“…[M]omentum from back-to-back victories on same-sex marriage in Vermont and Iowa could spill into other states, particularly since at least nine other legislatures are considering measures this year to allow marriage between gay couples.” via NYTimes.
Tag Archives: glad tidings
New Mexico abolishes the death penalty
“”The New Mexico Senate voted to abolish capital punishment, a measure already approved by the lower House.” via The Raw Story.
The measure awaits Gov. Richardson’s signature.
GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world’s poor
Good news, if the cynic in me could only come to believe it:
‘The world’s second biggest pharmaceutical company is to radically shift its attitude to providing cheap drugs to millions of people in the developing world.
In a major change of strategy, the new head of GlaxoSmithKline, Andrew Witty, has told the Guardian he will slash prices on all medicines in the poorest countries, give back profits to be spent on hospitals and clinics and – most ground-breaking of all – share knowledge about potential drugs that are currently protected by patents.
Witty says he believes drug companies have an obligation to help the poor get treatment. He challenges other pharmaceutical giants to follow his lead.
Pressure on the industry has been growing over the past decade, triggered by the Aids catastrophe…’
via The Guardian.
Man appears free of HIV after stem cell transplant
“A 42-year-old HIV patient with leukemia appears to have no detectable HIV in his blood and no symptoms after a stem cell transplant from a donor carrying a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to the virus that causes AIDS, according to a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.” via CNN.
Inventor’s 2020 vision: to help 1bn of the world’s poorest see better
“What if it were possible… to make a pair of glasses which, instead of requiring an optician, could be “tuned” by the wearer to correct his or her own vision? Might it be possible to bring affordable spectacles to millions who would never otherwise have them?”
via The Guardian.
Newsweek Poll: Support surges for gay marriage
Majority now oppose federal ban
via The Raw Story.
Florida Gay Adoption Ban overturned
Gay Adoption Map, North America
A Miami judge ruled to permit a gay couple to adopt their two foster children, finding that the 30+-year ban on gay couples adopting in Florida violated their right to equal protection under the law. “Expert” testimony from a psychologist on the instability of homosexuals and the poor outcomes when they raise children was deemed not credible. This is not the first gay adoption that has been permitted in Florida in contravention of the state law, but in the previous case the state decided not to contest the ruling. In the current case, the attorney general has already indicated that Florida will appeal. The wingnuts are already talking about “a classic case of judicial activism,” which is a four-letter word.
