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News Briefs
Continued from page 3
One in five respondents reported housing discrimination, periods of homelessness and health care discrimination because of their gender identity, while over 40 percent reported attempting suicide.
"Reading these results is heartbreaking on a personal level each of these facts and figures represents pain and hardship endured by real people, every single day," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "This survey is a call to the conscience of every American who believes that everyone has the right to a fair chance to work hard, to have a roof overhead, and to support a family."
Bills would void partner wills, powers
Salt Lake City-Two bills were introduced on February 2 that could, together, invalidate medical directives, wills, healthcare powers of attorney and other legal documents drawn up by same-sex couples.
The first bill introduced by Rep. LaVar Christensen focuses on the state definition of marriage as being between a man and woman, echoing Mormon documents and specifically referring to "the Laws of Nature and Nature's God."
Equality Ohio
Continued from page 1
need for economic development in the state, and argue that employment non-discrimination measures are strong recruiting tools for employers.
"The jobs of the 21st century are going to be jobs that require creativity," McGregor told the Dayton Daily News.
"If we're trying to really attract companies that are on the edge of technology and everything else, they're going to be progressive," Antonio noted. "The majority of them are trying to attract the best and the brightest. They want their employees to be in an inclusive atmosphere."
Veterans
Continued from page 1 Veterans owe the government?
In other situations, the military is charging discharged veterans for training and education, claiming that the troops broke their promises to serve their country, even though they were involuntarily removed from service.
Lt. Dan Choi, who has been the face of the movement to repeal DADT, is one such veteran. Anthony Woods, who, like Choi, graduated from West Point, not only had the Pentagon refuse to pay for his accrued leave when he was serving in Iraq, but after discharging him, they sent Woods a bill for $33,000.
That's the same amount the military is trying to get from Mara Boyd, who was ejected from the Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University of Colorado four years ago for being lesbian.
The Pentagon not only is demanding that J.D. Knight pay back his signing bonus from over a decade ago, they had the IRS divert his entire federal tax refund, nearly $2,000, towards the debt they claim he
owes.
The four gay and lesbian members of the
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The second bill contains one sentence. "This bill declares an arrangement, agreement or transaction that is unlawful or violates public policy is void and unenforceable."
Gay civil rights advocates warn that, if you define same-sex couples as being against the state's public policy in the first bill, then agreements among them would be negated by the second bill.
The second bill was scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee at 4 pm on February 9.
Illinois governor signs civil union law
Springfield, Ill.-Civil unions will start on June 1, following the governor's January 29 signing of the bill authorizing them.
The bill passed the state legislature in December, and the governor had already indicated he would sign it into law.
Work is ongoing regarding the logistics, the minor details in which the devil of bureaucracy lives. For instance, 47 counties ask the state to provide paperwork, while the 55 other counties, mostly larger, create applications themselves, in compliance with state record-keeping regulations.
Fees have also not yet been set; counties have certain leeway in setting them. The state has not decided whether to require all counties to submit their forms electronically, either.
Mullen said that EHEA is still at the top of his organization's list.
"EHEA remains the number one legislative priority, and we anticipate that we will give a lot of support to the legislators that are trying to get that bill passed," he said. "We certainly understand the challenges given the makeup of the current legislature, but we've already started meeting with lawmakers."
Mullen is Equality Ohio's third executive director. Lynne Bowman ran the organization from its founding in 2005 until 2009, and former Cleveland LGBT Center director Doerfer took over in January 2010.
House of Representatives have all signed a letter from the office of Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin calling for the Pentagon to reinstate full separation pay, although it does not discuss the demands for repayment of education expenses.
"All the men and women who wear the uniform of this country deserve not only our deepest respect, but also our unwavering support regardless of whether they are straight or gay," said Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado. "As we fully implement the repeal of DADT, we must take action to ensure fair treatment for the many soldiers who, despite bravely serving our country, were discharged under this policy. They have earned it."
The repeal, which passed in December, will take effect after the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that all branches of the military have been properly trained to handle openly gay and lesbian troops serving, and all the rules to enable this are in place without adversely affecting military readiness and effectiveness.
Training has already begun. The Navy has ordered that its training be completed by June 30.
•
February 11, 2011
The law opens civil unions to both samesex and opposite-sex couples.
Five other states have civil union or domestic partner laws granting all of the state rights of marriage except the word itself: Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Nevada and California, which had full marriage in 2008 until voters banned it.
Domestic partner laws in Wisconsin, Hawaii, Maine and Colorado include some, but not all, of the marriage rights. Maryland marriage bill gets hearing
Annapolis, Md.-The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee heard testimony on a same-sex marriage bill on February 8, and the committee was expected to pass it on February 11.
The full senate has 47 members, and 20 have signaled firm support of the bill. Six more, all Democrats, have not said where they stand on it. The bill would need 24 votes to pass the chamber.
Supporters believe there are enough votes to pass it through the House of Delegates if it succeeds in the senate. Gov. Martin O'Malley has already said he will sign a marriage bill if it reaches his desk. But petitioners would likely force a referendum on the measure.
The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage spent the week leading up to the hearings doing a telephone campaign using a "push poll" where phrasing is designed to get a specific result or promote their view, rather than collect data.
A committee of Rhode Island lawmakers was set to hear a similar full-marriage bill on February 9.
Presently five states have full marriage: Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as the District of Columbia. A Republican lawmaker introduced a bill last week to repeal New Hampshire's year-old marriage law.
lowa Senate leader will block ban
Des Moines, Iowa-Less than a month before the Iowa House of Representatives passed a marriage ban amendment, the head of the Senate vowed to block it in his chamber.
"I don't think it's appropriate to put your rights to a vote of the popular will of the people," said Sen. Michael Gronstal, the senate majority leader, in an interview with the Des Moines Register editorial board. "I believes that's what the constitution is there for, to protect everybody's rights and to avoid the tyranny of the majority."
The bill passed the House on February 1, and the editorial board interviewed Gronstal on January 7.
"We did not put it to a vote of the people when Iowa took out . . . the prohibition on interracial marriage. We did not put the right of different-race couples to a vote of the people," he noted. "We didn't put to a vote of the people whether or not women should be admitted to the bar. We didn't put to a vote of the people whether Ralph should
Let
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
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be put back into slavery in the first decision of the Iowa Supreme Court."
"I'm not going to put to a vote of the people anybody's constitutional rights. Because if I can do that to gay people, I can do it to Catholics, I can do it to Methodists, I can do it to Baptists, I can do it to blacks, I can do it to Hispanics," he concluded. "If I can put to a vote of the people, people's constitutional rights, then... old white guys like us might be popular today and our rights will be fine but someday the baby boom will be gone and there won't be enough old white guys left to protect us from the tyranny of the majority."
Hawaii civil unions may pass this year
Honolulu-The state senate passed a civil union bill on January 28, and it is expected to have an easy time in the House of Representatives.
A similar measure passed last year, only to ultimately be vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle. Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, defeated his Republican opponent in the election, and he supports civil unions, so is expected to sign the bill when it makes it to his desk.
The senate passed it by a 3-1 margin, and it was the first bill passed by the senate in the current legislative session. Controlling Democrats said that they want to bring the debate over civil unions, which has gone on for years, to a close.
The state supreme court was about to rule in favor of same-sex marriage in 1998 when voters approved a constitutional amendment saying that legislators limit it to opposite-sex couples. But the wording of the amendment, one of the nation's first, allows lawmakers to approve same-sex marriage if they so choose.
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