California Supremes to decide on entering Prop 8 fray

Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakayue says the California Supreme Court will decide soon, maybe next week, on whether to enter the Proposition 8 gay marriage fray.

The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals said last month that it cannot decide if the gay marriage ban is constitutional until the state high court weighs in on whether proposition sponsors have authority to defend the measure.

A three-judge panel asked the California Supreme Court to decide if ballot proposition backers can step in to defend voter-approved initiatives in court when state officials refuse to do so. The panel suggested it would have to dismiss the case if there's no state high court input.

The Los Angeles Times says Cantil-Sakauye told reporters Wednesday that the California Supreme Court will soon decide whether to weigh in.

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Howard Stern Done Saying "F*g"

Howard Stern admits he sometimes slips and uses the word “f*g,” but he was taken aback by how much Lisa Lampanelli used it on his radio show because he thinks gay people are too often “bullied” and “abused.”

“I know Lisa’s kidding around and all that, but I’ve tried to change my thought about that word. I’ve tried to stop using it … I’d rather not use it,” he said when a caller asked is he was bothered by the comedian’s excessive use of the word on his Sirius XM radio show.

“I have a tremendous compassion for people that are homosexual. I feel that they are bullied and abused in our society. They take such shit just because they like to be with the same sex, and it’s so absurd to me.

“It must be a terrible thing to be exposed to that kind of hatred and be hated just because of your sexuality.”

Maryland GOP Senators Oppose Marriage Equality

Republican senators in Maryland voted as a caucus Tuesday to oppose the marriage equality bill pending in the state legislature, but at least one Republican, Sen. Allan H. Kittleman, refused to follow the party line.

According to The Washington Post, at least eight of the 12 Republican senators voted to oppose the marriage equality bill, a sufficient number to establish a caucus position. The position is not binding and senators are not obligated to disclose how they voted.

The Post reports that, “In an interview, Kittleman said he thought the caucus position was wrong and would announce his intentions in coming days. He has previously announced that he would sponsor a bill allowing civil unions between both same-sex and heterosexual couples. Kittleman stepped down as minority leader shortly after making that announcement.”

Support from Kittleman would be helpful with a hearing on the bill scheduled for next week in the senate judicial proceedings committee.

Where's Egypt, Again?

Zach Wahls Speaks About Family

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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.

“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.

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.

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.