Iowa Lesbian Couple Wins Birth Certificate Battle

By Steve Williams
Care2.com

A married lesbian couple who went to court over the Iowa Department of Public Health’s refusal to put both their names on their child’s birth certificate were issued a new certificate this week as part of a court ruling in their favor. [Image: Heather and Melissa Gartner with child Mackenzie]

Canadian Gov’t Dissolves Thousands of Same-Sex Marriages

Surprise, You're Divorced!

By Kevin Farrell
Unicorn Booty

UPDATE 1/13/12: Canadian Gov’t: YES, We Dissolved Your Gay Marriage, But We’re Working on a Fix 

Thousands of LGBT couples across the world awoke this morning to learn that they are no longer married.

A Department of Justice lawyer under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party of Canada government has nullified all same-sex marriages performed in Canada in which the couples’ native country does not permit gays and lesbians to marry.

He’s all man now: Chaz Bono shows off his beard

By Daily Mail
Aug. 16, 2011

Two years after he started his gender reassignment process, Chaz Bono appears to have completely made the transition from female to male.

He was snapped sporting a new beard as he ran errands round Los Angeles yesterday. The 42-year-old looked all man with his facial hair and short cropped hair as he filled up his car.

All man: Chaz Bono showed off his beard for the first time as he ran errands round Los Angeles

Gay Barbarian Horde Glitters Bachmann Clinic

Libya: Unending American hostility

Also see this RT America interview of Susan Lindauer:

By William Blum
www.killinghope.org

If I could publicly ask our beloved president one question, it would be this: “Mr. President, in your short time in office you’ve waged war against six countries — Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. This makes me wonder something. With all due respect: What is wrong with you?”

The American media has done its best to dismiss or ignore Libyan charges that NATO/US missiles have been killing civilians (the people they’re supposedly protecting), at least up until the recent bombing “error” that was too blatant to be covered up.

Down the Rabbit Hole with Democracy and Three Urgent Pleas

By Sheila Parks

Democracy.

Who used to have it in the USA, and who has it now? People with white skin privilege? People who were born male? People with piles of money, much of it stolen from other people’s labor?

I often hear European Americans from all walks of life talking about democracy in the USA – how they want to reclaim it, like in the good old days – and I wonder about how differently from one another we experience this country. This is not our land; not my land nor your land. When European Americans arrived over 500 years ago, we murdered with bullets and small pox blankets – that we intentionally gave to them – the Indigenous people who had lived in balance here for thousands of years. Then we enslaved people of African descent to build the country’s wealth, and kept women – who did not even get the vote until 1920 – second class citizens and the property of men for even longer.

Senate votes to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

The 65-31 vote means gays and lesbians will be able to serve openly in the military without punishment after President Obama signs the bill.

By Lisa Mascaro and Michael Muskal
Los Angeles Times

The Senate voted to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, approving a bill that repeals the policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” on Saturday.

The 65-31 vote came after an earlier procedural vote that brought the milestone in gay rights to the Senate floor. It also fulfilled a campaign promise by President Obama, who has been under attack from liberals in his own party for seeking compromises with Republicans on economic and tax issues during the lame-duck congressional session.

Bullies; The Mystery

copyright © 2010 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org and EmpathyAndEducation.org

Since I was a child he hounded me. She stalked me. I was bullied, intimidated, tormented not by a single person, but by a throng of thoughts. Why did another child, adolescent, nay adult ever bully me. What was it about me that kept me safe from harm or a persecutor’s pointed proclamations?

Rules of Play

By Robert C. Koehler

It’s been hard not to think about suicide lately — the act of it, in isolation and, seemingly, incredible despair.

The gay teenagers who killed themselves recently, in acts of private surrender, have made a collective public statement, but what is that statement . . . other than “something’s wrong”?

Whatever is wrong hits the young LGBT community with ferocity, but doesn’t confine itself to that community. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. — evidence of a system backing up on itself.

Mexico: Landmark Adoption Ruling for Same-Sex Couples

Supreme Court Ruling Follows Decision Upholding Marriage Rights

In USA: 9th Circuit grants indefinite stay in Prop 8 case 16 Aug 2010 The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has just granted an indefinite stay in the Prop 8 case, prohibiting any same-sex marriages from taking place. The lower court had ruled that Prop 8 is unconstitutional, and ordered same-sex marriages to be allowed in California again by 5 p.m. Wednesday. But a three judge panel of the appeals court just stayed, or delayed his order, so same sex marriages are on hold once again, in California.

By Human Rights Watch

The landmark ruling on August 16, 2010, by Mexico’s Supreme Court recognizing the right of same-sex couples to adopt children in Mexico City upholds the core principle of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in all aspects of their lives, including family life, Human Rights Watch said today.

Mexico’s high court voted 9-2 to guarantee adoption for these couples. Last week it decided in favor of the right to same-sex marriage and made clear that other states in the country have to recognize the same-sex marriages that take place in Mexico City.

Prop 8 Unconstitutional — For Now

By Kevin Drum
Mother Jones

Judge Vaughn Walker has released his long-awaited opinion on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage: in a nutshell, it’s not. There’s no rational basis for prohibiting same-sex marriage, he ruled, and therefore it violates both the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th amendment of the U.S. constitution. The full opinion is here.

But as we all know, his ruling per se doesn’t matter. It will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court shortly, and after that it’s sure to be appealed to the Supreme Court. What’s more, a stay is likely in the meantime. So the question is, how compelling is his opinion? Is it likely to sway members of either the circuit or supreme courts?

Catholic Charities Screws Over Its Employees Just to Stick It to Gays

AlterNet / By Devona Walker

Just to spite gay folks, Catholic Charities throws its straight employees under the bus.

March 3, 2010 |

Photo Credit: Sakurai Midori

The day before same-sex marriage was to become legal in the District of Columbia (Wednesday), Catholic Charities modified its personnel policies refusing to pay for the health benefits of any newly married couple it employs.

The memo, signed by the charity’s president, doesn’t explicitly mention gay marriage. Instead, he references the need to change policy due to a “change in law.”

“We sincerely regret that we have to make this change…but it is necessary to allow Catholic Charities to continue to provide essential services to the clients we serve in partnership with the District of Columbia while remaining consistent with the tenets of our religious faith,” read the memo.

MCC Celebrates Marriage Equality in Our Nation’s Capital

By Metropolitan Community Churches

On December 15th, the City Council of our nation’s capital announced its passage of legislation guaranteeing marriage equality for the LGBT community.  “It is with exceedingly great joy that I join my voice to the chorus of those celebrating this legislative victory, and the promise of Mayor Adrian Fenty to sign the bill into law,” said The Rev. Nancy Wilson, Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches. 
 

Gay icon Harvey Milk to be inducted into California Hall of Fame

The late Harvey Bernard Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to significant public office in America, is to be inducted into the California Hall of Fame at the California Museum in a ceremony next week to be performed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State’s First Lady, Maria Shriver.

Child Witches and Gay, Transgender Youth

By Rev. Irene Monroe

This Hallowe’en many American children will dress up as witches.  And we’ll hear their laughter and see their smiles as they joyfully go from door-to-door trick-or-treating. But in some places across the globe, children would never pretend to be witches because the consequences are not only dire, they can also be deadly.

Stewart calls out Fox News for ignoring gay rights march

By David Edwards

This video is from Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, broadcast Oct. 13, 2009.

Download video via RawReplay.com

Fox News dedicated hours to coverage of tea party protests in Washington D.C. but ignored the National Equality March for gay rights. The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart wants to know why.

Warning! $467,562 Charge for Same-Sex Partnerships

By Steve W.

When we talk about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the fact that, because it prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions, lesbian and gay partners are denied over 1,100 benefits, we’re not just talking about marriage, are we? We’re really talking about health insurance, Social Security, estate tax and much more. 

5 Speeches from the 2009 LGBT March on DC

European Court of Human Rights Gives Russia Four Months to Answer Moscow Gay Prides Bans

Nikolai Alekseev, seen here being arrested by the OMON at Moscow Pride last May: “Justice always comes, it’s only a matter of time.” Photo at GayRussia.ru

MOSCOW, October 7, 2009 (GayRussia.ru)  The European Court of Human Rights has given Russia until January 20 to answer the cases of the bans of the Moscow Pride marches and pickets in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

MoPhobe ALERT: Protest Hatemonger Buju Banton’s US Tour

By R. Zeke Fread

Buju Banton, the anti-gay Jamaican dance hall, ragga, and reggae singer, whose song “Boom Bye Bye” advocates killing gay men with submachine guns and by pouring acid on them, is touring in four Florida cities, as part of his Rasta Got Soul Tour.