CHICAGO — Illinois became the 12th U.S. state on Monday to grant legal recognition to same-sex couples.
Gov. Pat Quinn drew cheers from a crowd of more than 1,000 people who turned out to witness him sign into law a bill legalizing civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.
The civil unions bill will provide spousal rights to same-sex partners when it comes to surrogate decision-making for medical treatment, survivorship, adoptions, and accident and health insurance.
“Today is an important day in the history of our state because today we are showing the world that the people of Illinois believe in equality for all,” Quinn said after signing the legislation into law.
Watch here, via WLS-TV:
The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act passed in the Illinois General Assembly during the lame duck session following the November 2010 election.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), who is openly gay, drew a long standing ovation from the crowd.
The law takes effect on June 1 and also applies to heterosexual couples. Illinois law will continue to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
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Monday, January 31, 2011
School Cheers Lesbian Students at Pepfest
Update: Students at Champlin Park High School in Minneapolis cheered as two lesbian students who fought for the right to walk together as part of the school's royalty court entered hand in hand at the Snow Days Pep Fest Monday.
"It felt amazing," Desiree Shelton told the Associated Press. "I think we were too focused on getting to the stage" to notice the dozens of students who rose to their feet and applauded as they entered.
Read the full story here and the previous story below.
***
It took less than 24 hours for a federal judge to resolve a lawsuit filed by two lesbian teens who wanted to walk together in a processional at their high school pepfest in Minnesota.
For Champlin Park High School’s Snow Days Pepfest, Sarah Lindstrom and Desiree Shelton (pictured from left) had been elected to the royalty court and were planning to walk together when the school district suddenly ushered in a new policy. Rather than allowing students to be paired as couples, the new decree had the teenagers walking with an adult companion.
The suit, filed Friday on behalf of Lindstrom and Shelton by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the law firm Faegre & Benson, was resolved the following day after a six-hour mediation before U.S. district judge Susan Nelson in St. Paul. According to the settlement, members of the royalty court are permitted to “select a meaningful person in their life” to escort them in the processional.
The suit was dismissed without admissions of fault.
Read more here.
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Thousands Sign Letter to Gates Over Recoupment
More than 3,500 people have been signed to an open letter to Defense secretary Robert Gates that asks him to stop the practice of attempting to recoup costs of education, training, and bonuses from troops discharged under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Advocates say that recoupment, which is an optional and not required practice, continues to saddle veterans with debt after they have been unfairly ousted from the service because of the discriminatory policy, which remains in effect despite the repeal law signed by President Barack Obama last month. Last week Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran discharged under the policy, wrote a letter to the president in which he refused to pay the $2,500 being requested for “the unearned portion” of his Army contract.
Americablog Gay posted an open letter to Secretary Gates in which it asked him to order the service chiefs to stop the attempts to recoup bonuses and education and training costs from veterans discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“Where is the integrity in demanding that soldiers discharged under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ pay thousands of dollars back to the military, simply because the Pentagon chose to end their careers?” asks the letter.
As of late Monday afternoon, more than 3,500 people had signed the letter, which Americablog Gay hopes to have signed by 4,000 people.
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Colorado Pol Aims for Civil Unions
By Advocate.com Editors
A Colorado state senator plans to introduce a civil unions bill in the coming weeks, 9 News Denver reports.
"This is something that I think is overdue," said Sen. Pat Steadman of Denver, "something that will protect families and will make our laws a little bit more fair, and a little bit more inclusive, so that everyone has the same opportunity to have economic security and stability in their family relationship."
Colorado voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. But in a December op-ed in The Denver Post, Steadman wrote, "It's important to give gay couples the same legal parameters for determining alimony, the division of property and wealth, and other legal frameworks afforded to straight couples."
Steadman's push for a civil unions bill came as gay activists criticized Colorado attorney general John Suthers, who recently signed a brief along with four other state attorneys general defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act, currently at the center of multiple legal challenges.
Read the article here.
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A Colorado state senator plans to introduce a civil unions bill in the coming weeks, 9 News Denver reports.
"This is something that I think is overdue," said Sen. Pat Steadman of Denver, "something that will protect families and will make our laws a little bit more fair, and a little bit more inclusive, so that everyone has the same opportunity to have economic security and stability in their family relationship."
Colorado voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. But in a December op-ed in The Denver Post, Steadman wrote, "It's important to give gay couples the same legal parameters for determining alimony, the division of property and wealth, and other legal frameworks afforded to straight couples."
Steadman's push for a civil unions bill came as gay activists criticized Colorado attorney general John Suthers, who recently signed a brief along with four other state attorneys general defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act, currently at the center of multiple legal challenges.
Read the article here.
source
SNL Slammed for Transphobic Skit
Advocates want an apology for a Saturday Night Live skit that mocks the transition of transgender women.
The piece, which aired over the weekend, represented a fake ad for “Estro-Maxx,” a hormone replacement therapy. It featured men with facial hair wearing dresses.
The skit has drawn denunciations from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Transsexual and Transgender People (MAGNET), and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which called for an apology from Comcast and NBC and the piece’s removal.
“The attempted comedy of the skit hinges solely on degrading the lives and experiences of transgender women,” said GLAAD. “Dehumanizing holding people up for ridicule simply on the basis of their identity fuels a dangerous and hurtful climate and puts people in danger, especially given how infrequently the media shines a fair and accurate light on the lives of transgender people.”
From MAGNET's Ashley Love: "Instead of showing the characters as women who were treating their transsexual and/or intersex birth challenge by undergoing legitimate medical transition to have their mind in alignment with their body, they were blatantly mis-gendered and depicted as 'men in dresses' and transvestites. It’s unbelievable that such a tele-hate-vision crime would air on NBC, a public network."
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Bush daughter comes out… for marriage equality (Video)
By Jamie McGonnigal
It would seem that the children of those who so staunchly fought against equality are now coming around. It could be a case of rebellion, but more likely than not, the younger generations just happen to know and love far more lesbian and gay people than their parents do.
The latest in the line of surprising converts to equality is young Barbara Bush, one of George W. Bush’s twin daughters. Her video is part of HRC’s NY4Marriage site, which already features videos from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Julianne Moore and others.
The 29-year old is the President of Global Health Corps and has worked Internationally with the American Red Cross, UNICEF and the UN World Food Programme, focusing on the importance of nutrition in ARV treatment. So it should come as no surprise that this daughter of a President should be so fair-minded when it comes to the rights of others.
She joins another outspoken Republican daughter, Megan McCain in joining in the fight for Marriage Equality. Can’t wait to see who else comes out of the closet!
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It would seem that the children of those who so staunchly fought against equality are now coming around. It could be a case of rebellion, but more likely than not, the younger generations just happen to know and love far more lesbian and gay people than their parents do.
The latest in the line of surprising converts to equality is young Barbara Bush, one of George W. Bush’s twin daughters. Her video is part of HRC’s NY4Marriage site, which already features videos from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Julianne Moore and others.
The 29-year old is the President of Global Health Corps and has worked Internationally with the American Red Cross, UNICEF and the UN World Food Programme, focusing on the importance of nutrition in ARV treatment. So it should come as no surprise that this daughter of a President should be so fair-minded when it comes to the rights of others.
She joins another outspoken Republican daughter, Megan McCain in joining in the fight for Marriage Equality. Can’t wait to see who else comes out of the closet!
source
UPDATE: Statewide Efforts to Achieve Relationship Recognition
by Justin Ward
GLAAD Media Field Strategists Adam Bass, Daryl Hannah and Justin Ward contributed to this report.
In Friday’s edition of The New York Times, writer Charlie Savage examines the pending legal challenges to the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” and whether these cases may force President Obama to “take a clear stand on politically explosive questions like whether gay men and lesbians have been unfairly stigmatized” because of the congressional act. But while there has been little movement on the national stage, states are vigorously taking up the issue of marriage equality.
Colorado
Earlier this month, Colorado Sen. Pat Steadman reassured civil union supporters that he would be introducing legislation during this legislative session. This past Sunday, nearly 100 supporters of civil unions gathered at the First Unitarian Society of Denver with signs that read “Love is Love.”
“This is something that I think is overdue, something that will protect families and will make our laws a little bit more fair, and a little bit more inclusive so that everyone has the same opportunity to have economic security and stability in their family relationship,” the senator said.
GLAAD worked on the ground with One Colorado to media train 107 individuals and campaign spokespersons to talk about love and commitment.
Hawaii
Last year the Hawaii state legislature approved civil unions, only to see the bill vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle (R). Neil Abercrombie (D) was elected governor in 2010 and has expressed support for civil union legislation. The legislature has fast-tracked a bill that is nearly identical to the civil union bill passed last year, and it sailed through the Senate by a 19-6 vote in the first days of the legislative session. The House is likely to pass the bill in the coming days, and the governor is expected to sign it shortly thereafter.
Illinois
On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the historic legislation legalizing civil unions in Illinois and granting hundreds of gay and lesbian couples legal recognition from the state. Upon signage, gay and lesbian couples will be able to make medical decisions for ailing partners as well as inherit a deceased partner’s property rights.
When the bill cleared both the state’s House (61-52) and Senate (32-24) last month, Gov. Quinn told the Associated Press: “I think they [businesses and convention organizers] look for a state that is a welcoming, accepting, hospitable place and that’s what we are in Illinois. We have everybody in and nobody left out.”
Last March, GLAAD, in partnership with Chicago’s Center on Halstead, conducted a media spokesperson training for over 70 LGBT and allied leaders.
Maryland
A Feb. 8 date has been set for the Maryland marriage equality bill hearing. The bill, which would remove a provision in Maryland law limiting marriage to relationships between a man and a woman, is “one of the highest profile issues before the Maryland General Assembly,” according to The Washington Post.
New Hampshire
In a press release Friday, the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition announced that Rep. David Bates (R-Windham) has introduced a bill that would repeal the state’s one-year-old marriage equality law. Bates’ introduction of the bill comes despite bicameral support for creating jobs, not repealing marriage equality. Several of Bates’ colleagues in the legislature have said that a repeal of marriage equality isn’t on this year’s agenda. Ultimately the House Judiciary Committee must make that decision. Since marriage equality became the law of the land in New Hampshire in January 2010, nearly 900 committed gay and lesbian couples have legally married in the state.
New Mexico
State Representative David Chavez has introduced two pieces of legislation that would both seek to restrict marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. The first piece of legislation would change a state law that allows out-of-state marriages to be recognized and would exclude gay and lesbian couples from such recognition. The second piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Chavez would propose to voters a constitutional amendment to prohibit marriage equality for same-sex couples. Both pieces of legislation are likely to be heard in the State House in the coming weeks.
Rhode Island
The House Judiciary Committee will hear arguments on marriage equality this Wednesday, Feb. 2, according to The Providence Journal. With support from openly gay House Speaker Gordon Fox, a co-sponsor of this year’s marriage equality legislation, as well as new Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who called for marriage equality during his inaugural address, many observers contend that marriage equality stands its best chance for passage this year. But there are a few challenges ahead. Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed has announced she will not support the bill.
As described in the agenda for Wednesday’s hearing, the proposed legislation would “broaden the definition of persons eligible to marry to include persons of the same gender.” The bill also stipulates that clergy would not be required to perform any particular marriage ceremony.
In November, GLAAD worked on the ground with Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) to train staff, board members, volunteers and couples on how to talk about love and commitment in the media.
Wyoming
The Wyoming legislature is faced with a series of bills to consider, all dealing with how to recognize gay and lesbian couples in the state. The state House narrowly passed a measure that would prohibit the recognition of out-of-state marriages and sent the measure to the Senate for consideration. The state Senate passed a constitutional amendment prohibiting recognition of all marriages of gay and lesbian couples, but the amendment still faces a vote in the House of Representatives, before being sent to voters for ratification. Additionally, a bill that would recognize marriage equality was introduced, though it was tabled without a vote.
A measure to recognize civil unions was narrowly defeated in the House Judiciary Committee, despite having bipartisan support. Several legislators expressed interest in reconsidering the idea of civil unions if the bill was less cumbersome. “When you love someone, you want to settle down together,” State Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R- Cheyenne) said. “You want to have a life with them. You want to go into that duty and obligation you have for another human being to care for them in sickness and health. Civil unions provide that duty and obligation for them to be committed, to care for one another, and to have a life that they can build together.”
source
GLAAD Media Field Strategists Adam Bass, Daryl Hannah and Justin Ward contributed to this report.
In Friday’s edition of The New York Times, writer Charlie Savage examines the pending legal challenges to the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” and whether these cases may force President Obama to “take a clear stand on politically explosive questions like whether gay men and lesbians have been unfairly stigmatized” because of the congressional act. But while there has been little movement on the national stage, states are vigorously taking up the issue of marriage equality.
Colorado
Earlier this month, Colorado Sen. Pat Steadman reassured civil union supporters that he would be introducing legislation during this legislative session. This past Sunday, nearly 100 supporters of civil unions gathered at the First Unitarian Society of Denver with signs that read “Love is Love.”
“This is something that I think is overdue, something that will protect families and will make our laws a little bit more fair, and a little bit more inclusive so that everyone has the same opportunity to have economic security and stability in their family relationship,” the senator said.
GLAAD worked on the ground with One Colorado to media train 107 individuals and campaign spokespersons to talk about love and commitment.
Hawaii
Last year the Hawaii state legislature approved civil unions, only to see the bill vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle (R). Neil Abercrombie (D) was elected governor in 2010 and has expressed support for civil union legislation. The legislature has fast-tracked a bill that is nearly identical to the civil union bill passed last year, and it sailed through the Senate by a 19-6 vote in the first days of the legislative session. The House is likely to pass the bill in the coming days, and the governor is expected to sign it shortly thereafter.
Illinois
On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the historic legislation legalizing civil unions in Illinois and granting hundreds of gay and lesbian couples legal recognition from the state. Upon signage, gay and lesbian couples will be able to make medical decisions for ailing partners as well as inherit a deceased partner’s property rights.
When the bill cleared both the state’s House (61-52) and Senate (32-24) last month, Gov. Quinn told the Associated Press: “I think they [businesses and convention organizers] look for a state that is a welcoming, accepting, hospitable place and that’s what we are in Illinois. We have everybody in and nobody left out.”
Last March, GLAAD, in partnership with Chicago’s Center on Halstead, conducted a media spokesperson training for over 70 LGBT and allied leaders.
Maryland
A Feb. 8 date has been set for the Maryland marriage equality bill hearing. The bill, which would remove a provision in Maryland law limiting marriage to relationships between a man and a woman, is “one of the highest profile issues before the Maryland General Assembly,” according to The Washington Post.
New Hampshire
In a press release Friday, the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition announced that Rep. David Bates (R-Windham) has introduced a bill that would repeal the state’s one-year-old marriage equality law. Bates’ introduction of the bill comes despite bicameral support for creating jobs, not repealing marriage equality. Several of Bates’ colleagues in the legislature have said that a repeal of marriage equality isn’t on this year’s agenda. Ultimately the House Judiciary Committee must make that decision. Since marriage equality became the law of the land in New Hampshire in January 2010, nearly 900 committed gay and lesbian couples have legally married in the state.
New Mexico
State Representative David Chavez has introduced two pieces of legislation that would both seek to restrict marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. The first piece of legislation would change a state law that allows out-of-state marriages to be recognized and would exclude gay and lesbian couples from such recognition. The second piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Chavez would propose to voters a constitutional amendment to prohibit marriage equality for same-sex couples. Both pieces of legislation are likely to be heard in the State House in the coming weeks.
Rhode Island
The House Judiciary Committee will hear arguments on marriage equality this Wednesday, Feb. 2, according to The Providence Journal. With support from openly gay House Speaker Gordon Fox, a co-sponsor of this year’s marriage equality legislation, as well as new Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who called for marriage equality during his inaugural address, many observers contend that marriage equality stands its best chance for passage this year. But there are a few challenges ahead. Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed has announced she will not support the bill.
As described in the agenda for Wednesday’s hearing, the proposed legislation would “broaden the definition of persons eligible to marry to include persons of the same gender.” The bill also stipulates that clergy would not be required to perform any particular marriage ceremony.
In November, GLAAD worked on the ground with Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) to train staff, board members, volunteers and couples on how to talk about love and commitment in the media.
Wyoming
The Wyoming legislature is faced with a series of bills to consider, all dealing with how to recognize gay and lesbian couples in the state. The state House narrowly passed a measure that would prohibit the recognition of out-of-state marriages and sent the measure to the Senate for consideration. The state Senate passed a constitutional amendment prohibiting recognition of all marriages of gay and lesbian couples, but the amendment still faces a vote in the House of Representatives, before being sent to voters for ratification. Additionally, a bill that would recognize marriage equality was introduced, though it was tabled without a vote.
A measure to recognize civil unions was narrowly defeated in the House Judiciary Committee, despite having bipartisan support. Several legislators expressed interest in reconsidering the idea of civil unions if the bill was less cumbersome. “When you love someone, you want to settle down together,” State Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R- Cheyenne) said. “You want to have a life with them. You want to go into that duty and obligation you have for another human being to care for them in sickness and health. Civil unions provide that duty and obligation for them to be committed, to care for one another, and to have a life that they can build together.”
source
All in the Family: Family Equality Council Honors Heroes in Fight for Social Justice
by K. Pearson Brown
Jane Lynch summarized the theme of the annual awards dinner of Family Equality Council when she stated that we are all in this fight together. At the event, held last Saturday at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, Lynch presented an award to the plaintiffs in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial challenging Proposition 8. The recipients echoed Lynch’s remarks that marriage equality rights are intimately tied to the rights of LGBT families.
“For us, marriage comes first, then children,” said Paul Katami, who along with his partner Jeff Zarrillo are plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case.
Also honored were fellow plaintiffs, lesbian couple Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, who are raising four boys together.
“We did this for our children. Our kids have taught us to stand up for the truth and for what is right,” said Perry.
Staying with the refrain “whatever affects any of us in the LGBT community affects all of us,” the family rights organization also honored columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller, founders of the “It Gets Better Project,” which addresses bullying of LGBT youth.
Savage and Miller’s YouTube video response to the suicides of a number of young people who were bullied for being gay has been watched by more than 2 million viewers and includes contributions by thousands of supporters, including President Obama.
Also honored was Luke Macfarlane of the ABC TV show Brothers & Sisters. Awards were presented by David Marshall Grant, Jane Lynch of the FOX TV show Glee and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.
Family Equality Council Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler brought home the importance of the continued fight for family equality with a story of one of her twin sons who was recently hospitalized with a life threatening health issue. Because Chrisler lives in Massachusetts, where her and her spouse’s partnership and parentage is legally recognized, both mothers able to be at thier son’s side without facing the horrors of many families who are cut off from their ailing family members because their relationships are not legally recognized.
Owing in great part to the lobbying of Family Equality Council, President Obama passed legislation last April giving greater medical rights to same-sex partners, so that they may visit and make medical decisions for their partners in the hospital.
Chrisler brought the crowd of 250 supporters to roaring cheers when she declared “we will not stop until there are equal rights and protections for all.”
“Tonight we were privileged to recognize some extraordinary people who took steps to help our children understand the value of their lives, who demanded that courts honor the authenticity of our relationships and who helped demonstrate honest portrayals of our lives and our families in the media,” said Chrisler. “As we celebrate the advances they helped us make in 2010, we must contemplate the enormous path we still have to blaze. The Family Equality Council is committed to ensure that work leads to full rights for our families.”
The event, now in its 7th year, raised more than $250,000. Proceeds from the event help sustain Family Equality Council’s educational, advocacy and policy work.
source
Jane Lynch summarized the theme of the annual awards dinner of Family Equality Council when she stated that we are all in this fight together. At the event, held last Saturday at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, Lynch presented an award to the plaintiffs in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial challenging Proposition 8. The recipients echoed Lynch’s remarks that marriage equality rights are intimately tied to the rights of LGBT families.
“For us, marriage comes first, then children,” said Paul Katami, who along with his partner Jeff Zarrillo are plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case.
Also honored were fellow plaintiffs, lesbian couple Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, who are raising four boys together.
“We did this for our children. Our kids have taught us to stand up for the truth and for what is right,” said Perry.
Staying with the refrain “whatever affects any of us in the LGBT community affects all of us,” the family rights organization also honored columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller, founders of the “It Gets Better Project,” which addresses bullying of LGBT youth.
Savage and Miller’s YouTube video response to the suicides of a number of young people who were bullied for being gay has been watched by more than 2 million viewers and includes contributions by thousands of supporters, including President Obama.
Also honored was Luke Macfarlane of the ABC TV show Brothers & Sisters. Awards were presented by David Marshall Grant, Jane Lynch of the FOX TV show Glee and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.
Family Equality Council Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler brought home the importance of the continued fight for family equality with a story of one of her twin sons who was recently hospitalized with a life threatening health issue. Because Chrisler lives in Massachusetts, where her and her spouse’s partnership and parentage is legally recognized, both mothers able to be at thier son’s side without facing the horrors of many families who are cut off from their ailing family members because their relationships are not legally recognized.
Owing in great part to the lobbying of Family Equality Council, President Obama passed legislation last April giving greater medical rights to same-sex partners, so that they may visit and make medical decisions for their partners in the hospital.
Chrisler brought the crowd of 250 supporters to roaring cheers when she declared “we will not stop until there are equal rights and protections for all.”
“Tonight we were privileged to recognize some extraordinary people who took steps to help our children understand the value of their lives, who demanded that courts honor the authenticity of our relationships and who helped demonstrate honest portrayals of our lives and our families in the media,” said Chrisler. “As we celebrate the advances they helped us make in 2010, we must contemplate the enormous path we still have to blaze. The Family Equality Council is committed to ensure that work leads to full rights for our families.”
The event, now in its 7th year, raised more than $250,000. Proceeds from the event help sustain Family Equality Council’s educational, advocacy and policy work.
source
Nightly Wrap Up With New Mexico GLBTQ Centers
RuPaul not glad about GLAAD.
Sharon Angle's beauty secrets revealed. Who? And what beauty?
Howard Stern's closet shove.
PrEP Work.
Smithsonian censorship protested in D.C.
No divorce rights in Nebraska.
General Amos urges respectful DADT Repeal.
PETA's racy Super Bowl Ad (VIDEO). Good luck with that.
Parkinson's drug causes Gay Sex Addiction?
The 24-Hour Hollywood Rush.
Antigay Activist: Spouse Abuser?
Mrs. Garrett on Geri: "It's Wonderful".
Scottish Cycling Champ Comes Out.
Three men charged for distributing “Death to Gays” leaflets.
Naval Academy recognizes husband of late Alum.
Artist Spotlight: Yeni Mao.
Civil Unions bill fails in Wyoming.
Designer Charles Nolan dies at 53.
Is "The Biggest Loser" trying to keep their trainers in the closet? Such a shame!
Thai Airline recruits Trans Women as Flight Attendants.
From "Picket Fences" to "Pretty Little Liars": A timeline of teen lesbians on TV.
Lesbian Filmmakers offer DVD on Challenger 'Teacher in Space' Christa McAuliffe (VIDEO)
Why the gay killer in "The Mechanic" is a good thing for gay visibility (SPOILERS)
When students harass gay teachers.
Sharon Angle's beauty secrets revealed. Who? And what beauty?
Howard Stern's closet shove.
PrEP Work.
Smithsonian censorship protested in D.C.
No divorce rights in Nebraska.
General Amos urges respectful DADT Repeal.
PETA's racy Super Bowl Ad (VIDEO). Good luck with that.
Parkinson's drug causes Gay Sex Addiction?
The 24-Hour Hollywood Rush.
Antigay Activist: Spouse Abuser?
Mrs. Garrett on Geri: "It's Wonderful".
Scottish Cycling Champ Comes Out.
Three men charged for distributing “Death to Gays” leaflets.
Naval Academy recognizes husband of late Alum.
Artist Spotlight: Yeni Mao.
Civil Unions bill fails in Wyoming.
Designer Charles Nolan dies at 53.
Is "The Biggest Loser" trying to keep their trainers in the closet? Such a shame!
Thai Airline recruits Trans Women as Flight Attendants.
From "Picket Fences" to "Pretty Little Liars": A timeline of teen lesbians on TV.
Lesbian Filmmakers offer DVD on Challenger 'Teacher in Space' Christa McAuliffe (VIDEO)
Why the gay killer in "The Mechanic" is a good thing for gay visibility (SPOILERS)
When students harass gay teachers.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Push for Change at Smithsonian
Following last year's scandal involving a gay artist's video being pulled from the "Hide/Seek" exhibition (pictured) at the Smithsonian, a group is calling for reforms at the government-funded institution.
Responding to complaints from Catholic groups and House speaker John Boehner, the Smithsonian pulled A Fire in My Belly, a video from late gay artist David Wojnarowicz, from "Hide/Seek." Wojnarowicz's video depicted ants crawling on a crucifix and was a tribute to a former lover who died from AIDS complications.
Led by the National Coalition Against Censorship, numerous arts and civil rights groups, including the ACLU, sent a letter to the Smithsonian's Board of Regents "asking them to adopt explicit policies that uphold First Amendment principles, as well as an open procedure for responding to complaints, whether coming from the general public or from elected politicians," according to a press release.
The Smithsonian's Board of Regents meets on Monday to discuss the "Hide/Seek" controversy.
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Presidential hopeful Fred Karger takes on NOM’s anti-gay marriage campaign
Gay activist and Presidential hopeful Fred Karger has released a 60 second TV spot that has already started running in New Hampshire, aimed at the National Organization For Marriage (NOM) and their efforts to repeal the state’s same-sex marriage law.
Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown of the NOM have already successfully lobbied to strip same-sex couples of their right to marry in both California and Maine.
Now, the NOM is targeting New Hampshire and a number of other states.
Karger calls the NOM a “hate group” and says they are “here to demonize gay people.” Watch here:
LGBT advocates have considered New Hampshire — with a new, veto-proof Republican majority — one of this year’s most serious gay marriage battlegrounds.
House Majority Leader Rep. D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) said January 13 that repealing the state’s year-old marriage equality law is not a Republican priority in 2011, but refused to say if he would discourage the introduction of repeal bills.
Karger, who would be the first openly gay presidential candidate of either party, is running for the 2012 Republican nomination for President.
He has successfully lobbied to have the Mormon Church investigated and fined over their involvement in California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
In 2009, Karger filed an ethics complaint with the state of Maine against the NOM for contributing $1.6 million to “Stand For Marriage Maine” without revealing its donor’s names.
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Military to discharged gay soldiers: You owe us for not serving your full term!
Dan Choi, the high profile gay rights activist and Iraq war veteran discharged last year under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” has received a bill for $2,500 (PDF), which the federal government claims is the “unearned portion” of his re-enlistment bonus.
And Choi’s response: “I refuse to pay a cent.”
In 2008, Choi was paid a $10,000 bonus for enlisting in the National Guard for three years. Now that he has been discharged under the military’s ban on openly gay service members, the Defense Department says he owes $2,500 for failing “to satisfactorily complete that assigned term,” according to a military spokesman.
As Choi sees it, his involuntary discharge came from an “unethical policy” and refuses to repay that money.
“It would be easy to pay the $2500 bill and be swiftly done with this diseased chapter of my life, where I sinfully deceived and tolerated self-hatred under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” Choi wrote in a letter this week to President Barack Obama.
“My obligations to take a stand, knowing all the continued consequences of my violations, are clear. I refuse to pay your claim.”
According to the demand letter, if Choi did not pay his debt within 30 days, the Department said it could refer his account to a private collection agency, or seek legal action through the Justice Department, and report the delinquency to credit bureaus.
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GLAAD Demands Action from NBC/Comcast for Transphobic SNL Skit
This Saturday, on an airing of Saturday Night Live, NBC (a subsidiary of Comcast) broadcast a dangerous and blatantly transphobic segment which they called ‘Estro-Maxxx’ - the punchline of which was the lives of countless transgender people across the country.
The piece was a mock commercial for estrogen replacement therapy and featured men with facial hair wearing dresses, meant to represent transgender women. This segment cannot be defended as “just a joke” because there was no “joke” to speak of. The attempted comedy of the skit hinges solely on degrading the lives and experiences of transgender women. Dehumanizing holding people up for ridicule simply on the basis of their identity fuels a dangerous and hurtful climate and puts people in danger, especially given how infrequently the media shines a fair and accurate light on the lives of transgender people.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation calls upon Comcast and NBC to apologize and remove the segment from Hulu and all future airings of the show.
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Saturday, January 29, 2011
Suits on Same-Sex Marriage May Force Administration to Take a Stand
WASHINGTON — President Obama has balanced on a political tightrope for two years over the Defense of Marriage Act, the contentious 1996 law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Now, two new federal lawsuits threaten to snap that rope out from under him.
Mr. Obama, whose political base includes many supporters of gay rights, has urged lawmakers to repeal the law. But at the same time, citing an executive-branch duty to defend acts of Congress, he has sent Justice Department lawyers into court to oppose suits seeking to strike the law down as unconstitutional.
The two lawsuits, however, have provoked an internal administration debate about how to sustain its have-it-both-ways stance, officials said. Unlike previous challenges, the new lawsuits were filed in districts covered by the appeals court in New York — one of the only circuits with no modern precedent saying how to evaluate claims that a law discriminates against gay people.
That means that the administration, for the first time, may be required to take a clear stand on politically explosive questions like whether gay men and lesbians have been unfairly stigmatized, are politically powerful, and can choose to change their sexual orientation.
“Now they are being asked what they think the law should be, and not merely how to apply the law as it exists,” said Michael Dorf, a Cornell University law professor. “There is much less room to hide for that decision.”
James Esseks, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer helping with one case, said the new suits could be game-changing.
The Obama legal team has not yet decided what path to take on the lawsuits, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the internal deliberations. But the Justice Department must respond by March 11. The debate has arisen at a time when Mr. Obama has signaled that his administration may be re-evaluating its stance.
As a candidate, Mr. Obama backed civil unions for gay people while opposing same-sex marriage. But last month, after Congress — in the final hours before Republicans took control of the House — repealed the law barring gay men, lesbians and bisexuals from serving openly in the military, he told The Advocate, a magazine that focuses on gay issues, that his views on marriage rights “are evolving.”
“I have a whole bunch of really smart lawyers who are looking at a whole range of options,” Mr. Obama said, referring to finding a way to end the Defense of Marriage Act. “I’m always looking for a way to get it done, if possible, through our elected representatives. That may not be possible.”
Since 2003, when the Supreme Court struck down laws criminalizing gay sex, the legal landscape for same-sex marriage has shifted. Eight states now grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples or recognize such marriages if performed elsewhere. But under the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government cannot recognize those relationships.
That has raised a crucial question: Is it constitutional for the federal government to grant certain benefits — like health insurance for spouses of federal workers, or an exemption to estate taxes for surviving spouses — to some people who are legally married under their state’s laws, but not to others, based on their sexual orientation?
The Constitution declares that everyone has a right to equal protection by the law. But many laws treat some people differently from others. Courts uphold such policies as constitutional if they can pass a test showing that the discrimination is not invidious.
A law singling out an ordinary class — like owners of property in a district with special tax rates — gets an easy test. It is presumed valid, and a challenge is dismissed unless a plaintiff proves that the law advances no conceivable rational state interest.
But a law focusing on a class that has often been subjected to unfair discrimination — like a racial group — gets a hard test. It is presumed invalid and struck down unless the government proves that officials’ purpose in adopting the law advances a compelling interest.
Gay-rights groups contend that the marriage act ought to be struck down under either test. Last year, a federal judge in Massachusetts agreed, saying it was unconstitutional even under the easy test’s standards.
But the Obama administration, which appealed that ruling, contends that a plausible argument exists for why the act might be constitutional. Justice Department officials say they have a responsibility to offer that argument and let courts decide, rather than effectively nullifying a law by not defending it.
Justice officials have argued that the marriage act is justified, under the easy test’s standards, by a government interest in preserving the status quo at the federal level, allowing states to experiment. And in its brief appealing the Massachusetts ruling, the department stressed seven times that a “binding” or “settled” precedent in that circuit required the easy test.
But for the new lawsuits, no such precedent exists. The Obama team has to say which test it thinks should be used. Courts give a class the protection of the hard test if it has been unfairly stigmatized and if its members cannot choose to leave the class, among other factors. By those standards, it could be awkward, especially for a Democratic administration, to proclaim that gay people do not qualify for it.
But under a hard test, the administration’s argument for upholding the marriage law would be weaker, legal specialists say, in part because when lawmakers enacted it in 1996, they mentioned only in passing an interest in preserving the federal status quo as states experimented.
Some conservatives have accused the administration of throwing the fight by not invoking other arguments, like morality. And in particular, lawmakers’ primary focus in 1996 was “encouraging responsible procreation and child-rearing.”
But the administration’s filings in other cases disavowed that rationale, noting that infertile heterosexuals may marry and citing studies that children raised by same-sex parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as those raised by heterosexuals.
M. Edward Whelan III, a former Bush administration lawyer, said the Obama team’s rejection of the children-based rationale amounted to “sabotage.”
Another possible path, legal specialists say, would be to urge the judges to adopt the easy test because courts elsewhere have done so, without laying out any full legal analysis of how to think about gay people as a class.
Gay-rights supporters, however, call that option dishonest: those cases largely derived from decisions before the Supreme Court’s 2003 sodomy ruling. The premise that it was constitutional to criminalize gay sex short-circuited appraisal of protections for gay people from lesser forms of official discrimination.
“We think there is only one answer the government and the court can come to if they apply the test conscientiously, and that is that the government must have to prove why it needs to treat gay people differently,” said Mr. Esseks, the A.C.L.U. lawyer.
“And if the government has to have a real reason, as opposed to a made-up reason, we don’t think there is any way that the government wins.”
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Lucky Seven: New Mexico Women's Choir comes to Cruces
"Passport" will feature songs that represent different parts of the country, from "California Dreamin'" to "New York, New York" to "A La Rue A La Me," a traditional northern New Mexican folk tune. The concert ties the songs together with a story line about a fictitious chorus - the Super Sopranos and Awesome Altos - touring America. Audience members will also be treated to photos of American landmarks - the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon - during the performance. Finally, the theme of immigration - people from all over the world coming to the United States in search of opportunity - is brought home in a photo montage of chorus members' ancestors and in Neil Diamond's "America."
Tickets are $10 and available in advance for purchase at the NM GLBTQ center, 1210 N. Main St., or at the door. Info: (575) 635-4902.
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Jonathan Knight: I Have Never Hidden The Fact That I Am Gay
Jonathan Knight took to the NKOTB blog today (you'll need to fork over $39.95 to access it yourself) to address his recent so-called "outing" by pop star Tiffany and officially announce to the public that he is gay.
"I have never been outed by anyone but myself! I did so almost twenty years ago. I never know that I would have to do it all over again publicly just because I reunited with NKOTB! I have lived my life very openly and have never hidden the fact that I am gay! Apparently the pre requiste to being a gay public figure is to appear on the cover of a magazine with the caption "I am gay". I apologize for not doing so if this is what was expected! My belief is that you live your life by example, and not by a caption on a magazine! If there ever has been any confusion about my sexuality, then you are someone that doesn't even know me!"
"I love living my life being open and honest, but at this time I choose not to discuss my private life any further! My fellow band members don't discuss their private lives with their loved ones and I don't feel that just because I am gay, I should have to discuss mine!"
A screencap of his blog post (thanks, Kevin) is AFTER THE JUMP.
Back in 2009, an ex-boyfriend of Knight's told the National Enquirer that he had dated the boy band member.
Watch a short, recent interview with Knight, wherein he talks about his non-musical career in real estate, AFTER THE JUMP.
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"I have never been outed by anyone but myself! I did so almost twenty years ago. I never know that I would have to do it all over again publicly just because I reunited with NKOTB! I have lived my life very openly and have never hidden the fact that I am gay! Apparently the pre requiste to being a gay public figure is to appear on the cover of a magazine with the caption "I am gay". I apologize for not doing so if this is what was expected! My belief is that you live your life by example, and not by a caption on a magazine! If there ever has been any confusion about my sexuality, then you are someone that doesn't even know me!"
"I love living my life being open and honest, but at this time I choose not to discuss my private life any further! My fellow band members don't discuss their private lives with their loved ones and I don't feel that just because I am gay, I should have to discuss mine!"
Back in 2009, an ex-boyfriend of Knight's told the National Enquirer that he had dated the boy band member.
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Gays Seeking Asylum in U.S. Encounter a New Hurdle
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| Romulo Castro, who is gay, feared deportation to his native Brazil. |
Romulo Castro considered attending his asylum interview in Rosedale, Queens, dressed as Fidela Castro, a towering drag queen in six-inch stilettos, a bright green poodle skirt and a mane of strawberry blond hair. In the end, Mr. Castro, 34, opted for what he described as understatement: pink eye shadow, a bright pink V-neck shirt and intermittent outbursts of tears.
After years of trying to conceal his sexual orientation back home in Brazil (where Fidela never made an appearance), Mr. Castro had been advised by his immigration lawyer that flaunting it was now his best weapon against deportation.
“I was persecuted for being fruity, a boy-girl, a fatso, a faggot — I felt like a monster,” said Mr. Castro, who reported being raped by an uncle at age 12, sexually abused by two police officers, and hounded and beaten by his peers before fleeing to the United States in 2000. “Here, being gay was my salvation. So I knew I had to put on the performance of my life.”
Amid international outcry over news of the Czech Republic’s testing the veracity of claims of purportedly gay asylum seekers by attaching genital cuffs to monitor their arousal while they watched pornography, some gay refugees and their advocates in New York are complaining that they can be penalized for not outwardly expressing their sexuality. While asylum-seekers and rights groups here expressed relief that use of the so-called erotic lie detector is impossible to imagine in the United States, some lamented in recent interviews that here too, homosexuals seeking asylum may risk being dismissed as not being gay enough.
The very notion of “gay enough,” of course, or proving one’s sexuality through appearance, dress and demeanor, can be offensive — and increasingly androgynous fashions and the social trend known as metrosexuality have blurred identities in many people’s minds.
“Judges and immigration officials are adding a new hurdle in gay asylum cases that an applicant’s homosexuality must be socially visible,” said Lori Adams, a lawyer at Human Rights First, a nonprofit group, who advises people seeking asylum based on sexuality. “The rationale is that if you don’t look obviously gay, you can go home and hide your sexuality and don’t need to be worried about being persecuted.”
Jhuan Marrero, 18, who was born in Venezuela but has lived — illegally — in New York since he was 4, said the immigration officer at his asylum interview last week challenged him about his macho demeanor.
“I was brought up by my parents to walk and talk like a man,” said Mr. Marrero, who volunteers at the Queens Pride House, a gay and lesbian center in Jackson Heights.
“The officer said: ‘You’re not a transsexual. You don’t look gay. How are you at risk?’ I insisted that if I was sent back to Venezuela, I would speak out about being gay and suffer the consequences.”
Victoria Neilson, legal director of the New York-based Immigration Equality, which provides assistance to asylum seekers, recalled the case of a 21-year-old lesbian who had been threatened with gang rape in her native Albania to cure her of her sexual orientation, but was initially denied asylum, Ms. Neilson said, because she was young, attractive and single, apparently not conforming to the officer’s stereotype of a lesbian. (A judge later granted her asylum, Ms. Neilson said.)
Chris Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, said each case is examined individually, both for evidence of sexual orientation and the conditions of the country of origin. While she declined to comment specifically on the examples cited by Mr. Marrero and Ms. Neilson, Ms. Rhatigan said such behavior by immigration officers would not be condoned.
“We don’t say that someone is insufficiently gay or homosexual, whatever that would mean, or that he or she could be saved by hiding his or her homosexuality,” Ms. Rhatigan said. “Sexual preference is an immutable characteristic. It is something an individual can’t or shouldn’t change.”
Citizenship and Immigration Services received 38,000 asylum applications between October 2009 and September 2010, but the agency does not track how many cite being gay or lesbian as a reason. People may qualify for asylum if they can demonstrate past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution based on membership in a particular social group; in 1994, the scope of the law was expanded to specifically include homosexuals.
Illegal immigrants seeking asylum are interviewed by immigration officers, who can either approve their applications or refer them to an immigration judge. Gay applicants must marshal evidence of their sexual orientation and their risk of persecution, like affidavits from same-sex partners or police and medical reports of abuse. But legal experts said that the burden of proof can be difficult for people from places like Saudi Arabia or Iran where homosexuality is punishable by death and it can be dangerous to be openly gay or report an anti-gay hate crime — or from Western countries that are believed to be sexually tolerant.
Advocates said the situation had gotten worse amid the troubled economy and high unemployment rates, citing anti-immigrant sentiments and a desperation that had led some straight immigrants to feign being gay in hopes of winning asylum.
One lawyer recalled a recent client who applied for asylum on the basis of sexual orientation, then showed up a few weeks later with his wife, seeking help with a green card. In 2009, Steven and Helena Mahoney of Kent, Wash., pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a consulting business in which, among other things, they coached straight people on how to file gay asylum claims.
For fees of up to $4,000, the Mahoneys provided asylum seekers with dramatic (if fictional) stories of anti-gay persecution, along with lists of gay bars and maps of the gay pride parade route in Seattle to help them pass as gay, according to federal prosecutors. Mr. Mahoney was sentenced to 18 months in prison, Mrs. Mahoney, to 6 months.
Ms. Rhatigan, the immigration spokeswoman, said that judges and immigration officers were highly trained to assess the evidence in asylum cases, and that each case was carefully scrutinized for signs of fraud.
Even in cases where the persecution is real, experts said, coming from a country perceived as sexually liberal can be a disadvantage.
Mr. Castro, the son of an army officer in a staunchly conservative Roman Catholic family, said he was initially advised by immigration lawyers in Washington and New York not to bother applying for asylum since he came from Brazil, a country that has developed a reputation for gay pride parades, Carnival pageantry and drag queens.
In 1999, Mr. Castro was accosted by two police officers after leaving a gay club in the northeastern city of São LuÃs, Maranhão, according to his asylum application. He said they forced him to perform oral sex. When he started to sob, he said, one of the officers dangled a bag of cocaine and threatened to frame him.
Depressed and despondent, Mr. Castro said he considered the priesthood, and prayed every day; he also tried to date women. After a year, he decided to flee to the United States. He obtained a tourist visa, which he overstayed by eight years.
Last year, Mr. Castro, now a massage therapist living in Jackson Heights, decided to apply for asylum so that he would not have to live in fear of being deported.
The day of his interview in 2009, he was shaking. “I thought, ‘They will never let me stay,’ ” he said. “I cried.”
He said the officer was initially unsmiling and intimidating. “I figured I was doomed,” he said.
He showed her the affidavit his older brother had written begging the United States to keep Romulo “forever away from us” to prevent him from shaming the family. He shared a letter from his psychiatrist confirming that he took antidepressants for the post-traumatic stress disorder caused by his abuse. He came armed with a thick stack of articles detailing episodes of persecution of gays in Brazil.
Coached by his lawyer to be anything but bashful, he also produced several photographs at the end of the interview of his alter ego, Fidela, decked out in a tiny, strapless, black-satin cocktail dress dangling a stiletto heel from atop a giant pink float.
In June 2009, he was awarded asylum. He got a green card last summer.
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Osteen toes fundamentalist, homophobic line on the interpretation of the Bible
Joel Osteen, best-selling author and religious entertainer: “Homosexuality is a sin.”
In an interview earlier this week on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight,” Osteen, the pastor of mammoth Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, toes a fundamentalist, homophobic line on the interpretation of the Bible.
In response to Morgan’s questions about his condemnation of LGBTQ Americans, Osteen retreats into the same literalist interpretation of a very few passages of scripture that right wing preachers have used to bash gay people for generations:
Morgan: Say a friend of mine like Elton John watching this at home, who with his partner — a civil partner, David Furnish — have just had a surrogate child which was born on Christmas day. They’re going to be pretty angry what they hear. They’re going to think who are you to call them a sinner.
Osteen: Yes.
Morgan: But why are they sinners in your eyes?
Osteen: Well, it’s strictly back to what the scripture says. I mean, I can’t grab one part and say God wants you to be blessed and live an abundant life, and not grab the other part that says, you know what? You know, live that kind of life. So it comes back to the scripture.
I’m not the judge. You know, God didn’t tell me to go around judging everybody.
Osteen tries to have it both ways in the interview with Morgan. Though he clearly condemns gay and lesbian people for parenting children, seeking marriage in monogamous relationships, and for forming same-sex loving families, Osteen claims that he is not a “gay basher.”
The distinction will surely be lost on queer folk and their families when the widely popular preacher has just clobbered them with the Bible.
“The scriptures shows that it’s a sin,” Osteen says to Morgan in the CNN interview. “But you know, I’m not one of those that are out there to bash homosexuals and tell them that they’re terrible people and all of that. I mean, there are other sins in the Bible too…I don’t believe homosexuality is God’s best for a person’s life.”
Osteen has repeatedly peddled his own brand of “soft homophobia” as recently as Nov. 2010 on television shows like ABC’s “The View.”
Osteen betrays a simplistic form of Bible reading and interpretation that begins from a heterosexist and homophobic set of beliefs alien to the vast majority of reputable scholars and Bible teachers throughout the world.
The Houston mega-church preacher apparently relies on a literalistic, legalistic reading of two texts in the entire Bible to arrive at his claim that God considers homosexuality a “sin.”
In the Hebrew Testament, only two passages in the priestly code of Leviticus (selected verses in Leviticus 18 and 20), and one primary text from Paul’s letter to the Romans which is actually about idolatry and not homosexuality in any modern sense (Romans 1:26-28) are available to Osteen and his ilk to make such a universally condemnatory argument against a marginalized group of people.
The consensus of progressive and moderate Jewish and Christian biblical scholars is that fundamentalist interpretations of these passages are off base at best, and dangerous at worst.
Opinions driven by cultural bias and read back into the Bible such as Osteen’s have proven to be used to justify their religious intolerance and violence by those who attack LGBTQ people both verbally and physically.
For a responsible and accessible book on the Bible that teaches biblical respect for LGBTQ people, see Dr. Peter J. Gomes, “The Good Book.”
While Osteen seems to think he can appeal to his conservative base with condemnatory statements like those on “Piers Morgan Tonight,” and at the same time soften his rhetoric enough to convince the gullible that he is the very nicest of gay bashers (so they can be “nice” gay bashers, too!), his use of the Bible is irresponsible, uninformed, and contributes to the suffering of millions of people whose only offense is whom they love.
Following is the segment in which Morgan and Osteen discuss homosexuality:
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Nightly Wrap Up With New Mexico GLBTQ Centers
Maggie Gallagher on anal sex. Who?
The New Cheating Rules.
Obama walks marriage tightrope.
Lesbian teens sue after blocked entering pep rally as same-sex couple.
Understanding Uganda.
JFK, Tucson and Fear
Weekly Reader: ROTC, Triangle Square, and the Death of the Civil Rights Movement
Exploring Chicago's Gay History.
The New Cheating Rules.
Obama walks marriage tightrope.
Lesbian teens sue after blocked entering pep rally as same-sex couple.
Understanding Uganda.
JFK, Tucson and Fear
Weekly Reader: ROTC, Triangle Square, and the Death of the Civil Rights Movement
Exploring Chicago's Gay History.
Ugandan Lesbian Can Stay in U.K.
A lesbian from Uganda who faced being deported back to her home country will be allowed to remain in the United Kingdom under a temporary reprieve.
The U.K. high court granted Brenda Namiggade the temporary stay Friday, after David Kato, a gay Ugandan activist, was found dead in his home. It is suspected that he was murdered for being gay, as he has publicly said he feared for his life.
Namiggade has been living in the U.K. since 2002 and applied for asylum so she could become a permanent legal resident there. However, an immigration judge overseeing her case said there was no evidence that Namiggade was a lesbian. She was scheduled to be deported to Uganda Friday from Heathrow Airport and had even been escorted to the airport, where she heard the news that she would be allowed to remain in her adopted country, according to the BBC.
Namiggade, 29, told The Advocate Thursday that she was so worried she had been unable to eat for days. Antigay Ugandan lawmaker David Bahati said she would be welcome to return as long as she “abandon or repent her behavior.”
“I’m not going to repent, because that’s who I am,” Namigadde said. “David Bahati is going to put a death penalty on me.”
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Pentagon Reveals DADT Repeal Plan
The Pentagon laid out its initial plans Friday for implementation of the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
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| Defense Department Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Dr. Clifford Stanley (L) and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright |
Pentagon officials updated reporters Friday afternoon on progress in implementing repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
During the 45-minute briefing, Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Clifford L. Stanley, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, answered questions about the time line, content, and guidelines for the implementation process.
The Pentagon has yet to set forth a comprehensive timetable for implementing repeal, but officials said that the process would move “expeditiously and quickly,” conceivably within a matter of months.
“I think we leave the year there because it’s a good goal,” Cartwright said. “There is nothing that tells us it’s unreachable. But we have to allow for the fact that we may discover something between now and then,” he said, noting that the service chiefs would provide feedback every two weeks on requirements such as troop training that could affect the pace of the process.
“We believe we can do it within this year,” Stanley added. “But there’s no artificial target put down because that would create artificiality that just wouldn’t be real.”
DADT repeal becomes official only 60 days after the president, the secretary of Defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sign off that policy changes are “consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.” In his Tuesday State of the Union address, President Obama said, “Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.”
Friday’s press conference coincided with the release of two Pentagon memos: one addressed to all military service chiefs, and another from Defense secretary Robert Gates to Stanley, who is tasked with implementing a repeal strategy. Among the “guiding principles” that Gates ordered Stanley to follow are that “no policy will be established that is solely based on sexual orientation” and that “harassment or unlawful discrimination of any member of the Armed Forces for any reason will not be tolerated.”
Gates gave Stanley a one-week deadline to establish “a timely and orderly” strategy for the repeal process, one that applies to the “entire Department at the same time.”
In Friday afternoon statements, service member advocacy groups generally welcomed the progress on repeal implementation thus far.
”Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is pleased the Pentagon is taking thoughtful steps to move toward certification and implementation of open service,” said executive director Aubrey Sarvis. “SLDN continues to believe open service can be achieved sooner rather than later. I agree with General Cartwright that all of the troops, from top to bottom, do not need to undergo a comprehensive training and educational program before there is certification. The training and education plan need only be in place. The fact is education and training around open service can be accomplished in the first and second quarter of this year. In addition, much of the training can continue to take place during the 60-day period following certification.”
Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, said, “The speed with which the Defense Department is moving on the requirements for certification and implementation of the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' is promising. We will continue to monitor this process and communicate any concerns that arise to the military leadership as the process unfolds, but overall we are pleased with the Pentagon's good faith effort to move with deliberate speed to end this chapter in our history.”
In his memo to the service chiefs, Stanley wrote that same-sex partners of gay and lesbian service members won’t be eligible for benefits such as medical care and housing allowance — a result of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act — nor will service members discharged under the policy be entitled to apply for retroactive full separation pay. “We also are required by law to abide by the scripture of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, regardless of what’s shaping up in different states, we haven’t changed that,” Stanley said at the press conference. “We still reserve the right to look at emerging things. There could be something we don’t know about.”
Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese called for parity in benefits for gay service members and their families, which could be accomplished by adding same-sex partners under definitions of “dependent” or “family member,” he said in a statement. “Such a step would be consistent with President Obama's June 2009 memorandum that all federal agencies take steps to extend benefits equally to lesbian and gay employees, where permitted by law,” Solmonese said.
In his memo, Secretary Gates wrote that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and all secretaries of respective military branches are required to assist Stanley in forming a concrete plan for implementing repeal. That would include Marine Corps commandant Gen. James F. Amos, a vocal critic of DADT repeal (however, after the Senate passed a stand-alone repeal bill last month, Amos said that the Marines would “step out smartly to faithfully implement the new policy”).
“Strong, engaged and informed leadership will be required at every level to implement [repeal] properly, effectively, and in a deliberate and careful manner,” Gates wrote to Stanley.
Conduct standards related to dress and appearance, as well as public displays of affection, will be sexual orientation neutral under the new policy. Stanley further ordered service branch chiefs to “immediately review” all conduct policies having to do with those standards, as well as policies regarding “zero tolerance for harassment and hazing.” The creation of separate living or bathroom facilities based on sexual orientation also will be prohibited.
But such changes will not be immediate. “The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law is still in effect and we are obligated to follow that law, and to say anything other than that at this time would be inappropriate,” Stanley told reporters Friday.
Until then, Log Cabin Republicans executive director R. Clarke Cooper said his organization would not halt its lawsuit against the policy (in its case, a federal judge ruled DADT unconstitutional last year).
“All along we’ve said, ‘Suspend the discharges and we’ll drop the suit,’” Cooper said. “The reason why the suit is alive is that there are still folks being processed for discharge,” though any pending discharge now requires the direct approval of a service chief, as well as Undersecretary Stanley and the Defense Department’s general counsel — an unlikely scenario.
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Friday, January 28, 2011
Hawaii Senate Passes Civil Unions
The Hawaii senate passed a civil unions bill Friday that, unlike a previous civil unions bill, will likely make its way to a supportive governor.
The bill, SB 232, passed by a 19-6 vote and is identical to HB 444, a 2010 civil unions bill passed by both Hawaii's house and senate but vetoed by then-governor Linda Lingle. Lingle, a Republican, was termed out of office in 2010, and Democrat Neil Abercrombie, a civil unions supporter, was elected in November.
“The Hawaii Senate has sent a strong message that discrimination against families headed by same-sex couples is wrong,” HRC president Joe Solmonese said in a press release. “All people of Hawaii deserve to be treated with equal dignity and respect under the law, and no child should ever have to grow up feeling that their family is somehow less than that of their friends and neighbors.”
The state house will likely take up the civil unions issue next week.
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Cops: Kato's Death Not Homophobia-Related
Police in Kampala, Uganda, are saying that the murder of LGBT activist David Kato was not due to homophobia, but that he was killed during a robbery.
Suspect Arnold Senoga has been arrested in relation to Kato's death, Reuters reports. They are also looking for Nsubuga Enock, who was living with Kato since the activist bailed him out of prison Monday. Enock's criminal record shows he has been involved in multiple robberies.
Neighbors said they had seen Enock walking out of the house wearing Kato's clothing, and carrying his briefcase, which is one of the items missing from Kato's home.
"We are now trying to establish what relationship Kato had with Enock, whether or not they were relatives and why Kato posted his bail," Kampala police spokeswoman Nabakooba said in the report.
Despite police reports, Kato was on record as saying that he feared his life was in danger because he was a gay activist, especially after local newspaper Rolling Stone (no relation to the U.S. publication) printed the names and faces of prominent gay people, including Kato, on a cover last year. A previous edition of the newspaper published 29 photos of gay people as well as their names and some of their addresses.
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Violence Erupts at Kato Funeral
A local pastor attending Friday’s funeral for murdered Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato grabbed the microphone in the middle of the ceremony and decried homosexuality, causing a fight to break out and leading villagers to refuse to bury the body.
During the funeral in Mukono, Uganda, which was attended by about 300 people, according to Reuters, the pastor grabbed the mike and began screaming, provoking strong reaction from Kato’s friends.
"The world has gone crazy," the pastor said. "People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man."
As he screamed, “It is ungodly,” gay activists stormed the pulpit and grabbed the mike. They were wearing T-shirts featuring Kato's face with sleeves with gay pride colors.
"Who are you to judge others?" a female activist yelled. "We have not come to fight. You are not the judge of us. As long as he's gone to God his creator, who are we to judge Kato?"
Villagers then refused to bury Kato’s body, leading his friends to carry the body to his grave and bury it themselves.
Kato was the advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda. He was found brutally beaten to death Wednesday at his home.
He was one of many gay Ugandans threatened with death on the cover of Rolling Stone newspaper in October.
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Ind. School District Settles With Trans Student
By Advocate.com Editors
Lambda Legal has reached a settlement with the Gary, Ind., school district, in the case of a transgender student who was barred from attending prom in a dress in 2006, and the district has adopted LGBT-inclusive policies as part of it.
K.K. Logan, who at the time identified as a feminine male and now identifies as female, was physically blocked by the school principal from entering the West Side High School senior prom in May 2006. The principal was enforcing a school policy forbidding the wearing of clothing or accessories that “advertise sexual orientation” or “portray the wearer as a person of the opposite gender,” although a female student was allowed to attend wearing a tuxedo, according to Lambda.
Lambda sued on Logan’s behalf in 2007, contending that the policy violated First Amendment guarantees of freedom of expression and that barring Logan from the prom constituted gender discrimination. The settlement, which Lambda announced Friday, provides for monetary compensation to Logan, with the amount not made public, and includes changes to Gary public schools’ dress code and nondiscrimination policies. The policies will now include specific protections for LGBT students, and school administrators and board members will receive training on LGBT issues.
The revised policies “will help to ensure that other students don’t face discrimination because of who they are or what they wear,” said Christopher Clark, senior staff attorney in Lambda’s Chicago office, who handled the case with co-counsel from the Chicago law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. He added that the case should send a clear message to schools around the country.
Read more here.
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Lambda Legal has reached a settlement with the Gary, Ind., school district, in the case of a transgender student who was barred from attending prom in a dress in 2006, and the district has adopted LGBT-inclusive policies as part of it.
K.K. Logan, who at the time identified as a feminine male and now identifies as female, was physically blocked by the school principal from entering the West Side High School senior prom in May 2006. The principal was enforcing a school policy forbidding the wearing of clothing or accessories that “advertise sexual orientation” or “portray the wearer as a person of the opposite gender,” although a female student was allowed to attend wearing a tuxedo, according to Lambda.
Lambda sued on Logan’s behalf in 2007, contending that the policy violated First Amendment guarantees of freedom of expression and that barring Logan from the prom constituted gender discrimination. The settlement, which Lambda announced Friday, provides for monetary compensation to Logan, with the amount not made public, and includes changes to Gary public schools’ dress code and nondiscrimination policies. The policies will now include specific protections for LGBT students, and school administrators and board members will receive training on LGBT issues.
The revised policies “will help to ensure that other students don’t face discrimination because of who they are or what they wear,” said Christopher Clark, senior staff attorney in Lambda’s Chicago office, who handled the case with co-counsel from the Chicago law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. He added that the case should send a clear message to schools around the country.
Read more here.
source
Daniel Hernandez Jr., Breakout Star
THE SHOT — Daniel Hernandez Jr., America's new gay hero and a 21-year-old University of Arizona student, scores his first magazine cover.
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Nightly Wrap Up With New Mexico GLBTQ Centers
Liberty Counsel joins DOMA fight.
Gay Newscaster's book makes waves.
Lesbian Drama Bought at Sundance.
Chick-fil-A Backed Retreat: No gay couples.
Problems plague return of ROTC Programs.
The Advocate's Hot Sheet
Gay Leaders Endorse Emanuel.
Iowa Dems block Marriage Repeal.
Star Trek Producer regrets lack of gay characters.
Gay man nominated to Federal bench.
French Watchdog upholds Marriage Ban.
Georgia Homeless Shelter bans gay people (VIDEO).
Gay Newscaster's book makes waves.
Lesbian Drama Bought at Sundance.
Chick-fil-A Backed Retreat: No gay couples.
Problems plague return of ROTC Programs.
The Advocate's Hot Sheet
Gay Leaders Endorse Emanuel.
Iowa Dems block Marriage Repeal.
Star Trek Producer regrets lack of gay characters.
Gay man nominated to Federal bench.
French Watchdog upholds Marriage Ban.
Georgia Homeless Shelter bans gay people (VIDEO).
RFK Jr. for N.Y. Marriage Equality
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. joined the fight for marriage equality in a video released Thursday for the Human Rights Campaign’s New Yorkers for Marriage Equality series.
In the video, the son of the late senator from New York and member of the prominent American political family compares the marriage equality campaign to his father’s battle against the Jim Crow laws.
"This is the last vestige of institutionalized bigotry that's left in this country and we need to get rid of it,” he says.
The video is the latest in a series featuring prominent New Yorkers for marriage equality, including Whoopi Goldberg, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon, Fran Drescher, Moby, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Julianne Moore, and Kenneth Cole. More ads are scheduled to be run online, with possible placement elsewhere, in the coming weeks and months as the battle for marriage equality heats up in the New York state senate.
Also on Thursday, a new Quinnipiac poll showed that New Yorkers support marriage equality by 56% to 37%, the largest margin ever. Crucially, 54% of upstate voters approve, which matches the percentage of support from people living downstate in heavily Democratic New York City.
"The most recent polling today shows a record number of New Yorkers from across the political spectrum supporting marriage equality,” said Brian Ellner, senior strategist for HRC’s Campaign for New York Marriage. “This support continues to grow with our campaign highlighting New Yorkers from all walks of life who support basic fairness for everyone."
The findings follow a Siena Research Institute poll earlier this month that showed 57% of New Yorkers support marriage equality.
Evan Wolfson, founder and executive director of Freedom to Marry, said the new poll indicates that it is time for the Republican-controlled senate to pass a marriage equality bill, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo is eager to sign.
"Today’s poll is yet another confirmation that a strong majority of New Yorkers believe that loving and committed same-sex couples should share in the freedom to marry,” he said. “New Yorkers, like all Americans, are looking at their gay neighbors, coworkers, and family members and realizing that they deserve the same fairness, the same treatment, and the same respect under the law as everyone else. The assembly has passed a freedom to marry bill three times. Governor Cuomo has urged and promised action to end this exclusion. It is indeed time to act. Both chambers should swiftly sent a marriage bill to the governor’s desk so that New York can move forward, as New Yorkers want and deserve.”
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