Hillary Clinton Recognizes Stonewall, Gay and Lesbian Pride Month

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has released a statement recognizing June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.

It reads:

"Forty years ago this month, the gay rights movement began with the Stonewall riots in New York City, as gays and lesbians demanded an end to the persecution they had long endured. Now, after decades of hard work, the fight has grown into a global movement to achieve a world in which all people live free from violence and fear, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"In honor of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and on behalf of the State Department, I extend our appreciation to the global LGBT community for its courage and determination during the past 40 years, and I offer our support for the significant work that still lies ahead.

"At the State Department and throughout the Administration, we are grateful for our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees in Washington and around the world. They and their families make many sacrifices to serve our nation. Their contributions are vital to our efforts to establish stability, prosperity and peace worldwide.

"Human rights are at the heart of those efforts. Gays and lesbians in many parts of the world live under constant threat of arrest, violence, even torture. The persecution of gays and lesbians is a violation of human rights and an affront to human decency, and it must end. As Secretary of State, I will advance a comprehensive human rights agenda that includes the elimination of violence and discrimination against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Though the road to full equality for LGBT Americans is long, the example set by those fighting for equal rights in the United States gives hope to men and women around the world who yearn for a better future for themselves and their loved ones.

"This June, let us recommit ourselves to achieving a world in which all people can live in safety and freedom, no matter who they are or whom they love."

It will be interesting to see what, if any, statement Obama releases this month considering that most of his campaign promises to LGBT citizens remain unfulfilled.

Hillary Clinton Notifies State Dept. of Forthcoming Changes for Gays

Gay and lesbian State Department employees and their partners will soon receive benefits equal to those of their heterosexual counterparts, according to a draft memo written by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

"In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are 'unfair and must end,' as they harm U.S. diplomacy. 'Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad,' she says in the message, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. 'It will also help the department attract and retain personnel in a competitive environment where domestic partner benefits and allowances are increasingly the norm for world-class employers,' she says. 'At bottom, the department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex domestic partners because it is the right thing to do,' Clinton says."

The benefits include use of foreign medical facilities, diplomatic passports, government-paid travel for spouses and families, and eligibility for foreign training courses and emergency evacuations.

A report on the memo from CNN and the difficulties the changes may come up against,
AFTER THE JUMP...

Lawmaker Expects Clinton to Soon Fix Gay Inequities at State Dept.

 On Monday I posted that Rep. Howard Berman had introduced the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410) late last week, which covers a broad range of foreign policy and diplomacy issues, one of which is to "end the long-standing practice of excluding the committed partners of Foreign Service officers from the benefits routinely provided to the spouses and children of officers serving abroad."

Today, news of developments in that area: "Berman, in a hearing on funding for the Foreign Service, said he would drop his legislative bid as 'it is my expectation, based on very recent conversations, that the Secretary of State will move forward with implementing all of the benefits provided in that provision in the very near future.' The congressman invited to the hearing Michael Guest, the former US ambassador to Romania who in 2007 left the Foreign Service, citing unfair treatment of his partner."

In February, Rep. Tammy Baldwin sent a letter co-signed by Senators Russ Feingold and Ron Wyden, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that inequities be remedied. Clinton said that such remedies were "on a fast timeline."

Rep. Berman Introduces Bill Correcting State Dept. Gay Inequities

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) introduced the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410) late last week, which covers a broad range of foreign policy and diplomacy issues, one of which is to "end the long-standing practice of excluding the committed partners of Foreign Service officers from the benefits routinely provided to the spouses and children of officers serving abroad."

UN Dispatch reports: "The provision now must make its way through the budget process, including the conference committee where many-a-well intentioned proposal hits the chopping block.  But in this case, it would be hard to imagine that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is lead by Chairman John Kerry and the moderate republic ranking member Richard Lugar, would do anything to strip out this provision."

In February, Rep. Tammy Baldwin sent a letter co-signed by Senators Russ Feingold and Ron Wyden, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that inequities be remedied. Clinton said that such remedies were "on a fast timeline."

Gay Rights Activist Questions Hillary Clinton at EU

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on a man at a Q&A session at the European Parliament today  "because he [was wearing] a T-shirt that [said] 'I Love Hillary'" on it.

The man stood up and said: "My name is Max. I am from Moldova, and I am a gay rights activist. In seven countries in the world homosexuals are sentenced to death and many more to prison. A lot of gay men around the world die because of the HIV AIDS policies that the Bush administration had that did not allow to spend money on prevention for men who have sex with men. How do you see the foreign policy of the United States changing in the coming years in the field of human rights and in particular sexual rights and gay and lesbian rights?"

As I've noted before, things certainly aren't good in Moldova.

Answered Clinton: "Human rights is and always will be one of the pillars of our foreign policy. And in particular, the persecution and discrimination against gays and lesbians is something that we take very seriously. It is terribly unfortunate that right now in unfortunately many places in the world violence against gays and lesbians, certainly discrimination and prejudice are not just occurring but condoned and protected. And we would hope that over the next few years we could have some influence in trying to change those attitudes..."

Watch Clinton's entire answer, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Diesel, Hayden Christensen, Indiana, Firefighters, Sam Adams

Jury out in murder case against anti-gay killers of Liverpool teen Michael Causer.

Kanye West steps out with gaybot.

Hillary Clinton talks about why she took job as Secretary of State: "It was not anything I had any reason to expect or had even thought about. I had to make a hard decision. We have so many of the same views of what we should do in the world." Gets Hardball award from Chris Matthews.

Porn producer Michael Lucas sends letter to Barack Obama requesting aid after seizure of adult video titles by Canadian authorities.

Gay tease Hayden Christensen chooses women.

One of Buffalo Continental plane crash victims was long time HIV prevention and gay men's health advocate: "Gonzalez came to New Brunswick from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, where he was a National Urban Fellow. Previously, he was executive director of Alianza Latina, a nonprofit organization addressing HIV/AIDS in Buffalo, N.Y.; and also education services director and community educator of AIDS Community Services in New York. Gonzalez also volunteered at a fitness center in East Harlem, N.Y., where he led free exercise classes for the poor."

POLL: 48% of New Jersey residents favor marriage equality, 43% oppose.

Madonna will not be appearing in vampire sequel.

Guess what day it is in Brazil?

New York Press takes a look at the East Village Boys. "The boys that we have on there, they sort of exist as the low-culture pin-up boys. It provides a good mix, having serious discussions without forgetting that we like to look at pictures of naked boys. When you read a newspaper, the most successful ones combine high and low culture. I don’t think most American newspapers do it well it all, but if you look at something like The Guardian, it’s serious but they also recognize that you want a little bit of everything and I think that’s kind of where we are...people come to the site for the cock, but they stay for the culture.” 

Anti-gay marriage amendment stopped in Indiana legislature: "Indiana’s Senate Republican Caucus voted this week not to consider a resolution that would have proposed amending the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.  This vote means the amendment is unlikely to advance during this legislative session.  The resolution would require approval by the Senate and House in two consecutive legislative sessions, and, if approved, would then go before the voters."

Former Project Runway designer Jack Mackenroth, who is interviewed this week by the San Francisco Bay Times, blogs fashion week in NYC.

SF Weekly: Heads to butt at upcoming Prop 8 town hall. "Supervisors Bevan Dufty, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, and Senator Mark Leno will all apparently be there, as will ball-busting gay blogger and activist Michael Petrelis, who has spent a whole lot of time castigating the architects of the No on 8 campaign. In January, Petrelis posted the names and phone numbers of the 16 members of the No on 8 executive committee. According to Petrelis's blog, Petrelis Files, he had to file a public records request with the Secretary of State to get the names. "Like practically everything [Equality California Executive Director Geoff] Kors and No on 8 touched, the closet and non-transparency ruled," Petralis wrote. Then said he hoped the executive committee, which included Kors, would spend the next year sweeping the streets of gay neighborhoods and participating in other acts of penance for wasting $45 million on losing gays the right to marry."

Stonewall, the FBU, the Local Government Association, the Chief Fire Officers' Association, Unison, the Asian Fire Service Association, the Fire Officers' Association, the GMB, the National Disabled Fire Association, Networking Women in the Fire Service and the Retained Firefighters Union call for end of homophobic bullying among UK firefighters.

Paris Hilton attempts rap with Snoop Dogg.

Diesel displays downtown denizens dining: "Around 9 p.m. the guests took their seats around a table in the window of the new store, which opens to the public on Thursday, in full view of confused passerby. They nibbled Olivier Cheng catering while a pack of photographers snapped their photos through the large glass window, and Diesel employees and some invited press roamed the store."

AfterElton talks to Keir Gilchrist, the gay son on The United States of Tara.

Is GLASS the first LGBT non-profit to fall victim to recession? "Wednesday night, eight days after its 25th anniversary, the board of directors of Gay and Lesbian  Adolescent Social Services (GLASS) voted 7-0 (with one abstention) to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this afternoon.  According to founder and executive director Terry DeCrescenzo, the staff is so "outraged" at the board's decision, they plan to ask a court to intervene and accept a reorganization plan instead."

Beaverton contractor launches crusade against Portland Mayor Sam Adams: "He passed out pamphlets detailing why Adams should be kicked out of office and said he plans to file charges with the state Thursday. PJ Mulcahy rented a room at Portland City Hall for Wednesday's press conference. He and several other people said Adams is not only an embarrassment to the city but they think he violated election laws for lying about his affair with a teenager. Mulcahy also brought a replica of the Ten Commandments and said Adams not only lied to the public, he sinned."