With the House of Representatives in Republican hands and the number of Republicans in the Senate sufficient to prevent a vote on anything they solidly oppose, the Obama Administration is limited in what it can accomplish for the LGBT community that requires legislation. But the process of scrutinizing existing statutes and regulations and figuring out what might be accomplished through administrative actions continues. In June 2009 the President marked Gay Pride Month by instructing the … <Read More>
House of Blue Leaves, Back on Broadway
Last night I went with friends to see the current Broadway revival of John Guare's farcical "The House of Blue Leaves" at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Ben Stiller, Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh head a stellar cast in a knock-out production.
Unlike my friends, I was unfamiliar with this show. As is sometimes my problem, I found my attention wandering during the expository first act, only to be totally riveted in the second act. … <Read More>
Beginners – Plummer Plays Gay
Earlier this week I took in a showing of "Beginners," a film by Mike Mills based on his own life experience of having an elderly father "come out" as gay after his mother died. Although everything is "fictionalized" with different names and some imagined situations, to judge by interviews with Mr. Mills the essence of the film is true to life. As such, it makes a contribution to the ongoing development of public understanding of … <Read More>
What Some Gay Kids Have to Put Up With – A Reality Check
Yesterday the California 2nd District Court of Appeal issued a decision in LA County Department of Children and Family Services v. R.G., 2011 Westlaw 2206846 (not officially published), which sets out in some detail the kind of problems that some gay kids encounter due to the homophobia of their parents. The court of appeal affirmed the finding of the LA County Superior Court that it had jurisdiction under the child protection provisions of California … <Read More>
Wyoming Supreme Court Says Same-Sex Married Couples Can Get Divorced There
Taking an eminently pragmatic position, the Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in Christiansen v. Christiansen, 2011 WY 90, 2011 WL 2176486 (June 6, 2011), that a same-sex couple married out of state can seek a divorce in the Wyoming courts. Reversing a subject-matter jurisdiction-based dismissal by Niobrara County District Judge Keith G. Kautz, the court found that allowing access to Wyoming courts for divorces did not conflict with the state's policy against allowing … <Read More>
The Anti-DOMA Heresy Spreads – Another Bankruptcy Judge Heard From
Another U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has rejected a DOMA-based motion by the U.S. Trustee to dismiss a joint bankruptcy filing by a married same-sex couple. In In re Ziviello-Howell, Case No. 11-22706-A-7 (May 31, 2011), Judge Michael S. McManus of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, finding that the case before him was "substantially similar" to In re Somers, 2011 WL 1709839 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2011), and followed the persuasive … <Read More>
X-Men: First Class
A busy few days – attending a legal pedagogy conference (at which I spoke), attending the Congregation Beit Simchat Torah service to hear Rabbi Kleinbaum's annual Gay Pride sermon, and struggling to finish up the June issue of Law Notes on Saturday before attending the surprise birthday party for my cousin Renee Markowitz – managed to tie me up so completely that I haven't posted anything in several days. But today I decided to give … <Read More>
Tony Kushner’s “The Illusion” at Signature Theatre Company
Tuesday night I attended a performance of Tony Kushner's adaptation of Pierre Corneille's play "L'Illusion Comique," at Signature Theatre Company on 42nd Street. This is part of Signature's year-long Kushner retrospective, which included the stunning revival of "Angels in America." Kushner took the musty old 17th century French play of Corneille and adapted it in splendid English verse, revising, expanding, adding, cutting, and producing an evening's length entertainment that I thought quite splendid.
The idea of … <Read More>
A Suggested Paradigm Shift in the Health Care Debate
The current issue (cover date June 9, 2011) of The New Republic includes one of the most important pieces I've read about the issue of health care reform. It is by Daniel Callahan (President Emeritus of the Hastings Center) and Sherwin Nuland (Retired Clinical Professor of Surgery from Yale University), and is titled "The Quagmire." Callahan and Nuland succinctly and effectively make the argument that a basic reorientation of philosophy is necessary for U.S. health … <Read More>
LGBT Legislative Update for May 2011
In my monthly newsletter, Lesbian/Gay Law Notes, I include a section summarizing legislative news, and it occurred to me that as I finish up work on the June issue, I should post a copy of that section of the newsletter on this blog. Corrections and additions are most welcome, and if received quickly enough might even be incorporated in the June issue of the newsletter. I am constantly amazed at the sheer volume of legislative … <Read More>