Vermont becomes 4th U.S. state to allow gay marriage

Tue Apr 7, 2009 6:10pm EDT

 

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BOSTON (Reuters) – Vermont legalized gay marriage on Tuesday after lawmakers overrode a veto from the governor by a wafer-thin margin, making the New England state the fourth in the United States where gays can wed.

The vote, nine years after Vermont was first in the United States to adopt a same-sex civil-union law, also makes the tiny state of 624,000 people the first in the nation to introduce gay marriage through legislative action instead of the courts.

“We’ve shown that truth and fairness and justice and love are more powerful than one man’s veto pen,” same-sex marriage advocate Beth Robinson said to cheers from supporters in the state capital of Montpelier after Vermont’s House of Representatives passed the bill by a 100-49 vote.

Known for picturesque foliage, quaint dairy farms and a counter-culture spirit, Vermont joins New England neighbors Connecticut and Massachusetts in allowing gay marriage. Iowa legalized gay marriage last week.

Lawmakers in next-door New Hampshire and Maine are also considering bills to allow gay marriage, putting New England at the heart of a divisive national debate over the issue.

Washington D.C. extended new rights to gay couples on Tuesday, too, with a unanimous City Council vote to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the district. Some city lawmakers lauded the move as a prelude to legal same-sex marriage in the U.S. capital.

OVERRIDES GOVERNOR’S VETO

Vermont’s bill, which becomes law on September 1, looked in peril after a 95-52 vote on Thursday in the Democratic-controlled House that was five votes short of the support needed to clear a veto from Republican Governor Jim Douglas.

Douglas vetoed the bill on Monday, urging lawmakers to focus on the economy instead. Supporters needed two-thirds of the votes in each chamber to override his veto. They got that easily in the state Senate, which passed the bill 23-5 earlier on Tuesday.

The vote came just four days after Iowa’s Supreme Court struck down a decade-old law that barred gays from marrying. The surprise ruling, which made Iowa the first in the heartland to allow same-sex marriages, may have influenced some Vermont lawmakers to change their vote, gay marriage advocates said.

California briefly recognized gay marriage until voters banned it in a referendum last year.

The group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which helped to legalize gay marriage in Massachusetts and Connecticut, has set a goal of expanding such marriages to all New England states by 2012. Maine and New Hampshire already offer same-sex couples some form of legal recognition.

Forty-three U.S. states have laws explicitly prohibiting gay marriage, including 29 with constitutional amendments restricting marriage to one man and one woman.

(Editing by Chris Wilson)

 

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By Jason Szep

Obama’s pledge to gay soldiers

By Derrick Z. Jackson

February 3, 2009

DON’T ASK too soon, our new pragmatic president says, if you want to do away with “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Globe reported this week that President Obama wants to cooly build irrefutable facts to support ending the ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers, and break down old attitudes in the Pentagon and among politicians. Many gay activists seem prepared to give Obama at least a few months. Rea Carey, president of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said, “We’re not worried we’ll be left behind.”

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	COMMENTS (94)

Cool pragmatism is getting a chance, especially given how the molten lava of President Clinton flamed out.

During his 1992 campaign, Clinton spoke before 600 mostly gay and lesbian supporters in Hollywood, then the biggest such gathering. The San Francisco Chronicle said Clinton “choked up” in his address. The Globe said “his eyes filled with tears.” In speaking about AIDS, he said he would give up his race for the White House “if I could wave my arm for those of you who are HIV-positive and make it go away tomorrow.” He was resolute on lifting the ban on homosexuals serving in the military.

A 1992 General Accounting Office report said the Defense Department expelled an average of 1,500 gay soldiers a year during the 1980s. The report said the Defense Department’s own reports concluded that “there was no factual data to substantiate” claims that homosexual solders were a particular security risk. One draft report compared the ban on gays to the former resistance to integrate black soldiers, commenting that none of the “dire consequences” and “predictions of doom” for discipline, group morale, and achieving military goals “has come true.”

Clinton knew that when he said, “Every day that we discriminate, that we hate, that we refuse to avail ourselves of the potential of any group of Americans, we are all less than we ought to be. This country is being killed by people who try to break us down and tear us down and make us little when we have to be big.” Clinton specifically said of the ban, “My fellow Americans, we have too much to do to endure quaint little rules. We can’t afford to waste the hearts and minds of the gays and lesbians.”

The quaint rules endured, as Pentagon and political backlash forced Clinton into the convoluted policy of upholding the ban but telling the military not to pry into personal affairs and essentially telling gay and lesbian soldiers to stay in the closet. It did not work. A follow-up Government Accountability Office report in 2005 found that expulsions were briefly cut in half in 1994 and 1995, but climbed back to over 1,100 a year in the last three years of the Clinton administration. Four out of five of the 9,500 total soldiers kicked out in the 10-year period from 1994 to 2003 were discharged simply for admitting they were gay.

The estimated replacement cost for these soldiers was $95 million. The loss of skills was priceless in a post-9/11 world, as 322 of the kicked-out soldiers could speak some levels of languages such as Arabic, Korean, Russian, Chinese, and Farsi.

The American people get this, as CNN and Washington Post polls last year found that 75 percent to 81 percent of Americans say openly gay soldiers should be allowed to serve. President Obama gets this, citing the 2005 GAO report on his new White House website, saying he “agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve.”

In his pre-inauguration speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Obama specifically mentioned gay Americans among the people he hoped Americans could “recognize ourselves in one another.” If Obama can get the military to recognize the value and valor of soldiers regardless of sexual orientation, even if it takes a few months more than the gauntlet of an executive order, cool pragmatism may be the new molten lava of true change.

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

Wanda Sykes comes out in Las Vegas

I love Wanda Sykes! I am so glad that she came out AND with a vengeance! This is totally inspiring and I think she hit the nail on the head when she said that Prop 8 pissed off a bunch of people and it helped to unite our community. I couldn’t agree more Wanda!

With love,
Tammy

Arnold won’t join gay fray

Herald News Services

Published: Monday, November 17, 2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday said he will not join legislative Democrats in a court fight against Proposition 8, but believes the court ultimately should and will uphold gay marriage in California.

“I think that the Supreme Court was right by saying (a gay marriage ban) was unconstitutional and that everyone should have the right,” Schwarzenegger said. “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 they will. And I think the important thing now is to resolve this issue in that way.”

He added that “for me, marriage is between a man and a woman, but I don’t want to ever force my will on anyone.”

Meanwhile, the governor said he would consult with Attorney General Jerry Brown over the legal issues involved in upholding those gay marriages already performed in California.
© The Calgary Herald 2008

Prop 8 protest San Francisco, CA

Join the Nationwide Prop 8 Protest on Nov. 15th

Join the Impact – Protest Prop 8 on November 15th!
This is a NATIONWIDE PROTEST/MOVEMENT | Fight H8 - http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon
Event Info Type: Causes – Protest
Network: Global
Time and Place Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008
Time: 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Location: Nationwide
Street: Your City Hall – Check the Site for Locations- http://jointheimpact.com/

DescriptionTHIS IS A NATIONWIDE EVENT – ALL US STATES HAVE AT LEAST 1 PROTEST LOCATION!
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon for Locations
—————————————
Be part of the next Civil Rights Movement – Be part of history – Join the National Protest / March for Equality on November 15th!
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WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! Now is your chance to be a “community organizer”! Go to the website and post if you are willing to volunteer to help get out the word in your city. We need 3 or 4 dedicated volunteers in each town to contact the clubs and organizations in your area and to print/distribute flyers to get a turnout in your town.

This is not a California issue. This is an issue of equality across America. Stand up and make your voice heard. Visit the website www.jointheimpact.com.

—————–

SATURDAY NOV 15TH -
10:30AM WEST COAST
11:30AM MOUNTIAN TIME ZONE
12:30PM CENTRAL TIME ZONE
1:30PM EAST COAST
PRINT OUT THE SIGNS – TAKE THEM TO THE PROTEST

Prop 8 Protest: A Call to the LGBTQ Community, Friends, & Family

I’m sure all would agree that with the election of Barack Obama, this week has been one of amazing wins in the world of equality! Still, Tuesday night was a bitter-sweet celebration. We came together to witness the first black man who will become our president, yet watched in sadness as Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and California all voted down equal rights for all citizens. Pundits and bloggers alike have put their focus on Proposition 8, trying hard to find an explanation for the anti-gay wins in the face of a huge swell of support for equality elsewhere. Some have blamed the voters, others blame religious groups, and even others blame the LGBTQ community for not being able to mobilize on a larger enough scale. And you know what? There is truth in each argument.

As a community, we have to admit to the fact that we are polarized in various ways. Honestly, I’m not sure what community isn’t and I believe that our polarization is proof to our humanity – we are no different than anyone else, regardless of color, creed, or sexual orientation. Still, our polarization has hindered us from mobilizing as one strong voice. We all come together in the month of June to celebrate Gay Pride, but few of us are even aware of why Gay Pride exists. Gay Pride is a celebration to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Many say that the Gay Rights Movement began in 1969, which means that we are still a young movement and have accomplished a great deal in such a short amount of time. The generation that fought for us in 1969 deserves our gratitude and respect. This is a generation of amazing people who fought for our ability to hold hands in the street, to speak out against hate, to dance to our own “thumpa thump”, witness television shows with a queer cast, and come together in the streets celebrating for an entire month! This is the generation that opened the doors for us to even have a conversation about gay marriage, and this is the generation that deserves our help and our voices now. On June 27th, 1969, this generation came together in protest, jumping from closets, taking to the streets, and mobilizing in ways this country had never seen before! And what happened? The country was forced to respond. The Queer identity was forced onto the front pages and coffee tables of people’s worlds and people had to once and for all accept that we are human too!

Now, almost 40 years later we NEED to come together again. We need to show this nation that we are ONE LOUD VOICE THAT DEMANDS TO BE HEARD! We need to be one organized unit. Our gay pride shouldn’t be something we celebrate one month out of the year. Our gratitude towards the ones who came before us shouldn’t be ignored and wasted away with one party after another. We beg to be given a right that requires responsibility and commitment, yet we, as one strong community, have not proven to this nation that we deserve to be taken seriously! The gay pride parade has become a great party, but it has lost the memory of Stonewall and therefor given the nation another reason to cast us aside as irresponsible. It’s time we come together for debate, for public recognition, and for LOVE! Let’s move as one full unit, on the same day, at the same hour, and let’s show the United States of America that we too are UNITED CITIZENS EQUAL IN MIND, BODY, SPIRIT AND DESERVING OF FULL EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW!

On the steps of your City Hall on November 15th at 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST, our community WILL take to the streets and speak out against Proposition 8 and all of the other pro-equality losses that we have faced in our lifetimes, in our parents’ lifetimes, and for many generations before us. WE CAN’T DO THIS ALONE! WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need organizers in every major city to work with us and get out the protest! I know you’re all tired from all of the work you’ve done for this great election year, but I’m asking for one more push! Let the country hear our voices together. Let them see that we are a strong, adamant, and powerful community that deserves equal rights, and CAN’T BE DEFEATED!

Send this post to everyone! We have one week and must react to the pro-hate votes cast against us! Let’s help our LGBTQ friends, families, neighbors, and each other to IMPACT this country with a demand for our basic human rights! Join the cause, join the voice, and JOIN THE IMPACT!
November 15th
1:30 PM East Coast
10:30 AM West Coast

Click here to Join the protest on Nov. 15

Chicago Gays to Protest California Proposition 8 Leader James Dobson on Saturday

Last update: 3:08 p.m. EST Nov. 7, 2008
CHICAGO, Nov 07, 2008
James Dobson’s Induction Into the Radio Hall of Fame Is Outrageous and Offensive

Focus on the Family’s James Dobson spent $800,000 on Proposition 8 to stop gay people form marrying in California. On Saturday evening, this dangerous ideologue will be inducted into the Museum of Broadcast Communication’s Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago. He will be met with a protest from outraged gay organizations at 5:30 PM on Saturday, November 8, outside of the Renaissance Chicago Hotel, 1 W. Wacker Drive (corner of Wacker & State).
“It is mind-blowing, that the Radio Hall of Fame would honor a primary leader of Proposition 8,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Dobson put his Media Empire and vast amounts of money into the service of denying equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. And, the Radio Hall of Fame reacts disgracefully by giving this demagogue a trophy.”

“If Dobson had helped organize and fund a campaign to take away African American voting rights, he would be properly shunned as a hater,’” said Bob Schwartz of the Gay Liberation Network. “However, because the Museum of Broadcast Communications has chosen instead to honor Dobson, they apparently think it’s okay to promote those who publicly organize discrimination against gays.”
It is ironic that the Museum will be honoring a promoter of hate like Dobson, while at the same time many mourn the recent passing of journalistic legend Studs Turkel, whom the Museum never got around to honoring.
The campaign against the honoring of Dobson was initiated by the Gay Liberation Network
(www.GayLiberation.net) and Truth Wins Out (www.TruthWinsOut.com and www.DumpDobson.com), and endorsed by dozens of groups and individuals signing on to a series of full-page protest signature advertisements.

For information about Saturday night’s protest, contact the Gay Liberation Network at 773-209-1187 or LGBTliberation@aol.com

Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life.

Cleveland will make a bid to host the 2014 Gay Games

Posted by Robert L. Smith/Plain Dealer Reporter October 15, 2008 21:00PM

Categories: Real Time News

Cleveland will vie to host the 2014 Gay Games, a sporting event with a global audience, and try to impress a lucrative demographic group that maybe knows little about Northeast Ohio.

Promoters of the city’s bid will fly to South Africa next week, where the Federation of Gay Games is holding its annual meeting, and begin to sell Cleveland as a diverse, tolerant city with good athletic venues.

Civic leaders stepped forward Wednesday to embrace the idea at a news conference at the Hyatt Regency Cleveland-Arcade.

“We look forward to putting our best foot forward,” said Ken Silliman, chief of staff to Mayor Frank Jackson.

The Euclid Corridor transit project will be finished, he said, new businesses will have opened on the marquee avenue, and the city should be ready to host games that drew 11,500 participants and tens of thousands of spectators to Chicago in 2006.

“It’s going to be a wonderful greeting environment for the athletes if we can manage to land this competition,” Silliman said.

The quadrennial games were founded in San Francisco in 1982 by Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell. They will unfold in Cologne, Germany, in 2010.

Cleveland’s bid is being led by Brian Tavolier and W. Douglas Anderson, organizers of North Coast Athletics Volleyball, a local 24-team league widely known in the gay community.

Both men have helped to organize past Cleveland Pride parades, which celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

They recently formed the Cleveland Synergy Foundation to lead the campaign for Gay Games IX. The name echoes one of the game’s primary goals, to create ties between the gay and mainstream communities.

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Protesters promoting acceptance of gays and lesbians arrested at Palm Beach Atlantic University

Scott Travis, Sun-Sentinel
Originally published 08:53 p.m., October 13, 2008
Updated 08:53 p.m., October 13, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH — They wanted to sit inside the chapel of Palm Beach Atlantic University to promote acceptance of gays and lesbians, but instead ended up sitting in jail.

Six protesters were arrested on trespassing charges after they stepped onto the PBAU campus after they’d been told they were not welcome.

They were part of Soulforce Q, a Minneapolis-based group which came to PBAU on a bus tour as part of an “Equality Ride.” The ride stopped at 15 faith-based colleges that the riders said had discriminatory policies.

Palm Beach Atlantic, which has 3,200 students, doesn’t ban gay students but prohibits “homosexual behavior.” Under such a policy, gay students could be kicked out for holding hands or kissing, Soulforce members said.

PBAU officials didn’t want Soulforce members on campus, but reluctantly agreed to allow a select group of students, parents and employees to meet them privately Monday morning. Soulforce members declined the offer, saying they wanted more open access to students on campus. For most of the morning, protesters remained on the public sidewalk, debating the Bible and discussing their mission with PBAU students, parents and others who stopped by.

When the chapel service started at 11 a.m., six of the 16 Soulforce members tried to attend. Terry Wheeler, director of campus security, and Lt. Mike Roggin of the West Palm Beach Police Department stopped them.

Click here for entire article

Chicago may get ‘gay-friendly’ high school

By Mallory Simon
(CNN) — Public school officials in Chicago, Illinois, are recommending approval of a “gay-friendly” high school because harassment and violence are causing gay students to skip class and drop out at alarming rates.

School officials say the proposed school would offer a welcoming, harassment-free environment for gay students.

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The School for Social Justice Pride Campus, which officials say will not be exclusive to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, is aimed at being safe and welcoming for any student looking for another school option, said Josh Edelman, executive officer in the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of New Schools.

“It is not going to be a ‘gay high school,’ but yes, in a way, it is meant to target kids who feel they have been victims of bullying for their sexual orientation or perceived orientation,” Edelman said.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan announced his recommendation Wednesday. Officials said Pride Campus would be separate physically but be attached administratively to the School for Social Justice.

School officials said the standards and curriculum for the school would be in line with other schools in the district. The school would also offer counseling for students, though because of federal laws, officials cannot ask students about their sexual orientation. The curriculum would not rely on, but would incorporate lessons about, sexual identity in history and literature classes, officials said.

“It’s about creating another option for kids,” Edelman said. “When it comes down to it, though, it is all about having a choice and providing high-quality options for students, whether they are gay or not.”

Click here for entire article