An Anchorage, Alaska gay protections bill is likely doomed as public sentiment turns sour, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Hundreds of opponents appeared to testify against the bill at a Wednesday Anchorage Assembly hearing on the issue.

The bill would protect gay men and lesbians from discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and credit. An original draft included transgendered persons, but lawmakers cut out the provision amid loud protest.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

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Damage control continues.

Two very top White House officials, Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina and Political Director Patrick Gaspard, are holding a “wonderful” conference call on Monday with the LGBT caucus of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). I’ve seen the email, which reads in part: “The call will include important updates on the Administration’s LGBT agenda and how we move forward.”

Now, hopefully, those LGBT DNC members are going to actually try to hold the Obama administration accountable and get them to take some real action on the LGBT agenda. These two staffers are both very powerful. So, while they have Messina and Gaspard on the call, those DNC members better get some deliverables from the White House on ENDA, DADT and DOMA. But, the way things go in this town, Gaspard and Messina will probably be screaming at them for the current mess — and the LGBT DNC members won’t push back because they might not get invited to the White House.

Full Story from AmericaBlog

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In the state’s continuing political battles over gay marriage, both sides are targeting Latino voters, and a new Los Angeles Times poll illustrates why. Overall, the poll showed, a substantial majority of voters in Los Angeles support the right of same-sex couples to legally marry, with 56% in favor and 37% opposed.

That finding closely tracked the results of November’s election in which Proposition 8, which limited marriage to unions of a man and a woman, won statewide but lost in Los Angeles. But the poll also showed that within the city, views on the issue differed widely among racial and ethnic groups.

White voters were most emphatic in their support for same-sex marriage, with 68% supporting it and 27% opposing. African American voters were strongly against it, with 54% opposing same-sex marriage and 37% supporting it.

Full Story from the LA Times

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Ohio’s leading anti-gay group says it will come to Cleveland to organize an effort to put the city’s new partner registry on a 2010 ballot–if local opponents invite them.

Citizens for Community Values vice president David Miller said he has talked to the group circulating petitions to repeal the registry, and they are ready to “help the people of Cleveland appeal to their government to redress grievances” if asked.

“We will stand behind them. We have a vested interest in any government or political subdivision abusing their power,” Miller said. He made the comment while in Columbus for a hearing on the Equal Housing and Employment Act.

Full Story from Gay People’s Choice

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Greetings from the Live Free or Die state of New Hampshire, where we recently enacted marriage equality into law. That landmark civil right was not won easily. Lots of out-of-state money from haters like the National Organization for Marriage pumped millions into our state.

The point person, the highest profile spokesman for the anti-marriage crowd, was Cornerstone Policy Research’s Kevin Smith, as a cursory glance at The Google will show.

So what does Kevin Smith get for working day and night to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry? An appointment to the New Hampshire Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Full Story from Daily Kos

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Auburn Post Office and was met by a woman with a pair of clipboards. “This petition is against gay marriage and this other petition is to support gay marriage,” she said, according to Caron.

The Poland man said he asked her why there would be a petition to support something that already happened, referring to the petition “in support of” gay marriage. “She just kinda gave me a little grin and didn’t say anything,” he said.

Then he looked at the two petitions and discovered they were identical, both were supporting the repeal of the same-sex marriage law, Caron said.

Full Story from The Sun Journal

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Gov. David A. Paterson is threatening to call a special session of the State Senate for Wednesday if senators don’t quickly approve dozens of important measures that have been languishing since the June 8 coup.

But a special session has its limits: the State Legislature legally has to return and gavel in on the day of a session, but it does not have to actually consider any of the bills Paterson wants them to approve. It is a lesson Paterson learned just last November, as have a long line of governors before him.

The threat, just a few days after Paterson said he would not be calling a special session, came as the two warring Republican and Democratic sides remained far apart in trying to resolve the leadership dispute that has kept any bills from passing the Senate for two weeks.

Full Story from Buffalo News

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Support for same-sex marriage has declined slightly from two months ago, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds.

On other issues that have come before the Supreme Court — namely, affirmative action and abortion — Americans’ opinions have remained relatively stable for years, according to the poll, conducted June 12 – 16.

Most Americans support some legal recognition of a same-sex couple’s relationship. The poll found 33 percent favor marriage for same-sex couples, down somewhat from a high of 42 percent in April, and another 30 percent support civil unions. A third of Americans think there should be no legal recognition of a same-sex couple’s relationship. Views in this poll are similar to those found back in March

Full Story from CBS News

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Yesterday, a long-fought battle for domestic partnerships in Wisconsin was won as the Senate passed the biennial state budget by a vote of 17-16. Fair Wisconsin gave the following press release:

“Tonight, the State Senate passed the biennial state budget by a vote of 17-16, which includes important and limited domestic partnership protections for the state’s same-sex couples. The proposed domestic partnerships will grant basic protections to same-sex couples in caring, committed relationships, including hospital visitation and the ability to take Family Medical Leave to care for a sick or injured partner.

“’With the passage of the budget in the Assembly last week and the passage today in the Senate, Wisconsin has taken an important step toward ensuring that someone in a committed relationship is able to care for his or her partner,’ said Glenn Carlson, Executive Director of Fair Wisconsin. ‘Fair Wisconsin applauds all our state legislators who realize that no one should ever have to worry about being blocked at their partner’s hospital room door, or have to make the heartbreaking decision to quit their job in order to care for a seriously ill partner. This isn’t about being gay or straight—it’s about being decent.’

Full Story from Examiner.com

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The White House said Thursday it was seeking ways to include same-sex marriages, unions and partnerships in 2010 Census data, the second time in a week the administration has signaled a policy change of interest to the gay community.

The administration has directed the Census Bureau to determine changes needed in tabulation software to allow for same-sex marriage data to be released early in 2011 with other detailed demographic information from the decennial count. The bureau historically hasn’t released same-sex marriage data.

The gay community strongly supported President Barack Obama during the 2008 election. But some gay activists say they have been frustrated by what they see as his slow approach to rolling back discriminatory policies.

Full Story from The Wall Street Journal

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