Paul Hogarth: Same-sex couples have largely won the battle for civil unions, but there’s something about “marriage” that makes moderates uneasy – and it’s time that we speak directly to their concerns.

Paul Hogarth: For years, civil rights groups had carefully kept the federal courts out of gay marriage fights – and the prominent lawyers in Perry filed the suit without consulting them. But with most of marriage’s legal benefits coming under federal law, it was only a matter of time before the federal courts weighed in on this issue.

What can Sen. Jim DeMint, Bill O’Reilly, or Rep. Michele Bachmann teach me on the subject of values, or anything of any importance for that matter?

There’s been another informed and intelligent decision by the Obama administration.
In August 2008, in an LA Progressive article entitled “Census Nonsense,” which decried the Bush administration’s move to exclude legally married same-sex couples from being …

I watched the movie Gettysburg again the other day. It is one of my favorites because the producer was a Mexican American and it is about the real reasons why democracy exists. In …

Before you open that bottle of champagne, can of beer, or bottle of Hennessy in celebration of last week’s decision by the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8 and the ban on gay marriage, did …

My first essay for the L.A. Progressive was about Proposition 8 and the lies that self proclaimed Christian activists were telling in order to promote their bigotry. It seems almost ridiculous to catalog the number …

The California Supreme Court ruled again on same-sex marriage. This time it did to uphold Proposition 8, restricting marriage to one man and one woman. In a 6-to-1 decision, the justices decided that Proposition 8 …

Yesterday, the California Supreme Court ruled on the validity of Proposition 8, the measure adopted by California voters last November to add a new section 7.5 to Article I of the California Constitution, as follows: …

There will be parades all across the country this Memorial Day commemorating our U.S. servicemembers who died while in the military. But not all of our servicemembers will be honored for their acts of bravery …

The CEO of Wal-Mart, just like Mormons, can exercise his right to free speech and expression however he sees fit. I too have that right — and will exercise it by refusing to give the …

With Iowa being the fourth state to approve marriage equality, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans’ optimism is high, believing many more states will follow suit.
“We’re hoping this momentum is contagious,” Daniel Richards of …

Be warned: Those new National Organization for Marriage anti-GLBT “actor auditions” videos posted are gone. NOM noticed that its evil ruse had been exposed and demanded that YouTube take them down. Even a clip of …

Is he the U.S. military’s worst nightmare? Imagine, a radical homosexual with his hands on the military’s purse strings.
It’s hard to believe that after 15 years of repressive, misguided military policy (“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”), …

The California Supreme Court finds itself center stage this Thursday when it will hear oral arguments on whether it should uphold Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriage.
The case touches the heart of our democracy and …

Within the next week, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments to help determine the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the November 2008 election ballot constitutional amendment that removed the right of same-sex couples to …

The election (and now the inauguration) of Barack Obama has inspired a widespread sense of awe at the scope and scale of change in race relations in America—and more than a hint of self-congratulation.
The news …

For those of you worried about militant radical homosexuals, you can rest easy because Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, a “newly reorganized national organization devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda,” is …

The other shoe is about to be dropped.
The California Supreme Court announced on February 3 that it would hear oral arguments March 5 over the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the November 2008 election ballot constitutional …

I had conversations with four recently married same-sex couples during the first week of January. There were two lesbian couples, one from the Sacramento area (Davis) and the other from West Hollywood. The two gay …

by Carl Matthes –
Already gaining Oscar buzz is Sean Penn’s portrayal of Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant’s new movie “Milk.” It is the story of Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay Americans …

I’ve been watching this same-sex marriage debate for some time and, like most of my community, I’m deeply conflicted about it. As sexual orientation is a deeply personal matter, I chose to remain silent in …

There’s enough hate, discrimination, injustice and bigotry (HDIB) generated against Americans of all stripes, that no one group can ever begin to absorb all of it. No need to covet another’s HDIB. There’s plenty to …

The 2008 election was supposed be over a couple weeks ago, but that’s not what’s happened. Three U.S. Senate seats remain undecided. Missouri, a state which has voted for the winning Presidential candidate more times …

Rev. Irene Monroe –

Last week we saw democracy work with the election of Barack Obama as our country’s first African American president. My enslaved ancestors who built the White House could have never imagined that …

Let me be among the first to congratulate my friends who always believed that Senator Barack Obama would win the election for the Presidency. As most of you know, I was on record one year …

Before we begin to debate the rightness or wrongness of any law of the state (as opposed to spiritual laws, or natural laws, or laws of physics), we must keep in mind at least one …

The California Field Poll showing Proposition 8 behind with 44% support and 49% opposition that was released earlier today is making the headlines of the state’s newspapers—and in fact is national news. These results are …

It’s getting really religious out there. I’ve just learned that Jesus Christ is against same-sex marriage and is promoting a yes vote on Prop 8. Prop 8 would amend California’s constitution to take away …

Faith is as tangible as it is intangible. Religions institutionalize faith. Churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques are visible symbols of religion. I have “Born Again” faith. My faith is a personal matter, despite my just …

Election Day is less than a month away. We’ve all heard more than enough about Sarah “Pitbull” Palin but most of us still aren’t sure how to vote on many of the propositions, judicial …

The Democrats are getting it right.
Taking the microphone to explain to America why policies of George Bush and the Republicans have sent us into uncharted, dangerous, financial waters was a Women, a Black, a Jew, …

I was drawn to the headline of Friday’s September 19, 2008, Los Angeles Times Opinion piece entitled “Protecting Marriage to Protect Children.” It was written by New York author David Blankenhorn, President of Institute for …

Proposition 8 on the November ballot would take away the right of same-sex couples to marry. A simple majority (50% + 1 vote) is all that is needed to defeat or pass this dangerous and …

For four days, Democrats reminded us what it is to dream of a better world. The old lion, Ted Kennedy anchored the week, reminding us that Democrats have long championed the dream of a better …

Let’s face it, anytime you get 2,000 gay men and lesbians together in one room it’s a political statement. And, Monday evening, August 25, in Disney Hall was no exception when the Gay Men’s Chorus …

by Rev. Irene Monroe —
Michelle Obama won’t use the F-word. Alice Walker called it by another name. Her daughter, Rebecca Walker, an icon of the “Third Wave” of feminism, redefined the F-word and then …

Witnessing the Bush administration’s politicalization of the nation’s governmental agencies, it would be a surprise to learn that the United States Census Bureau (CB) had escaped the political correctness-du-jour, especially in light of it’s …

Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau, now metaphorically, comes knocking on our doors. But when the census surveys arrive in 2010 in married households of same-sex couples in Massachusetts, we will be reclassified as …

Barack Obama has spoken out against Proposition 8, the proposed California constitutional amendment which takes away the right of same-sex couples to marry.
In a letter to the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender …

Even today, my SpellCheck tells me to change “UGLA” to “ugly.” And, it used to be worse! Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance’s first acronym was “UGA,” Uptown Gay Alliance. (SpellCheck’s suggestion? “ugh.”) Well, what can …

The Senate’s most left leaning member, presidential hopeful Barack Obama, is now turning to the right.
And the turn, he’s finding out, is not as easy as calculated.

In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend …

By now many in the LGBTQ community have heard of the news about the cop beat down of Duanna Johnson in a Memphis jailhouse that was captured on a surveillance video. Those of us especially …

I received my first marriage proposal at the age of eighteen. My fiancé, a year older than I, was a real catch. A Tom Hanks look-alike, he was tall and lanky, with curly brown hair …

The Bible says that Solomon had 700 wives. David had wives too numerous to number. And Gideon had so many one wonders when he had time to practice with his trumpet.
These Biblical characters came to …

The feeling was electric! When Stephen hit the opening chords of the Wedding March, and people recognized it, there was first laughter, then an explosion of applause in recognition of the Supreme Court decision about …

On the day I was born, my uncle, Leopold, went up and down our block in the South Bronx announcing to the neighbors, and anyone else who would listen, that I had finally arrived. He …