Progressive recently bought a number of States of Union photographs for ‘The Progressive Art Collection’! To view the full list of what collections (so far) include our images click on the Executive Director tab up top and it’s listed towards the bottom.

Here are some photos from the also recent Progressive Insurance Show, in which one of the States of Union photographs was included:

New York Times Article on August 4th’s Prop 8 Ruling

A federal judge struck down a voter-approved ban on gay marriage, handing a temporary victory to gay rights advocates in a legal battle likely to be settled by the Supreme Court.

Judge Walker ‘Moral Disapproval Alone Is An Improper Basis On Which To Deny Rights’

Aug. 4: Dahlia Lithwick, legal correspondent for Slate.com, talks with Rachel Maddow about the ruling overturning Proposition 8 banning same sex marriage in California.

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“In general, when you ask for a majority rules vote on minority rights, you get results like what we’ve seen on the gay marriage issue. 31 out of 31 times, in 31 out of 31 states, voters voted it down. But here’s the thing about rights: they’re not actually supposed to be voted on. That’s why they’re called rights.” (Rachel Maddow)

‎”Victory for equality! District court in CA declares Prop 8 unconstitutional! Send note of thanks to the plaintiffs here” (HRC)

LISA LEFF – Associated Press | Posted: August 4, 2010 1:54 pm

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban Wednesday in a landmark case that could eventually land before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if gays have a constitutional right to marry in America, according to a person close to the case.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker made his ruling in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the voter-approved ban violated their civil rights.
Supporters argued the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing.
California voters passed the ban as Proposition 8 in November 2008, five months after the state Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
Both sides previously said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favor. The case would go first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it.
Walker heard 13 days of testimony and arguments since January during the first trial in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married.
The verdict was the second in a federal gay marriage case to come down in recent weeks. A federal judge in Massachusetts decided last month the state’s legally married gay couples had been wrongly denied the federal financial benefits of marriage because of a law preventing the U.S. government from recognizing same-sex unions.
The plaintiffs in the California case presented 18 witnesses. Academic experts testified about topics ranging from the fitness of gay parents and religious views on homosexuality to the historical meaning of marriage and the political influence of the gay rights movement.
Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson delivered the closing argument for opponents of the ban. He told Judge Walker that tradition or fears of harm to heterosexual unions were legally insufficient grounds to discriminate against gay couples.
Olson teamed up with David Boies to argue the case, bringing together the two litigators best known for representing George W. Bush and Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election.
Defense lawyers called just two witnesses, claiming they did not need to present expert testimony because U.S. Supreme Court precedent was on their side. The attorneys also said gay marriage was an experiment with unknown social consequences that should be left to voters to accept or reject.
Former U.S. Justice Department lawyer Charles Cooper, who represented the religious and conservative groups that sponsored the ban, said cultures around the world, previous courts and Congress all accepted the “common sense belief that children do best when they are raised by their own mother and father.”
In an unusual move, the original defendants, California Attorney General Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, refused to support Proposition 8 in court.
That left the work of defending the law to Protect Marriage, the group that successfully sponsored the ballot measure that passed with 52 percent of the vote after the most expensive political campaign on a social issue in U.S. history.
Currently, same-sex couples can only legally wed in Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.

Flak Photo Feature

Flak Photo partners with Center to highlight 25 photographers attending Review Santa Fe 2010, an annual juried portfolio review. Weekdays through FRI, JUL 9. Our Review Santa Fe 2010 feature wraps this week! Today’s Flak Photo is part of Alix Smith’s STATES OF UNION series.

“Artist Spotlight: Alix Smith”

With her new project States of Union, photographer Alix Smith gives a sense of legacy and context to her portraits of gay and lesbian families by referencing classical works.

“States of Union by Alix Smith”

Goodkin is a lifestyle-focused website for today’s modern family.

The Healthcare Equality Index rates U.S. healthcare facilites on how they treat their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients and employees. Healthcare facilities are using the index as a guide to equal treatment for the LGBT community. The HEI focuses on five main policy areas: patient non-discrimination, hospital visitation, decision making, cultural competency training and employment policies and benefits. (Human Rights Campaign)