In The News: Today’s Gay Rights Edition

The Democratic Party in Utah has elected it’s first openly gay chair:

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's newly elected Democratic Party chairman says the party's "big tent" welcomes members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I want to speak directly to the LDS people in our state," Jim Dabakis said Saturday after being nominated for state party chairman. "I want you LDS people to participate in our party. We want your spirit, we want your contributions and we want to earn your votes. I will do whatever I can as chair to see that our big tent is comfortable to LDS people because it's the right thing to do."

Dabakis was elected as the new party chairman by delegates during the Utah Democratic Party's 2011 Organizing Convention attended by more than 1,000 party faithful. He replaces retiring three-term party chairman Wayne Holland.

Dabakis, one of the co-founders of Equality Utah and The Utah Pride Center, is the first openly gay leader of a political party in Utah.

How great. For all my “upsets” with the Democratic Party, very happy Jim Dabakis could rise to the highest rank of leadership in Utah. And yes, the party is a big enough tent to welcome members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

More history, this time on the Floor of the Senate. The emphasis is mine:

The remarkable thing about what happened on the Senate floor Monday night was that it was utterly unremarkable.

The matter under consideration – the nomination of the first openly gay man to serve on the federal bench – would at one time have been a flashpoint in the culture wars. But Paul Oetken was confirmed without a word of objection on the Senate floor and with hardly a mention in the commentariat.

Even some of the chamber’s most ardent social conservatives – Tom Coburn, John Cornyn, Jeff Sessions, Jon Kyl – cast votes for Oetken. When the lopsided vote tally of 80-13 was read out, there was no cheer or reaction of any kind. Senators continued their conversations as if nothing unusual had happened.

Not sure it was utterly unremarkable.  Perhaps simply, unremarkable.

President Obama, evolving?

President Obama is calling for the repeal of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which bans same-sex married couples from receiving the same federal benefits available to opposite-sex married couples.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that Mr. Obama was “proud to support the [repeal effort], which would take the DOMA off the books once and for all.”

The announcement came a day before the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to conduct hearings examining the Respect for Marriage Act, a legislative vehicle designed to overturn DOMA.

I sure hope so. So much at stake here for. Federal benefits. Military benefits. Immigration rights.

And as John Aravosis at AMERICAblog gay reminds us, President Obama has 8 days left in his "weeks, not months" promise on DADT certification. Three weeks ago, the President said certification will come in “weeks, not months."  Eight days left.

Anyone taking any bets?