Last week a Senate committee advanced SB232, a civil unions bill "substantively similar" to the measure passed last year. The Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure on Friday, reports the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Senators voted 19-6 yesterday to approve Senate Bill 232, a proposal essentially the same as House Bill 444, Senate Draft 1, which passed both chambers last year. The proposal would grant all couples of the same or opposite sex the ability to enter into a civil union with all the rights, privileges, protections and responsibilities of traditional marriage. The House could either approve SB 232 and send it to the governor or pass its own version. Both bodies need to agree on the language before sending a final bill to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who supports civil unions. House Majority Leader Blake Oshiro, with 21 co-sponsors, has introduced a bill similar to a measure that was not heard in the Senate. The bill was crafted by select lawmakers, members of the governor's policy team and civil unions advocates and addresses some concerns about implementation of a civil unions law. The proposal spells out processes such as how the state Department of Health would oversee licensing of civil unions, and ensures that the rights extend to applicable health, insurance and tax codes. The Democratic-dominated House and Senate have promised to move quickly on the legislation. Adds KITV: "Supporters hope one amendment would move the effective date to July 1, 2011, and take effect without government rulemaking, which would mean civil unions could begin this summer." HB 444, the previous Hawaii civil unions bill, passed the legislature in April 2010. Hawaii's twice-divorced and lame duck Republican Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed HB444 last July to "protect" traditional marriage. Democratic Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the pro-equality former longtime congressman, has "promised to sign whatever civil unions legislation is approved."
A gay Dallas couple, Mark Reed-Walkup and Dante Walkup, have been trying like heck to get their paid same-sex wedding announcement into the Weddings section of the Dallas Morning News, the city's largest paper and one of the bigger dailies in the country. But the paper won't allow it. Why?
According to a study of data released by the U.S. Census, there are more gay couples raising children in the southern states than in urban states more traditionally considered to be gay hot spots. 
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence on Friday denounced as "morally wrong" legislation recognizing same-sex marriage that has been introduced in the General Assembly. "The push to legalize the marriage of homosexual persons is morally wrong and detrimental to the well-being of our state," Tobin said in a news release. Bills to legalize what Tobin described as "gay marriage" were introduced Thursday in the House and Senate by Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston and Sen. Rhoda Perry, D-Providence. The bills would recognize "civil marriage" between people of identical gender, while leaving religious institutions the right to refuse to participate. The issue claims Governor Chafee as among its supporters. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont recognize same-sex marriage. There is a repeal effort under way in New Hampshire. In Maine, voters overturned the state Legislature's approval of same-sex nuptials. Tobin said the question should be put to a referendum. "It is particularly disturbing that our new governor, who has trumpeted his desire to bring our state together in unity, would adopt such a very divisive agenda item as one of his first priorities," Tobin said. "His proposal violates the sincere conscience of many of our citizens and inflames passions on both sides of the issue."
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy now heading toward history does not apply to transgender recruits, who are automatically disqualified as unfit for service. But the military’s long-standing posture on gender-identity has not prevented transgender citizens from signing up before they come out, or from obtaining psychological counseling, hormones and routine health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs once they return to civilian life. So as the Pentagon prepares to welcome openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members for the first time, Sandeen is not alone in hoping the United States will one day join the seven other nations – Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Australia – that allow transgender troops. “There is really no question, it’s just a matter of when,” said former Army Capt. Allyson Robinson, 40, a 1994 West Point graduate who has spoken to sociology classes at the alma mater she attended as a male cadet. “There are active-duty, as well as reserve and national guard transgender service members, serving today.” No one knows how many transgender people are serving or have served. Neither the Department of Defense nor the VA keep statistics on how many service members have been discharged or treated for transgender conditions or conduct. The Transgender American Veterans Association, an advocacy group founded in 2003, estimates there could be as many as 300,000 transgender people among the nation’s 26 million veterans. When 50 TAVA members laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier six years ago, representatives from every U.S. conflict since World War II were there, said former Navy Machinist Mate First Class Monica Helms, the group’s co-founder and president.
You know I have been open and out about my sexuality, learned and observed a number of different things about my community, but it still baffles me that our own community is still so small minded and competitive for no reason. I recently lost about 15 lbs and its funny how I now get more attention from my own community. I mean people seem to have more of an interest in me since I loss a few lbs. Now I know this story isn't one of ground breaking news or uncommon of a person to share but I feel it is my duty to bring more awareness about things that concern me about our community. I would like to know when and where did gay men feel it was okay to judge each other based upon our appearance/stance? I may get a lot of heat from this but I feel it is worse in the black gay community. I feel as if it's all a competition for most people, trying to get the finest, sexiest, richest man out there. Once you do find that special someone who fits everything you think you wanted, most realize that these men feel they have so many other options that they need not be tied down to one person, even if this one person does everything they possibly can to keep the opposite happy. All that time they spent turning the "less attractive" and/or heavier guys down who would have kept them happy, they choose to take the superficial route and end up with a man who has had his thrill and is now on to the next. Those same people who choose these sexy men and are now unhappy in there own lives will put on such a front and a mask while out in public and still have the nerve to talk about others appearances as if they are not even worthy to be apart of the "Elite" gay community. Am I loosing my mind or is this what our next generation will have to use as their text books and study guides? If so, then we have so much more work to do. I would love to see the day, especially in Atlanta when all walks of gay life that being heavy, built, White, Spanish, Asian, and Black can all coexist in the same party scenes and social settings. Is this dream unrealistic?
I'm just saying
