A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
A few months ago there was a lot of hand-wringing among LGBT progressive activists over the possibility that comprehensive immigration reform might not include same-sex partner sponsorship. If it benefits LGBT immigrants but doesn't include same-sex partner sponsorship, do we support it? What a conundrum!
Well, looks like the opposite is happening. The Democrats released their framework for immigration reform last week, and it includes binational, same-sex families:
Included in the "framework" are key provisions of the Uniting American Families Act. The legislation was previously offered as a standalone bill by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont in the Senate and Representative Jerrold Nadler in the House. The measure would allow gay Americans to sponsor an immigrant partner for citizenship.
Argentina's House Of Deputies (similar to the U.S. House) has just voted 125-109 to approve same-sex marriage. The debate now moves to the Senate, where opposition is expected to be strong. I watched the last few minutes of the House vote via a livestream and even though I speak little Spanish, it was quite amusing to me to identify the Argentine counterparts of the familiar players we see here. (The blowhard ranting homophobe, the slightly too-smug liberals, etc.) But when the result was gaveled into officialness and rainbow banners unfurled from the gallery to ecstatic cheers and singing, well, hello, hand me una Kleenex, por favor.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) will represent eight married same-sex couples and three widowers tomorrow in their Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) challenge against the federal government. Via press release:
Represented by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), the plaintiffs in Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management, all married in Massachusetts, have each been harmed by DOMA treating them as unmarried. Gill was filed on March 3, 2009, and has been called the case with the greatest potential for national impact by the National Law Journal.
“Every day DOMA is hurting couples and families – not just by denying them benefits and rights, but by denying that their marriages exist,” said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director. “Under our Constitution’s equal protection guarantees, there is no justification for this.” Bonauto will be arguing on behalf of the plaintiffs before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro.
Judge Tauro will hear GLAD’s motion for summary judgment as well as the federal government’s motion to dismiss. The hearing will address the issue of whether DOMA Section 3 is constitutional six years after the first same-sex couples in the country started marrying in Massachusetts, the result of GLAD’s groundbreaking marriage case, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.
Joy Behar's new show on the HLN network was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, and Behar would "rather have it than [the Emmy]." Seriously. In one of the comedian's markedly abundant moments of sincerity, she confirmed her claim by noting that the GLAAD award seemed to privilege the "heartfelt" and deep-rooted appreciation for entertainers and media makers catering to and being open supporters of the LGBTQ and other communities grossly underrepresented by much of mainstream media. This is indeed a far cry from the now-cliché "favorit[ism]" of many other awards and ceremonies entrenched in American popular culture.
Joy Behar is incredibly popular; yet, she consistently roots for the "underdog" -- or, persons in the "minority" who are often silently subject to "majority" opinions and restrictions. Hers is a powerful allied voice for a number of marginalized communities; she supports LGBTQ-identified persons especially.
Even with the remarkable reach and impact of her voice in media and culture, Joy Behar appreciates the dialogue and discussion elicited by persons of divergent opinions sitting together in the same room. This has been her experience on the Emmy-winning talk show The View, and it is an experience she values greatly, particularly because there isn't "any pretense on the panel": each voice on The View, including Ms. Behar's, knows its own tones and timbre. Each voice appreciates the musical and productive conversation made possible by the collection of diverse sounded opinions, and each voice knows when silent, engaged listening is best for the development of an idea or for the voice's understanding.
It is the exchange of knowing herself, listening to others, and voicing her concerns -- as they are filtered through her personal experiences and careful reading of others' particularities -- that combine to make Joy Behar such an engaging and resounding presence. We, as humans, have our personal histories/pasts, our ears, and our words. They are tools which become very powerful when used in combination to promote productive discussion in constructive spaces. Clearly, when Behar speaks, others listen.
