Category Archives: LGBT Rights

Stein on Gay Marriage

Feminist Law Prof Ralph Stein (Pace) has a regular, local cable TV show called “It’s the Law.”  His latest show (available here) is about gay marriage.   -Bridget Crawford

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California Same-Sex Marriage Ban Ballot Initiative Approved for November Election

After last month’s historic decision by the California Supreme Court, voters in California are now going to get to decide whether discrimination should be written into the state’s constitution the state’s constitution should explicitly ban same-sex marriage.   A ballot … Continue reading

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“CFP: Spilling Over: A Fat, Queer Anthology”

Working Title: Spilling Over: A Fat, Queer Anthology Editor: Jessica Giusti, Feminist Studies Ph.D. Student, University of Minnesota Contact: spillingover@gmail.com Submission Deadline: December 1, 2008 Despite the attention given by queer studies to the materiality of bodies and the cultural … Continue reading

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“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Unconstitutional?

Well, not yet, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the policy has to survive intermediate scrutiny and remanded the case to the lower court to apply the standard.   (A short summary of the opinion is … Continue reading

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News In Brief: UK Votes on “Need for A Father”

[It’s been a long time since I’ve cross-posted.     Feel free to go to my regular blog, Related Topics, and catch up.] For some time now the UK parliament has been considering a substantial overhaul of the act that … Continue reading

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Pennsylvania Marriage Amendment:Revived by the California Supreme Court?

My hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was reporting over the weekend that supporters of the so-called marriage amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution are attempting to revive the bill in the wake of the California Supreme Court’s decision overturning that state’s … Continue reading

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I Don’t Believe Them

After yesterday’s decision from the California Supreme Court, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama issued statements about the issue.   From the Associated Press: “Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and … Continue reading

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California Marriage Decision

I’ve just finished reading the California Supreme Court’s decision in In re Marriage Cases (whew! was that a long one!). In many ways, it is a great decision. The court rejected several staple arguments of opponents of same-sex marriage. The … Continue reading

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Gay Marriage Ban Overturned By California Supreme Court

Story reported here and here. Read the opnion here!

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Toledo Administrator Fired over Op-ed on Gay Rights

The Toledo Blade is reporting that Crystal Dixon, an associate vice president for human resources at the University of Toledo, has been terminated. The firing was motivated by a guest column that Ms. Dixon wrote for the Toledo Free Press … Continue reading

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Pennsylvania”Marriage”Amendment Pronounced Dead

This morning, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is, for all intents and purposes, dead for the remainder of this legislative session. The main sponsor of the bill asked the Senate to … Continue reading

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Outlawing Divorce

The story of the proposed “marriage” amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution gets even stranger, as a state senator from Philadelphia is attempting to add a provision to the bill containing the proposed constitutional amendment that would outlaw most divorces in … Continue reading

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Update on Pennsylvania”Marriage”Amendment

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting today, the so-called marriage amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution (blogged earlier here and here) was voted out of the Pennsylvania Senate’s Appropriations Committee yesterday. Demonstrating that discrimination always comes at a price, this measure … Continue reading

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still black: a portait of black trans men

trailer here. more info here: Directed by experimental filmmaker Kortney Ryan Ziegler, still black is a feature-length documentary that explores the lives of six black transgender men living in the United States. Through the intimate stories of their lives as … Continue reading

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Nuxoll v. Indian Prairie School District: “”Be Happy, Not Gay” T-Shirt Protected By First Amendment

Seventh Circuit opinion, authored by Posner, here. Below, some excerpts: “The plaintiff is one of the students who disapprove of homosexuality. Some of them participate in a”Day of Truth”(see www.dayoftruth.org (visited Apr. 5, 2008)) held on the first school day … Continue reading

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Marc Poirier, “The Cultural Property Claim within the Same Sex Marriage Controversy”

The abstract: This article argues that traditionalist opposition to same sex marriage can be understood as a cultural property claim – the sort of claim that is often made by Native American tribes and other indigenous or subordinated cultural groups … Continue reading

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Staceyann Chin is a fantastic feminist poet.

See for yourself here.

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Queers for Economic Justice Event April 17, in NYC

WOC PhD has the details. Car ringtones James bond ringtone Midiringtones 3.0 For the love of money ringtone Download free verizon ringtone Free nokia 2126 ringtones Free polyphonic ringtones usa Free ringtones for a motorola 120t Nextel ringtones cd wallpaper … Continue reading

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Tomorrow, in Atlanta and On The Net: “Lawrence v. Texas Five Years Out: Can the Promises of Liberty and Equality Be Fulfilled?”

WHAT: ACS will co-host a symposium on equality and liberty, focusing on the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. Paul Smith, the litigator who argued on behalf of … Continue reading

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Appel on “The Endurance of Biological Connection: Heteronormativity, Same-Sex Parenting and the Lessons of Adoption”

Annette Ruth Appel (UNLV) has posted to ssrn her article, “The Endurance of Biological Connection: Heteronormativity, Same-Sex Parenting and the Lessons of Adoption.” Here is the abstract. This paper traces the intersecting and diverging paths of legal norms regarding adoption … Continue reading

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Civil Unions and State Taxes

A story in the Hartford Courant last week highlights the burdens faced by same-sex couples in states that legally recognize same-sex relationships when they go to file their state tax returns. But, first, a little background: Because many states use … Continue reading

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Michael J. Higdon, “Queer Teens and Legislative Bullies: The Cruel and Invidious Discrimination Behind Heterosexist Statutory Rape Laws”

Abstract: Most states make an exception to their statutory rape laws for sexual acts involving an adolescent victim, who is below the age of consent, when the defendant is close in age to the victim (i.e., generally no older than … Continue reading

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His What?

“Besides, Chris Matthews was Tip O’Neill’s buttboy, not Tim O’Neil’s.”

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“Strip tease: Gay characters find home in comics”

Here at SFGate.com.

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“I’m Listening”

There is audio of a speech by Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern circulating on YouTube. In the speech, which she apparently did not know was being taped, Kern went on an anti-gay tirade. In part, she parroted some old chestnuts; … Continue reading

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Columbia SC passes ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing.

From here: Columbia, South Carolina on Wednesday became the first municipality in the state to enact laws protecting gays and transgendereds.   City Council voted unanimously to pass the ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender … Continue reading

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PA Senate Vote on Marriage Amendment

As I mentioned in a recent post, the Pennsylvania legislature is currently considering an amendment to the state constitution that purports to do no more than limit marriage to different-sex couples. The amendment would be bad enough if it did … Continue reading

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Is It April Fool’s Day Already?

I had to read this story twice today before I realized that it was still only March 3rd. Upon the second reading, I realized that it had to be a real story, because you simply can’t make stuff like this … Continue reading

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New Book: “Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law”

Remember the feminist analysis of marriage? I bet your students don’t! They have grown up believing that the only problem with marriage is that same-sex couples are denied it and that the only family law problem facing gay men and … Continue reading

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“Bad Questions” by Calpernia Addams

Here. Via the F-Word Blog.

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Leveraging gay themes in ads.

Blech. This.

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Unenthusiastic in Pennsylvania

With the race for the Democratic nomination for President still so tight, I now regularly hear news reports that Pennsylvania’s primary might actually count for something this year. Our primary is scheduled for April 22nd, and, until recently, most people … Continue reading

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Oral Argument Set for California Same-Sex Marriage Case

I received a notification today that the California Supreme Court has set In re Marriage Cases (Case No. S14799) for oral argument. The argument will be held on Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at 9 a.m. in San Francisco—maybe we’ll be … Continue reading

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“Attorney General Reverses Curbs On Gay Group at Justice Department”

From the WaPo: Five years after a gay advocacy group was told that it could no longer use the e-mail, bulletin boards and meeting rooms at the Justice Department, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey has reversed that decision and issued … Continue reading

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Tainted Blood

I came across an interesting story in the San Jose Mercury News yesterday about how the President of San Jose State University has suspended all blood drives on campus because the FDA’s lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men … Continue reading

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Rosenblum on Puerto Rico’s Proposed Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban

This week, El Nuevo Dia, the main paper in Puerto Rico, published a letter to the editor by FeministLawProf Darren Rosenblum (Pace).   His Spanish-language letter argues against the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage under consideration by the Puerto Rican … Continue reading

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European Court of Human Rights on Lesbian’s Right to Adopt

The European Court of Human Rights recently issued this Grand Chamber Judgment in the case of E.B. v. France, finding that France discriminated against a lesbian woman in denying her petition to adopt a child. Specifically the Court found that … Continue reading

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“The Gay Utopia: A Symposium on Sex and the Future”

Here.

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News in Brief: Same Melody, Different Words

This is really a variation on the theme of yesterday’s post. For some months now the House of Lords in the UK has been debating legislation that revamps British law about assisted reproductive technology (ART). (Indeed, it was in the … Continue reading

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News in Brief–European High Court on Lesbian Adoption

This week the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the regional authorities in France acted improperly when they refused to allow a single lesbian to adopt a child. (That first link is to the actual opinion of the court, … Continue reading

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Why Mandatory Individual Income Tax Returns Are Preferable to the Current Joint Filing System

I buy into the usual reasons why mandatory individual filing is preferable to the current system that bestows benefits on only certain kinds of families: (i) “fairness” in the sense of treating equals equally, both in terms of different family … Continue reading

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Civil Unions in Uruguay

From the AFP: Uruguay on Thursday became the first Latin American country to recognize gay civil unions, after President Tabare Vazquez signed a law granting certain legal rights to cohabiting couples of any gender. The new law guarantees heterosexual or … Continue reading

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Infanti on “Everyday Law for Gays and Lesbians”

Feminist Law Prof Anthony C. Infanti’s new book, Everyday Law For Gays and Lesbians has been published by Paradigm Publishers.   Here’s  Paradigm’s summary: Everyday Law for Gays and Lesbians and Those Who Care about Them accessibly explains the myriad … Continue reading

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Three Book Reviews You Should Check Out

Marilee Reimer, ed., Inside Corporate U: Women in the Academy Speak Out. Reviewed by Valerie Raoul. Emily Pohl-Weary, ed. Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers and Freaks. Reviewed by Manuela Valle. Margaret A. Simons, ed. Simone de Beauvoir: Philosophical … Continue reading

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“At the end of the day, you can not be in a city-owned facility being subsidized by the taxpayers and not have language in your lease that talks about nondiscrimination.”

So said Philadelphia City Councilman Darrell L. Clarke, as quoted in this NYT article about the Boy Scouts, who have lost a valuable rent free lease because the organization refuses to change its discriminatory policy toward gay people. Hard to … Continue reading

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Kudos to Cory Booker

Not all of his constituents were pleased when Newark Mayor Cory Booker permitted the rainbow flag to fly above City Hall in June, 2007 in recognition of Gay Pride Month.    Responding to  criticism,  Booker said: There’s a lot of … Continue reading

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Today, Lambda Legal is proud to annouce the launch of “Of Counsel On Campus”

From the FLP mailbox: Of Counsel On Campus is a bimonthly eNewsletter offering special insight for the busy law student who cares about equality. Of Cousel On Campus is an off-shoot of our eNewsletter Of Counsel, directed towards lawyers and … Continue reading

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Hammer v. University of Michigan’s School of Law

This blog asserts: In Hammer v. University of Michigan, Peter Hammer charges the University of Michigan Law School with anti-gay discrimination. Professor Hammer is the first openly gay professor to be considered for tenure at the University of Michigan Law … Continue reading

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Some People Are ___. ___ People Are Not Tokens.

The UK group Stonewall developed the simple and powerful ad at left  for their “Education for All” campaign that addresses homophobia and  bullying in secondary schools.   (Stonewall makes the poster available for download here.)   Stonewall has undertaken an … Continue reading

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“How many lesbians does it take to sell a t-shirt?”

Joanna Whitehead published an essay with this title at the f-word. Below is an excerpt: … Femme-tastic girl-on-girl action is a staple of made-for-men porn, graces the covers of most of the ‘lads’ weeklies and is frequently practiced by adolescent … Continue reading

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