White House Site Updated With Lengthy List Of Commitments To LGBT Rights
Posted on Jan 21, 2009 at 11:02 am
January 20, 2009
Within seconds of President Obama's swearing in, the official home page of the White House was updated with a lengthy list of commitments to further LGBT rights. (Link)
Now, about marriage equality
Posted on Jan 21, 2009 at 10:43 am
January 21, 2009
The Los Angeles Times editorial board writes, "On the heels of Pastor Rick Warren's invocation, Obama should drop the semantics and acknowledge that denying marriage for same-sex couples is discriminatory." (Link)
OP-ED: Repealing so-called DOMA Will Ease the Warren Sting
Posted on Jan 07, 2009 at 11:00 am
January 7, 2009
Emma Ruby-Sachs encourages President-elect Obama to focus on repealing the so-called DOMA, saying that doing so "would be a great lift for LGBT Americans and would undo any animosity gay voters feel toward the new President [over choosing Rick Warren as an inaugural speaker]." [Link]
OPINION: No defending the Defense of Marriage Act
Posted on Jan 05, 2009 at 10:59 am
January 5, 2009
The author of the federal Defense of Marriage Act now thinks it's time for his law to get the boot -- but for political reasons, not in support of gay peoples' freedom to marry. [Link]
Letters to President-elect Obama: Evan Wolfson
Posted on Nov 24, 2008 at 08:40 am
November 24, 2008
For the for the December 16 issue of Advocate, Evan Wolfson writes, "Discrimination based on sexual orientation, particularly government denial of fundamental rights such as the freedom to marry, is not a gay problem. It is an American problem. And the cause of equal rights for all must always hold a preeminent claim on any president." [Link]
OP-ED: A federal bailout for Prop. 8
Posted on Nov 18, 2008 at 11:26 am
November 17, 2008
In 1992, by a 53%-47% split, Coloradans passed an amendment to their state Constitution that repealed laws in Aspen, Boulder and Denver that prohibited discrimination against gays. The amendment barred the state and its political subdivisions from adopting or enforcing any law "whereby homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships" are the basis of a claim of discrimination. Does this sound familiar? [Link]
Obama’s Change.Gov Website Features Comprehensive LGBT Agenda
Posted on Nov 18, 2008 at 10:14 am
November 18, 2008
"[T]he site, which echoes Obama's campaign positions, features a civil rights agenda for LGBT Americans more comprehensive than anything we've seen from an incoming president. There is no doubt, however, that demands for marriage equality from the masses will only grow stronger, and at a certain point the leader of this nation will need to take the proper route and stand behind equality in action and name for all Americans." [Link]
Don’t Deny Federal Rights to Legally Married Couples, Gay or Non-Gay
Posted on Oct 06, 2008 at 09:44 am
September 2008
As part of a larger publication entitled Gay Marriage Showdown, Evan Wolfson writes about how, in part, "Marriage is not 'defined' or 'defended' by who is denied it. In the United States, we don't have second-class citizens, and we shouldn't have second-class marriages." [Link]
Read more from Evan Wolfson.
Married Mass. Couple Still Separated by Immigration Laws
Posted on Aug 01, 2008 at 09:55 am
July 31, 2008
In February, Tim Coco, of Haverhill, Mass. was preparing to file an “I-130 Petition for Alien Relative,” on behalf of his husband, Genesio “Junior” Juanario Oliveira, whom Coco had seen once in the six months since immigration officials had order Oliveira back to his native Brazil, and six months later, the couple are still waiting to be reunited. [Link]
Richer or poorer
Posted on Jul 28, 2008 at 10:51 am
July 27, 2008
The federal government doesn't extend many standard divorce benefits to same-sex couples. Gay couples thus face financial consequences that heterosexual couples don't. The Chicago Tribune lists four of them. [Link]