It's official!

Washington, D.C. is now the first city in the South that allows full-fledged same-sex unionships within its jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case by Fauntroy and the other haters, so the case went back to the District Superior Court, where the justices there also refused.  It's a turning of a page for an area that has been plagued with so much controversy surrounding this one issue from the Archdioceses of Washington, D.C. removing its spousal benefits from all employees to the ending of foster care services within the District itself, but leaving it in suburban Montgomery County in Maryland.  The trifecta of fuckery with the Northrop Grumman involving Equality Virginia and Maryland officials badmouthing Virginia because of the acts of Governor McDonnell. 

Congrats, DC!

The first female chair of the NAACP

Last week, the NAACP announced their new chair following the outgoing chair Julian Bond, and for the first time it was a woman.  Rosyln M. Brock is also the youngest person to sit as the chair of the National Association for the Advancement of the Colored People (NAACP).  The Washington Post focused on the relevancy and generational shift of leadership of the NAACP, and how Brock could change things.  One thing that did stand out to me in the article was this exert:

"We have to recognize and to own that we can't be all things to all people, and that there are new players in the space that we operate in who may be able to do some things better than we can."

The article also talking about how organization president Ben Jealous has focused on improving the NAACP online presence.  As well, Jealous has pointed out that work with LGBT organizations would improve the organization presence on those issue.   Brock and Jealous both want to make the NAACP more oriented towards getting the younger generation of people involved in the organization's mission to improve the quality of life of ethnic minorities. 

However, the Baltimore Sun in an op-ed posted a question of whether or not the NAACP will focus on the LGBT agenda? They pointed out how Brock and Jealous are the youngest to hold their pedestals, but the specifics of how will the two work toward expanding the parameters of social justice to include LGBTs of color like those in the military, where they make up a large number of those discharged by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".  The article also digs into how they can get the "rank-and-file" members to adjust their beliefs on homosexual behaviors and how that like slavery and segregation, it was taught that the bible justified it at one point. 

Personally, I feel there should be some coordination between the NAACP and other orgs on the LGBT issues, but totally partaking into the arena of it would be reaching at best.  The case and point of David Patterson be an eery reminder of what the slippery slope of running to include LGBT issues without pluralistic support will get you especially when you have orgs like Equality Virginia will burn their proverbial bridges with otherwise allies because they didn't get their way all the time.  Some of these organizations seem to have their own agenda first and forehand and then essentially abandon their "allies" in their key times of need for political support.  I would cautiously aide those when possible, but wouldn't throw myself under the bus for somebody that doesn't seem apt to do the same.  REAL TALK.

In additional DC news...

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has made another major move to prove they are asses with agendas.  First in late February, the Archdiocese's Catholic Charities announced it would end its 80-year-old foster care program offered in the District in response to the passage of the same-sex union ordinance.  They did it basically to prevent recognizing LGBT employees who would want extended benefits for their partners.

Also now the Archdiocese of Washington is refusing to honor any spousal benefits whatsoever involving its employees.

Employees at Catholic Charities were told Monday that the social services organization is changing its health coverage to avoid offering benefits to same-sex partners of its workers -- the latest fallout from a bitter debate between District officials trying to legalize same-sex marriage and the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Starting Tuesday, Catholic Charities will not offer benefits to spouses of new employees or to spouses of current employees who are not already enrolled in the plan. A letter describing the change in health benefits was e-mailed to employees Monday, two days before same-sex marriage will become legal in the District.

"We looked at all the options and implications," said the charity's president, Edward J. Orzechowski. "This allows us to continue providing services, comply with the city's new requirements and remain faithful to the church's teaching."

Catholic Charities, which receives $22 million from the city for social service programs, protested in the run-up to the council's December vote to allow same-sex marriage, saying that it might not be able to continue its contracts with the city, including operating homeless shelters and facilitating city-sponsored adoptions. Being forced to recognize same-sex marriage, church officials said, could make it impossible for the church to be a city contractor because Catholic teaching opposes such unions.

WOW, WOW, WOW!  The Archdiocese in DC is determine to make sure they don't have to recognize any form of same-sex unions.  It's a mess, but hey it's legal because all employees will lack spousal benefits including the heterosexual ones.

The opponents of the District's same-sex unionship ordinance makes a last-minute hail mary to the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and declare that the ordinance should be upon for a public vote via referendum.  Walter E. Fauntroy, a civil rights-era organization of the March on Washington and the District's then-non-voting delegate in Congress, was the one of those who filed papers to the Chief Justice John Roberts to place the ordinance on a ballot before its goes into affect on March 3rd. 

THAT'S CUTE, looks like those who are desperate to worry about other's lives are just so pressed and determined like the Archdiocese to make a scene.

Now what does this solve?

Once again, selfishness, idiocy, and stupidity strikes!  This time in the DC Metro aka "The DMV" over the relocation of the corporate headquarters of Northrop Grumman from Los Angeles to the region.  The recent inauguration of the socially-conservative Republican Virginia Governor Bob McConnell and his executive order that removed LGBT from the state's discrimination ordinance for employment.  He also blocked the passage of a legislation that would extend health benefits to the same sex partners of state employees.  This was at the recommendation of also recently elected Republican Virginia State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli about LGBT issues.

The Sunday edition of the Washington Post covered the foolishness being perpetuated by openly gay Maryland State Senator Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery County) and Equality Virginia to discourage Northrop Grumman from relocating to the Northern Virginia side of the DMV because of the executive order. 

Here's an exert from the letter from the Washington Post:

"Here in Maryland, we value our gay and lesbian citizens as part of a diverse population that makes the state strong," Madaleno wrote. "Virginia is doing the opposite and letting its LGBT citizens -- and those considering whether to move and work there -- know that they and their families are unwelcome second-class citizens. And they are counting on corporations like yours not to care."

Also Madaleno said that "Virginia is turning back the clock" in the letter.  However, Equality Virginia takes the cake by penning a similar to the Northrop Grumman CEO Wesley Bush also discouraging the corporation from locating in Northern Virginia.  Northrop Grumman has received a perfect rating from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for its protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.  Also known for its diversity and productivity involving its employee.

Now, my thing is last time I remember this is apart of the private sector and can make its own policies for its employees.  I would expect that Madaleno because he is vying for a new economic development opportunity for his state and district by playing up their more progressive issues and the recent decision by the Maryland Attorney General saying they would recognize same-sex unions from other jurisdictions.

The Commonwealth of Virginia isn't off the hook because like most former Jim Crow-law states, i.e., Southern states, they have right-to-work laws, which means you can be fired for anything.  Which is very detrimental to black, Latinos, LGBTs, etc. and working in states where employers can use this policy to terminate you.

However, the scorched earth ideology of Equality Virginia is dumb ass hell, and insures that they will likely not have any if not many working-class voters come next time a pivotal issue involving LGBTs.  Equality Virginia is saying to those who might want to get a decent job at the headquarters, screw you, because they didn't get their way.  Hell, as much I can't stand the current mayor of Birmingham, I'm not shitting on Birmingham even on this blog because of that.  My advice to Equality Virginia is with that type of strategy they are taking you are going to make more enemies than friends with that foolishness you are doing to your own state.  If you want enact change to the policy then push for the Virginia General Assembly to pass a legislative amendment that will change state employment laws permanently rather than burning crucial bridges with potential allies on progressive and working-class voter issue.  This stunt by Equality Virginia is exactly why there is such a disconnect between most progressive-leaning groups and LGBT-rights advocacy groups because a majority of time the latter will act extremely selfishly more than the former....