Jul 162009
Howard Dean sits down with Freshman Senator Kirsten Gilliband of NY to talk healthcare, the Employment Free Choice Act, and at the 4:50 mark, same-sex marriage and DADT. Watch:
There was a lot of concern when Gillibrand filled the vacancy left by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that she would not be a strong ally for the LGBT community. I think we can safely put those fears to rest.
Jul 132009
Freshman New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, may introduce legislation this week which would place an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays and lesbians from the military. Gillibrand is coordinating with fellow Senator Edward Kennedy to grow support for the measure which is being pushed by both Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN). From the Daily Beast:
It would be the first time since the implementation of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1993 that senators are forced to declare their position on the gay ban. A Senate staffer familiar with the matter says Gillibrand may introduce her amendment on Tuesday to the Defense reauthorization bill. If the amendment were to pass, gay-rights leaders expect it would stand a strong chance of being approved by the House and could be signed into law by President Obama, who has expressed his desire for the ban to be lifted. Rep. Patrick Murphy is trying to build support for a bill that has already been introduced in the House that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.
While Gillibrand has been vocal in her support for the repeal of DADT, and for service member
Dan Choi who may soon fall victim to the policy, she also has the lowest pro-gay rating of any New York Democrat, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Jun 262009
Posting will be pretty light over the next few days — it is Pride weekend here in San Francisco (and in New York) after all… but will have plenty of photos of the parade and other goings on early next week.
Until then everyone have a safe and happy Pride!
Jun 172009
A “small” group of protesters gathered outside of the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York on Monday, calling for the firing of David Letterman over a joke he made about Sarah Palin’s daughter last week. Watch.
Wow… Palin just brings out the crazy… ahm… I mean best, in people, doesn’t she?
Be sure to visit the blog A Conservative Lesbian. They’re on a personal crusade to get Letterman fired…