Gay Rights Topics

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LGBTQ Rights Activists on Victories for Marriage Equality in California and Washington

Washington state is set to become the seventh state to legalize gay marriage following a vote in the State House. The vote came just a day after a U.S. appeals court ruled California’s ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, is unconstitutional. We discuss marriage equality with Josh Friedes of Equal Rights Washington, Rick Jacobs of Courage Campaign, and Kalil Cohen, a transgender community organizer based in Los Angeles. Jacobs...
Feb 09, 2012 | Story
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Ban on Gay and Lesbians in the U.S. Military is Lifted

"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" is no more. The military’s longstanding ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers officially expired at 12:01 a.m. EDT earlier today. Congress passed a repeal of the ban last year, but President Obama had deferred its implementation until military leaders gave their approval. The Pentagon now says it will no longer enforce the ban, meaning gays and lesbians can openly serve. We play excerpts...
Sep 20, 2011 | Story
"9/11 Victim 0001: Father Mychal’s Message" By Amy Goodman

The body bag marked “Victim 0001” on Sept. 11, 2001, contained the corpse of Father Mychal Judge, a Catholic chaplain with the Fire Department of New York. His was the first recorded death from the attacks that morning. His life’s work should be central to the 10th anniversary commemorations of the Sept. 11 attacks: peace, tolerance and reconciliation.
Sep 07, 2011 | Columns & Articles
Saint of 9/11: Remembering NY Fire Chaplain Mychal Judge, Gay Catholic Priest Killed at WTC

Hundreds of people marched the streets of New York City Sunday to honor the memory of Fr. Mychal Judge, the first recorded victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. Judge, a New York City Fire Department chaplain, was 68 years old when he was killed while giving last rites to a firefighter at the scene. He was a larger-than-life figure, with admirers and friends across the political and social spectrum, and whose life is...
Sep 06, 2011 | Story
AIDS-Afflicted U.S. Citizen Urges Obama Admin to Reverse Deportation of Australian Husband

The Obama administration’s enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act is threatening to tear apart the seven-year marriage of a binational gay couple in San Francisco. Bradford Wells, a U.S. citizen, and Anthony John Makk, an Australian national, have lived together for 19 years and were among the first same-sex couples to legally marry in Massachusetts. Anthony is also the primary caretaker for his husband, who has HIV/AIDS. Makk is facing...
Aug 12, 2011 | Story
Hundreds of Same-Sex Couples Marry in New York, from Niagara Falls to Manhattan

Hundreds of gay couples got married across New York state Sunday after it became the sixth and most populous state in the United States to recognize same-sex marriages. New York joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia in allowing same-sex unions. But gay marriage is still specifically banned in 39 states. On Sunday, Kitty Lambert, 54, and Cheryle Rudd, 53, were married with Niagara Falls in the...
Jul 25, 2011 | Story
Pioneering Comedian Roseanne Barr on Her Life on Screen as a “Working-Class Domestic Goddess”

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Emmy Award-winning actress Roseanne Barr starred in the popular and groundbreaking show on television titled simply "Roseanne," the first TV series to openly advocate for gay rights. "Roseanne" featured one of the first lesbian kisses on TV, in an episode when Roseanne kisses Mariel Hemingway. "Roseanne" was also the first sitcom to ever feature a gay marriage. The series tackled...
Jul 25, 2011 | Story
NY Passes Historic Marriage Equality Bill; Is It a Sign the GOP Aims to Leverage Gay Support in 2012?

Late Friday night, New York became the sixth and largest state to approve same-sex marriage. After complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations, four Republican senators joined all but one Democrat to pass the bill in a close vote in the State Senate. The State Assembly, with a Democratic majority, had approved it earlier in the month. Two days after the passage of the measure, tens of thousands of people took to the streets for New York City’s...
Jun 27, 2011 | Story
In Historic Move, Senate Votes to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The Senate voted 63 to 31 on Thursday to repeal the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy. Eight Republicans joined with Democrats to approve the repeal and send the measure to President Obama for his signature. The bill passed in the House last week. We speak with former Navy commander Zoe Dunning. Until her retirement three years ago, she was thought to be the only openly gay person serving in the U.S. military....
Dec 20, 2010 | Story
With New Limits, US Military Reinstates "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The military’s seventeen-year-old ban on openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people from joining the US military is back on the books. But based on a new directive, only five senior military officials will be able to discharge service members for violating the policy. The change makes it harder for the military to remove openly gay troops. We speak to one of the most vocal critics of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Lt. Dan Choi, who...
Oct 22, 2010 | Story