CA Supreme Court rejects stay on same-sex marriage ruling.
CA Supreme Court rejects stay on same-sex marriage ruling.
The California Supreme Court “rejected a bid to freeze” last month’s ruling on gay marriage, “paving the way for same-sex couples to begin walking down the aisle as soon as June 17.” Opponents of same-sex marriage sought to stay the ruling until after the November election, but in a 4-3 ruling, the court rejected their efforts. Yesterday, a constitutional amendment stating “that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” qualified for the November ballot.
Sam Nunn Reconsiders DADT: ‘Times Change,’ May Be ‘Appropriate’ To Lift The Ban On Gays In The Military
Sam Nunn Reconsiders DADT: ‘Times Change,’ May Be ‘Appropriate’ To Lift The Ban On Gays In The Military
As chairman of the powerful Armed Forces Committee in the 1990s, then-Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) led a series of hearings that helped undermine President Clinton’s attempt to lift the ban on gays and bisexuals serving openly in the military. Nunn faced strong opposition from gay and civil rights groups. As UPI reported in January 1993:
Nunn, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has opposed lifting the ban and had proposed a six-month waiting period during which federal hearings would be held to consider the impact of removing the restrictions.
“We are here today to call upon Sen. Sam Nunn to stop obstructing President Clinton’s effort to end discrimination in the United States military,” said Don George, the Atlanta field coordinator for the Human Rights Campaign Fund.
Speaking in Atlanta, GA today, however, Nunn indicated a shift in his views, saying that it may now be time to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT):
“I think [when] 15 years go by on any personnel policy, it’s appropriate to take another look at it — see how it’s working, ask the hard questions, hear from the military. Start with a Pentagon study,” Nunn said. […]
Pressed for his position on the matter, Nunn said, “I’m not advocating anything — except I’m saying the policy was the right policy for the right time, and times change. It’s appropriate to take another look.”
Although he doesn’t specifically say he supports a repeal, Nunn’s change of views is refreshing and follows progress by other traditionally conservative institutions. Last month, Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen also said that the military was ready to accept gay servicemembers if Congress repeals DADT. A December 2006 survey of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.”
NY governor announces plan for state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages.
NY governor announces plan for state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages.
Today, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) held a press conference announcing his directive for all state agencies to begin recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. At a meeting with LGBT leaders on May 17, Paterson called it “a strong step toward marriage equality.” Watch his press conference today:
Good As You has video of the question and answer session of the briefing.
Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »
California to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses on June 14.
California to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses on June 14.
AP reports:
Same-sex couples in some California counties will be able to marry as soon as June 14, the president of the California’s county clerks association said.
Stephen Weir, who heads the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said Monday he was told by the Office of Vital Records that clerks would be authorized to hand out marriage licenses as soon as that date, which is a Saturday and exactly 30 days after the California Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage should be legal.
The court’s decisions typically take effect after 30 days, barring further legal action.
Anti-gay website removes comparison of marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Anti-gay website removes comparison of marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Reacting to the California Supreme Court’s decision allowing gay marriage, the website of the far right group Campaign for Children and Families recently compared county clerks issuing same-sex marriage licenses to Nazis gassing Jews during the Holocaust. From the site:
Ask your county clerk if they were a Nazi officer during WWII and had been ordered to gas the Jews, would they? At the Nuremberg trials, they would have been convicted of murder for following this immoral order.
Campaign for Children and Families has now removed this text from its site. Good As You, however, has saved the original version here and writes, “We know you said it. We know that you were likening the ‘tough’ decision to marry gays to the mind-blowingly abominable order to murder humans. And everyone else is going to know it to. We’ll see to that.”
(HT: Pandagon)
Anti-gay group compares marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Anti-gay group compares marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Reacting to the California Supreme Court’s decision overturing a same-sex marriage ban, the far right group Campaign for Children and Families compares county clerks issuing same-sex marriage licenses to Nazis gassing Jews during the Holocaust. Here’s what they say on their website, SaveCalifornia.com:
Ask your county clerk if they were a Nazi officer during WWII and had been ordered to gas the Jews, would they? At the Nuremberg trials, they would have been convicted of murder for following this immoral order.
(HT: Andrew Sullivan)
Santorum Mocks Gay Marriage: ‘I Love My Brother. Should We Call This Relationship Marriage Too?’
Santorum Mocks Gay Marriage: ‘I Love My Brother. Should We Call This Relationship Marriage Too?’
Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer column by former Republican senator Rick Santorum is a shrill rant against the California Supreme Court for its recent ruling allowing gay marriage. Santorum worries about the “future of marriage as the union of husband and wife” and points out that he was “sounding the alarm about marriage” back in 2003.
To underscore his assertion that gay marriage = the collapse of civilization, he points to Norway:
Look at Norway. It began allowing same-sex marriage in the 1990s. In just the last decade, its heterosexual-marriage rates have nose-dived and its out-of-wedlock birthrate skyrocketed to 80 percent for firstborn children. Too bad for those kids who probably won’t have a dad around, but we can’t let the welfare of children stand in the way of social affirmation, can we?
But what about love? That’s the question a student asked this winter when I spoke at Georgetown University.
Is anyone saying same-sex couples can’t love each other? I love my children. I love my friends, my brother. Heck, I even love my mother-in-law. Should we call these relationships marriage, too? Marriage is and always has been more than the acknowledgment of the love between two people.
Conveniently, Santorum gives no sources for his inaccurate statistics. Norway began allowing same-sex civil unions in 1993. But according to M.V. Lee Badgett, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Norway’s “big surge” in the nonmarital birth rate occurred in the 1980s, jumping from 16 percent to 39 percent. In the decade after Norway authorized civil unions, the nonmarital birth rate rose only “slightly,” and then, “after a couple of years, leveled off at 50 percent.” These rates are similar to those in countries without such laws.
Additionally, in a 2006 Wall Street Journal op-ed, William Eskridge, Jr., a Yale professor, and author Darren Spedale found that heterosexual marriage rates have actually risen 12.7 percent in Norway since 1993. Similarly, divorce rates amongst heterosexual couples have fallen 6 percent.
McCain Tells Ellen DeGeneres: You Shouldn’t Have The Right To Get Married
McCain Tells Ellen DeGeneres: You Shouldn’t Have The Right To Get Married
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) taped an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, which airs today. Ellen, who recently announced that she plans to take advantage of the California Supreme Court’s recent gay marriage ruling and wed her longtime girlfriend, actress Portia di Rossi, pressed McCain on his stance on gay marriage.
McCain said that he opposes gay marriage, but said couples should be able to allowed to enter into legal agreements:
McCAIN: Well, my thoughts are that I think people should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue.
DEGENERES: Yeah, I mean, I think that it is looked at, and some people are saying that blacks and women did not have the right to vote. Women just got the right to vote in 1920, blacks didn’t have the right to vote until 1870, and it just feels like there’s this old way of thinking that we’re not all the same. We are all the same people. All of us. You’re no different than I am. Our love is the same.”
The audience was largely silent for McCain’s remarks, but cheered loudly after Ellen spoke. Watch it:
Even this stance may have been pandering to Ellen’s audience. In the past, McCain has been even more radically conservative, opposing civil unions:
– In 2005, he supported an Arizona amendment that would change the state’s constitution “to ban gay marriages and deny government benefits to unmarried couples.” [LINK]
– On Nov. 19, 2006, ABC’s George Stephanopoulous asked McCain, “So you’re for civil unions?” McCain replied, “No.” He instead said they should be able to only “enter into contracts” and “exchange powers of attorney.” [LINK
– In 2007, McCain said he was opposed to New Hampshire’s bill legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples. “If I were a citizen of New Hampshire, I would oppose it,” he said. “Anything that impinges or impacts the sanctity of the marriage between men and women, I’m opposed to it.” [LINK
In 2006, he also told the late Rev. Jerry Falwell that would support a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, even though he opposed such a measure in 2004.
Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »
Schwarzenegger: Gay marriage may boost California’s economy.
Schwarzenegger: Gay marriage may boost California’s economy.
Speaking in San Francisco yesterday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said he hopes that the state Supreme Court’s recent ruling allowing gay marriage will lead more couples to come to the state to be wed:
You know, I’m wishing everyone good luck with their marriages and I hope that California’s economy is booming because everyone is going to come here and get married.
The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau also expects a tourism boom this summer, and its website now “promotes a gay travel section” and “explains that same-sex couples are ‘officially allowed to marry in the state of California.’” Schwarzenegger has promised to oppose any amendments banning gay marriage.
Conservatives Dismiss CA Gay Marriage Decision By Falsely Attacking ‘Unelected Judges’
Conservatives Dismiss CA Gay Marriage Decision By Falsely Attacking ‘Unelected Judges’
Responding to the California Supreme Court’s decision yesterday overturning the state’s ban on gay marriage, congressional conservatives attacked the decision by calling it the result of “unelected judges” turning over the will of the people.
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), the House Minority Whip, charged in a statement that “unelected judges” are trying to “substitute their own worldview for the wisdom of the American people”:
Today, the decision of unelected judges to overturn the will of the people of California on the question of same-sex marriage demonstrates the lengths that unelected judges will go to substitute their own worldview for the wisdom of the American people.
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), piled on, saying that “unelected judges” had “irresponsibly decided to legislate from the bench.”
But, in making their rush to judgment about the CA decision, both Blunt and Feeney have the basic facts wrong about how California’s judicial system works. SmartVoter.org, a resource of the League of Women’s Voters, makes clear that California’s Supreme Court justices are “confirmed by the public at the next general election” after being appointed and “justices also come before voters at the end of their 12-year terms.”
In fact, each of the seven justices involved in yesterday’s decision were approved by California voters by overwhelming margins:
- Justice Joyce L. Kennard confirmed in 2006 with 74.5% of the vote.
- Justice Carol A. Corrigan confirmed in 2006 with 74.4% of the vote.
- Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar confirmed in 2002 with 74.1% of the vote.
- Justice Carlos R. Moreno confirmed in 2002 with 72.6% of the vote.
- Justice Marvin R. Baxter confirmed in 2002 with 71.5% of the vote.
- Justice Ronald M. George confirmed in 1998 with 75.5% of the vote.
- Justice Ming William Chin confirmed in 1998 with 69.3% of the vote.
The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder notes that Feeney’s statement on the decision also engages in “coded gay baiting” when he informs “Florida’s hardworking families” that he “will continue to fight to prevent San Francisco taxes and values from infiltrating our community.”
Ellen DeGeneres announces plans to get married after yesterday’s court ruling.
Ellen DeGeneres announces plans to get married after yesterday’s court ruling.
Today, on her talk show, host Ellen DeGeneres applauded the California Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the state’s ban on gay marriage and announced that she would be wedding her longtime girlfriend, actress Portia de Rossi:
This is very exciting, I have to say. Yesterday, the California Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriage. So I would like to say right now, for the first time, I am announcing that I am getting married. […]
I’m so excited. It’s something that we’ve, of course, wanted to do, and we’ve wanted to be legal, and we’re very very excited.
The audience gave her and de Rossi, who was also present, a long, standing ovation. Watch it:
The Advocate (via Perez Hilton) has more reactions on yesterday’s ruling from prominent members of the LGBT community.
California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban.
California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban.
The California Supreme Court has overturned the state’s ban on gay marriage today, “paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry.” The court stated that “an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.”
However, the court’s ruling “might not stick,” as right-wing organizations “have submitted more than 1.1 million signatures for an initiative that would amend the state Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. If at least 694,354 signatures are found to be valid, the measure would go on the November ballot and, if approved by voters, would override any court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.”
McCain Stays Silent On Hagee’s Homophobic Slurs
McCain Stays Silent On Hagee’s Homophobic Slurs
Earlier this week, right wing pastor John Hagee, a supporter of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), re-embraced his oft-repeated belief that Hurricane Katrina represented “the curse of God” for the sins of New Orleans. Though the media have put McCain on the spot over Hagee’s characterization of the Catholic Church as “the Great Whore,” they have been reticent to press McCain on Hagee’s homophobic comments.
To his credit, Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly asked McCain last night about the “bad things” Hagee has said “about Catholics and gays and other things like that.” McCain only repudiated the statements about the Catholic church, however, tacitly refusing to denounce Hagee’s despicable homophobic slurs:
O’REILLY: OK. John Hagee is a guy…
MCCAIN: Yes.
O’REILLY: …that you sought his endorsement in San Antonio, Texas. He said bad things about Catholics and gays and other things like that. And your opponents are saying, hey, you know, McCain hangs around with Hagee. Obama hangs around Wright. No difference.
MCCAIN: I do not embrace a view that he stated about the Catholic church. I steadfastly reject it and repudiate it. I’ve never been in Pastor Hagee’s church. I know him, but the fact is that I accept his endorsement.
Watch it:
Throughout the controversy, right wingers have completely ignored Hagee’s anti-gay comments. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said McCain “should make clear that he disagrees with statements of anti-Catholicism.” He was silent, however, about Hagee’s homophobia. In the past, McCain has repeatedly rejected Hagee’s Catholic comments, but has refused to distance himself from Hagee’s anti-gay comments (even rejecting a question from a reporter on the subject as “nonsense.”)
O’Reilly suggested that McCain had little interaction with Hagee other than “having breakfast” with him once. In fact, as Newsweek pointed out, “McCain personally wooed Hagee for more than a year.” Indeed, Hagee’s endorsement was an integral part of McCain’s attempts to woo religious conservatives.
Michigan Supreme Court rules against benefits for domestic partners.
Michigan Supreme Court rules against benefits for domestic partners.
Today, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled “that a 2004 ban against gay marriage also blocks governments and state universities from offering health insurance to the partners of gay workers. … Up to 20 public universities, community colleges, school districts and local governments in Michigan have benefits policies covering at least 375 gay couples.”
Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen: Military Ready To Accept Repeal Of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’
Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen: Military Ready To Accept Repeal Of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’
For quite some time, U.S. troops have supported repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. A December 2006 poll of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior enlisted servicemembers believed gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16 percent in 1992.
The military’s leadership is finally catching up to its troops. On Sunday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy that the military was ready to accept gay servicemembers if Congress repeals DADT:
With a national election looming, a cadet asked about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law and what would happen if someone took office who wants to change it. “It’s a law, and we follow it,” Mullen said. Should the law change, the military will carry that out too, he said.
“We are a military that is under the control of our civilian elected leaders,” he said. “It has served us well since we’ve been founded. That is a special characteristic of our country and I would never do anything to jeopardize that.”
Mullen’s statement is a refreshing change from the military leadership’s traditional approach under the Bush administration. In March 2007, then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace publicly stated that homosexuality is “immoral.” He said that he supported DADT because “we should not condone immoral acts.” At the time, Defense Secretary Robert Gates refused to condemn Pace’s remarks, calling the general “one of the finest people I’ve ever worked with.”
Even public discussion of DADT has been considered taboo. Last year, Pentagon official David Chu claimed that a “national debate” on allowing gays into the military would bring “divisiveness and turbulence across our country” and “compound the burden of the war.” Servicemembers who have spoken out in favor of repealing the ban have been punished.
Unfortunately, the reversal of DADT likely won’t happen under a McCain presidency. In the past, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has said repealing the ban would “elevate the interests of a minority of homosexual servicemembers above those of their units” and put the “national security of the United States” at “grave risk.”
Right wing attacks ‘Dear Abby.’
In 2007, “Dear Abby” author Jeanne Phillips publicly — and controversially — spoke out in support of gay marriage. Since that time, she has become a target of conservatives. Today, the Washington Times highlights a recent analysis by the right-wing Culture and Media Institute, which concludes that Phillips has repeatedly “rejected traditional morality“:
“Abby has flown under the radar for years dispensing radical advice on matters of sexual morality while enjoying a reputation for hard-nosed, common-sense advice,” says Robert Knight, director of the institute. “We thought people ought to know there’s a pattern here that’s consistent throughout her career.”
“Dear Abby, overall, dispenses good advice on most other matters,” Mr. Knight says, “but when it comes to sex, she is a disciple of the sexual revolution, which basically says if it feels good, do it.”
Last year, PFLAG honored Phillips with its “Straight for Equality Award.” “Dear Abby is one of the most trusted advice columnists in the world and rightfully so,” said PFLAG spokesman Steve Ralls.
Right-Wing Video Warns ‘Gay Activists’ Are Plotting To ‘Take Over The Cities Of America’
Right-Wing Video Warns ‘Gay Activists’ Are Plotting To ‘Take Over The Cities Of America’
Recently, Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R) came under intense criticism for making a host of incendiary remarks toward gays. For example, she said gays are a “bigger threat” to our nation than terrorism. She also warned, “Gays are infiltrating city councils.” As an example, she cited the town of Eureka Springs, AR, whose city council she claimed is now “controlled by gays.”
The American Family Association (AFA) has joined in promoting this myth of the evil gay agenda in a new video called “They’re Coming To Your Town.” The poster advertising the DVD appears to have menacing rainbow-like lights in background. PageOneQ summarizes the trailer for the video:
The presentation in the AFA trailer…”They’re Coming to Your Town,” tells the tale of an uncharacteristically diverse resort town’s government infiltrated by “a handful of homosexual activists” and bent to their will through the enactment of the town’s domestic partner registry on June 22, 2007.
“Watch, and learn,” says the trailer, “how to fight a well-organized gay agenda to take over the cities of America, one city at a time.”
Watch the trailer here.
Eureka Springs is not pleased with people such as Kern, who claim that they have the city’s best interests at heart. Responding to Kern, Eureka Springs’s mayor said the city is “welcoming to all visitors and residents without regard to their race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability or national origin. It is our hope that all people would aspire to this ideal.”
This is not the first time AFA has launched a homophobic campaign. In 2005, AFA president Tim Wildmon backed a warning about “evidence of homosexuality and lesbian people on programs like HGTV and Animal Planet.” AFA founder and chairman Don Wildmon also proposed a hypothetical trip to “the homosexual bathhouses,” saying, “[W]e’re going to confront these people…for what they’re doing.”
O’Reilly Disgusted By Transgender Couple: ‘Imagine A Poor Kid Getting Born Into That Family’
O’Reilly Disgusted By Transgender Couple: ‘Imagine A Poor Kid Getting Born Into That Family’
The media have been fixated on the story of Thomas Beatie, a man who “used to be a woman before undergoing gender reassignment surgery.” Beatie married a woman and is now six months pregnant.
Yesterday on Fox News, Bill O’Reilly — clearly disgusted — railed against the media’s coverage of Beatie, exclaiming, “[D]o you want a 13-year-old watching this kind of stuff and you’ve got to explain all this crazy stuff?” From his exchange with right-wing pundit Bernard Goldberg:
O’REILLY: Yes. It’s hard to keep track, Bernie. It is. Imagine a poor kid getting born into that family, going, hey –
GOLDBERG: That’s — that’s the real tragedy.
O’REILLY: Of course.
Watch it:
There’s no evidence that the child born to Beatie and his wife will be psychologically damaged, as O’Reilly claims. According to a fact sheet by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry:
Current research shows that children with gay and lesbian parents do not differ from children with heterosexual parents in their emotional development or in their relationships with peers and adults. It is the quality of the parent/child relationship and not the parent’s sexual orientation that has an effect on a child’s development. Contrary to popular belief, children of lesbian, gay, or transgender parents:
* Are not more likely to be gay than children with heterosexual parents.
* Are not more likely to be sexually abused.
* Do not show differences in whether they think of themselves as male or female (gender identity).
* Do not show differences in their male and female behaviors (gender role behavior).
Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »
I keep thinking that Joe and Mika and Willie are reasonable tolerant, hip people-- and then I see this morning's show, where the pregnant trans man's appearance on Oprah is used as grounds to cite this as "one of the reasons why 81% of Americans feel the country is headed in the wrong direction" (Joe); and "disgusting" (Mika) (!). Maybe by now, I shouldn't be surprised by Joe and Mika showing astoundingly little empathy or compassion for our community, but it still gave me a morning "jolt," especially on a day when Martin Luther King's legacy was a major topic.
Pentagon employee erases mention of homosexuality on dead soldier’s Wikipedia page.
Pentagon employee erases mention of homosexuality on dead soldier’s Wikipedia page.
The Washington Blade reports that a computer with a Pentagon-registered IP address removed references of Maj. Alan Rogers’ sexual orientation:
Information that was deleted included Rogers’ sexual orientation; the soldier’s participation in American Veterans for Equal Rights, a group that works to change military policy toward gays; and the fact that Rogers’ death helped bring the U.S. military’s casualty toll in Iraq to 4,000. […]
The IP address attached to the deletion of the details and the posted comments is 141.116.168.135. The address belongs to a computer from the office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2) at the Pentagon. The office is headed by Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, who was present at Rogers’ funeral and presented the flag from Rogers’ coffin to his cousin, Cathy Long.
On March 30, Washington Post Ombudsman Deborah Howell said the paper erred when it excluded references to Rogers’s homosexuality in its original report, noting that “the story would have been richer for it.”
Andrew Sullivan wrote: “I can see why outing someone who is alive and closeted is unethical; inning someone who is dead and was out is a function of utterly misplaced sensitivity, rooted in well-intentioned but incontrovertible homophobia.”
(HT: Political Punch)
Lou Dobbs: I’m afraid to say ‘I love you’ to a guy from San Francisco.
Lou Dobbs: I’m afraid to say ‘I love you’ to a guy from San Francisco.
Last night on CNN, host Lou Dobbs expressed his displeasure at having “one of those days” when “some folks are kind of just on you.” He then aired a clip of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) taking a subtle dig at Dobbs, in which, Menendez said: “I love you, Lou.” Dobbs then aired a clip of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) also taking subtle dig at Dobbs. “Sen. Menendez said he loved me, and so I’m going to say ‘I love you’ back,” Dobbs said, but added: “I can’t say ‘I love you’ to a fellow in San Francisco I suppose.” Watch it:
Last week, Dobbs caught himself just before he uttered a racial slur when referring to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
DOJ investigates whether Goodling forced out gay attorney.
DOJ investigates whether Goodling forced out gay attorney.
NPR reports that the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating whether Monica Goodling, a key administration figure in the U.S. Attorney scandal, dismissed a career DOJ attorney “because of rumors that she is a lesbian“:
Justice Department e-mails obtained by NPR show that Gonzales’s senior counsel Monica Goodling had a particular interest in Hagen’s duties. A few months before Hagen was let go, according to one e-mail, Goodling removed part of Hagen’s job portfolio — the part dealing with child exploitation and abuse.
DOJ officials “said they came away with the impression that the Attorney General’s office decided not to renew Leslie Hagen’s contract because of the talk about her sexual orientation,” despite her receiving strong performance reviews.
(HT: TPM Muckraker)
Pelosi intervenes to get Rep. Baldwin’s domestic partner on military flight.
Pelosi intervenes to get Rep. Baldwin’s domestic partner on military flight.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was recently “forced to intervene with Defense Secretary Robert Gates” in order to get Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s (D-WI) “domestic partner on a military flight for a congressional fact-finding trip to Europe.” While House rules allow spouses to travel with members of Congress on such missions, “military officials were apparently unwilling to consider” Baldwin’s partner “a ’spouse’ within the meaning of the House guidelines.” Pelosi’s effort was successful, but the Politico reports that “[t]he Pentagon appears to be self-conscious about transporting gay domestic partners at a time when it continues to enforce a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy in its own ranks.” Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), another openly gay lawmaker, suggested the military is perhaps “following orders” because “the [Bush] administration disapproves of same-sex marriage.”
Kern alleges ‘hate campaign’ backlash after she compared LGBT community to terrorists.
Kern alleges ‘hate campaign’ backlash after she compared LGBT community to terrorists.
Earlier this month, Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern drew well-deserved criticism for an outlandish rant against the gay community, in which she compared homosexuality to “toe cancer” and said “it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.” Now, Kern is saying that she is the target of a “hate campaign” as result of of her comments. “They haven’t just attacked me - they’ve attacked my family, they attacked the Bible, they’ve attacked Christianity,” Kern told CNSNews. Kern claims that her words were distorted:
“They made it sound like I was spewing hate and talking in one long rant against homosexuals,” Kern told Cybercast News Service. “I would never do that. I have never done that.”
One supporter of Kern, Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, has “accused Kern’s attackers of being ‘terrorists.’”
Gay Ambassador Resigns Over State Department’s Discrimination Against Gay And Lesbian Employees
Gay Ambassador Resigns Over State Department’s Discrimination Against Gay And Lesbian Employees
Appointed by President Bush in 2001 to be Ambassador to Romania, Michael Guest was the first publicly gay man to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a U.S. Ambassador. Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell explicitly noted the presence of and positively recognized Guest’s same-sex partner, Alex Nevarez, during the swearing-in ceremony. The Human Rights Campaign called Powell’s acknowledgement of Nevarez a “small gesture that spoke volumes.”
But serving as an openly-gay ambassador under the Bush administration proved not to be as pleasant as his swearing-in. Guest retired recently, and at his retirement ceremony, “he did what few people do — displayed uncommon courage and threw a rhetorical hand-grenade into his own party.” The New York Times reports, “Guest took Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who was not present) to task for failing to treat the partners of gay and lesbian foreign service officers the same as the spouses of heterosexual officers.” Guest said that was the reason for his departure:
“Most departing ambassadors use these events to talk about their successes . . . But I want to talk about my signal failure, the failure that in fact is causing me to leave the career that I love,” said Mr. Guest, 50, whose most recent assignment was dean of the leadership and management school at the Foreign Service Institute, the government’s school for diplomats.
“For the past three years, I’ve urged the Secretary and her senior management team to redress policies that discriminate against gay and lesbian employees. Absolutely nothing has resulted from this. And so I’ve felt compelled to choose between obligations to my partner — who is my family — and service to my country. That anyone should have to make that choice is a stain on the Secretary’s leadership and a shame for this institution and our country,” he said.
“Unlike heterosexual spouses, gay partners are not entitled to State Department-provided security training, free medical care at overseas posts, guaranteed evacuation in case of a medical emergency, transportation to overseas posts, or special living allowances when foreign service officers are assigned to places like Iraq, where diplomatic families are not permitted.”
“This is not about gay rights. … It’s about equal treatment of all employees, all of whom have the same service requirements, the same contractual requirements,” said Guest.
While the Bush administration has previously indicated an unwillingness to outlaw employment discrimination, Guest courageously highlights the fact that the administration is also practicing it.
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal gains steam.
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal gains steam.
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network reports, “Five new lawmakers, including the highest ranking military veteran in Congress, have joined 126 other lawmakers in supporting legislation to repeal the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel. Representatives Michael A. Arcuri (D-NY), Brian Baird (D-WA), Adam Schiff (D- CA), Joe Sestak (D-PA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) all became co-sponsors of The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1246) on Friday, bringing the total number of supporters to 131. Sestak is Congress’s highest-ranking veteran, having served 31 years in the United States Navy and retiring as a 3-star Admiral.”
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You know, until now it hadn’t occurred to me that I have some sort of sinister force within my gayness that drives me to colonize gaydem into Oklahoma and Arkansas. After all, I just crave men with potbellies, polyester short sleeved dress shirts, bad haircuts, worse table manners, and brains the size of raisins. Yep, sounds like Paradise to me.
Fortunately, this video has awakened me. Look out, Oklahoma and Arkansas, I’m on my way. And I’m bringing a great big can of pink paint."