Via Stuart Gaffney on Facebook: IRS adopts state domestic-partner property law

"In a significant move for same-sex couples, the Internal Revenue Service has decided to recognize California's community property law and treat the income earned by California registered domestic partners as community property income for federal income tax purposes."

IRS adopts state domestic-partner property law

www.sfgate.com

In a significant move for same-sex couples, the Internal Revenue Service has decided to recognize California's community property law and treat the income earned by California registered domestic partners as community...

Via Belirico:Obama shifting responsibly for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Filed by: Rev Irene Monroe

June 3, 2010 8:30 AM

Last week, with a vote of 230 to 191, the House of Representatives voted to repeal former President Bill Clinton's 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy that bars lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer service members from serving openly in the military. On the same day the House passed to repeal DADT, so too did the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"This legislation will help make our armed forces even stronger and more inclusive by allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to serve honestly and with integrity," President Obama told the Associated Press.

But at the end of the day of all this historic voting, last week, the plight of our LGBTQ service members remained unchanged.

Investigations and discharges for being an openly LGBTQ service member will continue on as usual. Why? Because the Pentagon has not completed its study, reviewing how to maintain the military's "unit cohesion" while integrating LGBTQ service members.

December 1 is the day the country will know the results of the Pentagon study. We will also know if the welcoming mat will truly begin to unfold for our LGBTQ service members.

So, with the military having the real power to either overturn or to uphold DADT, what was last week's voting in the House and the Senate Armed Services Committee really about?

Pressure? Posturing? Or both?

Continue reading "Obama shifting responsibly for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"" »

Via Belirico: New Rules For The Barracks

Filed by: Father Tony

June 3, 2010 10:30 AM

According to recent studies, most soldiers are OK with the idea of gay comrades in arms, but the generals would have us believe that straight military personnel are trembling with fear at the thought of the elimination of DADT. I am not the only one who has occasionally asked a homophobe "What on earth are you afraid of?" I usually frame this heartfelt question with the explanation that homophobia is irrational. Gay marriage won't destroy straight "traditional" marriage. It won't destroy the "family". Letting gay men and women become ordained priests will not dilute the leadership of churches, nor would it pollute the pristine waters of heaven to affirm the presence of gay post-mortem angelic souls (for them that find comfort in fairy tale endings.) Openly gay military personnel won't cause weak links to form in the chain of command and within the ranks of those who have each other's backs.

Last week, I finally got an answer to my wondering about the basis of fear in the hearts of military brass. The rarely uttered truth is that some generals think that ditching DADT will mean that gay male soldiers will boldly creep into the beds of snoring straight soldiers and fellate them in their sleep.

There you have it. I knew that if we pushed hard enough, we'd eventually get the homophobes to blurt out the ridiculous fear that is at the root of their anxiety about the functioning of the military post-DADT.

Obviously, the real homophobic fear is not that a sleeping soldier will orgasm in the mouth of a gay soldier but that the straight soldier will enjoy gay sex, awake or otherwise. In the minds of homophobes, anti-gay rules constitute a dam that keeps their own guilty desires in check just as much as it keeps gay people in check. Homophobes tremble with fear at what is in their hearts. Let's help them out of their fear by suggesting some new rules for the barracks.

Continue reading "New Rules For The Barracks" »

Via Belrico: Some benefits extended to federal employees

Filed by: Alex Blaze

June 3, 2010 1:00 PM

Some progress:

The same-sex partners of gay and lesbian federal workers can start applying next month for long-term health-care insurance, the Office of Personnel Management said Tuesday.

That's great, because long-term health insurance can be incredibly expensive. The more people who have quality long-term health insurance, the better.

Of course, there'll be some who say this isn't enough, and it isn't. Regular health care benefits aren't extended here, although the bill to extend those to same-sex partners has already made it through committee and is expected to make it to the floor of the Senate this month (we'll see, of course).

What's been surprising is the number of queer commentators saying how this only affects a small number of people, as if that's ever been a reason for the LGBT community not to advocate for something. Marriage only affects those LGB people in long-term relationships who choose to participate in the institution, which isn't most of us. DADT only affects those of us in the military or who plan on enlisting if it gets repealed, which really doesn't account for the swaths of people who'll never enlist discussing DADT.

Nothing's stopped us before from celebrating progress that benefits only a sector of the community, and federal workers are great people to celebrate.

Continue reading "Some benefits extended to federal employees" »

Via 365gay: Culhane: How DADT repeal will help gay marriage

June 3rd, 2010

By John Culhane 06.03.2010
Professor of Law, Widener University

If the military can do it - so can society. Read more...

Via JMG: Chief Of Naval Operations Urges Sailors To Participate In DADT Study

It sure seems like he's asking for negative comments. "The repeal will ONLY go into effect AFTER this study."

reposted from Joe

ViaJMG: PFOX Complains: The PTA Won't Let Bigots Like Us Come To Their Convention!

"Ex-gay" group PFOX is stamping their widdle footies because the PTA says they don't allow hate groups to come to their national convention. PFOX says they called and emailed for eight months, requesting a booth at the convention, only to finally be told they don't meet the PTA's standards. Via Christian Newswire:

"Why is it gay groups meet the PTA Diversity and Inclusion Policy but our families do not? 'Diversity' and 'inclusion' should mean exactly that -- diversity and inclusion of everyone," said [PFOX head Regina] Griggs. "Instead, gay groups like PFLAG that deny public access to ex-gays and disrupt church events welcoming former homosexuals are approved by the PTA while ex-gay groups are not," said Griggs. "Now the PTA is pressuring its state PTA chapters nationwide to adopt its biased national diversity policy, which includes 'sexual orientation,' even though that term is selectively used to discriminate against people of faith and ex-gay families." "The PTA has become a left-wing advocacy group instead of serving the needs of all children," said Griggs.

PFOX is asking for concerned Christians to join in an email campaign to the national and local chapters of the PTA demanding that they rescind their sexual orientation non-discrimination policy until it includes the orientation of "ex-gay." Or "totally kidding themselves," as it is more properly known.

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: American Catholic Bishops Agree On ENDA: It Should Remain Legal To Fire Gays

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has written a letter to Congress demanding that they vote against ENDA. An excerpt:

While the Church is ardently opposed to all unjust discrimination on the grounds of sexual inclination, whether homosexual or heterosexual, it does teach that all sexual acts outside of a marriage between one man and one woman are morally wrong. The Catholic Church’s teaching cannot, therefore, be equated with “unjust discrimination,” because it is based on fundamental truths about the human person and personal conduct. Homosexual conduct is categorically closed to the transmission of life, and does not reflect or respect the personal complementarity of man and woman. In contrast to sexual conduct within marriage between one man and one woman—which does serve both the good of each married person and the good of society— heterosexual and homosexual conduct outside of marriage has no claim to special protection by the state.

Just as every other group in our society, the Catholic Church enjoys the same rights to hold to its beliefs, organize itself around them, and argue for them in the public square. This is guaranteed by our Constitution. This includes the right to teach what it holds to be the truth concerning homosexual conduct—and to act as an employer consistent with that truth—without the threat of government sanction. The USCCB continues to oppose “unjust discrimination” against people with a homosexual inclination, but we cannot support a bill – such as ENDA in its current form – that would legally affirm and specially protect any sexual conduct outside of marriage.

Andrew Sullivan reacts:

Notice that there is no attempt here to argue that straight people who violate church doctrine - anyone who masturbates or uses contraception, is divorced or re-married - should not be protected from discrimination. It is always just the gays who are the target, because their identity inherently proves their iniquity, while most straight people can hide theirs. Notice also that the focus here is entirely on the victims of discrimination, not the perpetrators.

Labels: bigotry, Catholic Church, employment, ENDA, LGBT rights, religion

reposted from JMG

Via ACAPA:

Na última sexta-feira (14/05), o ministério das Relações Exteriores oficializou o direito de passaportes diplomáticos a parceiros gays de servidores que trabalham nas representações do Brasil no exterior.

A decisão, que iguala parceiros homossexuais e heterossexuais, foi anunciada em comunicado interno a embaixadas e consulados em mais de 200 países.

De acordo com o Itamaraty, a medida deve evitar que funcionários gays registrem seus parceiros como serviçais, o que acontecia para assim garantir o direito de permanência fora do país.

Agora, com a concessão do passaporte diplomático, na prática, significa que os parceiros terão mais facilidade em obter permissão de residência. Tal decisão complementa outra resolução, de 2006, que já permitia aos funcionários do quadro de serviços do Itamaraty incluir parceiros do mesmo sexo como dependentes em planos de assistência médica.

veja ACAPA aqui

Via aatombomb:

“In the early 1980s, the Naval Investigative Service was investigating homosexuality in the Chicago area. Agents discovered that gay men sometimes referred to themselves as “friends of Dorothy.” Unaware of the historical meaning of the term, the NIS believed that a woman named Dorothy was at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel. The NIS launched an enormous hunt for Dorothy, hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay servicemembers.

Via MSF:

In the fight for equality, sometimes we can get so wrapped up in the present, that we forget that this fight has been going on for decades and that those who have been fighting the fight on our behalf for many years have made the level of societal acceptance of LGBT people possible. There are few other people who have been unabashed advocates for equality and Ms. Barbra Streisand has been at the forefront of the fight for her entire career. Recently Ms. Streisand was gracious to give a bit of her time to answer some questions for MatthewsPlace.com. Thank you to her for her compassion, generosity and candor. The world is a safer place because of her voice. Click Here to read the story.

Tell a Friend!

From Buzz:

Has Mark Kirk, Illinois GOP Congressman Who is Seeking Obama's Senate Seat, Been Outed as a Typical Hypocritical Gay Republican Who Engages in Homophobia? It Appears That Way.

Via JMG: Tony Perkins: Repealing DADT Will Mean The End Of Religious Freedom

According to the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, repealing DADT will stomp the religious freedom of military chaplains to tell soldiers that they are sinners who will suffer in an eternal hellfire.

In their counseling role, military chaplains assist all service members who come to them, even if they are of other faith traditions. But if a homosexual seeks counseling regarding his personal relationships, will the chaplain be free to recommend therapy to overcome homosexual attractions? Or will he be forced to affirm a lifestyle that his faith condemns? While chaplains are members of the military, they must be “endorsed” by a sponsoring religious body. Denominations that are unequivocal in holding to a biblical standard of sexual morality may stop endorsing military chaplains rather than allow them to compromise their principles. This may result in a chaplain corps that has plenty of Unitarian ministers and homosexual Episcopal priests, but a shortage of clergy to minister to the largest religious groups in America, such as Roman Catholics (whose catechism declares that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered”) or Southern Baptists (whose Baptist Faith and Message declares that “Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography”).

According to the wingnuts, repealing DADT will cause soldier rapes, AIDS for everybody, Islamic retribution, and the return of the draft. Not being able to falsely tell people they will burn in a mythical fire seems almost petty by comparison.reposted from Joe

Via JMG: San Francisco's Gay Cheerleaders Advance On America's Got Talent

Cheer SF's audition is at about the 6:30 mark.


(Tipped by JMG reader Sean)reposted from Joe

Via 365gay: FDA rethinks gay blood ban

By Shamecca Harris, 365gay.com
05.29.2010 10:00am EDT

The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability is set to hold a hearing June 10 and 11 to reconsider a FDA rule which bans gay from donating blood, CNN reported.

The rule, implemented in 1983, prevents men who have had sex with another man since 1977 from donating blood. Established during the onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis, it was intended to be a preventive measure from spreading the virus and other transfusion-transmitted diseases.

Today, with new and more effective means for HIV/AIDS testing , many argue that the ban is “medically and scientifically unwarranted.”

Activists, including the Human Rights Campaign, the American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers and AABB are opposed to the lifetime ban of gay donors. “Potential donors should be screened more fairly regardless of sexual orientation” they said in a joint statement.

Politians have also weighed in on the debate. Senator John Kerry and 17 other senators signed a letter challenging the “outdated policy.”

“Gay men, including those who are in monogoamous relationships, are forbidden from contributing blood for the rest of their lives, while ‘a heterosexual who has had sex with a prostitute need only wait a year [before giving blood]. That does not strike me as a sound scientific conclusion,’” Kerry wrote.

Even so, the Food and Drug Administration stands by their policy. The policy “is based on scientific data that s how that certain medical, behavioral and geographical factors are associated with increases risk of transfusion transmitted diseases,” they told CNN. Still, the agency says it is “considering the possibility of pursing alternative strategies that maintain blood safety.”

Via Pam Spaulding

Anti-DADT repeal vote Mark Kirk (R-IL) inadvertently outed himself to...Mike Rogers

Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 15:41:32 PM EDT

As they say, sometimes you just can't make stuff up. Gay activist and friend of the Blend, Mike Rogers of BlogActive, has been a bit dormant on the outing front, since most Republican Sexual Hypocrites seem to be outing themselves these days, usually after run-ins with the police.

But not Mark Kirk (R-IL). The man who's currently running for Barack Obama's former Senate seat made news recently for puffing up his military record, claiming he was "the only member of Congress to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom." He conveniently left out the word "stateside" there. Interestingly, one of the posts about this flap was entitled "Jean's lie outs a fellow Republican."

make the jump here to read the full article on Pam Spaulding

The View - Pee Wee Herman (6-01-10)

Via JMG: People en Español Features Gay Dad Ricky Martin On Father's Day Issue

Via Andres Duque at Blabbeando, who says: "How great is it that the editors of one of the most widely read Spanish-language magazines in the United States would deem it fit to honor Ricky Martin and his parenting as an openly gay man and, in doing so, highlight gay parenting in general? Appropriately, I also happened to come upon this story today on what a number of bloggers are celebrating as the 5th Annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day." Duque notes that the editor of People en Español is also an openly gay man with two kids of his own. repostdo de Joe

Via JMG: PORTUGAL: Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo Endorses Same-Sex Marriage

Portuguese soccer hero Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the most beloved athletes in the world, has endorsed same-sex marriage. Via Blabbeando's Andres Duque, who translates Ronaldo as saying: "The Portuguese man that I am, I try to keep informed about what is happening in my country. I know the law was passed and the comment it deserves is that we must respect the choices made by anyone, because, after all, all citizens should have the exact same rights and responsibilities." Last month Portugal legalized gay marriage.reposted from Joe