tagged w/ Pride Month
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SAN FRANCISCO - Gay leaders say they are moving into campaign mode with an eye toward trying to repeal Proposition 8 at the ballot box as early as next year after the state Supreme Court upheld the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages.
"So the court has said we have to go back," said Geoffrey Kors, executive director of the gay rights group Equality California. "We believe the political drive, the momentum, is there to do that."
The door to gay marriage in California — opened with a 4-3 ruling by the same court last spring and closed by voters in November — remains blocked for now as a result of Tuesday's 6-1 decision. The court held that the ban, which passed with 52 percent of the vote, was a legal exercise of the virtually unfettered initiative power the California Constitution grants its citizens.
he court did refuse to nullify an estimated 18,000 marriages that took place before the ban was approved. For the couples involved, relief was mixed with a sense of being marginalized.
"It's a little strange to feel like we're part of a grandfathered minority," said Leanne Waldal, 38, wiping away tears after the ruling was announced. Waldal and her wife were married in Canada in 2007 and again in California in October. "I hoped they wouldn't invalidate our marriage, but I would rather be part of a full group."
'Voters have decided'
Gay marriage opponents, who in recent months have seen four more states join Massachusetts in extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians, praised the ruling.SAN FRANCISCO - Gay leaders say they are moving into campaign mode with an eye toward... more
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SAN FRANCISCO - California's highest court on Tuesday upheld the state's gay-marriage ban but allowed existing same-sex marriages to stand.
The California Supreme Court handed down its decision in a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn November's Proposition 8. Gay-rights advocates maintain the ballot measure so dramatically revised the state constitution's equal protection clause that it needed the Legislature's approval before it could be put to voters.
The seven-member court upheld the initiative as a constitutional expression of the electorate's will, but also decided to sustain the marriages of an estimated 18,000 gay couples who wed before the measure passed with 52 percent of the vote.
Source: MSNBCSAN FRANCISCO - California's highest court on Tuesday upheld the state's... more
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Breaking News: 10:01AM ET California's Supreme Court ruled today gay marriage is not legal in the most populous U.S. state, a key battleground in American culture wars. However in a split ruling, the court allows same sex marriages that where performed before Prop 8 will stand.
Passage of a gay marriage ban in a November California vote bucked the state's reputation as a liberal trendsetter and sparked national protests by gay advocates and congratulations among social conservatives.
A flurry of pro-gay marriage rulings and votes in Iowa and New England this year has reversed a trend toward banning them. Most U.S. states do not allow same-sex marriage, but both sides are gearing up for renewed battle, mostly at state ballot boxes.
Some leaders from both sides of the gay marriage issue have predicted that the California justices will uphold the ban but also allow approximately 18,000 same-sex marriages from last summer to stand.
California has an unusually strong direct democracy. Voters can decide virtually any issue through propositions and state constitutional amendments, such as the gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, which passed in November that ended gay marriage in California, which had begun in June 2008 after being legalized by the state supreme court.Breaking News: 10:01AM ET California's Supreme Court ruled today gay marriage is... more
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Equal Rights: Weathering The Storm - A Response To NOM's Gathering Storm (National Organization for Marriage)
Love Not Laws is a coalition of people of various ages, races, and beliefs, who came together to show solidarity and support for same-sex marriage. In response to videos that are circulating the internet that use fear and falsehoods to promote an offensive agenda of "separate and unequal", Love Not Laws created a video that was grounded in compassion, emotion, and heart.Equal Rights: Weathering The Storm - A Response To NOM's Gathering Storm... more
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Forty-two percent of Americans now say same sex couples should be allowed to legally marry, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds. That's up nine points from last month, when 33 percent supported legalizing same sex marriage.
Support for same sex marriage is now at its highest point since CBS News starting asking about it in 2004.
Twenty-eight percent say same sex couples should have no legal recognition – down from 35 percent in March – while 25 percent support civil unions, but not marriage, for gay couples.
As has historically been the case on this issue, liberals are more likely to support same sex marriage. Sixty-nine percent support the idea, while conservatives generally favor either civil unions (28 percent) or no legal recognition (44 percent).Forty-two percent of Americans now say same sex couples should be allowed to legally... more
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On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This 2-minute short film is an emotionally moving reminder that there is so much still to be done in order to protect the civil rights of all. Respect others, respect individuality.
This piece includes a number of b&w photographs and the touching short film, “Human Rights.”On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed... more
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Obama’s going to pick a Supreme Court nominee this year. This will be the first time we are going to have a justice picked by a non-asshole since the 90’s. Besides just a non-asshole, it’s the first time a president will pick a justice based on their credentials, instead of their insane right wing leanings and destructive business loving opinions. In all seriousness, if Justices Roberts and Alito could actually go down on corporations, they would. So this is a big deal. That’s why I think Obama should pick a gay woman. That doesn’t make sense after everything I just said, does it? Like I give a shit.
Let’s go gay. Let’s show the right wing what it feels like to watch an Alito take a seat on the bench. At least we can watch the right wing freak the fuck out and Senators filibuster for no other reason than because there might be a gay person on the bench. It’s a win-win. Do we have a gay woman who is qualified? Of course. Her name is Kathleen Sullivan.
Read on for more on her impressive credentials......Obama’s going to pick a Supreme Court nominee this year. This will be the first... more
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May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). The Idaho Challenge aims to end homophobia and transphobia by address one of the major causes, the invisibility of LGBT people. Join the Impact and Gays.com have issued a challenge to gays and lesbians around the world to increase their visibility by submitting a video in their own language. Watch this to learn more.May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). The... more
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A third grader in Denver, Colorado is the latest advocate to stand up for Gay Rights. Making signs and giving interviews and speeches, he says that full Marriage Equality is the only way to go.
The story highlights that, to the coming generation, equality is a nonissue. Way to go, Ethan!
Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ_ZMrA3OSwA third grader in Denver, Colorado is the latest advocate to stand up for Gay Rights.... more
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Specifically, does the competitive nature of international politics give some states an advantage because their political systems and social values make it relatively easy to attract and assimilate talented citizens from other countries, thereby enabling them to draw more-or-less selectively on the entire global talent pool? If so, then these states will be able to improve their relative position over time, and to the extent that globalization now facilitates people moving from place to place, that tendency should be increasing. By contrast, states that make assimilation difficult or that discriminate on other areas will tend to be less attractive destinations for highly educated and/or entrepreneurial individuals, and these states will for the most part have to work with the citizenry they've got or pay a very high premium to attract talent from abroad.Specifically, does the competitive nature of international politics give some states... more
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"Activists in Singapore held their first uninterrupted rally in support of gay rights on Saturday, reports the BBC. The love-in of sorts, organized by PinkDot.sg, involved some 2,500 participants dressed in pink gathering in a park to form a dot.
The event, which drew a range of participants in a festival atmosphere, was held on the heels of loosened restrictions on public gatherings. Last year, the notoriously restrictive city-state began to permit any gathering that does not involve the topics of race or religion.
Singapore, a former British colony, still maintains the colonial-era ban on homosexual sex. Activists acknowledge that the coexistence of public expression and criminality is a “strange anomaly.”"Activists in Singapore held their first uninterrupted rally in support of gay... more
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Ellen DeGeneres returned home to New Orleans on Monday to deliver a moving commencement speech to the 2009 graduates of Tulane University, The Katrina Class. DeGeneres was presented with Tulane University's President’s Medal for her work raising money and awareness for New Orleans after Katrina. Ellen’s talk was funny, serious, touching and memorable.
From her first greeting to the robe-clad graduates (“Look at you….usually when you’re wearing a robe at 10 in the morning, it means you’ve given up”), to re-telling the sad story behind her famous “phone call to God” joke that got her on The Tonight Show, to jokes about being gay (“When you’re older, most of you will be gay”), it was all priceless. She ended her address with lyrics from Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance,” and then proceeded to dance through the audience bringing the graduates and their families joyously to their feet.
Includes great color photographs and the video of her address.Ellen DeGeneres returned home to New Orleans on Monday to deliver a moving... more
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Harvey Milk would have turned 79 today. In 1977 Milk became the first out publicly elected official in the state of California. The gay rights icon was assassinated by fellow city council member Dan White in 1978. White was only sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison which outraged the LGBT community and spurred the White Night Riots 30 years ago yesterday.
Harvey Milk was famous for standing on a milk crate with a bull horn and shouting, "I'm Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you!" Millions continue to hear his message from the Oscar nominated film about his life, "Milk".
The California Senate recently passed legislation that would recognize May 22 as Harvey Milk day, "On this “day of special significance” in the state, schools would be encouraged to commemorate his legacy."
Governor Schwarzeneger vetoed the bill last year, however with Milk's higher profile and celebrity fans it would be a surprise he vetoed it again this year.Harvey Milk would have turned 79 today. In 1977 Milk became the first out publicly... more
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The court announced moments ago that it will rule on proposition 8 on Tuesday, May 26 at 10:00 AM. Day of Decision rallies are planned throughout the country to either celebrate or protest the decision. www.dayofdecision.comThe court announced moments ago that it will rule on proposition 8 on Tuesday, May 26... more
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The annual Gay Pride Parade was held in San Francisco, CA on Sunday, June 29, 2008. Check out the photos of this colorful event.The annual Gay Pride Parade was held in San Francisco, CA on Sunday, June 29, 2008.... more
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There were no drag queens in sexy ensembles with heavy makeup strutting down the streets in platform heels or buff shirtless sailor boys splayed like starfish on moving floats. But Hong Kong's first official gay-pride parade Saturday was still a colorful gathering; in fact, for a country that rarely acknowledges homosexuality, let alone celebrates it, it was downright revolutionary.
For a few hours, a city that usually seems immune to surprises watched in awe as approximately 1,000 paradegoers stopped traffic, filled the streets and spread their message to "celebrate love." A rainbow-colored dragon bobbed over the heads of carefully coiffed men donning dainty dresses and dancing to "Celebrate Pride," which warbled through a loudspeaker in the center of the city. Men with fiery red-feathered tiaras chanted, "Pride parade! Pride parade! Pride parade!" in Cantonese and English while marching through Hong Kong's congested Hennessy Road waving multicolored pride flags.There were no drag queens in sexy ensembles with heavy makeup strutting down the... more
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Moscow is preparing to break up any gay pride marches on May 16th.
According to Russian news agency Ria Novosti, mayor Yury Luzhkov's press secretary said today the city has once again turned down an application to hold a march next week.
Sergei Tsoi said: "Representatives of the gay movement are threatening to hold their action on May 16th regardless of whether they have permission for it or not, without any consideration for the opinions of the public majority.
"The Moscow government is declaring that there has never been and never will be a gay parade in Moscow.
He said that gay events were "not only destroying the moral foundations of our society but deliberately provoking disorder threatening the lives and security of Muscovites and guests to the capital."
"First of all, such an action threatens the security of those willing to take part in it. All this is absolutely unacceptable," Tsoi said.
"This is not only the position of the Moscow government. Representatives of all religious groups, and above all the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as leaders from youth and veteran organisations and multi-cultural societies have issued a strong warning against it," he added.
Russian gay rights movement leader Nikolai Alexeyev is reportedly planning to hold a gay pride march before the city hosts the Eurovision final.
He has said he expects up to 500 people to join the parade, named Slavic Pride, despite official threats to close down any march.Moscow is preparing to break up any gay pride marches on May 16th.
According to... more
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"The fine art of keeping up appearances may seem shallow and deceitful, the very embodiment of denial. But many psychologists beg to differ.
To the extent that it sustains good habits and reflects personal pride, they say, this kind of play-acting can be an extremely effective social strategy, especially in uncertain times.
“If showing pride in these kinds of situations was always maladaptive, then why would people do it so often?” said David DeSteno, a psychologist at Northeastern University in Boston. “But people do, of course, and we are finding that pride is centrally important not just for surviving physical danger but for thriving in difficult social circumstances, in ways that are not at all obvious.”
For most of its existence, the field of psychology ignored pride as a fundamental social emotion. It was thought to be too marginal, too individually variable, compared with basic visceral expressions of fear, disgust, sadness or joy. Moreover, it can mean different things in different cultures.""The fine art of keeping up appearances may seem shallow and deceitful, the very... more
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