Former President Bill Clinton spoke at the progressive conference Netroots Nation. Blogger Lane Hudson confronted him on DADT and DOMA. Hudson explains why. The Anchorage Assembly approved an ordinance that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, credit, public accommodations, and housing. It includes exemptions for churches and other […]
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) into the U.S. Senate. Co-sponsors were Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Susan Collins (R-ME). The American Bar Association’s House of Delegates passed a resolution calling on Congress to repeal the section of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denies federal marital benefits and
President Obama named 16 recipients for this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. They include tennis and women’s rights legend Billie Jean King and LGBT-rights pioneer Harvey Milk, and very many other worthy people. I’m a bit disappointed not to see Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon on the list, but maybe next
Confused by the bevy of marriage-related lawsuits now in play? Lisa Keen at Bay Windows breaks it all down in a multi-part series. (Parts I and II are out; Part III will be next week.) Chris Geidner does a similar breakdown for federal hate crimes legislation. Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed the Defense Department authorization
The U.S. Senate unanimously adopted the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill. This means its fate is tied to whether the president will veto the bill because it also includes funding for F-22 fighter jets, which he opposes. The NAACP announced a partnership with National
Yee hah. Another huge week in LGBT political news. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging the constitutionality of Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The suit claims that DOMA “unfairly excludes more than 16,000 Massachusetts married same-sex couples and their families from critically important rights
Federal news dominated this week: The Senate Judiciary committee held a hearing on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Attorney General Eric Holder gave a statement in support. There is some buzz that the Act will be attached to the Defense Authorization bill, which happened to a previous version of the bill and helped
The big news this week is the LGBT community’s reaction to President Obama’s grant of limited benefits to partners of federal employees. Here’s my take on it. The Washington Blade has more analysis. The news comes on the heels of Obama’s decision to defend a Department of Justice filing that supports DOMA. On that case,
Your weekly medley of LGBT parenting news. (No vlog this week; Helen and I have both been swamped with other work. Please come back for one next Thursday.) Personal stories: Transgender man Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy welcomed their second child into the world Tuesday. All appear to be doing well. Single mom Judy
Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA) introduced the Reuniting Families Act, an immigration bill that includes allowing Americans to sponsor same-sex partners for residency. The Senate version does not include that provision, but the Senate Judiciary Committee this week held hearings on a separate immigration bill, the Uniting American Families Act, that would end discrimination against LGBT
