From CNN:
Super Bowl champ Brendon Ayanbadejo tells Don Lemon Chris Culliver's anti-gay comment will be a learning experience.
AP sources: Pentagon extending benefits for gays
BY LOLITA C. BALDOR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is poised to extend some benefits to the same-sex partners of military members.
The policy change would come about 16 months after the Pentagon repealed its ban on openly gay service.
Officials say Panetta has not made a final decision on which benefits will be included, but the Pentagon is likely to allow same-sex partners to have access to the on-base commissary and other military subsidized stores, as well as health and welfare programs.
Officials say the military is likely to require that some type of document be signed to designate the military member's partner as a legitimate recipient of the benefits.
Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans publicly.
News release from HRC, Human Rights Campaign.
Pentagon Vows to Extend Benefits to Gay Service Members, Families
HRC calls on Panetta to include “every benefit possible under the law”
WASHINGTON – In response to news that the Pentagon would be extending certain benefits to the spouses of gay and lesbian military personnel, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin issued the following statement:
“We welcome the news that benefits will be extended to the same-sex spouses and partners of gay and lesbian service members, and urge Secretary Panetta to make sure every benefit possible under the law is included. This is the logical next step in ensuring all our military families are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
Since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010, HRC has called on the Pentagon to change its policies that currently deny many benefits from gay and lesbian service members and their families. As part of ongoing effort to achieve full equality in the military, HRC has called on Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to issue military IDs to same-sex spouses and extend every possible benefit not specifically barred by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The revisions would ensure same-sex spouses in the military receive the same benefits afforded all other service members.
Some of the regulatory changes Panetta could make with the stroke a pen include:
- Housing – Same-sex spouses and partners in the military are currently ineligible for the economic benefits that come with on-base housing, such as rent-free living quarters.
- Military ID cards – Same-sex spouses and partners are currently ineligible for the identification card that is essential for accessing bases, morale and recreation programs, and a number of other on-base amenities and services.
- Access to Commissaries and Exchanges – Same-sex spouses and partners can’t access the discounted stores where most military families typically save an average of 30 percent on grocery bills.
- Personnel assignments – Military regulations currently do not include same-sex spouses or partners when considering assignments. However, opposite-sex, dual-career military couples may be assigned to the same geographic reason.
- Legal Services – Opposite-sex military service members and their families have access to free legal services on a variety of items, including the drafting of wills and serving as advocate and counsel. Same-sex spouses and partners do not have access to these free legal services.
- Spousal Privilege to Refuse to Testify – The Rules of Evidence in the Manual for Courts-Martial grants opposites-sex spouses the privilege to refuse to testify against one another in criminal cases – a benefit not extended to same-sex spouses or partners.
Such actions have already been taken, for example, by the State Department to extend benefits to the partners and spouses of Foreign Service officers and by OPM to extend sick leave, long-term care insurance, travel and relocation assistance, and other benefits to civilian federal employees.
“The military leadership have dragged their feet long enough,” Griffin added. “Two years after ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was relegated to the dustbin of history, it’s time for our heroes in arms to finally receive the justice they deserve.”
British lawmakers vote in favor of gay marriage
BY SYLVIA HUI, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON -- British lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriages.
The government-proposed bill would enable same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies, provided that the religious institution consents.
In a first House of Commons vote on Tuesday, lawmakers voted 400 to 175 in support of the legislation. More votes are expected.
Gwissues video: Adult film star Arpad Miklos, 45, kills himself in New York apartment
Breaking news from Howard Bragman's Gwissues:
Adult Film Star, Arpad Miklos (Peter Kozma) was found dead in his apartment Monday evening due to an apparent suicide. Writer and friend, Randal Lynch broke the news with host Howard Bragman on his show "Gwissues," a Youtube.com show which airs on "Gwist.tv" network. Arpad was 45 and resided in New York.
Gallery | 'Fela' star speaks at opening of World Erotic Art Museum's Josephine Baker exhibit
The World Erotic Art Museum (WEAM) has brought back its Josephine Baker exhibit, celebrating the musical superstar known as the 20th century's first black sex symbol."
Speaking at the exhibit opening on Monday: Miami-born musical performer Gelan Lambert, star of Fela, which opens March 19 at the Adrienne Arsht Center. DJ Silvio Carvana provided music.
Right, Lambert and South Florida theatrical publicist Charles Cinnamon at WEAM, 1205 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.
Click here for more pictures from the exhibit opening, which celebrates Black History Month. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.
Wyoming lawmakers see movement on gay issues more than 14 years after Matthew Shepard's death
Here's an interesting article about political movement in the state of Wyoming, more than 14 years after the death of gay icon Matthew Shepard of Casper, WY.
Shepard was tortured and murdered while a student at University of Wyoming in Laramie in October 1998. Eleven years later, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law on Oct. 28, 2009.
-- Steve Rothaus
BY BEN NEARY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- To say merely that Wyoming is a conservative state doesn't begin to capture it.
Republicans hold nearly every elected office. Lawmakers squirrel away much of the revenue from the state's mineral wealth in a multi-billion-dollar savings account they can't touch without voters' OK. And gun ownership and hunting are as much a part of a cherished way of life as are ranching and rodeo.
And so, it was remarkable in the legislative session that started in early January when a handful of Republicans supported two measures that might seem more at home in liberal California.
While bills to permit same-sex civil unions and a ban on discrimination against gays made it out of committee, they went down in votes in the full House and Senate. That they even got that far was seen by many as a sign of how the shifting national attitude toward gay rights is affecting views in red states such as Wyoming.
