Tag: equality

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Barbara Bush supports marriage equality

Barbara Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush, has taped a video urging the passage of marriage equality in NY State.

From the NY Times article: “Ms. Bush is the latest child of a prominent Republican leader to embrace same-sex marriage, long considered anathema to the conservative movement. Gay rights advocates have been quick to seize on the generational split as evidence that the acceptance of same-sex marriage is blind to party affiliation and family values.”

Marriage equality advocates point to other children of prominent Republican politicians who have also embraced the idea and fairness of same-sex marriage. Among those are Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain, and Mary Cheney, daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney.

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Progress on DADT Repeal

In a memo released Friday, the Pentagon outlined plans for the steps being taken to repeal DADT, and it seems to be moving in a fairly decent pace.

Reports say high level Pentagon officials are meeting every two weeks to gauge progress and potential problems. “The conditions on the ground would dictate how fast we go,” Stanley said at the Pentagon briefing. “To even imply that we have a target to do it by this date would be a misnomer. In essence we are going to move responsibly, quickly but deliberately as we go through the process.” Training will be extensive and the changes will take place at the same time in all branches of the military, according to Defense Sec. Gates.

However, full equality will be hampered by conflicting laws still on the books. Due to the Defense of Marriage Act, the military is forbidden to extend many of the same benefits other married couples have available to same sex couples, such as housing allowances, medical care, travel and other privileges.

This is just one more good reason to abolish DOMA as it creates inequality for many of our men and women in the armed forces. If you can put your life on the line for your country, you should have the same rights and privileges as all soldiers. If marriage, as many argue, is a “state’s rights” issue, then the Federal government shouldn’t have laws on the books like DOMA that have a Federal reach.

The Pentagon has said it’s possible all military privileges could be extended to same sex couples in the future. We’ll have to keep an eye out for news on that.

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Illinois Gov. to sign Civil Unions into law today

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will sign the recently passed Civil Unions bill today at a signing ceremony at the Chicago Cultural Center at 4pm. With Quinn’s signature Illinois becomes the twelfth U.S. state or district to grant legal recognition to same-sex relationships through either civil unions or marriage. “It is great for Illinois and the advancement of true equality,” state Rep. Deborah Mell (D-Chicago) told ChicagoPride.com. Mell made an emotional plea to her colleagues as the civil union bill was coming up for a vote. “I am thrilled the the governor is signing this important bill into law,” said Equality Illinois co-founder and long time gay rights advocate Rick Garcia. “This bill brings us one step closer to full Equality in Illinois.” The new law becomes effective June 1, 2011.

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Message from the Marines Commandant to all Marines regarding DADT

OK, so I’ll admit this gave me a lump in my throat. Just to hear the message of tolerance and respect from General James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Sgt. Maj. Carlton W. Kent, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is pretty inspiring. This is a military we can all be proud of.

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Hawaii: State Senate approves Civil Unions

The capitol building in Hawaii

The state senate of Hawaii approved a bill for civil unions The state senate of Hawaii just approved a bill for civil unions by a margin of 19-6.  Now the bill goes to the state House for approval.  Good news for everyone. Gov. Abercrombie has said he supports civil unions and will sign the bill. Update: LGBT advocates applaud passage of marriage equality in Hawaii