AFP: LGBTs 'Call in Gay' to protest same-sex marriage ban

VIA AFP/GOOGLE NEWS:

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Gays across the United States were urged to skip work on Wednesday as part of the latest protest against recent votes outlawing same-sex marriage in several regions.

The "Day Without A Gay" protest appeared to have had little economic impact but organizers said they had accomplished their main goal of raising awareness of their campaign without shutting down businesses.



Activists had encouraged people across the United States -- both gay and straight -- to call in "gay" for work and spend the day doing volunteer tasks. They also asked gays and lesbians to avoid shopping as a way of showing the economic power of the gay community.

But merchants in the Castro, the heart of San Francisco's large gay community, said it was mostly business as usual on a chilly Wednesday morning.

"It seems to be about the same. The cold weather has brought about a little bit of slowness on the streets, but it's mostly normal," said Don Forfang, a barber at Louie's Barber Shop.

The Day Without a Gay protest was created by Sean Hetherington, a personal trainer and stand-up comedian in Los Angeles, as a reaction to the November 4 passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. Florida, Arizona and Arkansas also approved bans on gay marriage last month. It was timed to coincide with Wednesday's celebration of International Human Rights Day, and took its inspiration from the 2006 immigrants rights protests that shut down schools and businesses from California to Texas.

Hetherington said the main goal of the protest was to increase awareness of the gay community, not to undermine businesses.

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365Gay: Guilty plea in gay porn producer murder

FROM 365GAY.COM:

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania -- One of two men accused of killing a gay porn producer, who he thought was a competitor, has been sentenced to life behind bars.

Under a deal with prosecutors, Joseph Kerekes pleaded guilty Monday to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. It is expected he will testify against his onetime lover Harlow Cuadra, who is still facing a first degree murder charge in the 2006 slaying of Bryan Kocis, the owner of Cobra Video.

Both Kerkes and Cuadra originally were charged with first degree murder and prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty. Second-degree murder carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.

At a preliminary hearing last year, two medical examiners testified that Kocis died of massive blood loss after his head was nearly sliced off.

Luzerne County Coroner Dr. John Consalvo testified that Kocis suffered between 28 and 29 post mortem stab wounds before his home was torched in an attempt to cover up the killing last January.

When Kocis’ body was discovered by firefighters, more than 80 percent of the body was covered by third-degree burns.

Homicide detectives were able to find Kocis’ computer in the charred remains of the rural home and forensics scientists salvaged and reconstructed part of the hard drive.

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Anti-gay Hate Crime in Brooklyn Leads to Death of Ecuadorian Man

FROM THE GLAAD MEDIA CENTER:

December 09, 2008

An Ecuadorian man has passed away from injuries received late Sunday night in what has been described as an anti-gay and anti-Latino hate crime. Jose Sucuzhanay was walking home arm-in-arm with his brother Romel to their Brooklyn home when they were approached by four men. Shouting anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs, the assailants broke a bottle over Jose’s head and continued to beat him with a baseball bat while his brother ran for help. Jose, 31, died from extensive brain damage and skull fractures early Tuesday morning. According to The New York Times, Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. The New York Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating and has yet to find the attackers. The NYPD urges anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

Related Media Coverage:

The New York Times- December 9, 2008
“Ecuadorian Dies From Attack That May Be Treated as Hate Crime”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/nyregion/10assault.html

The Associated Press- December 9, 2008
“NYPD: Anti-Gay, anti-Hispanic beating investigated”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jFilhkKapr8HDB_gRxtnS_7AzvPwD94UUMNG1

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GLAAD: Supreme Court Grants Child-Visitation Rights to Lesbian Parent

FROM THE GLAAD MEDIA CENTER:

December 9, 2008

The four-and-a-half year legal battle between former partners Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins over child-visitation rights came to a close on Monday, December 8 when Jenkins was granted the right to visit their daughter due to a ruling by the United States Supreme Court. The women were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000 and raised Miller’s biological daughter together. Following the dissolution of their civil union, a lengthy custody battle began. Miller, who moved to Virginia with their daughter, sought sole custody and Jenkins, who remained in Vermont, sought parental and visitation rights. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that Virginia must enforce a Vermont court order that awarded child-visitation rights to Jenkins. The decision signifies a landmark ruling as one of the most high-profile cases on the rights of gay and lesbian parents across state lines.

Related Media Coverage:

The Associated Press - December 9, 2008
“Va. Must Enforce Gay Visitation Rights”
http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=9479398

Newsweek - December 6, 2008
“Mrs. Kramer Vs. Mrs. Kramer”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/172554

Media Contact:

Richard Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
(646) 871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org

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PFLAG Launches First-Of-Its-Kind Safe Schools Initiative & Training Program

FROM PFLAG ONLINE NEWSROOM:

December 10, 2008

Community-Based Program Will Train Local Leaders to Work with Schools on LGBT Issues

Washington, DC – Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) launched a comprehensive, community-based safe schools program today to address a growing epidemic of anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) animus in the nation’s schools. The program, entitled Cultivating Respect, includes training seminars for local parents and allies, empowering PFLAG supporters at the local level to work directly with their community leaders and school administrators to protect LGBT students. PFLAG plans trainings across the country in 2009, following initial training sessions held earlier this year in Ohio and Tennessee.

“Too many students attend school in fear, and too few school administrators and leaders understand just how damaging a hostile learning environment can be for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people,” said Jody M. Huckaby, PFLAG’s executive director. “Cultivating Respect is the very first program designed to identify and mobilize a grassroots network of parents and allies to take an active role in combating anti-gay behavior, policies, information and environments in their local schools. When children do not feel safe, they cannot learn, and their school experience becomes fraught with the long-lasting effects of unchecked hostility. By working with local parents and local administrators, Cultivating Respect addresses community and school-specific concerns. This is a significant step forward in making our classrooms, hallways and locker rooms safer for every student.”

The PFLAG training, which builds on the organization’s prior work in schools across the country, includes insights on fostering on-going dialogues with local school leaders; approaching administrators about implementing safe schools policies; skills building seminars on language, policy and problem solving in schools; identifying and leveraging access points within the school community; and training on three specific programs that can be implemented in local schools. The program is also designed to counter harmful, anti-gay campaigns by conservative advocacy groups, including attempts to infiltrate libraries with anti-gay literature and information on so-called “reparative therapy” practices, which have been condemned by medical experts. A workbook on LGBT school issues, titled The Top 10 Ways to Make Schools Safer for All Students, was also released today in conjunction with the training and outreach program.

“It is critically important that students, teachers, parents and administrators have accurate, inclusive information and materials about sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Huckaby. “Anti-family advocates are pushing an extreme, anti-gay agenda that seeks to mislead adults and ultimately undermine the well-being of the countless LGBT young people who deserve a healthy learning environment, too. This new program asks those responsible for the well-being of our children to listen, think, act and be respectful of every member of our families.”

According to statistics compiled by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 73.6% of LGBT students hears derogatory remarks such as “faggot” or “dyke” frequently or often at school. More than half (60.8%) reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third (38.4%) felt unsafe because of their gender expression. An overwhelming 86.2% of students reported being verbally harassed.

“Hostile classrooms and campuses impact every member of the school community.” Huckaby concluded, “From LGBT students, to those perceived to be, and even young people who are denied the opportunity to learn because of the distractions presented by anti-gay behavior, the consequences of not dealing with these issues reach far and wide. Now, at last, parents have the tools they need to work directly with their local leaders to stand up for every young person, including those who are LGBT or are impacted by these behaviors.”

For more information on Cultivating Respect, including .pdf copies of The Top 10 Ways to Make Schools Safer for All Students, visit www.pflag.org.

Media Contact:

Steve Ralls
(202) 467-8180, ext. 214
sralls@pflag.org

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HRC: Comments Comparing Prop 8 Protestors with Mumbai Terrorists Shows True Colors of Anti-Gay Movement

FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN:

Pat Boone’s Bizarre Rant Claims “Awful Similarity” Between “Jihadists” in Mumbai and Prop 8 Protestors; Attacks CA Gov Schwarzenegger for Encouraging Protests

12/9/2008

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, responded today to the exclusive commentary posted on the extremist, right-wing website World Net Daily by anti-gay activist and former singer Pat Boone. Boone published a bizarre and disturbing commentary comparing the horrific tragedy in Mumbai, which took the lives of over 170 people, to the protests against Proposition 8 here in the U.S. In essence, equating the Mumbai tragedy with those protesting the passage of the discriminatory amendment in California that took marriage rights away from gay and lesbian couples to terrorists.

In the commentary titled “Hate is hate, in India or America,” which can be viewed at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=82830, Boone writes, “let me ask you: Have you not seen the awful similarity between what happened in Mumbai and what's happening right now in our cities?” Boone went on to state, “What troubles me so deeply, and should trouble all thinking Americans, is that there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists.”

“Pat Boone wouldn't normally warrant a second thought, even if his only claim to fame these days is his unabashed homophobia, but his disturbing commentary on this right-wing site can't go unanswered,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “His commentary marks a new low in anti-gay rhetoric. And yet it also demonstrates the depths of hatred from these demagogues toward the LGBT community. Most Americans would be shocked to see this level of vitriol coming from someone who presented himself as America’s sweetheart.”

Boone even lodged an attack on Governor Schwarzenegger for encouraging gay Americans to "never give up" in the quest for equality. Boone wrote, “You haven't seen, on the evening news, prominent entertainers and even California Gov. Schwarzenegger, urging the demonstrators on, telling them they should "never give up" until they get their way?” Boone added, “Hate is hate, no matter where it erupts. And hate, unbridled, will eventually and inevitably boil into violence.”

“Bigots like Boone will never see how absurd their arguments are, but just like that other anti-gay icon from the 70s, Anita Bryant, Pat Boone's screed actually helps our efforts for equality,” continued Solmonese. “In most places in America today it isn’t acceptable to be an outright bigot. Obviously, Pat Boone hasn’t got that memo.”

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The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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GLAAD UPDATE: Episcopal Leaders Say ‘No’ to Defectors and ‘Yes’ to Gay People

December 08, 2008

The head of the Episcopal Church announced that defectors from the denomination, who broke away because of the ordination of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson, are no longer members of the Episcopal Church. Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori took a stand after leaders in the breakaway dioceses announced that they would form a rival denomination and seek official standing with the worldwide Anglican Communion. Many members in the offending dioceses of Pittsburgh; Fort Worth; Quincy, Ill; and San Joaquin chose not to defect and their congregations are being reorganized.

On the following day Bishop Jefferts-Schori was present as the Los Angeles Diocese voted to lift the moratorium on the ordination of gay bishops imposed last summer by the international Anglican Church at their once-per-decade Lambeth Conference in England. Later, the Bishop of the Los Angeles Diocese also announced that blessing of gay couples is an official rite of the diocese — it had already been practiced by many priests.

Related Media Coverage:

Los Angeles Times – December 5, 2008
“Episcopal Church leaders says those who defected ‘are no longer Episcopalians’”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-episcopal5-2008dec05,0,7356324.story

San Bernardino County – December 6, 2008
“At Riverside convention Episcopalians say no to ban on gay bishops”
http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_episcopal07.41dc34d.html

Los Angeles Times – December 8, 2008
“Episcopal Diocese of L.A. officially condones the blessing of gay unions”
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-episcopal8-2008dec08,0,7919724.story

Media Contact:

Adam Bass, Media Field Strategist - West
Phone: (323) 634-2018
Email: bass@glaad.org

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Mom Logic: 'Gay or Nay' on Same Sex Adoption?

FROM MOM LOGIC:

Monday, December 8, 2008

Arkansas' same sex adoption ban will take effect in a matter of days. This comes just weeks after Florida lifts their ban. How do you feel about same sex adoption?

Arkansas' law means all gay couples will not be allowed to adopt or foster as of January 1. While heterosexual unmarried couples are also forbidden, some say the law is only to ensure that homosexuals aren't given the right. Susan Hoffpauir, President of the Arkansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers agrees that adding such restrictions will only cut down on the amount of quality homes available.

While it began to seem like some were warming up to the idea of same sex parenting -- a judge in Florida last month struck down an old law prohibiting same sex couples to adopt -- Utah and North Dakota also disqualify gay couples from being foster parents or adopting.

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Windy City Times: LGBT band to march in Obama's inaugural parade

FROM THE WINDY CITY TIMES:

The Lesbian and Gay Band Association (LGBA) has announced that it will be included as a marching contingent in President-elect Barack Obama's Jan. 20, 2009, inaugural parade. This is the first time that an LGBT group will be represented in a presidential inaugural parade.

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Dallas Voice: Tragedy of the closet; cop's secret gay love affair and tragic death

FROM THE DALLAS VOICE:

As murder retrial gets under way, story of a clandestine gay love affair and a young man’s tragic death should serve as a cautionary tale

By Hardy Haberman

For some people, being “in the closet” is a personal hell. But it often affects others, too.

Take the case of Steven Rios, a married police officer from Columbia, Mo.

According to prosecutors, Officer Rios, when faced with the possibility of having his gay relationship revealed to his wife and family, decided to reach into his closet and pull out a knife — a knife he used to slash the throat of Jesse Valencia, a 23-year-old student attending college at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Officer Rios began the relationship with Valencia in 2004 when he arrested the student for interfering with a police call about a loud party. Rios told the court that their sexual relationship began that very night.

Rios was convicted of the murder three years ago, but an appeals court ordered a retrial, saying the trial court allowed inadmissible hearsay testimony the first time around.

The new trial began Monday, Dec. 1, and Rios faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole if he is convicted. Court officials said they expect the trial to end by Friday, Dec. 5.

The story is a graphic example of how the closet can kill. It should be a wake-up call for every LGBT person that is trying to hide their sexual orientation.

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Wisconsin state Supreme Court a player in gay rights issue

FROM THE DAILY CARDINAL (MADISON, WI):

Although Proposition 8 passed and Wisconsin passed a gay marriage ban in 2006, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices could alter the law to change gay marriage rights

By Molly Rivera

In the wake of Democratic victories on Election Day, liberals find it easy to believe in the progressive America that elected Barack Obama, the first black president. We should be proud of the historical civil rights success Obama’s election represents.

Yet, on that same day, our image of hope and unity was clouded by the passing of discriminatory measures in several states. Although thousands of students marched to Wisconsin’s capitol building Nov. 4 cheering for the future of America, the occasion was muted by California and America’s sad affirmation of the second-class status of LGBT citizens.

Along with Proposition 8 in California, the passage of gay marriage bans in Florida and Arizona—as well as Arkansas’ measure to bar gay couples from adopting children—reveal the long battle ahead for members and supporters of the LGBT community. Today, more than 40 states have constitutional bans or laws against same-sex marriages, including Wisconsin, which passed a law in 2006.

However, in the next few years Wisconsin courts will determine the full authority of the statute, and the court could overturn the ban completely someday. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is critical to protecting civil rights in our state and will ultimately decide how broadly to interpret the amendment. For example, judges elected to the Supreme Court will have the power to interpret the second sentence of the amendment that bans anything “substantially similar” to marriage.

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Southern Voice: Arkansas adoption ban could start national trend

FROM THE SOUTHERN VOICE:

Georgia seen as potential target for similar legislation

By MATT SCHAFER
DEC. 5, 2008

Jerry Cox doesn’t need flashy campaigns or a lot of money to “blunt the homosexual agenda” in Arkansas. He’s done it twice, and all he needs is a ballot box and a church bulletin insert.

Cox is president of the Arkansas Family Council, a relatively small religious organization that is dedicated to, among other things, thwarting civil rights for gay people. The Arkansas Family Council won an unexpected success for social conservatives on Nov. 4 when 57 percent of the state’s voters approved the “Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act,” a measure that banned unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children. The measure applies regardless of sexual orientation, but was designed to target gay couples.

Polls leading up to the event showed a much closer race, and the work behind the upset win might empower conservative groups in Georgia, Cox said.

Cox and the Arkansas Family Council essentially circumvented the state legislature in Little Rock and appealed directly to the state’s rural, religious base. He believes that same strategy could work in Georgia.

“It’s probably the case that when you get out of Atlanta you find that the rest of the state isn’t that liberal, and that’s the same in Arkansas,” Cox said.

The Arkansas Family Council was outspent by its opposition. They were unable to mount much of a media campaign in response to television ads and endorsements by gay-friendly politicians, so Cox had to find another way to reach his voters.

Where gays have found success turning to social networking sites, the Arkansas Family Council turned to an older form of social networking — the church door. The Arkansas Family Council distributed bulletin inserts to more than 1,000 churches.

“That as much as anything turned it around,” Cox said.

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Wisc. State Journal: Two moms are better than none

FROM THE WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL:

A Wisconsin State Journal editorial

Wisconsin and the nation should reject the backward path Arkansas tripped down last month when it banned same-sex parenting.

At stake are the futures of thousands of children like Maria, 5, who is thriving in Madison with two moms rather than struggling to grow up on her own.

Denise Matyka, the executive director of a Madison nonprofit, adopted Maria from Russia in 2003. Matyka's partner, Margaret McMurray, is now a legal co-parent.

Today their daughter is happy and loved. Maria was recently honored as a "super thinker" in kindergarten.

Wisconsin should thank same-sex parents for providing attention, encouragement, financial resources and permanent homes for needy children. The fact these parents are gay or lesbian shouldn't matter. What should matter is what's best for the children.

Arkansas voters on Nov. 4 banned anyone who is "cohabitating outside of a valid marriage" from being a foster parent or adopting children. The ban is aimed at same-sex parents who can't legally marry even if they want to. And the ban will even prevent one half of a gay couple from adopting a child if the couple lives together.

The Arkansas ban will kick in Jan. 1 -- even though 960 children in that state are waiting and wishing for someone to adopt them. Preventing responsible gay couples from adopting more of these children is a tragic mistake.

The Arkansas vote will only expand the state's waiting list for adoptions and foster care, depriving more children of stable and loving homes. It also will forbid private adoptions by gay parents.

A Florida judge recently found, after listening to reams of expert testimony, that no legal or scientific reason exists for prohibiting anyone from adopting a child based on sexual orientation alone. The judge struck down as unconstitutional a strict Florida law that tried to prohibit gay people from adopting children.

Wisconsin has quietly allowed gay couples to foster and adopt children for years, although in many cases only one half of the couple can be named as the legal adoptive parent. The state also respects the laws of other states and countries if the adoption occurred there.

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Col. Springs Gazette: More Coloradoans embracing gay unions, warming to gay issues

FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE:

By Bill Reed

Two years ago, by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin, Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. At the same time, they also defeated a measure to allow civil unions.

Now, according to a survey released Thursday, more Coloradans appear to be embracing ideas such as civil unions and gay marriage.

A slim majority of Coloradans support gay marriage and four-fifths support gay civil unions, according to the survey commissioned by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in California, and conducted Nov. 10-16 by Harris Interactive with 502 Colorado residents.

GLAAD conducted a national poll, but Colorado was the only state the group polled separately. Even though California's Proposition 8 to outlaw gay marriage is more timely, having passed in the November election, the group felt that Colorado's history on gay issues and its being home to two opposing forces on the issue - Focus on the Family and the Gill Foundation - made this the best crucible for their research.

GLAAD's leaders seemed pleased with the results.

"Visibility is leading to the conversation, and the conversation with family and friends is giving people a better understanding about gay and lesbian people," said Neil Giuliano, president of GLAAD. "And they understand we need legal protections just like everyone else."

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Gay City News: NYC's war on porn shops claiming gay and bisexual victims

FROM THE GAY CITY NEWS:

By Duncan Osborne

Questionable Prostitution Charges Rock Video Stores

The city's continuing war on porn shops has claimed gay and bisexual men as victims as nearly 50 of them have been arrested on questionable prostitution charges in seven Manhattan porn shops over the past four years.

And in lawsuits brought against six of those businesses, the city has cited those prostitution arrests as the primary justification for trying to shut those shops down.

"It seems as though there is a pattern of arresting innocent men in an effort to try and close these places down," said Robert Pinter, a 52-year-old massage therapist who was among 12 men arrested this year in Blue Door Video on First Avenue in the East Village. "It's extremely troubling that the police have so little regard for the gay citizens of New York that they use them as pawns to try and close these porn shops down."

The city sued Blue Door in June after ten men were arrested for prostitution there. The business paid a $2,500 fine and installed video cameras to monitor the premises. Since then, Pinter and a 42-year-old man were arrested, and the city is now seeking to close the shop. Pinter denies that he engaged in prostitution and forcefully disputed the account of a policeman involved in his arrest.

The 42-year-old man is contesting his case while the rest pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and received small fines and minor sentences. Those arrest records will eventually be sealed, which suggests they had not been arrested before. For most defendants, such deals are the quickest and easiest way to make the cases end.

Also this year, police arrested four men at BH Connections at 557 Eighth Avenue, two men at the DVD & Video Center at 218 West 35th Street, and six men at Gotham City at 687 Eighth Avenue. All the men were charged with prostitution.

The city sued these three Midtown West businesses. In an agreement with the city, the DVD & Video Center was closed in July while the other two remain open. The men were not named in those suits, so Gay City News was unable to determine the disposition of these 12 cases.

In October, one man was arrested outside the Rainbow Store at 207 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea after allegedly agreeing, inside the store, to have sex for $60 with an undercover officer from the Manhattan South vice squad who made some of the arrests in Blue Door. That man pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Rainbow Store has not been sued by the city.

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Camp Kansas City: "I'm Tired of Being Expected to Be Patient," says editorialist

FROM CAMP KANSAS CITY:

By Jim MacDonald

When I saw that Californians approved Proposition 8 by slightly more than 50 percent of the vote, it got me to thinking:

Surely, more than 50 percent of the people — in any state, let alone California — know a gay person. That means that there are millions of people who voted in favor of stripping constitutionally guaranteed rights from people who they know.

Even here in Missouri, a similar ban was passed in 2004 by, like, 70 percent of voters. That means that each of us probably knows quite a few people who don’t support full equality for gay couples. Even accounting for those who hold extreme religious views, that means that there are many of our own friends and family who don’t support full equality for us — for reasons that aren’t particularly clear.

What could their reasoning possibly be? I have a few theories:

Theory # 1: The religion excuse. Many people — and I’ve heard Hillary Clinton express this view—say, because their particular religious tradition doesn’t sanction same–sex marriage, that they personally have qualms with it.

Perhaps we should point out to those people that we don’t need their particular churches to give their blessing on whether or not we are deserving of the same legal rights granted by our government to straight people. We’ve found plenty of churches who will welcome us — that’s not the issue. When we say marriage, we’re not talking about the ceremony in a church. We’re talking about the hundreds and hundreds of rights that government-sanctioned marriage extends to any opposite–sex couple who asks for them — regardless of how long they’ve known each other, whether they really love each other, even whether or not they happen to be sober at the time.

Theory #2: The sex excuse. While they would never admit it to our faces, many of our straight friends and family, as supportive and loving as they are, I suspect are still a little queasy over the prospect of two men or two women in bed together. And the notion of gay marriage kind of reminds them of the fact that we are sexual beings like them. Frankly, I kind of get this — the idea of a man and a woman having sex still makes me a little queasy.

There’s one other theory I have. I call this the secret excuse -- that is, the idea that straight people secretly know that marriage isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. They don’t see it as that big a deal that we don’t get to experience it. To that, I say: Let us decide for ourselves!

I have an assignment for all of you: Help to dispel the mystery surrounding why a majority of people continue to oppose full equality for gay couples. Find out where all the straight people in your life stand on the issue. Make them talk about it. Force them to go on the record. If they are opposed, or if they equivocate, help them to understand all the practical challenges faced by gay couples as long as we are denied full equality under the law. Talk to them about how complicated and expensive it is to protect your assets in the event of your partner’s death. If you’re a gay parent, describe the anxiety that comes from the fear that if you die, your child may be taken away from their other parent. Let them know what a burden it is to watch your co-workers enjoy benefits that you don’t have access to yourself. If you’re lucky enough to work in one of those places that will give you domestic-partner benefits, tell them how offensive it is that you must pay taxes on those benefits while your straight co-workers get them tax–free.

I don’t know about you, but aside from being a little pissed off, I’m a little bit tired.

I’m tired of seeing our community take two steps forward only to take one step back.

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Dallas Voice: News editor wins 'Best Column' award for article about bipolar gay man's religious struggles

FROM THE DALLAS VOICE:

Winning entry detailed bipolar gay man’s ordeal with religious group, ‘ex-gay’ therapy, and his road back home to his supportive family

By Arnold Wayne Jones

As Dallas Voice news editor John Wright sat in the audience of the Sixth Floor Museum, listening as the winners of the Katie Awards were read, his heart sank a little. When he heard “best column” awarded to someone other than himself, he considered leaving right then.

“I didn’t know about the large market/medium market newspaper distinction, so when they announced that ‘best column’ went to the Dallas Morning News, I figured I must have lost,” he says.

He’s glad he stuck around. A few minutes later, Wright found himself on the podium, accepting a Katie Award — his first — from the Press Club of Dallas.

“I’m very happy. It’s gratifying. It’s not the first time I’ve won something, but it is the biggest in terms of prestige and just physical stature,” he says, referring to the more-than-a-foot-tall statuette. “And it made the five-dollar sports jacket I bought for the ceremony from the Salvation Army a good investment.”

Wright received the award for a column he wrote in last year’s Dec. 14 edition of Dallas Voice called “Purity sieges lead gay man into bipolar hell.” In it, Wright examined how a local man had been exploited by anti-gay protesters.

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Bay Area Reporter: Milk march attracts huge crowd

FROM THE BAY AREA REPORTER:

By Matthew S. Bajko

Gyl Rosenblum vividly remembers meeting Harvey Milk as a teenager in the mid-1970s when she lived on Castro Street in the heart of the city's then burgeoning gayborhood. Living mere doors down from Milk's Castro Camera store, Rosenblum would frequent the business.

Milk went on to become the first out gay man elected to political office in a major U.S. city when he won a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1977. A year later Milk, along with then-Mayor George Moscone, was assassinated in his City Hall office on November 27, 1978 by former board colleague Dan White.

The night of their deaths Rosenblum joined the crowd in front of City Hall mourning the slain leaders. Now living across the bay in El Cerrito, Rosenblum returned to the city last week to once again remember her former neighbor.

"It felt like it was time to commemorate it," said the 50-year-old Rosenblum, who was joined by her partner of three years, Ann Williams.

Williams, 59, was an out lesbian living in Oakland at the time. Pregnant and near her due date, she was unable to attend the candlelight vigil that night in 1978.

"It was just stunning. It was just an awful thing, to have a powerful gay leader just eliminated so quickly," said Williams. "I remember seeing him walking by once. You could see he could have gone far. He really did have charisma."

The couple joined close to 1,000 people who had gathered in front of City Hall and then marched to the location of Milk's old camera shop on Castro Street Friday, November 28 to mark the 30th year since the assassinations. [The annual ceremony had been pushed back a day due to the actual anniversary falling on Thanksgiving this year.]

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, whose first public performance was the night of the deaths, returned to the steps of City Hall to sing once again. Friends, relatives, and colleagues of both Milk and Moscone eulogized the men many credit with opening the doors of the city's political power to gays and people of color.

"Tonight is very bittersweet for many. Every time we gather our hearts are heavy with what happened," said recently sworn-in state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a friend of Milk's who followed him into politics. "Harvey Milk would be very bemused today to see where history has placed not only him, but us, the community and his legacy."

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Mark Leno Facebook update outlines resolution opposing 'unlawful' Proposition 8

Via Facebook - California State Senator Mark Leno's Page:

Leno Resolution Declares Legislature’s Opposition to Proposition 8’s Unlawful Revision to the California Constitution

Sacramento, CA— Senator Mark Leno (D-Marin/San Francisco/Sonoma) introduced Senate Resolution 7 today to declare the Legislature’s opposition to Proposition 8 because it failed to meet the distinct procedures mandated by law for revisions to California’s Constitution.

The resolution is co-authored by the entire LGBT Legislative Caucus and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. It is sponsored by Equality California and supported by many other civil rights groups opposed to the November initiative. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has introduced an identical resolution, HR 5, in the Assembly.

“Proposition 8’s revision to the California Constitution violates key structural checks and balances built into our legal system,” said Senator Mark Leno. “Overnight, the constitutional protections of thousands of tax paying, law abiding California citizens were stripped from them by a simple majority vote, without a prior two-thirds vote by both houses of the legislature, thereby trampling on their fundamental right to equal protection,” he said.

Specifically, SR 7 memorializes the Legislature’s opposition to Proposition 8 because it is an improper revision of the California Constitution and was not enacted according to the procedures required by Article XVIII to the State Constitution. This Article mandates that a proposed revision of the California Constitution must originate in the California Legislature and be approved by a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature before being submitted to the voters.

The California Supreme Court has held in Livermore v. Waite and other subsequent decisions, that a revision is a substantial change to the “underlying principles” of the California Constitution or to the structure of our “basic governmental plan.” Proposition 8 changes the constitution to eliminate the fundamental right to marry for a particular minority group, and thereby violates the principle of equal protection and the separation of powers clause.

“Prop 8 eliminates the fundamental right to marry from same-sex couples and allows a slim majority to take away the equal protections of a single minority group, which violates one of the fundamental and founding principles of our Constitution,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. “That type of unprecedented change to the Constitution puts the rights of all Californians at risk, and it’s critical in our system of checks and balances that the Legislature weigh in on such fundamental revisions to the Constitution.”

“The framers of our state’s constitution outlined distinct procedures to follow when enacting a revision to our state’s highest legal document,” said Leno. “These procedures are the rule of law, and must be followed when we’re talking about human beings’ fundamental rights.”

SR 7 and HR 5 will be heard in Committee and on their respective floors when the Legislature reconvenes in early 2009.

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Human Rights Campaign responds forcefully to untruthful NYT ad

From the Press Center at the HRC:

12/5/2008

Today, members of the Human Rights Campaign's Religion Council responded forcefully to a full-page ad in the New York Times that implies there is an organized attempt to foment mob intimidation and violence toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints due to its actions dehumanizing lesbian and gay people in the recent election campaign, particularly in California around passage of Proposition 8, which stripped gay families of the right to a civil marriage. The ad was sponsored by NoMobVeto.org, a project of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

When did the LDS Church become the victim? It’s hard to believe, but that is exactly what it is trying to convince the public of. It is continuing to spend an excess of dollars in an attempt to mislead the public and transform its image. But the truth is that this is the same church that conducted a national broadcast to every temple, calling on members to organize and write checks to the Prop 8 campaign. The same church that donated more than half of the $40 million behind Prop 8, even though California Mormons represent just 2 percent of the state's population. Yes, it’s the same church.

What HRC's Religion Council had to say:

• "Several signatories to the ad are generals in the culture wars," said Rev. Susan Russell of All Saints Church (Epsicopal), Pasadena, Calif. "They lied about gay people in the campaign, and now they are lying again when they say we are in favor of mob intimidation and violence. I personally talked legitimately angry demonstrators in California out of such action and every credible LGBT organization called for peaceful resistance to the Prop 8 travesty. Many of the leaders cited in this ad preach hate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, then look the other way when LGBT people are the victims of hate crimes. This ad is an act of individual and corporate hypocrisy."

• Bishop John Selders of Amistad United Church of Christ in Hartford, Conn. commented, "As an African-American, I've heard this before. A few frustrated members of a minority group respond in anger to a new indignity and the oppressor calls them anarchists. Satan, sometimes called the Father of Lies, is at work when powerful people seek to dehumanize those who are less powerful."

• Rev. Dr. Miguel de la Torre of Iliff School of Theology in Denver agreed, “I am always struck that those in power, those who manipulate the truth to maintain oppressive structures, present themselves to the public as the ones being persecuted. Make no mistake, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a powerful organization with an agenda of imposing a narrow religious view upon the rest of America. As we Hispanics say, ‘que vergüenza’ (what a shameful act).”

• "Calls for tolerance of certain religious viewpoints rings hollow in a world where religion often stands by tolerating violence perpetrated on God’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children," was Rev. Dr. Erin Swenson's reply. Dr. Swenson is a Presbyterian minister and psychotherapist in Atlanta.

• Rev. Dr. Ken Stone of Chicago Theological Seminary said, "While I agree that violence and anti-religious bigotry need to be combated, we must also demand an end to the violence undertaken by those religious institutions that not only encourage but also fund bigotry against lesbians and gay men. Where will the Becket Fund be when we call for endorsements of hate crimes and employment protection legislation for LGBT people?"

• Here's what Rev. Dr. Mary A. Tolbert of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the Pacific School of Religion had to say: "The 'No Mob Veto' ad would be more convincing as a statement of concern for civil debate over the well-organized and well-funded participation of the LDS church in the passage of Prop 8 had it not itself ended with a clear threat of intimidation toward anyone criticizing that church's role in the election. As the Christian gospels demonstrate in Jesus' action of overturning the tables of money-lenders in the temple, sometimes speaking the truth to entrenched and wealthy religious leaders requires a dramatic stroke. To protest the enormous financial involvement of a religious body in stripping equal rights from California LGBT people, their families, and their children is in no way anti-religious bigotry; it is instead, like the example of Jesus in the temple, an attempt to speak the truth to those rooted in power and wealth whose actions serve to deprive other human beings of the equal respect and dignity all of God's children deserve."

• Rev. Rebecca Voelkel of the Institute for Welcoming Resources of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force summed up: "As a Christian, I was taught not to 'bear false witness.' One of the deepest tragedies of the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign in California was its bearing false witness-- more plainly stated, its lies-- about the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. This ad is one more example. In response to the passage of Proposition 8, faithful, honorable, patriotic Americans from every walk of life and of many sexual orientations and gender identities gathered to say no to lies and yes to love, truth and the American way. To name these overwhelmingly peaceful gatherings as mobs dishonors me, my family, members of my church and so many others who participated in them. As a Christian, my religious tradition also admonishes me to speak the truth in love. Therefore, I prayerfully ask those who have run this ad and others like it, to stop your false witness. Instead, and especially in these times, our country and our world need all of us, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, pagans and all people of faith, to work on behalf of the dignity of all human beings."

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GLAAD: Alaska Sen.-Elect Begich Supports Partner Benefits for Gay Couples

From the Media Center at GLAAD:

December 05, 2008

Senator-elect Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, told The New York Times that he opposes amending the Constitution to ban marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Begich also said he supports allowing same-sex couples to receive “benefits through their partners.” He is the first Alaska Democrat to win in seat in the Senate for more than three decades.

Related Media Coverage:
The New York Times—December 5, 2008
“Alaska’s New Senator Sees Change at Work”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/politics/05begich.html?scp=4&sq=same-sex&st=nyt

Media Contact:
Richard Ferraro, Director of Public Relations
Phone: (646) 871-8011
Email: ferraro@glaad.org

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GLAAD: Iraqi journalist jailed for writing gay-oriented article

Via Press Room at GLAAD:

December 04, 2008

According to an article from The Associated Press, a freelance journalist in northern Iraq was jailed for violating an outdated public decency law by writing an article with gay subject matter. Abel Hussein was sentenced to serve six months in jail for April 2007 article that appeared in the independent weekly magazine Hawlati, and now media watchdog groups are calling for his release. According to the editor of Hawlati, “the court looked into one angle and it considered the subject as unethical.” Lawsuits have also been filed against the magazine’s former chief editor and publisher.

Related Media Coverage:
The Associated Press- December 3, 2008
“Journalist Jailed in Iraq Over Homosexual Story”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-ML-Iraq-Journalist-Detained.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=homosexual&st=nyt

Media Contact:
Adam Bass, Media Field Strategist - West
Phone: (323) 634-2018
Email: bass@glaad.org

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365Gay: Gay Pride parades spread AIDS, says Moscow Mayor

FROM 365GAY.COM:

By 365gay Newscenter Staff
12.04.2008 2:34pm EST

Moscow -- LGBT rights advocates and AIDS workers are voicing shock at comments by Moscow’s mayor linking gay visibility to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Speaking at an international AIDS conference in the Russian capital Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said he will continue to ban gay pride parades in the city to prevent spreading HIV/AIDS.

“We have banned and will continue to forbid this propaganda by sexual minorities, as they could turn out to be one of the factors in the spread of HIV infections,” Luzhkov told the conference.

“Certain homegrown democrats believe that sexual minorities can be a primary indicator and symbol of democracy, but we will forbid the dissemination of these opinions in the future as well.”

Luzhkov also stunned conference attendees by saying condoms were not reliable in protecting against HIV.

“Certain manufacturers state that condoms are reliable protection against AIDS, but modern science has proven this is untrue.”

Luzhkov’s remarks came only days after the federal government’s own AIDS Czar said HIV/AIDS is growing by 10 percent a year and that about 1 million people are infected.

The 72-year old mayor’s assertions are the latest in a long running battle with gays in Moscow over his refusal to grant permits for pride celebrations.

Despite Luzhkov’s refusal to grant a parade permit earlier this year the third Moscow Pride took place on Sunday June 1. Gay activists picketed the monument to the Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky and then hung a huge banner from an apartment in front of Moscow City Hall.

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GLAAD UPDATE: Episcopal Conservatives Announce Split from U.S. Church

Via Press Room at GLAAD:

December 04, 2008

Conservative Episcopalians in the United States announced on Wednesday they will split from the Episcopal Church. The group will form its own rival denomination, threatening further the unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion – which traces its roots to the Church of England. The conservatives will seek approval from the global Anglican Communion to form their own Anglican entity in North America.

The new denomination would include dioceses that recently defected from the Episcopal Church because of disagreement over a number of issues, including the ordination of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Dioceses in Pittsburgh; Fort Worth; Quincy, Ill; and San Joaquin have all departed the Episcopal Church, although not all parishes or members of these dioceses agreed to leave the church.

The group stated the new province would absorb a handful of other dissident groups who left the Episcopal denomination for various reasons, like the ordination of women and theological differences. The Episcopal Church is suing many breakaway parishes and dioceses in order to keep church property – which would likely continue if conservatives attempt to take church property with them as part of a new Anglican province.

Related Media Coverage:

New York Times – December 3, 2008
“Episcopal Split as Conservatives form New Group”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/us/04episcopal.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Los Angeles Times – October 4, 2008
“Split in Episcopal Church hits new level”
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-episcopal4-2008dec04,0,526783.story

Media Contact:
Adam Bass, Media Field Strategist - West
Phone: (323) 634-2018
Email: bass@glaad.org

~~~
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365Gay: Conservative Christian university official busted in gay sex sting

FROM 365GAY.COM:

By 365gay Newscenter Staff
12.03.2008 4:40pm EST

Cincinnati, Ohio -- The chief financial officer of Cincinnati Christian University has pleaded not guilty to prostitution charges.

Police arrested Robert Williams, 52, on the weekend after he allegedly got into a man’s car in Mount Airy Forest and “touched his genitals.”

The man in car was an undercover cop.

Williams has been placed on administrative leave while the case continues.

~~~
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GLAAD: Poll Shows Religion and Economic Status Influential Factors in Prop 8 Support

Via Press Room at GLAAD:

December 04, 2008

A new poll indicates that the religious beliefs and economic status of voters played a greater role than age and race in determining support for Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that took away marriage for same-sex couples in California. According to the poll, conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, people who identified as practicing Christians were very likely to support Prop 8, as were voters who did not attend college and voters who earned less than $40,000 a year. The poll also determined that age and race, among others, were less important factors.

Related Media Coverage:
The Associated Press- December 4, 2008
“Poll: Calif. gay marriage ban driven by religion”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g3Yrv2lixhDpA_1XiY2rZUm9Ol4wD94RPF600

Media Contact:
Adam Bass, Media Field Strategist - West
Phone: (323) 634-2018
Email: bass@glaad.org

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Windy City Times: Gay dollars, labor and boycotts

FROM THE WINDY CITY TIMES:

By Yasmin Nair
2008-12-03

The gay dollar has never been stronger. The passage of the anti-same-sex-marriage initiative Proposition 8 brought protests across the country. Subsequently, gay activists have released the names of prominent businesspeople who donated to the ballot measure, and called for economic boycotts of their corporations.

Such initiatives, while part of gay history, also prompt new questions. What role do boycotts play when many corporations now woo well-off gay consumers, boast of “gay-friendly” policies and sometimes have gays and lesbians at the helm? What do boycotts say about the connection between gays and labor unions, traditionally among the organizations that call for such boycotts?

The city of Evanston saw the first of recent boycotts in Illinois Nov. 22 when picketers gathered outside the Century Theater. They urged theatergoers not to patronize the business because Alan Stock, CEO of Cinemark, the corporation that owns Century, gave a personal contribution of $9,999 to support Proposition 8.

Gay groups in California have been calling for economic boycotts since the summer. Among the most prominent of these calls is the one about the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego. The hotel is owned by Doug Manchester, but operated by Global Hyatt Corporation. It was revealed that Manchester donated $125,000 to Proposition 8.

In response, Local 30, the San Diego chapter of UNITE HERE, joined a gay group, Californians Against Hate, to demand that Global Hyatt sever its connection with the Manchester Hyatt. UNITE HERE is a union born of the 2004 merger between the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and HERE ( Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union ) . According to Cleve Jones, a gay organizer with the union, UNITE HERE has had its eyes on this particular hotel since 2006, when the hotel's non-unionized workers protested unfair work practices.

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365Gay: Calif. lawmakers voice support for gay marriage

FROM 365GAY.COM:

Sacramento, California -- A resolution has been introduced in both the California Assembly and Senate to reaffirm support for same-sex marriage.

The measure is non-binding, but the symbolism in the wake of Proposition 8 is significant, LGBT rights leaders say.

California voters last month agreed to void the state Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. The legality of the vote, however, is back in the hands of the court, which will hear arguments in the case early next year.

State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the first openly gay man elected to the California Senate, and State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano ( D-San Francisco) introduced concurrent resolutions that back up the legal arguments of Prop 8 opponents.

“While a proposed amendment to the California Constitution can be accomplished through the initiative process,” the resolution reads, “A proposed revision of the California Constitution must originate in the Legislature and must be approved by a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature before being submitted to the electors.”

Proposition 8 passed with a slim 52 percent majority. Following the election three challenges to the vote were filed by LGBT rights groups.

All three cases claim the measure abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.

The justices said in addition to hearing arguments on the validity of the vote, it wants to address what effect, if any, a ruling upholding the amendment would have on the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages that were sanctioned in California before Election Day.

The justices directed Attorney General Jerry Brown and lawyers for the Yes on 8 campaign to submit arguments by Dec. 19 on why the ballot initiative should not be nullified. It said lawyers for the plaintiffs, who include same-sex couples who did not wed before the election, must respond before Jan. 5.

Oral arguments could be scheduled as early as March, but a ruling would not be likely for months after that.

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Dallas Voice: Anti-gay adoption measure victory in Arkansas could be trouble in Texas

FROM THE DALLAS VOICE:

Equality Texas executive director hopes more Democrats in state
House can help keep anti-gay legislation off the books

By John Wright - News Editor
Nov 6, 2008 - 9:09:37 PM

AUSTIN —After a constitutional amendment banning gay adoption passed easily in Arkansas on Tuesday, Nov. 4, the leader of Texas’ statewide LGBT equality group said he fears a similar proposal here in 2009.

But Paul Scott, executive director of Equality Texas, said he hopes the new, more Democratic makeup of the state Legislature would prevent an effort to ban gay adoption — as well as other potential anti-gay legislation — from gaining traction.

Voters in Arkansas on Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment banning unmarried couples living together from serving as adoptive or foster parents, by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent, according to unofficial results. Arkansas became the fourth state with some form of ban on gay adoptive parents.

Gay adoption is viewed by some as an emerging culture war similar to same-sex marriage, and Scott said he fears the Arkansas constitutional amendment could embolden anti-LGBT forces in additional states.

“Our concern is, is this kind of the next wave of social conservatives’ efforts to get people out to the polls?” Scott said Wednesday. “It just really requires us to be vigilant. It’s been their modus operandi to get people engaged and to the polls. I think Texas is a different state than Arkansas, but I think this requires us to makes sure that we continue to do the work that we do, so it doesn’t happen here.”

Texas is arguably more progressive than Arkansas. The other states with bans on gay adoption are Florida, Mississippi and Utah.

Scott also noted that unlike Arkansas, Texas doesn’t have an initiative process for placing constitutional amendments on the ballot.

Therefore, a ban on gay adoption or foster parenting would have to start with the Legislature. For a constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot in Texas, it requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate.

The Legislature could also pass a statutory ban on gay adoption or foster parenting with a simple majority in both chambers. According to Equality Texas, there have been unsuccessful attempts to do so in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

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HRC's "Equally Speaking" Transcript: 12/3/08

Via the Human Rights Campaign Newsroom:

The following is a transcript of HRC’s morning news webcast "Equally Speaking." To view the current videos visit the main Equally Speaking page.

12/3/2008

Good morning, and thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking, your morning dose of LGBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Wednesday, December 3rd. I’m Brad Mayer.

And I’m Frank November. First up, news from HRC.

Earlier this week, HRC announced that it was joining forces with federal employee groups to urge the Office of Personnel Management to support domestic partner benefits for federal civilian employees. The announcement is timed with the federal government’s "open season," when federal employees and retirees are allowed to make changes to their health benefit plans. Domestic partners of federal civil servants are not extended health, dental, vision and flexible spending benefits.

Now to news from England, where a lesbian soldier has been awarded over three hundred and eighty thousand dollars in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Lance Bombardier Kerry Fletcher was the subject of long-term harassment from a sergeant who wanted her to have sex with him. The payout was the largest ever imposed by a workers’ rights board in Britain, though the amount was half of what Fletcher sought.

Binghamton, New York town council members are considering comprehensive anti-discrimination laws that would include provisions for sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity. Members of the transgender community and their allies spoke out at a town council meeting earlier this week, encouraging town officials to pass the law, which would apply to employment, housing and public accommodations. It would also protect against discrimination based on height and weight, age, race, religion, and national origin.

And on Monday in Kalamazoo, Michigan, members of the city commission made it illegal to discriminate in housing, public accommodations and employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The measure was similar to one that has already been adopted by fifteen other Michigan cities. The unanimous vote was lauded by LGBT advocates, who said the time has come for more cities to pass similar laws.

In other news, a former police officer in Missouri was convicted on Monday of first-degree murder in the death of a gay college student with whom he was having an affair. Twenty eight year old Steven Rios, a married father, was convicted of killing Jesse Valencia last June. Rios was reportedly concerned that their affair would be made public. He now faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Finally this morning, Cyndi Lauper’s world tour, which was set to end in Caracas, Venezuela, has been cut short. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has reportedly canceled the concert because of Lauper’s support of LGBT rights. In a statement, Chavez said that he feared political protests due to Lauper’s appearance. Lauper, a participant in last spring’s True Colors tour and a friend of HRC, was touring on behalf of her latest album, Bring Ya to The Brink.

That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow morning.

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Vital Voice: St. Louis Men's Chorus gets new Artistic Director

FROM THE VITAL VOICE:

By Joan Lipkin

It’s a big deal when a new artistic director comes to town. When the artistic director is Dr. Jeffrey Richard Carter and joins the Gateway Men’s Chorus, now in its 22nd season, it’s a very big deal. Carter’s considerable credentials include a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Kansas, and a Master of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Missouri.

A native of Kansas City, he is a versatile conductor and teacher whose performance experience and training ranges through nearly 1,000 years of western musical tradition. He has had significant success with university ensembles, amateur choral groups, show choirs, volunteer church choirs, and festival choruses alike. His performing and educational endeavors have taken him to the continents of Asia, South America, and Europe, in addition to the continental United States.

Gateway Men’s Chorus aficionados and prospective audience members will have an opportunity to see Jeffrey Carter at work at his debut holiday concert "Peace on Earth" on December 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. at Union Avenue Christian Church (773 Union Blvd in the Central West End.) Tickets are available through www.gatewaymenschorus.org, Botanical Design Studio, Mokabe’s, Left Bank Books and at the door.

I sat down with Carter at the GALA Festival that we were both attending in Miami last summer. Clad in a blue tropical shirt in recognition of the tropics, Carter was warm, genial and focused.

What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation.

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GLAAD: Poll Shows Majority of Adults Support Legal Protections for LGBT Americans

Via Media Release from GLAAD:

Pulse of Equality Survey, Conducted by Harris Interactive, Reports that 75% Favor Either Marriage or Civil Unions/Domestic Partnerships for Gay and Lesbian Couples

New York, December 3, 2008 – A new survey conducted by Harris Interactive in the wake of the passage of and protests against California's Proposition 8 reveals that majorities of Americans favor a broad range of policies and legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

The Pulse of Equality survey, commissioned by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), shows that majorities of Americans favor either marriage or civil unions/domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples, as well as gay- and transgender-inclusive hate-crimes laws and non-discrimination laws, and allowing openly gay service members to serve in the armed forces, while a majority opposes laws that would ban adoption by qualified gay and lesbian couples.

According to the Pulse of Equality telephone survey among 2,008 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, conducted from Nov. 13-17, 2008, Americans support key policy proposals that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Among them:

• Three-quarters of U.S. adults (75%) favor either marriage or domestic partnerships/civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Only about two in 10 (22%) say gay and lesbian couples should have no legal recognition. (Gay and lesbian couples are able to marry in two states, and comprehensive civil union or domestic partnership laws exist in only five others and the District of Columbia.)


• U.S. adults are now about evenly divided on whether they support allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry (47% favor to 49% oppose).


• Almost two-thirds (64%) of U.S. adults favor allowing openly gay military personnel to serve in the armed forces. (The current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law bans military service by openly gay personnel.)


• About six in 10 (63%) U.S. adults favor expanding hate crime laws to cover gay and transgender people. (Hate crimes laws cover gay and transgender people in 11 states and the District of Columbia, and an additional – 20 states' laws cover sexual orientation but not gender identity.)


• A slight majority of U.S. adults (51%) favor protecting gay and transgender people under existing laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. (Existing non-discrimination laws cover gay and transgender people in only 12 states and the District of Columbia, and eight other states' laws cover sexual orientation but not gender identity.)


• Nearly seven out of 10 U.S. adults (69%) oppose laws that would ban qualified gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. (In several states, gay and lesbian couples are banned from adopting.)

"In the Pulse of Equality survey, we observed a positive relationship between knowing a gay or transgender person and one's attitudes toward them and the policy issues that affect their lives," said Laura Light, Vice President of Public Relations Research for Harris Interactive. "Based on other surveys we have conducted on attitudes toward LGBT people and issues, the results of this survey suggest that public sentiment in the U.S. is trending toward greater acceptance of gay- and transgender-related policy issues."

Across the LGBT-related policy proposals, there were statistically significant differences in support with respect to age, gender, race/ethnicity and religion. People under 65, and especially those 18-34, were more supportive than people over 65. Women were generally more supportive than men, with women age 18-34 often being more supportive than other segments. Hispanics were more supportive than Whites and African-Americans in showing strong support for allowing openly gay military personnel to serve in the armed forces. African Americans were more strongly supportive than Whites and Hispanics of expanding existing hate crimes laws to cover gay and transgender people. Mainline Christians (a category that includes, among other denominations, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians) and Catholics were more supportive than Evangelical Christians, and Mainline Christians were often among the more supportive segments on a variety of issues.

The survey also revealed that there has been greater acceptance of gay and lesbian Americans over the last five years. Approximately two in 10 Americans (19%) reported that their feelings toward gay and lesbian people have become more favorable over the past five years, with contributing factors including: knowing someone who is gay or lesbian (79%), the fact that laws have been passed that protect gay and lesbian people (50%), opinions of family or friends (45%) and religious leaders (21%), news coverage of gay and lesbian issues (41%), and seeing gay or lesbian characters on television (34%) and in movies (29%). Nearly three out of four Americans (73%) personally know or work with a gay or transgender person, and half of those who know or work with someone who is gay or transgender know five or more gay or transgender people.

"The visibility of the past several years, and the intense conversations of the past few weeks, seem to have galvanized a majority of Americans' support of equality for gay and transgender Americans," said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. "While this expression of support is encouraging, particularly after the setbacks we experienced on Election Day, it's not something we can rest on. There is a lot of work to be done. We must all do what we can to sustain and expand this emerging wave of grassroots activism so that it leads to laws and policies that extend full equality under the law to all Americans – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight."

Giuliano suggested that one of the crucial issues facing LGBT people is that many Americans aren't aware of the injustices that they face.

"Majorities of Americans clearly favor equality for gay and transgender people," Giuliano added, "but we've seen that too many still mistakenly believe that the intolerance and injustices we face are things of the past. So it's more vital than ever that we tell our stories, illustrate the injustices we face, and remind people of the common ground we share."

~~~

About the Survey
GLAAD commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a nationally representative survey among U.S. adults over the age of 18. The objective of the study was to understand public opinion on LGBT people and LGBT-related policy issues. The total sample includes 2,008 U.S. adults ages 18+, surveyed from November 13 to November 17, 2008. Interviewing was conducted by telephone using random digit dialing (RDD). Results were weighted as needed using age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, number in household, and household income to be representative of the U.S. population of adults age 18 and over. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points.

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

About Harris Interactive®
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Media Contacts:

Vaishalee Raja
Director of Media Field Strategy
(323) 634-2045
raja@glaad.org

Richard Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
(646)871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org

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Windy City Times: Plans for LGBTA school postponed

FROM THE WINDY CITY TIMES:

By Yasmin Nair
2008-11-26

A proposal for a Chicago gay high school was abruptly taken off the agenda of the Chicago Public Schools Nov. 19 board meeting. Supporters and opponents of the proposal came to the downtown office of CPS, only to be handed a memo from The Office of New Schools informing them, “The Social Justice Solidarity High School proposal has been withdrawn from consideration during today's Board meeting.”

Paula Gilovich, a member of the Design Team for the high school and the Education Director of About Face Theatre said that “community input after our October 8 public hearing created changes in our proposal that we were not comfortable with” and the team unanimously decided to withdraw the proposal. One of the changes was in the name of the school, which had originally been titled the Pride Campus of the Social Justice High School.

In addition, according to Gilovich, there were curriculum changes; About Face Theatre was taken out of the proposal; and language was watered down. According to her, “sexual orientation” became “orientation;” the word “identity” could not be included; and neither could “transgender,” which was changed to “appearance.”

News of the withdrawal of the proposal had gone out on e-mail the night before, according to Sam Finkelstein, a member of Gender JUST (Gender Justice United for Societal Transformation) . Finkelstein and other supporters decided to attend the meeting regardless “because we'd already done a lot of mobilizing. We don't want CPS to define our agenda, and we needed to hold the Board of Education accountable.”

Some of the supporters who spoke out in support of the proposal felt that the design team had been forced to cave in. Roger Fraser said “I feel that there was political pressure on this design team from the mayor's team on down to shelve it.” Andy Thayer, of Gay Liberation Network, said that “a handful of far-right anti-gay preachers worked with CPS hierarchy [ to withdraw the proposal ] . He added that “We've learned that some of the proponents of the Pride campus have had their jobs threatened.” According to CPS, the matter of whether or not people were threatened is under investigation.

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Yahoo! News: Justin Timberlake's Man Love for Samuel L. Jackson

FROM YAHOO! NEWS, E! ONLINE:

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Justin Timberlake admits he has some special kind of feelings for his Black Snake Moan costar Samuel L. Jackson.

"I am here because onscreen and off, I feel nothing but love for the great Samuel L. Jackson," Timberlake said at last night's American Cinematheque gala honoring Jackson in Beverly Hills. "At least for tonight that mysterious 'L' stands for 'Love,' man love—and there's nothing wrong with it."

While high on praise, the Cinematheque's annual awards ceremony is more of a roast than anything else.

Timberlake got in some of the best cracks. He said past honorees like Julia Roberts, Al Pacino and George Clooney have nothing on the Pulp Fiction star...

"Did any of those other stars start their path to cinematic greatness like Sam did?" Timberlake asked. "Did Julia star in the unforgettable role of 'Black Guy' in Sea of Love? Did Al Pacino have the chops to play 'Hold-Up Man' in Coming to America? And did Geoge Clooney have the range to play 'Taxi Dispatcher' in Betsy's Wedding or 'Blind Dream Man' in Exorcist III?"

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National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds Florida court ruling granting adoption rights

Via Media Release from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 — The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds today’s ruling by a Florida judge that allows a gay father to adopt two foster children he has cared for since December 2004. Florida law prohibits gay and lesbian people from adopting children, but Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled the law violates the equal protection rights of the father and the children’s right to permanency provided under federal and state law. Lederman declared there was no legal or scientific reason for sexual orientation alone to prohibit anyone from adopting.

Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

“For far too long, senseless discrimination has prevented children in Florida from receiving the stability and permanence they so desperately need. This ruling is a glimmer of sanity in a time when some think it is okay to deny others the fundamental right to adopt and serve as a loving parent.

“We applaud Judge Lederman for her sound and just ruling, which strengthens families and communities. This is a profound personal victory for this family, and a critical step toward equality.”

ABOUT THE NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE
The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Inga Sarda-Sorensen
Director of Communications
(Office) 646.358.1463
(Cell) 202.641.5592
isorensen@theTaskForce.org

Advocate: Attorney General Nom Praised by HRC

FROM THE ADVOCATE:

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement Monday supporting President-elect Barack Obama's nomination of Eric H. Holder Jr. to take the post of Attorney General.

“In Eric Holder, President-elect Obama has chosen an attorney general who has demonstrated his dedication to civil rights, protecting communities from hate violence, and the fair and equal application of our laws,” said Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese. “Eric Holder has recognized the deleterious effect that hate and bias crimes have not just on victims, but on entire communities. President-elect Obama’s appointment continues to prove his commitment to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.”

The statement included included Holder's 1999 testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee in which he advocated for strengthening hate crimes protections.

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365Gay: Vatican trashes UN declaration of LGBT rights

FROM 365GAY.COM:

By 365gay Newscenter Staff
12.02.2008 1:50pm EST

Rome - International human rights groups are denouncing the Vatican for condemning a proposed United Nations declaration which would - for the first time - call for civil rights for gays, lesbians and the transgendered.

The proposed declaration condemns “discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity” and will be presented at the General Assembly on Dec. 10 by France.

The document has been signed by the member states of the European Union. It was drafted by France, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency.

Dec. 10th was chosen to present it to the General Assembly because the date marks the 60th anniversary of the UN declaration of human rights.

More than 80 nations have laws denying or limiting LGBT civil rights. Some Moslem countries impose the death penalty on homosexuality while others have lengthy prison sentences.

The Vatican in a statement said the declaration would force countries to legalize same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer at the UN, said in the statement that the declaration would discriminate against states which support traditional marriage.

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Bay Area Reporter: Groups push national AIDS strategy

FROM THE BAY AREA REPORTER:

By Matthew S. Bajko

The United States could have a national strategy for combating AIDS by 2010 under a proposal numerous AIDS agencies are pushing President-elect Barack Obama to adopt. It would mark the first time the country had a coordinated policy in place to combat an epidemic that has ravaged the gay community, in particular, for 27 years.

Along with a national AIDS strategy, the groups are also urging Obama to resurrect the White House Office on National AIDS Policy and appoint a new "AIDS czar" to oversee the office. They also want to see the person be given budgetary authority over the more than $23 billion in federal money spent on HIV prevention and care for people living with HIV and AIDS.

The last person to oversee the office, Carol Thompson, stepped down in February 2006 and it has been vacant ever since. At least two names are being floated as a potential AIDS czar: Dr. Helene Gayle, who served as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention between 1995 and 2001; and Jesse Milan Jr., chairman of the Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute.

Both Gayle and Milan are African American and have extensive resumes in terms of combating HIV and AIDS. Gayle is now president and CEO of CARE, which focuses on poverty issues facing women throughout the world. A spokeswoman told the Bay Area Reporter that, "Dr. Gayle has not been inclined to speculate about appointments."

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GLAAD Urges Sharing Your Lives with Friends & Family

Via Media Release from GLAAD:

Los Angeles, CA, November 26, 2008 – As we enter the holiday season, GLAAD asks you to remember members of our community who feel they cannot be themselves, talk about their lives, and stay silent as they gather with families and friends during the holiday season. Often times, the holiday season can be a difficult time of year for members of our community – especially teenagers and young adults who are not able to live openly and honestly.

This holiday season, GLAAD urges you to share stories and spark new dialogues about our lives with your friends and families. These conversations can advance our community and reduce homophobia and discrimination for young LGBT people.

Many examples of these stories are told in the book CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America. By including personal stories from well-known LGBT people to middle America teenagers, the book reveals lasting effects of growing up gay in America, while also serving as a beacon of hope for gay youth today.

GLAAD President Neil Giuliano contributed an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, The Campaign Within, to the book.

"I am proud to be part of a project with a goal of reaching out and helping LGBT youth," said Giuliano. "Now more than ever, our community needs to increase our visibility and work to show the common ground that we all share."

CRISIS, edited by Mitchell Gold, a philanthropist and leading figure in the furniture industry, examines the overwhelming effects of prejudice and discrimination on the lives of a diversity of gay people. With a foreword by Martina Navratilova, the book features life stories by well-known Americans such as Oprah designer Nate Berkus, Actor Richard Chamberlain, Congressman Barney Frank, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, former NBA player John Amaechi and Bishop Gene Robinson.

CRISIS also features GLAAD Member Reverend Dr. Mel White, GLAAD Media Circle Members Howard Bragman, Jim Hormel, Charles Robbins, and Kevin Jennings, and GLAAD Alliance Circle Members Bruce Bastian, Bob Williams, and Brian Graden. GLAAD Media Award Honorees Martina Navratilova, Brian Graden, and Alec Mapa contributed to the book, along with GLAAD Media Award Winners Dan Karslake and Bishop Gene Robinson (award recipients for "For the Bible Tells Me So").

CRISIS is the perfect gift for people in your life who need a better understanding of what gay teens go through. This holiday season, share these stories with your friends and family by purchasing CRISIS online: http://astore.amazon.com/faiiname-20/detail/1929774109/105-8170471-5868431.

Editor Mitchell Gold will be donating all proceeds to LGBT youth-focused organizations. For more information, please visit www.crisisbook.org.

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

Media Contact:
Richard Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
(646) 871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org

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Dallas Voice Film Review: ‘Noah’s Arc’ fans won’t be disappointed with big-screen adaptation

From the Dallas Voice:

By Steve Warren Contributing Film Critic
Nov 26, 2008 - 2:19:48 PM

Essentially a black gay male West Coast version of “Sex and the City,” “Noah’s Arc” ran for two successful seasons on Logo. Now, like “Sex and the City,” “Noah’s Arc” spawns a feature film follow-up.

“Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom” picks up several months after the cliffhanger that ended Season Two and neatly wraps things up — but not so neatly that things can’t fall apart again for a third season.

Series fans will be glad to hear that the film takes place on the weekend Noah (Darryl Stephens) is finally marrying Wade (Jensen Atwood). For a change of scene, the gang heads to Martha’s Vineyard, where Wade’s family owns a house that’s big enough for all of them.

“Life is not a soap opera,” Ricky (Christian Vincent) says. But “Noah’s Arc” is, and five minutes never pass without some individual or couple going through a crisis that’s resolved as quickly as it began. You have to consider an overview of the series to find any depth, because each episode — and this feature is paced like any episode but four times as long — is made up of one shallow moment after another.

Ricky, the ultimate non-monogamist, brings a trick along for the weekend: Brandon (Gary LeRoi Gray), a 19-year-old student of Chance’s (Douglas Spearman), who makes the thirtysomething friends suddenly seem a lot older than they did.

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Sec. of State. Rice Statement on World AIDS Day 2008

Via State Department Press Release:

Statement by Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Washington, DC
December 1, 2008

In 2003, President George W. Bush launched the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – the largest international commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history. As a result of this initiative, there are HIV-positive mothers in Zambia giving birth to healthy babies. There are health care workers being trained to provide HIV counseling and testing to their communities in Vietnam. And there is a hospice in South Africa that once mourned the lives lost on World AIDS Day that is now celebrating each life saved by antiretroviral treatment. These stories are replicated in countless communities around the world where HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services are supported by the American people. It is in this spirit, on World AIDS Day 2008, that we “Celebrate Life.”

During times of economic crisis, some may feel more comfortable turning inward - foregoing our commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS globally. But reneging on our commitments to the world’s poor cannot be an austerity measure, because this effort is more than just an expression of America’s compassion. This effort is a vital investment in the free, prosperous and peaceful international order that fundamentally serves our national interest.

Together, the American people and countries around the world have proven that, by working in partnership, the seemingly impossible is possible.

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Dallas Voice: Event marks Day of Remembrance, raises awareness

FROM THE DALLAS VOICE:

By Ben Briscoe Staff Writer
Nov 26, 2008 - 7:58:05 PM

More than 60 people gathered on the coldest night of the year to remember.

They stood in the harsh wind, guarding the flames of their candles as the loudspeakers boomed the stories of 30 transgender people killed in hate crimes this year.

“I am Samantha Rangel Brandau from Milan, Italy. I was beaten, gang-raped and stabbed numerous times before being left for dead at the age of 30.”

The event on Southern Methodist University’s campus Nov. 20 was part of the 10th annual National Transgender Day of Remembrance. The Remembering Our Dead Web Project estimates that two people a month, on average, are killed in violence against transgender people.

“Tonight we are here to pay homage to strangers, perhaps showing more love to them than they ever received in life,” featured speaker and LGBT counselor Felishia Porter said. “We did not know them, yet we have taken time out of our lives to pause and remember.”

In addition to honoring the dead, the event was intended to raise awareness of gender identity hate crimes.

“It’s important to me that we as a large community don’t forget,” organizer Beth Richard said. “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Well, repeating those kinds of pasts is something I don’t want to see ever again.”

Porter agreed.

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Marriage Ban Unlikely for Indiana in 2009, Says GLAAD

Via Media Release from GLAAD:

December 01, 2008

The Indianapolis Star is reporting that the state’s lawmakers will not be likely to consider a constitutional amendment to ban marriage in the next year.

In 1997, an anti-marriage statute was enacted in Indiana, prohibiting marriage for same-sex couples across the state. Currently Indiana is one of only a few Midwestern states that has only a statute, rather than a statute and a constitutional amendment, against marriage equality.

Walter Botich, legislative chairman of Indiana Equality, summed up the issue for many state leaders, “We've got an economy that is not doing well, we've got people who are losing jobs, and yet some people want to harp on these same issues that are pulling people apart at a time we should be coming together to solve these big problems.”

Anti-gay leaders have tried to push a marriage ban amendment forward in the past two legislative sessions, but both times the amendment has died in the House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee.

Media Contact:
Adam Bass, Media Field Strategist - West
Phone: (323) 634-2018
Email: bass@glaad.org

Related Media Coverage:
Indianapolis Star—December 1, 2008
“State Legislators Unlikely to Tackle Same-Sex Marriage Amendment in 2009”
http://www.indystar.com/article/20081201/NEWS05/812010365

Related Link:
The Task Force—November 4, 2008
“Anti-gay marriage measures map”
http://thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/marriage_map

NOTICE: This posting is meant as a courtesy to the LGBT community at large to direct individuals to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender items of interest. We do not post full articles, so if you wish to read an entire story you should follow the link to its original author/publisher. We in no way, stated or unstated, claim to be the authors of any content posted here unless we say so explicitly. All content should be considered intellectual property of the original publisher, and should not be redistributed without full back-links and proper citations.

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HRC Urges Support of Research, Treatment on World AIDS Day

Via Media Release from
the Human Rights Campaign:

Nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group calls for National AIDS Strategy and offers opportunity for volunteers to donate unused computing power to researchers around the world.

12/1/2008

WASHINGTON–On the 20th annual World AIDS Day, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group, today called for a renewed focus on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment policy at the federal level. The organization encouraged the new Administration, along with the Senate and House leadership, to bring a more concentrated approach to the epidemic through the development of a National AIDS Strategy.

“Far too many across the world are still suffering from this terrible and preventable disease,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “It is time for a coordinated federal response to preventing and treating HIV/AIDS as well as programs designed to lower HIV incidence, increase access to HIV care, and reduce racial disparities in the epidemic and integrate HIV with STD, viral hepatitis and TB programs at the local level.”

Solmonese urged partnership among advocacy groups, the new presidential administration, and Congress.

“Our allies in Congress understand that a comprehensive effort must, among other things, rely on evidence-based policy and programming, set ambitious and credible targets for improved outcomes, and address social factors that increase vulnerability to infection. The President-elect and his team know how critical it is to work across communities. Reaching out to multiple sectors, to those most affected, will be key to the development of a National Aids Strategy,” continued Solmonese.

HRC also urged its members and supporters to participate in a global effort to donate unused computing power to researchers fighting HIV/AIDS around the world by participating in the World Community Grid Challenge. Grid computing joins together many individual computers, creating one of the world’s largest “virtual supercomputers” with massive, fast computational power that far surpasses that of other stand-alone supercomputers.

“World AIDS Day serves to increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education around HIV/AIDS issues,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “So many of us who care about this too-long-unresolved epidemic are looking for ways we can address this crisis. By simply participating in the World Community Grid, you can help those doing critical research access the resources they need to do their work.”

HRC has taken part in the World Community Grid since 2006. During that time, the HRC Team has contributed over 414 years of total run time, at a rank of 35 out of over 20,000 participating organizations. The HRC Team alone donates 160 days of humanitarian research per calendar day.

HRC is challenging all teams on the World Community Grid to increase their participation and grow the amount of Run Time, which can be translated into years of research time and donated to vital humanitarian research. This is an easy way to volunteer and a way to give back, at no cost, during the Holiday Season and on World AIDS Day.

To participate, please take the following steps.

• If you already participate in the World Community Grid, all you need to do to join the HRC team is to click on the web address below and then click on the “join now” button on the page that appears. http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/team/viewTeamInfo.do?teamId=LDRMH21ZP1
  

• If you have not yet joined World Community Grid, just click on the link below. When you register, our team will be automatically selected for you. You will still need to download and install the World Community Grid software. http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/reg/viewRegister.do?teamID=LDRMH21ZP1

The World AIDS Day Challenge starts on December 1 and ends on December 31, 2008.

ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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Advocate on Project Runway: Kenley Doesn't Give an EFF

FROM ADVOCATE:

By Dave White
An Advocate.com exclusive posted October 17, 2008

But whatever. She loses anyway. Later, Project Runway.

I have a new favorite show. Destroyed in Seconds. It’s on Discovery. The whole show is about stuff getting wrecked and smashed and obliterated: cars, buildings, planes, towns; all the things a person can think about destroying get thoroughly decimated. In the episode I just watched, this one guy in Colorado got himself a bulldozer and then armored it with layers of steel and poured concrete, and then he went on a town-destroying rampage. His real-life Killdozer was, luckily, caught on tape while doing its thing. He even won a game of chicken with this other giant construction vehicle, and he just shoved the whole thing out of his way. I spent all three viewings of this footage -- twice for me, one to share with special friends -- fantasizing about having my own steel-reinforced battering ram and just driving down Wilshire, letting valet guys have fun parking it, crushing the vehicles of celebrities I find annoying. Like…well, dang, I had this whole rant written naming names of famous people’s cars I’d like to see compacted and then I realized that if someone actually went and played out my Killdozer fantasies by proxy that I’d get sued for it like Judas Priest by those suicide kids' parents.

Why couldn’t this entire season of Project Runway have been more like Destroyed in Seconds? Why no challenges that involved ejecting from a burning air-show plane and sewing a chic parachute before hitting the ground? Why not more fireballs in the Parsons workroom? Why no Tim Gunn careening through Diane von Furstenberg’s showroom in an out-of-control Saturn? Why, oh Runway, was this your least awesome season ever? WHY NO REUNION SHOW?! (And by the way, the blog called Project Rungay did its own pretty darn funny reunion show composed of still photos and captions, and I recommend it. I have no idea who does that blog. I’m not part of its "street team" or anything. But I like to help out fellow obsessives where I can. You’re welcome, PRgay; it’s a near-certainty that tens of readers will now check you out.)

I’m watching tonight’s finale with the usuals: Xtreem Aaron, his ex-BF Gary, and our friend Job (rhymes with “strobe”). The husband-partner-whatever lugs himself into the living room too and announces, “I can say it now: I have lost whatever give-a-shit-ness I had for this show. I no longer care.”

“I care,” I whisper earnestly. “I care a lot.” And just then, neighbor Jill walks in the front door unannounced, needing the Pyrex dish she brought over a couple days before. It used to be filled with a homemade meat pie. Now it contains the memory of meat pie. She knows I still like Kenley, in spite of it all -- because I enjoy chaos when it’s safely contained inside a TV -- and asks, “Who do you want to win, Dave?”

“Terri,” I say. Everyone in our house agrees that Terri was the raddest. But the past is past and it ain’t coming back. We have to pick up the pieces of our lives and move on. Gary wants snacks. We have Rice Krispie treats and Cheez-Its. Also beers. “Don’t eat all my Cheez-Its,” Xtreem Aaron says to Gary. “That box is part of my earthquake-readiness kit. How did they even get opened? Who’s been eating all my Cheez-Its?”

I’m about to unpause the TiVo and start the show, and now Job wants a retraction for something I wrote about him in an earlier recap. His beef is that, by omission, by stating that only XA and I were pro-Kenley, that I had painted Job as a Kenley-hater when in reality he’s actually Kenley-ambivalent, Kenley-unconcerned. His favorite is Leanne, and she has been his Cat Power-y choice since the first episode. There. Record set straight.

Opening caption on bottom of screen as I finally unpause TiVo: 3 DAYS UNTIL RUNWAY SHOW

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L.A. Gay Center Responds to Prop. 8 Criticism

FROM ADVOCATE:

By Jim Key
An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 26, 2008

In the December 16 edition of The Advocate, writer Ben Ehrenreich analyzed the differing opinions of why Prop. 8 passed at the polls in his article, "Anatomy of a Failed Campaign." Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center chief public affairs officer Jim Key responds to the criticisms raised by that article.

One might get the impression from the Advocate’s article, “Anatomy of a Failed Campaign,” that the effort to defeat Proposition 8 was run out of a small room with five chairs filled by a cabal of gay and lesbian leaders who started meeting a few weeks before the November election, blissfully unaware of the magnitude of the challenge they faced. The story paints a picture of leaders “inexperienced” at political campaigns, who sought no outside counsel, professional or amateur, and who didn’t take the challenge seriously until it was too late.

This may be a compelling narrative, but unfortunately, it is utterly incorrect and disregards the facts.

The No on 8 campaign was led by a Campaign Committee of LGBT and allied organizations -- a committee that grew to exceed 100 members. In turn, that committee empowered an Executive Committee of leaders from more than 15 state and national groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, API Equality, Bienestar, the California Teachers Association, and the Service Employees International Union as well as Dennis Herrera, the San Francisco city attorney, among others.

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaks out against Prop. 8

DISCOVERED COURTESY OF PLANETOUT AND GAY.COM:

ABOUT GAVIN NEWSOM

Gavin Christopher Newsom is the current mayor of San Francisco. A Democrat, Newsom was elected mayor in 2003, succeeding Willie Brown and becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years.

As Mayor, Newsom has focused on development projects in Hunters Point and Treasure Island. He signed the Health Choices Plan in 2007 to provide San Francisco residents with universal healthcare. Under Newsom, San Francisco joined the Kyoto Protocol. In 2004, Newsom gained national attention when he directed the San Francisco city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In August 2004, the California Supreme Court annulled the marriages that Newsom had authorized, as they conflicted with state law at that time. Still, Newsom's unexpected move brought national attention to the issues of gay marriage and gay rights, solidifying political support for Newsom in San Francisco and in the gay community, and causing several other states to change their laws concerning marriage and gay rights.

Newsom is viewed in many political circles as a potential candidate for Governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election. In late 2007 and early 2008, Newsom met with Democratic strategists and supporters to discuss a run for governor.

In his personal life, he divorced Kimberly Guilfoyle in 2005 and had an affair with his secretary Ruby Rippey-Tourk - the wife of one of his campaign aides - in 2006. He married Jennifer Siebel in July 2008.

Parts of this post (Wikipedia information) have been edited for clarity. Some original content is existent within the article.

NOTICE: This posting is meant as a courtesy to the LGBT community at large to direct individuals to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender items of interest. We do not post full articles, so if you wish to read an entire story you should follow the link to its original author/publisher. We in no way, stated or unstated, claim to be the authors of any content posted here unless we say so explicitly. All content should be considered intellectual property of the original publisher, and should not be redistributed without full back-links and proper citations.

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Advocate: 30 Years Later, We Can Still Learn from Milk

FROM ADVOCATE:

By Lane Hudson
An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 27, 2008

COMMENTARY: Thirty years after the death of Harvey Milk, Americans can still learn from his inspiring and profound work as an activist, politician and friend. With the story of his life opening in theatres this week, Lane Hudson takes a look back at how Milk's legacy lives on -- and what we can to do pay tribute to the legend.

"My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you!"

That is how gay rights icon Harvey Milk would start his speeches. The refrain became more and more familiar and inspired a new generation of activists in San Francisco and throughout America to fight for equality for gays and lesbians. Harvey broke barriers, won hearts and minds, changed our movement and was assassinated 30 years ago today. With his death, we lost the most transformational leader our movement has ever seen.

Today is Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for the lessons that we can learn from Harvey Milk. Yesterday, a film went to wide release that chronicles his life. It is an instant classic that provides us an accurate accounting of the life of the man so many of us draw inspiration from.

As I sat in the movie theater, I was taken with the parallels that exist with what Harvey was up against and the dynamics of our movement today. We often hear that very little progress has been made in the past thirty years. I wonder how different things would be today if Harvey had not been taken from us.

We have lost sight of what Harvey sought to accomplish. Our movement has become professionalized, funding mechanisms to ensure our organizations operate day to day; so many more gays and lesbians live openly today then ever before. He understood how every one of our accomplishments resonated further than lives of the individuals who made them. At one point, he said that he wasn't a candidate, but it was the movement that was the candidate.

Harvey heard from young people around the country who had read about him and been inspired to avoid suicide and instead become an activist. There is a wonderful YouTube video that uses Harvey's own words to address this and the importance of electing gay people to office. Watching it will be time well spent:

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365Gay, Besen: Can conservative religions reconcile with gays?

FROM 365GAY.COM:

By Wayne Bensen, Columnist, 365gay.com

On Sunday, New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof discussed religious and cultural extremism in Pakistan, where a new cabinet member, Israr Ullah Zardari, defended the torture-murder of five women and girls who were buried alive (three girls wanted to choose their own husbands, and two women wanted to protect them.)

The Times had another article on Monday about an all-girl rock band in Saudi Arabia that is forbidden from playing live concerts because of their gender.

At home, former Arkansas governor and pastor, Mike Huckabee, appeared on ABC’s “The View” and said that gay and lesbian equality was not the same as civil rights because homosexuals have not had their skulls cracked and were not hosed down by police. Apparently, he is unaware of the latest FBI hate crime statistics that show bias attacks based on sexual orientation making up 15.5 percent of all reported hate crimes.

In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI is being criticized this week for questioning the usefulness of Interfaith dialogue in a letter he wrote to Italian politician Marcello Pera. What the Pope fails to point out is that thanks to intransigent absolutists, like the pontiff, finding common ground is nearly impossible.

How can we expect interfaith dialogue when we can’t even have Interstate dialogue between two Mormon universities 45 miles apart because they have literally turned religion into a political football?

When the secular University of Utah played its religious school rival, Brigham Young University (BYU), last weekend, the teams treated the End Zone as if it were the Promised Land.

“It’s like a lot of other rivalries, except for those at the extremes,” Michael Anastasi, managing editor of the Salt Lake Tribune told the New York Times.”For them, it’s not only that your school is weak, you’re going to Hell too.”

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