This is from Box Turtle Bulletin’s Daily Agenda, and I thought it was interesting. As we struggle today for same-sex marriage and full equality, it may be helpful to remember that it wasn’t that many years ago, when there was very little gay visibility, let alone public support for our basic civil rights. My, how far we have come, even if we still have farther to go! I have never been to Gay Days at[Read More…]
The Ninth Circuit was not really asked if it as a whole body supports Prop 8 or not. It was merely asked if it wanted to re-hear the appeal. The reason it would re-hear the appeal would be if, a majority of the judges felt that the both sides had not had a fair trail in the first appeal before the three judge panel. Today’s actions merely mean that the whole court, or a majority of the 26 justices believed that the three panel judgement was fair, reasoned and based on sound judicial principles.
The linked story is an excellent read concerning what today’s ruling means: Assuming that the proponents will seek Supreme Court review of their appellate loss, they would file a petition for a writ of certiorari. The plaintiffs and the state defendants — who have opposed Proposition 8’s constitutionality — as well as outside groups and individuals would then be able to file a response to the proponents’ filing. The Supreme Court, which generally recesses for the[Read More…]
This afternoon at 1PM, Pittsburgh time, the Ninth circuit is expected to announce if a larger number of judges will re-hear the Prop 8 appeal. The best write up of this I have read, is Chris Geidner’s in MewtroWeekly. Check it out to understand what the various outcomes might mean.
Today, I’ll be calling Wisconsin Democrats as part of the GOTV effort in the Walker recall election. The GOP understands why this is a crucial win for them. If they can keep Walker in office, the Union leading progressives have no real strength, and the same energy that went into busting collective bargaining, women’s rights, and education, will spread even further. If Walker remains in office, the OWS movement and all other progressive efforts in[Read More…]
The court ruled against Speaker of the House John Boehner’s hand-picked lawyer for theBLAG, Paul Clement, whom U.S. taxpayers are paying up to $1.5 million to defend DOMA. With this ruling, now five federal court judges have declared DOMA unconstitutional. This quote came from the NCRM blog and an article about how another Federal Court has called DOMA unconstitutional. The linked article is a great read, but the point I want to address deals specifically[Read More…]
I encourage you to think abouyt this as a form of LGBTQ activism. Imagine, this is most likely the closest you will ever be to a large number of members of the PPD. You will have much opportunity to share your perspectives as lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, or allied supporters, and these are perspectives that these same members of the force probably don’t hear very often. Your participation provides opportunities to the Pittsburgh Police to learn about the needs of the LGBTQ community, and understand how their actions and the ways they do things impacts the LGBTQ community.
Follow the URL below to find out more about the Pittsburgh Queer Music and Performance Festival to be held June 23rd from 3PM-1AM! Here is what I received in an email about it: The idea behind it, and the reason we feel it’s so important to put on an all day queer music festival in Pittsburgh, is to help the queer music scene in Pittsburgh grow by supporting and strengthening our community and to provide a[Read More…]
There is a Facebook event for the GLCC Volunteer Drive: In honor of Harvey Milk’s Birthday, the GLCC is starting a volunteer Drive! We are having two Trainings to start off. This event is for the first one one! We are looking for folks who are interested helping with the day to day operations of the GLCC, Creating and implementing programs, recruitment of other volunteers or just want to get involved and don’t know where to[Read More…]
Chris Brown slams gay rumors as ‘lies’: Is Raz B homophobic? The LGBTQ community should not be silent on this, and the point isn’t about Chris Brown’s sexual orientation. Rather, we can not let anyone slam gay people in general by suggesting a link between violence against women and sexual orientation.