President Obama to Bestow Presidential Medal of Freedom on Harvey Milk

California Urges Governor to Sign Day Bill into Law

– Today announced that he will honor assassinated leader with the Presidential Medal of , the nation’s highest civilian honor recognizing significant contributions to the nation and the world. The will also honor Senator and legend , an open and longtime for the rights of the , , , and () community, with the Medal of on August 12.
understands that ’s reaches far beyond , and that his story is an to everyone who believes in and ,” said Geoff Kors, California () . “ risked everything to change the course of history and to secure many of the and protections we enjoy today. In light of receiving this incredible honor, we to sign the bill into law as a to ’s to end against the , , and community.”

Last year, sponsored the first bill in the country to officially honor , the nation’s first openly man elected to major political office, but the Governor vetoed it. Senator (D-) introduced the Day bill, sponsored by , again this year. The would require the governor to annually proclaim May 22 as Day, designating it as a “day of special significance,” to recognize ’s work to secure equal protections.

California () is the largest statewide , , , -rights in California. In the past , has strategically moved California from a state with extremely for individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. has passed over of and continues to advance through legislative , public and . www.eqca.org

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House subcommittee approves benefits for same-sex partners

A House today advanced a bill to provide and to the same- of and .
The bill, HR 2517, passed the House and Government Reform on the , Postal Service and the District of on a party-line .
said the bill is needed to eliminate an that drives some away from the government. and employees currently cannot cover their under their or provide an annuity for their partners after they die, even if they are legally married in states that recognize . Supporters of the new bill say the policy places an undue on as many as 34,000 and in , who have to maintain separate plans to keep both partners covered.
Many states and companies offer same- partners such benefits. See House subcommittee approves benefits for same-sex partners
Federal Times

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Human Rights Campaign Calls on the LGBT Community and Allies to Participate in National, Grassroots Push to Lobby Congress Face-to-Face

The Campaign, the nation’s largest , , and () , today launched a national, campaign called “No Excuses” to demand action from on key issues of . Designed to take advantage of the congressional , when are in their local offices and meeting with , “No Excuses” will mobilize ’s 750,000 and their to meet directly with and push for federal . and supporters can get involved by visiting: http://noexcuses.hrc.org.

“While we salute and acknowledge the heroic of who have worked tirelessly on our behalf, far too many have dragged their feet on basic matters of and that have lingered too long and hurt too many and their families,” said Campaign . “Yes, there are many facing this and this . But often additional hardship protecting their families, their loved ones and their , and too few in are willing to these issues of basic . Now, more than ever, of the community need to make their heard -to- and in the districts where they live.”

Using innovative , one-on-one trainings and staff and follow-through, will press to end in the military, treat all legally married equally, pass reform that recognizes and honors families, workplace for employees, and treat all ’ compensation equally.

The interactive “No Excuses” website allows supporters to download a meeting toolkit, schedule a meeting and report back on how it went. To take action, visit: http://noexcuses.hrc.org.

The in-district meetings will on the following key legislative in the 111th :

–Repeal the Defense of (), which denies legally married and more than 1,000 ;

–Prohibit workplace for the community by passing an inclusive Non- (ENDA);

–Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to ensure that service who contribute to our nation’s security are no longer summarily discharged for who they are;

–Pass reform that recognizes permanent same- and ends the painful separation of families;

–And provide benefits equally to the nearly 3 million employees, including same- .

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‘Hate crime’ at Danish gay games

A Dane has been charged with committing a for allegedly throwing at athletes during a sporting event in .

He is accused of throwing into the Oesterbro stadium where the competitions were being held.

One US suffered a light injury to his hand.

The attack marks the second suspected at the Outgames after were assaulted in the street.

In the stadium incident, the alleged was apprehended by from the Athletes club as he attempted to escape.

See ‘Hate crime’ at Danish gay games

New

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IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week

Order: don’t have to be released

The of who signed seeking to overturn Washington’s “everything but ” same- domestic law won’t be released publicly following a ’s .

Sponsors of 71 went to U.S. District Court in Tacoma Wednesday seeking the order. U.S. Benjamin Settle has set a full hearing on the matter for Sept. 3.

The of everyone who signed -71 are publicly available under open-government laws. A -rights group says it wants to post all the online. But the R-71 campaign says that could to .

Handy, state director, said in a statement: “ become public records under the law once they have been turned over to us by sponsors. Our has been to make these available upon . By early next week we will be in a position to make these available, and absent a court order, our intent has been to respond to in a timely way.”

of R-71 turned in about 138,000 Saturday. They need 120,577 valid voter to qualify for the .

suggest submitting about 150,000 to offset any invalid . Dave , for the ’s office, said usually about 18 percent of checked turn out to be invalid.

The process of counting and verifying the could go until the last week of August.

See IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week Post Intelligencer

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Wash. gay partnership foes try to shield signers

won’t resist a that would block public release of for a - .

The on 71, which would ask voters to approve or reject expanded rights for .

The of everyone who signed R-71 are publicly available under open-government laws.

A -rights group is planning to post all the online, so supporters can talk to those about the .

But the R-71 campaign says that could to . So they’re asking a to keep the secret, until they can make their argument in court.

See Wash. gay partnership foes try to shield signers

Times

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Chicago HIV report sparks reaction

The Department’s , released Friday, that suggests the infection rate among men in Chicago is nearly 20% has drawn varied responses from Chicago’s and community.
.com surveyed a number of men on a busy in .
From to , the responses were varied with one common that men no longer think is a . And despite extensive on the recently release report, many were unaware of the report and its contents.
“I’m not at all surprised by these statistics.” Said thirty-something Al joined by Jared and Jamie outside of the Center on Halsted. “The fact that a of our own community are not aware of their status is probably because of their of knowing.”
“We are very closeted in the U.S. regarding educating our youth,” added Jaime.
Some do not believe the numbers and conclusions published in the report.
“You can work the numbers however you want,” said Matthew a at Buck’s. See Chicago HIV report sparks reaction

.com -

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Too Gay in Amsterdam?

It’s no secret that Amsterdam is -friendly, but in case that slipped under anyone’s , Dutch have launched a site this month proclaiming that “Everyone’s Gay in Amsterdam.”

The Web site, which is geared for American , offers a “ list” that features places like , described as a “relaxed and funky -friendly bar” that “serves up unusual cocktails concocted by its highly-trained staff of .”

But a closer look reveals that not everyone in Amsterdam is, in fact, . A of a seemingly happy straight couple biking along a canal? The ? A “ locator” that doesn’t turns the into an dot?

Turns out, “” doesn’t just reefer to , but “the of the in this grand European city,” according to the VisualMerc, a New York-based that created the micro-site.

See Too Gay in Amsterdam?

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‘Two-Track’ Church Suggested by Archbishop of Canterbury

— The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, the , said among the world’s 77 million over and same- could divide their church into a “two-” yielding “two styles of being .”

The formula could avert a formal breach between and but bring new in the between the global Anglican Communion and American Episcopalians who resolved this month to open the door to ordaining openly gay bishops and to start the process of developing rites for same-sex marriages.

insisted that the issue should not be debated “in apocalyptic terms of and excommunication but plainly as what they are — two styles of being .”

In a lengthy message published Monday on his Web site, the archbishop offered a detailed and nuanced response to at the convention in , Calif., this month when -rights in the chalked up major victories over on . The is the official branch of the in the .

The developments were seen by and as likely turning points in the history of the divided , reflecting the profound rifts over within — the world’s third largest network of Christian after the and Orthodox . The differences have crystallized around the ’s consent in 2003 to the of the church’s first openly bishop, V. Gene Robinson of .

The Episcopalians had agreed to a on the election of , but it was lifted at the convention in .

The is the of the , which is composed of 38 provinces worldwide. The claims about 2.3 million .

In his message, repeated his view that “a blessing for a same- union cannot have the authority” of the full , any more than a blessing for a couple living outside would have.

That, in turn, means that as long as the broader church “as a whole does not bless same- , a person living in such a union cannot without serious incongruity have a representative function in a Church whose public teaching is at with their .”

The issues have confronted the archbishop with not simply between and in the but also across the broader church with its many in , Britain and elsewhere. Four in the and many individual have broken away from the national to forge alliances with such as the Church of .

said: “There is at least the possibility of a twofold ecclesial reality in view in the middle distance: that is, a ‘covenanted’ global body, fully sharing certain aspects of a vision of how the Church should be and behave, able to take part as a body in ecumenical and interfaith ; and, related to this body, but in less formal ways with fewer formal expectations, there may be associated local in various kinds of mutual and with one another and with ‘covenanted’ provinces.”

The archbishop has promoted the idea of — described by some analysts as a kind of good-behavior guide for — to overcome the rift.

“This has been called a ‘two-tier’ model, or, more disparagingly, a first- and second-class structure,” the archbishop’s message said. “But perhaps we are faced with the possibility rather of a ‘two-track’ model, two ways of witnessing to the heritage, one of which had decided that local had to be the prevailing value and so had in good declined a covenantal structure.”

The message continued: “It helps to be clear about these possible futures, however much we think them less than ideal, and to speak about them not in apocalyptic terms of and excommunication but plainly as what they are — two styles of being , whose mutual relation will certainly need working out but which would not exclude in mission and service of the kind now shared in the .”

See Anglican Sees ‘Two-Track’ Church @

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Should Proposition 8 recall be put to voters in 2010?

- are split about the timing of a to overturn the California’s Proposition 8 constitutional ban. Some major , including , believe it’s better to postpone a possible 2010 rather than another defeat. But an informal of leaders affiliated with the Campaign shows support for putting the repeal question on next year’s ballot. The deadline to file the question with the state is Sept. 25. The New York Times (7/26) , Chronicle/ (7/25)

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