9 posts tagged “glbt”
The selection of New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson for Sunday's event follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama's decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Warren backed the ban on same-sex marriage that passed in his home state of California on the November ballot.
Robinson said last month the choice of Warren was like a slap in the face. In an interview with the Concord Monitor, he said he doesn't believe Obama invited him in response to the Warren criticism but said his inclusion won't go unnoticed by the gay and lesbian community.
"It's important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way," Robinson told the newspaper for a story in Monday's editions. "Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority, or in our case, a sexual minority. Just seeing someone like you up front matters."
Clark Stevens, a spokesman for the inaugural committee, said Robinson was invited because he had offered his advice to Obama during the campaign and because of his church work. When asked whether Robinson was included to calm the Warren complaints, he said Robinson is "an important figure in the religious community. We are excited that he will be involved."
Robinson, 61, said both Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will attend the event, and Obama is expected to speak. As for himself, Robinson said he doesn't yet know what he'll say, but he knows he won't use a Bible.
"While that is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans," Robinson said. "I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer. This is a prayer for the whole nation."
Robinson said his prayer will be reflective of the times...
Florida ban on gay adoptions ruled unconstitutional
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
A Miami-Dade circuit judge Tuesday declared Florida's 30-year-old ban on gay adoption unconstitutional, allowing a North Miami man to adopt two foster kids he has raised since 2004.
In a 53-page order that sets the stage for what could become a constitutional showdown, Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman permitted 47-year-old Frank Gill to adopt the 4- and 8-year-old boys he and his partner have raised since just before Christmas four years ago. A child abuse investigator had asked Gill to care for the boys temporarily; they were never able to return to their birth parents.
''This is the forum where we try to heal children, find permanent families for them so they can get another chance at what every child should know and feel from birth, and go on to lead productive lives,'' Lederman said in court before releasing the order. "We pray for them to thrive, but that is a word we rarely hear in dependency court.''
''These children are thriving; it is uncontroverted,'' the judge added.
Moments after Lederman released the ruling, attorneys for Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced they would appeal the decision to the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami.
''We respect the court's decision,'' said attorney Valerie Martin, who had argued in support of the ban during a weeklong trial Oct. 1-6. But, she added: "Based upon the wishes of our client, the Department of Children & Families, we have filed a notice of appeal this morning.''
Read the full story at MiamiHerald.com
Florida DCF contact page:
http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/dcfcontacts.shtml
HRC - The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has released it's "Buying for Equality Guide" for 2009
...The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Buying for Equality guide will help you easily support companies that support equality for LGBT Americans.
Ratings in Buying for Equality are based on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's annual report card, the Corporate Equality Index. A record 260 businesses scored 100 percent on this year's report, which is a significant increase from the 195 businesses that earned a perfect score last year. From enhanced domestic partner benefits to transgender inclusion in non-discrimination policies, we are seeing a revolution in the American workplace.
Download the guide here: Buying for Equality 2009 - pdf
Lesbian activist who fought for marriage rights dies
Martin's partner of 55 years, Phyllis Lyon, was by her side at the UCSF hospice, the National Center for Lesbian Rights said.
Martin and Lyon, 84, tied the knot June 16 in a ceremony officiated by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
"Ever since I met Del 55 years ago, I could never imagine a day would come when she wouldn't be by my side. I am so lucky to have known her, loved her and been her partner in all things," Lyon said. "I also never imagined there would be a day that we would actually be able to get married.
"I am devastated, but I take some solace in knowing we were able to enjoy the ultimate rite of love and commitment before she passed."
Kick Bolthouse Farms Out Of Your Refrigerator
William Bolthouse, founder and 43% owner of Bolthouse Farms, a farm in California that provides organic juices, lemonades, and smoothies to places like Whole Foods and other organic market places, has just recently given a donation of $100,000 to proponents of a campaign to strip California couples of the right to marry...
...company spokespeople for Bolthouse Farms will iterate that they do not donate directly to any campaigns. But their owner, William Bolthouse, uses the profits from the sales of their organic drinks to fund his noxious political views. In addition to funding the initiative to strip Californians of their marriage rights, his foundation, the Bolthouse Foundation, is a major donor to the Alliance Defense Fund, the right's response to the ACLU...
...Please take a moment and let Bolthouse Farms and their distributors know that you will no longer be purchasing their organic products, because even though they are organic, they come with some nasty side effects...
Speak out now!
The William Bolthouse Foundation is a major donor to the Alliance Defense Fund. The Foundation receives all of its donations from William and Nora Bolthouse, i.e. money coming from the sale of their organic juice products.
William Bolthouse has given money to the campaigns of George W. Bush and Gay Bauer.
We need to just say no to Bolthouse Juices.
Click Here to join the boycott!
Edit:
You may receive an email from Bolthouse Farms that states:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and comments with us.
The Bolthouse Foundation is a private foundation funded by some
of the former owners of Wm. Bolthouse Farms, Inc. The foundation
is a separate entity and is not connected to Bolthouse Farms in
any way. Furthermore, they do not receive financial support or
benefit from the profits of Bolthouse Farms. We appreciate your
concern and apologize for the confusion. Thank you for taking
the time to contact us, and we hope you will continue to enjoy
our products.
One problem with their explanation:
The Foundation is funded completely by William and
Nora Bolthouse, who own 43% of Bolthouse Farms. The financial
support may not be direct, but it still exists.
and
The foundation gets all of its money, according to its 990, from
William and Nora Bolthouse. And they get their money from their
family business, Bolthouse Farms.
Michelle and Barack Obama are both people of courage. They have earned my respect and my vote.
Michelle Obama says Barack Obama will fight for gay equality
By Samantha Gross – 1 day ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Barack Obama will fight for equal rights for gays just as he fought to help working-class families overcome poverty, the Democratic presidential hopeful's wife told a gay Democratic group Thursday.
Recalling his past work as a community organizer to help struggling families, Michelle Obama said he would take the same approach as president.
"Barack believes that we must fight for the world as it should be, a world where together we work to reverse discriminatory laws," she said at a Manhattan fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council.
Michelle Obama also drew a connection between the struggles for gay rights and civil rights.
"We are all only here because of those who marched and bled and died, from Selma to Stonewall, in the pursuit of a more perfect union," she said at the event, held days before the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots between gays and New York police, and the city's annual gay pride parade.
"The world as it is should be, one that rejects discrimination of all kinds," she said.
Touting her husband's record pushing for workplace discrimination legislation as an Illinois state senator and his support of civil unions, Obama noted her husband also had brought a call for equality to conservative groups, telling churchgoers they need to combat homophobia in the black community.
The Illinois senator opposes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and says states should make their own decisions on the matter. He has said he's interested in ensuring that same-sex couples in civil unions get federal benefits.
His Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, also opposes a federal constitutional amendment but worked to ban gay marriage in his home state. McCain supports the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, while Obama has called it "counterproductive."
Michelle Obama's speech brought a standing ovation from the crowd of about 200 donors, who raised about $1.3 million, organizers said.
Earlier Thursday, she spoke in Manchester, N.H., and credited Hillary Rodham Clinton, her husband's rival for the Democratic nomination, with bringing the concerns of working families to the forefront of the presidential campaign.
She heard from New Hampshire women juggling such work and family concerns as child care and caring for aging parents. She explained her husband's plans to expand sick time and paid family leave, help parents afford child care and make sure women get equal pay for equal work.
"We are closer to this America than ever before, and that's because of an extraordinary woman who's not in this room but she's traveling with my husband tomorrow, and that woman is Hillary Clinton," Michelle Obama said to sustained applause.
"I know that the folks here in New Hampshire know this better than anyone because you got to know the candidates up close and personal, but because of Hillary Clinton's work the issues of importance to women and working families are front and center."
Clinton and Barack Obama are to make their first public joint appearance Friday in Unity, N.H.
Associated Press writer Holly Ramer in Manchester, N.H., contributed to this report.
Phyllis Lyon, 84, left, and Del Martin, 87, who have been a couple for 55 years, were among the first same-sex partners to legally exchange marriage vows in California Monday. Gay marriage licenses were officially issued after a state supreme court ruling that overturned a ban on them.
Court overturns same-sex marriage ban
By Josh Richman
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Article Launched: 05/15/2008 08:54:28 AM PDT
California's
Supreme Court today struck down state law's same-sex marriage ban,
finding the state's constitution "properly must be interpreted to
guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or
heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex
couples." In a 4-3 ruling, the majority — with a 121-page opinion
authored by Chief Justice Ronald George, joined by associate justices
Joyce Kennard, Kathryn Werdegar and Carlos Moreno — found the fact that
California law assigns a different name for the official family
relationship of same-sex couples compared with the name for the
official family relationship of opposite-sex couples "raises
constitutional concerns not only under the state constitutional right
to marry, but also under the state constitutional equal protection
clause."...
"I respect the court's decision and as governor, I will uphold its ruling," Schwarzenegger said within minutes of the ruling. "Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."
Good for him, not too shabby for a Republican.
