Le Jazz Hot

Victor/Victoria is my mother's favorite musical. Apparently, when we were little (it came out the same year I was born), my mother got so frustrated, handed the two of us -- my brother and I -- off to my dad, told him to take the day off from work, and went to the movies by herself. She stumbled into this flick completely by accident and it was played at least 2-3/year in my house ever since.

Needless to say, my mother made me gay.

And possibly a drag queen:

If you haven't figured this out, I sit at my desk and listen to Sirius's Broadway channel. I post musicals when I hear one that I'm like, "God, I love that song." Right now, I'm working on Cool Summer and trying to figure out a few things about Texas (a few things, and one thing about Salt Lake City)... and I thought I'd share happiness rather than sadness.

Utah Rep. Trying to Stop DC Marriage Recognition

I was right!

A far-right Representative (from Utah) named Jason Chaffetz is trying to intercede in Washington, DC Council's decision to recognize out-of-district same-sex marriages. Chaffetz is a freshman Represenative -- elected for the first time in 2008 -- and, get this, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee. Wow. They were really stretched thin for leadership, there.

From the Washington Post, this is what he said:

"Some things are worth fighting for, and this is one of them. It's not something I can let go softly into the night. . . . I recognize the Democrats are in the majority, but I represent the majority of Americans on this issue."

Why does it matter? Thank goodness for his Twitter account, and the Washington City Paper, we get to find out: "Why am I involved? Congress is set up to oversee the affairs of D.C. I am one of the Members on the relevant committee."

Oh, OK. That explains it.

For the record, Mr. Chaffetz is also against DC representation in Congress -- believing, instead, that the District should be retroceded (is that the word?) into Maryland, despite the Constitutional mandate for an independent District to house the capital.

Marriage Round-Up!

From across the US:

• California: The Governor's race is heating up between the two potential Democratic candidates over same-sex relationships. On the one side, we have Gavin Newsom who, as mayor of SF, allowed same-sex couples to start marrying in the city in 2004. Now, he wants to take on the census and demand that married couples be counted (SSM is not recognized on a federal level). Meanwhile, an emergency bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, his expected challenger in a primary, passed in Washington to stop the deportation of a Phillipino lesbian living in the US. Both her partner and her two children are US citizens.
• Connecticut: This is anti-climactic, but the bill legalizing equal marriage in Connecticut sailed through the House and Senate and was signed by Gov. Jodi Rell. It also turns existing civil unions into marriages... effectively ending civil unions? Why does that make me feel weird?
• DC: The city council has approved acknowledging out of state relationships for same-sex couples, and word on the street is that there may be an equal marriage bill in the nation's capital next year. The local pastors are angry -- "History will ask, where were the pastors?" -- no, I think history will ask, why did the pastors bother at all?
• Maine: Lots of people attended the Judiciary Committee's hearing on the same-sex marriage bill, something like 4000 of them. But we kinda knew that was going to happen. Other bloggers have already posted some of the testimonies appearing on YouTube, so I'll just move on.
• New Hampshire: The Senate Judiciary Committee has recommended (3-2) that the marriage bill passed by the Assembly not be brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote, effectively killing it. I think, for now, the chance in NH is dead.
• New Jersey: A new poll from Quinnipiac shows NJ voters pro-marriage at a rate of 49-43 (I guess we're assuming an 8% undecided rate). Still, that's pretty good.
• Utah: From one of the more unexpected supporters of LGBT rights in the mountain west, Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman is openly asking whether that state's constitutional DOMA covers civil unions... and saying that maybe the courts will have to decide that.

I have been very, very busy the last few days so I just wanted to throw these bits out there for you to NOM on. Kisses!

Oh, and can I just say that I am over, over, over the Miss USA contestants? Don't care, don't care, don't care. This is my impression of homosexuals over the situation (including myself): "ZOMG! She's from California! She's been asked a question by a gay man! ZOMG! How dare she say what she think!" Meanwhile, all of us suddenly realize that there are lots of people that we assume are our friends really aren't.... like ignorant beauty queens.

And, by ignorant, I'm not talking the type that "she just needs exposure," because god knows she's exposed. I'm talking the type that she's just plain close-minded.

Regardless, over her.

DC -- Closer to Congressional Represenation

The US Senate invoked cloture on the DC Voting Rights Act of 2009, adding two more Representatives to the US House -- one for DC and one for Utah (really?). 

From New America Media:

In a historic step today, the United States Senate invoked cloture and allowed its version of the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act of 2009 to proceed to the floor for a vote. The cloture vote, 62-34, means that opponents of the bill, primarily Republicans, cannot filibuster the measure from a vote before the full Senate, which they did two years ago.

The cloture vote also means that the District of Columbia is one step closer to having a voting representative in the U.S. Congress, specifically the U.S. House of Representatives. Under the bill, which was sponsored by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the House will increase its number permanently from 435 to 437 by adding the D.C. representative and an additional one from Utah.

The key to the successful vote was Republican support. D.C. Republican Committee Chairman Robert Kabel was happy with some Senate members of his party.

“We thank the Republican senators who voted for cloture,” Kabel said. “Today marks a historic day for the District and I am proud that Republicans were a part of it. As party chairman, I am pleased our efforts to inform and lobby our fellow Republicans on the Hill have paid off.”

Republicans other than Hatch voting for the bill were Sens. Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Richard Lugar (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympia Snowe (D-Maine), Arlen Specter (Pa.) and George Voinovich (Ohio).

Yea... Voinovich? :-) and how did Olympia Snowe get in there? Is she Dem or Rep? Blah. Who cares.

This is neat! :-)

Random Gay News Round-Up

...well, not really. Just a couple things this morning.

Because I'm a righteous and self-important queer blogger, imagine my enthusiasm when I read the piece in the Washington Post about the growing influence of gay bloggers on the political world. It focuses on the ever fabulous Pam's House Blend, but also mentions some other friends of this blog (including Bilerico):

In the past, someone like Spaulding would have been relegated to the sidelines. She doesn't work for national gay rights organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign or the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. She lives with her partner, Kate, an audiologist, in Durham, far from San Francisco, New York or Washington, where gay activism has been historically based. But now she's helping shape the agenda, one voice in a chorus of sometimes dissonant, sometimes harmonious, often in-your-face voices that is pushing established gay groups and redefining the meaning of grass-roots action in this new media age...

"For me, blogging has been about looking outside my own lens. If it wasn't for reading blogs, for example, I wouldn't know as much as I know now about transgender issues," Spaulding says. "At first I thought, 'I'm not transgender. This is not my issue.' But then you read about it, you make the connections and you realize that, yes, I'm a part of that, too."

It's an interesting article that has highlighted a lot of the stuff that has happened over the past few months amongst gay bloggers -- including the Rick Warren debacle and the JoinTheImpact movement. It's well done, over all.

And just a few things on marriage: the New York Times calls for an actual vote (preferably a vote in the affirmative) for equal marriage in Rhode Island. The same could be said for New York State. Illinois has an equal marriage bill introduced. And financial analysts predict that equal marriage in Maine could bring about $60million to the state's economy for same-sex nuptials. I feel like we're in a race for the first legislatively-passed equal marriage law.

Oh, and the Utah State Senator Buttars thing goes on... the ass. Someone is finally pointing out that the man is a distraction and taking away from real work. The same could be said for the entire legislature who, apparently, hates gays just so much.

North Dakota vs. Utah -- ND WINS!

So, on the back of Utah getting rid of every possibility of passing a gay rights bill this session in that state, the North Dakota state Senate has passed a bill extending protections for gays and lesbians.

From the Grand Forks Herald:

"If someone is not doing their job, or habitually tardy, or doesn't get along with people, they can still be fired, whether gay, lesbian or straight," said Sen. Tom Fiebiger, D-Fargo. "What employers can't do under this law is fire someone because they are gay."

The bill goes onto the state house (as HB2278) for approval there, and would then go onto Republican Gov. John Hoeven for approval. We'll see how that goes.

Meanwhile, the ND Diocese is insane. Even though they got an addenda that protects religious insitutions' rights to discriminate at will, they still feel that it does not protect employers where "a prohibition against sexual activity outside of marriage is a legitimate qualification for a particular job."

I'm sorry, what?

What's up with these big Western states? Weird news coming out of all of them.

Gay marriage... no, divorce... no, civil unions...

Three bits of news coming out in the last 24 hours about gay marriage:

• Vermont's gay marriage bill looks likely to pass. The House version seems to have something like 59 cosponsors, none Republican, though a few of them saying they plan to vote for it. So, of course, the Democrats are going to ruin it for everyone, per the Democratic Speaker of the House: "We're still trying to decide whether it's something that we would do this year." Thanks, guys. We have huge support, but, you know, we might still wait.
• You still cannot get married in New Jersey, but you can get divorced. You'll remember that Texas, at one point, refused to honor a gay divorce because then it is acknowledging the relationship. State Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson informs us that the state has always acknowledged out of state marriages without honoring them itself, so the precedent at this point is unknown. Meanwhile, it is likely that a gay marriage bill will come up in the legislature of New Jersey, which Gov. Corzine has said he will support if it comes to his desk. Yes, that is, in fact a link to the Baptist Press. It's actually a really good article, good coverage.
• In bizarre news, Republican Gov. Huntsman of UTAH has come out in support of civil unions in that state -- this on the back of the legislature, one by one, knocking down pro-LGBT bills (incl. employment protections, I believe).

There, do you feel updated now? I know I feel better. Done my good gay duty for the day :-).

Oh, I don't really follow adoption as much, but the Florida Bar has come out against that state's ban on adoption.