Gay/Lesbian News

An opponent of same-sex marriage, Governor Carcieri has vetoed a bill giving domestic partners the right to claim the bodies of - and make funeral arrangements for - their loved ones.

At Tuesday night's Salt Lake City Council meeting, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement showing its support of the city's proposed non-discrimination regulations.

In a nearly unanimous decision, the AMA called for the repeal of DADT. There was little opposition from the governing medical organization. At the heart of the issue for the AMA is the effect of DADT on patient-provider care. Apparently, DADT makes is much harder for soldiers to be open with their doctors, and they are often forced to keep information secret in order to avoid falling victim to the law which would mean dismissal of them should they be discovered to be gay or lesbian.

Representative Lynn Woolsey has called upon the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church in the creation and passage of the Stupak Amendment...I expect political hardball on any legislation as important as the health care bill. I just didn’t expect it from the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Who elected them to Congress?

In the first ever statistical analysis of whether openly gay service has any impact on military readiness, a new study shows that knowing a gay or lesbian unit member has no bearing on the unit's cohesion.

Updated: The Senate has adjourned without taking up the same-sex marriage bill. Gov. Paterson has added it to the agenda for special sessions next Monday and Tuesday.

ALBANY — Every Sunday morning, the deep, melodious voice of State Senator Rubén Díaz Sr. rumbles across the congregation at his Bronx church. On weekdays, it echoes across the Senate chamber as he rails against Medicaid cuts or abortion. Earlier this year, it enthralled thousands at a boisterous rally against same-sex marriage. But ask him about the gay people in his own life, and Mr. Díaz’s voice grows quiet. His smile vanishes. Two of his brothers are gay, he murmurs, one of them recently deceased. So is a granddaughter. There is an old friend who works for him in the Senate. And a former campaign aide. “I love them. I love them,” says Mr. Díaz, who grew up one of 17 children in Puerto Rico. “But I don’t believe in what they are doing. They are my brothers. They are my family.” His voice rises again. “So how could I be a homophobe?” For those fighting to expand gay rights, Mr. Díaz, a Pentecostal minister, represents the most outspoken and unpredictable of foes. He was forced to resign from the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board years ago for suggesting that the Gay Games would encourage homosexuality and spread H.I.V. In 2003, he sued the city to shut down a high school for gay and transgender students.ALBANY — Every Sunday morning, the deep, melodious voice of State Senator Rubén Díaz Sr. rumbles across the congregation at his Bronx church. On weekdays, it echoes across the Senate chamber as he rails against Medicaid cuts or abortion. Earlier this year, it enthralled thousands at a boisterous rally against same-sex marriage. But ask him about the gay people in his own life, and Mr. Díaz’s voice grows quiet. His smile vanishes. Two of his brothers are gay, he murmurs, one of them recently deceased. So is a granddaughter. There is an old friend who works for him in the Senate. And a former campaign aide. “I love them. I love them,” says Mr. Díaz, who grew up one of 17 children in Puerto Rico. “But I don’t believe in what they are doing. They are my brothers. They are my family.” His voice rises again. “So how could I be a homophobe?” For those fighting to expand gay rights, Mr. Díaz, a Pentecostal minister, represents the most outspoken and unpredictable of foes. He was forced to resign from the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board years ago for suggesting that the Gay Games would encourage homosexuality and spread H.I.V.

The State Senate delayed a highly anticipated vote on same-sex marriage on Tuesday, putting off the issue indefinitely as gay rights supporters continued to lobby for additional votes.

My daughter's first best friend had two dads. My husband and I used to joke that the dads were better parents than us, and the thing is they were. We'd show up for a play date at the park, and my daughter would announce that she was hungry. I'd dig out a bag of old mushy raisins from the bottom of my purse (who knows how long they had been in there), while one of the dads would magically pull a spread of carefully chopped fruit (enough for everyone) from his satchel. Now I'm not saying that you can judge a parent by the quality of their snacks but this theme of thoughtful parenting carried through into everything these dads did. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=51269&type=moms#ixzz0WUiKCvOG

The New York State Senate is scheduled to take up a vote TODAY on the Assembly-passed and Governor-approved same-sex marriage bill that has been stalled for months. Initial reports indicate that they are attempting to postpone the vote indefinitely. This CANNOT happen. Tell this legislative body to stop stringing along LGBT families. CALL your State Senator NOW! There is still hope that they will take up the bill later this afternoon. Watch the impassioned comments made yesterday by NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and then follow the link to contact your Senator...

When I wrote about same sex parenting in the Times Magazine this weekend, one of the people I interviewed was M. V. Lee Badgett, who is both the director of the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law & Public Policy at the UCLA School of Law and a professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She is also the author of “When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage,” which focuses mostly on data from the Netherlands, where same-sex marriage has been legal for nearly a decade.

My magazine article focused primarily on the effects of same-sex marriage on children. But Badgett has more to say — about the effects of same-sex couples on marriage, and also about the effects of marriage on same-sex couples.

She shared her thoughts in a follow-up email interview: [Follow full article link for the actual interview.]

Police are investigating a pair of threats against gay marriage opponents in Maine.

The Westboro Baptist Church cult is notorious for their ultra-fundamentalist anti-gay stunts, but this one crosses another line for them - as they picket a school attended by the Obama children .

Advocates for same-sex marriage are hitting New York's state capital hard, trying to sway the few votes needed for final legislative approval of the bill in a special session Tuesday.

A prominent social-conservative activist group is using comments made by readers on a gay-rights Web site as "evidence" that the LGBT movement is mulling using "organized terrorism" against Christians.

Following a speech at Boston College's School of Law, President Obama's senior domestic policy aide acknowledged that she personally differed with Obama on the issue of gay marriage, multiple sources say.

The New York State Senate is scheduled to debate and vote on the issue of marriage equality tomorrow and constituents are needed to call their senators.

The Obamas have done their best to keep their daughters out of the political limelight, to ensure that they have as normal as possible of a childhood.

This morning the Phelps family decided to protest outside of Sidwell Friends, the school attended by Sasha and Malia Obama. One of the protesters posted this picture on twitter. Tomorrow they plan on protesting lower Sidwell where Malia matriculates. They stood across the street and held their signs up. The school did nothing to stop them.

The Phelps family of the Westboro Baptist church have become famous by protesting at military funerals. They believe that the wars that the US is engaged in, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11, are a punishment by God for the tolerance of homosexuality, which they view as sin. They even went as far as to protest the funeral of Matthew Sheppard who was murdered for being gay. They are staunchly anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-Obama. The Phelps family intend to picket the Fort Hood memorial services this Tuesday. They carry posters saying things like thank God for 9/11. To say that the Phelps family is a manifestation of evil and intolerance is an understatement.

After a major setback in Maine last week, gay rights advocates and their opponents are shifting their focus to New York, where chances for approval are far from clear.

17 year old O’Rhonde Chapman, a Nimitz High School senior says she’s being discriminated against because of her gender expression.