Friday, July 31, 2009

Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King given Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Barack Obama today named gay civil rights pioneer Harvey Milk and tennis great (and open lesbian) Billie Jean King as two of 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

America’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

From the White House press release:

“This year’s awardees were chosen for their work as agents of change. Among their many accomplishments in fields ranging from sports and art to science and medicine to politics and public policy, these men and women have changed the world for the better. They have blazed trails and broken down barriers. They have discovered new theories, launched new initiatives, and opened minds to new possibilities.

President Obama said, “These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine arts to foreign affairs. Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.

“Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive. It is my great honor to award them the Medal of Freedom.”

President Obama will present the awards at a ceremony on Wed., Aug. 12.”

Other awardees include Nancy Goodman Brinker, the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s leading breast cancer awareness organization; Stephen Hawking, the internationally-recognized theoretical physicist; Sen. Edward Kennedy; Desmund Tutu; Chita Rivera; Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland; and Sidney Poitier.


Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King was an acclaimed professional tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s, and has helped champion gender equality issues not only in sports, but in all areas of public life. King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, then the most viewed tennis match in history. King became one of the first openly lesbian major sports figures in America when she came out in 1981. Following her professional tennis career, King became the first woman commissioner in professional sports when she co-founded and led the World Team Tennis (WTT) League. The U.S. Tennis Association named the National Tennis Center, where the US Open is played, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006.

Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society and achieve social equality. Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor. Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.

Hawaii Coach Asks Media Not to Cover His 'Faggot' Slur, Apologizes

Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin repeatedly used an anti-gay slur at a media preview on Thursday and then attempted to persuade the media to not report on it, the Idaho Statesman reports:

"Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin said Thursday at the WAC media football preview that Notre Dame did 'this little faggot dance' at a banquet the night before last year’s Hawaii Bowl. McMackin used the term 'faggot' three times while explaining why Notre Dame was so fired up to play Hawaii in the game, which the Fighting Irish won 49-21. McMackin responded to the Notre Dame clapping tradition by having his players do the ha’a, an intense Polynesian dance and chant the Warriors do before games. McMackin said Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis got up at the banquet and told the crowd, 'We do something special at Notre Dame.' 'And they get up and they do this little cheer, like this,' McMackin said Thursday, doing a rhythmic clap. 'You know, this little faggot dance.' Once McMackin saw Notre Dame’s team demonstration, he gave his players the signal — the shaka — to do their ha’a."

McMackin apparently pleaded with the press not to report on the slur: "I want to officially, officially apologize...Please don’t write that statement I said as far as Notre Dame. The reason is, I don’t care about Notre Dame. But I’m not a — I don’t want to come out and have every homosexual ticked off at me. You know what I mean. Because I don’t have any problem with homosexuals. But I apologize for saying that and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t run that word. If you said dance, that’s OK. But don’t use the bad term that I chose, please. Thank you."

The paper adds:
"Once it was clear that McMackin’s comments would be reported, he made another statement to the media. 'I would sincerely like to apologize for the inappropriate verbage, words that I used,' he said. '… I’m really ticked off at myself for saying that. I don’t have any prejudices and it really makes me mad that I even said that and I’m disappointed in myself. … What I was trying to do was be funny and it’s not funny and even more it isn’t funny to me. I was trying to make a joke and it was a bad choice of words and I really — I really, really — feel bad about it and I wanted to apologize. I’m going to apologize to my team. I’m going to apologize to the people in Hawaii.' A Notre Dame spokesman said the school likely would not comment."

NOM's Newest Ally: Santorum

Rick Santorum hasn't been a senator in over two years -- Pennsylvanians booted the right-wing Republican from office in 2006 -- but that hasn't stopped the National Organization for Marriage from enlisting him to further their campaign against marriage equality.

Santorum sent an e-mail blast to conservative supporters asking for help to stop President Obama promised repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. Under the logo of the National Organization for Marriage and their campaign "2 Million for Marriage," Santorum asked, "I need you to be one of 2 million Americans working to STOP Washington from repealing the Defense of Marriage Act. Will you help?"

The former senator, who has publicly compared gay relations to bestiality, warned that ending DOMA could lead to same-sex marriage spreading like a "grassfire... across America." Santorum goes on to say that same-sex marriage is being pushed by the gay elite and Hollywood insiders and that, "This elite has been plotting to take away our right to define marriage as a husband and a wife... and then to use legalized gay marriage to indoctrinate our children in school."

At the end of the missive, Santorum implores his readers to lobby Congress, donate money for antigay commercials, and "recruit" millions to the cause.

Domestic Partner Bill Passes House Subcommittee

A bill that would grant spousal health benefits to domestic partners of federal employees cleared a House subcommittee today by a five to three vote. In June, President Obama granted some benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers but said he could not grant full benefits without legislation.

The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act would, in addition to health benefits, extend retirement and disability plans and life insurance to same-sex partners.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

About Being Transgender

Anglican Church may have ’two track’ structure to support gays


The worldwide Anglican Communion may have to accept a "two track" system in which churches can hold different opinions about gay clergy and same-sex unions, the Archbishop of Canterbury said Monday in a bid to keep the church unified.

Rowan Williams outlined his thoughts on the future of the deeply divided church body on his Web site in response to the recently completed General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the communion’s U.S. branch.

At the meeting, Episcopalians authorized bishops to bless same-sex unions and research an official prayer for the ceremonies. The church also voted to effectively drop a pledge that it would act with "restraint" when considering any more openly gay candidates for bishop.

The moves dismayed more traditional Anglicans, and Williams, the communion’s spiritual leader, is now trying to keep the communion unified.

He wrote that "a blessing for a same-sex union cannot have the authority of the Church Catholic, or even of the Communion as a whole," but suggested there may have to be a "two-track" model where the church allowed different viewpoints on certain issues.

He said there could be "two styles of being Anglican, whose mutual relation will certainly need working out, but which would not exclude co-operation in mission and service of the kind now shared in the Communion." He urged that such an arrangement not be spoken of "in apocalyptic terms of schism and excommunication."

The 77 million-member Anglican Communion is the third-largest grouping of Christian churches worldwide, behind the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches.

The Episcopal Church caused an uproar among some Anglicans in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, and Williams has struggled since to keep the church from splitting.

Four conservative U.S. dioceses and dozens of individual Episcopal parishes have voted to leave the national denomination since 2003. Many have affiliated with like-minded overseas Anglican leaders. The Anglican Church of Nigeria started a Convocation of Anglicans in North America, including breakaway Episcopal churches in Virginia.

Anglican leaders had pressed Episcopalians for a moratorium on electing more gay bishops, and asked the church not to develop an official prayer for same-gender couples.

But the Episcopal Church noted last week that a growing number of U.S. states allow gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, and gave bishops in those regions discretion to provide a "generous pastoral response" to couples in local parishes.Williams said in his article that homophobic violence and prejudice was "sinful and disgraceful," but that the church’s Bible-based teachings on homosexuality could not be overturned easily. He compared the state of those in gay relationships to heterosexual couples living together without being married.
"Whatever the human respect and pastoral sensitivities such persons must be given, their chosen lifestyle is not one that the Church’s teaching sanctions," he wrote.

Williams’ article drew a mixed response in the U.S.

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, the Episcopal gay advocacy group, said she was disappointed that Williams portrayed the U.S. moves toward inclusion for gays and lesbians as "solely a political or rights-based position" when the Episcopal Church has cited a theological basis. But she welcomed keeping the communion together in a way that would not classify branches as superior or inferior.

"What the archbishop is really stating is the reality: that the structures that have served the Anglican Communion historically need some work," Russell said. "The 21st century is different than the 16th century."

Canon Kendall Harmon, a traditionalist leader in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, said while there are positives in Williams’ latest attempt to hold the Communion together, the Anglican leader left unanswered key questions about how a two-tiered system would function.
"It’s going to increase the chaos in the province of the American church, and in the Anglican Communion," Harmon said.

With Line-Item Vetoes, Schwarzenegger Wipes Out CA AIDS Services

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a revised budget in the amount of $85 million after "additional cuts to child welfare programs, health care for the poor and AIDS prevention efforts."

Rex Wockner says the Governator "decimated" AIDS services. He explains:

"Although the cuts curtailed state funding for HIV-related education (an 80% cut), prevention (80% cut), counseling (70% cut), testing (70%), primary medical care (50%), home care (50%) and housing (20%), one cut stood out in particular: the termination of all funding for the Office of AIDS' Therapeutic Monitoring Program. For some 35,000 working- and middle-class Californians whose HIV care is paid for by the state, that program pays for viral-load testing and drug-resistance testing. Viral-load testing is mandatory in HIV care, as it is the only way to determine if a particular HIV drug cocktail is working in a given patient. Drug-resistance testing comes into play when a drug cocktail that had been working stops working in a given patient. The two types of testing together guide a doctor in getting a patient on a new drug cocktail so the patient's viral load again becomes undetectable. Patients whose viral load is undetectable are very unlikely to develop deadly HIV-related opportunistic infections, and they are dramatically less infectious than those whose virus is not suppressed."

Tennessee state senator quits after affair with intern

A Tennessee lawmaker resigned from the state Senate on Tuesday after his extramarital affair with a 22-year-old intern was revealed by an investigation into an extortion case.

“Due to recent events, I have decided to focus my full attention on my family and resign my Senate seat effective August 10,” Republican Sen. Paul Stanley wrote in his resignation letter.

Court records show that Stanley, 47, told agents investigating a blackmail case that he had a sexual relationship with intern McKensie Morrison. Her boyfriend, Joel Watts, is charged with trying to extort $10,000 from Stanley in April. Investigators say Watts demanded the money in exchange for not releasing to the media explicit photos of Morrison that Stanley had taken in what appears to be Stanley’s apartment.

The senator, a married father of two who represents suburban Memphis, had signaled he would remain in the legislature, but he said Tuesday that he decided to step down about an hour before submitting his resignation letter. Stanley, who was elected to the Senate in 2006 after serving six years in the state House, had resigned last week as chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee.

A special election will be held to fill the seat in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Stanley’s legislative proposals were largely focused on pro-business issues, but he also sponsored failed measures to ban gay couples from adopting children. He also spoke out against funding for Planned Parenthood because he said unmarried people should not have sex.

“Whatever I stood for and advocated, I still believe to be true,” he said during an interview Tuesday with Memphis radio station WREC-AM. “And just because I fell far short of what God’s standard was for me and my wife, doesn’t mean that that standard is reduced in the least bit.”

Morrison’s phone numbers are redacted from her legislative internship application, and efforts to reach her were unsuccessful Tuesday. Her father said he didn’t want to talk about the situation.

“It’s a family matter, and I’m going to approach it that way,” Will Morrison said.

According to court records, Morrison is married to a man who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Florida but that he has filed for divorce.

Watts said in an interview with a Nashville TV station last week that he blamed Stanley for taking advantage of Morrison

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

GAY FOES HALT IMPLEMENTATION OF WASHINGTON DOMESTIC PARTNER LAW

Washington's domestic partnerships law, scheduled to go into effect on Sunday, was blocked by anti-gay activists who turned in signatures for Referendum 71 on Saturday. If enough are valid, the referendum will be put on the ballot and would repeal the "everything but marriage" measure.

"The signatures for Referendum 71 were turned in to the Washington state secretary of state's office Saturday afternoon. The new expanded domestic partnership law was scheduled to take effect Sunday, but is now delayed until the signatures can be counted. To qualify for the November ballot, they must have 120,577 valid voter signatures, and election officials have suggested that referendum sponsors turn in about 150,000 as a buffer. If they have enough signatures, the law will be delayed until the outcome of the election. The signatures were turned in a day after opponents of the new law announced a final push to force a public vote, calling their effort so far 'too close to call.' In a statement to supporters, organizers of the Referendum 71 campaign said that it was "too close to call" and that they needed people to show up on Saturday at the Capitol to turn in their signatures. The new 'everything but marriage' expansion of domestic partnerships is scheduled to take effect Sunday, but the law will be delayed if referendum sponsors turn in their petitions."

Some folks are claiming that Referendum 71 backers used fraudulent methods to obtain signatures. Driving Equality blog claims to have evidence of it on video.

Odds are federal marriage lawsuits could deliver surprise win

The shocker at the Kentucky Derby this year was that a little known horse with 50 to 1 odds came in first. Lawsuits, too, have odds, though not the type that translates into numbers.

They can have a greater chance of success or failure due to which court they are filed in; which judge is randomly assigned to the case; the scope of the issue it challenges; what arguments the lawyers use to make their cases; and, of course, which lawyers have filed the lawsuit and which are lined up to oppose it.

Thus the five lawsuits filed in federal courts seeking marriage rights for same-sex couples face varying odds of success. Ultimately, it will come down to whether the lawyers pushing the cases can convince five members of the Supreme Court to side with them.

LGBT legal activists, who have been very picky about what lawsuits they enter into which courts, have long considered going the federal legal route risky. With a couple of notable exceptions, they have limited their legal action in the past 25 years to state courts, specifically, in states where the overall climate for LGBT people is considered friendly, like Massachusetts, California and Connecticut.

Their thinking, generally, has been that conditions at the U.S. Supreme Court aren’t favorable for winning any pro-gay decisions. But gay legal organizations do not control the field when it comes to gay-related lawsuits. Sometimes, other lawyers mount lawsuits; and sometimes - like during last week’s confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor - other interested parties try to call the race over, done, and lost.

It was only after much study and deliberation that Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders finally mounted a legal challenge this year of the 13-year-old Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court. The lawsuit is a very narrow, "very mainstream" challenge, noted lead attorney Mary Bonauto. It tackles only part of one section of DOMA that applies to federal tax laws, Social Security and retirement laws, and other federal benefits available to married couples.

Larry Craig, Former Republican Senator, Opens Consulting Firm

Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig has opened a consulting firm and says he's focusing on energy issues.

The Idaho Republican served 18 years in the Senate and 10 in the House. He has an office in Eagle, in southwest Idaho, and another in Washington, D.C.

In January, Craig formed New West Strategies LLC with his former chief of staff, Mike Ware.
Craig says the firm has four clients, including Blackfoot-based Premier Technology, a construction management company with clients that include the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.

Craig didn't run for re-election last November.

In 2007, he was arrested by an undercover police officer conducting a sting operation against men cruising for sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Nadler Details DOMA Repeal

Rep. Jerrold Nadler has told the Bay Area Reporter that the Defense of Marriage Act repeal bill will only recognize married same-sex couples, not those in a civil union or domestic partnership. But the proposed DOMA legislation will be a wholesale repeal of the act.

"It will not include domestic partnerships or civil unions. It is going to be just marriage," said Nadler, who will be the lead sponsor of the bill and chairs the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

Section 2 of DOMA allows states to disregard same-sex marriages that have been legally performed in other states, and Section 3 prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. According to Nadler, his bill would repeal both sections.

But even with the repeal of Section 2, legal scholars say the bill would not require hostile states to recognize same-sex marriages for state-law purposes.

"While repealing the 'full faith and credit' portions of the Defense of Marriage Act is very important for a number of reasons, it will not have the dramatic and far-reaching effect of 'imposing' same-sex marriage upon other states, as many on both sides of the debate often assume," writes Tobias Wolff, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Pennsylvania.
Nadler said "the time for dumping DOMA is long overdue" but added that he did not know what type of support the legislation would garner. "We have to see what reaction we get. It won't pass this year."

Nadler expects to introduce the bill either this week or after lawmakers return from their August recess.

Backers of Gay Marriage Rethink California Push

Discouraged by stubborn poll numbers and pessimistic political consultants, major financial backers of same-sex marriage are cautioning gay rights groups to delay a campaign to overturn California’s ban on such unions until at least 2012.

Earlier this year, many supporters of same-sex marriage seemed eager to mount a 2010 campaign to overturn Proposition 8, which was passed by California voters in November and defined marriage as “between a man and a woman.”

But the timing of another campaign has since been questioned by several of the movement’s big donors, including David Bohnett, a millionaire philanthropist and technology entrepreneur who gave more than $1 million to the unsuccessful campaign to defeat Proposition 8.

“In conversations with a number of my fellow major No on 8 donors,” Mr. Bohnett said in an e-mail message, “I find that they share my sentiment: namely, that we will step up to the plate — with resources and talent — when the time is right.”

“The only thing worse than losing in 2008,” he added, “would be to lose again in 2010.”

The issue of when to go back to the polls was also the central topic at a contentious “leadership summit” held Saturday at a church in San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles, where about 200 gay rights advocates gathered to discuss their next step. It was the second large meeting of gay leaders since late May when the California Supreme Court ruled against a legal challenge to Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the vote.

Shortly after the court’s decision, officials at Equality California, one of the largest gay rights groups in California, issued an online plea for donations for a possible 2010 campaign, citing a need to capitalize on anger over the decision and on the seeming momentum from the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in several other states.

But that thinking has apparently evolved.

Marc Solomon, marriage director for Equality California, said he spent June and early July asking the opinions of nearly two dozen California political consultants and pollsters and had been surprised by the almost unanimous opinion that a 2010 race was a bad idea.

“I expected having watched the protests and the real pain that the L.G.B.T. community had experienced that there would be some real measurable remorse in the electorate,” Mr. Solomon said, referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. “But if you look at the poll numbers since November, they really haven’t moved at all.”

A major factor in any California balloting, of course, is money; campaigns here are remarkably expensive, with a number of costly media markets. The Proposition 8 campaign, for example, cost more than $80 million, with opponents spending some $43 million.

Sarah Callahan, chief operating officer of the Courage Campaign, a 700,000-member advocacy group in Los Angeles, told the gathering on Saturday that the two critical elements to persuade donors were organization and a winning plan. “No one is going to invest in chaos,” Ms. Callahan said, adding, “The money will come if you can show you can win.”

With less than 16 months until possible voting in 2010, Mr. Solomon said several major donors seemed skeptical that there was enough time.


“And we know without significant investments early on, its going to be extremely difficult to move people,” he said.

The argument against 2010 was expressed by a new coalition of groups known as Prepare to Prevail, which announced in a statement on July 13 that going back to the ballot next year “would be rushed and risky.”

“We should proceed with a costly, demanding and high-stakes electoral campaign of this sort only when we are confident we can win,” the statement read.

The issue of timing has increasingly divided gay rights advocates, with larger, more established groups seemingly favoring a more cautious approach and grass-roots groups — some of them formed since the November election — more vocal in support of a quick return to the polls.

John M. Cleary, president of a Los Angeles group called the Stonewall Democratic Club, said many younger activists were particularly eager to fight Proposition 8. “I find the language of some of the organizations really self-defeating,” Mr. Cleary said. “And I think we have a moral obligation to overturn this.”

He and others who support a 2010 campaign say they have a number of factors in their favor, including a newly galvanized base, a decline in advertising costs in a depressed television market and two potential Democratic candidates for governor — Attorney General Jerry Brown and Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco — who have been outspoken in support of same-sex marriage.

But some national leaders are dismissive of such arguments.
“A slapdash effort based on wishful thinking, rosy scenarios, and passion, is not enough to win on,” said Hans Johnson, a board member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Under California law, language for a 2010 proposition would need to be submitted to the secretary of state by late September, and then some 700,000 signatures gathered to qualify for the ballot.

Opponents of the 2010 campaign say that window is simply too small to change the opinions of enough voters to win, including groups in which Proposition 8 was popular, like African-Americans, religious conservatives and the elderly.

“What we’ve learned is that yes, you can change hearts and minds, but it takes time, focused energy, and money,” said Matt Foreman, the program director of the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, a frequent donor to gay rights causes. “And once a measure is on the ballot and the campaign begins, its almost impossible to change anyone’s mind, because people are being bombarded with lies.”

For opponents of same-sex marriage, meanwhile, the debate among gay rights advocates has been entertaining.

“The other side has said they will not move forward with an initiative until they are sure they can win,” said Frank Schubert, a spokesman for ProtectMarriage.com, the leading group behind Proposition 8. “That day is not going to come.”

Mr. Bohnett, as a major donor to the previous fight against the measure, suggested that one benchmark for giving to another campaign would be higher poll numbers for the issue. Support for same-sex marriage in California is currently in the high 40s, short of a majority.

“Short of winning with 60 percent or more of the vote,” Mr. Bohnett said in his e-mail message, “we will be subject to another initiative to overturn marriage equality, and our resources are better deployed elsewhere.”

Other donors have also expressed trepidation. Leonie Walker and her partner, Kate O’Hanlan, run a laparoscopic surgery practice in Portola Valley, Calif., and donated more than $100,000 to fight Proposition 8. Ms. Walker said she and Ms. O’Hanlan had “no regrets” about their 2008 donations, but would hope for a better result if they were to give money to another campaign.

“I don’t know that you could convince us right now that 2010 is a good investment,” Ms. Walker said. “I wish it wasn’t so, but that’s just how it is right now.”

Archbishop of Canterbury: "No Gays"

A divide between the British Anglican Church and the American Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of Anglicanism, on the issue of affirming homosexuality has the Archbishop of Canterbury warning that the ordination of gay clergy could lead to a “two-tier” church and potentially a rift in the Anglican Communion.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in a statement released yesterday that while no Anglican has any business reinforcing prejudice against LGBT people, nor questioning their human dignity and civil liberties, he stands behind Anglican tradition with regard to homosexuality:

“Prejudice and violence against LGBT people are sinful and disgraceful when society at large is intolerant of such people; if the Church has echoed the harshness of the law and of popular bigotry -- as it so often has done -- and justified itself by pointing to what society took for granted, it has been wrong to do so.

But on the same basis, if society changes its attitudes, that change does not of itself count as a reason for the Church to change its discipline.”

The ongoing split has many on both sides of the debate closely monitoring these developments.

Just a few weeks ago, bishops at the Episcopal General Convention passed D025, a bill favoring the ordination of gays and lesbians to all levels of ministry. In 2003, openly gay New Hampshire bishop Gene Robinson was ordained in a decision that nearly led the U.S. Episcopal Church to the brink of schism. Several local dioceses have since split from the U.S. body to affiliate with more conservative Anglican bodies abroad.

“This is not a matter that can be wholly determined by what society at large considers usual or acceptable or determines to be legal,” Williams added.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Are Scientologists Threatening to Out John Travolta if He Leaves?

The Daily Mail reports that John Travolta has been in a state of crisis since the death of his son Jett:

Say neighbors: "We often see John driving himself around at night. It's sad to see. You rarely catch sight of him during the day. We used to see him driving around on a buggy with his son. Now it's just John by himself. He's always been a night owl, but now even more so."

According to the paper, Travolta's faith in Scientology has been broken by Jett's death and the religion's inability to help his son, but the cult is threatening to expose him if he tries to kiss it good-bye:

"But if rumours buzzing around Hollywood this week are to be believed, it's not just the death of his beloved son that has been torturing Travolta of late. His distress, say sources close to him, has been compounded by the first cracks in his 34-year relationship with the Church of Scientology, the cult-like religion of which Travolta is a prominent and generous benefactor. And there are dark mutterings that if he carries out private threats to leave, the organisation will go public with embarrassing details of his private life, including, it is claimed, allegations of past homosexual relationships."

Senate To Hold DADT Hearings

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is announcing Monday that the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings this fall on "don't ask, don't tell" -- the first ever held in the Senate since the military's gay ban was instituted in 1993. The House held hearings in the summer of 2008.

Gillibrand secured the pledge from the Armed Services Committee Chairman, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, but a repeal bill has yet to be introduced in the Senate.

“This policy is wrong for our national security and wrong for the moral foundation upon which our country was founded,’” Senator Gillibrand said in a statement. “I thank Chairman Levin for agreeing to hold this important hearing. Numerous military leaders are telling us that the times have changed. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an unfair, outdated measure that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women. By repealing this policy, we will increase America’s strength – both militarily and morally.”

Gillibrand had been considering offering an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill that would have suspended discharges for the balance of the 111th Congress, but she determined that she did not have the 60 votes necessary to successfully attach the measure.

Washington gay partnership foes turn in signatures

Sponsors of a campaign to overturn Washington state’s domestic partnership law turned in their petition signatures Saturday and said they believe they have enough to force a public vote.

The expanded “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law was scheduled to take effect Sunday, but is now delayed until the signatures can be counted, a process that could take up to a month.

To qualify for the November ballot, supporters of Referendum 71 must have 120,577 voter signatures. Supporters say they have about 138,000 signatures.

“I feel our signatures are pretty clean,” said campaign spokesman Gary Randall.

If they have enough signatures, the law will be delayed until the outcome of the referendum. If they fall short, the domestic partnership expansion will immediately take effect.

The signatures were turned in a day after opponents of the new law announced a final push to force a public vote, calling their effort “too close to call” and asking people to show up on Saturday at the Capitol to turn in their signatures to the secretary of state’s office.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Maine campaign heats up

With the prospect of a November referendum on same-sex marriage in Maine all but certain, pro-equality advocates are gearing up for a bruising battle to preserve the state’s marriage equality bill, signed by Gov. John Baldacci in May. Since January, Maine Freedom to Marry has been ramping up a vast field campaign to identify pro-equality voters. Without a presidential or gubernatorial race to bring voters out, Maine Freedom to Marry campaign manager Jesse Connolly said grassroots fieldwork is essential to finding voters who support marriage equality and to turning them out at the polls on Election Day.

"This campaign is really about having one-on-one conversations with Maine voters. ... We’re raising money, we’re building a campaign, but we’re really excited about this great work the field effort has been doing," said Connolly.

Yet campaign finance reports suggest that pro-equality advocates may face an uphill battle. Thus far, anti-gay activists have outpaced pro-equality advocates in fundraising. Much of that money has come from the national religious right organizations that backed the successful campaign to pass California’s Proposition 8 last year. The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices released campaign finance reports this month for both Stand for Marriage Maine, working to overturn the marriage equality bill, and Maine Freedom to Marry, working to preserve it. Stand for Marriage has raised more than twice as much money as Maine Freedom to Marry. Among the top Stand for Marriage donors were anti-gay activist Maggie Gallagher’s National Organization for Marriage, the religious right powerhouse Focus on the Family, and the national Knights of Columbus. Those three organizations raised $241,000 of the total $344,000 that Stand for Marriage brought in between April and mid-July.


Maine bishop vows to help bring gay marriage to vote in November

The spiritual leader of Maine’s 200,000 Roman Catholics has pledged his diocese’s help in bringing the state’s gay marriage law to a vote in November.

Bishop Richard Malone also called the law "a dangerous sociological experiment" that will have negative consequences for society. Malone said marriage as it’s been known for millennia "has served as the cornerstone of society." In a statement, Malone also expresses concern over the law’s effect on teachings about same-sex marriage in schools.

Gov. John Baldacci signed the same-sex marriage bill last week. Opponents quickly filed a challenge through Maine’s people’s veto process.

Malone said the Catholic Diocese will work closely with a number of partners to bring the issue to Maine voters.

Dallas Episcopal Bishop: No Gay Unions

The leader of the Episcopal diocese in Dallas refuses to acknowledge recent church moves that he calls a "green light" to the blessing of same-sex marriage, reports the Dallas Morning News.

Bishop James Stanton responded to votes earlier this month at the general convention, where the Episcopal Church officially approved bishops living openly with same-sex partners, and agreed to develop a "generous pastoral response" for same-sex marriages in states where it is legal. The church stopped short of authorizing rights for same-sex marriages.

Stanton, a theological conservative, sent a letter to clergy in which he affirmed the "primacy of scripture, the sanctity of marriage and the call to holiness of life," according to the Dallas Morning News.

In 2008, the nearby Fort Wort diocese voted to leave the Episcopal Church in part because of its stance on gay clergy. The debate was sparked by the 2003 consecration of the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson in New Hampshire.

Pat Robertson on the Episcopal Church:
"They have lost their way. They were taken over by this controversy having to do with same-sex marriage and the ordination of homosexual bishops. Once they got into that morass and lost their way from scriptural teaching, they didn't have much denomination left... And there will be no tears in my life if the Episcopal Church of America just quietly goes out of business."

Cat Cora gives birth.

Iron Chef Cat Cora gave birth to a boy this week. She was carrying a baby conceived with her partner Jennifer's egg. Jennifer, meanwhile, gave birth to a boy in April, conceived with Cat's egg.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Kiss-Ins Continue Near LDS Temple

LGBT activists on Sunday continued their series of kiss-ins to protest the treatment of a gay couple detained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for kissing on church property in Salt Lake City, reports the Associated Press.

Some 100 gay and straight couples gathered to exchange kisses on Main Street Plaza near the Mormon Church temple, where antigay demonstrators greeted them. Shouting ensued, but no arrests were reported.

Matt Aune and his partner, Derek Jones, say they exchanged a kiss on the check at the church-owned plaza on July 9, which prompted security guards to detain them for “unwanted behavior” and call the police. Aune and Jones were cited for trespassing.

However, church spokeswoman Kim Farah described the couple’s behavior as “lewd” in a statement issued on Friday, according to the AP.

"There was much more involved that a simple kiss of the cheek," Farah said. "They engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol."

Friday, July 24, 2009

California Now Home to 50,000 Solar Panel Installations


California has been a leading light for solar power for quite some time--but now it's leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the nation. Over the last ten years, the number of solar power installations in the Golden State have grown from 500 to 50,000. It now accounts for a whopping two thirds of the solar power capacity of the entire US

Why can't the GOP get this right?



Remember North Carolina GOP Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, who said in April that it was a hoax that Matthew Shepard's murder was motivated by his sexual orientation?

She let a bit more of her brilliance shine this week on the House floor (topic not noted) when she stumbled over an adage (flubbed famously as well by George W. Bush), saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you."

I will give her some points for her skilled use of the pen for emphasis.

More Family Values (Tennessee Style)

Senator Paul Stanley, champion of "family values," has been caught in a sex-and-blackmail scandal involving an intern.

It seems the intern's boyfriend found the sex tape she made with Stanley, so decided to blackmail the senator. Naturally, Stanley is the same guy who, among other things, fought to keep gays and lesbians from adopting.

He should be real proud of himself. At least it was a heterosexual affair.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Time After Time!

San Diegans Plan Mormon Temple Kiss-In

A gay rights group in San Diego is planning a mass kissing demonstration in front of the city’s Mormon Temple to show support for a gay couple cited for trespassing in Utah when they were caught kissing on church property.

This is the third kissing demonstration that has been held since Matt Aune and Derek Jones were cited for trespassing on the church-owned Main Street Plaza on July 9 in Salt Lake City.

The couple was cited because they refused to leave the property when security guards told them their behavior was inappropriate.

Previous kiss-ins were both held outside the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City.

Representatives from San Diego’s Empowering Spirits Foundation say they are arranging the kiss-in as a peaceful ally to encourage a dialogue between the Mormon Church and the gay community.

CA Bill Proposes Marriage Recognition

Out California senator Mark Leno introduced a bill that could lead to the recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages. Senate Bill 54 faces strong opposition from lawmakers who say voters have already defined marriage in the republic.

Further attempts at equality, they say, try to undermine the voice of voters and the democratic process more broadly.

Leno, however, said that because the state's supreme court upheld the estimated 18,000 marriages performed before the ban and explicitly refused to outline a policy relating to out-of-state marriages, the responsibility of legislative clarification falls to the legislature. According to The Sacramento Bee, the bill passed along party lines in the assembly's judiciary committee with seven Democrats supporting and three Republicans against.

It must now go to the assembly floor for a full vote before it heads to the senate.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The Episcopal Clergy Vote is an Important One for Gays

It doesn't matter if you attend religious services weekly or if you have fallen away, if you're atheist or agnostic, if you think religion is the opiate of the people or the road to peace - established religion in America is an important force.

So when the bishops of the Episcopal Church voted this week to affirm gay clergy, it was an important move.

Ever since 2003, when the openly gay Gene Robinson was consecrated as a bishop, the 77-million member Anglican communion -- the worldwide body of which the Episcopal Church is a part -- has been threatened with schism.

Three years ago, there was a moratorium on future elevation of gay bishops until the issue could be more carefully considered. The gay Episcopal group Integrity says that this week's vote effectively ends the ban, though others say that it just affirmed what was already the case, that gays and lesbians are a full part of the Episcopal Church.

Last month, conservative breakaway churches in the U.S. formed their own Anglican group aligned with more conservative South American and African diocese. Called the Anglican Church in North America, they have a paltry 100,000 members compared with 2 million Episcopalians -- yet if the international Anglican groups choose to align with them instead, that could change.

For now, however, their absence has led to a more liberal Episcopal Church. A committee this week voted that the Episcopal Church should also permit the blessing of same-sex couples, though the full body won't vote on it until later this week. When it came to testifying in favor of the measure, 50 people did so -- only six testified against it.

All of this might seem like inside baseball to you if you're not Episcopalian, even more so if you're not Christian or not religious at all.

But it is important to all of us who support gay and lesbian rights, for a couple reasons.
First, the Episcopal Church is seen as the canary in the coal mine by other mainline Protestant Churches. They are waiting to see if accepting gays and lesbians as full members of the church will lead to a breaking away from the international church, or whether different views will be able to co-exist happily.

If the Anglican fellowship survives with an inclusive Episcopal Church, it might lead other denominations -- Lutherans, Presbyterians -- to follow the example of the United Church of Christ and become fully inclusive of gays and lesbians as well.

And once all Mainline Protestant churches start approving of gay marriage, it will be very difficult for politicians and anti-marriage advocates to make a religious argument against gay marriage, since it will be even more clear that not all denominations agree on this issues.

Secondly, however, the entire issue points out something that those of us who are American gays and lesbians often forget: the rights (or lack thereof) of gays and lesbians internationally has an effect on us here at home.

There is the threat of a schism because gays and lesbians in many parts of South America and Africa (South Africa being the notable, progressive exception) lag behind their American counterparts when it comes to how they are viewed by their societies. If gays and lesbians were seen as nearly equal in those parts of the world, we would have more rights in the U.S. now.

That is, mainline churches would have accepted us already -- which would lead to more pressure on politicians -- which would lead to a quicker change in our laws.

Gay and lesbian rights at home are affected by gay and lesbian rights abroad.

A gay rights battle in one place -- whether that place is within the Episcopal Church or in a city in Africa -- affects gay rights in every other place.

We will not have full equality here until gays and lesbians have equality everywhere.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Obama to NAACP: Anti-Gay Discrimination Has No Place in America



Discrimination is felt "by African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion for simply kneeling down to pray. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights."

Once-Trendy Crocs Could Be on Their Last Legs

Crocs were born of the economic boom.

The colorful foam clogs appeared in 2002, just as the country was recovering from a recession. Brash and bright, they were a cheap investment (about $30) that felt good and promised to last forever. Former president George W. Bush wore them. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler wore them. Your grandma wore them. They roared along with the economy, mocked by the fashion world but selling 100 million pairs in seven years.

Then the boom times went bust, and Crocs went to the back of the closet.

The company had expanded to meet demand, but financially pressed customers cut back. Last year the company lost $185.1 million, slashed roughly 2,000 jobs and scrambled to find money to pay down millions in debt. Now it's stuck with a surplus of shoes, and its auditors have wondered if it can stay afloat. It has until the end of September to pay off its debt.


[Hopefully, Uggs will be the next victim!]

Episcopal Bishops OK Same-Sex Union Blessing

Episcopal bishops authorized the church Wednesday to start drafting an official prayer for same-sex couples, another step toward acceptance of gay relationships that will deepen the rift between the denomination and its fellow Anglicans overseas.

The bishops voted 104-30 at the Episcopal General Convention to "collect and develop theological resources and liturgies" for blessing same-gender relationships, which would be considered at the next national meeting in 2012.

The resolution notes the growing number of states that allow gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, and gave bishops in those regions discretion to provide a "generous pastoral response" to couples in local parishes.
Many Episcopal dioceses already allow clergy to bless same-sex couples but there is no official liturgy for the ceremonies in the denomination’s Book of Prayer. The measure still needs the approval of the lay people and priest delegates at the assembly, which ends Friday.

"We certainly feel a deep need to be able to proclaim the love of God in the midst of a changing reality," said Suffragan Bishop James Curry of the Diocese of Connecticut, one of six states that are legalizing same-gender marriage.

A day earlier, the convention had declared gays and lesbians eligible for "any ordained ministry," even though Anglican leaders had sought a clear moratorium on consecrating another gay bishop. The vote effectively lifted a self-imposed Episcopal pledge from three years ago to use "restraint" in approving another bishop in a same-sex relationship.

The Episcopal Church, which is the Anglican body in the U.S., caused an uproar in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

To calm tensions and keep the global Anglican Communion together, Anglican leaders five years ago pressed Episcopalians for a temporary ban on electing gay bishops, and asked that the church refrain from developing an official prayer service for same-sex couples.

At the start of the convention last week, the Anglican spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, told delegates, "I hope and pray that there won’t be decisions in the coming days that could push us further apart."

A spokeswoman for Williams said Wednesday that he would not comment.

The 77 million-member communion is the third-largest grouping of churches worldwide, behind Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches.

Most overseas Anglicans believe Scripture bars same-sex relationships and disagree with how liberals interpret the Bible on a wide range of issues. Liberal Anglicans emphasize biblical social justice teachings and believe their fellowship can contain conflicting views.

Last month, breakaway Episcopal conservatives and other like-minded traditionalists formed a rival national province to the Episcopal Church called the Anglican Church in North America.
The new body includes four seceding Episcopal dioceses and is supported by several overseas Anglican leaders who have broken ties with the Episcopal Church.

Episcopal conservatives who have stayed with the denomination lamented the latest votes and predicted the already splintering Anglican fellowship would fracture.

"For many, this is the final straw with members of the wider Anglican Communion," said Bishop William Love of Albany, N.Y. "It’s breaking my heart to see the church destroy itself in the manner in which we seem to be doing."

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Vatican-funded Group Comes Out for Equality

The chief executive of Marriage Care, a marriage counseling organization partly funded by the Catholic Church, voiced his dissent with the Vatican’s teaching that same-sex couples are unfit to raise children.

Terry Prendergast, the chief executive of the organization, pointed out that same-sex couples who lead good lives, follow the church’s gospel, and raise children healthfully are nonetheless continuously “consigned to the dustbin,” the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper reports.

Prendergast added the families are advertisements for the church but are often disregarded. He will present these statements when he addresses Quest, a group of gay Catholics.

A church spokesperson for England and Wales rebuffed Prendergast’s comments, telling the Herald Catholic, “Defining ‘family’ is a notoriously difficult task. Yet the views expressed by Terry Prendergast about the definition of family and marriage are clearly not a reflection of the Church's teaching, nor those of the Bishops’ Conference.”

Saturday, July 18, 2009

California Removed From DOMA Suit

A federal judge on Thursday agreed to remove the state of California as a defendant in a lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, reports the Associated Press.

U.S. District Judge David Carter said that California is no longer an appropriate defendant in the case brought by plaintiffs Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer against the state and the federal government. He agreed to remove California because the plaintiffs were legally married in the state last year, before voters approved the same-sex marriage ban.
Judge Carter acted in response to a request from California attorney general Jerry Brown.

The U.S. government remains a defendant in the case. In June, the government filed a motion to dismiss the case, a move that defended the constitutionality of DOMA.

Friday, July 17, 2009

The Ladies of The View Take on Bruno

"Joe the Plumber -- You Can Quote Me -- Is A Dumbass"

Unprompted, McCain rails against the man her father's presidential campaign touted as an American everyman and made a showpiece in the weeks before the election. "Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass. He should stick to plumbing."

McCain also said she'd "be flattered to be considered the anti-Ann Coulter, the anti-Rush Limbaugh."

Author James Kirchick added in a blog post that there's still one controversial campaign figure McCain won't discuss: Interestingly, while McCain is more than happy to bash the man whom her father celebrated for weeks on end, the one part of the campaign McCain will not talk about is Sarah Palin.

Episcopal Church to Collect and Develop Liturgical Recognitions of Same-Sex Unions

The Episcopal Church has taken a step forward in recognizing same-sex marriages. By a vote of 104 to 30, the House of Bishops has just voted begin the “consideration of theological resources and liturgies for the blessing of same gender relationships” and to “collect and develop theological resources and design liturgies, and report to the 77th General Convention for further action.”

Wording:
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, that the 76th General Convention acknowledge the changing circumstances in the United States and in other nations, as legislation authorizing or forbidding marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian persons is passed in various civil jurisdictions that call for a renewed pastoral response from this Church and for an open procession for the consideration of theological resources and liturgies liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, collect and develop theological and liturgical resources and design liturgies, and report to the 77th General Convention for further action consideration; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, devise an open process for the conduct of its work inviting participation from provinces, dioceses, congregations, and individuals who are engaged in such theological work, and inviting theological reflection from throughout the Anglican Communion; and be it further

Resolved that bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same gender marriage civil unions or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church, and be it further

Resolved that this convention continue to honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality; and be it further

Resolved that the members of this church be encouraged to engage in this effort.

The House of Delegates will likely confirm the resolution. And the Episcopal Church will begin the process of determining precisely what liturgy will be used to bless same-sex unions. Further, it appears to me that the Church may have given permission to Bishops in marriage or domestic partner states to generously accommodate recognition and provide some blessing of such unions.

Pro-LGBT Health Reforms Emerge

The House version of the health reform legislation contains several pro-LGBT provisions, including one that would equalize the tax treatment for domestic-partner benefits.

The federal government currently views domestic-partner benefits as taxable income, which results in higher taxation of both employees who cover their same-sex partners and employers that offer such benefits.

Under the guidelines authored by Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington, enrolling a same-sex partner, a partner’s dependent children, or an employee’s adult children in employer-based benefits would carry no extra tax penalties. Supporters of the change hope that more medium to small businesses would offer the benefits if the complexities and additional tax burdens were eliminated.

“The whole premise behind domestic-partner benefits is equal pay for equal work and this will truly bring 100% equity in terms of taxation,” said David Smith, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Though the language was not included in Wednesday’s version of the health care legislation, revisions were made to the re-write presented for consideration Thursday in the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy.

But whether the provision will be included on the Senate side remains to be seen. New York senator Chuck Schumer, who is the lead sponsor of the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, also sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which presides over taxation policies. Although the Senate Finance Committee is aware of the issue, people close to the process say the provision’s fate in the Senate largely depends on how bipartisan their bill is.

“The prospects for inclusion of this fix in the Senate health bill will turn in significant measure on whether the Senate finance committee product is bipartisan,” said James Delaplane, a consultant working for the Human Rights Campaign. “The likelihood increases if it comes forth as more of a Democratic package.”

The policy change is also viewed favorably by some Republicans since it is generally seen as a pro-business proposition. For that reason, Delaplane believes that, even if it is excluded from the Senate version, it may not meet with stiff resistance if and when the House and Senate health bills are reconciled.

“The critical thing is that it come forward in one of the two bills,” he said. “If we get to that stage, there will be a reasonable opportunity to see it in the final bill that goes to the president.”

Of course, the prospect that a health reform bill of any kind will reach President Barack Obama’s desk remains an open question. The president is urging lawmakers to finalize a bill before the August recess, but Republicans and even some Democrats are balking at that timeline.

Other pro-LGBT provisions that have been included in the House health legislation include:
-inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in federal data collection and health disparity programs;
-early treatment for HIV under Medicaid, so that individuals do not have to receive an AIDS diagnosis before accessing coverage;
-protections for LGBT people from discrimination by insurance companies or health care providers based on personal characteristics that are unrelated to health care.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

White Men Can't Judge: Stewart Takes On Sotomayor's Confirmation Hearings

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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18th Ethics Complaint Filed Against Palin

Outgoing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is facing yet another ethics complaint – the 18th against her and the very thing that helped to prompt her resignation.

The latest complaint alleges she abused her office by accepting a salary and using state staff while campaigning outside Alaska for the vice presidency. It's the third complaint filed against the Republican since she announced July 3 that she was stepping down.

In her resignation speech, Palin said the array of ethics complaints was taking a personal toll and crippling her ability to govern. She officially leaves office July 26 and will be succeeded by Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.

In her complaint, Andree McLeod said that two days before Palin was named John McCain's running mate, she signed travel documents that stated "conclusion of state business." A similar document soon after the election stated "return to duty status."

McLeod said Palin's signature on the documents demonstrated a "willingness to forgo her duties as governor" to travel on the national campaign. She added that she filed the complaint now only because she was waiting for a final document from the state in response to a public records request.

McLeod said that given that temporary absence, Palin should have turned over the governor's responsibilities to Parnell as required by the state constitution.

"The reason this is so serious is because the transfer of power should have taken place but did not," McLeod said Tuesday.

Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, called the filing "another meritless complaint." He said Palin continued working regularly as governor even when she left the state on the national campaign.

California Groups: Hold Ballot Initiative Until 2012

Citing the need for more time to build resources and secure support among voters, a group of California LGBT rights organizations issued a statement on Monday saying that any effort to overturn Prop 8 through a ballot initiative should take place in 2012 rather than 2010, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The statement, called “Prepare to Prevail,” was issued by API Equality-LA, HONOR PAC and the Jordan Rustin Coalition, and signed by nearly 30 other organizations and individuals. Its first paragraph reads:

"Unlike Proposition 8 in 2008, any upcoming electoral campaign for marriage equality would be one of choice, not one of necessity in fending off an attack from religious-right foes. Timing is ours to determine. Going back to the ballot to remove the voter-imposed ban on same-sex marriage from the state constitution in 2010 would be rushed and risky. We should proceed with a costly, demanding, and high-stakes electoral campaign of this sort only when we are confident we can win. We should choose to Prepare to Prevail."

Not all groups agreed with the strategy to delay the effort to amend the state constitution to allow same-sex marriage, however. John Henning, executive director of Love Honor Cherish, told the Los Angeles Times that he believes a “majority of the community” favors going forward in 2010.

Marc Solomon, marriage director for Equality California, told the newspaper that his group would publicly announce its decision later this month whether to support a ballot initiative in 2010.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

All of the Baptized!

The House of Deputies reiterated its overwhelming support for the full inclusion of all the baptized in all orders of ministry by concurring with resolution DO25 as amended by the House of Bishops.

"Today's action put the 'Amen' at the end of one of the prayers we have prayed for an inclusive church--ending the BO33 'season' by stating unequivocally that the LGBT baptized can and will have equal access to ordination processes in the Episcopal Church," said the Reverend Susan Russell, president of Integrity USA."Our Lord told us that 'the truth will set us free'--and what this General Convention has done is to tell the truth that will set the Episcopal Church free for mission and ministry."

"We rejoice in this powerful witness to the Gospel and to God's inclusive love, and we urge the House of Bishops to continue in the spirit of truth and unity as they work on resolution C056 so that the General Convention will send us out from Anaheim with the same kind of clarity about the blessing of same-sex relationships."

Anderson Cooper Asks Obama About Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal

CNN Reports - NAACP: Still Has No Gay Rights Policy



While NAACP chairman Julian Bond managed to give a speech on gay equality that was arguably more moving than any gay leader has ever given, the black civil rights organization has no official position on same-sex marriage. As NAACP president Benjamin Todd Jealous tells it, they don't have a national stance on letting gays get married because there is not yet a consensus inside the org. Yes, they are pro-hate crimes legislation for gays. Yes, they are against bullying in schools that targets gay kids. And yes, they are against laws banning same-sex marriage, like Prop 8. But the "tense debate" over fully supporting our right to marry remains unresolved. This is problematic.

As Jealous tells it, he would rather keep the NAACP together as an agreeable unit than divide followers by taking a stance on marriage equality. The organization is more effective, he says, when it can act in unison with all its moving parts. This premise, of course, depends on what your definition of "effective" is.

Integrity Press Release on today's action in the House of Bishops:

By a nearly 2-1 margin, the bishops of the Episcopal Church passed an amended version of resolution D025, which effectively ends the “BO33 Era” and returns the church to relying on its canons and discernment processes for the election of bishops.

“While concurrence on the amended resolution by the House of Deputies is necessary before it is officially adopted by the church as a whole,” said Integrity President Susan Russell, “there is no question that today’s vote in the House of Bishops was an historic move forward and a great day for all who support the full inclusion of all the baptized in the Body of Christ.”

“It was a tremendous privilege to be a witness to the courage and candor of the bishops who spoke truth to each other and to us – and who called the Episcopal Church to speak our truth to our Anglican Communion brothers and sisters and to the world.

“The truth is we are a church committed to mission – we are a church committed to the full inclusion of all the baptized in that mission – and we are a church committed to creating as broad a place to stand as possible for ALL who wish to be part of this great adventure of being disciples of Jesus.

“In this carefully constructed and prayerfully considered resolution, our Presiding Bishop got what she both asked for and voted for: a positive statement about where we are as a church in 2009 – a church striving to actually become the church former Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning called us to be nearly 20 years ago now … a church where there are no outcasts.”

“The debate on the floor of the House of Bishops made it VERY clear that our bishops knew exactly what they were doing when they passed this by a nearly 2-1 margin. The resolution passed today by the House of Bishops was another step in the Episcopal Church’s “coming out” process – and it sends a strong “come and see” message to anyone looking for a faith community where God’s inclusive love is not just proclaimed but practiced.”

See's Renegotiates for D.P. Benefits

Regional sweets retailer See's Candies left its post in San Francisco's Union Square after refusing to comply with a mandate that the city's contractors grant comprehensive spousal benefits to the domestic partners of the company's gay and lesbian employees. However, after some flack, the company's president and CEO said Tuesday that See's is starting to negotiate with unions to make necessary updates to contracts to permit such benefits.

[No more See’s candy for me… until they grant comprehensive spousal benefits. Sorry Mom.]

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Barbara Harris' Sermon


Episcopalians ‘effectively end’ gay bishop ban

Reverend says gays and lesbians have 'responded to God's call'

The Episcopal Church moved Monday toward affirming their acceptance of gays and lesbians for all roles in the ministry, despite pressure from fellow Anglicans worldwide for a decisive moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop.

Bishops at the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, California, voted 99-45 with two abstentions for a statement declaring "God has called and may call" to ministry gays in committed lifelong relationships.

Lay and priest delegates to the meeting had comfortably approved a nearly identical statement, and were expected to adopt the latest version before the meeting ends Friday.

Leaders of the Anglican Communion have been pushing Episcopalians to roll back their support for gays and lesbians since 2003, when the U.S. denomination consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. Anglican body.
Robinson's election brought the 77 million-member Anglican fellowship to the brink of schism. Last month, breakaway Episcopal conservatives and other like-minded traditionalists formed a rival national province called the Anglican Church in North America.

To calm tensions, the Episcopal General Convention three years ago passed a resolution that urged restraint by dioceses considering gay candidates for bishop. No other Episcopal bishops living openly with same-sex partners have been consecrated since then.

Drafters of the latest statement insisted that the resolution only acknowledges that the Episcopal Church ordains partnered gays and lesbians and is not a repeal of what was widely considered a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops.

"The constitution and canons of our church as currently written do not preclude gay and lesbian persons from participating," in any part of the church, said the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, on the committee that drafted the statement. "These people have responded to God's call."

However, the Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity, said in a statement Monday night that the declaration "effectively ends" the temporary prohibition on gays in ministry. Integrity called the vote "another step in the Episcopal Church's 'coming out' process."
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who leads the Episcopal Church, was among the bishops who voted to approve the declaration. The statement also affirms the Episcopal Church's commitment to participate in and help fund the Anglican Communion, the third-largest grouping of churches worldwide, behind the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Christian churches.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, had attended the Episcopal national meeting in Anaheim in its opening days last week. He said, "I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in the coming days that could push us further apart."

NY Sen. to introduce bill to stop gay military discharges?

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) may introduce a bill in the Senate later this week to put an 18-month moratorium on discharges under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

It would be the first time since the vote on the military ban in 1993 that Senators would be forced to publicly state their stand on gays and lesbians serving in the military.

Jason Bellini reports in the Daily Beast that Gillibrand may introduce her amendment on Tuesday to the Defense reauthorization bill.


The Daily Beast reports:
“If the amendment were to pass, gay-rights leaders expect it would stand a strong chance of being approved by the House and could be signed into law by President Obama, who has expressed his desire for the ban to be lifted. Rep. Patrick Murphy is trying to build support for a bill that has already been introduced in the House that would repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Nations allowing gays to serve openly in military

Nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in their armed forces, as compiled by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Britain
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Uruguay

Episcopals to debate gay marriage and consecration of gay bishops

The Episcopal Church’s national convention will take up whether the church will approve religious ceremonies for same-sex couples and whether gay bishops should be consecrated, reports UPI.

“It’s important that we recognize the equal stature of all Christians in the church so that we model that type of inclusivity in civil society,” Bishop Marc Andrus of the Diocese of California said.

This is the first national convention of the Episcopal Church in three years. The Episcopal Church, with 2.1 million members, is the U.S. branch of the global Anglican communion, which has 77 million members, many of them religious conservatives in Africa.

The church has been divided over the consecration of gay bishops since the ordination of Rev. Gene Robinson in 2003.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has tried to hold the fragile communion together by getting churches to observe a voluntary moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop and developing prayers for same-sex unions. But many fear a split is inevitable.

“If we are not extremely careful at this convention, we could find ourselves outside the Anglican Communion, and that would be a tragedy for all of us,” Bishop William Love of Albany, N.Y., said. “My fear is that the Episcopal Church destroys itself.”