Out in America Features» Washington

Amazon Joins Starbucks, Google, Microsoft In Supporting Gay Marriage

OIA Staff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:58:18 +0000

Internet retailer Amazon on Wednesday became the latest high-profile Washington-based company to endorse an effort to legalize gay marriage in the state, the Seattle Times reported. “Amazon is joining other Pacific Northwest companies, including Microsoft, Starbucks and Nike, in support of Washington state’s marriage equality bills,” Amazon said in a statement. “The spirit of these [...]

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Washington State Senate Approves Marriage Equality

OIA Staff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:51:48 +0000

The Washington State Senate has approved, by a 28-21 vote, a marriage-equality bill. That’s three votes higher than expected. A vote in the State House is expected as early as next week, and Governor Christine Gregoire has indicated she will sign the measure into law. via. Read the full article @ Washington State Senate Approves [...]

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Gay marriage within reach in Wash. Legislature

OIA Staff — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:51:05 +0000

The Washington state Legislature is on the verge of having enough support to approve gay marriage, with votes continuing to realign in the state Senate, according to a tally by The Associated Press. via. Read the full article @ Gay marriage within reach in Wash. Legislature Read more articles @ our blogBecome a fan on [...]

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WA Legislature OKs out-of-state gay unions

OIA Staff — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:49:51 +0000

The state Legislature has approved a measure that would make Washington the fourth in the country to recognize out-of-state domestic partnerships. On a 28-19 vote, the Washington Senate cleared the last hurdle for the bill, which now heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire for a signature. via. Read the full article @ WA Legislature OKs out-of-state [...]

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Bill Introduced To Bring Marriage Equality To Washington State

OIA Staff — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:08:51 +0000

It has been almost thirteen years since lawmakers in Washington State passed their own version of the Defense of Marriage Act, and lawmakers in that state chose an interesting way to celebrate that anniversary- by introducing legislation that would no longer restrict lesbians and gays from having the right to marry. The Washington State DOMA [...]

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Gay E-Marriage Annulled: Wedding Couple Disappointed and Fearful – dot429

OIA Staff — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:16:00 +0000

dot429 EXCLUSIVE When Mark Reed and Dante Walkup celebrated their wedding in an e-marriage ceremony on October 10, 2010, they thought they had uncovered a loophole in the laws that prohibit gay marriage. The ceremony, officiated by Washington, D.C. Reverend Sheila Alexander-Reid over Skype, took place in Texas and included over 80 guests. Reed and [...]

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Supreme Court on R-71: Names on anti-gay rights petition public

OIA Staff — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:09:54 +0000

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the names of people who signed petitions in an attempt to overturn a new gay rights law in Washington must be made public, a victory for state officials who said the case was a test of open government laws. Justices ruled 8-1 in a case called Doe V. Reed. [...]

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Lieberman: Senate Vote On Gay Partner Benefits ‘Within Weeks’

OIA Staff — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:10:56 +0000

Aides to Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, told the Washington Post Wednesday that the Senate could vote on a bill that would extend some benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees “within weeks.” Under the bill, the spouses of gay and lesbian federal employees would be eligible for certain benefits currently barred by [...]

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“Proud Homophobe” Removed From Oil Spill Panel

OIA Staff — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:03:56 +0000

Jonathan I. Katz, the Washington University scientist who had been tapped to be a part of the elite oil spill clean up panel appointed by the Obama administration to help BP figure a way to clean up the Gulf oil spill mess, has been removed from the panel. As he should have been. Katz is [...]

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Court hears dispute on “everything-but-marriage” petition signers’ names

OIA Staff — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:36:02 +0000

Gay rights opponents are asking the Supreme Court to protect the anonymity of the signers of a petition that sought a vote to overturn Washington state’s domestic partnership rights. The case being argued at the high court Wednesday weighs the right to political speech, unfettered by fear of intimidation, against transparency in government. [ via [...]

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Washington State LGBT Activist Runs For State House Seat

OIA Staff — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:06:47 +0000

LGBT activist Laurie Jinkins may be on her way to becoming the first lesbian elected to a state office in Washington State. Jinkins has a long history of political leadership. She co-chaired a Referendum 71 (the “everything but marriage” law) campaign last year that passed with a wide margin. In a press release, Jinkins said: [...]

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Kathy Griffin works Capitol Hill for her gays

OIA Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:46:09 +0000

Irish American Comedian and edgy reality star, Kathy Griffin, spent Tuesday in Washington doing the lobby thing. Griffin, who joked all day that she was a staunch lobbyist, walked around the Capitol (in her Louboutin shoes) to request that politicians revoke the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. You go Kathy. She did this for [...]

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Tom Goss and Matt Alber Sing Out Against DADT

OIA Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:13:17 +0000

“Who We Are” Single Benefits Service Members Legal Defense Network Video features Two Discharged Servicemen We wrote the song especially for these strong men and women who carry the wounded on their shoulders and the added burden of a nation’s bigotry on their backs. Singer-songwriter buddies Matt Alber and Tom Gossteamed up recently with videographer Zack Rosen [...]

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27 Drop Post Over Front-page Gay Kiss Photo

OIA Staff — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:06:21 +0000

A photograph of two men kissing that ran on the front page of The Washington Post has caused at least two dozen people to cancel their subscriptions. The photo was taken last Wednesday, the day same-sex couples could apply for marriage licenses in Washington, and ran in the paper the next day. The paper’s ombudsman, [...]

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Two charged in Seattle alleged anti-gay attack

OIA Staff — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:48:18 +0000

Felony hate crime charges have been filed against two men accused in an alleged anti-gay attack outside a South Seattle community center. At about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 3, Seattle police were called to the Filipino Community Center in the 5700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South following a report of a fight. [...]

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Historic day in nation’s capital as same-sex couples begin applying for marriage licenses

OIA Staff — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:22:14 +0000

Same-sex couples began applying for marriage licenses today in the District of Columbia. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act was passed this fall by an overwhelming majority of the D.C. Council before Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the measure into law in mid-December. D.C. joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire in [...]

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Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Challenge To DC Marriage Equality Law

OIA Staff — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:45:21 +0000

Chief Justice John Roberts signaled what may be a trend within the United States Supreme Court of not hearing cases revolving around marriage equality. In refusing to hear a case involving Washington DC’s marriage law, Roberts wrote for the majority “It has been the practice of the court to defer to the decisions of the [...]

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All The Funding For Anti-marriage Equality Campaign In The Nations Capital Came From Outside of D.C.

OIA Staff — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:04:50 +0000

On Dec. 19, Washington, D.C. officially legalized same-sex marriage. Mayor Adrian Fenty supported the legislation from the beginning, and it received the overwhelming support of the D.C. Council in an 11-2 vote. Congressional Republicans, however, immediately began calling for a referendum on the issue, suggesting that the majority of D.C. residents were actually against same-sex [...]

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Washington’s Domestic Partner Law Goes into Effect Today

OIA Staff — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:07:33 +0000

Governor Christine : “The new law had been on hold pending the public vote, and will now go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, 30 days after the Nov. 3 General Election. The law is Senate Bill 5688 and applies to state-registered domestic partners, both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples where at least one partner [...]

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No arrests for conservative Christians’ anti-gay talk

OIA Staff — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:48:20 +0000

Conservative Christian ministers from across the land, determined to test the bounds of a new law punishing anti-gay hate crimes, assembled outside the Justice Department on Monday to denounce the sin of homosexuality and see whether they would be charged with lawbreaking. Anything other than sex “between a male and his wedded wife,” announced the [...]

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Waiting on the Outcome – General Gayety

OIA Staff — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:24:13 +0000

My girlfriend Anne and I reached the point in our relationship where we wanted to make it official. Also, her employer wanted proof that she and I are really a couple and she hadn’t put me on her insurance because I looked pretty. Here in the state of Washington same-sex marriage is illegal, so making [...]

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And Now the Good News – R-71 Wins in Washington!

OIA Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:18:07 +0000

With 100% of the vote counted. Everything but marriage wins 51.03%-48.97% After the results from Maine, we needed some positive news. County Results & Map Last updated on 11/4/2009 7:56 AM Referendum Measure 71 concerning rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners Measure Vote Vote % Approved 511,651 51.03 % Rejected 490,948 48.97 % Total [...]

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The Senator Makes The Grade – General Gayety

OIA Staff — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:39:35 +0000

People in the public eye who utter inanities about gays keep me busy. I regularly poke into the verbal and written slams offered up by folks all around the world, from Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern (Homosexuality is “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism.”), to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov (Pride [...]

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Conservative Christians in Maine Urge Washington State Voters to Approve R-71

OIA Staff — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:36:43 +0000

There’s no other way to interpret the most recent ad from opponents of marriage equality in Maine… You have to hand it to these opportunistic bigots. The Yes on 1 campaign in Maine had been running around arguing that same-sex marriage was a dire threat to children because gay wedding ceremonies usually begin with the [...]

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Barney Frank Explains His Criticism of the National Equality March

OIA Staff — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:32:48 +0000

Says Frank to Behar: “I am afraid that some people will come to Washington and they will march and think they’ve done it. That’s why I said what I did. Marching isn’t a negative thing but to the extent that people think that having marched they’ve done something effective they wouldn’t do something that is [...]

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Yup, The Gays Will Be Protesting Obama at HRC This Weekend

OIA Staff — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:17:50 +0000

Since Barack Obama decided to hang around Washington D.C. this weekend (at least on Saturday night) to address the Human Rights Campaign at its annual fancy gala, activists who actually think their elected officials should stand up for equal rights are going to spend the evening outside the event for a lovely workout of their [...]

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Microsoft Donates 100K to Approve R-71

OIA Staff — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:29:04 +0000

The Microsoft corporation has demonstrated its continued commitment to gay rights even in the face of conservative backlash. The organization donated 100,000 dollars to approve referendum 71 in Washington state which would keep domestic partnership rights. Thank Microsoft for continuing to being a corporate champion for equality: Voice: 1-800-Microsoft (642-7676) E-contact Feedback Form [ Queers [...]

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Cleve Jones Invites Obama to National Equality March

OIA Staff — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:26:01 +0000

Prominent gay activist Cleve Jones has invited President Barack Obama to speak at the National Equality March on October 11, event organizers revealed today. Jones’ letter was delivered to the White House on Friday, September 25. In it, Jones compares the event with the Civil Rights March of 1963, and asserts that lesbian, gay, bisexual [...]

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Cleveland Awarded 2014 Gay Games

OIA Staff — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:45:54 +0000

Cleveland has been awarded the 2014 International Gay Games. The Gay Games will have around 12,000 participants and an estimated 100,000. The 14 original contenders for host city were whittled down to three; Cleveland, Boston and Washington, DC. The winning city was announced from Cologne, Germany—the site of the 2010 games. [ The BIG One [...]

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Washington Judge OK’ s Referendum 71 Certification (BUT)

OIA Staff — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:33:11 +0000

In Washington, Judge Julie Spector has decided not to block Referendum 71 from being being certified. But her decision may be procedural rather than based on content. (Seattle PI) Spector said challenges to a referendum must be filed in Thurston County Superior Court after certification – and supporters of the “everything but marriage” law still [...]

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Gay Rights in Danger as R-71 Makes Ballot in Washington State

OIA Staff — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:06:35 +0000

Officials are reporting that the Referendum 71 ballot measure pushed by anti-gay marriage foes has qualified for the November ballot in Washington State: “The secretary of state’s office said Monday that sponsors of Referendum 71 had 121,486 valid petition signatures – enough to put the newly expanded domestic partnership law to a public vote. A [...]

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Momentum Building For October 11 National Equality March

OIA Staff — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:23:34 +0000

Equality Across America, the new grassroots network calling for Federal action to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, has moved forward with plans for a massive national day of action on Sunday, October 11, 2009.. Major national LGBT organizations including the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Universal Fellowship [...]

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Are There Enough Invalid Signatures to Stop Referendum 71? So Far, YES

OIA Staff — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:04:29 +0000

No surprise: Some of the elections turned in to pass Referendum 71, which would put Washington State’s “everything but marriage” law to a ballot vote, are turning out to be fraudulent. Too early to tell, but so far their error rate is too high. [ Queerty ] Read the full article @ Are There Enough [...]

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