“Homosexual marriage [could be] taught in schools whether parents like it or not.” Sound familiar? The ultra-right used the argument to drum up support for Prop 8. Now, Stand for Marriage Maine is busting out the same drivel in support of that state’s Referendum 1, which would overturn marriage equality there. (You can see a […]
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division hired Matt Nosanchuk, a former Senate staffer and advisor to Barack Obama’s campaign, as a senior counselor who will serve as a representative to the LGBT community. Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) voted to lift its ban on noncelibate lesbian and gay pastors and to
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
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
This just in: More good news for non-bio moms, to add to the Jenkins-Miller decision I posted about earlier: A California Court of Appeal has denied the latest appeal (PDF) of Kristina S., a biological, “ex-lesbian” mom who has been trying since 2004 to prevent her former partner Charisma R. from being declared a legal
(Originally published in Bay Windows, May 28, 2009.) We’ve been on a Disney movie kick around our house, spurred by a recent visit to the Magic Kingdom. As fate would have it, the day the Prop 8 decision was announced, we had chosen to watch Mary Poppins. I was looking forward to some Julie Andrews,
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,
