Emotional Newsom praises Del Martin, rips anti-marriage Democrats

From Towleroad:

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Del Martin passes away

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon

Del Martin, who married her sweetheart of 55 years, Phyllis Lyon, in June of this year after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, passed away this morning in San Francisco. She had been ailing in recent weeks.

The San Francisco Chronicle has coverage.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

                    [She] did look far
                    Into the service of the time and was
                    Discipled of the bravest: [s]he lasted long;
                    But on us both did... age steal on
                    And wore us out of act.

                         -- William Shakespeare; All's Well That Ends Well; I, 2

<<< Newsom praises Del Martin, rips anti-marriage Democrats | Home | Obama's LGBT Vote program >>>

Back in a few

Taking a while off for some beach time with the family. No right-wing nuts will do anything newsworthy while we're gone, right?

Obama's LGBT Vote program

Jamie Citron, Deputy Director of Barack Obama's LGBT Vote program, tells how to get involved:

<<< Del Martin passes away | Home | Proposition 8 money tracking resources >>>

Proposition 8 money tracking resources

The Los Angeles Times has online resources for following the money race to pass or defeat Proposition 8, California's anti-gay marriage amendment.

There is an interactive map that allows the reader to click on a county to see how much money came from that county and by what margin that county voted against 2000's Proposition 22, the Knight Initiative. Proposition 22 barred same-sex marriage by statute and was approved statewide by 61.4-38.6.

Click on the green bar to find figures for marriage ban opponents, and on the blue bar for marriage ban supporters.

As of yesterday, gay marriage supporters have raised $5,702,253 versus $3,500,090 for opponents.

There is also a donor database that can search by city, ZIP code, or state (use two-letter postal abbreviations). Find out what the neighbors are up to.

<<< Obama's LGBT Vote program | Home | Jesse Helms' desk >>>

Jesse Helms' desk

Jesse Helms, the former Republican senator from North Carolina who built his career on blatant racism and demonizing gay people and people with AIDS, is preaching tolerance from the grave -- but only within his own family.

In his will, filed in Wake County courts twelve days after his 04 Jul 2008 death, Helms asks

that my children try to be as understanding and tolerant of each other as possible and to make every effort to avoid disharmony among themselves.

Helms infamously said that gays caused the AIDS epidemic, victimized hemophiliac AIDS patient Ryan White, threaten the survival of the American family, are in a battle against American values, and have the ultimate aim of having the American people accept "their perverted lifestyle". There was apparently no mention in his last testament that he regretted any of his atrocious behavior, but he did fret about the final disposition of his old Senate desk. He specified that if no family member wanted it, it should go to the Jesse Helms Center Foundation.

By the time an HIV vaccine is discovered, tens of millions of people will have died of AIDS, many of whom could have been saved if Helms had not blocked funding for prevention and treatment. Once a vaccine -- or even an outright cure -- is discovered, it is reasonable to suppose that there will come into being an AIDS Holocaust Museum, located perhaps in San Francisco, New York, or even southern Africa. Just as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum displays artifacts from the Nazi regime, an AIDS Holocaust Museum would be a suitable setting for Helms' desk, along with a display of his monstrous statements with which he profaned the floor of the United States Senate.

<<< Proposition 8 money tracking resources | Home | John Kerry supports gay marriage, sort of >>>

John Kerry supports gay marriage, sort of

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) came out in favor of Massachusetts' recent decision to allow out-of-state gay couples to get married there, but he quickly asserted the right of other states not to permit gay marriage. From Ryan Burgess at Boston's Capitol News 9:

Presidential politics isn't the only issue on the senator's mind, especially after the Bay State recently passed legislation that allows out-of-state gay couples to marry in Massachusetts.

"I think it's the right thing for Massachusetts to have done to make its law apply to anybody who wants to be here, but in terms of right of recognition, every state has its own choice, and that's the way it works," said Kerry.

The senator also fended off questions about the possibility of joining an Obama cabinet -- perhaps as Secretary of State.

Could a Kerry Senate vacancy result in a Senator Barney Frank?

<<< Jesse Helms preaches understanding and tolerance | Home | Roundup >>>

Roundup

♦ Barack Obama has quietly called for full convention delegate status for Florida and Michigan. Oddly, I had to get this from Hillary Clinton's web site.

♦ "Nonprofit status is what created the Bible Belt. The tax code brought religion back to this country." -- Gore Vidal (right), oracle laureate of the United States.

♦ At the end of June, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (say "D-triple-C") had $56.6 million in the bank, and the National Republican Congressional Committee had only $8.4 million.

♦ Although the Jesse Helms-sponsored HIV travel ban has been lifted as a matter of law in the PEPFAR bill that was signed last week, it can still remain as a matter of administrative fiat. Whether it stays or not depends on the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and ultimately on the President of the United States.

<<< John Kerry supports gay marriage, sort of | Home | Only 83% of Virginia county identify as heterosexual >>>

Only 83% of Virginia county identify as heterosexual

What's the deal with the 9.7%? From today's Washington Blade:

A survey published by Arlington, Va., officials last week asked responders to identify their sexual orientation and found that 5.7 percent of county residents said they are gay.

While 5.7 percent of county residents identified as "homosexual," 83.4 percent said they were "heterosexual," 1.2 percent identified as "other" and 9.7 percent did not respond to the question.

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