GLBT General News

In fighting the anti-marriage amendment, the Human Rights Campaign has called upon Mr. Marsocci’s past political experience in appointing him to the advisory board of Protect NC Families and assigning him the duty to help recruit volunteers for the fight in the Triangle area. To assist with this and other HRC duties, he is announcing three internship opportunities. Starting immediately, he will be accepting resumes for a Federal Club intern as well as two political internship positions going through the May 8, 2012 election.

With the upcoming amendment fight, The Law Offices of Jeffrey G. Marsocci, PLLC is trying to help boost and replenish the Human Rights Campaign’s finances. With HRC’s recently announced $100,000 donation commitment to Protect NC Families to fight the anti-marriage amendment, on top of the $100,000 it gave to Equality NC for its lobbying efforts, Mr. Marsocci is trying to combine his office’s focus on domestic partner life and estate planning with HRC’s Federal Club Program. The Human Rights Campaign provides special recognition to donors who commit to donating $1,200 per year or more through the Federal Club Program.

Earlier this month, I had the honor of being inducted as a member of the Board of Governors for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The confirmation of my appointment came during the Fall board meeting October 1st and 2nd in Washington DC, culminating in the HRC National Gala Dinner at which President Obama spoke. Watch it here.

This month, we are proud to announce the addition of an online domestic partner life and estate planning education system that is free for North Carolina residents. Too often, we have found that people get conflicting advice, the wrong advice, or simply shut their personal research down because they don’t know where to start. With the launch of www.RaleighDomesticPartnerPlanning.com and www.AshevilleDomesticPartnerPlanning.com, residents in both locales can download a free audio program on the basics of domestic partner planning and receive several follow-up e-mails that focus on particularly important topics.

In an overwhelming vote and a strong blow to businesses throughout the state, North Carolina’s House and Senate affirmed a ballot initiative that would constitutionally ban corporations, limited liability companies and jointly held real estate. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, the legislature voted by a more than three-fifths majority in both houses to ban all legal unions within North Carolina that were not related to marriage between a man and a woman. The public will vote, by simple majority, on whether or not to approve the automatic dissolution of all corporate entities and jointly held real estate during the May 2012 primary elections.

As a ten year old, I sat in front of the television watching a news program my aunt had put on. I had just watched one of my favorite Japanese animation cartoons (yes, even in the 1970s they had them), and, as usual, when the moment seemed darkest, the proverbial cavalry came to save the day. Now we turned to one of the major network stations since that was the deal… I had my hour of watching my show on the UHF station out of Boston, and now my aunt got to watch her news. One of the national newscasters was going on about how it was the 15 year anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and how prejudice and violence in the South had ripped communities apart. Archived images of people being beaten by other people over the right to vote, or eat at the same restaurants as others, just confused me. Weren’t all grown ups allowed to vote? Couldn’t anyone go and eat in any restaurant they wanted if they could pay for it? It didn’t make sense. My mind was still reeling from the hours of cartoons I watched, so it didn’t hit me right away… all of the people being beaten were dark-skinned and all of the people doing the beating were light-skinned. Oh.
Then I asked my aunt about it, and she told me a little about the Civil Rights Movement, and how there was a big struggle in our country over whether or not African Americans should have the same rights as whites. And it was as recent as fifteen years ago. As a naïve ten year old, I thought that was settled in 1776. Apparently not. And the more I asked my aunt about it, and the more I asked her what she did about it, the more withdrawn she became. It became clear even to a ten-year old that she had stood by, watched events happen, and didn’t do anything to help. She was embarrassed. She had been a witness to history, but not a part of it.

This month’s news story focuses on an exchange between Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Thomas Minnery, from Focus on the Family. And you know it’s big news because it made it to YouTube and gained a few hundred thousand hits.

Recently, former Clinton Administration lawyer J. Paul Oetken became the first openly gay judge confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the federal bench. What was most remarkable about his nomination and confirmation is that it was unremarkable. No screaming crowds of protestors. No televised grilling by the Senate Judiciary Committee. No talking heads on radio and TV shows blasting or praising him. In fact, the vote to confirm him only had 13 Senators, all Republicans, voting against with 80 voting in favor.

As I read the news about Protectmarriage.com’s challenging of Judge Vernon Walker’s ruling against California’s Prop 8, I was astounded at the sheer stupidity of the challenge itself, and it brought to mind the “Chewbacca Defense” from South Park fame. For those unfamiliar with the Prop 8 case and the recent appeal, several Californians were grasping at straws to stop the state from moving back towards marriage equality by appealing retired Judge Vernon Walker’s original ruling since he had since come out as gay and stated that he had a long-time partner. For those unfamiliar with South Park’s “Chewbacca Defense,” an episode highlighted a lawsuit by Chef against a big record company that stole one of his songs, and record company attorney Johnny Cochran pulled out a picture of Chewbacca and argued that it didn’t make any sense that a wookie would live on Endor with a bunch of Ewoks, and while it had nothing to do with the case, if Chewbacca living with Ewoks didn’t make sense, then you must acquit the record company. Click Here to watch the South Park Video

A few weeks ago, Kathy and I helped set up and run the Human Rights Campaign booth at Triad Pride in Greensboro, NC. Amidst the overall activity of the Pride event from the time it officially started right through the time we had to leave four hours later, hundreds of people came through with most stopping to sign petitions against the marriage inequality amendment being considered in North Carolina. In fact, so many people signed the petitions that we ran out of forms and had to use older forms supporting marriage equality in general.