Louisiana state District Judge William Morvant struck down the state's recently enacted anti-gay constitutional amendment, according to GLAAD.org . Morvant ruled that the amendment was flawed because it had more than one purpose. The amendment was designed to ban not only equal marriage rights, but also civil unions and any legal recognition for same-sex couples. Louisiana's constitution requires that amendments be confined to a single aim.
Anti-gay constitutional amendments on the November ballot in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah would have the same or similar impact as Louisiana's. Three other amendments on the ballot in Oregon, Montana, and Mississippi would deny equal marriage rights without explicitly mentioning civil unions or other protections for same-sex families.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network announced results from a new national poll on students' attitudes on sexual orientation. The poll reveals that about 5 percent of America's high school students identify themselves as lesbian or gay; 16 percent of America's students have a gay or lesbian family member; and 72 percent know someone who is gay or lesbian. Among other things, the poll also shows that anti-gay language is rampant. Sixty-six percent of students report using homophobic language, such as 'that's so gay' to describe something that is wrong, bad or stupid; and 81 percent report hearing homophobic language in their schools frequently or often.
Following a decision by the University of Pittsburgh to provide domestic-partner health coverage to its lesbian and gay employees, the American Civil Liberties Union withdrew a legal challenge to the school's prior refusal to provide the benefits, ending an eight-year legal battle.
After a six-month delay, the ACLU's challenge to an Arkansas policy that prevents lesbian and gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents resumed in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County with a new expert witness for the state. The ACLU first brought the lawsuit against the Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board in 1999 on behalf of a group of prospective foster parents, charging the policy violates the equal protection guarantees of the state and federal constitutions.
Gov. George E. Pataki announced that he had signed a bill into law requiring that hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare centers in New York State grant visiting rights to the domestic partners of patients who are unable to give permission on their own, according to The New York Times. The law, which takes effect immediately, means that sexual orientation will play no role in decisions about visiting rights.
GLBT students from more than 70 colleges across America joined forces with the Democratic National Committee as part of an outreach program targeting GLBT college students during National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11. Former pro baseball player Billy Bean, Karamo Brown of MTV's The Real World, Democratic activist Chrissy Gephardt, and Wayne Ting, GLBT Caucus Chair of the College Democrats of America, hosted a press conference to roll out the historic program. The plan aimed to collect more than 100,000 GLBT voter pledges.
The New Jersey Supreme Court announced that it is leaving a case involving the legality of same-sex marriages with an appeals court, the Associated Press reports. The state's highest court also directed the New Jersey Appellate Division to speed up its scheduling of an appeal in the case before a three-judge panel. Officials at Lambda Legal, the group pushing for same-sex marriages in New Jersey, said the court's decision was disappointing for the seven gay and lesbian couples involved in the case.
GLBT individuals and groups are supporting the Million Worker March, which takes place Oct. 17 in Washington, D.C. The march was initiated by the African-American leadership of Local 10 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The LGBT call reads in part, 'the voices and issues of LGBT workers will be raised at the Million Worker March.' Call (212) 633-6646, or see www.lgbt4millionworkermarch.org .
Saying that James Cain, a Wisconsin doctor, illegally discriminated against his patient by refusing to perform surgery after learning the man has HIV, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in state court arguing the doctor violated multiple federal and state laws. Lambda also contends the doctor failed to offer proper HIV counseling when he told the patient, Steve Spera, 54, he tested HIV-positive, which is mandated by state law.
The New York Times reports that Golan Cipel, the one-time aide of now-out New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, is avoiding FBI agents who are interested in talking with him. Cipel is living in Israel. In August, McGreevey announced his resignation by disclosing that he had had an affair with a man he did not name, but aides accused Cipel of threatening to expose the affair unless he received a seven-figure settlement.
Five Congressional Democrats have called for the Bush administration to fire Special Counsel Scott Bloch, according to 365Gay.com . The politicians say that Bloch has refused to reinstate sexual orientation discrimination to the list of banned personnel practices for federal employment. In February, the Office of the Special Counsel began removing references to sexual orientation-based discrimination from its complaint form, brochure, training slides, and flyers.
The Human Rights Campaign and several House Democrats have criticized the removal of the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA) from the Defense Department authorization bill. In July, the Senate passed the measure with a vote of 65-33 as an amendment to the bill. Through a procedural vote in September, the House voted in favor of keeping the hate-crimes measure in the bill by a bipartisan vote of 213-186. LLEEA would add real or perceived sexual orientation, gender, and disability to federal hate-crime laws.
The Georgia Supreme Court has agreed to speed up consideration of an appeal of the gay marriage amendment headed to voters next month. The court granted the request for a speedy appeal without comment and set a hearing date of Oct. 19.
The Lambda Letters Project has given California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a score of just 33% for his actions on AIDS bills that the project tracked. Schwarzenegger signed only a third of the bills that reached his desk.
Committed gay couples can be granted the same rights as married heterosexuals but should not be allowed to marry, California's top legal official has said. The legal brief addresses a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court filed earlier this year after the State Supreme Court told San Francisco to stop marrying gay couples. The California Supreme Court annulled more than 4,000 marriages, but gay couples and groups filed new lawsuits now under consideration.
Republican Commission members failed to have a highly critical review of the Bush Administration's record on civil rights removed from the public domain. The draft details the lack of progress Bush has made on civil rights during the last four years, placing special emphasis on Bush's record of contempt for the GLBT community and the lack of progress made for GLBT rights. See www.usccr.gov/pubs/bush/bush04.pdf.
The Utah-based Don't Amend Alliance unveiled new advertisements designed to change the hearts and minds of that state's citizens concerning a constitutional amendment that would define marriage and prohibit same-sex couples and others from being granted even basic partnership rights.
At least four operatives of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church are on the federal payroll or getting government grants through President Bush's 'Healthy Marriage Initiative' and other 'faith-based' programs. An investigative report by the San Francisco Chronicle found connections between a government-sponsored marriage education seminar and Moon front groups.
Following an unsuccessful legal challenge, the ACLU of Arkansas expressed its disappointment that the Proposed Amendment 3, or the 'Amendment Concerning Marriage,' will remain on the Nov. 2 ballot.
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It is because of these factors, people at the institute contend, that Black gay and lesbian households stand to gain more from the legal protections of marriage. They also say that, conversely, these couples will have more to lose if states pass amendments barring marriage and civil unions.
The report takes several aspects into consideration. The study analyzes census data on age, immigration status, income, home ownership, family structure, military service, language, disability, employment, and level of education. Black gay households are compared to white same-sex, Black married heterosexual, interracial gay, Black heterosexual cohabitating, and Black single-parent households. Some of the findings include:
— Three in five Black lesbian households (61%) have mothers raising children.
— Black same-sex couples earn about $20,000 less annually than white same-sex couples. Consequently, some of those African-American couples cannot own as many items, including homes.
— Black gay couples are more likely than their white same-sex counterparts to hold public sector jobs, which may provide domestic-partner health insurance.
— Black gay couples are almost as likely as Black married heterosexual couples to report living in the same place as five years earlier, which is an important sign of relationship stability.
— Another interesting discovery is that Black men and women in same-sex households serve in the military at high rates despite the risk of losing their wages and benefits because of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. Actually, Black lesbians reported being veterans at almost four times the rate of Black heterosexual married women.
There were also census reports taken in several metropolitan areas, including Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. Some of the conclusions of the Chicago report are as follows:
— The median personal income for individuals in Black same-sex couples was $18,500.
— There are 3,954 Black gay and lesbian couples in the Chicago area, which represents almost five percent of all Black gay couples in the country. Sixteen percent of all same-sex couples are Black, which for the Chicago study is defined as having at least one partner being Black.
— Fifteen percent of men and four percent of women in Black gay relationships are military veterans.
See www.TheTaskForce.org .