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Dana Rudolph
Dana Rudolph
By Dana Rudolph on August 18, 2011
Opponents of equal rights for LGBT people have been using “bathroom scare” tactics for some years now to try and stop bills that would prohibit discrimination against transgender people, but fears about who can use public restrooms have a long history in the struggle for civil rights.
Posted in Issues, Politics, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on August 11, 2011
A right-wing group in Massachusetts has launched a new ad campaign using an old scare tactic–the fear of sexual predators in public bathrooms. The aim is not to shore up security in public restrooms. It’s to destroy a bill to prohibit discrimination against people based on their gender identity.
Posted in Politics, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on July 26, 2011
Just as the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969 gave a lift to the nascent movement for equal rights for gays across the country, marriage equality in the Empire State appears to be giving a boost to marriage equality efforts outside its borders.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics, Uncategorized
By Dana Rudolph on July 12, 2011
The United Church of Christ (UCC), the denomination to which President Obama belonged for two decades, resoundingly approved two resolutions support of civil rights for LGBT people–including the first-ever resolution by a major Christian denomination affirming the right of LGBT parents to adopt and raise children.
Posted in Adoption, Issues, National Politics
By Dana Rudolph on July 3, 2011
Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) signed a civil union bill into law on Saturday, July 2–but LGBT civil rights advocates are not happy with his decision to do so. And Chafee himself said the bill “fails to fully achieve” the goal of providing same-sex couples with equal rights.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on July 1, 2011
For the first time in history, LGBT activists are initiating a ballot measure to win marriage equality. EqualityMaine and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) announced that they are taking steps to place a citizen’s initiative on the November 2012 ballot.
Posted in Ballot Measures, Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on June 30, 2011
The Rhode Island Senate passed a civil union bill 21 to 16 on Wednesday, June 29, which the governor has said he will sign but which LGBT civil rights advocates are not happy with and are urging he veto.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on June 30, 2011
Five days after the New York State legislature legalized marriage for same-sex couples, LGBT civil rights supporters in New Jersey are asking the state courts to rule that the state constitution there guarantees same-sex couples marriage equality.
Posted in Issues, Law, Lawsuits, Marriage/Relationships, News, State Courts
By Dana Rudolph on June 30, 2011
Although there has been research dating back to the early 1970s on LGBT suicide risk, it wasn’t widely used by mainstream researchers or mental health care practitioners specializing in suicide prevention, said the director of prevention projects for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Posted in Health, Issues, News
By Dana Rudolph on June 28, 2011
The U.S. Department of Education office once headed by openly gay appointee Kevin Jennings and charged with helping with efforts to stop bullying and harassment of students, including LGBT youth, is now gone–a victim of drastic federal budget cuts.
Posted in News Briefs
By Dana Rudolph on June 24, 2011
New York State on Friday night, June 24, became the sixth and most populous state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples, after a tense several days past the scheduled end of the legislative session, in which it was unclear if Republican leaders in the state Senate would even allow a marriage bill to come up for a vote.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on June 16, 2011
Schools receiving federal funds must provide equal access to school resources for all student groups, including gay-straight alliances (GSAs), said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a “Dear Colleague” letter to educators on June 14.
Posted in Health, Issues, National Politics, News, Politics
By Dana Rudolph on June 15, 2011
With only a few days remaining in the legislative session, marriage equality took a step closer to reality in New York State this week.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on June 8, 2011
Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to be at increased risk for unhealthy behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use, risky sexual behaviors, and attempting suicide, according to a groundbreaking new federal study.
Posted in Health, Issues, News
By Dana Rudolph on June 1, 2011
Kevin Jennings, the openly gay head of the federal office that manages its largest safe-schools and anti-bullying programs, will be leaving the U.S. Department of Education next month. But he said President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan remain committed to addressing the bullying of LGBT students.
Posted in Health, Issues, National Politics, News, Politics
By Dana Rudolph on May 31, 2011
When Congress and the White House worked out their differences in early April concerning the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, it was clear that some programs important to the LGBT community would take a hit. But the consequences of their final agreement are now being felt.
Posted in Health, Issues, National Politics, News, Politics
By Dana Rudolph on May 26, 2011
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on May 23 announced up to $9.1 million in grants to address the housing needs of people with low-incomes living with HIV/AIDS.
Posted in Health, HIV/AIDS, Issues, News
By Dana Rudolph on May 18, 2011
A popular anti-bullying campaign has been telling bullied teens “it gets better”–but the effects of past bullying often linger, according to new research.
Posted in Health, HIV/AIDS, Issues, News
By Dana Rudolph on May 6, 2011
For the second time ever, a president’s annual Mother’s Day proclamation has included a specific mention of families that have two mothers.
President Obama’s May 6 proclamation said in part, “Whether an adoptive mom or grandmother, mother or partner, the women who raise us show us that no hurdle is too high, and no dream is beyond our reach.”
Posted in News Briefs
By Dana Rudolph on May 6, 2011
Hundreds of thousands of children are in foster care in the United States, while discrimination prevents millions of willing LGBT people from being able to foster or adopt. U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill that aims to fix that discrepancy.
Posted in Adoption, Congress, Issues, National Politics, News, Politics
Five Top LGBT Supreme Court Cases–for now
Obama names three more gay ambassadors; nearly doubles Clinton’s LGBT appointments
DOJ nominee gets GOP booster
Immigration bill advances without provisions for same-sex couples
Leahy submits language to help bi-national same-sex couples
Delaware votes for marriage equality; becomes 11th state to make it the law