My Gay Online » D’s Thoughts

J.C. Penney stands behind Ellen DeGeneres

pikapp44 — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:26:17 +0000

J.C. Penney is turning its back on One Million Moms, a group which called for the retailer to dump talk show host EllenDeGeneres as its national spokeswoman because she is gay.
In an emailed statement to Yahoo! Shine on Friday, J.C. Penney confirmed it “stands behind its partnership with Ellen DeGeneres.”
One Million Moms, a project of theAmerican Family Association , earlier said that “DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there.” The group claims to be “the most powerful tool you have to stand against the immorality, violence, vulgarity and profanity the entertainment media is throwing at your children.”
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) applauded J.C. Penney’s decision to stick with DeGeneres.
“This week Americans spoke out in overwhelming support of LGBT people and J.C. Penney’s decision not to fire Ellen simply for who she happens to love,” said Herndon Graddick, senior director of programs and communications at GLAAD.
GLAAD says it has received nearly 25,000 signatures on a website dedicated to showing support for J.C. Penney and DeGeneres.

Prop 8 Trial Videos To Remain Sealed, Judge Rules

pikapp44 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:43:04 +0000

A video recording of the 2010 trial that challenged the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, will remain sealed, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Thursday.
The 3-0 ruling, from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stated that the trial judge who permitted the recording had promised it would not be made public. “The integrity of our judicial system depends in no small part on the ability of litigants and members of the public to rely on a judge’s word,” it read.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
…the ruling maintained a blanket of secrecy over recordings of a trial that was as public a proceeding as federal court rules allow: intense media coverage, live-blogging from the courtroom, a telecast to spectators in an overflow courtroom, and re-enactments on YouTube – and even on Broadway.
Prop. 8′s sponsors, however, argued that any telecast beyond the courthouse would intimidate and endanger their witnesses. They persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to ban live broadcasts to other federal courthouses on the eve of trial in January 2010, and they prevailed again today in an effort to keep the recordings under seal, perhaps permanently.
The court provided no indication as to when or how it would rule on the larger question: whether Prop 8 represented an act of blatant discrimination and should therefore be deemed unconstitutional.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the court also ruled that Chief Judge U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who presided over the original trial that declared the measure unconstitutional and is now retired, may not keep his own copy of the recordings.

Group wants JC Penney to dump Ellen DeGeneres because she’s gay

pikapp44 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:21:18 +0000

One Million Moms — a project of the American Family Association — is very angry at JC Penney .
No, not because it sells sweater vests (heck, Rick Santorum is a fan of those), but because the Texas-based department store has hired Ellen DeGeneres as a spokeswoman.
And DeGeneres is — cue the scary music — gay, and open about it.
“Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families,” the million (or so) moms write on their website. “DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there.”

One Million Moms is asking people to call JC Penney to complain.
With this campaign, One Million Moms, which claims to be “the most powerful tool you have to stand against the immorality, violence, vulgarity and profanity the entertainment media is throwing at your children,” is going after one of the country’s most-beloved television hosts.
The moms want JC Penney “to replace Ellen DeGeneres as their new spokesperson immediately and remain neutral in the culture war.”
Fat chance, says the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination.

“A vast majority of Americans today support Ellen as well as their LGBT friends and family members,” Herndon Graddick, a GLAAD spokesman said in a written statement. “Selecting an out performer who has inspired and entertained millions, is not only a smart business practice , but a reflection of how LGBT Americans today are an integral and valued part of the fabric of our culture.”
DeGeneres’ daytime talk show has more viewers than the American Family Association has moms. Between Jan. 16 and Jan. 22, “Ellen” averaged 3.38 million viewers — or 2.38 million more people than the AFA has moms.

Charlie Morgan, Lesbian Service Member With Cancer, Asks John Boehner To Stop Defending DOMA

pikapp44 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:20:45 +0000

A lesbian National Guardsman — who is fighting Stage IV breast cancer and who fears time is running out for overturning the Defense of Marriage Act in her lifetime — learned today she can meet with staff of Speaker of the House John Boehner. Concerned that survivor benefits would be denied her wife if she dies, she hope to convince staffers that Boehner should drop his plan to defend the law in court.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charlie Morgan, a 17-year full-time member of the New Hampshire Army National Guard, has tried for weeks to get a meeting with Boehner or his staff only to be rebuffed. In a letter and a series of emails shared with The Huffington Post, Morgan, 47, stressed that “time is of the essence,” given her medical prognosis.
“I want to be able to tell my personal story, to tell him we have similar values when it comes to family and the military,” Morgan told HuffPost in a phone interview. “I want him to really look me in the eye and [know] he’s hurting my family and so many other families” by defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
Morgan’s requests had been stonewalled by Boehner’s office until HuffPost reached out to his office for a comment.
“The Speaker’s staff would certainly be willing to meet with Ms. Morgan,” Michael Steel, Boehner’s spokesman, emailed HuffPost today.
Zeke Stokes of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said Boehner’s office called her to schedule a meeting shortly after the arrival of HuffPost’s email. He said Morgan is working to find an appropriate time to travel to Washington from her home in New Hampshire. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network filed a lawsuit in October on behalf of Morgan and seven other members of the military in an effort to overturn DOMA.
“After much delay and a previous denial, she was thrilled to hear from Speaker Boehner’s office and looks forward to traveling to DC to tell her story as soon as possible,” Stokes emailed.
Morgan’s situation illustrates how despite the end of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in September, the ability to serve openly remains a hollow victory.
The Defense of Marriage Act prevents the federal government from recognizing same sex marriages where they are legal. This deprives those in same sex marriages the same military housing, medical, education and other benefits provided to their straight counterparts.
Since the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy vanished, members of the military and veterans have brought a growing number of challenges of DOMA. On Wednesday, the Southern Poverty Law Center sued the Department of Veterans Affairs over its denial of disability benefits to the same sex spouse of an Army veteran diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Charlie and Karen Morgan married in New Hampshire in October a decade after they entered into a civil union in Vermont during a break in Charlie’s military service. Karen is a stay-at-home mom to their daughter Casey Elena, 4. Although Casey Elena, as Charlie’s dependent, is eligible for health care and other privileges, Karen is not.
The family’s sole breadwinner, Charlie Morgan said because of DOMA, Karen will not receive survivor’s benefits, Social Security or health care coverage “should I not survive this bout with cancer.” The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has estimated the value of lost lifetime benefits to Karen at nearly $300,000.
Morgan was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and underwent a double mastectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy. After she was declared cancer-free, she was deployed to Kuwait for a year. In September, she learned the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and chest, and doctors told her the disease was incurable. She starts a new round of chemotherapy Friday.
Such disparities were behind the Obama administration’s decision nearly a year ago not to defend the constitutionality of DOMA in court, Attorney General Eric Holder said at the time. Angry House leaders, led by Boehner, said they would defend DOMA and Republicans set aside as much as $1.5 million to defend the law.
It was Boehner’s role in the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group formed to keep DOMA alive that prompted Morgan to request meeting with him. She told HuffPost she wanted to tell the leader about how survivor’s benefits — unavailable to Karen — had supported her mother when her father died in a car accident while on active duty waiting to deploy to Vietnam when Charlie was 3.
In a letter to Boehner dated Dec. 23, Charlie Morgan wrote, “Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Active Guard, I laid my life on the line for my country, and now I need my country to protect and care for my family. My wife and daughter face an uncertain future, unable to receive the same family support services as our counterparts who render the same service, take the same risks, and make the same sacrifices.”
Hearing nothing, she followed up with a Jan. 10 email. Less than two hours after she sent it, Boehner’s scheduler turned her down, citing his “demanding schedule” and referring her to the speaker’s assistant for policy, George Rogers.
Morgan called Rogers but was put on hold before getting a message that the office was closed. More emails followed before she was told to contact her local congressman, Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.), even though the issue she wanted to discuss related to a decision by House leadership.

Ban Ki-Moon: Africa Leaders Should Respect Gay Rights

pikapp44 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:24:50 +0000

criminals”.
Ban told African leaders that gathered in Ethiopia’s capital on Sunday for an African Union summit that discrimination based on sexual orientation “had been ignored or even sanctioned by many states for far too long”.
Ban said it would be challenging for Africa to “confront this discrimination”. There was no immediate response from African heads of states to Ban’s speech. Many African countries outlaw homosexuality and many African churches preach against it.

Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington wishes she’d supported marriage equality for gays and lesbians years ago

pikapp44 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:48:19 +0000

Governor Chris Gregoire hopes President Obama evolves in his thinking soon. But she respects the president’s “personal journey” and asked people to “give him the time” to see it through.
Having introduced a marriage equality bill several weeks ago that now reportedly has the votes in the state legislature to pass, She also criticized Governor Christie of New Jersey for urging marriage equality be voted on at the ballot without a vote of the elected representatives.
The governor also spoke of the heartfelt and emotional response she’s received from the public to her decision, including from a gay teen who was contemplating suicide.
Regarding her own journey Gregoire said: “I wished I could have come to the point that I am today six years ago. But it took me a journey and for that, I’m sorry that it took me as long as it did. But it’s genuine. It’s not about politics. It’s very heartfelt. it’s about my [Catholic] faith and I have struggled with it.”
She’s enormously moved by the response she’s received. “Probably the most moving — I’ve received thousands of emails and letters and telephone calls,” she said. “And the one that just hit my heart was a sixteen year old who said, ‘I’ve thought about suicide, and now that you’ve come out as strong as you have, I feel good about myself. And one day I will not go on bended-knee and ask someone to join me in a domestic partnership — I’ll ask them to marry me.’ That’s the exact thing that moved me to where I am and that’s only right for our children in this state and for their parents.”
Of President Obama still “evolving” on marriage, as he has put,disappointing many LGBT supporters who want him to come out fully for equality, Gregoire asked for patience: “I think, I hope, the president will evolve in his thinking and his personal journey but I have to respect the journey he’s on. He has done, in my opinion, a great job as commander-in-chief, with respect to our military, as a voice for anti-discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of this nation. I would ask our friends, as a big an ask as it is, give him the time to see the journey through. I believe he will get to where I found myself, [New York] Governor Cuomo found himself. But people need to give him the opportunity to get there.”
Gregoire responded to Gov. Christie’s controversial suggestion that marriage equality go to the ballot in New Jersey without a vote by the representatives by discussing the politics in her own state, where ballot initiatives are commonplace and easy for citizens to launch.
“If someone out there in the community believes it should go to a ballot there’s a mechanism by which they can do that readily in our state, and do it all the time, and I respect that and believe the people of the State of Washington will stand up,” she said. “But meanwhile, today, in my state I am urging every one of my senators and representatives to stand up, take the vote, do the right thing. Bear the responsibility, do not just send it to the ballot.”

Adam Levine And Maroon 5 Boycotting Mexican Restaurant For Anti-Gay Marriage Stance

pikapp44 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:34:25 +0000

Adam Levine has long been a supporter of the LGBT community and once again he’s putting his money where his mouth is — this time in regards to gay marriage.
The Maroon 5 singer and “The Voice” star recently revealed that the band, which is up for the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance on February 12, has changed the location of their upcoming post-awards show party due to an unnamed Los Angeles restaurant’s backing of Proposition 8, which made gay marriage illegal in California.
Levine told People magazine, “We used to go to this Mexican restaurant to celebrate after the Grammys but the place supported the movement to make gay marriage illegal [in California] so we bailed on that.”
Levine, whose brother is gay, has lent his voice and face to other pro-LGBT causes like the “It Gets Better” campaign in support of gay teens and earlier this year he appeared on the cover of Out magazine.
The singer’s outspokenness isn’t limited to LGBT activism. In October he lashed out at FOX news on Twitter for using Maroon 5′s music on the air saying, “Dear Fox News, don’t play our music on your evil f***ing channel ever again. Thank you.”

Tennessee’s Coming Storm of Anti-LGBT Legislation

pikapp44 — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:59:31 +0000

The eyes of those committed to the progression of LGBT rights will be on the state of Tennessee this legislative session. Due to a Republican majority in the Tennessee General Assembly, we have seen a major regression when it comes to reaching equality in this state. Last session the Assembly passed a bill (HB 600) that prevents Tennessee cities from enacting their own nondiscrimination policies. Even though this is the law of the land for now, a court challenge is in the works.
Also last session we saw a bill that, many years after being introduced, finally found some traction in the Assembly, a bill known as the”Don’t Say Gay” bill. This piece of legislation would prevent public elementary and middle schools from teaching or distributing material on human sexuality that deals with homosexuality. Only heterosexuality may be taught. This bill brings into question how one “teaches” homosexuality:
Is it teaching homosexuality if a teacher has a picture of them with their partner on their desk and an inquisitive student asks who the other individual in the picture is?
Is it teaching homosexuality if a student with two moms or two dads is allowed to bring their unconventional family to school on Parents Day and a student inquires about the same-sex partnership?
Is it teaching homosexuality if an aspiring teacher who works with kids during an after-school program performs in drag in his free time?
The “Don’t Say Gay” bill, as currently written, could jeopardize the jobs of teachers in the situations proposed above, and indeed teachers everywhere, straight or gay. (Additionally, what about the Bible and other religious works or books that reference homosexuality? Is that teaching it?)
This bill will be up for debate once again this session.
Another piece of legislation that has been introduced this session is the so-called “License to Bully” bill. What this bill would do, if passed, would give students the ability to justify bullying their peers that are gay or perceived to be gay by pointing to a political or religious conviction. It’s one thing to have an academic debate in the classroom about gay issues, but it is another thing to let those debates turn into harassment and bullying in the hallways. This bill would do that.
In Tennessee we have seen the heartbreaking story of Jacob Rogers, a young man who took his own life due to being bullied for being gay. Do the sponsors of these bills understand the ramifications that this toxic legislation will have on our youth? I seriously doubt they do or even care, as long as they can put another legislative victory under their belt.
And lastly, it seems that the realm of education isn’t enough for this current legislature. There is now a bill that has been introduced that would harm gender-variant people. HB 2279, or the “Gender Check, Please” bill, as I like to call it, would “restricts access to public restrooms and public dressing rooms designated by sex to members of that particular sex.” Not only would this bill hurt transgender people, but it may also prevent parents from accompanying their child into the restroom.
These bills are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to gay politics and issues in the state of Tennessee. Not only is it going to take every Tennessean who believes in equality to help fight this horrible legislation, but it is also going to take people across the nation to shut down the sorts of unrepentant, negative, and regressive mindsets that have called my legislature home. I believe that together we can fight these anti-human bills and work toward a Tennessee, and a nation, that believes in true equality for everyone.

Same-Sex Divorce Bill Advances In D.C. Council

pikapp44 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:38:48 +0000

As Maryland lawmakers prepare to tackle the issue of marriage equality in new legislative session, the District of Columbia is thinking about same-sex divorce. Officials in the nation’s capital, who OK’d same-sex marriage in 2009, want to clarify D.C. law to deal with same-sex divorce.
As the Washington Blade reported last month, D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) quietly introduced his bill on the matter last fall:
Supporters say the bill, the Civil Marriage Dissolution Equality Amendment Act of 2011, is needed because states that don’t recognize same-sex marriage have no legal mechanism to issue a divorce to gay or lesbian couples who wish to dissolve their D.C. marriage through a divorce.
Under the city’s existing marriage law, which allows same-sex couples to marry, one or both parties to a same-sex marriage performed in D.C. would have to become a city resident for six months before the city would grant the couple a divorce.

Gay Marriage Canada: Justice Minister Rob Nicholson Says Ottawa Will Change Law So Foreigners’ Same-Sex Unions Are Valid

pikapp44 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:55:57 +0000

A legal loophole that could have undermined thousands of same-sex marriages will be remedied to ensure gay couples from abroad who marry in Canada will have their unions recognized here, the federal justice minister said Friday.
Rob Nicholson acknowledged the confusion surrounding the issue has upset many couples and stressed it’s the government’s view that these marriages “should be valid.”
“We will change the Civil Marriage Act so that any marriages performed in Canada that aren’t recognized in the couple’s home jurisdiction will be recognized in Canada,” Nicholson said Friday during a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto.
Doubts were raised about the validity of thousands of marriages conducted in Canada for same-sex couples from the United States and elsewhere following a federal twist in a Charter of Rights case launched in Ontario by two foreign women seeking a divorce.
A legal brief filed by federal lawyers denies the women are even legally married. It argues neither woman was legally able to marry a person of the same sex under the laws of Florida or the United Kingdom. “As a result, their marriage is not legally valid under Canadian law.”
Critics accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government of seeking to rewrite the rules on gay marriage to suit its right-wing agenda.
In announcing the government would change the law, Nicholson said Friday that “the confusion and pain resulting from this gap … is completely unfair to those affected.”
Liberal Leader Bob Rae, speaking to reporters at the party’s policy convention in Ottawa, responded to Nicholson by lamenting, “Oh please, give me a break.”
“These guys specialize in trying to turn the tables,” Rae said of the Harper Conservatives.
“The only gap is the gap between the heads of Conservative cabinet ministers who have failed to live up the best and finest traditions of Canada with respect to our positions of tolerance,” Rae added.
Randall Garrison, the NDP’s critic for gay and lesbian issues, said Ottawa has repeatedly tried to use a loophole in the legislation to erode those rights “through the back door.”
“They got caught and I think they were frankly quite surprised by the reaction, and so they’ve rolled back their position today,” he said.
Robert Leckey, a family law professor at McGill University in Montreal and president of Egale Canada, called the minister’s announcement “a positive step.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing him act on the things he said,” he said.
At the same time, “a little work will need to be done to make sure that what is done this time is done right,” he added.
The couple seeking a divorce, identified in court records only by initials to protect their privacy, were married in Toronto in December 2005 and separated two years ago. One lives in Clearwater, Fla., the other in London, England.
Their marriage is not recognized either in Florida or the United Kingdom. As a result, they are unable to obtain a divorce in their home cities.
The couple also faced a barrier to divorce in Ontario — a requirement that at least one of them live in the province for a year or more. They have launched a constitutional challenge of that provision in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
In 2005, the Liberal government passed legislation recognizing same-sex marriage after several courts across the country had declared the practice legal. An estimated 5,000 of the 15,000 or so gay marriages performed in Canada have involved foreigners, mostly American couples.