This Week in Lesbian News…

The Mormon Church supports LGBT rights legislation, Islamic scholars see no reason to discriminate, and the majority of our military members don’t agree with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It’s all that and more in a week of lesbian news…

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. Opposes Marriage Equality with a Threat. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. announced on Thursday that it will stop its provision of social service programs to the city if the city council passes the marriage equality bill in December. Even though the language of the current resolution before the council does not reference any requirements by religious organizations to perform marriages outside of their belief structure, Church spokes-people reiterated the Church’s opposition to marriage equality.

Islamic Scholars See No Reason for Discrimination. Following a conference of Islamic scholars last week it was announced that they see no reason that Islam should reject gays and lesbians. The gathering was organized by Arus Pelangi, a non-governmental group, and the scholars who attended said that the discrimination towards gays and lesbians was based on narrow-minded interpretations.

R.I. Gov. Denies Equal Funeral Rights. R.I. Gov. Don Carcieri vetoed legislation last that would allow the state’s gay and lesbian couples to plan the funeral services of their late partners. Carcieri said the proposed protections represented “a disturbing trend.” Rhode Island currently does not allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Alabama Lesbian Teen Allowed to Bring Partner to Prom. News came in last week that a high school in Northern Alabama had barred a lesbian couple from attending the school’s annual prom.  Seventeen-year-old Cynthia Stewart, an out lesbian, was apparently told by her principle that she was not allowed to bring her partner to the prom and that the school would cancel the entire prom if she did. Later in the week, however, school officials at Tharptown High School in Alabama decided to allow Stewart to bring her partner to the prom. Involvement by the American Civil Liberties Union prompted a change.

Mormon Church Supports LGBT Rights Legislation. In very surprising news, the Mormon Church announced its support of LGBT rights legislation last week. The church’s support helped the Salt Lake City council unanimously decide to expand discrimination laws in housing and employment. The law makes Salt Lake City the first community in Utah to include LGBT people in anti-bias laws.

DADT Updates. Congressman Barney Frank of New York suggested last Wednesday that the legislation to repeal the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is likely to be included in the 2010 D. O. D. Authorization Bill. Additionally, earlier last week the American Medical Association threw its support behind the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy as well, declaring that the military practice of banning openly gay soldiers creates an ethical dilemma for gay service people and their doctors. And, in even more DADT news, a recent survey of military members by the RAND Corporation found decreasing support for the policy. Only 40 percent of those asked express support for the policy. The study also found that, according to recent Iraq and Afghanistan vets, having a gay or lesbian soldier in their unit did not impact unit cohesion or readiness.