Politics: December 2010
Top 10 LGBT News Stories of 2010
Filed by Bil Browning | December 31, 2010 5:00 PM |Every December, Alex and I get together and pick our top ten stories of the past twelve months. This year's list sticks mostly to the political with only two stories standing out as non-governmental. 2010 stands out as a year...Read More
Bradley Manning: Tortured Until Proven Guilty
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 31, 2010 3:00 PM |While having finally delivered on DADT repeal, Barack Obama still has many campaign promises that have yet to be delivered upon. One is the end of special prisons at Gitmo and the use of torture techniques on selected prisoners. A...Read More
Enough Faux Agonizing, Mr. President
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 30, 2010 4:00 PM |There has been much coverage of Barack Obama's confession that he's "evolving" on the issue of same sex marriage - which in my view is yet another example of Obama trying to have his cake and eat it too by...Read More
The Working Poor: America's Invisible Economic "Other"
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 29, 2010 5:00 PM |Earlier this week, I made a case for an investment agenda for America. Now, a report from The Working Poor Families Project has underscored the urgent need for an economic agenda based on investing in the American people and preparing...Read More
Behind the scenes at DADT repeal signing ceremony
Filed by Bil Browning | December 29, 2010 12:30 PM |The White House blog has put up a great video of behind the scenes footage from last week's presidential signing ceremony for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Captain Jonathan Hopkins, who was discharged under the policy, Rep. Patrick...Read More
Police officer apologizes for the anti-gay slur, not the anti-gay arrests
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 29, 2010 11:30 AM |As Tobi Hill-Meyer posted last week about the word "tranny," there's always more to a slur than the word itself. Here's more from the cruising stings trial in Palm Springs, which the attorney defending six of the two dozen men...Read More
Daily living for change: More than hot air
Filed by Susan Raffo | December 28, 2010 5:00 PM |This piece is written in partnership between Susan Raffo and Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz. I avoid grandiose plans. I start with a small piece that I can do. I go to the root of the problem and then work around it. It's...Read More
GOProud: Michael Steele has to go
Filed by Bil Browning | December 28, 2010 3:30 PM |Rightwing gay group GOProud is known for their anything-but-normal take on LGBT issues and politics, but does this come as any surprise? The group is advocating that Michael Steele, the first black leader of the Republican Party and a noticeably...Read More
A Gay Marine Who Saved a President
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 28, 2010 2:30 PM |Given the efforts of organizations like Concerned Women for America who want American history to remain sanitized to omit any references to the contributions of LGBT Americans, it is important that our true contributions be highlighted. Fortunately, a opinion column...Read More
An Investment Agenda For America
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 28, 2010 1:30 PM |Last week, when the president’s tax cut deal with Republicans was all but done, I wrote that the Democrats and progressives risk moral failure if we do not meet the moral obligation the tax cut deal would create. Now the...Read More
Will LGBT Progressives Work with Log Cabin Republicans in 2011?
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 28, 2010 12:30 PM |While mainstream media pundits give President Obama, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi most of the credit for repealing the odious Don't Ask, Don't Tell military policy during the lame duck session last week, repeal...Read More
WATCH: BBC newscaster gets his comeuppance
Filed by Bil Browning | December 28, 2010 10:30 AM |This is great. When students were rioting in London earlier this month, blogger Jody McIntyre was pulled from his wheelchair and dragged through the streets - twice! - by police. Another student caught the second incidence on tape and McIntyre...Read More
Myth of the homosexual as sexual predator is deadly
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 27, 2010 12:00 PM |A small article last week in the Trenton, New Jersey, Star-Ledger said that Essex County is looking to create an LGBT advisory board for the police. The article doesn't mention why now, although people in the community might realize that...Read More
Religious right scandal brewing in Indianapolis?
Filed by Bil Browning | December 27, 2010 11:00 AM |Where there's smoke there's usually fire... It seems that there's a possible Eddie Long-style scandal brewing in Indianapolis and a couple of media outlets are hot on the case. Long is the vehemently anti-gay African-American minister from Atlanta who recently...Read More
Remembering Past Gays in the Military
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 27, 2010 10:00 AM |With the legislative repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, thankfully future generations of gays in the military will not find themselves living in fear of outings and expulsion from careers that many of them truly love. Likewise, the military will...Read More
Marching for Gay Rights in NYC: Historic photo
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | December 27, 2010 9:30 AM |This photo was taken in Greenwich Village, NY, ca. 1970, shortly after the Stonewall riot. A beautiful blast from the past. Check out all the hippie-chic facial hair and raggy jeans. Also love seeing the tot in the stroller being...Read More
Chai Feldblum confirmed to EEOC
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | December 26, 2010 10:00 AM |In a last minute action, on Wednesday the Senate confirmed law professor Chai Feldblum as a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Obama named Feldblum in a recess appointment last March. There were various holds placed on her...Read More
The Religious Right Doesn't Want Barney Frank Showering With Them, Either
Filed by Mercedes Allen | December 23, 2010 4:00 PM |As Canada's Bill C-389 -- which would extend rights to employment, housing, access to services and protections from the excusing of violence for gender identity and gender expression -- inches on toward Third Reading and a similar bill (ENDA) languishes...Read More
Ask, Tell... But Don't Love?
Filed by Steve Ralls | December 23, 2010 2:00 PM |At long last, our country's military will soon afford its dedicated, patriotic troops some of the liberties they have long fought for abroad. The end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is surely one of the biggest steps our country has...Read More
Reflections on Witnessing the DADT Repeal Bill Signing Ceremony
Filed by Joe Mirabella | December 23, 2010 9:30 AM |I'm on my flight home to Seattle from Washington, D.C. after witnessing the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell's" signing ceremony this morning at the Department of Interior. After receiving an invitation from the White House, I could not say...Read More
Let's Talk about "Tranny" - Media Criticisms
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | December 22, 2010 6:00 PM |This is part two in a three part series. You may want to read part one first, which details the meanings and associations of the term "tranny" when used as a slur. Understanding those meanings provides useful background for understanding...Read More
Political power grows out of a barrel of money
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 22, 2010 5:00 PM |Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel, August 6, 2010: While I firmly believe that a business climate conducive to growth is critical to our future, I realize our decision affected many of you in a way I did not anticipate, and for...Read More
President Obama signs DADT repeal bill
Filed by Bil Browning | December 22, 2010 4:00 PM |I had the honor of attending today's signing ceremony for the legislation repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. Several other Bilerico Project contributors were there too - so many, in fact, that it got dizzying to keep turning around and hugging...Read More
Alberta Delists Homosexuality as a Mental Disorder
Filed by Mercedes Allen | December 22, 2010 3:00 PM |After several steps backward with the delisting of health care coverage for gender reassignment surgery, a parental rights bill that enables parents to remove their kids without penalty from classes not consistent with their beliefs, an outright refusal to include...Read More
What a tangled web we weave when we use email to deceive
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | December 22, 2010 2:30 PM |Read it and weep, possibly with laughter. And remember, boys and girls: never use work email to conduct torrid love affairs or all the sappy, pervy, icky things you confess to your lovers could go viral too. NO ONE, and...Read More
The Rainbow Belongs to Everybody
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | December 22, 2010 12:30 PM |There is just no end to the arrogance, stupidity and pettiness of extremists on the religious right. Now NOM is insisting that the LGBT movement has "wrongfully appropriated" the symbol of the rainbow. No doubt they're outraged by the latest...Read More
I love teaching the 1960's
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 22, 2010 11:30 AM |Editors' note: John D'Emilio teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A pioneer in the field of gay and lesbian history and author or editor of half a dozen books, he was also the founding director of the Policy...Read More
GetEqual's Robin McGehee Invited to DADT Repeal Signing
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 21, 2010 6:00 PM |GetEqual's Robin McGehee has been invited by the White House to the signing of the DADT repeal law. What does it mean that this mother of two, who has protested against governmental inaction, including that of the White House and...Read More
And domestic partnership benefits for all
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 21, 2010 5:00 PM |There's an interesting column in The Arizona Republic about the decision by Arizona Public Services, a private electric utility, to only extend domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples: I learned about the new policy from an APS employee who has...Read More
Is it too soon to celebrate the end of DADT?
Filed by Davina Kotulski | December 21, 2010 3:30 PM |DADT is soon to be dead (at least regarding sexual orientation), but with DOMA still around LGB soldiers in same-sex marriages, civil unions, domestic partnerships, and reciprocal beneficiary relationships will still not be able to give their partner's veteran or...Read More
White House staffers' It Gets Better video
Filed by Bil Browning | December 21, 2010 2:30 PM |Several LGBT White House staffers got together to make an It Gets Better video. President Obama and Vice President have also both done videos to encourage LGBT kids that things do eventually get better. This is a great entry to...Read More
Winning Equality in Florida
Filed by Jesse Monteagudo | December 21, 2010 9:30 AM |Equality Florida "is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community." EQFL recently published a report, "Winning Equality," which details the progress of LGBT rights in the Sunshine State...Read More
Bilerico at the DADT repeal signing ceremony
Filed by Bil Browning | December 21, 2010 8:30 AM |Jerame and I got our official White House invitations to witness President Obama sign the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell into law. We were invited separately by different areas of the administration. Apparently you can't bring a date to...Read More
Milk Photographer Jerry Pritikin is OK with HRC at Castro Landmark
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 20, 2010 6:00 PM |Photographer Jerry Pritikin emailed me saying he has a different opinion from those who are upset that the Human Rights Campaign is setting up an “Action Center” in the storefront once occupied by the late LGBT hero, Harvey Milk. I...Read More
VA legislator wants to ban gays from National Guard
Filed by Bil Browning | December 20, 2010 1:00 PM |In yet another black eye for a once proud state, Virginia state delegate Robert G. Marshall has announced that he'll introduce a bill in the state legislature seeking to bar "active homosexuals" from the National Guard. He claims the Constitution...Read More
Moving forward in Illinois
Filed by Phil Reese | December 20, 2010 10:00 AM |This piece is the first part in a series of posts about moving forward LGBTQ equality in Illinois. After eighteen years as the public face of the top LGBTQ advocacy organization in Illinois, Equality Illinois, it was announced Friday that...Read More
Living at the intersection of yes and no
Filed by Gloria Nieto | December 19, 2010 5:30 PM |On Saturday, December 18, the United States Senate voted to block the DREAM Act from moving further in its path to citizenship. It immediately followed with a historic vote to dump the horrid Don't Ask Don't Tell law. As a...Read More
No Homonationalism
Filed by Jessica Hoffmann | December 19, 2010 4:00 PM |In November, I spent several weeks in Sweden, Germany, and Austria presenting Makeshift Reclamation, a multimedia program showcasing grassroots feminist arts and activism. Traveling like this means immediately connecting with feminists/queers/radicals in every town you pass through, which is a...Read More
Straight Shooting
Filed by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer | December 19, 2010 10:00 AM |Not everyone is as war-crazy as the gays today, certainly not these American veterans: There was a black-out and a white-out Thursday and Friday as over a hundred US veterans opposed to US wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the...Read More
#SSS DADT repeal passes; Log Cabin remains committed to Federal Case
Filed by Phil Reese | December 19, 2010 8:30 AM |The SameSexSunday Skype chat room is in full celebration mode after the passage of the bill repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in the Senate Saturday, December 18. Our special double round table episode starts out with a year-in-review and look...Read More
BREAKING: 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Repeal Passes Senate
Filed by Bil Browning | December 18, 2010 3:00 PM |The United States Senate just voted 65-31 to repeal the discriminatory 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy. The House of Representatives has already passed the legislation. It now goes on to the President's desk for his signature into law. Back in...Read More
BREAKING: Senate cloture vote on DADT passes
Filed by Bil Browning | December 18, 2010 11:50 AM |The United States Senate voted 63-33 favor of cloture on the bill repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell legislature. Senators took to the floor and passionately argued back and forth - including one of the most fervent speeches by Independent...Read More
Phallometric tests used for good... or evil?
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 17, 2010 2:00 PM |Last week I posted about the phallometric test the Czech Republic was using, and told to stop using by the EU, to see if asylum-seekers are actually gay. If they got turned on by straight porn, then they were assumed...Read More
Who was the first openly LGBT candidate elected in the U.S.?
Filed by Chuck Wolfe | December 17, 2010 9:30 AM |This week we asked Gay Politics Report readers who they thought was the first openly LGBT candidate ever elected to public office in the U.S. (Poll results here.) The five choices included the first five openly gay and lesbian candidates...Read More
Canadian MP, Sponsor of Bill C-389, Retiring Before Next Election
Filed by Mercedes Allen | December 17, 2010 8:30 AM |Bill Siksay, Member of Parliament for Burnaby-Douglas, has announced that he will not be running again in the next election: Put simply, it just seems like time. I am now in my 25th consecutive year working in federal politics. I...Read More
Both the French and Americans need alternatives to marriage
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 16, 2010 7:00 PM |France restricts marriage to heterosexual couples but created civil unions, known as "PACS," back in 1999 for both straight and gay couples. In 2000, 76% of the couples that pacsed were heterosexual, in 2006 93% were, and in 2009 (the...Read More
White House Invites Father at Center of Adoption Victory
Filed by Nadine Smith | December 16, 2010 5:00 PM |Martin Gill, the plaintiff in the successful legal challenge to Florida's anti-gay adoption ban, will be attending a White House Holiday Reception today. The invitation follows a direct appeal by Equality Florida to the President asking him to spotlight the...Read More
Peabody MA Says Anti-bullying Law Too Much Work
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 16, 2010 3:00 PM |How stupid are the school board and the school administrators in Peabody, Massachusetts? They say that the law intended to save students from bullying and its often suicidal after-effects "creates more work for administrators, costs too much money and is...Read More
Gay soldier being tortured in prison
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 16, 2010 1:00 PM |There's been some talk about Dan Choi's mental health issues (hope he takes care of himself first and gets better), but there's another gay* soldier whose mental health we should be talking about. Private Bradley Manning, the whistleblower who gave,...Read More
On Honoring Elizabeth Edwards's Legacy
Filed by Don Davis | December 16, 2010 12:00 PM |So it has come to pass that Elizabeth Edwards has died. Despite having more things thrown at her than anyone I’ve ever had the chance to support in my entire political life, she managed to represent, in her very presence,...Read More
10 in '10: Freedom to Marry's Top Ten Moments for Marriage in 2010
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 16, 2010 8:30 AM |Editors' Note: Evan Wolfson is founder and Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage nationwide. In 2004, TIME magazine named Evan one of the "100 most influential people in the world." It's been a whirlwind year...Read More
House passes DADT repeal standalone bill
Filed by Bil Browning | December 15, 2010 5:25 PM |The House of Representatives has passed a standalone bill to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. The House bill adds repeal language to a bill that already passed the House floor and the Senate Armed Services Committee - thus,...Read More
More gay art censored
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 15, 2010 4:00 PM |A public art exhibit in a small town library in Canada has been censored because one person found a gay sculpture offensive. The library threw a cloth over the sculpture (which is tame, it's "Joy" at the link, not the...Read More
Anti-gay employer: We're allowed to fire gays
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 15, 2010 9:30 AM |The ACLU has sued a sheriff's office in Mississippi because they fired a corrections officer for being gay. Mississippi doesn't have gay-inclusive antidiscrimination legislation, and of course that's part of the sheriff's office defense: The Forrest County Sheriff's Department has...Read More
Joel Burns Named Finalist For "Texan of the Year"
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 15, 2010 8:30 AM |At the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce ("NGLCC") last month I had the privilege of meeting and speaking with Fort Worth, Texas, City Councilman Joel Burns (pictured at left). He is an amazing individual (and taller and cuter...Read More
Compassionless Conservatism
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 14, 2010 7:00 PM |It has been said before -- recently, even -- but it bears saying again and again, as any truth does. Conservatives have finally, and completely, abandoned compassion. Progressives spent much of the previous decade declaring the "compassionate conservatism" of the...Read More
CA Sen Mark Leno Introduces FAIR Education Act
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 14, 2010 4:00 PM |This is important. After the immense heartbreak so many LGBTs felt as one after another gay teen committed suicide - six in September alone - as a result of antigay bullying, the nation rallied to contribute to the extraordinary and...Read More
Working Women: 1940s factory workers
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | December 14, 2010 3:30 PM |Beautiful and historic photo of women watching as a woman works on... well, what the heck is she doing? I have no idea. As always, readers are very welcome to fill out the backstory here if they recognize the uniforms...Read More
You can't write "sexual orientation" without s, e, x
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 14, 2010 1:30 PM |This is a strange little test of the UK's new equality legislation as many B&B owners there have apparently been operating under the impression that they just opened up their houses to guests but that they aren't really businesses (building...Read More
Three Discharged Servicemembers File Federal Lawsuit to be Re-Instated
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 14, 2010 11:30 AM |Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and Morrison & Foerster LLP announced Monday, Dec. 13, that they have filed a complaint in federal court seeking the re-instatement of three servicemembers discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." According to the AP's Lisa...Read More
Photos: Obama meets with Joint Chiefs on DADT in Oval Office
Filed by Bil Browning | December 13, 2010 5:00 PM |President Obama held a meeting in the Oval Office on Nov 29 with the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense about the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The White House sent over these pictures from the meeting. Clickety to...Read More
Cognitive Dissonance: The SPLC effect
Filed by Bil Browning | December 13, 2010 1:00 PM |Jeremy Hooper at Good As You has one helluva scoop about an initiative several religious right orgs are launching to combat the Southern Poverty Law Center's designation of some of the most virulently anti-gay outfits as hate groups. Jeremy has...Read More
Speech from the San Francisco UN Plaza Rally to End the Criminalization of Homosexuality
Filed by Davina Kotulski | December 13, 2010 10:00 AM |The Lakota have a saying "Mitakuye Oysain" - we are all related. Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hahn, talks about oneness, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about the interrelatedness of life. "I can never be what I ought to...Read More
Why Tom Brokaw Is Wrong on Covering Antigay Viewpoints
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 12, 2010 11:30 AM |I bookmarked an article in the Advocate earlier this week wherein former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw basically said it was fine to continue to air the views of hate groups like American Family Association and Family Research Council....Read More
Screw playing the game, let's take it all to the courts
Filed by Phil Reese | December 10, 2010 3:00 PM |I should, of course, preface this post by saying that legislative appeal isn't actually dead at all. Though there is no word on who will push it (and how fast) in the House of Representatives, Senator Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator...Read More
Czech Republic ends gay immigration test
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 10, 2010 2:00 PM |I've been reading reports about this law all week and it seems the EU shut this down. It's silly for several reasons: The EU has told Czech Republic to stop its controversial practice of trying to determine whether asylum seekers...Read More
DADT Repeal is Dead, Long Live DADT Repeal
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | December 10, 2010 9:30 AM |We lost yesterday. But the loss may have been a good thing as it opened the door to a much more expedited process. What Happened: Negotiations on how to introduce NDAA between Senators Reid and Collins failed, and Reid dropped...Read More
Westboro Baptist to protest Elizabeth Edwards funeral
Filed by Bil Browning | December 10, 2010 8:30 AM |Like vultures swooping in to feast on the entrails of roadkill, Westboro Baptist Church has announced that they will be picketing outside of the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards. The estranged wife of vice presidential candidate (and presidential hopeful) John Edwards...Read More
Debunking The White Liberal Dog and Pony Show
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | December 09, 2010 7:00 PM |I deeply believe that white allies who are committed to challenging white supremacy are critical to our efforts to build multi-racial and cross-issue movements. At the same time, I also believe that white liberalism lies at the heart of why...Read More
Debunking The White Liberal Dog and Pony Show
Filed by Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | December 09, 2010 7:00 PM |I deeply believe that white allies who are committed to challenging white supremacy are critical to our efforts to build multi-racial and cross-issue movements. At the same time, I also believe that white liberalism lies at the heart of why...Read More
DADT repeal dies on the battlefield
Filed by Bil Browning | December 09, 2010 5:00 PM |The repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell went down in flames today after Majority Leader Harry Reid brought it to the floor without completing a frustrating back-and-forth he'd started with Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Senator Collins was the...Read More
Florida Report Reveals Dramatic Shift Toward LGBT Equality
Filed by Nadine Smith | December 09, 2010 4:00 PM |Despite a hostile legislative climate, Florida has made dramatic progress in securing legal protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. A new report Winning Equality looks at the progress made in the state since Equality Florida formed in...Read More
Queer youth funding cut in New York City
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 09, 2010 2:00 PM |NYC is cutting funding for homeless youth, which of course means that queer youth with be disproportionately affected. I fail to see how these costs can't be absorbed by the federal government, as unemployment is at 10-17% (depending on how...Read More
Nothing for the 99ers (And Not Much for Anyone Else)
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 09, 2010 1:00 PM |The deal is done – regarding tax cuts and unemployment benefits extensions — and while we all have a stake in it, most of us won’t get anything of long-term value out of it. Least of all the 99ers...Read More
Pryor: Another Senator supports DADT repeal
Filed by Bil Browning | December 08, 2010 6:00 PM |Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) announced today that he would vote in support of repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. The Senator previously opposed repeal, saying "homosexuality is a sin" and was taken to task by both local and national Stonewall Democrat...Read More
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Give Us Your Professional Opinion
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 08, 2010 3:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Edward Falzon is the author of Being Gay is Disgusting, a very tongue-in-cheek (and not literally titled) humorous parody of the first five books of the Bible. I continue to be surprised at the persistence of...Read More
Perry in the Ninth Circuit: Reinhardt's Question
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 08, 2010 12:30 PM |My mind keeps coming back to a question posed by Judge Reinhardt Monday at the Perry vs. Schwarzenegger arguments in the Ninth Circuit. Which is a worse thing to do, he asked attorneys from both sides of the case, taking...Read More
Cheering at Charlie Brown's football game
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 08, 2010 11:30 AM |I have never cheered for Charlie Brown. Every year, for as long as I can remember, the holiday season has included a viewing of "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Thankfully, it appears to be the one Peanuts special that doesn’t include...Read More
DADT repeal vote today?
Filed by Bil Browning | December 08, 2010 10:30 AM |According to Kerry Eleveld of The Advocate, there's a chance we'll see a vote on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell this evening. The chances are small, but they're there. Democrats might make use of a narrow window of...Read More
In Death, Elizabeth Edwards Teaches Valuable Lesson
Filed by Andrew Belonsky | December 08, 2010 8:30 AM |Six years after first being diagnosed with breast cancer, Elizabeth Edwards, lawyer, mother and estranged wife to former presidential candidate John Edwards, has died. Though sad, her journey gives us all an opportunity to remember the details of life so...Read More
This is not a recession; this is the new economy
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 07, 2010 5:00 PM |We're not in a recession. This is the new economy, the way the economy will function until someone changes it. It's unlikely someone in the near future will want to change it for the better. The current economy can't be...Read More
Trans people may get protections women don't have in Canada
Filed by Mercedes Allen | December 07, 2010 1:30 PM |As Canada's trans rights Bill C-389 comes up for its first hour of discussion today, there is one curious aspect about this process that almost went unnoticed until Dale Smith at Xtra remarked on it on Friday. Bill C-389 proposes...Read More
Atlanta settles with Eagle patrons for illegal gay bar raid
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 07, 2010 12:30 PM |I'm surprised by this development. I really thought they would just run this thing through the legal system and appeal for years until everyone just lost interest. But Atlanta has settled with the Eagle's patrons who were illegally detained and...Read More
Liberty, Justice, and Marriage Equality for All
Filed by Davina Kotulski | December 07, 2010 11:30 AM |A rally of 100 marriage equality supporters gathered early this morning outside the appellate court holding signs that read "Love and Commitment = Marriage" and wearing heart stickers that read "Liberty, justice, and marriage equality." Despite a powerful storm that...Read More
HRC to move into Harvey Milk's store
Filed by Bil Browning | December 07, 2010 10:30 AM |What fresh hell is this? HRC is moving into Harvey Milk's old camera shop in the Castro? Methinks "insult" is a little too dramatic understated. In what some grassroots gay activists are calling an "insult," the Human Rights Campaign is...Read More
Oral argument leaves many options open for 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Filed by Nan Hunter | December 07, 2010 9:30 AM |The long-awaited oral argument in Perry v. Schwarzenegger before the Ninth Circuit is over, and we all now begin what I expect will become an even longer wait for a decision. Who won? To my hearing (via radio), it's hard...Read More
Washington State's Domestic Partnership Law One Year Later
Filed by Joe Mirabella | December 06, 2010 6:00 PM |As I removed each ornament from the box I've been keeping them in since I was a kid, I remembered. A tiny book on a gold string with an inscription from my fourth grade teacher, a black and white dog...Read More
The Family Foundation Continues to Ally Itself with Hate Groups
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 06, 2010 3:00 PM |The Family Foundation, based in Richmond, Virginia, has a long history of promoting an over the top anti-gay agenda. Thus it is surprising that TFF has been silent on the designation of its allies - e.g., Family Research Council, Concerned...Read More
What will they discuss in the hearing today in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Prop 8?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 06, 2010 12:30 PM |Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hold a hearing on the appeal in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, in which the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Prop 8 is unconstitutional....Read More
What will they discuss in the hearing today in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Prop 8?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 06, 2010 12:30 PM |Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hold a hearing on the appeal in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, in which the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Prop 8 is unconstitutional....Read More
The Week Ahead in DADT Repeal
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | December 06, 2010 10:30 AM |I was asked early this morning to write up a quick piece about what's going on for DADT this week. The answer: possibly nothing. Today, Reid will be filing cloture on a number of bills: DREAM, a 9/11 bill, others....Read More
Rev Jesse Jackson to speak out against Prop 8
Filed by Davina Kotulski | December 05, 2010 1:00 PM |Back in 1990, when I was 20 years old and a college senior, I was thrilled at the opportunity to shake the sweaty hand of Rev. Jesse Jackson after he spoke at Portland State University about equality and civil rights....Read More
Idolization of the Male Form: 1890 Photo
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | December 05, 2010 11:30 AM |Victorianism's preoccupation with masculine ideals, in body and mind, led to innumerable images of naked or near-naked body builders, muscle men, weight lifters, and other athletes. Which is a good thing, because they so viciously suppressed gay erotica that such...Read More
#SSS: Illinois Civil Unions, World AIDS Day, Ladies Home Journal bullying coverage and more!
Filed by Phil Reese | December 05, 2010 10:00 AM |No worries, we definitely talk about Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal this week on SameSexSunday, but there was a lot more going on than Senate hearings this week in LGBT America! This week the author of the Illinois civil unions...Read More
Equality California's Geoff Kors Resigns: A 'Good Time to Leave'
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 04, 2010 4:00 PM |After nine years at the state's largest LGBT advocacy and lobbying organization, Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors announced Friday morning that he will step down from his position on March 31, 2011. Kors will stay with EQCA until then...Read More
Another nonsensical HIV nondisclosure prosecution
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 04, 2010 12:00 PM |Another HIV nondisclosure prosecution from Canada: Steve Biron, 32, faces charges of aggravated assault and aggravated sexual assault against one alleged victim, but the Crown could lay more charges in a case that has Quebec City's gay community on edge.[...]...Read More
Admiral Mike Mullen Proves To Be A Class Act: Obama? Still Missing in Action
Filed by Michael Hamar | December 03, 2010 4:00 PM |I will admit that I never initially trusted the Pentagon to be above board with its DADT study. Indeed, I feared the top military brass would endeavor to have the study skewed so as to justify retaining the religious based...Read More
99 And Counting: Tales From The Un-Funny Papers
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 03, 2010 3:00 PM |Let’s face it. Nothing about the economic crisis is funny. Nothing about America’s 9% unemployment rate, 14.8 million unemployed, or 6.2 million long-term employed is funny. And there’s nothing mildly amusing about the 2 million Americans whose unemployment benefits began...Read More
Reinhardt Refuses to Recuse Himself in Prop 8 Case
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 03, 2010 2:00 PM |There was lot of commotion Wednesday afternoon as Yes on 8/ProtectMarriage.com filed a motion asking 9th Circuit Court Judge Stephen Roy Reinhardt to recuse himself from the three-judge panel that will hear the Prop 8 appeal and standing case on...Read More
LiveBlog: DADT Hearing, December 3, 2010
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 03, 2010 8:45 AM |DADT hearing 12-3-10 This morning, Jarrod Chlapowski of Servicemembers United is joining us for the liveblog. Jarrod's recovering from a slight cold, so wish him a speedy recovery! To view the Senate hearing live webcast, click here to open a...Read More
Canadian Trans Rights Bill C-389 Moves Toward Third Reading
Filed by Mercedes Allen | December 02, 2010 4:30 PM |Canada's Trans Rights Bill C-389 will have its first hour of debate at third reading on December 7. A vote on third reading is expected in early 2011. There is a Quick Facts article available to those answering Charles McVety's...Read More
Gay donors give matching grants to LGBT groups
Filed by Michael Crawford | December 02, 2010 3:30 PM |Talk about putting your money where your mouth is: Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes and his partner, Freedom to Marry political director Sean Eldridge, have a made a huge commitment to the nonprofit push for marriage equality nationwide. The couple will...Read More
The good kind of victim or the bad kind?
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 02, 2010 1:30 PM |Am I the only one who's more than a little surprised that the Family Research Council and the American Family Association cares this much about being labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center? My first thought is...Read More
What was that about being persecuted?
Filed by Bil Browning | December 02, 2010 12:30 PM |The Boston Globe has a fantastic feature on Massachusettes Justice Roderick L. Ireland who signed the Supreme Court's decision in favor of same-sex marriage. He and his family received death threats. His mailbox mysteriously disappeared, prompting the State Police to...Read More
LiveBlog: DADT Hearing, December 2, 2010
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 02, 2010 9:00 AM |This morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a hearing on Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal. To view the Senate hearing, click here to open a new window with the online hearing video. Below you will find our liveblog...Read More
Illinois legislature passes civil unions: different-sex couples also eligible
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | December 01, 2010 7:00 PM |The Illinois Senate has passed a civil union bill. The House passed it yesterday, and the governor has said he will sign it, so it's a done deal. When it becomes law the status will be available to both same-sex...Read More
When "free trade" really means "restricting trade"
Filed by Alex Blaze | December 01, 2010 4:00 PM |The Independent in the UK has a special World AIDS Day issue that's worth looking through, and I wanted to zoom in on this article because access to HIV/AIDS medication, while restricted and soon to be more restricted in the...Read More
Pentagon Study Analysis, Part 2: Methodology, Themes, and Angry Items
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | December 01, 2010 2:00 PM |A lot to get into, so I'm just going to jump into Part 2 without the intro. You can find Part 1 here. Key Themes The study immediately hones in on some key distinctions: the level of unit success for...Read More
Join Us Tomorrow For A LiveBlog: DADT Hearings 9AM ET
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 01, 2010 12:30 PM |Tomorrow morning at 9AM, the Senate Armed Services Committee will commence a hearing on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. While there has been widespread speculation that the policy will be repealed in this lame duck session, the smart money...Read More
Pentagon Study Analysis Part I: Overall Impression
Filed by Jarrod Chlapowski | December 01, 2010 10:30 AM |I spent the greater part of yesterday in pure grad student glee reading over the Pentagon study which was finally released yesterday. Yes, I am that guy. This study is good. Really good. Incredibly exhaustive, you will be hard pressed...Read More
Civil Unions passes Illinois House, on to Senate
Filed by Phil Reese | December 01, 2010 9:30 AM |While you were sleeping (well, at least right before bed) Illinois' lower house brought the Prairie State one step closer to equality in relationship recognition by passing a civil unions bill that includes many of the rights of marriage. Before...Read More
