VIDEO: LGBT activists to join allies in Washington on Sunday to demand immigration reform

Esther Rubio-Sheffrey - SDGLN Staff Writer | Sat, 03/20/2010 - 11:20am | Login to bookmark or comment

WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of supporters of immigration reform from across the nation will march in Washington on Sunday, and organizations like Immigration Equality are urging LGBT activists to join the cause.

Organizers are predicting that 100,000 people -- including perhaps 500 from Immigration Equality -- will gather on the National Mall to demand immigration reform from Congress.

VIDEO: Pietrangelo, Choi freed from jail, face April 26 trial

SDGLN Staff | Fri, 03/19/2010 - 1:40pm | Login to bookmark or comment

WASHINGTON – Lt. Dan Choi and former Capt. Jim Pietrangelo pleaded not guilty and asked for a trial today after being arrested Thursday during a nonviolent act of civil disobedience.

Both were released from custody and ordered to appear for trial on April 26.

Both soldiers spent the night in jail after they were arrested for chaining themselves to a White House fence in protest of the military’s controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Both contend that Congress is dragging its feet on repealing that policy, which went into effect during the Clinton administration.

VIDEO: Constance is given a $30,000 college scholarship on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”

SDGLN Staff | Fri, 03/19/2010 - 12:42pm | Login to bookmark or comment

LOS ANGELES – Ellen DeGeneres has awarded a $30,000 college scholarship from Tonic.com to Constance McMillen, the lesbian student who was not allowed to bring her girlfriend to the prom.

The scholarship was presented during today’s episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” airing at 3 p.m. on Channel 39 in San Diego. A clip from the show can be found below.

DeGeneres told Constance that she admires her for standing up for her rights in challenging the decision by the Itawamba County (Miss.) school board to cancel the prom on April 2, instead of allowing same-sex couples to attend.

As pro-gay provisions stripped from health reform, pressure grows for votes on ENDA, DADT

Chuck Colbert - Keen News Service | Fri, 03/19/2010 - 10:41am | Login to bookmark or comment

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., acknowledged Thursday, March 18, that the pro-gay provisions she sought in the health care reform legislation have not survived.

But Baldwin also said, during an interview in Boston last weekend, that she has counted the votes in the House on two major pro-gay pieces of legislation and believes the votes for passage are there.

Baldwin had sought and secured four pro-gay provisions in the original House version of health care reform, including a prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in health care.

VIDEO: Big day for GetEQUAL; San Diegans protest DADT, arrests of activists

Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief | Thu, 03/18/2010 - 9:47pm | Login to bookmark or comment

GetEQUAL.org made quite a splash on the national scene on Thursday.

Organizers staged a series of protests across the country to call for the immediate end of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and to free Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. James Pietrangelo II after their arrests for a civil disobedience act at the White House.

One of those protests was in downtown San Diego at 6 p.m., just hours after the arrests.

UPDATED VIDEO: San Diegans to protest tonight after Lt. Choi, Capt. Pietrangelo were arrested in D.C.

Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief | Thu, 03/18/2010 - 3:34pm | Login to bookmark or comment

WASHINGTON – Iraq war veteran Lt. Dan Choi and two other “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) protesters were arrested today after chaining themselves to the front gate of the White House.

An estimated 150 protesters shouted “Hey, hey, ho, ho. 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' has got to go.”

Former Capt. James Pietrangelo II was arrested after chaining himself to the gate. California activist Robin McGehee was also hauled off to jail.

Lambda Legal back in New Jersey court, seeking marriage equality

SDGLN Staff | Thu, 03/18/2010 - 11:12am | Login to bookmark or comment

TRENTON, N.J. – Lambda Legal returned today to the New Jersey Supreme Court, filing a motion seeking marriage equality on behalf of the plaintiffs in the original Lewis v. Harris lawsuit.

"The New Jersey Supreme Court ordered equality for same-sex couples when it decided our marriage lawsuit in 2006, and the legislature has failed to meet that crystal-clear obligation," said Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director at Lambda Legal. "Civil unions are a failed legislative experiment in providing equality in New Jersey - marriage equality is the only solution."

Fighting LGBT discrimination in schools

Amy Cox - SDGLN Contributor | Thu, 03/18/2010 - 10:54am | Login to bookmark or comment

Editor’s note: SDGLN is putting human faces to key issues of our times. Today, how a Mississippi teenager is fighting for equal rights for LGBT students.

FULTON, Miss. -- Her soft Southern drawl betrays the conviction in her words. Teenage lesbian Constance McMillen has a story to tell, and she will not stop until everyone understands the importance of equal rights for LGBT students.

Gen. Petraeus: Time to rethink DADT policy

SDGLN Staff | Wed, 03/17/2010 - 9:44am | Login to bookmark or comment

WASHINGTON -- Gen. David Petraeus once again says "the time has come" for the U.S. military to rethink its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy toward gays and lesbians serving silently in the military.

The four-star Army general, who is managing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told a Senate panel on Tuesday that he is waiting to see the results of an internal study that was ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and due soon.

Petraeus has noted before that he has served with servicemembers he knew were gay or lesbian.

March 22 hearing set for Mississippi prom case

SDGLN Staff | Wed, 03/17/2010 - 9:39am | Login to bookmark or comment

FULTON, Miss. – The federal lawsuit by the lesbian teenager who was told she couldn’t bring her girlfriend to the prom will be heard by a judge on March 22.

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson will hear arguments in the case filed on behalf of Constance McMillen by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the Itawamba County School District from canceling the prom scheduled for April 2 at the high school in Fulton.

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