Wal-Mart to Cover Domestic Partners Health Care

From Reuters: 

Wal-Mart is the single biggest U.S. employer outside of the federal government. More than half of its 1.3 million U.S. employees are on its health-care plans. The company said it does not know how many workers would use either of the new benefits.

Wal-Mart's extension of health insurance to domestic partners comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in June forced the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal. The Supreme Court also paved the way for same-sex marriage in California.

"Since we operate in all 50 states, we thought it was important to develop a single definition for all Wal-Mart associates in the U.S.," spokesman David Tovar said.

Employees' domestic partners can be covered if they are legal spouses, not legally separated; or a domestic partner of same or opposite gender in an ongoing, exclusive relationship similar to marriage for at least 12 months with the intention to continue sharing a household indefinitely, he said.

Marriage News Watch: June 24, 2013

Final Countdown to the Supreme Court's Prop. 8 Decision

Alaska Republicans Laugh At Equal Rights

"Catholic Charities" Vows To Discriminate

Using religion as an excuse to discriminate is still discrimination.

Looking Ahead: Marriage Equality in 2013

Marriage News Watch: May 21, 2012

The Wrap-Up: May 18, 2012

Chris Rock hits the nail on the head about marriage equality.

One of the killers of the Colorado civil unions bill has a gay son who is none-too-happy about what has father did.

An adamantly homophobic middle school teacher in Kansas has, thus far, gone unpunished for anti-gay statements on his Facebook page (the principle is looking into it).

Rep Mike Coffman (R-CO), who has tried to look like a moderate, stepped in it by saying President Obama is "not an American."

A Virginia legislator thinks that, contrary to what the Supreme Court said in Lawrence v. Texas, sodomy (which is technically ANY unreproductive sex act) is not a civil right. I don't always agree with SCOTUS (Citizens United for example), but I'll take their opinion on this over a homophobe..

Another side effect of President Obama publicly supporting marriage equality is that more prominent people in the black community are also voicing their support.

Bristol Palin is claiming to be the victim in the wake of negative response she got to her statement on Barack Obama supporting marriage equality. I say if she can't stand the heat, stay out of politics (and stop trying to give the President of the United States parenting advice).

Here is a look at the latest electoral map from the Washington Post.

And lastly, Vice President Joe Biden takes a shot at Mitt Romney on the auto-bailout.

BREAKING: CO. Speaker Blocks Civil Unions

Gov. John Hickenlooper

From the New York Times:

The legislation was voted down by Republican lawmakers on 5-to-4 vote along party lines after more than two hours of emotional testimony in the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, where it was assigned Monday by Republican leadership in the House of Representatives. 

“Even as nearly a dozen courageous Republicans are standing on the right side of history and supporting civil unions, House leadership is pandering to the far-right fringe of their party,” Brad Clark, executive director of One Colorado, a statewide gay and lesbian advocacy group, said in a statement after the vote...

...But if the special session breathed fresh life back into the legislation, it was short lived. 

On Monday, despite the urgings of civil-union supporters who rallied at the Capitol in Denver, House Speaker Frank McNulty, a Republican from Highlands Ranch, assigned the bill to the state affairs committee, which was dominated by opponents of the legislation.

Credit still goes to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper for calling the legislature back for a special session to try to pass this bill. Yet again, conservatives try to stand in the way of progress and justice. They can only fight the long defeat for so long.

Marriage News Watch: May 14, 2012

The Wrap-Up: May 10, 2012

In case you've been hiding in a cave since yesterday, President Obama said this.

Another former legislator from the GOP is stating how the party has become increasingly extreme.

After President Obama's announcement on marriage equality, the Log Cabin Republicans (a conservative gay group) praised him...by calling the announcement callous and offensive. I don't understand their "logic" either.

Based on information from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, gay men face higher rates of hate crimes than Jews, blacks, lesbians, etc.

In the wake of Amendment One's passage, a petition is circulating asking the Democratic Party to take their convention out of North Carolina. Because of North Carolina's importance to the national election, I doubt the DNC will take heed (but I signed it anyway on principle).

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

In a monthly newsletter, a Republican group in Greene County Virginia is suggesting an armed revolution if President Obama is reelected.

Support for the "Buffett Rule" just came from a place where no one looked for it: actor Will Smith.

As time ran out for a vote on civil unions in Colorado, the Governor called for a special session to vote on the bill.

Here is a sample of positive reactions about President Obama's marriage announcement.

And lastly, Democratic strategist James Carville wants to issue a wake-up call to his party about this election cycle.

Marriage News Watch: May 7, 2012

The Wrap-Up: May 4, 2012

The April jobs report will come out after this gets posted, but there may be some good news on the jobs front.

The wife of a North Carolina senator may have spurred a racial backlash against Amendment One. We can only hope.

Chelsea Clinton has written a letter on behalf of Protect ALL NC Families opposing Amendment One.

A GSA from a North Carolina junior high school are making their stance on Amendment One known. Thank the good Lord for the next generation.

Despite Campbell University School of Law (a conservative Baptist university) being officially for Amendment One, most of the school's students signed this resolution.

A North Carolina law professor is reiterating the damages that Amendment One may do outside of the LGBT community.

An interfaith/humanist coalition is urging President Obama to live up to a campaign promise and sign an employment non-discrimination executive order.

Rhode Island civil unions have been dubbed a "complete failure." This is not at all surprising. After all, separate but equal IS inherently unequal and gay couples know that they deserve full equality.

And lastly, The Young Turks take on the Grenall Saga in incredibly accurate fashion.

There are only a few days left so make sure you are getting the word out about the damage that Amendment One will do not just to gay people, but to many other groups in North Carolina.

Marriage News Watch: April 23, 2012

North Carolina's Amendment 1: What You Should Know

"Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State."

That is the actual text of the law in question. There is just over a month's time until North Carolina's Amendment 1 will be put to the state's voters (the vote will take place on May 8th). Recent reports have said that most North Carolinians are against the amendment...once they know what it actually does. Unfortunately, many of those very same reports say that a large swath of voters DO NOT know what the amendment actually does. Some even think that it legalizes/recognizes same-sex unions in the state. So, before voters head to the polls to vote on this amendment, here is what you need to know about this law.

-Amendment 1 constitutionally bans the recognition of same-sex unions (which is already done statutorily).

-Amendment 1 constitutionally bans the recognition of same-sex domestic partnerships AND civil unions

-Amendment 1 constitutionally bans the recognition of OPPOSITE-SEX domestic partnerships and civil unions.

-Amendment 1 will harm victims of domestic abuse by invalidating domestic abuse/stalking laws (which happened in Ohio).

-Amendment 1 has been denounced by some of the very politicians who voted for it in the legislature.

-Amendment 1's author is on record as predicting that, if passed, it will be overturned within 2 decades.

-Amendment 1is bad for North Carolina's economy as stated by an executive from Bank of America (head-quartered in Charlotte, NC).

-Amendment 1 is not conservative because it makes government more intrusive in people's lives.

-Amendment 1 will harm families, children, and the elderly by making them ineligible for various legal/financial benefits.

In other words, this law has zero redeeming qualities, not only because of its obvious homophobia, but also because it was so very poorly written and rushed through the state's legislature. The effects of this law will go far beyond the LGBT community and potentially harm thousands upon thousands of other North Carolinians. You can find out even more about the negative effects of this mockery of democracy here:

15 Reasons Why North Carolinians Should Vote Against Amendment 1
April 2nd Elon University Poll

Protect All NC Families
Equality NC
The Case For Victory in North Carolina

If you have friends, family, coworkers, or whomever in the state of North Carolina, help to get the word out that they need to vote against this legislation. Every vote will count and every voice needs to be heard.

The Wrap-Up: March 6, 2012

HAPPY SUPER TUESDAY!!! Today will see 10 states hold their primary or caucus. The big question is will today's results clarify the GOP race?

Rick Santorum keeps giving us evidence of his theocratic nature.

I'm sure that this surprises no one, but, in Colorado's debate over civil unions, Focus on the Family (based in that state) is conveniently forgetting not to bear false witness.

The Human Rights Campaign certainly has its detractors, even on the pro-LGBT side. However, they have recently made what is being called a bold move.

In a Washington Post op-ed, Jonathan Capeheart explains why black and gay people SHOULD be working together for civil rights.

Even before this "slut" fiasco, did Rush Limbaugh really have the ratings that everyone claimed he had?

The play about the legal battle over Proposition 8 has helped to raise a lot of money.

A former cast mate and members of the faith community are sounding off about Kirk Cameron's "unnatural" statements.

The "ex-gays" of Minnesota were dealt a legal blow.

And lastly, Michele Bachmann sounds just as asinine as ever.

Marriage News Watch: January 2, 2012

Marriage News Watch: 2011 Year in Review

The Wrap-Up: December 27, 2011

Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI)

That endorsement that Rick Santorum got from an Iowa conservative leader may have been bought...because that is what God would do I suppose.

Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI) makes it clear that he does not care about the health of the LGBT community.

Across the border in Minnesota, Governor Mark Dayton had something to say about the "sanctity of marriage" hypocrisy in that states' legislature (the state has a proposed constitutional marriage equality ban on the ballot next November).

If you're wondering what exactly they're talking about, this article gives you the low-down, as well as a reaction from Minnesota's LGBT community on the second page (which is pretty awesome).

Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA)

If marriage equality existed throughout this nation, heartless stories like this would not happen.

Though it may not pass (and even if it does, it's a half measure), a West Virginia delegate is taking a shot at passing a civil unions bill in the coming year.

There are some not-so-good polling numbers coming out of Virginia for Eric Cantor (a Virginia congressman and the House's #2 Republican).

The New York Republican Senators who voted in favor of marriage equality there have received mainly positive feedback.

John Lawrence, as in "Lawrence v. Texas" (which in 2003 ruled that anti-sodomy laws in the U.S are unconstitutional) passed away this past Friday.

Newt Gingrich

Mitt Romney falsely claims that the Obama administration has not created any jobs. Then again, he also falsely claimed that corporations are people, so his "facts" are less than stellar.

Australian psychologists, just like their American counterparts, agree that access to marriage equality leads to better mental health outcomes. 20,000 shrinks can't be wrong.

Newt Gingrich may have gotten caught in another lie. One would think he would get tired of this...

And lastly, here is a clip of Ron Paul discussing some of his fellow candidates on Jay Leno.

The Good Fight: The North Carolina Front

Since this piece aired earlier today, the North Carolina Senate has also passed this mockery of democracy which will go on to the ballot in May. The timing of this ballot is purely political as it also falls on the state's Republican primary day, so it is assumed that with a largely politically right-wing turnout (plus the fact that this is the South after all), the amendment will pass on a walk. So now the race is on to win the hearts and minds of as many North Carolinians as possible in the next eight months.