Lessons in homophobia: Philippines denial of LGBTQ party’s ballot bid

  Philippines Senate hopeful Danton Remoto photo by Ralph Camus, from Danton’s campaign blog

“I will definitely run as senator in 2010,” said Philippine LGBTQ rights advocate Danton Remoto Wednesday.

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DC Agenda, the ex-Blade staff’s new paper, launches its website

DC Agenda, “The LGBTQ Community’s Newssource”—according to its web tagline—is now out on the web.

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Uganda’s anti-gay law blasted by surprising source - ‘ex-gays’ at Exodus

About 40 people picketed outside of Uganda’s UN mission Thursday, chanting: “Gay rights are human rights.

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Court must pay gay employee for ‘unjustified’ denial of partner benefits, judge rules

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the government must pay for the extra cost of insuring the spouse of a federal worker who was denied federal worker’s insurance benefits because the married couple is gay, Metropolitan News reports.

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Item: Lesbian lawyer’s spousal benefits can’t be blocked by DOMA

   ::: The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) can’t be used to prevent a gay or lesbian federal court employee from getting full, equal benefits, Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski ruled today, according to an AP report.

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Update – US Catholic bishops adopt radically anti-gay letter

logo via ‘lappedcatholic’

As expected, the US Catholic bishops on Tuesday approved a broad new document, called Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, that sets up a new and far stricter guidelines for what the increasingly right-wing bishops group says is their mission to promote marriage—even civil marriage—as available only for the a union of one man and one woman.

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Transgender protections added to Tampa laws after heated hearing

Supporters applaud a Tampa city council vote adding transgender protections to the city’s human rights ordinance Tampa Tribune photo by Eric Hausmann

On a 5-1 vote, the Tampa city council on Thursday approved an ordinance that will add protections for transgender individuals to the city’s human rights ordinance.

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Item: Federal benefits measure passes in key House committee

   ::: The Domestic Partnerships Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 passed out of committee Wednesday, Victory Fund’s GayPolitics blog reports.

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Right-wing faction decides to form its own Lutheran denomination

Source: Washington Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Bismarck Tribune

In August, leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) emphasized the role “bound conscience” and choice, when the the group—which is the largest US Lutheran denomination—voted at a church-wide meeting to allow some local congregations to ordain partnered gay or lesbian pastors, and to study ways to bless the partnerships of gay or lesbian Lutherans.

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NY high court upholds benefits, but shies away from considering marriage equality

New York’s highest court on Thursday rejected two challenges filed by a Christian legal advocacy group that sought to deny legal recognition of marriages granted to same-sex couples by other other states or countries.

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