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| Dear Daniel, Our community is the target of many hateful laws and policies, but one law has come to symbolize the anti-gay cause at its most crass, ruthless and dishonest: Proposition 8. That showdown in California in 2008 pitted a right-wing lie machine against ordinary couples who just wanted to stay married. The lies won out that day. In fact, months later polls would show that many voters still believed them. Proposition 8 was built on lies. This week, United States District Judge Vaughn Walker issued a ruling concluding that California has no legitimate basis for denying marriage to same-sex couples. The court concluded that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. This ruling followed a trial during which every false justification for Prop 8 came under scrutiny. The opinion ticks through each false premise-same-sex couples are not good parents; marriage equality threatens opposite-sex couples-and rejects them all. In the end, all that is left is truth: "plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages." We are all grateful to the brave couples, their acclaimed counsel and the American Foundation for Equal Rights for standing up for equality. Of course, our opponents at the National Organization for Marriage were screaming injustice before the ink on the decision had dried. The group, which is already on a 20-city tour to argue against our equal rights and to prove that they are persecuted (really), has a new message: this court has threatened the voting rights of every American. That’s right-if the gays can get married, then you are disenfranchised. It makes sense if your idea of "right to vote" is "right to discriminate." Good luck with that, NOM. Our opponents do have one thing right: our right to vote is important. Legislators enact the laws that protect us or those that restrict our rights. Some have the power to set public workplace policies and others are responsible for appointing and confirming judges. That’s why HRC works in state and federal elections. It is also why we spoke out again this week against Target and Best Buy-100% CEI companies-who donated an astonishing $250,000 to a political committee that supports a rabidly anti-equality candidate for Minnesota governor. Over 100,000 of you responded to our call to action, asking the companies to make it right. Target's CEO has issued an apology, but has not yet indicated how the company will rectify the situation or prevent future donations to anti-LGBT candidates. When anti-LGBT lawmakers take office and our opponents get laws like Proposition 8 on the books, the federal courts can bring justice and prevent the majority from trampling minority rights. HRC has long been involved in promoting a fair-minded judiciary. Most recently, we endorsed Solicitor General Elena Kagan's nomination to be the 112th justice of the United States Supreme Court. On Thursday, the Senate confirmed her by a vote of 63-37. In the judicial nominations process, you always hear the refrain "elections have consequences." This thoughtful proponent of equal rights is a welcome consequence indeed.  Joe Solmonese President, Human Rights Campaign  |
Friday, August 6, 2010
VIA HRC:
Via JMG: Who At Target Donated To Yes On 8?
Abe Sauer writes at The Awl: The truth is not that Target and its leadership have suddenly turned on their commitment to gay rights. It's more that it never really existed to begin with. Further research shows that Target has funneled significant funding to the most socially conservative of Republicans and that it boasts a frightening culture of anti-gay candidate support from Target's own stable of top executives. We have already noted that CEO Gregg Steinhafel and his wife both maxed out their personal contributions this year to Michele Bachmann and Tom Emmer. But Steinhafel is just the captain of the crew. Target's current group of top corporate officers have supported a murderers row of anti-gay politicians. Even more confusing, some of those anti-gay candidates supported by Target's PAC and its executives don't even represent Minnesota.Read Abe Sauer's complete expose.
reposted from Joe
Via JMG: Will The GOP Turn Prop 8 Into A Midterm Election Wedge Issue?
Probably not, at least according to some GOP flacks speaking to the New York Times.
Republicans said that dwelling on the issue could become a distraction in the effort to win back the House or Senate from Democrats this fall. At a meeting of the Republican National Committee in Kansas City, Mo., several party leaders and strategists said it would be a mistake for the midterm election campaign to suddenly become focused on gay marriage, immigration or other hot-button issues. The only path to winning control of Congress, they said, rested on making an economic argument. “This election needs to revolve around five issues: taxes, spending, the economy, jobs and debt,” said Ron Nehring, chairman of the California Republican Party. “That doesn’t mean that other issues aren’t important — they are important — but the first issue on the minds of people is the economy.”Also quoted in the above-linked article is NOM's Brian Brown, who vows to make Prop 8 an election issue whether the GOP likes it or not. "I definitely think it’s going to have an effect on the 2010 elections. You’re going to see ads, you’re going to see folks standing up on this issue, and the people that support Walker’s decision are going to pay a price."
Likewise, Murray Clark, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said Republicans were acting at their own peril if they suddenly starting focusing on the ruling. A protracted discussion about social issues, he said, could play into Democratic hands. “Can we declare a truce on some of the other issues unrelated to the economy?” Mr. Clark said in an interview in Kansas City, Mo.
reposted from Joe
Via SacBee: Irate Prop. 8 backers say gay judge not impartial
Via California Ripple Effect:
Our Constitution Is a Living, Breathing Document
By Marc Solomon, EQCA Marriage Director, Crossposted from the Bilerico ProjectReading the words of Judge Walker moves me deeply. Once again, our constitution is a living, breathing document, and today it protects our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, just as it should protect all people and peoples when the government treats them unequally because of who they are.
Our community should take great pride in this ruling--all of us. For while the ruling is the direct result of a wise judge and a skilled legal team, the conditions that enabled this ruling are the result of the brave, courageous, and hard work of so, so many, in California and elsewhere. Equal protection and due process are abstract legal concepts until we, individually and collectively, bring them to life. Only nine years ago, in 2001, when I first got involved in the fight for marriage equality in Massachusetts, there were many--including a large number in our own community--who argued that asserting the right to marry would hurt our cause dramatically, even leading to the reversal of the most basic civil rights laws protecting our community.
But those fears did not prevail because same-sex couples and LGBT individuals--and those who love and care about them--knew what was right, and stood up and made strong, brave and compelling cases for their own love and dignity. It's not that they weren't afraid--many who I knew, in Massachusetts, California and elsewhere--were frightened about speaking out authentically about their lives. But they did it anyway, because they knew of its fundamental importance. And not one person that I know regretted afterwards having done so.
When I think about today's ruling, I think about Tom and Ron in Indio, CA who met when they were 19 and 23, who served their country in the military, and who have been together through thick and thin now for 57 years and are facing, together, the challenges of growing old. I think about Jill in Riverside, who married her partner of 23 years last year, only to lose her to breast cancer this past April, and who is now raising three kids on her own. And I think of the Moyas from Marino Valley, a hard-working Latino couple who have just adopted their third child. All of these people have been speaking up, in their communities, in the press, and with their families about their lives together, their commitment to one another and to their family. They and so many like them are the ones who have made marriage real for their neighbors, community, and ultimately for judges and voters.
One final thought about today's ruling. This story is far from written--and it's a story we get to write. Just as our community's hard work led to today's victory, if we are to see full marriage equality in California and throughout the country, we must stay at it. The writing of this human rights journey does not stop with any individual court ruling, powerful though it may be. Wins can be just as ephemeral as losses, and so that means that we must continue to make our case, tell our stories, share our lives.
We've all seen the power of a loss, and the powerful, complicated, and often inspired energy that results from it. My greatest hope from today's win is that--at a time when our community has seen too many disappointments both in Washington and in California--we use this win to catalyze, rejuvenate, and redouble our work. Let's use today's win to remember that it's working--our stories are working--and that there's still much more work to do.
Let's start simple--pick out a line or two from today's opinion that inspires you, and share it along with why marriage equality matters to you, with friends and family members. Then join us in going door to door and telling our stories.
The path to victory is winding and in some ways complicated, but in other, more fundamental ways, it's simple--telling our stories, sharing our lives, demonstrating our humanity.
Learn more information about Prop. 8 on trial >
Read more....
Via Poltico: California ruling puts Obama on spot
AP – Stuart Gaffney, center, holds up a sign while celebrating the decision in the United States District … The culture war is back.
A federal judge’s ruling Wednesday striking down California’s ban on same-sex marriage is a historic and possibly pivotal legal victory for gay rights advocates, but the decision also poses a formidable threat to President Barack Obama’s strategy of relegating divisive social issues to the back burner.
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision is just the latest in a series of rulings and high-profile legal challenges drawing public attention to gay rights issues in a sustained way since San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom grabbed headlines in 2004 by OK'ing same-sex marriages in that city.
As gay and lesbian activists celebrate what they hope is the leading edge of a wave of momentous court rulings and legislative successes, they remain uneasy with Obama’s nuanced position on gay marriage.
During the 2008 campaign, Obama took what many on both sides of the gay marriage debate viewed as a straddle. He publicly announced his opposition to same-sex marriage, but he also said that he opposed the California ballot measure seeking to ban it, Proposition 8 — the same ban Walker ruled unconstitutional Wednesday.
Obama explained the seeming contradiction at the time by saying that he opposes any measure singling out a group for adverse treatment by amending the U.S. Constitution or a state constitution, as Prop 8. did, even though legal experts said that was the only viable way to block gay marriage in California.
Gay activists lauded Obama's stance but remain disappointed and a tad puzzled by his unwillingness to simply endorse gay marriage.
Click image to see reaction to the Proposition 8 ruling
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Via PFAW:
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Dear Daniel,
Yesterday, a Federal Judge in California ruled that Proposition 8 violated the fundamental right of gay and lesbian Americans to marry the person they love. The decision was an important milestone on the road to full equality, and it thoroughly dismantled every defense Proposition 8's proponents put forth in their attempts to justify discrimination.And just last month, a Federal Judge in Massachusetts ruled that the federal government couldn't discriminate against legally married gay couples.
It's becoming clear that the walls preventing LGBT Americans from equality under the law are coming tumbling down-and I couldn't be happier. For far too long, anti-gay activists have claimed that LGBT people should be excluded from the promises of our Constitution. And while in too much of the country, discrimination and intolerance are still enshrined in the law, it's clear that momentum is on our side.
But this is no time to rest on our laurels and we can't just leave this up to the courts. On our RightWingWatch.org blog, we're chronicling the howls of protest from the Religious Right. They know that they've been dealt a serious blow, but they're not giving up. Neither will we.
That's why I hope you'll join me in calling on Congress to Dump DOMA.
The Judges who ruled in favor of equality have done their jobs. Congress and the President need to do theirs. We need to make it clear through every branch of government-the courts, the Congress and the White House-that anti-gay discrimination isn't the American Way.
Tell Congress to repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.
In the months and years to come, I look forward to standing with you as we fight for equal rights for all people. With your energy, your commitment, and your passion, it's a fight I know we can win.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Keegan, President
via gayagenda: Orthodox Rabbis Sign Declaration of Acceptance
A group of approximately 150 Orthodox rabbis have signed and issued a statement which list 12 reasons why gay men and lesbians should be accepted within the Orthodox community.The statement reads:
“Embarrassing, harassing or demeaning someone with a homosexual orientation or same-sex attraction is a violation of Torah prohibitions that embody the deepest values of Judaism.”and..
“Jews with homosexual orientations or same sex-attractions should be welcomed as full members of the synagogue and school community.”This is a huge step forward for a both the Orthodox Jewish and gay communities.
Read more by CLICKING HERE!
Via Independent Gay Forum:
Judge Walker: A Reagan Appointee, Opposed by Progressives and Gays
by Stephen H. MillerPosted on August 4, 2010
The Cato Institute's David Boaz blogs that Judge Vaughn Walker, who just struck down the California ban on same-sex marriage, is no "San Francisco liberal" (as some marriage equality opponents are claiming). In fact, "progressives" and gay activists fought his appointment. As Boaz writes:Judge Walker was first appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, at the recommendation of Attorney General Edwin Meese III. ... Democratic opposition led by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-CA) prevented the nomination from coming to a vote during Reagan’s term. Walker was renominated by President George H. W. Bush in February 1989. Again the Democratic Senate refused to act on the nomination. Finally Bush renominated Walker in August, and the Senate confirmed him in December. ...It almost makes you doubt whether progressives really are smarter and more insightful than the rest of us.
[C]oalitions including such groups as the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the Human Rights Campaign, the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force worked to block the nomination.
In other words, this "liberal San Francisco judge" was recommended by Ed Meese, appointed by Ronald Reagan, and opposed by Alan Cranston, Nancy Pelosi, Edward Kennedy, and the leading gay activist groups. It's a good thing for advocates of marriage equality that those forces were only able to block Walker twice.
More. James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal predicts that Justice Kennedy, based on the consistency of his pro-gay equality rulings, will vote to uphold Judge Walker's decision:
Yet while Kennedy cannot be pigeonholed in terms of "ideology," on this specific topic, he has been consistent in taking a very broad view of the rights of homosexuals. He not only voted with the majority but wrote the majority opinions in two crucial cases: Romer v. Evans (1996) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003). ... Those who see Justice Kennedy's position in Perry as difficult to predict in effect entertain "the belief that principle and logic have nothing to do" with his decisions on the court.Kennedy, too, was a Reagan appointee opposed by liberal advocacy groups.
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Via Huffington: Emma Ruby-Sachs: Bold Pursuit of Gay Rights Wins in Court
Emma Ruby-Sachs: As a movement, the LGBT community has always seen legal strategies as a central part of the march towards equality. But their strategy has been one of incremental change. So imagine the uproar when two star lawyers, both straight, white men, marched into the Proposition 8 controversy with little prior experience with LGBT struggles and announces a federal challenge to marriage discrimination. What resulted was an internal struggle between incremental change and bold gestures for equality. Today, bold gestures certainly seems to be winning the struggle. Click here to read more.
From the Courage Campaign Institute:
The Associated Press is reporting that Protect Marriage -- the coalition of right-wing religious groups that sponsored Prop 8 -- filed an appeal today in response to Judge Vaughn Walker's historic ruling yesterday striking down the discriminatory initiative. Walker has ordered both sides to submit written arguments by Friday as he determines whether to grant a stay in the case.
Meanwhile, Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage launched a counter-attack to rally the religious right, calling Walker's decision a sign of a "Soviet-style" government takeover of marriage, leading the way as conservative groups stoke a backlash against the decision.
With the opposition going on the attack, we need your support now to defend Judge Walker's historic decision in the court of public opinion. Less than 24 hours after we sent you the message below, our community blew through Tom Dolby and Drew Frist's $25,000 matching grant challenge, raising $62,729. Because of that smashing success, we're setting a huge new $100,000 goal to go on offense against the Prop 8 campaign, NOM and Focus on the Family. Will you help us reach this critical goal? DEADLINE: FRIDAY, 11:59 PM:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/DefendTheDecison
Dear Daniel --
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Judge Vaughn Walker just released his decision, ruling that PROP 8 IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
Judge Walker's federal court decision is an historic milestone in the fight for full equality, but it is only a first step: The decision will inevitably be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
After denying Americans the opportunity to watch this historic trial on television, Prop 8 campaign leaders and extreme right-wing organizations like the National Organization for Marriage and Focus on the Family will stop at nothing to delegitimize this decision before it ever reaches the Supreme Court.
But this time, we're fighting back by launching our biggest campaign ever -- an unprecedented online storytelling project to bring the Prop 8 trial into the lives of the American people and transform the debate over marriage equality.
As the next phase in our year-long "Testimony: Equality on Trial" project, our new campaign will empower same-sex couples, their families, and allies to fundamentally change the conversation about same-sex marriage in America -- establishing today's ruling as the social and cultural foundation for victory in the Supreme Court.
To defend Judge Walker's historic decision, we need to go on offense against the Prop 8 campaign, NOM and Focus on the Family. That's why Tom Dolby and Drew Frist, just married last year, have pledged to contribute $25,000 if our community can match it in the next 48 hours. Will you help us make the match and defend Judge Walker's decision in the court of public opinion? Click here to contribute $25, $50, $100 or more right now! DEADLINE: FRIDAY, 11:59 PM:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/DefendTheDecision
Ted Olson, the legendary attorney who teamed up with one-time adversary David Boies to successfully lead this case against Prop 8, said it better than anyone:
"If there was ever a trial in the history of our country that the American people should have seen, it was this one."I couldn't agree more. To prevent the right-wing from spouting the same lies that were debunked and destroyed in Judge Walker's courtroom, we must translate today's victory in court to victory in the hearts and minds of Americans.
That's why we collected nearly 140,000 signatures to televise the Prop 8 trial -- a campaign cited in a dissenting opinion to the the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision against broadcast. It's also why we launched the Prop 8 Trial Tracker and the NOM Tour Tracker -- generating more than 2.5 million views and 44,121 comments combined. And it's why we are bringing this trial to life across America with the next phase of Testimony: Equality on Trial.
Today's historic decision must be defended in the court of public opinion. That's why Tom Dolby and Drew Frist have stepped up to make a $25,000 matching grant challenge to the Courage community so we can fight back together against the right-wing's framing of this trial, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. But we need your help now to make the match in the next 48 hours. Click here to contribute $25, $50, $100 or whatever you can afford. DEADLINE: FRIDAY, 11:59 PM:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/DefendTheDecision
Thank you for all you have done to make today's victory possible. With your ongoing support, full equality will eventually be the law of the land.
Rick Jacobs
Chair, Courage Campaign Institute
Courage Campaign Institute is a part of the Courage Campaign's multi-issue online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for
To power our campaign to defend the Prop 8 decision, please chip in what you can today:
Via JMG: Is Mexico Next For Marriage Equality?
Today Mexico's Supreme Court ruled 8-2 that the legalization of same-sex marriage in the nation's capital did not violate the Mexican constitution. Mexico City legalized gay marriage in March, but the ruling was challenged with the backing of the Catholic Church. Today's decision not only squashed that challenge, it further stipulated that gay couples were free to adopt. How long before we see the expansion of marriage equality to all of Mexico?
Via JMG: BREAKING: Target Apologizes For Funding Minnesota Anti-Gay Political Group
Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel has bowed to national outrage and issued an apology (just to his employees, so far) for funding an anti-gay Minnesota PAC to the tune of $150,000. Steinhafel's letter says the company "will more closely scrutinize" political donations in the future. Minnesota Forward, the recipient of Target's dough, funneled the money to anti-gay candidate for governor, Tom Emmer. Is this enough to call off the LGBT dogs? We shall see. And no word yet from Best Buy, who made a similar donation.
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