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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/politics/28gay.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=nyt
For Gay Democrats, a Primary Where Rights Are Not an Issue, This Time
By ANDREW JACOBS
January 28, 2008
The impromptu debate, over light beers and dirty martinis, was at oncemundane and remarkable. Provoked by a reporter, four middle-aged men at aGreenwich Village gay bar made fiery pitches for the Democratic presidentialfront-runners. Two backed Senator Barack Obama, one argued for SenatorHillary Rodham Clinton, and the fourth made an emotional plea for the causeof John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina.
"Edwards is the only one who really cares about the underdog," one of themen, Farid Martinez, 41, a clothing designer from Brooklyn, shouted abovethe din at the bar, the Monster, across from Sheridan Square. His friendEdmund Taylor, 37, disagreed, and nearly sputtered with rage: "The guy is amillionaire lawyer obsessed with his hair. Obama is the only one who canreally transform this country."
What was notable about the exchange last week was what was not mentioned:the word "gay."
For the first time in two decades, gay voters find themselves in an unusual,if happy, predicament. The three leading Democrats have staked out similarpositions on issues that resonate with gay men and lesbians. Although noneof the three candidates back gay marriage, they all support same-sex civilunions and say they would fight to repeal the military's "don't ask, don'ttell" policy. And each of them says he or she would champion a federalanti-discrimination law that would protect lesbians and gay men.
"You would need a magnifying glass to see any real or substantivedifferences between the three candidates," said Alan Van Capelle, theexecutive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender civil rights group in New York.
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/wellington/forum/sfl-fltlp0130wf-gsawfjan30,0,3636913.story
Gay students face challenges
By Sarah Schlein
Forum Publishing Group
January 30, 2008
In the 21st century, pop culture has led the way to approval of thehomosexual lifestyle. Examples of this can be seen on the MTV hit show AShot at Love With Tila Tequila and the television network LOGO, which isdevoted to gay and lesbian programming.
"Seeing homosexuality portrayed on television has really opened my mind tothis unknown taboo. I think it is a good thing that people can see that gaysare just like everyone else," Wellington High senior Jared Cline said.
Still, many gay teens fear they will lose friends or be thrown out of theirhomes if they come out about their sexual orientation.
"I was really nervous to come out. I didn't know what my friends or myparents would think of me, but I just had to tell the truth. I was afraidthat I would not be accepted," one gay high school junior said.
Clubs such as the Gay Straight Alliance aim to provide a refuge for suchstudents. The GSA is a club made up of both gay and straight students whoprovide emotional support and education to combat discrimination andhomophobia.
"It is so important to have a GSA because it helps promote tolerance andacceptance," said Alexandra Wein, past president of Wellington High's GSA."It shows that no matter what one's sexual preference is, he or she isnormal. We are all human beings, and everyone is special."
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/delraybeach/forum/sfl-fltlp0130del-gsadrfjan30,0,3129800.story
Club helps students understand each other
By Melissa Burat
Forum Publishing Group
January 30, 2008
We all fidget in our seats awkwardly, waiting for our turn to talk.
The boy across from me introduces himself as Michael Colon and proclaimsthat he is an "S."
This pattern continues as we move along the conference table, people statingtheir ames and whether they are an S, G, B or, in one case, T.
A boy in a green jacket mutters to the person next to him, missing his turn.Our dviser barks his name. Unfazed, he turns head and bluntly replies, "Oh,I'm gay."
Nervous giggles follow.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=16219
Campaign frustrates some gay activists
Many disappointed three leading Democrats rarely mention gay-rights
NEW YORK (AP) | Jan 28, 10:40 AM
Few constituencies are as eager for the Republican Party to falter thispolitical season as gay-rights activists. Yet as they observe the Democraticpresidential campaign and the rest of the electoral landscape, their highhopes often are mixed with frustration.
Even as they expect to support whichever Democrat gets the presidentialnomination, many activists are disappointed that the three leadingcontenders rarely mention gay-rights topics unless responding to a question.
"They don't want to broach civil unions, marriage, equalizing benefits forsame-sex couples," said Jennifer Chrisler, head of the Family EqualityCouncil, which supports gay and lesbian families. "The vast majority ofpoliticians don't lead, they follow."
There are other frustrations as well. Activists were dismayed that theDemocratic-led Congress failed to approve two much-anticipated bills latelast year - one defining anti-gay assaults as a federal hate crime, theother prohibiting anti-gay job discrimination.
And at a time when they hoped to be making advances, gays and lesbians areon the defensive in at least two states - facing a likely ballot item inFlorida that would ban same-sex marriage and a measure in Arkansas aimed atbanning them from adopting children or serving as foster parents.
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Express Gay News
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/01/an_unexpected_c.html
An unexpected caller
Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor January 29, 2008 04:11PM
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON -- It's a time-worn president's trick: walk up to a congressmanchatting on the phone and send your regards to the astonished person on theother end of the line, charming the listener with your regular-guycredentials.
That's what President Bush did Monday night at the State of the Unionaddress, when he approached Newton Democrat Barney Frank, who was talking onhis cell phone in the House Speaker's lobby before Bush's speech.
What Bush didn't know was that the congressman was talking to his boyfriend.
"Tell him I said, 'Hello,' '' Bush said to Frank, leaning in to pat thecongressman's shoulder. As Bush continued into the House chamber, Frank toldhis skeptical boyfriend that it had been the conservative Republicanpresident sending his good wishes. Frank's boyfriend didn't believe him, sothe Massachusetts lawmaker put one of the sergeants-at-arms on the phone toback up his story.
After the speech, Frank said, he felt he had to tell Bush what he had done.After all, the president opposes gay marriage, and gay rights groups do notsee the president as an ally.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid51918.asp
Florida Coalition Combats Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment Drive
January 30, 2008
The Fairness for All Families Coalition is engaging in a "primary day ofaction" Tuesday as the Florida primary proceeds, with over 500 volunteersblanketing 178 precincts across the state to educate voters about theconstitutional marriage amendment drive being waged by the conservativegroup Florida4Marriage. The Human Rights Campaign and Florida Red and Blue,a nonpartisan organization combating the amendment, also coordinated morethan 250 volunteers in 10 major cities, including Orlando, Jacksonville,Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Tampa, Sarasota, Tallahassee,and St. Petersburg. HRC has had three full-time staff members working thestate since early January, and it added another 12 people from its D.C.headquarters for the action Tuesday.
Getting the "Marriage Protection Amendment" on the Florida ballot requires611,109 signatures from 13 different congressional districts across thestate. Florida4Marriage originally claimed they had met that requirement,but miscounts and signature duplications have been uncovered over the pastcouple weeks, leaving the drive anywhere from 22,000 to 27,000 signaturesshort and one congressional district shy. The deadline for final signaturesis February 1.
Nadine Smith, board member of Fairness for All Families and executivedirector of Equality Florida, says a broad coalition of 200 organizationshas united to combat the amendment, including the National Association forthe Advancement of Colored People, Planned Parenthood, and the ServiceEmployees International Union.
Volunteers are both educating voters about the amendment and waging a"decline to sign" campaign to counter the signature drive. "We wanted tomake sure we had volunteers in a variety of precincts from the mostsupportive to the more conservative," says Smith. HRC and Florida Red andBlue have conducted training sessions across Florida since January in orderto mobilize volunteers and teach them how to speak with voters about theamendment.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid51922.asp
After Hitler's Rise, Germany Plans Memorials, Including One for Gays
January 30, 2008
The 75th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's elevation to German chancellor onWednesday is one the country would prefer to forget, but the ignominiousevent that ultimately led to the deaths of millions remains part of thenation's weighted history.
Hitler's accession to the post gave the Nazi party its ''in'' to eventuallyconsolidate absolute control over the country in the months soon after,setting it on the path to World War II and the Holocaust.
The Holocaust remains ''for us Germans an indelible part of our history,''Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Sunday, as the country markedthe 63rd year since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in annualHolocaust remembrance ceremonies.
''The memory of the genocide committed by the Germans serves to keep usalert and fight anti-Semitism and racial hatred around the world,'' he said.
Few public events are planned to mark Wednesday's anniversary, although manyschools received letters from state governments asking them to hold specialsessions in class.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid51906.asp
Obama, Kennedy Include Gays in Endorsement Remarks
January 30, 2008
Senators Edward Kennedy and Barack Obama both included gays and lesbians intheir speeches during the event Monday at which Kennedy endorsed Obama inhis presidential bid. Obama's inclusion of LGBT people came while he wasdiscussing the legacy of hope that both John and Robert Kennedy inspired inpeople: "And it lives on in those Americans -- young and old, rich and poor,black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and straight --who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to recapture the senseof common purpose that we had when John Kennedy was president of the UnitedStates of America."
The insertion of "gay and straight" was a departure from the script of Obama's
"prepared remarks" forwarded to news outlets ahead of the event by hiscampaign.
Kennedy, who spoke before Obama, made a similar reference to gays andlesbians. "With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics ofmisrepresentation and distortion," said Kennedy. "With Barack Obama, we willclose the book on the old politics of race against race, gender againstgender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay." (TheAdvocate)
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Euro-Queer
Once homosexuality is condoned, pedophilia to be legalized, MetropolitanKirill believes
Moscow, January 10, Interfax - Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Departmentfor External Church Relations (DECR)
Metropolitan Kirill thinks that if society stops considering homosexuality asin, the next step will be general excuse of various sexual perversions.
'Moral is either absolute or it does not exist. If you excuse homosexuality,why not to excuse pedophilia?' Metropolitan Kirill stated in an interviewpublished on Thursday by German magazine Spiegel.
When the journalist pointed to a 'great difference' between homosexuals andpedophiles as the latter violate 'personal freedom' raping children,Metropolitan Kirill said that it will be explained in several years that '12-year-oldgirls were considered children before, but now they develop much faster'.
'20 years ago nobody could imagine that Germany would legalize homosexualmarriages. However, they get used to it by now. It is a matter of principle.There is one moral nature', the Moscow Patriarchate's representative noted.
He reminded that the Bible calls homosexuality 'a sin'. However, he stressedthat the Church did not condemn gays and was against 'persecuting orinsulting these people'.
'But why promote the sin? Gay-parade is an intrusive display of depravity.Thus we can successfully promote any other sin, as is done on TV. Itvitiates public morality. The task of the Church is to say that sin is sin.Otherwise, the Church is not needed', the DECR chairman believes.
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Euro-Queer
Sad to be gay - New guidance aims to end the rising tide of homophobicbullying - of pupils and teachers.
Anna Bawden
Tuesday January 29, 2008
The Guardian
Sam Clark, 19, first knew he was gay at the age of 10. Ever since, hehas suffered from homophobic bullying. Things got worse after he came outat secondary school. "I would be pushed over in the playground. Jokes weremade openly in front of the teachers," he says.
Clark is far from alone. A survey of 1,145 gay and lesbian secondaryschool pupils last summer by Stonewall found that almost two-thirds had beenvictims of homophobic bullying.
The government wants this to change. New guidance is being launchedtomorrow by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) thataims to help schools prevent homophobic bullying and tackle it when it doesoccur.
"We wanted to make sure that within the overall anti-bullying guidancethere was specific guidance on homophobic bullying," says Ed Balls [!], thesecretary for children, schools and families.
Stonewall's survey found that 41% of respondents reported physicalattacks, 17% had received death threats and 12% had been sexually assaulted.Sarah, 14, was physically bullied at her school. "Everyone knows and looksat me and threatens me and no one helps," she told researchers. "They pushme in corridors and teachers have seen, but they act as if they haven't seenanything."
"I have experienced bullying such as being verbally assaultedfrequently, had scissors thrown at me, occasionally punched - sometimesdirectly in front of teachers," says Kevin, 16.
Teachers join in
Astonishingly, far from clamping down on homophobic bullying, half therespondents said the teachers themselves had made homophobic remarks.
Emma Jones, 20 and Sophie Phillips, 18, say that when they got togetherat their sixth-form college in north Wales, they were discriminated againstby some of their teachers. "They would tell us off for inappropriatebehaviour like hand-holding that would be tolerated among straight couples,"says Jones. In the classroom, Jones and Phillips say, the teachers drewattention away from them, effectively isolating them, and that comments frompupils were ignored.
"Homophobic language was regularly used in the classroom and the teachernever did anything," says Phillips.
more....
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From Doug Ireland
In the following message just received from Turkey, Lambda Istanbul'sinternational commission says that, contrary to rumors originating inBelgium, Lambda Istanbul has not been shut down by authorities and nobodyhas been arrested as yet. They also ask that all public actions and protestsplanned on behalf of Lambda Istanbul should be halted immediately pendingfurther word, which will be forthcoming as soon as Lambda Istanbul can takeup the subject in a meeting. Further, they ask that the statements emanatingfrom the Turkish ambassador in Paris should not be further republished inany media, including gay media, nor should any protests. Lambda Istanbulsays they are grateful for the global mobilization on their behalf, believethat international support is already sufficient at the moment, and that anyfurther media publicity just now could harm the group's pending trial incourt. They ask further that before being published any rumor or statementnot made by Lambda Istanbul should be verified by contacting either LambdaIstanbul at lambda@lambdaistanbul.org or ScumLambda at
scumlambda@no-log.org.
-- DOUG IRELAND
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TheIndyChannel.com
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/15167420/detail.html
Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage Gets Senate OK
Proposal Expected To Die In House
POSTED: 3:53 pm EST January 29, 2008
UPDATED: 6:44 pm EST January 29, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS -- The GOP-controlled Indiana Senate approved a proposal toamend the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage, but the effort wasexpected to die in the Democrat-led House.
State Sen. Brandt Hershman, the resolution's sponsor, said Senate passagewould give House members a chance to act on the measure if they choose. Buta key House committee chairman has said he won't give the issue a hearing.
The Senate voted 39-9 in favor of the resolution Tuesday, with supporterssaying the issue should be left to voters, not courts.
"It should be a matter brought before the people of the state of Indiana,"said Hershman, R-Wheatfield.
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The Huffington Report
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/29/mccain-accused-of-gay-bai_n_83843.html
McCain Accused Of Gay Baiting In Anti-Romney Attack
January 29, 2008 01:00 PM
On the eve of the Florida Republican primary, Sen. John McCain launched arobo-call campaign attacking his rival Mitt Romney that some gay rightsgroups say amounts to gay baiting.
The call, which comes at the end of a hotly contested election that couldvery well determine the GOP nominee, reads as follows [emphasis added]:
"Mitt Romney thinks he can fool us. He supported abortion on demand, evenallowed a law mandating taxpayer-funding for abortion. He says he changedhis mind, but he still hasn't changed the law. He told gay organizers inMassachusetts he would be a stronger advocate for special rights than evenTed Kennedy. Now, it's something different."
According to The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder, the robo-call was pulled onTuesday.
In 1994, Romney did write a letter to the state's Log Cabin Club -- a gayRepublican group -- promising to be a stronger advocate for gays thanKennedy. Romney was challenging Kennedy for his U.S. Senate seat.
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The Bilerico Project
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/01/obamas_playing_us_stupid.php
Obama's playing us stupid
Filed by: Rev Irene Monroe
January 29, 2008 4:07 PM
Is it mere happenstance that once again, and seemingly unbeknownst to theObama campaign, another anti-gay African American minister has endorsed thepresidential hopeful?
But with an Obama endorsement coming from the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell,longtime spiritual adviser to President George W. Bush and senior pastor ofone of Houston's black mega-churches, Windsor Village United MethodistChurch, this isn't deja vu all over again.
Why is Obama, a supposed healer and consensus builder, continuing to dothis?
One answer: Perhaps Obama was unaware of Rev. Caldwell's background andviews regarding LGBTQ folks?
The real answer: how many sides are there to a politician's mouth?
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Gay Politics
http://www.gaypolitics.com/?p=214
Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns calls anti-gay attack his campaign's"galvanizing moment"
Posted on January 29th, 2008 by Dan
Becoming the target of an anti-gay attack was one of the best things tohappen to Joel Burns' candidacy for Fort Worth City Council.
When Burns began the race to replace Wendy Davis on the city council, hissexuality was no secret - he had been with his partner J.D. for 15 years. Sowhen a city councilman got up at a fundraiser and brought it to everyone'sattention, the smear was a curious mix of hateful and unnecessary.
At an event for Chris Turner, councilman Chuck Silcox joined the candidateon stage and said the following: "We have two people of opposite partisanpolitics, opposite philosophical persuasions and opposite sexualorientations. I didn't tell you which one was homosexual."
The crowd laughed.
Gesturing toward Turner, Silcox said "He's married to a female, and theother's married to a male. You make your own mind up."
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America Blog
http://www.americablog.com/2008/01/mccain-is-now-gay-baiting.html
McCain is now gay-baiting
by John Aravosis (DC) · 1/29/2008 11:33:00 AM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Comments (96) · reddit · FARK ·· Digg It!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
That didn't take long. So much for our maverick. When the going gets tough,John McCain goes queer bashing. Note his adoption of the religious rightbuzz-phrase "special rights." Considering McCain helped shoot down aconstitutional amendment banning gay marriage, I'm just curious how hedefines "special rights." McCain has always surrounding himself with gaymen. Ever since I worked on the Hill in the late 80s, early 90s, McCainalways had gay men on staff in senior positions. Openly gay men. Gay men whohad no problem helping the gay rights movement. Gay men who people likeMcCain would call "gay activists." McCain had zero problem helping powerfulopenly-gay men advance in Washington, DC. He currently has no problememploying them at the highest reaches of his campaign - the highestreaches - helping them work their "special rights" agenda in his campaignand beyond. But now we're to believe that McCain suddenly has a problem withthe gays and their "special rights."
Mitt Romney isn't the only GOP candidate playing games with their positionon gays. McCain has been trying to have it both ways on gay issues for twodecades now. Privately helping gay activists while publicly condemning them.There's a reason that conservatives don't trust McCain. He's just a morerefined version of Mitt Romney. Say one thing, do another.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Contact: Jeff Simmons, (212) 669-2636
mailto:jsimmon@comptroller.nyc.gov> jsimmon@comptroller.nyc.gov
January 29, 2008
New York
THOMPSON ANNOUNCES UNPRECEDENTED EFFORT TO PUSH CORPORATE AMERICA TO PROTECTLGBT WORKERS
-All new measures include gender identity-
-Six companies already adopt City's request-
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. and the New York CityPension Funds today called on two dozen of America's largest companies tobar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity - nearlytwice as many proposals as in the previous proxy season.
"We must work together to make sure that corporate America embracesacceptance and affords all employees the same protections, regardless oftheir sexual orientation or gender identity," Thompson said at a newsconference at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center inManhattan to announce the measures.
"Each year, more companies are making this commitment because they believein guaranteeing equal treatment in the workplace. However, many of thiscountry's largest corporations still refuse to protect all workers."
The resolutions - which you can view at
www.comptroller.nyc.gov - were filed on behalf of the New York CityEmployees' Retirement System (NYCERS), New York City Police Pension Fund,New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, New York City Teachers'Retirement System (TRS) and New York City Board of Education RetirementSystem.
The resolutions call for companies that have not already done so to revisetheir policies to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation andgender identity. This is the second proxy season in which all new measuresinclude gender identity.
This season's resolutions focus on 24 companies, most of which are in theFortune 500 (all are within the Fortune 1000). The companies are: HCCInsurance Holdings of Houston, TX; Timken Company of Canton, OH; ExxonMobilCorp. of Irving, TX; AK Steel Corp. of Middletown, OH; Fidelity NationalFinancial, Inc. of Jacksonville, FL; Brink's Company of Richmond, VA;Liberty Global, Inc. of Englewood, CO; Lyondell Chemical Company of Houston,TX; Eastman Chemical Co. of Kingsport, TN; Tesoro Corp. of San Antonio, TX;Apache Corp. of Houston, TX; Murphy Oil Corp. of El Dorado, AR; KellyServices, Inc. of Troy, MI; EchoStar Communications Corp. of Englewood, CO;Huntsman Corp. of Salt Lake City, UT; Marshall & Ilsley Corp. of Milwaukee,WI; Frontier Oil Corp. of Houston, TX; Borg Warner. Inc. of Auburn Hills,MI; Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of The Woodlands, TX; Synovus Financial Corp.of Columbus, GA; Erie Indemnity Company (Erie Insurance) of Erie, PA; SPXCorporation of Charlotte, NC; American Financial Group, Inc. of Cincinnati,OH; and, Leggett & Pratt, Inc. of Carthage, MO.
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Florida
http://www.metroweekly.com/feature/?ak=3197
County takes aim at swingers
by David Decamp
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
January 23, 2008
NEW PORT RICHEY - One by one, people opined Tuesday about the proposedstricter definitions for sexually oriented businesses in Pasco, avoiding theimpetus for the discussion like it was an elephant in the room.
Or in this case, like it was a Port Richey swingers club named Club Elite.
"I think we all know what the issues are," former Port Richey Mayor MarkAbbott told the County Commission. "Just make the wise decisions."
After a short public hearing with the commentary ranging from nudist resortsto community morality, the County Commission voted 5-0, with little debate,to approve the new definitions.
The blush-inducing language includes new definitions to better identify whatconstitutes a "sexually oriented business," a distinction that means thecounty can regulate where the establishment is located. The proposeddefinitions identify exposure of specific body parts and specific sexualactivities.
But nobody on Tuesday mentioned Club Elite, which is above a bakery, a deliand a dentist in a U.S. 19 commercial strip. Its Web site openly promotesits activities for swingers, though its attorney has said Club Elite is nota sexually oriented business - legally speaking.
After it opened last year, neighbors complained and authoritiesinvestigated. But they said they couldn't shut down the club under Pasco'scode unless something illegal was seen.
The code limits new adult businesses to industrial areas, but the county hasto prove a business is sexually oriented before it can be restricted.
When the new definitions were unveiled in December, county officialsacknowledged they were targeted at Club Elite. But this month, assistantcounty attorney Kristi Wooden and County Commissioner Jack Mariano, whosedistrict includes the club, wouldn't say so. Wooden only said Tuesday thechanges allowed the county to enforce its ordinance.
Nor would Commission Chairman Ted Schrader or other officials say they werekeeping quiet to perhaps avoid legal stickiness over passing a law thatsingles out a specific business.
more....
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Mississippi
Madison County Journal
http://www.onlinemadison.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=19700&TM=36892.63=
Abortion a priority for new senator
By ANDREW UJIFUSA
Assistant Managing Editor
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Freshman state Senator Lee Yancey of District 20 may be new to stategovernment, but he is already prepared to tackle one of the mostcontroversial topics in the country.
Yancey said he is preparing a bill that would ban abortions unconditionallyin Mississippi without the trigger of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning theRoe v. Wade decision.
Yancey said abortion is a legal as well as a moral issue.
"Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does it make abortion legal," he said.
Last year, Gov. Haley Barbour signed Senate Bill 2391 that wouldautomatically outlaw abortions in the state if Roe were to be overturned.
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Detroit News
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/OPINION03/801280360/1031
Military's hostile climate victimizes families of gays
Deb Price
Monday, January 28, 2008
The three moms talk glowingly about their sons.
One son is Darren Manzella, a decorated Army medic who, while in Iraq,provided medical services to U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians during morethan 100 street patrols in Baghdad.
Then there's Barry Winchell, a private first class who had just one moretest to pass before achieving his dream of being an Army helicopter pilot.
And Allen Schindler, a 22-year-old Navy radioman, who planned to go tocollege to pursue his passion of studying animals.
Like most parents whose children enlist in the military, these moms wereproud but worried.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6693.html
Homophobic cleric seeks treatment in the UK
Tony Grew
28th January 2008 18:05
An Islamic preacher who has called for gay people to be put to death is tobe allowed entry into the UK for medical treatment.
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, 80, was at the centre of a row in 2004 when hecame to London as a guest of Mayor Ken Livingstone, who was then heavilycriticised by gay rights campaigners and Jewish organisations for invitinghim.
The spiritual leader of Islamicist organisation the Muslim Brotherhood,al-Qaradawi is known to have supported suicide bombings in Israel, theoppression of women's rights and has argued in the past that homosexualsshould be put to death.
The Observer reported yesterday that Home Office and Foreign Officerecommended he be allowed into the UK, while the Department for Communitiesand Local Government felt such a move would offend some Muslims and othergroups such as the LGBT community.
He is banned from entering the United States, but has visited Sweden andFrance in recent times.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6696.html
Mayoral candidate wants to cut Pride London funding
Tony Grew
29th January 2008 13:31
An MEP who is standing as the UK Independence Party candidate for Mayor ofLondon has said that if elected he would withdraw funding from the city'sPride celebrations.
Gerard Batten also pledged to target ethnic minority groups. In the 2004Mayoral elections UKIP came fourth, winning 6% (115,665) of first preferencevotes.
A founder member of the party, Mr Batten has been an MEP for the Londonregion since 2004.
He was selected as the UKIP candidate at the party's conference last year.
The Greater London Authority's contribution to Pride events in 2007/08totalled £100,000, which will be met by London Development Agency grant.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
DailyQueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.indegayforum.org/news/show/31440.html
Winning with the Young
by Paul Varnell
First published in the Chicago Free Press on January 30, 2008.
College freshmen continued their decade-old upward trend of support for gaymarriage in fall 2007, according to a mammoth annual survey of more than270,000 freshmen at 356 colleges and universities and just released by theHigher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California,Los Angeles.
One year earlier, in fall 2006, 61.2 percent of college freshmen supported"legal marital status" for gay and lesbian couples. By fall 2007 thatpercentage had risen by 2.3 percentage points to 63.5 percent.
When the question was first asked in 1997, just 50.9 percent of freshmensupported "legal marital status" for gays. Except for a downward blip in2004 prompted in part by President George W. Bush's advocacy of aconstitutional amendment barring gay marriage, the percentage of support hasrisen at an average rate of slightly over 1 percentage point per year.
The language "legal marital status" was chosen to refer only to civil unionsor civil marriage and avoid the issue of whether churches should offerreligious marriage ceremonies.
The survey also asked whether "it is important to have laws prohibitinghomosexual relationships." Support for such laws fell from 25.6 percent infall 2006 to 24.3 percent in fall 2007, a drop of 1.3 percentage points.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_6997997
Episcopalians ease support for gays
In an effort to heal a worldwide rift, U.S. leaders pledge "restraint" inallowing another homosexual bishop. Some conservatives aren't satisfied.
By Rachel Zoll The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 09/26/2007 01:16:01 AM MDT
New Orleans - Episcopal leaders, pressured to roll back support for gays tokeep the world Anglican family from crumbling, affirmed Tuesday that theywill "exercise restraint" in approving another gay bishop and will notapprove prayers to bless same-sex couples.
The statement mostly reiterated previous pledges made by church leaders, andit will not be known for weeks or even months whether the bishops went farenough to help prevent a schism in the Anglican Communion.
Theological conservatives in the church immediately rejected the document astoo weak.
Bishops released the statement in the final hour of an intense six-daymeeting and at a crucial moment in the decades-long Anglican debate over howthe Bible should be interpreted.
The Anglican fellowship has been splintering since 2003, when Episcopaliansconsecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880124131
Gay pastor shares his parenting experiences
By Leslie Boyd
LBOYD@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
January 26, 2008 12:15 am
Brett Webb-Mitchell's children often are met with an "Oh-h-h," when theytell people who their father is.
"People say, 'Oh-h-h, the gay man,'" Webb-Mitchell said. "My son isn't justParker, he's Parker, whose father is gay."
Gay parents face most of the same issues as straight parents, saidWebb-Mitchell, an ordained Presbyterian minister, but the "oh-h-h" factorcan make things harder on a child.
Webb-Mitchell's new book, "On Being a Gay Parent: Making a Future Together,"is published by Church Publishing and deals with parenting issues and withreligion.
He will be at Malaprop's Bookstore at 7 p.m. Monday to read from his bookand sign copies.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
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http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20080128_Gay_chief_executives_come_out_winners.html
Gay chief executives come out winners
Despite difficulties in buttoned-down corridors of power, institutional andbusiness CEOs aren't so willing to hide.
By Gail Shister
Inquirer Staff Writer
Alba Martinez, chief executive officer of the United Way of SoutheasternPennsylvania, didn't know her father was gay until he contracted AIDS anddied when she was 21.
To the world, Antonio Martinez, an administrator at the University of PuertoRico, was a heterosexual family man. Only when his disease was diagnosed, in1986, did he reveal his secret life. Six months later, he was dead at 55.
The traumatic event "reaffirmed my belief in being true to yourself," saysAlba Martinez, 45. "I felt really sad that my father had to lead a doublelife. Nobody should have to go through life hiding who they are."
In the buttoned-down business corridors of Philadelphia and other largecities, an increasing number of gay CEOs are not hiding anymore. Some, likeMartinez and Sean Buffington, new president of the University of the Arts,have been open about their sexual orientation for their entire professionallives.
They are in the minority. Coming out is serious business in business.
Especially for a CEO.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/01/012808az.htm
Az Gov: Abstinence-Only Ed A Failure
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 28, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET
(Phoenix, Arizona) Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) is telling the Bushadministration that the state does not want $1 million in federal fundingfor abstinence-only education because the programs don't work.
The move makes Arizona the 16th state to reject the federal money.
A raft of studies have shown that abstinence only programs in schools havedone nothing to reduce teen sex and can actually harm LGBT students. Themost recent was released in November. (story)
The study found that while abstinence-only efforts appear to have littlepositive impact, more comprehensive sex education programs were having"positive outcomes" including teenagers "delaying the initiation of sex,reducing the frequency of sex, reducing the number of sexual partners andincreasing condom or contraceptive use."
Since 1996, the federal government has spent over a half a billion taxpayerdollars on abstinence-only programs.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
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http://www.dailyindia.com/show/211139.php/Gibson-parted-ways-with-Ledger-over-rokeback-Mountain-gay-role
Gibson parted ways with Ledger over 'Brokeback Mountain' gay role
From our ANI Correspondent
New York, Jan 27: Mel Gibson may have called Heath Ledger's death a "tragicloss," but the actor/director is said to have distanced himself from thelate actor.
Private investigator Paul Barresi has revealed that Gibson had statedneglecting Ledger after the he ignored his advice about not to play a gaycowboy in 'Brokeback Mountain'.
According to Barresi, a "major Hollywood producer" told him that "Ledgerasked Gibson whether he should take the role of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback."
"Gibson strongly counselled against it. The role apparently ran counter toGibson's morality. And he felt that it would ruin Heath's career.
"When Gibson parted ways with Heath, it broke his heart," Barresi added.
However, Ledger's role did win critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination,reports the New York Daily News.
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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The congregation of St. John the Evangelist Church here remains in the darkabout the future of its rector, more than six months since he wasdisciplined by the Anglican Church. Rev. Michael Bury's licence to performmarriages was suspended after he married a same-sex couple last August.
While details of the offending ceremony haven't been released by the church
and local church officials declined to comment on the issue, Bury wasdisciplined by the diocese of Ontario for marrying the same-sex couple. Thisoccurred after diocesan Bishop George Bruce warned all clergy thatdisciplinary action would be taken for any clergy member conducting same-sexblessings or same-sex weddings. Bury has been on medical leave since lastSeptember and several members of the diocesan clergy have been filling infor him.
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On this cool January morning, a Clearwater grandmother is talking to aconservative Christian health care worker who says she will vote NO inNovember on the so-called "marriage amendment" because she has witnessesfirst-hand the cruel impact of refusing legal recognition for unmarriedpartners. She's watched the caretaking partner lose every penny payingmedical bill for a life partner the law refuses to recognize as family.
Students in Orlando and retirees in Hallandale talked with voters about thedivisive amendment for hours at Florida's polls today. Some voters brushedpassed but many had their own stories to tell. One man in his 60s said theamendment would hurt his mother and her boyfriend who have been together fordecades but will not marry. Retirees. Students. Union workers. Retirees.
Straight. Gay. Young. Old. Grandmothers. Single Fathers.
More than 500 strong, an army of Fairness for All Families volunteers fannedout across the state to talk to voters coming to cast their ballot at theJan 29th Presidential Primary.
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Judy Fleissner was one of more than 3,300 people who registered for domesticpartnerships when the new law took effect last year. This year, she'd liketo see that law expanded. The Bellevue police officer, who lives in Seattlewith her partner of 18 years and their two children, told the HouseJudiciary Committee Tuesday that while the new law was an important firststep, there are many rights that her family is still lacking. The committeeis considering a measure that would grant same-sex couples more than 170 ofthe benefits and responsibilities given to married couples, includingproperty and guardianship rights. A Senate committee held a public hearingon a companion bill later in the day. Fleissner, 46, said that while she andher partner have used wills and power of attorney where the current lawfalls short, it's still not enough. "There are many things, such ashomestead exemptions, nursing home visitation and community property lawsthat we cannot obtain by contract," she said. "The proposed expansion of thedomestic partnership laws addressed many rights and responsibilities that wecan not simply obtain by signing a document."
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Love Makes a Family, the state's marriage equality organization, has a newjob opening for a religious-organizing project coordinator.The position,funded by a grant from the Gill Foundation, a Colorado-based human rightsorganization, may come as a surprise to some. An organization some religioustypes deem satanic - pushing, as it is, for gay marriage - is actuallyreaching out to religious types itself.In fact, the marriage equalitymovement has long had the support of members of a variety of faith groups.
The group's list of supporting clergy gets longer every day, and about ayear and a half ago, the list evolved into Connecticut Clergy for MarriageEquality. Marriage equality is not an us-vs.-them situation, at least itshouldn't be among people of faith.Whoever is hired for the job will becharged with, among other things, reaching out to the movement's quietsupporters and encouraging them to be more active. Maybe they've sat andapplauded in the pew. Maybe they're related to someone who is gay orlesbian, and they want to see that family member happy. The time for quietsupport is past.
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A heavy voter turnout Tuesday for the Florida primary became an opportunityfor supporters and opponents of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sexmarriage in the Sunshine State. Backers of the proposed amendment have beenscrambling to find 20,000 signatures by Thursday to get the measure onNovember's ballot after the Secretary of State announced earlier this monththat a counting mistake put them well short of the required 611,000signatures needed. (story) Members of Florida4Marriage fanned out at pollingstations in Miami-Dade where the error occurred, urging people to sign thepetitions.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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Obama Gives Away Money Tied To Donor
(Washington) Barack Obama is giving to charity more than $70,000 incontributions linked to an indicted Chicago businessman whose pastconnections to the Democratic presidential candidate have created adistraction and raised questions about his judgment.
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Giuliani To Endorse McCain
(Orlando) In the end, 9/11 wasn't enough. Former New York Mayor RudyGiuliani, once the Republican presidential front-runner thanks to his statusas "America's Mayor," suffered a debilitating defeat in Tuesday's Floridaprimary. He prepared Wednesday to quit the race endorse his friendliestrival, John McCain.
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Measure Would Bar Gay Pride In Jerusalem
(Jerusalem) A member of Israel's religious Shas Party told a parliamentarycommittee Tuesday that homosexuality is an epidemic and should be dealt withlike the Health Ministry deals with bird flu.
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Transsexual Seeks GOP Nomination For Minnesota Legislature
(Minneapolis, Minnesota) Chrissy Nakonsky is hoping to become the firsttranssexual elected to a state legislature.
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Giant Pension Plans To Fight For LGBT Worker Rights
(New York City) New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. announcedTuesday that he will use the massive clout of the NYC Pension Funds to presstwo- dozen of America's largest companies to bar discrimination based onsexual orientation and gender identity.
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Bush Accused Of Playing Shell Game Over AIDS Funding
(Washington) President Bush in his final State of the Union address calledfor an additional $30 billion over the next five years to fight HIV/AIDS inAfrica - an amount AIDS activists say is less than he has already pledgedand far less than what is needed.
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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Almost 500 Czech Same Sex Couples Married
Prague- The number of registered partnerships between Czech same sex couplesreached 487 by the end of last year with homosexual male couples prevailingconsiderably, according to a poll the results of which were given to CTK bythe Sidovsky Management agency today. Eight of the registered partnershipshave ceased to exist and in five cases it were lesbian couples, the pollshowed.
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GLBT Communities Also Face "Enormous Challenges" With HIV/AIDS
Like the rest of the Black America, Black gay, lesbian, bi-sexual andtransgender (GLBT) communities face many challenges; the most urgent ofthese is the continuing enormous challenge of the AIDS epidemic. The primarybarrier is homophobia and an unwillingness to talk openly and honestly aboutsex. Until we can tell the truth about our sex lives, we will continue tohave statistics showing that half of the HIV-infected Black men who have sexwith men do not know their status.
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Mardi Gras Youth Festival Launched
2008 Mardi Gras festival is going to be extra special for a lot of youngpeople experiencing it for the first time. Not only because it's the 30thanniversary, but because this year's festival includes something designedespecially for them.
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Sad to be Gay
Sam Clark, 19, first knew he was gay at the age of 10. Ever since, he hassuffered from homophobic bullying. Things got worse after he came out atsecondary school. "I would be pushed over in the playground. Jokes were madeopenly in front of the teachers," he says. Clark is far from alone. A surveyof 1,145 gay and lesbian secondary school pupils last summer by Stonewallfound that almost two-thirds had been victims of homophobic bullying.
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High HIV Incidence Amongst Gay Men With Syphilis in the US
US investigators have found a high incidence of recent HIV infection amongstmen diagnosed with primary or secondary syphilis. In a study published inthe February 1st edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune DeficiencySyndromes HIV incidence was 11% amongst gay men with early forms ofsyphilis. The investigators suggest "intensive and integrated HIV/STDtesting, care and prevention services are needed for men diagnosed withsyphilis."
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I'm Not Gay, Says Daniel Johns
FOR the past few years, there's been speculation about Daniel Johns'sexuality. But the Silverchair frontman wants everyone to know - he's notgay.At Monday's Big Day Out at Flemington, Johns told the crowd in nouncertain terms that he's a red-blooded heterosexual male. "I'm not f------gay," he said between songs.
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Paris Hilton Samples LA Lesbian Nightlife
Heiress Paris Hilton has been spotted at LA lesbian bar Falcon for thesecond time this month. As she bar-hopped her way along the SunsetBoulevard, she was snappped emerging from Falcon, hand-in-hand with USreality star Brittny Gastineau and a gaggle of female friends.
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Manhattan's Roaring Gay Days
Forget Studio 54, Party Monster or even Stonewall. One of the queerest erasin New York City's history was the Roaring '20s and early '30s, when pansyballs were all the craze, cross-dressing performers were gloriously famousand the sparkling isle that was the Sodom of America was already a major gaytravel destination. Traveling in the echoes of this fabulous Manhattan pastin the 21st century is easier than you may imagine.
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SIRIUS Satellite Radio Hosts Gay Presidential Caucus
SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced today it will hold its first ever Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual and Transgender presidential caucus on January 31, 2008 from3:00 - 5:00 pm ET on The Michelangelo Signorile Show on SIRIUS OutQ, thenation's only 24/7 LGBT radio channel. Representatives and supporters forHillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards will share their candidates'platforms and views, take questions from callers, and engage in an opendialogue with SIRIUS' national audience.
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Gays Protest Homophobic Violence in Sydney
The Lord Mayor of Sydney spoke at a rally held in the city last weekend toprotest at the rising number of attacks on gay and lesbian people. Hundredsof people turned out on Australia Day for the Reclaim the Right event.
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Calls for Tougher Warnings on Botox After 16 Deaths
If you are one of the millions of people who has used Botox to helpeliminate signs of aging, new reports my cause you to raise an eyebrow. TheU.S. Consumer group Public Citizen is calling for harsher warnings to beadded to labels after 16 deaths related to the spread of botulinum toxinhave been reported.
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Al Gore Backs Gay Marriage
Former Vice President Al Gore is making his opinion clear. He believes gay &lesbian American citizens should have the same right to marry asheterosexuals. During a speech captured on video, Gore said he does notunderstand why gay marriage is "considered to be a threat to heterosexualmarriage."
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Anti-Gay Slurs Hurled in Italian Parliament
A member of Italy's Parliament was spat upon and called a "faggot," a "fairy" and a "traitor" after he broke ranks with his smallCatholic-oriented party and announced he would vote to defend ItalianPremier Romano Prodi against a resolution aimed at bringing down hiscenter-left government.
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The DL Chronicles, GLAAD's First African American Gay TV Series
Media Award Nominee, Mirrors Presidential Race
The 19th Annual GLAAD Media Nominations of here! TV's, "The DL Chronicles"and. LOGO's "Daphne" is likened to the Barack Obama vs. Hillary ClintonDemocratic Nomination Race. here! TV's, "The DL Chronicles," nominated forOutstanding TV Movie, Mini-Series, or Anthology, is the first Gay TV seriesof color to be nominated by GLAAD and is the first TV series nomination fora gay network. This is also GLAAD's first year to include media produced byLGBT Television Networks, which puts both projects in a historical racelikened to the 2008 Democratic Presidential race.
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AIDS Project Los Angeles Calls on Congress to Increase Global AIDS Funding
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today called on Congress to increase U. S.international AIDS funding, after President Bush proposed flat funding forthese programs in his annual State of the Union address Monday evening."Wecommend the president for his commitment to fighting AIDS overseas," saidAPLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson, "but the epidemic is spreadingfaster than the world is moving to control it, and we will need to increasefunding if our efforts to halt the spread of AIDS are going to succeed."
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Effects of Florida Marriage Protection Amendment
Anything But Straight Wayne Besen
Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman ashusband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or thesubstantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized. - FloridaMarriage Protection Amendment.Are you a heterosexual Floridian who is, assome might describe it, "living in sin"?
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Resistant Bacteria, Football Players and Gay Men
Recent media reports about a new strain of resistant bacteria among men inSan Francisco angered national gay rights groups concerned that the reportswould create hysteria and a backlash against gay men. The universityresearchers who first announced the problem even issued an apology, sayingtheir press release about the original study "contained some informationthat could be interpreted as misleading."
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Queer Neighbourhoods of the Future?
San Francisco's Castro District to Provincetown to Toronto, the hard bodiedand cool are displaced in favour of cold hard cash. Gentrification is havinga dramatic impact on everything from the GLBT bar scene to politics. Thequestion is, can the GLBT Community survive and thrive without the cocoon ofthe traditional gay ghetto?As the ghetto becomes more exclusive, regular gayand lesbian Americans and Canadians are forced to search for newneighbourhoods that are inclusive. For gays who enjoyed living in thetraditional gayborhood, moving dramatically changes their quality of life.
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Aspen Gay Ski Week Organizers Might Broaden Reach
The organizers of Gay Ski Week said this week that they won't know for sometime whether a beefed-up marketing effort paid off for this year's event.
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