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Civil rights includes gays 50 years after march
WASHINGTON — Months before Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” declaration galvanized a quarter-million people at the 1963 March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was planning all the essential details to keep the crowd orderly and engaged. Rustin, who died in 1987, is sometimes forgotten in civil rights history. As a Quaker and pacifist, […]
Boy Scouts delay decision on admitting gays
IRVING, Texas — Faced with intense pressure from two flanks, the Boy Scouts of America said Wednesday it needed more time for consultations before deciding whether to move away from its divisive policy of excluding gays as scouts or adult leaders. Possible changes in the policy — such as a proposal to allow sponsors of […]
Gay students graduate openly at military academies
ANNAPOLIS — Gay students at America’s military service academies are wrapping up the first year when they no longer had to hide their sexual orientation, benefiting from the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that used to bar them from seemingly ordinary activities like taking their partners openly to graduation events. For the […]
O’Malley speaks at conference on Catholics, gays
Maryland’s same-sex marriage debate may end up being decided in the voting booth, but Gov. Martin O’Malley told a conference on Catholicism and homosexuality that he believes voters will come down on the side of human dignity. Weeks after signing same-sex marriage into law, O’Malley spoke briefly at New Ways Ministry’s conference on Friday. The […]
9th Circuit orders government to state position on DADT
SAN DIEGO — A federal appeals court that has called for the immediate halt of the military’s ban on openly gay troops issued an order Monday requiring the U.S. government to state whether it will continue to defend the constitutionality of the policy in court. Monday’s order comes less than a week after the 9th […]
Senate could vote Thursday night on same-sex marriage bill
ANNAPOLIS – The state Senate resumed debate Thursday morning on legislation that would allow same-sex couples to marry in Maryland, then recessed for the afternoon with plans to reconvene at 5:30. A vote on the Civil Marriage Protection Act could come Thursday night, said Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr., D-Prince George’s and Calvert. […]
Gays ousted from military now hoping to return
NEW YORK — Joseph Rocha reported being cruelly hazed by Navy colleagues. Katherine Miller resigned from West Point halfway through, weary of concealing her sexual orientation. David Hall was outed by a fellow Air Force cadet and booted from the career he loved. The exits from military service were wrenching consequences of “don’t ask, don’t […]
Pentagon in limbo on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ court order
WASHINGTON — As the Obama administration considers appealing a judge’s order to stop the law prohibiting gays from serving openly in the military, some officers and service members say they are uncertain how to react. The Pentagon said Wednesday it had not issued written guidance on the ruling, and commanders in the field said they […]
Judge orders ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ injunction
SAN DIEGO — A federal judge issued a worldwide injunction Tuesday stopping enforcement of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, ending the military’s 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops. U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips’ landmark ruling was widely cheered by gay rights organizations that credited her with getting accomplished what President Obama and Washi[...]
