- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division hired Matt Nosanchuk, a former Senate staffer and advisor to Barack Obama’s campaign, as a senior counselor who will serve as a representative to the LGBT community.
- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) voted to lift its ban on noncelibate lesbian and gay pastors and to allow those in committed same-sex relationships to serve as ministers.
- The mayor of Anchorage, Alaska vetoed a ban against discrimination based on sexual orientation. He said it was “unclear” such discrimination existed.
- A U.S. District Judge denied the request of several LGBT community groups in California to intervene in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger lawsuit challenging the constitutional validity of Prop 8. He did grant the request of the City of San Francisco to intervene. Chris Geidner at Law Dork opines, “What the intervention rulings mean is that Ted Olson and David Boies, along with San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, will be the lawyers now controlling this challenge to Proposition 8.”
- The New York Times has a long piece about Theodore Olson, the conservative lawyer who is nonetheless spearheading the California lawsuit mentioned above.
- The City Council of West Hollywood will unveil a bronze plaque engraved with a quote from Nelson Mandela that will be placed at a park in West Hollywood to commemorate the first legal marriages of same-sex couples in California.
- Legislation has been introduced in Guam to try and make proposed civil union more palatable to opponents. Seems like they are trying to limit the benefits so it is less of a “marriage equivalent.”
- Marriage-equality advocates in Maine launched their first television ad. It urges voters to uphold the marriage equality law if it appears on the ballot in November, as expected.
- In Syracuse, New York, Dwight DeLee was sentenced to 25 year in prison after being found guilty last month of the manslaughter of transgender woman Latiesha Green. It was the county’s first hate crime trial.
- The City Council of Bowling Green, Ohio, passed an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and public accommodation.
- Wisconsin attorney general J. B. Van Hollen said the state’s new domestic partnership law is unconstitutional and he will not defend it. In his opinion, lawmakers went against the will of the voters in offering DP benefits.
Around the world:
- In New Zealand, the Parliamentary bill to have “gay panic” defense struck from the books passed its first reading with unanimous support. It now goes through committees and two more readings, but it seems as if all parties are supportive.
- Strathclyde Police, Scotland’s largest police force, is holding a special recruitment day to attract new LGBT officers.
- The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) said a 17 year-old Sénégalese man is due to stand trial on August 24 for sexual acts “against nature.”