-Ireland’s civil partnership law goes into effect on January 1.
-Two gay men are attacked outside a gay bar in Austin.
-North Carolina’s Council of Churches elects an openly gay leader.
-California State Senator Mark Leno introduces a bill to require public school textbooks to include information on historical LGBT figures.
-The BBC interviews an anti-gay activist as part of its coverage of the birth of Elton John’s son.
-Joseph Farah wants to purge gay and gay-supportive individuals from the conservative movement.
-WorldNetDaily promotes Scott Lively’s discredited book “The Pink Swastika” in its online store.
-Two teachers sue the state of Minnesota for disclosing that they engaged in anti-gay bullying.
-Apple rejects a Manhattan Declaration app a second time.
-The religious right reacts predictably to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
-Towleroad posts a summary of the aftermath of the DADT repeal.
-Even Fox News finds strong public support for the repeal.
-An Israeli court authorizes second-parent adoption for gay couples.
-Conservative British MP Nigel Evans comes out of the closet.
-Two gay men are arrested in Zimbabwe.
-Foreign Policy magazine looks at the state of gay rights in ten countries around the globe.
-The Mormon Church makes a tentative overture to several gay rights activists.
-President Obama signs the DADT repeal bill.
-The UN votes to restore sexual orientation to its resolution against arbitrary executions.
In an historic vote, the United States Senate has passed an act repealing the ban on openly gay soldiers serving in the armed forces, 65-33. Eight Republicans sided with the mostly Democratic call for repeal. The ban, called “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” or “DADT,” has been in effect since 1993. President Barack Obama has expressed opposition to the ban since his presidential campaign.
“As commander in chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known,” said the President, after the vote.
Organized opposition to allowing openly gay people to serve in the military has mostly been limited to those on the farthest fringe of the right wing, among groups recently classified by the SPLC as “hate groups,” like the American Family Association and Peter LaBarbera’s Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. Poll after poll and study after study showed the public, politicians, and veterans support its end. Even the National Organization for Marriage supports lifting the ban.
In a pathetic and somewhat unexpected lurch to the fringe right, Vietnam War veteran and once-dubbed “maverick” Sen. John McCain (AZ-R) fought repeal all the way, calling today’s vote “a sad day in history.”
Another historic aspect of the repeal is the fact that it is a stand-alone bill, and not one attached to a “can’t-lose” measure. The previous attempt to repeal DADT was attached to a bill that bitterly divided Congress along party lines, causing many would-be supporters to vote “no.” Politicians voting for repeal of DADT this time around so voted based on whether or not they supported equality. History will not be kind to those who voted “no.”
-Adele Starr, co-founder and former president of PFLAG, dies at age 90.
-The Family Research Council continues to earn its hate group status.
-The National Organization for Marriage attacks Apple for removing the Manhattan Declaration app from its store.
-An international coalition lobbies to reverse the UN’s recent removal of sexual orientation from its resolution against arbitrary executions.
-Lt. Dan Choi is hospitalized due to stress.
-The US House votes to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
-Colorado State Senator Pat Steadman announces plans to introduce a civil unions bill in the legislature’s next session.
-A gay soldier shares his perspective before leaving for Afghanistan.
-Prominent evangelical Ron Sider makes a flawed case against marriage equality.
-Recent polls continue to find strong public support for repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
-King County, Washington swears in a gay councilmember.
-Jonathan Rauch encourages gay rights activists to consider a change in tactics as the majority opinion shifts in favor of equality.
-The National Organization for Marriage misrepresents some basic facts about the Prop 8 trial.
-A variety of religious leaders in Texas weigh in on the ability of chaplains to perform their duties post-DADT.
-An El Paso, TX ballot initiative pushed through by a local pastor to deny benefits to partners of gay city employees inadvertently strips benefits from a larger group of workers and retirees.
-A Christian college ignites controversy by firing a gay coach.
-Prospects for marriage equality in Maryland improve.
-A gay rights ordinance passes a preliminary vote in Manhattan, KS.
-The US Senate fails to advance the defense bill that a DADT repeal was attached to.
-Rachel Maddow interviews the author of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
-3,000 Minnesota Catholics send back the anti-gay marriage DVD distributed by Archbishop John Nienstedt.
-Warren Throckmorton counters the religious right’s reaction to the SPLC’s expanded list of anti-gay hate groups.
-New Delhi hosts its first pride parade since India decriminalized homosexuality.
-Apple Computer removes an anti-gay app from its library.
-The Pentagon’s report on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ finds little risk in allowing gay servicemembers to serve openly.
-Tony Perkins blasts the SPLC for adding the Family Research Council to its list of hate groups, then promptly turns around and proves the SPLC’s point.
-The Illinois legislature passes a civil unions bill.
-Hungary adopts a new constitution that bans same-sex marriage.
-Kenyan Prime Minster Raila Odinga claims a statement he made calling for the arrest of all gays was taken out of context.
-Judge Stephen Reinhart refuses a request by religious right advocates to recuse himself from the Prop 8 trial.
-The US military service chiefs testify that they would be comfortable with a repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” given adequate time to implement the change.
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