Out Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) submitted a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to condemn the anti-gay bill recently introduced in Uganda, requesting that the she “use every means possible to convey to Ugandan leaders that this bill is appalling, reckless, and should be withdrawn immediately.”  The proposed bill would not only criminalize homosexuality, but would also penalize those who support gay rights, or even refuse to turn in others for being gay.

Joining Representative Baldwin in signing the letter were Representatives Gary Ackerman (D-Calif.), Howard Berman (D-N.Y.), and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).

The full letter is available below the fold.

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The Birmingham, Alabama Board of Education has passed an anti-bullying policy inclusive of sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression, according to our friend Howard Bayless, a member of the board.  A second policy passed by the board protects LGBT teachers from harassment.

Howard writes:

I have some great news.  Last night the Birmingham Board of Education unanimously passed the most comprehensive anti-bullying policy in the state of Alabama.  I am very proud to have been part of this effort and I want to congratulate my fellow board members on a job well done!

This process began over a year ago.  Being the first openly gay man elected in the state and the first openly gay school board member anywhere in Alabama, I knew I wanted our system to be more inclusive and welcoming to ALL of our students, but I also knew this would have to be a process that involved my eight fellow board members.

I first gathered anti-bullying policies from multiple school districts that I felt encompassed what we needed in our policy, and then drafted a policy for Birmingham schools.  I then began the long process of having conversation with each board member about why this was important not just as a board policy but also about why it was the right thing to do.  I told them my own story of growing up in Birmingham City Schools and being harassed and bullied–and how I carried that pain with me still today.  I also helped them to understand how that impacted me and my education.  As part of a broader strategic planning process, my fellow board members all agreed that we wanted safer school environments for ALL our children.

I believe these conversations provided the opportunity for all the board members to see the importance of an inclusive anti-bullying policy and to know why they needed to support this policy.  None of this would have ever occurred had we not had a voice at the table.  It is so critical and so important that we continue to help openly LGBT people elected to public office so we can be the change that we want and need, especially in places like Alabama.  I hope you’ll share this with the staff and your supporters.

–Howard

We could not be more proud of Howard, who has worked tirelessly across the state of Alabama and nationally to advance LGBT equality.  We need more brave people like him to step up and run for office in their own communities to make change like this possible in places where it doesn’t seem possible.  Learn more about running for office as an openly LGBT candidate at www.victoryfund.org.

Dissatisfied with Army Secretary John McHugh’s suggestion of a possible segregated Army, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group working to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, has asked him to “amend or clarify his comments by explicitly stating full repeal is the only way to go.”

The comments in question occurred in an Army Times interview that ran earlier this week, wherein McHugh stated that some areas of the military may become inclusive, while others may not.

Reuters reports on the specifics of the SLDN’s requests:

“We gather that Secretary McHugh was alluding in this interview to a hypothetical situation – if the President proposed some sort of phased-in approach to lifting the ban by Military Occupation Specialties (MSOs). But speaking in hypotheticals about separate billets or a gradual lifting of the ban does not advance the President’s stated goal of full legislative repeal. The ban must be lifted across all services, all occupations, and all units – all at the same time. Any kind of piecemeal approach to repeal, or even any discussion of such an approach, is an absolute nonstarter.”

GayPolitics.com has been notified that President Obama will later today officially announce the repeal of the HIV Travel and Immigration ban.  The ban, a legacy of former North Carolina senator Jesse Helms, has been in place since 1987 and will now end after a 60-day waiting period.

Immigration Equality, a group that has been advocating for the lifting of travel and immigration restrictions on persons with HIV, commented on the lifting of the ban in a press release:

“We are proud to have been part of a tremendous coalition, including Senator John Kerry, former Senator Gordon Smith, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who have worked tirelessly to repeal this ban.  Every day, Immigration Equality hears from individuals and families who have been separated because of the ban, with no benefit to the public health.  Now, those families can be reunited, and the United States can put its mouth where its money is: ending the stigma that perpetuates HIV transmission, supporting science, and welcoming those who seek to build a life in this country.  Today’s announcement is proof that immigration laws that separate families and stigmatize communities are always destined to fail.”

The repeal of the HIV ban was the result of efforts that spanned multiple Administrations.  Immigration Equality will be offering free legal counsel to those with questions about immigrating or traveling to the United States.

UPDATE:  The repeal of the HIV ban has been officially signed by President Obama.

The Associated Press is running an intriguing profile of the country’s first openly LGBT U.S. Attorney, Seattle prosecutor Jenny Durkan.  Durkan’s hiring represents a sea change in politics, as increasingly, LGBT candidates and appointees are being seen for their abilities rather than their sexual orientation.

The Associated Press features a quote from Durkan which explains:

“I don’t think I can fully appreciate how important it is to many people to have someone in a role like this who is gay,” Durkan said this week in an interview with The Associated Press. “The more people are able to see people in situations where pretty soon that’s an invisible characteristic, the better it is for the entire community.”

Durkan also said that she hopes to be judged not on her sexual orientation, but on the quality of her work.