Boehner And Clement's Brief to the Court On DOMA Is An Anti-Gay Masterpiece

This is the week that John Boehner's bizarre personal crusade to use the House to continue defending DOMA in court despite another office of the same government, the Department of Justice, declaring it unconstitutional, comes to fruition. Paul Clement, the super-expensive lawyer who left his original law firm just to be able to take on this case, is presenting a pretty familiar argument in the cas...

Autostraddle • Aug 4, 2011

IRS Finally Apologizes To Gay People For Making Taxes Extra Terrible For Them

All this would be frustrating on its own, were it not for the infuriating letter that at least 300 taxpayers received from a mysterious manager within the IRS, which rejected their return entirely. It read: "Your return includes income or tax liability for more than one taxpayer, other than husband and wife." Signed by "J. Bell," a person whom the IRS doesn't know about or doesn't seem willing to ...

Autostraddle • Jun 16, 2011

Focus on the Family Knows They've "Lost" Gay Marriage, Keeps Fighting For the Thrill of the Fight

I guess it's understandable that, even given their president's reservations, they plan to continue with this fight - belief in the face of unreliable odds is, of course, what faith is. But questions remain. Perhaps the first and most obvious thing: "Christians can't expect the culture to be the church?" Of course there are millions of Christians in America who fully understand and respect the sep...

Autostraddle • May 24, 2011

New York Takes Two Steps Forward Towards Gay Marriage, CA Takes Two Steps Back

A mere seven months after I moved from New York to California, New York is closer to getting same-sex marriage than it's ever been and California is actually entertaining the latest set of ridiculous claims set forth by the Prop 8 people. Today, 24 high-profile New York business leaders released an open an open letter declaring their endorsement of same-sex marriage as a wise move for the economy...

Autostraddle • Apr 30, 2011

Mike Huckabee Is A Terrifying Possible Future For Gay People, GOP Favorite

While speaking at the Rediscover God In America Conference (which may recall for some people the America Return To God Prayer Movement, which is led by none other than William Tam of Prop 8 Trial fame), Mike Huckabee called upon his listeners to become "spiritual warriors" who will fight against social issues like marriage equality for queers at all costs....

Autostraddle • Mar 29, 2011

DOMA ShMOMA: How MA Is Changing the Anti-Gay Marriage Game, One Case At a Time

The Justice Department has not yet announced whether it will appeal these decisions. Because these cases are just at the trial court level, the government has an automatic right of appeal, but such a decision is likely to be politically unpopular. By appealing the case, the Obama administration would be choosing to argue that DOMA should stand, a stance that many long-term supporters are likely to...

Autostraddle • Jul 24, 2010

Obama Nominates Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court

Elena Kagan was apparently in the running for a SCOTUS position last year, but Sonia Sotomayor was nominated instead. The two women have a certain amount in common, and Sotomayor's reception by the right wing and the American public is like a preview of how this confirmation process will likely turn out. Sotomayor was reviled by conservatives and criticized for a perceived inability to remain "neu...

Autostraddle • May 11, 2010