Politics

Political articles/news from local authors

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No Comment From White House in Prop 8 Case

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney continues to stay mum on whether the Obama administration will participate before the Feb. 28 deadline in pending litigation before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8. Asked on Tuesday by NBC News’ Peter Alexander if the White House would “publicly advocate” against Proposition 8 — […]

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How Will Supreme Court Rule on Prop 8, DOMA Standing?

  Standing is like an admission rule at a bar. Before you can even get through the door, you have to fulfill certain basic requirements, like being over 21, appropriately attired, and not already drunk and disorderly. And, in determining whether you meet the requirements, the bouncer looks at evidence: your driver’s license, your general

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Gay Groups to Boehner – Stop Wasting Money Defending DOMA

Eleven LGBT groups on Tuesday called on House Speaker John Boehner to stop wasting money defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. After the Department of Justice announced it would no longer defend the law in court, Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, directed the so-called Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) to step in.

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86% of Democrats Voted for Marriage Equality in 2012 Votes

Earlier I cited centrist Democratic think tank Third Way’s poll on marriage equality support in Washington, where same-sex marriages just got underway. Well, that report, showing that framing marriage equality as a matter of love, rather than rights wins the fight, is now out. Here’s a telling excerpt about movement among political lines: The victory

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House GOP Secretly Adds $500K More to DOMA Defense

America is about to head over a fiscal cliff, but apparently the GOP thinks there’s plenty in the bank to spend on protecting traditional marriage from those heathen homosexuals: House Republicans secretly raised the $1.5 million cap on litigating for DOMA to $2 million. Roll Call first reported Thursday that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group

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Analysis – Prop 8, DOMA and the Supreme Court

Contrary to many people’s expectations, the U.S. Supreme Court did not issue any orders last Friday or today in any of the four challenges to a provision of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), in the Hollingsworth v. Perry case challenging California’s Proposition 8, or in Brewer v. Diaz (Lambda Legal’s case that has

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Is Hillary Clinton Ready to Endorse Marriage Equality?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will endorse gay marriage, sources close to the former first lady have said. According to POLITICO.com, Clinton will join her husband, President Bill Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea Clinton, in endorsing marriage equality after she leaves the Obama administration. Her circle has “indicated privately that she feels like … because of

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HRC Wants Obama to Sign an Executive Order on ENDA, Appoint Gay Cabinet Member

An executive order on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act “as soon as possible” is at the top of list of requests Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin has for President Obama now that the election is over, he indicated in phone calls with reporters, Buzzfeed’s Chris Geidner reports: The White House said in April said Obama

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Will Marriage Equality Victories Influence Supreme Court on DOMA?

The victories for same-sex marriage on Tuesday, the first ones achieved at the ballot box rather than through courts or legislatures, are evidence of a remarkable shift in public opinion. They are also exceptionally timely data points for the Supreme Court. At their private conference scheduled for Nov. 20, the justices plan to consider some

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State Residents Give Big to Marriage Equality Rights

In 2008, big money flowed into California from other states in support and opposition to a gay marriage ballot initiative. In 2012, big money is flowing out of California toward similar initiatives elsewhere. About 2,000 Californians have given a total of almost $1 million in support of gay marriage initiatives in Washington, Maine, Maryland and