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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/nyregion/24bishop.html?pagewanted=print
September 24, 2006
Rector Elected as Newark's Episcopal Bishop; Gay Candidate Finishes 5th
By TINA KELLEY
NEWARK, Sept. 23 - The Episcopal Diocese of Newark chose the Rev. MarkBeckwith, the rector of All Saints Church in Worcester, Mass., as its 10thbishop on Saturday in an election that drew widespread attention because oneof the candidates was gay.
Mr. Beckwith, 55, who has worked in churches in Morristown and Hackensack,addressed the crowd of almost 500 priests and parishioners via speakerphone,thanking them for calling him to "the diocese where I was formed as apriest."
The election of bishops in the Episcopal Church has stirred controversysince 2003, when the Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson, who is gay, was electedbishop of New Hampshire. That choice offended many of the faster-growing andmore traditional dioceses in Africa and South America.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/magazine/24intersexkids.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=print
September 24, 2006
What if It's (Sort of) a Boy and (Sort of) a Girl?
By ELIZABETH WEIL
When Brian Sullivan - the baby who would before age 2 become Bonnie Sullivan and 36 years later become Cheryl Chase - was born in New Jersey on Aug. 14, 1956, doctors kept his mother, a Catholic housewife, sedated for three days until they could decide what to tell her. Sullivan was born with ambiguous genitals, or as Chase now describes them, with genitals that looked "like a little parkerhouse roll with a cleft in the middle and a little nubbin forward."
Sullivan lived as a boy for 18 months, until doctors at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan performed exploratory surgery, found a uterus and ovotestes (gonads containing both ovarian and testicular tissue) and told the Sullivans they'd made a mistake: Brian, a true hermaphrodite in the medical terminology of the day, was actually a girl. Brian was renamed Bonnie, her "nubbin" (which was either a small penis or a large clitoris) was entirely removed and doctors counseled the family to throw away all pictures of Brian, move to a new town and get on with their lives.
The Sullivans did that as best they could. They eventually relocated, had three more children and didn't speak of the circumstances around their eldest child's birth for many years. As Chase told me recently, "The doctors promised my parents if they did that" - shielded her from her medical history - "that I'd grow up normal, happy, heterosexual and give them grandchildren."
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Latvian Parliament bans discrimination of homosexual employees
Sep 22, 2006
By TBT staff - The Baltic Times
original address: http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/16414/
After lengthy deliberations the Latvian parliament has passed amendments to the labor law banning discrimination of employees on the grounds of their sexual orientation.
The draft amendments banning discrimination of gay and lesbian employeesthat will bring Latvia's legislation in line with an EU directive werepassed with 46 votes against 35, with three abstentions.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga also had spoken about a necessity topass the amendments. In June, the president sent the draft amendments to theparliament for repeated consideration.
In a letter to parliament speaker Ingrida Udre, the president underscoredthat the rights of an individual to work cannot be linked to his or herprivate life, which is protected by the Constitution.
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Uganda! Stop persecuting gays!
Protest: 4pm on Friday 22 September 2006
Ugandan High Commission, 58-59 Trafalgar Square, London WC2
Organised by the NUS LGBT campaign, supported by OutRage!
London - 21 September 2006
Uganda punishes male homosexuality with life imprisonment. Lesbiansand gays are subjected to vigilante violence by homophobic mobs,especially in rural areas where most of the population live. Thegovernment has banned same-sex marriage and fined a radio station forairing a debate about gay issues. State-funded HIV campaigns refuse topromote safer sex and condoms to same-sex partners.
The latest outrage is an outing campaign by the Ugandan tabloidnewspaper, Red Pepper. It has outed 58 alleged lesbian and gay people in the last two months; and has urged readers to send more names, so they too can be outed. The paper also published a list of undergroundgay venues, exposing them to the risk of homophobic attack.
Recently, Red Pepper carried an article with the headline 'Jinja CopsHunt For Gays, ' in which they reported a police manhunt to arresthomosexuals in the Kampala suburb of Jinga.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
SPIEGEL ONLINE - September 19, 2006, 05:34 PM
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,437943,00.html
Letter From Berlin
Is Germany Ready for a Gay Chancellor?
By David Crossland
Berlin's popular gay Mayor Klaus Wowereit has become a more powerful forcein German politics since he was re-elected on Sunday. Berliners like himbecause he embodies the city's tolerant and cosmopolitan image. Media commentators are now speculating that he could even become chancellor one day. But the country's homosexual lobby group has its doubts.
Embracing your wife or husband for the cameras after winning an electionis standard procedure for politicians, just like kissing babies. It was nodifferent on Sunday for Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit who gave his partnerJörn Kubicki a firm, fond hug on stage at a Social Democrats meeting asparty workers chanted his nickname: "Wowi, Wowi!"
Conservative challenger Friedbert Pflüger had tried unsuccessfully tomake political capital out of Wowereit's homosexuality during the campaign,telling a rally: "Berlin deserves its own First Lady for a change!" Thejibe didn't work. Pflüger's conservatives didn't have a chance, falling2.5 percentage points to 21.3 percent. Wowereit's center-left SPD gained1.1 point to 30.8 percent, winning him a second five-year term as toprepresentative of Germany's largest city.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Boston Globe, MA, September 20, 2006
http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/09/20/vocal_foe_of_same_sex_marriage_unseated/
MA: Vocal foe of same-sex marriage unseated
Parente only incumbent legislator to be defeated
By Andrea Estes, GlobeStaff
Outspoken state Representative Marie Parente of Milford, one of BeaconHill's most conservative voices for more than 20 years, was defeatedyesterday in her bid for another term. She was the only incumbent legislatorto lose a primary fight.
John Fernandes, a lawyer and former Milford selectman, beat Parente throughout the district, chalking up decisive margins in every neighborhoodof Milford, Upton , and Mendon. He will face Republican Robert P. Burns inNovember.
Parente, who was first elected in the early 1980s, is a vocal and staunchopponent of same-sex marriage and extending benefits to undocumentedworkers. Now 78 , she frequently spoke of retiring, but ran for re electiontime after time.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Angus Reid Global Scan, Canada, September 20, 2006
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13205
Costa Ricans Reject Same-Sex Civil Unions
Many adults in Costa Rica believe gay and lesbian couples should not beallowed to enter partnerships, according to a poll by Universidad de CostaRica. 71.4 per cent of respondents are opposed to allowing civil unions forsame-sex partners.
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain andCanada, and at least 18 countries offer some form of legal recognition tosame-sex unions.
Earlier this month, Costa Rica's Diversity Movement (MD) discussed thepossibility of enacting a law that would allow homosexual couples to formcivil unions, in order to have rights such as inheritance and socialsecurity. MD president Abelardo Araya explained the rationale, saying, "Wehave talked with our representatives about the fact that we have everyobligation but no rights. Are there two types of citizenship?"
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Link: http://www.gop.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=6576
GOP bashes Rosie O'Donnell
DEMS' "ROSIE" VIEW ON WAR ON TERROR
Cut-And-Run Defeatocrats Across The Country Take Their Cues From Hollywood Friends And Advisors
http://www.gop.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=6576
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_R_lovewon23.99fa78.html
Conference in Indian Wells to challenge views on homosexuality
Critics deny validity of conversion therapies
10:00 PM PDT on Friday, September 22, 2006
By DOUGLAS QUAN
The Press-Enterprise
INDIAN WELLS - A church nestled on 42 acres in this desert enclave will soon be the epicenter of a debate over a hotly-contested question: Can gays go straight?
The Southwest Community Church hosts a conference today promoting thecounseling, personal resolve, prayer and commitment to the Christian faith. Billboards advertising the event feature a man's smiling face and theprovocative message: "I Questioned Homosexuality. Change is Possible.Discover How."
Critics, who are planning a counter-rally, charge that the one-day event -- dubbed "Love Won Out" -- is hateful and hurtful, and that its organizersembrace a backward mentality.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pbishop24sep24,0,4006113.story
Delray Episcopal priest loses bid for bishop post
N.J. diocese decides to pick candidate from Massachusetts
The Associated Press
September 24, 2006
NEWARK, N.J. · Avoiding further controversy in the worldwide Anglicanfamily, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark on Saturday chose a Massachusettspriest as their new bishop, rather than an openly gay candidate on theballot.
The Rev. Mark Beckwith, 54, won on the third ballot, taking 253, or about 53percent of the 477 ballots cast by clergy and lay representatives.
Canon Michael Barlowe, 51, an openly gay priest from California, only hadone vote, cast by a lay person, in the final round.
Even in the first round, he only had 40 votes, 16 from clergy and 24 fromlay people.
Other nominees included the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in DelrayBeach, the Rev. William H. Stokes. Saturday evening, after the vote, Stokessaid he was happy to continue serving at the local church.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092300509_pf.html
For Gays, Some Doors Open Wider
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 24, 2006; F01
Ten years ago, companies barely acknowledged that they even had gayemployees. But today, companies increasingly offer domestic-partnerbenefits, support gay pride events and actively recruit gay employees.
Another marker released this week, the Human Rights Campaign's CorporateEquality Index, shows that more companies than ever support gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender (GLBT) workers. The Human Rights Campaign, aWashington-based advocacy group, has done the survey for five years.
Companies were asked questions about benefits, anti-discrimination policiesand other programs for GLBT employees. Out of 446 companies rated, 138earned a perfect score of 100 percent. When the survey began, 13 companiesof 319 rated had a perfect score. Only nine of the companies that scored 100this year were surveyed for the first time.
"I can't say it's what drew me to the firm because I joined long beforethese issues were in anyone's mind," said Helene Madonick, an openly gaypartner at District-based Arnold & Porter LLP, which got a 100 percentrating this year. She has been with the firm for about 20 years. The firmwas not ranked in previous years but asked to be a part of the survey thisyear. "But it's certainly one of the reasons I stay here," Madonick said."It's an indicator of the working environment that is inclusive andrecognizes individuality."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/theater/24gene.html?pagewanted=print
September 24, 2006
Suddenly That Summer, Out of the Closet
By RANDY GENER
THE conventional wisdom about Tennessee Williams, especially amongpolitically correct detractors and gay-liberation activists, is that he wasa self-loathing gay man. His homosexual characters are cloaked inheterosexual disguise, the argument goes, and so their humanity isdistorted.
Now a premiere of a once-lost work, "The Parade, or Approaching the End of aSummer," provides more evidence that Williams wrote freely about his sexualdesires. Completed when he was 29, the play details his own emotional crisisafter being dumped (for a woman) by the first great male love of his life, ayoung Canadian draft dodger named Kip Kiernan. The play, staged by theMinneapolis company Shakespeare on the Cape, will make its debut as part ofa new Tennessee Williams festival in Provincetown, Mass., where Williamswrote early drafts of the plays that made him famous: "The Glass Menagerie,""A Streetcar Named Desire," "Summer and Smoke" and "The Eccentricities of aNightingale."
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