Preaching to the choir

There are so many ways in which laws are used to discriminate against gays and lesbians. But today, I read two stories about efforts by two legislators who recognize that people shouldn't be prohibited from living full lives because of their sexual orientation.


The state of Florida has long had a ban against gays adopting. Back in November, a Florida judge declared that ban unconstitutional, as I wrote about here. Of course, that decision is being appealed, which could take a year or more. Well, today I read this story about a Florida lawmaker who has proposed two bills that would finally do away with the ban. It's nice to see someone doing something proactive to write the ban out of law instead of passively waiting for the court case to settle the matter.

Also today, I read this story about Virginia Congressman Jim Moran. He has requested monthly updates from the Pentagon on exactly how many service members have been fired for being gay. 11 soldiers were fired from the Army in January. Rep. Moran issued a statement today, detailing the specialties of the fired soldiers. I can only hope he will continue releasing that information every month until don't ask, don't tell is finally a thing of the past.

Two small steps in the right direction.