NEW POLL: Christine Quinn Leads By 10% As Anthony Weiner Enters Race

 

 

A new Quinnipiac University Poll shows Christine Quinn holding on to a significant lead despite weeks of relentless attacks by her opponents and the entry of former Congressman Anthony Weiner into the Mayor's race in New York City.

le Quinn has dropped three per cent since the last poll it is within the margin of error and shows she is holding strong against the bitter personal attacks against her.

latest results are:

Christine Quinn: 25%

Anthony Weiner: 15%

Bill Thompson: 10%

Bill de Blasio: 10%

John Liu: 6%

The poll shows that 49% of the people did not want Weiner to enter the race. By a margin of 17% women were against him running.

Texas Judge Orders Lesbian Couple To Separate To Keep Their Kids!

 

 

Justice and full equality continues to be a stranger to Texans.

In an astounding and shocking judicial decision, Republican Judge John Roach, Jr. demanded that a lesbian couple, Paige Price and Carolyn Compton separate in order to keep their kids. In a custody case involving Compton's previous husband, the Judge invoked a 'morality clause' and gave the couple thirty days for one of them to move out of the house. If they fail to comply, then they could lose custody of their children.

The clause was inserted into the divorce papers because the Judge didn't like Compton's 'lifestyle'.

The Dallas Voice reports:

“Our children are all happy and well adjusted. By his enforcement, being that we cannot marry in this state, I have been ordered to move out of my home,” Price wrote.

Price also mentions that Compton’s ex-husband rarely sees their two children and was once charged with stalking Compton. She said he also hired a private investigator in order to bring the case before the judge. Court records show the ex-husband, Joshua Compton, was charged with third-degree felony stalking in 2011 but pleaded to a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing.

Price declined an interview until her lawyers figure out the next step.

Compton was granted a divorce from her ex in 2011, according to court records. The case was reopened in April to dispute custody, which she shares with him.

Compton’s attorney, Barrett Stern, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment. Her ex-husband’s attorney, Paul Key, also didn’t return a phone call.

Ken Upton Jr., senior staff attorney for Lambda Legal’s Dallas office, said he is familiar with the case. He said morality clauses are rarely enforced and were historically used to prevent unmarried people from cohabitating with children present. Courts often include the clauses without people knowing, especially in conservative areas like Collin County, he said.

Gay couples are unfairly targeted under the clause because they can’t legally marry in Texas, Upton said.

So, an ex who is upset that his marriage ended because his wife was gay could use it against her later.

“What the clause has become is an extra burden on gay people because they’re no more likely to violate it than straight people,” he said. “It’s a problem that continues with homophobia.”

Wall Street Journal: Powerful Profile On Houston's Out Mayor Annise Parker

 

 

 

Mayor Annise Parker by Terry Shaffner

In an article by journalist Matthew Kaminski, the Wall Street Journal wrote a love letter to open lesbian Houston Mayor Annise Parker. The long article focuses on her extraordinary leadership in leading Houston to being an "American Boomtown".

Here is an excerpt:

'Redneck white city down in Texas."

That's how Houston Mayor Annise Parker sums up the caricature of her town, and she wants everyone to know it's bunkum. Houston is "a really cool city," she says. "Open and entrepreneurial and welcoming." It's also booming.

The mayor herself is a walking testament to the cosmopolitan contrarian reality of modern Houston. Annise Parker is a Democrat in a deep-red state, the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. She's a social liberal who's also a former oil-industry executive with a pro-business attitude running what may be the nation's least-regulated metropolis.

Houston's recent track record is startling. For the calendar year ending in February, it saw the fastest pace of job growth (4.5%) among the country's 20 largest metropolitan areas. (With a population of 2.1 million, it's the fourth-largest U.S. city.) In 2011, the last year such data are available, Houston had the fastest-growing large metropolitan economy, at 3.7%.

Add to that a cost of living that is 7.8% below the U.S. average—New York is 53.4% above the average—and you can see the attraction for waves of new arrivals. Housing costs run a third less than the average in the 29 largest metro areas. Adjusting for these lower costs, Houston has the highest per-capita income of any city in the nation.

The mayor, who is 56, and I are discussing the city's makeover at one of its hottest new restaurants. Underbelly, Ms. Parker's choice for lunch, is in the Montrose neighborhood where she lives. "This was a huge lesbian bar," she says, before the neighborhood turned "trendy" and places like Underbelly moved in. As diners fill the capacious restaurant, Ms. Parker notes that Houstonians eat out more often than anyone else in America.

Like Texas as a whole, Houston sells itself as "business friendly," and Ms. Parker ticks off the attractions—ease of permitting, unobtrusive regulations and low taxes. She also supports Houston's limited restrictions on land use, which some here call its real secret sauce. Without zoning, Houston can adjust to shifting market demands—whether for townhouse complexes or retail outfits—faster than most any other city. It looks unwieldy to anyone of the urban-planning persuasion, but it also keeps prices down.

Tory Gattis, who writes the Houston Strategies blog, says: "I'd argue we may be the most libertarian city in America. Live and let live; strong property rights; not much corruption; small business culture."

The economic dynamism has demographic consequences. A couple of years ago, Ms. Parker says, she argued with New York filmmaker Spike Lee over whose hometown was "the most international city in the U.S." The debate isn't as lopsided as it might seem to a non-Houstonian.

The city has surpassed New York as the country's most racially and ethnically diverse, according to a study last year by Rice University. One in five residents was born outside the U.S. The city attracted the second-highest number of new, foreign-born residents in the first decade of this century, after the more populous New York. A Manhattan Institute report last year named Houston and Dallas the country's least segregated cities.

Hispanics are hardly the only newcomers. The Korean, South Asian and Chinese communities are a backbone of the small-business community. European expatriates work in energy and at the Texas Medical Center—which, this being Texas, touts itself as the world's largest.

No ethnic group makes up a majority, and Hispanics, whites, Asians and African-Americans are evenly represented. Houston's "melting pot" makes it "impossible for any one group to dominate another," says Fred Hofheinz, who was mayor in the 1970s. Leave the politics of ethnic and racial division to other places.

Stephen Klineberg, who led the Rice study, argues that in some 30 years all of America will look like Houston today. Conservatives and liberals can both find something to like in Houston's post-racial, post-ethnic present.

The Mayor also speaks about marriage equality:

Situated on a bayou and close to Louisiana, Houston mixes the South's hospitality and the West's independent streak and tolerance of differences. Ms. Parker cites these qualities to explain her political career. "The vast majority of Houstonians are pragmatic and they judge me for what I do, not what I am."

She is a former president of the Houston GBLT Caucus and militated for gay rights in the 1990s. In her various stints as an elected city official, she emphasized financial matters and played down social issues. At least her mayoral victory, she says, got Houston a bit of attention for defying typecasting by outsiders.

"I'm not a spokesperson for the gay community," she adds. Gay marriage is personal. "I've been with my life partner for 22 years." They have three children. "I want to marry her."

Ms. Parker is holding out for Texas to legalize gay marriage. "I may be old and creaky, but it's gonna happen," she says. "This is a war we've already won. There are still battles left to fight. . . . mopping up operations."

Anything, they keep telling you, is possible here.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE>>>>>>

Join LGBT Americans For Quinn! Help Elect The First Woman and LGBT Mayor Of NYC!

 

 

 

I am personally asking you to simply go to this site and in one minute add your name to those endorsing City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for Mayor of New York City!

There are those who suggest the power of having an open lesbian mayor of New York City is just not important.  They want you to believe that electing our own and electing the first woman mayor is no longer a historic event. That we have elected other mayors in other cities so we essentially have 'been there, done that'.  

They are wrong.  

That would only be the case if City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wasn't qualified to be Mayor and hadn't really delivered big time in the marriage equality battle in New York State.

Quinn has used the power of her office time and time again to force others to support not only marriage equality but also other issues that lead to full equality for LGBT Americans. She went far beyond what any expected of her in that role.

The National Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Emily's List have both endorsed her candidacy believing she would become a not only a powerful symbol but also a critical person in the LGBT and feminist struggle for full equality. As Mayor in  the world's most powerful city, home to the United Nations and most of the nation's media, her ability to help us move forward in our battle to achieve total freedom and equality for LGBT Americans would be unparalleled.

Please join LGBT for Quinn by clicking here.

This year we have candidates running for Mayor in Seattle, Minneapolis and New York City. Each and every one of them is important in our battle for equality. Having worked over thirty years to elect LGBT people to office, I am here to tell you that each and everyone of these campaigns are critical in our struggle.

While we appreciate and value our straight allies that hold office, we have learned time and time again there is simply no replacement for having our own elected. We have seen it in battle after battle, legislature after legislature and city by city.

While I don't always agree with Christine Quinn 100% of the time, the fact of the matter is that I would not agree with any candidate 100% of the time. There is no question that she has the experience and will do an outstanding job as mayor.

There is also no question, that if Christine Quinn is elected mayor of the nation's largest city and the world's most powerful one, that it would be historic and critical to the future of LGBT Americans.

All we are asking for is that you join LGBT for Christine Quinn by simply clicking here.

VIDEO: Major Shannon McLaughlin, Her Wife Casey and The Impact of DOMA!

 

 

Freedom to Marry and Out-Serve-SLDN has been releasing powerful and informative video's of the impact of DOMA on individual lives around the country. This video is about Major Shannon McLaughlin, her wife Casey and their twins. The impact of DOMA is real and painful for them.

Take a minute to honor them by watching this video.

Capitol Hill 'Roll Call' Wonders If LGBT Inclusion Will Kill Immigration Reform

 

 

In Roll Call, journalist Alexander Bolton writes about the fears on Capitol Hill that including LGBT Americans in the proposed immigration reform will kill the legislation. Republicans are vowing to kill it in the House of Representatives if an amendment by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is included which would add LGBT Americans to the bill.

Of course, House Republicans have already indicated that they are likely to kill immigration reform if it includes a path to citizenship! Guess they are just looking for a good scapegoat!

Bolton reports:

A proposal to expand gay rights is threatening to splinter a fragile, bipartisan agreement on immigration reform and kill a pillar of President Obama’s second-term agenda.

The Senate Gang of Eight, which crafted the immigration legislation, pledged to fight off “poison pill” amendments that would derail the bill. But one controversial proposal has already divided the group.

An amendment sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) would allow U.S. citizens in long-term same-sex relationships to sponsor foreign partners for green cards.

It is potentially the most troublesome amendment of the more than 300 proposed changes that have been filed by members of the Judiciary panel.

Republican members of the Gang of Eight have stated bluntly to their Democratic partners that this will sink the bill if adopted during the committee’s deliberations.

The markup begins on Thursday, which is the one-year anniversary of Obama’s decision to embrace same-sex marriage.

“If that’s in the bill, that will kill the bill,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a member of the gang. “This bill has got to get broad support to have a chance in the House, and with that provision it will not have broad support. A lot of the coalitions that are behind it will go away, and so I think that’s pretty much understood.”

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), a Democratic member of the group, declared Tuesday he is a strong supporter of the amendment but stopped short of saying how he would vote if it comes up in committee. “I support it and hope we can find a way to resolve it. It’s a fair thing to do,” Durbin said.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a Reid lieutenant and another member of group, is a co-sponsor of legislation that served as the template for the amendment, the Uniting American Families Act.

Durbin and Schumer are members of the Judiciary Committee and either one could strike down Leahy’s amendment by voting with Republicans against it.

Democrats control 10 seats on the panel to the Republicans’ eight. The other Democratic members of the panel are expected to back the Leahy measure.

Leahy also filed an amendment exempting the immigration status of same-sex couples from restrictions established by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) if a state or another country recognizes their unions.

Durbin and Schumer are leading contenders to someday replace Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) as Democratic leader. They have come under pressure from prominent Democratic fundraisers and gay-rights advocates to support the Leahy legislation.

“It will be interesting how Durbin and Schumer vote because they have huge [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] constituencies and citizens in their states, and I can’t imagine them not supporting the Leahy amendment,” said David Mixner, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and political strategist. “Since when do we separate a whole group of American citizens and say, ‘These rights apply to everyone, but not LGBT citizens.’”

Mixner said it would be a “moral outrage” if the Senate passed immigration legislation that discriminated against same-sex couples.

Leahy is one of the biggest allies of gay-rights advocates, who do not want him to succumb to colleagues who would prefer the amendment not come up for a vote.

READ ENTIRE COLUMN HERE........

Jason Collins Stands On The Huge Shoulders Of LGBT Sporting Pioneers

 

 

At times in the last couple of days, it seems as if the entire world is celebrating (and even somewhat relieved) that at last an active sporting star in the major leagues has come out of the closet. Jason Collins has captured the heart of not only the LGBT community but a nation. This man represents all that is the best in the LGBT community.

However there are two important points to be remembered over the next weeks:

1. Mr. Collins is newly out of the closet and he will likely make a misstep doing this remarkable new journey. Please be patient with him and offer a helping hand to show him the way instead of critiquing him. His new found freedom will be tempered with new found ways, responsibilities and knowledge. Cut him so slack and give him your support.

2. Mr. Collins reached this point on the shoulders of so great sporting legends. He is not the first athlete to come out. He is just the first still playing in one of the three major male sports of baseball, football and basketball.

The list of brave souls who have pioneered the path for Jason Collins is impressive.

-National Football League player Dave Kopay came out of the closet in 1975.

-Tennis player Billie Jean King in the early 1980's.

-Baseball player Glenn Burke was known by his team to be gay and died of AIDS in 1995.

-Olympic Diver Greg Louganis (above)who came out as both gay and HIV Positive. One of the bravest and nicest men I have ever met.

-Olympic Decathlon Track Star Tom Waddell (above)who was founder of the Gay Games.

-National Basketball Player John Amaechi who was not playing when he came out but was the first NBA star to say "I am gay".

-Tennis star Martina Navratilova (below) who came out and was an activist in the struggle for freedom.

-Baseball Player Billie Bean who played in the major leagues and came out when he retired.

These are just the tip of the iceberg of our sports heroes. The names of Orlando Cruz, Matthew Mitcham, Jerry Smith, Garth Thomas, Robbie Roberts, Ian Roberts Johnny Weir, Esera Tualo, Megan Rapinoe and so many, many others come to mind.

The list of those who made Jason Collins possible can go on and on. Check it out here.

Young LGBT People Who Are Changing The World

 

 

 

The Advocate has selected forty LGBT young people under forty who are making a difference in the world. They are "accomplished leaders in politics, sports, science, religion and the arts.". You can't help but look at this list and feel great hope for the future. Here are five of them..

Ryan Spahn
32 / New York
Actor and Student

Ryan Spahn happily acknowledges that his partner of four years, Michael Urie (of Ugly Betty fame), has the more recognizable face of the couple. In fact, he’s banking on it. Spahn’s first feature film, in theaters this May, is sardonically titled He’s Way More Famous Than You. He wrote the film with Halley Feiffer, with Urie in the director’s chair. Both Spahn and Urie star in the film, along with Tracee Chimo, Jesse Eisenberg, and But I’m a Cheerleader’s Natasha Lyonne.

While completing preproduction for Famous in 2011, Spahn penned a screenplay for another upcoming film, Grantham & Rose, a coming-of-age story featuring Feiffer as a filmmaker willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get her way, foiled by The Jeffersons’ Marla Gibbs as a feisty 81-year-old woman named Rose.

Spahn is also a third-year drama student at Juilliard. Urie, a Juilliard alum, encouraged his partner to attend, promising the education would change his life. Indeed, Spahn says he’s found funding for and self-produced all three of his feature film and a short film projects since enrolling.

“It was unexpected and thrilling,” says Spahn. “So it was more of a juggling act of scheduling the films to fall during my holiday breaks. I am a hard worker, so I managed to balance the workload of Juilliard against these filming schedules.” @ryan_spahn

Harper Jean Tobin
31 / Washington, D.C.
Director of Policy, National Center for Transgender Equality

As a young transgender woman coming of age in Louisville, Ky., Harper Jean Tobin was grateful for her supportive family and friends within her community. But while she describes Louisville as “the least conservative place in Kentucky,” she was still aware of the discrimination and transphobia that runs deep in many Southern states. That awareness led the lawyer — recently named among the best 40 LGBT attorneys under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association — to actively fight to improve the lives, visibility, and equality of transgender people by creating inclusive federal policy. And that’s exactly what she’s done in her four years with the National Center for Transgender Equality.

“Gears sometimes turn slowly in this town,” says Tobin of the Washington infrastructure. “But we have seen tremendous progress over the past four years.”

Tobin cites 2010 revisions to federal policy that allowed transgender people to obtain passports that reflect their authentic gender without a requirement for surgical procedures. Tobin also highlights ongoing work to protect transgender prisoners and immigration detainees. Tobin says such efforts have been “quite successful” thus far, but notes that there is still much to do. She hopes NCTE’s efforts signal the beginning of “a larger and very critical conversation in our movement about the ways in which so many of our transgender youth are funneled into these harmful systems by poverty, unemployment, rejection, and discrimination.” @transequality

Alex Morse
24 / Holyoke, Mass.
Mayor

When your high school gay-straight alliance faces censorship by the school board, it helps to have the town’s mayor on your side. To be fair, Mayor Alex Morse of Holyoke, Mass., founded that group back in his high school days, which weren’t that long ago. He’s only 24.

The Holyoke High School GSA planned an assembly against bullying in February, and in response a board member wanted to move it after school or require an opt-out provision because of its supposed sexual nature. Morse spoke strongly against the idea, arguing that the kids most likely to opt out would also be most in need of training. When he won and the assembly happened, the mayor was a guest speaker.

Morse shows that even a mayor for a city of about 40,000 can make a difference for LGBT Americans. “Legal protections are one thing,” he says. “Changing the hearts and minds of people is another challenge.” @mayormorse

Amir Dixon
23 / Boston
Filmmaker

Amir Dixon recently made history when his film Friend of Essex screened at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, one of the nation’s preeminent historically African-American colleges. The documentary drama explores the lives of young black gay men today and “looks at how we are seen in the black community through the scope of religion, how we are seen in the [larger] LGBTQ community, and in turn how we see ourselves,” Dixon says. The film has prompted discussions on race, masculinity, identity, and sexuality. This is what he hopes to achieve wherever Friend of Essex screens. “[I hope to set a] national agenda for LGBTQ people of color that is inclusive of all of our experiences,” he says. “This isn’t about me but about us.” @amirnow

Danielle Moodie-Mills
33 / Washington, D.C.
Director of Education Advocacy, National Wildlife Federation

If you think you’re busy, you haven’t met Danielle Moodie-Mills. She’s the director of education advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation, a board member for the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, and an adviser for LGBT policy and racial justice with Fighting Injustice to Reach Equality, an initiative of the Center for American Progress. In her spare time, she maintains a blog (ThreeLOL.com) and hosts a radio show (Politini at BLIS.fm), both of which she manages with her wife. But she doesn’t mind her industrious life. “I’m really passionate about all those pieces because they really reflect to my core, which is social justice and working for equality across the board for all people,” she says.

Moodie-Mills’s latest work with NWF centers on encouraging kids to put down the Xbox and get active, and her latest project with FIRE involves helping LGBT youth in the juvenile justice system. “I’m really proud to do the work I do,” she says. @deetwocents

SEE THE ENTIRE LIST BY CLICKING HERE........

New Marist Poll Shows Anthony Weiner In Second Place Behind Strong Quinn

 

 

The first Marist poll was released since former Congressman Anthony Weiner started a firestorm of press by thinking of entering the Mayor's race. Weiner was forced to resign not only because of the photographs he sent out over Twitter but by lying about them for weeks.

A very high 46% of the voters do not want the disgraced Congressman to enter the race. Without Weiner in the race, Quinn polls 30% and is likely to face a run-off in September. She still holds a considerable lead after a series of brutal attack ads.

Nate Silver of the The New York Times said in a Tweet: "100% name recognition and just 15% ballot support? That's an ugly poll for Weiner, not an encouraging one."

Clearly his entry changes the dynamic of the race. Quinn still has a 11% lead over him. The other factor is that Weiner is detracting from the other candidates and slowing their momentum. 

Christine Quinn: 26%

Anthony Weiner: 15%

John Liu: 12%

Bill de Blasio: 11%

Bill Thompson: 11%

Sal Albanese: 3%

Undecided: 22%

Hell's Kitchen Journal: Meeting Edie

 

 

 

Over the years, I have met Prime Ministers, Presidents, major movie stars and a series of brave and courageous people who names are unknown. Never have I been more excited than the other night when I met our beloved Edie Windsor. She did not disappoint her many fans.

The New York Center held its 30th Anniversary dinner on Saturday night (April 13) and unlike most similar evenings it was magical. They had chosen to honor two remarkable human beings in Edie Windsor and Terrence Meck. The Center knew that they had a special moment for the community and they did not disappoint the well over 700 in the room. They kept the evening brief, informative and inspiring. If only organizations all could follow their model.

That is where I met Edie.

Let's face it, the LGBT community is so damn lucky to have her as face of this epic battle for full equality. She is smart, poised, funny and looks like everyone's mother. Edie is gracious in her time with those who she has inspired and passionate about her journey and case before the Supreme Court.

Like Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, Edie Windsor has shown the same kind of courage. When her beloved wife, Thea Spyer, passed away in 2009 after over 40 years of being together, Edie was totally heart broken. In the mist of her grief, the government said that their relationship was not a real one and taxed her $363,000 on the estate. No straight married couple would have had to pay this 'LGBT Tax'!

Instead of becoming a victim, she sued her government and fought back. Through court after court Edie's powerful story of discrimination won and with each victory her legend has grown around the world. The entire world was watching when her case reached the Supreme Court. The power of one individual determined to be free creating change was proven with Edie.

At the dinner, I approached her with caution but suddenly she was not surrounded by people. I slowly went up and introduced myself and expressed my deep admiration and gratitude. She made my night by reaching up and hugging me and saying 'thank you David, without you I would have never done it." Her gracious and kindness in the moment not only made my year but suddenly made my journey have value.

That is Edie. She constantly gives joy and hope to others. She has honored Thea by honoring us with her fight, determination and love of justice. Thank you Edie. Thank you from all of us

(Thanks to Joe Jervis of JoeMyGod for the photograph)