Arizona Senator Paula Aboud (D-Tucson) said her state should extend marriage benefits to same-sex couples. She is a sponsor of a domestic partnership bill that would give registered domestic partners the same rights as married couples, regardless of their sexual orientation. The bill is not yet scheduled for a committee hearing. Two conservative groups in […]
Bruce Kluger of USA Today asks “In Election ’08, is there a place for gay rights?” He calls gay marriage “a non-issue” in the 2008 elections (which I think is overstating things a little), but makes a hopeful call for gay issues to be part of a national conversation. He is heartened by the “Don’t
Lots of late-breaking news today, so here are a few items that didn’t make it into my earlier roundup: Opponents of same-sex marriage in Florida managed to collect enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment banning it on the November ballot. A New York appeals court ruled that valid same-sex marriages performed in other states
Florida leads the news this week, as supporters of a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage scramble to collect needed signatures. In contrast, the Fairness for All Families group has released an inspirational video about their Primary Day of Action, in which volunteers talk to voters about why the amendment is bad for both
I haven’t been covering the blow-by-blow of the presidential campaigns, but others have. Lisa Keen, in the Bay Area Reporter, has a good summary of the leading candidates’ positions on various LGBT issues and the endorsements they’ve gained. The AP looks at the frustration among many LGBT activists about the lukewarm support for LGBT rights
The U.S. Congress will reconvene next week. 365gay.com summarizes the status of three LGBT-rights bills: the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Deb Price also looks ahead to what 2008 could hold for LGBT rights around the country. Price also discusses why the
A high school in Indiana banned a gay student from his prom when he arrived wearing a dress. Classmates came to his defense, and now, so has Lambda Legal. In Maine, the Bangor Daily News profiles the first same-sex couple in Penobscot County to do a second-parent adoption since they became legal in the state
The Iowa Caucuses were last night, as most of you in the U.S. are well aware. Lisa Keen has an LGBT take on them at Bay Windows, and Visible Vote has a number of posts covering the event. The California Supreme Court rejected an appeal to deny domestic partners in California the same property tax
Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) introduced legislation in the Senate to provide federal health benefits, including the Family and Medical Leave program, long term care, insurance, and retirement benefits, to the domestic partners of federal employees. The workers and their partners would then be subject to the same obligations as married employees
Jamison Green and Donna Rose, former members of HRC’s business advisory council who resigned over the organization’s handling of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), launched the Transgender Employment Partnership “to continue the work they began at HRC.” The Arizona Department of Administration filed a proposal last month, without announcement, to offer health and other benefits
