Teh Gay Marriage
Teh gays gets hitched up 2?
David Miliband changes his mind on gay marriage
Labour leadership frontrunner David Miliband has changed his mind on the issue of equal marriage rights. During an interview with PinkNews.co.uk earlier this month, he said he thought of civil partnerships as being "completely equal" to marriage.
Read more [PinkNews.co.uk]
Judge rules against anti-gay Michigan counseling student
In a second case about an anti-gay counseling student, there comes some good news.
A federal judge ruled in favor of Eastern Michigan University, which kicked Julea Ward out of its masters program in counseling because she refused to counsel gay clients. She attributed her anti-gay beliefs to her Christianity and accused the school of religious bias when it demanded that she leave the program.
[1]
Ward’s attorney David French said, "Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for holding to their beliefs. When a public university has a prerequisite of affirming homosexual behavior as morally good in order to obtain a degree, the school is stepping over the legal line.”
But U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh wrote in the decision [2], "Plaintiff was not required to change her views or religious beliefs; she was required to set them aside in the counselor-client relationship - a neutral, generally applicable expectation of all counselors-to-be under the ACA (American Counseling Association) standard."
French said he plans on appealing the court’s decision.
The decision comes just days after a student in a counseling program in Georgia sued Augusta State University. Jennifer Keeton [3] said that as a Christian, she believed homosexuality to be immoral. She accused ASU of violating her first amendment rights when the school mandated that she undergo sensitivity training or that she leave the program.
[1] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-eastern-michigan-university-julea-ward-top.jpg
[2] http://voices.washingtonpost.com/college-inc/EMU%5B1%5D.pdf
[3] http://www.365gay.com/news/counseling-student-accuses-school-of-forcing-acceptance-of-homosexuality/
Read more [365 Gay]
Rush Limbaugh says he and Elton John agree on gay marriage
US radio host Rush Limbaugh said this week that he and Elton John share the same anti-gay marriage views. Limbaugh, known as a controversial shock jock, said on Wednesday that he and the singer support civil unions but not marriage for gay couples.
Read more [PinkNews.co.uk]
Rush Limbaugh says he and Elton John agree on gay marriage
US radio host Rush Limbaugh said this week that he and Elton John share the same anti-gay marriage views. Limbaugh, known as a controversial shock jock, said on Wednesday that he and the singer support civil unions but not marriage for gay couples.
Read more [PinkNews.co.uk]
2 sides square off in St. Cloud over gay marriage - St. Cloud Times
San Diego Gay & Lesbian News2 sides square off in St. Cloud over gay marriage
St. Cloud Times
People are becoming more aware of how many gay and lesbian couples are out there. They just want the same civil rights that heterosexual couples have. ...
NOM's Growing DesperationHuffington Post (blog)
COMMENTARY WITH VIDEO: The sorry lies spread by NOMSan Diego Gay & Lesbian News
VIDEOS: NOM Catholic supporter says same-sex couples OK, in "friendship"San Diego Gay & Lesbian News
Dane101 -On Top Magazine
all 25 news articles »
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SLDN, HRC LAUNCH “COUNTDOWN 2010” GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN - Out In America
Passport Magazine (blog)SLDN, HRC LAUNCH “COUNTDOWN 2010” GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN
Out In America
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, and Servicemembers ...
SLDN, HRC Launch "Countdown 2010" Grassroots CampaignYubaNet
all 8 news articles »
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Top court prudent in not rethinking gay marriage ruling - Asbury Park Press
Sovo.comTop court prudent in not rethinking gay marriage ruling
Asbury Park Press
As a result of that ruling, state lawmakers established civil unions. Gay-rights supporters, however, maintain that civil unions give them unequal legal ...
DC marriage victory:pride source.com
NJ Supreme Court refuses gay-marriage casePhiladelphia Gay News
Lost Opportunity for Marriage Equality with New Jersey RulingSan Francisco Bay Times
Sovo.com -Ekklesia
all 9 news articles »
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Thurs. Watercooler: New York fights back
Keeping track of gay marriage legislation is a complicated endeavor. While Wikipedia [1] and Freedom to Marry [2] have great maps, a new site just launched that keeps track not only of the current legislation, but also the views of the state's lawmakers. Statesthatallowgaymarriage.com [3] launched recently and has information on all 50 governors, 100 United States senators, and 435 United States representatives and their positions on gay marriage.
[4]
The site's founder Michael Zuyus said, “We want to make it easy for people to get the information they need in order to support candidates who will vote for marriage rights in their state.”
New York state senator and Pentecostal minister Ruben Díaz [5] is running for reelection, but Fight Back NY [6] is trying its hardest to ensure that Diaz does not succeed. Fight Back called Díaz “New York's most notoriously anti-gay state senator.”
[7]
To campaign against Díaz, Fight Back is looking to hire political researchers to search through Ruben’s “murky past,” in an effort discover information about the senator that would discourage voters from selecting his name on the ballot.
Two of Díaz’s brothers are gay, as is his granddaughter. Díaz was one of the 38 senators who voted against same-sex marriage [8] in NY, and is adamantly opposed to homosexuality, but he says he still loves his gay family members.
Díaz was forced to resign from the Civilian Complaint Review Board when he suggested that the Gay Games would spread HIV; in 2003 he tried to shut down Harvey Milk High School, a NY public school safe haven for LGBT students.
CBS, embarrassed by its low score on the GLAAD ratings [9], is adding more gay characters to its shows.
“We’re not happy with ourselves,” said CBS president Nina Tassler. “We're adding a few characters this season because we're very disappointed in our track record so far.”
[10]
GLAAD gave CBS a failing grade [11] for two consequtive, with 7 percent LGBT-inclusive hours of primetime programming.
Tassler announced gay characters will be added to The Good Wife, S*** My Dad Says and Rules of Engagement.
CBS is also starting a new talk show hosted by celebrity moms, including lesbian Sara Gilbert [12].
A thousand people in Enid, Okla. celebrated Pride earlier this month. Enid Pride [13] started in 2009 with a turnout of 300 people, the largest first-time turnout for a Pride in Oklahoma. Approximately 48,000 people reside in Enid, but the Pride events were targeted to all of northeast Oklahoma.
[caption id="attachment_15840" align="aligncenter" width="325" caption="Photo credit: Michelle Posey"] [14][/caption]
The second Enid event had over three times the number of festival-goers as it did last year.
The week of celebrating included a vigil, forums and discussions, film screenings, an interfaith service, and of course, the festival. While the gay community in Enid used to rely on small-town gay bars, the community now flocks to its new community center. Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays hosted the event.
Oklahoma has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but Tulsa [15] recently adopted an anti-discrimination policy for city employees, and a transgender [16] woman is running for a state senate seat.
Only 10% of the 400,000 surveys [17] distributed by the Defense Department were returned. The surveys ask servicemembers their opinions on permitting gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, in an effort to explore troops' views on repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The deadline for the return of the surveys is August 15.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samesex_marriage_in_USA.svg
[2] http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/
[3] http://www.statesthatallowgaymarriage.com/
[4] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-states-that-allow-gay-marriage-site-top.jpg
[5] http://www.365gay.com/news/bronx-democrat-sets-sights-on-ruben-diazs-seat/
[6] http://fightbackpac.com/closet/
[7] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-ruben-diaz-headshot-top.jpg
[8] http://www.365gay.com/blog/withers-looming-marriage-battle-in-new-york/
[9] http://www.glaad.org/nri2010
[10] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-cbs-logo-3-top.jpg
[11] http://www.glaad.org/page.aspx?pid=1563
[12] http://www.365gay.com/news/thurs-watercooler-beck-is-relying-on-miracles/
[13] http://www.enidglbt.org/index.html
[14] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-enid-pride-pavillion-oklahoma-top.jpg
[15] http://www.365gay.com/news/tulsa-now-protects-gay-employees/
[16] http://www.365gay.com/news/transgender-candidate-in-oklahoma-faces-socially-conservative-opponent/
[17] http://www.365gay.com/blog/072210-blogger-takes-dadt-survey/
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Hawaii lawsuit seeks equal rights for gay couples
(Honolulu) Six gay couples in Hawaii are filing a lawsuit Thursday asking for the same rights as married couples, three weeks after Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a same-sex civil unions measure.
The lawsuit doesn't seek the titles of "marriage" or "civil unions" for gay partners. Instead, it requests that the court system extend them the benefits and responsibilities of marriage based on the Hawaii Constitution's prohibition against sex discrimination.
"We continue to be discriminated against," said plaintiff Suzanne King, who has been in a relationship with her partner for 29 years. "We're a family unit, and we live our lives just like everyone else, but we aren't treated the same."
The legal action in state court comes as a response to the Republican governor's veto July 6, when she said voters should decide whether to reserve marriage for couples of a man and a woman.
Five other states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage. Five more states essentially grant the rights of marriage to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself.
Hawaii passed the nation's first "defense of marriage" constitutional amendment in 1998, giving the state's legislature the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples. The amendment is silent on civil unions and rights for same-sex couples.
Most Hawaii residents don't want the government to endorse equal rights for gay couples, said Garret Hashimoto, chairman for the Hawaii Christian Coalition.
"I feel insulted. They keep bringing up Martin Luther King, black rights and women's sufferage. This is not about that. This is about two males or two females practicing sex," he said. "It's behavior. It's no different from smokers or drinkers."
The office of Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett declined comment Wednesday because it hadn't yet been served with the lawsuit.
The state grants some rights to gay couples through its reciprocal beneficiaries system.
But they lack the same legal priviledges and obligations of adoption, child support, alimony and access to family court, said Jennifer Pizer, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, which is bringing the case along with the American Civil Liberties Union.
"This case is not about marriage. It's about the right of same-sex couples to at least have a system that is understandable and complete," Pizer said. "The state's equality guarantee at least has to mean same-sex couples should have the same rights and responsibilities, even if it's segmented off into a system that isn't as respected, understood and revered as marriage."
The case likely won't be settled until it reaches the Hawaii Supreme Court, or if state lawmakers and the next governor approve a new civil unions bill, Pizer said.
Read more [365 Gay]
MP Angela Eagle defends Australian lesbian minister's opposition to gay marriage
Labour MP Angela Eagle has defended an Australian lesbian politician for publicly opposing equal marriage. Ms Eagle, who was the only out lesbian in parliament until this year, said that Australian Labor politicianPenny Wong should be commended for her previous record on gay rights.
Read more [PinkNews.co.uk]
Civil rights groups ask Tea Party to repudiate racist faction - The Rolla Daily News
Civil rights groups ask Tea Party to repudiate racist faction
The Rolla Daily News
Civil rights icon John Lewis was spit on, while Congressman Emanuel Cleaver was called the "N" word and openly gay Congressman Barney Frank was called an ...
and more »
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MP Angela Eagle defends Australian lesbian minister's opposition to gay marriage
Labour MP Angela Eagle has defended an Australian lesbian politician for publicly opposing equal marriage. Ms Eagle, who was the only out lesbian in parliament until this year, said that Australian Labor politicianPenny Wong should be commended for her previous record on gay rights.
Read more [PinkNews.co.uk]
Hawaiian Gay Couples File Lawsuit Demanding Marriage in All but Name - Lifesite
Gay Socialites (blog)Hawaiian Gay Couples File Lawsuit Demanding Marriage in All but Name
Lifesite
... Associated Press that most Hawaii residents don't want the government to support "gay marriage" and that gay marriage was not analogous to civil rights. ...
Six gay couples file suit in HI for the rights of marriageSirius XM OutQ News (blog)
Hawaii lawsuit seeks equal rights for gay couplesThe Associated Press
Lambda Legal Files Hawaii Challenge For Gay CouplesOn Top Magazine
KHON2 -Gay Socialites (blog) -PinkNews.co.uk
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The ‘ban gay adoption’ movement: sacrificing children
When child protective services took two young children from their home and brought them to Frank Martin Gill and his partner in December 2004, protective services told the men - experienced foster parents - that the boys deserved a good holiday.
The men were planning to move soon but agreed to take them temporarily.
[1]
It was clear the boys, ages four years and four months, needed care.
The elder boy was wearing a dirty, adult-sized t-shirt and sneakers that were four sizes too small. He did not speak, and his only concern was caring for his infant brother. Both boys had scalp ringworm and the younger had an ear infection, but the medicines brought from their home had been unused.
When the older boy began to speak after about a month, the men learned he had never seen a book, could not count, and did not even know letters from numbers.
The brothers stayed and the men did not move. The boys developed friendships at school and in the neighborhood. They bonded with the biological son of Gill’s partner and with the couple’s parents and siblings. They began referring to Gill and his partner (who is not identified in court documents) as “Papi” and “Daddy.” In 2007, after the rights of the biological parents were terminated, Gill petitioned to adopt.
The men, however, live in the state of Florida - the one state that bans any gay men or lesbians from adopting. And that has created a dilemma for the courts: either they honor the law or honor their duty to rule in the best interests of the children.
Despite a positive home study, the Florida Department of Children and Families denied Gill’s adoption application. With the help of the ACLU of Florida, Gill sued the state. (The men felt they would stand no chance if they sued for a joint adoption.) During the trial, the court heard expert testimony from a psychologist who had assessed the boys and determined they would be “emotionally devastated” if taken from their current home.
In November 2008, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled that the adoption ban violated Gill and the children’s right to equal protection under the state Constitution. The government, she said, failed to demonstrate a rational reason for imposing the ban, and the law obstructed the right of children to a permanent, stable home as provided by federal and state law.
The state Department of Children and Families (DCF) appealed the ruling to the state’s Third District Court of Appeals, which heard arguments in August 2009. The decision has now been pending for a year.
A few other states have some restrictions on gay people adopting children, but Florida is the only state whose law specifically bans adoptions by all gay men or lesbians. Mississippi bans same-sex couples from doing so, and Arkansas, Michigan, and Utah ban unmarried couples (by definition, all same-sex couples in the state).
So far, despite the ban, Florida courts have ruled three times to allow an adoption by a gay or lesbian parent.
The first was in August 2008, when a Monroe Circuit judge allowed Wayne LaRue Smith to adopt the boy he and his partner had been fostering since 2001. Because Smith had already been named the boy’s legal guardian, neither DCF nor the attorney general appealed.
The second adoption was granted to Gill through Lederman’s ruling in November 2008. The third was in January 2010, when a Miami-Dade circuit judge allowed Vanessa Alenier to adopt the one-year-old she and her partner have been fostering. The judge said the adoption ban was “unconstitutional on its face.” The state has appealed that decision, too.
Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, an LGBT advocacy group, observed in an interview, “Judges are beginning to push back and say ‘There’s a contradiction in this law that does not allow us to carry out our prime mission, and that is that the children have to come first. What their needs are has to be the primary guidance in what we do.’”
Florida legislators have also recently attempted to overturn the ban in the legislature. Three bills were introduced in March, but two were withdrawn before a vote and one died in committee.
And Governor Charlie Crist, who now running for U.S. Senate, told TIME magazine in June he believes in “a live and let live attitude as it regards adoption [by gay men and lesbians].” He said “the best decision maker would be a judge,” but that the current law must change first.
“I’m sure that a future legislature and maybe the next governor might addressthat issue,” he added.
Beyond Florida, some LGBT experts and advocates think that adoption could be the next major target --after marriage equality-- for opponents of LGBT civil rights. In the federal trial this year challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage, a witness for the plaintiffs, Dr. Gary Segura predicted that, as fewer states are able to use the initiative process to contest same-sex marriage, “the new front line would be gay and lesbian adoption.”
“I would not be surprised to see anti-adoption initiatives appearing in the near future,” said Segura, professor of political science at Stanford University.
Equality Florida’s Smith agreed, saying, “The entire country has a stake in ending [the Florida] adoption ban so that the far-right doesn’t begin trying to export it and expand it elsewhere through the same mechanisms that they pushed the marriage ban. . . . The far-right nationally is geared up to defend and expand this ban and we’ve got to be geared up nationally to defeat it.”
There are signs of this already. The Arizona House approved a bill at the end of February that would give preference to married couples when placing children with adoptive parents. It is now in the State Senate.
And voters in Arkansas approved that state’s ban on allowing adoptions by unmarried couples in November 2008. In April, a state circuit judge struck down the ban for that circuit, but the state is expected to appeal.
Anti-LGBT groups have long tried to tie the right to parent with the right to marry. In the Proposition 8 case, for example, attorneys defending the marriage ban tried to persuade the court that an opposite-sex couple provides the best family structure for raising children, and that marriage should therefore be limited to opposite-sex couples.
The defense’s star witness, David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, however, testified, “I believe that adopting same-sex marriage would be likely to improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and their children.”
Attorneys on the plaintiffs’ side brought in two experts who had also testified in the Florida Gill case. One was Dr. Michael Lamb, professor of developmental psychology at Cambridge University, who spoke in both cases about the extensive research showing that children do as well with gay or lesbian parents as with straight ones. The other was Dr. Letitia Peplau, professor of psychology and sociology at UCLA, who testified to the stability of same-sex relationships.
Anti-LGBT groups may have better luck at the ballot box than in the court room, as the field of experts to testify on their behalf about same-sex couples and children seems to be shrinking.
In the Gill case, the DCF brought in two experts for the trial court hearing who argued that gay men and lesbians were not suitable to become parents. Judge Lederman said of one, clinical psychologist Dr. George Rekers, “the court can not consider his testimony to be credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy.” (Rekers was later reported to be traveling with a gay male escort who claimed Rekers himself was gay. Rekers responded that he spends time with sinners in order to help them.)
The other DCF expert, Dr. Walter Schumm, associate professor of family studies at Kansas State University, seemed to argue for Gill when he said, during the Florida trial, that “gay parents can be good foster parents,” and “the decision to permit homosexuals to adopt is best made by the judiciary on a case by case basis.”
Only one federal bill seeks to address the issue. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act, introduced by Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) in March, would prohibit federal funds to states that discriminate in adoption based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Gill himself testified at a U.S. House panel discussion when the bill was introduced.
The bill is now in the House Ways and Means Committee and has 29 co-sponsors, but there are no scheduled hearings and no Senate counterpart, making it unlikely it will pass this session.
[1] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-brief-lesbian-parents-top.jpg
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Website Tracks Marriage Equality Opponents
StatesThatAllowGayMarriage.com follows not only where same-sex couples
can wed but which politicians are standing in the way of marriage
equality.
Read more [The Advocate]
Culhane: Religion, equality and gay marriage – redux
Last week’s column [1] generated an unprecedented deluge of comments – thoughtful, angry, supportive, analytical – but that’s not completely surprising.
As I learned when I broached this topic last year [2], any talk about the friction between religion and LGBT equality (and especially marriage equality) brings down the house. Today’s entry will probably destroy the foundation.
Recall that the last column ended by asking how to get out of the mess of accommodating religion and an anti-discrimination imperative. Let’s look at a few ideas here.
[3]
The first is the libertarian position that’s gotten Rand Paul in so much trouble, and that crops up every time anti-discrimination laws are discussed: When it comes to private actors, there should be no such laws.
A business owner’s associational freedom trumps the customer’s right to be served.
Usually that’s followed by the hope that most business owners aren’t economically dumb enough to act on their prejudices. I used to have more respect for this position than I do today. The experience of social and political history makes it clear that people can and do discriminate all the time, and that we’ve made a collective judgment that we’re not going to tolerate it.
Politically – and for me, morally – that ship has long sailed.
A few other creative ideas are out there.
One especially clever commenter last week suggested that we allow an accommodation for those who would have to be “bodily” involved in the wedding – so photographers wouldn’t be forced to shoot a same-sex wedding party; florists wouldn’t have to be scurrying around at the reception, but would have to sell flowers from their store, and so on.
I don’t like this for the same reason I don’t like the so-called “hardship exception” for couples who don’t have choices (there’s only one wedding photographer in town, for example). Both seem like recipes for endless litigation: “We had a hardship.” “No, you didn’t.” Stop it, please.
Moreover, no one’s been able to explain why any of these suggested accommodations, once allowed, should be limited to events or businesses somehow “associated” with the wedding.
If we’re going to allow religious exemptions based on the immorality of same-sex unions, it’s hard to see any principled reason for rejecting these same reasons in other contexts: Why should I have to rent a home to a lesbian couple, provide health benefits to a gay man’s spouse, or, for that matter, hire a gay man in the first place?
Robin Fretwell Wilson’s answer – that these actions (but somehow, not the ones tied to marriage) are simply bigotry – resolves the issue by fiat.
In general, I don’t support these accommodation laws.
They’re basically a political compromise to get a few more votes, but I think they introduce a dangerous idea that we’ve not allowed with other protected groups: You can discriminate if your religion tells you it’s OK to do so. And I’m not placated by assurances that it’s limited to the marriage context.
But think about the problem from another perspective: Do you really want someone who strongly disapproves of your marriage to be the one catering it? Probably not. So can nothing be done?
Here’s what I propose:
Why not simply remind the religious objectors – I’d support a law spelling this out – that they have a right to clearly state that they oppose same-sex unions and would “prefer to step aside” (borrowing and repurposing language from Professor Wilson here) for religious reasons.
There might even be standard, respectful language suggested (not mandated, but perhaps bulletproof against litigation), making clear that the proprietor’s objection is based on religion, not animosity. Not “we don’t like the gays,” but “this establishment is owned and operated by the Smith Family, who hold strong religious beliefs that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.”
What same-sex couple wouldn’t respect that, and go somewhere else – if they could?
Note that this isn’t the same as allowing the Smiths to refuse service. It puts the same-sex couple on notice, though, that this establishment might not be their best choice. And, in a progressive area, such a statement would undoubtedly cost the Smiths some business from opposite-sex couples, too.
I first made this proposal last year, and it generated a lot of heat – much of it quite negative.
But I think the only real alternative is no accommodation at all. That’s hardly an unreasonable position, even for religious organizations when they leave their core mission and participate in secular activities (such as renting out a pavilion for marriages, but then refusing to do so for same-sex couples).
So “no accommodation at all” is my close second choice.
Even my weak proposal for using the right to speak as a way of avoiding conflict will doubtless infuriate those who think this whole issue is ridiculous, but ask yourself: How would I want to be treated if I were a religious person? (I’m not, in case it matters.)
Let the deluge begin.
John Culhane is Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law Institute at Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Del. He blogs about the role of law in everyday life, and about a bunch of other things at: http://wordinedgewise.org [4]. He can be reached via email at: johnculhane@comcast.net.
[1] http://www.365gay.com/opinion/culhane-religion-equality-and-gay-marriage/
[2] http://volokh.com/2009/08/05/no-gay-couples-allowed/
[3] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-episcopal-church-top.jpg
[4] http://www.365gay.com http://wordinedgewise.org
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HRC TO NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE: HOW MUCH WILL YOU SPEND LYING TO ... - Out In America
San Diego Gay & Lesbian NewsHRC TO NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE: HOW MUCH WILL YOU SPEND LYING TO ...
Out In America
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Hawaii lawsuit seeks equal rights for gay couples - The Associated Press
Queerty (blog)Hawaii lawsuit seeks equal rights for gay couples
The Associated Press
The amendment is silent on civil unions and rights for same-sex couples. Most Hawaii residents don't want the government to endorse equal rights for gay ...
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BC Human Rights Tribunal in jeopardy? - Xtra.ca
BC Human Rights Tribunal in jeopardy?
Xtra.ca
... that she was discriminated against on religious grounds for refusing to place gay-straight alliance stickers and gay-friendly books in her library. ...
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Media covers gay marriage minimally
Just 0.3 percent of the news in 2009 devoted to same-sex marriage according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism examining media coverage [1].
In 2009, the California Supreme Court ruled on Proposition 8; Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled Iowans had a right to gay marriage, marriage equality battles were fought in Maine and Washington state, and Washington D.C. legalized gay marriage.
[2]
The study broke down the analysis by type of media outlet and found that marriage equality was covered most by newspapers, counting for 0.5 percent of news stories. In online news sources, gay marriage was 0.3 percent of coverage. Evening network news covered gay marriage the least; just 0.1 percent of stories were about the topic.
Unsurprisingly, MSNBC (which airs The Rachel Maddow Show, hosted by the first openly-gay anchor to host a prime-time news show program in the country) covered gay marriage the more than any other cable networks, while Fox covered it the least.
Twenty percent of news stories were on the economy, one percent was devoted to Michael Jackson, and race, gender and gay issues counted for 1.7 percent.
[1] http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2010/year_overview.php
[2] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-media-magazine-kiosk-Newspaper-vendor-top.jpg
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Judge Blocks Parts of Ariz. Immigration Law - Advocate.com
Advocate.comJudge Blocks Parts of Ariz. Immigration Law
Advocate.com
Members of the Human Rights Campaign joined with civil rights organizations in Arizona in June to protest SB 1070. LGBT group Immigration Equality has also ...
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VIDEO: NOM's Brian Brown compares saving opposite-sex marriage to civil rights ... - San Diego Gay & Lesbian News
San Diego Gay & Lesbian NewsVIDEO: NOM's Brian Brown compares saving opposite-sex marriage to civil rights ...
San Diego Gay & Lesbian News
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Gay marriage, revisited: Two years after having approved Proposition 8 ... - Los Angeles Times (blog)
Gay marriage, revisited: Two years after having approved Proposition 8 ...
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Disgusting: Anti-Gay Marriage Group's Activist Sign Suggests Lynching Same-Sex ... - AlterNet (blog)
SalonDisgusting: Anti-Gay Marriage Group's Activist Sign Suggests Lynching Same-Sex ...
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Rallies over same-sex marriage aim to catch candidates' attentionMinnesota Public Radio
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Dueling rallies with little hitchMinneapolis Star Tribune
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Lord who tabled religious civil partnerships amendment now supports gay marriage
Lord Waheed Alli, the Labour peer who tabled an amendment in the last government to allow religious civil partnerships, has called for full marriage equality.
Read more [PinkNews.co.uk]
Lord who tabled religious civil partnerships amendment now supports gay marriage
Lord Waheed Alli, the Labour peer who tabled an amendment in the last government to allow religious civil partnerships, has called for full marriage equality.
Read more [PinkNews.co.uk]
Counseling student accuses school of forcing acceptance of homosexuality
Jennifer Keeton, a 24-year-old graduate student at Augusta State University, is suing [1] the school on first amendment grounds saying that ASU is forcing her to change her Christian beliefs that homosexuality is immoral and wrong.
While the school has not yet been served the papers, Keeton will be represented by the socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund [2].
[caption id="attachment_15785" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Credit: ADF"] [3][/caption]
Keeton is a student at the counseling program that is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs. The program follows American School Counselor Association's ethical guidelines [4]that specify that a counselor “Respects the student’s values and beliefs and does not impose the counselor’s personal values.”
The guidelines also requires that a counselor “Expands and develops awareness of his/her own attitudes and beliefs affecting cultural values and biases and strives to attain cultural competence,” and “Acquires educational, consultation and training experiences to improve awareness, knowledge, skills and effectiveness in working with diverse populations: ethnic/racial status, age, economic status, special needs, ESL or ELL, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, family type, religious/spiritual identity and appearance.”
When Keeton talked in and outside of the classroom of her opposition to homosexuality, she said the school forced her to change her beliefs. She said she was made to attend diversity and sensitivity trainings, attend a Pride parade and submit monthly papers to her supervisors to track how her beliefs have changed.
Keeton said that her views on homosexuality would not affect her ability to counsel gay or lesbian clients. She also denied allegations that she advocated for “conversion therapy” to change clients’ sexual orientation, which she calls a “lifestyle choice.”
Because her views on homosexuality are linked to her Christianity, Keeton has said she is facing religious discrimination.
As the school has not been served the legal papers, ASU officials have not yet commented on the suit.
[1] http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/07/26/anti-gay-us-student-sues-college-for-trying-to-make-her-attend-diversity-classes/
[2] http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/4140
[3] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-jennifer-keeton-top.jpg
[4] http://www.365gay.comCeleste Lavin show details 6:13 PM (22 hours ago) http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=173
Read more [365 Gay]
Gay activists say government is 'ignoring' calls for same-sex civil marriage
The government's equalities office is holding a series of private meetings this week to discuss the possibility of holding civil partnerships for gay couples in church. Gay rights activist Peter Tatchell said he and other campaigners had a meeting with junior equality minister Lynne Featherstone yesterday but claimed the majority of those present wanted full gay marriage.
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Survey: Strong Support Among Catholics for Marriage Equality
A survey of Catholics in the state of California shows that a significant percentage support marriage equality for gay and lesbian families.
Read more [Boston Edge]
Gay people need civil rights protections, too - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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While the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has been very supportive of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality - I wish there was equal coverage for each ...
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My Take: It's About Civil Rights - HollandSentinel.com
pride source.comMy Take: It's About Civil Rights
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... without fear that whom I love will cause my civil rights as a citizen of my city, state or country to be denied me. This is not about gay and straight, ...
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How do you 'cure' gay marriage? One NOM supporter suggests by executing gays - Dallas Voice
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What was VERY obvious was the fact that the LGBT civil rights supporters FAR outweighed the NOM ralliers. Even in NOM's own video.
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Gay Australian cabinet minister Penny Wong comes out against gay marriage
The first openly gay cabinet minister in Australia has claimed that she has suffered discrimination but refused to support gay marriage.
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New Jersey court refuses to hear gay marriage case
New Jersey's Supreme Court has refused to hear a case on gay marriage, telling supporters to pursue it through the lower courts. The state currently has civil unions but gay campaigners are pushing for full marriage equality.
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Labor candidates support gay marriage - Herald Sun
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NJ Supreme Court rejects gay marriage case
The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to hear a case from six same-sex couples seeking the right to marry, saying the case needs to wind its way through the lower courts first.
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New Jersey Supreme Court Declines Gay Marriage Case - New York Times
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Basic Rights Oregon sets out to change minds on gay marriage - OregonLive.com
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NJ Supreme Court declines gay marriage case
(Trenton, NJ) The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to hear a case from six same-sex couples seeking the right to marry, saying the case needs to wind its way through the lower courts first.
Gay couples unsuccessfully sued New Jersey four years ago for the right to marry. They claim that by creating civil unions, the state has not fulfilled a court order to treat them the same as heterosexual couples seeking to marry.
The Supreme Court said Monday that it cannot consider whether the civil union law provides equal rights to gay couples until there is a trial record.
The justices were split 3-3, one vote shy of the four needed for the motion to be granted.
Read more [365 Gay]
Target financed anti-gay candidate
Minnesota-based retail chain Target gave $150,000 to support [1] the political action committee of the state's ultra-conservative gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.
Target has a history of conservative donations, but Emmer has supported a Christian rock band that has applauded calls for the execution of gay people.
Emmer is the only Minnesota candidate for governor who is against gay marriage; in 2007 he wrote a constitutional amendment barring both gay marriage and civil unions, but the bill did not pass. Emmer also regularly tries to narrow LGBT rights by, for example, trying to replace the word "parents" with the words "mother and father" in a surrogacy bill.
[2]
But recently Emmer has become more controversial, when the Minnesota Independent discovered his connection to the non-profit ministry/hard rock Christian band You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, which brings Bible messages to public schools.
Bradlee Dean, the band’s frontman and minister, said on his radio show, “Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America. Just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination.”
Dean also provided some dubious statistics about the gay population: “They molest 117 people before they’re found out.”
Since the Minnesota Independent reprinted his words, Dean posted a denial [3]:
“We have specifically rejected, as all Christians do, the Islamic doctrine, and actual practice, of executing homosexuals. But some have claimed, in effect, that by merely mentioning the execution of homosexuals (as a criminal practice of Islam), on our radio broadcast, we have suggested it for consideration.”
He continued: “This may not have been as clear as we would have otherwise planned it to be. Live radio is not scripted. But everyone who knows us knows that this is our position because we have stated it consistently for years – long before we ever discussed the topic on the radio”
The Minnesota Independent reported that Emmer's campaign gave the band $250 [4] in 2008. Emmer has also shown public support for the band - he was a guest on its radio show, posed for pictures with band members and attended the band’s meet-and-greet fundraiser in 2009.
Emmer’s campaign released a statement distancing itself from Dean’s violent rhetoric: “Tom’s position on social issues has been very clear and consistent. He is a supporter of traditional marriage, and he strongly opposes any kind of violence or unfair discrimination against any group.”
According to Target’s corporate giving website [5], “Target contributes to political candidates, caucuses and causes in a non-partisan manner based strictly on issues that directly affect our retail and business interests.”
The site includes a party-based breakdown of Target’s corporate donations, showing that 22 percent of the company’s donations go to Republican organizations, and 28 percent goes to Democratic ones. The largest donation to a company identified as Democratic, however, was to the Democratic Leadership Council [6], an organization that is pushing to movie the Democratic Party more rightward.
To send Target a message, see Change.org [7].
[1] http://sfist.com/2010/07/23/targets_anti-gay_support.php
[2] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-tom-Emmer-minnesota-top.jpg
[3] http://youcanruninternational.com/news/affirming-our-stance-on-homosexuality.html
[4] http://minnesotaindependent.com/59337/emmer-campaign-donated-to-you-can-run
[5] http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-034171
[6] http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=3775
[7] http://www.change.org/petitions/view/demand_target_stop_donating_to_anti-gay_politicians
Read more [365 Gay]
MSNBC's Brewer Hits Breitbart for Appearing at Political Fundraiser, But She's ... - NewsBusters (blog)
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Gay rights are civil rights. Gay rights are human rights and given the invitation to speak, I could not, in good conscience, remain silent. ...
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Coffey Talk: Fairness Over Louisville - WHAS 11.com (subscription)
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NJ Supreme Court declines gay marriage case filed by six same-sex couples - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
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National organization rallies against gay marriage - Chicago Tribune
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'Be sceptical and daring': Peter Tatchell's honorary doctorate acceptance speech
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell was awarded an honorary doctorate for his human rights work by Sussex University last week. This is his acceptance speech.
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N.J. Court Rejects Marriage Case
The New Jersey Supreme Court will not hear a case filed by six same-sex couples seeking the right to marry without the lawsuit first making its way through the lower courts.
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DC marriage victory: Supreme Court and Congress still loom - Keen News Service
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In Lima, Maggie Gallagher Calls Gay Marriage Backers Haters - On Top Magazine
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