Tag Archives: LGBT rights

Uniting American Families Act: Live Stream

The Senate Judiciary Committee hears the Uniting American Families Act at 10am today. The act would allow gay Americans to sponsor a foreign spouse for immigration to the United States. View a live video stream of the proceedings here or on C-SPAN.

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Andrew Sullivan On Obama & LGBT Rights

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National Mall Already Booked On Planned Weekend Of March On Washington

Duncan Osborne at Gay City News has discovered that the National Mall in Washington DC has already been booked by three other groups for the weekend suggested for a 2009 March On Washington. The organizers of the proposed march on Washington should have checked with the National Parks Service before they began announcing the October dates for that event. “It’s …

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Obama Issues Gay Pride Proclamation

Hours after a similar statement released by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President Obama has issued his own recognition of LGBT Pride Month. Here is his complete proclamation (PDF). BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become …

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Wednesday: Immigration Equality Bill Faces Senate Judiciary Review

On Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear the Uniting American Families Act, a bill that would allow LGBT Americans to sponsor foreign spouses for immigration to the United States. Just like the straighties! Over on Free Republic, the bill is being called the Importing Filthy Disease-Ridden Queers Act. Of course.

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Maryland AG Considers Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages From Other States

The attorney general of Maryland is looking into allowing the state to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Maryland law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. But the state also sticks to a long-standing legal principle that generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere. Attorney General Doug Gansler’s office is expected to issue an opinion in the …

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Illinois: No Vote On Civil Unions

Despite the clever move of attaching civil unions to a “shell bill”, the Illinois House did not get around to voting on the issue before the close of the current session late last night, despite the bill passing in the state Senate earlier in the day. The bill will be resubmitted in the next session, which will give anti-gay forces …

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Domestic Partnerships For Nevada

One day after the Nevada Senate overrode Gov. Jim Gibbons’ veto of their domestic partners bill, the state Assembly did the same. The deadline to pass the legislation was today, Monday June 1st, and both chambers of the state legislature worked through the weekend to achieve this major win for LGBT Nevadans. In what supporters are calling a historic moment, …

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Nevada Senate Overrides Gov. Gibbons’ Veto Of Domestic Partners Bill

Yesterday the Nevada Senate overrode Gov. Jim Gibbons’ veto of their domestic partners bill by a 14-7 vote, exactly the number needed for the required two-thirds majority. The bill originally passed 12-9, but two Republicans changed their vote with one citing lobbying from the casino industry as his reason. Go Jan Jones! The bill now goes back to the Assembly …

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Sex With Ducks – The Musical

Pat Robertson famously predicted that hate crime legislation would legalize sex with ducks. Riki “Garfunkel” Lindhome and Kate “Oates” Micucci respond. I predict you’ll be singing this to yourself later today. Very catchy. (Via Louise @ Pam’s House Blend)

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How He Really Said It

Context and tone is everything. This clip showing how the president said what he said about the protesters outside yesterday’s DNC dinner in Los Angeles might make some of us feel better. UPDATE: The Brightcove server is overloaded this morning. Watch the clip here.

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Iraqi Militias Step Up Murders Of Gay Men

ABC News is reporting that six more gay men have been found murdered by Iraqi militias as the genocide of homosexuals there continues. Two gay men were killed in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum, and police confirmed they found the bodies of four more men, all killed during a 10-day period after an unknown Shiite militia group urged a crackdown on …

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Gay Orgs Don’t Want Federal Lawsuit

A broad coalition of LGBT rights organizations have expressed opposition to the planned federal lawsuit for marriage equality announced yesterday by lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies. From Freedom To Marry: In response to the California Supreme Court decision allowing Prop 8 to stand, four LGBT legal organizations and five other leading national LGBT groups are reminding the LGBT community …

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Knot Tied

Good Magazine provides the above timeline of constitutional bans on same-sex marriage and when our victories have occurred. Massive version here. (Via – Jockohomo)

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Nevada Gov Vetoes Domestic Partners Bill

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has vetoed his legislature’s domestic partners bill, saying it conflicts with the state’s 2002 constitutional amendment that only relationships between men and women would be recognized. Gibbons says that gay couples should resort to legal contracts between themselves if they want to protect their assets and ensure medical decision-making rights. It’s unknown if the legislature will …

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Where Things Stand

Via Wikipedia, a map on the state of marriage equality that is a bit more precise than the one I posted (and took down) earlier today. Illinois is poised to turn blue next week. Will New York be next to turn purple?

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Clinton Rules: State Dept To Grant Equal Benefits To Gay Diplomats

Secretary of State Clinton has ruled that the State Department will grant equal benefits to gay diplomats. In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are “unfair and must end,” as they harm U.S. diplomacy. “Providing training, medical …

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Bucharest Sees “Normality” March

Skinheads and other charming Romanians marched in opposition to Bucharest’s gay pride parade yesterday, declaring their event a “Normality March.” “Romanians, wake up! Sexual perversions are contagious mental diseases” or “Romanians, stop the homosexual epidemic! It is more dangerous than the flue” are just some of the messages written on the placards. The participants also chorus “Romania is not Sodom.” …

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Illinois Close On Civil Unions

The Washington Blade is reporting that the Illinois General Assembly is set to approve civil unions next week. Rick Garcia, political director for Equality Illinois, said Thursday he’s “absolutely” expecting the full state House and the Senate to pass a civil union measure either Tuesday or Wednesday. The bill has support from Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D). The House Youth …

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NAMES Project Creator Cleve Jones Endorses Call For March On Washington

Cleve Jones, the creator of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and former campaign worker for Harvey Milk, has endorsed David Mixner’s call for a new March On Washington. Via Towleroad: “Sadly, at the very moment we are poised to reach our greatest goals, President Obama and the Democratic leaders of Congress have turned their backs, forgotten their promises and …

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