gay rights

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Ex-Adviser: Obama Not Bold Enough

(Newser) - One of Barack Obama's top advisers during the campaign tells Politico he's "losing patience" with the White House and wants more "bold" leadership from the president on a host of issues including health care and gay rights. “I’m not going to just sit by the curb...

Calif. Bill Honoring Harvey Milk Prompts Backlash

Opponents fear day of 'special significance' will promote gay agenda

(Newser) - A bill saluting California's first openly gay elected official has reignited the debate over gay rights in the state, the New York Times reports. The measure, passed by the state legislature this week, calls for a day of recognition for Harvey Milk, a member of the San Francisco Board of...

Gay Toughs Bash Back
 Gay Toughs Bash Back 

Gay Toughs Bash Back

(Newser) - Many gays are damn mad and they're not going to take it anymore. Now Bash Back!—formed just over a year ago—is boosting gay, transgender and sex worker protest to a freshly provocative level, reports Details. The group, with some 15 chapters nationwide, has forged its reputation with...

How Ted Olson Became a Gay Marriage Crusader

Conservative attorney has long opposed discrimination

(Newser) - Conservative lawyer Ted Olson fought Bush’s side against Gore, loosened government regulations under Reagan, and helped impeach Bill Clinton. So how did the man liberals love to hate end up on their side of the gay marriage fight? Olson, who filed a lawsuit challenging California’s ban on same-sex...

Calif. Gay Rights Group Delays Push for Marriage

(Newser) - One of California's biggest and most influential gay rights groups says it will delay a ballot push to overcome the state's ban on same-sex marriage until 2012, the Los Angeles Times reports. Equality California, which led the failed effort to defeat Prop 8 in November, says there is too little...

Obama's Not Going to Push for Gay Marriage

(Newser) - Barack Obama has done next to nothing for gay and lesbian Americans since coming to power, but liberals keep insisting that he's a closet supporter of same-sex marriage and open military service. That's ridiculous, writes James Kirchick in the Washington Post, who sees no reason to assume Obama will act....

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Will Get Senate Hearing

Senate committee to examine consequences of military's gay policy

(Newser) - The Senate Armed Services Committee will convene a fall hearing to examine the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy governing gay service members, the Albany Times Union reports. Chairman Carl Levin agreed to hold the hearings at the encouragement of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand,...

Prop 8 Foes Back Off 2010 Push
 Prop 8 Foes Back Off 2010 Push 

Prop 8 Foes Back Off 2010 Push

(Newser) - California’s gay community may want to go straight back to the polls to have another run at Proposition 8, but top advocacy groups and donors aren’t on board, the New York Times reports. “The only thing worse than losing in 2008 would be to lose again in...

Senate Votes to Expand Hate Crime Laws to Gays

Five Republicans join in 62-38 vote

(Newser) - The Senate has voted to extend hate crime protections to include those attacked because of their gender or sexual orientation, mirroring a similar measure already passed in the House, the Hill reports. Five Republicans, including Olympia Snowe and Dick Lugar, joined all the Democrats present in supporting the bill. Other...

Meghan McCain: Joe the Plumber 'Is a Dumbass'

(Newser) - Meghan McCain talks to Out.com about her campaign for gay marriage and her role as pseudo-spokeswoman for a new generation of Republicans, and one line is sure to catch a lot of attention: "Joe the Plumber—you can quote me—is a dumbass," she says of the...

India Appeal Likens Gay Sex to Bestiality

Court ruling could recriminalize homosexuality

(Newser) - India’s gay and lesbian community celebrated the Delhi High Court’s decriminalization of homosexual sex last week with lavish parties, but festivities may have been premature, GlobalPost reports. India’s Supreme Court has signaled that it will consider an appeal of the verdict, the climax of an 8-year legal...

Restaurant Boots Gay Men After Kiss
Restaurant Boots Gay Men After Kiss

Restaurant Boots Gay Men After Kiss

Police cite 'right to refuse service'; others blast discrimination

(Newser) - Five gay men were ordered to leave a Texas restaurant after two of them kissed, the El Paso Times reports. One called police to lodge a discrimination complaint—but an officer backed the restaurant guards’ decision because same-sex public kissing was illegal, said one of the men. In fact, a...

Mass. Sues US Over Definition of Marriage

(Newser) - Massachusetts has challenged the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, saying it interferes with a state's right to define and regulate marriage, the Boston Globe reports. “In enacting DOMA,” the lawsuit reads, “Congress...

India Legalizes Gay Sex
 India Legalizes Gay Sex 

India Legalizes Gay Sex

High court's decision hailed as 'India's Stonewall'

(Newser) - An Indian court has struck down a colonial-era law that declared gay sex an "unnatural offense" and made it punishable by up to 10 years in jail, the BBC reports. The court ruled that the 150-year statute violated the rights of citizens by criminalizing consensual acts. India's gay...

Gates Seeks to Make 'Don't Ask' More Humane

Military may not boot gays outed by jilted lovers, blackmailers

(Newser) - The Obama administration is looking for ways to get around the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that forbids gays from serving openly in the military, CNN reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he is investigating ways to make the policy “more humane,” such as not...

Obama Renews Promises to Dismayed Gay Leaders

President vows to repeal DOMA, open military to all

(Newser) - President Obama turned on the charm at a reception yesterday for gay, lesbian, and transgender activists at the White House, where he tried to dispel worries he was dragging his feet on campaign promises. "I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration" by the...

'Gayby Boomers' Slam Critics But Admit Ups and Downs

(Newser) - Experts are still debating the effects of gay parenting on children, but so-called "Gayby Boomers" are now old enough to speak up for themselves. Several in their 20s and 30s tell CNN that they grew up more empathetic than their peers, developed the courage to take unpopular stands,...

Rioter Reflects on Stonewall 40 Years Later

(Newser) - As New York City gears up for the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, one of the original protesters admits he never thought "it would turn out to be much of anything," the AP reports. Raymond Castro, now living with his partner of 30 years, says the crowd...

'Gay Exorcism' at Conn. Church Draws Ire of Rights Groups

Boy, 16, thrashes and vomits in YouTube clip

(Newser) - A Connecticut church is under fire for performing a “gay exorcism,” WPIX-TV reports. A video posted on YouTube (since removed) by Manifested Glory Ministries shows priests commanding “homosexual demons” to leave the body of a 16-year-old boy. During the ritual the boy thrashes around, and even vomits....

Turkish Ref Booted for Being Gay

Fired ref fights back against soccer authorities

(Newser) - A Turkish referee is kicking back against soccer authorities who fired him for being gay, the Independent reports. After the authorities leaked his name to the press, Halil Dincdag "outed" himself on a TV sports show, despite discrimination against gays in Turkey. Dincdag has won the support...

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