Via AmericaBlogGay: ABA bestows highest honor on Olson and Boies

ia press release from the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), we learn that David Boies and Ted Olson will be receiving a prestigious award from American Bar Association:

Awarded for distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence, the ABA Medal is given only in years when the ABA Board of Governors determines a nominee has provided exceptional and distinguished service to the law and the legal profession. 

Among previous recipients of the ABA Medal are legendary justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Felix Frankfurter, Thurgood Marshall, William J. Brennan Jr., Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy. 

The award will be bestowed upon Boies and Olson during the meeting of the ABA House of Delegates at the Association’s annual meeting on August 8th, 2011.

Well deserved. Hopefully, this sends a powerful message about the ongoing fight for equality in our legal system.

Via JMG: From Disney's Wedding Blog

On Disney's wedding blog today, a lovely recounting of a same-sex romance. Aaand here come calls for a boycott!

(Tipped by JMG reader Eric)

 

Labels: celebration, Disney, gay weddings

reposted from Joe

BREAKING: Andrew Breitbart's BIG News (A DC Douglas Tweak)

Via JMG: Just Married

Buzzfeed has a fantastic collection of gay couples photographed moments after being married yesterday.

Labels: Buzzfeed, gay weddings, LGBT History, NYC

reposted from Joe

Congrats New York!

Via JMG: The Statute Of Liberty

Labels: celebration, LGBT rights, New York state

reposted from Joe

N.Y. Gay Couples Begin Seeking Marriage Licenses

Via JMG: Volunteer Flower Girls

Joe writes:

 

This Village Voice photo by Steven Thrasher made my grinchy heart grow two sizes: "That's Steve Landis and Julie Irwin, who brought their 4-year-old twins Emily and Sophie to Brooklyn Borough Hall this morning to be flower girls for whoever might need them. They don't even know anyone getting married today! Aw."

Labels: Brooklyn, gay weddings, NYC, Steven Thrasher

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: First Couple Married In Niagara Falls

With the magnificent Niagara Falls as a backdrop, early this morning two lesbian activists became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York.

Against a cascade of rainbow-colored falls, and with cicadas humming in the background, Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd married at the first possible moment in Niagara Falls. After a bell tolled 12 times to ring in the new day, Ms. Lambert, 54, and Ms. Rudd, 53, held hands and kissed in front of more than 100 friends and family members.

Labels: gay weddings, LGBT History, New York state

New! Share this on Facebook: Share7

 reposted from Joe

Via Credo: Stop Workplace Discrimination

Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to President Barack Obama: "President Obama: Issue an executive order barring federal contractors from engaging in job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. It's time for the federal government to stop doing business with businesses that discriminate." Automatically add your name:

Via JMG: NORWAY: "Christian Fundamentalist" Held For Terrorist Attack, 91 Deaths

Norwegian authorities are holding a man described as a "Christian fundamentalist" in connection with yesterday's terrorist attack on a youth camp. At least 91 people were killed.

The police said they did not know if the man, identified by the Norwegian media as Anders Behring Breivik, was part of a larger conspiracy. He is being questioned under the country’s terrorism laws, police said, and is cooperating with the investigation of the attacks, the deadliest on Norwegian soil since World War II. “We are not sure whether he was alone or had help,” a police official, Roger Andresen, said at a televised news conference, adding: “What we know is that he is right-wing and a Christian fundamentalist.” So far Mr. Breivik has not been linked to any anti-jihadist groups, he said.

Labels: Christianists, murder, Norway, terrorism

posted by Joe

Via JMG: Perry: Marriage Is A States Rights Issue

Yesterday Texas Gov. Rick Perry said that he considered same-sex marriage to be a states' right issue and that he has no problem with New York's move to legalize it.

Perry, who has been weighing a presidential run, said he opposes gay marriage — but that he's also a firm believer of the 10th Amendment. "Our friends in New York six weeks ago passed a statute that said marriage can be between two people of the same sex. And you know what? That's New York, and that's their business, and that's fine with me," he said to applause from several hundred GOP donors in Aspen, Colo. "That is their call. If you believe in the 10th Amendment, stay out of their business."

Perry is expected to formally announce his presidential run by summer's end.

Labels: 2012 elections, GOP, marriage equality, New York state, Rick Perry, Tenth Amendment, Texas

posted by Joe

GoodLuck S (NSFW)

Via Box Turtle Bulletin: Still having fun, Maggie?

Happiness is when reality exceeds your expectations. Apparently the National Organization “for” Marriage has officially lowered its expectations.

Over on their blog, NOM is happily touting a new poll in a post called, New Quinnipiac Poll: Majority Does NOT Support SSM:

The latest Quinnipiac poll:

Would you support or oppose a law in your state that would allow same-sex couples to get married?
Oppose: 48%
Support: 46%
Don’t Know/NA: 6%
Among Republicans:
Oppose: 72%
Support: 24%
Don’t Know/NA: 4%

Not so long ago, they’d have despaired at a slim margin like that. But with poll over poll over poll showing majority support for marriage equality, these numbers are the happiest news they can find.

That’s almost sad.

Heh, heh, heh.

You have to wonder, though:  How happy should they be? I hate spoiling their fun…but if you insist:


This is not the headline they want.
They wrote the headline, Majority Does Not Support SSM, but they’d much rather have written, Majority Opposes SSM. That’s one of their favorite talking points. Guess, they’ll have to retire it — even the polls they promote don’t let them say it.

So sorry, NOM.

The trend is against them.
They left a bunch of stuff out of their report. For instance, Quinnipiac’s comparison of these results to the ones they got two years ago:


Does that look like cause for a big NOM victory party?

So sorry.

They can’t even claim with confidence that they’re ahead.
Quinnipiac’s margin of error is ± 2%. That means the true results are somewhere in the range of 50-46 for NOM or 48-46 against NOM. Let me adjust the graphic to account for this margin of error. The wider lines indicate the 4% range for each result.


See how the lines now overlap? Didn’t used to happen.

So sorry.

They’re losing support in their base.

NOM gave us the Republican numbers for 2011, but not for 2009. Let me rectify that.

Republicans/SSM	April 2009	July 2011
Oppose	80%	72%
Support	17%	24%
Don’t Know/NA	2%	4%

NOM, you can’t even hold onto your own base.

So sorry.

A solid majority thinks the federal government should recognize same-sex marriage.

Federal SSM Recognition?	April 2009	July 2011
Oppose	39%	34%
Support	54%	59%
Don’t Know/NA	6%	7%

Oops — NOM, looks like you lost that one a couple years back. And you’re losing even worse now.

So sorry.

Did I say happiness is when reality exceeds your expectations? Then I’m happy, because I never expected NOM to view these numbers as good news. NOM has lowered its expectation and revealed it to the world. Maggie Gallagher recently said people should fight same-sex marriage because “Winning is fun.” I’m wondering Maggie, was New York fun? Were these numbers fun? Because writing this sure was fun for me.

Oh, I shouldn’t gloat.

So sorry.

Make the jump here to read the full article

Via Al Franken:

Dear Daniel,

There’s no good argument against marriage equality. There’s no good argument for the Defense of Marriage Act, one of the most unfair laws passed in my lifetime. And there’s no good argument for leaving it on the books.

What are we waiting for? The country has evolved -- Americans support the repeal of DOMA. So does President Obama. So does President Clinton, who signed it into law in 1996. So does Bob Barr, the Republican who wrote the darn thing.

I say it’s time. It’s time for gay and lesbian Americans to enjoy the same rights as the rest of us. It’s time to toss the bigotry and the fear into the dumpster of embarrassing history where they belong. And you know what? It’s time for progressives like you and me to stop waiting around for someone else to make this country what it ought to be.

It’s time to repeal DOMA. Let’s start right now, you and me. I’ve written a petition to get the ball rolling -- click here to add your name now!

Marrying Franni was the best thing that ever happened to me. And it’s always pained me to know that our country denies that right to millions of gays and lesbians.

Over the years, those of us who support marriage equality have had to put up with a series of nonsensical arguments from those who support marriage discrimination. And, one by one, their ridiculous objections have been proven wrong.

Same-sex marriage doesn’t hurt straight couples. It doesn’t hurt kids who grow up in loving same-sex families. It doesn’t hurt anyone. DOMA, on the other hand, is an ugly stain on our country. And every day we don’t repeal it is another day we’re making millions of Americans second-class citizens.

Let’s make today the day -- sign my petition to repeal DOMA and let’s get this done already.

I think we can do this, and I think we can do it now. But we can only do it if we convince decision-makers in the Obama administration and Congress that we won’t shut up until this gets done.

So let’s show them how many of us are prepared to fight for this -- right now. Sign my petition and tell Washington it’s time to repeal DOMA.

This is going to be a tough fight. But it’s a matter of simple fairness. We’re right. And we can win. Are you ready to fight alongside me?

Thanks,

Al Franken

P.S.: The first step is signing our petition. But if you’re ready to do more right now, how about forwarding this email to ten people or sharing it with your friends on Facebook? Or Tweet about it -- and make sure to use the hashtag #itstime.

Via Obama for America:

Daniel -- Today, President Obama and our military service chiefs certified the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In 60 days, it will be done. This is huge and welcome news for every one of us who opposes discrimination of any kind. But now, the fight for equal rights moves on. Here's the next front: This week the President endorsed a bill to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, a discriminatory law that forces the federal government to ignore the rights of those in same-sex marriages, even those performed in states where gay marriage is legal. The New York Times has said it "ranks with the most overtly discriminatory laws in the nation's history." President Obama sees repeal as a moral and legal necessity, while the Republican candidates oppose it. But millions of people -- gay and straight -- are watching what they're doing, want this law gone, and will make their voices heard. Can you be one of them? We're putting together the group of people who want to be at the forefront of our efforts on this issue as the campaign develops over the next 16 months -- the first to know when news breaks, and the first to help spread the word to your friends and in your community. Join us for what's next: http://my.barackobama.com/Equal-Rights Under DOMA, rights afforded to straight married couples -- such as receiving Social Security benefits for spouses or filing joint federal income-tax returns -- do not apply to same-sex married couples. It's no secret that the President has long opposed this law. In February, he directed the Justice Department to stop defending a key portion of it in court. And this week, he endorsed the first Senate bill that would repeal the law in its entirety. We can already see the direction the other side is headed in response. They called a witness at the Senate hearings this week to testify that repealing DOMA would "pave the way for polygamous and other polyamorous unions." That's the type of rhetoric we should be prepared to hear in the run-up to the next election. But the broad American consensus is on our side. We've all seen that change in Washington doesn't come overnight, and fighting for it can carry significant political risks. When opportunities to make real progress come up, it's critical to show Washington that millions of voters have President Obama's back. This is a defining issue for many of us in this movement, and for this President. Join this fight today: http://my.barackobama.com/Equal-Rights Thanks for your help, Messina Jim Messina Campaign Manager Obama for America

Via AmericaBloggay: Boehner won't bring DOMA repeal legislation up for a vote

Not that this is particularly surprising.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) indicated on Thursday he wouldn’t bring to a vote before the House legislation pending before Congress that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Asked by the Washington Blade if he’s be open to bringing the measure to a floor vote, Boehner replied, ”Congress has acted on this issue some number of years ago, and I think that the Congress acted on [it] in a bi-partisan way. It is the law of the land and should remain the law of the land.”

Via AmericaBlogGay: Command Sergeant Major to Marines: "Get Over" DADT Repeal

This might be a good time to remind everyone about this article, which popped up last month. The top enlisted man in the marines sends a long overdue message to his fellow marines while he toured bases in the Pacific. The Wall Street Journal was there to report:

“Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is pretty simple,” he told a group of Marines at a base in South Korea. “It says, ‘Raise an army.’ It says absolutely nothing about race, color, creed, sexual orientation.

“You all joined for a reason: to serve,” he continued. “To protect our nation, right?”

“Yes, sergeant major,” Marines replied.

“How dare we, then, exclude a group of people who want to do the same thing you do right now, something that is honorable and noble?” Sgt. Maj. Barrett continued, raising his voice just a notch. “Right?”

To drive the point home, he produced a pocket copy of the Constitution.

“Get over it,” he said. “We’re magnificent, we’re going to continue to be. … Let’s just move on, treat everybody with firmness, fairness, dignity, compassion and respect. Let’s be Marines.”

He mentioned that U.K. soldiers went through lifting the ban a decade ago (emphasis mine) with little disruption.

It isn't like we haven't been part of the marines since day one now is it?



Now Gomer Pyle won't have to go on all those ridiculous dates with women to try to hide who he really is.

Via JMG: Obama Certifies DADT Repeal

President Obama today formally certified the repeal of DADT. Reactions below:

Task Force

"Today marks the final critical strike against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,’ a policy whose demise can’t come fast enough. Eighteen years of witch hunts under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ have cost thousands of exemplary service members their careers, once again proving there are very personal and costly consequences of discrimination."

Human Rights Campaign

There are many people who brought this historic day to fruition starting with the President’s tremendous leadership and the steadfast allies in Congress who refused to give in to the lies and fear mongering. Additionally we thank all of the brave men and women who have continued to wear the uniform under a policy that forced them to hide who they are. The end of that shameful time is thankfully near.'

People For The American Way

“By repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Congress and the president have sent the powerful message to all young men and women growing up in the United States: if they are willing and able, their country will welcome their service and sacrifice. This repeal strengthens our military and strengthens the values at the foundation of our country. Gays and lesbians have always served honorably in our armed forces. Today's decision means that they'll finally be able to do so openly and honestly."

Servicemembers United

"Today, gay and lesbian servicemembers can and will breath a huge sigh of relief. While we still must wait 60 days for this change to formally take effect and for the law to officially be off the books, this step is nothing short of historic," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army Human Intelligence Collector who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "This is the final nail in the coffin for the discriminatory, outdated, and harmful 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law. All servicemembers, the U.S. military, and the nation will be better off as a result of this long overdue change in policy."

Labels: Barack Obama, DADT, LGBT History, military

reposted from Joe