Gay Travel to Tallinn and Estonia Information and Booking Center

At least 500 people crowded into New Hampshire's Statehouse on Wednesday for an emotional and sometimes boisterous Senate committee hearing over whether allowing gay marriage would weaken or strengthen the institution.

The New Hampshire Legislature is weighing a bill that would make it the fifth state to allow gay marriage. The state House has approved it, and it is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The governor hasn't said whether he would sign or veto it.

In today's Washington Post, four officers who retired from the U.S. military with very high rank write in opposition to dropping the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Jay Bookman Replies.

David Benkof has been getting a bit of attention lately.

This year he's written several articles which he has been able to get published in mainstream newspapers. Sadly, he's used deception and dishonesty to do so.

Same-sex domestic partners would have all the rights and benefits that Washington state offers married couples under a bill passed Wednesday by the state Legislature.

The Democratic-controlled House approved the Senate-passed measure on a mostly party-line 62-35 vote after nearly two hours of debate. It next goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who said she will sign it into law.

"Our state is one that thrives on diversity," Gregoire said in a statement. "We have to respect and protect all of the families that make up our communities."

From today's op-ed in the Washington post by James J. Lindsay, Jerome Johnson, et al:

Some suggest that the United States must emulate Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada, which have incorporated homosexuals into their forces. But none of these countries has the institutional culture or worldwide responsibilities of our military. America's armed forces are models for our allies' militaries and the envy of our adversaries - not the other way around.

As former senior commanders, we know that the reason for this long-standing envy is the unsurpassed discipline, morale and readiness of our military. The burden should be on proponents of repeal to demonstrate how their initiative would improve these qualities of our armed services. This they cannot do.

This shuts the door rather permanently, doesn't it? Consider:

-The U.S. military is sui generis. Therefore we must ignore empirical evidence from elsewhere in the world.

-The burden is on you to prove that this fighting force will not be adversely affected by your proposed change.

-But you also can't try any experiments on it, especially not right now. The price of failure is just too high. Maybe it always will be, owing to America's unique role in the world.

Had this argument been around in the late 1940s, as the Cold War was just beginning, all of its premises would have been equally true. Had we followed its conclusion, we would never have racially integrated the armed forces either.

A community reacts to the death of 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, who committed suicide after months of anti-gay taunts... and little action from his school.

Sirdeaner Walker, who has survived domestic violence, homelessness, and breast cancer, knew death could come suddenly -- but she could not have predicted it would find her 11-year-old son first.

Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover was a sixth-grader at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Mass. There, many of his classmates were initially strangers, as few of his friends from Alfred Glickman Elementary followed him.

On April 6, Sirdeaner Walker came home, walked up the stairs to the second floor of her home, and saw her son suspended from a support beam in the stairwell, swaying slightly in the air, an extension cord wrapped around his neck, according to police. He apologized in a suicide note, told his mother that he loved her, and left his video games to his brother

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as many of 107 Tennessee public school districts could be illegally preventing students from accessing accurate and balanced online information about LGBT issues. The same Internet filtering software however allows access to ex-gay groups. In a letter sent to Knox County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative, the ACLU demanded that they unblock access to LGBT sites.

Discussions around repealing a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages have heated up in the wake of recent legal challenges filed and the addition of two new states legalizing same-sex marriage.

Legislative aides familiar with the discussions say a handful of congressional leaders have been hashing out the details of the legislation, which would accomplish two goals: repeal section 3 of DOMA as it relates to the federal government's ability to confer some 1,100 federal benefits on same-sex partners; and provide a way for same-sex couples living in states that do not allow them to marry legally to access the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual spouses.

The most immediate benefits of passing such a bill would go to legally married gay couples -- those who have married or will marry in Connecticut or Massachusetts, those who married in California while it was legal (pending the state supreme court decision over the validity of those marriages), and those soon to marry in Iowa and Vermont. Same-sex couples in New York, which recognizes legal marriages performed outside of the state, would also be among the first beneficiaries.

Rep. Christopher Rants is pushing for a floor vote in the Iowa House this afternoon that seeks to undermine the Supreme Court's unanimous decision on marriage!

[*** I know this has already been argued to death, but I thought this article made some interesting points. So, for now, we'll kepp on floggin' this ol' horse. -Ziggy***]

So even this long after the fact, I'm still rather fixated on the Election Day results of California's Proposition 8 referendum. It's intriguing that after five-and-a-half-months of legalized gay marriage, a series of regional ballots could immediately revert the state constitution to its anachronistic pre-May 15th, 2008 status. You know, back to the time before the California Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to matrimony.

****

You see, that's the well-kept secret about California. It's actually gaga for gay marriage! Gay gay gay, all the livelong day. As displayed above, there's simply one caveat: the marriage in question needs to be dysfunctionally gay. Permit me to bust out some bullet points. Here are California's verboten gay marriage options:

* Gay dude marries gay dude

* Lesbian marries lesbian

The problem many Golden State voters have with allowing such options? Too functional. These nuptial-minded homosexuals would have a shot at long-term monogamous happiness, a joyous sex life, and a true sense of unity. That in turn would piss off a whole whack of ballot casters, who'd be averse to having some random gay couple outwit, outlast and outplay them in the game of marriage.

Yet despite this statewide cockblock, California's government and voters have perpetually stood by their dysfunctional - and 100% legal - gay marriage options. They are:

* Lesbian marries straight dude

* Gay dude marries straight woman

* Gay dude marries lesbian

Using these figures, it would appear California already supports three out of five types of gay-based marriages! That's 60% - an impressive majority to be sure, gentle reader.

Republican Governor Jim Gibbons of Nevada has vowed to veto legislation that would give some of the rights of marriage to same-sex couples through domestic partnerships legislation.

Show up at a Starbucks on today at 7:15 AM, 12:15 PM, 5:15 PM, or 8:15 PM , buy a cuppa joe, then share a kiss with your sweetie, or a friend, or even a long-time crush! RAWR! LGBT couples have yet to be granted the same rights to file our taxes jointly on a Federal level, and we can still be fired for being openly gay in the workplace.

The young male elephant is the latest zoo animal to show signs of being gay. A high-ranking Polish politician has spoken out against Ninio's sexual preference.

Rachel Maddow breaks down just how ridiculous tea bagging is. Quote of the Day, "Who wouldn't want to teabag John MCcain." Yes I lost my mind laughing but honestly who ever thought the day would come when Republicans would be advocating tea bagging?

In light of April 15th being Tax Day here in the United States, LGBT activists have been organizing events to protest the unequal treatment of same-sex couples under the law.

Angie Zapata an 18 year old Greeley, CO teen was murdered for being transgender. Today the alleged killer has gone on trial, in the first hate crimes law including gender identity to be prosecuted in CO.

Gov. Jim Gibbons wants Nevada lawmakers to send him more than the handful of bills he's received so far - except for a pending proposal to give same-sex domestic partners the rights and benefits that Nevada offers to married couples.

Human rights activists have given Jamaica the infamous title: "The Most Homophobic Place on Earth." Gay people have regularly been beaten and murdered on the island, while authorities do little to stop the violence.

"We, as the owners of the Stonewall Inn, birthplace of the Gay rights movement, refuse to support, in any way, shape or form, the oppression of any people especially our gay brothers and sisters in Jamaica," the Stonewall Inn said in its statement. "We ask all people of all walks of life to send a clear message to the Jamaican people and their government, that as long as they continue to allow and condone violence and hatred toward the

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If we don't act decisively, America's next Proposition 8 could happen in Iowa.

In the six days since Iowa lesbian and gay couples won the freedom to marry, powerful right-wing groups have been mounting a campaign to REVERSE this historic decision.

They are pushing for a constitutional ban on marriage for lesbian and gay couples in Iowa - just like California's Proposition 8. While key Iowa leaders have been defending this decision, successfully staving off a marriage ban for now, it's critical that they hear public support as the right-wing onslaught continues - fueled by this week's marriage victory in Vermont. Send a message thanking Iowa's leaders and urging them to resist right-wing pressure.

Tell Iowa's legislative leaders to stay strong - and stop the next Prop. 8!

Iowa state leaders, led by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal and House Speaker Pat Murphy, have been heroic in recent days. HRC played an instrumental role in electing and protecting fair-minded majorities in the Iowa legislature, and we are seeing the fruits of our labors: so far, these courageous lawmakers have been successful in stopping a marriage ban, which would need to be placed on the ballot by the state legislature. But the right wing campaign isn't stopping - and if it happened in California, it can happen in Iowa.

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Editor's Note: This story is being posted to illustrate how the anti-gay industry's rhetoric and political agenda is harming not just the GLBT community; but all citizens. There is no indication that this young person was gay. Yet the anti-gay folks bear some responsibility in this child's death MENTOR, Ohio - An Ohio couple has filed a federal lawsuit saying school officials failed to stop bullying that they say led to their son's suicide. The suit was filed last week, almost two years to the day when 17-year-old Eric Mohat shot himself in the head. Parents William and Janis Mohat say their son was taunted, pushed and harassed by classmates at Mentor High School for months before his death on March 27, 2007. Their lawsuit accuses the school district of violating the high school junior's civil right to safety and of violating the family's constitutional right that the teen be educated in a safe environment. It states that a student said to Mohat on the day he killed himself: "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself? No one would miss you." The lawsuit also said that at least one administrator saw Eric crying in the hall, but didn't try to help. The lawsuit also alleges school administrators were indifferent to conditions that led to their son's death, and it claims bullying and harassment contributed to the suicides of three of Mohat's classmates. Any monetary award would be used for anti-bullying training for schools or a scholarship in Mohat's name, said Ken Myers, lawyer for the parents. The teen's father, Willliam Mohat, said he and his wife would drop the suit if the school system adopted tougher regulations, such as progressively harsher punishments that result in expulsion on the third incident.