On Friday the Supreme Court of the United States announced its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. The majority (Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan) held that the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantee marriage equality for same-sex couples in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States. The USA is now one of 21 countries with nationwide marriage equality.
Archive for the ‘GLBT’ Category
Supreme Court: Love Wins, 5 to 4.
June 27, 2015Indiana Welcomes … Some of You!
March 28, 2015
The Indiana legislature passed a law, and Republican Governor Mike Pence is so proud of it that he boldly signed it when no one was looking. The so-called ‘Religious Freedom Restoraction Act‘ grants individuals and businesses the right to discriminate against people unlike them and claim their religion mandates their bigotry.
Wholesome, honest-to-goodness Hoosier intolerance. Who could be against that?
Everyone. The ACLU. The Disciples of Christ. The NCAA. The Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. USA Track & Field. NASCAR. Corporations like Yelp, Salesforce, Ennis Communications, Cummins, Angie’s List, Twitter, Subaru, General Electric and Indianapolis-based pharma giant Eli Lilly & Company. The mayors of Indianapolis, South Bend, Evansville, Washington DC, Seattle and San Francisco. The governors of Connecticut, New York, and Washington. U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL). Annual conventions like the AFSCME Conference and the $50 million Gen Con. The editors of the Indianapolis Star. Tim Cook. Audra McDonald. Miley Cyrus. Larry King. Charles Barkley. Nick Offerman. David Letterman. Wilco. Ashton Kutcher. Arnold Schwarzenegger. And many more.
There’s a petition, a boycott movement, and this:
Alabama Probate Judges Get Remedial Legal Education
February 15, 2015
On January 23rd Federal District Judge Callie Granade struck down two Alabama state laws banning same-sex marriage. On February 8th Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered state probate judges to ignore the Federal court ruling. On February 9th the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stay the District Court’s decision. On February 12th Judge Granade ordered the Mobile County Probate Judge to issue licenses to same-sex couples, and he complied. But while judges in 23 Alabama counties were issuing licenses to all couples, those in 18 counties were only licencing straight couples and 26 counties weren’t issuing any licenses at all. What gives?
Endangered Species: Lesbian Bars
September 13, 2014
“’West Hollywood does not have a lesbian bar anymore. Philadelphia doesn’t have one. Houston doesn’t have one, and I could go on and on,’ Clements [playwright and journalist Alexis Clements] explains. She noted the decline of lesbian and feminist venues of all sorts. ‘That ranges from feminist bookstores, to bars, to arts organizations. All of these spaces are kind of going through a variety of different struggles that in some way are similar.’
In response to this decline, Clements re-adjusted her original theater tour, and will now be combining play readings with documenting some of the remaining lesbian spaces.
But Clements notes these struggles may actually reflect positive changes — people don’t need a lesbian bar as a refuge, because the culture at large is more accepting.”
— “The disappearance of lesbian bars may signal change,” Deena Prichep, Marketplace.org
The theater tour didn’t include Washington’s Phase 1 on Barracks Row, said to be the oldest continually operating lesbian bar in the USA, but Ms. Clements tells us she hopes to show the completed film there.
More:
“Unknown Play Project – Documentary Film,” Alexis Clements, Hatchfund.org
Unknown Play Project website
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Idaho Same-Sex Marriage Ban Struck Down
May 14, 2014
Federal Chief Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale has declared Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional and ordered the state to allow same-sex couples to marry and to recognize the marriages of couples who wed in other states.
Federal Government Recognizes Utah Marriages
January 10, 2014
The U.S. Government recognizes 1,300 Utah same-sex marriages, even though the state government refuses to. Couples rushed to the altar in December after a Federal judge ruled that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage violated the U.S. Constitution. A Federal appeals court refused to halt the weddings until it hears the case, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay, putting the status of the earlier marriages in question.
Today Attorney General Eric Holder announced that, as far as Federal benefits, taxes, and laws are concerned the 1,300 gay couples are married:
Portman: Conversion of Convenience
March 15, 2013
Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) bravely decided to reverse his staunch opposition, and support same-sex marriage.
After his son came out.
Two years after.
A half-year after he was passed over as GOP vice presidential candidate.
9 years after voting for a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.
17 years after voting for the anti-equality Defense of Marriage Act.
Free Elmo!
November 14, 2012
“The man who accused Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer of the Sesame Street character Elmo, of an under-age sexual relationship has recanted that claim, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
The reversal came a day after the claim was published by the gossip Web site TMZ, threatening Mr. Clash’s reputation and alarming parents and other fans of the beloved children’s television franchise.”
Maryland Chooses Love
November 7, 2012
In a remarkable act of decency and understanding, the voters of the state of Maryland approved legal status for same-sex civil marriage. In a political year marked by hate speech and fear-mongering, it’s a significant triumph for tolerance and love.
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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Mary Cheney Marries
June 23, 2012
It was a June wedding for Mary Cheney and her longtime partner Heather Poe in Washington DC last Friday. The happy couple, who have two children, were congratulated by Ms. Cheney’s father, former vice president Dick Cheney.
Ms. Cheney, a conservative political consultant, and Ms. Poe, a former park ranger, met 20 years ago while playing ice hockey. The two live in Virginia but married in the District of Columbia, one of six U.S. jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal.
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Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
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