11.19.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Rights at 12:43 pm by pikapp44
President-elect Barack Obama has laid out his commitment to LGBT civil rights in an eight-point plan posted on his transition Web site.
It calls for passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act; a gender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act; repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act; opposition to any attempt to reintroduce an amendment to the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, support for inclusive adoption rights; and an expanded war on HIV/AIDS.
The program is identical to Obama’s positions during the campaign and LGBT rights groups said it shows that the president-elect is committed to keeping his word.
The Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act would add sexual orientation to the list of categories covered under federal hate crime law. It passed the House in 2007 and the White House threatened to veto it. In an effort to get around a veto, the Senate version was tied to the 2008 defense authorization bill. It passed but then went to conference, where it was stripped out.
Obama was a co-sponsor of the bill. On his transition Web site, Obama notes that in 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported, making up more than 15 percent. As a state senator in Illinois, Obama helped pass tough legislation that made hate crimes - and cthe onspiracy to commit them - against the law.
Obama, in his eight-point plan, also supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and says it must include gender identity.
ENDA passed the US House in 2007 without protections for the transgendered, but was not taken up by the Senate.
The legislation would make it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee.
ENDA as originally introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) included transpeople, but Frank removed those protections in committee, saying it would be impossible to pass the bill if it included gender identity.
More than a dozen LGBT groups immediately distanced themselves from the legislation. Frank has since said he would fight to ensure an inclusive ENDA is passed.
Obama’s support for an inclusive ENDA virtually assures it will include gender identity when it is reintroduced in the next session of Congress.
“While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees’ domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy,” Obama says on the transition site.
Legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the ban on gays serving openly in the military, was taken up in committee this year for the first time, but did not make it to a vote.
DADT was enacted in 1993. Since then more than 12,000 servicemembers have been dismissed when it was learned they are gay. According to statistics from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which advocates for gays in the military, an average of two service members each day are dismissed under the law .
“The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited,” the Obama transition site says.
“Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.”
The Web site also touts Obama’s commitment to same-sex families, but he remains reluctant to support gay marriage.
“Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples.” the transition site says.
“Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights,” the Web site says.
He also supports adoption rights for all couples “regardless of their sexual orientation.”
Obama’s plan also offers a comprehensive plan for combating HIV/AIDS.
“In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities,” the Web site says.
Part of that plan would see a diminished role for the Bush administration’s dependence on abstinence education, as well as distributing contraceptives in prisons and lifting the federal ban on needle exchanges.
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11.17.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Rights at 6:08 pm by pikapp44
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will not submit a legal brief to the California Supreme Court arguing for the overturn of Proposition 8, the voter initiative that bans same-sex marriage, nor will he join a group of state lawmakers in their brief despite making statements he believes the court should declare the measure illegal.
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” Schwarzenegger said that he believes marriage is between opposite-sex partners, “but I don’t want to ever force my will on anyone.”
But he rejected a call to enter the legal challenge to Prop 8.
A day after voters agreed to amend the constitution to bar same-sex marriage three separate notices were filed with the high court arguing the proposition was illegal because it conflicted with existing portions of the constitution.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court on Wednesday, a preliminary move to a suit. They were the lead groups that successfully argued the original marriage case before the court.
The second notice came from Dennis Herrera the attorney for the City of San Francisco. The third was filed by Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred on behalf of a couple married in that city.
The petitions charge that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone. They also say that Prop 8 improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities.
Last week Democratic state legislators filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the challenge.
The Republican governor on Sunday told ABC that the state law banning same-sex marriage, which the California Supreme Court overturned this spring, was akin to the legal battle over interracial marriage. In 1948 the state high court declared a ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional.
“So the Supreme Court, you know, I think ought to go and look at that again. And we’ll go back to the same decision. … I think that they will. And I think that the important thing now is to resolve this issue in that way,” he told Stephanopoulos.
Schwarzenegger also said that he will meet this week with Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat, over the legal issues involved with the estimated 18,000 gay marriages already conducted in California.
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11.03.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Rights at 5:30 pm by pikapp44
They both oppose same-sex marriage, but Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain differ over Proposition 8, the ballot measure that would ban gay marriage in California.
“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that’s not what America’s about,” he said. He added, “Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don’t contract them.”
Obama has previously stated he would oppose a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and supports repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples.
He also has suggested civil unions as a means of granting rights to gay pairs.
McCain also opposes amending the U.S.Constitution, but for different reasons. McCain says it is a state issue. He is on record supporting constitutional bans on gay marriage in both California and his home state of Arizona where a similar measure is on Tuesday’s ballot.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden has spoken out against constitutional bans, both federally and state, but Republican Sarah Palin takes a stand stronger than that of McCain. Palin has called for an amendment to the US Constitution.
Public opinion polls show that proposed constitutional bans on same-sex marriage are too close in call in California, Arizona and Florida - the third state with a proposed ban on the ballot.
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10.28.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Portal at 12:31 pm by pikapp44
Aetna has become the first health benefits company in the U.S. to link its online provider directory - DocFind- to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association’s online database of more than 1,200 health care providers. The database includes primary care providers, specialists, therapists, and dentists who welcome LGBT patients.
In addition, Aetna has awarded GLMA a $50,000 grant as the diamond sponsor of GLMA’s 26th Annual Conference scheduled for Oct. 22-25 in Seattle. The conference will feature presentations and workshops on HIV/AIDS; lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual health; substance abuse; aging; families and relationships; and legal issues.
Joel Ginsberg, GLMA’s executive director, said he hopes to see other insurance companies follow Aetna’s lead by linking to the database.
“This is a valuable tool that allows LGBT individuals to find LGBT-friendly health care providers whom they can trust,” said Ginsberg.
“All patients must feel comfortable speaking candidly with their health care providers so that the care delivered is appropriate and effective, and patients can take greater control of their health and well-being,” said Troyen Brennan, M.D., Aetna’s chief medical officer.
“Aetna and the GLMA share a similar goal of eliminating disparities in health care, including unequal health care access and outcomes that critically challenge the American health care system today.”
Openness between patients and their health care providers can be an issue for the LGBT community and can impact their quality of care. A study released in July by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene showed that men who disclose having sex with men to their physicians were twice as likely as those who did not to have been tested for HIV (63 percent vs. 36 percent).
The study also revealed in a survey of 452 New York City men who have sex with other men that 39 percent had not disclosed their sexual orientation to their doctors.
Any provider who is willing to affirm their commitment to providing a welcoming environment for LGBT patients and clients is invited to join the GLMA Provider Directory, the association said. GLMA also has resources available for providers on how to meet the unique health care needs of LGBT individuals, which includes creating an environment where patients can feel comfortable talking openly.
Aetna said it will alert its participating health care providers of the link between the DocFind tool and GLMA’s database to raise additional awareness of GLMA among providers.
Aetna has earned the top rating of 100 percent in the 2009 Corporate Equality Index by the Human Rights Campaign. This is the seventh consecutive year that Aetna has received a perfect score for its service to LGBT employees and consumers.
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10.27.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Rights at 4:22 pm by pikapp44
Law enforcement agencies reported a slight decrease in hate crimes last year, despite an increase against gays and lesbians.
The FBI reported more than 7,600 hate crime incidents in 2007, down about 1 percent from last year.
Racially motivated hate crimes accounted for more than half of that total. Religious bias was the second-leading motive for hate crimes, followed by prejudice against sexual orientation.
Within those categories, the FBI report found most hate crimes tended to be anti-black, anti-Jewish and anti-gay.
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10.14.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Portal at 2:47 pm by pikapp44
Openly gay former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell will host a live, hour-long special on NBC on Nov. 26 called Rosie’s Variety Show, it was announced in The Hollywood Reporter today.
The show — a 2009 version of classic variety shows like The Carol Burnett Show or The Ed Sullivan Show — will feature celebrity guests, musical acts, comedy skits and prizes for the audience and TV viewers.
O’Donnell became famous with the success of her long-running NBC talk show The Rosie O’Donnell Show (1996-2002), which ended its run the same year she came out as a lesbian.
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10.13.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Rights at 12:52 pm by pikapp44
The American Family Association is calling off a boycott of McDonald’s after the fast-food giant agreed to end its support for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, a company employee appointed to the chamber’s board of directors has resigned.
McDonald’s incurred the wrath of the AFA after it made a $20,000 donation to the chamber, and Richard Ellis, who until last month was vice president of communications for the chain, was named to the chamber’s
board of directors.
The company at first resisted AFA’s demands that it sever ties with the chamber. In a July response to the conservative group that fights LGBT issues nationwide, McDonald’s Global Chief Diversity Officer Pat Harris said: “We have a well-established and proud heritage of associating with individuals and organizations that share our belief that every person has the right to live and work in their community free of discrimination.”
But now in an e-mailed memo to franchise holders, the company said it has dropped ties with the chamber.
“It is our policy to not be involved in political and social issues. McDonald’s remains neutral on same-sex marriage or any ‘homosexual agenda’ as defined by the American Family Association.”
Richard Ellis is no longer with corporate headquarters. He is now with the company’s Canadian operation.
The e-mail said that Ellis stepped down from the chamber’s board “voluntarily.”
“We appreciate the decision by McDonald’s to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations,” the AFA said in a statement to its members calling off the boycott.
The AFA previously boycotted Disney for several year’s over its support for Gay Days at Disney World, although the company was not an official sponsor of the event.
It boycotted Cincinnati-based Proctor and Gamble over the company’s support for the repeal of a city charter amendment that prevented Cincinnati city council from enacting any laws that would recognize gays and lesbians.
The group boycotted Kraft for its support of the Chicago Gay Games and threatened to boycott Wal-Mart over its involvement with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
The boycotts resulted in little impact on the companies.
The AFA boycott of Ford was heralded as a success by the organization which noted that it had resulted in a drop in sales and share value. But most financial analysts said that Ford’s problems were really the result of vehicle designs that failed to impress the public.
The conservative Christian group launched a nationwide boycott of Ford in 2005 over the automaker’s support for LGBT issues, briefly put it on hold, and then reinstated it.
The AFA claimed victory when Ford began pulling its ads from LGBT publications, but industry observers and the company said the ad pullout was part of a downsizing of expenses.
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10.08.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Rights at 3:03 pm by pikapp44
Nine in 10 LGBT teens have been verbally harassed in the past school year, and almost half have been physically harassed.
Homophobic remarks such as “that’s so gay” are the most commonly heard type of biased remarks at school
“The 2007 National School Climate Survey reveals that, on a whole, the situation is still dire for many LGBT youth when it comes to school safety,” GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings said.
“It’s hard to believe that anyone who reads this report could continue to turn the other way as our nation’s LGBT students are bullied and harassed at alarming rates. The good news is there’s hope. The 2007 National School Climate Survey also shows that when schools and educators take action, they can make a drastic difference.”
Students in schools with a Gay-Straight Alliance reported hearing fewer homophobic remarks, experienced less harassment and assault because of their sexual orientation and gender expression, the study found. In addition, these students were more likely to report incidents of harassment and assault to school staff, were less likely to feel unsafe because of their sexual orientation or gender expression, were less likely to miss school because of safety concerns and reported a greater sense of belonging to their school community.
Nevertheless, the study found only about a third of students had a Gay-Straight Alliance at school. The same number of students could identify six or more supportive educators and only a fifth attended a school that had a comprehensive safe school policy.
The survey was released in advance of National Coming Out Day on October 11, and Ally Week which begins on October 13.
GLSEN on Friday will launch the first national multimedia public service advertising campaign designed to address the use of anti-gay language among teens. It was undertaken with the Advertising Council and produced pro bono by ad agency ArnoldNYC.
The campaign includes television, radio, print, outdoor and Web advertising.
The TV ads feature scenarios in which the term “that’s so gay” is used casually in an effort to help teens recognize that their anti-LGBT language is harmful. The ads conclude with comedian Wanda Sykes in one TV spot, and actress Hilary Duff in another, urging teens to “knock it off.”
GLSEN said the campaign hopes to motivate teens to become allies in the efforts to raise awareness, stop using anti-LGBT language, and safely intervene when they are present and anti-LGBT harassment and behavior occurs.
“Every student has a right to feel safe in school free from bullying and harassment,” said Jennings.
“When students do not feel safe, they struggle to learn. This campaign will help educate young people about the harmful language many of them commonly use.”
The new ads are being distributed to approximately 33,000 media stations nationwide this week. Under the Ad Council’s donated media model, all of the new ads will air and run in advertising time and space donated by the media. Media companies, including MTV (which through its Logo channel owns 365gay.com), have made early commitments to support the campaign.
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09.24.08
Posted in 365 Gay, Gay Portal at 7:56 am by pikapp44
A woman whose dogs viciously attacked and killed her neighbor in the hallway of their apartment building seven years ago was sentenced Monday to 15 years to life in prison.
Marjorie Knoller was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2001 mauling death of Dianne Whipple, but a judge later reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced her in 2002 to a four-year prison term.
But the California Supreme Court last year said the trial judge was wrong and sent the case back. Last month, Superior Court Judge Charlotte Woolard reinstated the murder conviction, for which Knoller was sentenced Monday.
The case is the California’s first murder conviction connected to a dog mauling, prosecutors say.
The case turned into a tabloid sensation because of the viciousness of the attack - the dogs tore all of Whipple’s clothing from her body and left her with more than 70 bites - and the seemingly cavalier attitudes of Knoller and her law partner and husband, Robert Noel, who blamed Whipple for the attack.
The couple also said they were keeping the canines on behalf of a white supremacist accused of running an attack dog ring from his state prison cell. The couple eventually adopted the prisoner, Paul “Cornfed” Schneider, as their son.
Knoller, who has served three years in prison, will have to serve 12 more years before she can apply for parole.
In denying Knoller’s plea for probation, Woolard noted that Knoller didn’t call 911 or otherwise try to help Whipple during the 10-minute attack. The judge said Knoller knew the dogs were dangerous, ignored numerous warnings to train them and hasn’t expressed remorse for the attack.
“She has blamed the victim and has held her dogs in higher regard than humans,” Woolard said.
Whipple’s partner, Sharon Smith, addressed Knoller before she was led off to jail. Smith called Knoller’s relationship with the two dogs and the prisoner “perverted” and expressed satisfaction with the lengthy prison sentence.
“It is very hard to find forgiveness for someone who doesn’t accept responsibility,” Smith said.
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