Tag Archives: law

Yesterday Rep. Barbara Lee reintroduced a bill that could eventually force the repeal of laws that criminalize exposing others to HIV.  Lee first introduced the bill in 2011.  Lambda Legal has issued a press release in support of the bill. The REPEAL (“Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal”) HIV Discrimination Act calls for review of all federal and …

After a lengthy battle against local and national hate groups, yesterday former prosecutor and Navy jet pilot Tracy Thorne-Begland (above right) kissed his husband after being sworn in as Virginia’s first openly gay judge. That process took its toll on Thorne-Begland. In fact, he said the long nomination process left him physically and mentally exhausted. Thorne-Begland said the history-making moment …

After more than a year of GOP obstruction, today the Virginia House elected openly gay Judge Tracy Thorne-Begland, a formal naval aviator dismissed under DADT, to a six-year term on the Richmond District state bench. The interim Manchester General District Court judge — a respected former Richmond prosecutor and decorated Naval aviator who in 1992 challenged the military’s now defunct …

People For The American Way cheers the latest round of federal judgeship nominations issued by the White House: People For the American Way today commended President Obama for nominating three qualified Pennsylvanians to seats on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The three nominees, Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro, Luis Felipe Restrepo, and Jeffrey L. Schmehl, continue …

A district attorney in central New York has confirmed that he worked in adult films 40 years ago after a YouTube clip proved his former identity.  Cortland County prosecutor Mark Suben had vigorously denied his porn past until the clip surfaced on Thursday. “Recently materials have been circulated alleging that I was involved in the adult film industry about 40 …

Yesterday President Obama nominated Judge William Thomas to the United States District Court of Southern Florida. If approved, Thomas will become the first openly gay black man to serve on the federal bench. Chris Geidner has more: Thomas is the first out LGBT black judge to be nominated by Obama, but, if approved by the Senate, he would be the …

According to a poll published today on AIDSmap.com, two-thirds of American gay men support laws that make it illegal for HIV-positive people to have unprotected anal sex without disclosing their status. The pollsters recruited 1725 gay men via social network sites. “Believing that it should be illegal was associated with HIV-negative or unknown status, less education, having a non-gay sexual …

The 410,000 member 132-year old American Bar Association, arguably the most influential legal group in the world, has announced its firm support for same-sex marriage. The Advocate reports: In a resolution adopted less than one week after a federal judge in San Francisco struck down California’s Proposition 8 as unconstitutional, the group acknowledges that same-sex couples “are only seeking to …

A hilarious take on Bluetooth douchebaggery and California’s new law against using cell phones while driving.

Judicial Watch, a right-wing government watchdog group, has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, charging that last week’s Elton John’s fundraiser concert for Hillary Clinton violated the “foreign intervention” clause of American election law. “Recent news reports suggest that Hillary Clinton and Hillary Clinton for President have accepted an in-kind contribution from a foreign national, Sir Elton …

Remember the guy who sued the Massachusetts Bar Association after he failed their entrance exam because he refused to answer the question about gay marriage? Stephen Dunne’s federal suit prompted a national discussion on First Amendment rights, predictably garnering him support from the religious right. Well, he’s now apologized to the gay community in an email to Boston’s Bay Windows. …

Two New York men have filed a $1.5M defamation lawsuit against American University after their alumni paper published a fake wedding announcement stating that the two “life partners” had married in Boston. American Magazine published the announcement apparently without fact-checking with the two men, who are not gay. The announcement also noted that one of the men was a founder …

Did you hear the one about the dead sperm donor being forced to pay child support? In 1999 and 2000 a Pennsylvania lesbian couple created two turkey baster babies using sperm donated by the then-living father, a friend. The couple civil-unioned in Vermont in 2002, but broke up in 2006, with one of the women winning monthly child support payments …

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s news about the demise of NYC’s Roxy nightclub, comes word that the NY State Appellate Court has upheld the 80-year old “cabaret law” that bans dancing in bars and restaurants. The court’s ruling says, “Recreational dancing is not a form of expression protected by the federal or state constitutions.” In the 1960’s, NYC had …

You may recall Rev. Lonnie W. Latham, the Oklahoma Baptist minister who loudly advocated against gay marriage and for gay people to reject our “sinful, destructive lifestyle”. That is, right up until his arrest last year for for offering an undercover cop a blowjob. Today, Latham’s lawyer asked for the case to be thrown out, citing Lawrence v. Texas, the …

KeyWord Ministries lost its last bid to repost its anti-gay billboard in Staten Island yesterday, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. The signs, which went up briefly in 2000, quoted everybody’s favorite Leviticus passage in four different ways, and were removed by the sign company after the borough ruled that the sign was “essentially hate speech”, …