Weekly Political Roundup

• Politics and Law, Weekly Political Roundup • census, dadt, hate crimes, hhs, hiv and aids, hud, maine, question 1, russia, sweden, u.s. census

FlagsWhat a week in LGBT political news! Here are some of the highlights:

National News

  • The U.S. Senate approved the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It now goes to President Obama, who has said he will sign it.
  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to ensure that HUD’s core housing programs are open to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. HUD will also commission the first-ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing.
  • The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to establish the nation’s first national resource center to help communities across the country provide services and supports for older LGBT individuals. The Resource Center for LGBT Elders “will provide information, assistance and resources for both LGBT organizations and mainstream aging services providers at the state and community level to assist them in the development and provision of culturally sensitive supports and services. The LGBT Center will also be available to educate the LGBT community about the importance of planning ahead for future long term care needs.”
  • The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Treatment Extension Act, which reauthorizes funding for another four years, passed the House and the Senate. (Not exclusively and LGBT issue, but certainly of interest to our community.)
  • On the down side, the U.S. Census Bureau said they will delay counting legally married same-sex couples in the 2010 census because of concerns about accuracy. They expect the information to appear in the 2020 count.
  • The Navy chief petty officer who instigated homophobic abuse towards former sailor Joseph Christopher Rocha has been censured by the Secretary of the Navy and forced to retire.
  • Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said congressional hearings on the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy will take place next month after the confirmation hearing for Marine General Clifford Stanley as Undersecretary of Defense in charge of Personnel and Readiness.
  • The Commission on Military Justice released a report recommending repeal of the military’s ban on consensual sodomy.

State News

  • The University of Alabama at Birmingham will extend health insurance benefits to same-sex partners of staff and faculty beginning Jan. 1. Officials say it will help the school compete for faculty with top medical schools.
  • The Los Angeles Police Commission said they will sever ties with the Learning for Life organization that has run their youth program but has direct ties to the Boy Scouts of America, who violate the city’s anti-discrimination policy. The police then plan to start a youth program of their own.
  • Nate Silver, who usually dissects numbers at FiveThirtyEight.com, dissects the very illogical arguments posited by Maine’s anti-equality folks, e.g., (“If Question 1 fails, homosexual marriage will not become equal to traditional marriage because traditional marriage will be totally eliminated. Marriage will be genderless. It will exist solely for the benefit of adults.”
  • After questions were raised about the financial contributions of the National Organization for Marriage to the Maine marriage equality campaign, NOM has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the reporting requirements.
  • New York Gov. David Paterson said he expects the state Senate to approve a marriage equality bill in the coming weeks and that he will sign it
  • The New York State Supreme Court ruled that a transgender person seeking judicial permission to change her or his name should not be required to furnish medical documentation justifying the change.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court upheld an order preventing Washington state from releasing the names of more than 120,000 people who signed petitions seeking a voter referendum on whether to give same-sex couples most of the same rights as married couples.

Around the World

  • Germany’s high court ruled that civil partners of government employees will receive the same pension rights as their straight married counterparts.
  • Russian couple Irina Shipitko and Irina Fedotova-Fet, twice denied the right to marry by Russian authorities, went to Toronto where they will marry this week. The couple plans to go back home and try to get their Canadian marriage recognized. Russian law (in theory) recognizes international marriages without requiring those spouses to be different sexes.
  • The Synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden voted to allow its clergy to conduct marriages of same-sex couples.
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