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Today is NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY!!!
Welcome to the Sunshine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
=Budapest tourism office offers online gay and lesbian guide
http://english.mti.hu/default.asp?menu=1&theme=2&cat=25&newsid=228242
Budapest, October 11 (MTI) - After many years of handling the issue ofhomosexuality as a taboo in Hungary, Budapest's tourism office website hasstarted a section dedicated to gay and lesbian visitors.
According to the website
(http://www.budapestinfo.hu/en/free_time/gay_and_lesbian_budapest),
"Budapest has always had a significant gay and lesbian population. Thesignificant aversion against them, the legal and social exclusions startedto decrease after 1990 only".
The site lists gay and lesbian bars and saunas and also advises ongay-friendly restaurants, cafes and accommodation opportunities.
There is also a list of other useful information, including a helplinenumber and links to Hungary's online gay forums.
=
Irish Independent, 11 October 2006
Professor questions 'rosy' reports on lesbian parents
A LEADING academic has questioned the methodology of studies showing thatchildren's welfare is not adversely affected when lesbian parents raisethem.
Patricia Casey, professor of psychiatry at UCD, told the High Court that she"could not draw any conclusions" from the studies because of certaintechniques used and the small sample sizes.
She was giving evidence on behalf of the State in the action by KatherineZappone, a public policy consultant, and Ann Louise Gilligan, an academic,against the Revenue Commissioners and the State.
"One has to be very cautious," she said in relation to the reports.
The couple claims that the failure by Irish authorities to recognise theirCanadian marriage breaches their right to marry under the IrishConstitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the EuropeanCharter of Fundamental Freedoms.
=
Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
New York Post, NY, October 10, 2006
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10102006/news/nationalnews/hill_backs_bill_touting_same_sex_benefits_nationalnews_ian_bishop.htm
HILL BACKS BILL TOUTING SAME-SEX BENEFITS
By IAN BISHOP,
ian.bishop@nypost.com
WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has quietly jumped into thestruggle for insurance benefits for thousands of same-sex partners - a movethat is likely to cool some of the heat she's been getting from the gaycommunity for opposing same-sex marriage.
Clinton is among a handful of co-sponsors of Sen. Joe Lieberman's 11th-hourmeasure providing family benefits to federal workers'
domestic partners.
Under the Connecticut Democrat's proposal, same-sex partners would beeligible for benefits if they are in a committed relationship, live togetherand share responsibility for each other's welfare.
The measure, filed just before Congress left Washington late last month tohit the campaign trail, is being hailed by the Human Rights Campaign as "theright thing to do."
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From Marc Adams - HeartStrong
HeartStrong turns Ten !
Outreach to GLBT students in religious schools
Dear Friends,
As of October 10, we mark ten years of outreach work to GLBTstudents from religious educational institutions. While therearen't resources for a party to mark this occasion, we arelooking on to what the next ten years of outreach work willbring.
It's been ten years of doing everything we can with whateverwe have to try to make a difference in the lives of the peoplewe reach.
It all started in my office at my last paying job in West LosAngeles. I really wanted to find a way to make sure that otherGLBT people didn't have to go through what I went throughalone. I thought it would be easy to sign up with whateverorganization was doing this work already. Didn't take long for me to find out that in the entire world, there was no suchorganization. That made me so uncomfortable that I decidedthat I had a responsibility to do it.
=
Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
365Gay.com, October 10, 2006
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/10/101006travel.htm
Anti-Gay Amendments, War Discouraging Gay Tourism
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(San Francisco, California) Proposed amendments to ban same-sex marriage and the war in Iraq are keeping many gays and lesbians from visiting the USaccording to a new international study of LGBT travel.
The survey, by Community Marketing - a consulting firm that specializes inthe LGBT travel industry, found that 68 percent of gays and lesbians fromoutside the country said the war and gay marriage bans were a deterrent totravel.
The issue of same-sex marriage was particularly strong for gays in Canadawhere marriage is legal. That finding could have a serious impact on the UStravel industry. Canadians are the largest segment of the foreign travelmarket.
=
Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Denver Post, CO, October 10, 2006
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4467368
Businesses wedded to gays too
By Al Lewis Denver, Post Staff Columnist
Men will marry men, women will marry women, and this will be not only legal but lucrative in a future capitalist society.
Like it or not, businesses are quietly leading the charge toward thisslow-but-sure shift in public opinion.
The same way businesses put blacks and whites and men and womenside-by- side in the workplace, they will break down the social norm ofmarriage as reserved only for a man and a woman. Why?
Because gay marriage is good for business. At least, that's the conclusionof a study released Monday by The Williams Institute on Sexual OrientationLaw and Public Policy, a think tank at the University of California at LosAngeles School of Law. The study concludes that costs for business, such asinsuring domestic partners, are minimal.
=
From Marc Adams - HeartStrong
Hi Everyone...
I apologize for the quantity of posts that I will sending out today, October 10. We have just had quite a few updates and things in the newsto share. Plus, we've been back in Seattle long enough to get quite a bitof work done. I hope that you will read all of the posts. There is agreat deal of exciting and important HeartStrong information.
As today is National Coming Out Day, we are also marking ten years ofoutreach work on behalf of HeartStrong. More information on that to cometoday as well.
As always, feel free to post your messages in our guestbook at
http://www.heartstrong.org
We have only six days left until we begin the second half of our Fall/Winter Outreach trip. Thanks to an anonymous donor, Tony Biehl and others we have been able to pay off the remaining costs from the firsthalf of the trip, as well as raise $4,000.00 for this second portion.
That means we only have $4,200.00 to raise before we leave on the 16th tohave all of the funds we need for this trip. Please think about what youcan do today to help us with our need.
One of the posts I will be sending out later has to do with our newfundraising campaign for the rest of this year and 2007. Watch for thepost about the 12/50 & 12/100 Clubs.
I look forward to hearing from all of you.
Thanks!
Marc Adams
=
Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Chicago Tribune [blog], IL, October 10, 2006
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/10/is_a_purge_of_c.html
Is a purge of Capitol Hill gays starting?
Posted by Frank James
So are we seeing the beginnings of the Mark Foley-related backlash at thehands of religious and other conservatives against Republican gays withimportant Capitol Hill staff jobs?
When I tried to gauge that last week by phoning religious-conservativegroups like the Alliance for Marriage and Focus on the Family, theydemurred. Even the Family Research Council didn't get back to me with aspokesman.
Anyway, I'm not taking it personally that Tony Perkins, the council'spresident, devoted his Washington Update yesterday to the very matter Iwanted to talk with him about.
=
http://www.hrc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Coming_Out/Get_Informed4/National_Coming_Out_Day/History/A_History.htm
A History of National Coming Out Day
Every Oct. 11, thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender peopleand allies celebrate National Coming Out Day. They hold workshops,speak-outs, rallies and other kinds of events all aimed at showing thepublic that GLBT people are everywhere. But what's so special about Oct. 11?How did that become a day aimed at encouraging GLBT people to come out andbe honest about themselves?
Celebrate National Coming Out Day
October 11, 2006
NCOD 2006 Theme: "Talk About It"
"Talk About It" will be the theme of this year's National Coming Out Day tobe celebrated on October 11, 2006. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation'sComing Out Project is an on-going campaign to empower gay, lesbian,bisexual, transgender and allied Americans to live openly and honestly abouttheir lives.
=
Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
The Edge, October 10, 2006
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ci=108&ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=15498
More Americans Know Someone Who's Gay
Two studies released Oct. 11, as Americans nationwide commemorate NationalComing Out Day, show that more Americans are becoming personally acquaintedwith members of the GLBT community and as a result are also increasinglybecoming more supportive of equality.
The new studies quantify the GLBT march for equality moving in a directionof increased support for equal rights under the law as more GLBT Americanslive their lives more openly.
"We have known all along that our country continues to head in the directionof equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans," saidHuman Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "The reports released todayprovide us with even greater insight to how important it is for us to liveour lives openly and honestly by telling our stories. As we continue tointroduce our lives and relationships to Americans, more are responding in apositive way and being increasingly supportive of full equality under the law."
=
Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061007/25063.htm
Evangelical Lutherans to Release Final Study on Human Sexuality
Evangelical Lutherans are signing off on their final human sexuality study to obtain an accurate picture of the different voices on homosexuality inthe church.
Sat, Oct. 07, 2006 Posted: 07:46:59 AM EST
Evangelical Lutherans are signing off on their final human sexuality studyto obtain an accurate picture of the different voices on homosexuality inthe church.
"Set Free in Christ: Talking about Human Sexuality" is the EvangelicalLutheran Church in America's third study guide engaging its 4.85 millionmembers in discussion before the church's official social statement on humansexuality. The final study is slated for release to the church on Dec. 4.
Responses from the three studies will help shape ELCA's statement on humansexuality including such issues as gay marriage and the consecration ofhomosexual persons.
=
Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
The East African (Nairobi) via allAfrica.com, October 10, 2006
http://allafrica.com/stories/200610100056.html
OPINION
Uganda Won't Violate Gays' Human Rights, But...
Brig (rtd) Matayo Kyaligonza
Nairobi - The recent condemnation of the Uganda government by AmnestyInternational over alleged incitement against same-sex relationships isinappropriate and in bad taste.
The report appearing in The EastAfrican (September 18-24), might beconstrued to mean that the government of Uganda encourages violation ofhuman rights, an insinuation that could be grossly misleading.
The government of Uganda upholds the law and accords capital adherence toits implementation as provided for in the laws of our country. It is,therefore, erroneous for Amnesty International to allege that the governmentdoes not adhere to international laws on homosexuality.
=
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid37377.asp
Survey: 83% of self-identified gays are out
As gays and lesbians celebrate another National Coming Out Day on Wednesday,a new survey reports that 83% of respondents who self-identify as gay orlesbian consider themselves out. The survey also showed that seven out of 10straight adults say they know someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, ortransgender.
As gays and lesbians celebrate another National Coming Out Day on Wednesday,a new survey reports seven out of 10 straight adults in the United Statessay they know someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Thenationwide online survey of 2,932 U.S. adults also found that 83% of thosewho self-identify as gay or lesbian consider themselves out.
When LGBT respondents were asked if they considered themselves open abouttheir sexual orientation, 92% said they are out to their close friends, and78% said they are out to their parents. A majority also indicated they areout to other people in their lives, including grandparents, cousins,acquaintances and casual friends, and coworkers and colleagues.
=
Finland's SQS says science does not back refusing fertility treatment to single-sex couples
11.10.2006 at 11:04
NewsRoom Finland
http://newsroom.finland.fi/stt/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=13956&group=Politics
Finland's Society of Queer Studies (SQS) said Wednesday that the country'slawmakers should take into account scientific studies when deciding whoshould be given access to fertility treatments.
According to the SQS, the claim that only a heterosexual family guarantees ahealthy and balanced upbringing is not supported by any study.
"In the political debate, people have made many statements where therestriction of fertility treatments to couples formed by a man and a womanhas been justified with the interests of the child and the securing of abalanced upbringing. Yet studies on both independent women and lesbiancouples over many decades have shown that a child is not harmed just becausehe does not have parents from both sexes," the society said in a statement.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.c-ville.com/Portlet/Print_Friendly.php?Print=Article&z_Article_ID=1510910061092354
Gay marriage ban debated
Amendment sponsor verbally battles gay marriage advocate
by : Will Goldsmith
Common ground was a scarce commodity during an October 5 debate concerning the proposed amendment to the State constitution banning gay marriage and civil unions. House Delegate Bob Marshall, one of the amendment's co-sponsors, took on Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom To Marry. The two stopped just short of direct name-calling (but just barely) while disputing each other's position in a Lincoln-Douglas style debate at the UVA Law School.
In Marshall's opening address-during which two members of the audience stood and turned their backs-the Republican from Northern Virginia contended that the current State laws banning gay marriage and civil unions haven't prevented a single person from inheriting property, receiving hospital visitation rights or creating a business contract, as some opponents fear the proposed amendment will do.
=
From: David Mann, Iraq vet, MoveOn.org Political Action
To: rays.list@comcast.net
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 3:44 PM
Subject: Hear my story near your town
For two years, I risked my life in the Iraq war. I'm writing to invite you this weekend to see what I saw over there and take action to keep my fellow soldiers safe.
This weekend, MoveOn members across the country are opening their homes to screen a powerful new film, Iraq for Sale, about the big corporations that are endangering soldiers' lives and ruining the chance for peace.
I'm asking all of you to go see this groundbreaking movie and to bring as many friends as you can. There are nearly 1,500 screenings in cities and towns across the country. To find the closest one and RSVP, just click here:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=59&id=9054-5533006-ERXxFMSBH.JaydDP34O85w&t=4
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/10/06/family/doc45256ffb34b22972151724.txt
How to stop the bullying
BY ERIN ANDERSEN /
Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Oct 06, 2006 - 12:13:55 am CDT
He posted the note on his milk glass, where his mother was sure to find it. "Names I get called at school every day. Retard. Faggot. Gay. Stupid ." The list went on.
The mother was shocked. Angry. Sad. She asked what she could do to help.
"Whatever you do, don't tell anyone. Don't call the school. They'll know it was me who told. Then they will really get me."
Everyday an estimated 160,000 kids in the U.S. don't go to school because of bullies.
An estimated 3 out of 4 American children will experience bullying sometime during their school years - either as victims, bullies or the uncomfortable bystanders.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20061008/ent/ent1.html
Reggaewritesback - Active stance taken against gay rights activists
published: Sunday | October 8, 2006
Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
Buju Banton
Once again sections of the homosexual community have struck, delivering yetanother round of blows to reggae and dancehall music with cancellations ofBuju Banton concerts in the United States. However, this time aroundsupporters and well-wishers have stood their ground and are protestingagainst the gay community.
Rude Gal of Rude Gal Entertainment, the management company for Mr. Easy and Chico, says she thinks the homosexual community is targeting reggae anddancehall music, using it as a scapegoat for pushing their own agenda.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2005-08-23-salt-lake-outed_x.htm?csp=34
Salt Lake City outed as friendly to gay travelers
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Salt Lake City's conservative stereotype may be nothing more than that. A new survey by PlanetOut, a San Francisco-based online media service for the gay and lesbian community ranks the city as a gay-friendly travel destination.
"It's a surprisingly fun gay getaway," said Ed Salvato, a PlanetOut travel editor who put together the 12th annual "Out and About Travel Awards.""I actually like Salt Lake. I've had great times there. There's an energetic, vibrant nightlife and very friendly locals," he said Friday. "And before I came there, I thought it would be the land of blondes and Mormons.
But it really was diverse."
The rankings also single out Park City's Queer Lounge for its prominence during the Sundance Film Festival.
Editors have been honoring gay-friendly travel destinations since 1994, according to information on the PlanetOut website. The rankings include both U.S. and internataional locations "chosen on the basis of excellence, innovation and solid gay-family travel values."
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congress-Pages-Kolbe.html?pagewanted=print
October 10, 2006
Retiring Kolbe in Spotlight
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:09 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe was trying to retire quietly, it isn't working out that way.
Kolbe confirmed Tuesday that he referred concerns about then-Rep. Mark Foley to the House clerk's office in 2001 or 2002 after a former page told him Foley had sent him e-mails that made him feel uncomfortable.
The revelation is key to the question of when top House Republicans knew about Foley's behavior and whether they should have acted sooner to intervene.
It has thrust Kolbe, 64, the only openly gay Republican in Congress, into the spotlight just as he is preparing to leave Washington after 22 years in the House.
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001437.html
In Ohio, 'Values' Decline As Issue
Economic Woes Boost Democrats
By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 11, 2006; A01
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Two years ago, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell was a driving force in the triumphant campaign for a state constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage. That helped caused a surge in turnout of "values voters," who helped deliver this pivotal state to President Bush's successful reelection effort.
As the Republican candidate for governor, Blackwell has been counting on values voters to do for him this year what they did for the party in 2004. But the culture wars are being eclipsed as a voting issue by economic worries and Republican scandals that have altered the political dynamic here in striking ways. Several polls find Blackwell trailing his Democratic opponent, five-term Rep. Ted Strickland, by double digits with less than four weeks to go until the Nov. 7 midterm elections.
The difficulty Blackwell is experiencing winning support for his socially conservative message reflects the anxiety evident this year among voters in Ohio and elsewhere, some pollsters say.
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