. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ Compton, Julie (January 19, 2017). "OutFront: LGBTQ Activist Fights to End Conversion Therapy". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "The DC Sisters Form 1099-N (e-Postcard)". www.irs.gov. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  17. ^ Cortez, Jennifer (April 22, 2019). "The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence paint Dolores Park with a full palette to celebrate 40 years". Mission Local. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Rosenstein, Peter (November 3, 2017). "Comings & Goings". Washington Blade.
  19. ^ a b "Has Sam Brinton's story always been too good to be true?". LGBTQ Nation. December 7, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Ramirez, Nikki McCann (December 10, 2022). "Biden Nuclear Waste Official Accused of Airport Luggage Theft -- Again". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  21. ^ Riley, John (December 13, 2022). "Department of Energy: "Sam Brinton is No Longer a DOE Employee"". Metro Weekly. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  22. ^ Eller, Donnelle (January 10, 2016). "Engineer Sees a Power Source in Nuclear Waste". The Des Moines Register. p. 13. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  23. ^ Conca, James (January 14, 2022). "EU Nuclear Waste Organizations Conclude Deep Borehole Disposal Great Option For Nuclear Waste". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  24. ^ "Our Team". Deep Isolation. February 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ Brinton, Sam (May 11, 2020). "Nuclear Professional Group Says U.S. Should Study Horizontal Borehole Solution". Deep Isolation. Retrieved December 26, 2022. As the Director of Legislative Affairs for Deep Isolation...
  26. ^ "Our Team – Deep Isolation". Deep Isolation. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  27. ^ a b "DOE Employee Alleges Hiring Malpractice at Agency's Office of Nuclear Energy". ExchangeMonitor. February 17, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  28. ^ McDonald, John. "Gender-Fluid 'Nuclear Nerd' Climbing the Ladder at Department of Energy". southfloridagaynews.com. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  29. ^ "Where should we put our country's nuclear waste? StateImpact Oklahoma goes underground to find out". KOSU. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  30. ^ Weiss, Benjamin (November 28, 2022). "DOE spent fuel chief Brinton charged with felony theft in Minnesota". ExchangeMonitor. Access Intelligence, LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  31. ^ "US nuclear official charged with stealing suitcase from Minneapolis airport". The Independent. November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  32. ^ a b Bushard, Brian. "Biden Official Sam Brinton's 2nd Alleged Theft Included $1,700 In Jewelry". Forbes. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  33. ^ "Court hearing delayed for former Biden energy official charged with stealing luggage at MSP". FOX 9. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  34. ^ a b "Former Biden official Sam Brinton's mug shot released after bail set at $15,000". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  35. ^ a b Catenacci, Thomas (December 10, 2022). "Sam Brinton, nonbinary Biden official, stole jewelry worth $1,700 in second luggage theft: police". Fox News. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  36. ^ Musumeci, Natalie. "Nuclear energy official Sam Brinton — who was charged with stealing a Vera Bradley suitcase — has been accused of swiping luggage at an airport for a second time". Insider. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  37. ^ "Gender-Fluid Energy Dept. Official Sam Brinton Out After Theft Charges". www.advocate.com. December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  38. ^ "Warrant issued for Biden official accused of stealing luggage from Las Vegas airport". KVVU-TV. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  39. ^ Burbank, Jeff (December 14, 2022). "Ex-DOE official posts $15K bail in airport luggage theft case". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
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