LGBT couples celebrate Valentine's Day, but are strangers under federal law

A new video from GetEQUAL.
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Kiss-in turns violent as police shove gays at kiss-in Lima

Via Towleroad:



Imagine being an activist in that climate. Read the rest of this post...

UPDATED: Marriage bill now has 22 23 of the 24 supporters needed in Maryland Senate

UPDATE @ 5:24 PM: The magic number is down to one. Another Maryland Senator is on board:

Sen. Katherine Klausmeier said today that she has decided to vote in favor of same-sex marriage, putting the measure within a breath of passage in the Senate.

"I just weighed all of the options," said the Baltimore County Democrat, who earlier told The Sun that she was torn about the issue. "It's about fairness."

It is about fairness. This sure feels like momentum.
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Some good news today in Maryland, via the Maryland Politics blog at the Baltimore Sun:

Sen. Edward Kasemeyer said this afternoon that he will support the controversial same-sex marriage bill, giving the measure 22 of the 24 votes it would need to clear the senate.

Kasemeyer, a Democrat who represents Howard and Baltimore counties, had not previously said how he planned to vote on the bill. Many had believed he would not support it because he represents a conservative area.

His pledge means there are five senators who either have not decided how they will vote or have declined to share their position publicly. (See full vote list after the jump. [posted below])

This year changes in a key senate panel delivered advocates the best chance they've ever had to legalize same-sex marriage. They believe that they have the 29 votes needed to cut off debate in the chamber and vote. The bill is expected to be voted out of committee this Thursday.

So, Senate Committee vote this week, then a floor vote in the full Senate next week. There's intense lobbying underway at the State House in Annapolis. Equality Maryland is holding a lobby day this evening. If you live in Maryland, make your calls.

Here's the UPDATED list of Senators the Baltimore Sun considers undecided:

No public position/Undecided

Sen. John Astle, Anne Arundel County Democrat
Sen. James Brochin, Baltimore County Democrat (supports)
Sen. Joan Carter Conway, Baltimore Democrat
Sen. Ulysses Currie, Prince George's County Democrat
Sen. Edward Kasemeyer, Baltimore and Howard counties Democrat (supports)
Sen. Katherine Klausmeier, Baltimore County Democrat
Sen. James Rosapepe, Prince George's County Democrat

Also, the Senate President, Mike Miller (D) is a NO vote. Read the rest of this post...

How can you tell a gay Republican is self-loathing? (Hint: His lips are moving)

No, not all gay Republicans are self-loathing. And of late, a number of Republicans, both gay straight, have really done a great job advancing marriage equality - a shockingly good job, really. But then, there's always guys like this one to remind us of how far they still have to go.

It's always fun when someone who comes off totally gay complains about guys who come off totally gay. (About 2:15 into the video - Ebone Bell of Metro Weekly does a good job of hosting the video.)

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Darren Criss is freaking hot

We all deserve a little eye candy now and then. Read the rest of this post...

House GOP declares war on AIDS funding

From the AIDS Institute:

Media Contacts: Carl Schmid cschmid@theaidsinstitute.org

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PROPOSE
MASSIVE CUTS TO HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS
Short Term Actions will have Long Term Ramifications

Washington, DC – “Republicans in the House of Representatives have proposed massive cuts to both domestic and global HIV/AIDS programs that will have severe ramifications to millions of people’s lives both here in the United States and around the world,” commented Carl Schmid, Deputy Executive Director of The AIDS Institute. “While it may help achieve short term goals to reduce federal government spending, this reckless action will have long term impacts on the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV/AIDS and on efforts to prevent HIV infections in the future. In the long run, the costs to society and individual’s lives will be far greater than any short term savings”

“While there is a waiting list of over 6,000 people in ten states to receive lifesaving AIDS medications from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), and thousands more are being removed from the program, the House Republican spending proposal will seriously exasperate the crisis,” added Schmid. Low income people with HIV/AIDS were counting on an increase of at least $65 million, including continuation of $25 million that state ADAPs received this summer to help reduce the waiting lists. “Not only did the House Republicans erase any funding increase, they failed to continue to fund the $25 million in FY11 and, in effect, will be taking away medications from people. If we have long wait lists now, just imagine what the situation will be like next year with no increases in funding,” he added. Access to early quality care and treatment keep people with HIV/AIDS healthy and free from opportunistic infections, resistance to medications, and away from expensive emergency rooms.

“With over 56,000 new HIV infections annually in the U.S., now is not the time to cut CDC’s prevention funding,” said Michael Ruppal, Executive Director of The AIDS Institute. “We only spend 3 percent of our federal HIV spending on prevention. Cutting CDC’s budget by 15 percent and prohibiting scientifically proven effective prevention programs, such as syringe exchange, will lead to even more HIV infections,” he added. The bill even goes as far as preventing the District of Columbia, a place with one of the highest rates of HIV in the country, from spending its own money on syringe exchange programs. It is far more cost-effective to invest in prevention now rather than paying for care and treatment later. Preventing one infection will save approximately $355,000 in lifetime medical costs. Preventing all the new 56,000 cases in just one year would translate into an astounding $20 billion in lifetime medical costs.

The proposal authored by the House Republicans cuts research funding at the National Institutes of Health by over $1.6 billion. Investing in HIV research will help in the discovery of new medications, new tools in the prevention of HIV, including vaccines, and ultimately a cure.

The bill cuts over $500 million from the U.S. historic humanitarian commitment to treating and preventing HIV in the poorest countries in the world, where the economic downturn has crippled economies and their people.

It also seeks to derail implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which will provide health care to hundreds of thousands of people with HIV/AIDS and millions of others when implemented.

“While we appreciate the desire to cut government spending and the budget deficit,” concluded Ruppal, “The AIDS Institute asks the Congress not to act in haste without first considering the long term human and societal impacts of their decisions. Our government must be responsible with taxpayers’ money, but it also must be accountable to the basic human health needs of people. We urge the Congress to reject these reckless short term budget cuts. Some programs cannot afford to be cut; too many lives are at stake.”

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NYT: DOMA cases give Obama 'a chance to put the government on the side of justice'

Very important editorial in today's New York Times about DOMA. First, the Obama administration doesn't have to defend that discriminatory law, but it does. Second, the standard of review shouldn't be rational basis when a group of Americans are subject to the discrimination of DOMA, simply because of who they are. It's wrong -- and requires stricter scrutiny by the courts. The DOJ should admit it and argue accordingly:

Two new lawsuits, filed in Connecticut and New York, challenging the Defense of Marriage Act now offer the president a chance to put the government on the side of justice. We urge him to seize it when the administration files its response, which is due by March 11. The executive branch’s duty to defend federal laws is not inviolate. This one’s affront to equal protection is egregious.

As in the Massachusetts cases, there are two crucial questions here. The overarching one, of course, is whether it is constitutional for the federal government to deny benefits to some people who are legally married under their state’s laws. Much also depends on the standard of review. How should courts evaluate claims that a law discriminates against gay people?

On the merits, this should be an easy call. A law focusing on a group that has been subjected to unfair discrimination, as gay people have been, is supposed to get a hard test. It is presumed invalid unless the government proves that the officials’ purpose in adopting the law advances a real and compelling interest. That sort of heightened scrutiny would challenge the administration’s weak argument for upholding the act. It would also make it more difficult to sustain other forms of anti-gay discrimination, including state laws that deny same-sex couples the right to marry.

By now, such blatant discrimination should be presumed to be unconstitutional, and the Justice Department should finally say so. If conservatives in Congress want to enter the case to argue otherwise, so be it.

These cases are going to be working their way through the system over the next couple years. Every time the Obama administration defends DOMA, there's going to be a blow up. The geniuses at the White House, DOJ and on the campaign should fix it. Arguing for stricter scrutiny would be a helpful step -- even if it makes Republicans mad. Read the rest of this post...

Gays take back Valentines Day in nationwide protests for marriage

Yep, it's Valentines Day. To mark this day when people celebrate love, GetEQUAL and Marriage Equality USA are staging protests across the country to show the inequality in our nation's marriage laws. Via press release:

Over the weekend and this afternoon, LGBT activists across the country took action at marriage counters and city halls across the country, drawing attention to the fact that loving couples – some of whom have been together for decades – are still living as second-class citizens without the right to marry.

A list of the actions taking place around the country can be found here. There will be events in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.

There's already a report highlighting the events in Texas:

They know they'll go home empty-handed, even if it is Valentine's Day, but same-sex couples nationwide, including in Texas, plan to make a political statement today by seeking marriage licenses at county clerks' offices.

"Marriage is a civil right, not a heterosexual privilege," said Tiffani Bishop of Austin, who is active in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

And, a report from the middle of Pennsylvania:

A number of Centre County advocates for same-sex marriage rights will make an appearance Monday at the county clerk's office in Bellefonte, 414 Holmes St., they said.

Sometime between 8:30 and 9 a.m., local members of the groups Justice League -- Activate! and GetEQUAL PA will arrive at the office to request marriage licenses for same-sex couples in the area, according to a news release.

The plan is part of a coordinated, national effort on Valentine's Day to draw attention to "the harms and impact (of same-sex couples') inability to marry," the release notes.

Also, statements from the event organizers:

“Today, we're so proud of all the people taking actions across the country,” said Robin McGehee, director of GetEQUAL. “We're thrilled with how many people across the country have decided that enough is enough, and have committed to organizing in their own communities in order to draw attention to their desire to marry the person they love.”

Molly McKay, media director of Marriage Equality USA, said, “The actions that have taken place across the country are just one more way that we are bringing discrimination out of the shadows and into the light, highlighting the loving relationships that are thriving throughout the country despite government-sanctioned discrimination.”

GetEQUAL will be posting photos and video on its Facebook page throughout the day.

UPDATE: Michael Lavers just posted a video at EDGE New York of a couple trying to obtain a license in New York City today:
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WARNING: Anti-Gay States May Be Hazardous To Your Health

A new study proves what common sense has been telling us all these years. Lisa Keen reports:

Same-sex couples with adopted children living in states with anti-gay adoption laws and attitudes had more mental health issues in their first year of parenthood than couples with adopted children living in more accepting states, a new study has found. In addition, same-sex couples with adopted children who perceived higher support from their family and workplace and lived in more gay-friendly neighborhoods reported better mental health than those who did not.

Dr. Goldberg obviously knows what she is talking about:

Dr. Abbie Goldberg, assistant professor of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, co-authored the work with JuliAnna Smith at the Center for Research on Families of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Their report appears in the in February 2011 issue of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Psychological Association.

Bigoted legislators need to stop hurting our children.

While studies show that many people, including straight ones, show an increase in depressive or anxious symptoms in early parenthood, Goldberg explained, most recover later. But, she added, higher levels of depression or anxiety “could have negative effects beyond the individual,” including among their children, especially if the factors causing them—unsupportive workplaces, families, neighborhoods, or laws—don’t change.

I recommend reading the entire article to arm yourself with the facts the next time some Neanderthal conservative claims that they are "doing this for the children." Although the point can always be made, "When have facts stopped conservatives from passing bad or injurious legislation?" Read the rest of this post...