This Week in Lesbian News…

With the Obama administration endorsing a UN Gay Rights Statement and appointing an openly lesbian attorney to serve as general counsel in the Office of Personnel Management, Maine and Vermont both taking steps toward marriage equality, a very ridiculous “Don’t Say Gay” bill getting postponed in Tennessee, and an effort toward increased training for medical students on LGBT health issues being made by the Stanford University School of Medicine, it was a pretty good week in lesbian news… even if a new study says we’re poor.

LGBT Medical Education Research Group. A group of students from the Stanford University School of Medicine are working to increase training for medical students on LGBT health issues. Their newly formed LGBT Medical Education Research Group seeks to provide American medical students with training on the concerns specific to LGBT patients, and how best to effectively care for them. To start, the group will send out surveys to medical schools across the US and Canada to determine what is being taught and how the curriculum could be improved.

Study on LGB poverty released. According to a new study released by the Williams Institute on Friday, gay, lesbian and bi couples are more likely to live in poverty than their married heterosexual counterparts.  This report is the first of its kind, providing a previously unseen look into poverty rates among LGB couples, who are often stereotyped as “an affluent elite” according to one of the study’s authors. “The report highlights a significant segment of the poor and low-income population that has largely been ignored.  The data clearly undermines the persistent myth that the gay community is monolithically affluent,” said M.V. Lee Badgett, report author and research director at the Williams Institute, in a news release issued with the study.

Support for marriage equality legislation in Maine. The author of marriage equality legislation in Maine said recently that over 60 state legislators have requested to sign on as co-sponsors for the bill. According to Democratic state Senator Dennis Damon, the 60 co-sponsors include representatives from both parties, and representatives from both large cities and small towns. If passed in both state Houses and signed by the governor, Maine would become the third state to offer full marriage equality.

Vermont continues fight to be number 3. The state of Vermont took one step closer to extending marriage to same-sex couples last Friday, with the senate Judiciary Committee voting 5-0 in favor of a proposed bill that would allow same-sex couples to legally marry in the state.  The legislation will advance to the full Senate, which will likely take up the bill this week and is expected to pass the measure. This decision follows an emotional public hearing Wednesday, featuring 70 testimonies both in favor of and in opposition to the bill. If the bill is approved by the House and the Senate, Vermont will join Massachusetts and Connecticut as the third state to allow marriage to same-sex couples.  The legislation would take effect Sept. 1.

Another gay joins Obama administration. President Barack Obama’s administration has appointed an openly lesbian attorney to serve as general counsel in the Office of Personnel Management. Elaine Kaplan, who currently works for the National Treasury Employees Union, also served in the administration of former President Bill Clinton as head of the Office of Special Counsel. Kaplan will serve in the Office of Personnel Management under openly gay John Berry, who last month was appointed as Director of the office.

Domestic Partnerships possible in Nevada. Legislation has been introduced in the Nevada state legislature that seeks to permit lesbian and gay couples to enter into domestic partnerships, providing all of the rights and responsibilities of marriage under state law. Senate Bill 283, sponsored by state Senator David Parks, would allow these couples to register as domestic partners with the Nevada Secretary of State. Parks, who is openly gay, has said that the domestic partnerships would not be considered marriages, which is defined by the state Constitution as between a man and a woman.

LGBT legislation in NH. Lawmakers in New Hampshire will vote this week on two pieces of LGBT legislation. One of these bills would grant marriage equality to lesbian and gay couples, while the other seeks to add gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The state’s House Judiciary Committee deadlocked on both bills last week, voting 10 to 10 on whether to recommend their passage. This week both bills will face a vote in the full House without a recommendation from the committee.

“Don’t Say Gay” bill. Tennessee legislators have postponed voting on a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit the discussion of any sexual orientation other than heterosexuality in elementary and middle schools. The state House K-12 Subcommittee took up the bill this week, and decided to send the bill back for further study. The anti-LGBT legislation has been opposed by the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Education Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Obama administration endorses UN Gay Rights Statement. The Obama administration announced last week that it has formally endorsed a United Nations declaration calling for an end to discrimination and other human rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  The move is a reversal of the Bush administration’s refusal to sign the statement, which made the United States the only western nation not to support the measure when presented by the U.N. General Assembly in December. “This is a welcome step forward as it signals to the world that, after years of a hostile administration, the United States recognizes the humanity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people at home and abroad,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.  “We applaud the Obama administration for joining the other 66 member nations that have officially recognized that basic human rights include the equality of LGBT people.”