At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney said that "Barack Obama is a one-term president," according to CNN.com . The attendees responded by giving Cheney a standing ovation, leading him to say, "A welcome like that is almost enough to make me want to run for office again ... but I'm not going to do it."
In Washington, D.C., Superior Court Judge Brian Holeman has rejected a request by marriage-equality opponents Stand4MarriageDC and the Alliance Defense Fund to have a referendum regarding same-sex marriage, according to the WashingtonPost.com . The ruling means that gay and lesbian couples should be able to marry around March 3.
Lambda Legal filed an amicus curiae brief in the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District, in a lawsuit brought by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group, according to a Lambda Legal press release. The fund's suit argues that Cleveland's domestic-partnership registry violates the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Lambda's brief states that Ohio's constitution does not stop Cleveland from having such a registry because it is no substitute for marriage.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Virginia, recently read a letter from a soldier stationed in Afghanistan who "learned that a fellow soldier was also gay, only after he was killed by an IED in Iraq," according to a press release from the Palm Center, a think tank that focuses on gender, sexuality and the military. The letter went on to state that " [ t ] he partner of the deceased soldier wrote the unit to say how much the victim had loved the military; how they were the only family he had ever known." This was the second public case of a gay soldier killed during action in the Middle East.
In California, the city of Beverly Hills has said that Miss California USA contestant Lauren Ashley—who has spoken out against same-sex marriage—is a fraud, according to the Los Angeles Times. In a statement released Feb. 24, the city expressed its shock of Ashley's description of herself as "Miss Beverly Hills," stating that it "does not sponsor a beauty pageant and has no association with Miss California USA." The 23-year-old Ashley has quoted the Bible regarding her stance against gay marriage.
In an interview with Fox News, former governor Mike Huckabee criticized the Conservative Political Action Conference ( CPAC ) , according to Advocate.com . The onetime Republican presidential candidate said that "CPAC has become increasingly more libertarian and less Republican over the years." One source of controversy involved gay-rights group GOProud's sponsorship and presence, which upset traditional conservatives.
In Vermont, Rutland Family Court Judge William Cohen has issued an arrest warrant for Lisa Miller, who is on the run with a 7-year-old daughter she had with her female partner, according to the Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Cohen had ordered that custody of the girl be transferred to Janet Jenkins, Miller's former partner. ( Jenkins and Miller's civil union in Vermont ended in 2003. ) In January, Cohen gave Miller—who lived in Virginia with the girl—more time to comply with the transfer. After her split from Jenkins, Miller renounced her homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian, according to On Top Magazine.
In California, the family of murder victim Cynthia Ramos want Jorge and Robert Morgan—the registered domestic partners who killed her—kept in separate prisons, according to CBS13.com . The Morgans, who were sentenced to life in prison, want to be housed together. However, Ramos' six children are requesting separate jails. Daughter Christina Barnes sent a letter to officials stating, "If the two prisoners are left together to conspire, they are capable of carrying out their evildoings against us, either indirectly or through the hands of others." The Morgans are being held in the same facility until the state determines their permanent prison ( s ) .
In Texas, gay-rights activists held a rally in response to two members of a gay softball team being attacked, according to an Advocate.com item. Emmanuel Winston and Matt Morgan said that were leaving the Austin gay bar Oilcan Harry's Feb. 20 in their "Shady Ladies" jerseys when they met four men who attacked them while shouting anti-gay slurs. Austin City Council Members Randi Shade and Laura Morrison joined members of Equality Texas at the rally.
In California, Fresno City College professor Bradley Lopez has denied charges of teaching anti-gay rhetoric, saying, "Everything I teach is within the context of Health Science 1 on this campus." Among other things, Lopez is accused of lecturing that being gay is a "biological misapplication of human sexuality," and saying that lesbians and gay men are threats to society.
In South Carolina, state legislators have put on hold a measure that would deal with youth-dating violence but would exclude gay youths, according to WISTV.com . The dating-violence bill was introduced in 2009, when House Rep. Greg Delleney amended the measure so that it only applied to opposite-sex couples. South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault reported that approximately 16 percent of the state's teens report being assaulted by a boyfriend or girlfriend while at school.
New York Gov. David Paterson, who has been under fire, has stated that he will not seek a full term in office but will stay through the remainder of 2010, according to CNN.com . The New York Times recently reported that Paterson may have stepped in a domestic-violence case involving a top aide—and the state's deputy secretary for public safety has resigned, saying the governor "acknowledged" direct contact with the female victim. Paterson, who took over when then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned two years ago in the wake of a sex scandal, is a same-sex marriage advocate who told agencies in 2008 that they had to accept gay-marriage licenses from other jurisdictions for purposes of employee benefits.
In Virginia, the group Pennies in Protest is turning planned protests by Rev. Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church into fundraisers, according to a press release from the organization. The church, based in Kansas, is known for protesting gay and Jewish groups as well as picketing funerals. Pennies in Protest has started collecting money for every minute is protesting organizations in Virginia's capital of Richmond; Pennies' Web site is tinyurl.com/Pennies-In-Protest.
In Michigan, George Skaff has started G-Romance.com, a Web site that may be the first of its kind, as it covers the entire LGBTQ spectrum and focuses solely on long-term relationships. According to Real Detroit Weekly, upon registering with the site ( and there are currently free accounts remaining ) , participants complete in-depth personality profiles that includes characteristic questions; a full facial profile pic; and five psychological questions designed to pair users with compatible partners at a majority accuracy level of 51 percent or higher.
National Black Justice Coalition ( NBJC ) Executive Director Sharon J. Lettman and Board Vice Chair Donna Payne recently joined presidents of historically Black colleges and universities ( HBCU ) across the country, key civil-rights leaders and select HBCU students as President Barack Obama signed the executive order "Promoting Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs ) " at the White House, according to NBJC.org . The David Bohnett Foundation supported this opportunity by aiding NBJC, a pro-LGBT organization, and the Human Rights Campaign's HBCU Project in sponsoring two LGBT students so they could attend.
