First openly gay US attorney begins job in Wash.
(Seattle) The new top federal prosecutor in Seattle knows the significance her role carries for many people: She’s apparently the nation’s first openly gay U.S. attorney.
But as a daughter of privilege - her dad was a powerful Democratic state senator, and she had all the benefits of a comfortable upbringing …
Tags: Attorney Job, Dad, Democratic State, Federal Prosecutor, gay, Privilege, Seattle, State Senator, UpbringingMetro is playing catch-up, say supporters of gay protections
The argument that protecting Metro government’s gay employees would force the private sector to follow suit is all backward, supporters of a new anti-discrimination measure say.
Around the country, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies’ anti-discrimination policies include sexual orientation or gender identity. In Nashville, some of the city’s largest private employers — http://www.vanderbilt.edu/“>Vanderbilt University and http://www.hcahealthcare.com/“>Hospital Corporation of America — put similar policies into place.
Against that landscape, the new measure’s supporters say, it should have a better chance of passage than a similar one proposed in 2003. But opponents say following the private-sector pack isn’t the way to go.
“Just because someone else does something doesn’t mean it’s right, and we learned that when we all took off from kindergarten,” said David Fowler, a former state senator and president of the http://www.factn.org/“>Family Action Council of Tennessee. “So unless we are going to act like lemmings and just blindly do what everybody else is doing, we need to stop and think before we make this a law.”
The city already has protections based on race, sex, religious affiliation and national origin in place, Fowler said, and protection based on sexuality is incongruous. He also said such a law could expose the city to lawsuits by people who feel it was broken.
See Metro is playing catch-up, say supporters of gay protections
The Tennessean
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Gay rights advocate questions pick for state civil rights chief in NJ
TRENTON — One of New Jersey’s leading gay rights advocates is raising questions about Attorney General Anne Milgram’s pick for state civil rights chief, a day after two state senators also criticized the choice.
Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein said Milgram’s nominee to lead the Division on Civil Rights, Chinh Le, is “someone completely unknown” to the state’s gay community, unlike former director Frank Vespa-Papaleo.
“The burden is on the attorney general to further demonstrate that her nominee will continue Frank Vespa-Papaleo’s record of outstanding advocacy for every community, including ours,” Goldstein said.
The state Commission on Civil Rights is expected to vote on Le’s nomination today.
“Chinh Le has an extraordinary background and commitment to justice and civil rights,” Milgram said in a statement. “His experience and involvement in the important social and civil issues facing our state make him well-qualified to lead the division.”
See Gay rights advocate questions pick for state civil rights chief NJ.com
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Congressional Race in California Draws a High-Profile Cast
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — With competitive races in Congress a rarity in California, the unexpected availability of a seat here has set off a sudden and furious chase, with at least a dozen candidates and a mélange of political styles and personal storylines.
California’s 10th Congressional District, a sprawling inkblot made up of a collection of suburbs east of San Francisco, has been represented since 1997 by Ellen O. Tauscher, a Democrat who resigned after being confirmed on June 25 to a top post in the State Department.
The field to succeed her includes the lieutenant governor, two state lawmakers, a decorated Iraqi war veteran who is openly gay and a former newspaper reporter. And that does not even include the Republican candidates in this Democratic-leaning district.
The crush of hopefuls, said Henry Brady, a professor and dean of the public policy school at University of California, Berkeley, might stem in part from the diversity of the district, which extends from the liberal Bay Area to more conservative territory inland.
“These seats don’t come available very much, and the reason is very simple: geography,” Dr. Brady said. “The Democrats are primarily on the coast, and the Republicans are in the Central Valley and the mountains, so it’s very hard to build a competitive district. But this has the potential to be one.”
The lieutenant governor, John Garamendi, is considered the early favorite to replace Ms. Tauscher. Mr. Garamendi, a Democrat who had considered running for governor next year, said he opted instead for Congress in large part because of the abbreviated campaign. A primary, followed by a special election, to complete Ms. Tauscher’s term must be held within 126 days of the governor setting the date. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation Friday declaring Nov. 3 the date for the special election.
“I thought, How am I going to spend two valuable years of my life?” said Mr. Garamendi, 64, who previously served as the deputy secretary of interior in the Clinton administration as well as the California’s first elected insurance commissioner. “Am I going spend two years dialing for dollars, or am I going to spend four months out ringing doorbells and campaigning person to person and the other 20 months working on issues?”
Mr. Garamendi’s principal challengers among the Democrats, some polls show, are State Senator Mark James DeSaulnier and Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan. Both were elected to their current posts last fall.
Mr. DeSaulnier, 57, is a former mayor, city councilman and assemblyman, who says his career comes in spite a devastating personal experience with politics: a scandal involving his father, Judge Edward J. DeSaulnier Jr., who was removed from the bench of the Massachusetts Superior Court and disbarred in 1972 after being accused of rigging a sentence for the Mafia. The older Mr. DeSaulnier was never charged with a crime but was disgraced nonetheless and committed suicide in 1989.
“I’ve been very affected by my father’s journey,” said Mr. DeSaulnier, who worked as a restaurateur before running for office. “And I’ve loved my public life.”
The rest of the Democratic field is not as well known, though one candidate has attracted some national attention: Anthony Woods, a 28-year-old graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a veteran of the Iraq war who was awarded the Bronze Star for two tours of duty. Shortly after his return from combat, while at Harvard working toward his master’s degree, Captain Woods told military superiors that he is gay, resulting in an honorable discharge.
While considered a long shot for the Congressional seat, Mr. Woods would be the first openly gay black man in Congress, though he has been careful on the campaign trail to trumpet more than his sexuality.
“The first thing I talk to voters about is their priorities, universal health care and economic security,” he said. “I’m not hiding who I am, but they’re just as interested in talking about the issues as I am.”
See Congressional Race in California Draws a High-Profile Cast
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Massachusetts: Former Lawmaker to Head Gay Group
A gay former state senator who fought to help Massachusetts become the first state to legalize same-sex marriage has been appointed to head a national gay rights group. The former senator, Jarrett Barrios, tearfully shared stories of his family during debate on a proposal that would have effectively undone a court ruling allowing same-sex couples to wed. Mr. Barrios will become president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which focuses on how lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are presented in the news. He is married to Doug Hattaway, who was a spokesman for Vice President Al Gore. Since 2007, Mr. Barrios has been president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, which announced his move. See
New England Massachusetts: Former Lawmaker to …
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Gay & Lesbian community responds to Gov. Gibbons veto
Monday, Governor Jim Gibbons vetoed SB 283-the Domestic Partner Bill that Revises provisions governing the rights of domestic partners. SB 283 would establish a Domestic Partner registry through the Secretary of State’s office where couples, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, could register their relationships with the state and enjoy the protections granted to spouses under Nevada Revised Statutes. State Senator David Parks introduced the bill in an effort to provide same-gender and opposite-gender couples the legal protection and obligations for one another not otherwise allowed under current law in Nevada.
Gibbons writes that he vetoed the bill based on his opinion that it violates Section 21 of Article 1 of the Nevada Constitution. He surmises the will of the voters expressed in Question 2-which amended the Nevada Constitution in 2002, to define Marriage as, “Only a marriage between a male and female person shall be recognized and given effect in this state,” without providing any basis for his opinion. Legal opinions expressed by experts in legislative testimony during hearings on SB 283, and the opinion issued by the Legislative Council Bureau contradict his reasoning. Gibbons also claims in his letter that couples can contract privately through “estate planning…living wills..and amendments to leases and deeds of trust.” “If legal contracts were as simple as Governor Gibbons claims, more people would enter into them-same-gender couples or otherwise. The process of drawing up legal documents is expensive, time consuming and easily challenged in court. There is no guarantee that these contracts will stand up in court. LGBT couples seek only to provide security for their partners and families and that the decisions they make for one another will actually be binding,” said, Jennifer Bolton, Center Board Vice President. See Gay & Lesbian community responds to Gov. Gibbons veto
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Celebrities Champion State’s Same-Sex Marriage Bill
State Senator Shirley L. Huntley, a brassy, big-haired Democrat from Queens who opposes same-sex marriage, received a call on Wednesday that left her momentarily stunned.
Maya Angelou was on the line, and she wanted to know if the senator might reconsider her position. Ms. Huntley, hardly the type to be played for a fool, at first thought her staff might be pulling a fast one.
“I said, ‘What?’ ” Ms. Huntley recalled on Thursday, adding that she was not convinced that it was Ms. Angelou until she heard her deep timbre. “I heard the voice, and I said: ‘My God. It is her.’ And that was that.”
Ms. Angelou’s call — one of three the poet and author placed to state senators this week — was part of an effort by prominent supporters of gay rights to persuade reluctant senators to vote for the same-sex marriage bill before the Legislature. Cynthia Nixon, co-star of HBO’s “Sex and the City,” who is a lesbian, and Paul Tagliabue, the former commissioner of the National Football League, who has a gay son, are among the other high-profile people who have lent their celebrity to the cause.
The Assembly passed the bill, promoted by Gov. David A. Paterson, on May 12, but gay rights groups remain short of the support they need in the Senate. With just four weeks left before the Legislature adjourns, those groups have been increasing their efforts to reach out to senators.
See Celebrities Champion State’s Same-Sex Marriage Bill
New York Times
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LI: Battleground for gay marriage
he state Assembly approved a gay marriage bill by a fairly comfortable 89-52 margin, but the odds of passage remain much longer in the state Senate.
Fivethirtyeight.com, a national political Web site that uncannily picked primary and the presidential election result last year, breaks down the chances of gay marriage making it through New York. Their take? It won’t be easy unless Long Island’s state Senators overwhelmingly vote in favor of it.
According to fivethirtyeight.com, 20 state Senators are in favor, 16 are against and 26 have said nothing.
On the other hand, while no Republican has publicly come out in favor of the bill, we have 9 Republicans who we characterize as undecided (although several are thought to be leaning no). A majority of these Republicans are from Long Island, a swing region in New York state politics.
From the site:
On the other hand, while no Republican has publicly come out in favor of the bill, we have 9 Republicans who we characterize as undecided (although several are thought to be leaning no). A majority of these Republicans are from Long Island, a swing region in New York state politics.
For a complete breakdown on who is for it and against it, click here.
See LI: Battleground for gay marriage
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Anti-Gay Senator Out; LGBT Festival Celebrates
Chris Buttars, the Utah Republican state senator famous for racist and anti-gay outbursts, was removed from his post as head of the Judiciary Committee for breaking a deal with his anti-gay Republican colleagues to cool the rhetoric.
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Buttars’ latest outburst was to a documentary filmmaker. He called same-sex relations “an abomination” and the LGBT movement “probably the greatest threat to America,” while comparing LGBT activists to Muslim “radicals.”
“Most of what Senator Buttars said, I agree with,” said Republican Senator Howard Stephenson, but his caucus felt Buttars had become too much of a “lightning rod” on LGBT issues.
A Salt Lake Tribune editorial called him a “Buttaraurus,” writing, “Buttars will never change. But Utah will.”
A “Buttars-Palooza” with live music and a DJ was organized by LGBT activists for the lawn of the state capitol on February 28 and attracted more than 1,000 people celebrating the GOP senator being taken down a peg. See
Anti-Gay Senator Out; LGBT Festival Celebrates Gay City News
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Oscar Winner Sean Penn Leads Call for Harvey Milk DayPenn Joins Equality California and Sen. Leno to Introduce Legislation Honoring Slain Civil Rights
San Francisco - Sean Penn, Academy Award-winning star of Milk, called for a statewide “day of special significance” in honor of slain civil rights leader Harvey Milk. On Tuesday, Penn joined State Senator Mark Leno and State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano at a press conference to introduce the Harvey Milk Day Bill, SB 572. Sponsored by Equality California (EQCA), the bill seeks to educate Californians about the former San Francisco City Supervisor, who became the nation’s first openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) person elected to major political office.
Milk’s service as an openly gay official helped bring LGBT people out of the closet and into civic life. During his time in office, he was responsible for both passing San Francisco’s first gay-rights ordinance and helping to defeat the controversial Briggs Initiative, which sought to ban gay and lesbian teachers from public schools. Milk, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was assassinated in November 1978.
“We may have lost Harvey Milk, but we have not lost his passion, his commitment, and his courage to fight for equality and justice for all,” said Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California. “Harvey Milk is not just a hero to LGBT people. His endurance in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges is a source of pride for every Californian. This bill aims to give people a positive representation of who LGBT people are – an image that inspires pride and self esteem for all.”
“Harvey Milk was a true American hero,” said Senator Leno. “He gave hope to an entire generation of gay and lesbian people whose basic humanity and freedom had been denied and dishonored, and he literally gave his life so that I and other LGBT elected officials could serve in public office. Harvey’s courage still inspires us today as we continue to struggle for equal rights following the passage of Proposition 8 in California. His story has been told around the world in “Milk,” starring Academy Award winner Sean Penn, and today we fittingly continue our work to preserve that legacy for generations to come.”
The measure would proclaim May 22nd ‘Harvey Milk Day’ and add it to the list of state holidays, although it will be crafted in a way so as not to generate additional state costs or increase the number of paid state holidays.
The legislation was originally introduced last year by Sen. Leno, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the measure at the time, claiming Harvey Milk was not well known enough beyond San Francisco. Since that time, however, Harvey Milk has become a focal point of national conversation following the release of the film Milk. Following the Milk’s success, both Sean Penn and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black received an Oscar for their work on the film.* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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