Think Progress

As the Pentagon prepares to survey soldiers about President Obama’s decision to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a new poll of military personnel who served in the Afghanistan or Iraq wars has finds that sexual orientation is “not a burning issue that overwhelms veterans’ lives.” The new poll, commissioned by The Vet Voice Foundation and conducted jointly by Republican and Democratic pollsters, finds that most veterans are “comfortable around gay and lesbian people, believe that being gay or lesbian has no bearing on a service member’s ability to perform their duties, and would find it ...

This afternoon, two Florida lawmakers introduced legislation to overturn the state’s ban on gay adoptions, something the legislature hasn’t debated in the law’s 33-year history. Rep. Scott Randolph’s measure, which amended a bill about gun ownership and adoptions, would have prevented “adoption agencies from inquiring about a person’s sexual orientation as a requisite for adoption.” Randolph was forced to withdraw his amendment after the Speaker ruled that it was not germane to the bill. Sen. Charlie Justice withdrew a similar bill in the Senate. “This amendment points out that government ...

Air Force Sgt. Jene Newsome never told anyone in the military that she is a lesbian, but she nevertheless received an honorable discharge from the military under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) law. The Air Force found out about Newsome’s marriage to another woman when police officers in Rapid City, SD, discovered her marriage license after they came to her home for other reasons: The Rapid City Police Department says Newsome, an aircraft armament system craftsman who spent nine years in the Air Force, was not cooperative when they showed up at her home in November with an arrest ...

The Texas Board of Education has been meeting this week to revise its social studies curriculum. During the past three days, “the board’s far-right faction wielded their power to shape lessons on the civil rights movement, the U.S. free enterprise system and hundreds of other topics”: – To avoid exposing students to “transvestites, transsexuals and who knows what else,” the Board struck the curriculum’s reference to “sex and gender as social constructs.” – The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.” – The Board ...

As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, a Mississippi school district has canceled this year’s prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School following the Mississippi American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) request that the school allow a lesbian couple to attend. The school cited “distractions to the educational process caused by recent events” as reason for canceling the event, but 18-year-old Constance McMillen, a lesbian who wanted to bring her girlfriend to the prom, said the decision was based on “retaliation” for speaking out. Now, the ACLU will sue the high school, calling upon it to ...

Glaad reports that sponsors have “refused to allow” American figure skater Johnny Weir to join the Stars on Ice Tour because they deemed him “not family friendly.” While Weir — a three-time national champion — has never “officially announced his sexual orientation, he has garnered a significant amount of LGBT fans” and is also known for his flashy costumes. Weir won an online poll that asked fans who they wanted to see in the tour, but Stars on Ice seems to have barred him because of his “perceived sexual orientation”: To say that Weir is “not family friendly” would be a clear jab at his ...

A Mississippi school district has canceled this year’s prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School after the Mississippi ACLU urged school officials to allow a lesbian couple to attend. Administrators turned down requests from 18-year-old Constance McMillen and her girlfriend, another student at the school, who planned on wearing a tuxedo. The school cited “distractions to the educational process caused by recent events” as reason for canceling the event, suggesting that “a private group host an independent prom instead.” McMillen, however, said the district’s decision was “retaliation” for ...

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) issued a new directive yesterday distancing himself from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s effort to strip protections for LGBT students from all state colleges and university non-discrimination policies. McDonnell initially supported Cuccinelli’s legal reasoning, but he subsequently received significant criticism from college students and faculty members. McDonnell’s directive does not have the authority of an executive order though. “The Senate approved $140 billion in extended tax breaks and unemployment benefits” yesterday along a 62-36 vote. House ...

Last week, officials “at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, acting at the direction of the Archdiocese of Denver,” decided to not re-enroll two unnamed children because their parents were lesbians. Following fierce protests of the decision, the Archbishop of Denver has written an op-ed where he says the Church “does not claim” that the children of lesbians “are less loved by God,” yet he stands by his decision because the Church “does teach…that sexual intimacy by anyone outside of marriage is wrong”: “The Church does not claim that people with a homosexual orientation are ‘bad,’ or ...

Same-sex couples began marrying in the nation’s capital today, with some lining up as early as 3:30 a.m. to pick up their licenses from D.C. Superior Court. The first couple to officially tie the knot was Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend, who met in a constitutional law class at the University of the District of Columbia. They wed at the office of the Human Rights Campaign, along with two other couples. Watch part of Young and Townsend’s ceremony here: D.C. is now the sixth place in the country where marriage equality is legal, following Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New ...