LGBT in Politics

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 »

Supreme Court Does Not Announce Rulings On Affirmative Action, Voting Rights, Gay Marriage

Submitted by ONE Community on June 14, 2013 - 9:13am

The Supreme Court did not announce decisions Thursday in hotly anticipated cases on affirmative action, the Voting Rights Act and gay marriage.

The court is first expected to make a decision on Fisher v. University of Texas, challenging the university's affirmative action policy in college admissions. The justices then will likely rule on the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act along with decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.

The court did rule Thursday that companies cannot patent human genes in a unanimous opinion, a decision that could have vast implications for medical science and the pharmaceutical industry. Read more »

ONE Community

Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry expands, invests in ads

Submitted by ONE Community on June 13, 2013 - 1:58pm

NEW YORK -- Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry announced today the addition of dozens of new leaders and a video campaign targeting conservative leaders in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The expansion follows a report released last week by the College Republican National Committee stating that more than a quarter (26%) of respondents would not vote for a candidate who opposes marriage for same-gender couples, even if they were in agreement on numerous other issues. Read more »

Same Sex Adoptions

Submitted by Amy Smith on June 13, 2013 - 9:50am

According to a 2012 Gallup poll, 3.4% of Americans identify themselves as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. By all standards that is significant portion of the population. While those within this population deserve equal rights, it is not yet a reality in the United States. When it comes to co-parenting, for example through adoption, one partner is often left with little legal protection in the event his or her rights as a parent is challenged. Read more »

The Frutkin Law Firm, PLC

Waiting for the Supremes: There Is 'More Than Marriage' on the Equality Agenda

Submitted by ONE Community on June 13, 2013 - 9:36am

While we await, hunkered down and hardly breathing, the Supreme Court marriage decisions later this month, let's not forget there is more to freedom and equality than the right to marry and receive federal relationship recognition. There remain all the civil liberty and economic empowerment issues that attach to being an American citizen, whether one is gay, trans, or queer in the broadest sense, and whether or not one is in a relationship, for better or for worse. Read more »

ONE Community

Study: Poverty Rate Elevated for LGBT Community

Submitted by ONE Community on June 6, 2013 - 10:50pm

The nation's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community has a lot to celebrate during June's "Pride Month," like the growing number of state governments that have made same-sex marriage legal, along with a majority of the American public favoring gay marriage. But despite all of the progress, a new study shows that poverty is a continuing challenge for the nation's LGBT community, and that women face the greatest challenge.

The analysis of data from four different datasets finds that lesbian couples have a 7.6 percent poverty rate, higher than the 5.7 percent rate for married heterosexual couples and the 4.3 percent for coupled gay men. Read more »

ONE Community

Presidential Proclamation -- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, 2013

Submitted by ONE Community on June 3, 2013 - 12:07pm

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

For more than two centuries, our Nation has struggled to transform the ideals of liberty and equality from founding promise into lasting reality. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans and their allies have been hard at work on the next great chapter of that history -- from the patrons of The Stonewall Inn who sparked a movement to service members who can finally be honest about who they love to brave young people who come out and speak out every day. Read more »

7 Ways the U.S.A. Benefits From the Legalization of Gay Marriage

Submitted by ONE Community on June 2, 2013 - 4:39pm

The legalization of same-sex marriage benefits both LGBT people and America as a nation. As two major Supreme Court decisions about same-sex marriage (Proposition 8 and DOMA) loom on the horizon, it's an opportune time to refocus attention on the many advantages associated with the pursuit and achievement of marriage equaility.

There are at least seven ways in which the legalization of gay marriage is beneficial for LGBT Americans and the United States of America.

1. Promotes Equality and Non-Discrimination in Society Read more »

ONE Community

Gay Marriage Map Shifts Ahead Of Supreme Court Ruling (INFOGRAPHIC)

Submitted by ONE Community on May 30, 2013 - 11:04am

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, all eyes are on Justice Anthony Kennedy, the likely swing vote in the gay marriage cases.

Kennedy described the issue of gay marriage as "uncharted waters" when the court first heard arguments in March. He expressed support for gay rights as he has in the past but questioned the timing of a decision because "we have five years of information to weigh against 2,000 years of history or more." He also acknowledged that Proposition 8 causes the children of gay parents"immediate legal injury." Read more »

ONE Community

Gay Marriage In The U.S.: What's Next In The Fight?

Submitted by ONE Community on May 22, 2013 - 10:04am

Momentum in the states to allow gay marriage may be about to stall.

Recent victories have given same-sex marriage advocates hope that the tide has turned in their long-running fight for marriage equality, given the number of states approving same-sex marriage has doubled since Election Day 2012.

But 36 states still ban such unions, and there’s little sign of change in those states anytime soon. Read more »