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Tag Archives: LGBT

Gays in the Military: Testosterone v. Facts

“This is a policy,” Hutson continued, that was “devised primarily by men who, like me, were born in the ‘40s and grew up in the ‘50s, but was being imposed on people who were at that time born in the ‘70s and grew up in the ‘80s. Now it’s born in the ‘80s and grew [...]

Powell Favors Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Gen. Colin L. Powell, who as the nation’s top military officer in the 1990s opposed allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military, switched gears today and threw his support behind efforts to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law he helped shepherd in.

“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, [...]

Joint Chiefs Expose McCain Hypocrisy

John McCain in 2006: “And I understand the opposition to it, and I’ve had these debates and discussions, but the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, senator, we ought to change the policy, then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military [...]

Top Brass in Favor of Repealing DADT

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, speaks in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee in support of President Obama and Sec. Robert Gates‘ review of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, saying, “It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.”
There is not one [...]

TSA Air Marshals Dogged by Discrimination Complaints

ProPublica has interviewed or obtained complaints from 85 current and former air marshals in nearly every one of the agency’s 21 field offices over the past year and half. They all told similar stories of being treated unfairly in promotions, assignments or discipline by supervisors who target those who speak up or don’t fit a [...]

McCain’s wife, daughter back gay marriage movement

Cindy McCain, the wife of 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, and their daughter Meghan have posed for photos endorsing pro-gay marriage forces in California.
Mrs. McCain appears with silver duct tape across her mouth and “NOH8″ written on one cheek in a photo posted Wednesday to the Web site of NOH8, a gay rights group [...]

Pentagon Steps Up Talks on Ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

The Pentagon is stepping up internal discussions on how gay men and lesbians might be able to serve openly in the armed services, military officials said on Thursday, in anticipation of fulfilling President Obama’s campaign pledge to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.
The discussions, centered in a small group assembled by Adm. Mike Mullen, [...]

The Conservative Case For Gay Marriage

Together with my good friend and occasional courtroom adversary David Boies, I am attempting to persuade a federal court to invalidate California’s Proposition 8—the voter-approved measure that overturned California’s constitutional right to marry a person of the same sex.
[...]
Some have suggested that we have brought this case too soon, and that neither the country nor [...]

Ed Meese on Perry v Schwarzenegger

Judge Walker has ruled that things like TV advertisements, press releases and campaign workers’ statements are also relevant evidence of what the voters intended. The judge went so far as to order the Proposition 8 campaign to disclose private internal communications about messages that were considered for public use but never actually used. He has [...]

Gay marriage, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, and the Supreme Court

On January 11th, a remarkable legal case opens in a San Francisco courtroom—on its way, it seems almost certain, to the Supreme Court. Perry v. Schwarzenegger challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the California referendum that, in November, 2008, overturned a state Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex couples to marry. Its lead lawyers are unlikely allies: Theodore [...]

Feds defy order to provide same-sex benefits

The Obama administration refused Friday to follow a federal judge’s order to provide insurance benefits to the wife of a lesbian court employee in San Francisco and said its hands were tied by a discriminatory law.
“This issue shows exactly why Congress needs to repeal” the law, which prohibits federal benefits to same-sex couples, government lawyer [...]

Gay on Trial

Perry v. Schwarzenegger indeed asks the “ultimate question” of whether gays have a federal right to marry, but because the case is alleging that Prop. 8 violated the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, the federal court decision will have implications for gay Americans in nearly every arena of public life, from housing to parenting [...]

The Company We Keep

In the wake of the passage of the House health-reform bill and its attached anti-choice Stupak-Pitts Amendment, the conversation happening among progressive women was viscerally angry and palpably fearful. The broader liberal conversation was very different — one in which the amendment was regrettable but unavoidable in the interest of the greater good. It is [...]

Senate sends hate crimes expansion to Obama

The Senate has passed a bill that would, among other things, expand the federal hate crimes law to protect people targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender. It’s now headed to President Obama’s desk; he’s expected to sign it.
via War Room – Salon.com.

Schwarzenegger Signs Two Gay Rights Bills

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two gay-rights bills before midnight on Sunday, one recognizing Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
via Schwarzenegger Signs Two Gay Rights Bills — Politics Daily.
That lets plenty of air out of Proposition Hate (8).