|
Top queerNEWS on the Qt!
|
| queerVOICE
DOJ: DOMA Unconstitutional
copyright 2012
|
According to The Legal Intelligencer (TLI) "[t]he U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has deemed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional in a brief it filed in a Pennsylvania case regarding whether the wife of a former female Cozen O'Connor partner is able to collect the partner's profit-sharing plan benefits under federal law."
TLI states that this is the seventh case in which the DOJ has filed briefs affirmatively arguing Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA defines "marriage" and "spouse," deeming marriage to be only between one man and one woman.
TLI summed up the DOJ position best when they wrote:
The DOJ said that while, as a general rule, the rational basis review would apply to legislation challenged under equal protection principles, the heightened scrutiny review should apply in this case because the legislation differentiates groups of people for no sensible reason rather than for a reason that is rationally related to a government interest. The DOJ said heightened scrutiny review of whether a law comports with equal protection principles would be justified when groups are treated differently based on classifications such as race or gender. A review under heightened scrutiny requires the government to show, at a minimum, that a law is "substantially related to an important government objective," the DOJ said in its brief.
The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to review whether heightened scrutiny should apply to classifications based on sexual orientation, the DOJ said. But the factors the high court has outlined for determining when the test should apply include whether the group has suffered a history of discrimination, whether members of the group have obvious or distinguishing characteristics that define them as a group, whether the group is a minority or politically powerless and whether the characteristics distinguishing the group have little to do with legitimate policy objectives or a person's ability to contribute to society.
The DOJ spent nearly 10 pages of its 42-page brief explaining how gays and lesbians have been discriminated against by federal, state and local governments as well as by private parties.
"The federal government has played a significant and regrettable role in the history of discrimination against gay and lesbian individuals," the DOJ said. "For years, the federal government deemed gays and lesbians unfit for employment, barring them from federal jobs on the basis of their sexual orientation."
State and local governments did similar things regarding public employment, the DOJ said. The department also pointed to state laws prohibiting sodomy as another form of discrimination. Child custody and visitation rights had been denied to gay and lesbian parents, the department added. Liquor licensing laws, on their face and through discriminatory enforcement, were used to shut down businesses patronized by gays and lesbians, it said.
The DOJ also pointed out that efforts to combat discrimination against gays and lesbians faced political backlash, including the repeal of laws protecting the class.
As for discrimination by private parties, the DOJ said, "the pervasiveness of private animus against gays and lesbians is underscored by statistics showing that gays and lesbians continue to be among the most frequent victims of all reported hate crimes."
In terms of sexual orientation being an immutable characteristic, the DOJ said the established medical community has formed a general consensus that efforts to change an individual's sexual orientation are "generally futile and potentially dangerous to an individual's well-being."
The DOJ further argued that gays and lesbians are a minority group that has historically lacked political power. While much of the discrimination the DOJ described has subsided, the department said there are still efforts such as ballot initiatives to repeal laws protecting gays and lesbians.
As an example, the DOJ said that when DOMA was enacted in 1996, only three states had laws specifically restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Now there are 37 states with such laws and 30 states have constitutional amendments explicitly restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples.
As to the fourth prong of the test to determine if heightened scrutiny should apply, the DOJ said that "just as a person's gender, race or religion does not bear an inherent relation to a person's ability or capacity to contribute to society, a person's sexual orientation bears no inherent relation to his or her ability to perform or contribute." That point was made clear by President Obama, the DOJ argued, when he signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.
DOMA fails the heightened scrutiny test of being related to a governmental purpose because it was motivated by animus toward gays and lesbians and enacted to uphold the "traditional notions of morality" in the country as seen by Congress when it was enacted, the DOJ said.
The House report on the law's passage also stated an interest in extending legal preferences to heterosexual couples to promote heterosexuality and discourage homosexuality, the DOJ said.
"This record evidences the kind of animus and stereotype-based thinking that the Equal Protection Clause is designed to guard against," the DOJ said.
President Obama should be commended and applauded for directing his DOJ not to defend DOMA and to argue that it is unconstitutional.
There are now two things that could happen. One, the Democrats regain control of the House, maintain control of the Senate, and Obama wins a second term so that DOMA can be overturned through the legislative process, or two, DOMA is ruled unconstitutional by the courts and the Supreme Court affirms that decision.
I would like to see both happen. This is one of the reasons we need to secure a second term for Barack Obama so as to continue the fight against DOMA so that our community may one day see true marriage equality in these United States of America.
Related Article: 'Defense of Marriage' Ruled Unconstitutional in Response to PA Benefits Case
Comments:james@QUEERtimes.net
|
 |
What It Looks Like From Here
Thom Cardwell
copyright 2012
|
 Here's something depressing and shocking. Did you know that people with HIV and/or AIDS can be still be deemed criminals for transmitting a transmittable disease?
In at least 35 of our 50 states, according to a recent report by David Crary of the Associated Press that appeared in The Commercial Appeal (January 2, 2012), there exist "criminal laws that punish people for exposing another person to HIV."
"These laws are archaic," said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., "They're criminalizing a population of people who should not be criminalized."
While this may seem academic and ignorant of the medical knowledge and advancement in treatment of the HIV virus and how it can and can not be transmitted from one person to another, the laws created in a less enlightened period full of misconceptions, inaccuracies, myths and fears, they have been enforced in some states and individuals have been prosecuted and incarcerated.
 Crary cites a case of a "man in Texas [who] is [currently] serving a 35-year prison sentence for spitting at a police officer-because he has the virus that causes AIDS and his saliva was deemed a deadly weapon." Another case, according to Crary, recounts an HIV-positive man, in Michigan, 'who allegedly bit a neighbor during an argument and is [facing] bioterrorism charges."
Happily, Lee as "the outspoken champion in Congress," is working with a coalition of advocacy groups, who are campaigning "to press for review and possible repeal of criminal statutes targeting HIV-positive people."
Advocates, along with Lee, said that "prosecutions occur even in the absence of actual HIV transmission, and the laws generally do not consider use of condom as a defense."
Despite the fact that due to "the development of medication regimens" and that it's now common acknowledge that "AIDS is 'no longer viewed as a death sentence,'" these laws were enacted during the early stages of the pandemic and never revised by state lawmakers.
Repeal of these laws isn't as easy or sensible as one might suppose, not everyone is optimistic about how Lee's bill in Congress and the hard work by these advocacy groups to persuade state lawmakers across the country respond positively.
 Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorney's Association, told Crary that "most prosecutors would oppose Lee's bill and argue that the laws remain necessary to deter HIV-positive people from reckless or irresponsible behavior."
Advocates to repeal the laws say that "a better approach [would be] to encourage responsibility and disclosure of [a person's HIV status'] without the threat of arrest and prosecution."
The Positive Justice Project, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, according to Crary, "recently documented scores of cases since 2008 in which people were prosecuted on charges specially related to being HIV-positive."
A recent high-profile case is that of former professional wrestler, Andre Davis, a. k. a. "Gangsta of Love," who "faces the possibility of decades in prison after being convicted in November 2011 of 14 counts of assault for having sex with women without telling them he'd tested positive for HIV."
Cincinnati prosecutor Amy Tranter, in her closing arguments, was quoted as saying that "Davis should go to prison for a long time. He's shown no remorse, no responsibility for anything that he's done."
comments@QUEERtimes.net
|
|
Thom's Table
Philadelphia CC Restaurant Week
Thom Cardwell
copyright 2012
|
While the holiday season might be gone, the festivities in the City of Philadelphia continue onwards, especially when it comes to dining out in our first-class restaurant destinations, of which the numbers seem to keep growing every year.  It's almost hard to believe that Center City District Restaurant Week presented by TD Bank, is already returning, for two consecutive weeks, January 22 - 27 and January 29 -February 3, 2012. What area foodie can't be absolutely delighted with that news!
Calling it, "Winter Delight," this year Restaurant Week will have participating restaurants, most of the 124 of them, offering such tempting "meal deals" as three-course lunches for just $20 in 54 of the dining establishments and three-course dinners, in the evenings, for $35 at all 124 dining destinations. (Prices do not include tax, alcohol and gratuity.) Because of the increasing popularity and demand by the public each year (and this interest, excitement and attendance continues to grow despite the economy), event organizers suggest making reservations early, and often for your favorite familiar spots as well as experimenting by trying place that you've never had a meal. Home chefs, always adventurous and ambitions, can experience, with family and friends, preview taste of what's being offered at this year's Restaurant Week with the new edition of Center City Cooks, the Center City District's downloadable online cookbook at centercitycooks.com.  What a novel idea, with recipes provided by many of the city's premier chefs who will be creating the delicious lunch and dinner offerings during Restaurant Week. Highlights of the recipes that will be featured include entries from the chefs from Barbuzzo, Le Bec-Fin, The Farmers' Cabinet, and many others. In addition to recipes, the cookbook offers tips from chefs and notes from their partner, Philly Homegrown, featuring ingredients and produce available from local foods growers.
Newcomers to this year's Restaurant Week include Aki Japanese Fusion Restaurant and Sake Bar, Blue Bear Tavern, Jamonera, Numa, Revolution House, The Corner, and Zento Contemporary Japanese Cuisine. With a choice of 124 restaurants featuring almost every cuisine imaginable, you're bound to have more than a few satisfying meals and memorable dining experiences. For a complete list of participating restaurants click here. For information, menus and other details in addition to making restaurants online, visit centercityphila.org/restaurantweek, or follow their Twitter feed--@PhilaRestWeek. Once again, as become a tradition, The Philadelphia Parking Association and Philadelphia Parking Authority will offer a place for your car at the deep discount of $9 or less at dozens of lots and garages all over Center City. Click here for a list of discount parking lots and garages. Enjoy!
|
|
|
What They Said and Did!
Copyrighted 2012
|
With all the Oscar buzz this year (it was actually a stellar year for many outstanding movies, Hugo, The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Beginners, Help, The Tree of Life but to mention  a handful) everyone within the Hollywood community is being polite, even zipping their lips, about the disastrous co-hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway. These days the every-changing and fascinating and controversial actor (and performing self?) Franco has the burning urge to go behind the camera. So while he optioned the rights for Michael Gregg Michaud's critically-acclaimed biography of queer actor Sal Mineo, who played the tortured, complex, sexually ambivalent but suggestively homosexual sidekick to the iconic male lead, James Dean, in the cult classic, "Rebel Without A Cause," Franco cast lesser known Indie director-turned-actor Val Lauren, according to The Hollywood Reporter (May 11, 2011). Rising star Lauren may not yet be a household name but most likely will become so, with his success with the short film, Help, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred. Mineo had a greatly promising career on the big screen in Hollywood but was murdered in the parking lot of his West Hollywood apartment complex in a botched robbery. "Sal Mineo himself was an extraordinary and super complex guy. People know him for [his portrayal of Plato] in 'Rebel Without A Cause,' but he was technically the first actor who came out of the closet. He was very brave."
_________________________________________
Speaking of biopics, queer international superstar Elton John wants to have Justin Timberlake cast in the role if John has anything to say about it. The two worked together on an earlier music video in which  the ever-playful mimic Timberlake (you remember his gigs on SLN?) did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the style and mystique of the wild man John projects on stage. In Esquire (January 2012), the editors have a chat with John's lyricist, collaborator and friends, over several decades if not most of their lives. The always outspoken but entertaining Bernie Taupin offered a number of "quotable quotes" during the course of the interview. Here's a mouthful: "Don't call my lyrics poetry," he shouted back, "It's an insult to real poets." Beatle "John Lennon famously said that "Before Elvis, there was nothing." Not in Taupin's mind. "I say, Before Elvis, there was everything. After Elvis, there was a lot less." Self-critical and easily self-effacing, especially about his own work, Taupin confessed: "'Crocodile Rock' is a strange dichotomy because I don't mind having created it, but it's not something I would listen to." Recollecting upon their lives together, Taupin had the last word:
"When Elton and I stated out, we were literally kids. Then we became young adults. Then we became adults. Now we're old men. But old men with distinctly young ideas."
_________________________________________
With all the attention of politics in the general culture, why would it not surprise anyone that former President Bill Clinton might be given some of the spotlight and not even to discuss, directly at  least, at this point, political issues. Instead, the editors of Sky Delta (January, 2012) naturally decided to make him the cover boy of the issue dedicated to "prominent leaders making a difference around the globe." That certainly qualifies Clinton at the head of the pack, that includes several Hollywood types like Sean Penn, Matt Damon, and Oprah Winfrey, to name a few. As duly noted by the magazine's editors in speaking of the ex-president's "good works," they point out: "Though his William J. Clinton Foundation, Bill Clinton has been racking up accomplishments that rival-and some might even say surpass-his accomplishments during his 1999-2001 presidential term. Established in 2002, the foundation focuses on alleviating poverty, improving global health, strengthening economics and protecting the environment through a growing series of initiatives. While each imitative has a distinct mission, they all reflect Clinton's founding vision: to implement sustainable programs that globally improves access to investment, opportunity and lifelong services." What drives an ex-president to put such faith, fortitude, drive, energy and passion into these efforts and challenges around the world? "I have done the things that I thought really mattered, where I could make a difference." His foundation has offices in Harlem, New York and Little Rock, Arkansas, his home town and state, where the Clinton Presidential Library also is located. Take it from us; it's also definitely worth the trip!
 |
|
