Four retired officers, each from a different branch of the U.S. military, recommended that the military repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and let gay men and lesbians serve openly. In the “Report of the General/Flag Officers’ Study Group” released by the Michael D. Palm Center of the University of California at Santa Barbara, […]
Publishing this early because of my vacation schedule; I’ll catch late-Friday news next week. The U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions held a hearing on workplace discrimination against transgender people, “the first ever hearing in Congress exclusively on transgender issues.” HRC has coverage here and here and here. Bilerico’s Alex Blaze has
As you’ll know if you weren’t on the moon this week, marriages became legal for same-sex couples in California. Here are some additional highlights: More than 2,700 marriage licenses were issued statewide on June 17, vs. the average June day’s count of about 480. The LA Times has a cool interactive map breaking this down
Barack Obama appointed David Noble, director of public policy and government affairs at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and former executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, as director of the LGBT vote for his campaign. The presidential candidate also sent an open letter to LGBT voters and said “I will place the
Posting this a tad early this week; I’ll catch late Friday news next week. Happy weekend! Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) announced the formation of the bipartisan House of Representatives LGBT Equality Caucus, with the goal of promoting LGBT equality. One of the architect’s of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Senator Sam Nunn,
The ACLU launched Get Busy, Get Equal, a toolkit building and protecting the rights of LGBT people. ExxonMobil shareholders voted down a resolution to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the company’s non-discrimination statement. Before Exxon and Mobil merged in 1999, Mobil had provided these protections to gay employees and benefits to their same-sex
Just in time for Memorial Day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court decision in the case of an Air Force major discharged for being a lesbian. It ruled “the government may only ‘intrude upon the personal and private lives of homosexuals’ to ‘advance an important governmental interest,’ such as maintaining troop
The good folks at Bilerico are, not surprisingly, all over this like bridesmaids on a bouquet. Among them: Karen Ocamb has quotes from a number of luminaries, including Gov. Schwarzenegger, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Shannon Minter, Legal Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Phyllis Lyon, one of the plaintiffs. Lyon, 83, and
Congressman Joe Sestak, the highest-ranking veteran in Congress, called for a repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told graduating West Point cadets that Congress, and not the military, is responsible for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Some say transgender rights could be the
HRC announced its first round of U.S. Senate endorsements. Some criticized their omission of openly gay North Carolina candidate Jim Neal. HRC responded. Most gay, lesbian, and bisexual people do not know their basic rights, according to a poll by New York’s Hunter College. The poll asked “whether same-sex marriages were legal in the respondent’s
