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‘Daily Show’ blasts Obama admin over LGBT employment discrimination

The Georgia Voice Editors
Culture
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The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

President Barack Obama has taken heat from LGBT activists in the last few weeks for refusing to sign an executive order that would ban workplace discrimination for federal contractors based on sexual orientation, perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

During last night's “Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” host Jon Stewart laid out a pretty convincing argument against the Obama administration's decision to persue a legislative solution (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) rather than simply issuing an executive order to protect federal LGBT workers.

Stewart also pokes fun at North Carolina's proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage (in a state that has already outlaws such unions) and highlights a ridiculous new marketing campaign from the creators of Mike & Ike candies.

Federal appeals court upholds expulsion of anti-gay Ga. college student

The Georgia Voice Editors
Georgia
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The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a lower court's ruling that an Augusta State University student should be expelled from the school's counseling program because her anti-gay beliefs went against the ethical guidelines for being a school counselor.

Jennifer Keeton, who describes herself as a Christian and was attending ASU to become a school counselor for grades K-12, sued the university after professors recommended she undertake a remediation plan as a way to teach her more about LGBT issues. The plan included attending workshops on LGBT issues as well as attending Augusta Pride.

Keeton is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization dedicated to defending "traditional family values." In her lawsuit, Keeton claimed her First Amendment rights were violated by the university because it stated her biblical opposition to homosexuality — that she would state in class and to other students — went against the professional code for being an ethical counselor.

[Video] Federal appeals court offers hope in Ga. transgender woman’s job bias lawsuit

The Georgia Voice Editors
National
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Three judges sitting on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today appeared to side with transgender woman Vandy Beth Glenn, who was fired from her job as a legislative editor for the Georgia General Assembly after she informed her boss she was transitioning full-time to a woman.

"We have direct evidence of intentional discrimination," said Judge Bill Pryor.

Richard Sheinis, representing the state, argued that if Glenn was to win this case, transgender people would become a "protected class."

"That's right," Pryor and Judge Rosemary Barkett answered, almost simultaneously.

Pryor told Sheinis if he wanted to change the outcome, he should "go talk to Congress."

Georgia’s AIDS drug program funds ‘in the balance’ as legislature comes to a close

The Georgia Voice Editors
Georgia
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More than 1,000 people are currently on Georgia’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list and funding for the program is threatened with cuts, according to Georgia Equality.

In an email today titled "ADAP funds in the balance," Georgia Equality said that as of April 1, there were 1,278 people waiting to receive life-saving drugs to treat HIV and AIDS. ADAP provides the medication to low-income people who have no other options for receiving medical care.

When the state House passed its version of a budget, members cut $600,000 from ADAP. However, that money was restored by the Senate but now the funding issue sits in committee to see if the program will retain this money or not. The Georgia legislature is set to finish up April 14.

Atlanta organization lands federal HIV/AIDS grant

The Georgia Voice Editors
Atlanta
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The Atlanta AIDS Partnership announced a $250,000 grant from the White House's Social Innovation Fund through AIDS United (formerly the National AIDS Fund). The grant, one of 10 given to HIV/AIDS organizations around the country, will go to providing HIV care through primary health care providers in Atlanta’s most affected communities.

According to the Atlanta AIDS Partnership, transportation issues and the stigma of visiting an AIDS service organization prevent many people living with HIV/AIDS from getting the care they need to live a healthy life. In an effort to address the imbalance, the grant money will be directed to free and low-income clinics as well as toward federally qualified health care centers.

“Increasing the ability of smart, effective organizations to reach more individuals is critical to the work of The Community Foundation,” Alicia Philipp, president of the Atlanta AIDS Partnership, said in a press release. “As a local partner in this effort, our role is to bring resources to meet the demand in our region to help tackle an issue that affects so many in our communities.”

Federal judge rules portion of DOMA unconstitutional

The Georgia Voice Editors
National
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A federal judge in Boston ruled July 8 — in two separate lawsuits — that a critical part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

In one lawsuit, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Health and Human Services, Judge Joseph Tauro, of the U.S. District Court in Boston, ruled that DOMA violated the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by taking from the states powers that the Constitution gave to them. In the other lawsuit, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, he ruled that DOMA violates the equal protection principles embodied in the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment in an effort to “disadvantage a group of which it disapproves.”

First federal hate crimes conference held in Atlanta

The Georgia Voice Editors
National
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Dennis Shepard, father of Matthew Shepard, speaks at an Atlanta conference on hate crimes

More than 300 law enforcement and community organization representatives attended the inaugural Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act community conference at Georgia State University on May 18.

Hosted by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, the conference was designed to detail the new federal hate crimes act signed into law by President Obama on Oct. 28, 2009.