This Week in Lesbian News…

Lesbians in China want to donate blood, the HRC says “No Excuses” to Congress, and a new campaign in Maine is set to defend same sex marriage. It’s all that and more in a week of lesbian news…

Gay Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients. Gay rights activist Harvey Milk and legendary lesbian tennis player Billie Jean King will both be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama in early August. Longtime supporter of LGBT rights, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, will also be a recipient of the Medal. Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk, will accept the award on behalf of the late San Francisco supervisor and civil rights activist.

Lesbians in China Fight for Right to Donate Blood. A law banning gay men and women from donating blood was enacted in China in 1998 and now a group of lesbians in the country have organized an online petition to change that. China prohibits citizens from donating, claiming the gay community has higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases. Their goal is to achieve 1,000 signatures.

HRC Launches “No Excuses.” The Human Rights Campaign launched a national, grassroots campaign on Thursday called “No Excuses.” The campaign demands action from Congress on key issues of equality and will mobilize HRC’s 750,000 members and their allies to meet face-to-face with lawmakers during the Congressional summer recess. For more visit http://noexcuses.hrc.org.

Same Sex Marriage in Albania. It was announced on Albania’s government website late last week that a law to allow same-sex civil marriages may be passed. Of the 140 seats in parliament, 74 are controlled by Democrats who are expected to easily pass the possible law.

LGBT Asian American Study. The Boston School of Social Work released a study last week that shows that LGBT Asian American young people face high levels of family and cultural social pressure when it comes to their sexual and ethnic identities. According to the study, many Asian American young people hide their sexual orientation – fearing that their traditional families will reject them. The study revealed that they often feel forced to choose between ethnic and sexual identification.

Anti-Gay Slur By University of Hawaii Football Coach Gets Coverage. Second-year University of Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin has apologized for repeatedly using an anti-gay word – he reportedly said “‘We do something special at Notre Dame,’ and (the players) get up and they do this little cheer … this little fa**ot dance,”’ in describing a pre-game dance the University of Notre Dame football players performed – before the Aloha Bowl last December. McMackin is now receiving a lot of media attention for the comment. Read all about it on the GLAAD blog here http://glaadblog.org/2009/07/31/media-reports-anti-gay-slur-issued-by-football-coach/

“No on 1” in Maine Begins Battle Against Anti-LGBT Group. The anti-LGBT group ‘Stand for Marriage Maine’ says that it has collected nearly double the 55,000 signatures required to put a referendum on a November ballot to rescind marriage protections for same-sex couples. A bill was signed by the governor in early May that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples and was to take effect September 12. Now, because of the anti-LGBT group, it will most likely be delayed. A new campaign called ‘No on 1/ Protect Maine Equality’ is already under way in the state in an effort to defeat the referendum.