Via JMG: We Need An Executive Order On LGBT Employees And Federal Contractors

In 2008 then-Sen. Obama promised to deliver an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  Since then the White House has repeatedly said that a legislative solution that would affect all employers is the goal. But that goal, ENDA, very clearly is out of reach while the GOP controls the House.  So how about that executive order? Chris Geidner reports some new stats at Buzzfeed:

Nearly $250 billion in federal contracts given out in the last fiscal year went to contractors operating in states where the companies could fire a worker solely because the person is gay, lesbian or bisexual, a new report has found. A group of organizations that have been urging President Obama to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers will be releasing the new report Tuesday as a step in increasing pressure on the president to act during tax time.

The report, a copy of which was provided to BuzzFeed Monday night, also has found that nearly $300 billion in federal contracts were given out in states that have no specific state-level protections against anti-transgender discrimination.

Although federal government employees are protected from anti-LGBT discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, there is currently no protection for employees of federal contractors against sexual orientation discrimination and protections against gender identity discrimination are unclear. And while most of the top federal contractors have policies against LGBT discrimination, the report aims to draw attention to the limits employees would have in states without legal protections.

While an executive order would only affect companies that do business with the federal government, it's a start. A start with $250B in federal money attached to it.

Labels: employment, ENDA, feds, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 9, 2013

The Ground of Compassion

To be truly and wholly present even for the briefest moment is to be vulnerable, for we have arrived at the point where the obstacle that fear constructs between ourselves and others dissolves. It is here that the heart is drawn out of hiding and the inherent sympathetic response called compassion arises.

- Lin Jensen, “An Ear to the Ground”

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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	As a Buddhist monk my concern extends to all members of the human family and, indeed, to all sentient beings who suffer. I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, Oslo, December 1989 More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via JMG: REPORT: Gay Couples Will Not Be Included In Immigration Reform Bill

The director of Immigration Equality said today that she does not expect that gay couples will in included in the immigration reform bill about to be introduced in the US Senate. Michael Lavers reports at Washington Blade:

“We are not expecting LGBT families to be included in the Gang of 8 bill,” she told the Washington Blade during a conference call ahead of a rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform on Wednesday that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the U.S. Capitol. “That in our minds means that of course the bill is incomplete.” Tiven’s comments come roughly three months after President Obama publicly unveiled an immigration reform proposal that includes bi-national gay couples.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler confirmed to the Blade  that "LGBT-specific language will likely not appear in the bill. Nadler: "This is disappointing but not particularly surprising."

Labels: immigration, Immigration Equality, Senate

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: OREGON: Haters Lose Bid To Rewrite Marriage Ban Ballot Measure

Oregon's Attorney General has rejected the "absurd" bid of an anti-gay group to rewrite a proposed 2014 ballot measure to overturn that state's ban on same-sex marriage.

The attorney general's office on Friday announced its final wording on a ballot title -- and it rejected the legal argument from an attorney for the Oregon Family Council that the title should reflect the notion that the initiative would require every governmental agency in Oregon to issue marriage licenses. Basic Rights Oregon, the gay-rights group sponsoring the initiative, has rejected that argument as absurd. It says county clerks would continue to be the only ones issuing marriage licenses if this initiative is approved by voters.

Here is the ballot language approved by the state: "Amends Constitution: Recognizes marriage between couples of same gender; protects clergy/religious institutions' refusal to perform marriages."  Basic Rights Oregon has until July 2014 to collect 116,000 petition signatures.

Labels: 2014 elections, marriage equality, Oregon

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Dan Savage On Margaret Thatcher

"I was living in London—waiting tables, seeing plays, stealing silver, pining after British boys—when Section 28 was being debated. The law prompted Ian McKellen to come out of the closet and it prompted some righteous lesbian parents to tag Thatcher billboard with "Lesbians Mums Aren't Pretending." Coming at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Section 28 instilled panic. It felt like this law might the first of many anti-gay laws to come. Instead Section 28 was the beginning of the end for political homophobia in the UK. Because McKellen wasn't the only gay person to come out in protest. And you know what happens when gay people come out. So thanks for that, Maggie." - Dan Savage, writing for Slog.

Labels: Britain, Dan Savage, LGBT rights, Margaret Thatcher

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	When everything is clean-clear in your own mind, nobody can create obstacles for you. - Lama Thubten Yeshe, "The Bliss of Inner Fire" More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 8, 2013

Putting Your Body to Good Use

What should you do to put your body to good use? Most people have no idea. A craftsman who borrows some tools will try to make the best possible use of them while they are available. Your body, too, is actually on loan to you for the time being, for the brief period left before it is taken back from you by death. Had you better not use it to practice the dharma while you can?

- Dilgo Khyentse, "The Day After You Die"

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Vua JMG: Tenth Brazilian State Legalizes Marriage

The Brazilian state of Parana has become the tenth in that nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

According to a count by the office of Rep. Jean Wyllys, Brazil's first openly gay lawmaker, ten states out of twenty-seven now automatically convert such unions into marriage, they include: Alagoas, Bahia, Ceara, Sergipe, Espiritu Santo, Piaui, Sao Paulo, Parana, Mato Grosso do Sul and the Federal District.

Marriages conducted in those ten states are recognized nationwide. (Via Zack Ford)

Labels: Brazil, marriage equality, South America

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 6, 2013

An Ever-Present Refuge

Love and compassion make us feel safe because they express the safety of their source—the deep buddhanature within us, the unchanging inner space of primal awareness that cannot be harmed. By receiving unconditional love and compassion from those who’ve awakened before us, we sense that we too can relax into the very source of such love in the unconditioned nature of our minds, our buddhanature.

- John Makransky, "Aren't We Right to be Angry?"

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Via Being Gay Becoming Gray - With Passion, Beauty and a Sense of Adventure / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 April 5, 2013

Seeing Possibility in Suffering

Being intolerant of suffering, in the Buddhist sense, does not mean that we reject it or fight against it. It means that we stop and look at it, not morbidly, but with faith in the possibility of living a joyful and peaceful life.

- Gil Fronsdal, "Living Two Traditions"

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 4, 2013

Lighten Your Load

Consider the possibility, and I am only saying consider the possibility, that maybe nothing is unforgivable. Maybe there is a way to find forgiveness even for what we have believed for so long to be unforgivable. Explore this mindfully.

- Allan Lokos, “Lighten Your Load”

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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Whoever, with a rod, harasses an innocent man, unarmed, quickly falls into any of ten things: harsh pains, devastation, a broken body, grave illness, mental derangement, trouble with the government, violent slander, relatives lost, property dissolved, houses burned down. At the break-up of the body this one with no disconcernment, reappears in hell. - Dhammapada, 137-140, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu More Buddhism Quotes >>

JMG Quote Of The Day - Kobe Bryant

"Of course Magic is supportive of and loves his son.  Why should anyone be surprised? What I can't tolerate is a lack of tolerance." - NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, responding to yesterday's TMZ story about Magic Johnson's support for his gay son. TMZ ponders: "The strong implication -- tolerance is not just limited to parents and their kids, but to pro athletes whose teammates may soon come out of the closet. In case you aren't reading between the lines -- given Kobe's stature, his statement could have a huge impact on athletes coming out."

Labels: basketball, coming out, gay athletes, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, NBA, sports, TMZ

Reposted from Joe

Via Mitt Witt for runner up / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 3, 2013

Nirvana Right Now

Maybe we think that nirvana is a place where there are no problems, no more delusions. Maybe we think nirvana is something very beautiful, something unattainable. We always think nirvana is something very different from our own life. But we must really understand that it is right here, right now.

- Maezumi Roshi, “Appreciate Your Life”

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Via JMG: Uruguay Approves Same-Sex Marriage!

 

Moments ago the Uruguay Senate approved its marriage equality bill by a vote of 23-8. The bill now returns to the nation's lower legislative chamber to reconcile a minor change.  President Jose Mujica has promised to sign the bill and marriages should commence within a few months. ¡Felicidades Uruguay!
UPDATE: Freedom To Marry cheers via press release.

“Freedom to Marry applauds the people of Uruguay and their government for moving forward into a future in which all loving and committed couples can share in the freedom to marry and the meaning and protections marriage brings to families. Uruguay’s vote today to move past civil union to marriage itself, Argentina’s enactment of the freedom to marry in 2010 and the Mexico Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling last month in favor of the freedom to marry -- citing the U.S Supreme Court cases of Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia -- all are inspirations and examples decision-makers here in the United States, including our Supreme Court justices, should swiftly follow to get the U.S. where it needs to be.”

Labels: marriage equality, South America, Uruguay

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	He who has put away evil, who is humble, free from impurity, self restrained, versed in knowledge, leading a holy life, That man may be truly called a Brahmana. For him there are no desires anywhere in the world. - Udana More Buddhism Quotes >>