The White House posted the video of Vice President Joe Biden swearing in David Huebner as America’s third openly gay Ambassador. Click inside to see a note from Charles Stewart, Legislative Director for US Rep. Diane Watson, who attended the event and the reception.
A federal judge in California on Wednesday illustrated just how complicated the US legal system can get trying to maintain separate health benefits packages for gay couples that conflict with the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Ironically, at the same time, a House committee was debating Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s federal Domestic Partnership Act – and Charles Stewart was there with his boss, Rep. Diane Watson. Click inside to read these three stories folded into one. UPDATE: LAMBDA LEGAL JUST REPORTED THAT THE 9TH CIRCUIT RULED IN FAVOR OF SPOUSAL BENEFITS FOR KAREN GOLINSKI.
I first met Charles Stewart in the late 80s/early 1990s when his close friend Phill Wilson was running the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. Those were the days when the late poet Essex Hemphill and filmmaker Marlon Riggs were hot and controversial with Rigg’s artistic documentary “Tongues Untied: Black Men Loving Black Men.” Charles went to work for Diane Watson, an elected official from the Los Angeles area who now represents her district in Congress. On Sunday, Nov. 8, the day after the healthcare bill passed the US House of Representatives, Charles wrote an email to his father about the experience of watching history being made. While many of us are still rankled over the inclusion of the anti-abortion provision and we await the Senate version of the bill, it is important to remember this night – and Charles, an openly gay congressional staffer, graciously gave me permission to share it with you. It is especially significant to note how Charles’ email to his father concludes. Please click inside to read his account.
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