Judge Rules Against Stand for Marriage

No, you can't have your vote and get people to vote against other people's human rights.

WWJD?

The Church again demonstrates Christ-like behavior.

Remember: Jesus taught that we should feed the hungry and help the poor. But only as long as we can keep discriminating against gay people.

Obama Owes an Apology -- of Action

David Link walks through what likely may have "allowed" the offensive Obama DOJ anti-gay legal brief to be written and filed. I agree with his call-to-action:

The ball is now in the President’s court. He owes us an apology – and not one of words, but one of action. Signing a hate crimes bill won’t do it. Nor will an additional imprecation to Congress to do something about DOMA. It is he who was elected President with the explicit promise that gay equality would be on his agenda. What Presidents do is lead, and after this anything less than the kind of leadership he shows on other issues will be confirmation of a betrayal of those like me who voted for him in good faith.

Divorcing 18,000

This is downright hateful.

But Jerry Brown's response is heartening,

Save Marriage Equality

The Mormon Church has poured $20 million into the fight for Prop 8 in California. Prop 8 would make marriage equality, already a fact in California, unconsitutional.

You may not live in California and think this doesn't affect you, but you're wrong. I have four friends who just returned from California. They were married there. You may have friends who have married in California or would like to. And other jurisdictions are watching -- the DC City Council will likely introduce a bill to enact marriage equality in the District of Columbia IF it is not voted unconstitutional in California (if Prop 8 passes).

If you know people who live in California, email or call them. If you live in California vote NO. And write Gov. Schwartzenegger (who opposes prop 8) and ask him to speak out publicly.

Go here to find out what you can do. Polls say that it is very close.

And if you want to know what the other side is saying, listen to this. You won't be surprised.

Obama, Not Kucinich

Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin have both come out and endorsed Hillary for president, even though they both disagree with her on marriage equality.

As a reader points out, the only Democratic candidate who supports full marriage rights is Dennis Kucinich which does about as much for us as writing to Santa Claus and asking for marriage to be tucked into our stockings come Christmas morning.

The real comparison is Hillary vs. Obama -- Obama is more progressive on the issue than Hillary, as noted earlier. But, as usual, our leaders, be they Members of Congress or HRC, follow the Democratic establishment.

The Mayor Responds

The Mayor's office responded to my question about releasing the Spagnoletti memo (written by a former DC city attorney on whether DC can legally recognize same sex unions performed elsewhere. The memo is rumored to say that DC can. The previous mayor kept it private. The current mayor during his campaign vowed to immediately release it, then appeared to back off that promise after the election. I asked the Mayor's gay outreach liaison to clarify. Here's his response:

Scott,

Thanks for your question about whether or not the Mayor plans on releasing the Spagnoletti memo. The administration is currently reviewing the memo and still plans on releasing it. I just don’t know when.

Christopher J. Dyer
Interim Director, Office of LGBT Affairs

Translation: The memo says DC can legally recognize SS couples married where it's legal and we don't have a clue yet on how to handle it.

Kudos, though, for Dyer reaffirming the Mayor's promise. That's further than his spokesperson went in responding to the Washington Blade.

The last Administration kowtowed to the DC Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance's (GLAA) advice to roll over and not provoke the Republican-controlled Congress over same sex marriage in DC. Now that the Congress is in the hands of the Dems, and the current DC Mayor and a majority of the DC City Council seems to be for equal marriage rights, let's hope the Fenty Admin won't take a similar posture.

At the very least, let's hope the Fenty Administration is listening to a broader array of voices within the DC community as it grapples with the issue of marriage rights. The GLAA doesn't speak for all of us.

Immigration Reform for Gays

Chris Crain provides a concrete way for Democratic presidential candidates to show they mean it when they call for full equality for gays. Support the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would allow citizens and legal residents in same-sex relationships to sponsor their partners for immigration purposes.

Crain reports only Dodd and Kucinich have signalled support for the bill. Hillary and Barak do not support it. As Crain says:

In her speeches on gay issues, Clinton talks about "equal rights" for gay couples, but support for UAFA would be a concrete way to put some leadership where her rhetoric is.

Ditto Obama.

But of course I don't expect much. Democrats will take our money and take our votes but they won't take a stand on our behalf. Not on things that really count. Not on legislation that treat gay relationships as equal to straight ones.

DC gay activist Rick Rosendall wrote in a recent Metroweekly column that we shouldn't expect leadership from politicians on controversial issues. Hmm...the Voting Rights Act of 1965 notwithstanding? I'm not quite so ready to throw in the towel...and if a politician tells me they support full gay equality, I expect them to mean it. I can accept a candidate who I may disagree with, but I won't tolerate hypocrisy.