California judge limits college speech codes supposedly protecting LGBT people

The World Net Daily, which appears to be “conservative”, has a story by Drew Zahn “FAITH UNDER FIRE: Homosexclamation! Christian student fights prof, wins big: Judge rules college can't censor religious speech for being 'offensive.' The Los Angeles City College was reportedly ordered to remove from its sexual harassment policy a ban on speech “offensive” to gays and lesbians. The issue reminds one of the college “speech code” problem that John Stossel has sometimes covered. The link for the story is here.

The WND had a whimsical story based on “March of the Penguins” where a male couple nesting and protecting eggs was broken up by a “chick” here. It reminds one of the home-raised male cheetah in the film “Duma” that didn’t understand his wild nature until he saw a female in estrus.

Episcopal church in US reverses ban on gay bishops

George Conger, in a supposed special to The Washington Times on Wednesday July 15, reports “Episcopal Church ends its ban on gay bishops; Reversal defies the archbishop”, link here.

The U.S. Episcopal Church reversed a “ban” on gay bishops from 2006 after the controversy incurred in 2003 over the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson from New Hampshire, at a convocation in Minneapolis that I recall (I was living there then).

There is some concern that the action could cause the U.S. Church to break away from “the Church of England”. I had a friend in the “conservative” wing of the Episcopal church around 1989.

Update: July 16

George Conger has followed up with another story on p A5 today in The Washington Times, "Episcopal bishops approve same-sex blessing; draft requires further authorization, was shelved in 2003". The draft was approved at the meeting of the Episcopal General Convention taking place in Anaheim, CA.

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) helps lead fight to repeal "don't ask don't tell" in Congress

Today, Sunday, July 12, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer interviewed Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) about ending “don’ ask don’t tell”. Murphy pointed out that about 13000 servicemembers have been “fired” (as SLDN terms it) since the DADT law was passed at the end of 1993. He says he served in Iraq himself in the military in the 2nd Airborne, and said that younger servicemembers are not distracted by the idea of gays in the ranks (in response to Blitzer’s question about unit cohesion).

He said that President Obama has been speaking to the Defense Secreatary and joint chiefs quietly about the problem, resulting in interim steps like dealing with the forced outing issue. But he said that Obama is mindful that Congress did pass the 1993 law, and is working with Congress quietly to get the votes to overturn it.

Rep. Murphy has a story about DADT on his own website, “Rep. Patrick Murphy, Veterans Announce Efforts to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Congressman Takes Lead on H.R. 1283, Military Readiness Enhancement Act, to Overturn Policy", link here.

Town DC disco is friendly to the Washington Nationals -- who finally win one big

Well, it pays to mention the Nats at the Town DC when the Nationals actually win, which is rare. Tonight, I pulled up their 13-2 clobbering of the Houston Astros on my Blackberry, showed it to one of the drag queens, and she actually announced to the crowd, as part of the "show". The Nats are all of 26-60 now, on target to lose about 118 games this year.

But you don’t tell the drag queens that you just had your 66th birthday. That’s a good way to lose your shirt on stage.

The show goes to midnight now, and the midsummer crowd after Pride builds up more slowly. The music – it’s so much hip hop with so little melody that the dancing is much less “dirty.” Bring back the 80s, please.

NBC-Washington offers sarcastic "op-ed" on gay "marriage" in Maryland

A somewhat sarcastic editorial appears on the NBCWashington (NBC4) site, dated July 1, “New Gay Marriage Thing Takes Effect in Maryland: Hint, it’s not marriage.” The link is here. There is a picture with the tag “will these gay robots ever get married in Maryland.”

Specifically, the change in the law has to do with state inheritance tax code that now will sometimes benefit some domestic partners. Read the article for details.

But Newell went out on a limb in characterizing Maryland as the “most Democratic-voting state in the nation” that should have “nine different ways for gay people .. to adopt children, including those – yours! – that haven’t even been put up for adoption!” I don’t know what Newell means by that.

Maryland governor Martin O’Malley is quoted as having said that Maryland ought to recognize gay marriages performed in other states, just like the District must according to its new law. “Full faith and credit” marches on.

Massahusetts sues fibbies over DOMA

Denise Laovie has a major AP story tonight, reporting that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is suing the federal government over the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, signed by "republicrat" President Clinton. The link for the story is here.

The suit makes equal protection arguments regarding Medicaid benefits and regarding veterans’ burial.

A group in Boston called Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders had filed a challenge to the law in March 2009.

One could say, that some social "conservatives" have gotten what they wished for: a constitutional challenge to DOMA -- something predicted as far back as Scalia's dissent in Lawrence v Texas.

Washington Times letter says "go back to asking"

The Washington Times, on Monday July 6, ran a “Letter of the Day” from Wayne L. Johnson, retired Commander, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Navy, “Asking about ‘don’t ask don’t tell”. The letter says that the 1993 law gives Gates no choice but to enforce the policy literally, apparently even when a servicemember has been “outed” by a third party. The letter claims that the only alternative for secretary Gates is to go back to the pre-1993 policy (as of 1981) of “asking” every recruit at accession. The 1993 law sort of said “ask if necessary,” as Andrew Sullivan once pointed out in The New Republic. Newt Gingrich once proposed "going back to asking" in 1995. The link for the letter is here. This letter does throw some cold water on the debate.