Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Trans characters in the first big video games of 2017 Laura Dale, writing at Polygon: The past month of AAA video game releases might be the most interesting I have ever experienced as a trans woman, meaning someone who was designated male at birth but is now living as female. While far from perfect …Thursday, March 3, 2016
The perils of marriage equality Professor Kimberly Mutcherson of Rutgers Law School writes at Concurring Opinions about Professor Katherine Franke’s recent book ‘Wedlocked: the Perils of Marriage Equality’: We do not want to reinforce familial hierarchies by forcing people into …Thursday, November 26, 2015
Israeli Supreme Court Rejects Family Petition To Bury Trans Woman As Their “Son" Peleg, who was 31, had long been concerned about a battle with her ultra-orthodox family after her death. Their beliefs forbid cremation, and she worried they would attempt to have a religious burial under her …Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Missouri Teenagers Protest a Transgender Student’s Use of the Girls’ Bathroom I can’t blame the students for protesting. Kids can be cruel, and kind of dumb. I certainly was. But parents and attorneys like Derrick Good display a shameful vacuity in couching their bigotry in terms like …Monday, June 29, 2015
Philly diner’s SCOTUS-inspired brunch menu following same-sex marriage ruling Oh Philadelphia, how I miss you sometimes. Danya Henninger writes at Billy Penn: Over the weekend, Sam’s Morning Glory Diner ran a pair of specials that sold out faster than any dish in the South Philly restaurant’s …Saturday, June 27, 2015
This week I devote the entire newsletter to the Supreme Court decision declaring bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. I try to provide a variety of viewpoints despite the fact that I agree with the general assertion that the Constitution does not permit bans on the marriage of two consenting …
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
“Super-cuts” from same-sex marriage arguments SCOTUSBlog contributor Tejinder Singh posted 36 minutes of audio highlights from yesterday’s oral argument in Obergefell v. Hodges. The case is one of several on the Court’s docket this term focused on two specific constitutional questions: …Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Tim Cook: Pro-discrimination ‘religious freedom’ laws are dangerous Tim Cook, in an op-ed at the Washington Post: Our message, to people around the country and around the world, is this: Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or …Monday, February 9, 2015
Gay marriage begins in AlabamaJustices Thomas and Scalia were none too pleased that their colleagues refused to continue a stay on same-sex marriages in Alabama pending the Court’s resolution of the issue later this year: Yet rather than treat like applicants alike, the Court looks the other way as …Friday, January 23, 2015
Federal judge strikes down gay-marriage ban in AlabamaI’ll just leave this right here…Wednesday, January 14, 2015
South Dakota same-sex marriage ban fallsI’ve probably used this line before, but I can’t help myself… Another one bites the dust.Friday, December 19, 2014
Treatment of Transgender Employment Discrimination Claims Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 It’s about damn time. According to a DOJ press release: Attorney General Holder announced today that the Department of Justice will take the position in litigation that the protection of Title …Thursday, December 11, 2014
This is another post that began as a mere link post and became, by the time I was done writing it, an article in its own right. When I’m doing more than brief commentary, an article of my own feels more appropriate. There’s more room for opinion in a full article, and I like few things more than …Friday, December 5, 2014
Tim Cook will lend his name to Alabama LGBTQ billApple initially expressed corporate reluctance, but Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell later told Pamela Todd, Alabama’s only openly gay lawmaker, that CEO Tim Cook “would be delighted” to have a bill named after him which would protect LGBTQ Alabama …Thursday, October 9, 2014
Philly will consider adding LGBTQ protections to hate crimes ordinanceRandy Lobasso, writing at Philly Weekly‘s PhillyNow blog: Last week, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced a proposal along with Councilman Jim Kenney to add disability, sexual orientation and gender identity to the …Friday, September 5, 2014
7th Circuit strikes down gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana The legal momentum favors universal application of the fundamental right of two consenting adults to marry, but that doesn’t make each ruling any less exciting.Saturday, February 15, 2014
Sens. Cruz and Lee Introduce State Marriage Defense ActAt this point the anti-Constitutionalists are trolling themselves. A choice bit from this piece of garbage: The bill will ensure the federal government gives the same deference to the 33 states that define marriage as the union between one man …Friday, February 14, 2014
Facebook Opens Up LGBTQ-Friendly Gender Identity And Pronoun OptionsFollowing up on my recent tirade, this made me happy. Facebook has massive amounts of influence, and is influenced by massive amounts of people, and changes like this are a positive step forward in how technology reconciles with …Friday, February 14, 2014
Kansas anti-gay segregation bill is an abomination.Mr. Stern’s headline sums it up very well. If you don’t believe it can really be that bad, read the PDF. It is that bad. Ignorance is one thing, but open hostility like this cannot stand and anyone who supports this bill commits the intellectual …Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Hidden War Against Gay TeensAlex Morris wrote a great piece at Rolling Stone about what can only be called the social abuse being perpetrated at Christian schools. You should know before you read the quote below that “they” refers to the leadership of one of the Christian schools discussed in …Thursday, September 19, 2013
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Berlusconi would not have been tried if gayThis guy is in charge of a country. Crazy.Monday, July 29, 2013
Baton Rouge sheriff trying to enforce unconstitutional anti-sodomy lawsIt’s been ten years since Lawrence v Texas saw anti-sodomy laws declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but I suppose stupidity is eternal. At least the District Attorney is ending the absurdity by refraining from …Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Minnesota governor signs same-sex marriage bill into lawNumber twelve and counting; this looks to be a big year for marriage equality in the United States.Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Delaware becomes eleventh state to approve same-sex marriageAnd the steady march continues, as Delaware joins their ten predecessors in granting gay couples the basic American right to marry.Thursday, May 2, 2013
Rhode Island legalizes same-sex marriageThe inexorable march of time sees a tenth state grant gay and lesbian people the statutory right to marry. Those states who have yet to get on board would do well to hurry: you’re quickly running out of time to look like you were ahead of the curve in the …Monday, April 29, 2013
NBA player Jason Collins comes out as gayI don’t usually cover sports here, but Collins’ coming out is a very important moment in a broader and permanent change in what it means to be and to accept LGBTQ folks. It’s a well-expressed and bold piece, and I applaud him.Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Philadelphia councilman introduces bill aimed at improving health insurance prospects for life partners and transgendered peopleThis is an encouraging development. The bill introduced by Councilmen James Kenney and W. Wilson Goode would establish a: 6 percent tax credit for businesses that did not …Wednesday, January 9, 2013
California Scout group recommends openly gay member for EagleThe Scouts’ central authority is unlikely to honor the recommendation because of their culture of fear and hate toward LGBTQ people. And the law may be on Boy Scouts of America’s side, at least for now, but history is not. Future …Wednesday, November 28, 2012
“Gay conversion” snake-oil salesmen taken to courtErik Eckholm, reporting for the New York Times: Referred to Jonah by a rabbi when he was 18, Mr. Levin began attending weekend retreats at $650 each. For a year and a half, he had weekly private sessions with Mr. Downing as well as …Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Marriage rights tide turns decisively against US bigotsI hope this is the beginning of an acceleration in the death of “traditional” marriage in the United States of America. Fear, ignorance, and religion are all equally insufficient and shameful excuses to deny universal marriage rights for one …