First, the feel-good story of the week: Canadians Ruth Pogson, 83, and Beth Aime, 79, married each other this week at a Victoria nursing home. The couple has been in a committed relationship since 1995. On to more serious matters: A senior Senate Democrat says that he wants to attach expanded, LGBT-inclusive federal hate crimes […]
The Justice Department’s inspector general said he is looking into whether a department lawyer was dismissed over a rumor that she is a lesbian. HRC says that reports of the death of an Arizona constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage were greatly exaggerated. The state legislature might reconsider and send it to voters this November. E.
Presidential candidate Barack Obama dishes with The Advocate. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dishes with Ellen. The Arizona House Judiciary Committee voted on a state constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. It now goes to the full House, and if approved, the Senate.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy is leading a Senate push for a federal ban on employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, but not gender expression or identity. He says the latter could be added later, under a more Democratic Congress and president. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force says it will oppose the bill if
Two gay legislators in Connecticut took a bill meant to “clean up” gaps in Connecticut’s civil union law off the agenda of the Connecticut Judiciary Committee. They say they are waiting on the state Supreme Court ruling on the legality of denying full marriage equality to same-sex couples, but that the bill could still go
A new advocacy group, tentatively named the LGBT Foreign Policy Project, is asking the U.S. State Department for greater action and involvement in addressing the LGBT-rights issues mentioned in the department’s annual report. AIDS counselor Jason Hair-Wynn recently applied for a new passport so he could go to Africa and use his expertise. The U.S.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to approve legislation that would repeal a travel and immigration ban on those who are HIV positive. A new study shows that the California Supreme Court wields an influence far beyond the Golden State’s borders, when one counts up the number of times the decisions of state high courts
The media-ally award of the week goes to Bloomberg’s Ann Woolner, who wrote the gleefully sarcastic If Gays Can Marry, I Just Might Cancel My Wedding. No new arguments here for those of us who’ve been following the marriage equality battle, but it’s always good to see another person make the case. Woolner is, of
The Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute has partnered with the National Conference of Black Political Scientists to increase the numbers of gay black political leaders. The groups have created the Bayard Rustin Award, named for the openly gay, African American civil rights leader who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, to honor “outstanding contributions
Could gay superdelegates make the difference in the Democratic presidential nomination? Writer Lisa Keen explains why, and also looks at how ordinary LGBT voters may have an impact on the race. A long piece, but a good overview of the situation. The U.S. State Department lifted the ban on hiring people with HIV to be
