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News (USA)
HRC declares the ‘fall of the empire opposed to same-sex marriage’
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign on Thursday highlighted a new milestone in the march toward full marriage equality, declaring the fall of the empire opposed to same-sex marriage. Widespread losses, sagging poll numbers, and poor investments make it difficult to see how national groups like the so-called National Organization for Marriage remain viable, according […]
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Commentary
A message to conservative Christians: Evolve on LGBT equality
As public opinion shifts, churches that do not fully affirm LGBT people will leave many in their flock behind. Scripture that is void of compassion is merely words, and our ability to have compassion for every human being is critical to our faith and in an increasingly diverse world. If conservative Christians cannot stomach this evolution, they should not be surprised if progressive Christian traditions, like the U.S. Episcopal Church, gain more traction in society. For some, this is a necessary consequence to maintaining their biblical interpretation on homosexuality, but this shift should not be depicted as a decline of Christian beliefs in our society.
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News (USA)
Lawmakers, advocates gather to show support for Va. anti-discrimination bill
RICHMOND, Va. — Senators and LGBT organizers gathered at the Virginia General Assembly on Thursday to announce and show support for SB701 — a law that would re-introduce sexual orientation into the list of protected classes for state employees. “LGBT Virginians aren’t asking for special treatment, we are just asking for the right to work […]
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News (USA)
Air Force sergeant discharged under DADT to participate in inauguration
A former U.S. Air Force sergeant, who was kicked out of the military in 2002 and eventually went to work for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” will be one of eight featured “citizen co-chairs” of President Barack Obama’s inauguration on Monday. The “citizen co-chairs” role was created to highlight Obama’s first-term accomplishments with […]
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News (USA)
Lawyers from LGBT group to join U.S. Supreme Court bar
WASHINGTON (AP) — An organization of gay and lesbian lawyers says 30 of its members will be sworn into the Supreme Court bar in a courtroom ceremony next week. The National LGBT Bar Association says it’s the first time it will take part in the mass swearing-in that occurs on most days the court is […]
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News (USA)
Man arrested on felony hate crime charge for anti-gay graffiti at UC Berkeley
BERKELEY, Calif. — A California man faces a felony hate crime charge after officers spotted him spray painting anti-gay graffiti on campus buildings at the University of California-Berkeley. Anthony Garcia, 23, of Huntington Park, Calif., was booked on a hate crime charge after officers caught him following a foot chase on Saturday night, reported the […]
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News (USA)
Wyoming lawmaker introduces same-sex unions bill to bipartisan support
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Two same-sex marriage/civil union bills introduced in the Wyoming legislature this week by the state’s only openly lesbian lawmaker are receiving bipartisan support. State Rep. Cathy Connolly (D-Laramie) is sponsoring House Bill 168, which broadens domestic partnerships, and accompanying bill HB 169, which defines marriage as a civil contract between “two natural […]
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News (USA)
Anti-gay pastor: Government must ‘remove homosexuals from society’
LARKSPUR, Colo. — The pastor of an independent Presbyterian church in suburban Colorado Springs, told a local television station that he equates homosexuals to child molesters, cannibals, and rapists. Pastor David Beuhner of Christ the King Church in Larkspur, Colo., has called for discrimination against the LGBT community as Colorado lawmakers revisit same-sex civil unions […]
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News (USA)
Puerto Rico to consider LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination bill
Puerto Rico’s legislature is expected to approve a long sought-after bill that would make it a crime to discriminate against people based on their gender or sexual orientation.
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News (USA)
Episcopal priest to replace anti-gay pastor for inaugural benediction
The pastor of the Episcopal parish known as “the church of the presidents” will give the benediction at President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
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News (USA)
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signs petition supporting marriage equality
CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel has signed the “ILove Marriage” petition, pledging his support for legalizing same-sex marriage in Illinois, according to an announcement by Lambda Legal. “Mayor Emanuel has been on the forefront in advocating for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Illinois, we’re very pleased that he’s taken the step of […]
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News (World)
UK police accused of wrongly taking DNA of gay men
In 1983, Stephen Close was arrested, jailed and expelled from the British army for having sex with a male squad mate. Three decades later, police tracked him down to the northern England city of Salford and demanded a sample of his DNA.
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News (USA)
Smallest state is big battleground on same-sex marriage
Hundreds of supporters of same-sex marriage rights assembled at the Rhode Island Statehouse on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to make the nation’s smallest state the 10th to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed — and the last to do so in New England.
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News (USA)
Oregon, California regulators require transgender health coverage
Regulators in Oregon and California have quietly directed some health insurance companies to stop denying coverage for transgender patients because of their gender identity.
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News (USA)
Hagel commits to extending partner benefits to gay troops
Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has committed to extending partners benefits “permissible under current law” to gay service members as part of attempts to allay concerns among Democratic senators about his potential performance as Pentagon chief. In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Hagel responds to queries the California Democrat apparently expressed on issues […]
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Commentary
Evangelicals confuse ‘freedom’ with free rein to insult others
For fifty years, Bob Jones University, in Greenville, S.C., prohibited interracial dating and Bob Jones Jr. once claimed that Catholicism was a “satanic counterfeit” of fundamentalist Christianity.
Despite the ugly rhetoric and vile policies, Republican candidates regularly flocked to the school and groveled for its endorsement. The GOP luminaries who appeared at the university include Ronald Reagan, Dan Quayle, and Bob Dole.
This ignoble political ritual ended in 2000 after presidential candidate George W. Bush was excoriated for appearing at the school…
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News (USA)
House GOP leadership quietly increases cap on DOMA defense to $3 million
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives’ continuing effort to defend the federal “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) will soon reach $3 million. Late Monday, House Democrats learned that Republican leadership had again privately raised the spending cap with attorney Paul Clement and the Washington-based law firm Bancroft LLC to defend DOMA in the U.S. […]
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News (USA)
San Francisco lawmaker proposes renaming airport after Harvey Milk
A San Francisco lawmaker on Tuesday will introduce legislation seeking to rename San Francisco International Airport for slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk. A charter amendment by Supervisor David Campos would place the proposal to rename the airport as Harvey Milk-San Francisco International Airport, and if approved, the city would become home to the world’s […]
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News (USA)
Gay judge confirmed by Va. General Assembly after being rejected last year
RICHMOND, Va. — The GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday voted to confirm the interim appointment of an openly gay judge to the Richmond General District Court. Judge Tracy Thorne-Begland will remain on the bench after being approved in the House by a margin of 66-28, with one abstention and five members not voting […]
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News (USA)
Same-sex marriage takes center stage in Rhode Island state House
Same-sex marriage takes center stage in the Rhode Island state legislature on Tuesday as the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to review a proposed marriage equality bill. The committee is expected to hear several hours of testimony this evening from gay marriage supporters and opponents. Supporters of the bill, which includes Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) […]