Yearly Archives: 2011

Gay federal appeals nominee: 11 months and still waiting for hearing

Republican members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee have been holding up the nomination of President Obama’s only openly gay nominee to a federal appeals bench.

Boehner calls for House group to defend DOMA

House Speaker John Boehner announced March 4 that the House would take some action to defend the federal law that prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages. Meanwhile, at least three bills were introduced this week to either defend or expand the

Gingrich 2012: Batting or baiting?

Educated people who know someone gay are often the most likely to stand up for gay people and support their right to be treated the same as everyone else. Not so Newt Gingrich. The former Speaker of the House, who has

Supreme Court rules Phelps hate protests are protected speech

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an anti-gay protester’s demonstrations in close proximity to a private funeral service are protected by the First Amendment.

DOJ-DOMA aftermath: swell or tsunami?

Political decisions are a lot like oceanic earthquakes. First, there’s the quake, and then there’s the wave. Nobody can tell just how significant the wave is until it reaches land and, sometimes, the wave has greater impact than the earthquake;

Marriage equality in Maryland: still a long road ahead

Marriage equality in Maryland looks set to take one of two paths--and neither is likely to enable same-sex couples to marry in the Free State for many months to come.

White House names openly gay fundraiser as first male Social Secretary

The White House last Friday (February 25) announced the naming of an openly gay man to assume the position as President Obama’s Social Secretary. Jeremy Bernard, a senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador to France at the embassy in Paris, will

Getting to ENDA: On the Road Less Traveled

On the long list of hopes that LGBT advocates put together at the beginning of the Obama administration was the idea that the president should issue an executive order requiring the federal government enter into contracts only with companies that

ENDA: Lost, pending, or obsolete?

Did Democrats squander an opportunity to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) last year? Should they even bother to re-introduce the bill this year? And does a bill like ENDA, focused only on workplace discrimination, still make sense?

Obama DOJ says DOMA is unconstitutional

The Obama administration made a blockbuster announcement Wednesday, saying it has concluded that one part of the Defense of Marriage Act will not be able to pass constitutional muster in the 2nd Circuit and that DOJ would not defend that