**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/nyregion/15mbrfs-bias.html?pagewanted=print
June 15, 2007
Metro Briefing
Brooklyn: Youth Accused of Bias Killing
A Brooklyn teenager was indicted yesterday on charges that he had fatallystabbed a 20-year-old man because he was gay, prosecutors said. OmarWillock, 17, was charged with murder in the second degree as a hate crime,said Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney. Mr. Hynes said Mr.Willock is charged with stabbing Roberto Duncanson, 20, after shoutingantigay remarks. Mr. Hynes said Mr. Duncanson tried to walk away, but Mr.Willock stabbed him four times.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/us/15episcopal.html?pagewanted=print
June 15, 2007
Anglican Demand for Change Is Rebuffed by Episcopalians
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
The executive council of the Episcopal Church announced yesterday that itwould not comply with demands from leaders of the global Anglican Communionto retract the church's liberal position on homosexuality and createalternative supervision for disaffected conservative Episcopalians.
The announcement came a day after the Anglican archbishop of Kenya said hewould consecrate an American bishop in Texas to minister to alienatedEpiscopalians in the United States. In May, the archbishop of Nigeriainstalled a bishop in Virginia, a step considered by many to be outside thebounds of Anglicanism's traditional lines of authority.
The churches in the Anglican Communion, which trace their heritage to theChurch of England, have been brought to the brink of schism over the issueof homosexuality. The executive council's action makes clear that theEpiscopal Church, Anglicanism's American branch, does not intend to backdown.
Leaders of the Anglican Communion's geographical provinces, known asprimates, issued an ultimatum to the Episcopal Church in February demandingthat it stop blessing same-sex unions and agree not to consecrate anotheropenly gay bishop. The primates gave the Episcopal Church until Sept. 30 tocomply.
The executive council, after a four-day meeting in Parsippany, N.J.,followed the footsteps of the church's House of Bishops and issued astatement yesterday, saying, "We question the authority of the primates toimpose deadlines and demands upon any of the churches of the AnglicanCommunion."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/us/15gay.html?pagewanted=print
June 15, 2007
Massachusetts Gay Marriage to Remain Legal
By PAM BELLUCK
BOSTON, June 14 - Same-sex marriage will continue to be legal inMassachusetts, after proponents in both houses won a pitched months-longbattle on Thursday to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to definemarriage as between a man and a woman.
"In Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure," Gov. Deval Patricksaid after the legislature voted 151 to 45 against the amendment, whichneeded 50 favorable votes to come before voters in a referendum in November2008.
The vote means that opponents would have to start from Square 1 to sponsor anew amendment, which could not get on the ballot before 2012. Massachusettsis the only state where same-sex marriage is legal, although five statesallow civil unions or the equivalent.
Thursday's victory for same-sex marriage was not a foregone conclusion,especially after the amendment won first-round approval from the previouslegislature in January, with 62 lawmakers supporting it.
As late as a couple of hours before the 1 p.m. vote on Thursday, advocateson both sides of the issue said they were not sure of the outcome. Theeleventh-hour decisions of several legislators to vote against the amendmentfollowed intensive lobbying by the leaders of the House and Senate andGovernor Patrick, who, like most members of the legislature, is a Democrat.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061500212_pf.html
Gay marriage upheld in only state where legal
BOSTON (Reuters) - Gay marriage in Massachusetts withstood a challenge onThursday when lawmakers beat back a four-year effort by social conservativesto ban same-sex unions in the only U.S. state where they are legal. With1,000 protesters from both sides of the debate rallying outside thegold-domed statehouse, the Democratic-controlled legislature voted 151-45 toblock the amendment that would have allowed voters to decide whether to bansame-sex marriage in a 2008 ballot.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061402132_pf.html
Friday, June 15, 2007; A12
Move to Ban Gay Marriage Is Killed in Massachusetts
BOSTON -- Massachusetts lawmakers threw out a proposed constitutionalamendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban same-sexmarriage in the only state that allows it.
The vote -- which came amid heavy pressure to kill the measure from Gov.Deval Patrick (D) and legislative leaders -- was a devastating blow toefforts to reverse the historic 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sexmarriage. "Today's vote is not just a victory for marriage equality. It wasa victory for equality itself," Deval said.
The ban needed 50 votes in consecutive sessions of the 200-seat legislatureto secure a place on the 2008 statewide ballot. At the end of the lastsession, in January, it passed with 62 votes. This time it garnered just 45.
More than 8,500 gay and lesbian couples have married there since it becamelegal in May 2004.
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061402178_pf.html
6 Arrested in Gang Attack Near Metro Station
By Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 15, 2007; B05
Metro transit police have arrested six teenagers in connection with thestabbing and assault of another teen during a gang-related fight last monthnear the Addison Road station in Prince George's County.
The victim, a 15-year-old boy, was waiting at the bus shelter area on thenight of May 19 after an earlier fight with members of a rival gang,officials said. He told investigators that he was attacked by six members ofthe rival gang, including a woman who allegedly stabbed him four times andanother person who hit him in the head with a stiletto heel.
Metro officials said the fight was between two gay and lesbian gangs thatoperate in Maryland.
Police arrested Brandon Dodd, 18, of Silver Spring, yesterday and chargedhim with first-degree assault in connection with the alleged assault withthe shoe, according to Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith. Carynn Gray, 19,also of Silver Spring, was arrested and charged Wednesday with attemptedsecond-degree murder, first-degree assault, and intent to injure with adangerous weapon. Police also arrested a juvenile Wednesday.
Last week, Charles Mallory, 18, of Lanham, was arrested and charged withfirst-degree assault. Two other juveniles were arrested last week and faceassault charges.
Detectives found the suspects after interviewing the victim and witnessesand searching the suspects' MySpace pages, officials said.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061402023_pf.html
New Leader in Military Policy Battle
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 15, 2007; A19
Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) took the reins of the congressional effortto repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy this week, thoughshe was quick to point out that ending the ban on openly gay service membershas little chance of passage unless a Democratic president takes office in2009.
The policy, put in place in 1993 under the Clinton administration, allowsgay men and lesbians to join and stay in the military so long as they do notmake their sexual orientation known. Activists say the "enforced silence" isboth an equality issue and a military readiness problem, preventing skilledvolunteers from joining a strained military and pushing as many as twopeople each day out of the armed services when the country needs them most.
Tauscher and about 125 other House members say that the policy is outdatedand that the military and the American people are far ahead of politicianson the issue. She said efforts to roll back the policy languished under aRepublican-controlled Congress.
"We have just been in the majority for six months, and I'm hoping we canbegin the necessary education process through hearings," Tauscher said in aconference call with reporters this week. "My commitment is to get this'don't ask, don't tell' policy repealed and move forward as quickly as wecan."
Tauscher is taking over sponsorship of the Military Readiness EnhancementAct from Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.), who is leaving Congress in July tobecome chancellor of his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts atLowell.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061402050_pf.html
D.C. Chief Breaking Up Latino, Gay Police Units
By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 15, 2007; B01
D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier is breaking up highly acclaimed specialunits that reach out to the Latino and gay and lesbian communities, a movethat is generating criticism from many activists.
Lanier said she is trying to expand services across the city rather thankeep the units clustered in their current quarters in Northwest. Officers inthe two units instead will work out of stations across the city. Butactivists are angry, especially in the gay and lesbian community, sayingthat the new chief is minimizing the impact of the squads.
"That will effectively erase the Unit as an identifiable and cohesiveforce," said an e-mail sent by gay community activist Peter D. Rosenstein toD.C. Council members.
The Latino unit is now in Adams Morgan, which has a high concentration ofHispanics, and the gay and lesbian unit is in Dupont Circle, the center ofthe District's openly gay population. But gay people live in all areas ofthe city, and the Latino population is rapidly expanding east of theAnacostia River, Lanier said yesterday.
Lanier said she plans to increase the size of the squads and spread them outin response to community demands. She also is considering making changes tothe Asian liaison unit, located near Chinatown, and the deaf and hard ofhearing unit, based near Gallaudet University, she said.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/889/v-print/story/139162.html
Posted on Fri, Jun. 15, 2007
Reid: Pace failed on Iraq war assessment
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid caused a stir Thursday when he said Gen.Peter Pace failed in his job of providing Congress a candid assessment onthe Iraq war and that he was concerned Gen. David Petraeus might be guiltyof the same.
Democrats typically have shied from stinging comments on military officers,instead focusing on President Bush and administration policies in Iraq.Republicans responded vigorously to the change against Pace, chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff, and Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
Said White House spokesman Tony Snow: "In a time of war, for a leader of aparty that says it supports the military, it seems outrageous to be issuingslanders toward the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and also the man that isresponsible for the bulk of military operations in Iraq."
Added Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee: "HarryReid doesn't understand that there are some lines you just don't cross."
The switch in the Democrats' focus began last week when they told DefenseSecretary Robert Gates they would challenge Pace if he were nominated for asecond two-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They citedhis role as the president's closest military adviser on a failing war.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/519/v-print/story/140414.html
Posted on Fri, Jun. 15, 2007
Attempt to reverse gay-marriage law fails
BY STEVE LEBLANC
Massachusetts lawmakers blocked a proposed constitutional amendment Thursdaythat would have let voters decide whether to ban gay marriage in the onlystate that allows it.
''In Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure,'' said avictorious Gov. Deval Patrick, who had lobbied lawmakers up until the finalhours Thursday to kill the measure.
The narrow vote was a blow to efforts to reverse the historic court rulingthat legalized same-sex marriage in the state. More than 8,500 gay coupleshave married there since it became legal in May 2004.
As the tally was announced, the halls of the Statehouse erupted in applause.The ban needed 50 votes to secure a place on the 2008 statewide ballot. Itgot 45, with 151 lawmakers opposed.
''We're proud of our state today, and we applaud the Legislature for showingthat Massachusetts is strongly behind fairness,'' said Lee Swislow,executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.
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NationalGayNews.com
http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/view.bg?articleid=1006286&format=text
Launch of gay music label the latest Twist
By Christopher John Treacy
Thursday, June 14, 2007 - Updated: 04:29 AM EST
Does the world need a gay and lesbian music label?
According to Wilderness Entertainment CEO Matt Farber, the answer isn'tso much yes as "Why not?"
Farber's company, which also owns LOGO, the GLBT cable channel, haspartnered with Sony to launch Music With a Twist, a new gay-centric recordlabel. The imprint's May release, "Revolutions," is a diverse compilation ofprospective artists for its roster.
"The music market is more open to gays in Europe, but here in the Statesnot so much," Farber said. "Twist is no different from labels catering tospecific genres, (such as) Curb to country, Astralwerks to electronica. Weoffer GLBT artists a nurturing, safe place to creatively explore, developand focus on their music."
Farber says part of Twist's mission is finding GLBT performers whoseappeal transcends sexual orientation.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/061407colorado.htm
Homeless Man Says Shelter Threw Him Out Because He's Gay
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 14, 2007 - 7:30 pm ET
(Denver, Colorado) A 34-year old homeless Fort Collins man says that he wastold to leave a shelter because the pastor who runs it will not allow gaymen to stay there.
John Garon tells the Coloradan newspaper that he had been staying at OpenDoor Mission for about three weeks when he was suddenly told by thedirector, the Rev. Richard Thebo, that he was no longer welcome.
"He said 'I don't allow homosexuals to use these facilities,'" Garon toldthe Coloradan. "I was blown away ... To be put out for something I can'tchange has profoundly impacted me."
Thebo does not deny he told Garon to leave. He said that Garon had "hit on"another man at the shelter and a fight ensued. He also told the paper thatGaron would "flaunt his sexuality".
The pastor said that he will allow gays and lesbians to use the soup kitchenand shower at the shelter but not sleep there.
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ChicagoTribune.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-gay-marriage,1,1723907.story
Gay Marriage to Remain Legal in Mass.
By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press Writer
June 14, 2007, 10:43 PM CDT
BOSTON -- Massachusetts lawmakers threw out a proposed constitutionalamendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gaymarriage in the only state that allows it.
The vote -- which came amid heavy pressure to kill the measure from Gov.Deval Patrick and legislative leaders -- was a devastating blow to effortsto reverse a historic 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
"Today's vote is not just a victory for marriage equality. It was a victoryfor equality itself," said Patrick, who had lobbied lawmakers up until thefinal hours to kill the measure.
As the tally was announced, the halls of the Statehouse erupted in applause.
The ban needed 50 votes in consecutive sessions of the 200-seat Legislatureto secure a place on the 2008 statewide ballot. At the end of the lastsession in January it passed with 62 votes, but this time it garnered just45.
"We're proud of our state today, and we applaud the Legislature for showingthat Massachusetts is strongly behind fairness," said Lee Swislow, executivedirector of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.
More than 8,500 gay couples have married there since it became legal in May2004.
With Thursday's vote, the soonest opponents could get an amendment to votersis 2010. That would happen only with a successful new petition drive and thebacking of 50 lawmakers in two consecutive sittings of the 200-seatLegislature -- including the one that just rejected the ballot measure.
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NCLR Hails Massachusetts Victory
A Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell
San Francisco, CA - June 14, 2007
Today, Massachusetts legislators voted 151 to 45 to defeata measure that would have marred the Massachusetts Constitution by excludingsame-sex couples-who have been free to marry in Massachusetts for the pastthree years-from civil marriage. As a result of this victory, same-sexcouples in Massachusetts and across the country can breathe a huge sigh ofrelief: the freedom to marry in Massachusetts is now resoundingly secure.Those who seek to turn back the clock on justice and equality have beenhanded a bruising defeat that will resonate throughout the country forgenerations to come. In future years, we will look back on today's vote asthe beginning of a new era-a hard-won tipping point in the fierce battle toovercome discrimination against our families and to achieve a true measureof dignity and respect.
The credit for today's victory belongs to MassachusettsEquality, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Love Makes a Family, andcountless others who worked tirelessly along with many other partners andallies to make this victory possible. Credit also belongs to MassachusettsGovernor Deval Patrick, who stood fearlessly beside our community in thishistoric human rights struggle, as well as to the 151 legislators who hadthe courage and integrity to just say no to bigotry and discrimination. Thisis a history-making day, and we are all the beneficiaries of the hard workof our Massachusetts friends and colleagues.
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http://insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/news/2007/06/15/benefits
Inside Higher Education
New Way to Offer Domestic Partner Benefits
Michigan's public colleges and universities were barred by a state appealscourt in February from offering health and other benefits to the same-sexdomestic partners of employees. So Michigan State University is tryinganother tack: extending benefits to people it labels "other eligibleindividuals."
Who are these eligible individuals? The key to the pilot program, whichtakes effect on July 1 and will be reviewed at least yearly to see if itshould continue, is that it does not mention marriage, unions or same-sexdomestic partnerships. Instead, it uses what are essentially neutralcriteria to determine who is eligible. In order to receive benefits, aperson must have lived with a non-unionized Michigan State employee for atleast 18 months without being either a tenant or a legal dependent. Theyalso can't be automatically eligible to inherit the employee's assets underMichigan law, which means no children, parents, grandparents or other closerelations - and no spouses, since they are covered under the traditionalbenefits package.
The new policy doesn't distinguish between same-sex and opposite-sex livingarrangements, and in fact it would cover people who aren't really couples inany sense, but who merely share a home. Because the court decision did notapply to current labor health care contracts, which in Michigan State's caselast through 2009, the pilot program won't be available to unionizedemployees until it presumably becomes part of the next round ofnegotiations.
The question now seems to be whether other universities in Michigan andother states with gay-marriage bans will follow suit. But that may depend onwhether there will be a challenge to Michigan State's pilot program.
The office of Attorney General Mike Cox, who challenged the same-sexbenefits, didn't have a legal position on whether the Michigan State planwould pass legal muster. The ruling focused on the text of the state'smarriage amendment, passed by referendum in 2004, which states: "To secureand preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for futuregenerations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriageshall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union forany purpose."
It was the first significant case in which a court interpreted languagedefining a "similar union," not typical wording for marriage amendments inother states. The appeals court found, in essence, that allowing benefits todomestic partners amounted to recognizing a same-sex union - or, as theruling stated, the amendment "prohibits public employers from recognizingsame-sex unions for any purpose."
The new program would seem to avoid that problem.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/319450_beaten12ww.html
Last updated June 11, 2007 11:51 p.m. PT
Man may have been hit because he is gay
P-I STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
SEATTLE -- A man who was beaten while walking with his boyfriend lastweekend may have been targeted because of his sexual orientation, accordingto Seattle police reports.
On Sunday, the couple was together about 2:40 a.m. in the 700 block of EastPike Street when they heard someone utter a slur toward gay men, accordingto a police report.
The victim, a man in his 20s, turned and approached the man who made thecomment. That man, who was with a group, punched the victim and threw him tothe ground, at which point four to six others joined in the attack,according to a police report.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.kfsm.com/Global/story.asp?S=6640911
Eureka Springs
Frank Wiley Reports
City to begin recognizing domestic partnerships
June 12, 2007 09:03 AM
EUREKA SPRINGS - The north Arkansas resort town of Eureka Springs breaks newground next week. The city plans to to begin recording unions of gay andunmarried couples, and issuing certificates noting the partnerships.
It could draw even more tourists to the tourist-hungry town, but noteverybody in town is pleased with that. The Reverend Philip Wilson, pastorof the First Christian Church, says he thinks the new service by the city isat odds with the town's image as a Victorian village. He has taken outnewspaper ads expressing his concerns that recording same-sex unions willmake Eureka Springs, as he put it, "a homosexual Mecca."
"An alternative to marriage is an obstacle," said Pastor Wilson.
The city council voted unanimously last month to set up the registry ofunorthodox unions. The certificates will be issued to any pair over 18 yearsof age who pay a $35 fee.
"Persons who are in domestic partnerships, whether they're gay, straight,old or young can come in and register with the city of Eureka Springs," saidCity Clerk Mary-Jean Cell. Cell sees the addition as harmless and helpful.
"Their partners could be covered on their insurance," said Cell.
Despite the potential benefits that would come with a domestic parnership,some see it as a setback.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.gay.com/travel/article.html?coll=travel_article&sernum=11740&navpath=/channels/pride/travel/&page=1
Top 5 Rural Prides
by GT McCallan
Fed up with the same old gargantuan, slick big-city Prides? Want a bit morecharacter in your out-and-proud shenanigans this year? Make a date with aPride festival off the beaten track and see how this crop of fresh-facedsmall towns and cities in the middle of predominantly rural areas proudlyput rainbows on their calendars.
Fargo-Moorhead Pride, North Dakota
June 1-3, 2007
www.pridecollective.com
Rainbow-hued rollerskating gets Fargo's Pride activities under way May 29. Ahost of enticing activities career along in its wake, from coffee shop hopsand bowling to drag shows, dancing, a beer bust and a rally. Weekendhighlights in the city known as "The Gateway to the West" include volleyballand softball at Lindenwood Park's Pride Park and a Fierce Drag Show.
Bisbee Gay Pride 2007, Bisbee, Arizona
June 15-17, 2007
www.bisbeepride.com
The West is getting wilder in tiny Bisbee (population 6,000), a formercopper-mining town at the foot of the picturesque Mule Mountains. Once knownas "the Queen of the Copper Camps," Bisbee's queens and kings camp it upduring a drag race and bull run in Brewery Gulch, square dancing, aturn-of-the-century ball, and other such high-spirited goings-on during thissouthern Arizona mountain town's jaunty annual Pride celebrations.
more....
http://www.gay.com/travel/article.html?coll=travel_article&sernum=11740&navpath=/channels/pride/travel/&page=2
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,138716,00.html?ESRC=dod-bz.nl
Army Misses May Recruiting Goal
Associated Press | June 12, 2007
WASHINGTON - The Army fell short of its recruiting goal for May, its first significant slip in two years.
The active-duty Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force met or surpassed their Maytargets, although the Army National Guard and Air National Guard fell farshort.
With an array of special incentives for attracting recruits, the Armymanaged to recover from a 2005 recruiting slump, but the impact of the Iraqwar and the strong domestic economy have made it difficult to attractenlistees.
The Army and Marine Corps have suffered the bulk of casualties in Iraq.
The pace of recruiting is even more important now that Defense SecretaryRobert Gates has set a goal of increasing the size of the active-duty Armyby 65,000 to a total of 547,000 within five years. The increase is intendedto ease some of the strain on the Army from its heavy commitments in bothIraq and Afghanistan.
The Marine Corps also is expanding, although by a small amount.
Statistics released Monday showed that in May the Army signed up 5,101 newrecruits, short of its goal of 5,500, although it remains on track to meetits goal of 80,000 for the full year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept.30, 2007.
"May is historically a difficult month to recruit," said Maj. Anne Edgecomb,an Army spokeswoman. High school graduation and other spring events tend tomake it harder to attract the attention of potential recruits, she said.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
Gay military service out for all to see
Julian Guthrie, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
or years, he maintained two different telephone numbers, addresses andnames: He was Steve Hall to his fellow sailors in the Navy and Steve Clarkto friends in the gay community.
A graduate of the Naval Academy and a nuclear submarine captain, Steve ClarkHall spent his 20-year career fearing he would be found out as gay. Now heis retired and living in San Francisco, and Clark Hall's story is part of anexhibit opening Friday that traces the history of gays and lesbians in themilitary -- from World War II to the war in Iraq.
The exhibition, "Out Ranks" at the Gay Lesbian Bisexual TransgenderHistorical Society in San Francisco, is billed as the first of its kind inthe nation. It opens at a time of renewed debate over whether gays shouldopenly serve in the military.
Steve Estes, an associate professor of history at Sonoma State Universityand curator of the exhibition, said he was struck by the power of theveterans' expressions of pride in having served their country despite a banthey found demoralizing.
"For the most part, these people were hyper-patriots, even though they hadto hide who they were in terms of their sexuality," said Estes, author of arecently released book, "Ask & Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out."
The exhibition looks at the evolution of the nation's military policy onhomosexuality, from World War II, when it was treated as a psychologicaldisorder, through the Cold War, when gays were deemed a security riskbecause of the possibility of blackmail. It also spans the past 14 years ofPresident Bill Clinton's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allows gaysand lesbians to serve as long as their sexual identities are concealed.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-4639.html
75% of Brighton gays have suffered abuse
14th June 2007 14:32
PinkNews.co.uk writer
Research into the levels of homophobia on the streets of the UK's gayestcity has revealed that three-quarters of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transresidents residents have been on the receiving end of physical or verbalabuse in the last five years.
900 of the estimated 35,000 LGBT residents of Brighton and Hove took part inthe Count Me In Too report by the University of Brighton and Spectrum LGBTforum.
Arthur Law, co-ordinator for Spectrum, told The Argus:
"This is really a starting point but there are some quite worrying findings.
"The city has long been a home to and refuge for LGBT people.
"Only together, as individuals, groups, services, and planners, can weensure that we build on these foundations to lead the way in tacklinginequality and discrimination and championing a model of LGBT inclusion thatthe city can be proud of.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/premium/printedition/Tuesday/chi-oped0612askjun12,1,616196.story
The wrong side of history
'Don't ask, don't tell' is as repugnant as the 'separate but equal' pactbefore it
By Geoffrey R. Stone, a professor of law at the University of Chicago andthe author of "War and Liberty: An American Dilemma: 1790 to the Present."
Published June 12, 2007
Americans need to elect a president in 2008 who can inspire us to be thebest we can be. In that light, I watched last week's Republican presidentialdebate with special interest. The moment in the debate I found mostrevealing was when the moderator asked the 10 candidates to raise their handif they believe gay and lesbian Americans should be allowed to serve openlyin the U.S. armed forces.
Not one of them raised his hand.
At a time when our military is desperate to recruit qualified men and women,when more than 80 percent of Americans oppose discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation, and when our national security depends on ourcredibility as a nation dedicated to the values of religious liberty,individual dignity and equal justice, it is deplorable that candidates forthe White House still embrace and defend a policy that excludes tens ofthousands of qualified Americans from military service and denies patrioticgays and lesbians the right to serve their nation unless they deny who theyare, lie about their identity and return to the closet.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=6056
Gay Cure
Things are getting even stranger in the right's campaign to counsel peopleout of their homosexuality.
By ERIC GRIFFEY photos by Vishal Malhotra
Near the University of Texas at Arlington, in the shadow of a sprawlingchurch, a small sanctuary occupies a suite in a towering office building.Living Hope Ministry looks like a model room from an IKEA catalog or perhapsan architect's office, with bamboo floor mats, wicker baskets, andmodern-looking track lights. Five years ago, in this office, Julie - whoasked that her last name not be used - began the biggest change in her life,from practicing lesbian to ... well, let her describe it.
"It's so much more complicated than 'I was a lesbian, then I met God, andthen I became straight.' It's a process," she said. "When I first starteddoing the Jesus thing, I didn't necessarily start out thinking I wasn'tgoing to be gay anymore. I just opened myself up to the possibility of arelationship with God." In the end, she said, the ministry, which seeks tohelp people overcome their attraction to persons of the same sex, was "oneof the most transformational things I've ever experienced."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=13045
Gay-inclusive sex ed plan wins approval
Mont. Co. teachers may tell students that homosexuality is not an illness
by Joshua Lynsen | Jun 13, 2:54 PM
Montgomery County Public Schools officials have approved a controversial,gay-inclusive sex education program for use throughout the district thisfall.
Officials with the Maryland school district also voted 6-1 Tuesday to letteachers tell students who ask that homosexuality is not a psychiatricdisorder or mental illness.
"If a student asks 'Am I mentally ill? Am I sick?' that child deserves aresponse, if there is a response," said Superintendent Jerry Weast.
Curriculum supporters praised the vote, and welcomed the added statement.
"It deals with the greatest fear that so many kids who are gay have," saidDavid Fishback, a PFLAG dad whose gay son once contemplated suicide. "Nowthat fear can be dealt with."
Jim Kennedy of Teach the Facts, a coalition of curriculum supporters, saidhe'd hoped the district would incorporate other positive statements abouthomosexuality, such as notes that gays can live happy and successful lives.
But the social psychologist said he was relieved that teachers can now telltheir students that homosexuality is not an illness, a view that previouslycould not be stated in class.
"This was a real breakthrough," Kennedy said. "This was great."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-organ_thinkjun10,1,54539,print.story
PERSONS OF INTEREST: POINT SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
For gay students, award means more than money
By Bonnie Miller Rubin
Tribune staff reporter
June 10, 2007
When these four students were growing up, they probably never envisioned theworld changing so profoundly that a gay and lesbian community centercovering more space than three football fields would open on Halsted Street,as it did last week. Or the Gay Games taking place not in San Francisco orKey West, but in their Midwestern hometown.
Given that many of them have endured years of harassment, they certainlynever imagined qualifying for a college scholarship based not just on theiracademic achievements but their sexual orientation.
But the world has changed. The Point Foundation, a non-profit group,recently bestowed 38 such awards, averaging $13,600 each, to some ofAmerica's best and brightest. The 2007 recipients were plucked from about850 applicants, making this year's class not only the largest in theorganization's six-year history, but also the most diverse. It includes thefirst Muslim scholar and male-to-female transgendered scholar.
The organization started with $150,000 and now has a $2.9 million budget,counting such companies as Time Warner Inc. and Citigroup as donors.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20042306,00.html?cid=recirc-peopleRecirc
Friday, June 15, 2007
Isaiah Washington Breaks His Silence
EW.com Exclusive
The controversial star talks to EW.com about being fired from hit ABC drama''Grey's Anatomy,'' his relationship with the show's cast and crew, and hisfuture in Hollywood
By Paul Katz
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How are you feeling about what happened last week? Didyou think it was fair?
ISAIAH WASHINGTON: I don't know if it's a question of ''fair.'' I'm saddenedby the outcome. I did everything that the producers and the network asked meto do. I came back under great duress and stress, and thought I was doingthe job I was hired to do. I thought that was going to speak for my futureat Grey's, but apparently that wasn't the same vision that the network andstudio had for me.
Why do you think the decision was made by ABC? Was Grey's Anatomy creatorShonda Rhimes happy about it?
I knew she was aware of the decision. But you have to understand that she'sat the helm of one of the top-rated scripted shows on television.
Were you in touch with Shonda after you were fired?
She called me on Thursday of last week [June 7] and told me that I would notbe returning to the show. Just like she personally called me and invited meto the show. It was full circle.
When was the last time you talked to Shonda?
Yesterday.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/11/MNGNUQD1TU1.DTL
Armistead Maupin takes new trip down Barbary Lane
Heidi Benson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, June 11, 2007
Unlike his friend Nora Ephron, Armistead Maupin doesn't feel bad about hisneck. Sure, it's a little creaky -- a touch of arthritis -- but he looks onthe bright side. "I wake up in the morning with the loveliest guy in theworld, with incredibly geezery aches and pains," Maupin says with a laugh.
His point is, he wakes up. And he does so -- with his husband, ChristopherTurner, a Web site entrepreneur -- in a cozy aerie, tucked in the woodsabove Parnassus Avenue at the top of a zigzag of brick steps.
The house has a spectacular view of the city, as does Maupin, creator of thebeloved "Tales of the City" series.
Started in 1976 as a newspaper serial following the adventures of thevarious eccentrics living at 28 Barbary Lane (a stand-in for Russian Hill'sMacondray Lane), "Tales" ran for years in The Chronicle, spawning six booksand three television miniseries.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2007/06/13/1
New Orleans community leader found dead
Planet Out, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 / 11:37 AM
SUMMARY: Robin Malta, a third-generation New Orleans resident and formerSouthern Decadence grand marshal, is found beaten to death in his home.
A New Orleans community activist and former grand marshal of SouthernDecadence was found beaten to death in his home Monday, police reported.
Robin Malta, 43, was found by his sister Monica Thurmond, who had gone tohis Marigny district home to check on him. He had apparently been dead forsome time, a coroner's spokesman told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
On Tuesday morning, Malta's 1997 Nissan was found dumped in a Central Cityneighborhood, burned and its windows shattered.
Among those questioned by police is Shawn Curry, 36, an ex-roommate ofMalta's, WWL-TV reported. Authorities said Tuesday that Curry is not asuspect, but they hope he can shed light on the killing, the fourth reportedin New Orleans in as many days.
Malta and Thurmond, both third-generation NOLA residents, owned Salond'Malta, a popular hair salon in the French Quarter. Famed for hisgenerosity and good spirits, Malta raised tens of thousands of dollars forgay and other causes, including Food for Friends, the pantry of New Orleans'AIDS Task Force.
In 1998, he was named grand marshal of Southern Decadence, the massive gayevent held every Labor Day weekend. After Hurricane Katrina, he gaveNational Guard members free haircuts in gratitude for their service.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/06/legislato
rs_vot.html
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Legislators vote to defeat same-sex marriage ban
By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
A joint session of the Legislature swiftly defeated a constitutional ban onsame-sex marriage by a vote of 151 to 45, eliminating any chances of gettingit on the ballot in November 2008.
The vote came after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate PresidentTherese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick conferred this morning andconcluded that they have the votes to kill the proposal.
The three leaders - along with gay rights activists - spent the last severaldays intensely lobbying a dozen or more state representatives and statesenators who had previously supported the amendment but signaled that theywere open to changing their positions.
Because fewer than 50 of the state's 200 lawmakers supported the amendment,it will not appear on the 2008 ballot, giving gay marriage advocates a majorvictory in their battle with social conservatives to keep same-sex marriagelegal in Massachusetts.
Opponents of gay marriage face an increasingly tough battle to winlegislative approval of any future petitions to appear on a statewideballot. The next election available to them is 2012.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21904355-5005961,00.html
Erotic dreams 'conform to gender stereotypes
From correspondents in Chicago, Agence France-Presse, June 14, 2007 02:27pm
MEN may spend infinitely more of their waking time thinking about sex thanwomen, but both genders dream about the subject in equal measure once thelights are out, according to a study released today.
That surprising finding comes from a small Canadian study and flies in theface of previous research that suggested the gentler sex has far fewererotic dreams than the male of the species.
But that's where the similarities end. For the most part, male and femalesex fantasies, even in the land of nod, tend to conform to genderstereotypes, the author of the study said.
While women tend to fantasise about film stars, politicians, rock stars orlovers past and present, men tend to visualise themselves making love tomultiple partners in public or unknown settings.
The women who took part in the study were twice as likely to have dreamscenarios featuring celebrities such as actors Brad Pitt or George Clooney,or Irish rocker Bono, as their male counterparts.
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Journal of Homosexuality
Volume 52, Issue 3/4
Editor(s): John P. De Cecco, PhD
This issue is now available online and will soon be mailed to subscribers in approximately 4-6 weeks.
NOTE: If the URLs in this email are not active hyperlinks, copy and pastethe URL into the address/location box in your browser.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Physicians' Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and HIV: Survey of a California
Medical Society- Revisited (PATHH-II)
Davey M. Smith, Wm. Christopher Mathews
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=96047
The Interaction of Drag Queens and Gay Men in Public and Private Spaces
Dana Berkowitz, Linda Belgrave, Robert A. Halberstein
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=96048
Gay Grows Up: An Interpretive Study on Aging Metaphors and Queer Identity
Ragan Cooper Fox
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=96049
The Construction and Validation of the Homopositivity Scale: An InstrumentMeasuring Endorsement of Positive Stereotypes About Gay MenTodd G. Morrison, Anomi G. Bearden
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=96050
more.....
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Crist Asked to Repudiate Gay AIDS Slur by Republican Florida Legislator
"I Had A Cousin Who Died of AIDS; He was as Queer as a Three-dollar Bill.He Had that Homosexual Lifestyle and Deserved What He Got."
Dr. D. Alan Hays, (R-Umatilla, Lake County, District-25) Florida StateRepresentative,
in his office to AIDS Advocates Lobbying in Tallahassee Wednesday June 13,
2007
WHAT: Press Conference & Teleconference-
AIDS Advocates Demand Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Republican Leaders &Florida Legislature Immediately Repudiate Homophobic Remarks by Rep. Hays,Who also Sits on Several Key State & Health Committees
WHEN: FRIDAY, JUNE 15th 2007-1:00 p.m. Eastern
WHERE: FT. LAUDERDALE-
AHF Positive Healthcare State Headquarters
110 S.E. 6th Street, Suite 1960, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33301
(954)-522-3132
(in the Auto Nation Building)
HOW: teleconference dial in information
Domestic: +1.877.322.9654 participant code #557605
WHO: Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Ron Haberle, Regional Manager, Region IV, AHF's Positive Healthcare and others who were in the room and heard Rep. Hays' utter theslur
CONTACT: FL-Joey Wynn, AHF Positive Healthcare's Community Relations
Manager/Florida
(954) 522-3132 office (305) 793.0680
CA-Ged Kenslea, AHF Director of
Communications (323)860-5227 office (323) 791-5526
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL, June 14, 2007¾
AIDS and health care advocates from throughout Florida and from AIDSHealthcare Foundation (AHF) and AHF's Positive Healthcare disease managementprogram will host a press conference and teleconference tomorrow, Friday,June 15th at 1pm in Ft. Lauderdale at Positive Healthcare's StateHeadquarters (1960 S.E. 6th Street, Suite 1960, Ft Lauderdale 33301-in theAuto Nation Building) to demand that Florida Governor Charlie Crist,Republican leaders and the entire Florida Legislature immediately repudiatea gay AIDS slur uttered by Republican State Representative Dr. D. Alan Hays(R-Umatilla, Lake County, District-25) to a group of AIDS and health careadvocates who were in his Capitol Office Wednesday June 13th lobbying him onlooming changes to Florida's Medicaid program for people living withHIV/AIDS. According to several of the 15 or so people in the room at thetime, Rep. Hays stated, "My cousin died of AIDS; he was queer as athree-dollar bill. He had that homosexual lifestyle and deserved what hegot."
"We are asking Governor Crist to immediately and emphatically repudiate thehomophobic and AIDS-phobic remarks Representative Hays made to AIDSadvocates and patients who were simply lobbying him in his state office onWednesday," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation."There is no place for such remarks and such an attitude in the FloridaLegislature, particularly for a House member who sits on, or chairs severalkey state and health committees. We are asking Governor, Crist, Republicanleaders and the entire Florida Legislature to condemn these remarks and helpeducate and inform this unenlightened legislator."
Hays serves as Vice-Chair of the Health Quality Committee, and sits on theAudit & Performance Committee and the Healthcare Committee and the JointAdministrative Procedures Commission.
The AIDS and health care advocates were in Tallahassee at the CapitolBuilding Wednesday to lobby legislators over proposed changes to the Florida'sMedicaid program for Medicaid-eligible Floridians who are living withHIV/AIDS. The changes will adversely affect many of the 8,000 HIV/AIDSpatients covered by Florida's Medicaid program.
Advocates are also urging concerned citizens in Florida and nationwide tocontact to Representative Hays directly:
Dr. D. Alan Hays, (R-Umatilla, District 25) Florida State RepresentativeDistrict office: 871 S. Central Ave., Ste.C, Umatilla, Florida 32784-2326
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2326, Umatilla, Florida 32784
Office phone: (352) 742-6441 Fax: (352) 742-6443
Capitol Address: Room 417, HOB, 402 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee, FLA.
32399-1300
Office phone: (850) 488-0348
E-Mail: alan.hays@myfloridahouse.gov
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