I would never refer to African Americans by the terms “colored” or “negro” even though Martin Luther King Jr. used those terms frequently. Times have changed, and the terms we use for the African American community and its members have changed. Many, if not most, African Americans now consider those terms to be offensive, although…
A North Carolina middle-school girl who wrote to all nine Supreme Court Justices for a ruling in favor of marriage equality on behalf of her same-sex parents has received a response. According to a report in the Washington Blade, Cameron a 6th grader received the response from Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a letter dated…
Freedom to Marry has released a new analysis of national polling data and trends on the freedom to marry by Joel Benenson, a leading Democratic pollster, and Dr. Jan van Lohuizen, a top Republican pollster. The acclaimed pollsters analyzed exit polls from the 2012 election and recent surveys to compile a document demonstrating that the well-documented…
(CNN) — “Call Me Maybe” singer Carly Rae Jepsen is the latest act to drop out of the Boy Scouts of America’s upcoming Jamboree because of the organization’s ban on openly gay members. The Canadian entertainer announced her decision on Tuesday, saying in a statement posted to her Twitter account that she’s pulled out of…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration has formally expressed its support of same sex marriage in California. It said in a legal brief on Thursday that gay and lesbian couples there have the same “equal protection” rights to wed, and that voters in the state were wrong to ban it, according to an administration official….
John O’Connor was appointed as executive director of Equality California (EQCA) December 2012. O’Connor brings much experience to the role with more than 15 years of cause-related work and a strong record of accomplishment. In his previous role as executive director of the LGBT Community Center of the Desert, O’Connor planned and executed a complete…
Should there be a third gender category birth certificate gender assignment? The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is considering just that after its Law Reform Advisory Council advised the government in Canberra that gender options for birth certificates and other identity documents should include the options female, male, intersex, to be advised or indeterminate. In 2010,…
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Chuck Hagel as defense secretary after a bruising political fight. The former Nebraska senator, a Republican, was confirmed by a a vote of 58-41 and will succeed Leon Panetta at the Pentagon. Army Veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson praised the Senate for confirming Hagel and called on…
Today, former Utah governor and ambassador to China Jon Huntsman published an op-ed in the American Conservative urging his fellow Republicans to get on board with the majority of Americans who support marriage equality. Huntsman wrote: While serving as governor of Utah, I pushed for civil unions and expanded reciprocal benefits for gay citizens. I did so…
I own a butterfly kite. It’s has an ombré color fade from blue to purple in the wings, as well as a pair of 50-foot long rainbow tails. When the wind is blowing and it’s in the air it’s quite a sight to see – the wings even appear to flap in the wind. Last…
