House passes defense authorization report, including hate crimes

From an :

(Washington) The U.S. passed the conference report for the FY 2010 by a of 281 to 146, bringing critical protections closer to becoming law than ever before. 

Earlier this week, the House voted down a last-ditch effort to …

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HRC to lobby on DOMA

is planning to deliver to a of 50,000 and on ’s effects.

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HRC launches lobbying campaign

started a “No Excuses” campaign to pressure of on bills.

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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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Human Rights Campaign PAC, Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund Endorse Anthony Woods For U.S. Congress

The Campaign , the nation’s largest , , and , and the &; Fund, which works to grow the number of openly elected officials across the U.S., announced today the of Anthony Woods for U.S. . Woods, who is in the September 1 Special Election for California’s 10th , earned the after serving two tours in in the U.S. . He was honorably discharged after challenging the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.

“The Campaign is proud to endorse Anthony Woods, a of the war and steadfast for our community, to become the next U.S. from California’s 10th district,” said Campaign . “Anthony ’t just shown his support on issues of , he’s lived them — especially the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Anthony’s support of will also be important as we work to repeal Proposition 8, which stripped rights away for California’s same- . There is that Anthony will be a for youth, and we applaud his to our country.”

“Anthony Woods is an exciting candidate with a tremendous record of . He’s also an . Anthony has assembled a solid that understands what it will take to win this extremely competitive race. We need more leaders like Anthony Woods in the U.S. , so we are proud to endorse him,” said , of the &; Fund. “His will be an not only for the of California’s 10th , but for the millions of Americans for whom the of remains unfulfilled.”

“I am honored and proud to earn the support of Campaign and the &; Fund,” said Anthony Woods, candidate for California’s 10th . “They’re working to make sure America lives up to its of under the law, which is something I’ll fight for in .”

Anthony Woods was born and raised in Fairfield, California. He is a graduate of and earned his degree from the Kennedy School of Government at University. In addition to his years of service in the , Woods has worked on economic policy issues in both the public and private sectors. To learn more visit: www.AnthonyWoodsForCongress.com.

The Campaign is America’s largest working to achieve , , and . By inspiring and engaging all Americans, strives to end against and realize a nation that achieves fundamental and for all.

The &; Fund is the only national dedicated to increasing the number of openly elected officials at all levels of government in the U.S.

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Human Rights Campaign Statement on Death of San Diego Area Sailor

The Campaign, the nation’s largest , , and () , released a statement today in the death of August , 29, at in , CA. According to reports, the and Marine Corps confirmed that a sailor’s body was found on the base at about 3 a.m. . A military confirmed that there was evidence of in the killing and that the case is a . It is also understood a “person of interest” is in custody at but has not been charged with a crime. Local report the victim may have been targeted because of his .

“Our thoughts are with the family at this time as work to learn what happened in the early morning hours this past Tuesday,” said Campaign . “The Campaign has confirmed has been in touch with officials at the base and is tracking the investigation. We know that every day of the , , and community are targeted for simply being who they are. Furthermore, our or soldiers with the burden of not serving openly and honestly based on the of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ As we monitor the investigation, our community must continue to raise awareness on a law that we know hurts and while putting at .”

The Campaign is America’s largest working to achieve , , and . By inspiring and engaging all Americans, strives to end against and realize a nation that achieves fundamental and for all.

See Human Rights Campaign Statement on Death of San Diego Area Sailor

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Gays Step Up Efforts to Reverse Gay-as-Godless Stereotype

A groundbreaking about the lives of gay Americans that the Barna Group put out last week got surprisingly little attention. In my latest &; Country column for U.S. News Weekly, I tied the Barna ’s fascinating portrait of to the rights movement’s recent efforts to ratchet up and messaging. Much of the work is aimed at reversing the -as-Godless .

Here’s the top:


Though he was raised in the , Harry Knox knew he couldn’t become a minister in his because it doesn’t ordain openly . He enrolled in a of the more liberal but was eventually denied anyway. “My whole as an is an accidental ministry,” says Knox, 48, who now works at the Campaign, the nation’s largest rights group. “I would rather be a local pastor.”

Instead, since 2005, Knox has built ’s “ and program,” which works to combat the of the , , , and community as antireligious. “For far too long, organizations did not put religious at the of our efforts,” Knox says. “That’s a we’re making less often now.”

Those religious may be more plentiful than most Americans think. A out last week shows that most Americans pretty robust lives. While 72 percent of straight American describe their as “very important” in their lives, so do 60 percent of and . Almost as many, 58 percent, say they’ve made a personal and ongoing commitment to Christ.

And though they are much less likely than straights to share the beliefs of born-again —which comes as no , since most in the born-again condemn —the Barna found that 27 percent of do hold those beliefs. “Many in the Christian community assume there’s this significant between and in terms of beliefs and activities,” says , the country’s top on , who supervised the . “While there are statistically significant differences, it’s the narrow size of the that’s most surprising.”

The unleashed a torrent of hate , mostly from believers furious with Barna’s : that many are -believing . But more and more rights organizations are joining in stepping up efforts to highlight the beliefs of many Americans, largely through religious programs. And some religious and are to welcome and .

rights say that the 2004 election, when voters in 11 states passed bans that were heavily promoted through , was a wake-up call. To help counter the image of the battle as a fight between and religious Americans, , the National and , and other national rights quickly hired religious staff.

Read the full story here.

See Gays Step Up Efforts to Reverse Gay-as-Godless Stereotype

U.S. News &; World Report

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DOMA BRIEF: HRC’s JOE SOLMONESE WRITES TO OBAMA

BRIEF: ’s WRITES TO

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Obama Faces Gay Groups’ Growing Anger

The from rights toward is starting to boil over.

On Monday, , the of the establishment rights group The Campaign, sent an angry letter to the objecting to the decision by the Obama Justice Department to file a brief defending the Defense of .

“I realized that although I and other leaders have introduced ourselves to you as policy makers, we clearly have not been heard, and seen, as what we also are: whose lives, loves, and families are equal to yours,” Solmonese wrote. “I know this because this brief would not have seen the light of day if someone in your administration who truly recognized our humanity and had weighed in with you.”

The Clinton- Defense of , or , mandates (1) that the not recognize same- marriages and (2) that states not be forced to recognize same- marriages from other states.

Mr. vowed to repeal as a but he has not taken any action to do so since becoming . The brief calls the a “valid of ’ power” and says it is “reasonable and rational for to maintain its of fostering this traditional and universally-recognized form of .”

“The government does not state why denying us basic protections promotes anyone else’s , nor why, while our ’ marriages should be promoted, our own must be discouraged,” Solmonese writes in his letter.

He goes onto single out a portion of the brief referencing a case involving “ of uncle to ” to support the Justice position.

“I cannot overstate the pain that we feel as and as families when we read an argument, presented in federal court, implying that our own marriages have no more constitutional standing than incestuous ones,” he writes. See Obama Faces Gay Groups’ Growing Anger

News -

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Bush State Department Ignored Iraqi Gay Murders Gay City News

As concern over the of grew in 2006 and 2007, the US appears to have done little more than develop media and over who at that agency should handle press .

“[I]t is outrageous to see that by walking away from their responsibility to further investigate, document, and then ultimately discuss the abuses with the , the US government missed a great opportunity to prevent the mass-scale attacks against community, which happened earlier this year in ,” wrote , for Middle East and North at the International &; Commission (), in an .

Writing in Gay City News, Doug first broke the story in March of 2006 that Iraqi were being killed by . and other press outlets continued covering the story in 2006 and into 2007, with the press offering occasional stories. The and the press reports on them have continued into 2009.

In September 2007 –– nearly two years ago –– sent a of Information request to the that sought all records “that relate to or identify , assaults, or other committed against persons in .”

On May 26 of this year, the department responded, releasing two documents, totaling nine pages, that represent all the records that agency compiled from March 1, 2003, roughly the start of the War, through the date of the records request. No documents were withheld and only a small portion of the released documents was blacked out. See Bush State Department Ignored Iraqi Gay Murders

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