Tag Archives: LGBT rights

The LGBT activism group One Colorado and a coalition of gay-friendly faith leaders, unions, and education groups yesterday launched their campaign to legalize civil unions in Colorado. Box Turtle Bulletin blogger Daniel Gonzales sends us the below clip from the campaign’s kick-off press conference.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will sign his state’s civil unions bill today in a 4PM ceremony expected to be attended by a huge crowd. A capacity crowd at a historic downtown Chicago venue? No, it isn’t a concert or even the big game — it’s to watch civil unions become legal in Illinois. When Gov. Pat Quinn signs the historic …

From the official USMC YouTube channel: On December 3, 2010, General James Amos testified that if DADT was repealed, the Marine Corps would step out smartly to carry out the new policy. On January 28, 2011, the Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps released this video to the Corps describing the way ahead. An amazing and welcome message.

American immigration officials examining the cases of gays seeking asylum here are often denying such requests if the applicants “don’t look gay enough” to be persecuted in their home countries. “Judges and immigration officials are adding a new hurdle in gay asylum cases that an applicant’s homosexuality must be socially visible,” said Lori Adams, a lawyer at Human Rights First, …

The Hawaii Senate has just approved its civil unions bill! The Senate voted 19-6 for the bill Friday, sending it to the state House of Representatives for additional consideration. Hawaii would become the sixth state to grant some of the rights of marriage to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself. A civil unions bill also passed the Illinois Legislature last …

LGBT activists staged a vigil for David Kato outside of London’s Uganda High Commission today, after which they delivered a 40,000-name petition to UK Home Secretary Theresa May, demanding that Britain not send lesbian asylum-seeker Brenda Namigadde back to Uganda. Namigadde says she fears that she too will be murdered if forced to return. Add your name to the petition …

This morning France’s highest court let stand a ban on same-sex marriage. The case had been brought by a lesbian couple raising four children. 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 …

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a lengthy condemnation of the murder of Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato. We are profoundly saddened by the loss of Ugandan human rights defender David Kato, who was brutally murdered in his home near Kampala yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues. We urge Ugandan authorities to quickly …

“David Kato was a man that fought for the rights of people to live freely regardless of their sexual orientation in Uganda. David Kato suffered a violent death and I send my condolences to his family. I call for the perpetrators of this crime to be brought to justice. He was a remarkable human rights defender. I regret that Uganda …

Weeks after his face was outed on the cover of a Uganda newspaper, LGBT activist David Kato has been found beaten to death in his home. “David Kato’s death is a tragic loss to the human rights community,” said Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “David had faced the increased threats to Ugandan LGBT people bravely and …

Hawaii’s civil unions bill yesterday squeaked out of committee and advanced for a vote by the full state Senate. Senate Bill 232 passed the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee by a 3-2 vote, after a hearing that lasted just over two hours. The bill now goes to the Senate floor for the second of three required votes by the full …

JMG reader Todd writes to tip us that the Hawaii Senate has just begun debating a civil unions bill. Newly-elected Gov. Neil Abercrombie has promised to sign the bill, should it reach his desk. Last year both chambers of the Hawaiian legislature approved a civil unions bill, only to have it vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle. Story developing…

This weekend the BBC’s Big Picture covered the recent decision against the British hoteliers who had refused to rent rooms to gay couples. Good discussion here.

Back in December, wingnut Virginia legislator Bob Marshall announced a bill to ban homosexuals from serving in that state’s National Guard. Today we get the text of that bill, which lists numerous examples of gays being booted from the military after declaring that the federal government has no right to tell Virginia who can serve in its National Guard. A …

From the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which notes that a 2007 study showed that 30% of same-sex couples in Michigan faced discrimination when attempting to rent or buy a home. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today proposed new regulations intended to ensure that its core housing programs are open to all eligible persons, regardless of …

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Yesterday lawmakers in Maryland introduced a marriage equality bill. Maryland’s gay-marriage bill, HB 55, was introduced by Delegate Luis Simmons and 16 co-sponsors. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act uses the same language as previous bills – establishing that a marriage between “two individuals” who are otherwise permitted to marry would be “valid in the state.” The bill …

The same reporter who earlier this week grilled White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about DOMA today returned with similar questions about ENDA. With a similarly waffle-filled result.