Justice Dept. Files Appeal in DOMA Suit

Tuesday certainly was a big news day for LGBT rights. Not only did a federal judge order an end to DADT, Obama's Justice Department filed an appeal in the ruling in the Massachusetts case of Gill vs. The Office of Personnel Management. Judge Joseph Tauro ruled on July 8 that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the U.S. Constitution.

Despite President Obama's repeated statements that he believes DOMA is wrong and should be overturned, his administration continues to twist the knife in the back on the LGBT community, planted there by former president Bill Clinton.

The Advocate reports:

Mary L. Bonauto, director of the Civil Rights Project at Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the organization that brought the case, said she was not surprised by the filing.

“We fully expected an appeal and are more than ready to meet it head on,” said Bonauto. “DOMA brings harm to families like our plaintiffs every day, denying married couples and their children basic protections like health insurance, pensions, and Social Security benefits. We are confident in the strength of our case.”

Martha Coakley, the attorney general for Massachusetts who filed the case along with GLAD, echoed Bonauto's statements.

"We look forward to presenting our case," Coakley said in a statement. “DOMA is an unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional law that discriminates against Massachusetts married couples and their families. DOMA denies same-sex married couples from being treated equally under the law across a wide range of areas, from accessing basic health care, retirement, and social security benefits to being buried with their loved ones in a veteran’s cemetery.”

According to a press release from GLAD, the next step will be for the government to file its brief to the first circuit court of appeals arguing against Judge Tauro’s ruling. GLAD will then file its brief in opposition to the government, and finally the government will file a reply brief. At that point the appeal will be scheduled for oral argument. Briefing could be concluded by next spring, with oral argument to follow in the fall.

The government also today filed its notice of appeal in the related case Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Department of Health and Human Services.

Related articles

• Developments in the Mass. DOMA Court Cases (pinkbananaworld.com)
• DOMA ruling to be appealed; people to have have opinions (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Feds appeal Mass. rulings against US marriage law (sfgate.com)
• Dept of Justice to Appeal DOMA Rulings (pinkbananaworld.com)
• "Obama DOJ To Defend DOMA In Court" and related posts (wonkroom.thinkprogress.org)

Brilliant Career Choice! Married Lesbian Teacher Fired from Catholic High School

This is one of those stories that the LGBT blogosphere loves to jump all over and cry discrimination and get all whiny about how the Catholic Church is hating on the gays again. Again?

Where have you been for the last 2,010 years?

The folks at Change.Org are all worked up in a dither of mock outrage because the Catholic Church discriminates against the gays in it's hiring practices. They picked up the story from MassLive.com about a Massachusetts woman who is admired by faculty, staff and students alike, has tons of accolades and does a wonderful job, who was terminated from her job at Springfield Cathedral High School because she married her long-time partner in August.

Christine Judd, served as Athletic Director and Dean of Students at Cathedral and worked for the Catholic school for twelve years. When word got out that she had legally married her partner last month, the Catholics did what Catholics always do in situations like this. They called a meeting on Wednesday and gave Todd the option of resigning or being terminated.

Yes, it's wrong. Yes the Church is despicable for the way it treats its LGBT members. But this is not news. It's not even new. And it certainly isn't reason to stop the presses.

Change.org's Mike Jones writes: "What a tragedy. Yes, church policy gives them the right to do this. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. A valued teacher, prized on the staff and commended for her outstanding leadership, told that she can no longer teach because she's a lesbian."

Judd told MassLive, “I married my partner this summer. I was hoping that my loyalty, my professionalism the last 12 years would supersede the current hypocrisy that has already been shown with the Diocese of Springfield.”

Hello, I don't think you two have met. LGBT Community, this is the Catholic Church. Although they don't really know you, they don't like you. They don't want you in their church and they certainly don't want you around their children. They don't want you being all happy and stuff, because Catholics are all about the guilt and want everybody to feel bad about themselves, all the time. It's nothing personal, but you're an abomination before God and because they are a church, the Catholics can do whatever the hell they want. This is who the Catholic Church is. This is what they do.

Now that we've got the introductions out of the way, let's stop getting our panties in a knot every time the Catholic Church does or says something that is totally in character. Enough with the Mock Outrage, already!

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GLAD Lawsuit Results in Federal Court Striking Down DOMA Section 3

The following is a press release from Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD):

July 08, 2010
Today, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional with respect to claims brought by seven married same-sex couples and three widowers from Massachusetts. Under the ruling, the plaintiffs are entitled to the same federal spousal benefits and protections as every other married couple.

The ruling stems from the lawsuit Gill et al v. Office of Personnel Management et al, filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in March 2009.

“Today the Court simply affirmed that our country won’t tolerate second-class marriages,” said Mary Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director, who argued the case. “I’m pleased that Judge Tauro recognized that married same-sex couples and surviving spouses have been seriously harmed by DOMA and that the plaintiffs deserve the same opportunities to care and provide for each other and for their children that other families enjoy. This ruling will make a real difference for countless families in Massachusetts.”
 
“I am thrilled that my family will now be treated in the same way as those of my married co-workers at the post office,” said Nancy Gill, who is a plaintiff with her spouse, Marcelle Letourneau. “Marcelle and I married out of love and commitment to each other first and foremost, but federal recognition of our marriage means that we’ll have equal access to important protections for our two children and for ourselves.”

Gill is a 22-year employee of the U.S. Postal Service who cannot cover Letourneau on her family health and vision insurance plans, forcing the couple to pay extra to insure Letourneau. Marcelle is also ineligible to receive the federal health benefit given to surviving spouses or to access Nancy’s pension should Nancy predecease her.

The next step in the case is for the federal government to decide whether it will appeal Judge Tauro’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. That decision should come within the next 60 days.

Congress passed DOMA in 1996. Section 3 of the law states that only a marriage between one man and one woman will be recognized for federal purposes. The Obama Administration called the law discriminatory, even while defending it in court.

GLAD filed the Gill case on the grounds that DOMA Section 3 violates the federal constitutional guarantee of equal protection as applied to federal income tax, Social Security, federal employees and retirees and the issuance of passports. The passport issue was resolved in 2009 when the State Department changed its policy.

Co-counsel in the Gill case included attorneys from the firms Foley Hoag LLP, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Jenner & Block LLP, and Kator, Parks & Weiser, PLLC. Details about the case, the plaintiffs, and the attorneys representing them can be found at http://www.glad.org/doma.

Read Judge Tauro’s ruling: http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/2010-07-08-gill-district-court-decision.pdf.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England’s leading legal organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression.

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Just in from Bizarro World: GOP Courts Gay Vote at Boston Pride

I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around this, but gubernatorial candidates from both parties were present at Boston's annual Pride parade and festival over the weekend. We've become used to the Democrats shining up to us at our annual celebrations, but now it seems the Republicans, at least the more moderate ones, are shining up to the gays. What gives this an even more bizarre twist, however, is that the candidates for Massachusetts governor seem to be trying to "out gay" each other to show who's got more queer street cred.

On Top reports:
All but one of the candidates running for Massachusetts governor made an appearance Saturday during Boston's gay pride parade, the Boston Globe reported. And Governor Deval Patrick walked away with the state's largest gay advocate's endorsement.

Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat who is campaigning to keep his job, marched in the parade with his daughter Katherine, who publicly announced last year that she's gay.

Also marching in the parade was Republican candidate Charles D. Baker. Baker was flanked by two openly gay men: his brother Alexander and his running mate, Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei.

Independent candidate State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill was the only gubernatorial candidate that did not work the parade's estimated 35,000 crowd.

About 200 organizations marched from Tremont St. to City Hall Plaza, where revelers enjoyed the annual gay pride festival.

Gay rights group MassEquality endorsed Patrick for governor after the parade.

While both candidates support the state's gay marriage law, Baker angered gay rights activists in April when he distanced himself from a transgender protections bill cosponsored by his running mate Tisei.

The bill, which would ban discrimination against transgender people in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations, has gained little traction since its 2007 introduction.

Opponents of the measure decried Tisei's support for the measure during the Republican convention that nominated the Baker-Tisei team. In an effort to quell the controversy, the campaign issued a statement saying that Baker would veto the bill if approved by lawmakers.

Patrick, on the other hand, has urged lawmakers to approve the transgender rights measure.

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Barney Frank: "Passing ENDA, repealing DADT could happen this year."

Openly gay congressman Barney Frank says in in interview with the Windy City Times that he is optimistic about the future of the LGBT rights movement. "When we first started this [ fight for equality ] , we didn't know how hated we were. But the progress has been good, and it's mainly by coming out. Part of it is, you can't hide and win the fight at the same time," said Frank, who has represented Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District since 1981.


Frank told the Chicago LGBT newspaper, "The fact that the American people now know who we are, and that we are relatives and friends, customers and teammates, students and teachers, barbers, lawyers and policemen, etc. Coming out has helped us, so [ non-LGBT ] people realize we are them, too. In less than 20 years, I think [ LGBT issues ] will be substantially over; that is, we will have full legal equality. It may even be less if we make the same rate of progress," that we have in recent years. 

Read the full story here.

Coakley Hands MA Senate Seat to Cosmo-boy Brown

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts elected Republican Scott Brown to fill the US Senate seat occupied for thirty-seven years by the late Ted Kennedy yesterday in a stunning upset that has put health care reform in jeopardy. Brown won by 52% - 47% in a state that Obama won by 26%.

Critics of Martha Coakley have accused her of running a lazy and over-confident campaign, citing her three-week vacation over the Christmas holiday.

While health care reform in it's current state may be dead in the water, Brown may be the next Joe Biden and should prove a lot of fun to watch and comment on. If Democrats don't get their shit together soon, we could see a Palin/Brown presidential victory in 2012.

In what could be a preview of things to come, Senator-elect Brown wasted no time in pimping out his daughters during his victory speech. Why do Republicans persist in picking the pretty package with nothing inside? Because it's so much fun for the rest of us. 

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Polling: Dem. Coakley is no shoe-in for Ted Kennedy's seat

Image via Wikipedia

As the clock runs out in the final days leading up to the January 19 special election to fill the vacant Massachusetts senate seat left by the passing of Ted Kennedy, democratic hopeful Martha Coakley's lead in the polls is slipping away. Democrats in the Bay State, including Coakley, have assumed that any democrat could win the seat, held by the Lion of the Senate for over three decades, with minimal effort and that's exactly what they've been giving it.

Public Policy Polling  (PPP) reported on Friday, "At this point a plurality of those planning to turn out oppose the health care bill. The massive enthusiasm gap we saw in Virginia is playing itself out in Massachusetts as well. Republican voters are fired up and they're going to turn out. Martha Coakley needs to have a coherent message up on the air over the last ten days that her election is critical to health care passing and Ted Kennedy's legacy- right now Democrats in the state are not feeling a sense of urgency."

A Rasmussen Report survey published last week shows only a 9-point gap between Brown and Coakley, which the democrat has yet to see as a big enough threat to merit a change in strategy. The Brown campaign has also outspent Coakly by a significant margin.

I mention this next bit to illustrate just how desperate -- and motivated -- the GOP is right now. Republicans prefer the pretty package that is Bob Brown, the way they flock to the human vacuum tube that is Sarah Palin.

In September, the blog Gawker reported that the rabidly anti-gay Brown had posed for a nude photo spread in Cosmo back in 1982. The Brown campaign brushed it off as a youthful indiscretion, telling Newsweek's blog The Gaggle, that it would be different for a female politician. If a woman poses nude for a magazine, it speaks to her character, while a man who does it can chalk it up to "boys will be boys". The Gaggle piece and the Coakley campaign have never taken brown's candidacy seriously and that seems to be backfiring on them.

Bob Brown was taken to task by the press back in February, '07 when his eldest daughter, Ayla, was a contestant on American Idol. Some high school kids posted derogatory comments on Facebook about Ayla that included the F word. Shortly after the post was discovered, Brown was asked to speak at a high school where he used to opportunity to address the offending piece, reading sections of the post word for word, including the aforementioned F-Bomb. Critics accused Brown of bad judgment, while he defended himself for making a point about the damage that can be done by hate speech.

All of this aside, although voter turnout is typically lower during off-year and special elections, republican conservatives historically turn out in higher numbers during mid-term cycles than democrats. This trend, combined with anti-Obama backlash could create a perfect storm for a GOP victory in the democratic stronghold of New England.

Even with a majority in both houses on the hill, now is not the time for democrats to rest on our laurels. The Teabagger movement, for all its lunacy, has been gaining momentum nationwide and can no longer be taken lightly. While a Brown victory in Massachusetts may not signal the beginning of another Republican Revolution, it serves as a reminder that there is no such thing as a sure thing. If Martha Coakley hopes to pull off a senate victory and continue the legacy of Ted Kennedy, she needs to show that when it comes to Bob Brown, there is no "there" there.

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Video: Rachel Maddow, "Gay Marriage is a Defense of Marriage Act"

Fives years after Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage, the sky hasn't fallen, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse aren't riding through the Bay State like Paul Revere and traditional marriage hasn't suffered a bit. In fact, it's been quite the opposite for quite the "opposite marriage".

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow explains that in her home state, it's the divorce rate that's in trouble.

Mass. Sues Federal Gov't Over DOMA

(From CNN)

"Massachusetts sued the U.S. government on Wednesday, challenging the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

"We're taking this action today because, first, we believe that [the Defense of Marriage Act] directly interferes with Massachusetts' long-standing sovereign authority to define and regulate the marital status of its residents," Attorney General Martha Coakley said Wednesday afternoon.

"Massachusetts has a single category of married persons, and we view all married persons equally and identically," she said.

"DOMA divides that category into two distinct and unequal classes of marriage."

The lawsuit argues that the act, which became law in 1996, denies same-sex couples essential rights and protections, including federal income tax credits, employment and retirement benefits, health insurance coverage and Social Security payments.

"In enacting DOMA, Congress overstepped its authority, undermined states' efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and codified an animus towards gay and lesbian people," the state wrote in the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in federal court."