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Via JMG: Dozens Of Major Corporations To File Supreme Court Brief Against Prop 8

Later this week dozens of major corporations will file a joint Supreme Court brief in support of the overturn of Prop 8.  The names are huge, people. Fortune Magazine reports:

On Thursday, dozens of American corporations, including Apple, Alcoa, Facebook, eBay, Intel, and Morgan Stanley will submit an amicus brief in the landmark Hollingsworth v. Perry case broadly arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court that laws banning same-sex marriages, like California's ballot initiative Proposition 8, are unconstitutional under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.
According to a draft copy obtained by Fortune, the companies argue that such laws "send an unmistakeable signal that same-sex couples are in some way inferior to opposite-sex couples, a proposition that is anathema to amici's commitment to equality and fair treatment to all."
At least 60 companies had committed to signing the brief as of Tuesday evening, according to Joshua Rosenkranz, who is counsel of record on the brief and head of the Supreme Court and appellate litigation practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. That number is expected to rise by Thursday, however, according to Rosenkranz. Others who have already committed to sign include AIG, Becton Dickinson, Cisco, Cummins, Kimpton, Levi Strauss, McGraw Hill, NCR, Nike, Office Depot, Oracle, Panasonic, Qualcomm, and Xerox.

An excerpt from the brief declares that Proposition 8 "leaves companies in the untenable position of being compelled implicitly to endorse the second-class status to which their gay and lesbian employees, clients, customers, and business associates are relegated. Until the law no longer relegates same-sex couples to second-class status as inferior 'domestic partnerships,' our adherence to the law compels us to abide by a distinction that stigmatizes and dehumanizes gay men and lesbians."

Labels: business, marriage equality, Prop 8, Supreme Court

posted by Joe

JMG HomoQuotable: Peter Tatchell

"Cardinal [Keith] O'Brien condemned homosexuality as a grave sin and was a long-time opponent of gay equality. He supported homophobic discrimination in law, including the current ban on same-sex marriage. In the light of these allegations, his stance looks hypocritical. He appears to have preached one thing in public while doing something different in private. Several other prominent opponents of equal marriage are guilty of double standards and vulnerable to similar exposure. They include anti-gay clergy and politicians.

"It is estimated that around 40% of Catholic priests in Britain are gay, which makes the church's opposition to gay equality so two-faced and absurd. A significant proportion of all Cardinals worldwide is thought to be gay. Recent revelations in Italy have alleged the existence of a gay mafia within the Vatican, including senior Cardinals and other Vatican officials, and their participation in gay bars, clubs, saunas, chat rooms and male prostitution services. The Vatican is shamelessly championing homophobia and the denial of legal equality to gay people, while hosting a hotbed of secret, guilt-ridden clerical homosexuality." - British activist Peter Tatchell, in a statement posted on his website.

Labels: Catholic Church, HomoQuotable, Peter Tatchell, Vatican

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Pat Robertson Expands His Anti-Gay Rights Campaign To Brazil

Pat Robertson's "legal" group, the American Center for Law & Justice, has long extended its scaly tentacles into other nations such as Russia and Kenya, where they work to inflame anti-gay sentiments.  Now the ACLJ has set up an office in Brazil.  Buzzfeed reports:

The head of the new Brazil office, Filipe Coelho, is a scion of one of Brazil's leading evangelical families, and aims to stop hate crime legislation from becoming law, opposes marriage rights for same-sex couples and speaks strongly about the dangers of employment protections for LGBT people. Same-sex marriage is also legal in some Brazilian jurisdictions. This includes São Paulo state, which has a population of more than 40 million people, roughly the same size as Argentina. But Brazil also has an evangelical movement that most closely parallels the United States. It accounts for about 20 percent of the population and it has serious muscle in election campaigns and the country's legislature.

The ACLJ is headed by Jay Sekulow, who first came to fame for convincing the Supreme Court that Jews For Jesus had the right to harass people at airports.  And his ACLJ gig has earned him tens of millions.

Since 1998, the two charities have paid out more than $33 million to members of Sekulow's family and businesses they own or co-own, according to the charities' federal tax returns. One of the charities is controlled by the Sekulow family — tax documents show that all four of CASE's board members are Sekulows and another is an officer — an arrangement criticized by a nonprofit watchdog group.

Tax-exempt hate, now in Brazil. Praise Jesus.

Labels: ACLJ, Brazil, hate groups, LGBT rights, Pat Robertson, religion, scams

posted by Joe

Via JMG: Edith Windsor Files DOMA Brief

 

Edith Windsor today filed a Supreme Court brief in the DOMA case that bears her name. Chris Geidner has the details:

Specifically, Windsor argues laws like DOMA that classify people based on their sexual orientation should be subjected to "heightened scrutiny" by courts, which demands the government to provide an "important" reason for the law in question. A similar argument was made by the Obama administration in a filing last Friday. In discussing the standards that courts use when determining whether heightened scrutiny should apply, Windsor argues that gays and lesbians have faced a history of discrimination, and that their being gay does not affect their ability to contribute to society. Additionally, she argues that sexual orientation is not, generally speaking, fluid, and that the group "lacks political power" because of prejudice.

Read the full brief here.

Labels: DOMA, Edith Windsor, marriage equality, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Who would have thought that all things are the manifestation of the Essence of Mind! - The Sutra of Hui Neng More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma February 26, 2013

Unmasking the Self

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, not knowing what is next and not concerned with what was or what may be next, a new mind is operating that is not connected with the conditioned past and yet perceives and understands the whole mechanism of conditioning. It is the unmasking of the self that is nothing but masks—images, memories of past experiences, fears, hopes, and the ceaseless demand to be something or become somebody.

- Toni Packer, "Unmasking the Self"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through February 27th, 2013
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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on the eye: this is the gratification in the eye. That the eye is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change: this is the danger in the eye. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust from the eye: this is the escape from the eye. - Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha" More Buddhism Quotes >>

JMG Afternoon View: Gay Historical Marker:

The above sign was posted in 2005 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Visit Philly, the city's official tourism organization, has some details:

Pennsylvania erected Philadelphia’s first LGBT marker to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first Annual Reminder, a demonstration led by pioneering gay activists on July 4 from 1965 to 1969. Standing directly across the street from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center at 6th and Chestnut Streets, the marker serves as a reminder of the city’s open and progressive history. Also adding to Philadelphia’s LGBT appeal are nearly 70 rainbow street signs that adorn the lively and popular Gayborhood. The street signs, along with the blue-and-yellow markers provide great backdrops for LGBT travelers in search of interesting photo opportunities.

A second LGBT-related marker was installed in late 2011 to honor Giovanni's Room, which some consider to have been the first (and is certainly the oldest still-running) gay bookstore in the nation.  We saw both today in a very entertaining Visit Philly trolley tour of Philadelphia's most historic sites and its most-popular gayborhood.
RELATED: Read more about the Annual Reminder.

Labels: Afternoon View, LGBT History, Philadelphia

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma February 24, 2013

Our Innate Wisdom

All of the 'words of wisdom' are in your own heart, so why waste time listening to someone else speak them? The Buddhadharma is the same. The principles in the sutras come from our own hearts. The wisdom and happiness of all buddhas comes from our own minds.

- Heng Ch'au, "Bowing"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through February 25th, 2013
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JMG Tweet Of The Day: Better Midler

Labels: Bette Midler, Catholic Church, gay icons, Vatican

Reposted from Joe

Suze Orman Discusses DOMA's Economic Harms

By On Top Magazine Staff
Published: February 22, 2013

Financial whiz Suze Orman appeared on CNN to discuss the economic harms the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) causes.

DOMA is the 1996 law which prevents federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples.

Make the jump here to  read the full article

Tricycle Daily Dharma February 23, 2013

Meeting Life with Grace

When we face the limitations of our power and control, all we can skillfully do is bow to that moment. The conceit of self is challenged and eroded not only by the circumstances of our lives but also by our willingness to meet those circumstances with grace rather than with fear.

- Christina Feldman, "Long Journey to a Bow"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through February 24th, 2013
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Obama Reiterates Gay Marriage Support In Discussing Prop 8 Case

BEN IVORY - THE RIGHTEOUS ONES (Official Music Video)

Thanks to JMG for this

You can close your eyes if you want to
Lock your doors and hide if we haunt you
Get your guns tonight if we scare you
But we ain’t goin’ nowhere, no we ain’t goin’ nowhere

You can pass a law if you need to
Punch us in the jaw when we beat you
Use your shock and awe if you dare to
But we ain’t goin’ nowhere, no we ain’t goin’ nowhere

Via JMG: AP Issues Style Guide On Husband/Wife

Joe says:

For the last week the LGBT blogosphere has been battling the Associated Press over a direction to  their reporters that they should not automatically refer to people in legal same-sex marriages as "husband" or "wife."  I left the story alone because I figured the AP would immediately correct such as obviously wrong position. Today they finally did. Here's the new policy.

husband, wife Regardless of sexual orientation, husband or wife is acceptable in all references to individuals in any legally recognized marriage. Spouse or partner may be used if requested.

The AP adds: "The AP has never had a Stylebook entry on the question of the usage of husband and wife. All the previous conversation was in the absence of such a formal entry. This lays down clear and simple usage. After reviewing existing practice, we are formalizing 'husband, wife' as an entry."

Labels: Associated Press, journalism, language

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Gallup's LGBT Survey: Colorized

 

Somebody over at Buzzfeed colorized Gallup's survey.

Labels: Gallup, maps, surveys

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Nate Silver Handicaps The Oscars

Details.

Labels: 2013 Oscars, Hollywood, Nate Silver

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma February 22, 2013

Only the Present Moment

Every moment in life is absolute in itself. That's all there is. There is nothing other than this present moment; there is no past, there is no future; there is nothing but this. So when we don't pay attention to each little this, we miss the whole thing.

- Charlotte Joko Beck, "Attention Means Attention"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through February 23rd, 2013
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