In a filing at the U.S. Supreme Court this afternoon, the U.S. government, represented by acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, asked the court to leave in place the stay of U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips's injunction of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The government's argument would keep DADT in effect while the Log Cabin Republicans v. United States case is on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
In part, Katyal concludes:
[T]he court of appeals reasonably decided to stay the district court’s injunction in its entirety, pending consideration of the merits of the government’s appeal.That decision does not remotely present the sort of exceptional circumstances that would warrant interference with an interim order of the court of appeals. To the contrary, the court of appeals’ stay comports with this Court’s well-settled precedents, permits the continued nationwide operation of an Act of Congress that has governed in the military for 17 years, and preserves the status quo pending the court of appeals’ consideration of the merits of this facial challenge to that federal statute. Accordingly, this Court should deny Log Cabin’s application to vacate the stay.Government's Opposition, at 28-29 (citations omitted). A declaration from Clifford Stanley, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, dated October 13, is attached to the government's filing.
"The United States is deeply disappointed in today’s conviction of same-sex couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza in Malawi. We view the criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity as a step backward in the protection of human rights in Malawi. The Government of Malawi must respect the human rights of all of its citizens. The United States views the decriminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity as integral to the protection of human rights in Malawi and elsewhere in the world."
Although the Malay-language movie won't have explicit sex or even kissing, its screening would be a huge step forward for freedom of popular media in this Muslim-majority country that many fear is coming under the influence of Islamic conservatism.
"Dalam Botol," or "In A Bottle," centers on a man whose relationship with his male partner crumbles after he undergoes sex change surgery, said Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman, who produced the film and wrote the screenplay based on the experiences of her friend.
"We are taking a risk," Raja Azmi, a longtime movie producer, said in an interview this week. "I'm very nervous. We still don't know if the censors will allow our movie to be shown in the end."
The idea sounds amazing, I hope their movie can be released and we can see this movie here in the states.
The initiatives announced today will be a proposed rule that will provide the opportunity for public comment. The proposed rule will:
- clarify that the term "family" as used to describe eligible beneficiaries of our public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs include otherwise eligible lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender (LGBT) individuals and couples. HUD's public housing and voucher programs help more than three million families to rent an affordable home. The Department's intent to propose new regulations will clarify family status to ensure its subsidized housing programs are available to all families, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- require grantees and those who participate in the Department's programs to comply with local and state non-discrimination laws that cover sexual orientation or gender identity; and
- specify that any FHA-insured mortgage loan must be based on the credit-worthiness of a borrower and not on unrelated factors or characteristics such as sexual orientation or gender identity.
In addition to issuance of proposed rule, HUD will commission the first-ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing.
HUD expects to begin the regulatory process immediately. The LGBT discrimination study is similarly fast tracked. HUD undertook important research in 1977, 1989 and 2000 to study the impact of housing discrimination on the basis of race and color. It is believed that LGBT individuals and families may remain silent because in many local jurisdictions, they may have little or no legal recourse. HUD's study will examine housing discrimination based on Sexual orientation or gender identity.
While there are no national assessments of LGBT housing discrimination, there are state and local studies that have shown this sort of bias. For example, Michigan's Fair Housing Centers found that nearly 30 percent of same-sex couples were treated differently when attempting to buy or rent a home. Please visit online.
Bush did most of this mess
I guess certain things will never cease to amaze me
The $5.3 million investigation "uncovered recreational marijuana and cocaine use" by "a handful" of Interior Department staff, and found two federal employees "engaged in brief sexual relationships with representatives from companies doing business" with the department.
Two Interior Department employees "received combined gifts and gratuities on at least 135 occasions from four major oil and gas companies with whom they were doing business -- a textbook example of improperly receiving gifts from prohibited sources," Inspector General Earl Devaney says in a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne accompanying the report.
