Views & Voices

So it's over. Two days that are now part of LGBT history. Two back-to-back arguments at the United States Supreme Court, with most of the country paying attention—hearing about our lives, our relationships, and how discriminatory government policies and voter initiatives mark us as inferior, unequal, and vulnerable. In Wednesday's case, the issue was section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which withholds federal protection and recognition from same-sex spouses. Once again, the Justices were not only engaged, but talked about us in terms we have rarely heard in these hallowed halls... [ Read more → ]

Sitting in the Supreme Court this morning for the Prop 8 argument alongside my Lambda Legal colleagues Jenny Pizer and Camilla Taylor, I was struck by the changed world in which we now live. Exactly 10 years ago today, the Supreme Court heard Lambda Legal’s historic Lawrence v. Texas case. At that time, 13 states still criminalized oral and anal sex and no state provided any recognition to same-sex relationships... [ Read more → ]

Much will be written about the Proposition 8 oral argument. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the Court probably will not have the five votes necessary to get to any result at all, and almost certainly will not have five votes to decide the merits of whether Proposition 8 is constitutional. Much will be written about the Proposition 8 oral argument. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the Court probably will not have the five votes necessary to get to any result at all, and almost certainly will not have five votes to decide the merits of whether Proposition 8 is constitutional... [ Read more → ]

We are on the threshold of a historic decision on individual rights by the Supreme Court of the United States as it considers two cases involving same-sex marriage. The cases about “who you love” could change the laws in 41 states and more than 1,000 federal statutes. Regardless of what is said in the oral arguments, a reading of the merits briefs makes it clear that the Court will have to rule in favor of gay marriage, and will improve the lives of 130,000 legally-married couples in same-sex marriages. [ Read more → ]

A prominent Senator announcing that he has broken with his party to take a position of basic decency and empathy should not be so unusual that it becomes front page news. But that is exactly what happened when Ohio Sen. Rob Portman announced that, inspired by his gay son coming out two years ago, he now supports marriage equality... [ Read more → ]

I relate to the Portman family on many levels. Like Will Portman, I am also the son of a staunch Republican dad to whom I came out. My dad is older than Rob Portman. He adheres very much to the viewpoints of Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. Rob Portman presumably knows all those people personally. Like the Portmans, we too had our political theory versus family integrity moment... [ Read more → ]

As a gay dad, and a professional, I thought it would be fitting to do what one should, as a matter of courtesy, when someone gets a new job. You send a note of congratulations. So, on behalf of my family, including my two 10-year old sons, I am doing just that. Our note includes a suggested five point plan based on the principles that I have used with my sons, and that they have found effective... [ Read more → ]

After years of struggling we are finally having our gay voices being heard and our civil rights are ever so slowly coming to pass. Why then must the voices who seem to speak for the gay community believe that it’s perfectly okay to start telling people where they can and cannot speak? If Tim Tebow wants to speak at Liberty University who are we to tell him otherwise? [ Read more → ]

Do me a favor, folks. Don’t shake your head, suck your teeth and go “there they go again” at yet another time you have seen the Family Research Council blatantly lie about the gay community. Demand that more time and knowledge be invested in uncovering how organizations like FRC distort science or push blatant lies against the lgbt community. Organizations like the Family Research Council don’t rely on truth. They rely on repetition. They repeat a point while deliberately ignoring the simple fact that the point has been refuted by those who know better. [ Read more → ]

Last week was extraordinary. The issue of same sex marriage was discussed more intelligently than ever before. In depth thought and information, including an outstanding synopsis by the American Sociological Association, appeared as amici briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. One of these was from 278 employers and organizations arguing from a pro-business perspective. These industry leaders stated that for them to “attract the best employees and colleagues” they must “offer robust workplace benefits and a workplace ethos of transparent fairness.” [ Read more → ]

Given the overwhelming evidence in the past few years showing that bisexual persons exist in greater numbers than the combined gay male, lesbian and transgender populations, we must ask whether some of the national queer organizations that send out donation requests demanding that we “demand equality for everyone” are themselves paying attention to the particular needs of bisexual folks, not merely as lip service, not just as an afterthought, but in any sort of tangible way. Noting that none of the following 10 national organizations includes the word “bisexual” or even the letter “B” in its name, I called and emailed media representatives of these groups about their bisexual policies and leadership for this report... [ Read more → ]

The largest study on transgender populations in the country found that one in five Maryland respondents report having lost their job due to being transgender; 12 percent have been, or are homeless and over half of the transgender population has been harassed and or denied service in a public space, just for being who they are. These statistics paint an unfortunate, but accurate, picture of how transgender Marylanders are being treated by their fellow Maryland residents, including their families, their co-workers, and their neighbors. Like any marginalized community, it is hard not to internalize this really hurtful mistreatment. [ Read more → ]

One thing that I have learned as a parent to two 10-year-old boys — sometimes while a child sometimes says he wants one thing, he secretly may be hoping that he doesn’t get it. Their voices quiver as they ask for it, while their eyes say “get me out of this mess, Daddy!” That is kind of what is happening these days with the GOP and the Supreme Court and their former favorite wedge issue, the denial of marriage equality to LGBTQ people... [ Read more → ]

As an ally I find it difficult to believe how minimum and ironic the current Virginia government’s treatment of the LGBT community really is. Whether it is Virginia Delegate C. Todd Gilbert’s refusal to acknowledge LGBT oppression; another country’s use of a Virginia landmark civil rights case; or the failure of the House to even hear an amendment which would have given hope to same-sex marriages in the state. Delegates in Virginia have a lot to learn about human rights. [ Read more → ]

In these modern times, it is funny how we forge interesting and new kinds of relationships through media, social and otherwise. We gain unique attachments to people we have never met, some of whom we interact with on Twitter or Facebook, and some of whom we have never interacted with at all. I have such a pseudo-relationship with former first lady Laura Bush. This week our relationship, which had moved into a rather warm and appreciative state of late, took a turn for the worse. [ Read more → ]

I really hope that Robbie Rogers reconsiders retirement and promptly returns to the field. I’ve got news for him, he will be gay for the rest of his life, but his athletic ability will be short-lived. If soccer really gave him such incredible joy, there is no reason he can’t discover himself while still on the team. Presumably, they will allow him to visit gay bars and join LGBT political organizations after practice is over, so I don’t really see the conflict... [ Read more → ]

Last week the North Dakota Senate defeated SB 2252 with a 20-27 bipartisan vote, which would have amended the North Dakota Human Rights Act and the North Dakota Fair Housing Act to protect LGBT North Dakotans and their family from discrimination in housing,employment, public accommodations and public services. As a lifelong North Dakotan, I am appalled that our state, a state that prides itself on valuing others and taking care of our neighbors, continues to support rhetoric that is pro-discrimination... [ Read more → ]

To all of you out there who are single this Valentine’s Day, don’t forget about the love you do have – the endless quantity you can give. Tell those you love why you love them, be them family, friends, or teachers. Take this day typically celebrated for couples as a reminder to give openly the love that you have and to take a step back from worrying about relationships. Remember to give yourself love as well. Appreciate who you are and believe that you are worthy of love and are worthy of a day without loneliness... [ Read more → ]

Some of those fighting marriage equality these days want you to believe that there is only a single possible right way to create a “real” family. That way, they suggest, is by means of unprotected, unplanned, procreative sex. Or, as Nan Hunter observes, “accidental procreation,” which then warrants 1500 protections and benefits by means of a "bribe (for) heterosexuals “ to get married. And only the biologically created family deserves marriage, they argue, and all the rewards to stay together... [ Read more → ]

Don’t you just hate it when the law actually protects the people you want to discriminate against? For those of you who believe that it’s only a cake and we (the gays) should just go to another bakery, understand this: it’s not about the cake. This has nothing to do with the cake. This is about living in a country where people are still under the assumption that they were given — by their God — the right, and the responsibility, to discriminate against another human being. [ Read more → ]