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U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin petitioned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get her partner on a military flight. (Blade photo by Henry Linser)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
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WASHINGTON — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi intervened on behalf of the country’s only openly lesbian member of Congress who encountered difficulty getting her partner on a military flight for a fact-finding trip to Europe, Politico reported this week. U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) encountered difficulty when she attempted to arrange for her partner, Lauren Azar, with whom she exchanged vows in 1998, to accompany her, Politico reported. Members of Congress are allowed to take their spouses on military flights if room is available or other “protocol purposes” dictate as such. Pelosi contacted Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Baldwin’s behalf and after dashing off a letter authorizing the trip, Azar was set to go, the paper said. Pelosi’s aides said she was simply asking the defense secretary to follow a precedent established by previous House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Politico reported, who’d allowed Azar to go on previous trips. Some Hill insiders speculated to the paper that the brouhaha may have been caused in part by the existence of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. military policy that prevents gays from serving openly.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Instead of picketing by members of Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church, around 400 people targeted the church in a Sunday protest of their own. Organizers said the event, dubbed the “Million Fag March,” drew participants touting messages of compassion and tolerance for gays. The church is known for its anti-gay message and picketing of the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gay, straight and trans picketers hugged, danced and cheered as passersby honked their support for the protest at Gage Park in Topeka. Organizer Chris Love of Leavenworth said he got the idea for the march after Westboro members picketed actor Heath Ledger’s memorial service (Ledger was straight but won fame playing a gay role in “Brokeback Mountain”).
SACRAMENTO — With just a few weeks left to qualify for the ballot, proponents of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage are reporting that they have gathered 881,000 of the 1.1 million signatures needed, according to a report by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The Equality for All campaign continues to fight the signature-gathering drive and has called on the gay community and other supportive Californians to help stop the initiative. The “protectmarriage.com” campaign called on volunteers and paid signature gatherers to turn in their petitions by Tuesday, but petitions can be turned in as late as April 21 and still count toward qualifying the amendment for the ballot. Because the proposed ballot initiative would change the state constitution, the legislature, which in 2005 and 2007 passed marriage bills Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed, would be prohibited from passing another bill in the future. And since constitutional amendments take precedence over legislation and limit the authority of courts, current cases that might lead to marriage would be stopped or reversed. The California Supreme Court is considering a same-sex marriage case.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — State College Mayor Bill Welch presided over a commitment ceremony for four gay couples last weekend. The state does not legally recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. But Welch led a ceremony March 29 at Penn State University for two gay and two lesbian couples. More than 500 people cheered for the couples after the event, which looked very much like a wedding. The couples exchanged vows and rings, and sealed their pledges with kisses. A Penn State student group called Orthodox Christian Fellowship protested outside by singing softly and holding plaques depicting Jesus. The Pennsylvania Family Values Coalition, which is a conservative Christian group, held a rally elsewhere on campus to support traditional marriage.
DES MOINES (AP) — A gay rights organization will file legal arguments in an Iowa case that will decide whether the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is legal. Lambda Legal is a New York-based group that has spearheaded a same-sex marriage drive across the country. It planned to file the arguments April 4 in a lawsuit on behalf of six gay and lesbian couples who were denied marriage licenses. Polk County attorney’s office officials have said lawmakers should decide the issue.
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