Military Gay Discharge Moratorium Bill A Non-Starter
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has decided not to pursue a senate amendment that would pause military discharges based on sexual orientation, gay weekly the Washington Blade reported. Gillibrand, the freshman senator appointed by Governor David Paterson after President Obama tapped Hillary Clinton to head the State Department, signaled last week she would introduce the reform as an amendment to a Defense Department reauthorization bill. The amendment would place an 18-month moratorium on the military gay ban, also known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law that prescribes discharge for gay and lesbian service members who do not remain celibate or closeted.
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White House Defends Anti-Gay Marriage Brief Amid Furor
A week after the Justice Department filed a motion in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, White House Press Secretary reiterated the president’s commitment to changing that law.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon — just hours before the President was set to sign a presidential memorandum to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees — Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fielded a question from ABC News’ Jake Tapper about the administration’s position on the Defense of Marriage Act.
See White House Defends Anti-Gay Marriage Brief Amid Furor
Huffington Post -
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President hails gay pride month
President Obama has issued a proclamation honoring “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Pride Month 2009.”
Gay pride month is observed every June to commemorate the “Stonewall riots,” an uprising that took place in 1969 when police tried to arrest gay patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The bar is shown here on the 25th anniversary of those events — widely viewed at the beginning of the modern gay rights movement.
Brad Luna of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights organization, says Obama’s proclamation is not a first: Former president Bill Clinton regularly recognized gay pride month during his second term in office. But Luna says Obama is right in claiming that he has tapped more openly gay nominees for high profile posts early in his administration than any previous president.
See a few excerpts from the president’s proclamation @ President hails gay pride month USA Today –
- It’s out: White House resolution honors 40th anniversary of … San Francisco Chronicle
Clinton vows to fight for gay rights abroad AFP - Clinton pledges to fight for gay rights worldwide CNN Political Ticker
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Pa. student appeals suspension for porn role Philadelphia Inquirer
A student who appeared in pornographic videos using a pseudonym is appealing his suspension from a Christian college in western Pennsylvania saying the off-campus job wasn’t the business of school officials.
John Gechter, 22, of Philadelphia said he needed the income from his roles in gay porn to pay for school but was suspended for one year from Grove City College, pending his appeal, after a student saw him in a video posted online.
“I absolutely believe this college violated my rights,” Gechter told The Allied News of Grove City. “They (suspended) me based on my occupation. I was not doing anything illegal.”
College spokeswoman Amy Clingensmith said Gechter was suspended because he “exhibited behavior contrary to the values” of the college.
“He also indicated he chose to participate in this behavior knowing it was incongruent with the policies, mission and values of Grove City College,” Clingensmith said.
Gechter told the newspaper he has been in about 15 gay porn scenes in the last two years using the screen name “Vincent DeSalvo.” In doing the work, he said, he flew to Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and other places on the weekends.
Gechter, a senior majoring in molecular biology, said he started doing gay porn after he was referred to the industry through a modeling agency late in his sophomore year. See Pa. student appeals suspension for porn role Philadelphia Inquirer * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Out labor leader tapped for U.S. government post
President Barack Obama has named Mary Beth Maxwell, the out executive director of American Rights at Work, to a senior post in the U.S. Department of Labor. Maxwell, who reportedly was a finalist for labor secretary, is among more than 30 out presidential appointments. GayPolitics.com (4/27) * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Gay foes pledge to resurrect adoption ban
(Frankfort, Kentucky) Kentucky lawmakers have ended their session without bringing to a vote a bill that would banunmarried couples from adopting or fostering children, but supporters of the measure say they will reintroduce it in the next session.
Sen. Gary Tapp (R) said he will not let the issue rest, declaring …
