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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/world/americas/09castro.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
June 9, 2007
The Saturday Profile
A Castro Strives to Open Cuban Society's Opinions on Sex
By MARC LACEY
HAVANA
TWENTY or so transsexuals sat in a circle recently discussing their woes:harassment, boyfriend troubles, the challenge of removing hair from theirlegs. Empathizing with them was Mariela Castro Espín, Cuba's premiersexologist.
"I know, I know," she said, putting her hand on one of her own legs to showshe could relate.
Then the conversation took an interesting turn. The transsexuals, who arereceiving training as AIDS counselors at the National Center for SexualEducation, which Ms. Castro directs, brought up sexual liaisons some of themhad had with soldiers. Maybe counseling in the barracks was needed, thetranssexuals said.
Ms. Castro smiled, raised her eyebrows but did not dismiss the suggestionout of hand. Homosexuality is illegal in Cuba's military. In fact, someCubans have avoided military service altogether by claiming to be gay.
Making the proposal even more delicate, everyone in the circle knows, is thefact that Ms. Castro, 44, is the daughter of Raúl Castro, the commander ofCuba's armed forces and, with the recent health problems of his brother,Fidel, the temporary leader of the government.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/sports/othersports/09griffith.html?pagewanted=print
June 9, 2007
Ex-Champion Is Prepared to Join March
By AIMEE BERG
Emile Griffith will ride in the parade of champions at the InternationalBoxing Hall of Fame induction tomorrow in Canastota, N.Y., as he has donealmost every year since he was enshrined in 1990.
But on June 24, Griffith is committed to doing something he has never done:participate in the Gay Pride march down Fifth Avenue. As a guest of theStonewall Veterans' Association, his car will appear toward the front of theprocession.
Although Griffith is the vice president of the association, he has neversaid unequivocally that he was gay. But he has come close. On thoseoccasions, however, the question was asked directly, putting him in anuncomfortable situation.
But Sunday at his home in Hempstead on Long Island, the 69-year-old Griffithwas in an expansive mood during a two-hour interview. His concentrationlapsed occasionally and his memory often failed - the effect of 112professional fights over 20 years and a brutal mugging in 1992 - but heeasily remembered the distinction between the boxing and gay subcultures,and how he managed to navigate between them while he was in his prime.
"My fights came first," he said. "But when I had my free time, sometimes I'dmake up my mind to go to gay clubs."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/us/09beliefs.html?pagewanted=print
June 9, 2007
Beliefs
A Tentative First Step in Addressing Faith and Politics
By PETER STEINFELS
Almost a century ago, G. K. Chesterton made a comment that could mostappropriately be applied to Monday night's forum at which leading Democraticpresidential candidates discussed faith and politics: anything worth doing"is worth doing badly."
The purpose of the forum, organized by the liberal evangelical journalSojourners and broadcast on CNN, was to hear what Democratic contendersmight say about religion and whether they might convincingly enlarge thelist of religious and moral (or "values") questions to include topics likepoverty, war and the environment rather than only those emphasized by thereligious right.
Not a bad idea. Clearly, the nation and first of all the Democrats could usea better, broader, more sophisticated conversation about religion andpolitics.
Yet it is hard to imagine anyone serious about either of these subjectswatching Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Barack Obama and formerSenator John Edwards on Monday without cringing at some of the questions orchafing at some of the speechifying and the general absence of intelligentfollow-up.
Same for the subsequent interviews by Paula Zahn of CNN of the next tier ofDemocratic candidates - Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, Gov. BillRichardson of New Mexico, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut andRepresentative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio - all of them Roman Catholics andtherefore subject to obligatory questions about abortion, gay rights and howthey stood these days with the pope.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/washington/09military.html?pagewanted=print
June 9, 2007
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Will Not Be Reappointed
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON, June 8 - The Bush administration said Friday that it would notreappoint Gen. Peter Pace to a second term as chairman of the Joint Chiefsof Staff, making him the highest-ranking officer to be a political casualtyof the fight over Iraq.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the decision was reached in order toavoid bitter hearings in a Democratic-controlled Senate that is alreadyconfronting the White House over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men andwomen in uniform, and General Pace himself would not be well-served by adivisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Mr. Gates said.
The defense secretary stood alone at a Pentagon podium in making theannouncement, and he spoke in somber tones in describing how he fully hadintended to recommend General Pace be offered a second two-year term aschairman, only to change his mind over the last few weeks after consultingwith senior senators of both parties.
Mr. Gates said he would recommend that President Bush appoint Adm. MichaelG. Mullen, the chief of naval operations, to serve as the next chairman. Thedefense secretary praised Admiral Mullen as a man of "vision, strategicinsight, experience and integrity."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/washington/09surgeon.html?pagewanted=print
June 9, 2007
Surgeon General Nominee Is Assailed for Church Role
By NEELA BANERJEE
WASHINGTON, June 8 - President Bush's nomination of Dr. James W. HolsingerJr., a Kentucky cardiologist, to be surgeon general is drawing criticismfrom gay rights groups, physicians and lawmakers who say they are troubledby opinions critical of homosexuality that Dr. Holsinger has voiced innearly 20 years as a high-ranking layman in the United Methodist Church.
Dr. Holsinger's friends within the United Methodist Church and the medicalcommunity, however, are defending him as a professional who does notdiscriminate against people in his congregation or in his care.
The critics said they were worried that Dr. Holsinger might not serve gaymen and lesbians fairly as surgeon general, the nation's chief healtheducator, largely because of a report he wrote in 1991 for a UnitedMethodist committee that essentially described male homosexuality asunnatural.
They also point to his service on the board of a Methodist group that in1998 criticized the "radical homosexual/lesbian lobby" for trying to forcethe church "to grant approval to the practice of homosexuality."
Critics have also cited Dr. Holsinger's leadership of the Judicial Councilof the United Methodist Church, the denomination's highest court, which inlate 2005 decided to reinstate a pastor who had been suspended for refusingto allow a gay man to join his congregation, a decision the church's bishopslater rejected.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802463.html
IN BRIEF
Saturday, June 9, 2007; Page B09
CONSERVATIVE AFFILIATION
Pa. Presbyterian Church Breaks Away
In a move emblematic of mainline Protestant divisions over sexuality,
members of the largest church in the Pittsburgh Presbytery voted to leavethe Presbyterian Church (USA) and join a smaller, more conservativedenomination.
At a congregational meeting, 951 members of Memorial Park PresbyterianChurch in McCandless Township, Pa., voted to be affiliated with theEvangelical Presbyterian Church. Fifty-two percent, or 761 members, of the1,450-member congregation needed to approve the plan.
Memorial Park church officials said last month they were concerned about thenational denomination's move away from traditional doctrines concerning theHoly Trinity and the authority of the Bible and about the denomination'sincreasingly liberal views on gay ordination.
-- Associated Press
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802657_pf.html
Capital Pride Takes to the Streets
Saturday, June 9, 2007; C12
The 32nd annual Capital Pride festival has been filling the city's venuesall week with dances, the Mr. and Ms. competitions, concerts anddiscussions.
But today marks the start of some of the most notable events, the PrideParade included. The annual parade steps off at 23rd and P streets NW, headsaround Dupont Circle, before returning to P and wrapping up at ThomasCircle. Free. 6:30 p.m.
Stationery shop and gallery Pulp will host a show of photographs by artistFrank Muzzy timed for Pride Week. Muzzy generally takes architectural photosof Washington and Paris and has documented the gay history of this city, butthis time around he turns his lens to suggestive subject matter. He calls it"flesh photography." Free. Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday 11-5through Sept. 9. 1803 14th St. NW. 202-462-7857.
The dance party Collision at Love will be where it's at tonight. TheLGBT-friendly bash will feature DJs Steve Henderson, John Mank, Ting, Kosand others. $20; free till 10 p.m. 1350 Okie St. NE. (21 and older only).202-636-9030.
The last major event of Pride Week is tomorrow's street festival. The festfeatures vendors and groups including the newly renamed Ganymede Arts(formerly Actors' Theatre of Washington) and the Peace Corps. Free. 11a.m.-6 p.m. Pennsylvania Avenue between Third and Seventh streets NW.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802470_pf.html
What Al Wishes Abe Said
By Andrew Ferguson
Sunday, June 10, 2007; B05
You can't really blame Al Gore for not using footnotes in his new book, "TheAssault on Reason." It's a sprawling, untidy blast of indignation, andannotating it with footnotes would be like trying to slip rubber bandsaround a puddle of quicksilver. Still, I'd love to know where he found thescary quote from Abraham Lincoln that he uses on page 88.
In a chapter entitled "The Politics of Wealth," Gore argues that the ancientthreat to democracy posed by rich people run amok has finally been realizedunder the man who beat him in the 2000 presidential race. Even Lincoln, Goresays, saw the age of Bush coming in 1864: "I see in the near future a crisisapproaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of mycountry. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an eraof corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the countrywill endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of thepeople until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic isdestroyed."
The quote is a favorite of liberal bloggers, which is probably how Gore cameacross it. And as a description of how many on the left see the countryseven years into their Bush nightmare, it's pretty much perfect.
Too perfect, in fact. If you're familiar with Lincoln's distinctive way ofexpressing himself, you'll hear the false notes the passage strikes. For onething, Lincoln just wasn't the "trembling" kind -- or if he was, he kept histrembling to himself. Words such as "enthroned" and "aggregated" are a bittoo fancy for his plain, unclotted prose, and the phrase "money power"suggests a conspiratorial turn of mind that would have been foreign to him.Indeed, these words don't show up anywhere else in "The Collected Works ofAbraham Lincoln" (which, thanks to Gore's Internet, are now searchable athttp://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/).
Moreover, the point of the passage is very un-Lincolnian. A corporate lawyerwhose long and cunning labor on behalf of the railroads earned him acomfortable income, Lincoln was a vigorous champion of market capitalism,even when it drifted (as it tends to do) toward large concentrations ofwealth. Many of his administration's signal initiatives -- thetranscontinental railroad, for example -- amounted to what liberals todaywould condemn as "corporate welfare." Lots of speculators got rich underLincoln, as Gore notes. As Gore does not note, Lincoln seemed not to haveminded.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060800733_pf.html
Gay Programming Steps Out On Satellite and Digital
By Marc Fisher
Sunday, June 10, 2007; N07
Acaller rings up the "Derek and Romaine" show for some frank advice. The mansays he'd had a random sexual encounter with a stranger and they got totalking and it turned out that the partners were cousins.
The question: "Can I marry him?"
"Honestly, I think you can," says Derek Hartley, co-host of the frisky,freewheeling talk show that airs on Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ, the firstamong several new radio outlets dedicated to programming for a gay audience.
Hartley -- a former movie reviewer from Fredericksburg who came to radiofrom a gay Web site -- and Romaine Patterson -- an activist who startedworking with gay political groups after her close friend Matthew Shepard waskilled in an anti-gay attack in 1998Ö -- offer a distinctly different brandof radio. Their nightly show features segments such as "ShockingConfessions," when callers tell stories absolutely none of which can berelated in a family newspaper, or "What's Your Gay Problem?," when the hostsdispense relationships advice that would result in an instant loss oflicense on old-fashioned broadcast radio.
But OutQ is not just about pushing the boundaries of what can be said on theradio. The channel, which launched in 2003 as radio's first all-gayprogramming stream, includes hourly reports of news for and about gays,Broadway show tunes, dance club music, a talk show with MichelangeloSignorile and a celebrity-oriented morning show.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/v-print/story/133922.html
Posted on Sat, Jun. 09, 2007
Nationally recognized gay library is relocating
BY ROBBYN MITCHELL
One of the nation's largest libraries of gay and lesbian literature --forced to find a new home after its building in Fort Lauderdale was boughtby a condominium developer -- is packing up its 18,000 books and othercollections for the third time in its history.
Pending approval by the County Commission, the Stonewall Library andArchives, now housed in the Gay and Lesbian Community Center on NorthAndrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, will move its massive collection to a4,200-square-foot space in the Fort Lauderdale Branch of the Broward CountyLibrary at 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. by the end of the year.
The Stonewall, which boasts the largest collection of written words aboutgays and lesbians in the Southeastern United States, had its beginnings 34years ago in Hollywood, where a teenager began collecting books to help himunderstand his homosexuality. Mark Silber later formed a group named GayCommunity Services of Broward County and offered to lend his books to othermembers of the gay community.
Eventually, the collection was named Stonewall, after the 1969 Stonewall Innriots spawned by oppressive police tactics in New York City's GreenwichVillage that marked the beginning of modern gay rights movement.
Today, the library is an important resource, not only for the local gay andlesbian community but for writers, scholars and researchers across thenation. Each year, the library gets nearly 9,000 visitors.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/889/v-print/story/133168.html
Posted on Sat, Jun. 09, 2007
Pentagon shifts course, Gen. Pace out
By LOLITA BALDOR
Bitter divisions over the Iraq war, particularly on Capitol Hill, led theBush administration to change course and replace Gen. Peter Pace as chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a grim Defense Secretary Robert Gates saidFriday.
Gates said that despite earlier plans to recommend Pace for a secondtwo-year term as chairman, he instead was recommending Adm. Mike Mullen,currently chief of naval operations, to take over when Pace's term expiresSept. 30. President Bush accepted the recommendation.
"I think that the events of the last several months have simply created anenvironment in which I think there would be a confirmation process thatwould not be in the best interests of the country," Gates said. "I wish itwere not necessary to make a decision like this. But I think it's arealistic appraisal of where we are."
Bush praised Pace, saying he has "relied on his unvarnished militaryjudgment, and I value his candor, his integrity, and his friendship."
"Pete's job has been to help ensure that America's military forces areprepared to meet the threats of this new century," Bush said in a statementissued in Rome, where he is visiting. "This is a difficult task in a time ofpeace. Pete Pace has done it in a time of war - and he has done itsuperbly."
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/277/v-print/story/132761.html
Posted on Sat, Jun. 09, 2007
Gay rights debate rages on 30 years after Miami-Dade challenge
BY STEVE ROTHAUS
Thirty years ago, most people didn't think about gay rights, much lessdiscuss the issue in public.
A 1977 battle in Miami-Dade County between two local mothers changed allthat, launching both the modern public debate about homosexuality and theemergence of politically powerful Christian conservatives.
While voters cast a decisive ''no'' vote for gay rights 30 years ago thisweek, the discussion triggered by the divisive debate -- which ended thefriendship between singing star Anita Bryant and then-Miami-DadeCommissioner Ruth Shack -- has not ceased.
''It was the beginning of two movements, the Christian Coalition and gayrights,'' Shack now says.
''Prior to this, there was very little meaningful discussion outside the gaycommunity about gay rights,'' said Fred Fejes, a Florida Atlantic Universitycommunications professor who is writing an academic book, Moral Panic: TheOrigin of the American Debate on Gay Rights.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/277/v-print/story/132766.html
Posted on Sat, Jun. 09, 2007
Anita's ex paid dearly in the fight
BY STEVE ROTHAUS
Since the 1977 gay-rights referendum, life has not been good for Bob Green.Anita Bryant divorced the one-time rock 'n' roll disc jockey three yearslater and she left South Florida for good.
Green lives alone in a Miami Beach home a few blocks from where the famouscouple lived with their four children on North Bay Road.
''I jog past the house and I say I wish I was back there in the good olddays,'' said Green, 76. ``I used to jog on North Bay Road and cry all theway. I don't have any friends. I have my family and people in theneighborhood. I'm kind of like a hermit. I'm not antisocial. It's just theway I've become.
When Green and Bryant married in 1960, they had a bright future. He was apopular South Florida radio and television personality; she was a formerMiss Oklahoma and runner-up to 1959 Miss America, Mary Ann Mobley.
Bryant, with a powerful singing voice, already had a hit record, Till ThereWas You from Broadway's The Music Man.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/277/v-print/story/132765.html
Posted on Sat, Jun. 09, 2007
She kept her life to herself
BY STEVE ROTHAUS
On April 17, 1977, The Miami Herald profiled a lesbian schoolteacher whosaid that only two people at work knew her secret. ''I live in terror thatsomeone will learn I'm gay,'' said the teacher, identified as ``Eleanor.''Thirty years later, she's unafraid.
''I didn't use my name. I already had plenty of flack,'' reveals EddaCimino, who retired in 1995. ``Teachers were trashing gays and lesbians inthe teacher's lounge. They were telling dirty jokes about gays and lesbians.. . . We got death threats on the phone.''
Then, she had enough. ``It was harder to be in the closet than out, Ifinally decided.''
Cimino said she got tired of going to school and hearing the dirty jokes:
``One day, I walked into the lounge and said, `I know you don't mean to hurtmy feelings, but I want you to know I am gay and please don't use thoseremarks when I'm in here.''
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/277/v-print/story/132764.html
Posted on Sat, Jun. 09, 2007
Growing up gay in the storm
BY STEVE ROTHAUS
Damian Pardo vividly remembers spring 1977.
''I was 13 and I knew I was gay,'' said Pardo, now a senior financialadvisor at Merrill Lynch and longtime Miami-Dade activist. ``I had neverdiscussed it with anyone, but I certainly was aware of it.
Until then, no one had talked about homosexuality in Pardo's Coral Gableshome.
''Before Anita Bryant? Never!'' he said. ``I thought I was the only one.''
During the campaign, Pardo recalls, there was a ``consistent battering inthe press about homosexuals and gays.''
''It was all about stereotypes,'' he says. 'I remember it vividly, the `SaveOur Children' theme. It was implicit that homosexuals were pedophiles andcriminals. They were creating this image, the same way it was done duringthe Nazi era. They created monsters.''
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45870.asp
June 09, 2007
Lesbian activist's archives destroyed in fire
A fire burned through a Washington, D.C., lesbian activist's home,potentially destroying significant portions of her archives of local gayhistory, The Washington Blade reported Wednesday.
Cheryl Spector was at work when she discovered that an electrical fire hadbegun in her apartment, severely damaging her place and putting her years ofarchives in danger.
"I don't know what I've lost," Spector said to the Blade. She explained shewould need the community's help to assess the damage. "We have to go pictureby picture, photo album by photo album."
Spector has been an activist for lesbian rights and AIDS awareness foralmost 20 years. She became involved in advocacy shortly after her brother's1986 suicide following his AIDS diagnosis.
In an article published a month ago by the Blade, her apartment wasdescribed as "crammed with videos, photos, and memorabilia of gay eventsthat she has attended, planned, and founded over the years."
"You could fill half a museum just with what's in my apartment," Spectorsaid at the time. (The Advocate)
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45827.asp
June 07, 2007
The Hallmark hullabaloo
While shopping for a Father's Day card, an Advocate reader found aparticularly offensive card made by Hallmark. So we contacted the greetingcard company to find out what gives.
By Michelle Garcia
When an Advocate reader was shopping for a Father's Day card, he came acrossone greeting he thought highly offensive.
The cover of the card featured a photo of an idyllic, upscale picnic spread:plaid blanket, wicker basket, a bottle of wine and two glasses, a round ofbread, a fruit plate. Above the photo, the card read, "Dad, how about aFather's Day picnic?" The punch line inside: "Too queer? Yeah, I thought sotoo."
The reader said that he saw the card in two separate supermarkets andcomplained both times to store managers. But his greatest disappointment wasin the card company.
"Hallmark has long marketed its products with the slogan 'When you careenough to send the very best,' " he said via e-mail. "For my money, 'thevery best' does not include the use of slurs against a part of the company'scustomer base."
The Advocate brought this card to the attention of Hallmark's media liaison,Deidre Parkes, who said that the company would pull the cards from shelvesimmediately.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060807g8.htm
G8 OKs $60 Billion African AIDS Package
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 8, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Kuehlungsborn, Germany) Members of the Group of Eight have agreed on aprogram worth more than US$60 billion to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS inAfrica, Germany's development minister said Friday.
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul made the announcement on state ZDF televisionbefore G-8 leaders sat down with African and international officials todiscuss African issues.
Wieczorek-Zeul said the money was earmarked for fighting malaria andtuberculosis, as well as HIV/AIDS and about half of it would come from theUnited States, with Germany contributing US$5.4 billion between now and2015.
``The situation (in Africa) is simply so dramatic,'' she said in Berlin.
Proponents of debt relief in Africa and other social activists havecriticized the world's leading industrial nations for failing to live up topromises made two years ago at the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060807india.htm
India Downsizes Number With HIV/AIDS
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 8, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(New Delhi) The number of Indians infected with HIV is far smaller thanpreviously believed, according to new data that appears to vindicate criticswho said earlier U.N. assessments of the country's epidemic were vastlyoverestimated.
Experts say the still-unreleased survey is likely to show that India'snumber of HIV cases, which last year was said to be the highest in the worldat 5.7 million, is actually well below that mark.
"The actual number we've come up with in aggregate is likely to be lower,and perhaps substantially lower," said Ashok Alexander, director of theAvahan, the Indian program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whichhelped fund the study.
Alexander declined to estimate what the new number would be, saying the datais still being analyzed and precise numbers would not be released for a fewmore weeks.
The new estimate comes from combining data collected from prenatal clinics;a survey of high-risk groups, such as sex workers; and from the government'sNational Family Health Survey - a method Alexander said was more reliablethan the previous estimates, which relied largely on extrapolating from theprenatal clinic data.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060807nsmurd.htm
Man Accused Of Canadian Gay Killings Appears In Court For NY Murder
by The Canadian Press
Posted: June 8, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Mooers, New York) A 26-year-old Canadian has pleaded not guilty in thedeath of a man who was found at a remote hunting camp in northern New York.
Glen Douglas Race of Dartmouth, N.S., was charged with second-degree murderin the death of Darcy Manor. He was also charged with fourth-degree criminalpossession of stolen property _ a .44-calibre rifle that was stolen from thescene in Mooers where Manor was found dead.
Believed to be the murder weapon, the rifle was found in Race's possessionwhen he was arrested in Texas near the Mexican border.
About 60 people, many of them Manor's relatives, were in court as thediminutive Canadian was led in wearing a white shirt, jeans, sneakerswithout laces, and a white hooded mask that had fine netting over the eyesso he could see.
Andrew Wylie, the prosecuting district attorney, said Race was forced towear the mask after spitting on an officer as he was being booked by NewYork State police shortly after his arrival from Texas, where he wasarrested May 15 near the Mexican border.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, (June 8, 2007)
Contact:?Brian Winfield, Communications Director, (727) 488-7799
Largo Apologizes for Arrest and Mistreatment of Nadine Smith
(Largo) The Largo City Commission has issued a formal public apology toEquality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith for her unprovoked andunnecessarily violent arrest at the February 27th commission hearing where amajority of commissioners voted to fire City Manager because she istransgender.
Acting City Manager, Mac Craig, read the formal apology during the June 5thcommission hearing, referring to the incident as ?regrettable,? and saying,?We wish it would not have happened.? Earlier in the week, Craig contactedNadine to inform her that the apology would be forthcoming.
?The city's apology is a welcome first step toward ensuring that thisdoesn't happen again,? said Brian Winfield, communications director forEquality Florida.
Nadine was arrested for handing a ?Don?t Discriminate? flyer to someone whoasked for it.? The arrest, captured by a photographer and witnessed bydozens sparked a national outcry from civil rights leaders and organizationsacross the state and nation.?
The ACLU defended Nadine against the felony criminal charge, which the StateAttorney later refused to pursue.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13468447/detail.html?treets=bos&tml=bos_natlbreak&ts=T&tmi=bos_natlbreak_1_12090106082007
Pace Out As Joint Chiefs Chairman
Adm. Mullen Likely New Chairman
POSTED: 12:51 pm EDT June 8, 2007
UPDATED: 3:50 pm EDT June 8, 2007
Gen. Peter Pace, the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is beingreplaced.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made the announcement on Friday.
Gates said he had intended to nominate Pace to a second term, but "theevents of the last several months" -- the developments with the war inIraq -- would have made for a difficult confirmation hearing.
He said that after consulting with senators in both parties, he hadconcluded that "the focus of his confirmation process would have been on thepast and not on the future."
"It would not have been in the best interests of the country," Gates said.
Adm. Michael G. Mullen is the likely nominee to replace Pace, Gates said.
Mullen is a 1968 graduate of the Naval Academy. He has commanded threeships: the USS Noxabee, the USS Goldsborough and the USS Yorktown. He alsocommanded the USS George Washington Battle Group and served as the commanderof U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=12957
Former gay outreach adviser sues DNC
Hitchcock accuses Dean, others of discrimination, retaliation
by JOSHUA LYNSEN | Jun 6, 10:37 AM
A former gay outreach adviser for the Democratic National Committee has suedthe organization, alleging discrimination.
In a lawsuit against the DNC, its chair, Howard Dean and two partyofficials, Donald Hitchcock says he was the target of discrimination,retaliation and defamation during and after his tenure as director of theGay & Lesbian Leadership Council.
The lawsuit was filed April 17 in D.C. Superior Court. Responses were filedMay 31.
Hitchcock, who joined the DNC in June 2005, was fired May 2, 2006. Thetermination came days after Hitchcock's domestic partner, Paul Yandura, alongtime party activist, sent an open letter to gay Democrats saying Deanfailed to adequately defend gay rights.
Yandura's letter, sent in April 2006, criticized Dean and the party for notgetting involved in state ballot measures seeking to ban gay marriage. Italso suggested that gays should temporarily withhold donations to Democrats.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.idahostatesman.com/387/story/86871.html
Twin Falls excludes gays' float from parade
Decision draws praise from Idaho Values Alliance director; group saysmembers feel unwelcomed
Staff and wire reports - Idaho Statesman
Edition Date: 06/03/07
A Boise-based family values group on Saturday praised a Twin Falls group'sdecision not to allow a gay and lesbian group to take part in a parade.Bryan Fischer, executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance, said theWestern Days Committee was right to deny a float by the Southern Idaho Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center.
"The parade organizers are to be commended for recognizing that promotingthe normalization of homosexual behavior is never right for any communitythat believes in the family as the cornerstone of a healthy society,"Fischer said.
It was the first float to be denied entry into the Western Days parade,which took place Saturday.
The Idaho Equality Exploratory Committee, a statewide network for the gayand lesbian community, said the committee's decision was based on ignoranceand intolerance.
"This is clearly sending a message to GLBT people that they are not welcomein the community," said Andrea Shipley, interim co-coordinator for IEEC.
The group's float consisted of a large Styrofoam centerpiece in the shape ofIdaho, as well as other cutouts in the shape of cowboy boots, chaps andhats. Most of the float was painted with rainbow colors.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=20983
Navy assigns openly-gay sailor to reserves
Friday Jun 8, 2007
The United States Navy has again assigned an openly gay sailor to duty inthe Individual Ready Reserves (IRR), according to paperwork obtained yServicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).
Former Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Knight, a Hebrew linguist recentlydeployed to Kuwait, has been placed on IRR duty until April 2009, despitepublicly 'coming out' in national media outlets and being told he wouldreceive a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" dismissal. Knight's dismissal form, alsocalled a DD-214, again lists his reason for dismissal as 'Completion ofService,' and places him in the IRR. The classification allows him to againbe called to active duty, as he was in 2006 after completing a four-yearenlistment in the Navy. Knight has now served openly during two tours withthe Navy, with the support of his command and colleagues.
"It's a very pleasant, and unexpected, surprise to learn that the Navy sovalues Jason's service that they have again assigned him to the IndividualReady Reserves, despite his very public advocacy as an openly gay man,"Steve Ralls, director of communications for Servicemembers Legal DefenseNetwork (SLDN), told the military newspaper Stars & Stripes in a statement.
"There are clearly many people inside the armed forces who couldn't careless about sexual orientation. In fact, our national security would be farbetter served if more commands elected to so visibly support their gaytroops. The Navy has welcomed Jason Knight not once, not twice, but now athird time, and he has always answered the call to duty. His story provesthere is no room to question the patriotism, dedication and commitment oflesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans."
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories07/june/0608073.htm
June 8, 2007
Anti-gay campaign is a power grab, says Nigerian activist
by Eric Resnick
Cleveland--An anti-gay campaign in Nigeria is part of the national church'sefforts to grab power and oil wealth in the west African nation, says a gayactivist who is touring the U.S.
Davis Mac-Iyalla, the founder of Changing Attitude Nigeria, visited fourOhio cities in May with a plea for action from the LGBT community inAmerica.
He says his refusal to deny his sexual orientation has put him at odds withthis campaign.
Because he refuses to back down, he says the Nigerian church, led byArchbishop Peter Akinola, has threatened his life.
Akinola leads the effort in the world Anglican Communion to make the U.S.Episcopal Church back away from its pro-gay positions or be thrown out ofthe worldwide church.
Akinola fomented the worldwide controversy around the election of the RightRev. V. Gene Robinson as the bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. Robinson isopenly gay and non-celibate.
"Once gays and lesbians get a voice," said Mac-Iyalla, "it will be harderfor the church to control the population [of Nigeria]," which he says is thereal danger his public declarations pose.
It is that control, according to Mac-Iyalla, which allows the NigerianAnglican Church, the government, and the oil companies doing business thereto do "back door deals" from which they all benefit at the expense of thepeople.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.truthwinsout.org/uncategorized/david-gergen-holsinger-nomination-raises-question-of-ideology-over-competence/#more-187
HOLSINGER UPDATE: SEN. OBAMA ISSUES A STATEMENT
June 7th, 2007
Senator Obama (D-IL) released the following statement Thursday morning.
"America's top doctor should be a doctor for all Americans, and so I haveserious reservations about nominating someone who would inject his ownanti-gay ideology into critical decisions about the health and well-being ofour nation."
"As with other nominees, I will listen to the testimony of Dr. JamesHolsinger, but this Administration must know that the United States SurgeonGeneral's office is no place for bigotry or ideology that would trump soundscience and good judgment," Obama's statement continued.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070607gay-lawyers-story,0,5667399.story?coll=chi-bizfront-hed
Gay lawyers come out as clients demand more diversity
By Cynthia Cotts
Bloomberg News
Published June 7, 2007, 11:01 AM CDT
When Coco Soodek, a corporate lawyer in the Chicago office of Bryan CaveLLP, was promoted to partner in 2005, the firm invited all the new partnersto dinner at its St. Louis headquarters.
Soodek, 36, was encouraged to bring her companion, Roxanne Saylor, 37. Thecouple was seated by the wife of the firm's chairman, and the partners'spouses were asked to stand.
"If I had one toe left in the closet, they made me take it out," Soodeksays. "There was no going back."
Soodek's experience may be approaching the norm for gays and lesbians atprominent U.S. law firms, which compete to hire lawyers of diverse ethnicbackgrounds, gender and sexual orientation.
"Today, elite law firms are behaving as good elites should," says KeithWetmore, 50, a gay lawyer who is chairman of the San Francisco-based firmMorrison & Foerster LLP. "They've become culturally sensitive."
The number of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered lawyersincreased by more than 50 percent from 2002 to 2006, according to theNational Association for Law Placement.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.alternet.org/rights/52648/
The Expensive Failure of Abstinence Education
By Amy DePaul, AlterNet
Posted on May 31, 2007, Printed on June 8, 2007
Last month's resignation of Wade Horn, former assistant secretary at theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services and point man for conservativesocial policy, came just as support was crumbling and mistrust mounting fora costly and, many would argue, unsuccessful initiative -- abstinenceeducation.
"At this point we've spent more than a billion dollars on this program thatwas never proven in the first place," said Heather Boonstra, public policyanalyst at the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organizationspecializing in reproductive health issues.
Horn left government in early April for a private-sector position atDeloitte Consulting LLP after heading the Administration for ChildrenandFamilies (ACF), a division of HHS. There, Horn shepherded a host ofcontentious initiatives, for example: marriage promotion for poor women asan anti-poverty strategy, reduced access to higher education for welfarerecipients, standardized testing of low-income preschoolers, programs tostrengthen fatherhood by pushing matrimony and relationship skills, andchastity for 19- to 29-year-olds.
Many of these policies had come under fire over the years from members ofCongress, feminists and advocates of low-income families -- increasingly soin Horn's final months at HHS.
=
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, (June 8, 2007)
Contact:?Brian Winfield, Communications Director, (727) 488-7799
Largo Apologizes for Arrest and Mistreatment of Nadine Smith
(Largo) The Largo City Commission has issued a formal public apology toEquality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith for her unprovoked andunnecessarily violent arrest at the February 27th commission hearing where amajority of commissioners voted to fire City Manager because she istransgender.
Acting City Manager, Mac Craig, read the formal apology during the June 5thcommission hearing, referring to the incident as ?regrettable,? and saying,?We wish it would not have happened.? Earlier in the week, Craig contactedNadine to inform her that the apology would be forthcoming.
?The city's apology is a welcome first step toward ensuring that thisdoesn't happen again,? said Brian Winfield, communications director forEquality Florida.
Nadine was arrested for handing a ?Don?t Discriminate? flyer to someone whoasked for it.? The arrest, captured by a photographer and witnessed bydozens sparked a national outcry from civil rights leaders and organizationsacross the state and nation.?
The ACLU defended Nadine against the felony criminal charge, which the StateAttorney later refused to pursue.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13468447/detail.html?treets=bos&tml=bos_natlbreak&ts=T&tmi=bos_natlbreak_1_12090106082007
Pace Out As Joint Chiefs Chairman
Adm. Mullen Likely New Chairman
POSTED: 12:51 pm EDT June 8, 2007
UPDATED: 3:50 pm EDT June 8, 2007
Gen. Peter Pace, the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is beingreplaced.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made the announcement on Friday.
Gates said he had intended to nominate Pace to a second term, but "theevents of the last several months" -- the developments with the war inIraq -- would have made for a difficult confirmation hearing.
He said that after consulting with senators in both parties, he hadconcluded that "the focus of his confirmation process would have been on thepast and not on the future."
"It would not have been in the best interests of the country," Gates said.
Adm. Michael G. Mullen is the likely nominee to replace Pace, Gates said.
Mullen is a 1968 graduate of the Naval Academy. He has commanded threeships: the USS Noxabee, the USS Goldsborough and the USS Yorktown. He alsocommanded the USS George Washington Battle Group and served as the commanderof U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=12957
Former gay outreach adviser sues DNC
Hitchcock accuses Dean, others of discrimination, retaliation
by JOSHUA LYNSEN | Jun 6, 10:37 AM
A former gay outreach adviser for the Democratic National Committee has suedthe organization, alleging discrimination.
In a lawsuit against the DNC, its chair, Howard Dean and two partyofficials, Donald Hitchcock says he was the target of discrimination,retaliation and defamation during and after his tenure as director of theGay & Lesbian Leadership Council.
The lawsuit was filed April 17 in D.C. Superior Court. Responses were filedMay 31.
Hitchcock, who joined the DNC in June 2005, was fired May 2, 2006. Thetermination came days after Hitchcock's domestic partner, Paul Yandura, alongtime party activist, sent an open letter to gay Democrats saying Deanfailed to adequately defend gay rights.
Yandura's letter, sent in April 2006, criticized Dean and the party for notgetting involved in state ballot measures seeking to ban gay marriage. Italso suggested that gays should temporarily withhold donations to Democrats.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.idahostatesman.com/387/story/86871.html
Twin Falls excludes gays' float from parade
Decision draws praise from Idaho Values Alliance director; group saysmembers feel unwelcomed
Staff and wire reports - Idaho Statesman
Edition Date: 06/03/07
A Boise-based family values group on Saturday praised a Twin Falls group'sdecision not to allow a gay and lesbian group to take part in a parade.Bryan Fischer, executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance, said theWestern Days Committee was right to deny a float by the Southern Idaho Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center.
"The parade organizers are to be commended for recognizing that promotingthe normalization of homosexual behavior is never right for any communitythat believes in the family as the cornerstone of a healthy society,"
Fischer said.
It was the first float to be denied entry into the Western Days parade,which took place Saturday.
The Idaho Equality Exploratory Committee, a statewide network for the gayand lesbian community, said the committee's decision was based on ignoranceand intolerance.
"This is clearly sending a message to GLBT people that they are not welcomein the community," said Andrea Shipley, interim co-coordinator for IEEC.
The group's float consisted of a large Styrofoam centerpiece in the shape ofIdaho, as well as other cutouts in the shape of cowboy boots, chaps andhats. Most of the float was painted with rainbow colors.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=20983
Navy assigns openly-gay sailor to reserves
Friday Jun 8, 2007
The United States Navy has again assigned an openly gay sailor to duty inthe Individual Ready Reserves (IRR), according to paperwork obtained byServicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).
Former Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Knight, a Hebrew linguist recentlydeployed to Kuwait, has been placed on IRR duty until April 2009, despitepublicly 'coming out' in national media outlets and being told he wouldreceive a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" dismissal. Knight's dismissal form, alsocalled a DD-214, again lists his reason for dismissal as 'Completion ofService,' and places him in the IRR. The classification allows him to againbe called to active duty, as he was in 2006 after completing a four-yearenlistment in the Navy. Knight has now served openly during two tours withthe Navy, with the support of his command and colleagues.
"It's a very pleasant, and unexpected, surprise to learn that the Navy sovalues Jason's service that they have again assigned him to the IndividualReady Reserves, despite his very public advocacy as an openly gay man,"Steve Ralls, director of communications for Servicemembers Legal DefenseNetwork (SLDN), told the military newspaper Stars & Stripes in a statement.
"There are clearly many people inside the armed forces who couldn't care
less about sexual orientation. In fact, our national security would be farbetter served if more commands elected to so visibly support their gaytroops. The Navy has welcomed Jason Knight not once, not twice, but now athird time, and he has always answered the call to duty. His story provesthere is no room to question the patriotism, dedication and commitment oflesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans."
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories07/june/0608073.htm
June 8, 2007
Anti-gay campaign is a power grab, says Nigerian activist
by Eric Resnick
Cleveland--An anti-gay campaign in Nigeria is part of the national church'sefforts to grab power and oil wealth in the west African nation, says a gayactivist who is touring the U.S.
Davis Mac-Iyalla, the founder of Changing Attitude Nigeria, visited fourOhio cities in May with a plea for action from the LGBT community inAmerica.
He says his refusal to deny his sexual orientation has put him at odds withthis campaign.
Because he refuses to back down, he says the Nigerian church, led byArchbishop Peter Akinola, has threatened his life.
Akinola leads the effort in the world Anglican Communion to make the U.S.Episcopal Church back away from its pro-gay positions or be thrown out ofthe worldwide church.
Akinola fomented the worldwide controversy around the election of the RightRev. V. Gene Robinson as the bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. Robinson isopenly gay and non-celibate.
"Once gays and lesbians get a voice," said Mac-Iyalla, "it will be harderfor the church to control the population [of Nigeria]," which he says is thereal danger his public declarations pose.
It is that control, according to Mac-Iyalla, which allows the NigerianAnglican Church, the government, and the oil companies doing business thereto do "back door deals" from which they all benefit at the expense of thepeople.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.truthwinsout.org/uncategorized/david-gergen-holsinger-nomination-raises-question-of-ideology-over-competence/#more-187
HOLSINGER UPDATE: SEN. OBAMA ISSUES A STATEMENT
June 7th, 2007
Senator Obama (D-IL) released the following statement Thursday morning.
"America's top doctor should be a doctor for all Americans, and so I haveserious reservations about nominating someone who would inject his ownanti-gay ideology into critical decisions about the health and well-being ofour nation."
"As with other nominees, I will listen to the testimony of Dr. JamesHolsinger, but this Administration must know that the United States SurgeonGeneral's office is no place for bigotry or ideology that would trump soundscience and good judgment," Obama's statement continued.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070607gay-lawyers-story,0,5667399.story?coll=chi-bizfront-hed
Gay lawyers come out as clients demand more diversity
By Cynthia Cotts
Bloomberg News
Published June 7, 2007, 11:01 AM CDT
When Coco Soodek, a corporate lawyer in the Chicago office of Bryan CaveLLP, was promoted to partner in 2005, the firm invited all the new partnersto dinner at its St. Louis headquarters.
Soodek, 36, was encouraged to bring her companion, Roxanne Saylor, 37. Thecouple was seated by the wife of the firm's chairman, and the partners'spouses were asked to stand.
"If I had one toe left in the closet, they made me take it out," Soodeksays. "There was no going back."
Soodek's experience may be approaching the norm for gays and lesbians atprominent U.S. law firms, which compete to hire lawyers of diverse ethnicbackgrounds, gender and sexual orientation.
"Today, elite law firms are behaving as good elites should," says KeithWetmore, 50, a gay lawyer who is chairman of the San Francisco-based firmMorrison & Foerster LLP. "They've become culturally sensitive."
The number of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered lawyersincreased by more than 50 percent from 2002 to 2006, according to theNational Association for Law Placement.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.alternet.org/rights/52648/
The Expensive Failure of Abstinence Education
By Amy DePaul, AlterNet
Posted on May 31, 2007, Printed on June 8, 2007
Last month's resignation of Wade Horn, former assistant secretary at theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services and point man for conservativesocial policy, came just as support was crumbling and mistrust mounting fora costly and, many would argue, unsuccessful initiative -- abstinenceeducation.
"At this point we've spent more than a billion dollars on this program thatwas never proven in the first place," said Heather Boonstra, public policyanalyst at the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organizationspecializing in reproductive health issues.
Horn left government in early April for a private-sector position atDeloitte Consulting LLP after heading the Administration for ChildrenandFamilies (ACF), a division of HHS. There, Horn shepherded a host ofcontentious initiatives, for example: marriage promotion for poor women asan anti-poverty strategy, reduced access to higher education for welfarerecipients, standardized testing of low-income preschoolers, programs tostrengthen fatherhood by pushing matrimony and relationship skills, andchastity for 19- to 29-year-olds.
Many of these policies had come under fire over the years from members ofCongress, feminists and advocates of low-income families -- increasingly soin Horn's final months at HHS.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Action Alert: United States: IGLHRC Supports the 3rd Annual Trans Day ofAction for Social & Economic Justice
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) joins theTransJustice Initiative of the Audre Lorde Project (The Lesbian, Gay,Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color Centerfor Community Organizing) to observe June 22, 2007 as the 3rd Annual TransDay of Action for Social & Economic Justice in New York City. On this day,Trans and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) People of Color and their allies willtake to the streets of New York City to demand justice and work togethertowards dismantling the transphobia, racism, classism, sexism, ageism,homophobia and xenophobia that permeates throughout our movements for socialjustice. IGLHRC asks its members and supporters to hold similar events indifferent cities and countries to highlight the ongoing struggle of thetransgender community for equality and justice.
To mark the occasion, the TransJustice of the Audre Lorde Project has issuedthe points of unity, which hold together the purpose of this importantmarch. This eight-point statement calls for:
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 7, 2007
Brad Luna | Phone: 202/216.1514 | Cell: 202/812.8140
Christopher Johnson | Phone: 202/216.1580 | Cell: 202/716.1628
Human Rights Campaign Launches National Tour to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don'tTell"
June 12th Iowa Kick-Off Brings Issue to '08 Caucus State; Features FirstU.S. Troop Injured in Iraq War, Other Veterans
WASHINGTON - With an eye towards the Iowa caucuses in January that willofficially mark the start of the 2008 presidential elections, the HumanRights Campaign, the nation's largest gay civil rights organization, willbegin its national "A Legacy of Service" tour against the military's "Don'tAsk, Don't Ban" policy in Des Moines, Iowa on June 12.
"A Legacy of Service" national tour features the voices of a diverse groupof veterans who have served under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"policy. The tour will feature former Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, the firstUS troop wounded in Iraq, along with many other American heroes standingunited and speaking out for the repeal of this discriminatory policy thatcontinues to harm our nation's security.
"This national tour will show the faces of those who have served andsacrificed under this discriminatory policy," said Human Rights CampaignPresident Joe Solmonese. "The American people have already overwhelminglydecided that our military should be about service and not about holding onto policies that dishonor our troops."
=
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#####
