GaySeattlePages

Dot Gay May be on the Horizon

2011-02-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

Move over .com and make way for .gay!

...or .love, .eco, .car, .health, .radio, .ski, etc. In fact, there's a large list of all the possibilities various groups already want to see when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) completes its tasks to implement the new Top level Domains over on the .NXT Conference site. The custom domain will also mean cities and states can have their own top level domain like .nyc or .florida. We may also see brand ones like .coke (.canon and .unicef are already listed).

What's the catch, you may ask? Having your own top level domain like this will be coming with a hefty price tag. $185,000 plus a $25,000 annual fee according to the Washington Post. Pretty big catch! Luckily, the dotGAYalliance and dotGAY will be pushing to have the .gay extension included so we may see eventually sites like hotel.gay, sports.gay, or health.gay popping up.

Unfortunately, as has happened in the past with the Bush Administration stopping the .xxx extension, the Obama administration is quietly pushing to allow countries, including the US, to veto top level domains. That then leads to the trouble that having a central domain such as .gay (or any number of potentially controversial extensions like .abortion, .aids, etc) would allow countries who aren't friendly towards a particular subject to block any domain with that extension if it was approved by the ICANN.

Confused About "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"? You're Not Alone...

2010-11-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

As one of my followers on Twitter mentioned recently, the news about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has been less than clear. He is, of course, absolutely right as it seems things are constantly going back and forth about whether it will be repealed or not (and even if it will be included in the Defense Authorization Act this year). I've been reading the stories as they appear on various news sites and have seen everything from the White House not approving any defense bill without the repeal of DADT to the lame duck congress won't be able to pass the defense bill with or without it due to the small time span.

While I won't be able to make anything clearer about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" myself as I'm not a member of congress, at least I can do some of the legwork by giving you a list of the most informative articles I've read lately to do with DADT.

While Wikipedia has its flaws in the communal editing and potential of false information being edited in by those who aren't up on their facts or are trolling, generally, it is always a good place to look for quickly updated information and source linkes. Don't Ask, Don't Tell article on Wikipedia

Advocate.com is also another source and is where most of the articles I've been reading has stemmed from. The latest one posted as of November 16, 2010 is A Midwestern DADT Repeal Effort.

Others Articles Posted Recently

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/yes_dadt_repeal_could_still_pa.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/mccain_is_still_on_the_wrong_s.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/the_morning_plum_131.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/on_dadt_its_imperial_presidenc.html

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2010/11/gates-launches-investigation-of-dont-ask-dont-tell-review-leak.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131223266

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sc-dc-1114-court-gays-military-20101112,0,6155475.story

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cindy-mccain-opposes-john-mccain-dont/story?id=12131423

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20022790-503544.html

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2010/11/17/obama-restates-commitment-on-keeping-dont-ask-in-defense-bill/

Overall, we're going to have to wait and see what comes out of the lame-duck congressional session. Taking a look through some of those links will help to piece together a semblance of where things are currently standing. If it's anything like a couple recent days though, tomorrow it may very well be a different story.

A Lesbian Flight Nurse Fighting for Reinstatement into the Air Force

2010-09-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

A lesbian flight nurse discharged under the government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military was an excellent officer whose sexuality never caused a problem in her unit, former colleagues told a federal judge Monday.

Former Maj. Margaret Witt is seeking reinstatement to the Air Force Reserve in a closely watched case that "don't ask, don't tell" critics hope will lead to a second major legal victory this month. The trial began just days after a federal judge in California declared the policy unconstitutional.

Witt was suspended in 2004 and honorably discharged after the Air Force received a complaint from a civilian about her sexuality.

The first witness in her case, retired Master Sgt. James Schaffer, testified that Witt was exceedingly competent and said her dismissal was so unfair, it was part of the reason he retired in 2007.

"It was a rather dishonorable act on the part of the Air Force," Schaffer said. "It should not be about what you are, but who you are."

A 2004 e-mail from the married woman's husband to the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper, prompted the investigation into Witt's sexuality. Witt remains in a relationship with that woman, whose husband divorced her.

Her suspension came less than a year before she would have earned her full pension.

Lady Gaga Spends Her Money on Her Shows

2010-08-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

LADY GaGa says she doesn’t “give a f**k about money”.

She has spent a whopping $4m on the North American leg of her Monster Ball tour — insists she is not in the music industry to become rich.

“I spent every dollar I made on my music, my art. Every dollar,” GaGa insisted. “I don’t wait to get budgets from the label. I do it on my own. I don’t give a f**k about money. Unless it’s on the stage, I don’t want it in my hand."

“Pop music is commercial art the way Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans were commercial art. I don’t know why everyone is so against pop music. I love a good chorus – sue me. It’s that f***ing simple."

“My ultimate goal besides making music forever and touring the world over and over and becoming the greatest pop performance art show on the planet? I want a Lady GaGa exhibit at the Louvre.”

“I’ve gone bankrupt about four times now,” she said in July last year. “My manager wants to shoot me.

“Every dollar I earn goes on the show. Now we’re finally getting to a place where it’s not bankruptcy.

“Then again, with another tour coming up soon I’ll probably be homeless again.”

HIV Assault Case Has Activists Fighting With Ottawa Police

2010-08-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

Ottawa police in Canada were just trying to do a good thing for groups like the Gay Men's Wellness Initiative, by raising money with a pancake breakfast.

Gay advocates are furious with Ottawa cops' handling of the Steven Paul Boone case, where the man was publicly outed as HIV-positive in the name of "public health". Anyone who had sex with him was told they were at risk, after Boone allegedly had unprotected exchanges with a slew of men without revealing his status — something that has him facing murder charges.

Brent Bauer, of the Ottawa Gay Men's Wellness Initiative, said Boone was charged, not convicted, and was already in custody, posing no threat to the public. Bauer said Ottawa's public health department should have handled the case.
By releasing the photo, Bauer said, police invaded Boone's privacy, and spread fear among gays, who might now hesitate to get tested for AIDS.
Bauer said the gay community was particularly galled when the police department refused to discuss changing their policy. Many believe the law regarding HIV-positive disclosure is flawed, and guidelines are needed to help police decide whether to lay charges.

Jay Koornstra, executive director of Bruce House, it's the politics behind it: "Until such time that Police Services adopts a more conciliatory and consultative atmosphere (in handling HIV non-disclosure) … our position remains unchanged. We will not accept donations from Ottawa Police Service this year."

Jennifer Aniston Fires Back at Bill Oreilly

2010-08-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Bill O'Reilly attacked Jennifer Aniston for supposedly advising young girls they didn't need a man to have a baby, the actress removed the knife from her back and planted it firmly in Mr. O'Reilly's shoulder.

"Of course, the ideal scenario for parenting is obviously two parents of a mature age," Aniston . "Parenting is one of the hardest jobs on earth. And, of course, many women dream of finding Prince Charming (with fatherly instincts), but for those who've not yet found their Bill O'Reilly, I'm just glad science has provided a few other options."

Charges Dropped Against Gay Marine that Chained Himself to the White House Fence

2010-07-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Charges were dropped against an openly gay Iraq War Veteran in Washington D.C.

Lt. Dan Choi and James Pietrangelo, a gay army captain honorably discharged for disclosing his sexual orientation, were in court Wednesday on charges of failure to obey police orders during the March and April protests. All charges were dropped.

Choi and his attorney subpoenaed President Barack Obama to appear in court, an attorney for the prosecution said the subpoena was not served.

Prosecutor Christine Chang declined to comment on why the government dropped the case against Choi and Pietrangelo.

Mount Vernon pub gets a mixed makeover

2010-05-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

If you ever stumbled into Tyson's in Mount Vernon, you would have been appalled or entranced by its dark, dingy vibe.

Ron Singer, it's safe to say, was turned off by it. When Singer bought Tyson's last year, he gave the cruddy pub the face-lift of a lifetime: new bar, new TVs, new furniture — the works. Regulars of Tyson's would never recognize it now.

"It's a lot different than what it was," Singer said.

Inside, Singer's is bright, with soft turquoise and greenish-tan tones, flat-screen TVs and a stage near the rear of the room. A house piano, PA system, guitar, bass and banjo occupy the stage. I can't think of another Baltimore bar with all those instruments just sitting there, waiting to be played.

Live entertainment is almost unavoidable at Singer's. Every night, there seems to be something going on, including poetry readings, comedy and live music. Metal musical notes adorn the walls, and large metal strings like the ones you might see on a guitar span the length of the bar. Singer sure paid attention to decor details when he rehabbed the place.

This is the first bar Singer has run, and at times it shows. While the service is some of the best I've experienced in the neighborhood, Singer's is too bright inside during the day and feels sterile. For a bar, character usually builds up over time, but it helps to start with something more than what Singer's has. The musical theme borders on cheesy, and the color scheme makes Singer's feel more like an ice cream parlor than a bar.

That said, it's clear Singer is trying hard to appeal to as many people as possible. For the post-college set, Singer's has a Natty Boh tower, a stack of more than 700 National Bohemian beer cans behind the bar. Cans are only 99 cents, all day and every day, which, I believe, is the best Boh deal in town. Singer's also keeps a spreadsheet tally of how many Bohs each customer drinks over the course of the week. Whoever drinks the most Bohs wins a free 12-pack. Nice! Tuesday is movie night, Wednesday is poetry and board game night, Thursday is open-mike night and Saturday is ladies' night. Got all that? Singer's hosts live music on weekend nights, too.

When Singer's opened late last year, it had a fantastically awful name: NADDs. Besides a cheap anatomical pun, NADDS was also an acronym for New Age Dine and Dance. Thankfully, Singer came to his senses in March and changed the name to Singer's, which fits, given the live entertainment lineup.

Singer's isn't the only bar in the building, though. If you walk through the bar, down a narrow corridor and through another door, you'll find Leon's, which Singer also owns. Leon's is said to be the city's oldest gay bar. True or not, stepping through the door into Leon's is like walking into another dimension. It's dark — almost too dark to see. After a minute, your eyes get adjusted to the dim lighting, and you can make out the figures of the regulars, hunched around the circular bar, sipping cans of Coors Light. Something unintentionally cheesy like Bon Jovi is on the jukebox, and the conversations are hard to hear unless you get close.

Singer hasn't changed much about Leon's, and might not, he said. I hope he keeps it just like it is. It's best to leave storied places like Leon's alone, at least until all the regulars have moved on.

It's good to see a bar like Singer's, with its well-rounded roster of live entertainment. Mount Vernon needs more bars with spoken-word nights and other events like these. But with the decor and the nightly events, I can't help but think Singer's is trying a little too hard to win people over.

Orlando Sentinel

Longtime DC gay newspaper to resume publishing under old name, 'Washington Blade'

2010-05-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — The oldest U.S. newspaper for gays and lesbians will start publishing under its original name again.

The former Washington Blade had been publishing as the D.C. Agenda after the paper's parent company abruptly closed in November. Donations kept the publication going, and in February three staffers bought the newspaper's name, assets and archives in bankruptcy court for $15,000. Editor Kevin Naff said Tuesday that the paper surveyed readers about the new and old names and that readers were overwhelmingly in favor of going back.

The paper, which was founded in 1969, will return to being called the Washington Blade in its next issue, which comes out Friday. The paper is published weekly.

Washington income-tax initiative campaign to include gay couples

2010-04-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

OLYMPIA — Supporters of an initiative campaign to tax the earnings of couples making more than $400,000 annually want to make sure the state's domestic partners are taxed at the same rate as married couples.
An updated draft of Initiative 1077 was filed with the secretary of state on Friday. The initiative was announced Wednesday by Bill Gates Sr. and others. In addition to making some technical changes, it adds language to ensure that it is consistent with the state's latest expansion to domestic partnerships.
I-1077 would tax couples with adjusted gross incomes greater than $400,000 annually, or incomes of more than $200,000 for individuals. Supporters said that represents the top 3 percent of earners in Washington. It also would cut the state property tax by 20 percent and increase the business-and-occupation tax credit to $4,800.
Gay advocates worried that domestic partnerships in which only one person makes more than $200,000 would be unfairly penalized by the tax.
For example, if a person makes $225,000 and his or her domestic partner makes $30,000, the goal is to ensure the higher wage earner would not be subject to the new tax — as would be the case if the couple was married.
"You would have seen gay and lesbian families paying significantly more taxes than their similarly situated heterosexual peers," said Josh Friedes with Equal Rights Washington.
The new language needs to be reviewed by the state code reviser, and supporters will not be able to gather signatures for the amended initiative until that process is done. However, the campaign will continue to gather signatures on the original initiative while they determine which version to put forth to voters.
The campaign needs to collect more than 240,000 valid petition signatures by July 2 to qualify for the November ballot.
I-1077 spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said if supporters decide to go with the amended language instead of the original language, "it will cause a delay, but we remain confident that we'll be able to qualify for the ballot."
Seattle Times

Lawsuit alleges 3 bisexual men were discriminated against at Seattle gay softball tourney

2010-04-26T15:23:00.001-07:00

SEATTLE (AP) — Three bisexual men from the San Francisco area have filed a lawsuit claiming they were discriminated against during the Gay Softball World Series in the Seattle area two years ago.The Seattle Times reports that the men filed the federal complaint Tuesday against the softball tournament's organizer, the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance. It alleges that after another team complained, the alliance ruled the three men were "nongay," and took away the team's second-place finish.An attorney for the alliance says the three plaintiffs were not discriminated against illegally and the alliance is a private organization that can determine its membership.

Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com

'Glee,' 'A Single Man' among winners at GLAAD Media Awards

2010-04-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Glee" has another reason to be happy.

The Fox musical comedy was among the winners at the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards. The show's cast and creator Ryan Murphy received the trophy for outstanding comedy series at Saturday's glitzy ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Murphy, in particular, praised lesbian actress Jane Lynch and gay actor Chris Colfer for their contributions.

"We have a great responsibility with the show," Murphy beamed.

Murphy told the crowd that Colfer's character, outspoken gay soprano Kurt Hummel, would have a boyfriend next season, and the pair would become prom kings. Murphy also promised the crowd that Colfer's character "would never be the victim."

"Iron Chef" Cat Cora presented actress-director Drew Barrymorewith the Vanguard Award, which honors efforts to increase visibility and understanding of the gay community. In a humorous video before accepting her trophy, Barrymore listed several of her inspirational gay colleagues, including her agent, lawyer, doctor, stylists and one of her dogs.

"The thing that means the most to me about an evening like this, and why I want to fight and be outspoken about this is because there are so many people who are in desperate need of families," Barrymore said.

Constance McMillen, the lesbian Mississippi teenager who challenged her school district's ban of same-sex prom dates, presented comedian-actress Wanda Sykes with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, which is given by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to an openly gay member of the entertainment community for their work toward eliminating homophobia.

"I'm willing to give this award to you," Sykes teased McMillen, "but I'm not gonna do it. It means a lot to me."

Other winners included Logo's "RuPaul's Drag Race" for outstanding reality program and "A Single Man" for outstanding wide release film. "A Single Man" director Tom Ford wasn't on hand to receive his trophy. His partner Richard Buckley accepted the award on Ford's behalf because the filmmaker was stranded in London thanks to the volcanic cloud of ash.

Adam Lambert, the glam-rocking "American Idol" runner-up who raised eyebrows with his racy performance at last year's American Music Awards, capped off the ceremony hosted by transgender actress Candis Cayne and gay actor Wilson Cruz with a performance of his tunes "Music Again" and "Fever." He ended by pleading for diversity within the gay community.

The awards salute fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives in the media. Other winners — chosen from 152 nominees in 32 categories — were awarded at a March ceremony in New York, while the remainder will be presented at a San Francisco ceremony in June.

Orlando Sentinel

Protesters march in Hollywood for equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples

2010-04-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Protesters chanting slogans and carrying signs marched in Hollywood Sunday to demand equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples.

About 700 peaceful demonstrators walked more than a mile to rally outside the Hollywood Social Security Administration office, said Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.

"This was the kickoff for a national campaign to end discrimination when it comes to Social Security," Jean said. "We not only have to educate the straight community, but we have to educate our own. Many don't know how it works until they're older and faced with having been denied benefits."

Before the march, U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez told the cheering crowd she would author legislation that would extend survivor benefits to older gay and lesbian couples.

"We now have quality, affordable health care coming to all," Sanchez said. "What good is the quality of our health care in America if Americans are not treated equally under all of our laws?"

U.S. Rep. Judy Chu offered to co-author the bill. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer also spoke.

Senior citizen Alice Herman spoke about being denied benefits after the death of her partner, Sylvia, even though they were legally married. Had Sylvia been a man, Herman said, she would have been entitled to receive her spouse's larger Social Security payments.

"This has got to change," Herman said.

The Gay & Lesbian Center cites research from the University of California, Los Angeles, that found that the lack of eligibility for Social Security benefits cost the surviving partners of same-sex couples an average of $5,700 per year.

Orlando Sentinel

Judge: Transgender inmates have right to therapy

2010-04-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

MADISON, Wis. -- A federal judge has struck down a unique Wisconsin law that prohibits transgender inmates from receiving taxpayer-funded hormone therapy, which alters their appearance to be more like that of the opposite sex.

A group of male inmates who identify as female had challenged the 2006 law with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and Lambda Legal, a national gay rights group. They say they need the hormones to treat their gender identity disorder, and not having them would lead to severe health problems.

"It's a victory for these inmates who have a condition that is misunderstood and vilified for political purposes that can be very serious," Larry Dupuis, an ACLU lawyer who represented the plaintiffs, said Thursday. "To take away a whole class of treatment just because it's politically disfavored is not constitutional."

While similar prison policies in other states have been challenged successfully, the ACLU and Lambda Legal said the law was the only one of its kind in the nation that denied such medical care to transgender inmates.

Lawmakers who wrote the measure, declared unconstitutional and unenforceable Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert, reacted with outrage and urged Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to appeal. They warned the decision would open the door for taxpayer-funded sex changes for inmates, which the law had also blocked.

"This ruling puts a higher priority on helping inmate Tommy become Tammy than protecting the pocketbooks of law-abiding citizens," said Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford. "This is a travesty of justice that must be overturned."

Clevert said the law violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment because it "results in the denial of hormone therapy without regard for the individual medical needs of inmates and the medical judgment of their health-care providers." He added "there is no rational basis" for the law, which he said also violates their equal protection rights.

Clevert had issued a temporary order weeks after the law went into effect blocking prison officials from ending the therapy for inmates already receiving hormones during the lawsuit.

The law bans tax dollars from being used for inmates' hormone therapy and sexual reassignment surgery. Lawmakers approved it with bipartisan support and Gov. Jim Doyle signed it into law after an inmate who had received hormone therapy filed a lawsuit to try to force the prison to pay for his sex change.

Before the law went into effect, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections occasionally had approved hormone therapy for inmates its doctors diagnosed as having gender identity disorder. Dupuis estimated that only a handful of inmates receive the therapy at any given time.

Some of the plaintiffs had been on hormones for years before the law was passed. They included Andrea Fields, who had taken hormones since 1996. Before the law was blocked, the inmate's hormone dosage was cut in half, which led to nausea, weakness, loss of appetite and hair growth, according to court records.

Clevert, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1995, didn't address whether banning sex-change surgery was also unconstitutional in his three-page order and promised to issue a decision soon to elaborate.

Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, one of the measure's sponsors, called the ruling absurd.

"This is another prime example of a liberal judge, far removed from the mainstream, overturning the will of the people," he said in a statement.

Van Hollen spokesman Bill Cosh said lawyers were reviewing the decision and considering an appeal.

If the ruling stands, taxpayers will likely be required to pay the inmates' legal fees, which Dupuis called substantial.

Washington Post

Retired Calif minister again faces charges from church for performing gay marriages

2010-04-05T18:10:00.001-07:00

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A retired Presbyterian minister in Northern California is again facing charges she violated church law when she officiated at the weddings of gay couples.

The Rev. Jane Spahr was acquitted two years ago of similar charges when the church's Supreme Judicial Council found that she did not violate denominational law because they were not real marriages.

This time, the same-sex marriages at issues were legal in California. Spahr's lawyer says it's unprecedented that the church is trying to sanction a minister for performing legal marriages.

The prosecution counters that while the marriages may have been legal under state law, they were "expressly prohibited" by the church.

Spahr, who lives in San Francisco, used to lead a ministry for gay Presbyterians until she retired in 2007.
Orlando Sentinel

Gray and gay: As acceptance grows, seniors step out of the closet and into a new identity

2010-03-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

MIAMI (AP) — On his 75th birthday, Bill Farthing decided to be reborn. In the six years since he'd buried his wife of 45 years, he'd felt as he did long before: Lonesome, different, outcast. He wondered if he was going crazy; he contemplated suicide.

Looking back, the clues leading to this day had been scattered throughout his life, but only made sense just now.

So Farthing dressed in the most basic of blue wool skirt suits he could find on the Internet, with a white blouse and low-heeled, open-toed white shoes, and went shopping. Arms loaded with skirts and blouses from the clearance rack, Farthing approached the checkout.

"Did you find everything you wanted, ma'am?" the cashier asked.

Farthing looked over his shoulder, then realized she was talking to him. He had pulled it off.

He had become a she.

___

Increased awareness and acceptance of varied sexualities and gender identities has led Americans to come out far younger, as early as middle school. A less noticed but parallel shift is happening at the other end of the age spectrum, with people in their 60s, 70s and 80s coming to terms with the truth that they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

While no one tracks the numbers of the elderly who come out, those who work with older adults say the trend is undeniable, and a resulting network of support groups and services has cropped up.

The decision can fracture lifelong relationships. Or it can bring the long-sought relief of an unloaded secret.

"For the first time in my life, I'm not putting on a show," said Farthing, who eventually had sexual reassignment surgery and changed her first name to Chrissie. "It seems like I've been out on a cloud all my life and now I'm not. I'm me."

Outing yourself late in life can be complicated after having lived through times when being openly gay could get you arrested, put in an institution and given shock treatments. It's snarled in a lifetime of trudging along through society's view of normalcy and the resulting fear of being ostracized by children and grandchildren. And it's marked by a nagging doubt that all the heartache, all the potential for it to go wrong, may not be worth it with one's years numbered.

"When somebody comes out at the age of 20, they have their whole life ahead of them," said Karen Taylor, the director of training and advocacy for SAGE, a national group that works with LGBT seniors. "There's a real sense of regret and loss for somebody who comes out later in life, even when talking to them and they say the decision was the right one."

Still, many seniors have felt empowered by the growing presence of gays and lesbians in pop culture and some high-profile, late-in-life outings. Among the most notable, "Family Ties" star Meredith Baxter came out in December at 62; Richard Chamberlain, long the target of rumors, came out in 2003 at 69, decades after the height of his career as a TV heartthrob.

Those who've mustered the gumption to out themselves say they feel as if they've been given a second chance.

Carl Martin, 83, of Falls Church, Va., came out as gay not long after his wife died in 1997. He says he was happy in his marriage but had known of his feelings for men since he was in high school and revealed an unrequited crush to a friend. Coming out, he says, has changed him from a withdrawn, tense, reticent bystander to a vibrant social butterfly who even talks to strangers in the supermarket.

"I would describe these as the happiest years of my life," he said. "I'm free to be who I am. I was not free to be who I was before."

The realization often doesn't come easily. Sue Pratt, 74, of Kirkwood, Mo., remembers having feelings for her high school English teacher, but she wasn't sure what to do with them when she always dreamed of getting married and having a husband. She got her wish, but even when her husband left her, she still couldn't come to terms with the truth.

"You would think I would say, 'I'm free now,'" she said. "But that thought never occurred to me. I was so deep in denial."

Eventually, in her 60s, she answered a personal ad and slowly began coming out to her loved ones as a lesbian. Not everyone has taken it well, as she feared would be the case, but she has no regrets.

"I didn't want to have a secret," she said. "It doesn't matter if I lose every friend that I have, this is what I have to do."

Dr. Loren Olson, a psychiatrist in Des Moines, Iowa, who has studied late-in-life outings, said for most such seniors, there are losses, though they are typically less than they fear, and often vary greatly by socioeconomics.

Olson himself was 40 before he came out. While it may seem incomprehensible to some, he said it makes sense that many can't face the truth for so long, even if some around them have surmised it.

"We don't like disharmony in our thinking so sometimes we block out things that really are in opposition to really what we believe is true," he said. "It's like a child believing in Santa Claus: You just hang on to that as long as you can."

___

Farthing's life was sprinkled with hints.

As a boy, his mother asked one day how he liked school. "It was OK," Farthing said. "But it would be better if I was a girl."

He didn't want to do the things other boys did. Girls didn't want him around. He fought every haircut.

"We've got a homo on our hands," he overheard his father say.

But with no sense what to do with his feelings of being different, life wore on. He served in the Air Force. He lived overseas. And then there was that girl he found at a pub in England.

She felt different, too, always attracted more to women than men. But they got along so well. And they fell in love.

Sex was never a big part of their relationship, but a daughter was born. The marriage, Farthing says, was happy. Both of them thought they would die with their soul mate by their side.

She did. He wasn't so lucky.

Afterward, he tried anything to keep busy. He got his pilot's license back. He bought a small plane; he built a hangar.

One day, he needed a brass, elbow-shaped piece for his plane's fuel line. They call them male-to-female fittings, and he typed some such phrase into his computer. One of the search results that popped up was titled "The Male Lesbian Complex."

"That's stupid," he thought, moving along to find the part.

But later, something drove him back. The description of the "complex" sounded just like him. Was he always meant to be a woman? Was he too old to accept this?

"I read it and it was so close to me that it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck," Farthing said.

The transformation that followed has not sat well with all, of course.

A neighbor runs indoors now when Farthing comes outside of her Oakville, Mo., home. A brother-in-law and other relatives have cut her out of their lives. And her volunteer work at a nursing home had to end when her secret became known.

But those who are closest have accepted her. And now, in life's twilight, she says she finally feels whole, finally feels normal.

"For the first time ever my life feels like it's in the right place," she said. "I'm going to check out of this world the way I was meant to come into it."
Orlando Sentinel

Indiana gay marriage ban moves forward

2010-01-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Indiana took a step forward after a Republican-controlled Senate committee approved the measure 6-4 WednesdayWhile the measure stands a chance of progressing through Indiana’s full state Senate, which is currently controlled by the GOP, it is unlikely to make it through the Democrat-controlled House.

According to the South Bend Tribune, the measure would add an amendment to the state’s constitution banning both same-sex marriages and civil unions. But the measure is somewhat redundant as Indiana state law already forbids same-sex marriage.

“I firmly believe in the sacred definition of marriage as Indiana has always known it, as it is written in statute,” said state Sen. Carlin Yoder, a Republican, who wrote the bill told the Tribune.”This is not in any way an attack on the gay and lesbian community. By doing this, we are not taking away any rights from the gay and lesbian community in Indiana.”

365 Gay

'Big Brother's' Gay Cowboy Gets Bucked on Tape

2010-01-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

The gay rodeo champion who was evicted from the "Big Brother 10" house has found a new use for his assless chaps -- dude is officially entering the world of gay porn.

18 months after he was evicted from the "BB" house, Steven Daigle was so comfortable in front of the cameras, he decided to sign on to a man-on-man-on-man sex tape with a company called C1R.com.

We're told Daigle was approached with the idea by porn director Chi Chi LaRue -- who originally met Daigle at a "Big Brother" wrap party.

Daigle tells us, "I didn't expect my life to take this path, but when I was presented with the opportunity, I dove in head first... literally."

As for the footage, we're told most of the film is already in the can.

TMZ

If Straight Men Are Appealing to 'Hasbians,' Can Ex-Gay Men Find the Same in Straight Women?

2010-01-18T20:11:00.001-08:00

Former lesbians, or "hasbians," are women who used to date other women but now only date men. Hasbians are different from lesbians, we're told byDetails magazine, because they are no longer attracted to other women. We're also told there's a particular appeal, among heterosexual men, to date these hasbians, or at least "that the reason modern men are more ably attracting hasbians is that modern men are, quite simply, offering these women something close to what they had before." Which begs the question: Can this work the other way? Can men, who used to date other men but somehow flipped the switch and now only date women, find "something close to what they had before" in today's women?

Queerty

Judge says he is considering allowing trial on California's gay marriage ban to be broadcast

2010-01-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The federal judge presiding over an upcoming trial on California's same-sex marriage ban says he is considering seeking permission to broadcast the proceedings.

The governing body for federal courts in Western states last week approved a pilot program that would for the first time allow cameras in civil trials being decided by judges.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said in an order issued Wednesday that he wants to record or webcast a Jan. 6 pretrial hearing as a test run for the trial, in which he'll consider a constitutional challenge to California's voter-approved gay marriage ban, known as Proposition 8.

Lawyers representing sponsors of the ban, approved by voters in 2008, have said they oppose having the trial broadcast outside the courtroom.

Orlando Sentinel

Ryan Seacrest Tweeted He Likes Chicks

2010-01-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

Tyra Banks to End Talk Show in 2010

2009-12-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

Tyra Banks will be ending her talk show in 2010 after a five-year run to shift her focus to producing for film and television, Banks announced in an open letter to her fans on her website and in an interview with People magazine.

Banks, who won the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award in 2009 for Excellence in Media, says she will be focused on launching Bankable Studios, a New York-based film production company currently reviewing possible projects.

"This will be the last season of The Tyra Show," Banks tells People. "I've been loving having fun, coming into your living rooms, bedrooms, hair salons for the past five years."

Banks will continue to work on America’s Next Top Model, which returns in February, and True Beauty.

"You empowered me, and in turn, when I finally had a platform and the power and a voice to get across the points and the messages that are important to me, I brought you along with me, because you embraced me," Banks said while addressing the crowd at this year’s GLAAD Media Awards.

According to industry insiders, Bankable Productions will focus on empowering women and minorities through media.
Advocate

US lawmakers condemn anti-gay Uganda legislation

2009-12-28T19:25:00.001-08:00

Five Republican House members are urging the president of Uganda to oppose a proposed law that would impose the death penalty for some gay Ugandans. The lawmakers say they are all men of faith, and that the bill is antithetical to the Christian belief of “inherent dignity and worth” of all people. The congressmen used a Tuesday letter to urge President Yoweri Museveni to stop the bill from becoming law.

The bill would mandate a death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act faces life imprisonment.

The letter was signed by Reps. Frank Wolf of Virginia, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, Trent Franks of Arizona and Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana.

365 Gay

Can Robert Downey Jr. Get Away With Calling Sherlock and Watson a Pair of 'Homos'?

2009-12-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

Senate Democrats Will No Longer Tax Your Lipo. But Your Fake Baking Is About to Cost 10% More

2009-12-21T05:17:00.000-08:00

Your fears of a 5 percent tariff on butt lifts, rhinoplasty, and injectables like Botox and Restylane are over! Senate Democrats have dropped the so-called "Botax," likely after major uproar from the well-moneyed cosmetic surgery industry, which was supposed to raise $5 billion. But don't think Dems have entirely thrown out the idea of taxing America's addiction to aesthetic improvements: The cast of Jersey Shore is about to see their tanning experience get hit with a hike.

In place of Botax is a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning. Or, as the Senate's bill refers to it, the tax will be "intended for the irradiation of an individual by ultraviolet radiation, with wavelengths in air between 200 and 400 nanometers, to induce skin tanning." Which, as far as we're concerned, is a tax on WHITE PEOPLE!

And Sarah Palin.

Looks like spray-ons it will be.

Queerty

eBay Will Not Let Jamie Frevele Auction Off Her Right to Marry

2009-12-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

Well that was to be expected. eBay has removed Jamie Frevele's "Right to Marry" auction listing, which Queerty first told you about. Before the Internet giant pulled the listing, Frevele's bids had topped $300 — all looking to "buy" the heterosexual gal's right to get married in New York. The auction item was in spirit only (with proceeds benefiting the Point Foundation) but it still ran afoul of eBay's rules, which bar any items that "include personal opinions, political views, or offensive comments about eBay members" and require auction listings "physically exist." Well, isn't that a metaphor for gay marriage?
Queerty

Lambert to appear on ABC's 'The View' after complaining of being dropped from other ABC shows

2009-12-07T06:11:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC says glam-rocker Adam Lambert will appear and perform on its daytime talk show "The View" on Thursday.

The announcement comes almost two weeks after Lambert's racy performance on ABC's broadcast of "The American Music Awards." That led to Lambert getting axed from an appearance on the network's "Good Morning America."

Since then, Lambert, who is openly gay, complained of being dropped from two other upcoming ABC shows.

In the meantime, he has been scheduled for NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" on Dec. 21.

And his taped appearance on "The View" will air a day after he is honored by "View" co-panelist Barbara Walters on her "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" special. That also airs on ABC.
Orlando Sentinel

ABC Will Let Adam Lambert On Its Network Only In a Pre-Taped, Censor-Friendly Environment

2009-12-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

Looks like ABC is reconsidering its ban on Adam Lambert. Not only will he be a part of Barbara Walters' annual The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009 on Wednesday night, Lambert will stop by and sing on Thursday's The View. But because Lambert still cannot be trusted — he might touch his crotch at any moment! — the appearance will be taped. And GLAAD is congratulating itself all the way to the bank.

"ABC has taken a step towards fairness by inviting Adam Lambert to perform on The View," says GLAAD chief Jarrett Barrios in a statement. "GLAAD has been advocating against the double standards that have been applied to Lambert as an openly gay performer. We thank community members and allies for voicing their concerns with ABC so that entertainers like Adam have the opportunity to be broadcast into living rooms across America." (Also noted in the GLAAD release: "Earlier today [Friday] GLAAD urged constituents to contact ABC to express disappointment. Throughout the day, GLAAD continued conversations with ABC that began two weeks ago when the network announced the cancellation of Lambert’s performance on Good Morning America following his performance on the American Music Awards.")

We can already hear the stupidity from Elisabeth Hasselbeck brewing.

UPDATE: We just spoke with one of Barrios' senior underlings at GLAAD, who tells Queerty "the whole situation has been embarrassing" for the organization. GLAAD "fucked it up … from the beginning" and is now "trying … to cover our ass" with statement after statement. Barrios "is not happy with … how this played out. We're all sort of just trying to pretend this was successful."

Queerty

Lady Gaga on Ellen Degeneres

2009-12-02T19:03:00.001-08:00

California mayor apologizes for remark to newspaper about gays

2009-11-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California mayor is apologizing for comments he made to The New York Times that gays will not go to heaven.

Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis issued a prepared statement Tuesday saying he seeks to represent all city residents, not just a faction.

The controversial remark was published Friday in an article about the divide between the city's gay and evangelical Christian residents.

The mayor, an evangelical, told the newspaper gays are "committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven."

Davis now says the remarks were taken out of context, and he won't use his position to espouse his personal beliefs.

Davis defeated a gay candidate for mayor by two votes in 2007.

Orlando Sentinel

She Voted to Fire a Gay Teacher. And Now the Gays are Boycotting Her Restaurant

2009-11-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

When we learned the manager of Los Angeles restaurant El Coyote donated to Prop 8, there was outrage and boycotts from gay clientele. In Oklahoma City, it's Flip's Wine Bar and Trattoria at the center of a new boycott. But this time because its co-owner, as a member of the Oklahoma City School Board, voted to fire an openly gay teacher. Well, that's not gonna be good for business.

Gail Vines, who owns a stake in Flip's, joined five others on the board to oust Joe Quigley, an openly gay teacher at Northwest Classen High School ("Home of the Knights!"), who also started the school's gay-straight alliance. Fired in May for "poor teaching," Quigley countered with a complaint that he was fired for his sexuality, and a judge ruled he was competent to teach. The board appealed, but Quigley is back in the classroom at a different school while a judge weighs in on the appeal.

But for now, supporters of Quigley are boycotting Flip's (Facebook page here) — and, according to Vines, calling in with harassing phone calls.

Except, uh, even Quigley sides with Vines in one respect, claiming he wasn't fired for being gay — just for vociferously standing up for gay rights. (He hasn't officially stated whether he supports the boycott or not.)

Further explains the Oklahoma blog Gossip Boy:

Flip’s co-owner Gail Vines, along with five other members of the OKC School Board (Steve Shafer, David Costello, Lyn Watson, Thelma Parks, and Phil Horning), openly defied an August court order that mandated the immediate reinstatement of gay school teacher Joseph Quigley, who a judge found had been wrongfully terminated and bias was involved in his firing. Despite the order from Judge Barbara Swinton, Vines and the others refused to allow Quigley back into the classroom. After Swinton threatened the board with contempt, the board relented and the teacher is back on the job for the time being.

Vines’ business was chosen as a boycott target due to her self-proclaimed support of the LGBT Community and the fact that other school board members lacked an actual business to challenge.

Meanwhile:

After the effects of the boycott began being felt by the restaurant, several of Vines’ employees, vendors, and friends began a counter boycott that saw several of them trashing the character of Quigley and his competency. Led by Chad Bleakley, the group began libeling Quigley on the Boycott Flip’s Facebook page and attempted to troll the board with their support for Vines and dismissal of the LGBT Community’s feelings.

Bleakley stated that if the Community is going to boycott Flip’s they would need to go ahead and boycott his restaurant VZDs. It appears the Community is ready to comply with that request.

In one of his posts he said, “This is a an issue of incompetence and lack of professionalism, not a gay rights issue. Quigley does an injustice to those seeking equal protection under the law playing the equivalent of the "race card".”

The focus of Bleakley’s attack, Joe Quigley, is not a part of the boycott, but is being targeted by members of Bleakley’s group despite their assurances it is only to defend Vines. In October Quigley began working at US Grant High School. He chose to discontinue grievances against the district and concentrate on teaching. It is his hope that a resolution can be obtained that stops the district’s excessive legal spending and that will ultimately lead to a compromise that will see LGBT student protections in school policies.

It's really as simple as this: If Quigley was a bad teacher, let him go. But presented with the evidence, a judge found otherwise. (It's unclear what started an investigation into Quigley's allegedly poor teaching practices.) But if he's been ousted because he wants to foster a safe environment for queer students, then go ahead, boycott the shit out of those responsible for his removal.
Queerty

Guess Which Escort Abuser Is Headed to Big Brother?

2009-11-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

Because this is what you do with people who, when given their own free will, kidnap and attack escorts: Boy George will be locked up again. But this time, television cameras will be rolling the whole time.

George has agreed to appear on Britain's Celebrity Big Brother, supposedly scoring a £200,000 fee along the way.

And when he mouths off at other contestants and unleashes his Culture Club wrath while television audiences look on? He probably won't feel remorse for that, either.

Queerty

This 10-Year-Old Won't Pledge Allegiance to a Country that Discriminates Against Gays

2009-11-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

He's got a small voice, and he's just one kid, but 10-year-old Arkansas fifth grader (he skipped a grade) Will Phillips might as well have Barack Obama's ear as much as Joe Solmonese. That's because Phillips, who's already aware of the gay rights struggle at such a young age, is making a small stand against a nation with discriminatory policies on the books: he's refusing to recite the Pledge Of Allegiance at school.

He wouldn't do it when the substitute teacher asked him. And he's not about to start now, even if other kids are, predictably, teasing him over his stance.

Given that his protest is over the rights of gays and lesbians, the taunts have taken a predictable bent. “In the lunchroom and in the hallway, they've been making comments and doing pranks, and calling me gay,” he said. “It's always the same people, walking up and calling me a gaywad.”

Even so, Will said that he can't foresee anything in the near future that will make him stand for the pledge. To help him deal with the peer pressure, his parents have printed off posts in his support on blogs and websites. “We've told him that people here might not support you, but we've shown him there are people all over that support you,” [his mother Laura] Phillips said. “It's really frustrating to him that people are being so immature.”
Queerty

A Bad Dream: What Just Happened In Maine?

2009-11-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well this is a terrible way to wake up the day after Election Day. Did that really happen last night? Yes, yes it did. Maine's voters, by a 52.7-47.3% vote (with 87% of precincts reporting), continued the trend of the populous that, when given the chance to eliminate marriage rights for gays and lesbians, do so.

We thought, surely, Maine would be different. They're a more "live and let live" community than California's splintered voting block.

But rather than celebrating a new dawn in LGBT equality, we're dealt a major blow. Indeed, last night Washington State's voters enacted Referendum 71, granting domestic partnerships (to both straight and gay couples) in a state where same-sex marriage is illegal.

And while neither Stand for Marriage Maine nor the National Organization for Marriage have taken to their websites to gloat yet, the latter did update its homepage to say campaign manager Frank Schubert "claimed victory."

For the No On 1 side, Protect Maine Equality's Jesse Connolly says, "We're in this for the long haul. For next week, and next month, and next year until all Maine families are treated equally. Because in the end, this has always been about love and family and that will always be something worth fighting for." The group expects a statewide recount.

We'll have more on last night's results throughout the day.

Queerty

Will Three Gays Head Up Good Morning America?

2009-10-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

With Diane Sawyer making her decade-long exit from Good Morning America, all of New York media wants to know: Who will take her place? Depending on who ABC picks, the network's morning show could become the gayest place on television.

By comparison, NBC's Today and CBS's The Early Show are pretty straight chat fests. (Okay, we've heard the gay rumors about Early's weatherman Dave Price, too. He's single and lives in NYC with his dog. Uh huh.) But on GMA, you've already got Robin Roberts and Sam Champion, both of whom are out among colleagues, but not viewing audiences (at least, they don't make it anyone's business).

That leaves Diane Sawyer and Chris Cuomo as the resident heteros, making GMA a refreshing half-gay. But what if ABC filled Diane's spot with another family member?

Already, financial lez Suze Orman has raised her hand to ABC brass letting them know she wants the job. But "insiders" says ABC wants a dude to replace Diane (who's leaving to take Charlie Gibson's evening anchor chair) and sit next to Robin, "restoring" the male-female duo main hosting construct. "A short list of candidates," says the Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold, "is widely believed to include This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos, World News Saturday anchor David Muir, GMA Weekend co-host Bill Weir and GMA news anchor Chris Cuomo." (NB: Moving Cuomo to a main slot would still leave open the junior "news anchor" slot.)

Funny, then, that Weir already has the gays speculating And so does Muir.

Not that adding another 'mo would really change GMA's formula of news, entertainment, and crossing and uncrossing legs. But it'd be nice to wake up every morning and see Chris Cuomo quivering among the Gs.

Queerty

Another Soft Ad From Maine's Marriage Equality Camp

2009-10-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Gay Man Beaten In Possible Hate Crime

2009-10-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

President Obama to Gay Americans- I'm here with you to fight for equal rights

2009-10-11T22:23:00.001-07:00

Comedian Matt Lucas Ex-Husband Leaves Facebook Suicide Note

2009-10-06T10:45:00.001-07:00

The way we live now: Leaving suicide notes on Facebook. That's how British comedian Matt Lucas' ex-husband departed this world, posting this status update on his profile: "Kevin McGee thinks that death is much better than life." His body was found yesterday when police barged into his home, only to find him hanging.
Queerty

Why Pastor David Weekley Came Out to His Church as Transgender

2009-10-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

After spending 27 years leading a ministry in Portland, Pastor David Weekley told his United Methodist Church congregation his big secret: he's transgender. Weekley, who had gender reassignment surgery, says his FTM status wasn't actually a secret, but just part of his private life. Well, it's no longer either.

Weekley's story is a remarkable one. Inside a church that's not exactly in love with LGBTs (they don't explicitly ban transgender folks from joining the clergy, but gays are prohibited, and gay weddings are a no no), Weekley explains to The Early Show why he still belongs: "I'm not happy with that part of the church, but I've chosen over the years to stay within it, hoping to work for positive change about those kinds of things."

But what we're most curious about is what's on the minds of the partners of transgender men and women. David's wife Deborah explains things this way: David is awesome, and that's all there is to it. Deborah? You sound pretty awesome too.

Queerty

New Catholic Rule: Pro-Gay Politicians Don't Get Holy Communion or Funeral Rites

2009-09-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

What separation of church and state? Show us a religious entity that hasn't involved itself in politics, and we'll show you a check with six zeroes. But we're not just talking about folks like New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan inserting himself into the gay marriage debate. We're talking about Archbishop Raymond Burke, who just called for the banishment of gay-supporting politicians. Or at least denying them communion and funeral rites.

It was a direct shot at Sen. Ted Kennedy, the LGBT advocate whose funeral was attended by Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley and fellow bigshot Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. This, despite many conservative Catholics indignation over Kennedy's civil rights support. (And that comes despite this correspondence between Kennedy and the Pope.)

Addressing InsideCatholic.com's 14th Annual Partnership Dinner, Burke argued "neither Holy Communion nor funeral rites should be administered to politicians who support abortion or same-sex marriage. To deny these is not a judgment of the soul, but a recognition of the scandal and its effects. … It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and to conduct oneself in this manner."

Burke, the former archbishop of St. Louis who now carries the grand title Prefect of the Vatican's Apostolic Signatura, came out swinging not just against Kennedy (though he didn't name him), but also his colleagues McCarrick and O'Malley, who was urged not to preside over Kennedy's funeral.

But there's another side to this argument: What politician, or human being, would want to take communion from a church who considers civil rights work to be sinful? Who would want to have his funeral presided over by a church who deems your friends and loved ones less than? Actually, plenty of folks, and Kennedy — a good Irish Catholic boy — obviously was among them. It doesn't make much sense to us, but we understand the power of faith.

It's just a shame Archbishop Burke wields so much of it.

Queerty

Neil Patrick Harris Was Great Hosting the Emmy's

2009-09-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Janet Jackson's Tribute to Michael at the VMAs

2009-09-14T20:28:00.001-07:00

MTV Shows

Shaquille O'Neal Getting His Man Spank On

2009-09-09T11:49:00.001-07:00

Albert L. Gordon, an attorney who helped advance gay rights in the 1970s and '80s by challenging discriminatory practices and laws, including a succes

2009-09-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

A heterosexual whose twin sons were gay, he battled bigotry in law enforcement and successfully argued for the revocation of laws against consensual homosexual acts.

Albert L. Gordon, an attorney who helped advance gay rights in the 1970s and '80s by challenging discriminatory practices and laws, including a successful effort to decriminalize consensual homosexual acts, died Aug. 10 in Los Angeles. He was 94.

He died of natural causes, his son Harold said.

Gordon, a heterosexual whose twin sons were gay, became a lawyer in his late 40s and devoted most of his practice to defending the rights of homosexuals and battling the bigotry of law enforcement. Often working for free, he became known as "the leading pro bono lawyer to L.A.'s gay community," historians Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons wrote in their 2006 book "Gay L.A."

"Before there was a straight-gay alliance in America, there was Al Gordon," the Rev. Troy Perry, a longtime activist and founder of the gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Churches, said in an interview last week. "When other people wouldn't touch us, he did. He was a hero."

One of Gordon's most memorable cases stemmed from a notorious raid on a gay bathhouse on Melrose Avenue in 1975, when scores of Los Angeles police officers broke up a mock slave auction staged as part of the entertainment for a gay community fundraiser. Apparently not amused by the gimmick, the police treated the event as actual human slave trafficking, a felony, and arrested 40 participants. Gordon helped win their release.

He supported a second mock auction, organized by Perry to raise defense funds, by going on the auction block himself. He went for $369 to his wife, Lorraine.

He also represented gay activists in another cause celebre: a 10-year battle to force Barney's Beanery, a popular West Hollywood restaurant, to remove an offensive sign. The misspelled sign, "Fagots Stay Out," was taken down in 1984.

Born in Pittsburgh on May 29, 1915, Gordon moved to California with his parents when he was an infant. He attended Los Angeles City College, where he met Lorraine. They were married in 1937 and their twin boys, Harold and Gerald, were born later that year.

Lorraine died in 1987 and Gerald died in 1996. In addition to Harold, Gordon is survived by his second wife, Pearl.

During World War II, Gordon worked as an efficiency engineer at Lockheed but was fired because of his pro-union activities, Harold Gordon said. He subsequently started a janitorial service, which he ran with his first wife for about 15 years.

At the urging of a friend, he enrolled at the San Fernando Valley College of Law. He passed the bar in 1962 when he was 47.

While Gordon was in law school, Gerald was arrested for soliciting a vice officer. "My whole world just fell apart," Gordon told The Times in 1974. "I'd always had the normal stereotype of a homosexual as a child molester or somebody effeminate. When my own son was arrested, I just couldn't believe it was true because he was neither of those things."

Gordon and his wife separated under the strain caused by the arrest, and he was on shaky terms with his son for several years."He was homophobic," Harold, who later came out as gay, said of his father in an interview last week.

What softened Gordon's attitudes toward homosexuals was getting to know several of Gerald's gay friends when they came to him for legal advice. One night he summoned the courage to ask his son if he was gay. When Gerald answered yes, Gordon broke down and asked his outcast son to forgive him.

"I was the one who changed," Gordon recalled in the 1974 interview.

That year he joined with gay liberation leader Morris Kight to devise a challenge to the 1915 California law that made oral sex a felony. They recruited a gay male couple, a lesbian couple and a heterosexual couple to sign affidavits stating that they had broken the statute against oral copulation.

Gordon then informed the LAPD that the "felons" would present themselves for arrest at the Los Angeles Press Club. As he expected, no police showed up but a media circus ensued, guaranteeing coverage of a law he regarded as hypocritical.

"He loved antics. He liked to really stir things up and fight for the little guy," said Los Angeles lawyer Thomas F. Coleman, who was a UCLA law student when he began working on gay rights issues with Gordon in the early 1970s.

Undeterred by the absence of police, Kight made a citizen's arrest and drove the three couples to the Rampart police station, but the station commander refused to bite.

The next stop brought the offenders no closer to jail. At the office of the assistant district attorney, they were told no charges would be pressed because prosecuting private sexual acts between consenting adults was against the district attorney's policy.

Armed with this statement, Gordon and Kight argued that the state penal code was misleading and should be changed. In 1975, the state Legislature agreed by revoking the laws against consensual homosexual acts. The change removed a major tool of police harassment of gays.

"He helped change the legal system in California, particularly in Los Angeles," Coleman said. "The gay and lesbian community really owes him a debt of gratitude."

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. today at Eat Well restaurant, 8252 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

LA Times

Lawrence King's Accused Murderer Brandon McInerney Says He's Innoncent

2009-08-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

Or at least, not guilty. That's the plea Brandon McInernery (pictured above), now 15, entered yesterday in superior court, where he stands accused of (among other things) last February's shooting murder of then-classmate Lawrence King. He's being tried as an adult, though his defense counsel is trying to prohibit it.

McInerney’s lawyers, Scott Wippert and Robyn Bramson, filed a legal motion Thursday to dismiss the special circumstance of lying in wait that was tacked onto the felony criminal charges by prosecutors after a three-day preliminary hearing.

Attaching a lying in wait special circumstance to a murder charge in a juvenile case, by law, automatically transfers the case to adult court.

Wippert and Bramson allege that the district attorney is engaging in prosecutorial vindictiveness by filing the special circumstance. Wippert said it was done to prevent defense attorneys from challenging in court whether McInerney’s case belongs in adult court and whether the district attorney’s office abused its discretion by prosecuting him as an adult.

Queerty

Billy Bush Hopes All Beauty Pageants Will Spark Debate on Gay Marriage

2009-08-26T11:50:00.001-07:00

Know what the world needs now? A repeat of the Carrie Prejean fiasco. And luckily, Miss USA co-host Billy Bush is also co-hosting the Miss Universe Pageant!

Back in April, it was Bush holding the mic when Carrie Prejean gave her "opposite marriage" answer. And with another of Donald Trump's beauty pageants to host, why not make a spectacle of these girls' artificial intelligence? Billy Bush certainly hopes that'll happen!

"I love knowing [the Q&A portion] is coming up," Bush told reporters this week. "In a moment of 30 seconds on live TV, anything can go wrong, and it usually does.

"I'll never forget when [Prejean] answered that question. You could hear the gasps in the audience … and all of the sudden, you felt like something happened," he said. "I hope people remember the last Miss USA and tune into Miss Universe to see what might happen."

Actually, let's be fair: "Something" didn't happen, not on the live television broadcast. Barely anyone watches these trite competitions any more. The "something" that happened was when the judge who asked the question took to his blog and turned Prejean's answer into an attack on civil liberties (and an exercise is saying "cunt"). Given this year's judges — Dean Cain, Colin Cowie, Gerry Deveaux, Farouk, Heather Kerzner, Richard Lefrak, George Maloof Jr., Valeria Mazza, Matthew Rolston, Andre Leon Talley, Tamara Tunie and Keisha Whitaker — aren't exactly petri dishes of creating controversy, it's doubtful they'll be asking the hard questions.

Queerty

We're 28,861 Signatures Away From Washington's "Marriage" Law Going to a Vote

2009-08-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

The latest count from Washington's Secretary of State: 104,000 signatures have been checked for Referendum 71, which would stay Washington's "everything but marriage" law and put the matter up to voters. Of that total, 91,716 names have been accepted and 12,182 rejected, providing an error rate of 11.72 percent — not good enough to forecast a fail.

checked signatures and just over 12,000 rejected for one reason or another. The overall error rate is 11.72 percent, barely up from 11.68 percent, which we reported Friday. In order to make the November statewide ballot, the referendum’s overall rejection rate must not go over 12.4 percent.

Here are the latest totals: 103,898 checked, with 91,716 accepted and 12,182 rejected. The R-71 sponsors, Protect Marriage Washington, need 120,577 valid Washington voter signatures for the measure to be placed on the ballot.
Queerty

Here's What God Did to the (Maybe Gay Hating, Or Gay Loving) Lutheran Church Yesterday

2009-08-20T13:49:00.001-07:00

While nobody was hurt when a tornado yesterday ravaged the Minneapolis Convention Center where Lutherans are about to vote on whether to allow gay clergy, there was some damage. Reader Tim was outside after the storm and snapped this photo of the Lutheran church across from the convention center. Jesus isn't screwing around, is he?

Gay People Across America Performed Synchronized Kissing

2009-08-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Anchorage passes gay rights ordinance - veto possible

2009-08-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

(Anchorage) The Anchorage Assembly approved an ordinance Tuesday banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by a 7-4 vote.

The vote falls one short of the eight-vote supermajority needed to override a mayoral veto. Mayor Dan Sullivan has seven days to decide. He has said he has not yet made a decision.

The bill passed after two months of discussion and a compromise that included exemptions for religious institutions, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Opponents of the bill, who wore red, had argued that gay people are not discriminated against; they also said that they worried that MTF transgendered people would then be able to use women’s restrooms.

The Assembly members who voted yes brought up gays and lesbians who they are close to. One mentioned that the Assembly voted to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in Anchorage in 1976 - that bill was vetoed by then-mayor George Sullivan, the current mayor’s father.

365Gay

This Man Was Left Partially Paralyzed In a Gay Bashing. Now He's Thanking His Attacker

2009-08-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

Nearly four years ago in Brooklyn's Brownsville area, Steven Pomie nearly beat Dwan Prince (pictured) to death for coming on to him. Pomie attacked Prince once, then came back for a second round with a cohort, and returned for a third assault only to be stopped by witnesses. By that point, Prince was unconscious. So how come Prince is now lobbying for a light sentence of his attacker? It might have something to do with Prince blaming himself for the anti-gay attack.

We can't imagine the terror Prince felt that night, when Pomie felt so threatened by another man's flirting he felt the need to physically beat the gay out of him. But we cannot fathom thanking our attacker for nearly ending our life.

But that's what Prince, 31, who has no memory of the attack, did in a letter to Pomie. And even though Prince has been left partially paralyzed from the assault, he says he worked with the prosecutors office on a more lenient sentence.

And if that weren't bizarre enough, he suggests when Pomie, 26, gets out of prison, the two can be friends.

It took a jury less than a day of deliberating to convict Pomie on charges of first-degree assault and first-degree assault as a hate crime; he was sentenced to 25 years. An appeals court reversed the conviction in 2008, threw out the first-degree assault charge, and ordered Pomie retried on second-degree charges; Pomie is in prison awaiting retrial. Reports Gay City News' Duncan Osborne:

Prince was a witness at the first trial, though he has no memory of the assault. His testimony illustrated the devastating results of the attack. His more sympathetic posture toward Pomie could sway a jury. While the assault left Prince partially paralyzed, he blamed himself.

“I was at blame so it is my to my strongest degree that you get out as soon as possible,” Prince wrote.

“Steve you changed me!” Prince wrote. “So hopefully when you get out we can hang out. You know me. I know you. I help you calm that angry machine down. And allow you to know I am not gay but a lover, and you can find me a female I can love and can love me.”

Prince has been attending a Bible study class at the Riverside Church, a liberal congregation, but he said he has not discussed his changed sexual orientation there.

“I am looking to change my life these days,” Prince, who is HIV-positive, told Gay City News. “I am looking for a female who I can marry and have my sperm washed and have children… With me going to church, I feel myself that I must try to live by the Bible, I must try to live by God’s law.”

It appeared at a July 13 hearing that Pomie and the Brooklyn district attorney were negotiating a plea deal, but that seems to have collapsed. The two sides, at an August 4 hearing, set a trial date for September 1.

When his conviction was reversed, Pomie was transferred from the state prison system to Rikers Island where he remains, unable to make bail. Prince did not know if Pomie had received his letter and he is considering sending him a second.

“I want him to know that, if he read or if he didn’t read it, I want him to know my emotion and feeling behind what happened,” Prince said. “I want him to know my true emotion and love for him. There is a God that looks over everybody and he raised me from death and Steven was not able to kill me… I don’t hate him for trying to kill me.”

Was Miami Anchor Charles Perez Fired For Being Too Gay?

2009-08-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

Maybe the reason Anderson Cooper isn't so forthcoming with his sexuality is he fears a fate similar to Charles Perez, the Miami anchor for ABC affiliate WPLG claiming he was fired for being gay.

Perez was last seen pulling anchor duty on July 22, but his descent began months ago, according to a discrimination claim filed with Miami-Dade's Equal Opportunity Board, alleging WPLG bosses ousted him "because of their discomfort over the increasingly high profile of my sexual orientation."

Not helping things? Perez is in the middle of a domestic violence dispute with ex-boyfriend Dennis Ricardo Peña, who stands accused of leaking a private email between Perez and his therapist to his work colleagues. (Peña filed his own complaint against Perez, alleging Perez is the one responsible for the threats.)

On March 16, Perez alleges in court papers, Peña hacked into his personal e-mail, intercepting a "confidential and sensitive" e-mail and then forwarding it to "every single person" on Perez's e-mail address book. Among those who received the e-mail was Perez's attorney, Milstein. Perez says Peña had enough personal info to obtain his password.

Peña tells The Miami Herald: "I did not hack into his e-mail."

The e-mail in question was sent Feb. 20 to a family therapist in Los Angeles. Perez's petition says the e-mail could cause ''substantial harm" to his "professional and personal reputation."

Perez also says Peña sent him threatening text messages late last month.

Peña filed a 12-page motion to dismiss Perez's petition. The motion mentions Perez's co-anchor Laurie Jennings and her contract negotiations; details of the Perez-Peña sexual relationship; and Perez's relationship with a new partner, accountant Keith Rinehard. In the motion, Peña claims that Perez reached out to the therapist 'for counsel with his `gender identity issues.' "

It seems to coincide with his removal at the network.

The filing summary details Perez's quick descent at Channel 10, which began weeks after a March 3 performance review, when Perez says that WPLG News Director Bill Pohovey told him he was "too anchor-like and too ‘Brian Williams' in my delivery."

On March 16, a private e-mail from Perez written to a family therapist was forwarded to everyone in the reporter's online address book. The e-mail said Perez told the therapist he needed to work through his "gender identity issues."

Three days later, Pohovey called Perez into his office for a "new" performance review, this time saying that Perez came across "too soft," didn't sound "main anchor-like" and smiled too much with co-anchor Laurie Jennings. "Like girlfriends."

On April 3, Perez went to court seeking a restraining order against his former partner, Dennis Ricardo Peña, whom he accused of leaking the private e-mail.

Later that month, Perez claims he "began to disappear" from station promotional spots. He lost the weeknight anchor seat July 22.
Queerty

2 Murdered in Tel Aviv

2009-08-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

UNC researchers: Smoking rates significantly higher among homosexual men, women

2009-07-29T12:10:00.001-07:00

Men and women who are gay or lesbian are more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to smoke, according to findings from a review study carried out by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The findings, published in the August issue of the journal, Tobacco Control, show that as many as 37 percent of homosexual women and 33 percent of homosexual men smoke. That compares to national smoking rates of 18 percent for women and 24 percent for men in the 2006 National Health Interview Survey.

The authors reviewed findings from 42 studies of the prevalence of tobacco use among sexual minorities in the U.S. published between 1987 and May 2007. The findings suggest smoking is a significant health inequality for sexual minorities.

Recognizing and understanding the increased risk in a particular population can help policymakers, health-care officials and others provide support for people more likely to start smoking or who may want to stop smoking, said Joseph Lee, lead author of the review and a social research specialist with the Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program in the UNC School of Medicine.

A number of small or geographically limited studies have suggested that sexual minorities have higher rates of tobacco use than the general population, said Lee, who conducted the review as a master’s student in collaboration with Cathy Melvin, Ph.D., at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and UNC’s Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and Gabriel Griffin, a medical student at the Duke University School of Medicine.

“The underlying causes of these disparities are not fully explained by this review,” Lee said. “Likely explanations include the success of tobacco industry’s targeted marketing to gays and lesbians, as well as time spent in smoky social venues and stress from discrimination.”

“Tobacco is likely the number one cause of death among gays and lesbians,” Lee said, “but there is hope. Many gay and lesbian organizations are starting to reject addictive funding from the tobacco industry, and the community is organizing itself to address this health inequality through the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network.”
UNC News

Harry Potter Keeps Getting Gayer

2009-07-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

Guess Which Bigots Are Coming to Washington?

2009-07-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

The National Organization for Marriage, which is not America's largest gift registry, is coming to Washington! Maggie Gallagher & Co. are setting up shop in our nation's capital to stop those crazy elected people on The Hill from repealing the Defense of Marriage Act. Too bad escrow took too long for them to arrive before D.C. itself started getting in on the gay marriage thang.

We're not sure where NOM is establishing camp, but please oh please won't they be neighbors with the Human Rights Campaign's grand edifice?
Queerty

Why Did GM Pull Those Hot Bumble Bee Boys Off YouTube?

2009-07-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

You might've thought General Motors — just out of bankruptcy — was really trying to reach the gay audience when it debuted the "Bumble Bee Boys in Briefs" video this month. But all of a sudden, the clip showing two cuties washing the new 2010 Camaro (wearing only yellow underwear with the car's model spelled on the butts) disappeared from YouTube. What gives?

GM didn't fully "vet" the viral clip, and once upper levels of management caught wind, they ordered it pulled. Also gone? "Another [video that] shows the preparation of the briefs the "go go boys" are wearing as they wash a Camaro: C-A-M-A-R-O was stitched across the bottoms. A third is up-close-and-personal with the two models — one is a graduate college student in public policy."

"Bumble Bee Boys" was promoting "Chevrolet Gay Day at the Movies," a sponsored event in Los Angeles tied to the premiere of Transformers 2; one of the characters in the film is named Bumble Bee.

Maybe the clip did a little too good a job promoting the event? Because clearly it was too racy for corporate. The folks responsible for spending billions in taxpayer dollars didn't want to send the impression the government bailout was being used to, like, show off go-go boys. "Our LGBT outreach group did just some grassroots, viral, simple videos to promote the event itself," says GM's LGBT media relations head Travis Parman. "Our LGBT group who normally handles this thing is the group who did it, so we didn’t want to shy away from that responsibility. But it had not been vetted through every single group." And had it been? "It probably never would have been posted."

And here we thought GM wanted us to think the Camaro was a dude magnet.
Queerty

Why Won't the NAACP Officially Support Gay Marriage?

2009-07-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

While NAACP chairman Julian Bond managed to give a speech on gay equality that was arguably more moving than any gay leader has ever given, the black civil rights organization has no official position on same-sex marriage. As NAACP president Benjamin Todd Jealous tells it, they don't have a national stance on letting gays get married because there is not yet a consensus inside the org. Yes, they are pro-hate crimes legislation for gays. Yes, they are against bullying in schools that targets gay kids. And yes, they are against laws banning same-sex marriage, like Prop 8. But the "tense debate" over fully supporting our right to marry remains unresolved. This is problematic.

As Jealous tells it, he would rather keep the NAACP together as an agreeable unit than divide followers by taking a stance on marriage equality. The organization is more effective, he says, when it can act in unison with all its moving parts. This premise, of course, depends on what your definition of "effective" is.

To many gays — black, white, whatever — standing on the right side of equality is the only way to be effective. Not declaring your position is tantamount to tolerating discrimination. The NAACP cannot effectively criticize those who approve of keeping gays as second-class without taking an official stand. It's an exercise in logic fucking to consider a civil rights organization — founded for the singular purpose of demanding and spreading equality — that refuses to, well, demand and spread other types of equality.

The issue of same-sex marriage is too decisive, insists Jealous. But is letting people of various religions practice their faiths openly too controversial to support? How about letting a black woman and a white man wed? Of course not. These issues have been resolved; they are no longer controversial moral issues. But while we complain about Gay Inc. moving too slowly, here we have Black Inc. waddling toward one of the last remaining equality stands — instead of leading the pack and declaring equality is paramount, especially in the face of internal squabbling.

It is exactly this passivity that helps drive divide inside black civil rights camps. Where civil rights leaders and the black church and inextricably tied, the issue becomes even more contentious. (It also explains why some black churches are simply exiting the business of marriage altogether.) We understand Jealous' argument: Some very powerful black leaders do not support same-sex marriage, and to go on record as defying their conservative beliefs will generate hostility inside the NAACP. But since when has placating those who actively endorse discrimination been a tenet of his organization?

The NAACP has an opportunity to once again lead — or at least be at the forefront of — the battle for equal rights. Now more than ever, we need the support of other minority communities on our side. But Jealous and the NAACP refuse to take a stand on what, to many, is an obvious choice: equality for all is the only option.
Queerty

Men who threw rocks, beer bottles charged with hate crime

2009-07-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Men shouted anti-gay slurs at transgender woman
Two New York City men accused of throwing rocks and beer bottles at a transgender woman are facing charges including assault as a hate crime.

Authorities say the men also shouted anti-gay slurs during the Wednesday night incident.

The woman told authorities she was at a Queens intersection when she was struck by a rock on her foot.

The Queens district attorney's office says she told authorities she was also hit by an empty beer bottle, which left a 3-inch cut on her leg. She accused the men of yelling slurs and threatening to kill her.

The men also face charges of harassment and menacing.

Washington Blade

Rockstar Energy Drinks Donates Money to LGBT Organizations

2009-07-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the official press release:

ROCKSTAR Energy Drink Expands LGBT-Friendly Corporate Policies; CEO Russell Weiner Announces Additional ROCKSTAR Donation of $100,000 to LGBT Organizations

July 9, 2009

Las Vegas, Nevada – ROCKSTAR Energy Drink CEO Russell Weiner announced today that the beverage company will expand its LGBT corporate policies and make $100,000 in donations, shared among several prominent LGBT organizations. The donations represent a significant contribution given ROCKSTAR’s relatively small staff of 120 employees.

The contribution will be shared among the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and The Trevor Project, and ROCKSTAR Energy Drink will also financially sponsor the National LGBT Bloggers Initiative. The donations and affirmation of LGBT-friendly corporate policies mark steps by ROCKSTAR to demonstrate support for the LGBT community.

“It has recently come to ROCKSTAR’s attention that there might be a misconception about our company’s policy and my personal support for LGBT rights,” said Weiner. “We apologize for that misunderstanding, and want to make clear today that our company fully supports our LGBT employees and our LGBT customers.”

"Some have erroneously associated our company with offensive language directed at LGBT people, specifically statements coming from Michael Savage, who is not and has never been a shareholder or officer of ROCKSTAR Energy Drink. On behalf of our company and directors, including myself and CFO Janet Weiner, I would like to take this opportunity to disavow any offensive statements directed toward LGBT people, including statements from Michael Savage. ROCKSTAR assures our customers and the general public that our brand will never be associated with any language that does not affirm the essential dignity of every person in our diverse national community."

In response to encouragement from bloggers, including social change media site Change.org (www.change.org) and LGBT news site The Bilerico Project (www.bilerico.com), ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is expanding its corporate policies related to LGBT issues. In addition to reaffirming its corporate anti-discrimination and equal opportunity employment policies, which include protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, ROCKSTAR has announced that it has included an LGBT component in their company’s corporate-wide diversity training and will begin to offer company resources for employees who may want to start an LGBT workplace group.

Additionally, ROCKSTAR will continue to offer domestic partnership benefits to LGBT employees, a company policy that has been in place since ROCKSTAR Energy Drink was founded in 2000. Under this policy, LGBT employees in domestic partnerships receive the same benefits coverage as heterosexual married employees, as well as the same protections afforded under the company’s sick leave, bereavement, leave for victims of domestic and sexual violence, and family military leave policies.

“These policies demonstrate that ROCKSTAR is committed to equality in the workplace,” said Weiner. “But while corporate policies are one plank in the struggle for equality, we recognize that supporting the LGBT population requires an even greater effort.”

To this end, Weiner announced that ROCKSTAR has pledged to give $50,000 to The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, a community-based organization which supports and promotes activities directed at furthering the well being, positive image, and human rights of the LGBT community and its allies in Southern Nevada, near ROCKSTAR’s office in Las Vegas.

ROCKSTAR has also committed $25,000 to Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students, and The Trevor Project, a leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among LGBT youth. Both gifts will be disbursed in 2010.

On top of these donations, ROCKSTAR Energy Drink will contribute $12,500 to sponsor the National LGBT Blogger Initiative, which provides training and support for LGBT bloggers, and pledges to support LGBT-related pride festivals in the future. These contributions are in addition to the $25,000 Weiner recently gave to Project Open Hand, a San Francisco charitable organization that works closely with LGBT communities on HIV/AIDS outreach.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to support the work of these organizations, who are at the forefront of the struggle for LGBT rights in this country,” said Weiner. “We are proud to enhance our corporate policies and contribute to these organizations, and we hope that these actions clear up any misunderstanding or misconceptions about ROCKSTAR’s support of the LGBT population.”

Candice Nichols, the Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, said that ROCKSTAR’s contribution to the Center shows its commitment to LGBT rights and will be immensely helpful in serving the needs of the LGBT community in its hometown of Las Vegas and throughout Southern Nevada.

"We are pleased to see ROCKSTAR taking bold steps as a company to ensure the dignity and self-worth of LGBT people, both within their own corporate policies and within the city where they are incorporated," said Nichols. "ROCKSTAR's contribution to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada will help our organization continue to provide vital services to the LGBT population of this area, including services for LGBT youth. During these tough economic times, we appreciate the significance of ROCKSTAR's contribution and look forward to working with them as a partner down the road to continue to support the needs of Southern Nevada's LGBT population."

Eliza Byard, Executive Director of GLSEN, said that ROCKSTAR’s efforts to expand support for LGBT employees and the local LGBT community are significant steps in the right direction.

“GLSEN is very pleased to have helped reach an agreement that immediately benefits the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, a community center that serves the needs of LGBT people in ROCKSTAR’s own backyard,” said Byard. “ROCKSTAR seems sincere in its efforts to affirm the dignity of its LGBT employees and the greater LGBT community, and in its recognition of the damage language can cause - damage that GLSEN confronts daily in its work in K-12 schools. We look forward to seeing continued evidence of this commitment in the weeks and months ahead, and to accepting their contribution next year so long as they continue upholding the principles they’ve publicly articulated.”

Charles Robbins, Executive Director and CEO of The Trevor Project, also said that ROCKSTAR is taking the right steps to partner with LGBT organizations.

“The Trevor Project is pleased that ROCKSTAR is moving in the right direction to act as a responsible corporate citizen that truly embraces diversity,” said Robbins. “It is important to recognize that the kind of offensive language which ROCKSTAR has now disassociated itself with can be truly dangerous, especially to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth who remain at a higher risk for suicide. Whenever a company or individual supports our work, we know that it is lifesaving, and we look forward to the impact that ROCKSTAR’s systemic support will have in our community for years to come.”

Michael Rogers, the Founder of the National LGBT Bloggers Initiative, echoed these sentiments. “I'm excited to see that ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is not only committed to positive messages about LGBT Americans, but that they have demonstrated that commitment with generous support of community organizations. I applaud the company's recognition of the unique partnerships that can be built between corporations and online activists and their goal of working for positive social change.”

For its part, Change.org has been working with ROCKSTAR Energy Drink over the past few weeks to make a bold statement on behalf of LGBT rights. Both Change.org’s CEO, Ben Rattray, and Gay Rights blogger Michael Jones, have been leading discussions with ROCKSTAR.

“ROCKSTAR’s show of support for LGBT rights and Russ Weiner’s significant financial contribution demonstrate that the company is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen when it comes to equal rights for its employees and its customers,” said Rattray. “This is a model for other companies to follow who wish to make it unequivocally clear that they support equal rights for all.”

Jones added that discussions between ROCKSTAR and Change.org have shown that the company is solidly behind equal rights.

“The overtures made by ROCKSTAR and Russell Weiner to foster an LGBT-friendly workplace, as well as the generous contribution to leading LGBT organizations indicate a level of engagement with LGBT rights that should be commended,” said Jones. “This is a great example of how bloggers, companies and LGBT organizations can work together to foster equal rights.”

Bil Browning, Editor-In-Chief of the popular LGBT group blog The Bilerico Project (www.bilerico.com), echoed these sentiments. "I'm pleased to see ROCKSTAR is taking steps to ensure all their employees and customers are treated with dignity and respect. ROCKSTAR’s commitment to continuing multi-year support of the LGBT community through both organizational and blogger outreach demonstrates their willingness to move beyond any misunderstandings surrounding their company. Not many companies would be willing to reach out to their main critics and find common ground for a solution that leaves all parties satisfied; ROCKSTAR should be commended for their eagerness to correct any previous problems."

About ROCKSTAR: ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is a remarkable entrepreneurial success story founded by Russell Weiner in 2000. Then only 30 years old, Mr. Weiner risked $50,000 of his own money secured by a mortgage on his condominium to start the company. Through the hard work and dedication of its employees, and due to the excellence of its product, ROCKSTAR is now one of the top selling global market leaders in energy drinks.

About Change.org: Change.org is an online hub and media network for social issues and collective action. The San Francisco-based social entrepreneurship venture operates a network of blogs covering more than a dozen major social issues and has partnered with 4,500 leading nonprofit organizations to provide its more than 500,000 members with opportunities for involvement.

Contact Info:

Tony Guilfoyle
Director of Corporate Relations, ROCKSTAR Energy Drink
tony.g@rockstar69.com
415-269-2064

Ben Rattray
CEO, Change.org
ben@change.org
202-253-1288

Michael Jones
Editor, gayrights.change.org
mjones@change.org
617-595-7868

Gay rights: Reflecting on Pride weekend

2009-06-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times' June 27 edition led with two elderly gentlemen on a park bench, lovers for decades ["Diverse fight for equality," page one]. One had a stroke and he and his partner worried about long-term care, finances, etc.

The June 29 Times led with a woman and her partner -- the partner attending Pride festivities for a brief time due to her multiple sclerosis ["Burst of pride, politics," page one]. They, too, were concerned about their partnership and "rights."

Is The Times selling us something?

-- Hubert Smith, Jacksonville, Ore.

Filled with pride, wary of challenges facing gays

During this weekend's Pride festivities, I was eager to celebrate 40 years since the start of the gay-equality movement. As a gay man, I believe the extraordinary advances of just the past year call for great celebration. After all, five states have legalized same-sex marriage since last summer, and our own state recently passed its expanded, "everything but marriage" domestic-partnership bill.

But the past year has also seen some challenges. President Obama has yet to come through on many promises to the LGBT community.

California voters passed Proposition 8 last November, banning same-sex marriages in that state. And sadly, opponents of gay equality have mounted a statewide push to repeal Washington's domestic-partnership law.

Referendum 71 proponents claim they are protecting Washington families, but the measure protects no one. Indeed, if passed, this referendum will do immeasurable harm to countless loving same-sex couples and their families.

While there is much to celebrate this weekend, I hope the looming threat of Referendum 71 will remind us all that serious challenges still lay ahead. I want to remind all Washingtonians that this measure will hurt thousands of families in our state and encourage everyone to decline to sign the Referendum 71 petition.

Seattle Times

ACLU says California hospital discriminated against gay couple after woman's collapse at march

2009-06-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Civil rights groups are urging a hospital in central California to change its policies after employees briefly barred a lesbian from visiting her partner, who went into seizure at a gay marriage march.

Kristin Orbin collapsed May 30 after walking 14 miles in the protest march. She was taken to Fresno's Community Regional Medical Center, where she says an ambulance driver kept her partner from seeing her in the emergency room.

Teresa Rowe says hospital employees also ignored her requests to talk to a doctor about Orbin's care.

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights on Monday urged the hospital to change its policies.

The nonprofit system that runs the hospital says Orbin received good care and the hospital followed proper procedures.
By: Associated Press

Witnesses spar over marriage at election board hearing

2009-06-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

More than 100 people packed a D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics hearing room Wednesday as supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage presented opposing arguments regarding the validity of a proposed referendum to overturn the city’s same-sex marriage recognition law.

At issue, according to election board chair Errol Arthur, is whether the proposed referendum would cover one or more of eight restricted subject areas that are barred from going before the voters, including a proposal to raise or lower taxes or a proposal that would “unlawfully discriminate” under the D.C. Human Rights Act.

Although most of the 16 witnesses that testified at the hearing touched on the legal aspects of the issue, many of them — including Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., pastor of the Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., and the lead advocate for the referendum — gave impassioned presentations on why they support or oppose the right of gay people to marry.

“They claim you can separate civil marriage and spiritual marriage, but clearly you cannot,” Jackson said at the hearing.

“It should be said that the citizens of the District should be heard on this,” he said, suggesting a voter referendum would be the only fair way to address the subject.

Last month, Jackson and six other people filed papers calling for a referendum to overturn the D.C. Jury & Marriage Amendment Act of 2009. The act, among other things, would allow the city to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries.

The D.C. Council passed the act, 12-1, and Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the measure, sending it to Capitol Hill, where it’s undergoing a required congressional review of 30 legislative days.

Under the city’s election law, opponents of the measure have until the completion of the congressional review — believed to be July 6 — to obtain approval of the referendum’s wording through the election board and to gather about 21,000 petition signatures to place to place it on the ballot in a special election.

Wednesday’s hearing represented an opportunity for referendum supporters to make their case.

“The issue before the board today is not whether same-sex marriage is good or bad, but whether this issue should be decided by the people and not just by the few,” said Brian Raum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group that represents same-sex marriage opponents across the country.

“It’s simply not the case that this would violate the Human Rights Act,” said Raum, who argued that a 1995 D.C. Court of Appeals decision, Dean v. D.C., held that same-sex marriage is not permitted under the city’s marriage statutes and is not a right granted under the Human Rights Act.

But several witnesses opposing the referendum, including Brian Flowers, an attorney representing the D.C. City Council, and Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the author of the same-sex marriage recognition law, argued that the Council has made extensive changes to the city’s marriage and family statutes since 1995, when the Dean decision was handed down.

“Seven of the eight sections of the law cited in the Dean case have been repealed by the Council,” Flowers said.

Flowers also noted that the Dean decision, which was considered a setback for same-sex marriage advocates at the time, asserted that the city’s marriage law was not intended to allow same-sex marriages because it distinguished between men and women, even though it did not specifically ban same-sex marriage.

“Because there are no longer gender-specific provisions in the marriage law, the Dean decision does not trump the Human Rights Act,” Flowers said.

Gay rights attorney Mark Levine, who testified on behalf of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest gay political organization, said the Dean decision was no longer relevant because it referred to a city marriage law that no longer exists.

Longtime gay activists Phil Pannell, a Ward 8 civic activist and Democratic Party leader, and Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, testified that the civil and human rights of LGBT people should not be a subject for popular vote.

Both said the city’s election law bars the subject of same-sex marriage rights from being placed on the ballot as a referendum.

Pannell said that as an African American, he’s aware that most of the nation’s historic advances in civil rights for blacks came about by court decisions and laws passed by Congress and the states.

“An overarching concern of any D.C. resident who believes in fairness, equality, freedom and justice should be the fundamental question of having the civil and human rights of minorities subjected to plebiscite in a constitutional republic,” Pannell said.

“If questions of voting rights, segregation, interracial marriages and other discriminatory practices against African Americans had been put to a vote decades ago, national progress toward an equal-opportunity and a just society would have been seriously impeded,” he said.

But Rev. Patrick Walker, an official with the city’s Missionary Baptist Ministers Conference and an advocate for the marriage referendum, argued that same-sex marriage is a “special right,” not a civil right.

Walker said allowing same-sex marriage in the city would reverse the fundamental principle of the family — which he called the building block for society — being based on a union between a man and a woman.

Leroy Swailes, an Oxon Hill, Md., resident who said he considers himself to be part of the D.C. community, acknowledged that banning same-sex marriage is a form of discrimination, but added that “discrimination against homosexuals is positive discrimination.”

Swailes startled supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage in the audience when he called “all” homosexual acts a form of pedophilia.

Election board chair Arthur said the board would allow interested parties to submit written testimony on the issue of whether the referendum should be allowed through the end of the business day on June 11. He said the board would then deliberate on the matter and issue a decision within a week.
Washington Blade

Harvard to create chair in gay studies

2009-06-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

Harvard University is creating a visiting professorship in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies with a gift of $1.5 million from the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus.

The professorship is one of the first for gay and lesbian studies in the United States. The University of Louisville has a chair in race, class, gender and sexuality studies named for lesbian poet and activist Audre Lorde.

Harvard's chair is named for F.O. Matthiessen, a Harvard scholar, distinguished literary critic and gay man who died in 1950.

The university said Wednesday it would regularly invite experts in issues related to sexuality or sexual minorities to teach on campus for one semester.

The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus advocates for gay and lesbian students, faculty and alumni.

Washington Blade

Adam Lambert on the Early Show this Morning

2009-05-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

What if the World Treated AIDS Like Swine Flu?

2009-05-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Swine Flu As of 6 p.m. GMT on May 4, 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed 1,085 cases of swine flu in 21 countries worldwide with 26 confirmed deaths, and reports seem to show the illness is leveling off. For now at least.

By the end of 1981, just 7 months after the first press report mentioning a rare disease in gay men, at least 121 people died from what would become known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Just days after the swine flu outbreak was confirmed, the entire world knew of this new disease that jumped from pigs to humans, by statements from the leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO and President Barack Obama.

Six years after the first reports of AIDS, President Ronald Reagan finally publicly said the word AIDS and acknowledged it was an issue. By that time, nearly 21,000 people had died from the disease, while a total of 50,000 people in 113 countries lived with AIDS.

Today, more than 25 million people have died and, according to conservative estimates, 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS around the world, many of whom do not have access to the life-saving anti-retroviral drugs.

What would've come of AIDS had our president talked about it and sounded alarms in early 1981 instead of ignoring a disease that presumably only affected gay men? It's possible that AIDS could have been contained. But because it was "nature's revenge on gay men," according to Reagan's then communication's director Pat Buchanan, it was swept under the rug and silenced.

The world is reacting to the news of swine flu and paying attention. It's no different than when seven people in the Chicago area died in 1982 from taking cyanide-laced Extra Strength Tylenol and Johnson & Johnson, which produced the pain reliever, recalled an estimated 31 million bottles. This happened one week after the first death. Imagine if authorities hadn't made the connection how many more people may have died?

When authorities made the connection that gay men and intravenous drug users contracted and died from this strange disease, conservatism and "religious moral values" played a large role in our national politics and they didn't care that "deviants" were dying. The Rev. Jerry Falwell said "AIDS is the wrath of God upon homosexuals."

Would anyone have paid attention to swine flu if only an "undesireable subgroup" was getting sick? I would hope so. Today, we have a government in place that shows compassion for all Americans (and presumably all human life), at least where health is concerned. It's a sad legacy that Reagan left behind regarding AIDS. Millions of people might have be spared if he had acted, instead of remaining silent while his hatred for a group of his citizens lay suffering and dying.
Gay.com

Once Upon a Time, Bill O'Reilly Didn't Care if Dudes Married Dudes

2009-05-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

Just like Barack Obama was for same-sex marriage was against it, Bill O'Reilly was never against same-sex marriage … until he was. Even though he was caught this week pointing out all the crazy things gays getting married would lead to, he wasn't always such a hater. Back in 2002 he said: "Look, I couldn't care less, to tell you the truth…. You want to get married? Knock yourself out. Go to Vegas. Have a good time. If you can get that changed, I'm not going to jump up and down and say I think it's wrong, because I don't." He even called anti-gay zealots "fanatics" and "holy rollers." Nice to see O'Reilly can flip-flop — or "evolve" — his stance.
Queerty

Tyra Banks Discusses Civil Rights for Gay Americans

2009-05-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Obama nominates lesbian as HHS official

2009-05-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

The White House announced Friday that President Obama has nominated a lesbian to work on aging issues in the Department of Health & Human Services.

Kathy Greenlee, the new nominee, was nominated as the department's assistant secretary for the administration on aging. The administration on aging is charged with advising the federal government on the needs of older people and developing policy to promote their welfare.

Greenlee's appointment is subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.

Greenlee has served as secretary of aging in Kansas since 2006. She previously served as Kansas' long-term care ombudsman, assistant secretary of aging and a general counsel at the Kansas Insurance Department.

She has also served as chief of staff and chief of operations for former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who recently became secretary of health and human services.

In the 90's, Greenlee was a co-chair of Equality Kansas.
Washington Blade

Branding Perez: Polarizing blogger has big goals

2009-04-30T05:33:00.000-07:00

Perez Hilton is still poking fun at celebrities. But as a blogger, radio host, author and now highly publicized advocate of gay rights, he's also become one — and not just as a famous person, but a powerful and wide-reaching brand.

Still, Hilton, whose recent 31st birthday party drew the likes of the Jonas Brothers and Christina Aguilera, seems uneasy with the C-word.

His preferred title: Entertainer.

"I don't consider myself a celebrity because for every two people that like me, there's probably 3 1/2 that don't," he said by phone from Los Angeles. "And I don't care if you don't like me — I just care if you still read my Web site."

And Hilton clearly likes to stir the pot: As if being asked to judge the April 18 Miss USA pageant wasn't enough to raise his profile, Hilton went for a bigger media blitz by asking Miss California Carrie Prejean about same sex marriage. Prejean's response — that "marriage should be between a man and a woman" — became one of the hottest topics on the talk-show circuit.

Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, made the rounds on CNN's "Larry King," NBC's "Today" and other major outlets. He defended his question as fair and relevant. Prejean stands by her remarks; meanwhile, Hilton stands by his, which include calling the beauty queen a B-word.

Their beef launched dozens of online video responses and was spoofed in a skit on Jimmy Fallon's talk show, ending with Fallon brokering a peace treaty between stand-ins for Prejean and Perez.

"I said she was a dumb (bleep)," he said. "Well, you know what? What she said to me in that answer was that I am a second-class citizen that doesn't deserve full equality under the law."

Hilton's blog has decried Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in his home state of California, and revealed the sexual preference of several celebrities who eventually announced they are gay.

"I've always considered myself an activist — even when I was outing people, I did it because I believe in equality. ... If I'm gonna talk about a heterosexual celebrity that's having a secret relationship with someone else, I should do the same thing with a homosexual celebrity," he avowed.

But he's not the spokesman for the gay community, he said. He's just doing what he knows best: Being Perez.

The strategy has served him well: His over-the-top alter ego and celeb-mocking have resulted in an explosion of page views. Love him or loathe him, Hilton emerged as heavy competition for major news organizations, and paved the way for celeb-driven sites like TMZ.

"His blog captured the mood of the world — which is a little snarky, a little cynical, a little provocative, a little tongue-in-cheek," said Howard Bragman, Hollywood publicist and author of "Where's My Fifteen Minutes?: Get Your Company, Your Cause, or Yourself the Recognition You Deserve."

Bragman said Hilton nailed the "right tone at the right time — his instincts were very, very good. And a lot of those things that people were feeling, he was able to put online."

PerezHilton.com attracted 2.2 million unique visitors in the U.S. and 3.9 million globally last month, according to tracking firm comScore Inc. Henry Copeland, who runs advertising for Hilton, won't comment on his earnings. But he said that when advertisers take over the site — like promoters of the Anne Hathaway-Kate Hudson film "Bride Wars" did recently — the self-described "Queen of All Media" could potentially make tens of thousands of dollars per day.

"It all is a blessing because I didn't expect any of this," Hilton said. "I started my blog for fun. I didn't think you could make money from it."

Hilton, who insists money is a low priority, has aimed to expand his brand from the start. He wakes before dawn each morning to do his syndicated radio show, which airs in more than 75 markets. He released a book this year called "Red Carpet Suicide: A Survival Guide on Keeping Up With the Hiltons." He appears in numerous TV spots, and would like to get his own show.

More than anything, he loves music, often adding plugs for music artists he likes. He has hosted concerts in New York, Liverpool, U.K., Toronto and, most recently, Austin, Texas, where he lured the star power of Kanye West to perform at his party at the South By Southwest festival.

Hilton is also an avid user of Twitter, and has amassed nearly 700,000 followers on the micro-blogging site. Last week he tweeted about Lady Gaga — someone he said he caught onto long ago — and her "MIND-BLOWING acoustic" version of her song "Paparazzi."

For all his pursuits, Hilton keeps his goal simple: Media domination.

"I want to be like Oprah, only bigger," he said, without a trace of irony.

Hilton, who ranks No. 1 on Forbes' list of the 25 most famous Web celebs for the second year in a row, admires the rise of Ryan Seacrest, who leveraged his hosting gig on "American Idol" to build an entertainment empire, and desires the same for himself. And like Seacrest, he keeps a busy schedule: "I work really really hard — I work harder than anyone I know. It could have been really easy for me to get lazy or coast."

Bragman said Hilton could live out his ambition "by being authentic, by not selling out, by being real — because people have amazing authenticity detectors in this world. ... We know what's real and we know what's not, and we can smell sellouts. And as long as he sticks to what he does and what got him there and what he believes, and he expands in a controlled way and doesn't try to do too much too soon."

Does Hilton worry about keeping his brand afloat — say, amid a crippling recession?

"It definitely is affecting me for sure — but I don't care! I have a business manager," he said. "I let him handle all the finances and all that stuff. I'm too busy working to be worried about any of those things. Plus, I still don't do it for the money."
Wash Blade

Washington State Gays Get 'Everything But Marriage'

2009-04-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Moving beyond a 2006 Washington State Supreme Court ruling that insisted denying same-sex unions did not infringe on anybody's rights, the state's legislature insisted it does. First the Senate, and now the House have passed SB 5688, which expands existing domestic partnership laws to include what appears to be all remaining areas, granting same-sex partners the same rights as married folks — just without the word "marriage." Next stop: Gov. Chris Gregoire's desk, where she's expected to sign it into law.

Ushered in by Democrats, the bill naturally met resistance by Republicans, who wanted to amend the language to further separate "marriage" from the rights the legislation granted. They also tried putting the measure to a vote by citizens. Neither effort worked out for them. Which means the 5,000 domestic partners who've registered since 2007 will ultimately enjoy all the rights and privileges of straight married types, but don't get to use The M Word.

So what does the new bill provide? Where the old law, passed two years ago and backed by Sen. Ed Murray, provided "inheritance rights in cases where there was no will, hospital visitation rights, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations," the new measure fills in these gaps, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

* Victims' rights, including the right to receive notifications and benefits allowances.
* Business succession rights.
* Legal process rights, such as the ability to sign certain documents, the requirement to join in certain petitions, rights to cause of action, and ability to transfer licenses without charge.
* The right to use sick leave to care for a spouse.
* The right to wages and benefits when a spouse is injured, and to unpaid wages upon death of spouse.
* The right to unemployment and disability insurance benefits disability insurance issues
* Workers' compensation coverage.
* Insurance rights, including rights under group policies, policy rights after death of spouse, conversion rights, and continuing coverage rights.

Next stop for marriage equality? New Hampshire, Maine, New York and New Jersey, where legislators will move on same-sex marriage bills.

As for Washington State, we'll check back in a year or two, and see if we can upgrade that "domestic partnership" definition to a word that begins with "M."

Queerty

Dr. Laura on Gay Marriage

2009-04-14T18:09:00.001-07:00

Maxim Philippines pushes boundaries with gay, lesbian issue

2009-04-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially started but this month's men's magazines are shaping up to be even hotter than the weather.

FHM Philippines starts off the fireworks with a sizzling hot cover of Premiere Condoms endorser Paloma Esmeria.

"Daddymag" Playboy Philippines also goes daring with a semi-nude formation of the Playboy cover girls.

But this month's Maxim Philippines promises to top them all with an almost completely nude photo of singer Mocha on the cover flanked by backup Mocha girl, Hershey.

According to Mocha, this month's cover may be the tamest thing about the issue, which tackles the lives of gays and lesbians in the country.

"This is self-expression, a way to be more open about our sexuality," she said.

She also defended the admittedly risque content of the issue but reminded the public that the magazine is not for minors.

Boy Abunda leads the issue’s centerpiece feature, “Gays’ Night Out At Classmate,” in which Boy and four other prominent gay men hold a roundtable discussion of gay issues inside a VIP room of Classmate, the preeminent gentleman’s club—in the company of sexy GROs (guest relations officers) and a stripper.

Writer and gay activist Danton Remoto, fashion designer Puey Quiñones, Magic 89.9 deejay Mojo Jojo, and magazine editor Carlo Tadiar join Boy, the host of “The Buzz” and “Showbiz News Ngayon,” in this not-so- private conversation about homosexuality in the Philippines.

MAXIM begins the collection of articles on gays and lesbians with a mock cover featuring another controversial celebrity, BeBe Gandanghari (formerly Rustom Padilla). MAXIM addresses the country’s most famous transgendered person in an open letter that is humorous, heartfelt and compassionate.

Other eye-popping pictorials feature World Wrestling Entertainment diva Eve, theater and film actress Angeli Bayani and the amazing tandem of MAXIM babes Tracy Torres and Mellow Johnson.

Other major features in the issue are a nostalgia piece on Bagets, the classic youth movie that marks its 25th anniversary this year, and a pre-fight analysis of the much-anticipated Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight.

ABS-CBN

The Gay Revolution Will Be Twittered

2009-04-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Sacramento Bee Online Content Developer Nathaniel Miller says, "I first learned about the Iowa gay marriage Supreme Court ruling from Twitter." He's not alone. On Friday, "Iowa State Supreme Court" was the highest trending topic on the site, highlighting how Twitter has quickly become integrated into our daily lives, or at least the lives of the hyper-wired. For gays and lesbians, the service, which allows users to blast short messages of up to 140 characters each, has become not only a source of news, but a way for communities to connect. We asked the gay Twitter horde (by Twitter, naturally), how they're using it and who they're following. If you're just getting started with Twitter or want the inside scoop on the best of the LGBT Twitterverse, look no further.

How Gays are Using Twitter

Twitter was originally designed to allow people to give short status update, essentially answering the question, "What are you doing now?" But in practice, the service has become much more, especially when it comes to news. The immediacy of Twitter, coupled with its ability to deliver messages to your phone or web-client, means that breaking news is even more, to coin a Colbert-ism, "breakier." All the major news services use Twitter to deliver headlines, but for LGBT folks, gay-specific LGBT twitter news accounts serve as one-stop gay wire news services. Camilo Arenivar of L.A. says Twitter "can be used for news reliably, I like it more for that than anything else, it can be incredibly useful for specialized news." Kevin Cobb of Ft. Lauderdale explains that "I follow @qrty and @tlrd for national news + entertainment; @SteveRothaus for South Florida news."

Twitter's not just for breaking news, however. Unlike traditional one-way media, Twitter allows users to respond to each other, meaning that news becomes a conversation. Consider Same Sex Sunday, an idea hatched by the kids over at the Billerico project. The concept is simple: Tell folks about your favorite gay Twitterers and include the "hash tag" (a way of making similar tweets easily searchable) #samesexsunday. By putting like-minded folks in touch with each other, news carries.

The community aspect of Twitter had special significance for LGBT people the last few months in a way that is both radical and practical. As Prop. 8 protesters marched and rallied for equality, they used the service to organize and keep each other abreast of what was going on as it happened. Bao-Viet Nguyen of California says Twitter is "great to follow during marches and rallies… [I] got updates on March route changes, celeb sightings, police activity, new "chants" going on in other parts of the march, etc…" I have personal experience with this. During the Prop. 8 marches in L.A. I used my Twitter account (that's japhy79, folks) to keep updated with fellow marchers as well as get news about where the police were moving crowds and let those at home get an on-the-ground view of the marches. Prop. 8 protester Mark Oshiro tweeted his arrest after an altercation with a Yes on 8 supporter and the news was up online in minutes. As civil organizing tool, Twitter is an ad-hoc Nextel device on steroids.

10 Gay Twitterers You Need to Follow

So, who should you be following? We asked around and here are the hottest LGBT twitters out there today (as well as some personal favorites):

@qrty: Oh, sure its self-promotion, but Queerty's own Twitter feed was mentioned by nearly every person we asked (and on Twitter, anyone can reply to you, so it wasn't just our friends). You get our latest posts sent to you as soon as they're posted, plus we often live-tweet important events, such as the inauguration and the Prop 8 Supreme Court hearings, giving our Twitter followers a sneak peek at our news stories as they happen.

@tlrd: Andy Towle's twitter account is a rehash of what's on his site, but the man has mad skills at covering New York gay news and gay violence reports. Since we're talking about Towle Road, his last name is pronounced "toll." We only mention it because everyone keeps talking to us about Andy "Towlie." Consider it our good citizen move of the day.

@davidbadash: New York based LGBT activist David Badash is Twitter's gay uncle. In addition to keeping folks updated with news, he can be awfully chatty and enjoys discussing the latest news with people who reply.
@noonprop8: Love or hate em', Equality California's Twitter account is a great source for authoritative news about the LGBT struggle in California.

@gaysdotcom: While we don't have time for the world's "social network" for gays and lesbians, Gays.com's twitter feed is uniformly excellent, pulling up stories that don't get covered elsewhere.

qs_logo_twitter_bigger @queersighted: A very gossipy London-based feed, you're as likely to get tips about how to date via iPhone as you are to hear news about UK gay issues.

@qpocc: A good example of an "event-based" Twitter, Queer People of Color is covering the conference by the same name held this weekend at UC Davis. Feeds like this become watering wells for participants before, during and after the event, keeping the discussion going long after you're back home.

@msignorile: Michelangelo Signorile's own feed is an inside look at the work that goes into his radio show (as well as the occasional random discussion about glue traps) and a good example of a "celebrity" twitter done right.

@JoinTheImpact: The official Twitter of the Join the Impact site is a great resource for the latest demonstrations and protests across the country, if you can wade through the middle-school-esque acronyms and overuse of exclamation marks.

@queerunity: A little gem of a Twitter feed, Queer Unity is a San Francisco based feed that wears its activist heart on its sleeve. Worth following just to see the occasional flame wars that erupt between them and social conservatives who provoke them via tweets.

Follow us on Twitter!

Queerty

Hate crime charges filed in anti-gay attack

2009-04-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Prosecutors have filed hate crime charges against an 18-year-old Seattle man accused of accosting another man on a Metro bus while yelling anti-gay slurs.

Abiazzizi I. Idris has been charged with second-degree attempted robbery and malicious harassment, the state's hate crime statute, in the March 10 attack.

In court documents, police claim Idris was riding on a Metro coach near the 9000 block of Rainier Avenue South when he slapped the man in the back of the head. He then allegedly asked, using a slur, if he was homosexual.

The man disembarked the bus moments later, followed by Idris and an associate. Police say Idris again approached him, telling the man that homosexuality violates his religion.

Confronted by Idris, the man again said he was not gay. Idris then, police assert, "grabbed the victim around his neck and said 'Give me $10 and your cell phone and I'll let you go.'"

The owner of a nearby grocery store spotted the altercation and phoned 911. Police arrived and arrested Idris, who was later identified as the assailant, according to prosecutor's statements.

Idris remains in King County Jail on $50,000 bail. He has not entered a plea in the case.

The victim's sexual orientation is not noted in court documents. Under state law, malicious harassment occurs when a defendant threatens someone based on their perception of their sexual orientation or other factor.

Seattle Pi

N.H. House approves gay marriage, sends bill to Senate

2009-03-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

CONCORD, N.H. — The state House on Thursday voted narrowly to make New Hampshire the third state to allow gay couples to marry.

The bill, which passed the House 186-179, next goes to the Senate, where its future is uncertain. Democratic Gov. John Lynch opposes gay marriage but has not said specifically that he would veto it — a position that spokesman Colin Manning reiterated after the vote.

Two years ago, the Legislature approved, and Lynch signed, civil unions for gays, which provide all the rights of marriage, except in name.

Currently, only Connecticut and Massachusetts allow gay couples to marry. The Vermont Senate sent a gay marriage bill to the House this week, but Gov. James Douglas says he will veto it if it reaches his desk.

Supporters say it is discriminatory to exclude gays from marriage. Opponents argue marriage is a sacred religious institution that would be cheapened by allowing gays to marry.

Civil unions are not marriage, said Rep. David Pierce, D-Etna. The law should respect and support his life with his partner and their two daughters.

"When my children grow up to be old enough to know what discrimination is, they should not have to learn they were the objects of it," he said.

He said gays should be allowed to marry, just as women won the right to vote and people of different races the right to marry.

"It is separate but equal all over again. Would you volunteer to ride at the back of the bus? Would you volunteer to give up your marriage license for a civil union license?" said Pierce.

Brookline Democratic Rep. Melanie Levesque, who is black and married to a white man, said her marriage was still a crime in Virginia in the mid-1960s.

"We have had a long history of challenging conventional wisdom — the Earth is flat, people from different continents should not marry, people who are the same should not marry," she said.

Republicans who voted against the bill said gay marriage defies nature and could harm children.

Rep. John Cebrowski, of Bedford, said, "You cannot make two similar things into something they were never meant to be." Rep. Laura Gandia of Litchfield called it "the most radical redefinition of marriage that can be imposed."

Rep. Nancy Elliott of Merrimack said marriage was instituted by God and that "marriage between a man and a woman is perfect and holy."

The first attempt to pass the bill fell one vote short, but opponents were unable to kill it. The House then reconsidered and passed the measure Thursday. A dozen House Republicans voted to pass the bill; 26 Democrats opposed it.

Democrats hold a 14-9 edge in the Senate, but Senate Republican Leader Peter Bragdon of Milford said GOP senators will work to kill the legislation.

State Republican Party Chairman John H. Sununu criticized the House vote as an "attempt by the liberal Democrats in the Legislature to impose their San Francisco agenda on the state of New Hampshire."

But Mo Baxley, executive director of New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, said lawmakers showed the world that "New Hampshire does not discriminate and all families count."

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the U.S. Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, had testified in support of the bill, calling it a matter of fairness.

"I am delighted, because it's clear to me that New Hampshire values one class of citizenship and not two," Robinson said of the House vote. "And I'm delighted that (the bill) threatens people of faith in no way."

More than 600 New Hampshire couples have entered into civil unions since the state's law took effect last year. The current bill would change the name from civil union to marriage. Federal law does not recognize civil unions or same-sex marriages.

Times Argus

Smoking prevention groups go after tobacco ads targeting gays

2009-03-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

The cigarette pitch demands a second look.

Two ripped, rakish men and one lean, pristine hound pause, inexplicably, in the cool shallows of a calm green sea.

"How gay is this ad?" R.E. Szego, a Portland tobacco-prevention specialist, asks when she sees such an image.

It's a sincere question, not a slam.

Wooed for years by tobacco companies -- who lavish free merchandise on their bars and clubs, sponsor their events and advertise heavily in their publications -- gays, lesbians and bisexuals remain hooked on cigarettes, even as the general population smokes less.

But public health specialists are optimistic that a new ban on smoking in Oregon bars will cause a decline in the smoking rates of gays and lesbians, who tend to pick up the habit as teens coming to terms with stigma surrounding their sexual identity.

"If you were coming up gay, it used to be the only place you got to meet was in a bar," says Michael Kaplan, executive director of Cascade AIDS Project and a former pack-a-day smoker. "If you wanted to fit in, you'd smoke."

About one in three gay, lesbian and bisexual Oregonians smoke, compared to about one in five smokers in the state's overall population, according to the public health division of the Oregon Department of Human Services. The disparity is worse among gay, lesbian and bisexual teens, who are 2 1/2 times more likely to smoke than their straight peers. What's more, half of all gay Oregon smokers say they don't want to quit.

Nationally, tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease kill about 30,000 gays, lesbians and bisexuals each year, reports the American Cancer Society. AIDS kills about half as many, straight people included, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, tobacco use is rarely identified as a leading gay public health issue and attracts little in the way of community outrage or prevention funding. A 2008 survey of leaders of 74 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations found most didn't see tobacco use as a pressing health issue, and about one in five organizations had accepted tobacco industry funding.

Tobacco companies, says one anti-smoking advocate, have made "it look like they're our allies in the fight for civil freedoms." Some research shows gays and lesbians are pleased with the tobacco companies' marketing overtures because they're accustomed to other corporations spurning them.

Tobacco foes call the cigarette companies' marketing techniques "gay vague." It's a love-that-dare-not-speak-its-name style of advertising heavy on images of hearty women fishing in the woods and beefy bartenders leveling come-hither gazes at ... no one in particular.

Maybe another man.

Maybe not.

Tobacco-prevention campaigns take a far less ambiguous approach.

In Las Vegas, the public health department sends hot men wearing only tightie-whities out to gay bars and clubs to promote smoke-free nights and host the ideal, young and sexy party scene.

In Philadelphia and three other American cities, a cancer support group sponsored a "delicious lesbian kisses" campaign, with ads teasing, "Let's put your lips to better use."

Preaching doesn't work, and neither does subtlety, says Szego, who runs Breathe Free, an Oregon public health department tobacco prevention program.

"Gay youth don't see themselves living as long a life as straight people do," Szego says.

Szego only occasionally employs the shock-and-awe technique. For example, this winter she visited a gender-bending dance fest with a name we can't repeat in this newspaper and passed out swag with catchy messages that we also can't repeat. That was intended to drum up excitement for Oregon's new smoking ban, as are cleaning parties Szego is organizing to scrub the smoke smell from Portland's gay bars.

More often, Szego gears her messages to teens, hoping to reach them before they reach for cigarettes. She gives her "How Gay Is This Ad" presentation at youth conferences and community events. She distributes posters that take digs at tobacco companies for championing politicians who are hostile to gay causes: "Why do we support them when they don't support us?" goes one tag-line.

One of Szego's favorite posters depicts the rainbow colors of the pride flag, with a cigarette embedded in one stripe.

"When did smoking become part of us?" it asks.

Subtle, yes. But hardly vague.

Oregon Live

Equality California's new ad

2009-03-04T05:46:00.000-08:00

Equality California has begun to air a new ad in the state and is hoping to raise enough money by Friday to keep it rolling. This Thursday, the state Supreme Court will hear arguments in the legal effort to overturn Proposition 8, the state's same-sex marriage ban. Here's the ad:

Is the ad powerful enough? Much of the criticism gay rights groups received in the aftermath of Prop 8 was geared toward the ineffective television ads aired. This ad aims to make a connection between persecution of gays in the past and the discrimination faced today. But telling people that "equality is our right" didn't work in November, why would it work now? Because Harvey Milk is directly referenced in the ad, and average people know who he is because of the Oscars?

Gay blog Towleroad asked, "Where's the anger?"

A commenter on Joe.My.God. said: "Equality CA still doesn't appear willing to confront the lies of of the Yes on 8 side. These are bland ads that don't punch back. They spout platitudes, instead of pointing out Yes on 8 lies. If you can't confront the Yes on 8 side, it makes it appear you are not sure they aren't right."

Queers United has a complete listing of events surrounding Thursday's hearing. There are a ton of vigils on March 4 and a march for equality in San Francisco on March 5.

Washington Blade

Dustin Lance Black Appears on Oprah

2009-03-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Dustin Lance Black Wins an Oscar for Milk

2009-02-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

PETA Veggie Love Campaign Exploits Lesbians

2009-02-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

Planning begins for gay pride events

2009-02-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

A number of events are being planned to highlight Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) Pride in June, culminating with the annual Seattle Pride Parade on June 28 through downtown Seattle.

An application to register to be in the parade, as well as rules and regulations, is online at https://register.seattlepride.org.

Event organizers are seeking nominations for parade grand marshal. Details are online at www.seattlepride.org, or call 206-322-9561.

Source: Seattle Times

The Day Gay Media Died (That Would Be Today)

2009-02-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

Avalon Equity Fund, the investment group that owns The Washington Blade, The Southern Voice, Genre magazine, Express Gay News, Houston Voice, The New York Blade, The 411 Magazine and has a non-majority stake in HX Media has been placed into federal receivership by the Small Business Association, which will liquidate the companies and distribute the proceeds to investors.

The Avalon Fund has been in receivership since last August, a fact that its media properties have been either unaware of, or unwilling to admit, which is a strange position for a media organization to be in, to say the least. Gay City News reports:

"As a consequence of defendant's continuing violation… SBA is entitled to the injunctive relief… including the appointment of SBA as receiver of [the Avalon Equity Fund]," the SBA wrote in an August 2008 court filing, which was only recently found by Gay City News.

Avalon, which owns a stake in the company that publishes the New York Blade and HX, was licensed by the SBA as a small business investment company (SBIC) in 2000. Through 2007, it borrowed just over $38 million from the federal agency to invest in gay media properties and a range of other ventures.

As part of its contract with the SBA, Avalon was required to have private money or assets in the fund from sources, such as individual investors, that had a value equal to half the amount it borrowed from the SBA or just over $19 million.

In 2007, the SBA wrote Avalon that it had a "condition of capital impairment" because the value of its private assets had fallen below the required level.

In its 2008 lawsuit seeking to force the receivership, the SBA wrote that the "capital impairment" was 61 percent in August of 2007 and that it rose to over 134 percent by December of that year.

Capital impairment is a "type of solvency test," said Tom Morris, director of SBA's Office of Liquidation. If a hypothetical SBIC borrowed $40 million from the SBA and was required to have $20 million in private capital, its capital impairment would be 50 percent if it reported realized and unrealized losses totaling $10 million, Morris said…

David W. Unger, an Avalon founder and managing partner, did not respond to a call seeking comment, and Benjamin E. Brandes, Avalon's other founder and managing partner, told Gay City News he had little information."

The report goes on to say that HX publisher Matthew Bank doesn't think the receivership will effect HX Media and that the publications will not go on the block til September at the earliest.

Source: Queerty

Is Kanye West Gay?

2009-01-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

A message from kwest on Vimeo.

Andy Dick Says He is Tri-Sexual

2009-01-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

Actor-comedian Andy Dick said in a taped interview with Tyra Banks that he's not bisexual but "tri-sexual."

According to Us Magazine, Dick told Banks: "I really have tried everything, except nothing with animals. There's only room for one animal -- that would be me."

Dick appeared on Banks' show with Dr. Drew Pinsky to talk about his personal troubles, including his battle with substance abuse. He currently stars on Dr. Drew's VH1 reality show "Sober House."

The 43-year-old comedian also talked frankly about his sexual past, which has included both women and men. According to the Us report, Dick told Banks that he's not accepted as bisexual in either the gay or straight community.

"I say, 'I'm bi, my love knows no gender,' and the straight community says, 'Oh right, that's just a cover-up -- you're gay!'" Dick told Banks. "And the gay community says, 'Yeah right, that's just a cover-up -- you're gay,'" he went on. "They both want to push me gay."

Dick previously starred on "The Ben Stiller Show," "NewsRadio" and "Less Than Perfect." He's also appeared in the films "Zoolander" and "Road Trip."

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Seattle Ricin-Threats May Have Been Sent By Gay Person

2009-01-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

Those of you who speculated that the sender of a letter to 11 gay bars in Seattle threatening that drinks will be poisoned with Ricin were sent by a gay man are on to something. The letter quotes the poem "A Display of Mackerel" by gay writer Mark Doty. The 1994 poem was written by Doty as a meditation on gay men who died because of AIDS. Doty tells Dan Savage, "I was trying to console myself and others, at least a little, for all we'd endured. So, it's especially ugly for these words to be used against gay men."

The Seattle Times reports:

"The FBI confirmed it was involved in the investigation but referred questions to a Seattle Police Department spokesman, who said the department is taking the threat seriously but declined to comment further on the investigation.

Josh Friedes, of Equal Rights Washington, said he is pleased by the seriousness with which law-enforcement and public officials seem to be taking the threat. Friedes said he will be urging people who patronize the bars to be "extra vigilant" with their drinks but that the threats will not curtail his own plans to go out to bars.

The letter sent to bars quoted the poem "A Display of Mackerel" by gay writer Mark Doty, leading many to speculate the letters were written by someone who is gay or lesbian. The poem was recently published in his book "Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems," which won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008.

The letter mimics the poem in the line, "The targets won't care much that they'll be dead and nearly frozen, just as, presumably, they didn't care that they were living."

It's nice to hear that the FBI is taking the case seriously as whoever sent the letters is quite literally, engaging in terrorism. That said, gay bar owners don't expect the threats to keep away business.

"I don't think this community is going to be scared to go out," said Carla Schricker, owner of Re-bar, one of 11 gay bars that were threatened in the typewritten letters.

Still, Schricker and many others have posted signs warning customers not to leave their drinks unattended. They also have asked staff to keep an eye out for suspicious behavior."

Here is the full poem by Mark Doty:

A Display of Mackerel

They lie in parallel rows,
on ice, head to tail,
each a foot of luminosity

barred with black bands,
which divide the scales'
radiant sections

like seams of lead
in a Tiffany window.
Iridescent, watery

prismatics: think abalone,
the wildly rainbowed
mirror of a soapbubble sphere,

think sun on gasoline.
Splendor, and splendor,
and not a one in any way

distinguished from the other
–nothing about them
of individuality. Instead

they're all exact expressions
of one soul,
each a perfect fulfillment

of heaven's template,
mackerel essence. As if,
after a lifetime arriving

at this enameling, the jeweler's
made uncountable examples,
each as intricate

in its oily fabulation
as the one before.
Suppose we could iridesce,

like these, and lose ourselves
entirely in the universe
of shimmer–would you want

to be yourself only,
unduplicatable, doomed
to be lost? They'd prefer,

plainly, to be flashing participants,
multitudinous. Even now
they seem to be bolting

forward, heedless of stasis.
They don't care they're dead
and nearly frozen,

just as, presumably,
they didn't care that they were living:
all, all for all,

the rainbowed school
and its acres of brilliant classrooms,
in which no verb is singular,

or every one is. How happy they seem,
even on ice, to be together, selfless,
which is the price of gleaming.

Source: Queerty

Seattle Gay Bars Receive Threatening Letters

2009-01-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

Eleven gay bars in Seattle received letters today addressed to the "Owner/Manager" from someone claiming to be in the possession of ricin, a deadly poison. "Your establishment has been targeted," the letter begins. "I have in my possession approximately 67 grams of ricin with which I will indiscriminately target at least five of your clients."

"I felt sick when I read it," said Carla, the owner/manager of Re-bar. "It's so vile. It's just hatred. It made me worry for all the other bars, and for my bartenders, and our clientele."

According to the CDC's website, someone who has ingested "a significant amount" will develop vomiting and diarrhea within the first 6-12 hours; other symptoms of ricin poisoning include hallucinations, seizures, and blood in the urine. There is no antidote for ricin but ricin exposure is not invariably fatal.

"I just had the police come pick [the letter] up," said Keith Christensen, the manager of the Eagle, when reached by phone. Christensen had already heard about the letter from other bar owners and managers, and so he didn't open it. "It's probably nothing," Christensen added, "but the economy is really screwing all the bars right now, and the last thing we need is something ramping up the not-go-out mode people seem to be in right now. It's really freaky that someone would do something like this at a time like this."

eagle1-6-09.jpgChristensen says he's posted signs at the Eagle advising patrons not to leave their drinks unattended.

"The police have already come and gone," said Roland, the manager at Madison Pub. "They collected the letter and that's about it. I don't think it's anything to worry about it." Roland admitted to being unnerved by the letter at first.

"But after the initial 'what?', it's like whatever."

A letter also arrived in The Stranger's offices, addressed to the attention of "Obituaries." The letter's author said the paper should "be prepared to announce the deaths of approximately 55 individuals all of whom were patrons of the following establishments on a Saturday in January." The listed bars are: the Elite, Neighbours, Wild Rose, the Cuff, Purr, the Eagle, R Place, Re-bar, CC's, Madison Pub, and the Crescent. "I could take this moment to launch into a diatribe about my indignation towards the gay community," the letter concludes, "however, I think the deaths will speak for themselves."

Alison, Luying, and Tippett, local promoters and DJs who do nights at various bars around town, came up with the idea of organizing a pub crawl for this Friday night to show support for the bars that were threatened.

Carla at Re-bar added that, as distressing as the letter was, she was pleased with the response from the community.

"Everyone is calling each other, everyone's got each other's backs."

Source: Slog

New federal law protects retirement savings of gay couples

2009-01-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

A new law signed by President Bush will protect domestic partners who inherit retirement savings.

The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 - known as WRERA - contains technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

The Pension Protection Act, or PPA, made it possible for employers to allow any non-spouse beneficiary of an employee’s retirement plan—including an employee’s same-sex partner—to roll inherited retirement benefits directly to an individual retirement account and avoid immediate taxation.

WRERA requires that all employers provide this rollover opportunity to non-spouse beneficiaries.

“This legislation secures much-needed protection for lesbian and gay couples,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

“Our community faces unique challenges in preparing for retirement because we are denied Social Security spousal and survivor benefits. Protecting our hard-earned retirement savings is even more crucial to us, and until now, the tax code made it that much harder.”

Before 2007, partners who inherited retirement plan savings typically faced immediate taxation on inherited benefits, unlike opposite-sex spouses, who could roll savings over to an IRA with no tax penalty.

Under the PPA, which came into effect in 2007, qualifying plans could permit any non-spouse beneficiary—including a domestic partner, parent or sibling—to roll over inherited retirement benefits paid as a lump sum directly to an IRA. Qualifying plans include defined benefit plans pensions, 401K plans, employee stock ownership plans, profit-sharing plans, money purchase plans, 403B plans and governmental 457B plans.

But the provision was subsequently interpreted to be optional for employers, meaning each company had to affirmatively adopt this protection for partners under each qualifying plan.

Under the WRERA, which takes effect in January 2010, all qualifying plans that pay lump sum benefits to non-spouse beneficiaries are required to provide the rollover opportunity.

“This is progress toward eliminating the more than 1,000 inequities that our families face under federal law,” said Solmonese.

He also called on employers to make the rollover provision available as quickly as possible and not wait for the 2010 deadline. Solmonese said that LGBT workers should ensure their partners and children are designated as beneficiaries.

Source: 365 Gay

New Group Wants March on DC

2009-01-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Since Prop 8 passed November 4, several groups have sprung up and organized marches and rallies around California.

Now, at least one new group wants another march on Washington, D.C. But others are expressing doubt as to how successful Yes on Gay Marriage, the new group, can be.

Kelley Moran, an organizer with Yes on Gay Marriage, said it was formed to work for marriage in all 50 states and recognition by the federal government.

It's "imperative as a community that we stand up for our civil rights and go to Washington, D.C. and ask for [the Defense of Marriage Act] to be overturned," said Moran, who's openly gay and president of Moran and Associates, a Sacramento-based agency that works in political consulting, public affairs, and other areas.

Moran said Yes on Gay Marriage has a list of several hundred LGBT groups that they're contacting and his organization will be meeting with others in January to discuss a strategic plan.

After some reluctance to be specific, he said the groups include organizations such as the Denver-based Gill Foundation, which on its Web site describes itself as one of the nation's largest private foundations focused on LGBT civil rights.

In a December 29 interview, Moran said communications with the Gill Foundation indicate the foundation is "very interested in hearing more about our organization and our plans."

He said that Patrick Flaherty, Gill's deputy national director, has corresponded with him via e-mail and left him a voice message before Christmas.

Flaherty did not respond to an e-mail from the Bay Area Reporter by press time.

However, in a December 23 interview, Fred Sainz, Gill's vice president for communications, seemed unenthusiastic about meeting with the group.

"Last week, probably three-fourths of the people in our office got an e-mail" introducing Yes on Gay Marriage, Sainz said, adding they learned that people at other organizations had received the same e-mail.

"We merely wrote them back to see who they were, and that is basically the extent of our conversation with them," said Sainz.

On December 30, Sainz called the B.A.R. to discuss the paper's e-mail to Flaherty. He said that Yes on Gay Marriage had contacted Flaherty and told him they would be in Denver for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change conference, which starts January 28, and wanted to have a meeting. Sainz said that Flaherty had left them a voice mail saying he would welcome such a meeting.

"More than likely we will be entertaining that meeting, but we will entertain that meeting with a very suspicious eye, because given the nature of the organizations that already exist within the movement that are dedicated to marriage and the state of the nation's economy right now, we're going to be looking for how this organization is unique," said Sainz. "That's something that every organization is having to do right now, in an era in which mergers and consolidations is more than anything really the name of the game for all nonprofit organizations," LGBT or otherwise.

Another 'hole in the head'

Steven Goldstein, chairman of the New Jersey group Garden State Equality, said he had no idea who the people behind Yes on Gay Marriage are, but questioned why the new group is necessary.

"The fact is we need another national marriage equality organization like we need a hole in the head," said Goldstein.

Moran said that what sets Yes on Gay Marriage apart from other groups is that "we're leading the charge" in calling for a march. No major group has advocated for a national march, said Moran.

But Robin Tyler, who Moran wasn't familiar with, has been calling for a march for weeks. Tyler, who along with her wife, Diane Olson, recently filed suit against Prop 8 with the state Supreme Court and has called for a national march on Washington in 2010, noted it takes time, money, and permits to organize a march.

Tyler said she hadn't heard of Yes on Gay Marriage until the B.A.R. asked about the group.

"A lot of people are calling for a lot of things, but unless we focus and plan what we are going to do, the newly found energy of our community will dissipate," Tyler wrote in an e-mail.

"... For the people that are calling [for] a national march, and may not have worked on one previously, it is not that easy," Tyler added.

Tyler said she's worked on all four previous marches – which were in 1979, 1987, 1993, and 2000 – and said she's "communicating with activists all over the country, to see the kind of support a march will get. So far, there is great interest."

She wrote, "I truly believe, with the right planning and national input, this could be the largest March on Washington for our community so far. If someone else decides to do it earlier, good luck to them. This is not a competition, it is a movement."

The last march, in 2000, was controversial. The board of directors of the 2000 Millennium March on Washington had refused to release a financial statement, and at the time speculation was that as much as $1 million eventually had gone missing.

Amy Balliett, an out lesbian from Seattle and creator of Join the Impact, a group that's used the Internet to organize events like the numerous anti-Prop 8 protests that took place across the country November 15, expressed the need for caution when planning a march.

Balliett wrote in an e-mail that Join the Impact is not organizing a march, but "will be happy to help once all the groups have decided on a unified date."

"The problem is that there are many groups planning a march on Washington, and unfortunately, until they all come together and unite under one date and banner, this event will only be splintered and attendance will be slim," Balliett wrote.

"We have millions of eyes and ears on this movement and we need to all move together as one. Most of the groups planning a march are doing it for the movement. Unfortunately, some are doing it for the credit of planning the march ...," she wrote, without naming anyone specifically.

Asked if his organization is just trying to make money and get publicity, Moran said, "Absolutely not," and said the group hasn't even asked for contributions.

Moran said the group's forming 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations so it can engage in both education and lobbying activities. He said though they are not currently soliciting funds, "we certainly hope to sit down and talk about what's needed in terms of putting together a march on Washington, D.C."

Moran said the group welcomes debate. But since it's been so long since the last march, and especially with the inclusion of anti-gay evangelist Rick Warren in President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, "It couldn't be more evident we need to make sure our voices are heard" and there's no better forum than the march.

Moran, who said he didn't want to name a date for the march until more work has been done, said it's important to create more activists, and the community's voice should be heard within the first year of the administration taking office.

"We don't want our agenda to be pushed aside," said Moran, who married Gabriel Gendron, his partner of 16 years, in July.

Goldstein, the New Jersey equality official who questioned why Yes on Gay Marriage is needed, also said the term "'gay marriage' is one of the dumbest monikers I've ever heard people curse a new group with."

He said the term implies same-sex couple's marriages are different from other marriages.

Moran said his group is unapologetic for the name.

"What we are seeking is our civil rights as gays to marry," said Moran.

Impact of movement questioned

Meanwhile, despite all the protests and rallies that have occurred since November 4, CNN recently reported that public opinion on same-sex marriage hasn't changed.

In June, 44 percent of those surveyed said that same-sex marriages should be recognized as legally valid, while 53 percent said they should not be recognized, the network reported.

Six months later, the numbers are virtually unchanged. Support for same-sex marriages is still at 44 percent, while opposition is at 55 percent, according to the network, which noted the change is not statistically significant.

The telephone poll of 1,013 adult Americans was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on December 19-21. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Balliett, of Join the Impact, wrote, "I think it's too early to tell how the protests are truly affecting people's views on same-sex marriage. Our movement needs to continue visibility and prove that this isn't just a flash in the pan. If we can prove that and continue our outreach and demonstrations, then the public opinion will change."

Kip Williams is working with the group One Struggle, One Fight to plan a march to Sacramento in March [See story, page 3.] and said that on November 15 he and 14 others were arrested in connection with their peaceful, 20-minute blockade of the Highway 101 southbound off-ramp at Market and Octavia streets.

Williams questioned the accuracy of the poll, and said, "This issue doesn't really rest with voters anymore. It rests with the Supreme Court," and it's more important for the court to see the civil unrest than it is for voters.

Besides Tyler and Olson, civil rights groups, and San Francisco and several other local governments have filed lawsuits with the state Supreme Court claiming that Prop 8 is a constitutional revision, rather than merely an amendment, and should have to go through the state Legislature for approval.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown also filed a brief urging the court to throw out Prop 8. But his reasoning finds that the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification.

Source: Bay Area Reporter

Lindsay Lohan's "Debbie Downer" Holiday Blog

2008-12-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

Lindsay Lohan has taken to her MySpace blog to spread her own brand of, um, Christmas cheer.

While she shares with the universe that she'll be spending the holidays in Los Angeles with girlfriend Samantha Ronson instead of with her Long Island-based family, Lohan also spills a few beans about her father and waxes poetic about the resurgence of Britney Spears.

"I'm still going through a lot right now," she says. "My father just let my family and I know, amongst others that he had another child after my little sister Aliana, or maybe he had it before Aliana?? Either way he cheated on my mother and that really sucks. Wow—do I sound like 'Debbie Downer' or what? Not trying to be."

The Mean Girls starlet then applauds Spears' comeback and notes their similarities.

"Back to the real reason for this blog—I feel like Britney Spears is an amazing talent, and she has gone through a lot, (just as I have) in the public eye. Which is not necessarily a bad thing," she writes. "It teaches young girls and boys that there are certain things in life that you should not let get in the way of your dreams and accomplishments."

Presumably not counting quickie marriages, shaving your head and attacking cars with an umbrella...Now we're being the Debbie Downer. Go on, LiLo.

"You need to take care of yourself before anyone else, and I mean anyone and everyone else. Because at the end of the day, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and see who you really are. Stripped of all the distractions in life. So YAY Britney for just being you and still following through with your dreams.

"HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!"

Source: Eonline

Campbell Soup's gay ads attacked by American Family Association

2008-12-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

An ad for Campbell's Soup Company appearing in gay magazine The Advocate has been condemned by the American Family Association (AFA).

The double-page ad features two female restaurateurs and a young boy. The text accompanying the picture identifies the women as a couple and the boy as their son.

The AFA, a conservative media watchdog, immediately began campaigning against the ad.

The organisation objects to what it sees as Campbell Soup sending "a message that homosexual parents constitute a family and are worthy of support," and for giving "their approval to the entire homosexual agenda."

On the AFA website, the organisation urges supporters to "Send an email to Campbell Soup Company President Douglas Conant," and "Tell him you want his company to stop supporting the gay agenda."

Draft emails made available to AFA supporters to send to Campbell Soup read:

"I request that Campbell Soup Company stop promoting the homosexual agenda and remain neutral in the culture war.

"I certainly hope you will honor my request by no longer placing ads in homosexual publications like The Advocate.

"Campbell's should not take sides in a political battle, but put your efforts in producing the finest products you can."

In spite of this, Campbell Soup is refusing to give in to pressure and continues to stand by its decision to market its Swanson broth range to the gay community.

Campell representative Anthony Sanzio said: "Our position on this is pretty straightforward.

"Inclusion and diversity play an important role in our business, and that fact is reflected in our marketing plan.

"For more than a century, people from all walks for life have enjoyed Campbell's products, and we will continue to try to communicate in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them.

"Our plans for the Swanson brand include additional placements in The Advocate."

In 2007, Campell Soup was one of 53 major corporations, including household names like Starbucks, Hallmark Cards, Mastercard and J.C. Penney, have expanded their non-discrimination policies to include the gender-based protections.

Source: PinkNews.Co.Uk

Gay man backed for Navy secretary

2008-12-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

Some top retired military leaders and some Democrats in Congress are backing William White, chief operating officer of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, to be the next secretary of the Navy - a move that would put the first openly gay person at the top of one of the services.

The secretary's job is a civilian position, so it would not run afoul of the ban on gays serving in the military, but it would renew focus on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office.

"He would be phenomenal," said retired Gen. Hugh Shelton, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001, pointing to Mr. White's extensive background as a fundraiser for veterans' and military causes.

Retired members of the Joint Chiefs have contacted Mr. Obama's transition team to urge them to pick Mr. White, and members of Congress said he would be a good choice for a service secretary.

"He's very capable," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, whose district includes the Intrepid Museum, a retired aircraft carrier berthed on the Hudson River in New York City.

Mr. Nadler said Mr. White has become a friend of the military, and particularly the service members and their families, both through the Intrepid and through Fisher Houses, which offer a place to stay so families can be close to military members who are receiving medical care.

A spokeswoman for the Obama campaign said they won't comment on personnel decisions.

Others are in consideration, such as Juan Garcia, a former naval aviator who was defeated for re-election to his seat in the Texas House. Mr. Garcia is friends with Mr. Obama from their Harvard Law School days and was chairman of Mr. Obama's Texas campaign.

Democratic members of Congress from Texas sent a letter to Mr. Obama earlier this month supporting Mr. Garcia for the position.

A spokesman said Mr. White would not comment.

If Mr. White were nominated, he likely would face questions during a Senate confirmation hearing over how his nomination would square with the military's policies on gays.

GETTY IMAGES Top military personnel and some Democrats are touting William White, chief operating officer of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, to be the next secretary of the Navy.

In 1993, President Clinton signed into law a ban, and White House and congressional leaders settled on a new policy known as "don't ask, don't tell." Under it, gay service members must keep their sexuality private or face expulsion. About 12,500 people have been discharged under the policy.

Supporters of the ban said nominating Mr. White would send the wrong signal.

"It's a matter of judgment, and I think that would be very poor judgment on the part of the commander in chief," said Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, which opposes gays serving in the military. "It would be very demoralizing to the troops."

But Mr. Nadler said the military policy that says gays are a threat to unit cohesion is "nonsense," and it shouldn't apply to Mr. White anyway because as secretary "he's not in the foxhole, he's not on the ship."

Gen. Shelton called Mr. White's work at both the Intrepid Museum and the Fisher House Foundation "legendary."

"He has always been a staunch advocate of our men and women in uniform," Gen. Shelton said.

Source: Washington Times

Single Ladies Single Man Beyonce Mashup

2008-12-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

Shane Mercado Puts a Ring on It

Wearing nothing but a T-shirt cut right above his pecs and leotard bottoms à la Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, Shane Mercado became an overnight YouTube sensation with his re-creation of Beyoncé's “Single Ladies” dance. Now, after sharing the red carpet with his idol, Mercado tells Advocate.com about his roller-coaster ride.

When Beyoncé urged all the single ladies out there to “put a ring on it,” it didn’t take but a minute for gay boys everywhere to upload the tune to cell phones, bootleg the single, and make the phrase their update on Facebook. But few people connected with the anthem quite so passionately as Shane Mercado.

With Mercado wearing nothing but a T-shirt cut right above his pecs and leotard bottoms à la Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, his exact recreation of the “Single Ladies” dance quickly shot to the top of YouTube’s most viewed list -- and it landed him a spot on Bonnie Hunt’s daytime talk show and, last week, on the arm of the pop star herself for the premiere of her new film, Cadillac Records. And while the classically trained dancer vowed that if he ever met his idol, he’d ask her to sing for him, with flashbulbs and cameras capturing their every move, he had to settle for some well-staged photo ops -- and some “fierce” compliments from the former Destiny’s Child front woman.

Advocate.com: This video has become huge. Did you ever have any idea it would take off like it has?
Shane Mercado: I just did it for fun -- I had no idea what would happen, and before I knew it, I had more than 200 messages from people on You Tube -- strangers, actually -- and the numbers just kept on climbing [as of this interview, more than 1.5 million people had watched the original video Mercado posted].

I would assume, dressed like that and doing that dance, you knew everybody was going to instantly know that you’re gay.
Of course.

Did you ever have any hesitation of putting it out there like that?
Not at all. I’ve been comfortable with this since day one. And I expected the comments ... it didn’t bother me a bit.

So what’s been the best thing that’s happened to you since this video took off?
I would definitely have to say meeting Beyoncé. They invited me to walk the red carpet and meet her at the Cadillac Records premiere.

How long did you get to hang with her?
We had a couple of minutes. I didn’t actually see the movie. It was great because she knew exactly who I was -- she must have seen that video early on, because she said she’s been wanting to meet me and she said, "You must have learned it like the day after the video premiered."

What’s the first thing she said to you?
She came up to me and she was like, "Are you the guy with that hot outfit? You’re very talented."

So does this mean you’re going to be going out for a Beyoncé video anytime soon?
Absolutely, I would. I actually auditioned to dance for Destiny’s Child a few years ago, but I’m not your typical sort of Beyoncé dancer.

I want to go back really quickly to your answer about being gay and putting yourself out there. That’s so refreshing to hear ...
Well, I came out when I was 15. I’m 27 now. I’m a dancer at Splash [in New York]. The first people I told were my parents, and they’re supportive. My whole family knows. I just don’t even think about it anymore.

It’s clear from the video that you’re a kick-ass dancer -- trained, I assume?
Yeah, I’m classically trained.

So what other projects are you working on?
I’m doing some freelance dance and talking to some agents at the moment. I graduated from the La Guardia Performing Arts High School. I’ve been very lucky to have the experiences that I’ve had in my life. At 18, I was in Japan touring with a club artist. I did Grease; I toured Europe for six months. Toured China. But yeah, I’m doing some freelance gigs right now -- before I posted this video and everything took off, I was actually thinking that I didn’t want to do dance anymore.

Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t quit. Has the video led to any gigs?
It’s led to a few people wanting me to host their parties, a couple of fashion shows people have wanted me to participate, a benefit for the gay and lesbian center… and actually, a couple of people who have wanted me to fly into their town and teach them the routine. They’ve offered to pay for my flight an everything. It’s insane.

So is Beyoncé your diva, then? You love her more than anyone else?
Anyone ... Nobody does it like her -- and knowing she’s not a trained dancer. She’s just luscious. I’ve loved her since day one of Destiny’s Child.

So will we be seeing you doing any other video?
Well, 90% of the reason for me doing this video was because you can see the choreography from the first to last second. Most of the other videos out there, they’re all edit. So we’ll see.

Source: Advocate

Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee on Gay Marriage

2008-12-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

Wanda Sykes on Gay Marriage

2008-12-09T04:45:00.000-08:00

Gay marriage goes before Iowa Supreme Court

2008-12-08T07:33:00.001-08:00

Gay marriage goes before Iowa Supreme Court

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Drew Barrymore Stands Up Against the Proposition 8 Hate

2008-11-11T00:23:00.000-08:00

Drew Barrymore stood with thousands of equality warriors in Los Angeles to protest the passage of the hateful Proposition 8.

Hollywood joins protests over Prop 8

2008-11-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

(Los Angeles, California) Thousands of protesters are angry about California’s ban on gay marriage - and so are the stars.

Many celebrities grieved the passing of Proposition 8 in California this week. Some - such as Wanda Sykes, Rose McGowan and Lance Bass - attended a Wednesday protest criticizing the state’s gay marriage ban. Others - like Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna and Melissa Etheridge - vented their frustrations online, on TV, and onstage.

Blocks away from the Thursday rally of more than 2,000 gay-rights advocates outside the gates of a Mormon temple, several stars - including James Cromwell, Patricia Clarkson, Anjelica Huston and Sean Penn - said they supported the protesters while walking the red carpet at the BAFTA L.A. Brittania Awards at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.

“I think it might be an idea to go out and join them shortly,” Penn said. “It was a shameful decision that was made.”

Etheridge, who exchanged vows with her longtime partner in a 2003 ceremony, declared in a blog entry posted Thursday on TheDailyBeast.com that she wouldn’t pay her taxes. The gay Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter said that without the right to marry in California, she didn’t think she should have to pay taxes because “I am not a full citizen.”

“I don’t mean to get too personal here,” Etheridge wrote. “But there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes, too.”

DeGeneres, on her show and the show’s Web site, provided a brief message of support Friday for President-elect Obama and the gay-rights advocates protesting Proposition 8. The talk show host, who married actress Portia de Rossi in August, previously donated $100,000 against the ballot initiative and starred in a commercial lamenting the measure.

“So there was a demonstration here on Wednesday night,” DeGeneres told the audience, “and just before I walked out here, I was watching the news and there is a huge, huge, peaceful demonstration going on in the streets, and I say, good for you, and I support you, and if I weren’t here, I’d be out there with you.”

O’Donnell, who lives in New York, responded to comments and questions about her stance on the issue on her Web site. When one person said he understood why she didn’t come out against the proposition, O’Donnell responded: “I AM AGAINST PROP 8. DUH.” She also wrote she believes the estimated 18,000 gay marriages would be annulled “like mine was years ago.”

The former talk show host, who lives with partner Kelli Carpenter and their four children, publicly wed Carpenter in San Francisco in 2004, two weeks after Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The licenses were later voided by the California Supreme Court.

Also ranting online was celebrity disc jockey Samantha Ronson. Lindsay Lohan’s gal pal blogged Thursday that she was shocked that California voters approved an animal-rights initiative but that ballot measures about gay marriage and adoption in California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas were shot down.

“I guess people care more about farm animals than they do their fellow man, that’s really sad to me,” Ronson wrote on her MySpace blog. “Yes, I am glad that the chickens will have more room and better conditions as they wait to die, but I just think it’s frightening that people show more compassion for tomorrow’s dinner than for the chef.”

Other celebs used time in the spotlight to decry the decision. Madonna took a moment during her concert at Dodger Stadium to declare to the audience that she was sad “because African-Americans are equal finally, but gay marriage is not.”

Singer Christina Aguilera also spoke out against the ban.

“I think it’s discrimination,” Aguilera said in a Thursday interview with MTV News. “I don’t understand how people can be so closed-minded and so judgmental. We chose an African-American president who means so much in a time in history of great change and open-mindedness. Why is this any different? It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

For one celebrity, voting on the ballot measure itself didn’t make sense. In a rambling message posted on her MySpace blog Friday, former Hole frontwoman Courtney Love wrote that the language on the California ballot “was confusing and people were voting yes when they meant no or something.”

Source: 365gay

The Latest!

2008-04-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

National News
FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL APOLOGIZES TO GAYSThe vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, Peter Sprigg, apologized March 27 for having said he wants to export Gays from the U.S.

In a March 19 interview with Medill News Service, while speaking against a pending bill that grants immigration rights to gay Americans' foreign partners, Sprigg said, "I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe that homosexuality is destructive to society."

The Gay group Immigration Equality said it demanded an apology for the crack, and got one.

"I used language that trivialized the seriousness of the issue and did not communicate respect for the essential dignity of every human being as a person created in the image of God," Sprigg said. "I apologize for speaking in a way that did not reflect the standards which the Family Research Council and I embrace."

Immigration Equality Executive Director Rachel Tiven commented: "This is a welcome apology in response to a chilling statement that should have never been uttered. Still tonight, loving families ripped apart by discriminatory immigration laws will keep fighting for equal rights. We look forward to the day when everyone joins Peter Sprigg in his recognition of the essential dignity of every human being - regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."

MARRIED GAY MAN DENIED NEW PASSPORT
The U.S. government has declined to issue a passport to Jason Hair-Wynn of Attleboro, Mass., because his last name is the result of his having gotten married to his boyfriend. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts.

If Hair-Wynn wants to renew his passport - he's an AIDS counselor who is scheduled to work in orphanages in Ghana in July - he will have to legally change his name back to what it was before he got married, the local Sun Chronicle newspaper reported. In a letter to Hair-Wynn, the State Department said: "We are unable to comply with your request for a name change based on the documentation you sent because of the Defense of Marriage Act [which states:] 'In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administration bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.'"

"I can't even process this," Hair-Wynn told the newspaper. "It is weird to get discrimination in writing."

He said the Social Security Administration gave him a new Social Security card with his married name on it, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles reissued his documents as well.

But Hair-Wynn says working with kids in Ghana is important enough that he'll change his name again to be able to renew his passport.

GEORGE MICHAEL TO PERFORM IN U.S., CANADA
For the first time in 17 years, openly Gay pop singer George Michael will bring a concert tour to North America, starting June 17 in San Diego and ending August 3 in Fort Lauderdale.

The 20-city tour also will visit San Jose, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Atlanta and St. Petersburg. Tickets for the "25 Live" tour go on sale April 6.

The tour dovetails with Michael's new double CD Twenty-Five, which features 29 songs, some of them new, including duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J. Blige. He also is releasing a two-disc DVD of 40 videos.

Michael has sold more than 85 million records. He has had seven U.S. No. 1 singles and won two Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and two Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting, according to the press release announcing the tour.

He has had 11 British No. 1 singles and seven British No. 1 albums, and recently was declared the most-played artist on British radio in the past 20 years, the statement said.

VERMONTERS FAVOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Fifty-four percent of Vermont voters support opening marriage to same-sex couples while 37 percent oppose it, WPTZ-TV reported March 26.

The figures come from opinion surveys filled out by 7,000 people who took part in Town Meeting Day and reflect an 8-percent jump in support for same-sex marriage over last year's findings. The survey is not scientific.

In 2000, Vermont became the first U.S. state to enact a civil-union law, granting same-sex couples "all the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under Vermont law, whether they derive from statute, policy, administrative or court rule, common law or any other source of civil law, as are granted to spouses in a marriage."

Nearly 1,300 Vermont couples and more than 8,000 couples from elsewhere have entered into a Vermont civil union, according to Secretary of State Deborah L. Markowitz.

OREGON MAN IS PREGNANTA
Bend, Ore., man is pregnant, he told The Advocate on March 26.

Thomas Beatie told the magazine he'd had a sex-change operation, become a man and married his wife but kept his female reproductive organs.

"Sterilization is not a requirement for sex reassignment, so I decided to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept my reproductive rights," Beatie said. "I stopped taking my bimonthly testosterone injections. It had been roughly eight years since I had my last menstrual cycle, so this wasn't a decision that I took lightly. My body regulated itself after about four months, and I didn't have to take any ... drugs to aid my pregnancy."

Beatie's wife, Nancy, can't have children because she had to have a hysterectomy several years ago.

Beatie said he and his wife are having problems with people who are upset about his pregnancy, which came about via home insemination.

"Doctors have discriminated against us, turning us away due to their religious beliefs," he said. "Health care professionals have refused to call me by a male pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife. Receptionists have laughed at us. Friends and family have been unsupportive; most of Nancy's family doesn't even know I'm Transgender."

The couple's baby girl is due July 3. The Advocate said it confirmed Beatie's pregnancy with his obstetrician-gynecologist. With assistance from Bill Kelley

http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews36_14/page20.cfm