From November 2009 eNews (Vol.6, No.10)

It is tempting in moments of defeat to succumb to a sense of despair, but last night brought a powerful mix of heartbreak and inspiration. Thousands of passionate volunteers — in Maine and around the country — fought and stood up for equality, and they made us proud.

10/31/2009

"A SkyWest Airlines baggage agent who married his partner last year after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions says the airline is breaking state law by refusing to give his husband the free fares it provides to heterosexual spouses.

11/2009

"In April, the Iowa Supreme Court handed down a unanimous ruling on Varnum v. Brien: Banning gay couples from marrying violates the state's constitution.

"The ruling made Iowa the third state to legalize same-sex marriage. Since then, three more states have done so.

11/1/2009

"A transgender teenager who identifies as a girl said she was subject to constant abuse and discrimination during 18 months in the custody of Philadelphia's Department of Human Services.

"...Last week, a national civil-rights group filed a complaint on her behalf with the Pensylvania Commission on Human Relations alleging unlawful discrimination. The commission can enforce state antidiscrimination laws.

10/29/2009

"A worker for SkyWest, a partner of Delta Airlines operating out of Palm Springs International Airport, says he wants the same benefits given to married couples in the company.

"Gilbert Caldwell married his partner of 34 years last year, and now says he faces different rules when he and his partner want to fly. He says he is forced to pay a fare for his spouse, 72 year-old Rev. David Farrell, under a 'companion' program designated for friends. Spouses of heterosexual couples do not have to pay the fare.

10/28/2009

"The gay community applauded President Obama’s signing Wednesday of a hate-crime law that covers crimes against people based on their gender identity and sexual orientation, real or perceived.

"The law, known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, gives the Justice Department the ability to investigate and prosecute such crimes. It expands on a 1969 federal hate-crimes law that covered crimes motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, and disability.

10/28/2009

"At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon, President Obama plans to sign a bill into law that was more than a decade in the making. It is an update to the federal hate crimes statute that Congress initially passed in 1968.

"For the first time, the law that had previously protected people from attacks motivated by race, religion or ethnicity will include gay, lesbian, transgender and disabled people.

10/22/2009

"Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) says there's an entire community of people across the world who say that their sexual orientation changed from gay to straight. But they're not getting their message out, the group says, because libraries across the country refuse to carry literature that describes these experiences or any studies that support them.

"Three men are now in custody in Broward County in this year's robbery and beating of two gay men, one of whom—Craig Cohen—recently died of his injuries after six months in a coma.

"...Kevin Cathcart is the executive director for Lambda Legal, a New York based legal advocacy group for gay rights. He says there is a bigger backdrop, that hate crimes can take on a larger significance about the relationship between security and minority groups.

10/20/2009

"Constitutional–law experts scrambled to apply meaning to an order issued Monday by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, temporarily blocking the release of the names of those who signed Referendum 71 petitions, in what has become a months-long legal back and forth.

"...Jennifer Pizer, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, a national gay–rights legal advocacy group and a constitutional-law expert, said Kennedy's order is unusual, given the court grants a tiny fraction of the thousands of requests it receives to hear cases.