During that battle and in order to avoid a fiscal note on the bill, proponents had to make the inclusion of health benefits a voluntary action on the part of the employer and not mandatory.  This meant that the state of Nevada was not required to offer health benefits to its employees, which caused concern among some activists.

That concern was alleviated yesterday when the Public Employees’ Benefits Program Board voted 5-3 to extend benefits to domestic partners.  The move was championed by HRC’s very own Jeff Garofalo, a member of our Board of Governors from Nevada, who serves on the PEBP Board.  This was a good step in the right direction, but as with most advancement in our movement, this one is not perfect.

To obtain the health care coverage, domestic partners will be required to pay the full monthly coverage rate of $760 without any subsidy.  This is because the legislature refused to approve $3.7 million in additional funds to the state budget to cover subsidies for domestic partners.  Subsidies are provided to all other spouses of state employees, reducing their costs to around $200 per month.

So while the legislature failed to allocate funds this year, there are plenty of signs that Nevada continues to move in the right direction on the road to equality.

On Monday of this week, I was fortunate to be one of 250 guests invited to the White House for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s reception honoring the 40^th anniversary of Stonewall.  Like many of my fellow attendees, I was anxious to hear what the President had to say about how he planned to honor his campaign commitments to the LGBT community.  He reiterated his administration’s efforts to pass a transgender inclusive ENDA, which is a policy already in place in at least 176 Fortune 500 companies. This followed a June 18^th Oval Office event where President Obama further demonstrated his Administration’s commitment to LGBT equality in the Federal workplace by signing a presidential memorandum that will give Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry the authority to ban workplace discrimination for all members of the LGBT community.

While this is a good start, we cannot forget that ENDA will not pass without Congressional support. It is up to each of us to let our elected officials know that you want them to support this legislation.  The President can only do so much but at the end of the day, if there are not enough votes to support a transgender-inclusive ENDA, the legislation will not pass. Each of us cannot forget that we have a very important role in this process and if ENDA does not pass, it will not be the fault of the President or organizations like HRC.

One critical way to help members of Congress understand why they should care about this legislation is by telling your story and how this law will protect you and your family.  I hope you read the story of one of my fellow HRC Business Council members Meghan Stabler, a transgender woman who so candidly shared her personal story recently during an interview posted online this week.  After reading her story, the importance of passing a transgender-inclusive ENDA was made crystal clear.  Meghan’s livelihood, and those of so many other LGBT Americans, rest in the balance until this law is passed.  I urge you to read this story and then remember to contact your congressperson and Senators during their August break.  Go visit them at the office in your home state, tell their staffers why ENDA matters. It will be all of our personal stories that will make the final difference.

“The Administration made the right decision in standing by the court’s ruling that the Library of Congress violated the law and discriminated against Diane Schroer for being a transgender woman. Diane served her country for 25 years in the U.S. Army with bravery and distinction, but despite her expertise and experience, the Library of Congress decided she couldn’t continue that service in civilian life simply because she is transgender.  We applaud Diane’s continuing work to make sure discrimination based on gender identity ends in this country and congratulate her and the ACLU, which represented her, on this important victory.”

Schroer testified in June of 2008 at a historic Congressional hearing on workplace discrimination based on gender identity.  The hearing, “An Examination of Discrimination Against Transgender Americans in the Workplace,” discussed the real and pervasive mistreatment transgender workers face everyday, the role Congress can play in eradicating discrimination based on gender identity, and how corporate America is leading the way toward full equality in the workplace.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced in the U.S. House last week, would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote an employee based on the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.  This bill would reflect the values, shared by the vast majority of Americans, that employment decisions should be based on a person’s qualifications and work ethic.  Learn more about ENDA.

On Monday, June 29, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a group of high school students who claimed their free speech rights were violated when a school district refused to give official recognition to their Christian student organization.  The group, Truth, required its voting members and officers to sign a “statement of faith” affirming their belief in the Bible and their “acceptance of Jesus Christ” as their “personal Savior.”  Kentridge High School argued that granting the group official recognition would violate the district’s policy prohibiting, among other things, discrimination on the basis of creed.

In 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the students’ First Amendment claim, holding that the school district’s non-discrimination policy was content-neutral.  This means that the policy properly applied to all speech, regardless of subject matter.

The Seventh Circuit has taken a different approach.  In Christian Legal Society v. Walker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit prevented a state law school from revoking the official status of a Christian student group even though the group refused to allow gays and lesbians from becoming voting members or officers.  Although the Supreme Court often agrees to hear cases to resolve disagreements like these among federal appellate courts, it has declined to do so with Truth v. Kent School District. 

The Truth plaintiffs may still pursue the question of whether the school district discriminated against them by selectively applying its non-discrimination policy and granting waivers from the policy to at least two other student groups.  In 2008, the Ninth Circuit sent this question back to the trial court for further investigation.

Learn more about federal judicial nominations and follow our work on these crucial issues on HRC’s Equality in the Courts page.

Contributed by Emily Ames, Summer 2009 McCleary Law Fellow

The radical right in this country certainly does like to scapegoat LGBT parents whenever some sort of controversy comes up.  Case in point, a story out of Durham, North Carolina where a very, very troubled individual, Frank Lombard, was arrested for inviting another man to travel to North Carolina in order to molest his adopted 5-year-old son.  Change.org’s excellent Human Trafficking blogger, Amanda Kloer, has more on the case here.

The right-wing in this country, led by Christian News Wire and the Grassroots Network of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV Network), are seeking to take this case and use it as a means of bashing gay adoption.  Because, you see, the parent in question happened to be gay.  Already, here’s what folks with those two groups have had to say about the Lombard case:

RPV Network: The question remains whether this pattern of child sexual abuse and male
homosexuals will be seen as a validation of some studies which suggest
that homosexual men are more than 40 times more likely than the general
population to molest.

Christian News Wire: (With the headline, no less, of: “Lombard Demonstrates Why Gays Should Not be Allowed to Adopt”) The on-line rape of his 5-year-old adopted son by Duke University’s openly-gay, Frank Lombard, is no anomaly. Instead, Lombard’s molestation fits the pattern that emerged in the latest review of the…literature about gay fathers.

It’s downright disgusting that these right-wing organizations are seeking to turn this tragic case into a referendum on LGBT adoption.  Leave it to the right-wing in this country to turn exploitation into…well, more exploitation.

Frank Lombard’s case is tragic.  His actions are disgusting (if they are true), as very few things are more repugnant than child molestation and human trafficking.  But this is not a case about gay adoption.  This is a case about a disturbed man failing on every level as a parent.

To make this a case about LGBT adoption, like Christian News Wire and the social networking site of the Republican Party of Virginia are doing, is a grotesque move of political theater. It would be like saying, “Because Governor Mark Sanford cheated on his wife, conservative Christians shouldn’t be allowed to get married.”  (Or travel to Argentina…or whatever absurd comment you want to put here.)

Every mainstream scientific study out there asserts that LGBT people are extremely well qualified to be parents, and every mainstream study demonstrates that children who grow up in LGBT homes are just as balanced as children who grow up in straight homes.

That’s important to remember, especially as radical conservative groups in this country seek to spin the Lombard case into a debate over gay adoption.

(Photo courtesy of (addict2pics)’s photostream on Flickr!)

Strike another victory for LGBT rights in 2009.  The Delhi High Court in India has overturned the country’s very backwards Section 377 law, which since the days of the British empire has criminalized homosexuality in the second most populous country in the world. Earlier this week we wrote about the potential of this happening, and today the decision is final.

Anjali Gopalan, leader of the Naz Foundation (which was one of the organizations that led the lawsuit challenging the ban on homosexuality), said that with this decision, India is finally entering the 21st century.  And with a very simple statement, here’s what the High Court in India proclaimed:

Consensual sex amongst adults is legal which includes even gay sex and sex among the same sexes.

Despite the fact that it has lived underground for the better part of many decades, India has a thriving LGBT activism scene, closely tied with campaigns fighting for public health.  This decision will suredly bolster these communities, and (one can hope) lead to even more sweeping change for LGBT rights in India.

Again the judicial system failed they say one thing and do something else. He should have served every single day of the already short sentence, instead he was released from prison today, one week early.

Where is the justice?

It’s one of the ugliest remnants of discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS – hurtful, obsolete, and wrong.

A decades-old policy BANS nearly every foreign person with HIV from setting foot on U.S. soil.

But that could change very soon. President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services has finally proposed ending the ban. Starting today, the public has 45 days to weigh in. And the right wing certainly will.

We need to show broad support for ending this discriminatory policy.

We shouldn’t punish people for being HIV-positive! Help the Obama administration follow through and end the ban.

This draconian ban tears apart families, denies American businesses access to talented workers, and bars tourists from supporting our economy. It bans students and researchers. It’s the reason why the U.S. hasn’t hosted a global AIDS conference since 1990.

And it is just downright pointless. Leading doctors have opposed this policy for decades because it has no benefit for public health.

In fact, the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Sudan that maintains such harsh policies. It’s time we got with the program.

Congress finally repealed the law a year ago, but only HHS can actually remove HIV/AIDS from the list of diseases with travel restrictions. The Obama administration has proposed the necessary change, but they need our help to get it across the finish line.

Take action now! Help end the ban, once and for all.

Thank you for taking action. This hurtful policy has harmed HIV-positive people for far too long, and with your help, we’ll end it.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has launched a cool new project that’s ripe for the digital age: it’s a campaign to combat homophobia in virtual communities.  From Facebook to XBox message boards, homophobia won’t have any hiding grounds.  Here’s a quote from Rashad Robinson, GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs:

As more and more people turn to virtual communities to connect with each other and for entertainment, we need to ensure these spaces are LGBT-inclusive and safe for our community – right now that’s not always the case.  Our new project and work with leading tech companies aims to both educate users on the impact of homophobic remarks and put sustainable policies in place that make the experience fun and inclusive for everyone.

It’s a hefty task, as it involves monitoring everything from comments on blogs to company message boards.  It will also involve making sure that online forums allow their users to be open about who they are.  For instance, earlier this year XBox Live was found to suspend users for using the word “gay,” even if it meant that the users were describing their identity.  XBox Live has since changed the policy, but the hiccup was certainly a reminder that adding filters with certain words or phrases screened into them isn’t a catch all for addressing homophobia.

For more information on GLAAD’s program, go here.  Also worth noting is that in two weeks, GLAAD will be hosting a panel event in Silicon Valley with some of the country’s leading game and software companies on virtual homophobia.  Way to stay ahead of the 21st century, GLAAD.

The festival kicked off overnight, with writer Boris Izaguirre and Eurovision singer Soraya Arnelas inaugurating a week-long extravaganza of parades, costumes, music and dance.

Attended by 2 million people in 2008, the festival has spread over the boundaries of Chueca, with drag queens and other colourful figures filling the streets of the city centre.

Some residents complained that music lasting until the morning hours prevented them from sleeping, prompting the city council to announce plans to move the festival elsewhere in 2010.

After a meeting with gay representatives on Wednesday, however, the authorities backtracked, saying it was up to the gays to decide where to stage the event that is now being held for the seventh consecutive time.

Chueca had become a reference point for the global gay community, the gays argued.

Gay Pride organizers will, however, mull ways of staging some of the events outside the neighbourhood.

Once a poor and marginal Madrid neighbourhood, Chueca has come to life thanks to gay residents who now own about 300 bars, cafeterias, shops and other establishments in the area known for its night life.

Formerly known as a conservative Catholic country, Spain has come a long way since the 1939-75 rule of dictator Francisco Franco, when homosexuality was outlawed.

Spain now stands at the forefront of gay rights after it became one of the world’s first countries to equate homosexual and heterosexual marriage in 2005.