Arizona: Federal Judge Says Government Must Recognize Widower's Marriage
Fred McQuire sought federal benefits via his marriage to George Martinez, who recently died of cancer.
Michelle Garcia
Monthly Archives: September 2014
House Republicans Shoot Down Measure To Extend Spousal Benefits To Gay Veterans
House Republicans Shoot Down Measure To Extend Spousal Benefits To Gay Veterans
The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee shot down a measure Wednesday that aimed to extend equal benefits, including medical care, housing and burial assistance, to veterans’ same-sex spouses, even if they live in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage.
Introduced by Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), the amendment was attached to the Our Vets Deserve Better Act, a bill by Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) that would set mandatory meetings between the secretary of Veterans Affairs and certain health care advisory committees.
“This inequality for those who wore the uniform of the United States armed forces and their families is unacceptable,” Titus said during her opening remarks Wednesday. “The current language has resulted in legally married couples being discriminated against by the country they fought to protect. They don’t wear the uniform of a state, they wear the uniform of the federal government.”
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in 2013, most federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, began extending benefits to same-sex spouses. But under the Department of Veterans Affairs, retired service members with same-sex spouses are still ineligible for veterans benefits if they live in one of the 31 states that bans same-sex marriage.
In a 12-13 vote Wednesday, all committee Republicans, with the exception of Rep. Jon Runyan (N.J.), voted against the Titus amendment.
Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) argued that the House lacked the constitutional right to bypass existing state laws barring same-sex marriage.
“Deference to the state is not motivated by hostility, it is motivated by adherence to the Constitution,” Miller said Wednesday. “As such, I believe that it is not appropriate to usurp the states’ power to democratically define marriage for their citizenry — not for personal belief, and not for bureaucratic convenience.”
Other House Republicans, including Reps. David Jolly (Fla.) and Mike Coffman (Colo.) who support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, voted against the measure on grounds that it was unrelated to the larger bill, but expressed potential support for the measure as a separate bill.
“This is an old Washington game — offer a common-sense amendment to an underlying bill that is bad public policy,” Coffman spokesman Clay Sutton told The Huffington Post on Friday. “Mike will vote for the provision if it comes up as a stand-alone bill, but he wasn’t going to lend his support to a bill that would wrap desperately needed VA reform in bureaucracy … This was a junior high gotcha, and no one is buying it.”
The American Military Partner Association, which is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs over the denial of benefits, called Wednesday’s vote “a sad reflection on the state of our Congress.”
“The ability of our nation’s veterans, no matter their sexual orientation, to access their earned benefits should be an issue that transcends partisan politics,” Lori Hensic, AMPA director of research and policy, said in a statement.
Margaret Cho on Joan Rivers' funeral: 'If I was a gay man, I would have definitely kept my Grindr turned on'
Federal Judge Orders Arizona to Recognize Widower’s Marriage
Federal Judge Orders Arizona to Recognize Widower’s Marriage
Today U.S. District Judge John Sedwick found that Fred Mcquire’s marriage to his partner of 45 years, George Martinez, is indeed valid.
HRC.org
VOTE: Stoli Guy D.C. Winner William Struts His Stuff Like A True Professional
VOTE: Stoli Guy D.C. Winner William Struts His Stuff Like A True Professional
William, the Stoli Guy D.C. winner, stomped all over the competition at his local star search that took place Town Discotheque, proving to the judges that you can be fierce in high heels.
Now William is getting ready to travel to New York City for the national finale. Will he be the one to claim the $10,000 prize?
Can you give us a little teaser of what your original talent showcase will be at the finale on September 18?
Well, all I can say is it will be high enery, fun and a showcase of the art of illusion.
How did your friends and family react when you won Stoli Guy 2014 in your hometown?
My mom was overwhelmed with joy and excitement. All my close friends here in D.C, said, “now it’s time to win the finale.”
Being an LGBT ambassador for Stoli is an exciting job. Why do you think you’d be the best at it?
I feel like I truly represent the core values of Stoli and what they want in an ambassador. I enjoy meeting new people, helping them have a great experience doing what it is they are doing. I’m not afraid to interact with a stranger and get to know them. I am true to my values and loyal to those I am friends with. All qualities I have and know would make me a great ambassador for Stoli.
Why do you think being “authentic” is important in the LGBT community?
So often communities conform or try to be what society says they have to be. It is truly important to be authentic not only in the LGBT community but for who you are as a person. If we as people are not authentic to who we are we lose that individuality that made us special in the first place. If we are not who we are suppose to be then we will not have that spark or that edge that draws people to us. That is why it’s important to be authentic and true to who you are.
What inspired you to participate in Stoli Guy 2014?
You know honestly at first it was just for fun. As I started doing more research I realized this was way different than a modeling pageant. This was a competition that could really elevate not only Stoli but also the ambassador that is chosen. The potential outreach this could make in our community could be amazing. With the idea of maybe winning and being able to spread the message of being true and authentic captivated me, which gave me the courage to apply.
Favorite Stoli Guy Cocktail: Famous Crush (Stoli Ohranj + Cranberry)
Oscar Raymundo
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Withdraws From Re-election Bid Citing Health Concerns: VIDEO
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Withdraws From Re-election Bid Citing Health Concerns: VIDEO
Cantankerous, crack-smoking, homophobic Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has announced that he is withdrawing from his bid for re-election, a decision coming two days after Ford was hospitalized for an abdominal tumor, CNN reports:
“My heart is heavy when I tell you that I’m unable to continue my campaign for re-election as your mayor,” he said in a statement Friday.
“People know me as a guy who faces things head on and never gives up, and as your mayor I have done just that,” Ford said. He added, “Now I could be facing a battle of my lifetime, and I want the people of Toronto to know that I intend to face this challenge head on, and win.”
The Associated Press adds that Rob and his city councilor brother Doug are attempting to do a job-swap of sorts – with Rob instead seeking a seat on the City Council while Doug runs for mayor in his place.
‘‘I have asked Doug to run to become the next Mayor of Toronto, because we need him. We cannot go backwards,’’ Ford said.
Check out a video interview of people on the streets of Toronto reacting to the news AFTER THE JUMP – with the consensus being that Doug would make a just as bad, if not worse mayor than Rob.
Kyler Geoffroy
My Saltire Award + Youth Work History ~(YQSA,NKBL,LGBT)
My Saltire Award + Youth Work History ~(YQSA,NKBL,LGBT)
I was awarded my Saltire Summit Award on the 10/9/2014 and decided I would explain about my award and all my past work over 6-7 years in youth work and my other awards and things like that .
Same-Sex Marriage Radio Stunt Angers LGBT Groups
WATCH: 'Trouble in Paradise' Is a Drag for Isabel Rose
WATCH: 'Trouble in Paradise' Is a Drag for Isabel Rose
The songstress is joined by drag divas Hedda Lettuce, Paige Turner, and Ivy Winters in her classy and sassy new music video, ‘Trouble in Paradise.’
Jase Peeples
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/music/2014/09/12/watch-trouble-paradise-drag-isabel-rose
The Integration of Church and State
The Integration of Church and State
Once upon a time, a bunch of guys got on a boat and left England and its crazy religious leadership and decided to start a new country, free of all that nonsense. When our founding fathers started drafting and amending our constitution, they included something to make sure that our government would make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, and also allow people to practice whatever religion they wanted. It was the First Amendment and it was a separation of church of state, allowing people to do what they wanted for themselves and their religion and allowed the government to exist separate of that. Time went on, the country changed, and the founding fathers’ words were completely forgotten and abandoned. What was left of their words were completely mutilated and reassembled to mean something completely different, and solely, the religious communities of America lived happily ever after under the misconception that the United States of America was founded as a religious nation. The end.
This is the story of religion in this country. It is true that once we were led by brilliant men who understood that religion and politics should be separate. Anyone that tells you that our founding fathers intended this country to be a Christian nation, frankly, has no idea what they are talking about. In fact, many of our founding fathers couldn’t get far enough away from Christianity. Thomas Jefferson said that Christianity was “the most perverted system that ever shone on man.” If Thomas Jefferson could only see us now.
States across the country are proving themselves to be truly religious states. In March of 2014, in what may be one of the most hypocritical religious moves I’ve ever heard of, the state of Tennessee took the side of the religious community and passed a bill legalizing the bullying of LGBT students in the name of “religious freedom.” Yes. You read correctly. The protection of one’s religious freedom now includes legal bullying. If you feel that a gay student is imposing upon your religious freedoms, you’re allowed to call them names, harass them, you name it. When I heard this, my head spun so dramatically, Linda Blair could have asked me for pointers. The part that breaks my heart is that these poor LGBT children, that already exist with minimal protection from these monsters in their schools, now have no protection from their state whatsoever. If, for example, a gay student happens to kill himself as a result of bullying, the parents of that student wouldn’t be able to prosecute those students that bullied their child because they can claim that they were protecting their religious freedoms and their actions are then protected under the law.
Does anyone else feel as if they’re living in the Twilight Zone?
To me, this law makes about as much sense as being able to break the nose of anyone that doesn’t believe in Santa Clause, but to Tennessee, it makes total sense. It also makes sense to those people that view homosexuality as the single greatest threat to God and His people. To some law makers, protecting religious freedom from people like the homosexuals is the single most important thing to do in political office. However, to some lawmakers in this country, the true definition of the First Amendment is unclear. To some, the First Amendment only allows people the freedom to practice their religion. Period. That part where there can be no laws respecting an establishment of religion? Well, we can just blur that part a little until people don’t remember that it’s there.
Let me start by saying that I have never been more proud to be an atheist. I’ve never been so relieved to live a life not only free from any type of god, but free from any ties to a religious institution. I can feel such a burden being lifted from my shoulders and feel such relief knowing that my children will be raised far, far away from that school of thought. What kind of world do we live in where as long as you name your god as the driving force behind your actions, any action is then acceptable? Are we terrorists?
To me, this law feels like Pandora’s Box. What will come next in Tennessee? Will it soon be legal to attack Muslim people? Jewish people? If LGBT students in Tennessee schools, purely by existing, threaten the religious freedom of other students, surely people actually practicing other religions must be doing the same thing as well, right? And if violence is ok for one, is it not ok for others? What is Tennessee saying by allowing not only this type of law, but this type of thought into the minds of the people of this state? I’ll tell you. They’re saying discrimination is ok. They are saying that violent acts against people who are different from you are totally fine. Why? Because the word freedom isn’t a word for a gay person to use in Tennessee or states like Tennessee. And what freedom is more important than religious freedom anyway, right? It’s the First Amendment.
If only more leaders would allow themselves to exist as religious people just for themselves and not for me. Yes. You believe that that the earth is only a few thousand years old. That’s fine — for you! You believe that and let me believe what science has taught me. I won’t make any laws saying that you have to believe what I believe and you don’t make any laws saying that I have to believe in what you believe in. Deal? But sadly, no. Everyone is a threat and somehow, there is always a war on Christmas.
It pains me to know that the driving force behind so many horrible things is religion. It pains me because I know that there are some truly wonderful people that have nothing to do with this kind of religion at all, but purely because they call themselves Christians, they will forever be associated with it. I wish religion didn’t have such a bad reputation. I know very well that even though I’m an atheist and don’t believe in the things religious people believe in, I still know and respect that religion is both incredibly important and incredibly positive to some people. I have been witness to religion inspiring great change in communities and deep love within people’s hearts. I know what power it has for good in the world. But sadly, it’s not all good. The Holy Wars? The Holocaust? September 11th? The last decade in the Middle East? I truly believe the worst thing that ever happened to religion was man, and, subsequently, the worst thing that ever happened to man was religion.
Another founding father, Benjamin Franklin, said that “lighthouses were more useful than churches,” and I believe that fully. All lighthouses exist to guide you out of the darkness and into safe waters. The same can not be said for all churches. And the churches that slither their way up our political ladders and into the offices of those men and women that seek to shape this country, who’s to say where they will guide us? It could be to safe waters or it could be straight into the rocks — they’ve been known to do both. A lighthouse doesn’t care what the ship is carrying, or who’s commanding it. A lighthouse is built strong and earns its reputation as a reliable, consistent, and true beacon that doesn’t discriminate. Don’t you wish all churches could have that reputation as well?
The dream I have for this country involves consistency, reliability, truth and the acceptance of all people — no matter what. I feel lucky to live a life free of religion because I feel that I am able to see what a government can be without it as well. That isn’t to say that religion shouldn’t exist at all. It should most certainly exist — in the hearts of honest and accepting people — far away from government.
Our founding fathers knew that you could consistently rely on a lighthouse and not a church, hence the reason that church was separated from the government. What does the integration of church and state do for us? Well, take a look at Tennessee. They’re heading straight for the rocks without a lighthouse in sight.
