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Thursday, May 26, 2011

EQUALITY - WHAT MATTERS: The latest in the LGBT rights movement

BREAKING VIA AP: TRANSGENDE​R WIDOW'S MARRIAGE TO BE VOIDED - “A judge was expected to void the marriage between a transgender widow and her firefighter husband who died battling a blaze and will rule in favor of the man's mother who argued that the marriage wasn't valid, an attorney in the case said Tuesday based on a draft of the decision. The suit was brought by the mother of firefighter Thomas Araguz III and argued that his widow, Nikki Araguz, should not receive any death benefits. The lawsuit claimed their marriage wasn't legal because Nikki Araguz was born a man and Texas does not recognize same-sex marriage.” http://bit.ly/jaHNwE 
JUST POSTED: FOX NEWS, TONY PERKINS MOCK GENDER DIVERSITY (via Equality Matters) – http://bit.ly/iZs649
COURAGE CAMPAIGN’S RICK JACOBS SPEAKS OUT AGAINST FOX - http://ow.ly/53Ti4
FOR MORE ON THE DROP FOX CAMPAIGN VISIT - http://DropFox.com/ 
HITTING TODAY: HRC ENDORSES OBAMA FOR RE-ELECThttp://bit.ly/l2CBMj
EQUALITY MATTERS INVESTIGATES: RIGHT-WING GROUP FUELS HOMOPHOBIA AT THE UN (via Kerry Eleveld) – “The leader of a right-wing organization, who made a name for herself by pushing abstinence-only based programs in Africa and has ties to the virulently antigay Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa, is stepping up efforts to promote homophobic messages among delegates at the United Nations.

The Arizona-based Family Watch International (FWI) hosted ‘26 UN delegates from 23 different countries’ at a policy forum in January that provided ‘expert presentations’ and policy briefings about ‘how to better protect and promote the family and family values at the UN,’ according to an FWI newsletter written by the organization’s president, Sharon Slater. […]

According to invitations distributed to attendees and obtained by Equality Matters the two-day session included briefings by lawyers on family policy issues dealt with by the UN’s Third Committee ­­­– the social, humanitarian, and cultural affairs committee – and those addressed by subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), including the Commissions on the Status of Women, Sustainable Development, and Population and Development.” http://bit.ly/jS7kye

DISCUSSED ON THE PODCAST – Kerry Eleveld offers her perspective on the multi-week investigation. The weekly Equality Matters podcast is available for free download on iTunes: http://bit.ly/g1nqr2

FOR THE LATEST FOLLOW EQUALITY MATTERS ON FACEBOOK/TWITTER: facebook.com/EqualityMatters and @EQMatters

TRACKING TENNESSEE: AMERICABLOG DISCOVERS CORPORATIONS BACKED ANTI-GAY BILL

–John Avavosis on Friday night: “The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce -- chaired by Nissan, and whose other board members include such companies as Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare -- actively lobbied for a religious right bill in the Tennessee legislature that would rescind Nashville's civil rights protections for its gay and trans citizens, and which bans every city in Tennessee from passing any civil rights laws, for anyone, ever again.” http://bit.ly/lDErDY
--Joe Sudbay yesterday on the Family Research Council praising the new law: “Joe.My.God posted the statement from the leader of the hate group, Family Research Council on Tennessee. The corporations who serve on the Board of the Tennessee Chamaber of Commerce have a new best friend: Tony Perkins. He's quite pleased that all those corporations did his dirty work. We all knew HB 600 was really an anti-gay bill.” http://bit.ly/jNCudC

--Amanda Terkel from The Huffington Post: “One of the groups that lobbied in favor of the bill was the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. ‘Our position is now, and has historically been, that employment standards from the government should be consistent across the state and not create an additional burden on companies that are endeavoring to be competitive and provide jobs to all Tennesseans based on their individual qualifications and merit,’ the Chamber explained in a statement. The business lobby did not return a request for comment Monday.  On the Chamber's board are representatives from a handful of major national corporations, including Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa and United HealthCare. Many of those companies have strong diversity policies, including protections and benefits for gays and lesbians.” http://huff.to/lPIHgv
WHAT NEW YORK’S 26TH DISTRICT WIN MEANS FOR LGBT AMERICANS (via Metro Weekly) – “A new supporter for marriage equality and proponent of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has won election to the U.S. Congress with tonight's upset victory that has been called for Democrat Kathy Hochul against Republican Jane Corwin in New York's 26th District. With 91 percent of precincts reporting, Hochul was winning the race 48 percent to 42 percent, with Tea Party candidate Jack Davis garnering 9 percent of the vote.” http://bit.ly/iwSwY8

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE STATES - The state of equality weekly round-up by Equality Matters: http://bit.ly/knCrlk
NY GOVERNOR SPEAKS OUT FOR MARRIAGE (via Richard Socarides) – “Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, now in the middle of a heated battle to get a marriage equality bill through the New York State legislature before it next adjourns on June 20, has this morning released a compelling argument for doing so in one of his now trademark video messages to New Yorkers.” http://bit.ly/imogZ2

NBA’S STEVE NASH ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR MARRIAGE (via HRC) – “NBA legend Steve Nash has partnered with the Human Rights Campaign in a new video for the group’s New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign.  In the video, Nash talks about the growing number of professional athletes who are speaking out in support of marriage equality, saying, ’I’m proud to be one of them.’  The video can be viewed at www.hrc.org/NY4marriage.”

FAR-RIGHT RAMPS UP MEDIA IN MINNESOTA (via Equality Matters) – “The Minnesota House voted this weekend to approve a bill that would put a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage on the ballot in 2012. The vote was hailed as a major victory by a number of anti-gay groups, and for good reason.  Last week, we noted that any public vote on marriage equality in Minnesota would likely be accompanied by a massive wave of anti-gay misinformation and propaganda.. It appears that prediction was spot on.” http://bit.ly/mHvD11

THE WHITE HOUSE ON MINNESOTA (via Wash Blade) - “The President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples or to take such rights away. While he believes this is an issue best addressed by the states, he also believes that committed gay couples should have the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country.” http://bit.ly/igKXYs

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: “WE’VE PROBABLY LOST” MARRIAGE FIGHT (via Equality Matters) – “During a recent interview with World Magazine, Focus on the Family (FoF) president Jim Daly confessed that anti-gay conservatives have “probably lost” the fight to stop same-sex marriage from becoming legal in America.” http://bit.ly/mxOaNY

NOM’S OUTRAGE OVER ABC’S “WHAT WOULD YOU DO” (via Equality Matters) – “ABC recently aired an episode of its popular television show Primetime: What Would You Do? (WWYD), in which hidden cameras record the reactions of  average Americans to various staged scenarios that often touch on everyday ethical dilemmas. During the episode, cameras documented how a number of diners at a café in Texas reacted to a situation in which a waitress was harassing a same-sex couple and the couple’s adopted children.” http://bit.ly/l4sUmx

JUST POSTED:  IS IT OK FOR “LGBT FRIENDLY” COMPANIES TO SUPPORT FOX? (via The New Gay’s Topher Burns) – “Orbitz seems pretty pissed about the whole thing, and I understand their feelings of betrayal, but DropFox has got them on this one. Orbitz has profited from reaching out directly to LGBT consumers, and what they’re feeling now is the backlash on a miscalculation. Just because Orbitz puts a gay guy in one of their adsdoesn’t mean that they’re actually helping the gay community.” http://bit.ly/jXC9MP

FOX NEWS CHAIRMAN AFRAID OF “THOSE GAYS” (via Equality Matters) – “Fox News chairman Roger Ailes lived in fear of being attacked by gay rights activists and took even precautions to protect himself from in case of such an event, according to a new piece written by Rolling Stone’s Tim Dickinson.” http://bit.ly/k0CJht

FOCUSING ON FAITH: HRC HOLDS CLERGY CALL 2011 (via HRC) - “Religious leaders from across the country that run the gamut of faith traditions are speaking out on why, as a matter of faith, equality for all citizens is vital to our communities and our country,” said Dr. Sharon Groves, director of the HRC Foundation Religion and Faith Program. http://bit.ly/mDP7QZ

WATCHING THE GOP IOWA CAUCUSES ON LGBT EQUALITY (via Equality Matters) – “The 2012 GOP presidential caucuses in Iowa will soon highlight the growing divide between anti-gay social conservatives and the majority of Americans that now support same-sex marriage. Traditionally thought of as an important predictor of which Republican candidate will win the party primary, the Iowa Republican caucuses have become dominated by right-wing and anti-gay social conservatives in recent years.” http://bit.ly/jBedDE

BULL’S JOAKIM NOAH SAYS FINE IS FAIR (via The Advocate) – “Noah was fined $50,000 for shouting the slur at a heckling spectator during a game over the weekend. Last month Los Angeles Lakers captain Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for using an antigay slur directed at a referee. Noah was asked at a press conference Tuesday about the difference between his fine and Bryant's fine, handed down by NBA commissioner David Stern shortly after the altercation made headlines.” http://bit.ly/m28VGc

THE WASHINGTON BLADE: CHAZ’S CHANGES – “Forget about gender identity, how he felt looking in the mirror all those years, navigating the thorny overlap of sexual orientation, the surgery and all that for a minute — for Chaz Bono, the sheer physiological aspects of being a woman wreaked decades of pain on him.” http://bit.ly/kn0nVN

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