Ohio Anti-Labor Bill Sneaks In Anti-Gay Provision

Following in the Wisconsin legislature's footsteps, Ohio lawmakers are using their power to take on labor unions, and yesterday the Buckeye State's Senate passed a bill that would strip workers of collective bargaining rights.

Supporters of the legislation are presenting it as a matter of economics, but that does nothing to explain why they felt the need to include superfluous anti-gay provision that again defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

From Sec. 3101.01 of the bill, via ThinkProgress:

A marriage may only be entered into by one man and one woman. Any marriage between persons of the same sex is against the strong public policy of this state. Any marriage between persons of the same sex shall have no legal force or effect in this state and, if attempted to be entered into in this state, is void ab initio and shall not be recognized by this state. The recognition or extension by the state of the specific statutory benefits of a legal marriage to non-marital relationships between persons of the same sex or different sexes is against the strong public policy of this state. Any public act, record or judicial proceeding of this state, as defined in section 9.82 of the Revised Code, that extends the specific statutory benefits of legal marriage to non-marital relationships between persons of the same sex or different sexes is void.



Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/#ixzz1FfMOVFBf

Playgirl Wants Rep. Chris Lee

Antigay former GOP representative Christopher Lee, who resigned following a scandal that involved soliciting transgender women on Craigslist, is being sought for a nude spread in Playgirl, reports Village Voice blogger Michael Musto.

"We're currently putting together a shoot of hot daddies (DILFS) and I think Chris would make a great centerfold for that issue," Playgirl's Daniel Nardicio tells Musto.

"He's hot and hunky, and the fact that he likes trannies gives me a great idea for a shoot with Terry Richardson, whom I met last week backstage at Lady Gaga and was into the idea — in fact, Terry's mother used to work at Playgirl. I think it'd be a great choice for Chris — a dismal political career could be topped off with a flamboyant finish."

Nardicio even has a name for the special issue. "I'm thinking of calling that issue DILFS—or Silver Foxes," he says.

Harding University President Speaks On 'Degrading' Gay Website

Harding University, a conservative Christian college in Searcy, Arkansas, this week blocked a website highlighting that school's discriminatory policies toward LGBT people.

Now the university's president, David B. Burks, has spoken out against the site, which he calls "offensive and degrading."

Really?

This one is making the rounds on Facebook:

So, let me get this straight...Kelsey Grammer can end a 15 year marriage over the phone, Larry King can be on divorce #9, Britney Spears had a 55 hour marriage, Jesse James and Tiger Woods, while married, were having sex with EVERYONE. Yet, the idea of same-sex marriage is going to destroy the institution of marriage? Really?

New Hampshire Gay Marriage Repeal Effort Shelved

An GOP led effort to repeal New Hampshire's year-old gay marriage law has been shelved, the AP reported.

The House Judiciary Committee considering two bills that would repeal the law voted unanimously on Thursday to hold off on the legislation.

At a recent hearing on the bills, a large majority of the six hundred people in attendance opposed repeal of the law.

Republican leaders had urged the committee to shelve the bills until next year, insisting social issues must take a back seat to the state's fiscal crisis.

God and Guns to Be Added to Bullying Bill?

Kentucky state senator Mike Harmon wants to amend legislation addressing antigay bullying to say it's OK to call homosexuality a sin — and to carry guns in school.

Pope Benedict Exonerates Jews For Jesus' Death

Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity in a new book.

In "Jesus of Nazareth-Part II" excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict uses biblical and theological analyses to explain why there was no basis in Scripture that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus' death.

Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews.

While the Vatican has for five decades taught that Jews weren't collectively responsible, Jewish scholars said Wednesday the argument laid out by the German-born pontiff, who has had his share of mishaps with Jews, was significant and would help fight anti-Semitism today.

"There's a natural human tendency to take things for granted, and very often this tends to lead to a lapse in awareness and consciousness" about the risk of anti-Semitism, said Rabbi David Rosen, head of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee and a longtime leader in Vatican-Jewish dialogue.

He noted that the Vatican issued its most authoritative document on the issue in its 1965 Second Vatican Council document "Nostra Aetate," which revolutionized the Catholic Church's relations with Jews by saying Christ's death could not be attributed to Jews as a whole at the time or today.

Benedict comes to the same conclusion, but he explains how with a thorough, Gospel-by-Gospel analysis that leaves little doubt that he deeply and personally believes it to be the case.

Westboro Baptist Church Wins Supreme Court Appeal Over Funeral Protests

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount anti-gay protests outside military funerals, despite the pain they cause grieving families.

The court voted 8-1 in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the father of a dead Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the court. Justice Samuel Alito dissented.

Roberts said free speech rights in the First Amendment shield the funeral protesters, noting that they obeyed police directions and were 1,000 feet from the church.

"Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and – as it did here – inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker," Roberts said. "As a nation we have chosen a different course – to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate."

Alito strongly disagreed. "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case," he said.

Matthew Snyder died in Iraq in 2006 and his body was returned to the United States for burial. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have picketed military funerals for several years, decided to protest outside the Westminster, Md., church where his funeral was to be held.

The Rev. Fred Phelps and his family members who make up most of the Westboro Baptist Church have picketed many military funerals in their quest to draw attention to their incendiary view that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

They showed up with their usual signs, including "Thank God for dead soldiers," "You're Going to Hell," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," and one that combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, with a slur against gay men.

Sarah Palins Slams Obama On DOMA

"I have always believed that marriage is between one man and one woman. Like the majority of Americans, I support the Defense of Marriage Act and find it appalling that the Obama administration decided not to defend this federal law which was enacted with broad bipartisan support and signed into law by a Democrat president. It’s appalling, but not surprising that the President has flip-flopped on yet another issue from his stated position as a candidate to a seemingly opposite position once he was elected."
   - Sarah Palin

Baltimore delegates delay key vote on passage of Maryland gay marriage bill

Two Democrats blocked a critical vote on the Civil Marriage Protection Act in the Maryland House of Delegate’s Judiciary Committee late Tuesday afternoon, stalling the measure from advancing to the full House as quickly as previously expected.

Maddow Discusses Wisconsin's Gov Walker

School bans all non-academic clubs to avoid approving gay-straight alliance

A Texas school district has banned all non-academic clubs from meeting on campus to ensure it’s complying with federal law after refusing to allow a student to start a gay-straight alliance.

The decision by the Flour Bluff Independent School District comes after Bianca “Nikki” Peet, a senior at Flour Bluff High School requested to start the GSA.

In a letter to Paul Rodriguez, the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who has supported Peet’s efforts to organize the GSA, Superintendent Julie Carbajal defended the decision and said the school was committed to “supporting the cultural diversity” of all students.

Did Oscar Producers Get 'Gay Panic' When Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem Kissed During the Telecast?

Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem exchanged a playful kiss and danced at the Oscars but viewers never saw the kiss and producers quickly cut away from the dance, which is a shame because the producers clearly needed something in the telecast that was entertaining.

AfterElton's Michael Jensen wonders why it was censored:

"Viewers saw the two men walk out onto stage where they engaged in an apparently impromptu dance, though viewers only saw a flash of that before the camera jumped to an extended shot of Penelope Cruz...So why the cut away? On one hand, it seems unlikely that ABC would find a kiss between Bardem and Brolin to be something needing to be censored. After all, back in 2006, the Oscar telecast included a Brokeback Mountain spoof featuring Jon Stewart and George Clooney in bed. On the other hand, the cutaway to Cruz seemed awkward and clearly lasted until the two men had stopped dancing. Frankly, it's hard not to wonder if it might not have something to do with the Adam Lambert imbroglio from the American Music Awards."

ABC told AfterElton it would have no comment on the issue.

Government Will Uphold DOMA in Spousal Benefits Case

The Department of Justice, in a filing on Monday, responded to DOMA questions from lawyers representing Karen Golinski, a U.S. appeals court lawyer who is suing the federal government so her wife could receive health benefits.

The AP:
Government lawyers told a federal judge Monday in San Francisco that the administration will still enforce the Defense of Marriage Act until it is struck down by a court or repealed by Congress. They say its new position on the act's unconstitutionality is irrelevant.

Reuters reports:

Given the recent Obama policy shift on the marriage act, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White issued a written order last week asking the administration to explain how it could continue defending the Golinski lawsuit.

In a filing on Monday, DOJ attorneys reiterated that Obama told executive agencies to enforce the law until Congress repealed it -- even though the administration would no longer defend its constitutionality in court.

But White need not decide the law's constitutionality to resolve the Golinski case, DOJ attorneys wrote. The Kozinski order is not enforceable through the kind of lawsuit Golinski filed, DOJ argued.

Jennifer Pizer, one of Golinski's attorneys, said it would have been much more "helpful and consistent" with Obama's shift had government lawyers taken the position that Golinski could reenroll her wife in the family health plan.

Fundamentalist Preacher Arrested For Masturbating While Watching Kids Play

A Christian Fundamentalist preacher who gained notoriety for leading protests against participants at Southern Decadence festivals in New Orleans, was arrested for allegedly masturbating while watching children on a playground.

In 2003, Storms, “armed with bullhorns, Bibles and picket signs,” according to The Times-Picayune, and “a group of followers in 2003 protested against Southern Decadence, the gay three-day festival held over Labor Day weekend in the French Quarter.”

The Times-Picayune also reports, Storms ”was merely having lunch at Lafreniere Park, 3000 Downs Blvd., in his van when he decided to relieve himself using a bottle instead of using the restroom, an incident report said.”

The Advocate added, “Storms has orchestrated counter-events for Southern Decadence in the past, and in 2004, filed a lawsuit against gay rights group Action Wisconsin for defamation, but the suit was thrown out of court. He has also been an advocate for cleaning up the French Quarter, and has gone as far as filming sexual acts that took place during Southern Decadence, and screening his videos to lawmakers as a way to coerce them to stop allowing the annual festival from taking place.”

AFA's Lawyer: DOMA Is Unconstitutional

The American Family Association's in-house attorney says that while he and many members of his organization believe that marriage should only be reserved for heterosexual adults, the Defense of Marriage Act is "probably unconstitutional."

Pat Vaughn appeared on the March 1 edition of the AFA Report to talk about President Barack Obama's recent directive to the Department of Justice to stop defending the 15-year-old law barring federal recognition of state-sanctioned marriages or civil unions for same-sex couples.

Co-host Ed Vitagliano asked Vaughn whether former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is right to say Obama's actions were an "impeachable offense." Vaughn replied, "I think that Newt Gingrich is an astute politician and he is playing this for all it's worth. I think that marriage is defined by God as between a man and a woman. However, the Defense of Marriage Act is probably unconstitutional, particularly...if you attempt to apply it so that to say that a marriage conducted in one state is not in effect in another. That clearly violates the Constitution."

Calif. A.G.: Lift Stay on Marriages

California's attorney general Kamala Harris filed a brief with the ninth circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday that asked the court to immediately reinstate same-sex marriage in the Golden State.

An appeal is pending of federal judge Vaughn Walker's decision that declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional in August 2010. The ninth circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has asked for the California Supreme Court to decide whether plaintiffs in the appeal — antigay groups like ProtectMarriage.com — have standing to defend Prop. 8 under state law, since California's governor and attorney general refuse to defend it.

The appeal’s likelihood of success has been substantially diminished, Harris said in her statement to the court, “both by the United States Attorney General’s conclusion that classifications based on sexual orientation cannot survive constitutional scrutiny and by this Court’s certification order to the California Supreme Court, which seriously questions the Court’s jurisdiction to decide the merits of the case.”

Harris also said in her statement that Prop. 8 proponents will not suffer any harm or injury should gay couples be allowed to marry. She also cited the decision by President Barack Obama and the Justice Department not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in an appeals court.

Harris, who previously served as San Francisco's district attorney, has long championed marriage equality.

“For 845 days, Proposition 8 has denied equality under law to gay and lesbian couples,” Harris said in her statement. “Each and every one of those days, same-sex couples have been denied their right to convene loved ones and friends to celebrate marriages sanctioned and protected by California law. Each one of those days, loved ones have been lost, opportunities have been missed, and justice has been denied.”

I'm Gay: Professional English Cricketer Steven Davies Comes Out of the Closet in a First for the Sport

English cricketer Steven Davies has come out of the closet, becoming the first professional athlete in that sport to do so, in an interview with The Telegraph:

In a frank and moving interview with Monday’s Daily Telegraph, Davies, who started his professional cricketing career with Worcestershire when he was 18, said he could no longer bear to lie about his sexuality. Davies, who told his family he was gay five years ago and has enjoyed their complete support, said it was a huge relief to finally come clean and be honest with the wider public.

And he said he hoped his decision would help other young gay people to have the confidence to follow in his footsteps. He explained: “This is the right time for me…I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.”

Davies said he has received much support from his teammates, and cited Welsh rugby icon Gareth Thomas as inspiration for his coming out.




Thomas, who came out last year, expressed support for Davies:

"I am really happy for Steve and pleased that he has had the strength and courage to be able to come out and be open and honest about who he is, and to see that he has the support of his family and teammates in doing it, like I did. When you are a professional sportsman you have to be 100 per cent in the moment, and I know that I played many years of 90 per cent in the moment and 10 per cent listening to the crowd. That’s why it’s good for young sports people to come out early and be the best they possibly can through their career. There comes a point where you think that the whole world is against you, and then you say to yourself “I can carry on in this dark little world or I can be honest with everybody and live the life I want.”

Huckabee On Gay Parenthood, DOMA, & DADT

We Were Here

A riveting new documentary, We Were Here, examines the early years of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco.

Perhaps it’s easy to think that the story of AIDS in the gay community has been told, but a deeper examination of the mid-1980’s health crisis has really only begun. A new documentary, We Were Here, tackles the epic tale of the early years of AIDS in San Francisco, through intimate interviews with five people — four gay men and one straight woman — whose experiences with care giving, research, art, activism and personal loss poignantly illuminate an extraordinary time.

Imperial County Joins Defense Of Gay Marriage Ban

California's Imperial County renewed its effort to defend the state's gay marriage ban by asking Friday to join an attempt to overturn the court ruling that struck down the measure known as Proposition 8.

Sponsors of the voter-approved gay marriage ban so far have taken the lead in defending the voter-approved law in court, after former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to do so.

But the move by sponsors has been questioned because they are not elected government representatives, which threatens the viability of their case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Imperial County's newly elected clerk-recorder, Chuck Storey, on Friday asked the 9th Circuit panel handling the appeal to allow him to step in as the primary defendant if the coalition of religious and legal groups that sponsored Proposition 8 is removed.

In a declaration accompanying his motion, Storey, a 57-year-old Republican, said he should be allowed to intervene because his office is responsible for issuing and recording marriage licenses in Imperial County, where 70 percent of voters approved Proposition 8 in November 2008.

"I am concerned that an unappealable ruling by a single district court striking down Proposition 8 would create significant confusion for me and other Imperial County deputy clerks and officials in the performance of our legal duties regarding marriage," Storey said.

The county Board of Supervisors and its deputy clerk first sought to intervene in the case last year, when U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker held a trial on a lawsuit brought by two gay couples and the city of San Francisco challenging the measure's constitutionality.

Walker overturned the gay marriage ban in August as a violation of gay Californians' civil rights. He also ruled that Imperial County was ineligible to be part of the case.

The county subsequently appealed to the 9th Circuit, reiterating its argument that staff members who issue marriage licenses and perform weddings had a direct stake in the fate of Proposition 8. But the court also dismissed the request, asking why the head county clerk at the time, Dolores Provencio, wasn't part of the case.

"Were Imperial County's elected county clerk the applicant for intervention, that argument might have merit," the court said.

Storey succeeded Provencio, who had declined to get involved in the case before she retired last month.

San Francisco Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart believes it's too late for Imperial County to intervene, even though it now has a clerk willing to defend Proposition 8.

The deadline for appealing Walker's ruling passed in September, she said.

"Having failed timely to file a notice of appeal, the county clerk for Imperial County cannot now create jurisdiction by filing a motion to intervene," Stewart said.

The 9th Circuit court currently is mulling the constitutionality of Proposition 8. But the three-judge panel said in January it can't reach a decision until it knows if ballot proposition sponsors have legal standing to step in when the attorney general and governor refuse to defend voter-approved initiatives in court.

The California Supreme Court agreed last week to consider the standing issue and to rule on the 9th Circuit question late in the year.

House Defense of DOMA Likely

Congress is likely to defend the Defense of Marriage Act after the Obama administration announced it would stop defending a key section of the 1996 law, House Speaker John Boehner said Monday.

"I'd be very surprised if the House didn't decide that they were going to defend the law," Boehner said in an interview with David Brody of CBN News. "[I]f the President won't lead, if the President won't defend DOMA[,] then you'll see the House of Representatives defend our actions in passing a bill that frankly passed overwhelmingly."
Boehner called the Justice Department announcement last week "raw politics" and indicated that the House under his leadership could appoint a special counsel to defend DOMA in federal court.

Government Drops Two More DOMA Cases

The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it will "cease to defend" two more cases related to the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court, one day after announcing it will stop defending the 15-year-old law barring government recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions.

Assistant attorney general Tony West notified the clerk of the First Circuit that the department will no longer defend Section 3 of DOMA in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Massachusetts v. Health and Human Services. He cited President Barack Obama's recent assertion that DOMA is unconstitutional.

According to the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, which represents the plaintiffs, the department's lawyers will proceed to defend the government, but they will not argue that DOMA is constitutional.

“It is increasingly clear to everyone what has been clear to gay and lesbian families for years - that DOMA’s denial of protections available to all other married families is discriminatory, harmful, and unjustifiable,” GLAD's Mary L. Bonauto, the lead attorney for the Gill case and Pedersen v. OPM said in a statement. “DOJ’s acknowledgment of this is momentous. At the same time, we know this isn’t the end of the road."

LA Times: Let Couples Marry Now

As Californians wait for Prop. 8 to work its way through the courts, the Los Angeles Times says gay couple should be allowed to get married.

Reads the article: "Although the federal courts expedited their handling of the lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, the issues are far from resolved. And now that the California Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in, the case could be delayed for another year or more.

"Enough already. Gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to wed while the case works its way through the system."

Williams not to allow same-sex marriage

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury whose only explanation for his anti-gay stances is that he's been "taken" by "aliens" (at least according to by V. Gene Robinson), has promised British lawmakers same-sex weddings will never take place in his Anglican Church. After the Coalition government announced plans to let gays add a religious element to their unions, religious groups were quick to retaliate. Add Williams to that list.

But now Dr Williams, who was seen as a liberal when he took up his post, has indicated that on this issue he will ally himself with conservatives in the Church. He told MPs that the CofE believed marriage could only be a union between a man and a woman – and that he would not be changing course. The meeting was set up by Tony Baldry, Tory MP for North Oxfordshire, in order to build relations between the church and politicians. Challenged by Simon Kirby, the Tory MP for Brighton Kemptown, to explain what he would say to a same-sex couple wanting a church union, Dr Williams said he would not countenance weakening its teaching on marriage, and would not be dictated to by the Coalition.

Mr Kirby said the comments would alienate gay Christians and would make the Anglican Church look out of touch. 'I had hoped he might be more measured in his response and reflect on the cases for both sides of the argument more evenly, but he was very one-sided,' he said. 'Public opinion is moving faster than the Church on this issue and it is increasingly in danger of getting left behind.'