Via JMG: NH Chick-Fil-A To Sponsor Gay Pride

The only New Hampshire Chick-Fil-A franchisee has signed on as a sponsor of this LGBT Pride Fest. Via LGBT Nation:

The announcement by franchise general manager Anthony Picolia came as a surprise to Pride Fest organizers in light of the ongoing public relations debacle over the negative remarks by Chick-Fil-A’s President last month regarding same-sex marriage. Picolia, in an email to LGBTQ Nation on Tuesday, confirmed that his franchise will sponsor the festival, writing:

“In both my personal and professional life, I have had and continue to have positive relationships with family, friends, customers and employees in the LGBT community. It would make me sad if someone felt that they were not openly welcomed into my life or restaurant based on their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,” In a statement issue by Pride organizers, Picolia added that his Chick-fil-A franchise “has gay employees and serves gay customers with honor, dignity and respect.”

The event takes place next Saturday.

Labels: bravery, fast food, gay Pride, New Hampshire

Reposted from Joe

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

Another federal judge strikes DOMA down

I remember a while back when the religious right kept saying that no court had ever found DOMA unconstitutional.  Oops.

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 1, 2012

Letting Go

It is hard to let go of things, harder to let go of ideas, and even harder to let go of spiritual pretensions. Over time, as we familiarize ourselves with the many subtle twists and turns of letting go, we begin to be more savvy about how ego steps in to appropriate the entire process. In the millions of mini-decisions we make day by day and moment by moment, we are challenged each time either to let go or to re-solidify.

- Judy Lief, "Letting Go"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 3rd, 2012
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Vi JMG: House GOP Demands And Gets DOMA Response Delay From Supreme Court

The GOP's House Bipartisan (snort) Legal Advisory Group has requested and received a delayed deadline for when they must respond to two pending DOMA suits before the Supreme Court. As always, super-reporter Chris Geidner gets to what the request was really all about.

The deadline extension, which lawyers familiar with the cases say could cause up to a one-week delay in when in the fall the Supreme Court justices would consider when to take the cases, won't likely have any long-term effect on how and when the cases might be considered by the justices. The new deadline, however, means that House Speaker John Boehner's lawyers could take the chance to take aim at the Obama administration, which stopped defending DOMA in early 2011, following the conclusion of the Republican National Convention on Aug. 30 and before the start of the Democratic National Convention the next week.

Labels: Democratic convention, DOMA, GOP, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe

Via Obama for America:

Via FB: This is not a Church

Via JMG: Yet Another Court Strikes Down DOMA

Via press release from GLAD:

Today, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional as a violation of equal protection guarantees. Her ruling comes with respect to claims brought by six married same-sex couples and one widower from the states of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont who were denied federal tax, social security, pension and family medical leave protections only because they are (or were) married to someone of the same sex. Under the ruling, the plaintiffs’ marriages must be accorded the same federal protections and responsibilities as those of other married couples. The ruling by Judge Vanessa L. Bryant, an appointee of President George W. Bush, stems from the lawsuit Pedersen et al v. Office of Personnel Management et al, filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in November 2010 in the Federal District Court in Connecticut.

“Section 3 of DOMA obligates the federal government to single out a certain category of marriages as excluded from federal recognition,” Judge Bryant wrote, “thereby resulting in an inconsistent distribution of federal marriage benefits as all marriages authorized by certain states will receive recognition and marital benefits, whereas only a portion of marriages authorized by other states will receive federal recognition and benefits.” “Judge Bryant’s ruling is very clear: married people are married and should be treated as such by the federal government. There is no legitimate basis for DOMA’s broad disrespect of the marriages of same-sex couples,” said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director. “We are very pleased that the Court recognized that DOMA’s creation of second-class marriages harms our clients who simply seek the same opportunities to care and provide for each other and for their children that other families enjoy.”

Labels: DOMA, feds, GLAD, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: More Chicken Wars News

Eat Mor (Gay-Friendly) Chikin

Opportunism? Corporate pandering? Just good business? From their Facebook page:

Help us support Marriage Equality. Throughout the month of August, we will donate $1.00 from every purchase of a Schnipper’s Chicken Filet Sandwich to Marriage Equality USA (a non-profit whose mission is to secure legally recognized civil marriage equality for all). A truly good Chicken Filet Sandwich would always be in favor of Marriage Equality. Ours is the best you’ll ever have since its made from fresh chicken breasts and hand dipped to order in our seasoned corn flour blend and buttermilk. It’s super crispy and it’s gluten free! The sandwich is tasty – Marriage Equality is timely.

Schnipper's locations are in Hell's Kitchen and Madison Square. (Tipped by JMG reader Ian)

Labels: fast food, marriage equality, NYC, restaurants

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: More Chicken Wars News

Eat Mor (Gay-Friendly) Chikin

Opportunism? Corporate pandering? Just good business? From their Facebook page:

Help us support Marriage Equality. Throughout the month of August, we will donate $1.00 from every purchase of a Schnipper’s Chicken Filet Sandwich to Marriage Equality USA (a non-profit whose mission is to secure legally recognized civil marriage equality for all). A truly good Chicken Filet Sandwich would always be in favor of Marriage Equality. Ours is the best you’ll ever have since its made from fresh chicken breasts and hand dipped to order in our seasoned corn flour blend and buttermilk. It’s super crispy and it’s gluten free! The sandwich is tasty – Marriage Equality is timely.

Schnipper's locations are in Hell's Kitchen and Madison Square. (Tipped by JMG reader Ian)

Labels: fast food, marriage equality, NYC, restaurants

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: SCOTUS Gets Prop 8 Overturn Appeal

In addition to the DOMA-related cases that landed on the desks of the Supreme Court this month, today they received an appeal on the overturn of Prop 8. Chris Geidner reports:

Supporters of California's constitutional amendment banning same-sex couples from marrying, Proposition 8, have asked the Supreme Court to hear the ongoing challenge to the law in order to reverse an appeals court decision from earlier this year that struck down the amendment as unconstitutional.

Specifically, they ask the court in a filing today to decide "Whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the State of California from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman."

Arguing that "[u]nique recognition of a unique relationship in no way disapproves or dishonors other relationships that the State has chosen to recognize differently," the Proposition 8 proponents ask the court to take the case to correct the "manifest errors" of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and "to return to the People themselves this important and sensitive issue."

Geidner notes that AFER has 30 days to respond to the filing. The Supreme Court is on summer recess and will not announce which cases it will review until this falls.

Labels: California, hate groups, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Proposition 8, Protect Marriage, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe