Degrees of Freedom
Reading the international headlines recently, I was reminded how LGBT rights around the world are at vastly different points of development.
uganda
Russia Bans Adoption by Single People from Countries that Allow Same-Sex Couples to Marry
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last week signed a bill into law that bans foreign same-sex couples — and single people of any sexual orientation from countries that allow same-sex couples to wed — from adopting Russian children.
Uganda Parliament Criminalizes Being Gay; They’re Not the Only Ones
The LGBT news from around the world keeps getting worse. The Ugandan Parliament today passed a bill that criminalizes the “promotion” of “homosexuality” and can lead to life imprisonment for those convicted of “aggravated homosexuality.” Several other countries have had similar recent news.
Weekly Political Roundup
The U.S. House Armed Services Committee approved three amendments that would delay implementation of the repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Air Force Major Margaret Witt, who was discharged in 2003 under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, will receive full retirement, the government will drop its appeal against her, and the discharge will
Weekly Political Roundup
The U.S. and 85 other countries backed a United Nations declaration calling for an end to violence and human rights abuses on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a statement in support of ending such persecution and discrimination. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Weekly Political Roundup
President Obama, in his State of the Union address, noted the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and called on college campuses that had banned military recruiters and ROTC because of the policy to allow them to return. Some LGBT advocates are saying colleges should not do so until servicemembers are protected against gender identity
Weekly Political Roundup
First: You’re all voting next Tuesday, right? No, no candidate is perfect. Sometimes we need to choose the better of two (or more) evils. I think it’s still important to make that choice, though. President Obama met with five progressive bloggers, who grilled him on marriage equality and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Joe Sudbay, who
Weekly Political Roundup
Ask? Tell? Oh, I don’t know. Injunctions were flying everywhere, Dan Choi tried to reenlist, and the latest seems to be that the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has stopped the enforcement of the district court order that the military stop enforcing DADT. Sorting out the double negatives: DADT is still on. The November
Weekly Political Roundup
The Prop 8 Case Everyone is covering the Prop 8 case. Here are a few of the sites with people on the ground at the courtroom. (As you may have heard, the U.S. Supreme Court banned videocasting of the trial. Jenny Pizer, Lambda Legal’s Marriage Project director, explains why.)j Lisa Keen has a good summary
Weekly Political Roundup
U.S. National News Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), sponsor of a bill to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) said it wouldn’t be repealed in this Congress and that efforts next year will focus on building support for the issue. A Senate committee approved the nomination of openly lesbian law professor Chai Feldblum as a