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http://expressgaynews.com/2006/9-30/news/national/mcgreevey.cfm
The Express Gay News
Gay governor: Courageous or cowardly?
Former N.J. Gov. James McGreevey releases memoir and more debate
By RYAN LEE
Sep. 30, 2006
Rarely has political theater felt as dramatic as on Aug. 12, 2004, when James and Dina McGreevey stood behind a glass podium that bore the state seal of New Jersey, and for the first time in the nation's history a sitting governor said, "My truth is that I am a gay American."
James McGreevey's stunning departure from the closet drew immediate support from national gay rights groups, but also left many people - gay and straight - wondering whether McGreevey cloaked himself in a gay identity to distract attention from a governorship beleaguered by allegations of shady campaign contributors and ethical lapses within his administration.
McGreevey, a Democrat, shies away from being considered a gay hero, but insists that his biggest transgression during his two-and-a-half years as governor was deceiving himself, his family and the residents of New Jersey about who he truly was.
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http://expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3110
The Express Gay News
Don't blame the closet
The pain of hiding being gay doesn't explain either Mark Foley or Jim
McGreevey's transgressions - and it's an explanation we invoke at our peril.
Friday, October 06, 2006
It's déjà vu all over again, or so the fractured saying goes.
Just as the frenzy over former N.J. Gov. James McGreevey's tell-all memoir began to ebb last week, the media got a new closeted gay politician to obsess over: U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, the six-term Republican from Florida, abruptly resigned as ABC News prepared to expose damaging e-mails and instant messages sent from the 52-year-old lawmaker to male congressional pages as young as 16.
But unlike McGreevey, who called a press conference to announce his resignation and admit he cheated on his wife with a man, Foley offered only a terse written apology for actions he declined to specify.
"I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent," Foley said in statement released Sept. 29, announcing that he had resigned from Congress effective immediately.
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The current issue of The Express Gay News is online
http://expressgaynews.com/
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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/nation/4240113
Oct. 6, 2006, 12:32AM
For gay Republicans, these are uneasy times
Some think the GOP is becoming increasingly hostile toward them
By MAURA REYNOLDS and JENNY JARVIE
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - At the Republican National Convention in 2000, Rep. Mark Foleythrew a late-night bash at a Philadelphia gay bar, where an acquaintancesnapped a photo of an attractive young intern sitting on the Floridacongressman's lap.
Months later, according to the acquaintance, when she offered to send himthe photo, Foley looked anxious.
The intern, "male or female?" he inquired.
"Female," was the reply.
"Oh, thank God," Foley responded. "Send me that photo, I might need itsomeday."
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/05/AR2006100501548_pf.html
GOP Bigotry That Backfired
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, October 6, 2006; A23
Let's deal with the circumstance that dares not speak its name: How much of the Mark Foley scandal's impact is due to the fact that he's a gay man who preyed on young boys?
The basic story line -- powerful man exploits children -- would be the same if Foley were straight and underage girls had been the subject of his lurid attentions. But would the intensity of the scandal be the same? Would there be all this unseemly finger-pointing and hand-washing among the House leadership? Would Dennis Hastert be fighting to keep his job; would Christian conservatives be so apoplectic; would the whole Republican Party look as if it were on the verge of a nervous breakdown?
I doubt it. There would still be a scandal, but I think Foley's now-acknowledged homosexuality was crucial in turning a crisis for the party into a potential catastrophe. In a perfect world that wouldn't be the case, but you might have noticed there's not a lot of perfection in Washington these days.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Gay-Marriage.html?pagewanted=print
October 6, 2006
Gay Marriage Advocates Vow to Appeal
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:29 a.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Gay marriage advocates vowed to appeal a state appeals court ruling upholding California's ban on same-sex weddings -- a decision that would be a critical defeat for their cause if it stands.In reversing the March 2005 ruling of a San Francisco trial judge, the 1st District Court of Appeal on Thursday dealt another setback to the movement to expand gay marriage beyond Massachusetts.
This summer, high courts in New York and Washington state also refused to strike down laws prohibiting same-sex marriage.
But unlike in those states, gay activists in California still have another chance to get the state's marriage laws overturned. They and their opponents have said they expect the California Supreme Court to settle the issue.
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http://www.365gay.com/opinion/Libby/Libby.htm
Atoning
by Libby Post
I like to joke around that as Jews, we get off easy. All we have to do is spend a day fasting and praying in synagogue on Yom Kippur, and we'll haveatoned for all our sins in the previous year. No weekly confessionsnecessary.
But, if it was only that easy . . . as my rabbi reminds me it's not enoughfor me to remember and confess my sins to God but I must ask those whom Imay have offended or transgressed against for their forgiveness. I actuallyhave to face someone, say I'm sorry and ask to be forgiven. Not an easything to do.
Despite what some listeners and readers may think, I try my best to do theright thing. My directness about the Pope, the Radical Christian Right, theRepublican Party and other homophobic entities has been seen as meanspirited and hateful by some. I'm sorry if I have offended but I won't askfor forgiveness. What I say here is an extension of my politics- the alignment of my heart, my head and my soul-and the actualization of what Ibelieve God put us here to do-to make the world a better place.
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http://www.365gay.com/opinion/besen/besen.htm
Foley Fallout
by Wayne Besen
The biggest misnomer in the Mark Foley fiasco is that his transgressionswere caused by the closet. We hear that his career ended in tragedy becauseliving in secrecy warps the mind and leads to sleaze on the sly. This, ofcourse, is often true, as in the case of former New Jersey Gov. JamesMcGreevey, but Foley doesn't fit the script.
For one, it seems every gay man in West Palm Beach has at least one MarkFoley story. For someone supposedly on the down low, Foley attended gayparties and was brazen enough, on one occasion, to introduce his longtimepartner to a news reporter.
In Congress, if Foley wasn't officially out to the Republican leadership, itwas certainly Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The congressman had been "outed"repeatedly in the gay press and rumors swirled on the Internet. It just isn'tcredible to believe that in the gossip mill known as Capitol Hill, thesewhispers did not circulate to the top echelons of power.
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A Note from Marc Adams
HeartStrong
I am passing along this article from Sunday's protest. It will bereprinted on the HeartStrong website eventually as well. We are almostdone with the photos from the protest as well. I'll let you know whenthat is ready for viewing.
Thanks! And, feel free to let me know your thoughts about this by signingour HeartStrong guestbook http://www.heartstrong.org
Marc
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Mountain Democrat
Placerville, CA
Gay speaker draws dueling protests
By Eric Laughlin, Democrat staff writer
Several protesters and supporters came to the corner of Main Street andCedar Ravine Road Sunday evening to express their views on homosexualityand a Placerville church's decision to invite a gay speaker to its houseof worship.
The presence of both groups coincided with the scheduled arrival of MarcAdams, the openly-gay lecturer and founder of the organization"Heartstrong," which reaches out to gay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgendered youth attending religious schools. Adams spoke to a packedhouse at the Federated Church in Placerville.
Dick Otterstad of Garden Valley's controversial "Church of the Divide"donned a devil costume to voice his outrage for what he called acontradiction on behalf of the church in their welcoming of Adams.
Otterstad and others, including his son Luke, have made their presenceknown throughout the county on multiple previous occasions to protesthomosexuality.
"I care about the kids much like Jesus did," the younger Otterstad said."They're in a formative stage right now and who knows how this person willaffect them."
Please contact us at rays.list@comcast.net for the full article.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-agay06oct06,0,6256037.story
Court upholds California gay marriage ban
Judge's ruling is reversed on 2-1 appeal
By Howard Mintz
San Jose Mercury News
October 6, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO · Jolting the gay rights movement back a step, a dividedCalifornia appeals court Thursday upheld the state's ban on same-sexmarriage and warned that judges should steer clear of solving thecontroversy and let voters and legislators decide whether gays and lesbianscan wed.
In a 2-1 ruling, the First District Court of Appeal in San Franciscooverturned a trial judge's decision last year finding the ban on gaymarriage unconstitutional, concluding that California has a right to definemarriage as a union between a man and a woman.
It is the state's first appeals court ruling directly addressing same-sexrestrictions in marriage laws and sets the stage for a long-anticipatedshowdown in the California Supreme Court.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2006/10/jamaicas_leadin.html
TONY JUDT GETS MUGGED BY THE A.D.L. »
October 04, 2006
JAMAICA, ISLAND OF HATE -- Its Leading Gay Activist Speaks
I wrote the following article for Gay City News -- New York City's largestgay weekly newspaper -- in whose new edition it appears tomorrow:
"Jamaica is not a safe environment for gay people to survive in, eitherphysically, emotionally, or psychologically," says Gareth Williams, the29-year-old leader of the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays(J-FLAG), the country's LGBT group.
"The climate here is very, very hostile to gay people. We have been huntedand beaten and killed because of who we are," Williams added. "Families turnagainst their own members because of sexual orientation."
Williams spoke to Gay City News from Montreal, where he had gone last weekto receive the International Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rightsgiven jointly every year by Human Rights Watch and the Canadian HIV/AIDSLegal Network.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200610/NAT20061004a.html
Bible-Spouting Group Plans to Picket Amish Funerals
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
October 04, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - A Kansas-based group that says "God hates fags" plans topicket the funerals of the Amish girls killed by a disturbed man inLancaster County, Pa.
The Westboro Baptist Church -- described as a hate group by theAnti-Defamation League -- has made a name for itself by picketing thefunerals of U.S. troops killed in Iraq. The troops are dying as punishmentfor America's tolerance of homosexuality, the group says.
The Westboro group says the Amish school girls were "killed by a madman inpunishment for Gov. Ed Rendell's blasphemous sins against Westboro BaptistChurch.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=17121&intcategoryid=2
ACROSS THE FORMER SOVIET UNION
Jewish community leader in Ukraine resigns over issue of same-sex unions
By Vladimir Matveyev
October 3, 2006
ACROSS THE FORMER SOVIET UNION Jewish community leader in Ukraine
resigns over issue of same-sex unions By Vladimir Matveyev KERCH, Ukraine, Oct. 3 (JTA) -- The resignation of a longtime leader of one of the largest Reform congregations in Ukraine has thrown the spotlight on a bitter controversy over homosexuality within the post-Soviet Reform movement.
Boris Kapustin, 70, founder and chairman of the Reform congregation in the Crimean town of Kerch, quit his post in September.
While Ukrainian Reform leaders cite Kapustin's age and health concerns as reasons for his resignation, Kapustin told JTA his resignation stemmed from his opposition to the movement's acceptance of same-sex commitment ceremonies.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid37080.asp
October 03, 2006
Schwarzenegger vetoes bill to distribute condoms in California prisons
The landmark California Assembly Bill 1677, which would have allowed public health organizations and officials the opportunity to distribute condoms to state correctional facilities in order to control the staggering rate of HIV infections among inmates, cleared its final legislative hurdles only to be vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday.
"The HIV infection rate in our state correctional facilities is many times higher than in the general population. With the average duration of incarceration being just two years, HIV infections in our state correctional facilities quickly spread to communities on the outside with high incarceration rates. Sadly, the governor's veto of condoms in prison will result in thousands of people both inside and outside of prison being infected with HIV at a staggeringly high cost in both human lives and taxpayer dollars," noted Assemblyman Paul Koretz of West Hollywood, author of the bill.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=9&id=10898
'Gay Spin' On Foley Scandal Outrages GLBT Advocacy Groups
10.03.06
By Troy Espera
Gay rights advocacy groups expressed outraged this week over the 'gay spin' they say the Republican leadership has put on the Mark Foley email scandal involving underage Congressional pages, emphasizing that the ex-congressman's actions had nothing to do with sexual orientation.
"It is completely unacceptable, regardless of party or sexual orientation, for an adult to engage in this kind of behavior with a minor," said Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender political organization, in a media statement issued Tuesday. "The American people deserve leaders who confront problems and take responsibility, not leaders who excuse their corruption by trying to pin it on others."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2645.html
Polish Ministry will ''not support cooperation of homosexuals organisations"
5-October-2006
James Phillips
The Polish Ministry has rejected a youth proposal from Polish LGBT organisation Campaign Against Homophobia with the words ''the Ministry does not support actions that aim to propagate homosexual behaviour and such attitude among young people.''
This decision violates article 13 of the Amsterdam treaty, which explicitly forbids the discrimination of sexual minorities in the European Union.
The homophobic rejection comes in relation to a European Union (EU) scheme, which the Polish LGBT group had applied.
The European Youth programme is run by the European Commission and designed to facilitate cooperation across Europe between youth aged 18-25.
The youth programme is designed to be equally opened for all, but this Polish example shows this is certainly not the case.
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Press release from the Intergroup on gay and lesbian rights of the European Parliament
October 4th 2006
For immediate release
"When the EU becomes a pawn
in homophobia's game"
European Union citizens' fundamental rights are being violated by the national government in Poland. European projects, such as the European Youth Programme, and the European Voluntary Service, are being used as the main weapons in wilful actions aimed against the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.
The Polish Selection Committee refused the application from a Polish LGBT organisation to send a volunteer to Sweden in the context of the European Voluntary Service. Its justification was solely on the grounds that it was the policies of the government not to promote homosexuality[1]. Following this shameful decision, and justification, the European institutions are facing the risk of becoming pawns in the Polish Ministry of Education's homophobic game.
For the full article, contact us at rays.list@comcast.net
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http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=1201
September 28, 2006
Trans woman's asylum case re-opened
by Zak Szymanski
z.szymanski@ebar.com
A transsexual woman who was arrested last month in San Francisco and facedimmediate deportation to Indonesia has won the right for her asylum case tobe re-opened, the United States Board of Immigration Appeals announced onSeptember 20.
Michelle Saraswati will get a new asylum hearing in San Francisco, likely tobe scheduled for several months from now, and also may be released from theSanta Clara County jail where she has been held since August 8. It is notyet known whether her release from jail will require a public hearing or abond payment, said her attorney Zach Nightingale with the law firm Van Der Hout, Brigagliano, and Nightingale.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/05/washington/05foley.html?ei=5094&en=0eb81692a1139132&hp=&ex=1160107200&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
The New York Times
October 5, 2006
A Complex and Hidden Life Behind Foley's Public Persona
By ABBY GOODNOUGH and KATE ZERNIKE
PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 3 - Mark Foley, until last week a fixture on this town's lofty social circuit, once recounted a party at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's fabled estate. "Miss Germany was my date," he told a writer at Washingtonian magazine for an article about "How to Date a Congressman."
It was one of the many hints Mr. Foley dropped to mask the realities of a deeply compartmentalized life. Over 12 years in Congress, he became extraordinarily adept at projecting a magnetic public persona - helped along by loyal aides and a sister he breezily called his surrogate wife - while conducting a private life fraught with more secrets than anyone imagined.
Whatever whispers there might have been about his sexuality - friends in South Florida and Washington knew Mr. Foley was gay but never discussed it with him - no one fathomed that he was sending sexually explicit e-mail messages to Congressional pages as young as 16, news of which led him to resign last week.
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6 October 2006
For immediate release
ILGA-Europe publishes a Toolkit on organising Pride events in hostile environments
This Toolkit is a response to hostile and violent opposition to the firstlesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride events in some Easternand Central European countries during last few years. The Toolkit isintended to provide ideas, information and resources for those wanting toorganise Pride events in a hostile environment. In drawing heavily on theexperiences and successes of Pride organisers, and matching this input withinformation on support available from the European institutions and the LGBTcommunity internationally, it aims to underpin the consolidation of progressmade so far, and provide the initial know-how for those wishing to arrangeevents in countries and towns where no Pride events have yet been held.
The Toolkit was prepared in close cooperation with Pride organisers invarious countries. At the Pride against Prejudice conference duringEuroPride 2006 in London last July, over 100 activists from 28 countriesprovided valuable input and suggestions for the Toolkit. The Toolkit will bepresented at the end of October at the ILGA-Europe 10th Annual Conference inSofia.
For the full article contact us at rays.list@comcast.net
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Irish Independent, Friday 6 Octiber 2006
Homosexuality is not abnormal, court told
DISCRIMINATING against gay and lesbian people and depriving them of socialsupport leads to loss of self-esteem and can make them more vulnerable tomental illness, the High Court was told yesterday.
Dr Harry Kennedy, clinical director at the Central Mental Hospital and aconsultant psychiatrist, called as an expert witness by a lesbian couple whowant their Canadian marriage recognised here, said homosexuality is acondition considered today to be no more abnormal than childhood, old age orpregnancy. Each of those conditions may be the subject of specialist medicalstudy and medical care, and each may at times give rise to discomfort,dysfunction or distress but all were normal aspects of human naturalhistory.
In cultures where social stigma, discrimination and adversity attached tohomosexuality, it may be associated with increased rates of mentalillnesses, he said.
For the full article contact us at rays.list@comcast.net
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Irish Independent, Friday 6 October 2006
Marriage is privileged, mostly for the sake of the children
Friday October 6th 2006
CAN marriage be anything at all? Can it involve two men, two women, a manand a woman, two men and three women? Or it is something in particular,namely what we have now, the publicly- recognised union of one man and onewoman?
There are only some of the questions to be considered by the High Court in acrucial, landmark case involving a lesbian couple, Ann Louise Gilligan andKatherine Zappone, who want their Canadian marriage to be recognised underIrish law.
Gay activists have a relatively simple argument when pressing their case.They say that to prevent a homosexual couple, whether male or female, fromgetting married is discrimination, and probably an expression of bigotry aswell. Reaching for the heart strings, they say they have as much right asstraight couples to have their love recognised by the law.
For the full article contact us at rays.list@comcast.net
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