I have just learned of your statement in the Michigan group’s lawsuit attempting to undo the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act. I should like to repeat the pertinent passage here, in which you claim there is “no need” to extend hate crimes definitions:
“Of the 1.38 million violent crimes reported in the U.S. by the FBI in 2008, only 243 were considered as motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation,” he wrote on the group’s Web site. “The sole purpose of this law is to criminalize the Bible and use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically-based religious belief that homosexual conduct is a sin.”
Mr. Thompson, I can only suppose that by “Christians expressing their Biblically-based belief” you mean the part that involves kidnapping homosexuals, transporting them to the middle of nowhere, and beating them to death. Which is what happened to Matthew Shepard, and which has always been considered a crime in the United States of America. The law named for the late Mr. Shepard extends some special penalties, but is actually designed to let local law enforcement officials call on the technology and expertise of federal agencies tosolve such crimes. Source Article
Two weeks ago, I had a conversation with Bill Clinton about same-sex marriage.It didn’t adhere to traditional interview guidelines, and it certainly wasn’t under the most professional of circumstances. But what transpired between us can serve as an important lesson: that in a new era of citizen journalism, regular people can make not only headlines, but a palpable difference in advancing the causes for which they are passionate. For me, that cause is equal marriage rights for LGBT couples. And by a combination of assertiveness and dumb luck, I may have pushed the national dialogue a bit farther along on the “arch of history” we’ve been hearing a lot about lately.
As an amateur (and budding) journalist, I’ve learned to keep my digital recorder with me whenever there’s a chance that I might happen across a story. So naturally, I had my device in tow while attending the Campus Progress National Conference in Washington, D.C., on July 8. Source
Local Republican blog Hoosier Access was able to get RNC Chairman Michael Steele to sit down with a group of bloggers and they taped the conversation. The old gaffe-o-matic (or as I like to call him, the Republican Joe Biden!) answers a question from a gay person of color in this clip about the GOP’s diversity outreach.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand could force the Senate to take up the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy this week, The Daily Beast has learned. Jason Bellini on the plot to halt the ban on gays in the military.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is considering bringing the battle over “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to the Senate this week, by introducing an amendment that would put an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays serving in the military, The Daily Beast has learned.
It would be the first time since the implementation of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1993 that senators are forced to declare their position on the gay ban. A Senate staffer familiar with the matter says Gillibrand may introduce her amendment on Tuesday to the Defense reauthorization bill. If the amendment were to pass, gay-rights leaders expect it would stand a strong chance of being approved by the House and could be signed into law by President Obama, who has expressed his desire for the ban to be lifted. Rep. Patrick Murphy is trying to build support for a bill that has already been introduced in the House that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.
But Gillibrand’s move would circumvent a long legislative process at a time when an average of two gay soldiers per day are being discharged. Source Article
* Massachusetts challenging Defense of Marriage Act
* State says federal law is “discriminatory”
* State seeks federal benefits for married gay couples (Adds details, reaction)
By Jason Szep
BOSTON, July 8 (Reuters) – Massachusetts sued the U.S. government on Wednesday to seek federal marriage benefits for about 16,000 gay and lesbian couples who have wed since the state became the nation’s first to legalize same-sex marriage.
The state is challenging the constitutionality of the federal 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, saying it denies “essential rights and protections” to married gay couples.
The federal government is interfering with the state’s “sovereign authority to define and regulate marriage,” said the lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston. It calls the law “overreaching and discriminatory.” Source Article
The Obama Justice Department has reached out to major gay rights organizations and scheduled a private meeting for next week with the groups, in an apparent effort to smooth over tensions in the wake of the controversy over the administration’s defense in court of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Tracy Russo, a spokesperson for Justice, confirmed the meeting to me, after I posted below that top gay rights lawyers were miffed that administration lawyers had rebuffed their requests to meet and discuss ongoing litigation involving DOMA.
At the meeting — which hasn’t been announced and is expected to include leading gay rights groups like GLAD and Lambda Legal — both sides are expected to hash out how to proceed with pending DOMA cases. Source Article
