DC to Recognize Out-of-State Marriages

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the links, who makes the excellent observation: "When it rains, it pours."

From the Washington Post:

The D.C. Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, on the same day that Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex unions.

Domestic partnerships are already legal in the nation's capital. But today's vote, billed as an important milestone in gay rights, explicitly recognizes relocated gay married couples as married.

The initial vote was 12-0. The unanimous vote sets the stage for future debate on legalizing same-sex marriage in the District and a clash with Congress, which approves the city's laws under Home Rule. The council is expected to take a final vote on the legislation next month.

Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who is gay, called the amendment a matter of "basic fairness."

It's nice, isn't it? A little bit of movement in the right direction, innit? So what's next -- Ohio? Wouldn't that be something?

The DC story has a little bit of problem with it, however, and Dale Carpenter explains it:

There are a couple of important things to keep in mind, however. First, D.C. council law is subject to override by Congress, which could place the Democrats in an awkward position. Second, recognition of gay marriages in D.C. would be subject to a ballot override.

But it's a great start today, isn't it? Vermont, Iowa, and DC -- all in the space of, what, a week? Two days?

Gay States Are Happy States

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the heads up on this article from Creative Class:



A lot of good data is in the numbers from the original article:

And what about the creative class? Happy states appear to be creative states - at least as measured by the share of people employed in creative class jobs (with a correlation of .48). The correlations are even higher for the the super-creative core and the the overall creativity index (.53).

Makes you wonder: Are creatives more likely to live in happy places or are they more likely to be happy people? Well… psychologists have identified a powerful relationship between creativity and happiness. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi finds that engaging in creative activities like writing, playing music, computer programming, mountain climbing, or chess is a major source of happiness. But in her workplace studies, Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School says it works the other way around: She finds that it’s happiness - or should I say happy workplaces - that generate creative thinking and workplace innovation as opposed to vice versa. Psychologist Barbara Fredricksons suggests that “positive” people are more open-minded, less racially biased, more likely to see the bigger picture, and ultimately more creative. So maybe this kind of thing scales up from who we are and what we do to where we live.

On that score, yes, happy states are also apparently those greater concentrations bohemians (.43), immigrants (.36 ), and gays (.32), as well as states with higher levels of high-tech industry (.22) or those with more innovative potential.

But, they also bring up that these "happy" people may be drawn to these areas, rather than these people causing the happiness. We're looking at correlative evidence with no definite cause.

But it's still interesting to think about.

2008 Weblog Awards: Best LGBT Blogs

No, no, I know you think I should, but I did not, in fact, get nominated for best LGBT blog this year :-(. Maybe next year. We'll run an all out campaign to get QueerCincinnati.com listed as one of the best, yes?

But I've blogrolled all the nominees, congratulations to them all:

• Joe. My. God.
• Towleroad
• Bilerico Project
• Pam's House Blend
• Susie Bright's Journal
• Tammy Bruce
• TransGriot
• GayPatriot
• Blabbeando
• Automatic Win

Don't forget to vote here for your favorite (hint, I voted for Joe. My. God. -- jeez, I'm such a sucker for a New York bear, but I have a lot of respect for Bilerico and Pam Spaulding... I just started following Towleroad, and I've never heard of any of the others, so... yea...).

And don't forget to vote for other blogs in your favorite categories -- click here for the complete list.

I do want to do a shout out to out and proud Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish for nomination for the Best Blog Overall. If you'd like to vote for our dear conservative queer sister, Ms. Sullivan, here's the link to do so...

HIV/AIDS: Bush to poz-ers -- GET OUT

Apparently Mr. Bushie has no intention of complying to the lift of HIV+ immgrants. From Andrew Sullivan (and thanks to Trevor Hoppe for giving me the heads up -- PS, congrats on your increasing traffic, TH!!!):

The Bush administration has not yet lifted the regulation barring people with HIV from entering the United States, despite the law lifting the ban overwhelmingly passed by the Congress and signed by president Bush last July. Yesterday, they simply reiterated their previous plans to "streamline" the process, which, in fact, does nothing but make it more bureaucratically cumbersome for temporary visitors with HIV to enter the country as tourists or for conferences. They have done nothing to end the ban as the law clearly asked for.

As it currently stands, I will still be required to leave the US for good next March. And many more are in much worse straits. They say they will change the regs. And that it takes time. My guess is that it will take until after the election. But does anyone believe a Palin administration would make life any easier for people with HIV? For people with HIV, the Palin nomination should be terrifying.

AHEM... take that as a temporary lift to the boycott on talking about what's her name.

QC.com reported on the lifting of the HIV-travel ban -- or I thought I did (which actually sparked an interesting debate between me and Benjamin Nicholas found here but on a completely different subject, ultimately). I'm supportive of eliminating the ban and think that this is just another smoke-screen to the homophobia and xenophobia/racism of the Bush administration.

HIV/AIDS: Best President on AIDS = George W. Bush?

An interesting column from philly.com, that I think makes... well, an interesting point. Maybe not valid, especially since it doesn't take into account what the Clinton's have done since they left office, nor does it take into account that Bush hasn't really taken on any "hard" AIDS issues, like condoms in prisons... but you know, some interesting points.

Very interesting.

It is unquestionable that GOP President George W. Bush has one more to fight AIDS than any president in history, including Democrat Bill Clinton. The people pushing Bush to fight the epidemic at home and abroad are overwhelmingly conservative Christians - the same people we keep hearing gay leaders tar as narrow-minded and bigoted.

Well, those bigots deserve far more credit for relieving suffering from HIV in this decade than gay men and lesbians did in the previous two decades combined...

For years, I've been asked, "How can you be a gay Republican?" In 2008, I can answer, "Because on one of the gay community's top priorities, Republicans outshine Democrats hands down."*

It's weird and kind of backward thinking, but something that I think should spur some conversation, yes?

Kind of like Andrew Sullivan's infamous "So Sorry, Still Here" column in the Advocate a few years ago:

It’s been almost 12 years since I became infected with HIV, and I haven’t died yet. I haven’t even had the decency to get sick. I am walking, talking advertisement for why HIV seems not such a big deal to the younger generation—and indeed, many in my own age bracket. I know this is a terrible thing, and I promise in the uture to do better. As gay activist Michelangelo Signorile recently told The New York Times, “If everyone in your group is beautiful, taking steroids, barebacking, and HIV-positive, having the virus doesn’t seem like such a bad thing.”

I’m sorry. At the tender age of 41—a year longer than I once thought I would live—I have never felt better. HIV transformed my life, made me a better and braver writer, prompted me to write the first big book pushing marriage rights, got me to take better care of my health, improved my sex life, and deepened my spirituality.

Stuff to think about.

Like my comments about Confessions of a Bareback Top (NSFW) a few months ago, I have to say that I don't think these guys are entirely wrong, either.

GENERAL STUFF: Crazy Indians!!

Shockingly, from Andrew Sullivan.

I really really wish these were the real words. Oh, you Indians.