Israeli PM Slams Pride Attacker

"A despicable hate crime was committed this evening in Jerusalem. In Israel everyone, including the gay community, has the right to live in peace, and we will defend that right. I welcome the Israeli religious leadership's condemnation of this terrible crime, and I call on all those in positions of leadership to denounce this contemptible act. In the name of all of Israelis, I wish the wounded a full and speedy recovery."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, July 30, 2015; after crazed attacker stabs participants in annual Jerusalem Pride event.
 

Boy Scouts Stop Discrimination

The Boy Scouts of America announced a new membership policy that bans discrimination against openly gay adult leaders (and against older - 18+ scouts), and in employment. BSA National President Robert M. Gates made the following statement on July 27, 2015.

It may not be the most gay-positive statement, but it is what it is.

     Click here to watch the video (bottom of webpage)

     or watch it on YouTube

President Stresses Gay Rights for Africa

In an interview today with the BBC, President Barack Obama explains his desire for equal rights and treatment for gay people and women in Africa, prior to his trip to Kenya.

     Click here to watch the video excerpt
 

US Attorney General Annouces Full Marriage Equality Benefits Across US Govt.

“ Following the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Obergefell that every couple has the same right to participate in the institution of marriage, whether the partners are of the same-sex or opposite sexes, I directed Justice Department staff to work with the agencies to ensure that the ruling be given full effect across the federal government. Thanks to their leadership and the quick work of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, today I am proud to announce that the critical programs for veterans and elderly and disabled Americans, which previously could not give effect to the marriages of couples living in states that did not recognize those marriages, will now provide federal recognition for all marriages nationwide. The agencies are currently working towards providing guidance to implement this change in law. Just over a year ago, Attorney General Holder announced that agencies across the federal government had implemented the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision by treating married same-sex couples the same as married opposite-sex couples to the greatest extent possible under the law as it then stood. With the Supreme Court’s new ruling that the Constitution requires marriage equality, we have now taken the further step of ensuring that all federal benefits will be available equally to married couples in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the US Territories. The department will continue to work across the administration to fulfill our commitment to equal treatment for all Americans, including equal access to the benefits of marriage that the Obergefell decision guarantees. ”

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, July 9, 2015.

Click here to read the original
 

Colorado Gov Lauds SupCt Ruling

" The Supreme Court of the United States has definitively ruled that in this country, government will not limit who we might love, or restrict the rights and commitments that are a result of that love. Each violent expression of hate we experience should strengthen our resolve that we need to encourage more love, not less. We join the rest of the country in celebrating the news that equal dignity and equal rights prevailed. "

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, June 26, 2015.

UK PM David Cameron on London Pride

“The LGBT+ rights movement has been a great force for reform not just in the UK but also around the world. It has campaigned for decency, respect and equal treatment; and underlying it all were simple demands: that people should be able to love and live equally with someone of the same sex, that people should be respected and valued for who they are, able to live safely and fulfil their potential.

This is why I’m so pleased to have introduced same sex marriage and to have seen it become the law of this land. It is also why I am delighted that yet again the UK has been judged the best place to live in Europe if you are LGBT+. But I am aware that the work must go on. At the general election, my party made specific pledges including introducing a new law to pardon men who, like Alan Turing, were convicted of a crime they would be innocent of today, and toughening hate crime legislation so it covers crimes committed against people on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity. There is continuing work to tackle domestic abuse, homelessness, health inequalities, bullying in schools and to bring about positive reform around the world, not least in the Commonwealth.

Since 2013 we have seen the importance of Pride in London grow as it has become larger, more successful and the messages it communicates more widely received, not least through the #FreedomTo and #PrideHeroes advertising campaigns. Our country is made great not through the action of government alone, but through the flair, ingenuity and hard work of the British people. That is why everyone needs to be enabled to fulfil their potential and Pride has a role to play in this process.

I am very proud of the diversity and strength of the LGBT+ community in Great Britain and Pride is a wonderful celebration of that. I wish ‘Team Pride’ all the very best for this year and the future. I hope everyone attending Pride in London events, ranging from the Arts Festival through to the Parade itself, has a fantastic day. By participating and supporting the charities, businesses, campaigning organisations, political parties, sports groups and others involved, you are helping to change minds, win hearts, support other people and spread the message of why equality is important across the globe – and for that you should be proud."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, June 27, 2015.

CA Lt. Gov. Lauds SupCt Ruling

" We have abundant reason to rejoice that, in this land, the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition.' The wisdom of these words, penned by President Washington and now more than two centuries old, remind us that American Democracy is an evolving journey, perfected with the passage of time.

Indeed our present day comprehension of marriage - based upon love and lifelong loyalty - is itself an evolution in the institution of marriage.

I celebrate today's decision but recognize that the fight for equality is not over. Far from it. As we look to the future, I urge those with whom I have walked this march to continue forward with vigilance and resolve.
"Many similar milestones - such as the Nineteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 - continue to be challenged and undermined by courts and laws across the states by those unable to temper their hatred. Dissimulated discrimination, like RFRA laws and the Hobby Lobby decision, are evidence that enlightenment develops on a separate and slower track.

There remains a long list of rights that must be guaranteed before the LGBT community achieves equality under the law. There are no federal workplace protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. We are nowhere near providing adequate protections for the rights of transgender Americans.

This cause for celebration closes one chapter of civil right injustices enforced by state laws. To deny the value of any love, devalues all love. The nation has traveled full circle in the eleven years since San Francisco's Winter of Love, but the underlying prejudices have not disappeared. Some remain self-imprisoned by their own enmity, seeking to deny the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of their neighbors while overlooking Samuel Adams' insight that "the truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought. "

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, June 26, 2015.