Equality PA, the ACLU, and the Human Rights Campaign has been co-sponsoring a series of town hall events across Pennsylvania following the election last November. Two such events are slated for Western PA in the coming weeks. Ted Martin, the executive director of EQPA was a guest on my BlogTalk Radio program last week, and he talked about the purpose of the town halls, especially given the climate in Harrisburg, now that the Republicans control[Read More…]
The anti-gay forces are fighting like crazy on every front in their battle against same-sex marriage. In the case of California, the current knee-jerk sound-bite is, “the will of the people.” The premise is captured perfectly in this tweet: SaveOurNation: Can an attorney general and a governor veto the voice of the ballot box…the voice of the people [as in California’s Prop. 8 case]? This is the perfect fear-mongering/ hate speech sound-bite. On a surface[Read More…]
Saw this on the blog, Talk About Equality, link below. Now, in 2011, there’s a new crown-hopeful who is making waves. Miss New York, our very own Claire Buffie has chosen as her platform, LGBT Equality. This is the first time in 90 years that a contestant is standing up for the equal rights of a community that has helped make the Miss America Pageant what it is today. We frequently talk about the need[Read More…]
January 5, 2011 – Allentown, PA – Pennsylvania Diversity Network (PDN) praises the Allentown City Council Human Resources, Administration, and Appointments Committee passage of landmark civil rights legislation to grant equal benefits to same-sex partners of City employees. The committee, chaired by Councilwoman Jeanette Eichenwald, passed the legislation with a unanimous recommendation to the full Council to begin review of the bill. More than 50 supporters attended the meeting and only 3 people spoke against[Read More…]
When talking about same-sex marriage, it is often a muddy subject where the religious and the civil collide or overlap. But when discussing, a state’s recognition of a same-sex marriage in another state, the dialogue is free from the religious discourse.
So many activists are busy screaming about equality and equal rights, and that isn’t really a bad thing. But if we don’t do more to voice how our rights are connected the the founding and foundational documents of our states as well as our country, we may as well be screaming where no one can hear us. The very nature of everything we hold as Americans is up for grabs, if the constitutionality of laws doesn’t matter.
Ginny LaRoe, writing on Legal Pad offers further comment about the status of the Pro 8 Appeals case, currently before the Federal Ninth Circuit panel of judges. Here is my earlier recap/commentary on the state of the case. LaRoe writes about how a Washington DC ruling could offer the Californai panel direction in the question of if the Prop 8 proponents have standing. She writes: With the panel judges on the Prop 8 appeal so[Read More…]
Update: The charges seem to be 6 acts of child molestation (http://sfist.com/2011/01/03/pastor_who_backed_prop_8_held_on_se.php) The link below is to the Advocate.com, and a short post about a pastor accused of  child molestation who is now being held in a Sacramento County jail. On first read, I thought the tone of the piece was to fault the church board for supporting the pastor, but after reading it a few times, I’m not sure about that anymore. Unfortunately, the[Read More…]
Update 8:10 PM This is from David Badash: At this afternoon’s GOP debate, during which five candidates are vying to be elected GOP Chair, the second question, after the obligatory, “What would you focus on?,â€Â came from a representative of the Susan B. Anthony List, Marjorie Dannenfelser, who said that the GOP should not have “some sort of truce on social issues.†She claimed that 80% of Republicans support traditional marriage, and added, “certain Republican elites try to[Read More…]
Bills like this are going to be showing up all over the place in a concerted and strategized way, supported by big money and groups like the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). Because of the recent wins for Marriage Equality on all fronts, they are stepping up there efforts to get anti-gay legislation on the books in as many states as they can, and get that legislation as deep into the constitution as they can get it.