Welcome to The Morning Pride, ThinkProgress LGBT’s 8:30 AM round-up of the latest in LGBT policy and politics. Here is what we’re reading, what are you?
— 34 gay activists and counter-demonstrators were arrested in Moscow, Russia on Saturday as they attempted to hold that city’s sixth’s gay pride parade. The United States has voiced ‘concern’ over the police’s violent disruption of the rally and has called on Russian authorities to better safeguard ‘fundamental freedoms’ of assembly. EuroNews has a good report about the protest:
— Veterans across the country celebrated Memorial Day yesterday, but for World War II veteran Paul Goercke, the day held extra significance: “it is the first Memorial Day since Congress repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning openly gay and lesbian soldiers from serving in the military.”
— Eight New York State senators who are still undecided on marriage equality. “The measure would need 32 votes for adoption in the Senate, and 26 senators, all Democrats, indicated they would back the bill. Twenty-eight senators expressed opposition — possibly leaving the measure’s fate in the hands of the eight undecided lawmakers, five Republicans and three Democrats.”
— Old Navy will begin selling two Gay Pride t-shirts on Wednesday at 26 stores, with some proceeds going to the It Gets Better Project. “We are proud to support the new @OldNavy Gay Pride tees. Yay for all kinds of families!” the retailer tweeted last week. The shirts will only be sold in 26 stores in 19 cities.
— Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera has announced that he will forward to parliament a bill that would allow both heterosexual and homosexual couples to enter civil unions. The measure would “protect and safeguard” the civil rights of couples living outside of marriage and “safeguard the dignity of those couples, whether of opposite sex or even the same sex.”
— The seniors at McFatter Technical High School have elected Andrew Viveros — a transgender woman — their 2011 prom queen. Viveros says she wanted to run for prom queen in order to show other transgender teens “it gets better.”
— The Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church “narrowly approved a groundbreaking same-sex marriage resolution Saturday, setting the stage for a high-stakes vote on the matter at the national conference next year.”
— A new Gallup poll “indicates that the average American believes that a quarter of the population is gay or lesbian. Additionally, 35% of those polled think the figure is even higher.”