Another Self-Loathing Republican Comes Out – Oh My!

Commentary by Sam Catalano
We now learn the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Bush’s 2004 campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, is gay. Quelle surprise!

So what are we to think about his coming out? According to GOProud’s Christopher Barron, “I applaud Ken for having the courage to take this important step.” FYI, GOProud is the new conservative gay Republican organization that now gets the quotes on CNN.

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LGBTI Prisoner Bill Passes

Commentary by Boyce Hinman
Assembly Bill 633, written to protect sexual minorities, among others, in California’s prisons, has now been approved by the California legislature and is on its way to the Governor’s desk. The Governor vetoed a virtually identical bill (AB 382) in 2008. So it is far from certain that he will sign AB 633 this time.

AB 633 would require the California Department of Corrections to consider self-reported safety concerns related to the sexual orientation or gender identity, of prison inmates when classifying inmates or wards of the prison system. AB 633 was introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-SF) and sponsored by Equality California.

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LGBTI Blood Donation Bill Approved By Legislature

by Boyce Hinman

On August 30 the state Assembly gave final approval to Assembly Joint Resolution 13, urging an end to the federal policy of banning all men who have sex with men from donating blood. The legislation requires no action from the Governor.

Once the bureaucratic paper work is done, the resolution will be sent to the President and to the leaders of both houses of Congress. AJR 13 was introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and sponsored by Equality California. The resolution urges the federal government to use science based evidence as the basis of its policy on who may or may not donate blood.

Read more: Blood Donation Bill

Mosque Issue Is an LGBT Issue

by Mark Segal

If you picked up almost any newspaper in the nation Monday, you would have seen an article about the proposed Islamic Cultural Center near ground zero in Manhattan. The Washington Post story, “Other mosque proposals also face opposition,” examines how there is growing opposition to mosques in other cities around the country.

The New York Times decided to go political: “Lazio Finds an Issue in Furor Over Islamic Center.” Lazio, the Republican running for governor of New York, opposes the mosque at its present proposed site.

Read more: Mosque Issue Is an LGBT Issue