This is big news. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the U.S. Government will no longer defend that damnable "Defense of Marriage" Act in court:
"After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.
Consequently, the Department will not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in the Second Circuit. We will, however, remain parties to the cases and continue to represent the interests of the United States throughout the litigation. I have informed Members of Congress of this decision, so Members who wish to defend the statute may pursue that option. The Department will also work closely with the courts to ensure that Congress has a full and fair opportunity to participate in pending litigation.
Furthermore, pursuant to the President's instructions, and upon further notification to Congress, I will instruct Department attorneys to advise courts in other pending DOMA litigation of the President's and my conclusions that a heightened standard should apply, that Section 3 is unconstitutional under that standard and that the Department will cease defense of Section 3."
The cases of Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States will still continue, and their futures are quite uncertain. DOMA is still the law of the land, but clearly the clock is ticking. We may be a long way from seeing it swept into the dustbin of history along with NOM, FRC, and the other hate groups that trade in fear and ignorance of gays. However, this is a significant day, not least because the President of the United States has recognized that championing our issues can be politically advantageous. We may have crossed a threshold so that gay rights issues are a positive for Democrats and an embarrassment for the GOP. It's the Republicans who were put on the offensive today.
Also on this day, Prop 8 opponents asked the California Supreme Court to drop the stay on allowing gays to marry in the Golden State. California Senator Feinstein vowed to introduce a bill to repeal DOMA. Governor Abercrombie signed Hawaii's new civil unions bill, giving many new legal rights to gay couples in the Aloha State. Finally, the Maryland Senate gave initial approval to a marriage equality bill. All that was just today! What's up for tomorrow?!?
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Equality in California
The California Senate also passed a resolution calling on the President to repeal DOMA. The Assembly had previously approved that bill, also.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Elderly Gay Couple's Lives Ruined by California County
This story makes me both angry and scared. An elderly gay couple in Sonoma County, California found their lives destroyed by county officials who would not recognize the validity of their relationship. From the National Center for Lesbian Rights:
"Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.
One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes.
Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.
What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold's lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.
Three months after he was hospitalized, Harold died in the nursing home. Because of the county’s actions, Clay missed the final months he should have had with his partner of 20 years. Compounding this tragedy, Clay has literally nothing left of the home he had shared with Harold or the life he was living up until the day that Harold fell, because he has been unable to recover any of his property. The only memento Clay has is a photo album that Harold painstakingly put together for Clay during the last three months of his life."
They had all the legal documents yet this happened. Marriage equality is the only answer. Clay is now suing.
UPDATE: There appears to be much more to this story. Sonoma County now says this was a case of domestic abuse and Harold asked to be put in a nursing home to escape Clay. Read about it here.
"Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.
One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes.
Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.
What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold's lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.
Three months after he was hospitalized, Harold died in the nursing home. Because of the county’s actions, Clay missed the final months he should have had with his partner of 20 years. Compounding this tragedy, Clay has literally nothing left of the home he had shared with Harold or the life he was living up until the day that Harold fell, because he has been unable to recover any of his property. The only memento Clay has is a photo album that Harold painstakingly put together for Clay during the last three months of his life."
They had all the legal documents yet this happened. Marriage equality is the only answer. Clay is now suing.
UPDATE: There appears to be much more to this story. Sonoma County now says this was a case of domestic abuse and Harold asked to be put in a nursing home to escape Clay. Read about it here.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Queen of Ce-ment Ponds Can't Shut Her Mouth
Lazy Circles New York Bureau Chief Doug alerted me to this clip posted on Perez Hilton. Here is Miss Beverly Hills expressing her deeply held religious beliefs regarding the gays while trying on hoochie-mama dresses:
Wow. Not exactly an intellectual heavyweight. Also, one word of advice: Spanx.
Analysis of the anti-gay marriage votes across the country has found consistently that the two strongest determining factors are age and education. The more education you have, the more likely you are to vote pro-gay and the older you are, the more like you are to vote anti-gay. Thus, opposition to marriage equality is an issue for the old and the stupid. NOM, meet your new spokesmodel!
Wow. Not exactly an intellectual heavyweight. Also, one word of advice: Spanx.
Analysis of the anti-gay marriage votes across the country has found consistently that the two strongest determining factors are age and education. The more education you have, the more likely you are to vote pro-gay and the older you are, the more like you are to vote anti-gay. Thus, opposition to marriage equality is an issue for the old and the stupid. NOM, meet your new spokesmodel!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Hard Working Man
Sorry for the lack of posts this week but I've been super-duper busy both at home and at work. That doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention to the news. It should be no surprise that my top story is a pageant story. It seems that the Queen of Ce-ment Ponds, Miss Beverly Hills herself , one Lauren Ashley, has taken it upon herself to remind us all that God wants us dead. Hey, no probs 'cause she's got like tons and tons of 
The best part was the reaction of the actual City of Beverly Hills. When the City Council heard that their queen said "die fag" (I paraphrase) they issued a statement that said who the fuck is this shitkicker from freaking Pasadena saying she represents us? Or words to that effect. Actually, the statement said Miss Ashley "does not represent Beverly Hills in any capacity." The mayor, Nancy Krasne, said "We are dismayed by any potential association with the city of Beverly Hills, which has a long history of tolerance and respect."
How soon before Lauren is on the NOM hate tour?
BTW, via Joe.My.God, here's a picture of the queen in question sans make-up. Ouch. As Dolly Parton said, there's no such thing as natural beauty.
UPDATE: As usual, Dan Savage cuts to the chase:
UPDATE: That didn't take long. You'd think she would have learned her lesson with Carrie Prejean, but I guess her skull is as thick as the rest of her. Maggie Galligher, Satanic Priestess of NOM said the following:UPDATE: As usual, Dan Savage cuts to the chase:
"I'm not surprised that Miss Beverly Hills, Lauren Ashley, opposes gay marriage -- after all 45 percent of young Californians voted for Prop 8, as did 7 million Californians generally. But I have to say, I am impressed with her courage in coming forward and for speaking up for Carrie. The elected officials of city of Beverly Hills are not demonstrating tolerance or kindness by continuing the avalanche of hatred against supporters of Prop 8."
So, little Miss Beverly Hills endorses putting gays to death in the name of God and it's the other people who are intolerant. Poor little thing is just a victim.
OOPS UPDATE: Somehow I accidently posted the wrong Keith Olbermann clip. I'm leaving it up because it was very moving. Here's the one I meant to post:
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