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The National: Marriage Is What Brings DC Together Today

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Sinjoyla Townsend and Angelisa Young, partnered for 12 years, are the first same-gender couple to apply for a license in Washington D.C. (Photo: Towleroad)
After the Supreme Court refused to block DC’s same-gender marriage (a move which offers a tantilizing opportunity to speculate on any potential Supreme Court challenge to Perry v. Schwarzenegger), jubilant couples file for marriage (Is it just me, or do the lesbian couples almost always seem to get in line first? Or maybe news photographers just like to shoot them more…).

In less-happy-but-still-good news, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act to the Senate. This is the same bill that’s been kicking around in the House under the stewardship of Iraq War vet Rep. Patrick Murphey (D-PA) and 188 co-sponsors, and looks pretty darn close to getting the 218 votes needed to pass the House. The future of the Senate bill is still very much up in the air, however, since it’s not currently attached to the must-pass-or-you’re-politically-dead 2011 defense budget, and it’s not clear how the White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Lieberman plan to reconcile the military’s demand that they be given time to study how to implement a repeal, the need to pass this before mid-term elections further reduce Democrat’s numbers in the Senate. The future may not be quite as bleak as John Aravosis would have you believe: the HRC has committed to getting DADT passed this year, and John Aravosis claims the DNC got spooked by his and others’ call to withhold donations to the party until substantive action is taken on LGBT rights at the federal level. And remember that famous letter from 1,100 former admirals and generals that John McCain likes to waive around as proof that the military opposes a DADT repeal? Many of those officers were involved in career-ending scandals, according to an investigation by the DC Agenda.

Elsewhere…

Maryland – Maryland’s Attorney General Douglas Gansler is fighting conservative calls for his impeachment after issuing an opinion letting the state recognize same-gender marriages performed out-of-state (read: in Washington D.C.). His response is, in essence, “bring it.” (Towleroad)

Virginia – After the new Republican governor nixed anti-discrimination provisions for LGBT state employees, some legislators tried to save protections with last-ditch bills, but the lower house of Virginia’s legislature killed them yesterday. (The Advocate)

Oregon – Oregon gets a gay senate candidate, running for the “Libertarian Party.” (The Advocate)

D.C. – Ever been discriminated against on the basis of your sexual orientation or gender identity? The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force wants to know! (NGLTF)

Canada – Canadian imigration minister doesn’t want to teach new immigrants about the country’s extensive LGBT rights laws. (Joe.My.God)

Uganda, Malawi – Hypocrisy in foreign aid grants. Uganda’s is in jeopardy, but Malawi’s are not threatened. (The Box Turtle Bulletin)

Teh Interwebs – None on Record is a new sound documentary project that collects the stories of queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (QLGBT) Africans from the continent and the diaspora. (h/t @Nekessa)