Tag Archives: LGBT History

“Judge Walker had the great responsibility of deciding whether Proposition 8 violates the Constitution of the United States. He heard in-depth arguments from both sides on fundamental questions of due process, equal protection and freedom from discrimination. There are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, and I am glad that all viewpoints were respected throughout the proceedings. We …

CNN and other outlets have retracted their earlier claims that there was no stay on Walker’s ruling. It appears that this stay is good for two days, I don’t know yet what happens after that. The stay ruling is here.

Come celebrate with Sen. Gillibrand tomorrow night at Therapy in Hell’s Kitchen for the JMG-sponsored fundraiser party!

Moments ago California’s Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage was OVERTURNED by Judge Vaughn Walker! This is just the beginning of a very long court battle, but for today, let’s CELEBRATE! I’ll update this post shortly with the details of Walker’s ruling. UPDATE: Here is the complete ruling. Feel free to grab my embed for your own sites!Prop 8 Ruling (BIG …

I can’t embed it here, but San Francisco’s local ABC affiliate is streaming live from outside the courthouse.

Subtitles by Andres Duque at Blabbeando.

Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, the author of the historic 2003 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, has announced her retirement. Marshall said at a news conference that her husband, former New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis, had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and she was leaving “so that Tony and I may enjoy our final seasons together.” “Tony and I are …

Even though I only speak “disco Spanish,” as I watched the live video stream of the endless debate all through the night, I was amused at my ability to pick out the familiar figures – the earnest progressives and the hectoring Christianists – so often seen in our own battles. If the bottom clip doesn’t make you tear up a …

Argentina’s Senate has voted 33-27 to APPROVE marriage equality! The bill now goes to the president who has vowed to sign it at once. The debate, which Rex Wockner notes went on for 14 hours, lasted past 4am Buenos Aires time. Shortly after the vote, a massive and delirious crowd outside the chamber broke into dancing and singing. I’ll update …

JMG reader Matt Baume sends us his recap of the history of Proposition 8 over the last two years. Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling is due any day now.

The U.S. District Court in Boston has ruled that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional. Bay Windows reports: In an enormous victory for same-sex marriage, a federal judge in Boston today (Thursday, July 8) ruled, in two separate cases, that a critical part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. In one challenge brought by the state of …

Calling it “marriage by another name,” Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has just announced that she will VETO her state’s civil unions bill. Adding insult to her bigotry, invited to the announcement was the now-retired Hawaii Supreme Court Justice who first got the state’s marriage equality ball rolling in 1993. Justice Steven H. Levinson’s 1993 opinion stated that laws prohibiting same-sex …

Yesterday my pals Jerry, Chris and Little David accompanied me to the Invasion Of The Pines, the 34th annual marking of the day in 1976 when a drag queen was denied service at a restaurant in Fire Island Pines. Every Fourth of July since then, hundreds of drag queens board a chartered ferry in Cherry Grove and “invade” the Pines …

Celebrations are taking place across India today in recognition of the first anniversary of a High Court ruling decriminalizing homosexuality. Members of Mumbai’s gay community danced, sang, laughed and hugged each other in the city’s sprawling Azad Maidan park as speakers recalled the long years of struggle to get Indian courts to change the country’s law. On July 2 last …

It was June 27th, 1969. The day that the fags, dykes, and queens of New York City finally said “Enough!” For some historical perspective, I’m posting the story that the New York Daily News ran about the Stonewall Riots. Note how the story drips with condescension and ridicule. We’ve come a long, long way in 41 years and we’ve still …

Thursday night Father Tony and I attended the world premiere of Florent: Queen Of The Meat Market, David Sigal’s documentary of the of famed Meatpacking District restaurant, its flamboyant owner Florent Morellet, and the incredible scenes staged almost nightly over the 25 years that NYC’s night creatures inhabited the place. On hand at the premiere was a who’s who of …

I posted this trailer a couple of months ago, but I’m re-running it today because the film opened in NYC yesterday and is set to open around the country beginning tomorrow and over the next few weeks. Playdates and locations are here.

David Sigal’s documentary Florent: Queen Of The Meat Market, premieres next Thursday, June 24th, at the NYC Food Film Festival. Get tickets here. Openly gay and openly HIV+ Florent Morellet’s namesake Meatpacking District restaurant was long the post-clubbing meeting place for a spectacular hodge-podge of NYC’s nightlife denizens, celebrities, and activists. The restaurant was forced out of business last year …