LA Times: Implications of Prop 8 Decision

Maura Dolan of the LA Times explains the "far-reaching implications" of the Prop 8 decision set to come down from the 9th Circuit around 1p.m. EST today.
"Court ruling on Prop 8 has far-reaching implications"

Please stop by the Law School Commons at 1p.m. to watch the decision live.

NCLR's Chris Stoll on Cynthia Nixon's "Choice"

Chris Stoll, senior staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, has a great story on Huffington Post about Cynthia Nixon's recent comment that she is gay by choice.  The piece does an excellent job of explaining why this does not affect the legal landscape going forward as well as setting out some basics of Consitutional law with regard to LGBTQ rights. Read Chris' full story here.

Center for Gender & Sexuality Studies in CT Tribune

Marie P. Grady of the CT Tribune writes about WNE Law's new Center for Gender & Sexuality Studies.

Panel at WNE: MA's Transgender Rights Law

THE CENTER FOR GENDER & SEXUALITY STUDIES AT WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW presents:

MASSACHUSETTS'S NEW TRANSGENDER RIGHTS LAW:

Strategies for Compliance and Advocacy

Tuesday, February 14 2012 at noon in the Western New England University School of Law Commons. Free and open to the public.

On November 23, 2011, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law "An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights." The new law effective July 1, 2012, prohibits discrimination on the basis of "gender identity" in employment, education, housing, credit, and lending and makes violence against transgender individuals a hate crime.  The employment and housing provisions of the new law are to be enforced by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD).

Join us as an expert panel addresses the definition of gender identity, how the law will be enforced, and the steps employers, landlords, lenders, and others should take to ensure their compliance with the law.

Panelists include:

• Julian Tynes L'97, Chair, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
• Susan Fentin L'96, Partner, Skoler, Abbott, and Presser, P.C
• Whitney Holovach L'11, Civil Rights Specialist, Massachusetts Fair Housing Center
• Jennifer Levi, Professor, Western New England University School of Law and Director of GLAD's Transgender Rights Project

SPLC Suit Challenges DOMA

"Tracy Cooper-Harris served for 12 years in the U.S. Army and received multiple commendations.  But because she's in a marriage with a person of the same sex, the government refuses to grant her the same disability benefits as heterosexual veterans.

In a federal lawsuit filed today, the SPLC challenged the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as well as the law that governs the Department of Veterans Affairs policy...

... The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges that DOMA is unconstitutional because it discriminates on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.  It also challenges the VA's definition of "spouse" as discriminatory."

Read the SPLC's full article here.

"Plaintiffs in Howe v. Haslam Respond to Ruling"

Last year, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed HB 600 into law. This piece of legislation prohibits local governments from enacting any anti-discrimination policies to protect LGBT persons, if those policies are stricter than the ones currently in force at the state level. (Currently, Tennessee has no statewide law barring discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.) On January 25, 2012, Chancellor L. McCoy issued a preliminary order in Howe v. Haslam, the case challenging HB 600, which gives the plaintiffs in the case 30 days to provide additional proof that they have been harmed by the law in order to prevent the case from being dismissed.

Full story at the NCLR's Blog.

Thanks to OUTlaw President Erika Scibelli for the link to the story.

Ministers Sue Over Hate Crimes Law

Gary Glenn, photo courtesy of mlive.com

In 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. The act effectively expanded the 1969 U.S. hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by the victim's gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. Following the passage of the law, three Michigan ministers led by Gary Glenn of the Michigan American Family Association challenged the constitutionality of the law, arguing that it violated their First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Noting that the law does not, in fact, proscribe speech but rather "prohibits only violent conduct", U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In 2010, a federal judge agreed with Holder and dismissed the suit, writing that "it is entirely speculative that Plaintiff's conduct would be prosecuted under the Act" and that the plaintiff's claim must be more than just a "generalized grievance." Now, in a new twist, a three judge panel for the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has decided to take up the ministers' claim, with oral arguments set for this Wednesday.

Strong Support for Washington's Gay Marriage Bill

Photo courtesy of Queerty.

Following Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire's statement in support of same-sex marriage, a bill to legalize it has now been introduced in the Washington state Senate with 23 sponsors, two of whom are Republicans. Currently, six Democrats have not signed onto the bill, but only two more votes are necessary to have a majority and pass the bill in the Senate. If successful the bill will move to the House, where the Democrats have an even larger majority, before heading to Gov. Gregoire's desk.

Washington Governor Proposes Same-Sex Marriage Legislation

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire has just proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in her state. Concerning the legalization of same-sex marriage, Gregoire said, "It's time, it's the right thing to do, and I will introduce a bill to do it." While Democrats control both the state Senate and House, it should be noted that some conservative Democrats in Washington have voted with Republicans in the past to oppose LGBT rights.

HIV Positive Man Faces Workplace Discrimination

James White was diagnosed with HIV six months before he began his job as an office worker at Great Expressions Dental Center in Eastside Detroit. When the office manager inquired as to the nature of his doctors appointments, White told her in confidence that he tested positive for HIV. However, everyone at the office soon heard the news, including the company's regional director who told White he heard he had AIDS. The problems did not end there. White was prohibited from touching doorknobs and staffers began following him around with Lysol to spray anything he touched. Finally, after being briefly hospitalized in large part due to the overwhelming stress from work, the clinic chose to fire him. Now, the Detroit office of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission has ruled that the dental company had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Full story compliments of Queerty.