Weekly Political Roundup

Bunches of news this week. I’m saving parenting/youth-related stuff for a separate roundup early next week. This week was busy with the extra Banned Books Week content. Stay tuned!

• An article written by an Air Force colonel in Joint Force Quarterly, which is published for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, concludes that having openly gay troops in the ranks will not hurt combat readiness. (My spouse Helen, who was an Air Force captain, says this is a pretty big deal.)
• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also sent a letter directly to President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking them to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
• The federal judge overseeing the California Prop 8 case has refused to allow the Protect Marriage campaign to keep their campaign records secret from the Olson/Boise legal team seeking to overturn the measure.
• Equality California reminds us that there is a bill on Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk that would ensure that the state regards couples married out-of-state pre-Prop 8 as married. Couples married out-of-state post-Prop 8 would also get all the rights of marriage without the title. The ultra-right is, not surprisingly, pushing to have the governor veto it.
• Illinois State Senator Heather Steans introduced a marriage equality bill to match the House version.
• The Maine state ethics commission voted 3-2 to order an investigation of the fundraising efforts by the National Organization of Marriage, which has been fighting marriage equality Maine. The issue is whether NOM should be required to disclose the name of individual donors, or if their claim that they have not raised money specifically for Maine exempts them. The investigation is not expected to be completed before the Nov. 3 election.
• Statistics guru Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight opines, “I’d lay about 3 to 1 against the [Maine] marriage ban passing. But it’s liable to fairly close—clearly a winnable campaign for conservatives and a losable one for liberals, especially if the sort of complacency sets in that we saw in California.”
• Marriage equality supporters in Maine have noted that the opposition is, for the most part, not even using real Mainers in their ads and Web site.
• Nevada began issuing domestic partnership certificates to same- and opposite-sex couples. (Because marriage in Nevada is clearly reserved for something special and sacred.)
• Republican lawmakers and right-wing activists in New Jersey are pushing for an amendment on the 2010 November ballot that would only permit marriages between a man and a woman.
• New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told State Senate leaders that marriage equality “is our number one priority,” even though he made comments two weeks ago expressing doubt that such a law could get passed in the near term. Keep in mind that Bloomberg has no direct authority in the Senate—even though we appreciate his support.
• Dallas state District Judge Tena Callahan ruled that the Texas ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional guarantee to equal protection under the law, and she will hear the divorce case of two men who married in Massachusetts.
• The Seattle City Council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution urging voters to vote “approve” on Referendum 71, i.e., to retain an expanded set of rights for same-sex domestic partners.
• Washington, D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At large) announced that at Tuesday’s council meeting, he will introduce a proposal to legalize marriage for same-sex couples.

Around the world:

• Same-sex couples in Tasmania, Australia will soon be able to have official ceremonies to honor their relationships. Currently, couples can sign a Deed of Relationship (elsewhere called a civil union), but can only hold informal ceremonies. As of November 1, they will be able to sign their Deed in a ceremony presided over by a marriage celebrant and in front of their families and friends. (What’s the verb form of that? “Deeding”? “Getting deeded”?)
• Socialist leader Jose Socrates won reelection as Prime Minister of Portugal. He has vowed to legalize same-sex marriage if re-elected.
• U.K. LGBT activist Peter Tatchell said that the country’s proposed Equality Bill is discriminatory because sexual orientation and gender identity were not included in the bill’s anti-harassment clauses. Equality minister Maria Eagle says LGBT people are already protected under the discrimination provisions.