News Briefs 1/22/2009
Gays in Space, I mean, Political Office
Out police sergeant fights to stay on ballot for mayoral bid [in Calumet City, IL], GayPolitics.com.
Oregon LGBT publication urges mayor to resign, The Advocate.
Oregon AG to investigate gay mayor’s affair with intern, 365gay.com.
States/Local
Midlevel NY court upholds gay marriage benefits, Newsday.com.
Gay Dallas man files Texas’ first same-sex divorce petition, Dallas Voicee, John Wright. There’s no way we’d approve marriage equality at this time, but maybe we’ll pioneer gay divorce.
LGBT rights bill filed in Florida, 365gay.com.
Briefing concludes in Prop 8 legal challenge, Equality California.
International
Bolivia to vote on new Constitution with protections for women and sexual minorities, Queers United.
Miscellaneous
Being seen and heard right now: Equality on Campus Day, Brick Weekly, Cesca Janece Waterfield.
‘Milk’ earns 8 Academy Award nominations, Gay Rights Watch, Bryan Boyd.
Op-Ed: Equality v. Subservience, The Globe and Mail, Lynda Lange, Letter to the Editor. I find the question of polygamy challenging. Opponents of marriage equality claim that same-sex marriage is a slippery slope into the legalization of polygamy, incest and bestiality. The last two are ridiculous, but polygamy…? This short letter makes a pithy and succinct case for marriage equality but against polygamy.
Excerpts from the above headlines follow:
Gays in Space, I mean, Political Office
Out police sergeant fights to stay on ballot for mayoral bid [in Calumet City, IL]
Openly lesbian Police Sergeant Pam Cap is fighting to stay on the ballot for mayor in this year’s election in Calumet City, Ill. According to the The Times, Cap’s attorneys filed a challenge in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, stating that the Calumet City electoral board gave too broad of an interpretation of the limits of police involvement in politics.
Oregon LGBT publication urges mayor to resign
Portland’s LGBT publication is calling for the city’s recently elected gay mayor, Sam Adams, to resign after he admitted last week to lying during his campaign about a relationship he had with a teenage boy who may have been a minor at the time.
Oregon AG to investigate gay mayor’s affair with intern
The state’s attorney general agreed Wednesday to investigate claims made by the mayor of Portland that he lied to cover up a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old boy.
States/Local
Midlevel NY court upholds gay marriage benefits
A midlevel appeals court has upheld New York’s policy granting health benefits to spouses of gay state workers legally married outside the state.
Gay Dallas man files Texas’ first same-sex divorce petition
A gay Dallas man who married his husband in 2006 when they lived in Massachusetts has filed what is believed to be Texas’ first same-sex divorce petition.
The petition, filed Wednesday, Jan. 21 in Dallas County’s 302nd District Court, sets up a legal showdown over whether Texas courts can grant divorces to same-sex couples who’ve married in other states.
LGBT rights bill filed in Florida
For the third year in a row, state Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) has filed legislation to update Florida’s laws covering employment, housing and public accommodations to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Briefing concludes in Prop 8 legal challenge
In the last round of an expedited briefing schedule, final briefs were filed today by both petitioners and respondents in the lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. The briefs filed today by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU responded to the more than 60 amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” briefs filed in the case last week.
International
Bolivia to vote on new Constitution with protections for women and sexual minorities.
Bolivia will hold a nationwide referendum this Sunday for its constituents to decide whether to approve or reject a new version of the country’s constitution.
The new constitution if enacted would create major changes with regards to women’s rights, sexual/gender minorities, and religious liberties.
Miscellaneous
Being seen and heard right now: Equality on Campus Day
On Jan. 27, students at Virginia Commonwealth University and colleges nationwide will gather on campus for a group photo while wearing a specially-designed tee shirt affirming their motto, Together as One. It’s a unique way to show solidarity in the struggle for LGBT rights and marriage equality, unite supporters, and educate the public. By encouraging Equality on Campus Day, organizers hope to ensure equal opportunity everywhere.
‘Milk’ earns 8 Academy Award nominations
Milk is among the leading Oscar nominees in major categories with 8 nominations. Amazing, but not surprising.
Op-Ed: Equality v. Subservience
Extending marriage to include same-sex unions is an extension of rights and equality. Polygamy is a reduction of the rights and equality of women; a wife who is one in a group of wives is clearly not the partner and equal of the husband.
