Dump DOMA

Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont now allow same-sex couples to marry and to enjoy the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage in those states. And thousands of same-sex marriages performed in California before the passage of Prop 8 ended equal marriage there are still valid according to a recent court ruling.

But in none of these places can someone in a same-sex marriage who has paid into the social security program collect survivors' benefits if his or her spouse were to pass away, nor receive the hundreds of other important federal benefits that heterosexual married couples are entitled to receive. This is because of the prohibitions contained in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

DOMA is a looming roadblock to full legal equality for same-sex couples ... a roadblock that candidate AND President-elect Barack Obama pledged to remove.

A few months ago, you signed our petition to tell both the president and congressional leaders that the time has come to DUMP DOMA. In light of recent events, we need to renew our push to make this petition the biggest, best lobbying tool we can.

Please forward this e-mail to others or send them to www.DumpDOMA.com and ask them to join you in signing.

Tonight, President Obama announced that he is moving administratively to provide some benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees. This is a very small step in the right direction, but it's really just a token, and tokens are no longer enough. What stands in the way of real progress for all same-sex couples is DOMA, which denies the most important benefits -- healthcare, retirement, health insurance and more -- to anyone but "spouses" under DOMA's definition of marriage (ie. married heterosexual couples).

And sadly, the administration has not lived up to the president's earlier calls to repeal DOMA.

On Friday, the Justice Department filed a legal brief in which it went far above and beyond simply defending DOMA as a federal policy against a court challenge. The brief cited laws regarding incest ... it called DOMA a policy of government "neutrality" (which it is clearly anything but) ... and it justified the government's continued discrimination on the basis that it's cheaper than expanding fundamental rights and protections.

There is no defense for the Defense of Marriage Act. Help spread the word that less unequal is still unequal -- help get others to sign the petition at www.DumpDOMA.com.

-- Your Allies at People For the American Way

Proposition 8 may violate US Constitution

Schwarzenegger says Proposition 8 may violate US Constitution ... ... in a written response to a federal challenge of the anti-gay marriage ballot measure ...

Interactive: Gay marriage chronology

For the last decade, the battle over same-sex marriage and other rights for gay couples has been hard fought in U.S. courts and legislatures and at the ballot box. Use this map to view milestones in the fight and how state laws have changed since 2000.

Gay critics say 'too little, too late' from Obama

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/17/obama.gay.critics/index.html

Defend a free-flowing Internet and support the Broadband Internet Fairness Act

Dear Friends,

We now have a chance to wrestle control of the Internet's future away from Time Warner Cable, Comcast, AT&T and other telco giants.

Rep. Eric Massa has just introduced a bill in Congress, called the Broadband Internet Fairness Act, that will restrict telcos' ability to charge outrageous rates for using the Internet. This bill would be the first step toward guaranteeing an open, fast and accessible Internet for all Americans.

Please visit the URL below to tell your member of Congress to support this important piece of legislation:

https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?id=327

Thanks!

Some Churches Support Gay Rights

Take my friend's pastor, a Lutheran minister who on Mother's Day said in his sermon,

I have a very hard time finding any reason to be afraid of what is happening in Massachusetts and Iowa and elsewhere. The institution of marriage is strong; it cannot be damaged by extending it to others who want to get married. On the contrary, marriage is strengthened by doing so.

Christianity is not out to get gays and lesbians, despite the popular perception. Not all churches are barring our way to equal rights. Indeed, some are opening the door.

Jennifer Vanasco is editor in chief of 365gay.com

You may read the full article inOutword and the Huffington Post

Tell Obama and Holder: Stop defending DOMA.

Subject: Tell Obama and Holder: Stop defending DOMA.

Dear Friends,

They compared same-sex marriage to a marriage between an uncle and a niece. Or between two children. No, we're not talking about Rick Santorum. We're talking about the Obama administration's Justice Department. The brief the DOJ presented defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court was not just wrong. It was offensive. The New York Times called it "disturbing" in its lead editorial.

Back in the days of the 2008 campaign, Senator Obama promised he would work to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. But now that a gay couple in California is challenging DOMA in federal court, President Obama has chosen to take action to defend a law that prevents legally married same-sex couples from receiving any federal benefits, or from having their marriages recognized in other states.

I just signed a petition to tell President Obama and Attorney General Holder to withdraw this offensive brief and apologize for its contents. (The website also has a great video of Rachel Maddow and Howard Dean discussing the importance of this issue!) Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/doma_brief/?r_by=-1068490-Ddu1sWx&rc=confemail

the storm is getting worser and worser...

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6eddb255b2/a-gaythering-storm

Product Placing The Gays

For years advertisers have given sly, subtle nods to homo consumers, a phenomenon coined by the Commercial Closet as "gay vague." Ramping up the visibility ever so slightly, a few brands have begun placing logos known mostly only to gays in their ads. Below left, an Orbitz ad features a man wearing an HRC golf shirt. Below right, an ad from Taco Del Mar features a surfer with a Gay & Lesbian Surfer Association sticker on his board.

(Taco Del Mar clip via Slog)

Thanks JMG for this

Tell Obama and Holder: Stop defending DOMA.

Friends,

They compared same-sex marriage to a marriage between an uncle and a niece. Or between two children. No, we're not talking about Rick Santorum. We're talking about the Obama administration's Justice Department. The brief the DOJ presented defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court was not just wrong. It was offensive. The New York Times called it "disturbing" in its lead editorial.

Back in the days of the 2008 campaign, Senator Obama promised he would work to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. But now that a gay couple in California is challenging DOMA in federal court, President Obama has chosen to take action to defend a law that prevents legally married same-sex couples from receiving any federal benefits, or from having their marriages recognized in other states.

I just signed a petition to tell President Obama and Attorney General Holder to withdraw this offensive brief and apologize for its contents. (The website also has a great video of Rachel Maddow and Howard Dean discussing the importance of this issue!) Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/doma_brief/?r_by=-1068490-Ddu1sWx&rc=confemail

Obama's Plan For Gay Rights

Check out Obama's Plan For Gay Rights

NY Times Slaps Obama

From the GIST:

In an editorial headlined "A Bad Call on Gay Rights," The New York Times calls the DOMA brief "disturbing," and slaps Obama for using the excuse of political expediency for denying gay and lesbian Americans their rights:

The Obama administration, which came to office promising to protect gay rights but so far has not done much, actually struck a blow for the other side last week. It submitted a disturbing brief in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, which is the law that protects the right of states to not recognize same-sex marriages and denies same-sex married couples federal benefits. The administration needs a new direction on gay rights.

An organized response to Obama's failure on GLBT rights

by: Smartypants

Mon Jun 15, 2009 at 18:24:17 PM EDT

Pam's post on HRC's letter to President Obama asks a critical question: "What happens next if the President thumbs his nose at this letter?"

The question really got me thinking. What options are left to us when our purported friends and allies ignore an appeal to common decency?

Because it's pretty obvious our elected 'friends' are screwing us. Again.

And why not? They've gotten away with it before and never paid a price. Too many of these so-called friends and allies in elected office know that if they show up at a pride rally and occasionally vote for some mildly progressive measure on our behalf, as grateful GLBT constituents we will continue to be a reliable source of money and volunteers. And we won't make a fuss because we're afraid our very real enemies will take advantage of any division.

Read the full article at PHB.

Free Hugs Campaign

Free Hugs Campaign - Official Page (music by Sick Puppies.net )

youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Top Obama Gay John Berry: It's Going To Be A Long Time On LGBT Rights

Courtesy of JMG:

John Berry, the director of the Office of Personnel Management and the president's highest ranking openly gay appointee spoke to the Advocate's Kerry Eleveld after his speech at DC Pride yesterday (which I heard). Berry, who said he was speaking with the authorization of the White House, outlined a four-point list of LGBT rights that the Obama administration hopes to achieve, but stressed that the general timetable for these goals is "under the administration's watch", meaning including a potential second Obama term.

We have four broad legislative goals that we want to accomplish and legislation is one of these things where you’ve got to move when the opportunity strikes, so I’m going to list them in an order but it’s not necessarily going to go one, two, three, four. Obviously, I think the first opportunity is hate crimes and we’re hopeful that we can get that passed this week. We’re going to try, but if not, we’re going to keep at it until we get it passed. The second one ENDA, we want to secure that passage of ENDA, and third is we want to repeal legislatively “don’t ask don’t tell,” and fourth, we want to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Now, I’m not going to pledge -- and nor is the president -- that this is going to be done by some certain date. The pledge and the promise is that, this will be done before the sun sets on this administration – our goal is to have this entire agenda accomplished and enacted into law so that it is secure.

The Advocate: Does that include a second term? A lot of people have talked about DOMA being pushed back until a second term.

Berry: I say this in a broad sense -- our goal is to get this done on this administration’s watch.

Berry went on to say that the gay community should not "waste energy and angst" attacking the president over last week's DOJ-DOMA flap, and instead should be working on getting the necessary votes to overturn DOMA in the House and Senate.

Solmonese Writes To Obama

Human Rights Campaign head Joe Solmonese has written a lengthy letter to the president decrying last week's DOJ brief opposing the repeal of DOMA.



see: JMG post

Todos somos uno...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmiIGNcrsXQ

Quote of the day...

4. O FILHO DA JUSTIÇA
Para onde pode ir o apaixonado senão à terra de seu bem-amado? E qual apaixonado poderá ficar tranqüilo longe do desejo de seu coração? Para quem ama verdadeiramente, a união é a vida e a separação é a morte. O seu peito está vazio de paciência e o seu coração está privado de paz. Incontáveis vidas ele renunciará a fim de se apressar para onde se encontra o seu bem-amado.


4. O SON OF JUSTICE!
Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? And what seeker findeth rest away from his heart's desire? To the true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart hath no peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten to the abode of his beloved.

From The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh

We read this at our wedding. It means a lot to me as it almost addresses our bi-national marriage.

Parada Gay movimenta avenida Paulista com 3,5 milhões de pessoas

Da Redação

Atualizado às 13h18

Cerca de 3,5 milhões de pessoas devem tomar conta da avenida Paulista durante este domingo (14) na 13ª edição da Parada Gay da cidade de São Paulo. A festa, que é considerada a maior do mundo, começou às 12h20 e deve terminar por volta das 19h30. A expectativa, de acordo com a Associação da Parada do Orgulho LGBT de São Paulo, é que o evento reúna público recorde mais uma vez.

For those of you who cannot read, understand or falar the world’s most beautiful language UOL says:

Around 3.5 million people are expected on Avenida Paulista for this Sunday (14) in the 13th edition of the Gay Parade in São Paulo. The festival, which is considered the world's largest, started at 12.20 and should finish around 19:30. The forecast, according to the Association of LGBT Pride Parade in São Paulo, is that the event will break the record once again.

Courtesy of UOL.