Tag: LGBT

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Oregon elects first openly lesbian Speaker of the House

The Democratic majority in Oregon’s House of Representatives is set to name openly gay state Rep. Tina Kotek as their new leader tonight.

Openly gay leaders will control legislative chambers in five states, according to the AP, up from two before the election last week. Senator Ed Murray, who is openly gay, was elected majority leader in neighboring Washington this week, while Rep. Mark Ferrandino was elected Colorado House speaker.

Oregon’s KATU offers more from Kotek herself:

Kotek said she didn’t set out to break barriers but is honored to represent the gay community. It’s important for the gay community to have role models in leadership positions, she said.

“We all look for people out there who look like us,” she said.

“I have had emails and text messages from people who are very excited,” Kotek said. “I think any time you have a ‘first’ it’s an important thing for the community.”

Denis Dison from Victory Fund, the national organization that backs LGBT candidates, said Kotek and her peers are just the latest example of LGBT Americans’ inclusion in the legislative system.

“For many years we were building a bench of openly gay officials who could step into those roles, and now we’re seeing that around the country,” he said.

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Yale LGBT alumni group creates video “invite” for Reunion Gala

Yale’s LGBT Alumni Association doesn’t fool around when they decide to send out an ‘invitation’ for their 2nd Annual LGBT Reunion Gala.

The video invite runs the gamut of gay anthems through in amazing musical/dance production of “Over the Rainbow”, Ma Rainey’s “Prove It On Me Blues”, “No More Tears”, “I’m Coming Out”, “Like a Prayer”, “I’m the Only One”, “Beautiful”, “Born This Way”, and “Love On Top.”

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Second Circuit Court finds DOMA unconstitutional

A seventh federal court has ruled against DOMA. From the Washington Blade:

A federal appeals court has ruled the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional in case filed by a New York widow who’s challenging the statute on the basis that it forced her to unfairly pay $363,000 in estate taxes.

The court ruled against Section 3 of DOMA on the basis that it violates equal protection under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The majority opinion came from Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs and Judge Christopher Droney.

“DOMA’s classification of same-sex spouses was not substantially related to an important government interest,” the decision states. “Accordingly, we hold that Section 3 of DOMA violates equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional.”

The plaintiff in the case, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, is 83-year-old lesbian Edith Windsor, who had to pay $363,000 in 2009 upon the death of her spouse, Thea Spyer, because DOMA prohibits the federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

The court also ruled that DOMA should be subject to heightened scrutiny, or a greater assumption that the law is unconstitutional, because, among other reasons, gays and lesbians have faced a history of discrimination and have a distinguishing characteristic from others.

(source)

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Mario Lopez catches heat for Chick-fil-A tweet

Mario Lopez poses in his new underwear line Rated M

Mario Lopez is catching some heat for tweeting about his affection of Chick-fil-A sandwiches, in spite of the recent uproar over the company’s anti-gay policies.

On October 7 the host of Extra tweeted, “Why does it seem like I always crave Chick-fil-A on Sundays?? #Frustrating.”

In January, Lopez spoke with The Advocate promoting his new underwear line, Rated M, to the gay community and praised his gay fans. When asked how gay fans are different from straight fans, Lopez said, “Gay fans are very loyal. And very cool. I’m honored to be embraced by the gay community. They’re the smartest and the hippest. They determine what’s hot out there.”

Is loyalty a one way street?  Hmm…

(source)

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Memphis City Council approves LGBT workplace protections

The Memphis City Council voted 9-4 to add sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of city workplace protections, the Memphis Flyer reports:

Councilman Reid Hedgepeth, a conservative who voted in favor of the ordinance last time, told the audience that harassment and robo-calls from the amendment’s opposition had only strengthened his resolve to vote in favor of the amendment again.

“One e-mail said ‘I hope you and your family burn in hell together.’ How is that for Christianity?” Hedgepeth asked.

Additionally, councilwoman Janis Fullilove proposed an amendment to the ordinance that added protections on the basis of “gender identity.” That amendment passed 9 to 4, as well. The only “no” votes on the “gender identity” amendment and the main motion to amend the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance came from council people Wanda Halbert, Bill Boyd, Kemp Conrad, and Joe Brown.

The council chambers were lively before the vote. Speaking for the opposition, a representative from the Family Action Council said the amendment’s passage would lead to protections for “grown men attracted to 12-year-old boys.” That elicited boos and gasps from the audience. Pastor Larry Hunter, who wore a Taekwondo uniform, said he didn’t “want to walk nowhere and see two mens [sic] kissing or two mens [sic] hugging.”

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Westboro Baptist Church members protest lesbian US soldiers’ funeral and stomp on American flag

From GuardianofValor.com:

So at the funeral today for Fallen Soldier Sgt. Johnson a Westboro member decided it would be smart to stomp on the American flag. A Soldier did not take kindly to that and broke through the line, hitting one of the protesters that was disgracing Old Glory.

As he was being arrested, two other Soldiers rescued the flag. The Soldier was not charged and later released.

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GLAAD: More LGBT characters on TV this year

LGBT representation on the five TV networks has risen from last year’s 2.9% to 4.4% according to GLAAD’s “Where We Are on TV” report.

ABC had the most LGBT characters on network TV while Showtime had the most on cable TV.

“This year’s increase of LGBT characters on television reflects a cultural change in the way gay and lesbian people are seen in our society,” said GLAAD president Herndon Graddick in the report. “More and more Americans have come to accept their LGBT family members, friends, coworkers, and peers, and as audiences tune into their favorite programs, they expect to see the same diversity of people they encounter in their daily lives.”

Read the whole report at GLAAD.

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Minnesota Vikings Chris Kluwe on MSNBC talks about his smackdown of Maryland lawmaker

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Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, whose blistering letter defending gay rights has made him a hero to the LGBT community, says he wrote it because “it’s an issue of free speech and civil rights.” Kluwe, whose brother in-law is gay, has been actively involved in the advertisements in support of marriage equality in Minnesota. He wrote the letter in response to Maryland House of Delegates member Emmett C. Burns Jr. who asked the owner of the Baltimore Ravens to censor players after linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo defended marriage equality. The Ravens released a statement saying, “We support Brendon’s right to freedom of speech under the first amendment.” Kluwe says he and Ayanbadejo haven’t yet spoken, but he hopes to soon. “I think it’s great the Ravens came out in support of him,” Kluwe says. “As athletes we have this very prominent platform where we can affect social change. It behooves all of us to do the right thing.” Via the Advocate