Equality news round-up: new campaign highlights military servicemembers in same-sex marriages, and more
By Scottie Thomaston
- Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has teamed up with Freedom to Marry for a campaign that will highlight the effects of the Defense of Marriage Act on military servicemembers. The campaign is called ‘Freedom to Marry, Freedom to Serve.”
- Manny Pacquiao, a world-famous boxer, is recently reported as saying gay people should be put to death and he opposes President Obama’s marriage equality position. The National Organization for Marriage highlighted his views on the president’s statement approvingly.
- Via press release, an FDA committee has recommended the approval of a rapid, in-home HIV test:
FDA Committee Recommends First Ever Rapid In-Home HIV TestCould Significantly Increase Proportion of Americans Aware of HIV Status, Reduce Transmission
Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Blood Products Advisory Committee recommended approval of the first ever in-home rapid HIV test. The product – the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test – is manufactured by OraSure Technologies, Inc. and is the same device as the OraQuick Rapid Test, which is already approved for use in a broad range of health care settings and is the standard of care at most testing sites around the country. Its accuracy, ease, and efficiency have been repeatedly demonstrated in national studies.
“Approximately 50,000 individuals in the U.S. are newly infected with HIV each year,” said National Minority AIDS Council Director of Legislative and Public Affairs Kali Lindsey. “Even more alarming is the fact that one in five people living with HIV in America do not know it. The OraQuick In-Home HIV Test would provide an important tool to supplement current HIV screening efforts by providing an accessible, relatively inexpensive device that can be used in the privacy of one’s own home. This is especially important for minority communities, where HIV stigma often prevents individuals from utilizing traditional testing services.”
Recently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) examined the extent to which current policies and practices present barriers to HIV testing. It concluded that minority populations are not only infected at a higher rate than their White counterparts, they shoulder a considerably higher percentage of undiagnosed HIV/AIDS cases. While the percentage of unrecognized HIV infection among Whites is 18.8, that number is 29.5 among Asians and Pacific Islanders, 25.8 among Americans Indians and Alaskan Natives, 22.2 among Blacks and African-Americans, and 21.6 in Latinos.
“Individuals with unrecognized HIV infection are more likely to unknowingly transmit the virus to others,” continued Lindsey. “In fact, they are as much as three and a half times more likely to transmit the virus than those who know their status, accounting for more than half of all new HIV infections in the U.S. Research shows that most individuals take steps to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus following an HIV diagnosis. Expanded access to testing, including through accurate in-home screening, is an essential tool in slowing the spread of HIV. At the same time, we must ensure that those who do test positive can easily access care and support services, much like those included in the OraQuick testing package.”
“NMAC believes the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test would provide a critical expansion of current prevention efforts, particularly among minority populations isolated by the persistent stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS,” concluded Lindsey. “We applaud the committee’s decision today and urge the FDA to approve its use.”
- Law professor Michael Dorf credits the right wing for the launching of the marriage equality movement.
- In a round-up yesterday I noted that the New York Times seemed to be blaming a transgender murder victim for the attack on them. GLAAD says they are doubling down.
- The gay son of a Colorado lawmaker who helped kill the civil unions bill is speaking out.
- Apparently Mitt Romney is on video saying in 2006 that the price of same sex marriage is paid by the children.
- Civil disobedience actions continue in North Carolina after its passage of Amendment 1.
- There was a bomb threat scare at the HRC and other LGBT rights organizations’ buildings yesterday.
- A Senate committee will vote on the Domestic Partnerships Benefits and Obligations Act (DPBOA), which would ensure same-sex partners of federal government workers receive some federal benefits. UPDATED: They voted.
17 Comments May 16, 2012
President Obama threatens veto of two GOP House bills over anti-gay provisions
By Scottie Thomaston
Mitt Romney and the Republican party seem to have nearly retreated entirely on the issue of LGBT rights and marriage equality. When you look at what the party was doing just a few short years ago in 2004-06, you see a party highlighting their homophobia and announcing it at campaign stops all across the country. Even President Bush was unafraid to call attention to his anti-gay positions and his support for opposite-sex-only marriage. Republicans didn’t think LGBT people deserved equal rights, nor did they even believe people who are LGBT should be able to fight and die for our country if they choose, unless they stayed in the closet. This strategy was pushed particularly hard in Ohio but its effects reverberated all over. Of course, studies would later show that anti-gay campaigns and ballot initiatives have long-term effects on mental health and family stability. And they incite violence against those of us who are the most vulnerable. The party would become so homophobic during those years that when President Bush himself suggested that gays and lesbians deserve to have access to civil unions, it led to much disagreement within the party.
Now, the GOP has become silent over the issue and even its leaders like Speaker John Boehner are facing constant criticism for not speaking to issues that seem to be important amongst a certain set of conservatives. Rick Santorum recently even suggested that the party should re-fight gay rights issues once more to rally the base. And Mitt Romney had an opportunity to do that recently – he gave a speech at Liberty University – and didn’t take it. He mentioned marriage one time, saying it is “a relationship between a man and a woman.” And even on the rare occasions he addresses it, he suggests that people have different views that should be respected.
There is only one way in which the GOP has expressed its anti-gay sentiments: through passage of House bills with added homophobic language, or with language stripping provisions in favor of gay and lesbian families. Recently this happened with two bills: the House put forward a version of the Violence Against Women Act that stripped provisions that would protect gays and lesbians from domestic violence. There are LGBT victims of domestic violence as well, and there is no good reason to exclude them from receiving help and protection when they need it most. It’s nothing more than an attempt to delegitimize the relationships and families of people Republicans don’t like. The White House’s veto threat states, in part:
The bill also fails to include language that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT victims in VAWA grant programs. No sexual assault or domestic violence victim should be beaten, hurt, or killed because they could not access needed support, assistance, and protection. In addition, H.R. 4970 does not include important improvements to the Clery Act found in the Senate-passed bill that would address the high rates of dating violence and sexual assault experienced by young people in college and other higher education institutions. The bill also weakens critical new provisions in the Senate-passed bill that would improve safety for victims living in subsidized housing.
The House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act also has several anti-LGBT provisions. Think Progress says:
In its one Statement of Administration Policy, the White House outlined numerous reasons it opposes the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which contains a military “license to bully” provision and restricts same-sex marriages or similar ceremonies from being held on military bases.
After the president’s announcement that he supports marriage equality, I think some people, including myself, expected the president to make that statement and then pivot to other issues facing the American people. It has not turned out that way – he has done interviews reiterating his position, and he is now including “marriage equality” in some campaign speeches, reminding voters that it strengthens families. Republicans might have become quieter on these issues but it’s clear they are willing to work on passage of unnecessary and hateful anti-LGBT bills. Fighting back against this onslaught should be a priority. And calling them out for it is necessary.
11 Comments May 16, 2012
Equality case updates: McLaughlin, Sevcik Blesch
By Jacob Combs
H/t to Kathleen for posting these in Quick Hits
Yesterday saw a flurry of filings in three of the marriage equality cases currently wending their ways through the court system. In the military DOMA case McLaughlin v. Panetta, the Department of Justice filed a