Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
DC Bus Riders Facing Anti Gay-Marriage Ads
The battle over gay marriage in the nation’s capital is far from over – even though the city’s mayor has signed a marriage equality bill, and insiders say Congress will most likely NOT act to repeal it. That’s not stopping anti-gay-marriage groups. Read the rest of this entry »
Study: ’00s a decade of gain for LGBTs
A new report shows exactly how much progress has been made on issues of LGBT rights in the past decade. The “LGBT Movement Advancement Project” and the “Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr., Fund” co-produced the report, which looks at 36 gay rights indicators today – and in 1999.
Matt Foreman is former head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and now heads the gay and immigration rights project at the Haas, Jr., Fund.
Foreman: “You know, it’s so easy to lose sight of the big picture when people are in the trenches fighting, and sometimes losing, for example in Maine or Prop 8 – you tend to lose sight of really how much has happened, particularly at the state level over the last ten years.”
In the last decade, the number of states that outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation jumped from 12 to 22. The number of states banning gender identity discrimination went from just one, to 14.
Foreman says the key to progress in the NEXT decade can be found in the indicators that deal with education. The number of states with anti-bullying laws has gone from 1 to 13, and the number of Gay Straight Alliances across the country has skyrocketed – from 700 … to 4700.
Foreman: “As people go through high school and know their high school had a GSA, and knew that there were out kids, all of that is going to just keep on accelerating. The people that are holding us back now are older people. As more young people come through this much different pipeline, then that is what is ultimately going to tip the scales for us.”
The full report is available at http://www.lgbtmap.org/
NY Governor to Protect Transgender State Employees From Discrimination
New York Governor David Paterson will issue {issued} an executive order today, banning discrimination against state employees on the basis of gender identity and expression. The New York Times reports Paterson will be {was} joined by leading gay rights advocates at the LGBT Community Center in the West Village during the signing ceremony.
Michael Silverman is executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.
Silverman: “It sends a clear message that New York wants to be a leader in the movement for transgender equal rights, and ensuring that hardworking people who just want to get a job and support themselves and their families can do that, without fearing on-the-job discrimination just because they’re transgender.”
But Silverman said the protections need to extend beyond just state workers. New York’s Assembly has passed – several times – a state-wide transgender-inclusive employment non-discrimination act known as “GENDA”, but the Senate has never voted on it. Silverman said the Senate needs to act to make sure all New Yorkers get same the protections as state workers.
Silverman: “47% of transgender people report that they have been denied a job or promotion or fired, just because of who they are. Not because they can’t do the job, not because they’re not willing to work hard. Just because they are transgender. So we need GENDA in New York State, and we need it now.”
Silverman says New York becomes the seventh state to protect transgender public employees from discrimination, joining Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Indiana, and Kansas.
NY marriage vote spotlights no-vote Democrats
Gay marriage supporters say even though New York’s State Senate rejected a marriage equality bill yesterday, the vote itself was still a step forward.
HRC Releases Gay Shoppers Guide
With the busiest shopping season of the year upon us, the Human Rights Campaign has released its annual guide – to which retailers support gay rights, and which don’t.
Gays in the Military Experts Blast Survey
Gays in the Military experts are blasting a new poll, sent by Military Times magazine to its readers, that asks about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Read the rest of this entry »
DC Agenda launches on ashes of WashBlade
The Washington Blade may be gone, but the paper’s mission continues.
FL gay students challenge NARTH
More than 150 college students in Florida are planning to protest an ex-gay group’s national conference on Saturday. The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality or NARTH is holding its 2009 convention in West Palm Beach.
SBA Did Not Shut Down Blade, Voice
It appears it was the owners of the Washington Blade and Southern Voice who decided to shut down their newspapers this week –not the Small Business Administration, as some had speculated.
ACLU fights Ala. high school that bans lesbian from prom
The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding that an Alabama High School allow a student to bring a lesbian date to next year’s prom.
