GLBT DIGEST - November 16, 2006

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT
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The current issue of The Independent Gay News is online

http://www.indynews.4t.com/


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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/performing_arts/16015779.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Thu, Nov. 16, 2006


THEATER
Clash of sexuality, religion weighs heavy in plays

BY STEVE ROTHAUS
srothaus@MiamiHerald.com

Del Shores' Sordid Lives and Southern Baptist Sissies are two hitcomedies sure to generate lots of laughs this weekend at Parker Playhouse.But growing up gay in the Baptist church really isn't very funny, accordingto the shows' star, Emmy-winning actor Leslie Jordan.

''I was raised in the Baptist church,'' said Jordan, 51, a gay man whowon the Emmy this year for his role as Beverly Leslie in NBC's Will & Grace.``When you're raised in that environment, you are told there is somethingwrong with you -- very, very wrong with you.''



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Haggard-Therapy-Debate.html?pagewanted=print


November 15, 2006

Haggard Case Revives Gay Therapy Debate
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:51 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- Evangelical leader Ted Haggard, in apologizing for contactswith a gay prostitute, said he had sought help to combat a ''repulsive anddark'' side of his life -- but no approach had proven effective.

Even as he pledges to undergo further counseling, Haggard's comments haverekindled debate over the controversial premise that people can overcomesame-sex attractions through ''reparative therapy.'' It's a concept espousedby many religious conservatives, and disputed by many mental health experts.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org


Global Campaign to Decriminalize Gay Sex Aimed at U.N. (TheAdvocate)

From The Advocate -- the national U.S. magazine for gays and lesbians
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid39427.asp
Why should being gay be a crime?

In 75 countries being gay is still a crime. French activist Prof.Louis-George Tin, founder of the International Day Against Homophobia, hopesto change that by having the United Nations adopt a resolution calling forthe decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide. Tin spoke to The Advocateahead of a press conference in Paris where he announced the news.

By Doug Ireland

An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 15, 2006


On November 17 the Paris-based International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO)will launch a global campaign for a United Nations resolution declaring thathomosexuality should no longer be considered a crime anywhere in the world.

The proposed U.N. resolution is the brainchild of IDAHO's founder,Louis-Georges Tin, 32, a professor and author of a number of books(including the Dictionary of Homophobia) who is also a rising star ofFrance's emerging black movement for equality.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org


http://blabbeando.blogspot.com/2006/11/argentina-gay-civil-unions-reality.html

BLOG: Blabbeando

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Argentina: Gay civil unions? Reality might surprise you

While some of us are celebrating that Mexico City and South Africa seempoised to grant partial or full recognition of same-sex partnerships, let'stake a look at what's been going on in Buenos Aires, Argentina (the firstcity in Latin America ever to pass a gay-friendly "civil union" law back in2002).

In yesterday's Clarin, Argentina's leading newspaper, Rosario Medina takes alook at the number of couples that have sought to have their partnershipsrecognized through a civil union in Buenos Aires since 2003. Granted, thearticle says that only one office in all of Buenos Aires is allowed to grantcivil union rights to same-sex couples, but the numbers might still surpriseyou.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

Please help the National AIDS Fund:

We need your help! The National AIDS Fund is once again teaming up withBristol-Myers Squibb to promote the Light To Unite World AIDS Day campaign.From November 1st until World AIDS Day - December 1st, people from all overthe county will be able to log on to <http://www.LightToUnite.org>

www.LightToUnite.org and light a virtual candle. For every candle lit,Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide a $1 (up to $100,000) donation to theNational AIDS Fund to help support community based organizations throughoutthe U.S. in their fight against HIV/AIDS. In addition, participants willalso be given an opportunity to make a personal donation directly to theNational AIDS Fund.

Please forward to your friends. Thanks!




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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_9_23/ai_71690704

Anti-Porn Effort May Have Wide Free Speech Impact - Utah appoints anObscenity and Pornography Complaints Ombudsman - Brief Article

Joe Salkowski

IT'S easy to smirk about a place like Utah. It's where religion dominatespolitics and where sex outside of marriage isn't just frowned upon, it'sprosecuted.

But a newly appointed Utah official is getting ready to wipe that smile offyour face, particularly if you've been leering at Internet porn.

A former local prosecutor named Paula Houston has been named the state'sfirst Obscenity and Pornography Complaints Ombudsman, a title that mostpeople are shortening to Porn Czar. She's the first state official in thenation whose job is devoted exclusively to stamping out smut, and stateAttorney General Mark Shurtleff says her top priority will be the Internet.


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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111501365_pf.html


Church Won't Punish Minister For Gay Wedding

By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006; A03

Citing a procedural error, a tribunal of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)dismissed all charges yesterday against a Pittsburgh minister who wasaccused of violating the church's rules by conducting a marriage ceremonyfor two women.

The Rev. Janet Edwards, 56, said she was relieved, but also disappointed notto have her day in church court.

"Scripture teaches me that the heart of marriage is the love and commitmentbetween the partners. Life has taught me that gay and lesbian partners canshow as much love and commitment as anyone else," she said. "I was reallyeager to make that case."



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-gay-marriage-fallout,0,2199919.story


Wis. Same-Sex Vote Has Some Job-Hunting

By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer

November 16, 2006, 4:22 AM EST


MADISON, Wis. -- Gay and lesbian faculty and staff at the University ofWisconsin-Madison say they might quit their jobs because of the state'spassage of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civilunions.

"I think that a lot of people are looking elsewhere," said Concha Gomez, anacademic staff member in the mathematics department.

Meeting Wednesday with about 100 concerned students, faculty and staff,UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley said the amendment makes it unlikely thatWisconsin's legislature will add health insurance benefits for domesticpartners.




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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-presbyterians-gays,0,6765672.story


Pa. Church Panel Drops Gay Marriage Case

By DAN NEPHIN
Associated Press Writer

November 16, 2006, 6:57 AM EST

PITTSBURGH -- Restrained applause broke the silence as Presbyterian leadersannounced their decision to dismiss charges against a minister accused ofbreaking church law by presiding over the marriage of two woman.

Those among the 200 people who crowded into a rented hall Wednesday tosupport pastor Janet Edwards clearly approved of the decision, but theirmeasured enthusiasm reflected the fact that the larger issue remainedunresolved.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111501395_pf.html


So Close, Yet So Far Apart
Once Solidly Part of the South, the Old Dominion Now Encompasses a WideningCultural Chasm

By Brigid Schulte and Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 16, 2006; B01

Alexandria still has its Jefferson Davis Highway and Springfield its RobertE. Lee High School, but if last week's election showed anything, it's thatNorthern Virginia is not only different than the rest of the state, it is adifferent state. And it's no longer in the South.

That line now starts at the Rappahannock River, where things change -- the
accents, the attitudes, the pace and a comfort with the way things are. It'swhat some historians call the new "grits line." To them, it's no surprisethat the state's northernmost welcome center on Interstate 95 is inFedericksburg.

State politics in Richmond is still controlled by leaders south of theRappahannock. But as Northern Virginia continues to grow, both in populationand influence, the profound difference between the two Virginias is likelyto become not just an uneasy alliance but a full-blown identity crisis.




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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111500455_pf.html


Letters To the Editor

Thursday, November 16, 2006; VA02


Marriage Amendment: Shame on Us for Our Bias


I am so completely disappointed in the state of Virginia that I truly wish Idid not live here. I cannot believe that Virginians are so small-minded andmean-spirited that they would attempt to control the lives of others. I amtalking about the amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

What is it that makes people think that they have the right to happiness andchoice at the same time that they work to deny others the same? Exactly whatproblems do people who voted for the amendment think will come from allowingsame-sex marriage? Is it that they think that their own marriages willsomehow fall apart because of this? If that is the case, they should beworking on their own lives and not the lives of others. I really don'tunderstand.



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The New York Times


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/16/nyregion/16mother.html?pagewanted=print


November 16, 2006

Child Born to Lesbian Couple Will Have 2 Mothers Listed

By LAURA MANSNERUS
TRENTON, Nov. 15 - A lesbian couple in South Jersey won court approval thisweek to have both of their names listed as parents on the birth certificateof their newborn, and the attorney general's office said it will no longeroppose such applications.

The decision, in Family Court in Burlington County, stems from an Oct. 25ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court holding that same-sex couples areentitled to the same legal rights and protections as heterosexual couples.The court gave the Legislature 180 days either to bring gay couples withinthe state's marriage laws or establish a parallel system of civil unions.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Gay-Marriage-Fallout.html?pagewanted=print


November 16, 2006
Wis. Same - Sex Vote Has Some Job - Hunting
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:22 a.m. ET

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gay and lesbian faculty and staff at the University ofWisconsin-Madison say they might quit their jobs because of the state'spassage of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civilunions.

''I think that a lot of people are looking elsewhere,'' said Concha Gomez,an academic staff member in the mathematics department.

Meeting Wednesday with about 100 concerned students, faculty and staff,UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley said the amendment makes it unlikely thatWisconsin's legislature will add health insurance benefits for domesticpartners.


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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Internet-Outing.html?pagewanted=print


November 16, 2006
New Gay 'Outings' Sign of Gossip Culture
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:06 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- When the comedian Bill Maher went on ''Larry King Live''and alleged that some top Republican operatives were gay, it was too muchdetail for CNN, which edited the remarks out of later broadcasts and off thetranscript on its Web site.

But the remarks couldn't be edited out of cyberspace, where they remainavailable, along with virtually everything else these days.

Maher's comments last week, and a series of recent coming-out announcementsby Hollywood figures responding to persistent rumors, show just how much theInternet has changed the rumor mill, and consequently the process of''outing'' celebrities.

Where anti-gay sentiment used to fuel these revelations, these days they aremore likely to be merely a byproduct of a voracious Web-based gossip culturewhere no part of a celebrity's life is off limits -- or, in the case ofpoliticians, an attempt by one side or the other to score political points.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Massachusetts-Gay-Marriage.html?pagewanted=print


November 16, 2006
Gay Marriage Showdown Looms in Mass.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:25 a.m. ET

BOSTON (AP) -- Gov. Mitt Romney plans to appear at a rally Sunday to demandthat lawmakers, who have largely ignored him on the matter, vote on aproposed ballot question that would end gay marriage in Massachusetts.

Last week, the Legislature again refused to take up the question at a jointsession, voting instead to recess until Jan. 2, which all but killed themeasure because a vote then is unlikely.

Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the fight won't be over until thepeople vote.

''No matter how you may feel about the marriage issue, people have a rightto participate in their own government,'' he said.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Presbyterians-Gays.html?pagewanted=print


November 16, 2006
Pa. Church Panel Drops Gay Marriage Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:57 a.m. ET

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Restrained applause broke the silence as Presbyterianleaders announced their decision to dismiss charges against a ministeraccused of breaking church law by presiding over the marriage of two woman.

Those among the 200 people who crowded into a rented hall Wednesday tosupport pastor Janet Edwards clearly approved of the decision, but theirmeasured enthusiasm reflected the fact that the larger issue remainedunresolved.



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The Palm Beach Post


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/11/16/m1a_OGAY_1116.html


Lesbian alleges bias at school
By Rachel Simmonsen

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, November 16, 2006

An Okeechobee High School senior and the club she helped form to promotetolerance of lesbians and gay men has sued the school principal and theOkeechobee County School Board, claiming they wrongfully prohibited the clubfrom meeting on school grounds.

Yasmin Gonzalez, 17, who is being represented by the American CivilLiberties Union, argues that the school's failure to recognize theGay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School and allow it to meet at theschool violates the federal Equal Access Act.

According to her complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Miami,the federal law mandates that if a school allows one non-curricular group tomeet on campus, it must allow all other non-curricular groups to meet there.



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Op-Ed: A Global Overview of LGBT Rights - by Paula Ettelbrick



http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2006/11/a_global_overview_of_gay_right.html

From the Washington Post Editor's Inbox - 11/02/06

A Global Overview of Gay Rights - by Paula Ettelbrick

After the New Jersey court ruling on gay marriage last week, this questionhas come again to the political fore in the U.S. There, an increasinglysuccessful gay rights movement battles a Republican political-religiousalliance in an epic conflict. Around the world gays are viscouslypersecuted. It is critical that opposition to same-sex marriage does not addfuel to the fire which leads to the arrest, torture and death of homosexualsaround the world.

After the New Jersey court ruling on gay marriage last week, this questionhas come again to the political fore in the U.S. There, an increasinglysuccessful gay rights movement battles a Republican political-religiousalliance in an epic conflict.


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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/print.php3?what=news&id=115461


09:17 Nov-14-06 / 23 Cheshvan 5767

'Armed Religious Anti-Gay Detainees' Tell Their Story
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 / 23 Cheshvan 5767


(IsraelNN.com) The widely-reported story of a group of religious men, onewith a gun, arrested Friday for planning to attack the Gay Pride event wasapparently manufactured by the police.

Binyamin P. spoke with Arutz-7, recounting his arrest while he and a groupof students were engaging in their weekly martial arts practice inJerusalem's
Gan Sachar park.

"They stopped us and when they heard we were from Gush Etzion they calledbackup, accused us of planning to use the practice rubber knives and sticksfor an attack and accused me of planning to use my licensed pistol,"Binyamin said.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com


http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_061114eltonjohn.shtml


Elton John invited to 'see how gay Christians behave' -14/11/06

The Metropolitan Community Church in East London (MCCEL) has issued aninvitation to Sir Elton John following his call for religion to be 'banned'.

Sir Elton claimed organised religion only worked to chastise homosexualityand convince people it's wrong.

He said, "Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. I would banreligion completely. Organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turnspeople into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate."




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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com



http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5143082,00.html


Focus on Family VP joins Haggard panel
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
November 14, 2006

The Rev. H.B. London, a mentor to pastors and an expert on the stresses ofthe ministry, has joined the counseling panel which will supervise the"spiritual restoration" of disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard.

London is vice president of church and clergy at Focus on the Family and alongtime colleague of Focus founder James Dobson, whom he will replace onthe three-member panel. Dobson said he did not have enough time to devote tothe task.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2006/11/15/notes111506.DTL&type=printable


Gay Marriage Is Still Evil?
Because the funny thing is, despite all the frantic state bans, no one canreally say why
- By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Which reminds me, I still have yet to hear it.

Despite all the right-wing puling, all the Bible-humping and the anti-gaymarriage campaigning in all those states that just banned it and howeveryone in the nation has apparently been deeply contemplating what hot gaysex must really be like because, oh my God, it sure has been in the news alot lately (thanks, Pastor Ted!), I still, as of this writing, to this veryday, I still have yet to hear a single coherent and comprehensiveexplanation from the nation's homophobes as to what, exactly, is so wrongabout gay love.




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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com



http://www.alternet.org/stories/44244/


Who's to Blame for the Decline of Marriage?
By Julie Enszner, AlterNet

Posted on November 15, 2006, Printed on November 15, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/44244/
This piece originally appeared as an op-ed in the Washington Blade.

The milestone court decision from New Jersey paves the way for another stateto recognize gay and lesbian relationships. The decision hinges on theeffect of naming -- do we call it marriage or not? -- but still requiresthat the state extend all the rights and benefits to gay and lesbiancouples.

I spent the better part of the next day telling my beloved that this doesn'tclear the way for us to move to Jersey. She laughed. We feel certain thatthe moment is coming for Maryland so we won't have to move. I wonder,though, if what we are seeing right now is not the entry of gay and lesbiancouples into the system of marriage, but the end of marriage as aninstitution completely?

[ Send your comments about any of the articles in Ray's List Digest toRays.List@Comcast.net ]


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