Gay Marriage

Sen. Lisa Murkowski Endorses Marriage Equality

Submitted by ONE Community on June 19, 2013 - 5:41pm

Republican senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has endorsed same-sex marriage, according to an op-ed posted to her Senate website Wednesday.

In the article, Murkowski recounts how an Alaskan same-sex couple, a military family with four adopted children, factored into her decision to come out in support of the cause. Witnessing the sacrifices of this couple and learning of the numerous ways the lack of legal recognition of their union could tear the family apart, Murkowski concluded, “This first-class Alaskan family still lives a second-class existence.” Read more »

ONE Community

Gay Marriage Support High In Developed Nations, Poll Finds

Submitted by ONE Community on June 19, 2013 - 7:03am

* Sweden, Norway, Spain most in favor of gay union

* Opposition highest in Japan, Hungary

By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) - Most adults in developed countries favor gay marriage or some type of legal recognition for same-sex couples and think they should be able to adopt children, according to an international poll released on Tuesday.

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to rule on gay marriage this month and France's recent decision to legalize same-sex unions, an Ipsos poll for Reuters showed that 52 percent of people in 16 nations favor full marriage equality for gays and 21 percent support legal recognition but not marriage. Read more »

ONE Community

ENDA Gains Steam Among Democrats

Submitted by ONE Community on June 19, 2013 - 7:01am

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) threw his support behind the Employment Non-Discrimination Act on Tuesday, giving the bill 52 cosponsors. Only four Democrats have not signed on.

The news was confirmed to The Huffington Post by the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who has introduced the bill in the Senate. Rockefeller's office did not immediately return a request for comment. Read more »

ONE Community

A Faith Voice Weighing in on Marriage Equality

Submitted by ONE Community on June 19, 2013 - 6:57am

In a matter of hours or days, the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down pivotal decisions that address our country's most basic concepts of equality -- the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry and the right of already married gay and lesbian couples to receive the full range of federal benefits afforded to heterosexual married couples. During the coming robust public discussion about these legal decisions one thing is certain: The conservative Christian voices will be omnipresent in the media, perpetuating a false, one-size-fits-all impression of the faith perspective on LGBT issues. Read more »

ONE Community

Act Now to Help Prevent LGBT Older Adults From Aging Back Into the Closet

Submitted by ONE Community on June 19, 2013 - 6:51am

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults are pioneers who bravely pushed open the doors to coming out. It is unconscionable that many of these leaders of social justice are forced to retreat into the closet as they age. The troubling reality is that the U.S. lacks a complete understanding of the LGBT senior community and is particularly unprepared for the needs of LGBT older adults at the intersection of multiple disadvantaged populations, such as LGBT seniors who are people of color, disabled, living with HIV/AIDS, undocumented immigrants or socioeconomically marginalized. Read more »

ONE Community

Tom Carper Signs On As 51st ENDA Cosponsor

Submitted by ONE Community on June 17, 2013 - 11:56am

WASHINGTON -- The Employment Non-Discrimination Act now has majority support in the Senate.

On Monday, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) signed on as the bill's 51st cosponsor. The legislation would outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

"Senator Carper believes it is important for federal law to explicitly prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation -- in the same way that current law addresses race, sex or religion -- in order to ensure that all Americans are protected equally under the law," said Carper spokesman Ian Sams. Read more »

ONE Community

Over 135 LGBT Groups Take the Full Equality Pledge Demanding a National One-Bill Strategy

Submitted by ONE Community on June 17, 2013 - 11:51am

Over 135 LGBT organizations from 35 states have joined in taking the Pledge for Full LGBT Equality calling upon the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus to file a national bill for full LGBT equality immediately, and to fight for its passage by 2014, the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The idea is simple: to combine all our separate legislative initiatives and community groups into one mass appeal for justice, big enough to manifest our dream of full equality in America and proud enough to reclaim our dignity. Read more »

ONE Community

Supreme Court Rulings Loom On Affirmative Action, Gay Marriage, Voting Rights

Submitted by ONE Community on June 17, 2013 - 11:38am

UPDATE: June 17 -- The Supreme Court did not issue any major decisions on Monday morning. The justices are scheduled to hand down more rulings on Thursday.

Previously: With approximately two weeks remaining in its current term, the Supreme Court is set to hand down several high-stakes rulings in coming days.

The high court is first expected to rule in Fisher v. University of Texas, the case challenging the college's use of race in its admissions criteria. The court heard oral arguments in the case last October, during which several justices sharply questionedaffirmative action's constitutionality. Read more »

ONE Community

Citizens Initiative For Equal Marriage Amendment Filed!

Submitted by ONE Community on June 17, 2013 - 11:07am

A Phoenix businessman and a Tucson attorney have filed with the Arizona Secretary of State's office today as an initiative to place an "equal marriage" constitutional amendment before Arizona voters.

Warren Meyer, a business owner, libertarian blogger and author, and Erin Ogletree Simpson, a retired Tucson lawyer and chair of the Arizona Log Cabin Republicans caucus, will chair and co-chair Equal Marriage Arizona, the newly formed campaign committee that filed the citizens initiative today.

The language of the proposed initiatives strikes the words "a man and a woman" from Article XXX, Section 1 of Arizona's Constitution and inters the words "two persons". Read more »

LGBT Americans Feel Growing Acceptance, Lingering Discrimination, Survey Finds

Submitted by ONE Community on June 14, 2013 - 12:09pm

The vast majority of LGBT Americans feel that society has become more accepting of them in the last decade, yet many still feel stigmatized, according to a survey released Thursday from the non-partisan Pew Research Center.

In the survey, conducted online among 1,197 self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults, 92 percent of respondents said they feel society has become more accepting in the past decade, and the same percent said society will be more accepting in another 10 years. Read more »

ONE Community