12.10.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 2:19 pm by pikapp44
A Democratic aide has confirmed to The Advocate that President-elect Obama will be naming Los Angeles deputy mayor Nancy Sutley, who is gay, as a senior member of his environmental team, as reported Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times.
Sutley, who currently serves as deputy mayor of energy and the environment, will be named chairwoman of the Council of Environmental Quality, which helps develop environmental policy and advises the White House on such matters.
Nancy Sutley has a rich background in environmental public policy at both the federal and state levels, having served on the California State Water Resources Control Board, as energy adviser to Gov. Gray Davis, and as the deputy secretary for policy and intergovernmental relations within the California Environmental Protection Agency. As an appointee to the EPA, she helped shape water and air pollution policy, lobbied congressional leadership, and formulated budget and legislative priorities.
Denis Dison of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund said he was pleased to see an LGBT appointee added to Obama’s roster but still has his sights set on a higher prize.
“I think the community is still hoping that we will see an openly LGBT cabinet secretary,” Dison said. “There are still names out there that we would like to see appointed, like John Berry.”
Berry, who is director of the Smithsonian National Zoo and former executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, is reportedly under consideration for secretary of the Interior, the governmental steward of all U.S. public land. The Victory Fund’s Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute has been collecting and vetting LGBT candidates who are qualified to serve in the administration through its Presidential Appointments Project.
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12.08.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 3:05 pm by pikapp44
The Iowa supreme court is ready to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a gay marriage case that USA Today reports “could echo throughout the nation and be far more difficult to challenge at the ballot box than a high-profile ruling in California, legal experts say.”
If Varnum v. Brien is decided in favor of the six same-sex couples who filed the case, Iowa will become the first Midwestern state to legalize gay marriage,.
Iowa legislators passed a Defense of Marriage Act in 1998, but the state currently has no constitutional prohibition against gay marriage. Passing an antigay constitutional marriage measure retroactively would be an involved process requiring a simple-majority vote of both the Iowa house and senate in two consecutive legislative sessions followed by a majority approval of voters in the next general election.
“This is the heartland of America — a place where family values are revered,” University of Iowa law professor Angela Onwuachi-Willig, who signed a court brief supporting gay marriage rights, told USA Today. “It would be an incredibly strong signal for the Iowa supreme court to find that same-sex marriages are legal.”
Last week reports began to surface that New York State senate Democrats may have secured control of their chamber by bargaining away a promised same-sex marriage bill.
In California the supreme court has agreed to hear challenges to the just-passed Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
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12.07.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 9:22 pm by pikapp44
New York State senate Democrats may have secured control of their chamber by bargaining away marriage equality.
Democrats won a two-seat majority in the chamber after decades of Republican rule, three conservative members of the caucus had threatened to defect to the GOP unless they received more power. But a handshake deal in New York City apparently gave the holdouts what they wanted, The New York Times reports.
For one, Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx, the concessions may have included postponing a vote on marriage equality until 2010 at the earliest, according to the paper.
New York assembly member Daniel J. O’Donnell, who is gay and carried a same-sex marriage bill that passed his chamber in 2007, told the Times that he expects momentum to continue for marriage equality regardless of what transpired.
“All civil rights movements have moments where they move forward, and moments of perceived setbacks,” O’Donnell, who represents Manhattan, told the paper. “If in fact our civil rights were bargained away, that’s deplorable. But in the end, I think justice and fairness will prevail.”
Still, Freedom to Marry’s executive director Evan Wolfson says its important to remain positive.
“Don’t buy into the idea that marriage is being put on the backburner,” he told Advocate.com “Politicians always float trial balloons. There are those who want us to surrender and walk away, and expect less. We’ve only just begun to fight, and we can’t give up before we’ve started.”
Alan Van Capelle, head of Empire State Pride Agenda, said he and his team were awaiting more details about the deal. “We would expect that any rumors that marriage equality was somehow a part of this deal are just that — rumors,” Van Capelle said in a statement. But, he cautioned, “civil rights should never be a bargaining chip in any political leadership battle, and we would be outraged if the issue of marriage equality was even part of the discussions.”
A same-sex marriage bill has yet to pass New York’s senate.
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12.04.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 8:14 pm by pikapp44
When Gov. Charlie Crist legally weds his longtime girlfriend Carole Rome on Dec. 12, St. Petersburg’s First United Methodist Church will be packed with cheering family members, friends and the most inside of Florida insiders.
Outside the church, in nearby Williams Park, hundreds of supporters of equal marriage rights—the outsiders of the Nov. 4 vote in Florida—will also cheer the governor and his bride. But it will be a double-edged celebration.
“We want to say ‘congratulations governor—when can I get married?’” said Lorna Bracewell, spokeswoman for Impact Florida, a grass roots activist group organizing the protest.
Impact Florida is a chapter of Join the Impact, a national movement formed by GLBT activists when state amendments banning same sex marriage passed in California, Arizona, and Florida in the Nov. 4 election.
Bracewell, a singer songwriter from Indian Rocks, Fla., lives with her partner of three years, whom she said she would love to marry.
“We’re very much in favor of marriage,” Bracewell said. “We’d just like that opportunity available to all Floridians regardless of gender or sexual orientation.”
The Rome/Crist wedding, she said, presents a “perfect opportunity” for same sex marriage supporters to point out the injustice and hypocrisy of Florida’s marriage laws.
“His decision to support Amendment 2 and his failure to speak out against it does represent his dropping the ball,” she said. “As the governor he’s supposed to be there insuring that the rights of all Floridians are protected.”
Crist announced his support of the anti-gay marriage measure in August, after originally saying he had a neutral, “live and let live” attitude about the issue. He had also ordered the State Republican Party to stop funding Florida4marriage.com, chief proponents of the measure. His conflicting statements, combined with looming rumors about his sexual orientation, have made him an ironic central figure in the gay marriage debate.
Those gay rumors boiled over when Crist announced his plan to marry Rome, while the bachelor governor was on Sen. John McCain’s short listed of for Vice President. The timing of the marriage plans appeared to some critics as if it could be a staged wedding, to solidify his “family values” image.
McCain went on to nominate Sarah Palin, and now the election is over—but the wedding is still on, and guests have received pink-and-cream invitations to the Dec. 12 nuptials, as well as to a lavish reception at St. Petersburg’s Renaissance Vinoy Resort. Rome has gushed about feeling blessed because of her love for Crist.
Bracewell says the demonstrators will form a candle light vigil near the resort, near the entrance to the reception at the Vinoy Resort. Impact Florida is asking demonstrators to wear pink shirts in honor of the wedding’s theme. They want it to be “a festive occasion,” Bracewell said.
Impact’s first demonstration was the national day of protest Nov. 15, where nearly 1 million people across the country demonstrated for equal marriage rights. Impact is organizing the Dec. 12 rally through its online social network, www.impactflorida.ning.com. More than 400 people attended the Nov. 15 protest in St. Petersburg; Bracewell said she hopes to double that for the wedding demonstration.
“Our ultimate goal is to see Amendment 2 repealed,” Bracewell said. “We know one demonstration is not going to accomplish the goal. But our goal is to be visible to let them see whose lives are being affected by amendment 2.
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12.03.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 2:09 pm by pikapp44
The Vatican has come out against a United Nations resolution that calls on all governments to decriminalize homosexuality. The resolution, Archbishop Celestino Migliore said, would “add new categories of those protected from discrimination” and could lead to the decline of heterosexual marriage, Reuters reported Tuesday.
“If adopted, they would create new and implacable discriminations,” Migliore said. “For example, states which do not recognize same-sex unions as ‘matrimony’ will be pilloried and made an object of pressure.”
France will propose the resolution this month on behalf of the 27-member European Union. The Vatican is not a member, but it uses the Euro.
“No other religion in the world is granted this type of status on the world stage,” Catholics for Choice president Jon O’Brien told Advocate.com on Tuesday.
The Vatican has a nonvoting seat at the U.N., but the Holy See’s opinions can be influential.
“Other major religions are granted a voice in the United Nations,” O’Brien said, “but they’re often treated as nongovernment organizations.”
While more nations, especially those in Latin America, are moving toward separating church and state, the Vatican’s stance may prompt other leaders from other religions to pressure political officials. Still, Catholicism is the only major religion with a mouthpiece at the U.N.
“You won’t find an imam sitting at the U.N. pretending that they’re a part of a state,” O’Brien added. “You don’t find that kind of manifestation in other world religions. We certainly have seen folks like the Mormons and those of extreme Muslim beliefs and überconservatives backed by the Vatican trying to form a lobby together.”
Italian newspaper La Stampa said the city-state’s stance was “grotesque,” figuring that the Vatican feared a chain reaction in legally instituting marriage equality, especially in Italy, where there is no law banning same-sex marriage.
“The French resolution … has nothing to do with gay marriage. It is about stopping jail and the death penalty for homosexuals,” Franco Grillini, president of Italy’s leading gay rights activist organization Arcigay, told Reuters.
Homosexuality is still punishable in at least 85 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, and Ghana. Some countries kill those who are found guilty of such an offense.
All the European Union member nations have backed France’s proposed resolution. Just this past weekend, the Catholic Church in England and Wales urged priests and churchgoers to be tolerant and welcoming to LGBT people in a new pamphlet being distributed across the country.
“The laudable change of tone is undermined by the homophobic content of the Catholic catechism and by the pope’s frequent endorsement of legal discrimination against lesbian and gay people,” U.K. gay rights advocate Peter Tatchell said in a statement on Monday. “The Vatican’s policy of denouncing loving, stable same-sex relationships risks undoing the good, kind intentions of this leaflet.”
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12.02.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 4:44 pm by pikapp44
Cyndi Lauper was supposed to conclude her world tour over the weekend with a concert in Caracas, Venezuela — but according to PerezHilton.com and a blog posting on one of her fan sites, the concert was canceled because of her support of gay rights.
According to the posting, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez canceled the concert because he “had fear of political protests.” He also allegedly opposed Lauper’s endorsement of President-elect Barack Obama and her outspoken support of gay rights.
Lauper is expected to comment on the canceled concert in a blog posting on her official website, www.CyndiLauper.com.
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12.01.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Portal at 7:22 pm by pikapp44
Monday, December 1, marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, and on the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, AIDS educators and health professionals the world over are looking forward to a new direction and renewed dedication in fighting the world epidemic
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11.25.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 5:15 pm by pikapp44
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman Tuesday declared Florida’s 50-year-old ban on gay adoptions unconstitutional — a ruling state lawyers immediately said they would challenge.
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11.24.08
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 6:23 pm by pikapp44
In 2009, Sundance will celebrate 25 years of bringing together international cinema and a variety of cultures in Park City, Utah. But with California’s gay community reeling from the passage of Prop. 8, activists and filmmakers are suggesting a boycott of the festival and theater chain Cinemark, whose CEO donated a substantial sum to the marriage ban’s campaign.
Arguably the most important film festival in the United States and one of the most celebrated in the world, Sundance turns 25 when it opens on January 15, 2009. For fans of LGBT cinema, the festival that introduced queer classics including The Times of Harvey Milk and Longtime Companion and helped them become box office successes has always been a must-attend. But this time around, Sundance finds itself at the center of the backlash created by the passage of California’s Proposition 8.
Besides being the home of Sundance, Utah is the central hub of the Mormon Church, which organized its followers to support the amendment banning same-sex marriage in the Golden State and encouraged them to give generously to the cause. With many gays and lesbians enraged by Prop. 8’s passage, boycotts of all shapes and sizes have popped up, encouraging LGBT consumers to financially punish Prop. 8 supporters and their businesses.
Boycott Cinemark, a movie theater chain.
The boycott is also an issue for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which has a major presence at Sundance with its Queer Lounge, a networking venue and meeting place that’s become a major festival destination.
Neil Giuliano, GLAAD’s president, said his organization has no plans to pull out of the festival.
“We think that Queer Lounge and GLAAD have to be more visible than ever,” Giuliano said. “We have to ensure the LGBT community has a voice at Sundance. These film festivals are a critical way to achieve the goals of fair and accurate inclusion in the media, especially in the entertainment media.”
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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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