NY marriage equality good for business

Excellent opinion piece on CNN by Bob Witeck on the economic upside marriage equality will bring to New York state.

Witeck points to the fact that to attract the brightest and the best - which includes same-sex couples - you have to offer strong and equal benefits.

New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and city leaders must be cheering the economic shot in the arm as hotels, restaurants, caterers, florists and legions of vendors welcome the wedding and honeymoon brigades. Some estimate nearly $400 million in revenues for the state over the next three years.

These rewards are also the result of changing tides among American corporations and employers over recent decades. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's same-sex marriage legislation was endorsed not only by major corporations like Xerox and Google but by scores of smaller business owners across the state.

78% of all LGBT adults said that they would prefer jobs in states that recognize marriage equality.

The Williams Institute, an LGBT-related think-tank at the University of California, estimates $155 million will roll into the Empire state economy in the first year of marriage equality alone.

Gov. Brown signs CA FAIR Education Act

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will fairly and accurately portray the LGBT civil rights movement and the historic contributions of the diverse LGBT community in social science instruction.

The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act (SB 48), by including fair and accurate information about the rich and diverse history of LGBT people in instructional materials, will enrich the learning experiences of all students and promote an atmosphere of safety and respect in California schools.

SB 48 was authored by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-sponsored by Equality California and Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

Studies have shown that inclusion of LGBT people in instructional materials is linked to greater student safety and lower rates of bullying.

In schools where the contributions of the LGBT community are included in educational instruction, bullying declined by over half and LGBT students were more likely to feel they have an opportunity to make positive contributions at school.

“Today marks a monumental victory for the LGBT civil rights movement as the contributions of diverse LGBT community will no longer be erased from history,” said Roland Palencia, Equality California executive director. “Thanks to the FAIR Education Act, California students, particularly LGBT youth, will find new hope and inspiration and experience a more welcoming learning environment that will embrace them.

Read more here.

Chile: Civil Unions bill on the way

From the Advocate: Chilean newspaper La Tercera reported today that the nation's government is considering legislation that would legally recognize same-sex civil unions.

According to the Santiago-based paper, the bill — which could be presented to Congress as early as next week — would “grant legal rights to gay couples who have lived together for more than one year.”

Despite the heated debate the issue has caused in the predominantly Catholic country, last month Chilean president Sebastian Pinera was quoted by the newspaper El Mercurio as saying he wanted to safeguard “the dignity of those couples, whether of the opposite or even the same sex.”

If the legislation passes, Chile will be the fifth South American country to legalize same-sex civil unions, joining Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay. Argentina offers marriage rights to gay couples.

U.N. passes gays rights resolution

In what the U.S. State Department is calling a "historic step," the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva passed a resolution Friday supporting equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation.

The resolution, introduced by South Africa, is the first-ever U.N. resolution on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons.

It passed with 23 votes in favor, 19 opposed and three abstentions, amid strong criticism of South Africa by some African nations.

Suzanne Nossel, deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations, told CNN, "It really is a key part in setting a new norm that gay rights are human rights and that that has to be accepted globally."

"It talks about the violence and discrimination that people of LGBT persuasion experience around the world," she said, "and that those issues ... need to be taken seriously. It calls for reporting on what's going on, where people are being discriminated against, the violence that is taking place, and it really puts the issue squarely on the U.N.'s agenda going forward."

More at CNN.com

Omaha Clergy: Being Gay Not A Sin

Omaha area ministers will publicly unveil a proclamation on Wednesday calling for an end to religious and civil discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Rev. Eric Elnes, pastor of Countryside Community Church, said the proclamation was created because, “we were just fed up with the popular notion that the Christian point of view is anti-gay.”

Elnes, who leads an Omaha church of 1,500 members at 87th Street and Pacific Street, said more than 100 ordained Christian ministers have signed the proclamation, including leaders from Lutheran, Episcopalian, United Church of Christ, Methodist and Presbyterian churches.

“We believe homosexuality is not a sin. It’s not a birth defect or a choice. God created people this way. And if God created them this way, they need to be honored for who they are, and fully included in church life and wider society,” said Elnes, whose words are reflected in the document.

More at ketv.com

Civil Unions in Illinois today - Celebrate!

More than 30 same-sex couples marked the first day of civil unions in Illinois by taking vows in downtown Chicago’s Millennium Park Thursday morning.

“For me it means a lot — making this commitment. But I also feel like we’re part of history here,” Shanelle Moffett told the Chicago Sun-Times as she prepared for the ceremony with her partner, Tenisha Watkins.

Couples could obtain civil union licenses beginning Wednesday at county clerk’s offices, but there was a one-day waiting period before ceremonies could take place. The Illinois civil unions law offers same-sex and opposite-sex couples the state-level rights and responsibilities of marriage.

While couples all over the state were taking advantage of the new law, the biggest event was in Chicago, the largest city in Illinois and home to the state’s largest and most visible gay population. At Millennium Park Thursday, judges and one minister presided over ceremonies, the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus performed, and Illinois governor Pat Quinn and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel addressed the gathering.

I know I address the issue of equality a lot on this blog. When I began it, I never knew civil rights would be such a "front and center" issue for me here. But it's been a natural evolution for me, and I realize how important equal rights are for everyone in this country.

Getting married in California - Michael and I are one of the 18,000 couples that got to keep our legal marriage status - was more powerful than I ever dreamed it would be. When you grow up in this country and realize you are gay, marriage equality is something you don't dream to be a reality. But it is today. At least in some states. And I believe we will someday soon see marriage equality across the entire country. It's just fair and right.

So celebrate for the kids in Illinois today taking their step forward. It's a good thing.

Forward.

NV Gov. signs two more LGBT friendly bills into law

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican, signed into law bills prohibiting discrimination in housing (SB368) and public accommodations (SB331) on the basis of gender identity or expression.

SB368 prohibits discrimination in housing and certain other transactions involving real property on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

SB331 relates to public accommodations, revising provisions relating to unlawful discrimination based on sex and gender identity or expression in places of public accommodation.

Last week he signed AB211, a bill prohibiting discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity or expression.

Taken together, the three new laws represent fairly comprehensive anti-discrimination protections for trans people in Nevada.

However, as housing, employment and public accommodations were each handled in separate bills, the outcome could have been less desirable.

The laws will go into effect on October 1.

CT Congressman asks that same-sex ceremonies be allowed on naval facilities

Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) sent a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Wednesday, asking him to uphold an April decision allowing same-sex ceremonies to be held at naval facilities. Connecticut is home the Naval Subase New London.

"Since 2008, same-sex couples in Connecticut have had the legal right to marry. I find it disgraceful that citizens of our state serving in the armed forces aren't afforded that same basic right," Murphy said.

"It should go without saying that government policy should not prohibit the religious or civil official of their choice to perform the marriage -- that should be left up to the couple and the official," Murphy wrote in his letter to Mabus. "When the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has been eliminated, neither the Navy nor Marine Corps will be able to discharge a service member for marrying someone of the same sex. With our state's proud Naval and Marine Corps tradition, I anticipate that some number of same-sex couples will want to marry in Navy chapels by Naval chaplains."

The Navy issued the initial decision after Congress passed a law repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", but since suspended the guidance sent to naval bases after receiving a letter from a group of House Republicans, according to Murphy.

The Pentagon has stated it may be mid-summer before the DADT policy is eliminated.

Murphy has been a long-time supporter of the efforts to repeal DADT.
(via thinkprogress.org)

Chilean President to send parliament Civil Unions bill

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has announced that he will forward to parliament a bill that would grant both heterosexual and homosexual couples living outside of marriage the ability to access a form of civil unions granting them many of the same rights as marriage.

Pinera announced his intentions in an interview published Saturday by daily El Mercurio.

The conservative lawmaker said his bill seeks to “protect and safeguard” the civil rights of couples living outside of marriage and “safeguard the dignity of those couples, whether of opposite sex or even the same sex.”

This comes just one week after Chili's largest LGBT rights group Movimiento Chileno de Minorias Sexuales called for a national march for marriage equality that was designed to get the President's attention.

Majority public support for legal recognition of same-sex partners in Chili has been strong since 2004. However, same-sex marriage still polls considerably lower than civil unions.

NV Gov. Signs Transgender Protections Law

While Republicans in the South and Midwest are passing bills that strip rights away from LGBT people, Nevada's GOP governor signed legislation on Tuesday that will protect transgender people in the workplace.

Gov. Brian Sandoval signed the transgender bill into law at a ceremony in Carson City. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that LGBT leaders were hopeful that Sandoval would be receptive to the legislation, as he previously served as a federal judge.

AB 211, which goes into effect on October 1, says businesses with more than 15 employees cannot discriminate against people based on their gender identity or expression and people cannot be refused work or fired simply because they are transgender.

Thank you Gov. Sandoval!

It's estimated Nevada is home to 25,000 transgender people.

New poll shows christians support LGBT equality

The poll, done by HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, shows that Christians of all ages support LGBT equality.

In fact, 68 percent of Christians favor protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations compared.

74 percent of Christians (compared to 76 percent overall) favor a law to prohibit bullying and harassment against minority groups in schools, including LGBT students or the children of LGBT parents.

70 percent of Christians believe that when religious leaders condemn LGBT people it does more harm than good.

A majority of Christians - 52 percent - also oppose the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, according to a previous HRC poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll.

Finally, an astounding 86 percent of Christians believe their faith leads them to the conclusion that the law should treat all people equally, including LGBT people.

More graphics at this link.

Delaware: Civil Unions bill signed into law!

Following the passage of civil union legislation by the Delaware General Assembly in April, Gov. Jack Markell (D) made good on a promise by signing the bill into law Wednesday night.

The law takes effect on January 1, 2012 and will make Delaware the nation’s eighth state to allow civil unions or domestic partnerships for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples.

Once the law takes effect, Delaware’s gay and lesbian couples will be able to obtain civil unions, thus gaining legal recognition by the state. With a civil union, loving and committed gay and lesbian couples will have access to many of the same legal protections currently available only to married couples.
(via GLAADblog.org)

Brazil approves Civil Unions

Brazil's Supreme Court ruled Thursday night that civil unions between same-sex couples must be allowed in this nation with more Roman Catholics than any other.

In a 10-0 vote, with one abstention, the justices said gay couples deserve the same legal rights as heterosexual pairs when it comes to alimony, retirement benefits of a partner who dies, and inheritances, among other issues.

The ruling, however, stopped short of legalizing gay marriage. In Latin America, that is legal only in neighboring Argentina and in Mexico City.

Brazil's ruling sets a judicial precedent that must be honored by all public institutions, including notary publics where civil unions must be registered.

The request for the Supreme Court to recognize civil unions came two years ago from the Brazilian attorney general's office, largely because legislation that would give same-sex couples the rights enjoyed by married heterosexual couples has been stalled in Congress for more than a decade.

Brazil's constitution defines a "family entity" as "a stable union between a man and a woman." But the attorney general's office argued the clause is only a definition and not a limitation, and thus the charter does not say a stable union can "only" be between a man and a woman.

The attorney general also argued that the constitution does not specifically forbid a civil union between people of the same sex — and that failing to recognize same-sex unions violates the charter's defenses of human dignity and equality.
(more at timesunion.com)

Google's "Chrome: It Gets Better" video

An amazing new commercial for Google’s Chrome web browser aired during Tuesday night’s episode of “Glee” on FOX, and showcased the “It Gets Better” project.

“Beginning with one inspiring video, Dan Savage used the web to create the “It Gets Better” project — a movement that has generated thousands of uplifting videos that give hope to teens,” said Google.

The commercial is part of Chrome’s “the web is what you make of it” campaign.

Dan Savage, a Seattle-based LGBT activist and author, and his husband Terry Miller, launched the “It Gets Better Project” to provide support and encouragement to LGBT teens struggling with bullying and adversity.

Rhode Island: Civil Unions bill to be introduced

Rhode Island lawmakers are working out the details of legislation that would create civil unions and plan to introduce the proposal next week.

A House spokesman said Thursday that lawmakers are reviewing civil union laws in other states to help them craft the proposal, which could be introduced Tuesday.

The new bill comes after House Speaker Gordon Fox declared that gay marriage legislation wouldn’t pass the General Assembly this year. Fox, who is gay, now supports civil unions as a more politically feasible alternative.

This development is a disappointment for groups that fought for marriage equality this year in Rhode Island.  They say they'll oppose any proposal that falls short of full marriage. Gay marriage opponents also oppose civil unions.

Rep. Frank Ferri, a Warwick Democrat who is gay, has stated that he wants to see the bill's details before making up his mind.

Why Obama was asked to "show his papers"

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I hate discrimination of any kind. Period. This is why I'm so fervent in my writing about equality. Not just the LGBT community - every community.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

There are people who just don't like Obama. Fine. Dislike his policies as a politician.

But if you don't think this was about having a man of color "show his papers" - you're not paying attention.

Nevada Senate approves two LGBT protection bills

From LGBTQnation.com: The Nevada Senate on Monday approved two bills that would prohibit discrimination against gays and transgender individuals in housing and public accommodations, but rejected a third bill that would have added gender identity and expression to Nevada’s hate crimes law.

Sen. David Parks (D-Las Vegas), sponsor of all three measures, said he wasn’t surprised the 10-11 vote went against the hate crimes bill, reported the Nevada Appeal.

Parks said the law already includes race, color, religion, national origin, disability and sexual orientation in the definition of hate crimes.

“Protecting our transgender citizens harms no one,” he said.

The other two measures, however, were approved: SB331 prohibits discrimination against gays and transsexuals in places of public accommodation including hotels, motels and restaurants, and SB368 prohibits discrimination in housing and other real property transactions.

Both measures now go to the Assembly for consideration.

Movie: "The Help"

I can't wait to see this movie!

Anyone who reads this blog knows how much equality for everyone means to me. And the courage of anyone to stand up and change the status quo - well, this movie is right up my alley.

Based on the NY Times bestseller by Kathryn Stockett, the movie - which isn't out yet - is already getting Oscar buzz.

The book tells the story of a group of black domestic maids in 1960s Jackson, Miss., who band together to tell the sometimes sad, sometimes triumphant stories of lives spent toiling for upper class Southern whites. "The Help" is both uproariously funny and poignant, resonating with readers across the country.

From IMDB: Jackson, Mississippi, 1962 - aspiring writer Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan returns home after college, where unexpected friendships with African-American maids Aibeleen Clark and Minny Jackson result in a book that gives a previously unheard voice to a community's suffering.

Can. Not. Wait.

Hungary bans marriage equality

Hungarian lawmakers approved a new constitution Monday that was blasted by rights groups and the political opposition for measures considered extremely conservative.

Some of the changes to the current constitution include:

* Ban on same sex marriage

* Protects life of a fetus from conception opening the possibility to future ban or restriction on abortion

* Ban on discrimination does not include age or sexual orientation

* Tax and pension law changes require a two-thirds majority

"We've just participated in a historical moment," parliamentary speaker Laszlo Kover said moments after the bill was approved 262-44. "The new constitution is built upon our past and traditions, but seeks and contains answers to current problems while keeping an eye on the future."

Hungary's current constitution dates from 1949, near the start of the communist regime but it was almost fully rewritten during the 1989 transition to democracy.

Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the EU in January.

CA: State Senate passes FAIR Education Act

The California State Senate passed a bill that would approval inclusion of LGBT contributions to California state history.

Studies have shown that when LGBT contributions are included in the history lessons that shaped California, students are more likely to be more tolerant and bullying decreases in schools.

From Equality California: The FAIR Education Act would bring classroom instruction into alignment with existing non-discrimination laws in California and would add LGBT to the existing list of underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups, which are covered by current law related to inclusion in textbooks and other instructional materials in schools. By including fair and accurate information about LGBT people and history in instructional materials, SB 48 will improve student safety, reduce bullying, enrich the learning experiences of all students, and promote an atmosphere of safety and respect in California schools.

“We thank the Senate for recognizing the need to educate students about the historic contributions of LGBT leaders to California and the struggle for LGBT equality,” said Jim Carroll, interim executive director of Equality California. “This legislation will ensure all students understand the diversity of our state and its history, and it will foster greater awareness, respect and safer schools for all students.”

Today, most textbooks don't include any LGBT contributions to society or any account of the LGBT civil rights movement.

The bill now heads to the state Assembly rules committee.

Stay tuned!