Obama’s gays, Boy Scouts review, DOMA slap

By Project Q Atlanta | Jun 7, 2012 | 12:53 PM

Big stars pay big bucks for LGBT Obama fundraiser, Boy Scouts reexamine gay ban, fifth judge disses DOMA, Washington marriage law in jeopardy, Cabinet members for marriage equality, Democrat’s daughter comes out, and more LGBT headlines.

• Hollywood power players turn out for LGBT Obama fundraiser. Some 600 attendees at a speech chanted “four more years” at a rousing welcome for the president by the LGBT Leadership Council. Many guests moved on to “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy’s house with Cher (top photo) and Chaz Bono, Ellen Degeneres, Jane Lynch, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon and gay producers, who all paid up to $25,000 to dine with the president.

• Ballot vote cockblocks gay marriage in Washington state. With a referendum headed to voters, gay unions approved by the legislature are on hold until residents vote on the issue in November. The good news is polls show strong voter support for marriage equality.

• Yet another federal judge rules DOMA unconstitutional. New York’s U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones joined a growing chorus of courts picking away at the ban on federal recognition of gay marriages in her Wednesday ruling that a lesbian spouse’s inheritance rights were trampled with higher taxes. She’s the fifth federal judge to do so.

• Democratic Whip’s daughter comes out. Stephany Hoyer Hemmer (middle photo), daughter of U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, says her passion about marriage equality in Maryland made her want to speak up for gay marriage by publicly confirming she’s a lesbian. Her father has already come out in favor of legal same-sex unions.

• Boy Scouts to consider easing gay ban. After receiving a petition with 275,000 signatures to reconsider barring gay scouts and scout leaders, the Boy Scouts of America will vote at their annual meeting on whether to allow local charters to make their own decision. The national policy won’t change.

• Anti-gay NAACP chapter president resigns over marriage stance. Rev. Keith Ratliff of the Iowa/Nebraska state NAACP conference stepped down Wednesday saying he can’t abide the national organization’s support of gay marriage.

• Four cabinet secretaries hop bandwagon for marriage equality. Secretaries John Bryson at Commerce, Hilda Solis at Labor, Timothy Geithner at Treasury, and Kathleen Sebelius at Health and Human Services (bottom photos, clockwise from top left) all now say that same-sex marriage should be legalized. The HUD and Education secretaries have already gone on record with the same stance.

• Anti-gay Lutheran official jailed for child porn. Joel W. Hochmuth spewed anti-gay bigotry as communications director for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod until his November arrest. He was sentenced to one year in jail and 10 years probation for the possession of child porn images.

Cher photo by AP; Hoyer-Hemmer photo from Facebook; Cabinet photos via Advocate

Obama’s gays, Boy Scouts review, DOMA slap

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