Tag Archives: LGBT rights

Gay Marriage Comes To Mexico City

Today is the first day that gay couples in Mexico City can register to marry. The law, which was passed by the city’s local assembly in December, gives gay people full marital rights, including the right to adopt. Several gay couples are now expected to register to get married as early as next week. Mexico City is one of the …

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Anti-Gay GOP CA State Sen. Roy Ashburn Busted For DUI While Leaving Sacramento Gay Bar With Another Man

Anti-gay GOP California state Sen. Roy Ashburn was arrested for DUI yesterday after leaving Faces, a popular Sacramento gay bar, with an unidentified male passenger. Ashburn has been a loud opponent of LGBT rights and has organized and hosted anti-gay marriage rallies for the Traditional Values Coalition. He also has a 100% rating from the anti-gay Capitol Resource Family Impact …

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DC’s First Licensed Gay Couple

HRC Back Story reports that Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend, a couple for 13 years, were first in line to get their marriage license in Washington, DC this morning. Marriages commence in three business days. DC Councilman David Catania, the sponsor of the bill, will be on hand all day to give out cupcakes to the couples in line. Congratulations …

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Canadian Immigration Minister Deletes LGBT Rights From New Citizens Guide

If you are a prospective citizen of Canada, you won’t learn about their expansive gay rights laws from a brand new guide for immigrants. Anti-gay Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has had all mention of that deleted. Internal documents show an early draft of the guide contained sections noting that homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969; that the Charter of Rights and …

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Action Alert: GENDA Phonebanking In NYC

The Empire State Pride Agenda is looking for volunteers for a phone-banking push to get the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) passed in the New York Senate. The phone banking schedule is as follows: Tuesday, March 2ndThursday, March 4th Tuesday, March 9thThursday, March 11th Phone banks take place at our NYC office at 16 West 22nd St. 2nd floor, between …

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Anti-Gay Religious Groups Endorse Former NY Sen. Hiram Monserrate

In response to Fight Back New York’s campaign to thwart former NY Sen. Hiram Monserrate’s return to office, the convicted girlfriend slasher has proudly announced that he’s been endorsed by anti-gay religious groups in Queens. Monserrate announced he’s being supported by a bunch of clergy who are praising him for his support on one particular issue: same-sex marriage. Specifically, his …

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Ron Romanovsky – Sanctity Of Marriage

New music from one-half of the classic gay folk duo Romanovsky & Phillips.

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Stop Kill Gays Bill: 450K Signatures Delivered To Uganda Government

Today activists delivered more than 450,000 signatures to the Ugandan government on a petition protesting the “kill gays” bill. The online petition was organised by campaign group Avaaz, which hopes to eventually garner one million signatures. It was delivered to Uganda’s parliament in Kampala this morning by a delegation led by Anglican priest Canon Gideon Byamugisha. The petition was accompanied …

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Lithuania’s Anti-Gay Law Takes Effect

Lithuania’s new law anti-gay law takes effect today after being slightly amended due to the protests of the European Parliament. The law bars ‘minors’ from receiving information about any type of sexual relationships, and seeks to protect the ‘traditional’ concept of family defined by the Constitution as based on the union between a man and a woman. Last September the …

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OUTRAGEOUS: Fort Worth Police Press Charges Against Rainbow Lounge Patrons

After the Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission staged a widely criticized raid of the Rainbow Lounge last June, authorities from both organizations admitted wrongdoings that resulted in the firings of three TABC officers and a rewriting of the rules regarding nightclub raids. But despite all of that and an abject apology to the gay community from …

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Defense Contractor Urged To Reject Virginia Location Over LGBT Rights Slash

By executive order, last week Virginia Gov. Bob McConnell excluded LGBT residents from state employment protections. In return, gay rights groups are now lobbying defense contractor Northrop Grumman to reject Virginia as the location for its new national headquarters. One Maryland politician is leaping to take advantage of his state’s new recognition of same-sex marriages. In a letter sent Thursday …

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Australian Senate Rejects Marriage

In a lopsided vote, yesterday the Australian Senate rejected a marriage equality bill. But the result was closer than it seems. The bill was introduced by the Greens but was defeated 45-5, just days before the world’s biggest gay celebration, Sydney Mardi Gras. Twenty-six senators were absent from the vote, with some of these choosing to abstain because they disagreed …

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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Expresses Gratitude To Gay Soldiers

In stark contrast to the situation in America, last night British Prime Minister Gordon Brown thanked his nation’s openly serving gay soldiers in a ceremony celebrating the contributions of LGBT people to Britain. Brown told guests at 10 Downing Street, including a number of gay servicemembers, that there was a “debt of gratitude we can never fully repay”. He said …

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New York Senate Approves Partner Healthcare Bill

Seventeen years after its approval by the state Assembly, the New York Senate has finally approved the Family Health Care Decisions Act. Domestic partners will now have priority over biological family members when it comes to the medical needs of an incapacitated partner. Via press release from the Empire State Pride Agenda (my bolding): New York has been one of …

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Maryland Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages From Other Jurisdictions

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler issued an opinion today saying that the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions is consistent with Maryland state law. This is an amazing development coming just days away from same-sex marriage become legal in Washington DC. From Lambda Legal, via press release: Statement from Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation at Lambda Legal: “This …

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What Kind Of Planet Are We On?

JMG reader Sean Chapin tips us to this astonishingly well-produced clip from Rock For Equality which exposes the inequities of Social Security benefits for same-sex couples. Rock For Equality will be staging protest rallies at Social Security offices in Los Angeles and Washington DC during tax week.

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West Virginia GOP To Force Marriage Vote

West Virginia’s GOP legislators are tired of waiting around for a chance to enshrine bigotry into state law. House Republicans plan a series of procedural motions this week to force floor votes on proposals they say Democrats have allowed to die in committees. Those include a resolution (HJR5) that calls for a statewide referendum on whether to amend the constitution …

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Thousands Protest Portugal Marriage Law

Yesterday thousands of anti-gay protesters marched in Lisbon to protest Portugal’s pending marriage equality law. Organizers estimated the event, called “in defense of the family,” attracted a crowd of 5,000, but no official figures were reported. Demonstrators marched down Lisbon’s main downtown artery Av. da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue) calling on President Anibal Cavaco Silva to reject a gay marriage law …

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Gen. Petraeus: I’m Not Sure Soldiers Even Care About DADT Repeal

Gen. David Patraeus appeared on Meet The Press yesterday where he acknowledged that he had served with gay soldiers in the past. Patraeus added “I’m not sure that they do” when asked whether non-gay soldiers even care if DADT is repealed.

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CPAC Poll: Gay Marriage Lowest Priority

Fighting gay marriage tied for last in a poll of CPAC attendees’ priorities. And you can thank the kids for that. Via the conservative blog Hot Air: Only 16 percent had abortion, gay marriage, or “promoting traditional values” as either of their top two priorities? Granted, students comprised 48 percent of the sample — how else could Paul have won? …

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