| A free twice-weekly news summary for the LGBT community |   |
| Top Story |  |  |
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- DOMA suffers body blow in landmark decision
A U.S. appeals court in Boston on Thursday handed LGBT advocates a major victory, ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act’s treatment of same-sex couples who are legally married under Massachusetts law is unconstitutional. “Congress’ denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest,” wrote Judge Michael Boudin, one of two judges appointed by Republican presidents on the court’s three-judge panel. The court postponed the effect of its ruling, writing that the final word on DOMA’s constitutionality will most likely come from the
U.S. Supreme Court. The Boston Globe/Metro Desk (tiered subscription model)
(5/31), The Wall Street Journal/Law blog
(5/31)     
| Politics and Policy | | |
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- N.J. Senate rejects gay nominee for state’s high court
The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted against confirming Bruce Harris, an openly gay Republican nominated to the state Supreme Court by Gov. Chris Christie. Democrats, who control the committee, objected to Harris’ stated intention to recuse himself on issues involving marriage equality, a stance that also concerned LGBT activists. “As someone who has supported Bruce Harris’ nomination to the state Supreme Court, I am terribly disappointed with his answers on his recusal. Frankly, I found them nonsensical,” said Steven Goldstein of the group Garden State Equality. New Jersey Online
(5/31)
- El Paso woman to become Texas Legislature’s only out member
Mary Gonzalez, an out candidate for the Texas House of Representatives, is set to become the Lone Star state’s only LGBT state legislator after winning her Democratic primary in El Paso this week. She faces no Republican opponent in the general election this fall. “This is a big victory for Mary, for El Paso and for Texas,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund, which backed her campaign. Advocate.com
(5/30), Houston Press/Hair Balls
(5/31)
| Opinion | | |
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June is LGBT Pride Month. How do you plan to celebrate?
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I'll attend a local Pride event. |
63.43%
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I'm not sure. |
13.43%
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I don't celebrate Pride Month. |
11.76%
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I'll travel to attend a Pride event in a major city. |
8.82%
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I'll celebrate at a work event. |
2.56%
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- Analysis: DOMA ruling a victory, but not all it could have been
 This week’s federal appellate court ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional in its treatment of legally married same-sex couples is an important legal advance, but the three-judge panel did not go as far as many had hoped, writes Ari Ezra Waldman, who teaches at California Western School of Law. “The court declined to find evidence of Congressional animosity toward gay persons as a sufficient reason for invalidating the law,” Waldman writes,
adding that the court also declined to apply heightened scrutiny to laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, a distinction sought by plaintiffs. Towleroad
(5/31)
- Bradley Manning deserves condemnation
 Bradley Manning, the gay U.S. soldier who stands accused of leaking
hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables, risked the lives of
human rights activists around the world who had secretly cooperated
with American authorities, James Kirchik writes. "Rather than
claim Bradley Manning as a hero of the gay community and campaign for
his release, we should be the ones advocating most loudly that he face
the strictest possible punishment for his treachery," Kirchik writes. Out
(5/31)
| Leadership Spotlight | | |
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- Eagle Scout asks Boy Scouts to drop anti-gay policy
 Zach Wahls, an Iowa Eagle Scout, this week delivered 275,000 petitions to a national Boy Scouts of America meeting in Orlando, urging the organization to drop its ban on openly gay scouts and troop leaders. The petitions, generated by Change.org, urged the Boy Scouts to reinstate Jennifer Tyrrell, an Ohio den leader who was dismissed because she is an out lesbian. ABC News
(5/30)
- Author of book detailing history of LGBT movement dies
Dudley Clendinen, an openly gay reporter and author who co-wrote a
history of the LGBT movement, has died at age 67 after battling Lou
Gherig's disease. His 1999 book, "Out for Good: The Struggle to Build
a Gay Rights Movement in America," covered the period from the
Stonewall riots of 1969 to the founding of ACT UP in 1987 and was
co-written by New York Times political reporter Adam Nagourney. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)
(5/31)
| Beyond Politics | | |
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- Former BP CEO: Hiding made me unhappy
Lord Browne, the former CEO of oil giant BP, is urging the business world to take a proactive role in making LGBT employees feel more welcome in the workplace. Browne resigned his post in 2007 after it was revealed he is gay. “I was trapped for most of my adult life, unable to reveal who I was to the world. I led a double-life of secrecy, and of deep isolation, walled off from those closest to me,” Browne said at a launch event for Connect Out, an LGBT networking group. BBC
(5/29)
| Media Mix | | |
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- J.C. Penney doubles down with ad featuring gay dads
J.C. Penney has unveiled a Father’s Day advertisement featuring a real family headed by two gay men. The ad comes on the heels of criticism from an anti-gay group over the retailer's hiring of Ellen DeGeneres as a spokeswoman. Gawker
(5/31)
| SmartQuote | | |
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 | If you're still having to carry all your legal documents in the glove compartment of your car ... we have not fixed the underlying problems of inequality."
--Illinois State Rep. Greg Harris, speaking about why civil unions are insufficient in providing same-sex couples the benefits of legal marriage, as quoted by Reuters
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