SAN FRANCISCO – California State Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, will join homeless youth advocates and other elected officials in San Francisco on Friday to announce important new legislation that gives homeless youth greater access to high school proficiency and equivalency exams. SB 252 would prohibit the Department of Education or testing companies from charging […]
Breaking U.S. Supreme Court to Review Bans on Same-Sex Marriage
Current Statistics thanks to Williams Institute By Melanie Nathan, January 16, 2015 The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will review the constitutionality of bans on same-sex marriage in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The Court’s ruling is expected in June 2015 and will likely impact not only the same-sex couples in these four […]
UK Couple Marry under the New Same-Sex Marriage Conversion Law
By Melanie Nathan, December 10, 2014. At midnight, and with a portrait of the Queen in the background, Philip Glanville and Trey Mcrary took their vows as one of Britain’s first same-sex couples to marry under England’s new marriage equality laws. Today in the United Kingdom and Wales, the first civil partnership conversion ceremonies and […]
Exposing Zimbabwe’s illegal trade in life-saving AIDS drugs
Posted by Melanie Nathan, November 20, 2014. Wake Up Americans and get educated on these important human rights issues that you will not find in our USA local or national mainstream media. Thanks to SAfAIDS for the selection of important human rights stories: Exposing Zimbabwe’s illegal trade in life-saving AIDS drugs for recreational use A […]
NEW STUDIES OFFER ESTIMATES OF LGBT POPULATION AND MARRIED SAME-SEX COUPLES
New surveys suggest that as many as 9.5 million adults in the US are LGBT | An estimated 124,000 same-sex couples are married and raising more than 30,000 children LOS ANGELES — Two new studies released by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, review findings from four recent large, national, population-based surveys to […]
Tulsa is the New Ferguson |The Truth about the Death of Benny Longoria
False Reports to the Media, Suppressing Evidence, Refusing to take Witness Statements, Covering up a Possible Murder and Police Misconduct are some of the Horrifying Facts surrounding Benny Longoria’s death By Cd Kirven, September 22, 2014. DALLAS — Last month’s news, from NewsOn6.com report titled; “Tulsa Police: Dallas Article About Death Of Gay Man Is […]
A Ugandan Pastor Ssempa is Accused of Defilement of Minor
By Melanie Nathan, August 14, 2014. A man by the name of Martin Ssempa has apparently been held by police in Iganga, Uganda, accused of allegedly “defiling” a 17 year old girl in Uganda. The term defilement is used in Uganda to describe rape of a young under-age person. There are two Martin Ssempa’s (urgh […]
Israel Includes Same-Sex Spouses under Law of Return Immigration
By Melanie Nathan, August 12 2014, Israel has decided that the law of return includes non-Jewish same sex spouses. Directly form the Haaretz report: The Law of Return, which gives Diaspora Jews and non-Jewish family members the right to immigrate to Israel, also applies to legally married same-sex spouses, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Tuesday. […]
Gearing up for LGBT Family Week 2014
Family Equality Council®and COLAGE Set For Family Week, 2014 | Event Brings LGBTQ Parents & Families Together in Provincetown, MA July 26 to August 2 Posted by Melanie Nathan, June 14, 2014. Family Equality Council®, the national organization which represents the three million parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer in the […]
North Jersey Pride to Present First “Outstanding Ally Award” at Pride Festival 2014
Founders of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, Joseph and Jane Clementi, Will Receive the Honor By Melanie Nathan, May 30, 2014. Maplewood, N.J.- North Jersey Pride, the nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting equality, awareness, and understanding in the upper Garden State will be awarding the inaugural “Outstanding Ally Award” at its fourth annual Pride Festival on Sunday, June […]
Gender Controversial South African Olympian Caster Semenya to Marry Girlfriend
By Melanie Nathan, May 12, 2014. South African world champion athlete and Olympic silver medallist, Caster Semenya, is marrying her fellow athlete, Violet Raseboya. Following her victory at the 2009 World Championships, Semenya had been subjected to gender testing. She was then withdrawn from international competition until 6 July 2010 when the IAAF cleared her […]
Federal Court’s refusal of benefits in Employee Plan shows why religious exemption hurts ENDA
Federal Court Rejects Discrimination Claim Against Catholic Hospital’s Refusal to Cover Same-Sex Spouse Under Employee Benefit Plan and ENDA is in danger Why I am calling on Freedom to Marry, NCLR, Lambda Legal, GLAAD, ACLU, Transgender Law Center, GetEQUAL to thwart the HRC push for Senate’s ENDA By Melanie Nathan, May 07, 2014. Although both […]
Magnificent Gay Marriage South African Style
By Melanie Nathan, December 24, 2013. Our friends at Inkanyiso have done it again. Recording every aspect and extreme, with amazing visuals, from the worst sadness to the ultimate joy, here is an exciting report by Yaya Mavundla. This was all about love and with given names like “Promise” and “Gift” all was perfect for […]
Russian Anti-Gay Parliamentarian Wants to Talk to United States Congress About Syria
But wait – watch out – what if we get our grubby queer hands on her? By Melanie Nathan, September 08, 2013 Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko is the highest-ranking female politician in Russia, the former governor of Saint Petersburg and the current Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. She also hates gays. Valentina […]
New Russian Bill Seeks to Take Biological Children Away From Gays and Lesbians
Lesbian Activist Speaks about Russia’s Continued Defiance with worsening New Laws Against Gays and asylum being the only answer By Melanie Nathan, September 06, 2013. A Russian lawmaker has proposed a bill that would deny gay parents custody over their children. The draft bill, published on parliament’s website on Thursday, would make the “fact of […]
The Importance of the Military in the Struggle for Equality and Another “Duh” Moment
“If anything this should be a wake-up call to our President and to Congress to act in like, to go even further. ….our goal of Full Federal Equality” By Jennifer McGuire, September 05, 2013. It was announced yesterday that spouses of Lesbian and Gay veterans will be eligible for benefits. In the recent stream of […]
Mazeltov Minnesota
By Melanie Nathan, August 01, 2013. Midnight July 31, 2013, heralded the start of an equal Minnesota, as the Mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak married the first same-sex couple under the new law, making it legal for all couples to enjoy the same legal rights in the State of Minnesota. After years of battling against […]
Belize gay hate emerges in the form of hanging effigy
By Cathy Kristofferson, July 11, 2013 LGBT rights issues have been boiling over for a while in Belize. Caleb Orozco of the The United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) pursued a constitutional challenge of the country’s Section 53 anti-sodomy law, which we covered here on OBLOGDEE in May (see links below). Shortly after that court case, the […]
ACLU challenging NC ban on same-sex marriages
Posted by Melanie Nathan, July 09, 2013. Today the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) announced plans to challenge North Carolina’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples by amending a federal lawsuit filed against the state last year on behalf of six same-sex couples and their children […]
Happy 4th of July | Gays Celebrate Independence in a More Equal America
See Video – And a Gay Tenor sings his way into the hearts of America By Melanie Nathan, July 04, 2013. The weeks leading up to this 4th of July have been historic for America – the horrendously discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) came crashing down after decades of hell for many Americans and […]
San Francisco Marriage Exuberance
Prop 8 Plaintiffs marry on short notice as hundreds converge on San Francisco City Hall By Melanie Nathan, June 29, 2013. For the first time since that brief moment in 2008, all Californians are able to marry. Yesterday, with mere minutes notice, same-sex couples converged on San Francisco City Hall, as word spread through social […]
Aunt’s same-sex wedding song going viral
What If We Are Just Like You?/Shannon’s and Lisa’s marriage equality Song by Melanie Nathan, June 22, 2013. Sherri Gray, “straight but not narrow,” shares her love – she wrote this song for niece Shannon and her fiancée, Lisa, a same-sex couple who are getting married this summer. “I wrote this song about equal rights […]
Trevor Project to mark 15th Anniversary by ringing opening NYSE bell
By Melanie Nathan, June 19, 2013. The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention to LGBTQ youth, will ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday, June 20th. The organization celebrates its 15th “birthday” this August and will premiere its latest public service announcement, “Ask For Help,” at NYSE. […]
Russian bill set to stop adoption to nations allowing same-sex marriage
The Bill is based on myth as expounded by Russian Deputy Speaker, who said: “If a child ends up with a homosexual couple, it could cause severe damage and the child ends up with a distorted perception of reality.” By Melanie Nathan, June 18, 2013. As same-sex marriage is increasing in acceptance around the world, […]
On Fathers Day NBJC honors the commitment of Black gay, bisexual and trans men
Posted by Melanie Nathan, June 16, 2013. Statement by the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC): Black gay, bisexual and trans fathers, uncles and brothers play many important roles in the Black community. As caregivers, role models, providers, teachers, friends and leaders, Black gay, bisexual and trans men are invaluable threads in the fabric of the […]
DEAD WRONG LGBT Publisher Refuses to Tell Binational Story
We as a community cannot reject the most vulnerable amongst us | Binational same-sex couples have already paid the heaviest price By Melanie Nathan, May 28, 2013. I started my advocacy work and writing the stories about the horrendous plight of same-sex binational couples back in 2009, when faced with the possible deportation of my […]
School principal humiliates transgender student
By Melanie Nathan, May 19, 2013. It seems as if Issak Wolfe has as much of a right as anyone else to expect inclusion in his School’s mission: “The mission of the Red Lion Area School District, in partnership with our communities, is to prepare all students to reach their greatest potential, thus becoming responsible […]
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