For Hawaii's civil unions bill, 'a potential veto'

We've been waiting to find out what Hawaii's Governor Linda Lingle is going to do with the civil unions bill that's been on her desk since the end of April.

Last night, we learned that she's going to put the bill on the veto list:

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona said on Thursday Gov. Linda Lingle will put the civil unions bill on the veto list Monday when she informs lawmakers about bills she might veto.

Aiona said that does not mean the governor will veto the bill that would give all the rights of marriage under Hawaii law to same sex and heterosexual couples.

"It will be a potential veto and the governor right now is crafting her decision as to whether of not she will or will not veto that bill. Some, we will find out. The deadline for that is July 6," Aiona said.

Really? A veto of civil unions? Lingle's term expires this year. She's not running again. So, vetoing this bill will insure the legacy for Linda Lingle as a true and unabashed homophobe. Maybe that's something she's striving for. Read More...

Gay Wal-Mart worker allegedly forced to wear special colored vest

From the Advocate via Joe My God. I'd like to hear more of the story than the Advocate reported. What do the coworkers say?

An 18 year-old employee at a Las Vegas area Wal-Mart says that after his bosses forced him to confirm his gayness, he was made to wear a special yellow vest and was shunned by his co-workers.

Back in March, 18-year-old Fernando Gallardo got a seasonal job at a Las Vegas Walmart, hoping to make a few extra dollars. But a few weeks into the job, Gallardo says, his immediate supervisor asked him "point-blank" in front of four of his coworkers if he was gay, and from then on alienated him from the 50 other associates at that location. "I told her yes, and after that she was very rude and short with me," he tells The Advocate. Gallardo says that soon after the incident, he was stripped of many of his daily duties and asked to wear a yellow vest and walk around the store. By mid May his supervisor and two other managers stopped talking to him completely.

Read More...