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Ft. Lauderdale
A gentle reminder from Stonewall LIbrary & Archives
On Thursday, June 21, from 7:00 -9:00 pm, in conjunction with its importantnew exhibition "Days without Sunshine: Anita Bryant's Anti-Gay Crusade,"currently on view at the Broward Main Library, Stonewall Library & Archiveswill host a panel discussion, "Gay Rights: 30 Years and Counting."
Using Anita Bryant's anti-gay campaign as a starting point, the symposiumwill address where the LGBT rights movement stands today. We'll see justhow far we've come and how much more still needs to be accomplished(particularly locally).
This lively and informative discussion will be led by Dr. Fred Fejes,Professor, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, Florida AtlanticUniversity and author of "Lesbian and Gay Men and the Politics of MinorityIdentity." The panel will also include noted human rights activist NadineSmith, Executive Director of Equality Florida -- a statewide educational andadvocacy group dedicated to eliminating discrimination based on sexualorientation, race, gender or class -- Heddy Pena, Executive Director of Saveformerly Save Dade) -- founded in 1993 to protect GLBT individuals fromdiscrimination on the basis of their actual or perceived sexualorientation-- and Rand Hoch, founder of the Palm Beach County Human RightsCouncil.
Please join us on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 7:00 pm at the Broward MainLibrary auditorium, 100 South Andrews for this fascinating program. Theevent is free and open to the public.
This program is sponsored by Stonewall Library & Archives in conjunctionwith Broward County Library and is supported by a generous grant fromComcast in recognition of Comcast's commitment to the communities where itscustomers and employees live and work. Support for the exhibition was alsoprovided by American Express and Pride South Florida.
The mission of Stonewall Library & Archives is to collect, preserve,organize for use and display materials related to gay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgender culture and history; support related research and sponsorcultural and educational programs.
For further information, please contact:
Jack Rutland, Executive Director
Stonewall Library & Archives
954-763-8565
info@stonewall-library.org
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A REMINDER FROM EQUALITY FLORIDA
http://ga4.org/Equalityflorida/events/stonewall/details.tcl
Join the Fairness for All Families Coalition and Equality Florida fora fun-filled day at 8th Annual Stonewall Street Festival
Sunday, June 24th from 11am to 6pm.
In 2008, the state of Florida will be voting on an anti-gay amendment to thestate's constitution that would deny protections and benefits to manyFlorida's families, including seniors, law enforcement, fire fighters,teachers, etc.
Take a stand for FAIRNESS and have fun in the sun with family and friends.
Starting at 10am, grab a Fairness for All Families t-shirt and join us infront of Fort Lauderdale High School. The Festival Parade will kick off fromFort Lauderdale High School at 11am. Bring your children, pets, partners andfriends to walk with us down Wilton Drive to 5 Points.
At 12pm, meet us at the Fairness for All Families and Equality Florida boothand sign up your friends and family to join us in making history.
There is no admission charge to attend the Stonewall Street Festival! Arriveearly! Parking will be available at Fort Lauderdale High School. Festivitiesbegin at 11:00 am and last until 6pm.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Do your part in preventing discrimination from being added to Florida'sConstitution by volunteering for one of the following shifts:
Be in the Parade! 10:00 a.m. - 12:00p.m. Walk with us in the parade. Line upbegins at 10am, grab a t-shirt, some stickers, and let's go!
Shift #1 - 12pm-3:00pm - Gather signatures at the Fairness for All FamiliesTable
Shift #2 - 2:30pm-6pm -Gather signatures at the Fairness for All FamiliesTable
Click here to RSVP!
For more information contact Tobias Packer at tobias@eqfl.org or.305-924-1899
If you have trouble with the RSVP link, paste this URL into your browser:
http://ga4.org/Equalityflorida/events/stonewall/details.tcl
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/888/173
UVa Extends Gym Benefits to Domestic Partners
The University of Virginia will allow same-sex partners of its students andemployees to join the university's gyms, officials announced Tuesday. Gayand lesbian staff members had pushed the university for years to add thebenefit.
Read More...
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/894/173/
Lesbian Couple Denied
Beachfront Access For Civil Union
A lesbian couple barred from holding their civil union ceremony at abeachfront pavilion in Ocean Grove has filed a state civil rights complaintagainst the church group that owns the property.
The couple, Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster, of Ocean Grove, alleged in acomplaint filed Tuesday with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights thatthey were denied use of the boardwalk pavilion because of their pendingstatus as same-sex civil union partners.
Read More...
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/893/173/
Polish Homosexuals Flee Persecution
in Exodus to UK
Polish gay rights groups say thousands of homosexuals have fled the countryto the UK to escape increasing persecution.
Robert Biedron, a left wing party activist and head of the Polish FoundationAgainst Homophobia, said "huge numbers" of Polish gays had now fled thecountry following the rise to power of the current right-wing conservativegovernment.
Read More...
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/892/173/
Gay Chamber Responds To
Grocer Pulling Newspaper
A gay and lesbian chamber of commerce sent a letter to a grocer where a gaypublication was pulled from their shelves.
DistribuTech, the company that manages the free publication racks, hastemporarily pulled the Out and About newspaper from Kroger and Harris Teeterstores. Out and About is a publication that caters to the gay, lesbian,transgender and bisexual communities.
Read More...
Check out the current front page stories at http://nationalgaynews.com!
Updated all day, every day.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Gay-Veterans.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
June 21, 2007
Exhibit Examines History of Gay Veterans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:44 a.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The airman's dress blues are faded, the footlocker hecarried through three tours in Vietnam has gone to rust. Yet the epitaph hechose to mark his grave is still as fresh as today's headlines:
''When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and adischarge for loving one.''
Leonard Matlovich's medals, uniform and other personal effects make up thecenterpiece of ''Out Ranks,'' a new exhibit that documents the torturedrelationship between gay troops and the U.S. military from World War II tothe present.
Matlovich, who died in 1988, was a decorated Air Force sergeant who came outto his commanding officer a month before the fall of Saigon, hoping tochallenge the government's ban on gay service members. In 1975, the idea ofan openly gay combat veteran was incongruous enough to land him on the coverof Time magazine.
The goal of the show is to illustrate that gays have always served theircountry, often with honor and always under the threat of dishonorabledischarge. It opened at the GLBT Historical Society on June 14, Flag Day, asmomentum builds in Congress for repealing the ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don'tPursue'' policy adopted under President Bill Clinton.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Bloomberg-Politics.html?pagewanted=print
June 21, 2007
Bloomberg's Politics Are Hard to Peg
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:24 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg lived most of his life as aDemocrat before switching to the GOP when he ran for mayor, yet he neverreally fit in with either party. Now, Bloomberg has apparently shaken offthose labels and found the one that suits him, announcing this week that hehas become an independent because it is more in line with his beliefs andgives him freedom to promote his agenda for the city.
To understand his motivation for leaving the GOP, and what it could mean ifthe billionaire former CEO were to mount a self-financed bid forpresident -- something he denies he wants to do -- one must look at howBloomberg has governed and what he believes.
As mayor, he has both raised taxes and cut them, he has fought with unionsand won their support, he has supported the Iraq war along with gaymarriage, abortion rights, gun control and stem cell research. There areRepublicans and Democrats in the highest levels of his administration, andhe has given money to candidates of all stripes.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/washington/21memo.html?pagewanted=print
June 21, 2007
Supreme Court Memo
Precedents Begin to Fall for Roberts Court
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
WASHINGTON, June 20 - No Supreme Court nominee could be confirmed these dayswithout paying homage to the judicial doctrine of "stare decisis," Latin for"to stand by things decided." Yet experienced listeners have learned to takethese professions of devotion to precedent "cum grano salis," Latin for"with a grain of salt."
Both Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.assured their Senate questioners at their confirmation hearings that they,too, respected precedent. So why were they on the majority side of a 5-to-4decision last week declaring that a 45-year-old doctrine excusing peoplewhose "unique circumstances" prevented them from meeting court filingdeadlines was now "illegitimate"?
It was the second time the Roberts court had overturned a precedent, and thefirst in a decision with a divided vote. It surely will not be the last.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/us/politics/21damage.html?pagewanted=print
June 21, 2007
Giuliani May See a Rival in Successor
By MICHAEL POWELL
Seven weeks after the 2001 terror attacks, Rudolph W. Giuliani gave alast-minute electoral nod to a billionaire media mogul running for mayor.
Michael R. Bloomberg, his beneficiary, prevailed, Mr. Giuliani was akingmaker, and their smiles lasted about 18 minutes. Aides to both men havesniped for years, and Mr. Bloomberg has carefully distanced himself from Mr.Giuliani, suggesting of late that the former mayor left him with a hugebudget deficit.
Now Mr. Bloomberg has stuck a gilded toe in the presidential waters,creating a most unwelcome sensation for every candidate: the uncertaintythat comes with knowing a newcomer might shower a half-billion dollars onhis own campaign.
But, as Mr. Bloomberg is his former supporter and would also campaign as abold steward of America's largest and safest major city, the sting goesperhaps deepest for Mr. Giuliani. And, frozen smiles aside, the former mayor'scamp is not much amused.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/nyregion/21marriage.html?pagewanted=print
June 21, 2007
Gay Marriage, a Touchy Issue, Touches Legislators' Emotions
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
ALBANY, June 20 - Teresa R. Sayward did not hesitate when she rose from herseat on Tuesday night to address her colleagues in the State Assembly. Anobservant Catholic from a small, conservative upstate town, she had rarelyshared the story of her son, Glenn, 42, and his struggle to come to termswith his gay identity decades ago.
But she said the occasion - a chance to make New York the second state inthe country to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage - called for ahighly personal approach.
"We would spend long nights crying together and talking," she told a fullhouse of hushed lawmakers. "And one night I said to him, 'You have to bewhat you are; you can't be what people think you should be.' "
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The Village Voice
http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0725,reischel,76971,15.html
The Queer Issue
Queer in the Crib
Gay adults like to say they were born that way.
So where are the gay children? Everywhere? Fabulous, baby.
by Julia Reischel
June 19th, 2007 3:48 PM
On a recent spring Saturday afternoon at the American Museum of NaturalHistory, the carpeted atrium beneath the giant blue whale in the MilsteinHall Ocean of Life teems with children. Preschoolers and kindergartnerslounge on the carpeted floor and race from diorama to diorama while theirbeleaguered parents try to catch their breath. I'm here to meet the familyof a three-and-a-half-year-old boy who's not like other boys. His father,whom I'll call Arnold, has watched for the past six months as his son clungto dolls and tried on dresses. Arnold joined a national Listserv thatconnects parents of children who express this kind of gender-atypicalbehavior. Today, his son, the unusual Joseph, is somewhere in the throngbelow me.
If you think a boy who's acting girly would stick out in a crowd, youhaven't been around five-year-olds lately. At the museum, boys who seemedfeminine were everywhere I looked. Was Joseph the little blond one clingingfearfully to a stair rail? The boy in purple with the Farrah Fawcett hair?It turned out Joseph wasn't any of them. He turned up wearing boyish jeansand a T-shirt, and sneakers with tiny red lights blinking in the soles. Upclose, his curly brown hair is shaggy and long, tufting delicately out overhis ears, but he's hardly shy or clingy. Instead, he's bold and gregarious:He immediately jumps out of his stroller to meet me. Nothing about Josephseems notably feminine, until he holds up a doll dressed in a bright pinkdress. "See my Barbie?" he says, proudly.
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The Observer
http://www.observer.com/2007/goodbye-mr-chaps
Goodbye, Mr. Chaps
Few can agree on the reasons, but one thing is sure: New York's affluentgays and lesbians are staying away from this Sunday's Gay Pride Parade indroves, and they're taking with them the money that has kept a 37-year-oldtradition alive
by John Koblin Published: June 19, 2007
Tags: The City, Gay Pride Parade
This article was published in the June 24, 2007, edition of The New YorkObserver.
On Sunday, June 24, organizers of New York City's Gay Pride Parade expect athrong of one million people to line Fifth Avenue all the way down to theChristopher Street pier to march and watch from the sidelines.
Nick Shapland, a tall, well-tanned and skinny 22-year-old with carefullytousled brown hair, won't be one of them.
"Gay Pride is boring," said the self-described poet and resident ofWilliamsburg.
It was 2:30 in the morning, and he and two friends were standing outside theEast Village gay bar Phoenix, where Bud and Bud Light are on offer for adollar a cup on Wednesdays, debating the point. One of his friends seemedappalled, but only registered it by shaking his head disapprovingly as Mr.Shapland went on.
"Maybe in the 60's, it was fun when you're like, 'Fuck you! Fuck you, I'mgay and you're an asshole,' you know?" Mr. Shapland said. "Then youfast-forward from 19-whenever-whenever the gay revolution was, I don't know,I'm not a scholar-things go on and get kind of boring."
A few days later, on Sunday, June 17, Brian O'Dell, a co-founder of Heritageof Pride, the organization that convenes a week of Gay Pride events eachyear, looked out over the green at Bryant Park.
"We used to get thousands of people at an event like this," he said.
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The Independent Gay News
http://www.ourindy.com/opinion.php?subaction=showfull&id=1182362362&archive=&start_from=&ucat=4&
Crist in the Hot Seat
Gay and AIDS activists are attempting to put Florida's Governor CharlieCrist on the spot. One of his Florida Republican lawmakers, Dr. Alan Hays,met with a group of 15 AIDS and health care advocates who were in hisCapitol Office on June 13 to lobby for changes in Florida's Medicaid programas it affects people living with HIV/AIDS.
According to some of the 15 people in the room, Representative Hays statedthat he "had a cousin who died of AIDS. He was as queer as a three-dollarbill. He had that homosexual lifestyle and deserved what he got." The 61year-old lawmaker, who describes himself as a Baptist, is a retired dentistwho has represented Umatilla in Central Florida since 2004.
In response, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) sought to make politicalcapital out of the situation and held a press and teleconference. Theystated they were concerned about Representative Hays who serves asVice-Chair of the Health Quality Committee, sits on the Audit & PerformanceCommittee, the Healthcare Committee and the Joint Administrative ProceduresCommission.
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The Independent Gay News
http://www.ourindy.com/community_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1182362778&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
Chardees Closes Their Doors
After 17 years of operation Chardees officially closed their doors,Thursday, June 14.
The once-popular restaurant/lounge was sold to investors from Key West whoalso may purchase Plaza Dee, where Chardees and 12 retail stores arelocated.
At one time, Chardees was a mainstay of dining and entertainment in FortLauderdale. It had an international reputation as an establishment formature men and one of the first Gay-owned and operated businesses in WiltonManors.
Chardees was founded in 1990 as a supper club under the direction ofbusiness entrepreneurs Tony Dee and Charles Mielke. The duo brought inbig-name entertainers, including the likes of Eartha Kitt, The Glenn MillerOrchestra, original Dream Girl Jennifer Holiday, Star Search winner SamHarris, Jim Bailey, Judy Tenuta, Pudgy and Jimmy James.
In 1991, Dee purchased the entire property for $675,000. During the fiveyears of ownership, Dee and Mielke also opened the Courtyard Café, a popularbreakfast and lunch restaurant, also located within Plaza Dee.Detroit businessman Don Hazlett purchased both Chardees and the CourtyardCafé in 1995. He successfully ran them until two years ago when they weresold to Boca Raton resident Norman Artzt.
The Courtyard Café will remain under the ownership of Artzt.
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The Independent
http://www.ourindy.com/community_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1182362954&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
John C. Graves Fund Honored
The day this newspaper comes out a reception is being held to recognize theJohn C. Graves Charitable Fund set up by the late philanthropist before hedied and managed by the Community Foundation of Broward (CFB). CFB takescare of the daily management and administration of the fund, includingmaking investments, allowing the three trustees, Carl Trough, Rick Solomonand Dean Trantalis, to concentrate their energies on making grant-makingdecisions of which they believe Graves would have approved.
CFB was founded in 1984 and seeks to "provide leadership on communitysolutions and foster philanthropy that connects people who care with causesthat matter," in addition to the nuts and bolts of managing the funds andestablishing a grant-making process.
The John C. Graves Charitable Fund was established in 2004. Graves' goal wasthat it should benefit non-profit charitable organizations in BrowardCounty, primarily those serving the GLBT community.
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The Independent
http://www.ourindy.com/community_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1182362814&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
Stonewall Library Half-Way to Goal
The Stonewall Library's new home is going to be at the building thatcurrently houses both ArtServe and a Broward County branch library at 1350East Sunrise Boulevard. It has been an open secret for some time that thiswould be the new location but it was only at its June 12 meeting that theBroward County Commission approved the agreement. The project is stillawaiting approval from the City of Fort Lauderdale but that is expected tobe a formality.
The Stonewall will take over a part of the building currently used for theBroward County library which will be renovated and refurbished at Stonewall'sexpense.
Jack Rutland, Stonewall's Executive Director, speaking with "The Independent" outlined where the library is currently in the process. "Weare now determining our specific requirements for the new space and at theend of June we will send an RFP to a selected group of general contractors.We will be working closely with our colleagues at ArtServe and the CountyLibrary and our goal is to be in our new space by the end of this year."
To finance this process a one million dollar capital campaign has beenstarted under the auspices of the Stonewall Library's Foundation and led byKeith Clark. Ahead of schedule the campaign has already raised over one halfof the total. The million dollars will be used for two purposes. Half willbe used to refurbish the space while the second portion will be used tocreate an operations and programs endowment.
Campaign leaders plan to launch a public appeal for donations in the fall,at a groundbreaking ceremony at the new location.
Dr. Nathan Klarfeld, Stonewall's President, commented, "We are excited andenergized about Stonewall's future. The partnerships we are creating withthe Community Foundation/Graves Trust, ArtServe, the County Library, andthroughout the community have created a strong base from which can move intothis exciting new chapter in Stonewall's long and distinguished history."
The Stonewall Library & Archive which is currently located in the samebuilding as the GLCC is at 1717 North Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. Itis regarded as one of the four most important gay libraries and archives inthe country. The library was started as an informal organization in 1973 andwas incorporated in 1984 and opened to the public the following year.
For further information about the organization go towww.Stonewall-Library.org.
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The Independent
http://www.ourindy.com/community_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1182362397&archive=&start_from=&ucat=7&
St. Pete Pride
The St. Petersburg Pride Festival takes place Saturday, June 30, starting at11am. The event will be held on Central Avenue between 21st and 28thStreets. The street will be lined with over 275 vendors as well as a foodcourt and refreshments. There will be live entertainment and proclamationsas well.
Part of the festivities will be the Pride Promenade through the GrandCentral District. Lineup will begin promptly at 9am at 31st Street and 3rdAvenue North and leaves at 10am and heads east to 30th Street, then South toCentral Avenue, then east through the Street Festival on Central Avenue to21st Street.
That evening's after-party will take place at Grand Central Station, 2612Central Ave., starting at 8pm and running until closing.
For more information, visit www.StPetePride.com.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid46321.asp
A better man for Massachusetts
After four years of Mitt Romney and his antigay political maneuvers-and withconservatives now planning a new push to undo marriage equality-gays andlesbians in the Bay State welcome progressive new governor Deval Patrickwith open arms.
By William Henderson
An Advocate.com exclusive posted June 20, 2007
On April 1, day 87 of his first term as governor of Massachusetts, DevalPatrick ordered the marriages of 26 out-of-state gay couples who had weddedjust after same-sex marriage became legal in his state on May 17, 2004-andjust before nonresident licenses were effectively blocked-to be registeredin the state's vital records. It was an action his Republican predecessor,presidential candidate Mitt Romney, had steadfastly refused to allow, citinga dusty 1913 state law that prohibited recognition of marriages that wouldnot be legal in couples' home states.
Patrick's decision was a sweet, if largely ceremonial, victory for gays andlesbians in the Bay State after a period of backlash against same-sexmarriage by Romney and others. And the payoff may soon be sweeter, asPatrick would like to repeal the 1913 law. "If the bill comes to my desk,"he says one spring morning in his office in the State House in Boston'sBeacon Hill neighborhood, referring to a measure currently making the roundsin the state legislature, "I will sign it."
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/062007oz.htm
Majority In Australia Support Gay Marriage
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 20, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Sydney, Australia) A public opinion poll released Wednesday shows a majorshift with most Australians now in favor of allowing same-sex couples towed.
Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said that gay and lesbian couplesshould be allowed to get married. Only 37 percent were opposed.
Support for gay marriage, the poll suggests, has grown by 20 percent since2004 when a similar survey found 38 percent for and 44 percent against gaymarriage.
The Galaxy poll was commissioned by a social action group known as GetUp. Itsurveyed 1100 people across Australia last weekend. A copy of the resultswas obtained by newspaper The Age.
The poll suggests a 20-point jump in support since 2004, when Newspoll found38 per cent in favor and 44 per cent against.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/062007pot.htm
Conn. Medical Pot Bill Vetoed
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 20, 2007 - 9:00 am ET
(Hartford, Connecticut) Connecticut's governor, a cancer survivor, vetoed abill that would have allowed people with certain serious illnesses to usemarijuana, saying it was fraught with problems and sent a mixed message tochildren.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Tuesday that she struggled with the decision.
"I am not unfamiliar with the incredible pain and heartbreak associated withbattling cancer," the Republican said. Rell was diagnosed with breast cancerin 2004, a few months after taking office, and she underwent a mastectomy.
The bill she vetoed would have allowed people older than 18 with medicalconditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS to grow and use fourmarijuana plants after getting written permission from a doctor andregistering with the state.
The issue pits broader patients' rights against concerns of legalized accessto an illicit drug. Twelve states let some patients use marijuana despitefederal laws against it.
"I think this is a big step backward," said Republican state Rep. PennyBacchiochi, a widow who risked arrest more than 20 years ago to obtainmarijuana for her husband while he struggled with bone cancer.
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Orthodox youth wants Moscow govt to bar gays from Plevna Memorial
http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=3219
Moscow, June 20, Interfax - The Moscow government's Committee for Public andReligious Organizations is considering a plan to fence off the Plevna HeroesMemorial, Diana Romanovskaya, spokesperson for the Orthodox youth movementGeorgiyevtsy, told Interfax on Wednesday.
"We are determined to get a fence put up around the memorial's chapel anddraw the attention of the public and political forces to the miserable statethe memorial is in - the fact it is regularly profaned by homosexuals - andto prevent gay pride parades in Moscow," she said.
The Georgiyevtsy announced in early June that they would patrol IlyinkaGarden near the memorial where gays regularly gather, and persuade them notto.
Members of the movement gave a news conference near the memorial onWednesday to declare the three main goals of the action.
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AUSTRALIAN COALITION FOR EQUALITY
Media Statement
Thursday June 21st, 2007
GAY ADVOCATES SEEK TIMETABLE FOR PARTNER REFORM
"Same-sex partners who are committed to each other deserve political leaderswho are committed to them" - Australian Coalition for Equality spokesperson,Brian Greig.
Australia's national gay rights lobby has a called on both major parties togive a timetable for removing discrimination against same-sex couples.
The call from the Australian Coalition for Equality (ACE) comes in the wakeof the release of a Human Rights Commission (HREOC) report which recommendsremoving discrimination from 58 pieces of federal legislation governingeverything from superannuation, through tax and health care to parenting.
ACE spokesperson Brian Greig, said the need for prompt reform is shown bythe deep financial disadvantage and emotional trauma outlined in theCommission's report, and by the fact Australia is falling further andfurther behind other countries.
Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment in the State of Florida
At the April 2007 meeting of the Broward Log Cabin Club of Florida Andy Eddy resented a motion that we support the newly organized coalition preparing to fight the Florida Constitutional Marriage Amendment which will ultimately ban Domestic Partnerships and/or Same-Sex Unions in the State of Florida.
Log Cabin Republican Club of Broward, where and when the time arises, will donate $1,000 pending a request report to be submitted by Andy Eddy, BLCCF Director for Outreach and Community Relations.
Monies to be taken from the Ed Bieler Emergency Fund.
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Fight Hate video from the Human Rights Campaign
When you've been fighting discrimination for as long as I have, youdevelop a fairly thick skin. But I'll admit, the first time I sawthis video, I got chills. It was produced for Cyndi Lauper's TrueColors tour benefiting HRC, and it's now showing at concerts acrossthe country.
Please watch the video, and share it with everyone you know.
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/fighthate_video
This stirring video has the power to motivate THOUSANDS MORE peopleto take action for the Matthew Shepard Act.
And that's exactly what we need to do. As I write this, angryradical right-wing leaders are using scare tactics to fire up theirbase against the Matthew Shepard Act. They're saying it could "sendpastors to prison for simply reading a part of the Bible." It'sabsurd.
Even worse: despite our House victory, we're hearing from Senatestaffers that opponents of the Matthew Shepard Act are still beatingus five to one in emails, calls, and letters.
Five to one. With the vote approaching and many senators stillundecided, we simply cannot allow this to continue. So I'm asking youto turn that ratio around.
Watch the video - and share it with at least FIVE friends.
The vast majority of Americans support the Matthew Shepard Act. Thereare, quite simply, more of us. But our senators are hearing from moreof them.
If every one of us tells five friends to watch the video and takeaction, we'll make sure they get the message: hate will not win.
Warmly,
Joe Solmonese
HRC President
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner, haspublished a Memorandum on Poland, which is strongly critical of a number ofaspects of the Polish government's approach to LGBT people. The section onLGBT issues is set out below. There is also a series of responses by thePolish government at the end of the report, which are also included below.
The full text can be found at:
https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1155005&BackColorInternet=FEC65B&BackColorIntranet=FEC65B&BackColorLogged=FFC679#P249_33335&
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00178/brocq-385_178301a.jpg
David Sanderson
Children's charities criticised the "lenient" prison term givenyesterday to a teacher who had a homosexual relationship with one of hispupils.
David Le Brocq, 30, was sentenced to one year in prison after beingfound guilty of conducting a six-month sexual affair with his pupil, KarlDonaldson, which began when the boy was 15.
The pair began having full sex in Le Brocq's flat when Mr Donaldson, whois now 19, reached his 16th birthday, with the full approval of MrDonaldson's mother, Donna Stacey.
But the sentence given at Oxford Crown Court to the drama teacher,described by Ofsted inspectors as "inspirational and magical", was describedas unduly lenient.
Michele Elliott, the director of the children's charity Kidscape, said:"It does not matter if it was consensual: the point is that when you are ateacher you are in a position of authority over a pupil and you do not havesexual relationships with them.
"Given that he could be out in six months it seems to me that he has gotoff very lightly."
Other similar cases that resulted in longer sentences include that ofElvira Fairhurst, 49, who in June last year was jailed for more than fouryears after conducting a four-month affair with a 14-year-old pupil.
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