A federal judge in San Francisco says the denial of insurance benefits to same-sex spouses is discriminatory.
The ruling Tuesday involves 38-year-old federal court law clerk Christopher Nathan and 39-year-old Thomas Alexander, who were married in 2008 when same-sex marriages were legal in California. Voters later approved Proposition 8, overturning the state Supreme Court ruling that had legalized same-sex marriages.
Nathan was turned down when he tried last year to enroll Alexander in the federal government's health insurance plan. A 1996 law bars federal recognition of same-sex unions.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Who Do U Think U R?
The student body at Cypress Ranch High School came together to create a anti-bullying video to the song “Who Do U Think U R?,” a song written and sung by student Kaitlyn K. The project was filmed and performed entirely by the students in Cypress, TX.
Xavier University Will Stop Contraception Coverage
Xavier University, one of the oldest Roman Catholic colleges in the United States, will cut off birth-control coverage for its employees in July, a move that has divided faculty members and students on the Cincinnati campus.
The abrupt cancellation of insurance benefits at the Jesuit university in Ohio comes amid a furious dispute between the Obama administration and the nation's Catholic bishops over contraception.
The administration has mandated that nearly all health insurance plans provide free birth control by this summer, with limited accommodations for religious institutions that oppose contraception on moral grounds. Top Catholic bishops have blasted that mandate as an attack on religious freedom.
President Barack Obama's allies, in turn, have accused the church of obstructing an important benefit for women.
The controversy prompted Xavier President Michael Graham, a Jesuit priest, to review the health insurance plan offered to the university's 935 employees. Graham announced this week in a letter to the faculty that the plan will cease to cover contraception on July 1.
The abrupt cancellation of insurance benefits at the Jesuit university in Ohio comes amid a furious dispute between the Obama administration and the nation's Catholic bishops over contraception.
The administration has mandated that nearly all health insurance plans provide free birth control by this summer, with limited accommodations for religious institutions that oppose contraception on moral grounds. Top Catholic bishops have blasted that mandate as an attack on religious freedom.
President Barack Obama's allies, in turn, have accused the church of obstructing an important benefit for women.
The controversy prompted Xavier President Michael Graham, a Jesuit priest, to review the health insurance plan offered to the university's 935 employees. Graham announced this week in a letter to the faculty that the plan will cease to cover contraception on July 1.
72 House Lawmakers Urge Obama to Sign Executive Order Protecting LGBT People in the Workplace
A letter signed and sent yesterday by 72 House lawmakers urges President Obama to sign an executive order approving federal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people in the workplace, the Washington Blade reports.
“This order would extend important workplace protections to millions of Americans, while at the same time laying the groundwork for Congressional passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a goal that we share with you,” the lawmakers write.
The executive order is similar in its goal to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation that would bar job bias. The directive has sometimes been referred to as the “ENDA” executive order, although the order would be more limited in scope because it only affects federal contractors.
The letter recalls that President Johnson in 1965 issued Executive Order 11246, which similarly banned discrimination among federal contractors for workers based on color, religion, sex and national origin, and says this order “continues to stand as an important protection.”Notably absent from the letters signers are Nancy Pelosi, who told the Blade that not signing group letters has been a “longstanding custom since she has been in leadership", as well as Steny Hoyer and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
“This order would extend important workplace protections to millions of Americans, while at the same time laying the groundwork for Congressional passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a goal that we share with you,” the lawmakers write.The executive order is similar in its goal to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation that would bar job bias. The directive has sometimes been referred to as the “ENDA” executive order, although the order would be more limited in scope because it only affects federal contractors.
The letter recalls that President Johnson in 1965 issued Executive Order 11246, which similarly banned discrimination among federal contractors for workers based on color, religion, sex and national origin, and says this order “continues to stand as an important protection.”
Federal Appeals Court Hearing Arguments Today in DOMA Challenge
A federal appeals court hears arguments today in one of the cases challenging DOMA.
The AP:
Judge Joseph Tauro found that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples a host of federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns.
The AP:
In 2010, a federal judge in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, declared a key section of the law unconstitutional.
Judge Joseph Tauro found that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples a host of federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns.
A bipartisan congressional group is appealing Tauro's ruling to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the grounds that the federal government has a legitimate interest in defining marriage and deciding federal benefits. The case was to be heard on Wednesday. Tauro ruled after Attorney General Martha Coakley and the legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders challenged the law, known as DOMA.
In the state's lawsuit, Coakley argued that the law interferes with Massachusetts' right to make its own marriage laws and forces it to violate the constitutional rights of its residents.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Trump overrules rejection of transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant
Jenna Talackova, a 23-year-old transgender woman, had reached the finals of the Miss Vancouver competition, but was ousted last week from the competition because organizers said she lied about having undergone sexual reassignment surgery
Initially, pageant officials said each contestant must be a “naturally born female,” but in a statement released Monday, Miss Universe officials indicated that they might reverse their earlier decision as long as Talackova “meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada” and other international competitions.
Talackova, who carries a Canadian passport, driver’s license and birth certificate that all identify her as a woman, held a press conference on Tuesday with Los Angeles-based attorney Gloria Allred, a high-profile legal advocate for women’s causes, demanding to be allowed back into the contest.
Even If Obama Were Gay, He'd Still Win the Black Vote
"Do you think that President Obama would lose some of the black vote if, in fact he did come out in support of gay marriage?" asked MSNBC anchor Alex Wagner.
“I think if President Obama came out as gay, he wouldn't lose the black vote," Jones joked. "President Obama is not going to lose the black vote no matter what he does."
Jones was commenting during a debate about the National Organization for Marriage's strategy of driving a wedge between black and LGBT voters. The New York Times wrote a scathing op-ed today condemning NOM for what the editorial board called a "divide and discriminate" strategy.
The Times called on Republican leaders to distance themselves from NOM and its race-baiting strategy.
"Now that the group’s poisonous political approach is out in the open, Mr. Romney and the others should be racing to make clear their disapproval," the Times wrote. "We detect no stampede."
Van Jones doesn't think NOM's strategy will be effective.
"It's just kind of nuts," he told Wagner. "I think you can play to that segment, but I don't think it shows up at the ballot box at all."
Transgender Contestant Can Compete in Miss Universe
“The Miss Universe Organization will allow Jenna Talackova to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions," according to a statement released by the organization late Monday night.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Microsoft and Apple Unite to Demand That the National Organization for Marriage Boycott Them
Longtime marketplace rivals Microsoft and Apple Corporations came together to hold a joint press conference today to demand that the National Organization for Marriage commence boycotting them both, effective immediately.
A spokesperson for Microsoft said:
Amidst all the "Dump Starbucks" mania, it appears many have lost sight of the fact that Microsoft Corporation, just like Starbucks, stood proudly with Washington United for Marriage to support equal treatment for all loving couples in Washington state.
On Jan. 19 we posted our support for Senate Bill 6239 and H.B. 2516, both marriage equality bills, on our official website. We said, "Marriage Equality in Washington State Would Be Good for Business." We explained the bill's passage would put Washington employers on an equal footing with employers in the six other states that already recognize the committed relationships of same-sex couples: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. This in turn will help companies continue to compete for top talent.
We reminded everyone that in 1993, Microsoft became the first Fortune 500 company to provide same-sex domestic partnership benefits.
(Two hundred eighty-nine Fortune 500 companies have since followed Microsoft's lead.)
A spokesperson for Microsoft said:
Amidst all the "Dump Starbucks" mania, it appears many have lost sight of the fact that Microsoft Corporation, just like Starbucks, stood proudly with Washington United for Marriage to support equal treatment for all loving couples in Washington state.
On Jan. 19 we posted our support for Senate Bill 6239 and H.B. 2516, both marriage equality bills, on our official website. We said, "Marriage Equality in Washington State Would Be Good for Business." We explained the bill's passage would put Washington employers on an equal footing with employers in the six other states that already recognize the committed relationships of same-sex couples: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. This in turn will help companies continue to compete for top talent.
We reminded everyone that in 1993, Microsoft became the first Fortune 500 company to provide same-sex domestic partnership benefits.
(Two hundred eighty-nine Fortune 500 companies have since followed Microsoft's lead.)
It Was Hard “To Have Sex With 3 Boys” A Week
Secret and intentionally buried internal Catholic Church documents read aloud in a Philadelphia court reveal memos in which a priest, Monsignor William Lynn joked about how hard it was for him to have sex with three boys in one week, and discussed his rotation system for choosing which underaged boys would sleep with him.
“The startling testimony came in the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, 61, who is accused of helping the Philadelphia archdiocese bury priest abuse complaints in secret files,” the Daily Mail reports:
Lynn, who faces charges of child endangerment and conspiracy, is the first Roman Catholic church official to be charged in the U.S. for his handling of priest abuse complaints.
The scandal of child sex abuse by Catholic priests has reverberated internationally, and caused a worldwide crisis of faith in the Roman church.
Prosecutors are detailing allegations made against nearly two dozen priests since 1948 to show Lynn and other officials kept suspected predators in jobs around children.
Giving evidence, a detective read internal church memos about a priest who is said to have ‘joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week.’
The priest’s accuser also alleged that the priest had a ‘rotation process’ of boys spending time sleeping with him.
Jurors also heard testimony telling of a 1992 complaint about a priest accused of molesting boys at a church-owned camp three decades earlier.
“The startling testimony came in the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, 61, who is accused of helping the Philadelphia archdiocese bury priest abuse complaints in secret files,” the Daily Mail reports:
Lynn, who faces charges of child endangerment and conspiracy, is the first Roman Catholic church official to be charged in the U.S. for his handling of priest abuse complaints.
The scandal of child sex abuse by Catholic priests has reverberated internationally, and caused a worldwide crisis of faith in the Roman church.
Prosecutors are detailing allegations made against nearly two dozen priests since 1948 to show Lynn and other officials kept suspected predators in jobs around children.
Giving evidence, a detective read internal church memos about a priest who is said to have ‘joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week.’
The priest’s accuser also alleged that the priest had a ‘rotation process’ of boys spending time sleeping with him.
Jurors also heard testimony telling of a 1992 complaint about a priest accused of molesting boys at a church-owned camp three decades earlier.
List Of Gays To Kill Published By Group Vowing To Get Them “One By One”
An anti-gay group in Liberia has published a “hit list,” a list of people believed to be gay to kill, and the group has vowed to “get to them one by one.” Liberia, like Uganda, has increasingly been fomenting anti-gay hate, and is embattled with its open version of a “kill the gays” bill too. Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, recently made comments favoring the criminalization of homosexuality, prompting the U.S. State Department to express concern over the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s statements.
The anti-gay group in Liberia, the “Movement Against Gays in Liberia,” or, MOGAL, “distributed fliers over the weekend with a hit list of people who support gay rights,” the AP reported:
The group said those involved in promoting gay rights “should not be given space to get a gulp of air.”
“Having conducted a comprehensive investigation, we are convinced that the below listed individuals are gays or supporters of the club who don’t mean well for our country,” the fliers read. “Therefore, we have agreed to go after them using all means in life.”
No individual members of MOGAL signed the flier. But Moses Tapleh, a 28-year-old resident of the main community where the flier was distributed, said he was affiliated with the group and stressed that its threats should be taken seriously.
“We will get to them one by one,” Tapleh said. “They want to spoil our country.”
Asked what specific action might be taken against those on the list, he said they could be subjected to “dangerous punishments” including “flogging and death.”
Currently, Liberia, a Western African nation, only outlaws homosexuality with the penalty bering a fine, but is seeking to make the punishment more severe, including, possibly, death.
The anti-gay group in Liberia, the “Movement Against Gays in Liberia,” or, MOGAL, “distributed fliers over the weekend with a hit list of people who support gay rights,” the AP reported:
The group said those involved in promoting gay rights “should not be given space to get a gulp of air.”
“Having conducted a comprehensive investigation, we are convinced that the below listed individuals are gays or supporters of the club who don’t mean well for our country,” the fliers read. “Therefore, we have agreed to go after them using all means in life.”
No individual members of MOGAL signed the flier. But Moses Tapleh, a 28-year-old resident of the main community where the flier was distributed, said he was affiliated with the group and stressed that its threats should be taken seriously.
“We will get to them one by one,” Tapleh said. “They want to spoil our country.”
Asked what specific action might be taken against those on the list, he said they could be subjected to “dangerous punishments” including “flogging and death.”
Currently, Liberia, a Western African nation, only outlaws homosexuality with the penalty bering a fine, but is seeking to make the punishment more severe, including, possibly, death.
Incriminating photo surfaces, reported to be of gay men arrested on cruise ship
An incriminating photograph has surfaced, reportedly of the two men on an Atlantis gay cruise who were arrested earlier this month and accused of openly having sex on the boat while docked in the Roseau port of Dominica.
Dennis Mayer, 53, and John Hart, were charged with “buggery,” an offense equivalent to sodomy, and indecent exposure after they were seen allegedly having sex on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship by someone on the dock.
Following the ordeal, Mayer said they were not having sex, and that they were “partially clothed.”
Now this photograph has surfaced, sent to Queerty.com via an anonymous reader:
Dennis Mayer, 53, and John Hart, were charged with “buggery,” an offense equivalent to sodomy, and indecent exposure after they were seen allegedly having sex on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship by someone on the dock.
Following the ordeal, Mayer said they were not having sex, and that they were “partially clothed.”
Now this photograph has surfaced, sent to Queerty.com via an anonymous reader:
Mayer and Hart were arrested and held overnight, and appeared in a Dominican court the next day, where they pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of indecent exposure and ordered to pay fines of $888 each.
Chief Magistrate Evaline Baptiste called the men “rogues and vagabonds.”
Chief Magistrate Evaline Baptiste called the men “rogues and vagabonds.”
Mitt Romney Donated $10,000 To NOM During Prop 8
HRC unearthed confidential NOM memos outlining a strategy to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks” and manipulate the Latino community on marriage equality.
Now, in never-before-seen documents obtained exclusively by HRC, it’s come to light that Romney actually funded NOM with a $10,000 donation in 2008 – all while NOM was fighting marriage equality rights for couples in California’s Prop. 8 campaign.
Now, in never-before-seen documents obtained exclusively by HRC, it’s come to light that Romney actually funded NOM with a $10,000 donation in 2008 – all while NOM was fighting marriage equality rights for couples in California’s Prop. 8 campaign.
Julian Bond On NOM Memos: 'One Of The Most Cynical Things I've Ever Heard'
Anderson Cooper asked Julian Bond, chairman emeritus of the NAACP, about the National Organization for Marriage's race-baiting tactics. Bond responded thusly:
It's one of the most cynical things I've ever heard of or seen spelled out in this way. The idea that these people are just pawned that can be played with -- that black people who oppose gay marriage, that black people who support just can be moved around like pieces on a chess board. It's scary.
Texas Woman, 71, Arrested for Anti-Gay Hate Assault with Cane
A 71-year-old woman was arrested and charged with a hate crime for using her cane in an anti-gay attack on a man, the Star-Telegram reports:
Wanda Derby attacked the 25-year-old man Wednesday night as her son was moving into the man's apartment, Richland Hills police said.
"This apparently angered Derby," Richland Hills Detective Tye Bell said in a news release.
Derby referred to the man with a homosexual slur and told authorities that the man "has AIDS and is going to kill her son," according to the news release. Derby, who was arrested Wednesday, was free Thursday afternoon on $11,500 bail, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. She is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, enhanced as a hate crime, and assault causing bodily injury.
Derby's Facebook page is littered with angry rants about her neighbors, including this one about her son.
Wanda Derby attacked the 25-year-old man Wednesday night as her son was moving into the man's apartment, Richland Hills police said."This apparently angered Derby," Richland Hills Detective Tye Bell said in a news release.
Derby referred to the man with a homosexual slur and told authorities that the man "has AIDS and is going to kill her son," according to the news release. Derby, who was arrested Wednesday, was free Thursday afternoon on $11,500 bail, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. She is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, enhanced as a hate crime, and assault causing bodily injury.
...Derby is accused of hitting the man, who was not identified, several times with a cane and choking him by placing the cane against his throat. The man's mother saw the attack and went to help. As she called 911, she was hit in the face, Richland Hills police said. The man had marks and bruises on his throat and body and was treated at the scene, police said.
California High-Speed Rail Authority Releases Ambitious New Plan
California's high-speed rail authority released a fresh proposal Monday for a bullet train linking Northern and Southern California, with a price tag of $68.4 billion and a scaled-back design to address sustained criticism of a project that has been called a boondoggle and a train to nowhere.
The revised proposal speeds completion to 2028, about five years earlier, and puts the cost at $30 billion less than a draft plan released last fall.
However, the cost is still $25 billion more than the plan voters approved four years ago.
The revised plan merges the bullet train with existing commuter rail lines in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles basin, providing nearly $1 billion to electrify existing rail tracks in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, which officials say would speed up rail service and possibly generate more riders.
Michael Rossi, a member of the rail authority's board and a senior adviser on jobs and business for California Gov. Jerry Brown, called the new plan credible and reasonable.
"This project, like the state highway system or the water project, will transform the California economy and help it remain one of the most innovative in the world," he said at a Fresno news conference to release the plan.
Brown, a Democrat, has asked the California High-Speed Rail Authority to revamp its earlier proposal and make construction quicker and cheaper after a draft plan said the project's cost had more than doubled to $98 billion.
Under the updated plan, the Central Valley and the San Fernando Valley would be linked by trains moving at speeds up to 220 mph would link by 2023, expanding on what originally had been proposed as a 130-mile Madera-to-Bakersfield section that critics had lampooned as a "train to nowhere."
The revised proposal speeds completion to 2028, about five years earlier, and puts the cost at $30 billion less than a draft plan released last fall.
However, the cost is still $25 billion more than the plan voters approved four years ago.
The revised plan merges the bullet train with existing commuter rail lines in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles basin, providing nearly $1 billion to electrify existing rail tracks in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, which officials say would speed up rail service and possibly generate more riders.
Michael Rossi, a member of the rail authority's board and a senior adviser on jobs and business for California Gov. Jerry Brown, called the new plan credible and reasonable.
"This project, like the state highway system or the water project, will transform the California economy and help it remain one of the most innovative in the world," he said at a Fresno news conference to release the plan.
Brown, a Democrat, has asked the California High-Speed Rail Authority to revamp its earlier proposal and make construction quicker and cheaper after a draft plan said the project's cost had more than doubled to $98 billion.
Under the updated plan, the Central Valley and the San Fernando Valley would be linked by trains moving at speeds up to 220 mph would link by 2023, expanding on what originally had been proposed as a 130-mile Madera-to-Bakersfield section that critics had lampooned as a "train to nowhere."
Monday, April 2, 2012
DOMA Co-Author Kathryn Lehman Calls For Repeal Of Gay Marriage Ban
DOMA is the 1996 law that bans federal agencies from recognizing the marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
The Huffington Post reported that in her capacity as chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Lehman helped write the law.
Lehman, who at the time was involved in a relationship with a man she eventually married, said the perception America had of gay people was completely different in 1996.
Gay Marriage Law Heads to Appeals Court in Massachusetts
legal battle over a law that denies federal benefits to married gay couples is headed to a federal appeals court in Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage.
The federal Defense of Marriage Act, enacted by Congress in 1996, defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.
A federal judge in Massachusetts declared a key section of the law unconstitutional in 2010 after Attorney General Martha Coakley and the legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders sued.
The federal Defense of Marriage Act, enacted by Congress in 1996, defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.
A federal judge in Massachusetts declared a key section of the law unconstitutional in 2010 after Attorney General Martha Coakley and the legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders sued.
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