Judicial nominee offends Indonesia’s gay community, offers apology

JAKARTA, Indonesia — In a sign of just how far the struggle for equality has come, an Indonesian constitutional court justice was forced to backtrack and apologize after stating his opposition to same-sex marriage during a fit and proper test before the House Commission III, the country’s legal affairs division. The justice, Arief Hidayat, was asked…

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President signs VAWA

Today, the President Barack Obama signed into law S. 47, the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013,” which reauthorizes several Violence Against Women Act grant programs through FY 2018; and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 through FY 2017. An extract from the president’s remarks at the signing ceremony: ” … And today,…

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ESF founding president/CEO steps down, named CEO of PremloCare

SAN DIEGO – At its annual board meeting, A. Latham Staples, the founder of the Empowering Spirits Foundation (ESF), a national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, announced his resignation as president and CEO of the organization he started in 2008. Staples who will remain with ESF as Chairman of the Board…

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