Archive for Civil Rights
Forms Over Substance
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A man walks into a government office (Social Security, in this case) seeking to have his adopted daughters’ new names recorded, and their social security numbers changed. Since the process itself was fairly smooth, this wouldn’t be anything to write about. But because the man in question [...]
Responding to Comments on “Marriage Equality” Series — and a Big Thanks to Michael Ginsborg
For most of the week just gone by, I’ve been guest-blogging on the issue of religious accommodations to marriage equality and to other protections that same-sex couples enjoy under state anti-discrimination law. The blogs have appeared on one of my favorite, because most informative, sites: Proposition 8 and the Right to Marry. It’s hosted by [...]
Delhi Order: Equality, Sliced Thick
As many readers know, last week the High Court in Delhi, India, sided with an HIV/AIDS services organization in ruling that the state’s prohibition on consensual, “unnatural” sexual acts violated the Indian Constitution. Nan Hunter has a brief summary of the ruling in Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi, which apparently applies throughout [...]
Dignity: Who Has It, and Why Do We Care (or, Dignity, Schmignity?)
How much would I care about my dignity if no else had any, either?
The question scarcely makes any sense, because dignity is valued only in relation to others, of course. It’s closely related to “esteem,” a regard in which most of us want to be held; I’d rather be the “estimable me” than not.
The matter [...]
Equality Forum: The International Equality Dinner Starring the One and Only Gavin Newsom
Talk about your gala events!
Well, for $200 a plate, Saturday night’s International Equality Dinner needed to be a fabulous, star-studded affair, and it was. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a true ally of the gay and lesbian community since forever, was Honorary Chair and delivered his usually warm, amusing, and affirming speech. With no elections left [...]
Equality Forum Day 5: What Now?
After a political eternity, several bills directly relevant to LGBT equality are queued up before Congress. In order of both expected ease of passage and anticipated timeline, these are: hate crimes, which has already passed the U.S. House, and is expected to navigate the more treacherous waters of the Senate and be signed, possibly within [...]
Equality Forum Day 4 (Part 1): Politics 101 (Domestic)
How important is bipartisanship in pursuing full equality for the LGBT community? Is it better to work on the state law level, or to push for national policy changes? How are our issues connected to larger issues? And what will be the questions facing the community ten years from now?
Moderator Patrick Guerriero used these open-ended [...]
Equality Forum Day 3 (Part 1): “Tomorrow Hour Zero”
The day before the tragic events of September 11, 2001, U.S. intelligence intercepted a communication known to be from al-Qaeda, boasting that “tomorrow is zero hour” (literally translated above). This possibly interesting statement went untranslated, though, until September 12. According to Alex Nicholson, who apparently speaks all living and several dead languages (and also looked [...]
Equality Forum Day 1: From VIP Kickoff to the Margins
Imagine this life: You’re not safe at school. The very sight of you makes people uncomfortable, sometimes angry. Your family disowns you, but no one else will adopt you or take you in for foster care. Without mooring, and unsure of your own identity, you turn to drugs and alcohol, perhaps landing in jail. You [...]
Log Cabin (Republican) Syrup
A gay friend of mine moved from New Haven, CT (he was a Yale professor) to Columbus, Ohio for a year. His dating life, he told me, was a disaster: “Every guy I met told me on the first date that he was a Log Cabin Republican.” There were no second dates.
For those who don’t [...]