All Articles Tagged "gay rights"
Michael Irvin Comes out for Gay Marriage
(ESPN) — Former Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin appears shirtless on the cover of this month’s gay men’s magazine Out and discusses his passion for equality issues. Irvin publicly acknowledges that the impetus for taking a stand comes from his relationship with his gay brother, Vaughn, who died of stomach cancer at age 49 in 2006. Irvin had not spoken publicly about his brother previously, according to the magazine. In the article, Irvin describes how his brother’s sexual orientation contributed to his own issues. He says that he found out his brother was gay in the late 1970s, when he found Vaughn wearing women’s clothing. Michael Irvin was rattled by the experience and has figured out since that it contributed to his own womanizing behavior. Working with a Dallas area bishop, T.D. Jakes, Irvin looked at the past.
City Setting Sunday Hours to Grant Gay Unions
(New York Times) — New York City, whose top elected officials strongly supported the legalization of same-sex marriage, will take the unusual step of opening city offices on a Sunday, July 24, so gay couples can marry on the day the law takes effect. The city clerk’s offices in all five boroughs will open that day, and judges will be on hand to officiate at the weddings after couples receive marriage licenses. The decision by city officials to expedite same-sex weddings comes as city and town clerks across the state are grappling with the fact that the law goes into effect on a day when municipal offices are usually closed. Officials in some cities and towns say they are expecting a surge in marriage applications from same-sex couples.
D.C. Advocates, Police Agree More Reporting Needed on Bias-Related Incidents
(Washington Post) — Quincy Jones already knew he was gay, so when a group of street preachers hurled epithets at him one night last month outside the Columbia Heights Metro, he says, he shrugged it off. Then, Jones says, it got uglier: “I’ll kill you where you stand,” one of the preachers shouted into a microphone. Shaken, Jones called 911 from a nearby sandwich shop. But the officer who responded was unimpressed when asked to take an incident report, according to Jones, 32. “He was like, ‘For what? For calling you a name?’ ” Long-standing D.C. police policy requires officers to file reports on bias-related incidents, which can include name-calling and the posting of offensive fliers. But the number of reports they have taken has come under scrutiny. Through the first six months of this year, for example, only six incident reports have been filed.
Is Gay Marriage for White People?
(AlterNet) — “Do you, ? take ? to be your lawful wedded spouse?” “I do” times two, is the standard question and answer at wedding ceremonies where two people verbally commit to each other. It is a refrain likely to be repeated by thousands of same-sex couples across the state anytime after Jul 24 when the new same-sex marriage law takes effect following its passage and signature into law by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. New York became the sixth state, along with Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Iowa, and the District of Columbia. In a New York One television interview following Sunday’s Heritage of Pride parade, the governor, said, “I think you would see this message resonate across the country now.” As a trend setter for the nation, it is expected that other states, dithering about minor issues, mostly religious in nature, would capitulate, thereby legalizing same-sex marriage and rendering any talk of a Constitutional Amendment to protect the institution of marriage moot.
Gay Marriage Vote Alters Battle Lines
(Wall Street Journal) — New York’s decision to permit same-sex marriages sets the stage for battles in half a dozen other states and could propel gay rights as a political wedge issue in the 2012 elections. The new battle lines were already being drawn as states such as Minnesota prepared to take on the same-sex marriage issue in the near future and as the New York law put fresh pressure on President Barack Obama to articulate a clearer position on the topic. Gay-rights advocates, who celebrated Sunday at parades across the country, said New York’s move—a bill permitting same-sex marriage that was championed by Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo and passed by a Republican-led state Senate on Friday—marked a turning point in the nearly 20-year political and legal debate over the definition of marriage. “This is an immense win that brings giant momentum to the movement to end marriage discrimination in the U.S.,” said Evan Wolfson, president of national gay rights group Freedom to Marry.
New York Approves Gay Marriage
(AP) — Champagne corks popped, rainbow flags flapped and crowds embraced and danced in the streets of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village as New York became the sixth and largest state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill shortly before midnight Friday, almost 42 years to the day that the modern-day gay rights movement was born amid violent encounters between police and gay activists at the Stonewall Inn. Hundreds who gathered inside and outside the landmark bar erupted in celebration after the Republican-led state Senate cast the decisive vote.
NY Assembly Passes Bill to Legalize Gay Marriage
(AP) – Supporters of New York’s gay marriage bill who hoped for quick approval were disappointed Wednesday when Republican senators extended their private debate into another day. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has shepherded the bill, issued a “message of necessity” so the contentious measure could be voted on on Wednesday. The governor’s order suspends the three-day waiting period required to allow public review of the bill he submitted a day earlier. Democrats took quick advantage, passing the measure by an 80-63 vote. The vote was aimed at fueling momentum for the Republican-led Senate, but also was too close for comfort for some advocates in the Assembly that has a 95-vote Democratic majority. ”I was discriminated against as a woman, a Jew, and as a lesbian … and it was equally wrong in all instances,” said Assemblywoman Deborah Glick of Manhattan.
Wait, Watch and Worry
(Wall Street Journal) — Chris Buckley checked news feeds more than half a dozen times Tuesday afternoon until he scrolled across the headline he’d been searching for: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had just submitted a bill to legalize gay marriage. ”The first thought was, ‘Finally, at last,” said Mr. Buckley, 51 years old, who lives in Queens but had to go to Connecticut to marry his husband last year after being together for 20 years. The news continued a streak of promising developments for gay marriage advocates: On Monday, four state senators who had voted against a bill in 2009 announced their support, including the first Republican to publicly endorse the legislation. Mr. Cuomo’s announcement of a bill on Tuesday was followed closely by a second Republican announcing his support—putting the legislation one vote away from passage if every supporter holds firm.
Tracy Morgan Headed for Guided Tour With Gay Rights Group
(The Grio) — Last week Tracy Morgan was plagued with headlines of homophobia and anti-gay speech. In a June 3rd stand-up comedy routine in Nashville, TN, the 30 Rock star went on an offensive rant in which he suggested he would kill his son if he were gay that sparked outrage from gay rights groups, celebrities and even his bosses — Tina Fey and Chairman of NBC Entertainment, Bob Greenblatt. Today, Morgan is singing a new tune. The actor has agreed to return to Tennessee withGLAAD to apologize to audience members who were directly offended by his remarks. Morgan will join with GLAAD in protest against the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which outlaws the discussion of homosexuality before the ninth grade in public schools.
Wanda Sykes: Being Gay Is Harder than Being Black
Comedienne Wanda Sykes sat down with Piers Morgan to talk about her career. And as it often does since she came out, the conversation turned to her sexuality.
Wanda told Morgan that it’s harder for her to be gay than it is to be black. She referenced the fact that there are organizations who are spending millions and millions of dollars to prevent her from performing in certain arenas, not because she’s black but because she’s a lesbian.
You can read Sykes’ full quote and vote on this issue over at AOL’s Black Voices. But before you head over there, let us know what you think about this topic.
Is it harder to be homosexual than it is being black. Do you think Gay rights are the new Civil rights?
