- Presidential candidate John McCain learned how important it is to hire good technical help. A staffer didn’t swap out the default images in the MySpace template he was using for the candidate, and didn’t credit the template’s creator. When the designer learned of this, he uploaded new default images to his own server, which were then pulled onto McCain’s page. The new images made it seem as if McCain supported same-sex marriage.
- After an Arkansas Senate committee rejected a bill to ban same-sex and unmarried couples from adopting or fostering, a conservative Christian group that backed the ban is threatening to revive it as a 2008 ballot initiative.
- Two LGBT-rights bills passed the California Assembly Judiciary Committee. One would add sexual orientation and sex (including gender identity) to the state’s non-discrimination laws. The second would let domestic partners change their surnames as part of the domestic-partnership registration process, instead of by separate and costly court procedures. The bill would also allow any straight man to take his wife’s surname without a similar hassle. (Thanks, PageOneQ.)
- The Connecticut legislature held packed hearings on a bill to permit same-sex marriage. The state currently allows same-sex civil unions.
- City commissioners in Largo, Florida fired city manager Steve Stanton because of his announcement that he will transition from male to female.
- In a second piece of trans news from Florida, a county judge ruled that a transgender man’s ex-husband still owes him alimony payments, even after his FTM transition. Not all was good news, however. The court also stated that the man would still not be recognized as a man under Florida statutes.
- The Indiana House will vote next Tuesday on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Some feel the current wording of the amendment would forbid domestic-partner benefits and domestic-violence protections for all unmarried couples. The House Speaker has said the wording could be changed without having to start the approval process anew.
- The Iowa Senate approved the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories under the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The bill now goes to the House.
- A Kansas House committed endorsed a bill to ban cities and counties from setting up domestic-partnership registries for same- sex or unmarried opposite-sex couples.
- Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will veto a bill to permit same-sex partners of state workers to buy into the state health-insurance plan. The Senate has approved the bill as part of the state budget. The House will now consider it.
- The New Hampshire House defeated a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but delayed debate on a measure to allow same-sex civil unions. Legislators have said they expect to take it up next Wednesday, and many expect it to pass. It would then go to the Senate, where support is rising, and then to the governor, whose views remain unknown.
- Matthew Titone (D) won a special election and became the third openly gay New York state legislator.
- Advocacy group ProgressOhio.org asked Ohio’s Secretary of State to investigate whether Citizens for Community Values, a group that supported a 2004 same-sex marriage ban, properly reported all the money they received and spent during the campaign. CCV denied the charges, saying “We’ve done everything perfect” (except, presumably, their grammar lessons).
Around the world:
- The Channel Island of Guernsey will reduce the age of consent for same-sex sexual relations from 18 to 16, the same as for opposite-sex relations, in accord with the European Convention on Human Rights.
- In Haifa, Israel, the organization Asawat (“Voices”) held the first conference of Israeli Arab lesbians. Attendees discussed the “‘triple discrimination’ of being women, lesbian and Arab in Israel.”
- Italian bishops issued a directive telling Catholic politicians to vote against pending LGBT-rights legislation. Some lawmakers and civil rights groups condemned the move as improper church interference in civil affairs.
- The Nigerian Assembly did not vote on a harsh anti-LGBT bill before the end of its session. Upcoming elections could mean that the bill will now die.