This Week in Lesbian News…

With President Obama proclaiming June as LGBT Pride Month on Monday, former Vice President Dick Cheney speaking out in support of marriage equality on Tuesday, and New Hampshire becoming the sixth U.S. state to authorize gay marriage on Wednesday – it was a pretty positive week in lesbian news…

LGBT Sites No Longer Blocked in Knoxville Schools. Knoxville, Tenn., schools are no longer blocking access to LGBT educational websites after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue the school district for blocking sites last week.  The superintendent says a glitch was the cause of the restriction.

New Hampshire Legalizes Same Sex Marriage! The New Hampshire Senate and then the House approved the gay marriage bill last week and then Governor John Lynch signed the legislation – making New Hampshire the sixth U.S. state to authorize gay marriage! New Hampshire’s democratically controlled House of Representatives endorsed gay marriage in a 198-176 vote. The law will take effect January 1, 2010.

Obama Shows Support for Pride Month. President Barack Obama, in a statement issued last week by the Office of the Press Secretary, proclaimed June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month and referenced the 40-year anniversary of Stonewall when he asked Americans to “commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. The President went on to say: “I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans,” and that “As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected.  If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit.  During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Reuniting Families Act Introduced. Last week, the Reuniting Families Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The bill, sponsored by Representative Michael Honda (D-CA), includes the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), a provision that would allow U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents in same-sex relationships to sponsor their partners for immigration purposes. The HRC worked closely with Representative Honda’s office to, as the organization explained in a press release sent out on Thursday: “ensure our families were included in the Act.  Under current immigration law, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents may sponsor their spouses for immigration purposes.  But Americans in same-sex relationships are not afforded this basic right.  Consequently, many bi-national same-sex couples are kept or torn apart. The Reuniting Families Act would allow U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for family-based immigration in the same manner as different-sex spouses.  As with current immigration laws for married couples, the bill would impose harsh penalties for fraud, including up to five years in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines.”

Dick Cheney Speaks Out in Support of Gay Marriage. Former Vice President Dick Cheney surprised many last Tuesday when he came out in support of marriage equality in a speech at the National Press Club.  Noting that he has a lesbian daughter, Cheney said he thinks states should be able to make up their own minds on the issue and that “freedom means freedom for everyone.”