The New York Times covers the recent arrests of gay men at NYC adult video stores. Members of the LGBT community are upset and believe that police are targeting gay men with trumped up prostitution charges.
The Times also wrote on the vandalism at the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Center, which was ruled out as a hate crime last week.
In France, civil unions created for gay couples are being used by straight couples as an in-between status for those who aren’t quite ready for marriage.
The anti-gay bishop who called Hurricane Katrina “God’s punishment” for gay sin in New Orleans has withdrawn his nomination to become auxiliary bishop.
“All My Children” featured daytime TV’s first-ever lesbian wedding yesterday between characters Bianca and Reese.
Financial advisor Suze Orman delivered a Valentine’s Day message on her show arguing that same-sex couples should be able to marry.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day from the Pride Agenda
Openly gay musician Matt Alber's moving new music video for his song "End of the World" captures the essence of the complex and enduring nature of love for everyone, including same-sex couples. We hope you enjoy it, and pass it along to your loved ones, friends and family.
Morning Sweep
Capital News 9 in Albany covered yesterday’s Freedom to Marry rally at the city marriage bureau, reporting that marriage equality supporters need to stay active for marriage to pass this year. Gothamist and Gay City News have more.
In Hawaii, a measure to make civil unions legally equivalent to marriages of straight couples has been approved by the state House and will now go to the Senate for consideration.
In Washington, a similar bill has passed the House Judiciary Committee and will now be go to the House floor for a vote in the coming weeks.
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of 15-year-old Lawrence King’s murder by his classmate in Oxnard, California. A vigil was held at his high school in his honor.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has appointed a special committee to study the issue of civil unions.
Out comedian Wanda Sykes has been chosen to entertain at Obama’s White House correspondents’ dinner in May.
In Hawaii, a measure to make civil unions legally equivalent to marriages of straight couples has been approved by the state House and will now go to the Senate for consideration.
In Washington, a similar bill has passed the House Judiciary Committee and will now be go to the House floor for a vote in the coming weeks.
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of 15-year-old Lawrence King’s murder by his classmate in Oxnard, California. A vigil was held at his high school in his honor.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has appointed a special committee to study the issue of civil unions.
Out comedian Wanda Sykes has been chosen to entertain at Obama’s White House correspondents’ dinner in May.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Morning Sweep
Same-sex marriage supporters rallied in several states at city marriage bureaus (including NYC’s) this morning as a part of Freedom to Marry Week.
The largest school district in Minnesota has finally done away with its decade-old anti-gay policy, which read “Homosexuality [will] not be taught/addressed as a normal, valid lifestyle.” The new policy directs school teachers and staff to treat LGBT subjects “in a respectful manner that is age-appropriate, factual, and pertinent to the relevant curriculum.”
A hatefully anti-gay infomercial produced by the American Family Association slated to run on a Grand Rapids TV station has been pulled amid controversy and rescheduling issues.
The largest school district in Minnesota has finally done away with its decade-old anti-gay policy, which read “Homosexuality [will] not be taught/addressed as a normal, valid lifestyle.” The new policy directs school teachers and staff to treat LGBT subjects “in a respectful manner that is age-appropriate, factual, and pertinent to the relevant curriculum.”
A hatefully anti-gay infomercial produced by the American Family Association slated to run on a Grand Rapids TV station has been pulled amid controversy and rescheduling issues.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Freedom to Marry Week
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This week is the 12th annual Freedom to Marry Week. Each year around Valentine’s Day, Freedom to Marry Week gives LGBT advocates and allies across the country an opportunity to be vocal about why marriage equality matters to everyone.
Tomorrow morning, the Pride Agenda will join Marriage Equality New York and Join the Impact at the Manhattan Marriage License Bureau to raise awareness of the harm done to same-sex couples when they are denied access to the 1,324 rights and responsibilities that come with a New York State marriage license.
WHAT: Freedom to Marry Day
WHEN: Thursday, February 12 at 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
WHERE: Manhattan Marriage License Bureau, 141 Worth St. (at Centre St.), Manhattan
WHEN: Thursday, February 12 at 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
WHERE: Manhattan Marriage License Bureau, 141 Worth St. (at Centre St.), Manhattan
For more Freedom to Marry Week events in New York that the Pride Agenda and other organizations are holding in your community, click here.
Morning Sweep
Former eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman launched her campaign for governor of California yesterday. Whitman supported Prop. 8, but says she has nothing against civil unions or gay adoptions, and says the same-sex couples married in CA before the election shouldn’t have their status taken away.
Although both gay candidates in Fort Lauderdale’s mayoral election were defeated yesterday, there’s good news: the winner – former Florida state Rep. Jack Seiler (D) – supports gay rights and replaces former mayor Jim Naugle, who was staunchly anti-gay.
The ACLU is suing a Florida high school for refusing to allow students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.
LGBT-owned business are mostly suffering in this economy – except for the gay nightlife. Cheers!
Although both gay candidates in Fort Lauderdale’s mayoral election were defeated yesterday, there’s good news: the winner – former Florida state Rep. Jack Seiler (D) – supports gay rights and replaces former mayor Jim Naugle, who was staunchly anti-gay.
The ACLU is suing a Florida high school for refusing to allow students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.
LGBT-owned business are mostly suffering in this economy – except for the gay nightlife. Cheers!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Morning Sweep
Police have arrested and charged four young adults for last week’s vandalism of the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Center, and have determined that the destruction was not a hate crime.
New York representative Jerrold Nadler will reintroduce a federal bill on Thursday that would allow gay Americans to sponsor their foreign-born domestic partners for U.S. citizenship.
Elena Kagan, current Harvard Law School Dean and Obama’s nominee for the nation’s solicitor general (the attorney who represents the government before the Supreme Court and the nation’s appeals courts), is very opposed to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Kagan has called the military’s ban on gays “a moral injustice of the first order,” adding, “The importance of the military to our society—and the extraordinary service that members of the military provide to all the rest of us—makes this discrimination more, not less, repugnant.”
Massachusetts has changed its policies for changing gender on state driver’s licenses; a transgender person now needs only to fill out a form signed by a doctor confirming their gender identification, and will no longer have to provide proof of sexual reassignment surgery or an amended birth certificate.
Fort Lauderdale residents are casting their ballot today for a new mayor, and two of the four candidates are openly gay.
Arizona’s new domestic partnership registry will give same-sex couples hospital visitation rights. A couple interviewed for the story sums it up best: "It's sad that we have to deem this a huge deal, but this is a step in the right direction. Progress is progress."
New York representative Jerrold Nadler will reintroduce a federal bill on Thursday that would allow gay Americans to sponsor their foreign-born domestic partners for U.S. citizenship.
Elena Kagan, current Harvard Law School Dean and Obama’s nominee for the nation’s solicitor general (the attorney who represents the government before the Supreme Court and the nation’s appeals courts), is very opposed to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Kagan has called the military’s ban on gays “a moral injustice of the first order,” adding, “The importance of the military to our society—and the extraordinary service that members of the military provide to all the rest of us—makes this discrimination more, not less, repugnant.”
Massachusetts has changed its policies for changing gender on state driver’s licenses; a transgender person now needs only to fill out a form signed by a doctor confirming their gender identification, and will no longer have to provide proof of sexual reassignment surgery or an amended birth certificate.
Fort Lauderdale residents are casting their ballot today for a new mayor, and two of the four candidates are openly gay.
Arizona’s new domestic partnership registry will give same-sex couples hospital visitation rights. A couple interviewed for the story sums it up best: "It's sad that we have to deem this a huge deal, but this is a step in the right direction. Progress is progress."
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