Via JMG: Gay Sailor Wins Discharge Hearing

Petty Officer Derek Morado today won his discharge hearing with the Navy after being told he faced ejection due to a MySpace photograph that was turned in anonymously. In the photo, Morado is seen kissing another man. Morado's lawyer told KMPH News that even though DADT has been repealed, that doesn't mean the military's investigations are over.

"There's nothing illegal about what the Navy is trying to do to this man right now as I understand it," Attorney Mark King said. King says that's because the law, is the law. "If someone does something in January that by June is no longer a crime, there's nothing unconstitutional about prosecuting them in September over what happened in January, because in January it was against the law," King said. A Navy spokesperson tells KMPH News, the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has to be certified by the Secretary of Defense, Chairman and President. After that, it will take another 60 days before it goes into effect. "We have to treat them all with dignity and respect. At the same time there is a law and we have to maintain that law," Navy Commander Danny Hernandez said. But for Derek Morado, it wouldn't matter. On Thursday the board voted against discharging him, which means he can continue his dreams of a decorated military career.

According to a press release from GetEQUAL, the Navy's panel voted 3-0 in favor of Morado's retention.

Labels: DADT, LGBT rights, military, Navy

reposted from Joe

Via AMERICAblog Gay:

Navy decides NOT to discharge gay sailor

Joe and I just sent out the following update to our email list about yesterday's action to help a gay sailor who was almost kicked out under DADT today. Great news.

Victory!

Derek Morado -- who was faced with discharge even though we were "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was history -- just telephoned GetEQUAL to let them know he won his battle to stay in the military today.

Thank you to the thousands who signed our petition on behalf of Derek over the past 24 hours. We sent your names to Derek this morning right before he went into his hearing, so in a very real way you were there with him.

According to Derek, all three members of the hearing board voted to retain him in the military -- an incredible result.

Derek gets the lion's share of the credit for today's victory, but I really believe each and every one of you who joined AMERICAblog and GetEQUAL in this action played a role, and you should be proud.

Please share this success with your friends -- and encourage them to join us in our effective activism.

Click here to share on Facebook.

Click below to tweet this message:

Victory! Navy will not discharge sailor under DADT. Join our action ntwk & join the fight: tinyurl.com/684aghv @americablog

There isn't anything we can't accomplish if we work together. Thanks so much, and congratulations again,

John Aravosis, Editor of AMERICAblog
Joe Sudbay, Deputy Editor of AMERICAblog

P.S. You can read some background on Derek's story here.

Via JMG: WASHINGTON: Legislature Votes To Recognize Out Of State Gay Marriages

Today the Washington state Senate voted 28-19 to recognize all legal partnerships (marriages, civil unions, etc) from other jurisdictions. The state House approved the bill last month.

“This bill is about making sure that people who love one another - and that love and friendship respected and honored in another state or another country - when they come here they have the same opportunity,” Sen. Kevin Ranker, D- San Juan Island, said on the Senate floor. Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, cautioned lawmakers against passing the bill because he argued it would subject the Legislature to laws that other state legislatures pass.

The bill now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who has promised to sign it.

Labels: LGBT rights, marriage equality, Washington state

reposted from Joe

reposted from jmg: Tax Campaign: Refuse To Lie

Equality Florida tips us to a new campaign in which legally married gay couples will "refuse to lie" and will therefore file joint tax returns.

Each year the federal government demands that thousands of married couples lie. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) not only denies legally married gay couples the benefits of heterosexual marriage, but we are also told to disavow our spouses and file our taxes as "single." The Federal Government must stop requiring legally married gay couples to deny the existence of our families and hide our marriages. It is dehumanizing and it is wrong. Across the country, legally married gay couples are taking a stand. We are refusing to lie about the fact that we are married.

Refuse To Lie organizers warn: "Taking this principled stand is not without risk and each person doing so needs to carefully consider those risks before deciding if it is a stand you are willing to take." Facebook page here.

Labels: activism, DOMA, marriage equality, taxes

reposted from Joe

reposted from jmg: Tweet Of The Day - Porno Pete

Presumably PFOX head Quinlan's "testimony" won't include mention of his ex-wife, who dumped his totally gay ass four years ago after they'd paraded themselves on Christian networks as models of reformed homosexuals.

Labels: "ex-gay", assholery, bigotry, Greg Quinlan, liars, Peter LaBarbera, PFOX, religion, still totally gay

reposted by Joe

Via AmericaBlog: Vatican warns the Internet is leading the young to Satan, then finds way to wiggle out of pedophilia scandal (again)

A Vatican affiliated university is holding a conference on Satan and exorcism because apparently the Internet has been a big boon for the lord of darkness.

"The internet makes it much easier than in the past to find information about Satanism," said Carlo Climati, a member of the university who specialises in the dangers posed to young people by Satanism.

"In just a few minutes you can contact Satanist groups and research occultism. The conference is not about how to become an exorcist. It's to share information about exorcism, Satanism and sects. It's to give help to families and priests. There is a particular risk for young people who are in difficulties or who are emotionally fragile," said Mr Climati.

The Internet is for Satan? And here I thought the Internet was for porn.


(Another very cool version of this song.)

And it wouldn't be the Vatican if they didn't roll out yet another excuse for their aiding and abetting of pedophilia.

The Vatican's chief exorcist claimed last year that the Devil lurked in the Vatican, the very heart of the Catholic Church.

Father Gabriele Amorth said people who are possessed by Satan vomit shards of glass and pieces of iron, scream, dribble and slobber, utter blasphemies and have to be physically restrained.

He claimed that the sex abuse scandals which have engulfed the Church in the US, Ireland, Germany and other countries, were proof that the anti-Christ was waging a war against the Holy See.

Yes, the devil made you do it. Considering the Pope was a party to all of this, that would mean he's been influenced by the devil too. And tell us again why then its okay for him to continue leading the church?

Via ALCU: Don't Filter Me!

Reposted from JMG: Andrew Sullivan On Gay Deportations

"The US government regards gay Americans as sub-human in their needs and wants and rights. Their loves and relationships mean nothing under the law every time they encounter federal authoritah. Aaron and I are total strangers to one another in the eyes of federal law. And because we are legally married, I am paradoxically more vulnerable to being deported than I would be if I were single - because it's plain that I intend to reside in the US indefinitely, even though my visa has an expiration date.

"So I'm a risk - hence my huge anxiety if I ever leave the country. I am lucky to be able to apply for a Green Card on my own merits, under the rubric of what's called extraordinary ability in my field (it's still in process). But most people are not so lucky. They just fall in love. Only to have their own government rip their marriage apart, or force the American into exile. If this isn't wrong, what is?" - Andrew Sullivan, commenting on the news that the foreign partner of legally married binational gay couples may still be deported.

Labels: Andrew Sullivan, DOMA, immigration, LGBT rights

reposted from Joe

Repost from GetEqual:

Dear Daniel,

In December, when President Obama signed the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010," I breathed a sigh of relief. Although there is still work to do to make repeal fully inclusive and get it implemented, my hope was that at least now we would not lose another servicemember because of that discriminatory law. After so many discharges even as late as last year [1], I thought we were finally out of the woods.
Sadly, I thought wrong.
A short time ago, we were contacted by an active-duty servicemember who -- despite the repeal of this horrible law -- is still going through the process of being discharged. The process started for him on November 8, 2009, when someone anonymously outed him after seeing his MySpace page.
Within weeks, his discharge process began -- but it limped along while the government waffled about what to do about repeal. A year went by before he got any kind of update, each day believing it was his last day to serve his country. After the repeal bill was signed into law, he believed his case to be over.
But Derek got bad news earlier this month. Despite DADT repeal, his case is still being pursued and his hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. With implementation still not in place, is this the Navy's attempt to slip in another discharge or bully him with a hearing...just because they still can?
Click here to show your support for Derek and to fight back against his discharge!
Derek joined the Navy right after high school -- here are his own words:

This lengthy matter has been tearing me up; it has destroyed relationships and displaced loved ones who were relying on me. But even after the U.S. Government has made it clear they don’t want this law in effect the Navy has said that, because the paperwork has been submitted and the policy is technically still active, they have no choice but to continue.

I have been in the U.S. Navy since I graduated high school. It’s all I know and all I want to do. I have dreams of grandeur, hopes of retiring a young, highly-decorated, respected senior enlisted sailor. My resolve is weakened but not broken. I just have to place my fate in the hands of three strangers -- strangers who I hope have strong moral convictions and like-minded sentiments to my own.

Click here to add your name to the list of supporters Derek will take into his hearing with him!
Get Out! Get Active! GetEQUAL!
Robin McGehee, Director
----
[1] "Servicemembers United: An 'unusually high' 261 discharges under DADT in FY 2010" -- http://gay.americablog.com/2011/03/261-discharges-under-dadt-in-fy-2010.html

Via AMERICAblog Gay: 'There is light at the end of the tunnel for binational couples'

Lavi Soloway has a guest column over at Karen Ocamb's LGBT POV where he dissects the latest news from the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) relating to binational couples and DOMA. A lot has happened over the past couple days. Yesterday, USCIS confirmed to Metro Weekly that cases relating to same-sex couples have been put in "abeyance," pending resolution of DOMA.

Lavi, an immigration lawyer who also writes the blog, Stop The Deportations, explains what it means and who it helps for now:

This development will have the greatest impact on two groups of couples:

1. Married gay and lesbian couples where the foreign spouse lawfully entered the United States but is now an “overstay” and without lawful status. For these couples, the filing of an alien relative petition and application for adjustment of status to permanent resident should automatically give temporary lawful status to the foreign spouse for the duration of the period that the case is pending. If these applications are in fact held in abeyance until DOMA’s final demise, this could mean that couples who have wrestled for years with the nightmare of deportation, separation and instability caused by a lack of lawful status may now be on the verge of a new reality. The foreign spouse will not only receive (temporary) lawful status, but also employment authorization and potentially other benefits, as long as they have a pending green card application. Unfortunately, despite the temptation that this will present to many couples, for many it will be better to wait until there is greater certainty about this policy and the future of DOMA.

2. Married gay and lesbian couples who are already facing removal (deportation) proceedings. It is now likely that we will be able to stop virtually all deportation proceedings involving married gay and lesbian couples who have filed green card petitions/applications and who are, but for DOMA, otherwise eligible to receive a green card based on their marriage. Even couples in removal (deportation) proceedings must proceed cautiously when considering whether to marry and file a green card petition/application based on that marriage. However, unlike those who are not in proceedings, the risk of deportation is very real, and the likelihood is that this new development will provide protection to almost every couple facing deportation, if they are currently in proceedings.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for binational couples. The individual stories of binational couples suffering separation, exile or the threat of deportation continue to be our most important weapon in the fight against DOMA. There is still a long road ahead before we achieve full equality and we cannot be complacent.

DOMA really has to go.

John Boehner is going to be spending a lot of your tax dollars defending a law that is based on pure bigotry.

Via AMERICAblog Gay: Obama admin. now says 'abeyances' for binational couples could last only a week

Don't get too excited about the earlier news about binational same-sex couples. The light at the end of the tunnel might get a harder to see. Seems the "abeyance" we learned about yesterday might be short-lived -- like just a week long.

Actually, this is more of what I'd expect from the Department of Homeland Security:

Despite statements from leading organizations – most prominently, Immigration Equality – suggesting that the cases would be held in abeyance until DOMA’s constitutionality is settled, a DHS official told Metro Weekly on Monday night that the abeyance could last for as little as a week.

“[P]ursuant to CIS’s routine practice when there’s a new law or regulation that will potentially affect their resolution of certain cases, they hold [the cases] in abeyance until they get the final guidance from the general counsel’s office,” the official said. “DHS expects this issue to be resolved imminently.”

After that abeyance has ended, the official notes, “[I]n individual cases, USCIS has always had the authority to exercise discretion on a case-by-case basis, in light of the unique circumstances of that particular case.”

Seriously, Janet Napolitano, don't you have real security issues to worry about? And, don't think the Obama administration won't split families apart. They're deporting more people than Bush did.

DOMA really needs to go. Too bad our friends on Capitol Hill didn't try to repeal that law when they controlled the House and had 60 votes in the Senate. But, that was back in 2009 - 2010, when the White House didn't understand that actually passing pro-LGBT legislation was good politics. So, now, we wait for the courts and John Boehner will be using your tax dollars to fight against your equality.

Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Dan Savage

"I'm against making people feel uncomfortable or unsafe in their own homes. Even bigots. And staging protests outside people's homes is a tactic usually employed by rightwing anti-abortion activists and the KKK back in the day. I don't think this is a tactic that gay rights movement should endorse or adopt.

"To bring this down to a personal level: I say a lot of shit that pisses off the religious right. I don't want rightwing anti-gay haters turning up on the sidewalk outside my house, annoying my neighbors, and, most importantly, making my son feel unsafe in his own home. (Honestly sometimes I'm surprised that they haven't; I'd even go so far to express my gratitude—yes, to the haters—that they haven't.) Protesting outside people's homes? I don't think they should do that to us, any of us, and I don't think we should do that to them, any of them. Not Tony, not Maggie, not these florists." - Dan Savage, responding to the protest outside of the home of an anti-gay Canadian florist.

Labels: Canada, Dan Savage, HomoQuotable

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Randy Thomasson

"This shows that you cannot trust the Democrat legislators, the homosexual agenda people at all, and you cannot trust the teachers unions -- the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers boldly and brashly supported this bill in committee. They want children in the classrooms statewide to be taught that they can be homosexual or bisexual or transsexual -- or they ought to be -- and that they'll enjoy it." - Save California spokesbigot Randy Thomasson, responding to a bill that requires that LGBT people be depicted positively in public school textbooks.

The bill, sponsored by openly gay state Sen. Mark Leno, advanced out of a Senate committee last week.

Labels: California, education, LGBT youth, Mark Leno, Randy Thomasson, Save California

reposted from Joe

Thank you! 34000 visits! Obrigado! 34.000 vistantes!

Thank you folks for coming by to see what I have been reading and doing... we have streaked past 34000 visits... I am so very honored!

Obrigado pessoal por terem vindo para ver o que tenho lido, feito, e continuo fazendo. Hoje temos mais que 34.000 vistantes... Eu estou muito honrado!



Daniel

Via HimalayaCrafts: I think I have here...

O seu trabalho é descobrir o seu trabalho, e depois, com todo o seu coração, doar-se a ele. ~ Buda

Your work is to discover your work
And then with all your heart
To give yourself to it. ~ Buddha

Namaste 

Via JMG: A Pastor Sees The Light

Pastor Murray Richmond says he used to preach against homosexuality and same-sex marriage, but not anymore.

Why had we singled out homosexuality as a litmus test for True Christianity in the first place? Why had it become such a lightning rod for self-righteousness? One reason, I think, is that it's easy to condemn homosexuality if you are not gay. It is much harder than condemning pride, or lust or greed, things that most practicing Christians have struggled with. It is all too easy to make homosexuality about "those people," and not me. If I were to judge someone for their inflated sense of pride, or their tendency to worship various cultural idols, I would feel some personal stake, some cringe of self-judgment. Not so with homosexuality. 



Now I am wondering why, if two gay people want to commit their lives to one another, they should ever be denied that chance. No church or pastor should be forced to perform those ceremonies, and they can choose not to recognize gay marriage for their adherents. But the constitution of the Presbyterian Church does not explicitly forbid a pastor from being a thief, a murderer, or an egotistical jerk. It is not designed to do these things. It does prohibit a gay person from becoming a pastor. All I can ask is: Why?

Read Richmond's full essay at Salon.com.

Labels: LGBT rights, marriage equality, religion

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NETHERLANDS: Ten Years Of Marriage

Ten years ago this week, the Netherlands become the world's first nation to legalize same-sex marriage. Veteran reporter Rex Wockner was in Amsterdam's City Hall that night and today he reposts this excerpt from his report on the proceedings:

Amid an international media frenzy, the weddings took place at City Hall as the law became effective at the stroke of midnight. Mayor Job Cohen officiated. As Cohen finished his opening remarks at 11:58 p.m., the audience in the City Council chambers began syncopated clapping as they waited for the room's clock to click over to 12:00. When it clicked, cheers erupted.

Wocker notes: "In the intervening 10 years, 14,813 of the Netherlands' 55,000 gay couples have gotten married, according to Statistics Netherlands. Of those couples, 7,522 were female and 7,291 were male. There have been 1,078 same-sex divorces, 734 of them by female couples."

RELATED: Canada legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2005 in a ruling that made legal a gay wedding that had taken place in January 2001. Call it "ten years with an asterisk."

Labels: LGBT History, marriage equality, Netherlands, Rex Wockner

reposted from Joe

Mile-high madness with Richard Simmons! #RICHROLL

Michele Bachmann Saves America Ep. 1: What a God Wants