Monday, January 31, 2011

Kelly Osbourne's Fiancé Left for Trans Woman

When Kelly Osbourne's fiancé, Luke Worrall, left her last year, it was for transgender model Elle Schneider, according to Us Weekly.

Schnieder said she was approached by Worrall, also a model, at a club in New Yorl. She said she did not know Worrall was engaged to Osbourne, the daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and a gay rights supporter.

Schnieder told Us Weekly that after exchanging numbers, she and Worrell spent the night together.

"He knew instantaneously when he met me that night. ... He was definitely not turned off by [me being transgender] at any point," she said. "In fact, he was turned on. He made it very obvious."

First Out-Gay U.S. Federal Judge Nominated

President Barack Obama has nominated an out-gay lawyer to become a federal judge. If he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he will be the first openly gay such judge in the country.

The New York Times reports that J. Paul Oetken, 45, is a former lawyer in the Clinton administration. He currently serves as a senior vice-president and associate general counsel of cable TV giant Cablevision.

Another openly gay man’s nomination for a federal court is also pending: Edward C. DuMont, nominated for the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.

Iowa GOP Narrowly Loses Senate Bid To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Ban

"This morning Iowa GOP state Sen. Kent Sorensen called for a suspension of chamber rules in order to force a vote on a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. His motion was narrowly defeated along party lines."

Iowa anti-gay marriage bill advances in House; falls short of votes in Senate

The Democrat-controlled state Senate has shut down another attempt by Republican legislators to put gay marriage on the Iowa ballot in hopes of repealing the 2009 state Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

The move comes just days after the House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution aimed at enabling voters to amend the state constitution, and not only ban same-sex marriage, but also ban civil unions, domestic partnerships and any other legal recognition of same-sex couples.

Utah state legislator introduces bill that would void contracts between gay couples

Utah State Representative LaVar Christensen, the man who introduced and passed Utah’s 2004 Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage, has resurrected an old enemy of the LGBT community.

Christensen (R-District 48) has reintroduced a bill he tried to pass in 2006 which prohibits same-sex couples from making contractual agreements, such as wills and financial arrangements.

The bill, known in 2006 as HB 304, but now as HB 182, slides in under the generic title “Voiding Transactions Against Public Policy,” and declares “an arrangement, agreement, or transaction that is illegal or against public policy to be void and unenforceable.”

Fred Karger Takes on NOM in N.H. with 60-Second Ad

Constitutional Court Upholds Ban on Same-Sex Marriage in France

France's Constitutional Court, a panel of eight judges, six men and two women, ruled on Friday that the nation's law prohibiting same-sex marriage does not violate the Constiution and directed the issue to parliament, which it said could create new laws regarding same-sex unions.

The AP reports:
Corinne Cestino and Sophie Hasslauer, who have lived together for 15 years and have four children, had challenged the constitutionality of France's law banning the gay marriage.

In its decision, the Council noted that lawmakers had agreed that the "difference in situations of same-sex couples and couples made up of a man and a woman can justify a difference in treatment concerning family rights."

"It is not up to the Constitutional Council to substitute its appreciation for that of lawmakers," the body said.

It noted that its job is to simply rule on whether a measure abides by the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the French Constitution. In this case, it ruled that the articles in question are, indeed, "in conformity with the constitution."

Cestino and Hasslauer have sought the right to wed.

The BBC adds:

An opinion poll suggests most French people are in favour.

The TNS Sofres survey of 950 people suggests that 58% of French people approve while 35% oppose gay marriage.

The idea that the court should rule at all on gay marriage was condemned by the leader of France's far-right National Front, Marine Le Pen.

Hasslauer and Cestino, entered into a civil union known as the Civil Solidarity Pact (PACS) in 2000, which offer tax and financial advantages to same-sex couples but not inheritance rights, or hospital rights, and offers few benefits to children of same-sex couples.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

“David Kato’s Death Result Of Hatred Planted By U.S. Evangelicals”

Just as Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed Matthew Shepard’s hate-crime murder was the by-product of a robbery, police in Kampala, Uganda, are calling LGBT activist David Kato’s brutal death-by-bludgeoning a so-called robbery-related death.

Kato’s murder on Wednesday can be described as being delivered by a classically raging, homophobic murderer, who repeatedly delivered blows to Kato’s body from the head of a steel hammer, and speaks more troublingly about America’s Christian right-wing hatred and intolerance of gays, than of the Ugandan people themselves.

Val Kalende, a lesbian activist and board chair of Freedom and Roam Uganda, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that fights violence against LGBT people in Uganda, issued a statement Thursday asserting that “David’s death is a result of the hatred planted in Uganda by U.S. Evangelicals in 2009.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement Thursday afternoon, calling for Ugandan authorities “to quickly and thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for this heinous act.” She recognized the rulings of the Uganda Human Rights Commission and its Supreme Court in support of Ugandan gays rights, and went on to make clear that LGBT rights are human rights by calling on the International Community to “[s]peak out against the discrimination, harassment, and intimidation of Uganda’s LGBT community, and work together to ensure that all individuals are accorded the same rights and dignity to which each and every person is entitled.”

Proclaiming “LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights,” President Obama Thursday also released a statement saying, “David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom. The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work.”

Christian evangelical: AIDS is the “costly’ consequence of loving gay children

Another wonderful pronouncement from on high. Televangelist megastar Sean McDowell tells his followers that parents who decide to love and accept their gay kids are just going to bury them after they die from AIDS.

Never mind all the credited national research that says not loving and accepting your children for who they are greatly increases likelihood of depression and or suicide. What’s important, according to McDowell, is that gay people have AIDS and that’s the “costly” consequence of loving them.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Google Announces Collaboration With Israeli Museum To Create Online Holocaust Archive


To coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), Google and Yad Vashem, an Israeli museum established in the 1950s to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims, announced a collaboration to create a publicly available online archive of Holocaust documents from around the world.

Yossi Matias, director of research and development for Google Israel, was quoted in Yad Vashem's press release mentioning the desire to share and preserve memories,

For some time, Google has been working to bring the world's historical and cultural heritage online. The Internet offers a great opportunity to preserve and share important materials stored in archives.

The first stage of the project has already been completed, with 130,000 photographs already uploaded and viewable at full resolution on Yad Vashem's website.

The project offers benefits for both users and the museum. The information held by the museum on a hilltop in Jerusalem will finally be widely accessible. Yad Vashem also hopes that the public will help fill in gaps in their documentation. In addition to the ability to search and view the documents, users are encouraged to add their own materials in the "share your thoughts" section.

The project was unveiled on January 27, designated as the annual day of remembrance for the six million Holocaust victims. The day marks the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by Soviet forces.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Marriage Equality

Cousin Geri from 'The Facts of Life' is a Lesbian

She's coming out, in a memoir. Jezebel reports:

"[Geri] Jewell made history as the first person with a disability to appear in a recurring role on prime-time TV with her part as Blair's cousin on The Facts of Life. Her memoir, out April 1, 2011, will cover her rise to fame, her struggles with cerebral palsy, the discrimination she experienced in Hollywood because of it, as well as her downward spiral into tax problems, having her money embezzled by her manager, a broken marriage and battling addiction. Additionally, the book will mark Jewell's official coming out regarding her sexuality."

56% of N.Y. Voters Want Marriage Equality

A majority of New Yorkers say they would support legislation to legalize marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The recent poll, with 56% of New Yorkers in support of marriage equality in their state, shows a five-point increase in support since a June 23, 2009, poll. Fifty-four percent of upstate voters approve of gay marriage, which is on par with those living in New York City, with 54% of that population in support.

“New York State voter attitudes about gay marriage have shifted dramatically since April 15, 2004, when Quinnipiac University first asked about gay marriage and found voters opposed the measure 55%–37%,” Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement Thursday.

Indiana College Drops Chick-fil-A

Indiana University South Bend has decided to remove Chick-fil-A as a campus vendor following news of food donations from the company to antigay events.

According to WSBT-TV, “The Chick-fil-A sandwiches were only sold on Wednesdays at the Courtside Cafe. Indiana University has full Chick-fil-A restaurants at their Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses.”

Chick-fil-A, which is known as a Christian company, will be donating sandwiches to an upcoming conference about strengthening marriages sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Arkansas supermarket hides magazine cover of Elton John and partner with baby

Prop 8 Opponents Urge California Supreme Court to Reject 9th Circuit's Question on Standing

Attorneys in the federal challenge to Proposition 8 have asked the California Supreme Court to reject a request by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule whether sponsors of the Prop 8 initiative have standing to appeal.

The L.A. Times reports:
In his letter to the state court, Theodore B. Olson, an attorney for two same-sex couples, said the question of standing in federal court is a federal constitutional issue, not a state one, and that the California Supreme Court would merely prolong the case by agreeing to answer the 9th Circuit’s question.

Olson also argued that “well-established” law in California denies initiative sponsors the right to represent the state in litigation.

“It is clear that California law vests the Attorney General -- not private litigants -- with the authority to represent the State’s interest in litigation,” Olson wrote.

Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law professor and dean of UC Irvine’s law school, said he was not surprised by Olson’s argument. Lawyers generally want an issue to be decided by a forum where they expect to win, Chemerinsky said.

The California Supreme Court has never clearly stated whether initiative sponsors have legal authority to defend ballot measures, and how it would rule is difficult to predict, the professor said. In contrast, two of the three 9th Circuit judges hearing the case appeared likely to rule in some fashion in favor of Proposition 8’s challengers.

The state high court is still reviewing letters on the case and has not yet decided whether to agree to the 9th Circuit's request.

Religious coalition pressing Asheville for additional LGBT rights, protections

A religious coalition known as the “People of Faith for Just Relationships” are pressing the city to do more for LGBT equality.

The group, consisting of 25 local religious leaders led by the Reverend Joe Hoffman, has released a resolution calling for four specific protections.

Hoffman said the purpose of the resolution was “to stimulate Asheville and City Council to take a leadership role in a statewide effort to recognize the need for equal civil rights, employment rights, family rights, and protection from bullying for LGBT citizens.”

According to the Asheville Citizen Times, the resolution calls for:

1. Extending the city’s employment discrimination clause to include “sexual orientation”, “gender”, and “gender identity or expression.”

2. Enacting an anti-bullying ordinance for all city institutions and grounds.

3. Creating a Domestic Partner Registry to recognize same-sex relationships for the purposes of providing documentation and offering a mechanism through which hospitals, businesses, and other entities will have the opportunity to recognize these relationships.

4. Endorsing and supporting the rights of same-sex couples to share fully and equally in the familial rights and responsibilities of civil marriage.

Last year, Asheville city council passed a law legalizing domestic partnerships but the coalition says that the law doesn’t go far enough to ensure equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens.

Hawaii: Civil Unions Pass First Hurdle

Hawaii's senate judiciary committee has decided to advance a proposed civil unions bill to a full senate vote.

The committee approved the bill 3-2 Tuesday, according to KHON News.

Democratic lawmakers said they want to address the civil unions bill early in the term, to allow them time to concentrate on looming economic problems and creating jobs. Gov. Neil Abercrombie has said that he would sign the civil union bills if it reached his desk. The legislation is identical to the bill that then-governor Linda Lingle vetoed last July.

“I am vetoing this bill because I have become convinced that this issue is of such significant societal importance that it deserves to be decided directly by all the people of Hawaii,” she said in her veto message.

Lingle was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.

Wyoming Legislature Advances Second Anti-Gay Bill in Two Days

Another anti-gay measure, this one a proposed amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, was advanced in the Wyoming legislature this afternoon, the Casper Star-Tribune reports:

In an initial vote, senators voted 21-9 in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 5, which defines marriage as only between two people of the opposite sex. That's one vote more than the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill if it comes up in a final vote in the Senate.

The bill must now pass two additional votes before it would clear the Senate and head to the House, where it could prove more difficult to find enough votes to pass it.

If the resolution passes both legislative chambers with a two-thirds majority, it would be submitted to Wyoming voters in a 2012 statewide referendum

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wyoming House Passes Anti-Marriage Bill

Thanks to a newly-elected Tea Party-backed GOP majority, the Wyoming House today passed a bill banning the recognition of out of state same-sex marriages and civil unions. Full story here!

California Doctor Develops HIV Smart Bomb

Animal trials are showing promise for a new HIV treatment that attaches itself to the virus like a magnet and then stops it from spreading.

John Rossi, chair of molecular and cellular biology at the City of Hope hospital in Duarte, Calif., is the lead author on the study of the new therapy, which utilized mice. Rossi describes the treatment as a "smart bomb" against HIV.

"This particular approach is pretty different than almost everything else out there recently," Rossi told the Pasadena Star-News. Previously, Rossi developed a molecular sequence (called an aptamer) that targeted and blocked the genes that HIV uses to replicate — this new development utilizes a more efficient aptamer.

Michele Bachmann Rewrites History, Says Founders Fought Tirelessly Against Slavery

Said Bachmann to an Iowans for Tax Relief gathering over the weekend:

"How unique in all of the world, that one nation that was the resting point from people groups all across the world...It didn't matter the color of their skin, it didn't matter their language, it didn't matter their economic status. Once you got here, we were all the same. Isn't that remarkable?...We ... know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States...I think it is high time that we recognize the contribution of our forbearers who worked tirelessly -- men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country."

Anderson Cooper corrects the GOP congresswoman from Minnesota, who will be delivering a rebuttal for the Tea Party after tonight's State of the Union address.

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter linked to porn, bribes, fake resume

Rep. Duncan (“keep transgenders and hermaphrodites out of the military”) Hunter, Jr. (R-Calif.) allegedly accepted bribes during his campaign, faked his resume, and is funded by the porn, alcohol, and defense industries, according to Joe Ryan, an Independent watchdog and former Congressional candidate, who has apparently made it his mission in life to uncover the misdeeds of Hunter and his “corrupt” and “dynastic” family.

Ryan’s website is a scathing indictment of Hunter, implying that his powerful family and friends rigged the 2010 election to assure the young and inexperienced junior Hunter won his father’s old Congressional seat.

Hunter recently introduced a measure in the House to thwart the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The measure would require four military service chiefs from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corp to sign off on repealing the policy before it can be officially eliminated.

The measure was introduced last Tuesday, and so far has the support of only 15 Republicans. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Obama in December 2010.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

High School Senior "Comes Out" in Assembly

Not Everyone Has Right To Marry

Pope Benedict XVI told priests Saturday to do a better job counseling would-be spouses to ensure their marriages last and said no one has an absolute right to a wedding.

Benedict made the comments in his annual speech to the Roman Rota, the Vatican tribunal that decides marriage annulments. An annulment is the process by which the church effectively declares that a marriage never took place.

Benedict acknowledged that the problems that would allow for a marriage to be annulled cannot always be identified beforehand. But he said better pre-marriage counseling, which the Catholic Church requires of the faithful, could help avoid a "vicious circle" of invalid marriages.

He said the right to a church wedding requires that the bride and groom intend to celebrate and live the marriage truthfully and authentically.

"No one can make a claim to the right to a nuptial ceremony," he said.

Benedict has used his annual speech to the Rota to impress on its members the indissolubility of marriage and that they should avoid the temptation of granting annulments on a whim. Last year, he urged the tribunal to work harder to encourage couples to stay together and not confuse "pastoral charity" with the need to uphold church law.

On Saturday, Benedict said priests had an important pastoral job to discern whether would-be spouses are prepared and able to enter into a valid marriage.

"The church and society at large place too much importance on the good of marriage and the family founded on it to not make a profound commitment to it pastorally," Benedict said.

The Vatican's concern about marriage annulments is largely directed at the United States, which in 2006 had more annulment cases launched than the rest of the world combined.

Doritos Going Gay for Super Bowl?

A bag of Doritos brings two nearly naked men in a sauna closer together in one of two gay-themed ads the company may air during the Superbowl.

One ad features two men steaming in the sauna as one man seductively eyes the other’s crotch. In a second ad, a man gazes across the fence at his two gay neighbors, who are sunning themselves and eating Doritos by the pool.

It has yet to be confirmed whether these two ds will run.



Gibbs asked about Obama's 1996 support for marriage

Monday, January 24, 2011

Marriage Bill Comes to Maryland

Lawmakers will introduce a bill to legalize marriage equality in Maryland next week, with the backing of newly reelected governor Martin O'Malley.

Wyoming Advances Anti–Gay Marriage Bill

The Wyoming house advanced a bill Thursday that would bar the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, one of several equality-related measures to be considered in this legislative session

GOP State Senator Introduces Bill To Allow Guns On College Campuses

"Because we haven't had enough mass murders at our nation's universities, Florida GOP state Sen. Greg Evers has introduced a bill making it legal to carry firearms at college campuses."

Just Sayin....

Federal judge allows another DOMA suit

District Judge Claudia Wilken has rejected a Justice Department request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by married gay and lesbian couples who were prevented from purchasing long-term care insurance for their spouses. Wilken said prohibitions affecting same-sex couples contained in the Defense of Marriage Act and the Internal Revenue Code "do not bear a rational relationship to a legitimate government interest."

Sunday, January 23, 2011

F**kin Perfect

The High Price of DADT

A new study by the Government Accountability Office has found that enforcing "don't ask, don't tell" cost taxpayers nearly $200 million between 2004 and 2009.

During those years, the Defense Department discharged 3,664 service members at a cost of $193.3 million, or $52,800 per discharge, according to the report.

About 96% of DADT-related expenses — or $185.6 million — was spent on recruiting and training personnel to replace service members who had been separated from the armed forces

Friday, January 21, 2011

Jon Stewart Mocks Sarah Palin's Victim Complex

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Rick Santorum: It's 'Common Sense' to Keep Gays from Marrying and Adopting Children

Hypocrite House Republicans Explain Why They Won't Be Giving Up Their Govt-Sponsored Health Care

Think Progress caught up with some GOP House members who are for repealing health care reform but refuse to give up their government-sponsored health benefits.

Writes TP: "In sum, only eight GOP congressman, or three percent of all House Republicans, have opted out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. One Republican loudly complained about having his own government-sponsored health insurance delayed approximately four weeks. But most GOPers have quietly continued to accept government-sponsored health care while loudly decrying the government’s role in helping provide health care to a segment of the American public."

New LGBT-Friendly Hospital Visitation Regulations Go Into Effect

New regulations regarding hospital visitation rights went into effect Tuesday, paving the way for members of the LGBT community to have further control over their own medical decisions.

Under the new protocol, initiated last April and developed over the following months, hospitals partaking in Medicare and Medicaid must now allow all patients to decide visitation rights, as well as who to entrust with making medical decisions on their behalf, regardless of sexual or gender identity.

"This policy impacts millions of LGBT Americans and their families. The President saw an injustice and felt very strongly about correcting this and has spoken about it often over the years," White House deputy director of public engagement Brian Bond wrote on the White House blog.

Janice Langbehn, who, along with her children, was denied hospital access to her partner, Lisa Pond, in 2007 after she suffered an aneurysm told ABC News that she is happy with the development, but still grieving over the prior hospital practice.

"Other couples, no matter how they define themselves as families, won't have to go through what we went through, and I am grateful," she said. "But the fact that the hospital didn't let our children say goodbye to their mom... That's just something that will haunt me forever."

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese has also expressed gratitude to President Obama and his administration for quick action on changing the policy.

"LGBT people experience discrimination in many aspects of their lives, but it is perhaps at its worst during times of crisis," Solmonese said. "We thank President Obama and HHS Secretary Sebelius for recognizing the hardships LGBT people face and taking this important step toward ensuring that no one will be turned away from a partner's hospital bedside again."

Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs plans 12-step program for homosexuality

"The Catholic Church’s Twelve Steps of Courage is another version of AA’s steps. Participants admit they are powerless in overcoming same-sex attraction, ask God for help, and make amends to those they’ve hurt, among other steps."

Gay Couples Can Sue for Benefits

In another potential blow to the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal judge has ruled that three California gay couples may proceed with a lawsuit against the federal government over their exclusion from a long-term health care program.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that U.S. district judge Claudia Wilken denied a request Tuesday by the Obama administration to dismiss a case brought by six plaintiffs, who are suing for federally approved long-term health benefits that they have been denied under the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). The couples married during the brief window of time in California when same-sex couples were allowed to do so prior to passage of Proposition 8.

Wilken rejected administration arguments that DOMA preserves the status quo, allowing for individual states to decide whether or not to permit gay marriage. DOMA further allows for a uniform federal policy for benefits and rights stemming from marriage, government attorneys argued.

But Wilken wrote in a 29-page order that DOMA "alters the status quo because it impairs the states' authority to define marriage, by robbing states of the power to allow same-sex civil marriages that will be recognized under federal law."

Attorney Claudia Center, who represents the couples, told The Advocate Thursday that she will be adding two plaintiffs, who are domestic partners under California law, and will move for class action certification of the suit.

In July, U.S. district judge Joseph L. Tauro in Boston ruled DOMA unconstitutional in two separate cases. While President Barck Obama has voiced support for legislative repeal of DOMA, the administration has appealed Tauro's ruling.

U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal by opponents of DC’s gay marriage law

The U.S. Supreme Court this week refused to hear the appeal of a group of clergy in Washington, D.C., who want to put the city’s new marriage equality law on the ballot.

The denial of review appears to be the end of the line now for opponents of equal marriage rights in the nation’s capital.

The District of Columbia enacted its marriage equality law in March of last year, but not before a group of clergy, led by Maryland Bishop Harry Jackson, tried to stop the law from going into effect by requesting an emergency order from the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court refused that request, in Jackson v. D.C., but the group came back with this second effort aimed at undoing the marriage equality law.

What the group sought, in Jackson v. D.C. II, was a ruling from the high court saying the D.C. government could not bar an initiative regarding whether to repeal the marriage equality law.

The question before the Supreme Court, however, was not about marriage on the surface. On the surface, the question was whether the city’s law governing initiatives can bar voters from considering an initiative that violates the city’s human rights act.

Important to the case was the fact that Washington, D.C., is not a state but a unique District, controlled by the Congress to serve as the nation’s center of government. But in recognition of the needs of citizens who reside in the District of Columbia and who raise and school children there and require routine services such as fire and police protection, Congress, in 1973, provided for the formation of a D.C. Council to govern its citizens under a “Home Rule Act,” or D.C. Charter.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

GOP Introduces Legislation to Invalidate Same-Sex Marriage in Iowa

A constitutional amendment that would mandate that marriage between one man and one woman is the only legal union that is valid or recognized in the state was introduced Wednesday in the Iowa House, marking the beginning of what promises to be one of the most contentious debates of the 2011 legislative session.

Fifty-six of the GOP’s 60-member majority signed on as co-sponsors to House Joint Resolution 6. Four Republican lawmakers — Peter Cownie, Steven Lukan, Scott Raecker and David Tjepkes — and all 40 Democrats refused to sign on as co-sponsors. The legislation goes beyond just banning same-sex marriage. It would also ban civil unions, domestic partnerships and any other legal recognition of same-sex couples.

The amendment would invalidate the Iowa Supreme Court’s unanimous 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage

Nuclear Experiments Video Shows Detonations Around The World



A new video shows each one of the nuclear detonations to be set off around the globe since 1945.

Created by Isao Hashimoto, "1945-1998" features a digital world map in two shades of blue. As each year ticks by, blinking red and blue lights illuminate on the screen, showing when, where and how many nuclear experiments each country has conducted. A tally is kept next to a tiny icon of each world flag indicating the total number of experiments in each given country.

"No letter is used for equal messaging to all viewers without language barrier," Hashimoto, who works as a curator at the Lalique Museum in Hakone, Japan, reportedly said. "I created this work for the means of an interface to the people who are yet to know of the extremely grave, but present problem of the world."

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

"The approval of forms of union which pervert the essence and goal of the family ends up penalizing those people who, not without effort, seek to maintain stable emotional ties which are juridically guaranteed and publicly recognized."

—Pope Benedict XVI, speaking to political leaders during his annual address in Rome on Friday, remains unconvinced your same-sex marriages are doing anything but hurting heterosexuals

GOP State Sen. Chris Buttars Wants To Repeal Anti-Bullying Rules


Republican state Sen. Chris Buttars has introduced a bill that would repeal the Salt Lake City school board's recently instituted anti-bullying rules.

Justice Dept. outlines anti-gay marriage case

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed its opening legal brief for its appeal of a decision by a judge in Massachusetts who concluded that a portion of a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

The appeal follows two rulings in July by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro, who said the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it interferes with a state’s right to define marriage and denies married gay couples an array of federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples.

The Justice Department argued in a brief filed on Thursday that the law was Congress’ “reasonable response” to a debate among the states on same-sex marriage. In its brief, the Justice Department said the federal government has the right to define marriage differently than individual states.

The appeal is expected to be heard by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston

Monday, January 17, 2011

A Change is Gonna Come

Snow Is God's Way of Punishing Americans Planning To Drive To Do Something Gay

Rev. Pat Robertson sparked controversy in today's broadcast of his "700 Club" program when he claimed that God created the blizzard currently battering the Northeast "to punish Americans who were planning to drive to do something gay."

Explaining his theory, Robertson said, "Because of the bad road conditions the Almighty has made, any gay activities that people were planning on doing will have to be postponed by a day or two." Additionally, he argued, God shut down major airports in the New York area "so that people who were hoping to fly to do something of a gay nature would have to take a train or a bus, so it might be days before the gay thing they were going to do could occur."

As for the millions of straight people in New York City who were also grounded by the bad weather, the televangelist said, "I think God probably wonders: If these people are really straight, then what are they doing in New York?"

What is with NOM and that Moose?

Department of Justice Files Defense of DOMA


Back in October, the Department of Justice announced that it was going to be appealing two rulings, in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Department of Health and Human Services, in which Judge Joseph Tauro of Boston ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Fifth Amendment and impedes the state of Massachusetts's ability to define marriage.

Late yesterday, they filed briefs in support of that appeal.

While citing an "ongoing" dialogue between states on the issue of marriage, the brief offers three reasons why DOMA is still valid.

MetroWeekly's Chris Geidner:

1. Congress Could Have Rationally Concluded That DOMA Promotes A Legitimate Interest in Preserving a National Status Quo at the Federal Level While States Engage in a Period of Evaluation of and Experience with Opening Marriage to Same-Sex Couples.

2. Congress Could Reasonably Conclude That DOMA Serves a Legitimate Federal Interest in Uniform Application of Federal Law Within and Across States During a Period When Important State Laws Differ.

3. Congress Could Reasonably Have Believed That by Maintaining the Status Quo, DOMA Serves the General Federal Interest of Respecting Policy Development among the States While Preserving the Authority of Each Sovereign to Choose its Own Course.

Politico reports on the criticisms from LGBT groups yesterday:

The half-heartedness of that defense didn't offer much solace to activists who -- despite the Justice Department's traditional role defending federal laws -- are demanding that Obama return to the full support for same-sex marriage that he advocated in the 1990s.

"There are some improvements in tone in the brief, but the bottom line is the government continues to oppose full equality for its gay citizens," said Equality Matters chief Richard Socarides in an email. "And that is unacceptable."

"The Administration claims that it has a duty to defend the laws that are on the books. We simply do not agree. At the very least, the Justice Department can and should acknowledge that the law is unconstitutional," Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese said in an email to the group's members, signaling that even the relatively conciliatory group will take a more confrontational tone on marriage. "All families deserve the recognition and respect of their government. It's time for President Obama to state his support for full, equal marriage. And we want your help in telling him that it's time."

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Australian PFLAG Mom Fronts Marriage Equality Battle

Shelley Argent is a PFLAG mom who is nominated for Senior Australian of the Year. She has been a very public face in Australia's campaign for marriage equality.



Here's one of Shelley's ads from 2009:

Friday, January 14, 2011

Chicago's Cardinal George Says Gay Marriage Advocates Have 'Lost Touch' With The Human Race


The Catholic spiritual leader of Chicago visited Boston College recently, where a doctoral student pressed Cardinal Francis George about the Church's recent opposition to civil-unions legislation recently passed by the Illinois General Assembly.

George told student John Falcone his "argument was not with Mother Church but with Mother Nature," adding that anyone who advocates same-sex marriage or its equivalent "has lost touch with the common understanding of the human race."

"No one has the right to change marriage," George went on to say, neither "the Church" nor "the state."

While it is one thing "creating laws so that people don't feel persecuted," the cardinal explained, "don't create a law that says apples are oranges." For a lawmaker to do so, George added, he "betrays his vocation to pass good law," especially problematic for a "Catholic lawmaker."

Like many Catholic families with LGBT family members, even his own, George acknowledged his oldest nephew is gay and a "fine man."

Boston Archdiocese Says Catholic Schools Won't Turn Away Gay Families

The Archdiocese of Boston, under fire from all sides after a parochial school withdrew an admissions offer to the child of a lesbian couple, yesterday released a new Catholic schools admissions policy that said parochial schools will not “discriminate against or exclude any categories of students.’’

However, the policy, which was distributed to pastors, parishes, and school administrators by e-mail, said school parents “must accept and understand that the teachings of the Catholic Church are an essential and required part of the curriculum.’’

The new guidelines were developed by a panel of clergy and lay school administrators at the direction of Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley in response to a widely publicized incident last year in which St. Paul School in Hingham rescinded the admissions offer to the 8-year-old boy. The archdiocese helped place the boy in a different Catholic school.

The Hingham episode drew sharp criticism from prominent funders of Catholic education in Boston. The Catholic Schools Foundation, which gives millions in scholarships to low-income students, said it would not subsidize tuition at any school with a discriminatory admissions policy. Michael B. Reardon, executive director of the foundation, said yesterday his organization is pleased with the new policy’s “clear message of inclusiveness.’’

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) To Propose Bill Allowing Guns On Floor Of U.S. House

Teabagger Rep. Louie Gohmert says he will introduce a bill authorizing members of Congress to bring guns to work

Supreme Court expected to rule on Gay Marriage in D.C.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce an opinion Tuesday on whether to allow voters to repeal the Washington D.C. equal marriage law.

Jackson v. the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics is scheduled to be discussed at a private conference among the Justices on Friday, according to the Washington Blade.

On Oct. 12, Bishop Harry Jackson and other gay marriage opponents filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking the court to appeal a lower court ruling rejecting the argument that the city must allow voters to decide the marriage question in a ballot initiative.

If the Supreme Court rejects Jackson’s request, D.C. would continue to prevent a gay marriage measure from appearing on the ballot; if the case is accepted, it would be the first time the Supreme Court handles a same-sex marriage related issue.

There is speculation that a decision from the Supreme Court will not be released by Tuesday.

“If there’s no order that day, that’s also significant, meaning either that the justices were not able to decide in their first discussion, or that someone is writing a dissent from denial,” Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the ACLU’s D.C. office told the Washington Blade.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Birds Dying Because of DADT Repeal

Gay marriage repeal not on NH GOP agenda this year

Republicans who control the New Hampshire House have decided that repealing the state’s gay marriage law won’t be on their agenda this year.

House Republican Leader D.J. Bettencourt confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that jobs and the economy will be the top priorities on an agenda to be announced Thursday. Bettencourt says there’s widespread agreement that social issues will have to take a back seat.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Prop 8 on the Ballot in 2012?

Gay marriage isn't revolutionary. It's just next.

Opponents of same-sex marriage worry that allowing two men or two women to wed would radically transform a time-honored institution. But they're way too late on that front. Marriage has already been radically transformed - in a way that makes gay marriage not only inevitable, as Vice President Biden described it in an interview late last year, but also quite logical.

We are near the end of a two-stage revolution in the social understanding and legal definition of marriage. This revolution has overturned the most traditional functions of the institution: to reinforce differences in wealth and power and to establish distinct and unequal roles for men and women under the law.

For millennia, marriage was about property and power rather than love. Parents arranged their children's unions to expand the family labor force, gain well-connected in-laws and seal business deals. Sometimes, to consolidate inheritances, parents prevented their younger children from marrying at all. For many people, marriage was an unavoidable duty. For others, it was a privilege, not a right. Often, servants, slaves and paupers were forbidden to wed.

But a little more than two centuries ago, people began to believe that they had a right to choose their partners on the basis of love rather than having their marriages arranged to suit the interests of parents or the state.

Love, not money, became the main reason for getting married, and more liberal divorce laws logically followed. After all, people reasoned, if love is gone, why persist in the marriage? Divorce rates rose steadily from the 1850s through the 1950s, long before the surge that initially accompanied the broad entry of women into the workforce.

Adopting love as the basis for marriage meant other changes, too, especially greater acceptance of the idea that men and women had a fundamental right to marry, even to people of whom their parents - and society - disapproved. By the 1940s and 1950s, many state courts were repealing laws that prevented particular classes of people from marrying. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for states to prohibit interracial marriage. In 1978, that court struck down a Wisconsin law prohibiting marriage by parents who had not met prior child-support obligations. In 1987, it upheld the right of prison inmates to marry.

But huge as the repercussions of the love revolution were, they did not make same-sex marriage inevitable, because marriage continued to be based on differing roles and rights for husbands and wives: Wives were legally dependent on their husbands and performed specific wifely duties. This was part of what marriage cemented in society, and the reason marriage was between men and women. Only when distinct gender roles ceased to be the organizing principle of marriage - in just the past 40 years - did we start down the road to legalizing unions between two men or two women.

Over the ages, marriage enforced an unequal division of labor, wealth and power between men and women. Traditional English and American law gave the husband sole control over all property that his wife brought to their marriage and any income she earned during it. Husbands had the legal right - and the duty - to impose their will by force. A husband couldn't cede any rights to his wife, said the courts, "because that would presuppose her separate existence," according to Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws.

By the early 19th century, the old ideas that women needed to be under male authority because they were more prone to sexual passion and religious error than men, and that husbands ruled the home just as monarchs ruled their kingdoms, had given way to a gentler but equally rigid gender ideology. Men were recast as benevolent breadwinners who exercised authority not because they were the patriarchal bosses of the family labor force, but because they were women's natural providers and protectors. Women were frail dependents whose nurturing nature and innate sexual purity predisposed them to sweet submission.

This redefinition of gender allowed 19th-century Americans to reconcile the new ideal of married love with a continued claim that husbands and wives had completely different rights and duties. And in the 20th century, even as the right of individuals to choose their partner became the cultural norm and legal reality, the insistence that marriage united two distinct gender stereotypes became increasingly shrill.

During the 1940s, '50s and '60s, sociologists and psychiatrists remained adamant that marriage required strict adherence to traditional feminine and masculine roles. In 1964, a year after Betty Friedan published "The Feminine Mystique," an article in a journal of the American Medical Association described beating as a "more or less" satisfactory way for an "aggressive, efficient, masculine" wife to "be punished for her castrating activity" and for a husband to "re-establish his masculine identity."

Well into the 1970s, marriage was still legally defined as a union that assigned differing marital rights and obligations according to gender. The husband was responsible for supporting the family financially, but he also got to decide what constituted an adequate level of support, how to dispose of certain kinds of property and where the family would live.

The wife, in turn, was legally responsible for providing services in and around the home, but she had no comparable rights to such services. That is why a husband could sue for loss of consortium if his spouse were killed or incapacitated, but a wife in the same situation could not. And because sex was one of the services expected of a wife, she could not charge her husband with rape.

In 1970, inspired by the Supreme Court decision that interracial couples had the right to marry, two Minnesota men applied for a marriage license. Asked by a reporter which one would be the wife, their reply was: "We don't play those kinds of roles." The incident received little serious attention. Most Americans could not imagine a marriage in which one partner did not assume the dominant role of husband and one the subordinate role of wife.


During the 1970s and 1980s, however, a new revolution in marriage rolled across North America and Europe. As feminists pressed for the repeal of "head and master" laws enshrining male authority in the household, legal codes were rewritten so that they no longer assigned different rights and duties by gender. Over time, people came to view marriage as a relationship between two individuals who were free to organize their partnership and their parenting on the basis of their personal inclinations rather than pre-assigned gender roles. Today, as Judge Vaughn Walker noted in his decision striking down California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, "gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals."

Gender neutrality has made many marriages fairer and more fulfilling than ever before, which has in turn been a big factor in the falling divorce rates and steep decline in marital domestic violence over the past 30 years. And spouses who share an egalitarian viewpoint report above-average levels of marital happiness, according to researchers.

The spread of gender-neutral attitudes about heterosexual marriage has also undercut support for limiting marriage to a man and a woman. Although well-financed campaigns against same-sex marriage still generate victories on Election Day, hard-core opposition has steadily eroded. In October, the Pew Research Center reported that for the first time in its 15 years of polling, less than half the public opposed same-sex marriage. That poll also found that 42 percent actively supported it - still less than a majority, but a new high. Two other national polls have found that a small majority of Americans endorse same-sex marriage.

Support for same-sex marriage is already higher than support for interracial marriage was in 1970, three years after the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation laws. And since young adults ages 18 to 29 are the group most supportive of same-sex marriage, it is largely a matter of when, rather than if, a majority of Americans will endorse this extension of marriage rights.

Opponents of gay marriage argue that this trend will lead to the destruction of traditional marriage. But, for better and for worse, traditional marriage has already been destroyed, and the process began long before anyone even dreamed of legalizing same-sex marriage.

People now decide for themselves who and when - and whether - to marry. When they do wed, they decide for themselves whether to have children and how to divide household tasks. If they cannot agree, they are free to leave the marriage.

If gay marriage is legally recognized in this country, it will have little impact on the institution of marriage. In fact, the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage - an indication that it's not just the president's views that are "evolving" - is a symptom, rather than a cause, of the profound revolutions in marriage that have already taken place.

coontzs@evergreen.edu

Stephanie Coontz teaches family history at the Evergreen State College and is the author of "A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s."

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sarah Palin under fire as Arizona sheriff blames political 'vitriol' for triggering 'unstable' Safeway gunman's massacre

Can we blame political rhetoric such as Sarah Palin's inflammatory 'Don't react, reload' for triggering the Safeway massacre?

It is not yet clear why a gunman, believed to be 22-year-old Jared Loughner, went on a terrifying rampage in Arizona yesterday, killing six people and wounding a further 12.

But whatever his reasons, the local sheriff - who is coordinating the investigation with the FBI - believes it is time for America to do some soul-searching.

'When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government,' Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told a news conference.

The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. 'And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.'

He added: 'That may be free speech. But it's not without consequence.'







R.I. Bishop Blasts New Gov. on Marriage

The leader of Rhode Island's Roman Catholics said marriage equality is "morally wrong," and that the newly sworn-in governor and other lawmakers should not be pushing to legalize it in his state.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin was reacting to marriage equality legislation submitted Thursday to the Rhode Island general assembly, according to The Providence Journal. The legislation is backed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who called for marriage equality in his inaugural address. Tobin also criticized Chafee for not holding a prayer service before his inauguration.

“It is particularly disturbing that our new governor, who has trumpeted his desire to bring our state together in unity, would adopt such a very divisive agenda item as one of his first priorities,” Tobin said in a statement, according to the Journal. “His proposal violates the sincere conscience of many of our citizens and inflames passions on both sides of the issue. ... Our state leaders could better serve all Rhode Islanders by working on initiatives that will create jobs and improve the overall economic health of our state.”

Gay Marriage Objectors Lose in Canada

An appeals court in Canada's Saskatchewan province has ruled that marriage commissioners cannot opt out of performing same-sex nuptials because of religious objections.

The decision is in response to a proposed law, which had two versions: One would allow any marriage commissioner to not perform a same-sex wedding because of his or her religion; the other version would allow commissioners to opt out of performing a same-sex ceremony only if they were commissioners before Canada enacted marriage equality in 2004.

The Monday ruling declared that both versions run contrary to Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Either of them, if enacted, would violate the equality rights of gay and lesbian individuals," the ruling stated. "This violation would not be reasonable and justifiable within the meaning of s. 1 of the Charter. As a result, if put in place, either option would be unconstitutional and of no force or effect."

Madame Secretary

“Gay rights are human rights.”

With that declaration — and the team she has assembled at the State Department—Hillary Rodham Clinton has elevated the dialogue on LGBT rights around the globe.

Gay intern credited with helping to save Giffords’ life following Arizona shooting

A gay intern, who had been working for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) for only five days, is credited with helping to save the Congresswoman’s life after she took a gunshot wound to the head while appearing at a public event on Saturday.

Daniel Hernandez Jr., a 20-year-old University of Arizona student, was volunteering at the community event and was standing about 30 feet from Giffords when Jared Loughner opened fire on the congresswoman.

Six people in the crowd were killed, and 13 others injured, including Giffords, who remains in critical condition.

“When I heard gunshots, my first instinct was to head towards the congresswoman to make sure that she was OK,” Hernandez told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday morning.

“I had to lift up the congresswoman, because she was severely injured, and I wanted to make sure that she was able to breathe OK because there was so much blood,” he said.

“The congresswoman was alert. She was able to hold my hand when I asked her if she could hear me,” said Hernendez.

“I wasn’t able to get any words from her. She may have been trying, but because of the way that I was having to hold her it was a lot easier to just ‘if you can hear me Gabby just grab my hand to let me know that you’re okay.’”

The fact that Hernandez was nearby and able to react quickly probably saved Giffords’ life, said state Rep. Matt Heinz (D-Tucson), a hospital physician.

Hernandez, a member of the City of Tucson Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues, told the Dallas Voice that Giffords has “been a great ally to the LGBT community.”

Monday, January 10, 2011

Marriage Equality doesn't treaten the Sanctity of Marriage

Katherine Ragsdale's rebuttal to the "marriage equality threatens the sanctity of marriage and violates the religious liberty of those in favor of marriage discrimination" argument:

Let's be clear. The fact that the State authorizes a marriage in no way compels any Church to perform or recognize it. As priests, we are entitled to refuse to perform any marriage for any reason. Roman Catholics routinely demonstrate this liberty when they refuse to perform marriages of divorced persons, even though the State allows them to do so. Similarly, they refuse to recognize marriages of non-Roman Catholics even though the State has issued a license. Political arguments against states allowing same-sex marriages and the federal government recognizing these marriages that claim it would violate the “sanctity” of marriage and force churches to do something contrary to their teaching or their conscience, are blatantly misleading and dishonest. Marriage equality merely guarantees equality under the law to all citizens; it does not compel churches to do anything.

Gates Instructs Defense Dept. to Accelerate 'DADT' Repeal

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants training to begin as soon as possible, and has ordered the Defense Department to accelerate the steps it will take to reach that point, Stars and Stripes reports:

Gates in a Pentagon press conference revealed a three-step plan: finalize changes in related regulations and policies, and get clearer definitions on benefits; prepare training materials for chaplains, lawyers, commanders and troops; and then begin to train servicemembers worldwide.

“We’re trying to get the first two phases of that process done as quickly as possible,” Gates said, adding he has instructed Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley to accelerate his efforts. “My hope is that it can be done within a matter of a very few weeks so that we can then move on to what is the real challenge, which is providing training to 2.2 million people. And we will do that as expeditiously as we can.”

Still, Joint Service Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen said it was still not safe for troops to come out. Said Mullen: "We certainly are focused on this and we won’t dawdle.”

Revoke Marriage Equality, Pray the Gay Away

Kevin Smith, executive director of the conservative group Cornerstone Policy Research, which wants to roll back marriage rights for gay couples in New Hampshire, apparently also endorses "ex-gay" reparative therapy groups along the way, Good as You reports.

The New Hampshire–based group, which is also seeking to repeal any form of legal recognition for gay couples, such as civil unions, lists such ex-gay and reparative therapy groups as Exodus International, Love Won Out, the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, and other groups thoroughly discredited by mental health professionals on the "helpful links" page of its website.

"What this shows, with 100% certainty, is that the group that's most prominently, most vocally hoping to reshape the marriage debate in the Live Free or Die State is also hoping to reshape gay people's very cores of existence in ways that fly in the face of ALL credible science," Good as You writes.

Friday, January 7, 2011

God was behind Big Bang, pope says

God's mind was behind complex scientific theories such as the Big Bang, and Christians should reject the idea that the universe came into being by accident, Pope Benedict said Thursday.

"The universe is not the result of chance, as some would want to make us believe," Benedict said on the day Christians mark the Epiphany, the day the Bible says the three kings reached the site where Jesus was born by following a star.

"Contemplating it (the universe) we are invited to read something profound into it: the wisdom of the creator, the inexhaustible creativity of God," he said in a sermon to some 10,000 people in St. Peter's Basilica on the feast day.

While the pope has spoken before about evolution, he has rarely delved back in time to discuss specific concepts such as the Big Bang, which scientists believe led to the formation of the universe some 13.7 billion years ago.

Stewart Vows To Annoy John McCain: His 'Old Man Crankiness Has Gone Off The Charts'

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GLAAD Takes Action on CNN for Giving Platform to 'Anti-Gay Industry'

GLAAD is taking on CNN for allowing representatives from hate groups like the Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), and the Catholic League, to spew their distorted, misleading, and often discredited anti-gay rhetoric as balanced experts.

Writes the group, in a Call to Action:

Is it important for the media to take these groups on? Of course it is. But that's not what CNN and other media organizations are doing when it invites these groups to take part in otherwise reasonable discussions. The media is elevating their hurtful messages and attitudes to the level of rational discourse. The media is saying that people like Alexander Nicholson, who can speak to real-life experience and firsthand facts, need to be "balanced" by people like Peter Sprigg, whose claim to fame is arguing that being gay should be outlawed. If CNN wants to interview a gay person who believes being straight should be outlawed, THEN Peter Sprigg would be an acceptable "balance."

CNN and the rest of the media are doing nothing but exposing their viewers to dangerous anti-gay rhetoric when they invite members of these anti-gay groups onto their programming. Starting in 2011, this needs to stop.

Chick-fil-A Drops Antigay Event

The Chick-fil-A name has been removed from banner ads promoting a marriage event sponsored by the antigay Pennsylvania Family Institute.

The company tweeted that it was “looking into the issue” on Tuesday but has yet to issue an official statement. Chick-fil-A had been listed as a sponsor for February’s “The Art of Marriage” event, sponsored by the conservative, antigay group.

This isn’t the first time the restaurant chain has been taken to task for its support of antigay groups. In 2009, Change.org reported Chick-Fil-A had supported Focus on the Family.

That group, founded by the Reverend James Dobson, endorses so-called reparative therapy programs in efforts to turn gays straight and has donated hundreds of thousand of dollars in support of antigay legislation.

Palm Springs Police Chief Resigns

Palm Springs Police Chief David Dominguez resigned Wednesday after court documents revealed he’d made an antigay slur last year during a sting operation targeting gay men in the city’s Warm Sands neighborhood.

Nineteen men were arrested during the June, 2009 sting. Police alleged the sting was in response to complaints about drug use, public sex and prostitution, but it drew complaints from residents who said gay men were being unfairly targeted.

During a pre trial hearing, a defendant alleged Domingez could be heard making disparaging remarks against gay people on a video recording in an undercover vehicle.

“What a bunch of filthy mother fuckers,” he allegedly said. “You guys should get paid extra for this.

NJ Gov. Christie signs 'Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights'

Gov. Chris Christie has signed a bill advocates say gives New Jersey the toughest anti-bullying law in the nation.

It will require training for most public school teachers, administrators and other employees on how to spot bullying and mandate that all districts form a "school safety team" to review complaints. School districts would be graded by the state on their efforts to combat the problem.

Administrators who do not investigate reported incidents of bullying would be disciplined, while students who bully could be suspended or expelled. School employees would also be required to report all incidents they learn of, whether they took place in or outside of school

Neil Patrick Harris gushes gay

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Bill O'Reilly Argues with an Atheist

Bill O'Reilly is very angry that Atheists are putting up signs saying that religions are a scam, and gets into it with David Silverman, President of the American Atheists Group, who asks why religious groups can put up signs telling non-believers that they are going to Hell.

O'Reilly argues that the tides, which are, of course, explained by the gravitational force of the sun and the moon combined with the Earth's rotation, have no explanation except for God.

it gets better-----a music video by rebecca drysdale

Prop 8 Lead Attorney Ted Olson Explains The Latest Ruling



The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals punted the issue of standing back to the California Supreme Court. Lead attorney for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) Ted Olson, who is battling Proposition 8, explains the latest ruling by the Ninth Circuit. This is also a great primer for those not fully caught-up on the case!

Marriage Equality Bill To Be Introduced In State House Today

"Rhode Island state Rep. Arthur Handy will introduce a marriage equality bill today. Handy's bill already has 27 cosponsors."

Thomas Roberts Talks to Claire Buffie, Miss New York, About Her Gay Rights Platform



Miss New York Claire Buffie has appeared with Thomas Roberts before on MSNBC, but she returns with the Miss America pageant approaching on January 15.

Buffie's sister is a lesbian, and she shares a story with Roberts about a young girl who came out to her while she was visiting schools to tell her story.

R.I. Governor Lincoln Chafee Calls for Marriage Equality in Inaugural Address

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee was sworn in yesterday and received cheers and applause as he called on lawmakers to approve a marriage equality bill in his inaugural address:

"I urge the General Assembly to quickly consider and adopt this legislation. When marriage equality is the law in Rhode Island, we honor our forefathers who risked their lives and fortune in the pursuit of human equality. Rhode Island today must be as welcoming to all as [the state's founder] Roger Williams intended it to be. Mark my words, these two actions will do more for economic growth in our state than any economic development loan."

High-Ranking Lesbian Episcopal Priests Marry in Massachusetts

On New Year's Day, some history was being made in Massachusetts, the Patriot Ledger reports:

In a wedding that appears to be the first of its kind in the U.S. – at least in the Episcopal Church – former Plymouth priest the Rev. Mally Lloyd married the Rev. Katherine Ragsdale, dean and president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, on New Year’s Day. The Rev. Lloyd, a former pastor at Christ Church in Plymouth, is now a ranking official of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

The Rev. Lloyd and the Rev. Ragsdale were married in a ceremony at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, with about 400 guests attending. Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, the state’s highest ranking Episcopal official, presided.

So far there has been no response from the conservative portion of the Anglican church.

A press release from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge said the two women were introduced by a mutual friend in the summer of 2008.

That was a few months before the Rev. Lloyd was appointed canon to the ordinary – the diocese’s chief operating officer – and about a year before the Rev. Ragsdale became the divinity school’s dean and president.

During their New Year’s Day ceremony, Bishop Shaw said: “God always rejoices when two people who love each other make a lifelong commitment in marriage to go deeper into the heart of God through each other. It’s a profound pleasure for me to celebrate with God and my friends Katherine and Mally their marriage today.”