The governing committee of Conservative Judaism has ruled to permit same-sex commitment ceremonies and the ordination of gay and lesbian rabbis. They did not, however, go so far as to approve same-sex marriage. Although the committee’s decision was not unanimous, enough members approved to make it valid, “meaning that it is a well-founded interpretation of
Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, and her partner, Heather Poe, are expecting a baby. “A source close to the couple” says that Cheney is pregnant and expecting in the spring. Pam has already hit the heart of the matter at Pam’s House Blend, noting that Virginia, where the couple lives, will not
Progressive site Blue Jersey today launched Think Equal, a campaign “to educate the public on the legal and real world differences between civil unions and marriage.” Their first of several short ads is a winner, with two women—one married and one “civil unionized,” discussing the rights and benefits of each status. The ad is based
An article in Salon last week claimed “There is a gay agenda — winning elections.” It’s a heartening look at the impact wealthy LGBT Americans had on the 2006 mid-term vote. “They turned the 2006 election into an object lesson in targeted giving that could fundamentally change the way politicians think about the consequences of
I will be hosting the January Carnival of Bent Attractions here at Mombian. This blog carnival is published monthly and is made up of submitted posts on topics of interest to the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, trans and queer communities—not just LGBTQ parenting topics, though those are welcome. If you are interested in submitting a post,
The best news this week is international. South Africa has become the first country in Africa and the fifth in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Acting President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka signed the Civil Union Act, and it went into effect yesterday. The Act allows for unions to be recognized by either a marriage or a
It’s World AIDS Day. Let’s review: There were 2.9 million AIDS-related deaths in 2006. 4.3 million people were newly-infected with HIV, bringing the total of number of HIV-infected individuals worldwide to 39.5 million. 40% percent of new adult HIV infections worldwide in 2006 occurred among young people 15 – 24 years old. More adult women
When Nina interviewed me for Queercents a few weeks ago, one of the questions she asked was “Does money buy happiness?” I answered “no,” though admitted that money can sometimes facilitate the things in which one finds happiness. Turns out I was wrong. According to economist Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick, “There is
Thanksgiving and the pending winter holidays are for most of us a time to be with family. As we enter into this season of love and light and kinship, it seems appropriate to reflect on the changes propagating through society’s traditional view of families.
Speaking at the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference, Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean said his party needs to work harder to get more LGBT candidates on the ballot. Lambda Legal submitted papers to a California Court of Appeal, urging them to uphold a jury decision that found former Poway High School students were severely
