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Where the Gay Couples Are

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Gay Couples in the USA - MapNew numbers from the Census have accounted for August’s reporting errors (many people marked the wrong sex for their spouse). There are now 646,464 self-reported same-sex couples in the US, down from the 901,997:

Provincetown, Massachusetts, still ranks highest, with about 148 same-sex households per 1,000, or 14.8 percent of households. Wilton Manors, Florida, has 125 same-sex households per 1,000, or 12.5 percent, and Palm Springs, California, has 107 same-sex households per 1,000, or 10.7 percent. … Cities with populations under 100,000 tend to have much higher rates than larger cities.

Full Story from The Dish

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US Census Counted 130K Gay/Lesbian Married Couples

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

The Census Bureau released a revised estimate Tuesday of the number of same-sex married couples living in the United States: More than 130,000 same-sex households recorded themselves as married. Another 500,000 same-sex households indentified themselves as unmarried.

The figures provide a rare snapshot of married and unmarried gay couples in the U.S. based on the government count conducted last year, when gay marriage was legal in five states and the District of Columbia. It comes at a time when public opposition to gay marriage is easing and advocacy groups are seeking a state-by-state push for broader legal rights.

Some 131,729 same-sex couples checked “husband” or “wife” boxes on their decennial census forms, the first time people could do so since gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts starting in 2004.

Full Story from NPR

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US: Bill Would Add Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity to Housing Laws as Protected Classes

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts has introduced federal legislation to expressly prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in housing.

The bill, known as the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act, or HOME Act, would amend the 1968 Fair Housing Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, as well as amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prevent such discrimination in lending (the bill would also bar discrimination based on source of income and marital status). A House version of the bill will be introduced later today by Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York.

“It’s hard to believe that in 2011, any law-abiding, tax-paying American who can pay the rent can’t live somewhere just because of who they are,” Kerry said in a statement. “Housing discrimination against LGBT Americans is wrong, but today in most states there isn’t a thing you can do about it. This legislation would end discrimination that continues to hurt people.”

Full Story from The Advocate

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US: The Advocate Offers new Interactive Equality Guide to Employment Protections

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

Use this map to find out if your state offers protections against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While there’s no federal law against firing a person for being LGBT, 21 states and Washington, D.C., prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, while 15 of these, plus D.C., also cover gender identity.

If you unfortunately work for a hostile employer and live in a place that leaves you vulnerable to discrimination, there’s still some legal recourse. Kate Kendell, executive director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says, “Even though there’s no employment nondiscrimination law based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] has been found through past cases to prohibit discrimination that is grounded in gender stereotypes, for example, a woman who is not sufficiently feminine.”

Full Story from The Advocate

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US: Eighteen States Refuse to Remove Sodomy Laws From Books

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Up until 1962, gay sex between two consenting adults was a felony in every state in the United States. So-called “crime against nature” or “sodomy” laws — the term “sodomy” is a reference to the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah — typically punished violators with lengthy prison sentences, fines, and even hard labor. Although these laws typically targeted gays and lesbians, some statutes were written broadly enough to cover any form of non-vaginal intercourse, including oral and anal sex between heterosexuals.

While many states moved to repeal their sodomy laws in the late 1900s, others — like Georgia — moved in the opposite direction. In the 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick decision, the Supreme Court upheld Georgia’s sodomy law, arguing that there was no “fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy.”

After Bowers, several more states began moving towards decriminalizing private acts of gay sex between consenting adults. It wasn’t until 2003, however, that the Supreme Court finally reconsidered its position on sodomy laws.

Full Story from Equality Matters

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New Interactive Equality Map

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

The Movement Advancement Project has a nifty interactive map which pops up pertinent LGBT rights info when you scroll over a state.

Full Story from Joe.My.God

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Politifact Certifies Surveys That Say Majority of US Catholics Support Marriage Equality

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

The right-leaning media watchdog group PolitiFact says it’s mostly true that a majority of Catholics support gay marriage.

Garden State Equality Chairman Steve Goldstein recently responded to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s claim that his Catholic faith was behind his opposition to gay marriage by saying a majority of Catholics support the institution.

PolitiFact investigated, and after analyzing the results of three nationwide surveys, concluded Goldstein’s assertion to be “mostly true.”

Full Story from On Top Magazine

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US: Marriage Equality Support Increasing at Accelerated Rate

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Marriage Equality SupportNational support for marriage equality is not only growing but has accelerated significantly in recent years, according to a public opinion analysis by two pollsters — one who worked for President George W. Bush, the other who serves as an adviser to President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.

Data from several national polling organizations, including Gallup and ABC News/Washington Post, this year indicated majority support for equal marriage rights, and such support has increased by 10 percentage points in the past two years, according to a memo published by Bush pollster Jan van Lohuizen of Voter Consumer Research and Joel Benenson of Benenson Strategy Group, who served as lead strategist in the 2008 Obama campaign and now works for the president’s 2012 campaign. The memo was commissioned by Freedom to Marry, which presented the results Wednesday morning at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

“We’re not in 1996 anymore,” Freedom to Marry president Evan Wolfson said, referring to the year Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples.

Full Story from The Advocate

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New Survey Shows Growing Support for Gay Rights in Conservative America

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Research released Monday on national attitudes regarding LGBT rights finds a slim majority in favor of marriage equality, yet a solid consensus on employment protections and adoption rights.

People in areas of the country with the least LGBT protections also appear to be more progressive than their elected officials, according to the recent survey, conducted by Anna Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign. Seventy-three percent of respondents in the South, for example, said they support employment protections for LGBT people, even though the vast majority of the region lacks state statutes banning such discrimination (78% of Midwest residents polled also support employment protections).

The national survey of 900 adults found 51% support for marriage rights; 58% further favor extending equal federal benefits to same-sex couples who have married in states where it’s legal to do so.

Full Story from The Advocate

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US: Both Sides Think Gay Marriage Will Be a Winning Issue in 2012

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

The economy is king in 2012 politics, but in a close election, the issue of same-sex marriage could make a difference.

With New York recently legalizing gay marriage, the Pentagon processing the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and Congress battling over the Defense of Marriage Act, gay rights have gotten a lot of media attention, and activists on both sides of the argument believe they have a politically potent issue.

Voters who strongly support or strongly oppose same-sex marriage will likely be more apt to get out and vote next year and inspire others to do the same, particularly since several key states are already embroiled in the debate, with battleground state Minnesota adding a gay marriage ban vote to the state’s 2012 ballot, and Colorado, another swing state, close to adding a vote to repeal its marriage ban to the ballot, if advocates gather enough signatures. “Clearly the overriding issue in the next election is going to be the economy and jobs,” says Brian Darling, a senior fellow for government studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation. But when votes get close, he says, “issues like traditional marriage can make a critical difference in an election and may be a deciding factor.”

Full Story from US News

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