04.30.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 12:09 pm by pikapp44
GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani told a New York newspaper that he opposes the bill passed this week in New Hampshire legalizing same-sex civil unions.
A surprising reversal of his past statements.
“Mayor Giuliani believes marriage is between one man and one woman. Domestic partnerships are the appropriate way to ensure that people are treated fairly,” the Giuliani campaign said in a written statement published Friday in the New York Sun.
“In this specific case, the law states same-sex civil unions are the equivalent of marriage and recognizes same sex unions from outside states. This goes too far and Mayor Giuliani does not support it,” his campaign said in a written response to a question from the newspaper.
The three states that now legalize same-sex civil unions, Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey, also each recognize unions performed in other states.
In 2004, the twice-divorced ex-New York mayor, who lived with a gay couple during one of his marital crises, told TV pundit Bill O’Reilly he thought that was just fine.
“I’m in favor of . . . civil unions,” the Sun quoted him as saying. “A civil partnership, domestic partnership, civil union, whatever you want to call it, and that takes care of the imbalance, the discrimination, which we shouldn’t have.”
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04.27.07
Posted in D's Thoughts, Gay Portal at 7:27 am by pikapp44
We recently checked out Harmless Desires and it was pretty good. They have a good resource for gay and lesbian members. Just click on the gay and lesbian icons on the left menu. You can meet new friends, find the hottest gay and lesbian singles. Whether you’re Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, they cater to all your needs –>
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04.26.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 3:44 pm by pikapp44
Micron Technology Inc.’s board of directors has refused to accept a shareholder resolution to change the Boise, Idaho, company’s policies so employees cannot be fired on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The resolution, which was filed by New York City comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. on behalf of the New York City Pension Fund System, in June 2006, received an unprecedented 55% of shareholder votes at the annual meeting last December.
But despite the vote, Micron’s general counsel said this month that the company would ignore the vote and not revise its policies because it feared “expanded legal liability.”
This is the first time that a majority of shareholders at any U.S. company have voted to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
No resolution opposed by company management that included nondiscrimination policies for transgender workers has received more than 50% in its favor.
New York City’s Pension Fund System has more than 2.1 million shares valued at more than $38 million in Micron.
Thompson has filed more than 50 similar shareholder resolutions to date, and approximately 36 companies have changed their policies based on those resolutions.
Thompson called it “truly astounding” that Micron would continue to ignore a 55% shareholder approval for changing the policy. “Strong antidiscrimination policies are not simply an expression of proper social policy, they make sound business sense,” he wrote in a letter to the company’s chairman, president, and CEO, Steven Appleton.
While people can still be fired on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in 33 states, 86% of Fortune 500 companies and 98% of Fortune 100 companies have adopted sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies over the last 20 years, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
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04.24.07
Posted in Advocate Articles at 4:04 pm by pikapp44
Ellen DeGeneres will host a special American Idol show called “Idol Gives Back” on Wednesday, April 25, on Fox. The television event is a two-night fund-raiser for the season-long talent contest benefiting impoverished people in the United States and Africa. According to a press release, the show aims to raise awareness and funds for the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund, an organization that provides relief programs to help children and young people in extreme poverty.
In the United States, CPEF will donate proceeds of the show to America’s Second Harvest, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and the Children’s Health Fund. Africa-oriented organizations that will receive aid will be the Global Fund, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets, Save the Children, and UNICEF.
Performers and guests for “Idol Gives Back” include Kelly Clarkson; Pink; Gwen Stefani; Earth, Wind and Fire; Il Divo; Josh Groban with the African Children’s Choir; Helen Mirren; and Annie Lennox.
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04.19.07
Posted in Gay Seniors at 12:18 pm by pikapp44
A summer cruise for gay and lesbian families organized by Rosie O’Donnell has cut Bermuda from its planned itinerary because of possible protests by church groups in the British island territory.
O’Donnell’s charter company said it would replace the Bermuda stop with two ports of call in Florida and a stop at a private island. The tour is scheduled to leave New York in July on a ship owned by Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line.
The charter company, R Family Vacations, said on its Web site that it wanted to avoid the type of protests that greeted passengers when one of its cruises stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2004.
In the statement, the company said Bermuda’s prime minister had assured them they would be welcome as tourists and they had also received hundreds of supportive e-mails from people who live in the wealthy British enclave.
Still, organizers felt they could not be certain there would be no protesters greeting them upon arrival. “We feel that our cruise would be more enjoyable with an alternate itinerary to ports where we know we are welcome by everyone.”
In 2004, about 100 protesters chanting anti-gay slogans met one of the company’s cruises when it arrived in Nassau with about 1,150 passengers.
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04.17.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 3:34 pm by pikapp44
Same-sex couples in New Jersey say they are being denied health care benefits even after state lawmakers passed legislation last December offering LGBT couples–through civil unions– the state-level rights and benefits of marriage but not the title.
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04.16.07
Posted in Gay Rights at 1:41 pm by pikapp44
The spiritual head of Anglicans worldwide announced Monday that he’ll meet with the American church to discuss the controversy surrounding same-sex marriage and gay priests.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, on the first day of his Canadian visit, said the issue threatens to divide the church.
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04.12.07
Posted in D's Thoughts, E's Thoughts at 8:07 am by pikapp44
gir(L) magazine brings the gir(L) community together in a way like no other magazine has been able to do. Jackie and Shelly’s first publication was “Captain’s Table” a South Florida boating magazine that was sold to focus on their passion “THE PET PLANET” magazine. It informs readers as to the needs and issues concerning our pets.
gir(L) magazine provides information on restaurants, doctors, doggie daycare, business, travel, lesbian events, art, theatre, politics to name a few.
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04.09.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 5:33 pm by pikapp44
A high school club that promotes tolerance of gays must be allowed to meet while a lawsuit is pending, a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore ruled Friday that Okeechobee High School must grant the same privileges to the Gay-Straight Alliance that it grants other clubs, as mandated by the federal Equal Access Act.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Okeechobee school board in November on behalf of the high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance after school officials said the group was a “sex-based” organization that would violate its abstinence-only education policy.
In his 12-page ruling, Moore wrote that the group and its founder, high school senior Yasmin Gonzalez, have “demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success” on their claim that the school violated federal law when it prohibited the club from meeting.
ACLU attorney Robert Rosenwald called Friday’s order a “strong indication of what will happen in the end.”
In his ruling, the judge said the school showed no evidence to back its concern that the group would encourage students to share “obscene or sexual explicit material,” and that the school had made that assumption based on the group’s name.
David Gibbs, the lawyer for the school board, said Friday he had not spoken to the school board about whether it would press forward for trial. He said he believes the judge’s decision honors the school’s desire that the club steer clear of discussions related to sex.
“The kids are getting the name they wanted,” he said, “But we’re pleased that the students are limited to discussing discrimination issues.”
Gonzalez said she was happy with the decision and issued a statement saying she hoped future students “will benefit from a more open environment and not have to endure the same treatment from our school.”
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04.06.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 12:26 pm by pikapp44
Legislation to equalize the assessment of taxes for health-care coverage of same-sex partners was quietly introduced in Congress last week. The Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, proposed by Representative Jim McDermott, D-Wash., would change the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gay employees’ income the value of their partners’ health insurance in the same way that insurance for a spouse and dependents is excluded, InvestmentNews.com reported.
Under current law, employees in civil unions or domestic partnerships are taxed on their partners’ medical coverage, unlike married employees. That coverage is also factored into their payroll taxes, meaning both the employees and their employers’ tax obligations are higher.
A companion bill is expected to be introduced soon in the Senate by Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Chuck Schumer, D-New York, according to InvestmentNews.com
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