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A closer look
By Lisa Keen on August 4, 2010
Proposition 8 passed in November 2008 because parents with kids living at home were scared and the LGBT community did nothing to assuage that fear.
Posted in A closer look, Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, Marriage/Relationships, News
By Dana Rudolph on July 29, 2010
The case of two gay foster parents in Florida has created a dilemma for the courts: either they honor state law banning adoption by gay men and lesbians or honor their duty to rule in the best interests of the children.
And beyond Florida, some LGBT experts and advocates think that adoption could be the next major target—after marriage equality—for opponents of LGBT civil rights.
Posted in A closer look, Adoption, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, News, State Courts
By Chuck Colbert on July 26, 2010
In yet another important win for marriage equality, the District of Columbia’s highest court ruled July 15 that the city government acted lawfully when it rejected a local minister attempt to place a referendum before voters that sought to roll back equal marriage rights for gay couples in the nation’s capital. The ruling leaves intact [...]
Posted in A closer look, Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News
By Samantha Fields on June 27, 2010
An informal survey by the Washington Post published June 18 asked a tiny number of well-placed experts—six—to say what they think will happen if federal Judge Vaughn Walker overturns California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Two of the six pointed to existing polling data to warn of the potential for a negative impact.
Posted in A closer look, Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, Marriage/Relationships, News
By Lisa Keen on June 22, 2010
It’s been clear since Elena Kagan was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court that her confirmation hearing would be unusually focused on things gay.
First, there were the complaints that she barred military recruiters from Harvard Law School while she was dean. Then, came rumors that she herself is gay. And finally, there has been a generalized fear expressed by right-wing groups that she’s liberal enough to reverse the Defense of Marriage Act.
But there’s surprisingly little support for any of these assumptions in the thousands of emails, memoranda, and other documents submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee from the archives of the Clinton White House.
Posted in A closer look, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Marriage/Relationships, News, U.S. Supreme Court
By Dana Rudolph on June 17, 2010
A panel of six LGBT activist leaders in April were asked to grade the Obama administration thus far on LGBT issues. Three panelists gave the administration a “D,” two gave it a “B,” and one a “C.” Keen News Service decided to take a look at eight major federal departments and apply a similar grading system.
Posted in A closer look, National Politics, News
By Lisa Keen on June 14, 2010
It’s LGBT Pride Month and time to check your LGBT-IQ.
Only one question this year: Besides the measures on the House and Senate Defense authorization bills to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, name the other 25 LGBT-specific bills pending in Congress right now.
Posted in A closer look, Congress, National Politics, News, Politics
By Dana Rudolph on June 11, 2010
When President Obama issued a memorandum extending certain benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees, he noted there are still certain benefits he cannot extend under current law. But the legislation the president and many LGBT organizations are touting as a solution faces one big hurdle that nobody’s talking about.
Posted in A closer look, Congress, National Politics, News
By Lisa Keen on June 9, 2010
The federal judge presiding over the highly publicized Proposition 8 trial distributed to attorneys on both sides of the controversy a list of 39 questions he’d like them to address during closing arguments June 16. It’s the kind of list, said one veteran gay legal scholar, that promises his decision will likely be a “blockbuster in its scope.”
Posted in A closer look, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, Marriage/Relationships, U.S. Circuit Courts
By Dana Rudolph on June 3, 2010
President Barack Obama has for the second time issued a proclamation in honor of Pride Month. Only one other president—Bill Clinton—has ever done so. A comparison of their proclamations suggests there’s been some progress in LGBT civil rights between the two administrations, but also highlights areas of little or no change.
Posted in A closer look, News, Politics, White House
By Chuck Colbert on May 22, 2010
Leaders of gay civil rights groups and LGBT veterans organizations are optimistic about the next two-week time period, one that may well determine whether Congress moves forward this year to repeal the federal statute commonly referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” that has banned openly gay people from the military for nearly 17 years.
But that is despite some disappointments.
Posted in A closer look, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Issues, News
By Lisa Keen on May 5, 2010
Wording is everything in politics. What is not said can sometimes be more important than what is said, and what is said can be subjected to a multitude of interpretations that transform a simple sentence into a powerful new expectation.
Such has been the case with this statement, made by President Barack Obama in January during his State of the Union speech: “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country.”
He did not say that he and Congress would “repeal the law this year.” He said he would work with Congress on it this year.
Posted in A closer look, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Issues, National Politics, News, Politics, White House
By Lisa Keen on April 27, 2010
When President Obama signed a memorandum this month, calling for an end to discrimination against gays and lesbians in hospital visitation policies, many unmarried LGBT people assumed that meant hospitals would no longer be able to bar them from being with their partners during a time of medical crisis.
But not all presidential memoranda are created equal: Some go into effect immediately; some require months of rule-making bureaucracy and are subject to public comment.
Posted in A closer look, National Politics, News, Politics, White House
By Dana Rudolph on April 22, 2010
From the beginning of the Obama administration, the general attitude of the LGBT people was that things would be better for the community than they were under the administration of President George W. Bush. But even from the beginning, there were signs that protections for LGBT youth might not be better and that “safe schools” might not be a priority for the Department of Education (DOE).
Posted in A closer look, National Politics, News, White House
By Dana Rudolph on April 14, 2010
The Obama administration’s proposal to reform the nation’s educational system includes no specific call for anti-bullying programs in schools, and no mention of protections for students from harassment or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This is despite the fact that an openly gay man with considerable experience in combating such bullying heads the Department of Education (DOE) Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
Posted in A closer look, News, Politics, White House
By Lisa Keen on March 23, 2010
The health care reform legislation President Obama signed into law this morning does not include any of the pro-gay provisions sought by the LGBT community. The provisions were not part of a companion bill also passed by the House Sunday night and one that the Senate begins debating today. That companion bill includes “fixes” to the approved legislation. But there is a silver lining: Congress can soon turn to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
Posted in A closer look
By Lisa Keen on March 16, 2010
A “study” in the nation’s capitol is special kind of political capital. It can buy rationale with which to justify a change in policy or it can buy time to stop a change.
President Obama and many in Congress appear ready for change in the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy of excluding gays and, in response, Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates has launched two studies. The question is: Is DOD buying rationale or time?
Posted in A closer look
By Lisa Keen on March 9, 2010
Google “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and you’ll get more than 2 million links. Add the word “repeal” to the search, and you’ll get about half a million. Add the words “this year,” and you’re down to 135,000.
That’s probably a good illustration of how the actual repeal process is going these days: Lots of people are talking about it, but the chances for success this year rely on a lot more things converging just so, and not too much.
Posted in A closer look, Campaigns, Don't Ask Don't Tell, House, Issues, News, Politics, Senate
By Lisa Keen on March 5, 2010
Legislation can be like a train: It runs on a track, makes certain stops along the way, and is often attached to other trains. But, in Congress, the train doesn’t run on time.
Last October, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would likely get a House committee vote in September and a floor vote that fall. Didn’t happen.
Posted in A closer look, Congress, News, Politics
By Lisa Keen on February 24, 2010
The battle over equal rights to marriage has dominated much of the news concerning the LGBT civil rights movement for the past 17 years, but there have been gains recently in the battle over gay family rights in general. And in just the past week, there were important developments in two significant courts.
Posted in A closer look, Cases, Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, News, State Courts, U.S. Supreme Court
Ginsburg on Roe: Is it a signal she’d curb a decision on marriage?
Leahy submits language to help bi-national same-sex couples
Delaware votes for marriage equality; becomes 11th state to make it the law
Rhode Island marriage law signed; Two more states could vote next week
Rhode Island marriage bill clears final hurdle with all Republicans