Author Archives: Lisa Keen
White House pushes to end persecution of LGBT people worldwide
The White House announced Tuesday evening that President Obama and Brazilian President Rousseff have established a "special rapporteur on LGBT issues at the Organization of American States." It also drew attention to a United Nations declaration, backed by the U.S.
Senate confirmations: A partisan pelt-and-wait game
It looked like a cake-walk: President Obama nominated openly gay attorney Paul Oetken to a federal district court bench in Manhattan two months ago, and just last week, he had a confirmation hearing.
Court loss with a silver lining
Efforts to secure equal benefits for a gay federal court employee in San Francisco suffered a setback Wednesday when a federal judge dismissed the employee’s lawsuit. But Lambda Legal Defense says the dismissal has a silver lining.
Top State Dept. official resigns over impact of remarks on gay soldier’s WikiLeaks
The White House allegedly pressured the State Department’s top spokesperson to resign Sunday, over comments he made suggesting that the gay soldier arrested in the WikiLeaks scandal is being mistreated.
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;
