The latest news from local authors
With marriage equality now coming to Illinois and Hawaii, nearly 40% of the country lives in a marriage equality state. But just how federal and state governments will navigate the still-unsettled reality (and consequences) of marriage equality remains an open question. Although Windsor invalidated Section 3 of DOMA, it left Section 2 in place, which […]
Five years ago last week, on Election Day 2008, California’s electorate passed Prop 8, marking perhaps the most notable low point in the marriage equality movement as a minority was stripped of a previously recognized constitutional right. As of this week five years ago, only two states – Massachusetts and Connecticut – fully recognized the
The same folks in California that brought you Proposition 8 now claim they have enough signatures to try to repeal a law that gives rights to transgender kids in California schools. LGBTQ Nation reports: A coalition of conservative groups called Privacy for all Students submitted 620,000 signatures to get the initiative on the November 2014 ballot,
An Illinois state representative made a decision any parent would dread in order to press the “yes” button on legislation she had co-sponsored to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois. She left the bedside of her gravely ill son. Tuesday afternoon, state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, a Champaign Democrat, rushed to the state capitol in Springfield to
Now that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act has passed the US Senate, we have a few follow-ups for you. First off, Mormons helped pass ENDA in the Senate. The New York Times reports: Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who at 79 is one of the Senate’s longest-serving members, became the first Republican to signal he would
I’m thrilled to tell you that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has just passed in the U.S. Senate for the first time ever. We’ve been working to get this important piece of legislation passed for nearly two decades – and today we made history thanks to incredible supporters like you. But before we turn to
In November, MEUSA National Media Director Stuart Gaffney and Director of Legal and Policy John Lewis are traveling to Japan to give a series of public lectures and seminars on marriage equality and LGBT rights, and to meet with Japanese LGBT leaders. Though we are seeing some signs of progress for greater legal recognition of
A new poll shows more than two thirds of Americans support a bill that would offer employment protections to LGBT citizens. SDGLN reports: New polling by a prominent Republican pollster shows a supermajority of voters – 68%, including 56% of Republicans – support a federal law protecting gay and transgender employees from discrimination in the
Having lost the battle on marriage equality in California, anti-gay groups have found the next target – transgender kids – and this time they’ve got a sweet new sugar daddy to help fund the campaign. Frontiers LA reports: Herman Rowland Sr., Chair of the Jelly Belly Candy Company, is a major contributor to the Privacy
Conservatives are slowly, slowly coming around on marriage equality. Gay Star News reports: According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, over the past decade a growing minority of conservatives are starting to support marriage equality. Today roughly three in ten of Republicans (29%) and political conservatives (30%) are gay marriage supporters. Twelve years
