08/08/19: Married 11 Years Today!

Although we have been boyfriends since 1991 and living together since 1994, domestic partners since 1999, and civilly united (in Vermont) since 2000, we were only married in California on August 8, 2008 (Roger Federer's 27th birthday!) before Proposition 8 passed and after the California Supreme Court legalized marriage equality in the Golden State with the In Re Marriage Cases decision and upheld my marriage (and 18,000 others!) in Strauss v. Horton.

The above pictures were taken on our latest vacation in Valencia, Spain in July 2019.

Happy anniversary, hubby!

01/12/19: 28th Anniversary In Mexico City

Today is the 28th anniversary of the first date with my future husband. This time we are spending it in Mexico City, Mexico. This is in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes on January 12, 2019!

08/08/18: My 10th Wedding Anniversary Is Today!

Today is 08/08/18, the tenth anniversary of my wedding day on 08/08/08. Here are some rare pictures of MadProfessah with The Other Half, taken on our recent trip to Reykyavik (Iceland) and Paris (France) in summer 2018. (See my Instagram feed for more images from our trip, and lots of pictures of my the outfit I wear every day!)

Coincidentally, August 8 is a famous tennis birthdate: (Roger Federer is 37 and Felix Auger-Aliassime is 18)

ANNIVERSARY: Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated This Day In 1968 #MLK50

Today is April 4, 2018 the 50th anniversary of the date that Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. My mother was VERY pregnant with me at the time and thus for some reason I have always had an affiliation with Dr. King, since I was born a few weeks later.

Many people are using the anniversary to discuss and analyze the "progress" that has been made towards equality and ending racial discrimination in the United States in the 50 years since he was killed.

However I just want to take a moment and recognize that the man who had already won a Nobel Peace Prize and catalyzed the civil rights movement was 39 years old when he was gunned down by a white man, James Earl Ray, who was hoping to forestall or reverse changes in the area of race relations in the United States.

Happy Eclipse Day!

Today Is #LovingDay: 50th Anniversary of Nationwide Interracial Marriage Legalization

As someone in an interracial same-sex marriage who has taught students the details of the landmark 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia  several times I can't let today go by without acknowledging that it is the 50th anniversary of the release of that unanimous ruling striking down laws banning interracial marriages (because such statutes seek to maintain "White Supremacy").

Happy #LovngDay!

#OTD 10 YEARS AGO: Barack Obama Announces Presidential Bid

On this date 10 years ago, on February 10, 2007 Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois, announced his presidential bid at the state capitol in Springfield.

LGBT HISTORY: Obama Designates Stonewall National Monument

President Obama is celebrating the one-year anniversary of marriage equality and LGBT Pride month by designating the Stonewall Inn and its environs the Stonewall National Monument! The Stonewall Inn is widely regarded as the site of the uprisings which sparked the development of the modern LGBT equality movement in June 1969. The video above (narrated by the President) discusses the history of Stonewall and gives the rationale for the designation.

The designation will create the first official National Park Service unit dedicated to telling the story of LGBT Americans, just days before the one year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in all 50 states. Additionally, in celebration of the designation and New York City’s Pride festival, the White House, in coordination with the National Park Foundation and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, is releasing a video that will be played on the billboards in Times Square on Saturday, June 25, beginning at 12:00pm ET. 

The new Stonewall National Monument will permanently protect Christopher Park, a historic community park at the intersection of Christopher Street, West 4th Street and Grove Street directly across from the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The monument’s boundary encompasses approximately 7.7 acres of land, including Christopher Park, the Stonewall Inn, and the surrounding streets and sidewalks that were the site of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. 

Thanks, President Obama! 

Today is Women's Equality Day! 95th Anniversary of Women's Right To Vote!

Celebrate! Today is August 26th, also known as Women's Equality Day, celebrating the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which expanded the franchise to include women.

The measure was actually ratified on August 20, 1920, and reads:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Oh, happy day!

Gaytterdämmerung: SCOTUS Strikes Down All Bans On Marriage Equality Nationwide In Sweeping 5-4 Ruling

As expected, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision called Obergefell v. Hodges that there is a constitutional right to marry enjoyed by same-sex couples, effectively striking down the remaining bans on marriage equality remaining in the fourteen states by reversing the 6th U.S. Circuit's bizarre ruling upholding bans in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee last November.

Amazingly, the ruling was issued on the third anniversary of United States v. Windsor (June 26, 2013) striking down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the thirteenth anniversary (June 26, 2003) of the landmark decision in Lawrence v Texas overturning laws criminalizing private homosexual conduct between consulting adults.

Happy Juneteenth! Today is the 150th Anniversary of June 19, 1865

The official flag of Juneteenth

June 19th or Juneteenth as it is more commonly known, is the day the African-American community celebrates freedom, in commemoration of the day in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas finally got the word about the end of the civil war and that they were emancipated. (Too bad they didn't have the Internet back then, because this was more than 30 months, two-and-a-half years, after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863.)

Today is the sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of Juneteenth. Of course, the Wall Street Journal decided today was the perfect day to publish an editorial declaring that institutional racism no longer exists in America:

Amid the horror of Charleston, it is also important to note that the U.S., notably the South, has moved forward to replace the system that enabled racist killings like those in the Birmingham church. 

Back then and before, the institutions of government—police, courts, organized segregation—often worked to protect perpetrators of racially motivated violence, rather than their victims. 

The universal condemnation of the murders at the Emanuel AME Church and Dylann Roof’s quick capture by the combined efforts of local, state and federal police is a world away from what President Obama recalled as “a dark part of our history.” Today the system and philosophy of institutionalized racism identified by Dr. King no longer exists. [emphasis added]

What causes young men such as Dylann Roof to erupt in homicidal rage, whatever their motivation, is a problem that defies explanation beyond the reality that evil still stalks humanity. It is no small solace that in committing such an act today, he stands alone.

And so it goes.

My 10th Blogiversary: A Decade Of Blogging!

Now that the 2015 Australian Open is starting I realize that it has been almost exactly 10 years since I started blogging regularly. My very first post was in 2003 but I didn't start posting updates regularly (basically every day) until January 14, 2005. So, consider this my decadal blogiversary post.

As I think about starting my eleventh year of blogging I am pretty sure I will not be blogging as frequently as I have in the past (i.e. more than 2 posts per day on average), but it will be my goal to average out to 1 post per day (30 or so per month or roughly 300-350 per year). There may be times when there are more posts (i.e. around Grand Slam tennis tournaments) and there may be times when there are fewer (like when I'm on vacation or busy with my day job). Very many of my peers have stopped posting regularly (like Craig Hickman, who is know an elected Maine State Representative and Pam Spaulding, primarily for health reasons) but I think my blog is still useful and I enjoy doing it. I have also become more active on Twitter, like Andres Duque of Blabbeando, who has also stopped blogging regularly.

I hope my readers will still read what I have to say, and provide feedback. I really appreciate every and all comments.

Thanks!

QUEER QUOTE: NGLTF Acknowledges 50th Anniversary Of 1964 Cvil Rights Act

Last Wednesday, July 2 2014, was the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, one of the key moments in the fight for equality in this country. Re Carey, the executive director of the National gay and Lesbian Task Force 9more commonly known as The Task Force) acknowledged the historical significance of the moment by sending out a press statement which is today's Queer Quote:

"Fifty years ago, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. It was the culmination of historic actions such as the March on Washington that we commemorated last summer. The landmark act was more than a legal remedy to the most appalling discrimination and inequality, it represented the hopes and dreams of millions of people who simply wanted to fulfill the promise of America. Today, we can celebrate significant progress, including important advances in recent days such as President Obama's upcoming executive orders to protect LGBTQ employees. But we still live in a world where racism permeates every aspect of our society; where a trans person of color can be turned away from the polling station because of their race and gender identity, where a Latino man can be profiled, stopped and frisked because of his race and presumed sexual orientation, and where millions of women — regardless of race — get paid less than their male counterparts. So, as we celebrate today, let¹s fight even harder for a tomorrow where everyone experiences true freedom and justice."

Good job, NGLTF!

30 Years Ago: Prince's Purple Rain Released!

30 years ago today the album Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution was released.

Happy 34th Birthday, Venus Williams!

Venus Williams was born on June 17, 1980. Happy 34th birthday, Venus!

Today Is #IDAHOT: International Day Against Homophobia and Transpohobia

Today, May 17th is the 60th anniversary of the release of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education  ending legal involuntary racial segregation in public schools. It is also the 10th anniversary of the very first same-sex marriage in the United States, when Massachusetts Goodridge decision went into effect. It is also the anniversary of the day that the World Health Organization declassified homosexuality as an illness. To commemorate this fact, May 17 has been declared as the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, celebrated around the world.

President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry both issued statements acknowledging IDAHOT.

May 17, 2014: Today Is The 60th Anniversary of Brown v Board of Education!

Today is May 17th, the 60th anniversary of the issuance of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education which ruled that "separate but equal" is inherently unequal and unconstitutional, thus ending legal segregation in public schools in the United states.

It was in important moment in civil rights history but note that changes occurred with "all deliberate speed" until right-minded people started organizing protests in earnest and actual public policy change occurred in the 1960s, such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Bizarrely, 60 years after Brown many schools in the South are LESS racially diverse now than they were then as this stunning report from The Atlantic makes clear.

12/15/1973: Homosexuality Removed From Psychiatric Disorders List

40 years ago today one of the most significant victories in the nascent fight for LGBT equality was achieved: the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of psychiatric disorders, effectively declaring that being gay was not considered an illness by the scientific community.

The New York Times reported the news of the change at the time:

The American Psychiatric Association, altering a position it has held for nearly a century, decided today that homosexuality is not a mental disorder. The board of trustees of the 20,000 member organization approved a resolution that said in part, “by itself, homosexuality does not meet the criteria for being a psychiatric disorder.” Persons who are troubled by their homosexuality, the trustees said, will be classified as having a “sexual orientation disturbance” should they come to a psychiatrist for help.

The actual text of the resolution passed by the APA's board of trustees on December 15, 1973 included this paragraph:

For a mental or psychiatric condition to be considered a psychiatric disorder, it must either regularly cause subjective distress, or regularly be associated with some generalized impairment in social effectiveness or functioning. With the exception of homosexuality (and perhaps some of the other sexual deviations when in mild form, such as voyeurism), all of the other mental disorders in DSM-1 fulfill either of these two criteria. (While one may argue that the personality disorders are an exception, on reflection it is clear that it is inappropriate to make a diagnosis of a personality disorder merely because of the presence of certain typical personality traits which cause no subjective distress or impairment in social functioning. Clearly homosexuality, per se, does not meet the requirements for a psychiatric disorder since, as noted above, many homosexuals are quite satisfied with their sexual orientation and demonstrate no generalized impairment in social effectiveness or functioning.

As Linda Hirshman says in her book Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution, back then homosexuality was considered "criminal, sinful, crazy and subversive" at the time. After the APA decided homosexuals were no longer considered "crazy" in 1973 a significant step towards a future of full LGBT equality was made. Of course, now that it is 40 years later full LGBT equality still has not been achieved but we are much closer to that future thanks to the actions by the APA on December 15, 1973.

Hat/tip to Box Turtle Bulletin

November 18, 2003: Marriage Equality Decision Announced in Massachusetts

Mary Bonauto of GLAD is viewed by some as the lawyer most
responsible for the current state of marriage equality in America

Today is the tenth anniversary of the release of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the first decision in the United States in which a state's highest court ruled that traditional marriage laws were discriminatory and decided that marriage equality is the appropriate remedy. In Goodridge, the court gave the state 180 days to implement the ruling, issuing an order that caused marriage equality to go into effect on May 17, 2004, so that became the first date that same-sex couples could get married in the United States. The decision was released in response to a lawsuit filed by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), an LGBT legal advocacy organization, and argued by Mary Bonauto, its Legal Director.

Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed conducted an extensive interview with Bonauto about her role in marriage equality on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the historic decision.

Ten years after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered that the state become the first in the country to allow same-sex couples to marry, the once-feared concept has gained mainstream popular support, is recognized by the federal government, and is now the reality in 15 states and Washington, D.C. 

Without Mary Bonauto, however, marriage equality might never have happened. 

The lawyer brought marriage equality cases in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. She argued the case to the justices in Massachusetts who brought marriage equality to the United States. She won the first decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act’s federal definition of marriage, and the first appellate decision too — a ruling that forced the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. If there’s been a big moment in marriage equality’s long march to reality, Bonauto was probably there. 

And it’s no secret either: The movement’s other leading lawyers openly credit Bonauto for making the success possible. 

[...] 

After losing at trial, the case advanced to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, where Bonauto argued for legal marriage equality on March 4, 2003. 

“Before the argument, I went up to this … law library that I used to go to all the time,” she says. “I just went in there and I was just trying to steel myself, thinking, Mary, you know, you are right. You’re right. This is correct. You are on the right side here.” 

Bonauto had just 15 minutes before the court. 

“I think the first question was, ‘Why should we do something no one else has ever done?’ — which is a fair question, and I said, ‘Because marriage is a fundamental right, [this is] sexual orientation [discrimination], and this is the right thing to do.’” 

The court agreed. 

“The Massachusetts Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals,” Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote in the court’s landmark decision, issued on Nov. 18, 2003. “It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.” The government, the court held, “has failed to identify any constitutionally adequate reason for denying civil marriage to same-sex couples.”

Happy Anniversary, Massachusetts!

Today is National Coming Out Day!

Today is National Coming Out Day, which has been celebrated since 1988, on the first anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. HRC has put together a lovely video that highlights the many celebrities who have come out over the last 25 years, including one I have characterized as the most memorable to me, Ellen Degeneres. It also includes a diverse list of celebrities who are now out of the closet such as George Takei, Jason Collins, Jason Lambert, Wanda Sykes, Chaz Bono and Ricky Martin.