Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
Last week, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law the Fairness for All Marylanders Act which protects transgender people from discrimination in housing, public accommodation, and employment. The law goes into effect on October 1, 2014. There is a movement in some conservative circles to issue a recall of the law by placing it as […]
Tracy Dice Johnson, a former North Carolina National Guard member and Iraq War veteran, announced recently that she will be receiving survivor benefits from the death of her wife Army Staff Sergeant Donna R. Johnson in 2012. According to the American Military Partner’s Association, Dice Johnson is the first known same sex war widow. This marks […]
At around 2:30 PM EST on May 20th, Judge John Jones declared the state of Pennsylvania’s ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. The law was defended by Governor Tom Corbett after the Pennsylvania Attorney General refused to defend the law citing his belief that it was unconstitutional. Court watchers strongly believe that Governor Corbett will […]
Last week was a great week for same sex marriage in the courts, but now many of those laws are enmeshed in challenges in the appellate system. By the time same sex marriage truly becomes the law of the land, everyone who has been following it will be masters in court structure and procedure. Arkansas: Arkansas’s […]
Last week, President Obama nominated Ted Osius to be the United States Ambassador to Vietnam. Osius would be the first openly-gay US ambassador to serve in an Asian country. Osius becomes the sixth gay ambassador named by Obama, joining ambassadors from OSCE, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and the Dominican Republic. Osius had previously come to the public’s attention […]
Here are some of the best links from around the web this week. Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst (played by Tom Neurwith) won the Eurovision Song Contest with 290 votes with the song “Rise Like a Phoenix.” Outrage from Russia and other eastern European governments was expressed, but the voters have spoken. In fact, people […]
Drafted by the St. Louis Rams, Michael Sam will probably become the first openly gay player in the NFL. One K Street lobbyist, Jack Burkman, has promised a “relentless” boycott against the team that drafts him as part of his campaign to legally ban openly gay players in the NFL. Burkman claims to have a […]
This past week has been “Choose Privacy Week.” The event was celebrated by the release of a tool kit with access to information on the libraries’ core values of privacy and confidentiality. The revision was completed by the ALA Privacy Subcommittee. Information is available here. Following are articles about maintaining privacy in the library world: […]
Outbeat, sponsored by the William Way LGBT Community Center, is being billed as the first jazz festival with an entirely LGBT focus. Scheduled for September 18-21, the event will provide panel discussions and receptions as well as performances at clubs throughout Philadelphia.
The Beverly Hills City Council voted unanimously for a resolution urging the nation of Brunei to sell The Beverly Hills Hotel because of the country’s penal code of “kill-a-gay” and “flog-a-woman.” The Brunei Investment Agency, managed by the Brunei Ministry of Finance controlled by Brunei’s sultan, also owns the the Bel-Air Hotel and other Dorchester […]