REFORMA A LA LEY DE INMIGRACIÓN PODRÍA INCLUÍR PAREJAS DEL MISMO SEXO

ADVOCATE / April 29

A document circulating on Capitol Hill reportedly outlines key provisions of a possible immigration-reform bill. The outline includes the language, "It will eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status." Steve Ralls, a spokesman for Immigration Equality, said the development was a "historic step forward." Advocate.com (4/29)

LEGISLATURA DE HAWAII: MEDIDAS SOBRE UNIONES CIVILES ARRASÓ CON GRAN MAYORÍA

Smart Brief / April30

The Hawaii House approved a civil-unions measure. The bill, which has already cleared the state Senate, would grant unmarried couples, gay or straight, the same benefits as married couples. Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican who had asked legislators not to focus on the issue this year, now has 45 days to either sign or veto the bill. The Honolulu Advertiser (4/29)

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker de la Cámara…
Optimista y planificando revocar la ley
“Don’t ask, Don’t tell” DADT,este año…

28 de abril 2010 / 360Gay Agenda Blog

A los que “sintonizaron” tarde en el tema DADT: Política discriminatoria del ejército contra homosexuales en el servicio militar o sea, lo que muchos conocemos como “la ley de la mordaza”.

According to Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesperson, “it is the Speaker’s intention that a vote will be taken this year.”
This was welcomed news from DADT opponents.
“I’m delighted that [Pelosi] reaffirmed to hold the vote this year,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. While we are on the topic of SLDN, you all know about their new media program right? We covered it here and here.
Sarvis thinks it’s time for a certain guy in the White House to step up to the plate.
“The hour for the president as well as for the leadership to become engaged is now,” he said. “The reality is — particularly in the Senate Armed Services Committee — we are still short of some critical votes. We don’t have the votes today. We’re on the brink of getting them, and we need help from leadership on the Hill and from the president himself.”While this is a good idea, it isn’t how Obama operates. Never has been. If you read David Remnick’s Obama biography The Bridge (our review will be up this weekend), you’ll discover for his whole career Obama’s been a slow, cautious, pol, never willing to get too ahead of the electorate. That is no comfort to many here, but the trick is to get him to be more proactive. It’s all about cover, and that will come in two forms: the report of the Defense Department and more centrist to conservative people coming out against the policy.

OBAMA APLAZA UN AÑO LA REVOCACIÓN LEY “DON´T ASK, DON´T TELL”

23 de abril 2010 / ADVOCATE

El Presidente espera por el Pentágono…

President Barack Obama will wait for completion of a Pentagon study about repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law before leaning on Congress to vote on it, according to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. That move would most likely push congressional action back to 2011, since the study is due on Dec. 1. Some advocates who attended a high-level strategy meeting earlier this year are saying the White House never committed to legislative repeal in 2010.

Obama ordena a hospitales el derecho a la comunidad gay a visitar sus parejas

27 de abril 2010 Advocate : Josh Kilmer-Purcell / Comenta…

Janice Langbehn. In 2007, Langbehn’s partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, collapsed while the couple and their three children were on vacation in Florida. After being taken to Jackson Memorial hospital in Miami, hospital staff kept Langbehn and the children in the waiting room for eight and a half hours as Pond slowly died of an aneurysm. The children were finally allowed to say goodbye to their mother long after she lost consciousness, and shortly before she was declared brain dead. Inspired by their tragic story, on April 15 President Obama instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to draft a rule ensuring hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples. According to the United States Government Accountability Office, there are 1,138 marital benefits, rights, and privileges not afforded to same sex couples—or at least there were. After Obama’s memorandum, there are now 1,137. Good move, right?Most gay rights groups applauded the announcement. But while it may have been a small step for gaykind, it is also, ironically, a giant leap forward for conservative anti-marriage politicians and pundits.Because while Langbehn and Pond’s horrific story brings tears to everyone’s eyes, it has also brought shivers of fear down the spines of anti-marriage equality politicians. Denying dying people the presence of their loved ones doesn’t play well at even the most rabid Tea Party. With same sex marriage equality on the front line across America, denial of hospital visitation has always been our back-pocket nuclear bomb to drop into the debate.