Turkey's Transsexuals Face Increasing Violence
From Reuters - October 4, 2006
Sent by Kaos in Turkey
Turkey's transsexuals face increasing violence
Reuters
By Selcuk Gokoluk
Belgin still vividly remembers the night, more than a quarter of a centuryago, when police herded her and dozens of other transsexuals andtransvestites on to a train as part of a campaign to clean up Istanbul.
"We did not know where the train was taking us. The police beat us andlocked us up in the wagons. They gave us no water or food," she said,evoking scenes reminiscent of World War Two.
The roundup took place just before the 1980 military coup in Turkey whichled to the suspension of democracy and the jailing of hundreds ofthousands of people for their political views. Some were executed. Manypeople fled abroad.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/business/stories/2006/10/05/1006bizgaytourism.html
Atlanta strengthens effort to boost gay tourism
By LEON STAFFORD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/06/06
Their itinerary includes all the usual tourist haunts - the Georgia Aquarium, the High Museum of Art and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. But a group of writers in town this week to learn more about the capital of the South are getting to see more than the usual fare.
City boosters are taking the journalists - who write for the nation's gay and lesbian newspapers, magazines and Web sites - to dinner at gay-owned and gay-friendly restaurants; to meetings with gay and lesbian entrepreneurs; and to visit neighborhoods where openly gay residents can live without harassment.
It is the latest in a string of efforts by Atlanta's marketers to attract more tourist dollars by fine-tuning their message for a variety of groups - gays, families, sports enthusiasts, women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and others.
Nationally, gay men and lesbians spent an estimated $50 billion on travel last year, a number expected to continue to grow as more destinations around the world market to them, industry experts said.
Gay travelers spend about $500 million annually in metro Atlanta, said Gregory Pierce, chief financial officer for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, which is leading Atlanta's effort to attract gay travelers.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/topstory.asp?id=2377
Coming Out Day Causes Dispute Among Classmates
By KIRA KANITRA (SALISBURY, MD -- WMDT) 10/11/2006
Photographer: Christian Johansen:
Expressing student's beliefs at Bennett High School has caused a dispute between classmates. The Gay/Straight Alliance posted a sign with the club's information as part of National Coming Out Day. Some students were uncomfortable with the message and didn't want to go to school on Wednesday.
Principal Clayton Belgie explains that it's just a misunderstanding.
"I think far too many people look at the gay part and they forget about the straight aspect of the GSA," he said.
Officially, Wednesday is National Coming Out Day. The project's goal is to raise awareness of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
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http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/MarriageEqualityontheEconomy.pdf
The Williams Institute
Link: The Effect of Marriage Equality and Domestic Partnership on Business and the Economy
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http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/SameSexCouplesandGLBpopACS.pdf
The Williams Institute
Link: Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population:
New Estimates from the American Community Survey
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-environment-homosexuality.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
October 12, 2006
Birds and Bees May Be Gay: Museum Exhibition
By REUTERS
Filed at 8:48 a.m. ET
OSLO (Reuters) - The birds and the bees may be gay, according to the world'sfirst museum exhibition about homosexuality among animals.
With documentation of gay or lesbian behavior among giraffes, penguins,parrots, beetles, whales and dozens of other creatures, the Oslo NaturalHistory Museum concludes human homosexuality cannot be viewed as``unnatural.''
``We may have opinions on a lot of things, but one thing is clear -- homosexuality is found throughout the animal kingdom, it is not againstnature,'' an exhibit statement said.
Geir Soeli, the project leader of the exhibition entitled ''AgainstNature,'' told Reuters: ``Homosexuality has been observed for more than1,500 animal species, and is well documented for 500 of them.''
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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2006/10/12/a5a_FOLEYLETTER_1012.html
Name of alleged Foley abuser sought
By Kathleen Chapman
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach has sent a formal letter asking MarkFoley's attorney to identify the clergyman who allegedly abused the formercongressman.
Foley's attorney, David Roth, said during a news conference on Oct. 3 that aclergyman had molested Foley when he was from 13 to 15 years old. He did notidentify the person, church or denomination.
"Until such time as you identify the alleged perpetrator," diocese attorneyJ. Patrick Fitzgerald wrote in an Oct. 5 letter to Roth, "all clergy thatserved in Palm Beach County have been needlessly placed under suspicion."
Fitzgerald also asked Roth to report Foley's abuser to the Palm Beach CountyState Attorney's Office.
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http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid37406.asp
The Advocate
Foley's follies and the Republicans' quest for power
The Mark Foley sex scandal is less about his illness and more about theRepublicans' sickness for power, because the scandal exposes a GOP politicalmachine exploiting queers and children to maintain dominance by any meansnecessary.
By the Reverend Irene Monroe
The wedge issue that won the Republicans control of Congress back in the'90s will be the same issue that will bring them down this year-queer civilrights.
With the ball now in the GOP's court, thanks to Florida Republican MarkFoley's shenanigans with underage congressional pages as his hopeful boytoys, the house that homophobia built for the Republicans is now crumblinglike a house of cards.
And with voter confidence in Republicans propitiously diving just weeksbefore the midterm election and a media frenzy having fun with the storylike children playing in autumn leaves, the Foley sex scandal is less abouthis illness and more about the Republicans' sickness for power.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Denver Post, CO, October 11, 2006
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_4471219
For this election, "spouse" is an important term Al Knight
One of the things at stake in the November election in Colorado is themeaning of the word "spouse."
Dictionaries agree that it means "either member of a marriage in relation tothe other, one's husband or wife."
In 1996, Congress, aware of this definition, passed the Defense of MarriageAct (DOMA). That law, signed by President Bill Clinton, declared that nostate had to respect a relationship between persons of the same sex that istreated as "a marriage under the laws of such other state ... or any rightor claim arising from such a relationship."
But that was not all. Congress went on to define the word "spouse,"declaring that for federal purposes, "spouse refers only to a person of theopposite sex who is a husband or a wife."
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Centralia Chronicle, WA, October 11, 2006
http://www.chronline.com/main.asp?Top=1&SectionID=16&SubSectionID=101&ArticleID=33763&TM=73725.56
Courts deferring to legislatures, voters on marriage issue
Courts in three politically liberal states - Washington, California and NewYork - have now upheld legislative acts in those states that ban same-sexmarriage.
That is a reflection, at least in Washington and New York, of how strong thepublic sentiment is nationally for preserving traditional marriage. And itis an indication of the respect of courts and judges in those states for thenotion that policy should be made by the people through the legislativeprocess, not by judicial fiat.
In July, the Washington Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling upheld the state'sDefense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man anda woman. Despite great pressure from the very sizable gay and lesbiancommunity and its supporters in this state, the court held fast in notusurping the will of the people as expressed by the Legislature. It did notfind or try to interpret a new right in our Constitution for same-sexmarriage.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Arlington Catholic Herald, VA, October 12, 2006
http://www.catholicherald.com/shaw/shaw06/shaw1012.htm
Judge Wilkinson and Same-Sex Marriage
By Russell Shaw, HERALD Columnist
Considering that the name of Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III is often said tobe on the White House 's elite short list for possible nomination to theSupreme Court, Wilkinson's views on many subjects merit more than routineattention. And considering that Judge Wilkinson recently unburdened himselfregarding same-sex marriage, the need for people to pay attention is morecompelling still.
Wilkinson, who sits on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, shared histhinking on same-sex marriage on the Op Ed page of The Washington Post. Whathe said on this hot-button issue has got to be troubling for moralconservatives.
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Irish cops turn "Muscle Mary" to halt gay bashings
http://www.gay.com/news/election/article.html?2006/10/11/3
Police in Dublin, Ireland, are going undercover as local Muscle Marys to lure gay-bashers, unofficially called the Pink Patrol.
The muscle-bound boys wear skin-tight jeans and tees -- and apparentlylearn "the walk" -- and patrol Dublin's George's Street and other popularcruising grounds.
There will be more uniformed police officers in the area as well. The detail was set up this summer to combat a trend of rising gayattacks in the area, and in the past three months has made 14 arrests innearly a dozen attacks.
A police spokesperson said that many of those who have been chargedbelong to a well-known gang.
Police say that gay men usually avoid reporting attacks. The police areconsidering setting up a community police station which will make it easierfor victims to report assaults. (Hassan Mirza, Gay.com U.K.)
Paul Moor
<Texas-Paule@Sigmund-Freud.Org>
D-10715 Berlin
Telefon (4930) 8639-5784
Telefax (4930) 8639-5785
Skype
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/12/nyregion/12attack.html?pagewanted=print
October 12, 2006
Man Charged in Hate Crimes; Brooklyn Victim Is in a Coma
By AL BAKER
A 19-year-old man was charged with hate crimes yesterday in connection with an attack on a Brooklyn man who was lured to a desolate meeting place Sunday night, robbed and forced onto the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a car and critically injured, the police said.
The victim, Michael J. Sandy, was still in a coma yesterday, relatives said. The attack is being treated as a hate crime because investigators believe the assailants singled out Mr. Sandy for being gay and arranged over the Internet to meet him at a place often visited by gay men. Three other men were being questioned yesterday in connection with the attack, the police said. Officials said a group of as many as four men orchestrated the rendezvous in order to rob Mr. Sandy, telling him in Internet messages to bring enough money to pay for a hotel room.
At 9:40 p.m. on Sunday at the meeting place - a narrow, garbage-strewn parking lot near Sheepshead Bay, sandwiched between Plumb Beach and the eastbound lanes of the parkway - Mr. Sandy, 28, was attacked by at least two of the men, the police said.
He backed away from them and, at one point, darted into the path of a car, which struck him and kept going, the police said. The police were still seeking the driver of the car that struck Mr. Sandy.Other cars on the highway were forced to stop as the attack spilled across three lanes of roaring traffic. One witness told detectives that after Mr. Sandy was struck by the car, she saw a man drag him to the shoulder of the Belt Parkway and rifle his pockets.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
A note from Kenneth Sherrill:
Patrick Egan and Kenneth Sherrill Piece:
"Coming Out and Americans' Attitudes on Gay Rights"
You may have seen some press references to a study that Pat Egan and I areworking on entitled "Coming Out" and Americans' Attitudes on Gay Rights".
Should you want to read a somewhat longer ( 8 pp.) version of our report,our findings are now posted at:
Link: http://socs.berkeley.edu/~pjegan/ncod.pdf
Ken
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