Weekly Political Roundup

• Inmates in California prisons will have equal access to conjugal visits from same-sex registered domestic partners, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. The American Civil Liberties Union had contacted the agency about changing the previous regulations.
• A gay couple from San Jose, California have settled their lawsuit against ParentProfiles.com, an Internet adoption service based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company was found guilty of violating California discrimination laws by refusing to post the men’s profiles, and is now barred from posting profiles of any California residents unless it offers the service equally to all qualified Californians.
• The California Senate passed a bill protecting all students in California public schools from harassment and bias based on gender identity or sexual orientation. They also passed a resolution calling on the federal government to rescind the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
• Supervisors in Marin County, California voted 5-0 to endorse San Francisco’s case against a state same-sex marriage ban and submit an amicus filing.
• Both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage rallied outside the Connecticut Supreme Court building as justices continued to debate the case.
• Iowa Governor Chet Culver signed an anti-discrimination bill that includes sexual orientation as a protected category. Three cheers—but I have to wonder at what point gender identity was ditched in order to get the bill through.
• Lawrence, Kansas will be the first city in the state to create a domestic partnership registry for same- and opposite-sex unmarried couples. It is unclear what rights will go along with the status, though some employers may use it as proof of a relationship for health-insurance benefits. The ultra-right made its usual negative comments, including the appalling suggestion that “the city was being irresponsible by not requiring gay couples to submit to an HIV test.”
• LGBT-advocacy group MassEquality has launched “It’s Wrong to Vote on Rights,” a major advertising campaign targeting the premise behind the June 14th Constitutional Convention in Massachusetts. The ConCon would put the fate of same-sex marriage rights before voters this November, who could strip marriage rights away from thousands of citizens. The Boston Globe reports that those in favor of putting the ban before voters still outnumber those against by a slim margin.
• The Michigan Supreme Court agreed to review a Court of Appeals decision that said the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage meant public universities and state and local governments could not offer same-sex partner benefits. The Supreme Court refused to stay the appeals court decision during its review, however, which means some Michigan couples will be left without benefits.
• The Nebraska Senate voted down a measure to include sexual orientation in the state’s anti-discrimination laws, the fourteenth year the legislature has done so.
• In its current session, the North Carolina House will not take up the issue of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The speaker instead referred a proposed amendment to a second committee, though it unanimously cleared the first.
• The North Carolina House passed an anti-bullying bill that would include sexual orientation and gender identity among protected categories. It now moves to the Senate.
• The Rhode Island Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case to determine whether a gay couple from Rhode Island who wed in Massachusetts can get divorced in their home state. Massachusetts recognizes the marriage, since Rhode Island does not ban it, but will not grant a divorce to non-residents. The case would affect whether Rhode Island would recognize same-sex couples who wed in Massachusetts, but would not legalize same-sex marriage in the Ocean State.

Around the world:

• Kanako Otsuji, an Assembly Member in Osaka, Japan, the first openly lesbian politician in Japan, is one of the official candidates for this summer’s National Diet election. If elected, she would be the first openly LGBT national politician in the country.
• Over 5000 people marched in the first legal pride parade in Warsaw, Poland, despite opposition from right-wing groups and the federal government.
• In the U.K., Liberal Democrat Councillor Jenny Bailey has been elected as the first transgender Mayor of Cambridge.
• A new study concludes that most Britons are in favor of LGBT rights. PinkNews.co.uk reports “Only one in 20 people said they don’t like lesbians and gay men, fewer than one in ten people disagree with legal protection for gay people at work and less than one in ten think that anti-gay bullying in schools should not be tackled.” Among other findings: “89% of people are in favour of laws which would make it illegal to incite hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.” According to HRC, 68% of Americans support such laws in the U.S.; a solid majority, but well off the U.K. mark.