LGBT Issues

Gay Binational Couples to File Lawsuit Challenging DOMA

Gay couples are ready to rumble for equality in immigration law. ​Consider it the next major court battle against the Defense of Marriage Act: Gay Americans will file the first lawsuit to challenge DOMA on the grounds that it bars them from sponsoring a gay foreign spouse for a visa like straight ... More >>

Kamala Harris Wants Federal Appeals Court To Allow Gay Marriages Now

Harris: Let the people marry​Supporters of same-sex marriage just got a powerful ally: California Attorney General Kamala Harris. The newly minted AG is urging the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to allow gay couples to marry while it considers a federal appeal over the constitutionality of Propositi ... More >>

Dennis Herrera Implies Homosexuality Is a Choice; Upsets Gays

Weighing the gay vote​The gay-friendly, Dennis Herrera, San Francisco's city attorney who last year filed a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on gay marriage, "accidentally" referred to homosexuality as a sexual preference rather than an orientation. In other words, he made it sound like being g ... More >>

New Year Brings Us The Same Ol' Gay Hot Potato: Marriage

Bring In The Gays​Where did we leave off?  In December, a (sort of) repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell was passed by the Senate and signed by the President. I predicted a long, slow and agonizing death of the policy while John McCain lamented the end of DADT saying that soldiers will lose their l ... More >>

DADT Is Dead! Long Live DADT!

​On Saturday, following months of gyrations, the U.S. Senate repealed the military ban on open service by gays and lesbians known as Don't Ask Don't Tell.Sort of.This policy has been under heavy scrutiny since the end of President George W. Bush's second term, and promises to repeal DADT were made ... More >>

The Year in Gay, 2010 Edition

What a year it was​Who Will Be The Uppity Fag Of The Year?Let's face it -- this was a messy, messy year for the gays. Much of the news was good, ultimately, but shit dragged on! There were three major federal trials (four, technically -- but two were sorta merged in Massachusetts), promises ... More >>

Wounded Pride

Despite its reputation, gay-friendly San Francisco is still a tough place for teens to come out.

Iowa Ousts Three Judges Who Approved Gay Marriage

​LGBT Advocates Blast Special Interests' Campaign To Intimidate Judges NationwideThe huge shift to the right in yesterday's election probably doesn't bode well for any LGBT-friendly legislation coming down the pipeline. But perhaps the harshest rebuke of those who support LGBT rights came from Iow ... More >>

Is 'Giants Pride Week' the Best Choice of Words?

They're big fans...​Are you prideful yet? Mayor Gavin Newsom has decreed this to be "San Francisco Giants Pride Week," urging one and all to wear Giants colors, put pennants in windows, and root, root, root for the home team. While no one could find objection with good-natured boosterism of our Wo ... More >>

A Kinder, Gentler - and Still Unconstitutional - DADT

​The developments in the ongoing saga that is Don't Ask Don't Tell - the ban on gays in the military - occurred faster than the depletion of Meg Whitman's bank balance this week.On Monday, Judge Virginia Philips heard from both sides on her decision from a week ago that DADT was unconstitutional ... More >>

Vaughn Walker, Prop. 8 Judge, Announces Retirement

Judge Vaughn Walker is out ... of the building​Vaughn Walker, the Republican-appointed judge loathed in the LGBT community for much of his career -- who went on to strike down California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 -- has announced he's hanging up his robes. Walker will give up the mantle of ... More >>

Lady Gaga Destroys DADT -- While Wearing Meat

Can Lady Gaga do away with DADT before this dress goes bad? ​In the last episode of the Week in Gay, a federal judge ruled that the military ban on gays serving in the military (Don't Ask Don't Tell) was unconstitutional. Since then, Lady Gaga won 101 Video Music Awards on MTV and then kicked some ... More >>

Supreme Court Rules State Not Required to Appeal Prop. 8 Ruling

​The California Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a right-wing group's suit that would have compelled the state to appeal Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Both Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown have come down in favor of Walker's ruling ... More >>

Kenny Mehlman is a Fudgepacker: The Week in Gay

Oh my god, they killed the right-wing Kenny. ​ Ken Mehlman must be in love. Why else would he subject himself to the slings and arrows of the gay universe and come out of the closet? Isn't that wonderful? Aren't you happy for him? It's a theory that's not too far fetched. In an interview with The ... More >>

Prop. 8 Stay Granted -- No Gay Marriage Wednesday

Calibree PhotographyMaybe next year, lads​The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals moments ago granted a stay of Judge Vaughn Walker's Aug. 4 ruling overturning Proposition 8 -- meaning there will be no same-sex marriages on Wednesday. The appeal was granted "sua sponte" -- meaning it was not made in rega ... More >>

Torturer's Apprentice John Yoo Says It's Constitutional to Ban Gay Marriage

John Yoo​You gotta hand it to John Yoo, the former Bush Administration attorney who provided a legal rationale for torturing prisoners of war. It must be tough being an anti-human-rights playa in the midst of Collectivist Berkeley, where Yoo is a professor of -- wait for it -- constitutional law. ... More >>

Judge Vaughn Walker May Lift Stay on Prop. 8 Ruling Today; Crowds Gather at City Hall

What'll it be today, Judge Vaughn Walker?​A number of would-be same-sex married couples are already gathering at San Francisco's City Hall, anticipating Judge Vaughn Walker may lift the stay on his ruling overturning Proposition 8 -- which would trigger a same-sex marriage bonanza. A ruling from W ... More >>

Prop. 8 Overturned: Ecstasy and Agony at City Hall

It's uncertain when Rod Wood and Roger Hunt will use these wedding rings.​No guarantee same-sex couples can wed next week, when Prop. 8 is officially overturnedFor 10 whole minutes, Thom Watson was a happy man. The 30-odd same-sex couples crammed into a balmy corridor of City Hall awaiting the wor ... More >>

Prop. 8 Ruling: Literature and Strategy

​UPDATE: APPEAL FILED THIS MORNINGThe multitudes who took to the streets yesterday to either celebrate or denigrate Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling overturning Prop. 8 in many ways resembled the millions of tipplers worldwide who lift a glass on Bloomsday -- but would never dream of reading Ulysses. ... More >>

Prop. 8 Backers Cover Their Asses

​Those reading the tea leaves prior to Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling in the Proposition 8 trial this afternoon may want to pay attention to this large lump: The anti-gay marriage defendants in the case late yesterday filed a motion to stay the judgment pending an appeal.What this means: The defense ... More >>

Prop. 8 Ruling: Judge Vaughn Walker's Most Scathing Language

MlinksvaJudge Vaughn Walker's greatest hits...​READ PROP. 8 ANALYSIS HEREA collection of Judge Vaughn Walker's most pointed statements from today's ruling: During closing arguments, proponents again focused on the contention that "responsible procreation is really at the heart of society's interes ... More >>

Latino Catholics Strongest Supporters of Same-Sex Marriage, Survey Finds

Stan WiestComing to a same-sex wedding near you? ​A survey released today polling religious Californians revealed that Latinos both support -- and heavily oppose -- same-sex marriage. Que pasa? The poll, undertaken by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that the subset of religiously aff ... More >>

Korean Americans Hate Gay Marriage Most, New Poll Reveals

FIFANot yet ready to root for same-sex marriage...​This morning the Field Poll published new results on California voters' support for same-sex marriage. On the whole, the poll was inconclusive. About 51 percent of those surveyed said they approved of gay marriage, with some 42 percent opposed. Th ... More >>

We Built This City

Studies: EQCA's plan to repeal Prop 8 will fail

Has a posse​ Patrick J. Egan Ph.D. released a study Wednesday called "Findings from a Decade of Polling on Ballot Measures Regarding the Legal Status of Same-Sex Couples" that shows how a multi-million dollar campaign to repeal Prop 8 at the ballot box is unnecessary and likely to be unsuccessful ... More >>

Study: Millions Spent on Campaigns For and Against Gay Marriage Totally Pointless

​A New York University professor analyzed dozens of ballot measures concerning gay marriage over the last 20 years and came up with one mighty conclusion in a study released today: expensive campaigns for and against legal recognition of gay couples do jack squat to change voters' opinions.The rep ... More >>

@sk Jamie Varon: I support gay marriage, just not on Facebook

Explained: The Clusterfuck That Lost the Proposition 8 Campaign

​During testimony, filings, and deliberations in the Proposition 8 trial, an unasked question reverberated through the federal courthouse in San Francisco: Why, exactly, are we here?A step outside into the reality of still separate and unequal California provided an answer: An inept anti-Prop. 8 c ... More >>

Lou Reads

I Now Pronounce You Incorporated: A Novel Approach to Same-Sex Marriage

I now declare this corporation merged...​Melding legal principles does not always follow the "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!" path. But humor us, here. In San Francisco, the plaintiffs have made their case in an attempt to overturn Proposi ... More >>

This Week at the Prop. 8 Trial

What do you mean Prop. 8 is biased?​ ​ For those who want the short and sweet of the ongoing trial meant to determine whether Prop. 8 violates the right to equal protection under the Constitution of the United States, here's a handy summary of what went on this week -- ... More >>

Prop. 8 Trial Roundup: Gay Couples Don't Want To Be 'Glorified Roommates'

​A roundup of the action on Day One of the Proposition 8 trial at San Francisco's Federal Courthouse.The attorney for the Prop. 8 backers argues: "Marriage is essentially the sexual embodiment of the man and the woman who formed the marital union." Did this guy not get the news that marriage is th ... More >>

A risky proposition: the Prop. 8 debate continues

Maine Setback Won't Deter Californians Seeking Prop. 8 Repeal in 2010 -- Unless it Does

Bad day for cake yesterday​For those who support same-sex marriage, yesterday's defeat in Maine was both a head-scratcher and a stomach-punch. The "No on 1" campaign was well-run, well-financed, not hamstrung by, say, the mayor of Bangor crowing about "whether you like it or not," and a huge perce ... More >>

Trans-Mission

Transblazer

She just became the city's first transgender department head, but Theresa Sparks is already setting her sights on becoming the city's first transgender supervisor.

Transgender Activists Staying Home From Obama Protests, But Waiting for President to Back Up Trans-Friendly Words

Code Pink on the left! Teabaggers on the right! Apparently, however, the transgender community still has President Obama's back.​While Michelle Obama marked an earlier San Francisco visit by getting her hands dirty volunteering at a Bayview playground, the O will be skipping a ... More >>

Exclusive: Buju Banton Sits Down with LGBT Activists

EKAphotographyBuju Banton meets the LGBT Posse​ In what may be a groundbreaking and possibly historical event, controversial reggae star Buju Banton met with representatives from the LGBT community this afternoon. Banton has been a frequent target of gay rights protesters for his 1992 song "Bo ... More >>

New Direct Flights Between Gay Meccas San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale Dubbed 'A Rainbow Road in the Air'

San Francisco                               Fort Lauderdale​San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale are pretty much the two gayest cities in A ... More >>

Obama Administration Fails In Attempt To Have Its Gay Wedding Cake and Eat It, Too

But does President Obama 'feel your pain'?​In the gay marriage wars, you can never make everybody happy. But a court filing by the Obama administration today may well piss off everyone.  Social conservatives surely have had their tighty-whiteys worked into a twist by the Department of Justice ... More >>

Would Gay Marriage Not Being on the 2010 Ballot Help or Hurt Gavin Newsom? The Answer: Yes.

Being emotionally charged up can certainly affect how demonstratively one waves his or her placard in a street protest, but it's of less use in the voting booth. No matter how emphatically you punch your ballot, it still only counts for one vote. This appears to be the crux of Equality California's ... More >>

While San Fran Attempts to Butt Into Legal Challenge to Prop. 8, Pair of Gay Supe Hopefuls Plead for Patience

Scott Wiener This week, City Attorney Dennis Herrera petitioned to become a party in the case challenging Prop. 8 in federal district court, ramming full speed ahead into the legal challenge to the same-sex marriage ballot initiative.Meanwhile, the debate continues about when same-sex ... More >>

Cheap Queens Behaving Badly

Campaign for California Families Motions to Butt Into Prop. 8 Lawsuit

Just in time for pride weekend, the good ol' nemesis of California gay folk, Campaign for California Families, is trying to butt into the latest lawsuit against Proposition 8. In order to give you an idea of the company the organization keeps, the campaign is represented by Liberty Co ... More >>

Marriage equality can be achieved by separating church and state

Gay Marriage Fail: The Twittersphere Responds to Prop. 8 Ruling

Twitter's Fail WhaleWe've been live-tweeting the Prop. 8 happenings over at @SF_Weekly for the past few hours but have also been keeping a close eye on the response from our fellow twits. Here's a sampling of the mixed (but predictable) sentiments: @roxaloxa: California fails, sad day. @ginatrapa ... More >>

Frameline at The Center: Free Film Screenings for the Community

Bend Your Gender

Queer Movie Marathon

Dan White's Motive More About Betrayal Than Homophobia