2010 Marriage Initiative Gaining Steam

The day after the passage of Proposition 8 on Nov. 4, the main focus of the marriage equality battle in California moved from the polling station to the courtroom with the filing of several constitutional challenges to the measure, which the California Supreme Court promptly agreed to hear.

But before long, some on both sides began training their sights on 2010. “The question is not if this will be back on the ballot. The question is when…,” said anti-Prop. 8 political consultant Eric Jaye Nov. 22 in the Los Angeles Times.

Two grassroots groups, operating independently of the “official” No on 8 campaign, have filed requests with the state attorney general's office asking for official titles and summaries for same-sex marriage initiatives for the 2010 ballot, with a third expected to follow suit soon, the Sacramento Bee reported Jan. 21.

“Our logic is that we should not put all our eggs in one basket and wait for the Supreme Court,” said Charles Lowe, founder of Yes! On Equality, whose initiative would amend the constitution to repeal Prop. 8.

“As with any big coalition, people will submit lots of different language and ideas,” said Equality California executive director Geoff Kors, who predicted that marriage equality advocates would eventually choose one proposal to support.

Meanwhile, the Beverly Hills Bar Association is formally objecting to the State Bar and Conference of Delegates annual meeting being held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego because the hotel's owner reportedly contributed $125,000 to support Prop. 8, the Lavender Newswire reported Jan. 16. The Los Angeles County Bar Association is considering whether to also object. Both groups oppose Prop. 8 and have filed “friend of the court” letters asking the California Supreme Court to review it.

Inaugural ‘Error’ as Robinson Opens Ceremonial Events

Openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire delivered the invocation at the “We Are One” event on the National Mall Jan. 18 that opened festivities associated with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, The New York Times reports.

Robinson was asked to deliver the invocation after Obama's tapping the Rev. Rick Warren of California's Saddleback Church angered many in the LGBT community. Warren was a prominent proponent of Proposition 8, and is seen by some as anti-LGBT.

Robinson's prayer was not broadcast on HBO's telecast of the event, however, which some perceived as a snub. The Presidential Inaugural Committee later said it was an “error.” HBO said it would include the invocation in repeats of the telecast.

“Bless us with tears,” Robinson said in his nonsectarian prayer, “for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day … and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria and AIDS.

“Bless us with anger at discrimination at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

“Bless us with humility—open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

“Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance—replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

“Bless us with compassion and generosity—remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.”

Speaking of Obama, Robinson prayed, “Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.”

L.A. Times to Obama: recognize marriage equality

In a Jan. 21 editorial, the Los Angeles Times called on President Barack Obama to recognize that “denying same-sex marriage is discriminatory.”

Obama swore allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, “which forbids all forms of discrimination,” the Times said. “It is impossible to adhere to those principles while also proposing that some citizens should have fewer rights than others for no better reason than the majority disapproves of their sexual preference.”

Meanwhile, GetToKnowUsFirst.org blasted KABC for refusing to sell them commercial time for an ad featuring two black American men raising five children ages 6 through 25.

Black AIDS institute Honors Heroes in the Struggle

The statistics tell it all: AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women aged 24-34. So this year's theme for the 8th annual Black AIDS Institute's Heroes in the Struggle gala on Feb. 4 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall is “Black Men Honoring Black Women in the Struggle.”

The honorees include Sandra Evers-Manly (President of the Northrop Grumman Foundation), Dr. Marjorie Hill (GMHC), Rep. Barbara Lee, Gloria Reuben (actress, AIDS activist—shown), and Cookie Johnson (philanthropist and Magic Johnson's wife). For information, call Charlie Baran at 213/353-3610 or e-mail CharlieB@BlackAIDS.org.

Milk Gets Eight Oscar Nods

Milk, the biopic about openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, received eight Academy Award nominations Jan. 22: Best Picture, Best Actor (Sean Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin), Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black), Best Film Editing (Elliot Graham) and Best Original Score (Danny Elfman). Penelope Cruz also received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona in which she played a woman who has a tempestuous relationship involving another woman (Scarlett Johansson). The 81st Annual Academy Awards will air Feb. 22, at 5 p.m. Pacific time on ABC.
—PETER DELVECCHIO

Mr. Polis Goes to Washington

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., the first openly gay man elected as a freshman representative, was sworn in and immediately appointed to the House education and labor and rules committees, which will position him to influence the Employment Non-Discrimination Act expected to be reintroduced this session. The bill will originate in the education and labor committee; the rules committee will take up proposed amendments.

Polis recognizes the economy's critical importance as President Obama takes office, but said, “we shouldn't have to take a back burner for a broader equality agenda,” Towleroad.com reported Jan. 19.

Gay Portland Mayor Apologizes for Relationship

Sam Adams, 46, the openly gay mayor of Portland, Ore., apologized Jan. 20 for having a sexual relationship with legislative intern Beau Breedlove in 2005, a few weeks after the intern turned 18, the Oregonion reported. In 2007 Adams angrily denied a rumor that he had sex with a minor, which is a crime under Oregon law. Adams claimed that Breedlove was his protege. Adams apologized for the lie and the relationship. "It was consensual, but it was also inappropriate," he told the newspaper. "I am very sorry." Calls for his resignation are mounting.

Hanks Calls Prop. 8 Mormon Supporters ‘Un-American’

Actor Tom Hanks, executive producer of HBO's series Big Love, about a polygamist Mormon sect, had some harsh criticism for Mormon supporters of Proposition 8 at the series premiere party Jan. 14, FoxNews.com reports.

“A lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop. 8 happen,” Hanks said. “There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them.”

“Personally, I find it un-American to tell people that they shouldn't vote their conscience,” said Bill McKeever, representative of the Mormon Research Ministry. Hanks later apologized for calling Mormons “un-American.”

This page compiled by Peter DelVecchio from The Associated Press and other news reports.