Big Gay News
BigGayNews from Washington, DC:
Gay Marriage Ruling – Supreme Court Finds DOMA Unconstitutional
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act on Wednesday and declared that same-sex couples who are legally married deserve equal rights to the benefits under federal law that go to all other married couples.
The nine justices, in a vote of 5 to 4, came to a decision that means that more than 100,000 GLBT couples who are legally married in their own states can now take advantage of federal benefits such as tax breaks and pension rights.
The decision today does not affect the provision of the law that stipulates that no state is required to recognize gay marriages performed in other states.
BigGayNews from the United States
Medical Association Voted to Allow Gays to Donate Blood
Time Magazine reports that members of the American Medical Association voted to end a decades-old ban against gay men donating blood.
The ban was put into place in 1983 by the FDA, thinking that it would help protect the nation’s blood banks from HIV-infected blood.
Dr. William Kobler said: “The lifetime ban on blood donation for men who have sex with men is discriminatory and not based on sound science.”
BigGayNews from Alaska:
Lisa Murkowski Backs Gay Marriage
The Huffington Post reports that Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican – Alaska) expressed support for gay marriage Wednesday, becoming the third sitting Republican senator to do so.
The senator said that while she realized that she will likely be criticized by fellow Republicans for her decision, she is comfortable with her position on supporting same-sex couples to marry.
Senator Murkowski revealed that her change in opinion was influenced by the story of an Alaskan lesbian couple who adopted four children, and the legal hurdles they face as a same-sex couple.
BigGayNews from Washington, DC:
Proposition 8 – Supreme Court Clears Way For Gay Marriage In California
The Lost Angeles Times reports that that the Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for same-sex marriages to resume in California as the justices, in a procedural ruling, turned away the defenders of Proposition 8.
In a 5 to 4 majority, the court said that the private sponsors of Proposition 8 were not legally able to appeal following the ballot measure being struck down by a San Francisco federal judge.
The court’s action now sends the case back to California where top officials have stated that same-sex marriage is a matter of equal rights.
BigGayNews from Wisconsin:
Wisconsin Gay Pride Parade In Wausau Canceled
The Pioneer Press reports that the organizer of what would have been Wausau’s first gay pride parade has cancelled it, saying he has experienced a wave of ugliness in the community.
Daxx Bouvier, who is from California but owns a home in Wausau, said that he made his decision to cancel the parade following the negative comments from a Wausau City Council member and a number of articles in the local media caused people planning to be in the parade to be concerned for their own safety.
Bouvier said that he does not plan to organize any future gay pride events in the city.
BigGayNews from Washington:
Anti-Gay Movement Closes After 37 Years
TheAge.com in Australia reports that Exodus International has dissolved itself, issuing a lengthy apology for the harm it caused during its 37 years of existence.
The Christian group was a proponent of ”conversion therapy”, which it claimed could ”cure” people of homosexuality through prayer and psychotherapy.
Exodus recruited gays with this approach: ”The sin of homosexual behavior, like all sins, can be forgiven and healed by the grace revealed in the life and death of Christ.”
BigGayNews from Poland:
Poland’s Only Gay Parliamentarian Attacked After Pride
The Advocate reports that Poland’s first openly gay member of Parliament was assaulted outside a café in Warsaw after he attended the city’s annual Pride parade Saturday, reports PinkNews.
Robert Biedron, a member of Parliament since his election in 2011, alleges that he and a group of friends were approached by a hostile man who began making homophobic remarks to them as they made their way to a café after the parade.
Biedron said that the man spat in his face and kicked him in the stomach upon recognizing who he was, and while the suspect fled the scene, he was arrested shortly thereafter by police.
BigGayNews from Russia:
Russian Lawmakers Pass Ban On Adoption Tied To Gay Foreign Couples
The Los Angeles Times reports that the lower house of Russia’s parliament gave initial approval Tuesday to ban the adoption of Russian orphans by foreign same-sex married couples or by single persons from countries where same-sex marriages are allowed.
This measure is considered by many to be in response to France’s legalizing of same-sex marriage last month.
Sergei Zheleznyak, a deputy speaker of the State Duma, stated: “If a child ends up brought up by a gay couple, the child of course is seriously traumatized and develops a distorted notion of the surrounding reality.”
