LGBT equality

Alan Grayson Guest Post: Conversion Therapy, Russian Style

We extended the Fleetwood Mac/Ted Lieu contest we're doing for 24 hours at the request of Alan Grayson. He has something to say about why he's backing Ted Lieu for Congress and why the two of them will be campaigning for Ted in CA-33 on September 19 and 20. So the contest is over today at 12 noon (PT). Here's where you go to be part of it. And below is the message Congressman Grayson sent out to his supporters last night. "Pray the Gay Away"? he asked. And he answered: "No."

Catching up with: Openly gay NBA center Jason Collins -- since coming out, his life is "exponentially better"

And we catch up with the St. Louis Rams' Michael SamBrooklyn Nets center Jason Collins, now 35, says he doesn't know yet what's in store for next season."[New York] is where the Stonewall riots happened. Flash-forward to when I entered a game and got a standing ovation when I took the court for my team.

As The GOP Doubles Down On Homophobia, Do Gay Republicans Have A Role To Play Any Longer?

Right wing hedge fund operator and vulture capitalist Paul Singer may be best known as one of the money bags behind Mitt Romney but the ardent defender of the prerogatives of the one percent and their right to rule without interference from government (he's been on an anti-Dodd Frank jihad, for example) is also one of the biggest supp

Is Charlie Dent Backing LGBT Equality Yet? Check Back In 20 Years

Charlie Dent was first elected to Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley congressional seat (PA-15) in 2004, a D+2 district that had given both Gore and Kerry the narrowest of victories. Dent took the seat when incumbent Rick Santorum ran for the Senate. The district was gerrymandered by the Republican state legislature in 2010 and is now an R+2 district that includes red-leaning parts of Berks, Lebanon and and Dauphin counties.

Is Another Aspect Of The TPP They Hid From Us, Legally Stoning Gays?

Psychotic assholes"Money and principle," Orlando Congressman Alan Grayson told me this morning, "are battling for U.S. foreign policy supremacy. Money is winning." He was referring particularly to trade policy, especially the TransPacific Partnership on which he is probably the top congressional expert. Congress appears to be slowing the TPP down a little, but, alas, not killing it off. Maybe a Hollywood boycott, though, can help.Ever hear of Brunei?

Arizona Republican Plays Footsie With The Gays… Or At Least The Wealthy Gays

Ron Barber is both a New Dem and a Blue Dog-- very much a member in good standing of the Republican Wing of the Democratic Party. According to ProgressivePunch, Barber's crucial vote score for 2013-'14 is a horrific 25.0, a record that is far more in tune with the GOP, particularly on economic matters, than with the Democrats.

Not All Democrats In Hawaii Have Been On The Side Of The Angels In The Struggle For LGBT Equality

Last week, you may recall, Blue America did a end-of-the-quarter fundraiser for our House candidates. The name of one of the most generous contributors looked vaguely familiar, so I looked him up. Steven H. Levinson was a judge on the Hawaii Supreme Court and the reason why I had his name in my memory bank was because he authored the lead opinion in Baehr vs. Lewin, the first-ever court ruling to determine that denying marriage to same-sex couples was discriminatory.

The Restore Honor to Service Members Act Languishes Under Republican Party Obstruction

Mark Pocan (D-WI) will have to be a magician if he's going to get his Restore Honor to Service Members Act (H.R. 2839) out of committee and passed into law. Sure, Pocan rounded up 144 cosponsors for his bill, but only one-- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen-- is a Republican. Her colleagues are accustomed to writing off her pro-LGBT actions because she doesn't hassle them over their homophobia and because she has a huge LGBT population in her blue-leaning district.