The American Bar Association approved the following resolution today at its annual meeting in San Francisco:
"RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, territorial, and tribal governments to eliminate all of their legal barriers to civil marriage between two persons of the same sex who are otherwise eligible to marry."
The measure was proposed by the New York State Bar Association, the AP reports: "New York State Bar Association President Stephen P. Younger says the resolution passed overwhelmingly, with only one speaker voicing opposition during debate."
"With this action, the American Bar Association has affirmed the principles upon which this nation was founded—that every American is vested with certain inalienable rights and that all Americans are created equal. The ABA’s action is significant in that it represents a broad consensus among scholars and practitioners of the law. The ABA is the nation’s leading legal organization and is the one charged with recommending judges and setting national standards for attorneys. This case is not about ideology or politics, and the ABA’s resolution underscores that. Rather, Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a case grounded in fundamental constitutional law and precedent, including equal protection under the law and due process. By approving a resolution in support of marriage equality, the ABA has confirmed what the federal courts, the state’s chief executive and the state’s chief law enforcement officer have determined in Perry v. Schwarzenegger—that excluding gay men and lesbians from marriage violates their constitutional right to due process and equal protection and causes significant harm to them and their families."
Here's another shameful and infuriating story about a qualified military service member discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Navy Specialist Jarod McIntosh's phone was confiscated after he brought it by accident into a restricted area of his submarine.
The phone was searched and the Navy's base security searched it and found "very personal" photos of McIntosh and his boyfriend.
"In a 9-2 decision, the tribunal cited an article of the constitution requiring states to recognize legal contracts drawn up elsewhere.
It did not specify what degree of recognition must be granted to same-sex couples."
The ruling does not mean that those states must begin marrying same-sex couples. The Court is also currently mulling gay adoption.
Modern Tonic — a free email delivering gay-approved pop-culture gems (before they've been co-opted by everyone else) — presents a weekly music update here on Towleroad.
TODAY’S FEATURED NEW RELEASES:
Boy, has Australian native Sarah Blasko got it bad. She opens her third album, As Day Follows Night, with "Down On Love," a ruminative track that combines the melody of Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah” with the lyrics "Lately you’ve been down on love…" After 45 minutes of bad romances, unfaithful lovers and just plain despair, you feel as if you’ve spent a long, dark night in Blasko’s soul. Speaking of long nights, Blasko went to Sweden to team with producer Björn Yttling (of Peter, Björn and John fame) and wrestle with her metaphorical ghosts. The single "All I Want" (free download below) is as lonesome and windswept as the Ennio Morricone-esque arrangement that drives it forward. And her plaintive, hazy vocal style is vulnerability personified. The music-hall happy "Hold On My Heart" offers a way out — an uptempo ramble that’s as breezy and relieving as the first break of dawn. After making it through the delicious drama of this Night, daylight has never looked more vivid.
After two independent releases that made him a star in Europe, Massachusetts blue-eyed soulja Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed releases his first major label record Come and Get It! today. Not much has changed since his fantastic sophomore album Roll with You. His retro soul and genuine love of 70’s groove on uptempo stompers like "Name Calling" and the title tune keep him on track to become the male Amy Winehouse. If he’s not yet as deep or as damaged as that tortured diva, pay no mind; he’s honing his gut-wrenching craft and reaching new depths of soul-searching sincerity. Witness "Just Like Me," in which baby-faced Reed lets loose a scream as earthy as James Brown. And he goes out on a pavement-shredding rave-up called "Explosion" (stream in player below) a sneaky, unexpected special delivery from a man whose star has only begun to rise.
Here’s a real treat: smokin' hot new remixes from two of summer 2010's ubiquitous divas — Kylie Minogue and Katy Perry. The Paul Harris remix of Kylie’s "Get Outta My Way" (the follow-up single to Aphrodite's "All The Lovers") stretches the original to the breaking point, only to rebound on the dance floor under sparkling lights and Kylie’s happy-go-lucky vocals. Katy Perry’s "Peacock" from her forthcoming Teenage Dream AutoTunes the femme-bussing babe who’s now very interested in a bird of a different stripe indeed. “I wanna see your peacock-cock-cock” she sings amidst the Hector Fonseca 12" Mix, with extra synthetic bongos and cha-cha rhythms. Can we get a whoop whoop? Stream both tracks in player below.
Katy Perry on her career right now: "You have to bust your ass at this, which is why you don't find me getting shitfaced in bars that much...God, how many times do you see people slump on their sophomore record? Nine out of 10. But I'm still working, like, 13-hour days, five, six days a week and singing on top of it. And knowing that there's someone right behind me, ready to go, ready to push me down the stairs, just like in Showgirls."
Antony and the Johnsons release "Thank You For Your Love," an EP of five new songs, on August 24, ahead of the October 12 release of their new album, Swanlights. The packaging (cover at right) will feature photographs taken by Antony when he arrived in NYC in the early '90s. Get the title track for free here in exchange for your email address.
Mark Ronson's third album, Record Collection, out September 28, will include the producer's vocal debut on two tracks, one of which, the title track, also features Duran Duran singer Simon LeBon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes.
Chromeo — "Don’t Turn the Lights On" Freaky electrofunk Canadians lay down a sly groove while the lights go out and some big eyes, bright teeth and pink mouths fill the screen. From their forthcoming Business Casual.
The Weepies — "Be My Thrill" In two and a half minutes, the Topanga Canyon couple from the Weepies encapsulate the thrill of lifelong love in an animated clip of lovers — including a same-sex couple — adrift on billowy clouds of joyful emotion.
Holy Ghost! — "I Know, I Hear" From their Static on the Wire EP, these dance-crazy Brooklynites invite Caroline Polachek from Chairlift for heavenly backing vocals on a Rapture-style funk jam shot in stark and artsy black-and-white. The Count & Sinden ftrg. Mystery Jets — "After Dark" This house duo from London host U.K. alt-rockers on an Afro-groove in a clip that’s like every cheesy British variety shows rolled into one. From their forthcoming Mega Mega Mega.
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