Tag Archives: Massachusetts

MASSACHUSETTS: Senate Approves Trans Rights Bill

Minutes ago the Massachusetts Senate overwhelmingly approved a transgender rights bill. The vote was 33-4. More from Reuters: The bill, which would make Massachusetts the 18th U.S. state to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, has strong support in the Democratic-controlled legislature, although Republican Governor Charlie Baker has not said whether he would sign it. State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, the …

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MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Mayor Flies Trans Pride Flag After State Legislature Advances Trans Rights Bill

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh today flew the trans pride flag over city hall after a transgender rights bill advanced in the state legislature. MassLive reports: Massachusetts lawmakers are advancing legislation they say will provide anti-discrimination protections to transgender people in public places. The state Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Friday afternoon approved two bills allowing transgender people to use the public …

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MASSACHUSETTS: Trans Activists Boo GOP Gov. Charlie Baker Off Stage At LGBT Event [VIDEO]

The Boston Globe reports: Governor Charlie Baker’s speech to LGBT executives and activists Wednesday night was met with a cascade of boos after he refused to voice support for a bill to prevent bias against transgender people in public spaces. Baker’s reluctance to take a stand on the bill prompted many in the crowd at the Marriott hotel to boo …

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Hillary Clinton Declared Winner In Massachusetts

With a razor-thin 51-49 margin at this writing, Hillary Clinton has been declared the winner of the Massachusetts primary, her seventh and final win tonight. Bernie Sanders finished Super Tuesday with four wins: Vermont, Colorado, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. The final delegates count for today won’t be known until all races are fully counted.

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MASSACHUSETTS: Trump Backers Rip Up Signs From Obama Supporters Sitting Quietly [VIDEO]

Mediaite reports: During a campaign rally Wednesday night, Donald Trump‘s supporters once again decided to get aggressive with a couple of people who were not there to support the mogul. What was their egregious transgression? Sitting down, making no noise, and holding a pair of signs in their laps with messages contrary to the plutocrat’s narrative. Video from the incident …

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MASSACHUSETTS: Court Rules That Catholic Prep School Broke Law In Gay-Hiring Retraction

ABC News reports: An all-girls Catholic prep school in Massachusetts violated state anti-discrimination law by rescinding a job offer to a man in a same-sex marriage, a judge ruled. Matthew Barrett was offered a job as Fontbonne Academy’s food services director in 2013, but the offer was withdrawn days later after he listed his husband as his emergency contact. Barrett …

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Pastafarian Strikes Blow For Religious Liberty

A Massachusetts woman has won the right to wear her Holy Headgear in her driver’s license photo. The Boston Globe reports: Lindsay Miller claims the spaghetti strainer is a sign of her devotion to the “Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.” Miller was originally denied by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles the right to wear the colander, her lawyer …

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Belgium Leads Marriage Stats Comparison

The Canadian statistics site 10 And 3 has examined same-sex marriage rates in several nations, comparing the number of weddings that took place two years after legalization in each country. Their analysis suggests that same-sex marriages happen at a lower rate in strongly religious nations. They write: We dug into the numbers, and discovered that in some nations, like Belgium, same-sex …

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BOSTON: Police Academy Cadets Graduate As First Openly Gay Couple

Via the Boston Herald: Jimmy Moccia and Shawn MacIver will make a small but significant piece of local history tomorrow. They will become the first openly gay couple to graduate from the Boston Police Academy. Both men scored 100 on their civil service tests. They have been together for five years, and yesterday, in a steady rain, they completed the …

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Subpoena Issued For Martin Ssempa In Civil Lawsuit Against Scott Lively

Last month the Center For Constitutional Rights surprised us with the revelation that Ugandan Pastor Martin “Eat Da Poo Poo” Ssempa is a US citizen and is therefore subject to a subpoena in their civil lawsuit against Scott Lively, who stands accused of crimes against humanity. The Ssempa subpoena has now been issued along with a $1900 check to cover …

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GLAD: From Goodridge To Obergefell

Important history from GLAD: “On April 28, 2015, Mary Bonauto will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court for the freedom to marry for all same-sex couples nationwide. In 2001 Mary and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed the case that first brought marriage equality to the U.S. – with the landmark 2003 Goodridge v. Department of Public Health …

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NEJM To SCOTUS: Say Yes To Marriage

The New England Journal of Medicine is the nation’s oldest continuously published peer-reviewed medical journal. Posted today: Eleven years ago, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to give same-sex marriages full legal recognition. Today, same-sex marriage is legal, through legislative or judicial action or by popular vote, in more than 35 states and the District of Columbia. It …

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Pastor Eat Da Poo Poo Subpoenaed In Scott Lively Crimes Against Humanity Suit

The Center For Constitutional Rights writes today with the surprising news that notorious anti-gay Ugandan Pastor Martin “Eat Da Poo Poo” Ssempa is actually a US citizen and is therefore subject to their subpoena which demands he appear at Scott Lively’s trial for crimes against humanity. From the motion filed in Massachusetts by CCR’s client, Sexual Minorities Uganda: Mr. Ssempa …

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MASSACHUSETTS: Coast Guardsman Held In Fatal Attack On Lesbian Couple

Via the New York Daily News: Armed to the teeth, Coast Guardsman Adrian Loya stormed the Massachusetts home of two lesbian colleagues and opened fire because he was obsessed with one of the women, authorities said. Coast Guard Petty Officer Lisa Trubnikova (above right) died at the scene of Thursday’s bloody rampage in Cape Cod. Her wife, Anna Trubnikova, also …

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BOSTON: Obama Calls Into Public Radio Show, Chats With Gov. Deval Patrick

Yesterday President Obama surprised Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick by calling into the governor’s monthly Boston Public Radio show. “Uh, Governor, this is Barack Obama, formerly of Somerville. I’ve got a few complaints about service in and around the neighborhood, but I’ve moved down South since that time…” (Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

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First Circuit Denies Scott Lively’s Petition To Dismiss Crimes Against Humanity Suit

The First Circuit Court of Appeals today denied Scott Lively’s dismissal demand in the crimes against humanity suit filed against him by Sexual Minorities Uganda. See the ruling at Equality Case Files.

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MASSACHUSETTS: Town Considers A First-In-Nation Ban On Tobacco Sales

Via the Associated Press: The cartons of Marlboros, cans of Skoal and packs of Swisher Sweets are hard to miss stacked near the entrance of Vincent’s Country Store, but maybe not for much longer: All tobacco products could become contraband if local health officials get their way. This sleepy central Massachusetts town of 7,700 has become an improbable battleground in …

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MASSACHUSETTS: Scott Lively Declares “Great Victory” In Gubernatorial Race

“I want you to recognize what a great victory we have achieved in this campaign. A Missionary Pastor with an inner-city church that seats just 45, mostly street-people, ran a part-time campaign, serving as his own campaign manager, with only 20-30 campaign volunteers (only about half of whom dedicated more than 40 hours to the effort), and a budget of just over $25,000. Deliberately (by the …

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Scott Lively Gets 0.9% Of Vote

Crackpot Scott Lively earned 0.9% of the vote in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, finishing just ahead of wealthy investment banker Jeff McCormick, who is reportedly not also crazy.

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MASSACHUSETTS: Maura Healey Wins, Nation’s First Out Attorney General

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