Weekly Political Update

• The U.S. Senate voted to drop travel and immigration restrictions on persons who are HIV-positive.
• The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for July 23. The Washington Blade reports, though, that “as of Wednesday, the subcommittee was not scheduled to hear from even one former service member who was expelled for being gay.”
• The U.S. Census Bureau, citing the Defense of Marriage Act, said it will edit the 2010 census responses of same-sex couples who marry in California, Massachusetts, or any other state, and will report them as “unmarried partners” instead.
• Starting August 8, Soulforce activists will walk 96 miles to the Arizona state capitol to draw attention to the number of years same-sex couples in the state haven’t had equal rights.
• The California Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit of LGBT-rights advocates and said that Proposition 8, an amendment to ban marriage of same-sex couples, could go on the November ballot.
• A new poll found that 51% of California voters would oppose Proposition 8.
• A federal appeals court heard a case to deny tax funding to a Baptist childcare agency in Kentucky that some claim proselytizes to youngsters in its care and fires gay employees.
• The Massachusetts Senate easily passed a bill to repeal the 1913 law used to forbid out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in the Bay State. The House speaker hopes to vote before the end of the current session, July 31.
• The North Carolina Senate stalled an anti-bullying bill, in large part “because it listed ‘sexual orientation’ and other characteristics as reasons schoolchildren might be the targets of bullying.”
• The directive to cancel the “South Carolina is so gay” advertising campaign in London came from the office of S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, QNotes claims.

Around the world:

• The Czech minister for human rights and ethnic minorities called for a debate on whether non-biological parents should be allowed to adopt a same-sex partner’s biological children.
• The Dutch civil service will use the term “birth name” instead of “maiden name” on official forms in order to be more accommodating to gay male couples.
• The Terrence Higgins Trust, (THT) an HIV and sexual health charity in the U.K., has launched a new anti-homophobia campaign targeting working class mothers and encouraging them to support their children who come out.