Fogbow

Tens of thousands of LGBT veterans forced from the military for their sexual orientation and given other-than-honorable discharges will be able to receive full Veterans Affairs benefits despite their dismissal status under a new move set to be announced Monday

The change comes as the country approaches the 10th anniversary of repeal of the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” law which forced nearly 14,000 service members out of the ranks for admitting their sexual orientation.

But the impact of the new VA announcement goes further than just those individuals, to potentially include troops who served before and after the law who may have been given bad performance reviews or intimidated into leaving the military because of their LGBT status.

Outside advocates estimate as many as 100,000 over the last 70 years may have been involuntarily separated from the military based on their sexual orientation. Data on how many received other-than-honorable discharges is not available.

‘Marriage for all’ wins thumping approval of Swiss voters
A law granting full marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples has been accepted by almost two-thirds of Swiss citizens.

This content was published on September 26, 2021 - 19:22September 26, 2021 - 19:22
Domhnall O'Sullivan

The result on Sunday makes Switzerland the 30th country worldwide – and one of the last in Western Europe – to extend civil marital status to male-male and female-female couples.

Some 64.1% of voters accepted the reform, and none of the 26 Swiss cantons came out against; small Appenzell Inner Rhoden, where 50.8% accepted the proposal, was the most hesitant.


https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/voters-hav ... l/46969634

Help Defend a Mother’s Right to Bring Her Children to a Public Playground
Fundraising campaign by Rochelle Kelley
Weare, US | Legal

Should a woman with young children go to jail and/or be fined because she brought her children to play on a playground one sunny day in the United States of America?

The Concord, N.H., City Prosecutor believes that she should because of COVID-19, and we’re asking for your help as she fights in court for our freedom to live free.

Think about this for a moment: If the prosecution wins, a working Dad will need to figure out how to raise his homeschooled children while his dutiful wife is behind bars. He will live a life without his beloved for up to two years. The children will be deprived of their mother and teacher; her loving hugs, her bedtime stories, her warm meals, her precious time, and her instruction. The woman, Rochelle Kelley of Weare, will languish in jail with other people, conceivably exposed to a new life that she never knew or deserved, as well as the dreaded COVID-19.

Is this justice?

► Show Spoiler

To answer that question, let’s discuss her alleged crime:

Rochelle Kelley took her five young children to Rollins Park in Concord, N.H., on April 23, 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The governor did not prohibit access to public parks, because as we all know, fresh air and sunshine are natural antiseptics and help people mentally cope with difficulties in their lives, and children need to play outside for their own well being. The City of Concord; however, had roped off the playground with “caution” tape. Taking this as a warning rather than a restriction, Rochelle allowed her children to play on the playground. She wasn’t the only one. Several other mothers and two fathers had brought their children to play there that day as well. Who wouldn’t? It was a beautiful, sunny day.

The day’s beauty faded into the gray overtone of a dystopian fiction when two police officers, and later, four more, came to order the children to get off of the playground. Rochelle immediately complied. This is an incredibly important point. After complying, she engaged in cordial conversation with the officers, asking them what authority they were claiming to order children to get off of the playground. She asked them specifically whether their police training included knowledge of the Constitution and the rights we enjoy as Americans. She asked them on what lawful grounds they were ordering her children stay off of the playground. She was respectful. She had already obeyed their order. She was just trying to understand what seemed, and should seem to you, to be an unlawful order.

Unfortunately, the story at this point becomes muddled by other mothers who also engaged with the police. Some of them did not comply. Some of them were rude. Some of them were belligerent. This was wrong. Importantly, Rochelle did not participate in this behavior, and there is video evidence that proves this. In fact, a few days later, she called the police department to apologize for the treatment they received from the other mothers, and she bought them dinner as a gesture of good will. She thought that was the end of it.

Fast forward two months: A warrant for Rochelle’s arrest was issued by the City of Concord. They didn’t tell anyone about it. No mail. No call. No email. Nothing.

Fast forward three more months: One of the other parents involved in April was stopped on the street in another community and advised that there was a warrant out for his arrest. He told his story to the other parents that he knew, including Rochelle. Rochelle called the City of Concord to inquire whether she also had a warrant against her, and was told that she did. She then turned herself in first thing the following morning, was booked, and thrown behind bars. She was then released on bail.

Rochelle is being charged with a Class A Misdemeanor for Criminal Trespassing and Disorderly Conduct, and is facing trial starting with a hearing on Oct. 19, 2020. You be the judge. If you believe like I do that these charges are not only unfounded, but also counter to the Rule of Law and everything that is good and true about our country, please help Rochelle fight and defeat these charges. This is not just for her future. She is standing up against this for all of us. She needs to win this case so that this can never happen again in the United States of America.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:58 pm

Dave Chappelle Controversy Now Sees Netflix Hit With “Unfair Labor Charge” By Fired & Suspended Staffers

The blast radius from the controversy over Dave Chappelle’s repeated remarks about the trans and LGBTQ+ communities in his Netflix special The Closer has now extended further as the National Labor Relations Board is reviewing bruising charges of “unfair labor practices” against the streamer.

Naming co-CEO Ted Sarandos as the “employer representative,” fired Netflix program manager B. Pagels-Minor and suspended senior software engineer Terra Field filed paperwork with the federal agency on October 27 over the “false and pretextual reasons” and “retaliation” leveled against them respectively.

“Netflix engaged in the above activity to quell employees from speaking up about working conditions including, but not limited to, seeking to create a safe and affirming work environment for Netflix employees, speaking up about Netflix’s products and the impact of its product choices on the LGBTQ+ community, and providing support for employees whom Netflix has treated in an unlawful and disparate manner,” exclaimed the statement of charge that Bay Area attorney Laurie M. Burgess submitted for the non-binary identifying Pagels-Minor and trans Field.

Kal Penn Comes Out, Announcing Engagement to Partner of Eleven Years

mimi wrote: ↑Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:36 pm Judge Reed O'Connor thinks he has found a brilliant workaround to Bostock: Employers just have to say they're firing gay workers *for having gay sex,* not for being gay—and then it's totally legal! storage