Author Archives: Lisa Keen
Obama’s last State of the Union: Religion, coming out, Sally Ride, and no promises
In his eighth and final State of the Union address, President Obama on Tuesday seemed intent on both acknowledging the nation’s rifts and binding together those disparate parts with a “common creed” devoted to democracy. Unlike in some previous addresses,
Strength and longevity of legal gains may change in 2016 politics and lawsuits
Coming off another high achievement year, the LGBT community can relax and take it easy for a while now, right? This is the LGBT Golden Age, right? That may depend on whether LGBT people seek 24 karat gold equality or
2015: Triumphs and tribulations
There were some rain clouds --Houston, Kim Davis, the Catholic Church, and GOP candidates. But the political weather was mostly sunny: the Boy Scouts evolved, Jenner transitioned, Irish voters approved, the EEOC included, and the Supreme Court axed.
LGBT victories in Utah and Indiana but gay-baiting tactics in SC and NY
Two-thirds of openly LGBT candidates Tuesday won election or re-election, including to become the first openly gay mayor of Salt Lake City.
Houston rejects non-discrimination law; HRC predicts ‘tough battles ahead’
Sixty-one percent of Houston voters cast their ballots against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance Tuesday. Mayor Annise Parker said opponents of the ordinance ran a “calculated campaign of lies designed to demonize a little understood minority.” But opponents said it
Prop 1: Houston bracing for another bloody ballot fight Tuesday
Houston, the fourth most populous city in the nation, is an old, bloody battleground for gays, something that has only intensified since it thrice elected lesbian Democrat Annise Parker as its mayor. But even as voters prepare to elect Parker’s
Ben Carson: “constitution protects everybody,” except in marriage
The Republican presidential field’s current frontrunner Ben Carson said Wednesday night he is not a homophobe and believes “our constitution protects everybody regardless of their sexual orientation.”
Then Comes Marriage: A rare glimpse into conflict civil rights attorneys are loath to acknowledge
A new book provides a rare glimpse into something LGBT civil rights attorneys are loathe to talk about: How much they bicker behind-the-scenes. And the personal journey Roberta Kaplan lays to bare –evolving from a painfully
