Friday, August 22, 2008

Morning Sweep

The Otsego County Board of Representatives voted last night to nullify the ban on providing health coverage for the same-sex spouses of county employees. The benefits had been taken away by County Treasurer Myrna Thayne, supposedly to “save the taxpayers money.”

Even though same-sex marriage is now legal in California and Massachusetts, a little-discussed provision of the federal ENDA bill would not require employers to offer spousal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

The Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon has become the first American Indian tribe in the U.S. to adopt a law recognizing same-sex marriage.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal doesn’t see the need to renew an executive order banning discrimination against gay and lesbian state employees that was enacted four years ago.

A group of 24 men have been charged with sexual misconduct in Alabama after a sting at a local scenic outlook. The men could be added to the sex offenders registry, but the local media has already decided to take matters into their own hands and try them in the court of biased, hateful public opinion by publishing all of their names, ages and hometowns.

An op-ed in Gay City News emphasizes the importance of the gay vote in the upcoming election.

Lots of polling going on lately: One new poll found that 65% of voters would be willing to support an openly-gay president.

Yet another shows a large increase in the number of social conservatives who think that the church should stay out of political matters.

And unfortunately, a recent study reveals that more than a third of transgender military veterans have experienced discrimination because of their gender identity.

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