Technorati: Gay Civil Rights

About the Convention Tonight, and Against “Conventional” Wisdom August 28th, 2008 by DORIAN DE WIND Tonight, Barack Obama —half black, half white—steps up to the podium in Denver to accept the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of The United States. Whether by coincidence or not, his acceptance speech comes exactly 45 years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his momentous, unforgettable “I Have a Dream” speech. Yesterday, here in Texas, we celebrated the day when an

Gay and lesbian civil rights activist Del Martin died yesterday. 87-year-old Martin and her partner Phyllis Lyon were the first same-sex couple to be legally married in California earlier this year. Wife Lyon told CNN yesterday “Ever since I met Del 55 years ago, I could never imagine a day would come when she wouldn’t be [...]

I don't know how I just bursted into tears upon hearing the news. It has never happened before, not even when my own grandma kicked the bucket last Christmas. Del Martin passed away today. The courageous civil rights pioneer who, amongst other things, fought to have homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental illness. It was only back in June, that Del and Phyllis, her lesbian partner of 55 years, finally got to tie the knot legally in San Francisco.

Laurie and Debbie say: We join people around the world in mourning the death of Del Martin, who along with her wife Phyllis Lyon was one of the premier lesbian-rights activists of the 20th century. Martin and Lyon were together for over 50 years, starting in a period where it was extraordinarily brave to be out as a gay couple. In what would prove to be an act that would change history, Martin, Lyon and six other lesbians co-founded the Daughters of Bilitis in San Francisco in 1955. DOB, wh

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender delegates and allies gathered on the 37th floor of the Grand Hyatt in Denver on Monday afternoon to celebrate how far the gay movement has come. There was reason to celebrate— the first openly gay representative to serve in the Alabama statehouse, Rep. Patricia Todd, as well as other openly gay candidates within reach of winning state and national office, were on hand at the Hyatt. If there was ever a group to be fighting and pushing for greater awareness,

…The More They Stay The Same. August 26, 2008 – 12:49 pm You would think, IN THIS DAY AND AGE, that bullshit of this sort was confined to the dustbin of history: Woman forced from federal building for wearing lesbian t-shirt (ASSOCIATED PRESS: LOS ANGELES) A woman wearing a T-shirt promoting lesbianism said she was forced the leave a federal building Monday by a security guard who didn’t approve of her attire. Lapriss Gilbert said she was picking up a Social Security card for her son when t

In a brilliant move clearly aimed at appeasing the Christian Far Right, John McCain stunned the political world by announcing that Bigfoot will be his vice presidential choice. The surprise announcement brought unified praise from Bush/Cheney Republicans, Pavlovian evangelical extremists, and knuckle-dragging pundits in what is being dubbed a bold political stroke. Rush Limbaugh expressed mild [...]

August 25, 2008 socio-political | Tags: darfur, sojourners, iran, afghanistan, iraq, political issues, presidential candidates, barack obama, cynthia mckinney, ralph nader, john mccain, education, health care, poverty, environment, bob barr, civil rights, chuck baldwin, patriot act, voters guide, abortion, drugs, energy, gay marriage, gun control, immigration, lobbying, nuclear weapons, social security, taxation |   sojourners recently released their voters guide.  my man butrose blogged about

Then I’m walking in Memphis Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale Walking in Memphis But do I really feel the way I feel ~ Marc Cohn, “Walking in Memphis” On my next-to-last day in Memphis, before flying home, I finally made my pilgrimage. No, not to Graceland. I never really had any desire to go there. Besides, I knew that when I got home, most of the people who knew me and knew about my trip wouldn’t ask if I went to Graceland. At least not first. If I was going to visit anywhere

Your daily dose of civil rights and related newsAn observant Jewish engineer was vindicated after being hounded by spying accusations, after a probe found he was targeted on basis of religion.The Washington Post had a nice article up over the weekend on the experiences of other Black "firsts" (first astronaut, first Miss USA, first NBA player, etc.).Also from the WaPo this weekend, an analysis of how voters perceive the theme of race popping up this cycle (focusing on Akron, Ohio).The folks who

August 23, 2008 – 11:20 am Posted in gay rights, politics Tagged abortion, Barack Obama, candidate, civil rights, Democratic vice preseident, education, environment, gay rights, healthcare, homeland security, Iraq, Joe Biden, torture Poligots: So, who is Joe Biden and where does stand on several key issues? How does he compare to Obama, his apparent new boss? Joe Biden has been a senator from Delaware since 1972 (sheesh - I was in kindergarten!). His first wife and his youngest of three chil

Washington Post Most states don’t recognize gay marriage _ but now Hallmark does. The nation’s largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards _ featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. “Two hearts. One promise,” one says. Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions. The language inside the

A 25-year Special Forces veteran, who allegedly was rejected from a job after they learned she was transgender, gets her day in court. “It’s been a bumpy road,” said Schroer after the trial, “but I’m glad I’m on it.” Diane Schroer stepped foot in court Tuesday in a discrimination lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on her behalf. The ACLU says Schroer was refused a job at the Library of Congress researching terrorism after the library learned that Schroer is transgender.

Your daily dose of civil rights and related newsThe cellmate of a immigrant who died in US custody described the incredible pain he was in -- and how detention center staffers laughed and said he was faking.A study finds that minority students are far more likely to be paddled in school.A noose was found at a Chicago police station, triggering an investigation.A Las Vegas Review Journal columnist apparently got smoked by his readers when he made the simple factual observation that the ACLU is of

McCain trys to appear moderate on important social issues, but his track record shows that he’s practically a clone of our current president.

– MI5, the UK’s domestic spying agency (their version of the FBI, as opposed to MI6, which is their version of the CIA) has realized that being gay isn’t a security risk when you’re open about it. – Want an easy way to save both energy and money while reducing your carbon footprint? Wash your clothes in cold water. (It’s better for your woolens anyway.) Want to save even more? Use a clothesline or (if clotheslines aren’t a feasible option) a drying rack instead of a dryer. If you have the s

Mr. Donohue: The Catholic League’s request to Leah Daughtry to ban the blogs BitchPhD and Towleroad from the Democratic National Convention came as something of a shock to those of us here at Scholars and Rogues. Frankly, Mr. Donohue, we are hurt. Our offices contain no balloon figures of Jesus, with or without genitalia (you say “apparently albino penis,” I say “loincloth” – oh wait! There’s the penis! Or should it be Penis?). Our site features no links to intensely homoerotic coverage of the

Submitted by Presidential Race Blog Written by Michael Vass Now I’ve discussed my thoughts on how Senator Obama and Senator McCain answered questions about taxes and Darfur, but there were other observations from the Saddleback Civil Forum. On of the most obvious things I noticed in comparing the 2 Presidential candidates was the amount of experience they had. [...]

Now I’ve discussed my thoughts on how Senator Obama and Senator McCain answered questions about taxes and Darfur, but there were other observations from the Saddleback Civil Forum. On of the most obvious things I noticed in comparing the 2 Presidential candidates was the amount of expirence they had. While Senator Obama had some ideas and tried to answer all the questions as best he could,

Should you, as a doctor, be forced to prefer a medical procedure that you don't want to perform? Or should government get out of the way and let the market decide?