\On the heels of receiving the Human Rights Campaign's ( HRC's ) endorsement in her re-election race, Susan Collins of Maine has become the fourth Republican U.S. senator to publicly endorse marriage equality, Advocate.com noted. She joins Rob Portman of Ohio, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska as Republican senators on the side of marriage equality. There had been some criticism of HRC's endorsement because Collins had yet to endorse equal marriage rights, saying the issue was something for each state to decide.
A federal judge in Kentucky struck down the state's ban on marriage equality, although the ruling was temporarily put on hold and it was not immediately clear when same-sex couples could be issued marriage licenses, ABC News reported. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn, in Louisville, concluded that the state's prohibition on same-sex couples being wed violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by treating gay couples differently than straight couples. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said the state will appeal the decision.
In a significant first, a U.S. appeals court has struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage, CNN noted. It happened June 25 in Utah, where a panel ruled two to one against the prohibition, saying that any couple, regardless of sexual orientation, has the right to marry. Enforcement of the decision was stayed temporarily. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said his office would appeal to the Supreme Court; the justices then would decide whether to hear the case.
In Colorado, a federal appeals court ruled for the first time that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry, extending the movement's legal winning streak and bringing the issue a big step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to PressHerald.com . The three-judge panel in Denver ruled two to one that states cannot deprive people of the fundamental right to marry simply because they choose a partner of the same sex. The court dismissed as "wholly illogical" the notion that allowing gays to wed could somehow undermine traditional marriage.
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the state to recognize the same-sex marriage of one Indiana couple, according to IndyStar.com . The decision marks the latest development in a week of court rulings that legalized same-sex marriage in Indiana before banning it again three days later. The latest ruling came at the request of Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, who is terminally ill. A three-judge panel from the federal appeals court in Chicago ordered the unique recognition for the Munster couple a day after it announced plans to expedite the appeal of U.S. District Judge Richard Young's ruling last week that found Indiana's ban unconstitutional.
LGBT advocates as well as openly gay Obama administration officials and lawmakers mingled at the White House's Pride reception, according to The Washington Blade. During his 13-minute remarks, President Obama ( who also attended ) reiterated the checklist of LGBT accomplishments under his administration. The Blade stated that this year possibly marked the first time the event has taken place without frustration from the LGBT community; issued that had caused frustration included DOMA, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and marriage equality. Obama did say more work needed to be done to achieve equality, such as passing a trans-inclusive ENDA.
California's ban on gay conversion therapy is set to take effect after the Supreme Court declined to hear two cases challenging its legality, Time.com reported. The measure prohibits mental health providers from "engaging in sexual orientation change efforts" with minors, meaning that therapists and other licensed counselors are not allowed to engage in the controversial practice of attempting to rid someone under 18 of same-sex feelings. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the ban into law in 2012, but it has been delayed by a series of legal challenges.
Also in California, a new streamlined process for transgender people who wish to change their gender or name on their birth certificates began July 1, according to SDGLN.com . The first part of Assembly Bill 1121, by Speaker Toni G. Atkins ( D-San Diego ), which required the court to grant a name change petition without a hearing if there are no objections, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last October. Another bill by Speaker Atkins, AB 1577 the Respect After Death Act, would require death certificates to reflect the decedent's gender identity; this measure passed out of the Assembly with bipartisan support and waits consideration in the Senate.
The late LGBT-rights leader Harvey Milk has been honored with his very own wax figure, according to Business Wire. Stuart Milk—Milk's nephew as well as co-founder and board president of the Harvey Milk Foundation—revealed the figure, which is ready to meet guests at Madame Tussauds San Francisco's Spirit of San Francisco area alongside figures of Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia.
In another Milk-related development, Frank Robinson—an author who was also Milk's speechwriter—has died at 86, SFWeekly.com noted. Several of his novels have been adapted for television and for feature films, including 1974's Hollywood blockbuster The Towering Inferno, based partly on The Glass Inferno, a novel of which Robinson and Thomas M. Scortia were co-authors. Robinson was also in crowd seasons in the movie Milk, watching Sean Penn portray the title character, who was also Robinson's friend.
Voters in Latta, South Carolina, opted by a more than two-to-one margin to scrap their strong-mayor government in favor of a more powerful city council, according to Gawker. The referendum came after widespread revulsion over Mayor Earl Bullard's unilateral decision in April to fire the town's first-ever female police chief, Crystal Moore, who happens to be lesbian. Councilwoman Lutherine Williams said that the council's first order of businessis to rehire Moore.
A CDC report shows that despite significant declines in cigarette smoking among U.S. adults over the past five decades, progress has slowed in recent years—and the prevalence of use of other tobacco products such as cigars and smokeless tobacco has not changed. In addition, data from the 2012—2013 National Adult Tobacco Survey revealed that prevalence was higher among LGBT adults ( 30.8 percent ) than heterosexual/straight adults ( 20.5 percent ). In general, any tobacco use was greater among men, younger adults, non-Hispanic other adults, those living in the Midwest and South, those with less education and income, and LGBT adults.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation June 26 that installs protections and procedures to help students bullied in Illinois schools. "A child who is bullied is a child who is fearful of learning [and] fearful of coming to school," Quinn said at the signing, which was held at Skinner West Elementary School. The bill, HB5707, puts into place uniform policies for school administrators once students report being bullied, and calls for schools to report information on bullying incidents back to the state. The bill's chief sponsor, state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, thanked and praised parents who shared with her their experiences about having a bullied child.
Saying it is not providing a "shield for employers who might cloak illegal discrimination as a religious practice," a five-to-four majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 that a federal law may not require a closely held commercial employer to provide health insurance coverage for contraception if that employer claims that to do so violates his or her personal religious beliefs. The opinion in the Hobby Lobby cases, written by Justice Sam Alito, also states that the decision applies only to a federal mandate that employers provide coverage for contraception, and does not necessarily apply to coverage for other medical services to which some employers might raise religious objections. Leading the dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called Alito's opinion "startling."
Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum claims that a majority of Americans oppose marriage equality, according to On Top Magazine. The former senator from Pennsylvania warned that unless social conservatives actively oppose marriage equality "we will lose this war." Santorum appeared on Bryan Fischer's radio program to promote his studio's upcoming movie, One Generation Away: The Erosion of Religious Liberty.
From George Chauncey's Gay New York to Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, work-related LGBT literature and authors whose books focus on work are being highlighted for LGBT Pride Month as part of the U.S. Department of Labor's Books that Shaped Work in America, according to a press release. The Web-based project, www.dol.gov/books, aims to engage the public about the Labor Department's mission and this country's history as a nation of workers, as portrayed through published works. Among those who have sent recommendations are Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, and Mara Keisling, founding executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.
In South Dakota, a gay teenage fast-food worker has claimed he was forced to wear a name tag with the word "gaytard" on it, Gay Star News reported. Yankton resident Tyler Brandt, 16, was working in a Taco John's restaurant earlier this year and said he had a very difficult relationship with his manager. When he tried to remove the nametag, Brandt says his manager forced him to put it back on in full view of customers. So far, the manager has not commented; however, Taco John CEO Jeff Linville said in a statement, "At Taco John's, we believe everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. ... Such actions will not be tolerated by our company." South Dakota has no employment-discrimination laws that protect LGBT people.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has said it may be time to consider extending the state's civil-rights laws to gay people, according to AZCapitolTimes.com . The governor conceded that, while existing state laws bar discrimination based on race, religion or gender, those do not extend to sexual orientation; however, the Republican said it may be worth exploring whether the time has come to change that. Her comments come several months after she made national headlines by vetoing legislationthat would've expanded the rights of any business to turn away customers based on a claim that serving that person would interfere with a "sincerely held" religious belief.
A candidate seeking the Republican nomination for a Wisconsin Congressional seat is claiming that marriage equality will lead to incest, Advocate.com reported. Karen Mueller—who is running in the Republican primary in Wisconsin's Third Congressional District—said at a recent event, "We've got, for instance, two sisters, and these two sisters want to get married. They love each other. They are committed to each other. They want to spend the rest of their life together." Mueller, who is an attorney, said the lawyers for such a couple could argue against laws prohibiting incestuous relationships by citing the repeal of sodomy bans.
In Cincinnati, Ohio, police are seeking information regarding the death of 28-year-old transgender woman of color Tiffany Edwards, according to Pridesource.com . Her body was found by a city sanitation driver after she was gunned down and left in the middle of the street. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs said in a statement, "For many transgender women of color, who are disproportionally affected by violence, the motive for homicides is never determined and the investigations are rarely completed. This pride season we demand that this crisis be addressed."
In Florida, two of Broward's top Republicans are being attacked by a faction of their own party for participating in a gay-pride parade in Wilton Manors, South Florida Gay News reported. The critics are going after County Commissioner Chip LaMarca, the only Republican on the nine-member commission, and Heather Brinkworth, who was appointed to the school board by Republican Gov. Rick Scott. A contingent put pictures of LaMarca and Brinkworth—along with a picture of four scantily clad young men—on a flier and email missive with the caption, "Is this the Republican Party you signed up for?"
In Maryland, a historic primary race took place in Montgomery County when a transgender woman and a gay man competed for the same seat in the state Senate, according to WJLA.com . Openly gay state Sen. Richard Madaleno successfully defeated trans candidate Dana Beyer. Madaleno was the first gay elected official to serve in the state's senate, and Beyer ( had she won ) would've been the first transgender state senator.
Four same-sex couples joined a federal marriage lawsuit in Puerto Rico, according to The Washington Blade. Ada Mercedes Conde Vidal and Ivonne Alvarez Velez of San Juan initially filed in March in the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico. Conde, one of the lawyers in the case, and Alvarez have been together for nearly 14 years and married in Massachusetts in 2004.
A gay white professor is suing Alabama State University ( ASU ) over claims the historically Black school discriminated against him and his partner based on their race and sexual orientation, according to Campus Reform. Dr. John Garland is suing ASU as well as eight current and former employees for allegedly racially discriminating against applicants for university positions and subsequently targeting him when he retaliated against those practices. ASU hired Garland, who is a member of the Choctaw Nation but is identified as white by colleagues, in August 2008 as an adjunct professor.
A skin-care specialist based in West Hollywood, California, who once boasted a roster of celebrity clients reportedly tried to get white supremacists to murder her "double minority: Mexican gay" business competitor, Raw Story reported. Dawn Melody DaLuise, 55, owns the Skin Refinery salon, and was reportedly furious that rival aesthetician Gabriel Suarez opened his own salon in the same West Hollywood business complex. Among other things, DaLuise allegedly contacted multiple people in an effort to find hit men to kill the Mexican-American businessman, whose skin salon is called Smooth Cheeks.
CNBC's Squawk on the Street co-host Simon Hobbs committed a bit of a gaffe recently when he described Apple CEO Tim Cook as "openly gay," Business Insider noted. After the claim was met by silence, Hobbs said, "Oh, dear, was that an error? I thought he was open about it." Cook has never publicly spoken about his sexual orientation although several publications have mentioned it; Out has included Cook in its power list.
Professional basketball player Jason Collins, of the Brooklyn Nets, received the Social Impact Award at the 10th Annual Community Justice Awards Gala, hosted by the Urban Justice Center, according to a press release. After the end of the 2013 NBA season, Collins came out to the public as gay, becoming the first openly gay male athlete from one of the four major U.S. professional sports leagues. For 30 years, the Urban Justice Center has served New York City's most vulnerable residents through a combination of direct legal service, systemic advocacy, community education and political organizing.
California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier wants Congress to give millions in lost separation pay to service members dismissed from the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," calling it a way to make amends for a shameful chapter in U.S. history, according to MarineCorpsTimes.com . Under her Military Separation Pay Fairness Act, troops kicked out of the military under the policy—in effect from 1993 to 2010—who received only partial separation pay would be eligible to receive their lost payouts, with interest. About 14,000 service members were dismissed from the military under the policy.
