GLBT DIGEST June 7, 2007

**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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Soulforce Issues Statement on the Nomination ofDr. James Holsinger for Surgeon General

Soulforce today expressed deep concern over the nomination of Dr. JamesHolsinger for United States Surgeon General.

"As the leading spokesperson for matters of public health, the SurgeonGeneral should be guided by sound medical science, not anti-gay views rootedin religion-based bigotry," said Soulforce Executive Director Jeff Lutes.

Dr. Holsinger is the current president of the United Methodist JudicialCouncil. As a member of the council, he opposed the 2004 decision to allowRev. Karen Dammann, a lesbian, to continue serving as a minister. He alsoupheld the 2004 defrocking of Rev. Beth Stroud, another lesbian minister,and sided with a Virginia pastor who denied church membership to an openlygay man. Soulforce stood in solidarity at the trials of Rev. Dammann andRev. Stroud, challenging the unjust policy that bars gay men and lesbiansfrom ordination in the United Methodist Church and the false doctrine thathomosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching."

Holsinger co-founded Hope Springs Community Church, in Lexington, Kentucky,which operates an "ex-gay" ministry aimed at changing homosexuals toheterosexuals. Recent events have brought national attention to theexistence of programs intended to modify same-sex desires, which continue tomultiply in spite of the consensus of the major medical and mental healthorganizations that sexual orientation is not a disorder and is, therefore,not in need of a cure. The American Psychological Association identifies"depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior" among the possiblerisks associated with ex-gay therapies.

Later this month, on June 29 - July 1, Soulforce will sponsor aninternational convention in Irvine, California, for those who have attendedex-gay ministries or reparative therapy but ultimately concluded that theprograms did more harm than good. The Ex-Gay Survivor Conference willfeature the testimonies of former "ex-gays," including men and women whofounded and directed ex-gay programs but are now speaking publicly about theinjury the programs can cause. For more information about the conference, goto www.soulforce.org/article/1226.

Soulforce Executive Director, Jeff Lutes, is a licensed psychotherapist inprivate practice and has treated dozens of victims of so-called "ex-gayministries" and "reparative therapy." In a statement released Wednesday,Lutes said "America doesn't need a Surgeon General who supports 'reparativetherapy' and anti-gay dogma masquerading as science. If Holsinger bars gaysand lesbians from his own church, how will he treat them as the nation'schief physician? What America needs now is some 'reparative theology' - aforce of fair-minded people of faith who will take an unwavering standagainst religion gone bad and choose instead to welcome and affirm gay andlesbian people into full citizenship."



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Forwarded from Michael Emanuel Rajner
National Secretary - Campaign to End AIDS
Founding Member - Campaign to End AIDS-FLORIDA
merajner@gmail.com

CALL CONGRESS NOW TO STOP A PLANNED INCREASE FORABSTINENCE-ONLY-UNTIL-MARRIAGE PROGRAMS

Can you believe it?

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives are poised to give the"Community-Based Abstinence Education" program the second-largest increasein its history.

Approval could come as soon as this Thursday June 7 - unless we stop it!

You can call Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Appropriations Committee ChairDavid Obey right now toll-free at 888-802-1207 and tell them:

"Abstinence-only programs don't work - they're a waste of money we could beusing for comprehensive sex-ed programs that can help us end AIDS. Don'tapprove the funding increase - NO MORE MONEY FOR ABSTINENCE-ONLY!"

Hundreds of calls from Campaign to End AIDS activists could derail thisdangerous program.

You can email Nancy Pelosi at sf.nancy@mail.house.govand David Obey here:
obey.house.gov/HoR/WI07/Miscellaneous+Information/email+sign+up+form.htm.

And call them both - Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Obey - right now toll-freeat 888-802-1207 and tell them:

Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the remainder of the article.



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

13278763.1181145933836.JavaMail.turbine@s08.rc.trb>

This story was sent to you by: Ken Sherrill

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Gay union called boon to business
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BY KARLA SCHUSTER
karla.schuster@newsday.com

June 6, 2007

New York State could reap an economic windfall of nearly $200 million if itlegalized same-sex marriage, mostly from spending by out-of-town visitorswho would come to get married or to attend a wedding, a study releasedyesterday has found.

City Comptroller William Thompson's study estimated that legalizing gaymarriage would generate $184 million in net revenue for the state over thefirst three years after such a law took effect.

Of that, $142 million would be generated in New York City.

The figures account for additional costs to private businesses that would berequired to insure newly married gay spouses.

The study assumes that more than 56,000 same-sex couples would travel fromout of state to be married here, generating $137 million in weddingspending.

That spending would include hotels for the couples and their guests, andother wedding expenses, including catering halls or restaurants.

"Legalizing marriage for same-sex couples in New York would have impactsbeyond allowing individuals to make the full legal commitments to theirpartners that opposite-sex couples take for granted," Thompson said in thereport.

Thompson's office said the study began last fall, at the request of a gayrights advocate.

Same-sex couples can legally wed only in Massachusetts. Gov. Eliot Spitzerintroduced a bill in April that would permit same-sex unions, becoming thefirst governor to sponsor gay marriage legislation.



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

http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2007/06/05/health/05baka.html&tntemail0=y

New Findings Add Nuance to Discussion of Early Sex
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Girls who have sex at an early age are at slightly greater risk than theirpeers for feeling depressed, a new study has found. But their self-esteemsuffers only if the sex occurs outside a romantic relationship.

For boys, having sex at an early age does not increase depression ordecrease self-esteem.

"I suspected that there might be negative effects of early sex for somegroups," said Ann M. Meier, the study's author and an assistant professor ofsociology at the University of Minnesota. "And that's what I found - butonly under very specific circumstances."

The findings, the authors say, may have relevance for the abstinenceeducation provision of the welfare reform act of 1996. Programs that arefinanced through the legislation must teach, among other elements ofabstinence, that "sexual activity outside of the context of marriage islikely to have harmful psychological and physical effects."

This study, which appears in the May issue of The American Journal ofSociology, found mixed evidence for that assertion.



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

lgbt-politics@yahoogroups.com; queerpolitics@lists.qrd.org

Subject: [lgbt-politics] All GOP candidates support DADT

Excerpt from transcript of CNN Republican Presidential Debate
June 5, 2007

SPRADLING: Congressman Paul, a question for you.

Most of our closest allies, including Great Britain and Israel, allow gaysand lesbians to openly serve in the military. Is it time to end don'task/don't tell policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in theU.S. military?

PAUL: I think the current policy is a decent policy.

And the problem that we have with dealing with this subject is we see peopleas groups, as they belong to certain groups and that they derive theirrights as belonging to groups.

We don't get our rights because we're gays or women or minorities. We getour rights from our creator as individuals. So every individual should betreated the same way.

So if there is homosexual behavior in the military that is disruptive, itshould be dealt with.

But if there's heterosexual sexual behavior that is disruptive, it should bedealt with.

Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the remainder of the debate transcriptabout gays in the military.



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

Marriage, Loving and the law By Kermit Roosevelt -
The Sacramento Bee | June 5, 2007
http://www.sacbee.com/110/v-print/story/205654.html

In June 1958, Virginia residents Richard Loving and Mildred Jetertraveled to Washington, D.C., got married and returned home. Anunexceptional story but for one fact: Richard was white and Mildred black.Their marriage therefore violated Virginia's Racial Integrity Act. TheLovings were convicted in Virginia court and sentenced to a year in jail,with the sentence suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia andnot return together for 25 years.

They got back sooner. On June 12, 1967 -- 40 years ago next Tuesday -- theSupreme Court struck down Virginia's ban on interracial marriages. Writingfor a unanimous court, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated that the restrictionserved no purpose but that of "invidious racial discrimination" andtherefore violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Loving vs. Virginia is a constitutional icon now, not least because of itswonderful name. But its continued relevance might not be obvious. Nowadayseveryone agrees that bans on interracial marriages are unconstitutional, andeven if they weren't, few people would support them. But Loving illustratessomething important about the evolution of constitutional law.

The place to start is simple. The equal protection clause was ratified in1868, but it took a century for the court to prohibit laws banninginterracial marriage. If the decision is so obviously right, why did it takeso long? One answer might be that the court was waiting for the properpolitical climate. Brown vs. Board of Education, handed down in 1954,aroused tremendous resistance, and the court might reasonably have concludedthat it should wait before pressing further.



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

http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?=lwK2JfMVIkJ3JqL&s=7nJIKOOnEcIDJHPmEmH&m=hgIQK1OBJ7ITF>

Act to protect LGBT activist threatened in Kosovo.

A man known as K.Z., the head of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgenderrights organization in Kosovo, has received a death threat linked to hiswork. Though K.Z. has reported this threat to the police, he has notreceived any protection.

The death threat said that K.Z.'s family should prepare his funeral withintwo weeks, and that K.Z. would "end up in hell" as a result of his work forLGBT rights. Amnesty International has documented a number of cases of LGBTpeople who have fled Kosovo after receiving similar threats or beingphysically assaulted.

Call on authorities to ensure the safety of K.Z. and to conducta thorough investigation into the death threat against him.

In solidarity,
The OUTfront Team
Amnesty International USA



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

LESBIAN-AND-GAY-PSYCHOLOGY@JISCMAIL.AC.UK; NYGLPTALK@googlegroups.com;
sexnet@listserv.it.northwestern.edu

Subject: More to Holsinger than Meets the Eye?
From the Lexington Herald Leader article (reprinted in its entirety below)

Holsinger's colleagues at the University of Kentucky were surprised to learnof the views expressed in the 1991 paper. They said his personal objectionsto homosexuality-if he had any-would not affect policy decisions as surgeongeneral.

They pointed to a 2002 incident in which Holsinger, then chancellor of theUK Medical Center, defended a session on lesbian health issues at a women'shealth conference over the objection of two state senators. The senatorsthreatened to withhold funding because of the 90-minute session.

Phyllis Nash, who organized the conference, said Holsinger did not have tobe persuaded to defend the session. "He basically said we are obligated asindividuals to meet the needs of everyone, regardless of orientation."

At the time, Holsinger defended the session in a Herald-Leader article."It's important to educate health care professionals on the issues thatsurround lesbians," he said. "It's important professionals have theknowledge base to do care for these patients in a quality manner."

Nash, who worked with Holsinger for nine years, said the views in the 1991paper were "not congruent with anything I saw in his professional life."

Jack Drescher, MD
jadres@psychoanalysis.net
http://www.jackdreschermd.net



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

NEW from DIRELAND, June 6, 2006
ISRAELI PARLIAMENT VOTES TO BAN GAY PRIDE IN JERUSALEM

By an overwhelming 2-1 margin, the Knesset -- Israel's parliament -- votedto ban the JerusalemGay Pride march scheduled for June 21, and all gay pride marches anywhere inthe country.

For all the details, click on:

http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2007/06/israel_votes_to.html



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/opinion/7thu3.html?pagewanted=print

June 7, 2007
Editorial
The Inadequacy of Civil Unions

A potentially groundbreaking legal battle over Connecticut's exclusion ofgay people from the state's marriage law has catapulted the debate oversame-sex marriage to a new level.

Appearing last month before the state's highest court, a lawyer representingeight same-sex couples led a spirited attack on Connecticut's refusal togrant gay couples the freedom to marry. He also challenged the notion thatcivil union laws - like those enacted in Connecticut, New Jersey, Vermont,and most recently New Hampshire - are a constitutionally adequatealternative.

The plaintiffs' argument was laced with references to Plessy v. Ferguson,the U.S. Supreme Court's notorious 1896 decision which justified racialsegregation under a deplorable standard of "separate but equal." Althoughstartling, the analogy is apt. In establishing civil unions two years ago,Connecticut lawmakers created a separate and inherently inferior institutionthat continues to deny gay couples the equality they seek and deserve.

Connecticut would seem a particularly hospitable place to advance thisequality claim. In addition to requiring equal treatment for individuals incomparable circumstances, and barring sex-discrimination, Connecticut'sConstitution explicitly forbids gender-based "segregation."

State lawyers answer that the basis for the exclusion is not gender butsexual orientation, a category not covered by existing antidiscriminationprovisions. That is true, but forbidding marriages when one partner is thewrong gender still adds up to sex discrimination. The state also assertsthat the civil union law grants all the rights of marriage to same-sexcouples, and any difference amounts to "a difference in name alone." A trialcourt judge bought that argument and dismissed the case last year, sayingthe plaintiffs suffered no legal harm.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/us/politics/07clinton.html?pagewanted=print

June 7, 2007
Goals Are Both Met and Missed in Clinton Fund-Raising
By PATRICK HEALY

As the Clinton presidential campaign raises money this spring, Hillary andBill Clinton have had many ups and a few downs. Gov. Jon Corzine of NewJersey is delivering at least $1 million, and their friend Warren Buffett anadditional $500,000. And Mrs. Clinton's brother Tony kept the peace in thefamily by coming through with $175,000 at a Pennsylvania fund-raiser - rightafter his daughter's baptism.

But a West Coast swing by Mr. Clinton has come up short thus far: It hasraised barely half of the $600,000 in "high goal" commitments the campaignhad hoped for. (Donations can always come in late.) And Mrs. Clinton'scocktail party in Columbus, Ohio, was pretty modest: Her "low goal" for theevent was $100,000, and actual commitments totaled $98,100 recently.

These details are among a trove of fund-raising data in a confidentialdocument about the 90-odd lunches, dinners and receptions that the campaignplanned from April 1 to June 30, as the Clintons escalate a pitched battlewith Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for the Democratic war chest (not tomention the party's nomination).

On paper, the breadth of the Clinton fund-raising operation is apparent inminute splendor: how the campaign courted lawyers in Chicago and bankers inCalifornia, and how it has relied particularly heavily this spring on moneyfrom gay men and lesbians and Asian-Americans, with two separatefund-raisers involving Fujianese-Americans.

The document, dated May 17, was provided to The New York Times by anuncommitted Democrat who is not affiliated with any presidential campaign.The Clinton campaign said the document was authentic, and declined to sayhow it got out, or even if the campaign had leaked the information as a wayto set fund-raising expectations for the June 30 deadline for campaignfinance reporting.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/washington/07pages.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1181221920-yIV44Z8b4TBKd5a0bzEMyA&pagewanted=print

June 7, 2007
Page Inquiry Ends, Ex-Lawmaker Says
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, June 6 (AP) - Justice Department investigators looking intoformer Representative Jim Kolbe's relationships with House pages found nowrongdoing and have closed their inquiry, Mr. Kolbe says.

In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Kolbe, a Republican who represented aTucson-area district for 22 years before retiring last year, said hereceived notice Tuesday that investigators had completed an inquiry openedlast fall and saw no reason to pursue it further. The United States attorneyfor Arizona, Daniel Knauss, had no comment, said his spokesman, WynHornbuckle.

Prosecutors began looking into Mr. Kolbe's relationships with House pagesfter hearing reports that he took a camping trip with two former pages andothers in 1996.

The inquiry began amid a separate investigation into messages sent toCongressional pages by former Representative Mark Foley, Republican ofFlorida.

Mr. Kolbe, 64, was the House's only openly gay Republican.



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The New York Times

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

June 7, 2007
Gay Groups Decry Surgeon General Nominee
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:36 a.m. ET

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- President Bush's nominee for surgeon general,Kentucky cardiologist Dr. James Holsinger, has come under fire from gayrights groups for voting to expel a lesbian pastor from the United MethodistChurch and writing in 1991 that gay sex is unnatural and unhealthy.

Also, Holsinger helped found a Methodist congregation that, according to gayrights activists, believes homosexuality is a matter of choice and can be''cured.''

''He has a pretty clear bias against gays and lesbians,'' said ChristinaGilgor, director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, a gay rights group.''This ideology flies in the face of current scientific medical studies.That makes me uneasy that he rejects science and promotes ideology.''

Holsinger, 68, has declined all interview requests.

Blair Jones, a White House spokesman, said in a telephone interviewWednesday night that Holsinger had spent his career in public service andtaking care of others.



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The New York Times

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060700469_2.html

Gay think tank wants part in debate

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new think tank specializing in gay issues wants a sayin the U.S. debate over same-sex marriage and other matters, seeking tocounter the influence of religious conservatives by beating them at theirown game. The Rockway Institute is the brainchild of executive directorRobert-Jay Green, a California psychology professor who says the media,courts and politicians often make wrong assumptions about what the latestscientific research shows.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-yn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060602084_pf.html

Nightlife Agenda
By Fritz Hahn, Rhome Anderson and David Malitz
washingtonpost.com Staff Writers

Thursday, June 7, 2007; 12:00 AM

This weekend is the climax of Capital Pride, the annual festival forWashington's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. Thehighlight is Saturday's parade through Dupont Circle, but there are plentyof parties (official and unofficial) that take place around the main events.Tonight, for example, there are bachelor and bachelorette date auctions (atRemington's and RNR Bar & Lounge, respectively), but the highlight has to bea concert by Ari Gold at Cobalt. Not to be confused with the "Entourage"character, this Ari Gold is a Bronx-born R&B singer whose singles have hitthe top 20 in the U.K. and received great reviews in both the Advocate andBillboard. Gold's albums contain a chart-friendly mix of R&B rhythms and popmelodies, but harder remixes of his tracks have also become staples at gayclubs in New York and Miami, so it'll be interesting to see which way hislive performance will lean. Get there early, because Cobalt will fill upfast.

The Long Blondes hail from Sheffield, the same part of the U.K. as theArctic Monkeys, and in some ways the band can be described as afemale-fronted version of their massively hyped neighbors. Like the Monkeys,the Blondes play a distinctly British brand of snappy post-punk that detailswhat it's like to be young and hip and British. Like all British bands, abarrage of singles preceded the group's debut, and while the irresistible"Lust in the Movies" and "Giddy Stratospheres" are indeed the standouttracks on full-length debut "Someone to Drive You Home," the Long Blondesprove they are more than a mere singles band. Nicole Atkins and the Sea andFive Four open tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel, with DJs Trickster andFive-Year-Plan from post-punk DJ night We Fought the Big One playing tuneswhenever there's not a band on stage.

Friday, June 8

Leo G. has been holding down the fort on XM Radio since the company beganbroadcasting in 2001. Although the channels have gone through variousshakeups as XM has adapted to a shifting marketplace, Leo G.'s formularemains a winner: play mainstream hip-hop, but don't limit it to the narrowplaylists found on urban terrestrial radio. Leo G.'s spot on channel Raw 66is where you'll get that new Shop Boyz or whatever is currently capturingthe bling zeitgeist, along with exclusive cuts from a Lupe Fiasco mixtape.Leo's throwing a birthday bash at Love tonight that aims to reach Hot 97Summerjam heights. Papoose, Fat Joe and Dipset bring the New York streetheat, the south will be well represented by Rick Ross, Lil Flip and DavidBanner, and Talib Kweli and Skillz provide the pure lyricist appeal. With alineup that robust, hopefully the train of rappers pulls out of the stationat least before 11 p.m.

Although RPM has successfully crossed their hip-hop over to the rock bandcircuit, this is much more than a jam band fronted by a rapper. The bandsometimes approximates breakbeats live or segues into grooves not unlikeMadeski, Martin & Wood while Raw Poetic's steady flow provides the rhythmiccenter. Heavy touring and Raw Poetic's succesful stint on Rawkus Records aspart of the group Panacea ensure a tight dynamic on Iota's stage tonight.

It's been more than a decade since El-P stripped hip-hop down to anindustrial, almost punk chassis with Company Flow and then built his Def Juxdynasty on a stable of abrasive, angsty and sometimes oddball rap groups.It's been a very successful ride but the Trent Reznor of hip-hop is stilltortured. Fortunately that psychological state makes for some of the bestmenacing and dissonant material he's ever recorded on his most recent longplayer, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." Even though the backpack army has shrunkand materialist nihilism still reigns in the glam-hop world, El-P proves whythe underground is still relevent at the 9:30 club tonight.



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UPI.com

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/06/06/chile_gay_group_claims_web_site_hacked/6023/print_view/

Published: June 6, 2007 at 10:30 PM
Chile: Gay group claims Web site hacked

SANTIAGO, Chile, June 6 (UPI) -- A Chilean gay rights group claims its Website was hacked by a Chilean skinhead group.

Calling itself the "Skinheads from Pitana," the supremacy group allegedlyremoved from the gay right's Web site a banner featuring actors supportingthe group known as the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Freedom, orMOVILH, the Santiago Times reported Wednesday. In its place, the hackerspasted a large picture of skinheads.

"In addition, they altered the site's monthly survey to include rude, sexualquestions," said MOVLIH activist Juan Hernandez. "In a lot of areas theyalso wrote things about how MOVILH defends 'sexual aberrations' and supportspeople who are 'disgustingly' homosexual."

This wasn't the first time the gay rights group was attacked in cyberspace,having suffered two previous hacking defacements, according to MOVLIH headRolando Jimenez.

"We constantly receive threats via the Internet, phone calls, things thatare now part of our daily lives. There have been flyers with my name on them... I get mails saying things like 'I've got a bullet with your name on it.'Things like that," Jimenez told the Times.



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45773.asp

June 07, 2007
Long-awaited Chicago gay center opens

Chicago's long-planned Center on Halsted opened to much fanfare Tuesday,with Mayor Richard Daley showing up for the LGBT center's ribbon-cutting.

Daley secured $5.4 million in loans and subsidies for the construction ofthe $20 million center.

The new structure, located at 3656 N. Halsted, has a gym, day care services,cyber centers, and counseling facilities. The center's executive director,Robbin Burr, told the Chicago Tribune that she expects 20,000 visitors thisyear. (The Advocate)



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45769.asp

June 07, 2007
Gay groups decry surgeon general nominee

President Bush's nominee for surgeon general, Kentucky cardiologist JamesHolsinger, has come under fire from gay rights groups for, among otherthings, voting to expel a lesbian pastor from the United Methodist Churchand writing in 1991 that gay sex is unnatural and unhealthy.

Also, Holsinger helped found a Methodist congregation that, according to gayrights activists, believes homosexuality is a matter of choice and can be''cured.''

''He has a pretty clear bias against gays and lesbians,'' said ChristinaGilgor, director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, a gay rights group.''This ideology flies in the face of current scientific medical studies.That makes me uneasy that he rejects science and promotes ideology.''

Holsinger, 68, has declined all interview requests, and the White House hadno immediate comment Wednesday.

Holsinger served as Kentucky's health secretary and chancellor of theUniversity of Kentucky's medical center. He taught at several medicalschools and spent more than three decades in the Army Reserve, retiring in1993 as a major general.



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45749.asp

June 07, 2007
Ad growth rate for LGBT press three times that of mainstream press

According to the 2006 edition of the "Gay Press Report," ad spending in theLGBT press has grown to almost three times the rate of consumer magazinesover the last decade. The report found that ad spending in LGBT publicationsreached a record high of $223.3 million in 2006. That represents an increaseof 5.2% over 2005 and an increase of 205% since 1996.

During the same 10-year period, ad revenues for all other consumer magazinesincreased only by 47%, which translates to a compound yearly growth of 4%for consumer magazines, while LGBT publications saw a yearly growth rate of11.8%.

"This year's report confirms how, in just one decade, gay and lesbianconsumers have gone from an overlooked niche to an audience that Fortune 500companies are working overtime to reach," said Howard Buford, founder andpresident of advertising agency Prime Access. "The numbers make it clearthat corporate America recognizes and values both the spending power andinfluence of gay consumers."

As of current findings, 183 of Fortune 500 companies have a strong hold inthe LGBT market, with the most popular categories being travel, financialservices, automotive, fashion, and entertainment.

"Over the past 10 years the gay market has become one of the most coveteddemographics in the advertising industry," said Todd Evans, president andCEO of gay media representative firm Rivendell Media. "Gay and lesbianconsumers have more discretionary time than their straight counterparts, andFortune 500 companies and local businesses alike are committing more andmore advertising dollars to reach them. Higher brand loyalty and lessadvertising clutter also make the GLBT market quite attractive."



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45764.asp

June 07, 2007
Point Foundation awards most scholarships ever

A trans woman, a Muslim, and a few proud parents are some of the 38 studentschosen to receive scholarships this year from Point Foundation, the nation'slargest publicly supported group granting scholarships to LGBT students.Each scholar in the "Class of 2007"-the largest in the foundation's six-yearhistory-has been awarded an average of $13,600.

"Since taking the helm at Point earlier this year, I have been pleased withthe high caliber and diversity of candidates who applied for support," saidPoint Foundation executive director Jorge Valencia in a press release.

"After the panel interview with a finalist who appeared particularlynervous," Valencia said, "I approached him and asked, 'It wasn't all thatbad, was it?' The young man replied, 'No, not really. It is just that I havenever been surrounded by so many people who were accepting of me and whosimply wanted me to succeed.' If that does not underscore the importance ofour work with these bright and promising individuals, I don't know whatcould."

Point Foundation provides financial support, leadership training, andmentoring to LGBT students who have been marginalized because of theirsexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Currently a totalof 84 Point Scholars are enrolled in school, and 26 have graduated and beguncareers. (The Advocate)



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45745.asp

June 07, 2007
California assembly passes same-sex marriage

The California state assembly voted Tuesday to allow same-sex couples tomarry, challenging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has said he will veto thebill if it passes the full legislature.

Legislators approved the measure on a party-line vote of 42-34, with themajority saying lawmakers should not wait for the state supreme court to acton the issue.

A debate about California's "one man, one woman" marriage law of 1977 islikely to be decided this year or early next year by the high court.

The bill now goes to the senate, which adopted a similar measure in 2005.Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

California in 2003 recognized domestic partners, creating a registry thataffords same-sex couples many of the rights given to married couples.



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45755.asp

June 07, 2007
King gives schools "A" for gender equity

For Billie Jean King, opportunity means everything. On Tuesday she honoredPurdue, Tennessee Tech, Washington State, and State University of New Yorkat Buffalo for making gender equity a priority. The four schools werewinners of the Women's Sports Foundation's inaugural ''Opportunity Awards,''created in honor of the 35th anniversary of Title IX.

''We are still underrepresented, but we're getting there,'' said King,founder of the Women's Sports Foundation. ''We know it's invaluable to be insports.''

Each school earned an ''A'' in a new study titled ''Who's Playing CollegeSports?'' that addresses college sports participation levels from 1995 to2005.

Compiled by John Cheslock, Ph.D., of the University of Arizona inconjunction with the Women's Sports Foundation, the report looked atdivisions I, II, III, and all six major college athletic organizations-NCAA,NAIA, NCCAA, NJCAA, COA, and NWAAC.

The "A" schools had a gap of two points or less in the percentage of femaleathletes to the female student body. An "F" required a gap of 22 points ormore.



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45744.asp

June 07, 2007
GOP hopefuls fault bush on Iraq, embrace "don't ask, don't tell"

President Bush drew sporadic, startling criticism Tuesday night inManchester, N.H., from Republican White House hopefuls unhappy with hishandling of the Iraq war, his diplomatic style, and his approach toimmigration.

President Bush drew sporadic, startling criticism Tuesday night inManchester, N.H., from Republican White House hopefuls unhappy with hishandling of the Iraq war, his diplomatic style, and his approach toimmigration.

''I would certainly not send him to the United Nations'' to represent theUnited States, said Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor andonetime member of Bush's cabinet, midway through a spirited campaign debate.

Arizona senator John McCain criticized the Administration for its handlingof the Iraq war, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said, ''Ithink we were underprepared and under-planned for what came after we knockeddown Saddam Hussein.''

Rep. Duncan Hunter of California said the current administration ''has theslows'' when it comes to building a security fence along the border withMexico.



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45772.asp

June 07, 2007
Senate bill would exempt DP benefits from taxable income

Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Sen. Gordon Smith introduced legislation Wednesdaythat would end federal tax inequities that apply to employer-provided healthinsurance for domestic partners.

Two U.S. senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would end federaltax inequities that apply to employer-provided health insurance for domesticpartners. Independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican GordonSmith from Oregon are the Senate sponsors of the bill, a version of whichwas introduced into the House in March by Rep. Jim McDermott of WashingtonState.

The Tax Equity for Domestic Partners and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act wouldensure that the value of employer-provided insurance premiums and benefitsreceived by employees for coverage of their domestic partners be excludedfrom taxable income. Current law exempts only coverage extended to spousesand dependents. The law also would ease the tax burden on employers whooffer domestic-partner benefits.

"This legislation takes the next step to ensure that all American workersreceive equal benefits for equal work," Human Rights Campaign president JoeSolmonese said in a statement. "A majority of Fortune 500 companies,collectively employing more than 15 million people, now offer health carebenefits for the domestic partners of their employees. It is past time thatour federal tax code is updated to reflect the reality of what is alreadyhappening in businesses across the country."

Log Cabin Republicans president Patrick Sammon praised the bipartisan moveand also cited some Fortune 500 companies' progressive steps to include allemployees' families. "For too long, the federal government has not caught upwith corporate America in providing basic fairness for same-sex couples,"Sammon said. "This bill would bring government in line with the majority ofFortune 500 companies, who understand the importance of equitable treatment.We thank Sen. Gordon Smith for introducing this important bill." (TheAdvocate)



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060607mexico.htm

Gay Mexican Pop Star Buoyed By Fan Support
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 6, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET

(Mexico City) Christian Chavez, a member of the wildly popular Mexican bandRBD, says he's lived the life he always wanted since coming out of thecloset three months ago.

Chavez told the Televisa network Wednesday the public revelation allowed himto "begin a healing process in which I left things behind and began manywonderful things."

The 23-year-old singer made the announcement in March after photos of himkissing and exchanging rings with another man showed up on the Internet.

Chavez said fan support helped him overcome nervousness about an appearancein McAllen, Texas, shortly after his announcement.

"I was afraid to go on stage, but people were really, really nice," he said."I felt free and could sing like I've never sung before."



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060607romney.htm

Lesbian Blasts Romney At Campaign Stop
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 6, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET

(Concord, New Hampshire) A New Hampshire woman, frustrated with Republicanpresidential hopeful Mitt Romney's opposition to gay marriage, made a pointof telling him about her personal experience.

``I am a gay woman and I have children. Your comment that you just made, itsort of invalidates my family,'' said Cynthia Fish, a mother of a 6- and8-year-old. ``... I wish you could explain to me more, why if we are sendingour troops over to fight for liberty and justice for all throughout thiscountry, why not for me? Why not for my family?''

Romney paused, asked Fish about her children and then praised her.

``Wonderful,'' Romney said. ``I'm delighted that you have a family andyou're happy with your family. That's the American way. ... People can livetheir lives as they choose and children can be a great source of joy, as youknow. And I welcome that.''

But then Romney repeated his view of marriage.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060607phelps.htm

Phelps Follower Arrested
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 6, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET

(Omaha, Nebraska) The daughter of homophobic preacher Fred Phelps wasarrested Wednesday for suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of aminor.

Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested in Bellevue, Nebraska, after her10-year-old son stomped on an American flag during a protest at the funeralof a National Guardsman killed in Iraq.

A 1977 Nebraska law prohibits trampling a flag. She also is facing chargesof disturbing the peace.

If convicted Phelps-Roper could be sent to jail for three months and fined$500.

Phelps-Roper says the action is protected by the US Constitution and sheintends to fight the Nebraska law..



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060607scot.htm

Scottish Gay Man Accused Of Murder In Spanish Resort
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 6, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET

(London) Police in the Spanish holiday island of Gran Canaria have arresteda Scottish man for the murder of another gay tourist.

The victim, a German national, was stabbed to death as he left a club at thePlaya Del Ingles resort.

Police said Wednesday that the two men had met at the resort and werebelieved to have been having an affair.

In police custody is an Edinburgh man identified only as EG. It is Spanishcustom not to release a suspect's full name until they are convicted of acrime. He is reportedly 39 years of age.

Investigators say that he had been having a relationship with Karl HeinzThonningen, 44, but became enraged when he discovered that Thonningenalready was in a long term relationship.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060607murder.htm

Gay Man Faces Florida Death Sentence
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 6, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET

(Fort Lauderdale, Florida) A gay Fort Lauderdale man who officials say oncehad an Internet profile listing a hobby of "hunting cops" could become thefirst person in Florida to be handed the death sentence since 1998 when itwas reactivated by Congress.

Kenneth Wilk, 45, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing ofa Broward Sheriff's deputy during a search for child pornography at his homein 2004.

Wilk also was found guilty of attempted murder in the wounding of a seconddeputy and of child pornography and obstruction of justice charges.

During his trial prosecutors said that when officers broke down the frontdoor, Wilk fired a rifle shot at Deputy Todd Fatta that penetrated hisprotective vest, and he kept firing at Sgt. Angelo Cedeno through a wallwhile the sergeant took cover. Cedeno was wounded in the shoulder and lost afinger.

Wilk's attorney, Bill Matthewman, argued that his client was suffering fromAIDS-related dementia at the time of the killing. Matthewman said hismedical condition raised reasonable doubt.


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Further Information on UA 120/07 (MDE 13/057/2007, 18 May 2007) Possible prisoners of conscience/ Fear of torture or ill-treatment

IRAN Up to 17 men

At least 16 of the 17 men arrested on 10 May at a private party in the central Iranian province of Esfahan are known to have been released.

Twelve were reportedly released in the weeks following their arrest while four of the remaining five were released on 29 May. All of these men were required to post bail and will reportedly face a trial scheduled to take place in June. There are conflicting reports as to whether the fifth man has been released.

They were among 87 people reportedly arrested at the party. Of these, 60 havebeen released unconditionally, while 26, including those referred to above,were released on bail.

The 17 men are believed to have been wearing clothes generally associated with women at the time they were arrested. They are not believed to have had accessto lawyers or their families, and a judge has reportedly said that those detained following the private party will be charged with consumption ofalcohol and â?ohomosexual conductâ? (hamjensgarai). Amnesty International is not aware of any evidence that the men attending the party identify themselves as gay or were engaging in same-sex sexual relations. The arrests took placeat a time when the authorities were mounting a security operation to enforcedress codes in Iran.

During the arrests, those attending the party were said to have been draggedinto the street by police and members of the Basij force (volunteerparamilitary units attached to the Revolutionary Guards Corps), who beat themseverely, causing bruising and, in some cases, broken bones. It remainsunclear if those detained were allowed access to medical treatment.

Amnesty International will continue to monitor the situation closely and take further action if necessary.




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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gabriel-rotello/bushs-choice-for-surgeon_b_50843.html

Bush's Choice for Surgeon General: A World Class Gay Baiter
June 5, 2007 | 05:20 PM (EST)

Dr. Holsinger's big focus is on childhood obesity -- a worthy cause -- and he is so widely regarded in the halls of power that The Economist called him "an entirely innocuous choice" and headlined its article about him "Enter Mr. Nice Guy."

I guess that depends on what you mean by nice.

Does nice mean you found one of those whacky "ex-gay" ministries where gays and lesbians undergo "conversion therapy," a travesty that has been denounced by practically every medical group in the country?

Does nice mean you write a paper called "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality," in which you claim that the facts of biology and anatomy prevent you from believing that gays and lesbians deserve equality?

Does nice mean that as a member of a Methodist church board, you vote to ban an openly gay man from joining the church?

Does nice mean you sit on a church board that accuses the "radical omosexual/lesbian lobby" and those who support rights and dignity for gay people of sparking "a crisis in the United Methodist Church."

Does nice mean you resign from the church's Committee to Study Homosexuality because you believe the committee will follow "liberal lines?"

Does nice mean you call homosexuality "an issue not of orientation but of lifestyle."

In short, does nice mean you use your position of power and authority to do everything you can do to undermine, demean and defame American citizens based on their sexual orientation?

Because this is what the nice Dr. Holsinger has been up to over the past few years.



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http://www.waynebesen.com/2007/06/republican-candidates-disgrace-on-gays.html

Wayne Besen - Daily Commentary
Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Republican Candidates A Disgrace On Gays In The Military

When asked in the Republican debate about Don't Ask/Don't tell, the Republican presidential candidates all supported the current policy. Has there ever been a more gutless, pandering group in the history of politics? They are all kissing Pat Robertson's ass, and the amusing thing is, he and his friends still don't like them.

Sadly, these worms are placing our national security at risk by kicking out good soldiers and linguists that can prevent terrorist attacks. They are placing their election prospects ahead of America.

What a sad, hapless - if not hopeless - party the GOP has become.


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