New poll results bring bad news for gay marriage opponents in California who want to amend the state constitution in order to overturn a recent California Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. For the first time in over 30 years, polling by the Field Poll shows that more California voters support gay marriage than oppose it. Fifty-one percent of those polled said they disapprove of a ballot measure banning gay marriage, and 43 percent said they were in favor of it. The poll was conducted just days after California's highest court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. The state will start issuing licenses to gay couples starting June 17.
For the eighth year in a row, ExxonMobil shareholders struck down a resolution that would have added sexual orientation and gender identity to its non-discrimination clause. Roughly 40 percent of the corporation's shareholders voted in favor of passing the resolution. ExxonMobil is one of only a handful of top corporations that does not provide discrimination protections to its LGBT employees.
Philadelphia officials plan to challenge a lawsuit recently filed by a local Boys Scouts chapter in order to block the city from evicting the organization because of its anti-gay policy. The city is evicting its local Boy Scouts chapter May 31 from a city building it has used rent-free for over eight decades. The city gave the local chapter a year to ditch its anti-gay policy, pay $200,000 a year in rent or get out. The Boy Scouts of America bans gays from being members. Philadelphia officials say the Boy Scouts' no-gays policy violates a city ordinance prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination.
A disabled gay dad is suing the Social Securing Administration ( SSA ) for benefits for his children. Gary Day has been waiting to receive assistance for two years. The SSA said that legal questions and policy issues have kept the office from determining if Day is eligible to receive Child Insurance Benefits. He submitted his application in 2006, and has not received any correspondence from the agency. Lambda Legal is representing Day.
A Wisconsin transgender activist was murdered while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Felicia Melton-Smyth was stabbed to death during her vacation. According to Advocate.com, officials said Francisco Javier Hollos confessed to killing Melton-Smyth because she 'refused to pay for sex.' Melton-Smyth was a major fund-raiser for AIDS Network. She worked for the Wisconsin Medical Foundation and was a well-known community activist.
A recent national survey by Harris Interactive shows that almost one-fourth of gay and lesbian adults don't have health insurance. The nationwide survey also showed that gays and lesbians are almost twice as likely as heterosexuals to lack any type of health insurance coverage. Results of the survey also showed that the majority of gay and lesbian adults who responded—85 percent—think it is important that health insurance companies provide domestic partner coverage. Those who participated also said that they are more likely to consider obtaining health insurance from a company whose advertisements 'speak' to gay and lesbian people.
A Midwestern university might become the largest university to have an openly gay leader, according to the Associated Press. Lesbian Biddy Martin has been recommended to become the University of Wisconsin-Madison's chancellor. The university's official decision won't be released until next week. Martin is an official at Cornell University, and is author of 'Femininity Played Straight: The Significance of Being Lesbian.' According to HRC, if Martin becomes chancellor, UW-Madison will be the largest university to have an openly gay leader.
A rep confirmed the news that former 'American Idol' star Clay Aiken is going to be a daddy, reported E! Online, Gay rumors have circled the singer for years, but Aiken is going to be the biological father of music producer and close friend Jaymes Foster's child, a rep for her brother, music mogul David Foster, confirmed. According to the rep, the mother-to-be was artificially inseminated, and Aiken will play an active role in raising the child. Jaymes Foster produced Aiken's new album, 'On My Way Here,' as well as several others.
Megan Mullally ( 'Will & Grace' ) will be part of a new fall comedy series. Mullally will play the role of Alicia Silverstone's mother in a new ABC comedy called 'Bad Mother's Handbook,' according to TV Guide. The show is about a 30-something woman ( Silverstone ) who is raising a teen daughter and taking care of her mother.
