» National Black Justice Coaliton June newsletter (National Black Justice Coalition)

» Canterbury: Second-class rank for gay-friendly churches (Church of England Newspaper)
» Caution urged for HIV immunity test (Gay.com)
» Australia soccer league threatens gay fan site over tame photos (Gay.com)
   › Gay soccer fan site (GayFooty.com.au)
» Gay PETA activists to join Running of the Nudes to protest Pamplona barbarism (Gay.com)
» New Jersey Episcopals nominate gay man for Bishop (BBC)
» Pittsburgh Episcopals reject authority of incoming pro-gay Presiding Bishop (PlanetOut)
» Ireland gay men's health report reveals multitude of threats (Irish Examiner)
» Romney keeps pushing for gay marriage ballot vote (Boston Herald)
» Ethicist slammed for suggesting HIV experiments on brain-dead (Pink News)
» Scotland Parliament committee unanimously backs gay adoption (The Scotsman)
» Arkansas Supreme Court backs gay foster parents (Associated Press)
» Global Fund to fight AIDS underfunded by rich nations (Reuters)
» Schipske expected to hold onto Long Beach election win (Grunion Gazette)
» Ammiano pushes municipal universal health care plan (Bay Area Reporter)
» Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act advances in California Senate (Indy Bay)
» Suit against State Department by HIV+ man to go forward (Bay Area Reporter)
» San Francisco trangender march draws 7,500 (Bay Area Reporter)
» San Francisco Pride incidents (Bay Area Reporter)
» Historic San Francisco riot remembered (Bay Area Reporter)

» Spain gay soldiers to wed (Gay.com)
» London Mayor gets high marks on LGBT issues (Pink News)
» Heterosexual foreigners are fueling Scotland HIV jump (The Scotsman)
» Christian groups slam Jerusalem Pride parade (YNet)
» Qatar medical seminar told homosexuality caused by depression (The Peninsula)
» Nationwide India AIDS awareness campaign involving youth launched (The Hindu)
» Georgia Supreme Court hears arguments on marriage amendment (Gwinnett Daily Post)
» Documentaries tackle coming out as gay and Christian (After Ellen)
» Virginia Democratic Party unanimously opposes marriage amendment (Roanoke Times)
» Canterbury moves against gay-friendly Episcopal churches (New York Times)
» Protestors greet "ex-gay" conference in Indiana (Chronicle-Tribune)
» Transgender community finds acceptance (Associated Press)
» U.N. blames AIDS for southern Africa food shortages (Reuters)
» The South is the new Ground Zero for AIDS (Montgomery Advertiser)
» The wonders of the female hormone for MTF transgenders (Advocate)
» New Jersey school board again rejects partner benefits for teacher (Press of Atlantic City)

» Report highlights homeless gay community’s needs (Pink News)
» Wales gay charity aims to end workplace discrimination (Pink News)
» London Mayor welcomes EuroPride (EuroPride)
» Caracas Mayor sends EuroPride delegation (Pink News)
» EuroPride to get 80,000 condoms (Pink News)
» Eric Rofes passes away (NGLTF)
» Black leaders address gay issues at clergy conference (Seattle Press-Intelligencer)

» Gay U.K. Cabinet Minister gets hitched (Pink News)
» PFLAG to ring NYSE bell to call attention to LGBT buying power (PFLAG)
» Alcohol may increase HIV risk in oral sex (365Gay.com)
» U.K. gay sailors to march in EuroPride (365Gay.com)
» Ehrlich appoints gay judge (365Gay.com)
» Military admits to new spying on gay groups (365Gay.com)
» San Francisco transvestites get political support (Associated Press)
» Column: When asked, I told (New York Daily News)
» High school Pride-themed assembly "horrifies" some parents (Daily Times Chronicle)
» Breeder reaction (Mother Jones)
» Transvestite gang pesters New Orleans merchants (New Orleans City Business)
» Faking gay to get U.K. visa (NDTV)
» Larry Kramer at 71 (CBS News)
» Column: Africa states must protect all citizens, including gays and lesbians (East African)
» Spain sees its first gay divorce (Eitb24)
» Study sheds more light on homosexuality among brothers (London Telegraph)

» Pride parades around the world (left) (Associated Press)
   › Pride photos from around the world (Mainichi)
» Half of New Jersey supports gay marriage (Angus Reid)
» Santorum, Burns tied for most unpopular Senator (Angus Reid)
» Letter: Same-sex marriage throughout history (Herald Tribune)
» Right-winger steals Joy of Gay Sex from library (Fox News)
» Gay Cuba film aired for Florida Pride month (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
» Lesbian head of California university apparently commits suicide (Los Angeles Times)

» Gay-straight club founder to be Pride Marshall (left) (AccessNorthGA)
» French not too keen on gay families (Angus Reid)
» African Anglicans slam U.S. Church as gay row deepens (Reuters)
» Korea gender reassignment sugeon tries to educate public (Chosun Ilbo)
» Hispanic AIDS Forum helping transgenders in Queens (NY1)
» U.S. filmmakers help bring AIDS out of the shadows in China (Washington Post)
» Pamela Anderson urges people to get tested for HIV (Star Pulse)
» Transgenders' reception mixed amid Alabama ban on gay vows (Associated Press)
» The politics of fear (Rolling Stone)
» Pride is for the first-timers (Beyond Chron)
» Remembering Philly’s screaming queens (Beyond Chron)
» San Francisco Pride parade to salute cop who reached out in 1960s (San Francisco Chronicle)
» Activists defend failure of gay congressional hopefuls (Washington Blade)

» India royal family disowns gay activist son (Times of India)
» Gang targeting gay men in Dublin city center (Ireland Online)
» Israel M.P. wants gay youths banned from Knesset (Jerusalem Post)
» Mr. McGreevey buys a mansion (Star-Ledger)
» Russian M.P. sues Putin to uphold gay rights (MosNews)
» Survey: Gays are most unfairly treated group in Northern Ireland (Pink News)
» Ireland police addressing gay safety problems (Pink News)
» Scotland reveals first gay civil union statistics (Pink News)
   › Edinburgh hailed as the gay weddings capital of Scotland (Scotsman)
» New trial in transgender silicone party case (Miami Herald)
» South Korea rules trangenders can change gender on legal documents (Pink News)
» San Francisco gay-straight alliance members recognized (Bay Area Reporter)
» Los Altos gay-straight alliance to march with Newsom after hometown hassle (Bay Area Reporter)
» Oakland launches new HIV prevention campaign aimed at blacks (Bay Area Reporter)
» San Francisco tries to offset federal HIV/AIDS housing cuts (Bay Area Reporter)
» California legislature could lose LGBT caucus within two years (Bay Area Reporter)
» One million expected at San Francisco Pride (Bay Area Reporter)
» San Francisco Trans March tomorrow (Bay Area Reporter)

» Latvian President backs gay protections over Parliament intransigence (Pink News)
» Gay youth socially excluded in Europe (Pink News)

» Pentagon document calls gays mentally ill (Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military)
   › Department of Defense Instruction document (see p. 88) (Department of Defense)
» Pentagon gets "F"s on gay issues report card (Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military)
» San Francisco remembers trans protests (Pink News)
» New Episcopal leader says homosexuality not sinful (Pink News)

» Aviance shows gay bashing alive and well in NYC (left) (Village Voice)
» China's first lesbian hotline to open (Reuters)
» Poll: Australians support civil unions (The Age)
» Rendell kicks off Pittsburgh Pride (Associated Press)
» Episcopal Church may block gay bishops (Concord Monitor)
» WorldPride organisers condemn attempts to sabotage parade (Pink News)
» Jamaica singer causing consternation in Brighton (Pink News)
» U.K. Tories to announce support for partner tax equality (Pink News)
» Scotland schools called on to provide buddy system for gay students (Pink News)
» Seattle seat long held by gays up for grabs this year (Seattle Times)
» France presidential frontrunner supports gay marriage, adoption (Reuters)
» Ethicist's honorary degree sparks row after anti-gay marriage views aired (CBC)
» Marginalised, Indian women face growing AIDS threat (Reuters)
» HIV+ woman jailed for knowingly infecting man; convinced him he infected her (London Times)
» Washington state anti-bias law still at risk (Seattle Press-Intelligencer)
» Gay New York Attorney General candidate pounds the Pride pavement (New York Blade)
» New Presbyterian leader comfortable with her intolerance of gays (Associated Press)
» Minneapolis newspaper sued for refusing to run Pride ads (Associated Press)
» Turin Pride parade held amid renewed debate over unmarried couples (Edge)
» Film on Gwen Araujo exceeds expectations (San Jose Mercury News)

» AIDS stigma lingers after 25 years (left) (Arizona Daily Star)
» AIDS' next 25 years may kill more than Black Death, Spanish Flu (Arizona Daily Star)
» Internal criticism voiced on U.S. plan for AIDS relief (Boston Globe)
» AIDS books win South Africa's coveted Alan Paton award (iAfrica)
» Indianapolis hosts $100,000 "Would Jesus Discriminate?" campaign (Chicago Pride)
» Columbus goes from bomb threats to Pride in 25 years (Columbus Dispatch)
» Alberta Pride and prejudice (Edmonton Sun)
» Allentown's Pride parade attracts wide support (Morning Call)
» Cuban soap's gay story starts dialogue (Chicago Sun-Times)
» Waco drag queen coronation coincides with Bush vacation (Los Angeles Times)
» Bashings presage NYC Pride (New York Daily News)
» Toronto Pride theme is "Fearless" (Toronto Sun)
   › Pride Toronto web site (PrideToronto.com)
» Lenient judge lets New Mexico gay bashers escape prison (Associated Press)
» Gays a source of tension at Episcopal Convention (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
» São Paulo Pride parade draws 2.4 million (CNN)

» Black Pride events grow, reaffirm identity (San Francisco Chronicle)

From The Congressional Record:

SPEECH OF
HON. DIANA DeGETTE
OF COLORADO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2006

* Ms. DEGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend the exceptional leadership and invaluable contributions of the Gay , Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center of Colorado, "The Center," on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. It is fitting that we recognize The Center for its record of extraordinary service in providing support and advocacy for gay , lesbian, bisexual and transgender, GLBT, communities in the 1st Congressional District and throughout Colorado.

* The Center has been on the front lines of progress since its inception and has proven to be a powerful force in transforming the landscape of our State. Founded in Denver in 1976, The Center is a statewide, nonprofit community center and is one of the oldest organizations serving GLBT communities in the country. It is a powerful advocate on a broad range of issues that affect GLBT people in our State and is a catalyst for community organizing and providing needed support services.

* Health and wellness is a key focus of The Center. Its Healthy Living Program offers extensive health care services including free HIV testing in conjunction with Denver Health, low-cost hepatitis vaccinations, free mammograms for uninsured women, health care provider referrals and access to mental health services. It also devotes sizable effort to community health education as well as disease prevention. The Lesbian Cancer Support Service strives to increase early detection and a higher rate of cancer survival in lesbian and bisexual women. The Center also maintains Rainbow Alley, a drop-in center designed for GLBT youth that provides heath care services, counseling and referral. Youth have access to a medical clinic, computer lab, kitchen and the Terry Mangan Library, all of which are drug, alcohol, tobacco and hate free.

* The Center's advocacy and legal initiatives have done much to advance the cause of civil liberty and provide necessary assistance to those who experience discrimination, harassment and unequal treatment. The Legal Initiatives Project, CLIP, was founded in 1992 to challenge a discriminatory amendment to the Colorado Constitution. Amendment II would have precluded any action by the State or local governments designed to protect GLBT people. Amendment II passed by a slim margin, but due to CLIP's leadership, a lawsuit was filed and injunctive relief was granted to prevent the measure from taking effect. The decision was appealed to the United States Supreme Court and a national coalition of civil rights groups joined CLIP to uphold the lower court ruling. In a historic decision--Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996)--the Supreme Court held that Amendment II was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In 2000, CLIP merged with The Center and became its legal services program. It accomplishes its mission through the CLIP Legal Hotline, civil rights litigation and mediation, media work and public education. CLIP focuses on cases and issues that move the civil rights agenda forward serve the most oppressed and disadvantaged in the GLBT communities.

* We are indeed fortunate to have The Center in our community. It is an invaluable resource and I am deeply appreciative of the good work The Center does in addressing systemic inequalities and providing continuity and stability in the efforts to secure greater equality, justice and participation in our democracy. The Center has helped provide a place at the table for GLBT people. It has provided needed health and community services. In summary, The Center's leadership and engagement has made a real difference in peoples lives and thereby in the communities it serves.

* Please join me in commending the Gay , Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center of Colorado. It is the strong leadership and meaningful service it provides on a daily basis that continually enhances our lives and builds a better future for all of our people.

Friday, June 16, 2006

» Two sentenced to life for savage London gay beating murder (left) (BBC)
» Gay parenting movement grows with baby boom (Dallas Voice)
» Dear Abby: Can I punch transsexuals? (Dear Abby)
» Misty Dawn was Alaska transgender icon (Anchorage Daily News)
» Gwen Araujo movie offers moving life lesson (Washington Blade)
» Superman: I'm not gay (Sydney Morning Herald)
» Danforth warns Episcopal Convention over dividing because of gays (Associated Press)
» Modesty Parade to protest Jerusalem Pride Parade (Yedioth Internet)
» Maryland Governor fires aide for calling gays deviants (United Press International)
» Latvia refuses to introduce non-discrimination legislation (BBC)
» Family doctor tells patients he's a transitioning transgender (Boston Herald)
» Dixie Queen is a compelling documentary on Southern drag (Washington Blade)
» Vigil tonight for murdered Northern California transgender (The Record)

Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (MD), who has a bullet scar in his back decades after his service as a Marine in Viet Nam, had this to say about priorities as the House prepared to debate the Iraq resolution:

"To me, the administration does not act like there's a war going on. The Congress certainly doesn't act like there's a war going on. If you're raising money to keep the majority, if you're thinking about gay marriage, if you're doing all this other peripheral stuff, what does that say to the guy who's about ready to drive over a land mine?"

Thursday, June 15, 2006

» Challenger of gay Oklahoma commissioner is obsessed with sex (Journal Record)
» Duane introduces Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal resolution (247Gay.com)
» Scotland Catholic Cardinal says discriminating against gays is matter of conscience (Christian Today)
» Hawai'i Corrections to pay for harassment of LGBT teens (ACLU)
» ACLU challenges gay foster parent ban before Arkansas Supreme Court (ACLU)
» Court to weigh lesbian's rights against fertility doctors' religion (Los Angeles Times)
» Australia Catholic charity rejects gay, HIV+ homeless man (Sydney Star Observer)
» Australia gay unions unravelling has echoes of San Francisco marriages (Sydney Star Observer)
» Australia lesbian sisters recognized on Queen's Honours List (Sydney Star Observer)
» Lesbian drops bid to become Episcopal Bishop (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
» New Ireland HIV cases fell 10% (Irish Health)
» Five Africa countries to promote male circumcision in AIDS fight (IPP Media)
» India HIV/AIDS deaths were 400,000 last year (Money Control)
» £100,000 crackdown on Belfast cruising (Gay.com)
» Chicago library fire destroys dozens of gay books (Chicago Tribune)
» Ford defends gay media ads (Bloomberg)
» Robinson asks Episcopal Convention to recognize "light of Christ" in gays (Pink News)
» E.U. votes to combat homophobia (Pink News)
» Gay U.K. man denied survivor benefits (Pink News)
» Australia Senate rejects gay unions (Pink News)
» Column: Bush should Nixon-in-China on gay equality (Chicago Tribune)

» Robinson addresses Episcopal Convention (BeliefNet)
» New Jersey town to provide partner benefits (Montclair Times)
» E.U. urged to address homophobia (Pink News)
» Expert says teachers should challenge homophobia in the class (Pink News)
» Caribbean gay bashing suspect surrenders (Pink News)
» Poland teacher fired, students arrested over pro-gay manual (Pink News)
» Gay groups push for U.N. recognition (Pink News)
» U.K. city may get LGBT policy officer (Pink News)
» Most Americans receptive to corporate gay alliances (Pink News)

From The Congressional Record:

Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the need for hate crimes legislation. Each Congress, Senator Kennedy and I introduce hate crimes legislation that would add new categories to current hate crimes law, sending a signal that violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society. Likewise, each Congress I have come to the floor to highlight a separate hate crime that has occurred in our country.

On June 10, 2006, gay performance artist Kevin Aviance was severely beaten in New York City. According to reports, Aviance was walking home from a local bar when four teens began shouting obscenities and attacked him from behind. During the attack Aviance was kicked and punched while the attackers yelled sexually derogatory slurs at him.

An officer with New York's Hate Crimes Taskforce reported that four men were arrested and charged with a hate crime in connection to the attack.

I believe that the Government's first duty is to defend its citizens, to defend them against the harms that come out of hate. The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is a symbol that can become substance. I believe that by passing this legislation and changing current law, we can change hearts and minds as well.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

» Brigham Young professor fired for questioning Mormon stand on gay marriage (Salt Lake Tribune)
» Cameroon condemned for sodomy convictions (IGLHRC)

» ACLU suit proceeds against Georgia county for blocking gay-straight club (ACLU)
» Florida church opposes anti-gay petition; will publish signers' names (Christ Church of Peace)
   › Church's petition monitoring web site (KnowThyNeighbor.org)

Chris Evans over at BlogCritics.org had this to say the other day:

"I'm often quite confused when I hear people refer to what is called the 'gay agenda.' What is the 'gay agenda?' To achieve equality? Acceptance? They make it seem as if there's some gay headquarters where Barney Frank sits in a big black chair with a golden staff while the Queer Eye guys and the people at GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) sinisterly plot the demise of modern civilization. The enemies? Christians, families, children, and anything moral. It sounds like a Marvel comic."

The image that that conjures up....

Sunday, June 11, 2006

» DC Pride unfurls days after Marriage Protection Amendment rejected (WTOP News)
» Where the candidates for Georgia Governor stand on gay issues (Associated Press)
   › For Georgia's gay community, marriage is only one issue of many (Associated Press)
» Illinois governor's race pits two moderates on gay rights issues (Associated Press)
» Gay political machine shows maturity (Associated Press)
» Three arrested in attack on drag singer in NYC's East Side (New York Times)

» Washington state gay marriage on horizon after referendum attempt fails (Associated Press)
» First-ever survey of gay videogamers (Washington Blade)
» Shanghai transgender woman to get operation (Shanghai Daily)
» AIDS/Lifecycle raises record $8 million (AIDS/Lifecycle)

» Court rules for non-biological lesbian mother's parental rights (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
   › Ruling text (California Courts)
» Moscow Pride ends with record deficit (Gay Russia)
» Australia capital territory may see first gay unions next week (Daily Telegraph)
   › Australia federal, territorial governments clash over gay unions (News.com.au)
» Missouri foster parent ruling offers hope to gay rights group (Associated Press)
» AIDS fades from white to black (Bay View)
» Rights group slams Australia state's gay marriage ban (The Age)
» Houston police sergeant to undergo sex change (KHOU-TV)
» Column: Even gays deserve right to be boring (Rolla Daily Gazette)
» Uganda launches HIV board game (The Monitor)
» Lesbian joins Toledo city council (Gay People's Chronicle)
» Vatican condemns Tuscany free sex change hormones (Reuters)
» Warsaw Pride march aims to draw thousands in government protest (Bloomberg)
» Several HRC endorsements trigger criticism (Washington Blade)
» Gay marriage issue heats up in Wisconsin (Fond du Lac Reporter)

» Lambda Legal demands Rice end U.S.'s HIV discrimination (Lambda Legal)
» Missouri Attorney General signals end of anti-gay foster care ban (ACLU)
» Embattled Burns goes after new Democratic challenger over gay marriage (Billings Gazette)
» Poll: Lamont within striking distance of Lieberman (Quinnipiac Poll)
» Church of Scotland endorses gay co-parenting (365Gay.com)
» Westchester County to recognize gay marriages (Newsday)
» Warsaw to allow Pride march (Pink News)
» Washington state marriage case still undecided after 15 months (Seattle Times)
» Predicting HIV medication effectiveness apparently now easier (Forbes)
» Chicago charter school bows to pressure to allow gay-straight club (Chicago Tribune)
» Twenty-one Soul Force riders fined for Brigham Young protest (Deseret Morning News)
» Gay Latvia Lutheran reverend loses discrimination case (Baltic Times)
» Missouri signals willingness to end anti-gay foster care ban (Washington Blade)
» Northern Ireland gay community speaks out in BBC series (Belfast Telegraph)
» Washington state non-discrimination law takes effect (Insurance Journal)

From The Congressional Record:

SPEECH OF
HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2006

* Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Lew Todd, an outstanding New Yorker who has devoted himself to his community, his city and his country throughout his life. Lew Todd is not just a leader, but a pioneering figure in the history of New York City's gay , lesbian, bisexual and transgender, GLBT, community, the largest of any city in our Nation. This month, his leadership is being honored by the Stonewall Democratic Club at a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passage into law of New York City's landmark gay rights bill.

* A proud veteran, Lew Todd served his Nation with honor in the United States Navy during the Korean war. Always dedicated to serving others, he made his home in New York City following his return stateside, and devoted his energies to his work and his community. He operated several small businesses, becoming a significant entrepreneur in the restaurant and nightlife industry in lower Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s.

* Continuously involved in the struggle for lesbian and gay rights in the modern era that traces its origins to Greenwich Village, Lew Todd joined the Gay Activists Alliance in 1970, before the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Lew Todd quickly became a regular at the Firehouse, the Alliance's legendary headquarters in lower Manhattan's historic Soho neighborhood, which became New York's first GLBT community center.

* At the Gay Activists Alliance, Lew Todd emerged as a talented, determined and inspirational leader of a freshly budding branch of the civil rights movement. His political, organizational and business skills became an indispensable part of its planning and operations. In 1970 and 1971, he and his fellow activist and friend, the late Morty Manford, traveled the country as emissaries for the new gay rights movement, teaching other activists how to establish their own civil rights advocacy organizations.

* In its nascent phase, the gay and lesbian rights movement could only succeed in making its voice heard by engaging in civil disobedience and staging colorful, attention-getting and frequently disruptive demonstrations. Lew Todd's sheer courage, as well as his larger-than-life physical presence, served as an anchor of strength in many such actions. At one notable event in 1972, Lew Todd and a young activist named Allen Roskoff, dressed to the nines in suits and ties, took to the dance floor at the elegant Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center. This action provoked a vivid demonstration of the outdated and blatantly discriminatory nature of the city's public accommodation laws, garnering considerable media attention that helped effect their eventual demise. That same year, Lew Todd placed gay rights on the national agenda as an official gay rights lobbyist at the Democratic National Convention. Thanks to his efforts, for the first time in America history a major national political party was forced to consider the rights of gay and lesbian Americans and include their concerns in its platform.

* A visionary as well as a pioneer, Lew Todd possessed the ability to recognize and acknowledge the need for the growing and maturing civil rights movement to adopt new strategies and new tactics. As government, business and the news media began to take heed, Lew Todd saw that the gay rights movement would need to employ negotiation and painstaking political organizing in order to more effectively achieve its goals. Inspired to open this new front in the struggle despite the objections of less far-seeing radical activists, Lew Todd became one of the founders of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. It was the first truly Nation-wide gay rights organization to rely more on negotiation and organization than an confrontation. He went on to found many of New York City's most important GLBT political organizations, including Gay & Lesbian Independent Democrats and the influential citywide Stonewall Democratic Club, on whose executive board he has served since its founding 21 years ago. In its first years of operation, he served as a board member and treasurer for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which operates the Harvey Milk School for GLBT youths. In 1984 he played a key role in convincing New York City to sell the building that today houses New York City's Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center. In 1992, Lew Todd served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention as an early supporter of a promising candidate named Bill Clinton.

* Mr. Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues join me in recognizing the enormous contributions to civic and political life made by Lew Todd, a true pioneer and civil rights activist in the finest traditions of our great republic.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

» U.S. military acknowledges Iraq anti-gay killings (Washington Blade)
» Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden loses Assembly race (California Secretary of State)
» ACLU calls on House to reject Marriage Protection Act (ACLU)
» Sacramento lesbian elected to school board (Sacramento Bee)
» Conservative commentator Dobbs says marriage amendment is "smarmy" (CNN)
» Editorial: Political, bureaucratic agendas hampering AIDS fight (Bangkok Post)
» Australia Prime Minister defends vetoing civil unions passed by federal district (The Australian)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on the Marriage Protection Amendment

From The Congressional Record:

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution. It is my fundamental belief that the Constitution is not a document that denies rights. As a matter of fact, it is a document that protects those rights once earned.

With all the problems in the world today, the Senate is spending valuable time debating a bill which we know does not have the votes for cloture, which is divisive and which I believe does not belong on the national agenda.

The fact is, all family law has historically been relegated to the States; that is, marriage, divorce, adoption, custody, all aspects of family law and domestic relations have been the province of the States. That is what the Supreme Court has said in case after case from In Re Burrus in 1890 to Rose v. Rose in 1982. In that 1982 case, the court affirmed the holding of In Re Burrus that:

[t]he whole subject of the domestic relations of husband and wife, parent and child, belongs to the laws of the states, and not to the laws of the United States.

Similarly, in Sosna v. Illinois, in 1975 the Supreme Court wrote:

Domestic relations [is] an area that has long been regarded as a virtually exclusive province of the States.

In 1982, then Associate Justice Rehnquist, dissenting in Santosky v. Kramer, wrote:

The area of domestic relations ..... has been left to the States from time immemorial, and not without good reason.

And just this past November, in a television interview, Justice Stephen Breyer stated very simply:

Family law is State law.

It is clear domestic relations have been the jurisdiction of States. That is where they should remain.

I deeply believe this Senate should not be involved in putting amendments in the Constitution dealing with any aspect of marriage, of divorce, of families, of adoption, of any of those areas. The States reign supreme.

Why is it when Republicans are all for reducing the Federal Government's impact on people's lives, until it comes to the stinging litmus test issues--from gay marriage or end of life--they suddenly want the Federal Government to intervene?

For the life of me, I don't understand why this keeps coming before this Senate. It is extraordinarily difficult to pass a constitutional amendment. We all know that. Both Houses have to pass it by a two-thirds vote, and then over a 7-year period it goes out to the States where it has to be ratified by three-quarters of the States. The last constitutional amendment that went on to be ratified by the States was the Equal Rights Amendment, a simple 25-word amendment that said:

Equal rights under the law shall not be abridged based on sex.

Guess what. They were not able to get the necessary three-quarters of the States over a 7-year period.

So I don't believe this constitutional amendment would be successful even if passed out of this Senate. I have not seen one passed in 13 years. It is extraordinarily difficult to get one ratified.

Family law is, indeed, the purview of the States, so there is no need for a constitutional amendment. This proposed constitutional amendment strikes at the heart of States rights in the area of family law and, in doing so, it actually undermines our Constitution. Moreover, I believe Americans believe the States should deal with same-sex marriage as the States see fit. And so do I.

Americans are especially concerned about amending this Constitution if it means closing the door on civil unions.

Why do I say this? How do I know this? Mr. President, 53 percent of Americans polled recently would oppose a constitutional amendment that also bans civil unions and domestic partnerships such as we have established in California. Many legal experts believe this amendment would do just that. The language in the second sentence of the amendment is ambiguous. It is ambiguous, at best, stating that:

Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.

Now, some on the other side have argued that the amendment would still allow for legal unions passed by State legislatures, not just those instituted by the courts. However, when similar amendments were passed in States such as Michigan, Ohio, and Utah, domestic violence law and health care plans for couples, both gay and straight, were taken away. So we know it has an effect.

I believe to put this on the Constitution, if it were to prevail, if it were to be ratified by three-quarters of the States, it is very likely all domestic partnerships and domestic unions of any civil kind would be wiped out, as well. That does not make any sense at all.

States are well able to handle the issue of marriage on their own without the heavy hand of the Federal Government intervening in people's private lives.

What is currently happening in States indicates to me they are, in fact, actively engaged on this issue. The numbers speak for themselves. To date, 45 States have acted to restrict marriage to only one man and one woman; 18 of those have done so by amending their State constitutions. So why are we doing this?

This year, seven more states are poised to join them when they hold statewide votes on a constitutional same-sex marriage ban: Alabama in June, and Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin in November. In addition, at least nine other States may take up similar amendments in the not-so-distant future: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In fact, only one State, Massachusetts, recognizes same-sex marriage. One State, that is it.

So why all the fuss? Why is the Senate devoting its time to this issue when one State has taken action? I say based on the laws of this land that is the prerogative of that State or any other State. So there is no need to be considering a Federal constitutional amendment, particularly when we have important global and national problems to address.

We have an enormous deficit in this country. We do not spend much time on it.

In Iraq, things are going from bad to worse. Just this morning we read about an unrelenting kidnapping campaign happening in the streets of Baghdad. Thousands of Iraqi citizens are being snatched from the streets, 56 just yesterday, all rounded up by gunmen dressed in Iraqi uniforms.

North Korea has announced it possesses nuclear weapons. Iran is trying to become a nuclear power. Stem cell research, passed by the House a year ago, still is not on the floor of the Senate.

Why, why, why, are we doing this now when we could be doing stem cell research, when we could possibly provide the hope for juvenile diabetes, for Alzheimer's victims, for cancer victims, for spinal cord severance victims?

As to appropriations, the Senate has not taken up and approved any of the 12 appropriations bills that it must complete by the end of the session, and it is already June.

I cannot understand why we are doing this. We have the defense authorization and intelligence authorization bills. These are critical bills at a time when our Nation continues to be fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the global war of terror, and we have not passed these bills.

Gas prices. When I was in Los Angeles last week, it cost more than $3.50 a gallon to fill up a tank of gas. We have not taken steps to deal with that.

There are dozens of critical issues, including the mandatory business of this Senate in 2 major authorization bills and 12 major appropriations bills that we have not addressed, and 45 States have taken action. Yet this Senate seems pressed to defend the Nation, to amend the Constitution, to provide something which is within the purview of the States and which the States are handling.

To me, it makes no sense other than this is an election year. It makes no sense other than throwing red meat to a certain constituency. It certainly is not what the Constitution of the United States is all about.

I hope we will vote no on cloture. I hope we will return to business that is important to the American people. I do not believe this issue merits the time of this Senate at this time.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) on the Marriage Protection Amendment

From The Congressional Record:

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to add my voice to the rising chorus of people both here in the Senate and back in my home State of Iowa who are fed up with the misplaced priorities of the Republican leadership in this Congress. Our country faces mounting challenges: High energy prices, skyrocketing health care costs, tens of millions of Americans without health insurance, the cost of college tuition going through the roof, individuals with minimum wage jobs going nearly a decade without a raise. So how does the leadership here respond to these challenges? By squandering a week of the Senate's time debating a constitutional marriage amendment that has already been soundly rejected by the Senate and by debating repeal of the estate tax which would benefit only about 3 out of every 1,000 people in America at the most and would add $1 trillion to the deficit in the coming years, so that the superrich can get yet another tax break, a tax break that won't build one additional school, would not provide one new additional job, while working families get absolutely nothing.

Again, the great majority of American people are getting madder and madder about this. All you have to do is look at the polls of Congress. The only thing lower than President Bush's polls is the standing of Congress. You wonder why? Look at what we are debating while all of these issues go by the wayside. What about the real needs and concerns of working Americans and their families.

Let me give one case in point. The majority leader cannot find time to bring H.R. 810 to the floor. It is pending at the desk.

It was passed by a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives--a bill to lift restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. Evidently, we don't have time. No time? Well, the majority party found plenty of time this week for these two dubious, devisive measures. But when it comes to the No. 1 research priority of the American people--embryonic stem cell research--the majority leader refuses to bring it to the floor; we don't have the time.

This is outrageous. No wonder the American people say Congress is not doing anything. We are not doing anything to address the real needs of our people.

Two weeks ago, on May 24, we reached the 1-year anniversary of the House passage of H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. This bill is supported by the majority of Senators on a bipartisan basis. It enjoys the support of large majorities in every public opinion poll. Yet we cannot bring it up. Removing the straitjacket on embryonic stem cell research is a matter of life and death for millions of Americans. As the Senate squanders yet another week, people we love are dying from Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's disease and juvenile diabetes. People are unable to walk due to spinal cord injuries. These Americans are desperate for progress on embryonic stem cell research, which is being blocked by the majority leader's failure to allow H.R. 810 to come to the floor for debate and a vote. No time. Yet we have time to debate this constitutional amendment on marriage, which has been soundly rejected already by the Senate, and which everybody knows will be soundly rejected again, or we will have time to bring up for a vote the repeal of the estate tax, benefiting only the richest of the rich in our country. We have time for that, but we don't have time to bring up a bill to open the doors of medical research that hold such promise for people with incurable diseases. [Emphasis added.]

There are also other urgent priorities being sidetracked. Forty-five million Americans have no health insurance. The majority leader says there is no time to debate this. There is no time to consider a measure that would make it possible for small companies to offer employees a health care plan similar to the one we have in Congress. Indeed, we Democrats were prevented from getting an up-or-down vote on this during the so-called Health Care Week last month.

In the Midwest, we have a bill that is very important not only for the Midwest but for the rest of the country, which is the Water Resources Development Act. We have 81 signatures on a letter, Republicans and Democrats, to the majority leader supporting this bill, asking that it be brought up. That is not only more than it takes to break a filibuster, if this was one--and I don't think there is one pending on it or to override a veto--that is more than two-thirds. Yet no action on it. I guess we don't have time.

The majority leader says we have time this week to consider a mammoth tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, but we don't have any time to consider a bill to raise the minimum wage for Americans at the bottom. The minimum wage has been stuck at the low level of $5.15 for more than 9 years. During those 9 years, Members of this Senate have voted seven times to raise their salaries. Yet for those at the bottom, we don't have the time to bring a minimum wage increase bill to the floor of the Senate.

If we can keep this up, the approval of Congress will go into the negatives. At least it is in the positives now. It is maybe 10 or 12 percent. If that happens, it will be the first time in history that it will be in the negatives. I don't blame the American people for having that opinion of Congress.

Last month, we learned that some 26 million Americans--most veterans--had personal information stolen, including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers. This puts every one of these veterans in jeopardy of identity theft and fraud. Why are we not this week bringing to the floor the urgently needed Veterans Identity Protection Act? This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide 1 year of credit monitoring to each affected person and one additional free credit report each year for the following 2 years. This bill would make a real difference for millions of veterans. Why is it being ignored? It seems to have bipartisan support. Why is it not being hotlined, as they say around here, for immediate consideration on the floor? We should bring it up this week. We should be debating that today. I guess we don't have time for that.

One other matter. I don't think we have a higher priority right now in terms of our national economy and our national well-being than ending our addiction to foreign oil. Senator Lugar, a Republican, and I have a bill that would dramatically ramp up ethanol and biodiesel production. It would make these home-grown fuels available and usable at the pump and in communities all across the United States. Our national security is at stake. Why isn't this bill being brought to the floor on an expedited basis this week?

The answer, Mr. President, is that we are not addressing the real concerns and priorities of the American people because the majority leader--and I assume his party--are putting their own narrow special interest priorities first. Apparently, it is more important to cater to a narrow vocal base of the Republican Party than to listen to the broad majority of the American people.

It boggles the mind that the Republicans have once again brought the so-called Federal marriage amendment to the floor. It will fail this week for the same reason it failed the last time. It is because deep down inside we all know it is wrong. It is just basically wrong.

Yesterday, the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Specter, said this amendment is "a solution in search of a problem." He is exactly right. For more than two centuries, our States have done an excellent job of making their own laws governing marriage without Federal interference. The last time the Senate debated this amendment, the cloture vote on the motion to proceed garnered only 48 votes--12 votes short of the 60 needed to invoke cloture, and far short of the 67 votes needed to pass a constitutional amendment. You have to have 67 votes. There isn't one person here who thinks they are even close to that. They cannot even get a majority. It is not surprising.

The amendment tramples on the authority of each State to regulate the civil laws of marriage within its borders--authority, by the way, I point out, that the Congress strengthened by passing the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevents any State from being forced or required to recognize a same-sex marriage in another State. Wait a
minute. The Congress passed a law saying that we, the Federal Government, cannot require a State to recognize a contractual agreement in another State dealing with same-sex marriage. Well, guess what. No State has been forced to recognize a same-sex marriage or civil union joined in another State.

Yet now the Republicans would have us force upon each State a constitutional amendment that would take away the right of those States to enact their own contractual laws. It seems to me that what is happening is we are going down a road rapidly of more and more power to the President of the United States, less and less power to the Congress and the courts, more and more power to the Federal Government under a President.

The last time I looked, that could have been called something like a monarchy. Come to think of it, that is what we overthrew a couple hundred years ago. Most people tend to forget that when we declared our independence from Great Britain and fought the Revolutionary War and established our Constitution, England had a Parliament. But guess what. The King reigned supreme. It was King George at that time. So we recognized that. We recognized the inherent inability of the Parliament in England to go up against the King. So when we devised our Constitution, that is why we had the separation of powers--the courts, the Congress, and the President, all separate and equal. Then we reserved to the States certain powers not enumerated in the Constitution. One of the powers is the right to set contractual laws. Now this Republican Congress wants to take that away. It is almost like we are going full circle back to the monarchy of Great Britain--a Congress that lays prone before the President--a President that is able to tap your phones, read your e-mails under some guise of a power that, since we are at war, he can do whatever he wants, taking away our civil rights and liberties. What does Congress do? Nothing. We sit back and let it go on. Now we are going to take another step to take away power from the States.

Well, again, this is something that is inherently wrong. It is wrong to take away this power from the States, take away the authority to set up their own contractual framework. As Senator Kennedy said, I think eloquently, a few moments ago, it should be the right of every religion, under the freedom of religion, to decide the sacramental laws of marriage as defined by that religion. But when it comes to the contractual right, the civil right, that is determined by the State. That is why when you go to get married, you do two things--find a minister, a rabbi, a priest, whatever, but then you have to go to the courthouse of your State and get a license. Why? Because you are entering a contractual relationship. That is what this amendment would take away. Again, I would defend to the death the right of a religion to determine its own sacramental laws of what it determines a marriage to be, but also defend the right of a State to set up its own contractual laws within and under the umbrella of equal rights for all and nondiscrimination under the Constitution of the United States.

Senator Kennedy referred to it, and I will refer to it again. It wasn't too long ago where people of different races could not get married in this country. States had laws that said a Black person could not marry a White American, or an Oriental could not marry a Black or a White. You could not marry someone of another race. It is not too long ago in my own lifetime, but that was true.

Discrimination is what it was. The courts struck it down. Would these same Republicans who keep coming here saying the courts should not be interfering in this say the courts should not have interfered there, too; that we should have left those discriminatory laws intact under the Constitution of the United States?

I keep hearing all this stuff about protecting the American family. I submit to my friends on the other side, if they really want to do that, how about raising the minimum wage? [Emphasis added.]

That would do more to protect the American family than anything they are talking about here.

How about addressing the skyrocketing health care costs? How about the high cost of gasoline? If they want to defend the American family, how about giving access to health insurance to 45 million people a day who can't afford it? If they want to defend the American family, how about doing something about the rising cost of college tuition in this country and helping low and moderate families meet those costs of college education? In other words, if Majority Leader Frist and his party want to protect the American family, why don't they deal with the real challenges confronting families instead of wasting the Senate's time on this cynical, trumped-up issue of same-sex marriage ? Why can't we make bipartisan progress on issues such as providing access to health insurance and raising the minimum wage?

I close by making one point very clear: If the Democrats were in charge of the Senate, if we were setting the agenda, we would be charting a different course for our Nation. We would not be wasting the Senate's time on divisive, partisan constitutional amendments which seek to divide our people, pit families one against another, pit Americans one against another by dividing us. We would not be passing yet another mammoth tax cut for the wealthiest in our society called the estate tax, a tax we can't afford for people who don't need it.

If we could set the agenda, we would have the minimum wage issue out here. We would have a health care issue out here. We would have issues out here that provide for families getting a college education for their kids. We would have bills on the floor addressing the addiction to oil and moving us to more energy independence.

Every day it is becoming clearer and clearer to the American people that they face a choice: We can stay the current course--more divisiveness, more deficits, more debt, more drift--or a new direction for our country. If the majority party wants to continue to squander our time and taxpayers' money, as they are doing this week, well, that is their choice. But the American people get to choose, too. The American people are eager to cut out this divisiveness, to move on to the real agenda that confronts our country, to move in a very different direction, and I say it is time to do that.