- Four retired officers, each from a different branch of the U.S. military, recommended that the military repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and let gay men and lesbians serve openly. In the “Report of the General/Flag Officers’ Study Group” released by the Michael D. Palm Center of the University of California at Santa Barbara, the officers state that the policy has compelled servicemembers to lie, and to avoid getting needed medical attention or counsel, and repealing it “is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline, or cohesion.”
- Steve Ralls of PFLAG asks in the Huffington Post whether LGBT Americans will see themselves reflected in the Democratic Party platform, and if so, what our priorities should be.
- Dave Noble, Director of the LGBT Vote for Senator Obama’s campaign confirmed to Pam’s House Blend that under no circumstances will funds from the Senator’s proposed Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships be granted to faith-based organizations for proselytizing or reparative therapy. Pam notes that under Obama’s plan, LGBT-welcoming congregations “will have access to funds to do much-needed work in communities large and small of great importance—HIV/AIDS education, for instance, relief efforts, etc.”
- A conservative group in Arkansas says it has gathered 65,899 signatures in support of a proposed ballot measure to ban unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children. The measure requires 61,974 valid signatures; it is unclear if the 65,899 will be enough once they are verified.
- Supervisors in Kern County, CA refused to ban marriage of same-sex couples, after a conservative group tried to get the county to reject the statewide policy. The county’s lawyer argued that it would be illegal for the county to have its own ban.
- A Maine court annulled the adoption of a woman by her now-deceased partner, causing the woman to appeal to the state’s highest court. The adoption was done to secure inheritance rights; the deceased partner is heir to part of the fortune of Thomas Watson, founder of IBM.
- Before the end of July, the Massachusetts legislature will likely take up a bill to repeal the 1913 law that prevents non-resident same-sex couples from marrying. Supporters say the California marriage decision has helped the bill gain support. (That, and perhaps angry calls from wedding planners wondering why the folks in California are getting all the out-of-state dollars.)
- The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that marriage benefits for same-sex couples do not extend back to a time before their marriages were legal in the state.
- The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) are encouraging people to contact the Boston Herald (click link above for details) and ask editors to apologize for the paper’s slurs against transgender people. An article this week about a Boston-area detective was titled “Undercover ‘john’ takes on trannies, pimps” and opens by describing how the detective has been “trapped inside houses of ill repute by giant naked trannies.”
- A New York lesbian couple who married in Canada is suing Blue Cross & Blue Shield after one of the women applied for spousal benefits through her employer and was denied by the insurer. A court ruled earlier this year that New York State must recognize valid out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
- A meeting in Asheville, NC to discuss the assault of a gay man in the neighborhood drew nearly 100 people and led to the formation of a community action group, tentatively called the Safe Street Asheville Project.
- Matt Comer of InterstateQ observes that conservatives in North Carolina are spending more time talking about “homosexuality” as sexual perversion than talking about the impact on children of keeping sexual orientation and gender identity out of anti-bullying legislation.
- A federal appeals court in Oregon heard arguments regarding elections officials’ disqualification of petition signatures filed by conservatives to force a statewide election on the domestic partnership law. The court could let the signatures, and domestic partnerships, stand, or send the case back to a lower court.
- The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has asked for the removal of ads in the London Underground designed to attract gay tourists to the state. The state tourism agency’s London advertising contractor planned the campaign in conjunction with last weekend’s Pride London celebrations.
- A Wisconsin couple who plan to marry in California could face arrest on their return, under an obscure law that prohibits Wisconsin residents from leaving the state to enter a marriage that would not be legally recognized when they return. The law, designed to prevent minors from leaving the state to marry, dates from 1915, the same era as the racially-driven Massachusetts law mentioned above.
Around the world:
- A Bermuda judge sentenced a man to seven years in prison for assaulting a gay man with a machete, after a history of verbally abusing him. The judge also said the island government should pass LGBT civil rights legislation.
- TIME magazine reports on the transgender community in Thailand. The nation is one of the most tolerant in the world towards its trans citizens, who are “a normal and visible part of society.” Some schools even have designated bathrooms for students who identify as “kathoey” (loosely translated as “ladyboy”). Prejudice still exists, but Thailand seems to be farther down the road than, say, the U.S. It’s a good article for the mainstream media, but focuses on male-to-female transgender people, and ignores female-to-male ones. (Thanks to the Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief.)