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http://www.thisisgwent.co.uk/display.var.1144766.0.fostering_enriched_my_life_says_gay_priest.php
South Wales - Argus
Fostering enriched my life, says gay priest
By Daniel Lombard
FOSTERING has "enriched" the life of a gay Anglican priest who is speakingout against Catholic Church calls to sidestep new regulations allowingsame-sex couples improved adoption rights.
Reverend Martin Reynolds believes it would be "a disaster for children" ifCatholic Church leaders succeed in watering down proposals for improvedadoption rights for gay couples.
He says he and his male partner have had great joy in caring for their19-year-old foster son, who has complex learning difficulties, for the lastfive years.
"Fostering has enriched our lives in more ways than we thought possible,"says the priest, who lives in Stow Hill, Newport.
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/012207prison.htm
365Gay.Com
Md. Quandary: Where To Place Transsexual Convict
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 22, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Baltimore, Maryland) Officials at the Maryland Division of Corrections saythey have no policies on whether transsexual inmates should be housed withmale or female prisoners.
The situation arose following the conviction of Dee Deirdre Farmer, 41,oncharges of faking her own death to avoid prosecution. Officials will not saywhere Farmer has been temporarily placed while they determine where sheshould be incarcerated for her 28 month sentence except to say she is at theMaryland Division of Correction.
Farmer has been freed from prison last year because she was dying of AIDS.She had been serving a sentence on other charges.
When she faced new criminal charges Farmer forged a Baltimore Circuit Courtorder to change the death certificate of a man named Charles Smith toreflect that Farmer was the person who had died.
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http://www.waynebesen.com/2007/01/truth-wins-out-urges-montgomery-county.html
Truth Wins Out
by Wayne Besen
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
TRUTH WINS OUT URGES MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO STOPDISTRIBUTING
DANGEROUS 'EX-GAY' FLYER
Group Behind Flyer Promotes Pseudoscience and Is Tied To Group ThatJustified Slavery
WASHINGTON - Truth Wins Out called on the Board of Education of MontgomeryCounty Public Schools to immediately halt the distribution of a harmfulflyer produced by Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. PFOX poses a threat tovulnerable children because it is led by a discredited therapist and linkedto a fringe "therapy" group that recently caused a controversy after a keymember justified slavery. Mike Rogers, the editor and founder of PageOneQ,first reported the story.
"It is unacceptable that Montgomery County schools are steering students toa website with strong ties to an organization that believes Africans werebetter off as slaves," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth WinsOut. "There are also concerns that this organization's President, RichardCohen, has suggested that avenging spirits are the cause of homosexuality.This could surely influence the way some students view their gay peers,leading to increased alienation or harassment."
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Bay Windows
http://www.baywindows.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&AudID=0813BC739F2044E5A03DCF2DE3FDF7C9&tier=4&id=863AD98DCB2A419287BE3947EABEE442
Issue Date: 1/25/2007, Posted On: 1/24/2007
Cardinal O'Malley donated $200 to VoteOnMarriage.org in 2006
Ethan Jacobs
ejacobs@baywindows.com
How much does it cost to take marriage rights away from same-sex couples inMassachusetts? For VoteOnMarriage.org it cost nearly $390,000 in 2006,according to newly filed reports with the state Office of Campaign andPolitical Finance (OCPF). VoteOnMarriage.org also made use of more than$60,000 in in-kind donations, which are non-cash goods and services thathave a cash value, and most of those donations came fromVoteOnMarriage.org's sister organization, the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI). All told,VoteOnMarriage.org mounted a $450,000 campaign to try to pass its amendmentto ban same-sex marriage, and in the wake of the Legislature's preliminaryapproval of that amendment Jan. 2 it appears to be money well spent.
The report shows that while much of VoteOnMarriage.org's funding comes fromdonors living in Massachusetts, the organization also received substantialsupport from Focus on the Family, the Colorado Springs-based religious rightpowerhouse led by James Dobson. In 2006 Focus donated nearly $75,000 toVoteOnMarriage.org. And the Citizens for Community Values (CCV), aconservative Christian organization based out of Ohio that is one of Focuson the Family's local family policy councils, donated $50,000 toVoteOnMarriage.org.
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Bay Windows
http://www.baywindows.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&AudID=0813BC739F2044E5A03DCF2DE3FDF7C9&tier=4&id=A79436291BA14E73B288472BF426A224
Issue Date: 1/25/2007, Posted On: 1/24/2007
Gay politicos still assessing 2008 field
Horse race: Democrats Hillary Clinton, left, Barack Obama, center, andRepublican Rudy Giuliani are the leading contenders. All are friendly toENDA and hate crimes legislation.
by Lisa Keen - contributing writer
Early polling suggests the 2008 presidential election could very well comedown to a one-point margin of victory - a development that lends more importto the votes of minorities such as gays. And though campaign trails are ashazardous to the reputations of prognosticators as they are to those ofcandidates, the likely survivors suggest a real possibility that gay votersmay have to choose between a Democrat and a Republican who are relativelyequal on gay civil rights issues.
Since June of last year, every national poll has shown former New York CityMayor Rudy Giuliani at the top of the Republican roster of hopefuls. SinceNovember 2004, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton has been at the top of theDemocratic heap. A Newsweek poll Jan. 16-19 showed that a match-up betweenthe two would go 47 percent Giuliani, 49 percent Clinton, with a three-pointmargin of error.
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EBar.com
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=1506
Gay-friendly retired minister forced from church
by Kevin Davis
The transition from one Episcopal minister, a longtime LGBT ally, to hissuccessor has caused hurt feelings and anger due to the denomination'spolicy on retirement.
Earlier this month, congregants of San Francisco's Trinity Episcopal Churchwere notified that the church's former rector, the Reverend Robert Cromey -who helped lead the interfaith acceptance of gay people in the early 1960s -would not be guest preaching anymore.
After retiring in 2002, Cromey stayed away from the chapel for four years,as is the custom in Episcopal churches. During the past year, though, hefilled in for the vacationing interim pastor four times on slow weekends.
When the new Episcopal state bishop, Mark Andrus, began his tour of parishesa few months ago, he said it was inappropriate for a retired minister to beactively involved in sacramental ministry at Trinity, according to MurreyNelson, a member of the vestry.
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http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=178855&srvc=home
The Boston Herald
AIDS activists rap mandate for names on HIV reports
By Jessica Fargen
Boston Herald Health & Medical Reporter
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
AIDS activists fear that new rules requiring doctors to report the names ofall HIV-infected patients to the state won't be strong enough to protect analready vulnerable population, while public health officials insist patientnames will be secure.
"It does not adequately address the serious issues of privacy andsecurity," said Denise McWilliams, director of policy for the AIDS ActionCommittee of Massachusetts.
The Department of Public Health Council approved the regulationsyesterday, making Massachusetts one of the last states to get on board witha Centers for Disease Control and Prevention push to standardize HIVreporting. At least 47 states require name-based HIV reporting.
States that don't comply will lose federal AIDS dollars, a loss of about$33 million in Massachusetts, said Kevin Cranston, director of the DPHHIV/AIDS bureau. The federal government argues that name-based reporting iscritical to ensure an accurate count of those infected by HIV.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid41407.asp
January 25, 2007
Out high school football player dies in car crash
Anthony Castro, a Southern California teen who came out to his high schoolfootball and wrestling teams, was killed in a car crash over the weekend,OutSports.com reports. Castro was 19.
"Anthony was that rarest of people-an athlete out to his team," wrote JimBuzinski of Outsports.com. "In Anthony's case, he was out in high school tohis football and wrestling teams, our two most macho team sports. It tookguts to take such a step, but Anthony never thought too much about it. Hewas not ashamed of who he was, and if you were uncomfortable, that was yourproblem."
Castro was a student in Banning, a conservative inland town about two hourseast of Los Angeles. According to Buzinski, Castro had been rejected by hismother and wound up living with a legal guardian. Football, he said, wasalways a refuge for him. He played in a tournament at the Gay Games inChicago where "he caught the go-ahead touchdown in the gold medal game andadded an interception in the end zone to boot," Buzinski wrote. "WatchingAnthony receive his gold medal from teammate Esera Tuaolo gave me goosebumps; two out jocks, separated by a generation but bonded nonetheless."(The Advocate)
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Advocate.com
http://advocate.com/print_article_ektid41363.asp
Homophobia undermines fight against HIV and AIDS in Caribbean
Widespread ignorance about HIV and AIDS is undermining efforts to fight thespread of the virus in the Caribbean, which has the second-highest rate ofinfection after sub-Saharan Africa, health officials said last Sunday.Discrimination by employers and others is so pervasive that infected peopleoften delay seeking treatment for the virus, which is still largelyperceived as a ''gay disease'' by many in the region, said officials at aone-day Caribbean Summit on HIV/AIDS in St. Croix.
''It's going to be a political challenge because, unfortunately, we live ina society that is very homophobic,'' said Douglas Slater, health ministerfor St. Vincent and the Grenadines. ''It's something we are going to have toovercome.''
Lingering social stigma associated with the disease keeps many fromreceiving treatment, meaning AIDS cases in the region are likelyunderreported, said Bruce Smail, director of a patients' advocacy group inthe Virgin Islands. ''They won't even come into the office because peopleknow what we do. They will give up the possibility of treatment just not tobe seen,'' Smail said.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid41402.asp
January 25, 2007
Cheney refuses to discuss lesbian daughter on CNN
During a sit-down interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday, VicePresident Dick Cheney said questions about his lesbian daughter and herrecently announced pregnancy were "out of line." Mary Cheney, 37, and herpartner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are expecting a baby in late spring.
Antigay Christian leaders have voiced dismay at news of Mary Cheney'spregnancy, while the gay rights group Family Pride has said the vicepresident faces ''a lifetime of sleepless nights'' for serving in anadministration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples.
During Wednesday's interview, Blitzer said, "All of us are happy" that Maryis having a baby, adding that "some critics, though, are suggesting, forexample-a statement from someone representing Focus on the Family: 'MaryCheney's pregnancy raises the question of what's best for children. Justbecause it's possible to conceive a child outside of the relationship of amarried mother and father doesn't mean it's best for the child.' Do you wantto respond to that?"
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http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=11049
The Express Gay News
Gay marriage ban heading to S.C. House floor
Voters approved constitutional amendment in Nov.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) | Jan 25, 2:23 PM
A bill that would ratify a constitutional amendment banning same-sexmarriage is heading to the House floor.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill Tuesday, a week after theSenate Judiciary Committee sent its ratification bill to the floor. Votersapproved the constitutional change in November.
The state already has a law banning same-sex marriages, but amendmentsupporters said it would close a loophole that could allow a judge to strikethe law down and open the door to gay unions in the state.
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Advocate.com
http://advocate.com/print_article_ektid41342.asp
When Ms. Pelosi talked to Mr. Haggard
Nancy's daughter, Alexandra, is a documentarian who recently set her lens onevangelicals for her new HBO special, Friends of God: A Road Trip WithAlexandra Pelosi. In an exclusive Q&A the new mom tells The Advocate whatshe unearthed-and what Ted Haggard is really like.
Interview by Christopher Lisotta
In 2002 TV news producer Alexandra Pelosi's private video diary on George W.Bush's 2000 presidential campaign trail became HBO's documentary JourneysWith George, which would win an Emmy. In 2004 she followed up with Diary ofa Political Tourist, which profiled the Democratic presidential candidates'campaign trails. On January 25 HBO will premiere her most recentdocumentary, Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi . This timearound Pelosi, a blue-state Democrat (and the daughter of House SpeakerNancy Pelosi), spent more than a year traveling across the countryinterviewing evangelicals from TV minister Joel Osteen to creationisteducators to former National Association of Evangelicals president TedHaggard. Just days after Pelosi completed Friends of God, Haggard steppeddown from his position over allegations of crystal meth use and sexualtrysts with a male prostitute. The Advocate talked to Pelosi earlier inJanuary about making Friends With God, her relationship with Haggard, andwhat she learned about evangelicals.
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Advocate.com
http://advocate.com/print_article_ektid41370.asp
Episcopal Church rocked by schism in Virginia
Episcopal Church leaders are moving to strip clergy members at breakawayconservative churches of their licenses to practice in the diocese ofVirginia.
They warn that such clergy members have six months to reverse their decisionto abandon the church before they are removed from the Episcopal ministry.The breakaway churches have cited disagreements with the denomination'sliberal views on homosexuality.
Bishop Peter Lee has ''inhibited''-or officially warned-21 clergy membersfrom Virginia churches where the majority of congregants have voted in thelast year to leave the Episcopal Church, the diocese said Tuesday in astatement.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/health/fitness/sports/011907sports.htm
The Gay-Friendly Worldwide Leader In Sports
by Cyd Zeigler, Outsports.com
What if you were told that one of the leading sports entities in the worldwas gay-friendly; That the company actively recruits gay people in itshiring efforts; That one of its top corporate initiatives over the lastseveral years has been to make the workplace gay-friendly; And that some ofits most high-profile members welcome the opportunity to work with gaypeople.
It may sound like a fantasy world to some, but it's the ever-growing recordof the self-proclaimed and widely recognized "worldwide leader in sports,"ESPN. Over the last 10 years, ESPN has developed a history of visiblegay-friendly actions that have separated it from much of the rest of thesports world, including:
a.. ESPN first aired their groundbreaking Outside The Lines special, "TheWorld of the Gay Athlete," on Dec. 16, 1998. They followed that with asecond OTL special, "The Gay Dilemma," on June 3, 2001.
b.. Luke Cyphers from ESPN The Magazine and ESPN producer Craig Lazarusparticipated in the first Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation conference inMarch of 2003.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/012407smoke.htm
Study: Gays Twice As Likely To Smoke
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 25, 2007 - 12:01 am ET
(Toronto, Ontario) A study of Canadian gays shows that members of the LGBTcommunity are twice as likely to smoke tobacco as members of the generalpopulation.
The research was carried out by a consortium of Toronto health agencies andfocused on the city's LGBT community - the largest in Canada and estimatedat close to a half million people.
Called the The Toronto Rainbow Tobacco Survey: A Report on Tobacco Use inToronto's LGBTTQ Communities, the report says that 36 percent of LGBTparticipants reported current smoking, while the latest figures from TorontoPublic Health show that 17% of the city's adults are smokers.
"This confirms what other research from the U.S. has told us about smokingin queer and trans communities," said Michele Clarke, of the SherbourneHealth Center, one of the groups that participated in the study.
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Advocate.com
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid41381.asp
January 25, 2007
Gay rights group responds to State of the Union address
In response to President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night,the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauded thecommander-in-chief for not mentioning the Federal Marriage Amendment andavoiding the "use of dangerous wedge politics" but said there is much workto be done in the new Congress to undo "the hurt" created by Bush during hispresidency.
In response to President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night,the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauded thecommander-in-chief for not mentioning the Federal Marriage Amendment andavoiding the "use of dangerous wedge politics" but said there is much workto be done in the new Congress to undo "the hurt" created by Bush during hispresidency.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/012407page.htm
'Senator Groped Me' Page Alleges
by The Associated Press
Posted: January 24, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET
(Pierre, South Dakota) A former legislative page has told lawmakers that astate senator sexually groped him last year while the two shared a motelroom at the start of the young man's weeklong stint in the Legislature.
A lawyer for the Senate identified the page as Austin Wiese, 19, whosefamily was close to Sen. Dan Sutton.
While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify people who say theyare the victims of sexual assault, Wiese's name was used in the Senatecommittee's public hearing, which was carried live on the Internet, and hasbeen circulated by other media in the state.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/012407utah.htm
Move Against Gay School Clubs Moves Forward In Utah
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 24, 2007 - 9:00 pm ET
(Salt Lake City, Utah) Utah lawmakers have gave initial approval to billthat would require parental approval for students to join extra curricularschool clubs.
The legislation requires schools to provide parents with information onclubs and all materials that are talked about or presented. The parentswould then send a form back to the school indicating which clubs theirchildren can join.
The measure by Rep. Aaron Tilton (R) is similar to a bill he proposed lastyear that failed. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen.Chris Buttars (R).
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/012407cop.htm
Guilty Of Beating Gay Pair, Mississippi Cops Spared Jail
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 24, 2007 - 9:00 pm ET
(Jackson, Mississippi) Two Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents, who wereforced to resign after pleading guilty to beating two gay men in 2004 havebeen sentenced to house arrest.
John Forman and Greg Reynolds pleaded guilty to violating the civil rightsof James Buitt and Michael Mathis last year.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Fitzgerald, who was brought in from Washingtonto prosecute the case had urged Judge James C. Sumner to sentence the pairto a year each in prison.
Sumner disregarded the advice and sentenced Reynolds to 30 days in jail and11 months of home incarceration. Forman received one year of probation andplaced on 12 months of home confinement.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012301924_pf.html
Words That Hurt -- and Heal
Play Gives Voice to Teens' Experiences With Bullying, Friends, Fitting In
By Arianne Aryanpur
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 25, 2007; LZ01
Tully Satre, 17, says he knows what it's like to be bullied. He knows how itfeels to be called names and ostracized.
"I'm gay and I go to a Catholic school. You get the picture there," said thesenior at Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg.
But through his involvement in "Normal," a play about bullying and theteenage experience, he has come to understand that he's a bully, too.
"What's so intense about this process is that we realize we've all beenbullies, that some of the things we've said or done could have hurt otherpeople. It's been very awakening," said Satre, one in a cast of 26 studentsfrom Loudoun and Fauquier county schools.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012500446_pf.html
Churches set to lose appeal on UK gay adoption law
By Jeremy Lovell
Reuters
Thursday, January 25, 2007; 9:50 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - A bid by the Catholic and Anglican Churches in Britain toexempt Catholic adoption agencies from being forced to place children withgay couples got Muslim backing on Thursday but still looked set to fail.
The Equality Act, which comes into force in April, is designed to stopdiscrimination against gay and lesbian couples wishing to adopt a child, butthe Church leaders called for an exemption for Catholic adoption agencies onfaith grounds.
On Thursday, Muslims voiced support for the exemption and described thegovernment's apparent rejection as absurd.
"The Muslim Council of Britain fully supports the principled stand taken bythe leaders of the Catholic and Anglican Churches," it said in a statement,adding that homosexuality is banned in Islam.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Job Opening: Executive Director, Transgender Law Center
The Transgender Law Center (TLC), founded in 2002, is a multi-disciplinarysocial justice organization working to ensure that all Californians are ableto fully and freely express our gender identities. Our staff (fourfull-time, one-part time), board (10 members), consultants (2administrative, several program) and volunteers use direct legal services,education, community organizing, and policy and media advocacy to improvelaws and regulations that affect our ability to fully express our diversegender identities in a discrimination-free environment. While focused onCalifornia, the cutting edge nature of our work expands our impact to anational scope. Our 2007 budget is just over $325,000.
We are searching for an energetic, committed, collaborative leader to helpthe organization exit our start-up phase and enter a growth period. TheExecutive Director will oversee TLC programs, lead TLC's fundraisingefforts, support TLC's Board of Directors, and propel TLC forward on ourmission to make California a state in which all transgender people canthrive.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Indiana AIDS Fund Awards $155,600 to 16 Agencies Statewide forDirect Emergency Financial Assistance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Steve Everett, (317) 630-1805
severett@thfgi.org
Indiana AIDS Fund Awards $155,600 to 16 Agencies Statewidefor Direct Emergency Financial Assistance
--
Sixteen percent funding increase due to success of October Indiana AIDS Walk& Ride
INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana AIDS Fund recently awarded $155,600 from itsGregory R. Powers Direct Emergency Financial Assistance (DEFA) fund to 16organizations across Indiana. The grants are used to help HIV/AIDS patientswith emergency needs such as housing, transportation, food and medical care.
"The Indiana AIDS Fund is the only foundation in the state that providesdirect emergency funding to provide crucial services for people living withHIV/AIDS," said David Suess, Indiana AIDS Fund board president. "TheIndiana AIDS Fund is proud to provide its financial support to make surepeople can lead their lives with dignity.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07023/755950-51.stm
RESEARCH CENTER POLL UPDATE
Below is this weeks polling roundup. Within you will find the most recentpolling information concerning the GBLT community.
* Almost 60 percent of daily newspapers have agreed to publishsame-sex marriage announcements, according to a recent statement by the Gay& Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). GLAAD is relaunching its"announcing equality" campaign. Out of 883 daily newspapers in the UnitedStates whose editors have agreed to publish news of a same-sex couple'sengagement or civil union, 319 have printed one. This is a dramatic increasesince 2002 when only 129 newspapers had published same-sex engagement orcivil union announcements.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://news.com.com/Why+ISPs+can+breathe+easier+after+a+porno+decision/2010-1028_3-6152830.html
Story last modified Wed Jan 24 07:50:49 PST 2007
Internet service providers naturally are concerned about circumstances underwhich they potentially could be held liable for content posted by users. Butafter a recent decision by a Texas federal judge, ISPs can breathe acollective sigh of relief.
The judge dismissed an ISP as a defendant in the case of Doe v. Bates (PDF),even though the offending conduct at issue was alleged to be in violation ofcriminal law.
In that case, the plaintiffs alleged that the ISP knowingly hosted illegalchild pornography on a particular e-group. An e-group is an Internet-basedforum where users can engage in discussions and share files and the like.The e-group at issue was just one of a multitude of e-groups registered withthis ISP.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012401790_pf.html
Yet Another Actor Acting Out
By Jabari Asim
Friday, January 26, 2007; 12:00 AM
Long before he became a co-star on the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy," IsaiahWashington distinguished himself as an actor with an intellectual bent. Inan essay published in Essence magazine a little more than a decade ago, helamented the shortage of good roles for black male performers. Aftercomplaining about being offered five "drag-queen" roles in less than a year,Washington expressed his determination to "infuse the characters I play withsome level of complexity and humanity."
In eloquent, thoughtful prose, Washington assured readers that he had noproblem with gay characters or characters in drag. He recalled his firstamateur acting job, the role of Sweetie Pie, "a flaming drag queen andgospel singer." Later, as a member of a touring repertory company, he playeda cross-dressing character with AIDS. "That role gave me a firsthand look atgay-bashing," he wrote. "I was the target of angry expletives, jeers andnervous laughter and was even spat upon by a junior-high-school student whotook my performance just a little too seriously."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/science/25sheep.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
January 25, 2007
Of Gay Sheep, Modern Science and Bad Publicity
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Charles Roselli set out to discover what makes some sheep gay. Then the newsmedia and the blogosphere got hold of the story.
Dr. Roselli, a researcher at the Oregon Health and Science University, hassearched for the past five years for physiological factors that mightexplain why about 8 percent of rams seek sex exclusively with other ramsinstead of ewes. The goal, he says, is to understand the fundamentalmechanisms of sexual orientation in sheep. Other researchers might some daybuild on his findings to seek ways to determine which rams are likeliest tobreed, he said.
But since last fall, when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animalsstarted a campaign against the research, it has drawn a torrent of outragefrom animal rights activists, gay advocates and ordinary citizens around theworld - all of it based, Dr. Roselli and colleagues say, on a bizarremisinterpretation of what the work is about.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/arts/television/25grey.html?pagewanted=print
January 25, 2007
ABC TV Star Is Seeking Counseling After Epithet
By EDWARD WYATT
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 - Isaiah Washington, the "Grey's Anatomy" star whotwice used an anti-homosexual slur against one of that show's co-stars, isseeking counseling for behavioral issues at the suggestion of his employers,the ABC television network and Touchstone Television, both part of the WaltDisney Company.
Though it appears that Mr. Washington will not be dismissed from the ABCseries, his status remains "precarious," and his continued employmentdepends on the outcome of the treatment, according to two people close tothe situation who would speak only on the condition of anonymity becausethey were not authorized to go beyond the official statements.
Mr. Washington, who shot several scenes for the show on Monday, is expectedto be absent from the set for the rest of this week, returning on Tuesday.
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www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/25/ngay25.xml
Blair retreats over opt-out for gay adoption
By Graeme Wilson, Political Correspondent 25/01/2007
Tony Blair caved in last night in the row overhomosexual adoption in the face of a full-blown Cabinet revolt.
In a stark illustration of his diminishingauthority, the Prime Minister has been forced toaccept a deal which will rule out any exemptionsfor Roman Catholic adoption agencies from gay rights laws.
The Prime Minister had infuriated the Cabinet bydeclaring he wanted to strike a compromise afterthe Catholic Church threatened to close itsadoption agencies if it was made illegal for themto turn away same-sex couples.
But a series of Cabinet heavyweights - led byAlan Johnson, the Education Secretary - madeclear they would oppose any watering down of theSexual Orientation Regulations, which come intoforce in April as part of the Equality Act.
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
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