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News (USA)
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signs petition supporting marriage equality
CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel has signed the “ILove Marriage” petition, pledging his support for legalizing same-sex marriage in Illinois, according to an announcement by Lambda Legal. “Mayor Emanuel has been on the forefront in advocating for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Illinois, we’re very pleased that he’s taken the step of […]
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News (World)
UK police accused of wrongly taking DNA of gay men
In 1983, Stephen Close was arrested, jailed and expelled from the British army for having sex with a male squad mate. Three decades later, police tracked him down to the northern England city of Salford and demanded a sample of his DNA.
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News (USA)
Smallest state is big battleground on same-sex marriage
Hundreds of supporters of same-sex marriage rights assembled at the Rhode Island Statehouse on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to make the nation’s smallest state the 10th to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed — and the last to do so in New England.
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News (USA)
Oregon, California regulators require transgender health coverage
Regulators in Oregon and California have quietly directed some health insurance companies to stop denying coverage for transgender patients because of their gender identity.
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News (USA)
Hagel commits to extending partner benefits to gay troops
Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has committed to extending partners benefits “permissible under current law” to gay service members as part of attempts to allay concerns among Democratic senators about his potential performance as Pentagon chief. In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Hagel responds to queries the California Democrat apparently expressed on issues […]
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Commentary
Evangelicals confuse ‘freedom’ with free rein to insult others
For fifty years, Bob Jones University, in Greenville, S.C., prohibited interracial dating and Bob Jones Jr. once claimed that Catholicism was a “satanic counterfeit” of fundamentalist Christianity.
Despite the ugly rhetoric and vile policies, Republican candidates regularly flocked to the school and groveled for its endorsement. The GOP luminaries who appeared at the university include Ronald Reagan, Dan Quayle, and Bob Dole.
This ignoble political ritual ended in 2000 after presidential candidate George W. Bush was excoriated for appearing at the school…
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News (USA)
House GOP leadership quietly increases cap on DOMA defense to $3 million
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives’ continuing effort to defend the federal “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) will soon reach $3 million. Late Monday, House Democrats learned that Republican leadership had again privately raised the spending cap with attorney Paul Clement and the Washington-based law firm Bancroft LLC to defend DOMA in the U.S. […]
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News (USA)
San Francisco lawmaker proposes renaming airport after Harvey Milk
A San Francisco lawmaker on Tuesday will introduce legislation seeking to rename San Francisco International Airport for slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk. A charter amendment by Supervisor David Campos would place the proposal to rename the airport as Harvey Milk-San Francisco International Airport, and if approved, the city would become home to the world’s […]
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News (USA)
Gay judge confirmed by Va. General Assembly after being rejected last year
RICHMOND, Va. — The GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday voted to confirm the interim appointment of an openly gay judge to the Richmond General District Court. Judge Tracy Thorne-Begland will remain on the bench after being approved in the House by a margin of 66-28, with one abstention and five members not voting […]
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News (USA)
Same-sex marriage takes center stage in Rhode Island state House
Same-sex marriage takes center stage in the Rhode Island state legislature on Tuesday as the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to review a proposed marriage equality bill. The committee is expected to hear several hours of testimony this evening from gay marriage supporters and opponents. Supporters of the bill, which includes Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) […]
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News (USA)
Virginia lawmakers kill proposal to repeal ban on same-sex marriage
A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee on Monday voted 6-1 to kill a proposal that would have repealed the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Delegate Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) introduced HJ665 on Jan. 9, the first day of the current legislative session. He told the Washington Blade after the vote he feels “people affirming their […]
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News (USA)
Florida lawmaker introduces same-sex domestic partnership bill
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow Floridians to enter “domestic partnerships.” State Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Fort Lauderdale) introduced the “Families First” bill (SB 196), which would extend legal protections to same-sex couples, including hospital visitation rights and the ability to make healthcare decisions for a partner. “This bill […]
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News (USA)
Vicco, Ky., becomes smallest U.S. town to adopt LGBT fairness law
VICCO, Ky. — The Appalachian town of Vicco, Ky., on Monday approved the state’s first LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinance in a decade. The “fairness ordinance,” which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, received support from three of the city’s four-member commission and […]
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News (USA)
Kotek sworn in as nation’s first open lesbian to lead a legislative chamber
Oregon state Rep. Tina Kotek was sworn in on Monday as her state’s Speaker of the House, becoming the first open lesbian to lead a legislative chamber in the United States. Kotek, a third term lawmaker from North Portland who took the oath of office with her partner, Aimee Wilson, by her side, called the historic occasion “humbling.”
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Commentary
Who are you to judge Jodie Foster?
I don’t understand this whole philosophy that exists by some in the gay community that doesn’t tolerate any sort of weakness when it comes to a gay celebrity. This whole thing that says if you’re gay, and you’re any sort of celebrity, or have any sort of power, it’s your responsibility to pave the way for every other gay person in the world. I don’t believe its Jodie Foster’s responsibility to make my life easier. I don’t believe it should be the job of any celebrity to make my life easier…
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Commentary
Let’s be honest about Salem College
The truth of the matter is there is misinformation about what is happening at Salem and what allowing an openly-transitioning student to remain at Salem would mean. Regardless of whether a student is considering transition or not, such a decision is in no way the concern of the college administration, Board of Trustees, or alumni but a private and personal decision of the individual and their medical professionals that should be respected…
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News (USA)
Business leaders urge Illinois lawmakers to pass marriage equality bill
A coalition consisting of fifty Illinois business leaders and organizations on Sunday joined in urging the state’s General Assembly to pass the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which would grant gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry. The support represents a broad array of economic sectors, including manufacturing, financial services, energy, lodging, publishing […]
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News (USA)
Maryland lawmaker claims marriage votes spurred alcohol abuse
A Maryland lawmaker told a local newspaper last week that legislators who voted for the state’s same-sex marriage bill contributed to his alcohol abuse. Delegate Don Dwyer (R-Anne Arundel County) told the Maryland Gazette in an interview the newspaper posted to its website on Saturday that he felt “betrayed” when Dels. Wade Koch (R-Baltimore County) […]
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Life
Surprise? Jodie Foster’s casual coming out at the Golden Globes
In a rambling speech at Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards, actress Jodie Foster appeared to end years of speculation by casually coming out of the closet while accepting the Cecil B. Demille Lifetime Achievement Award. Foster took the stage for an acceptance speech that was anything but predictable.
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News (World)
Hundreds of thousands march in Paris to oppose marriage equality
PARIS — Several hundred thousand people converged at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday to protest the French president’s plan to legalize same-sex marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt and conceive children.